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Soul Strut 100: # 17 Placebo - Ball of Eyes

RAJRAJ tenacious local 7,782 Posts
edited May 2013 in The Soul Strut 100
I will slowly be unveiling the Top 100 Soul Strut Related Records as Voted by the Strutters Themselves.

# 17 Placebo - Ball of Eyes



The list so far:

# 100 - Jr. and His Soulettes - Psychodelic Sounds
# 99 - Sir Joe Quarterman & Free Soul
# 98 - Donny Hathaway - S/T (1971)
# 97 - Bernard Wright - ???Nard
# 96 - Tom Scott - Honeysuckle Breeze
# 95 - People Under the Stairs - Question in the Form of an Answer
# 94 - Harlem River Drive
# 93 - Black Moon - Enta Da Stage
# 92 - Marvin Gaye - Here, My Dear
# 91 - Muddy Waters - Electric Mud
# 90 - Les McCann - Layers
# 89 - Jimi Hendrix - Electric Ladyland
# 88 - Leroy Hutson - Hutson (1975)
# 87 - ESG - S/T (1981)
# 86 - Can - Tago Mago
# 85 - Bohannon - Stop & Go
# 84 - WILLIAM DEVAUGHN - Be Thankful For What You Got
# 83 - Power of Zeus - The Gospel According to Zeus
# 82 - Gang Starr - Hard To Earn
# 81 - The J.B.???s - Doing It to Death
# 80 - Parliament - Osmium
# 79 - McNeal & Niles - Thrust
# 78 - The Lafayette Afro Rock Band - Malik
# 77 - Earth, Wind, and Fire (1971)
# 76 - Dr. Dre - The Chronic
# 75 - Black Sabbath (1970)
# 74 - Trap Door / An International Psychedelic Mystery Mix (2006)
# 73 - Bob James - One
# 72 - Matthew Larkin Cassell - Pieces
# 71 - The Beginning Of The End - Funky Nassau
# 70 - Big Bear - Doin??? Thangs
# 69 - Steely Dan - Aja
# 68 - Quasimoto - The Unseen
# 67 - Curtis Mayfield - Curtis/Live! (1971)
# 66 - Al Green - Im still in love with you
# 65 - The Beatnuts - Street Level
# 64 - Archie Whitewater - Archie Whitewater (1970)
# 63 - Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth - Mecca & the Soul Brother
# 62 - Notorious B.I.G. - Ready to Die
# 61 - The J.B.???s - Food For Thought
# 60 - Don Blackman (1982)
# 59 - Niagara - (Tiddies)
# 58 - Can - Ege Bamyasi
# 57 - Whatnauts - On the Rocks
# 56 - The Mohawks - Champ
# 55 - McDonald and Giles (1971)
# 54 - Darondo - Let My People Go
# 53 - Dorothy Ashby - Afro Harping
# 52 - Beastie Boys - Paul???s Boutique
# 51 - Mulatu Astatke - Mulatu of Ethiopia
# 50 - Lyman Woodard Organization - Saturday Night Special
# 49 - Isaac Hayes - Hot Buttered Soul
# 48 - Lyn Collins - Think (About It)
# 47 - James Brown - In The Jungle Groove
# 46 - Bill Withers - Still Bill
# 45 - Stevie Wonder - Innervisions
# 44 - Silver Apples - S/T
# 43 - Mobb Deep - The Infamous
# 42 - Lyn Christopher (1973)
# 41 - Serge Gainsbourg - Histoire de Melody Nelson
# 40 - Gang Starr - Step in the Arena
# 39 - Diamond D - Stunts, Blunts, & Hip Hop
# 38 - Terry Callier - What Color is Love
# 37 - David Axelrod - Song of Innocence
# 36 - The Invaders - Spacing Out
# 35 - Leo Sayer - Endless Flight
# 34 - Public Enemy - It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back
# 33 - DJ Shadow & Cut Chemist - Brainfreeze (Mix)
# 32 - Michael Jackson - Thriller
# 31 - DJ Shadow - Endtroducing
# 30 - De La Soul - 3 Feet High and Rising
# 29 - Ray Barretto - Acid
# 28 - The Sylvers - II
# 27 - Donald Byrd - Places and Spaces
# 26 - Shuggie Otis - Inspiration Information
# 25 - Nas - Illmatic
# 24 - The Baby Huey Story - The Living Legend
# 23 - Roy Ayers - He???s Coming
# 22 - Kool and the Gang (album) (1969)
# 21 - Demon Fuzz - Afreaka!
# 20 - Curtis Mayfield - Curtis!
#19 - Eugene McDaniels - Headless Heroes of the Apocalypse
# 18 - Incredible Bongo Band - Bongo Rock

Please discuss your reactions to this record. The thread will be archived later here.

About

The debut album of legendary Belgian jazz pianists' jazz rock group Placebo. Ball of Eyes is short and sweet with some stand out cuts that made jazz funk aficionados and hip hop samplists take notice with cuts like "Humpty Dumpty," "Aria", and their cover of "Inner City Blues." Moulin's Electric Piano work is Bob James-esque (funky and innovative) and the horn sections smooth as butter. It's oddly disturbing cover design and elusive Euro-only release, made this a vinyl holy grail for the ages.



http://www.allmusic.com/album/bongo-rock-mw0000448570

Related Threads

Marc Moulin ???Placebo Years???

Placebo ???Ball of Eyes??? Exactly how raer?

Placebo records please!!!

Media



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  Comments

  • mickalphabetmickalphabet deep inna majestic segue 374 Posts
    I've never heard this record before but from the clips I just listened to I would easily put this as the worst music on the list, by a long mile
  • DuderonomyDuderonomy Haut de la Garenne 7,793 Posts
    Wut.







    I have the Counterpoint comp :beerbang:
  • tabiratabira 856 Posts
    One of the most overrated "grails" ever. Still don't get it's appeal. love the beginning of Aria, but then it goes down hill
  • sticky_dojahsticky_dojah New York City. 2,136 Posts
    So good. There is a comp on Blue Note from a couple of years ago that is also worth picking up. I love this album.
  • LaserWolfLaserWolf Portland Oregon 11,517 Posts
    Never had it.

    Listening to Humpty and there is terrible distortion.
    I assume this is not on the original.
  • mrmatthewmrmatthew 1,575 Posts
    I always preferred Sam Suffy to this LP in terms of a solid listen end -to-end.
    It has its moments, but i do agree that it always seemed like an over-rated grail.
  • bobtheorangebobtheorange 432 Posts
    LaserWolf said:
    Never had it.

    Listening to Humpty and there is terrible distortion.
    I assume this is not on the original.
    Nope, check out this youtube:


    I personally think it's a really solid jazz funk record. Definitely not the worst record on the list.
  • dukeofdelridgedukeofdelridge urgent.monkey.mice 2,453 Posts
    this and headless heroes to me both have a weird oscillation between AMAZING and SHITTY. Back and forth, sometimes during a single listen. Can this dude sing? Is this band good? Cover art is crazy, it's gotta be heavy. Sells for a lot. Must be good. But dude this dude can't sing and that's pretending to be cool because it was sampled by such'n'such. I don't like it. I love it. This rules. This sucks.

    I'd like to have an OG.
  • HollafameHollafame 844 Posts
    I've always dug the Placebo and Moulin releases, but I agree perhaps over-hyped due to mythical raer status
  • fishmongerfunkfishmongerfunk 4,154 Posts
    HOLLAFAME said:
    over-hyped due to mythical raer status

    seriously. tons of way better records of its type. i think the amazing cover art has alot to do with its desireability.
  • Da VinylmentalistDa Vinylmentalist 229 Posts
    crabmongerfunk said:
    HOLLAFAME said:
    over-hyped due to mythical raer status

    seriously. tons of way better records of its type. i think the amazing cover art has alot to do with its desireability.

    The other Placebo records also have holy grail status. I think it's because of raerity as pointed out above.
  • LoopDreamsLoopDreams 1,195 Posts
    Fuckin' LOVE LOVE LOVE this record. I traded heavy for the OG back in 2000 and it was one of the best things I ever did. BEST cover version of Inner City Blues, Killer Isaac Hayes cover and OG's like Aria that are unbelievably good.

    But that's just me.
  • Otis_FunkmeyerOtis_Funkmeyer 1,321 Posts
    This record is way beyond an average jazz-funk record. Very creative and original compositions using odd time signatures and interlocking rhythms, inspired arrangements and an overall polished sound. And the bass. Ah, the bass.
  • tabiratabira 856 Posts
    Otis_Funkmeyer said:
    This record is way beyond an average jazz-funk record. Very creative and original compositions using odd time signatures and interlocking rhythms, inspired arrangements and an overall polished sound. And the bass. Ah, the bass.
    I find it hard to think of a fusion record that doesn't have odd time signatures and interlocking rhythms, but yeah the bass is very, very sweet, the production spot on, and the melody to Aria is gorgeous . But it never lets rip. I like my fusion when it goes mad at some point. Like at after the 4 minute mark in this 10$ Airto track.

  • skelskel You can't cheat karma 5,033 Posts
    Goddamn, I knew dudes here had cloth ears and suspect tastes but didn't realise it had got this bad.

    Forget rarity, Ball of Eyes is a GREAT album musically.
    That said, it still doesn't match s/t for all-round brilliance.

    Most of you don't appreciate the Euroman funk vibe at all. By and large, it's outside of the Strut demographic for comfort and familiarity of style and substance.
    Props to those that do 'get it'.
  • tabiratabira 856 Posts
    skel said:
    Goddamn, I knew dudes here had cloth ears and suspect tastes but didn't realise it had got this bad.

    Forget rarity, Ball of Eyes is a GREAT album musically.
    That said, it still doesn't match s/t for all-round brilliance.

    Most of you don't appreciate the Euroman funk vibe at all. By and large, it's outside of the Strut demographic for comfort and familiarity of style and substance.
    Props to those that do 'get it'.

    You don't get it. Strutters aren't judging the LP per se they're judging it in the context of it's ranking at 17 out of 100. The comments are mostly mixed. Noone bar one poster said it's "bad". Stick a not-all-round-brilliant LP at 17th spot and expect it to get some flack. Stick it at 85 and expect it to get a lot of praise. As for the euro sound, I don't buy your "Don't like Ball of eyes = Don't like Euro funk" premise. If Troupeau Bleu comes higher I'll ride.
  • leonleon 883 Posts
    Ofcouse the holy grail status factors in with the ranking of this album. With playing the association game that is digging this is the final stage for Belgium jazz funk. The high point. Moulin is genius, Aria is on my funeral list.
    Yes there are weaker moments on this album, yes James Brown and Stevie will serve you all-killer-no-filler albums, but oh boy: This Is It.
  • skelskel You can't cheat karma 5,033 Posts
    tabira said:
    skel said:
    Goddamn, I knew dudes here had cloth ears and suspect tastes but didn't realise it had got this bad.

    Forget rarity, Ball of Eyes is a GREAT album musically.
    That said, it still doesn't match s/t for all-round brilliance.

    Most of you don't appreciate the Euroman funk vibe at all. By and large, it's outside of the Strut demographic for comfort and familiarity of style and substance.
    Props to those that do 'get it'.

    You don't get it. Strutters aren't judging the LP per se they're judging it in the context of it's ranking at 17 out of 100. The comments are mostly mixed. Noone bar one poster said it's "bad". Stick a not-all-round-brilliant LP at 17th spot and expect it to get some flack. Stick it at 85 and expect it to get a lot of praise. As for the euro sound, I don't buy your "Don't like Ball of eyes = Don't like Euro funk" premise. If Troupeau Bleu comes higher I'll ride.

    Ok I'm not sure how you concluded this supposed premise, but ill agree Troupeau Bleu is better. In fact it's better than anything in the list so far.
  • Otis_FunkmeyerOtis_Funkmeyer 1,321 Posts
    tabira said:
    Otis_Funkmeyer said:
    This record is way beyond an average jazz-funk record. Very creative and original compositions using odd time signatures and interlocking rhythms, inspired arrangements and an overall polished sound. And the bass. Ah, the bass.
    I find it hard to think of a fusion record that doesn't have odd time signatures and interlocking rhythms, but yeah the bass is very, very sweet, the production spot on, and the melody to Aria is gorgeous . But it never lets rip. I like my fusion when it goes mad at some point. Like at after the 4 minute mark in this 10$ Airto track.


    I don't even consider Placebo to be fusion, it's too funky.
  • tabiratabira 856 Posts
    Otis_Funkmeyer said:
    tabira said:
    Otis_Funkmeyer said:
    This record is way beyond an average jazz-funk record. Very creative and original compositions using odd time signatures and interlocking rhythms, inspired arrangements and an overall polished sound. And the bass. Ah, the bass.
    I find it hard to think of a fusion record that doesn't have odd time signatures and interlocking rhythms, but yeah the bass is very, very sweet, the production spot on, and the melody to Aria is gorgeous . But it never lets rip. I like my fusion when it goes mad at some point. Like at after the 4 minute mark in this 10$ Airto track.


    I don't even consider Placebo to be fusion, it's too funky.

    Some of the funkiest music on the planet is in the jazz-rock fusion idiom (Headhunters for example). Fusion and funky are hardly mutually exclusive (more the reverse). But whatever, music labeling debates get nowhere...
  • tabiratabira 856 Posts
    skel said:

    ill agree Troupeau Bleu is better. In fact it's better than anything in the list so far.
    True. It should at least be in the top 10.
  • Otis_FunkmeyerOtis_Funkmeyer 1,321 Posts
    tabira said:
    Otis_Funkmeyer said:
    tabira said:
    Otis_Funkmeyer said:
    This record is way beyond an average jazz-funk record. Very creative and original compositions using odd time signatures and interlocking rhythms, inspired arrangements and an overall polished sound. And the bass. Ah, the bass.
    I find it hard to think of a fusion record that doesn't have odd time signatures and interlocking rhythms, but yeah the bass is very, very sweet, the production spot on, and the melody to Aria is gorgeous . But it never lets rip. I like my fusion when it goes mad at some point. Like at after the 4 minute mark in this 10$ Airto track.


    I don't even consider Placebo to be fusion, it's too funky.

    Some of the funkiest music on the planet is in the jazz-rock fusion idiom (Headhunters for example). Fusion and funky are hardly mutually exclusive (more the reverse). But whatever, music labeling debates get nowhere...

    But they are fun!

    Yeah in my mind I really separate funky jazz or jazz-funk (which I consider Headhunters) from jazz-rock (which is a term that no one uses because it's called fusion).
  • Otis_FunkmeyerOtis_Funkmeyer 1,321 Posts
    Double.
  • tabiratabira 856 Posts
    Otis_Funkmeyer said:
    tabira said:
    Otis_Funkmeyer said:
    tabira said:
    Otis_Funkmeyer said:
    This record is way beyond an average jazz-funk record. Very creative and original compositions using odd time signatures and interlocking rhythms, inspired arrangements and an overall polished sound. And the bass. Ah, the bass.
    I find it hard to think of a fusion record that doesn't have odd time signatures and interlocking rhythms, but yeah the bass is very, very sweet, the production spot on, and the melody to Aria is gorgeous . But it never lets rip. I like my fusion when it goes mad at some point. Like at after the 4 minute mark in this 10$ Airto track.


    I don't even consider Placebo to be fusion, it's too funky.

    Some of the funkiest music on the planet is in the jazz-rock fusion idiom (Headhunters for example). Fusion and funky are hardly mutually exclusive (more the reverse). But whatever, music labeling debates get nowhere...

    But they are fun!

    Yeah in my mind I really separate funky jazz or jazz-funk (which I consider Headhunters) from jazz-rock (which is a term that no one uses because it's called fusion).

    Which bag, jazz funk or fusion, would you put a track like this in?

  • Otis_FunkmeyerOtis_Funkmeyer 1,321 Posts
    Otis_Funkmeyer said:
    tabira said:
    Otis_Funkmeyer said:
    tabira said:
    Otis_Funkmeyer said:
    This record is way beyond an average jazz-funk record. Very creative and original compositions using odd time signatures and interlocking rhythms, inspired arrangements and an overall polished sound. And the bass. Ah, the bass.
    I find it hard to think of a fusion record that doesn't have odd time signatures and interlocking rhythms, but yeah the bass is very, very sweet, the production spot on, and the melody to Aria is gorgeous . But it never lets rip. I like my fusion when it goes mad at some point. Like at after the 4 minute mark in this 10$ Airto track.


    I don't even consider Placebo to be fusion, it's too funky.

    Some of the funkiest music on the planet is in the jazz-rock fusion idiom (Headhunters for example). Fusion and funky are hardly mutually exclusive (more the reverse). But whatever, music labeling debates get nowhere...

    But they are fun!

    Yeah in my mind I really separate funky jazz or jazz-funk (which I consider Headhunters) from jazz-rock (which is a term that no one uses because it's called fusion).

    Which bag, jazz funk or fusion, would you put a track like this in?


    The beat and the lack of rock guitar say jazz-funk, but the loose structure and endless noodling say fusion - it's a hybrid!
  • tabiratabira 856 Posts
    Otis_Funkmeyer said:
    tabira said:
    Otis_Funkmeyer said:
    tabira said:
    Otis_Funkmeyer said:
    This record is way beyond an average jazz-funk record. Very creative and original compositions using odd time signatures and interlocking rhythms, inspired arrangements and an overall polished sound. And the bass. Ah, the bass.
    I find it hard to think of a fusion record that doesn't have odd time signatures and interlocking rhythms, but yeah the bass is very, very sweet, the production spot on, and the melody to Aria is gorgeous . But it never lets rip. I like my fusion when it goes mad at some point. Like at after the 4 minute mark in this 10$ Airto track.


    I don't even consider Placebo to be fusion, it's too funky.

    Some of the funkiest music on the planet is in the jazz-rock fusion idiom (Headhunters for example). Fusion and funky are hardly mutually exclusive (more the reverse). But whatever, music labeling debates get nowhere...

    But they are fun!

    Yeah in my mind I really separate funky jazz or jazz-funk (which I consider Headhunters) from jazz-rock (which is a term that no one uses because it's called fusion).

    Which bag, jazz funk or fusion, would you put a track like this in?


    The beat and the lack of rock guitar say jazz-funk, but the loose structure and endless noodling say fusion - it's a hybrid!

    well played (I was hoping to catch you!) :coolgrin:
  • dammsdamms 704 Posts
    RAJ said:


    ^^start listening at 4:30

    then...
  • tripledoubletripledouble 7,636 Posts
    some tracks shouldnt be remixed
  • DanteDante 371 Posts
    meh.
  • kalakala 3,362 Posts
    i always liked humpty dumpty and give props to mr danny dusty fingers for exposing this joint early in the game.
    that said it always seemed like a case of rarity boosting the price mad high.
    I can think of a lot of things i'd rather spend 800 dollars on instead of this joint.
    [airfare, a roland sh 101 ,and eventide effects processor etc]
    I am happy with the vinyl rip someone posted in the mass mp3 blowout of 05 here on teh strut.
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