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when good artists make bad albums...
by Steve Smith 30 Jun '02

30 Jun '02

This is a harder exercise than it might appear at first, since few of the real howlers end up remaining on our shelves except in cases of completism (Shannon Jackson and to a lesser degree Braxton for me) or when things are just SOOOOO bad that they're worth keeping. Still, here are a few thoughts off the top of my head: James "Blood" Ulmer: 'Music Speaks Louder Than Words' (DIW or Koch) Easy to pick on someone as inconsistent as Blood, but given what this purported to be - Ulmer revisiting the tunes of his mentor with some really fine musicians along for the ride - and how far short of the pole Ulmer fell, this really has to top my list. Shannon Jackson: 'Shannon's House' (DIW or Koch) Easy listening noodling from someone once known for innovative charts and fiery performances (and still capable of both, judging from last night's meandering but occasionally brilliant set with Reid and Gibbs in NYC). Arthur Blythe: 'Put Sunshine in It' (Columbia) Mercifully out of print, this is what happens when Arthur finally succumbed to record label pressure for a contemporary jazz hit. Somewhat redeemed by the following two albums, the spotty 'Da Da' and the gorgeous-for-what-it-is strings album 'Basic Blythe,' but on the whole he's never recovered his stride. Anthony Braxton: 'Four Compositions (Duets) 2000' (CIMP) Already mentioned elsewhere, the execrable duets with a "comedian" offer proof postive that some folks really do need an executive producer, maybe. This got an inexplicably positive review in Cadence, which supposedly doesn't single out Bob Rusch's own recordings for special favor. Ornette Coleman: 'Tone Dialing' (Harmolodic) Someone else mentioned 'Virgin Beauty,' but even if that album's edges were all sanded off, it was still more consistent and listenable than this muddled mess, Bach suite and all... Kiss: 'Music from "The Elder"' (Mercury) Kiss has made plenty of records of marginal value over the years, sure. Almost anything later than 1978 is dismissable, sure. But this... this was such a fundamental mis-step for the band, it's hard to imagine them actually releasing it, much less believing in it. Truth be told, there are a couple of good songs and one of Ace Frehley's best solos on "Dark Light," but still.... This was supposedly a corrective to the (in some ways more offensive) bland adult pop of 'Unmasked,' but didn't really serve the purpose. Thankfully, both of these damp squibs led to the relative return to form of 'Creatures of the Night.' Yes: 'Open Your Eyes' (Beyond) I'm not the biggest Yes fan, and pound per pound 'Tormato' is probably the far suckier record. But the live recordings from San Luis Obispo and new studio recordings with Rick Wakeman that made up the two volumes of 'Keys to Ascension' showed enough promise to get me interested again, and instead, they go the quick and easy route of offering some tepid, barely dressed-up demos by Chris Squire and his little friend Billy Sherwood. It was time to tune out once again... Butthole Surfers: Everything after 'Hairway to Steven' (Rough Trade, Capitol, Hollywood) This particular stretch of work has the overall effect of watching a slow, excruciating terminal illness unfold. The stretch of albums the band made for Touch and Go are just so twisted, so brilliant, so inviolably right, that to hear the guitarist begin to disavow them as the product of people who "couldn't play their instruments" while the singer crawls further into a druggy Hollywood-glam stupor and the drummer decides to jettison the tribal drums for simplistic loops, well, it is to weep. Reading apologist reviews of 'Weird Revolution' as being a return to form beggared belief, while 'Humpty Dumpty LSD,' a new disc of outtakes, B-sides and anthology cuts from Touch & Go days and before, just reaffirms the brilliance of the original discs (though it's great to hear the Roky Erickson cover again... too bad they didn't include the compilation-only "Flame Grape," though). Public Image Ltd.: 'Album' (Virgin) Here's the one where I get flamed at last, I suppose. There's no denying the pedigree of the musicians involved, and approached as a Laswell/Material album, it's not so bad. But as a PiL disc, coming on the heels of the magnificent 'Metal Box,' the titanic and terrifying 'Flowers of Romance' and the slightly lesser 'This Is What You Want...' this is about the most monumental let-down I can remember from anybody, ever. Your mileage may vary. At the end of the Sex Pistols' final gig, Lydon asks the crowd, "Ever get the feeling you've been cheated?" Here is where I finally did. Those are all pretty easy targets... I'm sure I'm unconsicously blocking others. Steve Smith ssmith36(a)sprynet.com

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Fwd: Re: Worst Record ever Made (by someone you normally admire)
by Efrén del Valle 30 Jun '02

30 Jun '02

> > > n.p: Tim Berne "We're only in it for the money"- > > There goes the title of my next album... > > sh Oh! What was I thinking? Berne's "only in it for the food"!!! Too much Zappa lately. Best, EfrÃ©n del Valle n.p: Cecil Taylor: "It is in the Brewing Luminous" (hathut9 _______________________________________________________________ Copa del Mundo de la FIFA 2002 El Ãºnico lugar de Internet con vÃdeos de los 64 partidos. Â¡ApÃºntante ya! en http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/fc/es/

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Re: Steve Reich
by TagYrIt＠aol.com 30 Jun '02

30 Jun '02

In a message dated 6/30/2002 2:40:16 PM Eastern Standard Time, maurice(a)mac.com writes: > Oh, yeah--here's another disappointment: Steve Reich's _The Cave_, > which starts strong and then very quickly reveals itself as an > experiment that just doesn't work, but which he doggedly keeps > hammering into the ground. Couldn't this describe ANY Steve Reich album? Although I do have to admit, I like Different Trains a lot. Dale.

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Re: great albums
by TagYrIt＠aol.com 30 Jun '02

30 Jun '02

In a message dated 6/30/2002 2:28:10 PM Eastern Standard Time, bvergara(a)sfsu.edu writes: > > next installment -- GREAT ALBUMS FROM PEOPLE YOU NEVER SUSPECTED > > COULD MAKE > > GREAT ALBUMS! > > My favorite example comes to mind: > > David Sanborn: Another Hand > > Later, > Ben > OK, my submission, and my heat shields are up for the inevitible flames - best album by someone I never thought could (or did, otherwise) make a great album - David Crosby - If I Could Only Remember My Name. Dale.

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Re: Worst Record ever Made (by someone you normally admire)
by TagYrIt＠aol.com 30 Jun '02

30 Jun '02

In a message dated 6/30/2002 11:15:16 AM Eastern Standard Time, velaires(a)earthlink.net writes: > Herbie Hancock -- FUTURE2FUTURE > How much phoned-in noodling can herbie reel off? A whole album's worth. > > This was the first one that occurred to me too! Dale.

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Charles Hayward, Charlemagne Palestine interviews
by Perfect Sound Forever 30 Jun '02

30 Jun '02

Greetings, In the latest issue of Perfect Sound Forever online music magazine <http://www.furious.com/perfect> , you'll find among other things: CHARLES HAYWARD This Heated interrogation: After cavorting with Phil Manzanera before (and during) Roxy Music and forming enigmatic post-punk ensembles, This Heat and Camberwell Now, the restless Hayward joins the power-trio/supergroup Massacre and orchestrates local art projects with non-musicians. All this and his philosophy of love and love of Abba in an extensive interview by Gary Gomes. CHARLEMAGNE PALESTINE Visceral music trance: Daniel Varela interviews this "driving force in experimental music scene" to find out about his love of ritual and teddy bears. Just don't call him a 'minimalist.' We're always looking for new material and good writers to work with so let us know if you have any ideas. See you online, Jason Perfect Sound Forever online music magazine perfect-sound(a)furious.com http://www.perfectsoundforever.com

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Worst record by otherwise favorite
by Arthur Gadney 30 Jun '02

30 Jun '02

I'm sure there's tons, but I just have to mention at least one: "Heart Attack And Wine" by Tom Waits. I have no idea what's going on here! _________________________________________________________________ Send and receive Hotmail on your mobile device: http://mobile.msn.com

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Worst Record Ever Made?
by Michael Brooker 30 Jun '02

30 Jun '02

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=889989477 __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! - Official partner of 2002 FIFA World Cup http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com

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Fwd: RE: Worst Record ever Made (by someone you normally admire)
by Efrén del Valle 30 Jun '02

30 Jun '02

Hi again, > > >Actually in a trainspotting type of situation it > should be the worst > >record ever made by someone you admire. > > Sonic Youth- "NYC Ghosts and Flowers." You gotta be joking... _______________________________________________________________ Copa del Mundo de la FIFA 2002 El Ãºnico lugar de Internet con vÃdeos de los 64 partidos. Â¡ApÃºntante ya! en http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/fc/es/

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RE: Worst Record ever Made (by someone you normally admire)
by ahorton 30 Jun '02

30 Jun '02

>Actually in a trainspotting type of situation it should be the worst >record ever made by someone you admire. Sonic Youth- "NYC Ghosts and Flowers." The members of SY have always loved concrete, 20th cen classical, and free jazz. On "Nyc Ghosts and Flowers", they decided to DO it. On "Goodbye 20th Century", they were doing covers (and those were excellent). Well, they simply suck at it. Lee Ranaldo's poetry has always sucked, but this album gave him a chance to orally shit it overtop of horribly uninteresting music. The songs go NOWHERE, Jim O'rouroke adds little more than a few pointless electronic bloops to the record, and the songs that are more like traditional SY ("nevermind, what was it anyway?") aren't even fit for a B-sides collection.

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