Do you have an opinion? A mind of your own?
Continuing my trip up #album-of-the-day...
21.03.04 : Goodbye Country (Hello Nightclub) - Groove Armada (2001)
I own and love Vertigo, but have never experienced any other Groove Armada album - which makes me a bad person, I feel. And I'm expecting more of the same, so there's no reason I won't like it and I'm glad this exercise has made me listen to it. And yeah, it pretty much is more of the same (if a bit more upbeat) and I pretty much did like it - so I should have listened to it earlier. I particularly liked "Edge Hill" - it's got a lovely flow to it.
The channel gave this eight thumbs up and a lot of positive comments. Wikipedia has a few sentences on the album - mostly listing the guest artists that sing on each track. It also surprised me by reminding me they were English, which I feel have must have known at some point, but I think I just assumed they were French. The album did OK commerciially - #5 in the UK and #1 in NZ, for no obvious reason!
"Customers also listened to" Massive Attack, Air, The Orb and Bonobo - all people I would have listened to to varying degrees at the time. So quite why I never listened to this is unclear - I guess some albums just slide past you without you noticing them (until someone makes you listen to them 20 years later)
21.03.05 : Consolers Of The Lonely - The Raconteurs (2008)
I'd heard of The Raconteurs and seemed to recall they were indie/rock and I didn't particularly like them. Ah - I'd forgotten they were the Jack White lot (not Jack Black - I always struggle to remember which one's which) but apart from that I was pretty spot on. Just doesn't hit the spot for me, I'm afraid - I can hear there's skill involved and there are some nice retro touches, but that's it. It also felt considerably longer than the 55 minutes it told me it was.
The channel gave this five thumbs up, three hearts and one positive comment (which was not so positive about the follow-up). Wikipedia tells me the release of this album was "one of the most exciting musical events of 2008" - and I'll give you a few sentences to see if you can remember why. The album was well received both critically and commercially - top 10 in both the UK and the US. The title comes from an inscription on a Washington DC post office, namely "Messenger of sympathy and love, servant of parted friends, consoler of the lonely, bond of the scattered family, enlarger of the common life" - I've no idea what it means, but it sounds good. It also won a Grammy for Best Engineered, Non-Classical - possibly not the top category that everyone looks for first. And the reason it was such a big event? The band did no promotion for it - that was a big thing apparently. And there was me thinking they were just being lazy - but no, it was an important creative statement reaching directly to the fans. Hmmm.
"Customers also listened to" Jack White, The White Strips and The Dead Weather - I suspect there might be a theme running through them all but I just can't work it out. But this one ain't for me, I'm afraid.
21.03.08 : Version 2.0 - Garbage (1998)
Another album on the list I own - the last being Stanley Road, which was a month and a half ago. I remember liking it at the time, but can't say it's one I revisit often. I was expecting to enjoy it, but for it to sound very much of its time. And yeah, I did enjoy it - and although it does sound of its time, I think it's also travelled well. It sounds surprisingly flat when played quiet though - it really needs the volume cranked up. "Special", "When I Grow Up" and "Push It" stand out for me but the quality level is pretty high across the album imho.
The channel gave this four thumbs up and a lot of links to Butch Vig documentary videos. Wikipedia has a huge amount on the album - 248 milliPeppers, which is the most we've seen in quite some time. And basically all it says is that they did a load of work on the album and everyone was very appreciative of the results - #1 in the UK and #13 in the US, with 4 million copies sold globally. And Ms Manson commuted from Edinburgh through it all, which must have got tiresome, surely? Yes it did, and you can call me Shirley.
"Customers also listened to" Hole, Veruca Salt and No Doubt - some reasonably feisty women involved in all of those. But I liked this - yes, it's of its time but that was a fine time for me, so I'm happy to be reminded of it.
Groove Armada would probably have been in with a chance if I'd listened to the album 20 years ago - but I didn't, so Garbage take the round for me.
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