The Album Review Club - Week #141 - (page 1860) - JPEG Raw - Gary Clark Jr.

[journolud]

Snowed under at work sorry but having nipped out for a deserved lunch and this album being on reminded me I need to score it which is a 7. Hopefully will get a review in later

 

[Black&White&BlueMoon Town]

Doves are one that I have never really listened to before...and it did indeed take me back to my University days and "Indie" gigs. So simply from that point it took me back to happier more carefree times which has to be a good thing. After all isnt music meant to take us away from the mundanity of everyday life?

Indeed, and was also curious if you'd heard them too.

The intro did almost take me back to my own suggestion the other week and then it went into "Words" which did make me immediately think of the "shoegazing", the addition of a hammond would have made this an Charlatans track.
I did like "There Goes The Fear" with me thinking the singer sounded abit like the singer from "Embrace" and a nice samabaesque ending.
Like so many I thought I caught little bits of other bands in there, David Gray on "NY", Emrace again on "Satellites", Elbow on "Caught By The River" .

Interesting and thoughtful observations, thanks!

Other little bits I liked were the woodwind on "Fridays Dust", even though I thought it not the strongest on the album the use of the wood did make it interesting. Similar with "M62 Song" being more acoustic with almost a lo-fi feel to it.

Figured you'd might get to appreciate those.

Stand outs for me were "Pounding", "There Goes The Fear", "NY" & Satellites".

And here comes the BIG question...

Enjoyable, I did wonder about taking away a point for the Man City connection...but in the end just went for a solid 6 from the Derry jury

Nice, my biggest "fear" of the week was it too much City for a select few? ;-)

Thanks again to you, and all that have reviewed this week.

 

[Black&White&BlueMoon Town]

Since you don't have a new album to listen to this week, give Irish Basement's Heaven or Hell album a go. A bit The National with a sprinkle of Placebo. One for @journolud might want to circle back to at some point as well.

Some very nice listens, thanks @Coatigan or the suggestion again. I hadn't heard them, and they did have a bit of National with a very nice underlying bass sound to the enjoyed tracks of theirs.

Early favorites include "1,000 Hallelujahs", "Waterfalls", and "Critical Issues". (post-clarifying my noun here: "Them") Being from DC, I might get to see them on tour at a small venue, which is always an added bonus.

Cheers again, mate!

 

[Coatigan]

Some very nice listens, thanks @Coatigan or the suggestion again. I hadn't heard them, and they did have a bit of National with a very nice underlying bass sound to the enjoyed tracks of theirs.

Early favorites include "1,000 Hallelujahs", "Waterfalls", and "Critical Issues". Being from DC, I might get to see them on tour at a small venue, which is always an added bonus.

Cheers again, mate!

Interesting that you should mention 'underlying bass'...

Stay tuned.

 

[Black&White&BlueMoon Town]

I’d heard of and heard Doves prior to the final day at Maine Rd but hadn’t bought anything by them at that point. I then bought this album which I think had been out for a bit by then, partly because I thought I should as they were City fans.

Interesting stories from you and all that were familiar with. I think the one thing I underestimated is how many of you saw them at the Maine Rd finale (and you remembering the opponent and score, etc.). Those were factors I would not have known prior being a big part of things.

I’m pretty sure I didn’t buy Some Cities which implies I wasn’t that impressed by this album; however I did subsequently buy Kingdom of Rust which suggests I wasn’t totally put off by them either.

"Black and White Town" and "Jetstream" are two of my favorites from later on from each respective album. KOR as a single too.

Even more confusingly I know a number of the songs from Lost Sides and I’m certain I didn’t buy that but maybe someone I knew had it. Tbf it’s quite hard to remember as I had a lot going on at that point in my life and they weren’t particularly part of the soundtrack to those events.

Same here with youngsters in tow in my thirtysomethings. But they were strangely part of mine.

All meaning that I came to this with a fairly open mind having not listened to them much/at all for a fair while. I was pleasantly surprised. I don’t think it qualifies as all killer no filler but unlike others I do think it’s a decent set of songs beyond the obvious singles.

Fair points. I think it interesting the tracks some have gravitated to away from the obvious hits, and yes, they do take multiple listens sometimes. It was that way for me too, but I've had decades now. ;-)

Some tracks need a few more listens to get into compared to the more immediate tracks but I think where some people are hearing dourness, I’m hearing a bit of a change of pace and some subtlety that I’m enjoying in tracks like Satellites and Friday’s Dust. Listening to this from a distance, I’m slightly surprised they didn’t make more of an impact on me at the time though I was just coming out of my era of buying stupid amounts of music, certainly more than I could sensibly consume.

Understood, too much going on. There's a sentiment I and other fans still following them would agree on the impact and exposure front. Maybe that lack is what has kept them endearing, perhaps? Self-fulfilling in a manner.

It also strikes me that they were interesting enough to warrant a higher profile than they’ve had in the ensuing years but the fact that they are back together and doing new stuff suggests there’s still an audience for them. I listened to their more recent album and though it’s no huge departure from the previous formula, unlike others I think their sound has weathered pretty well and maybe matured a bit.

For over a decade, I thought them finished save for the solo and Black Rivers output.

Also regretting I had missed seeing them live with life's busy-ness and youngsters at home, and not making it out on a weeknight back in the day, thinking "there will be another time".

I think the comments about the mix and production on this are justified but per my previous post I have no recollection of thinking that at the time when I was using solid mid-range equipment and I do think this suffers from being listened to in a format it’s not been engineered for.

Good points by you and others on this.

I hovered between a 7 and an 8 and the curmudgeon in me wants to downgrade it for their part in what turned out to be a pretty miserable afternoon in May 2003; but it’s hardly their fault we performed to (our then) type! Also, in comparison to some recent nominations it’s been a fairly easy pick to live with and enjoy. So, it's a 7.5 for me.

I clearly did not anticipate the possible final Maine Road City result downgrade, but glad this just slipped through! ;-)

Much appreciated on the observations and time on your review, KOR video backstory, and just the overall scene in that area at the time. Something I obviously have little to no context of. Cheers!

 

[RobMCFC]

An impressive first selection by @Black&White&BlueMoon Town pulled in 13 votes at an average of 6.88. A mixed response in general but a few guest posters chipped in to send Doves' The Last Broadcast to 24th in the table.

That's the end of round #7, but as already advertised, we're moving straight onto round #8, so I'll be back in a minute with the clues.

 

[Coatigan]

An impressive first selection by @Black&White&BlueMoon Town pulled in 13 votes at an average of 6.88. A mixed response in general but a few guest posters chipped in to send Doves' The Last Broadcast to 24th in the table.

That's the end of round #7, but as already advertised, we're moving straight onto round #8, so I'll be back in a minute with the clues.

You always remember your first one. And who said what.

Maybe.

 

[RobMCFC]

Here are some facts about this week's choice.All of them are true, except one, which is a great big lie.

1. This artist has won 3 grammys, being first nominated in the mid-80s.
2. If my understanding of Black&White&BlueMoon Town's location is correct, he lives one state down from my artist .....
3. ..... But he said he lives in DC, so maybe he's one state up!
4. Grandstand helped make him popular in this country.
5. The artist is a big Manchester United fan.
6. I have sung on-stage with this artist.
7. The album that I've selected featured the artists' uncle on the front cover.

 

[Black&White&BlueMoon Town]

You always remember your first one. And who said what.

Maybe.

I'm just happy that I think I'm getting a fraction of the inside humo(u)r here.

 

[Coatigan]

I'm just happy that I think I'm getting a fraction of the inside humo(u)r here.

Oh you've done the Fog special too!