There must be lights burning brighter somewhere
Continuing my trip up #album-of-the-day...
20.10.12 : the book about my idle plot on a vague anxiety - toe (2005)
Absolutely no knowledge or expectations here - coming in completely blind. And having listened to it, I can't really say I'm really any the wiser - if I had to describe it I'd maybe go for "ambient jazz". There are some nice enough sounds on it but I can't imagine any scenario where I'd actually want to listen to them again - it all got very samey for me. It's a cool album cover though - I think it's a deer, but it could be a combination of various animals instead. Intriguing.
The channel gave this six thumbs up, a lot of positive comments and an awful lot of talk about snare drums. Wikipedia has a draft entry for the album but no content - which is a first I think. I was not at all surprised to learn the band were Japanese though - it fits with their sound, which is apparently "math rock" according to Wikipedia. Go figure.
"Customers also listened to" Straightener, HiGE and Lunkhead. Of course. This isn't a horrible album, but it's not for me, I'm afraid.
20.10.13 : If I Can Dream - Elvis Presley with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (2015)
Elvis is an odd one - instinctively I don't like him because, when I was growing up, his films seemed to be the only things on TV during the summer holidays and god, they're awful. However, I actually quite like a lot of his stuff and I enjoyed the three albums I got to listen to for Rolling Stone and the reading up I did around him gave me a greater appreciation for the man. I'd not heard this album but was interested to hear how it all worked out.
And overall, it's a bit of a musical oddity consisting of archive vocal recordings combined with recent orchestral work, but it's one that works well for me. I particularly liked "Bridge Over Troubled Water" (our second cover of that song in two rounds - no-one expected that), "Can't Help Falling In Love" and "In The Ghetto" - but all the tracks have something to commend them.
The channel gave this three thumbs up and a mixture of positive and negative comments. Wikipedia explains this was all the brainchild of Priscilla to keep him relevant and when it got to #1 in the UK, it gave him a record-equalling (with Madonna) 12th #1 album for a solo artist. It only got to #21 in the US though - they obviously didn't dig that Limey orchestra. It also tells me that Michael Buble features on the album, which totally passed me by at the time of listening.
"Customers also listened to" "no similar recommendations", which seems odd - at the very least I'd expect to see some other albums by Mr Presley. As I say, it's a bit of an oddity but one that works and I'm surprised we haven't seen any more such efforts - Biggie Smalls and The New York Philharmonic, anyone?
20.10.14 : Eupnea - Pure Reason Revolution (2020)
Another one I'd go no idea about - the album title was pointing me in a kinda ambient direction, but it could just as easily have been some serious metal. And the actual contents is oddly somewhere in the middle - I'm not entirely sure how to describe it. Maybe something like "quiet rock", generally quite atmospheric but then there are passages where they obviously fancy rocking out a bit. Wikipedia says "Their music incorporates elements of progressive rock and electronic. Their music has been variously described as 'Astral Folk' and 'Progressive rock'" - which suggests they're not entirely sure either. I didn't mind it but I'm not sure I quite see the point to it - I guess it has its fans though. I'm not sure how many fans of the album cover are out there though - it's a bit odd, to say the least.
The channel gave this four thumbs up and no comments at all which is unusual. Wikipedia doesn't have an entry for the album, but does tell me that eupnea is basically normal breathing - which I didn't know (why would I?). It also explains to me that the version of the band that made this album is a very cut down version of the original band who split up in 2011 - and I didn't know that either. I don't know much really, do I?
"Customers also listened to" Lunatic Soul, The Pineapple Thief and Gazpacho - all of whom I suspect may somewhat lean towards the progressive side. Again, this isn't really my sort of thing - I preferred it to the toe offering, but only just.
An easy win for The King, I'm afraid.
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