What are you listening to?

This past week:

Various - Prognosis 21
Renaissance - Tour 2011 Acts 1 And 2 ~38~
Greenslade - Live 1973-75 ~149~
Crimson Sky - Misunderstood ~331~
Shy - Welcome To The Madhouse ~539~
Bad Company - Bad Company ~605~
Buckcherry - Black Butterfly ~688~
Mermaid Kiss - The Mermaid Kiss Album ~773~
Magenta - New York Suite ~826~
Raven - Rock Until You Drop ~853~
Saigon Kick - The Lizard ~912~
Vardis - Quo Vardis ~925~
Spooky Tooth - Spooky Two ~956~
Rachel Sweet - Protect The Innocent ~978~
Angel - White Hot ~1018~
Manic Street Preachers - Journal For Plague Lovers ~1078~
3 Colours Red - Pure ~1247~
Siouxsie And The Banshees - Ju-Ju ~1327~

Chriz - you'll be pleased to know the Crimson Sky album has gone upwards in my estimation! Also bought the Greenslade live (two In Concerts) set on the strength of the CR review but have to say I was disappointed. I think I already had one on tape anyway, but poor quality. Buckcherry were, though, far better than I remembered.

Genesis - The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway. Their best album?
Fleetwood Mac - Tusk
Talk Talk - Spirit of Edem
Camel - Nude
Deep Purple - s/t
Barclay James Harvest - Live Tapes
Barclay James Harvest - Barclay James Harvest/Once Again/And Other Short Stories/Baby James Harvest
Supertramp - Paris

Kalyr wrote:

Genesis - The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway. Their best album?

Hmmm... No, not for me, but it's not far off .

Last 5 discs spun at Hippy Towers:

Heart Full Of Sky (Disc 1) - Mostly Autumn
Carnival Of Souls - The Wishing Tree
Train Of Thought - Dream Theater
The Resistance - Muse
Fugazi - Marillion

Likewise my last 5 are

Wishbone Ash - Elegant stealth
BRMC - BRMC
Pendragon - Not of this world
Black Sabbath - Dehumanizer
Deep Purple - Abandon

A couple of records I've been spinning today.

King Crimson - Lizard. Playing the ten-year-old 30th anniversary edition rather than the (allegedly superior) recent Steve Wilson remaster, this is an album which had previously never "clicked" for me. But on playing if for the first time in years, is much better than I remembered it being. Possibly recent immersion in Steve Wilson's "Grace for Drowning", which clearly owes a huge debt to this record has opened it up and made it accessible in a way it wasn't before? It's got the same swirling mix of woodwinds and Mellotron and collision of classical and jazz. Moments remind me of some of the big-band music Frank Zappa was doing at around the same time.

IOEarth, self-titled first album. Now, I know HippyDave hates this record, but I've always quite liked it. With it's mix of symphonic rock, jazz and a lot of guitar-led instrumentals, it's got a fresh approach avoiding most of the neo-prog clichés, and shows a willingness to experiment with ideas. Not every experiment quite works, and it's perhaps a little do diverse for it's own good, but there's a lot to like about this record.

[quote="Kalyr"]A couple of records I've been spinning today.

King Crimson - Lizard. Playing the ten-year-old 30th anniversary edition rather than the (allegedly superior) recent Steve Wilson remaster, this is an album which had previously never "clicked" for me.

It's one of those albums I forget to listen to but is always better than I remember, and to my mind their third best. I suspect that if I listened to it again it would make my top quartile of original albums - as it is, it's just outside. No idea which version I have but suspect it's the original, un-remastered...

Earlier this week:

Bad Company - Desolation Angels ~719~ (a bit better than I remembered)
Status Quo - 1982 ~896~
Undertones - The Undertones ~941~
Trace - White Ladies ~1149~ (can't believe they did this after the wonderful eponymous album!)
AC/DC - Ballbreaker ~1219~ (a bit tedious/mundane?)

Train to Reading again tomorrow, so should be another handful of albums!

Today managed to fit in

Manfred Mann's Earth Band - The roaring silence
" " " " - S/T
Pendragon - The window of life
AC DC - Ballbreaker
Larry Miller - Fearless

ColinCamel wrote:

Today managed to fit in

Manfred Mann's Earth Band - The roaring silence
" " " " - S/T
Pendragon - The window of life
AC DC - Ballbreaker
Larry Miller - Fearless

Interesting bunch! So you've decided to give some of the MME ones a listen... Solar Fire is by far their best. Did how find Ballbreajker as uninspring as I did a couple of days ago? Fearless is rather good though! I wish Larry would/could rerelease some of the early vinyl stuff like Right Chaps!

Yesterday's playlist (Ekseption today) was:

Ekseption - Ekseption 3 6/10 ~646~
Heart - Little Queen 6/10 ~696~
Renaissance - The Other Woman 6/10 ~804~
Be-Bop Deluxe - Modern Music 6/10 ~811~
Jethro Tull - Stormwatch 6/10 ~836~
Datsuns - Smoke And Mirrors 6/10 ~873~
Heart - Bebe Le Strange 6/10 ~887~
Janis Ian - Night Rains 5/10 ~1042~
Uriah Heep - High And Mighty 5/10 ~1110~

I think of these, Little Queen and Ekseption 3 were the ones that stood out as better than I remembered, though to my mind they're all in the 5 or 6 out of 10 range - which I've decided to put on just for fun!

Little Angels - Don't prey for me
Kansas - Kansas
Molly Hatchet - Double trouble live
Black Sabbath - Sabbath bloody sabbath
Black Sabbath - Eternal idol
Black Crowes - Armorica
Gun - Taking on the world
Arena - The seventh degree of seperation
Pendragon - Live in Krakow 1996
Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers- Long after dark

Pink Fairies - Kings of oblivion
Pink Fairies - Do it rarities
Black Stone Cherry - Folklore and superstition
Judas Priest - British steel
New York Dolls - One day it will please us to remember even this
Blind Faith - Blind Faith
Black Widow - Sacrifice
Phish - A live one

ColinCamel wrote:

Little Angels - Don't prey for me
Kansas - Kansas
Molly Hatchet - Double trouble live
Black Sabbath - Sabbath bloody sabbath
Black Sabbath - Eternal idol
Black Crowes - Armorica
Gun - Taking on the world
Arena - The seventh degree of seperation
Pendragon - Live in Krakow 1996
Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers- Long after dark

Another good bunch here Colin. The live MH album is particularly good and the first Kansas one is well worth a listen too. SBS is one of my favourite Sabbath albums. Haven't heard the Pendragon or Arena ones.

ColinCamel wrote:

Pink Fairies - Kings of oblivion
Pink Fairies - Do it rarities
Black Stone Cherry - Folklore and superstition
Judas Priest - British steel
New York Dolls - One day it will please us to remember even this
Blind Faith - Blind Faith
Black Widow - Sacrifice
Phish - A live one

Ah - Pink Fairies. I was at school with Duncan Sanderson's brother - Duncan was a few years above me! Tend to be disappointed by Blind Faith. Best Black Widow album is III in my view...

Right - I'm sure you're dying to know what I got up to on holiday for the last two weeks... as usual, mostly listening to music on the beach! I set ,yself the challenge of listening to 111 albums (7 a day plus 10 each way). And just made it. So here they are All original/studio, except the bottom one which I'd incorrectly labelled (it's mostly live but does have 2 studio tracks):

Twelfth Night - XII ~459~
Queensryche - Promised Land ~501~
Lindisfarne - Fog On The Tyne ~512~
Hughes/Thrall - Hughes/Thrall ~584~
Vow Wow - V ~603~
Renaissance - Tuscany ~620~
Jethro Tull - Too Old To Rock'n'roll Too Young To Die ~622~
Druid - Toward The Sun ~634~
Scorpions - Virgin Killer ~639~
David LaFlamme - White Bird ~648~
Stanley Clarke - School Days ~655~
Blue Oyster Cult - Fire Of Unknown Origin ~661~
Godz - The Godz ~666~
Huey Lewis And The News - Huey Lewis And The News ~677~
Ram Jam - Portrait Of The Artist As A Young Ram ~703~
Queensryche - The Warning ~714~
Dirty Tricks - Night Man ~734~
Savage - Loose And Lethal ~734~
Who - Who Are You ~739~
Blondie - Auto American ~757~
Scorpions - Blackout ~777~
Rush - Power Windows ~792~
Uriah Heep - Firefly ~792~
Druid - Fluid Druid ~792~
Motorhead - Iron Fist ~809~
Blue Oyster Cult - The Revolution By Night ~813~
Caravan - Caravan ~824~
Frehley's Comet - Second Sighting ~831~
Van Halen - Women And Children First ~848~
Barclay James Harvest - Turn Of The Tide ~860~
Crossby Stills Nash And Young - Deja Vu ~869~
Russ Strutter - About Time I And Ii ~869~
Doctors Of Madness - Figments Of Emancipation ~886~
Ian Gillan Band - Clear Air Turbulence ~887~
Montrose - Paper Money ~914~
Skids - Scared To Dance ~926~
Gillan - Double Trouble - Studio Album ~926~
Meatloaf - Bad Attitude ~940~
Sisters Of Mercy - Vision Thing ~940~
Uriah Heep - Conquest ~940~
Three - To The Power Of Three ~961~
Ace - Five A Side ~974~
Wally - Valley Gardens ~974~
AC/DC - Flick Of The Switch ~977~
West Bruce And Laing - Why Dontcha ~992~
Icon - Icon ~992~
Rick Wakeman - 1984 ~996~
Blackfoot - Vertical Smiles ~996~
Devin Townsend - Ki ~1014~
Renaissance - Time-Line ~1014~
Shy - Brave The Storm ~1014~
Blue Oyster Cult - Club Ninja ~1014~
Opeth - My Arms, Your Hearse ~1025~
MC5 - High Time ~1032~
Colbie Collait - Breakthrough ~1042~
Warrant - Ultraphobic ~1042~
Solution - Cordon Bleu ~1042~
Accept - Restless And Wild ~1060~
Jethro Tull - Minstrel In The Gallery ~1060~
Saxon - Saxon ~1068~
Greg Lake - Manouevres ~1074~
Michael Schenker Group - Built To Destroy ~1078~
Renaissance - Renaissance ~1078~
Warlock - Burning The Witches ~1078~
Return To Forever - Romantic Warrior ~1092~
Scorpions - Animal Magnetism ~1092~
Blind Melon - Soup ~1092~
Ian Dury - Do It Yourself ~1113~
Coldplay - X & Y ~1126~
U.F.O. - The Wild The Willing And The Innocent ~1126~
Ozzy Osbourne - Diary Of A Madman ~1126~
Point Blank - On A Roll ~1135~
Jim Steinman - Bad For Good ~1138~
Herman Brood's Wild Romance - Wild Romance ~1152~
Stereophonics - You Gotta Go There To Come Back ~1152~
Alice In Chains - Dirt ~1161~
Black Label Society - Stronger Than Death ~1161~
U.F.O. - Mechanix ~1172~
Moist - Silver ~1172~
Anathema - The Silent Enigma ~1180~
Talking Heads - Remain In Light ~1199~
Orion The Hunter - Orion The Hunter ~1207~
Pist.On - Number One ~1214~
U2 - The Unforgettable Fire ~1219~
Barclay James Harvest - Eyes Of The Universe ~1228~
Killers - Hot Fuss ~1229~
Dire Straits - Dire Straits ~1238~
Placebo - Placebo ~1238~
Katatonia - Tonight's Decision ~1250~
Libertines - The Libertines ~1252~
Shotgun Messiah - Violent New Breed ~1264~
Adam And The Ants - Kings Of The Wild Frontier ~1265~
Def Leppard - Slang ~1265~
Horslips - Aliens ~1265~
Hazel O'Connor - Breaking Glass ~1280~
Meatloaf - Blind Before I Stop ~1286~
Meatloaf - Featuring Stoney And Meatloaf ~1295~
Incubus - Science ~1298~
My Chemical Romance - Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge ~1298~
Hunt - Thrill Of The Kill ~1303~
Grand Theft Audio - Blame Everyone ~1307~
String Driven Thing - I ~1317~
Laura Branigan - No Self Control ~1317~
Jon Anderson - Olias Of Sunhillow ~1334~
Solution - Divergence ~1365~
Pink Floyd - Meddle - Trance Remix ~1373~
Bush - Sixteen Stone ~1375~
Vasaria - Vasaria ~1383~
Rick Wakeman - Rhapsodies ~1430~
Rick Wakeman - White Rock ~1477~
..AND FINALLY THE LIVE ONE..
Neil Young - Rust Never Sleeps ~214~

A few interesting ones scattered around that were either a lot better or a lot worse than I'd expected - in fact all of the top dozen listed here were big upwards movers!. And now I've nearly completed my second pass through all of our original albums - less than a hundred to go (sadly they're getting worse!).

Comments, anyone? (apart from the fact I'm mad).

Actually, as I was ahead of schedule towards the end, I treated myself to three decent ones too!

Mostly Autumn - Live 2009 Volume 1 ~27~
Emerald Sky - Shadows Of Darkness ~37~
Focus - Moving Waves ~63~

I see you haven't listened to much then
today it's been

Enuff Z Nuff - live
Hunter Ronson - Yui orta
Blue Oyster Cult - ETL
Anthrax - Persistance of time
Blondie - Parallel lines
Pink Fairies - What a bunch of sweeties
Pink Fairies - Finland freakout 1971
ASAP - Silver and gold

Today it's been.... absolutely nothing!

What I have proven beyond any reasonable doubt is just how much difference listening on good noise-cancelling headphones makes - even on a beach, let alone a plane or train. they're not cheap but the Bose QC-15's are rather impressive!

Yesterdays listening was

Splodge - In search of the seven golden gussetts
Gun - Swagger
Heart - Brigade
Towers of London - Blood, sweat and Towers
Pink Fairies - Live at the Roundhouse
Mouse & Twink - Out of the pink into the blues
New York Dolls - Live from the Royal Festival Hall 2004

For me, yesterday on the train to/from Euston, it was:

Opeth - Heritage ~425~
Horslips - The Man Who Built America ~919~
Scorpions - In Trance ~1234~
Horslips - Short Stories Tall Tales ~1280~
Gillan - For Gillan Fans Only ~1284~
Deckard - Dreams Of Dynamite And Divinity ~1312~
Seventh Wave - Psi-Fi ~1331~
Sepultura - Chaos Ad ~1425~

Looks like it's you and me again Colin, unless Tim or Dave have been loosening their ears!

UFO - Obsession
UFO - Visitor
UFO - Lights out
Blue Oyster Cult - Live 1976
Blue Oyster Cult - Fire of unknown origin
Killing Joke - Fire dances
Vain - No respect
Pink Floyd - Obscured by clouds
Pink Floyd - The wall
Stala & So - It is so

Ufomammut, Oro: Opum Primum. Dense mix of post-rock, metal and electronica with layers of distorted guitar, analogue synths and chanted choral vocals. Quite unlike anything else I've heard recently.

Opeth, Still Life. Their recent albums have been so game-changing in scope their excellent earlier work is in danger of being overlooked. It didn't all start with "Blackwater Park", all the same elements were present here as well.

Lacuna Coil, In a Reverie. I'd forgotten how good this album was, with a great musical variety, depth and melodic inventiveness.

Lacuna Coil, Karmacode. Which sadly had little of what I loved about it's predecessor. Somehow they'd devolved into dull generic corporate alternative rock. What went wrong? The reason I didn't buy any of their more recent records.

IQ, Ever. Their comeback album with Peter Nicholls. Has its moments, but not nearly as well produced as their more recent albums. Recorded when prog as a genre was at its lowest ebb, which appears to have been reflected in the recording budget.

ColinCamel wrote:

UFO - Obsession
UFO - Visitor
UFO - Lights out
Blue Oyster Cult - Live 1976
Blue Oyster Cult - Fire of unknown origin
Killing Joke - Fire dances
Vain - No respect
Pink Floyd - Obscured by clouds
Pink Floyd - The wall
Stala & So - It is so

Obscured By Clouds is often overlooked but I reckon it's rather good! And the same goes for the first Vain album. Not heard the new one though. I'd better listen to some UFO in readiness for Friday...

Kalyr wrote:

Opeth, Still Life. Their recent albums have been so game-changing in scope their excellent earlier work is in danger of being overlooked. It didn't all start with "Blackwater Park", all the same elements were present here as well.

Lacuna Coil, In a Reverie. I'd forgotten how good this album was, with a great musical variety, depth and melodic inventiveness.

A couple of Lynda's albums - on my playlist for the next few weeks I think!

To/from our trip back to San Diego:

Voyager - Halfway Hotel ~987~
Pink Floyd - The Final Cut ~1030~
Mannfred Mann's Earthband - Chance ~1080~
Led Zeppelin - In Through The Out Door ~1099~
Blind Faith - Blind Faith ~1153~
Stone Temple Pilots - Tiny Music ~1188~
Elbow - Asleep In The Back ~1188~
Van Halen - Fair Warning ~1248~
Marshall Hain - Free Ride ~1270~
Ekseption - Bingo ~1275~
Clam Abuse - Stop Thinking ~1284~
Smashing Pumpkins - Gish ~1319~
Bad Company - Rough Diamonds ~1324~
Joe Walsh - But Seriously Folks ~1338~
Misery Loves Co. - Misery Loves Co. ~1343~
Solution - Solution ~1345~
The Enid - Something Wicked This Way Comes ~1397~
Secret Oyster - Sea Son ~1397~
Mike Oldfield - Tubular Bells ~1432~
Amen - Amen ~1499~

Of these, the most notable thing I listened to was probably the first track on the Mannfred Mann album, namely "Lies (through the 80s)" - which is just as true if not more so now and pretty much sums up my feelings about a lot of things...