The Album Review Club - Week #147 - (page 1942) - Blonde On Blonde - Bob Dylan

[GornikDaze]

That's not my opinion but the opinion of Top Gear magazine.

That’s the equivalent of NME saying never drive a Ford

 

[hilts]

That’s the equivalent of NME saying never drive a Ford

Or it was an Alan Partridge gag:-)

 

[GornikDaze]

Or it was an Alan Partridge gag:-)

Probably why I missed it then :)

 

[mancity2012_eamo]

Totally agree. The huge overkill on the synths here alone would be enough to put most reviewers off most other albums, so I'm genuinely surprised that it is so highly regarded. Nostalgia is a strong emotion (and rose-tinted specs are doing a roaring trade).

Are you saying nostalgia isn’t what it used to be?

 

[mancity2012_eamo]

I do love the strong feelings either way on all offerings that folks put forward. Its funny when you get such strident views, which is reinforced by the (almost) universal love in for Oasis.
It always reminds me....
Talking Heads, just a band
Oasis, just a band

My only interest in Oasis, is the possibility of hiring my back garden out for the ‘sound, no vision’ tour when they hit Dublin in August.

There’s a band that I think are over-hyped.
By themselves mostly. They really do think a lot of themselves. But hey, they’re from Manchester. They support City. Of course they’ll get hyped in here.

 

[bennyboy]

Rush would wipe the floor with this mob live, but that's another discussion.

Evan i acknowledge that quote.lol.

 

[mancity2012_eamo]

So to the album....

Having watched the film I have listened to the music a few times more. It was like watching the concert with an empty seat in front and suddenly the largest widest tallest person with a six gallon hat sits directly in front of you. You can still hear the music but can't see a bloody thing! How frustrating is that?
The visuals definitely help massively but having enjoyed the film so much I did hear the music with far less jaded ears. Tracks that sounded 'samey' before were now far more defined. I appreciated the instrumentation far more - that is one hell of a rhythm section with the wonderful Tina Weymouth and Chris Franz. The band fizzes and the groove is very strong. I didn't dislike any of the tracks but particularly enjoyed Al Greens Take me to the River, Slippery People, Life during Wartime and all the singles. A great concert paces itself. Some build to a climax, relax a bit then build again. This built track by track and just kept going.

There has been lots of discussion about vocal style and singing being secondary to the music. I think this album nails that little diversion. Without Byrne's vocals and the completely wonderful backing singers this album would be a shadow of what it is. Ok, he will not feature in any opera anytime soon but his delivery is absolutely perfect for this music.

Thankyou @LGWIO, I forgive you for the football team you support (almost). This was a wonderful pick and I will give it 8 for the content and 1 for introducing me to the film and ensuring I will play this repeatedly and explore TH back catalogue. That's a 9.

Nail firmly hit on Head.
40 years on you are getting what I got back then, only I was probably caught even more cold.
I knew Psycho Killer and little else. Some ‘cool guys’ had started to get the ‘DJay’ to play it at a Rock School Disco I used to go to (TheGrove) at the end of the seventies and it had that post punk feel that I hadn’t yet embraced totally.
Some people are saying that this movie version of it more or less set their mood for the album and Byrne strangles it.

For me it was the opposite. That was the point. He goes out on his own at the start of the concert and bares his soul to the audience. He’s no ‘singer’ in the conventional use of the word but they couldn’t have a better vehicle as a band to get their brand of music across.
The same goes for Tina when she comes out and they sing ‘Heaven’.

Quite a few on here hate it, but it transfixed me from the start and held me all concert. Considering I knew nothing of the music before I went to the show, I feel that is why I came out of that first screening wondering, what just happened?

The repeated weekly routine that I got into with it when they movie took up residency a few years later is a different story and cemented the cherished memories I have of it now, in my heart and brain.

I went to see David Byrne here in Dublin a number of years back and he did all the TH stuff. It was every bit as innovative a concert as SMS. The stage was a lit cube of vertical string blinds/curtains. You could make out shapes outside the cube, in the dark, but inside is all that was lit.
Instruments and people came in and out onto stage at different points, depending on whether they were needed for that song.
It was very dynamic, people shooting in and out. Hard to describe, but every bit as artistic and visual as SMS.

There is no doubt I wouldn’t score this album as highly without the movie. I openly admitted that from the start. But to me I can’t separate them. To me SMS is the whole experience. You don’t get that on the original album. That’s for sure.

 

[RobMCFC]

Interesting that Rush should get a mention at the end because their record of having 23 people cast a vote for Moving Pictures remains in tact ..... just.

Stop Making Sense (Live) by Talking Heads pulled in 22 voters at a very healthy average of 7.25. Thanks to @LGWIO for a great nomination that got lots of people talking, although how much of it was sense is still open to debate :)

Next up is @FogBlueInSanFran, who is no doubt about to nominate an album with an average bpm of 189. Get ready to sharpen those pitchforks because he's threatened to just post it without any clues!

 

[mancity2012_eamo]

Evan i acknowledge that quote.lol.

I’ve seen and enjoyed both. Well Byrne on his own doing TH. Also seen the Tom Tom Club. Not as good without Byrne.

 

[Coatigan]

NO! Thank you.
Forget the scoring, its the fact that one person may have discovered/enjoyed something they wouldnt have heard before. That to me is what is wonderful about this. Its how I felt about Fantastic Negrito and to a degree Budos Band. Both wonderful "finds", that I doubt I would ever have listened to.
Now its time for quick change and head up to Belfast for the Pixies. I may even have a little drink tonight.
Keep safe all

That's the main bit to be pleased about with nominations I feel, it resonating with even one person.

Speaking of 'finds', I really like Sadds' previous idea of an inbetweeen round round-up and playlist based on that.

The way I can see it working, is we PM someone (rob or myself etc) our top 10 album finds. We attribute the numerical score 10-1 for this, and let the numbers form their list. And each nominator puts forward a song from their top album. Them people can guess who is who, we get a bit of a refresher in the form of a playlist, and a nice reminder of albums past. The only potential downside I see is we might see repetition in the playlist of more than one have the same top find.