Chorus.fm Record of the Week Club • Page 45

you’re so talented

 

Man, this is just amazing. Thank you so, so much. I truly appreciate it. If there's any way I can return the favor, just let me know.

 

Listened to both Odyssey and Sail Away yesterday and forgot to take notes but:

Odyssey was great, a fairly fresh sound even though that record came out 40 years ago, reminds me of a bunch of stuff but is also not quite like anything else.

Sail Away was a good time, I'm honestly only tangentially aware of Randy Newman's work so getting to sit with a whole record of his was a nice treat. I don't listen to a lot of piano-centric vocal music so this was a nice change of pace for me.

 

Elton John and Billy Joel are both incredible if you ever wanna give their discographies a shot

 

they (and like Ben Folds and Andrew McMahon-adjacent bands) are about the extent of my knowledge on this, I should do a deeper dive on both though!

 

tbh: there are still a few albums by both that I need to get around to, myself.

 

When the jam band drops into Bennie and the Jets outta nowhere >>>>>>>

 

The Randy Newman album was a really pleasant and easy listen. Have only heard his Disney stuff prior to this.

 

I’ve been putting it off but finally gona dip into the Randy Newman album. Not gona lie, what I know of him, I hate. And going to his Spotify trying to find this album really shows how much this dude WORKS. He has like 100 albums and half of them are soundtracks.

 

Pressing play now. Don't have an opinion on him one way or the other, so we'll see!

 

Hope you guys enjoy!

 

I did! Not necessarily my bag typically and I don’t know if I will return to it, but it was a nice listen

 

honestly surprised by how much I like this. Still not big on his vocals, and it's hard to look at him other than the disney guy. But the instrumentals are really great, especially love the burnt out jazzy/bluesy bits. Kind of Tom Waits-lite

 

"I burn down your cities, how blind you must be
I take from you your children, and you say, 'How blessed are we?'
You all must be crazy to put your faith in me
That's why I love mankind
You really need me
That's why I love mankind"

cold shit. gives me goosebumps every time

 

His voice doesn't bother me at all. In fact, I think I find it kind of comforting, just because it's the voice of "You've Got a Friend In Me." Loving the satire and the arrangements as well so far.

 

Yeah, I think I appreciate the "Disney" aspect of it because it is comforting, but the album is also delivering a much sharper edge than what I'd known him for previously (an edge that only gets sharper throughout his discography, particularly on Good Old Boys).

 

However, I'm obviously biased as a big fan and I get that. This was my wife and I's wedding song:

And for anyone interested in hearing more from his prime (including tracks from this album and beyond), this live rip is incredibly cozy and charming and a great entry point:

tw on that one for the slurs on "Rednecks" and "Christmas in Cape Town," though.

 

I’m catching up again. The James Blood Ulmer record is one of the more unique ones I’ve heard in a while. There are clear blues influences, but the clean high chords sound more like something you’d hear in indie rock songs. Then his leads feel like a precursor to some of the guitar tones you’d hear in early grunge bands. I need to have another listen with better headphones, but I really dig this one.

 

I think this was the first week that I'm unsure what it is I think of the album pick. Biting lyrics coming from a voice I've always thought of as avuncular feels incongruous, but I know that's just my historic association.

I'll revisit it.

 

@I Am Mick you’re up, my dude

 

OP is updated

 

I’m going with Kuhn Narin - II. They’re a psychedelic street band from Thailand. It’s one of my favorite albums to throw on on a really hot summer night when I’m sitting outside getting a little weird.

 

fuck YES. I've been DEEP into international psychedelic shit lately (mostly South American/Latin-inspired stuff) so this is going to be a real treat. excited to listen

 

took three tracks for me to really sink into it but I think I get it now

 

finished it up and it was pretty pleasant overalll. not so much my thing but I can appreciate it for what it is.