While auditing other options, I settled on a band that’s intrigued me for some time, has lots of soul within, and will hopefully fit the bill: The Mirror Conspiracy by Thievery Corporation is our pick for February 2022.
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Here’s our review of our pick for October 2021, Apollo: Atmospheres and Soundtracks by Brian Eno, Daniel Lanois and Roger Eno, which is the ninth solo studio by British Eno and was released in 1983. It was a collaboration with his brother and Canadian Daniel Lanois. Have a listen to hear what we thought of it.
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Our pick for October 2021 is Apollo: Atmospheres and Soundtracks by Brian Eno, Daniel Lanois and Roger Eno, which is the ninth solo studio by British Eno and was released in 1983. It was a collaboration with his brother and Canadian Daniel Lanois. Many of the tracks have since appeared on soundtracks such as Trainspotting, 28 Days Later, and Heat, among others.
The album was originally recorded as the soundtrack for a feature-length documentary movie called Apollo, but the film went through several iterations and wasn’t particularly well received. But the music has gone on to make a much deeper impression upon listeners since its release.
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This month we’ll focus on ZZ Top’s third album Tres Hombres, which was released in 1973. While not very warmly received upon its release, as time has passed, it’s regularly recognized as the band’s finest album. It was their first album to enter the Top 10 and single La Grange reached number 41 on the Billboard Hot 100. Get ready to soak in the blues, rock, and dive fully into the original early roots of what has made ZZ Top one of the world’s greatest and longest standing rock bands.
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The Sonic Collective has decided to pick a round of influential country music artists. Member Scott Coates explains why he chose Willie Nelson’s Shotgun Willie album. Listen to this selection and then join us back on February 1, 2021 to hear our review of this classic Willie Nelson album.
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Scientists say your musical tastes are formed by what you enjoyed in your teens. You hear a song, it resonates, and that style guides your musical tastes moving forward. There’s those monumental albums you can still remember hearing for the first time, all these years later. You likely remember where you were, the time of year, perhaps even what you were wearing, who you were with, and the smell in the air when you first heard it. Today we’re going to chat about just that – albums that influenced and changed our musical tastes.
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This month’s selection is by Scott Coates.
Electric Ladyland was the the third and final studio album by the Jimi Hendrix Experience, and the final studio album released in Hendrix’s lifetime before his death in 1970. It was also the only record from the band produced by Hendrix himself and the only Experience album mixed entirely in stereo. Mono was still the go-to method back then.
It was recorded at several studios in the US and UK between July 1967 and January 1968, and released on October 16, 1968. It was the Experience’s most commercially successful release and their only number one album. There were several covers as well, one featured 19 nude women on the inside cover, which did not see wide release.
Recording sessions were said to have been very chaotic, more resembling a party, with friends and guest musicians popping in and out. This caused at least one producer to leave the project and saw people such as Traffic’s Steve Winwood play bass and organ on ‘Voodoo Chile’.
Fifty-years after his death, Hendrix is still regarded as one of the ultimate guitar gods and we’ll take this month to learn why. Enjoy the journey ahead!
Released on April 10, 1990, it was the group’s debut album. From Queens, New York, A Tribe Called Quest formed a friendship with hip-hop act Jungle Brothers, both groups formed a collective called Native Tongues, which also included De La Soul. They played with beats, technology and built their skills in the rap world.
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Scott Coates, January 2020
I was super close to choosing an album by The Police or Willie Nelson this month, then read/listened to a post, Hear Every Sample on the Beastie Boys’ Acclaimed Album, Paul’s Boutique–and Discover Where They Came From, which got me thinking back to this album.
Disclosure, I own every Beastie Boys album but have not listened to Paul’s in its entirety in many years, so this will be rediscovering known territory. They spent US$250,000 on sample licensing, but this would simply not be possible today as fees have gone way up, making a modern-day Paul’s virtually impossible.
Released on July 25, 1989 by Capitol Records, it was recorded over two years at a Los Angeles apartment. This was the highly anticipated follow-up to the Beastie’s debut album Licensed to Ill and expectations were beyond high. It was produced with the Dust Brothers, who broke new ground utilizing multi-layered sampling, drawing on 105 songs.
Paul’s Boutique debuted to less than favorable reviews and fans didn’t know what to think. It peaked at just #24 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and quickly found its way to the discount bins (where I bought my original CD copy). It turns out Paul’s was way ahead of its time, and as the decades passed, people came to realize it as a masterpiece.
Put on some kick-ass headphones or turn up a quality hi-fi and digest Paul’s Boutique.
Links
Paul’s Boutique by Beastie Boys on iTunes – Apple Music
Beastie Boys – Paul’s Boutique – Amazon.com Music
Paul’s Boutique on Spotify:
Also Considered this Month:
Willie Nelson: Shotgun Willie
The Police: Ghost in the Machine
I’ve never listened to an entire Radiohead album.
I really like Creep.
I’ve heard a couple other songs, but they didn’t resonate.
I feel Radiohead is a band I won’t like, will be a bit too weird, but I’m not sure why?
I semi-reluctantly selecting Radiohead’s Kid A as my pick for August 2019, fearing I won’t like it, which will make for a long August. But the time for a Radiohead experience has come.
They most recently came to attention while reading a list of Best Albums to Listen to High and Kid A was right at the top. Searching ‘Best Radiohead Albums’, many other sites also listed Kid A as their best.
This, the band’s fourth studio album, was released on October 3, 2000, and incorporates electronic elements, drum machines, and was influenced by Brian Eno (someone I really like) among others. Interestingly, the band released no singles or videos for Kid A, instead relying solely upon the Internet to promote its release, something highly unusual at the time. It won a Grammy for Best Alternative Album and in 2012, Rolling Stone ranked it number 67 on its list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
Strap in for Kid A and lets see where it takes us!
Other albums considered this month: