The Album Review Club - Week #191 (page 1286) - Harlequin Dream - Boy & Bear

BlueHammer85 said:
Pink Floyd - Dark Side Of The Moon
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Correct. For our American friends, the characters on the right are Zippy and George from the classic 1970s kids show Rainbow.

Here's what @GornikDaze has to say about his selection:-

Disclaimer! My apologies, that despite trying to plan ahead, my nomination has turned into a rambling mess - and not in a positive @mrbelfry way! Apologies as well, if Mr Hammer has already covered this off in his sleeping top 1000 albums thread.

Whatever I say about this album would be vastly understated given its musical importance. It is perfectly crafted, it is iconic. The album cover is a work of art.

I will therefore attempt to comply with the main aim of this thread which is to nominate something which has significant meaning.

I was going to pick something more recent and probably quite uncomfortable for most. However, I realised that my choice would fall on my brother’s 70th birthday. Why is that significant you may ask? Looking back I have three main influences on my musical tastes. Mates from college that got me into rock, metal and indie - big shout out to Keith in particular, and apologies to him that I still haven’t cracked Swans, but I’ll keep persevering!

My cousin Rob. Hugely indebted for his continued musical interventions, pre Eliminator ZZ Top and Mountain - great live albums! Off to the Palladium next week with him to see Todd Rundgren.

I think I have mentioned before growing up listening to my brother’s music. With a seven year gap, his formative years of early Genesis, Van der Graaf Generator, Lindisfarne, Bowie, Nazareth, Deep Purple (the list goes on) were hugely influential for me. I built on all this music I was subconsciously consuming and branched off in my own way with a solid foundation.

It’s timely that my pick falls on his birthday, and that we had our pretty much annual trip to see Aussie Floyd in Brum on Monday night. DSOTM was one of those albums that he played more than most and from an early age (I was 10 when it was released) I found it such an immersive experience. Since those days I’ve probably listened to this album more than any other. There are certain parts of certain songs that take me back to those early years, Great Gig in particular, is such an incredible vocal experience and even seeing it on Monday it still brings a lump to the throat. There is a decent Rick Beato interview with Gilmour, and the outro piece at the end shows him noodling with some electronic gadget, and in a minute or so with a few notes and some button turning the main riff of On The Run appears - it was cutting edge experimental stuff at the time, it remains genius.

My brother has a major flaw - he followed the wrong team in Manchester, however, I owe him a lot. He’s had a few health scares over the years. But, 50 years on we still share great taste in music, and I owe him a huge debt in that regard. As we both get older, Time has become one of ‘those’ songs - it’s not just beautifully crafted with an amazing solo, it is poignant for us all….

“Tired of lying in the sunshine, staying home to watch the rain

And you are young and life is long, and there is time to kill today

And then one day you find ten years have got behind you

No one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun”

Happy Birthday Bro

 
threespires said:
Ah. If someone reviews it as technically adept but pseudo profound mid-life existential angst noodling for blokes with shit hot hi-fi’s, will that offend anyone/everyone ? I’m asking for a friend.
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My friend says he wouldn't be offended in the slightest. Mind you, I had to ask him to turn down his Linn DSM playing 'Money' before I could hear him.
 
This was the setlist when I saw them In Edinburgh in 1974.

  1. Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts I-V)

  2. Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts VI-IX)

  3. Sheep

  4. Dogs
    (World premiere; early version known as "You Gotta Be Crazy")"The Dark Side of the Moon"
  5. Speak to Me

  6. Breathe (In the Air)

  7. On the Run

  8. Time

  9. Breathe (Reprise)

  10. The Great Gig in the Sky

  11. Money

  12. Us and Them

  13. Any Colour You Like

  14. Brain Damage

  15. Eclipse

  16. Echoes

My mates and I missed half of echoes because we needed to sprint (and I mean sprint) from the Usher Hall to Waverley to catch the last train home. I think I've told the story before that someone miscalculated the dry ice during DSOTM and ended up a thick fog lying 6 foot deep over the stalls. I remember how cold it felt. Some setlist.
Thats was a really nice personal review @GornikDaze . It certainly formed part of the soundtrack of my teens and bloody hell it did show off a good hifi.
 
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denislawsbackheel said:
I have listened to this album probably more than any other in my collection.
It’s an album, it’s an orchestral piece that needs to be listened to from start to finish.
It’s a work of genius
But
I hate those bloody alarm clocks!
I will give it a few more listens then vote.
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Interesting you say it’s an orchestral piece. I completely agree, it’s a very immersive experience. The alarm clocks do jar!!!
 
Happy Birthday to your brother @GornikDaze and that was a nice ramble. DSOTM is an album I have been avoiding for two reasons:
1) i'll dislike, it's a waste of my time and I'll get annoyed by its classic status
2) i'll really like it and then that would prove my sisters ex boyfriend right - he is a big Floyd fan but a monumental muppet

I suspect without really listening to it that this is an album best encountered when you are young and pretentious. Being old and pretentious has primarily made me grumpy and contrarian
 
Can you listen to this album with ‘fresh’ ears and judge it anew? I think it is going to be extremely difficult. Is it superior or inferior to ‘wish you where here’? Does Dave G get a free pass for introducing HRH Kate Bush to the world? These are the big questions.
 
mrbelfry said:
Happy Birthday to your brother @GornikDaze and that was a nice ramble. DSOTM is an album I have been avoiding for two reasons:
1) i'll dislike, it's a waste of my time and I'll get annoyed by its classic status
2) i'll really like it and then that would prove my sisters ex boyfriend right - he is a big Floyd fan but a monumental muppet

I suspect without really listening to it that this is an album best encountered when you are young and pretentious. Being old and pretentious has primarily made me grumpy and contrarian
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Coming from the master, “A nice ramble” is the ultimate compliment!! Absorbing DSoTM at such a young age meant my pretentious years were still ahead - probably more akin to my Acid Jazz era ;)
 
RobMCFC said:
Surely, that is the MO of the Radiohead fan, no?
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The irony was not lost on me especially considering how often they care compared. And you are right I did first encounter Radiohead when I was young and pretentious :) although in my defence Pablo Honey was kind of generic indie alt rock nonsense and Radiohead only became fully grown when even they realised they were rubbish
 
Coatigan said:
How IS our young Naespires these days anyway?
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Doing alright thanks. He says he's going to try and listen to it without prejudice for at least four goes; apparently he understands intellectually why it's so feted but says he can't help it if it leaves him cold and he 'gets' Animals more than this one.

Edit: He reckons that if @Saddleworth2 lends him his Linn DSM he'll definitely enjoy it more.
 
denislawsbackheel said:
I have listened to this album probably more than any other in my collection.
It’s an album, it’s an orchestral piece that needs to be listened to from start to finish.
It’s a work of genius
But
I hate those bloody alarm clocks!
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I love those alarms clocks, the cash register, and the spoken word that shows up at the beginning and end.

As far as the production, I've heard that the sound engineer assigned to the band went on to do some great things, but that would be another Project. ;-)

Thanks @GornikDaze, I needed something easy this week while out and about. Congrats on your brother's Bday too, a very nice homage.
 
denislawsbackheel said:
I have listened to this album probably more than any other in my collection.
It’s an album, it’s an orchestral piece that needs to be listened to from start to finish.
It’s a work of genius
But
I hate those bloody alarm clocks!
I will give it a few more listens then vote.
Click to expand...

I agree about it being an album to listen to in one go.

Over a decade ago, someone added a 180deg visual experience to this album, that was available in different planetariums (planetaria?) where they projected imagery to go along with it, onto the half dome above. I went along twice. The visuals, I could take or leave tbh, didn't particularly do much. The second time, I just ignored them and lay back and listened to the album as a whole on a darkened room with a good sound system.
 
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