But I can generally find something to dislike about most artists catalogs. It's called BEING DISCRIMINATING.
Well, it's like I implied at the top of the thread, there are some artists who I feel have consistent catalogs DESPITE A FEW RANDOM OFF-DAYS. So I can forgive James Brown for those dull organ albums he did for Smash (who did he think he was, Dave "Baby" Cortez?).
But I can generally find something to dislike about most artists catalogs. It's called BEING DISCRIMINATING.
Well, it's like I implied at the top of the thread, there are some artists who I feel have consistent catalogs DESPITE A FEW RANDOM OFF-DAYS. So I can forgive James Brown for those dull organ albums he did for Smash (who did he think he was, Dave "Baby" Cortez?).
I mean, even a lot of groups/artists that I consider my absolute favorites I don't own/want to own even half of their records. James Brown is a good example. I would agree that he's one of the greatest most prolific artists in modern times, but there's no way I'm going to own more that a quarter of his records TOPS. He made a ton of totally mediocre filler garbage.... and from about 1974/5 on he just totally falls off. These are more than "A FEW RANDOM OFF-DAYS" in my opinion.
James Brown is a good example. I would agree that he's one of the greatest most prolific artists in modern times, but there's no way I'm going to own more that a quarter of his records TOPS. He made a ton of totally mediocre filler garbage.... and from about 1974/5 on he just totally falls off. These are more than "A FEW RANDOM OFF-DAYS" in my opinion.
Some of his late 70s LPs are GREAT, there's even an indie one from the early 80s thats good...
His clunkers are so few and his successes so many (and varied) that I wouldn't hestitate to say "I celebrate his entire catalog"
Cosign w/you on the Beach Boys though... I find something to celebrate on all of their LPs up through the mid-70s
His clunkers are so few and his successes so many (and varied) that I wouldn't hestitate to say "I celebrate his entire catalog"
While "clunkers" may be too strong a term, I find a lot of his stuff to be kinda overly milking one good idea... fortunately the man had good ideas more often than most, but still, all of his music is not consistently GREAT... this is very apparent to me when playing most of his lp's. Most of them are not solid.
DocMcCoy"Go and laugh in your own country!" 5,917 Posts
ENTIRE......?
YACHT SOUL????
Hahaha! Didn't the criteria allow for a couple of clunkers, though? I mean, the Clash's "Sandinista" would make a great single album, after all. That said, I like "Smooth Sailin'", although the preceding album, "Masterpiece", is my favourite late-period Isleys joint. The version of Phil Collins' "If Leaving Me Is Easy" on that is a real throwback to the soft-rock covers of the "3+3" era. Where's the "grown and sexy" graemlin when you need one?
DocMcCoy"Go and laugh in your own country!" 5,917 Posts
Does that mean that you actually like this album?:
"This Is England" is great. That aside, it's the only bad record they ever made.
James Brown is a good example. I would agree that he's one of the greatest most prolific artists in modern times, but there's no way I'm going to own more that a quarter of his records TOPS. He made a ton of totally mediocre filler garbage.... and from about 1974/5 on he just totally falls off. These are more than "A FEW RANDOM OFF-DAYS" in my opinion.
Some of his late 70s LPs are GREAT, there's even an indie one from the early 80s thats good...
His clunkers are so few and his successes so many (and varied) that I wouldn't hestitate to say "I celebrate his entire catalog"
And even when he DID make a clunker, he fucked up beautifully. The Take A Look At Those Cakes LP is SO backasswards, it's almost a classic for that reason.
That said, I like "Smooth Sailin'", although the preceding album, "Masterpiece", is my favourite late-period Isleys joint. The version of Phil Collins' "If Leaving Me Is Easy" on that is a real throwback to the soft-rock covers of the "3+3" era. Where's the "grown and sexy" graemlin when you need one? "If Leaving Me Is Easy"............
The Beatles Beck Neil Young Pink Floyd Prince Melvins Miles Davis John Coltrane Charles Mingus Herbie Hancock Thelonious Monk Sun Ra Muddy Waters Howlin' Wolf Ravi Shankar Frank Zappa Chemical Brothers Led Zeppelin The Mummies New Bomb Turks Me'Shell NdegeOcello De La Soul Blueprint The Roots Common Kool Keith Coldcut Sunday Manoa Hui Ohana Gabby Pahinui Genoa Keawe
Can Alice Coltrane Otis Redding This Heat James Carr Dog Faced Hermans Talking Heads Sam Cooke Slits Raincoats Pixies Faust Beatles John Lennon The Ex Sun Ra Boredoms Nation of Ulysses Fela Pere Ubu (first incarnation) Ghost Mutantes The Coup Rogerio Duprat Mr. Bungle*
pretending the better part of the 80s didn't happen[/b]: Neil Young Bob Dylan Kinks
honorable mention[/b]: Al Green (I have one or two of his gospel records but I can't front like I need more than that) Yoko Ono (haven't heard everything -- and have avoided some)
only fallen off once or twice, but still plenty of time to disappoint us[/b]: De La Soul Wu-Tang Radiohead Gang Starr Sonic Youth MF Doom Jedi Mind Tricks*
*for different reasons, I anticipate these will be controversial choices
some liars in this threadb,121b,121i love sun ra but no way does he deserve a mentionb,121b,121how many dudes are really repping for miles davis in his covering-michael-jackson-songs period?
font class="post"1b,121b,121damn really though? I'd say their bad output at this point is (almost) greater in quantity than their heat. so much heat early on, so much more crap later in the game. the eddie murphies of this.
The Jackson 5ive/The Jacksons.b,121b,121I ride hard for all their shit excluding 2500 Jackson Street.b,121b,121Even the weird vault shit like Joyful Jukebox Music & Boogie.
Comments
Well, it's like I implied at the top of the thread, there are some artists who I feel have consistent catalogs DESPITE A FEW RANDOM OFF-DAYS. So I can forgive James Brown for those dull organ albums he did for Smash (who did he think he was, Dave "Baby" Cortez?).
I mean, even a lot of groups/artists that I consider my absolute favorites I don't own/want to own even half of their records. James Brown is a good example. I would agree that he's one of the greatest most prolific artists in modern times, but there's no way I'm going to own more that a quarter of his records TOPS. He made a ton of totally mediocre filler garbage.... and from about 1974/5 on he just totally falls off. These are more than "A FEW RANDOM OFF-DAYS" in my opinion.
Some of his late 70s LPs are GREAT, there's even an indie one from the early 80s thats good...
His clunkers are so few and his successes so many (and varied) that I wouldn't hestitate to say "I celebrate his entire catalog"
Cosign w/you on the Beach Boys though... I find something to celebrate on all of their LPs up through the mid-70s
While "clunkers" may be too strong a term, I find a lot of his stuff to be kinda overly milking one good idea... fortunately the man had good ideas more often than most, but still, all of his music is not consistently GREAT... this is very apparent to me when playing most of his lp's. Most of them are not solid.
Hahaha! Didn't the criteria allow for a couple of clunkers, though? I mean, the Clash's "Sandinista" would make a great single album, after all. That said, I like "Smooth Sailin'", although the preceding album, "Masterpiece", is my favourite late-period Isleys joint. The version of Phil Collins' "If Leaving Me Is Easy" on that is a real throwback to the soft-rock covers of the "3+3" era. Where's the "grown and sexy" graemlin when you need one?
"This Is England" is great. That aside, it's the only bad record they ever made.
And even when he DID make a clunker, he fucked up beautifully. The Take A Look At Those Cakes LP is SO backasswards, it's almost a classic for that reason.
Seems like if you like one Fela you pretty much like them all- what fela is considerable different or less listenable?
(the koola stuff and london years years are the only shit I could even think of that seems different at all)
That said, I like "Smooth Sailin'", although the preceding album, "Masterpiece", is my favourite late-period Isleys joint. The version of Phil Collins' "If Leaving Me Is Easy" on that is a real throwback to the soft-rock covers of the "3+3" era. Where's the "grown and sexy" graemlin when you need one?
"If Leaving Me Is Easy"............
I can't believe I didn't jump in on this thread. Here are some, off-the-dome:
-Alice Coltrane.
-Joni Mitchell.
-Steely Dan (yeah, I said it!).
-The Mighty Clouds of Joy.
-Crosby, Still, Nash, & Young.
-Al Green.
-The Isley Brothers.
-John Coltrane (even "Sunship").
-Bob Marley & the Wailers.
-The Police.
-Boogie Down Productions.
-Gangstarr.
-EPMD.
-Ghostface.
-Miles Davis (except really late in his career).
-Herbie Hancock.
-Jimi Hendrix.
-The Beatles.
-Sade.
-Mint Condition.
-Mahalia Jackson.
-The Gospel Caravans.
-Muddy Waters.
-Barry White.
-Quincy Jones.
-Donny Hathaway.
-Earth, Wind, & Fire.
-Stevie Wonder.
-Peter Tosh.
-Led Zeppelin.
-Soft Machine.
-Me'Shell Ndegeocello.
-The Swan Silvertones.
-The Williams Brothers.
-Walter Hawkins & the Love Alive Choir.
-Fred Hammond/Commissioned.
-The Rolling Stones (I'm a fan, man).
-Simon & Garfunkel.
-War.
-Parliament/Funkadelic.
-The Ohio Players.
-Zapp.
-Leroy Hutson.
-Curtis Mayfield.
-Bill Withers.
-Rickie Lee Jones.
-Swing Out Sister (What!).
-Weather Report.
-Michael Franks.
-Cannonball Adderley Quintet.
This is all I can think of for now. More to follow.
Peace,
Big Stacks from Kakalak
Beck
Neil Young
Pink Floyd
Prince
Melvins
Miles Davis
John Coltrane
Charles Mingus
Herbie Hancock
Thelonious Monk
Sun Ra
Muddy Waters
Howlin' Wolf
Ravi Shankar
Frank Zappa
Chemical Brothers
Led Zeppelin
The Mummies
New Bomb Turks
Me'Shell NdegeOcello
De La Soul
Blueprint
The Roots
Common
Kool Keith
Coldcut
Sunday Manoa
Hui Ohana
Gabby Pahinui
Genoa Keawe
Blind Faith
Can
Alice Coltrane
Otis Redding
This Heat
James Carr
Dog Faced Hermans
Talking Heads
Sam Cooke
Slits
Raincoats
Pixies
Faust
Beatles
John Lennon
The Ex
Sun Ra
Boredoms
Nation of Ulysses
Fela
Pere Ubu (first incarnation)
Ghost
Mutantes
The Coup
Rogerio Duprat
Mr. Bungle*
pretending the better part of the 80s didn't happen[/b]:
Neil Young
Bob Dylan
Kinks
honorable mention[/b]:
Al Green (I have one or two of his gospel records but I can't front like I need more than that)
Yoko Ono (haven't heard everything -- and have avoided some)
only fallen off once or twice, but still plenty of time to disappoint us[/b]:
De La Soul
Wu-Tang
Radiohead
Gang Starr
Sonic Youth
MF Doom
Jedi Mind Tricks*
*for different reasons, I anticipate these will be controversial choices
And you don't need to have heard everything - just enuff to be familiar (see first post).
Yeah, I read the intro to this thread. I've avoided a few entire periods of her career, so I can't represent her fully per this thread's criteria.
Fela Kuti
Boogaloo Joe Jones
And I dare add Kashmere Stage Band
sam cooke
otis redding
smokey robinson
stevie wonder
wilson pickett
michael jackson
james brown
the isley brothers
prince
FEMALE
aretha franklin
tina turner
roberta flack
nina simone
etta james
shirley bassey
ella fitzgerlad
Just a few artists who's entire catalog from start to finish is a musical blessing.