The Album Review Club - Week #195 (page 1310) - A New World Record - ELO

denislawsbackheel said:
So you have never heard a top turntable and cartridge playing vinyl, yet you are an expert enough to pass judgement on them…

I have a CD player that was over a grand yet all my CDs are in the loft.
My vinyl system on the other hand is in use almost daily.

And what does “none of the hiss” mean?
I only heard hiss on cassette decks.
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I don't claim to be an expert, I'm simply saying that I've not seen a scientific explanation to back up claims that digital music somehow leaves things out that people can hear.
 
No one has ever claimed that.
I prefer the tactile quality of vinyl. Nice big card outers I can actually read. And if your claim were true, my CDs would not be in the loft unplayed for years.
 
I have a whisky. Tullibardine. Not really allowed but this fantastic album deserves it. The record has been on twice now. It's a rather good listen.

Thoughts?

Call The Doctor is a beautiful song. In fact, Sod that, they are all beautiful songs in their own way. This is just a beautiful and mellow album in which every song is criminally short. It doesn't detract but the formula seems to be sing a bit then dreamily play for just over 2 minutes.

Oh you want a score?

Breaking from tradition...9/10
 
RobMCFC said:
I don't claim to be an expert, I'm simply saying that I've not seen a scientific explanation to back up claims that digital music somehow leaves things out that people can hear.
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Analog Audio (Vinyl)​

Pros​

  • Vinyl sounds warm and authentic and delivers the best qualities of the original recording.
  • No loss of audio information from the analog recording.
  • It offers a sound from a past era in music that’s nostalgic for many listeners.

Cons​

  • Record players aren’t the most portable equipment and can lead to playback issues if the needle isn’t taken care of.
  • Vinyl typically has a lower frequency response and doesn’t exude many low frequencies, which means you may not hear the bass in a song.
  • Sometimes you can run into tracking errors with the playback needle, and vinyl can be damaged easily and is relatively fragile.

Digital Audio (CDs)​

Pros​

  • Without a doubt, CD audio is much more portable and can be played through many different playback mediums.
  • Digital playback control allows you to pause, play, and rewind with minimal effort.
  • Although you can damage CDs too, their overall lifespan will generally stand the test of time with proper care.
  • Easier to process, edit, and record.

Cons​

  • CD audio doesn’t capture the entirety of the original analog audio recording, which means certain audible information is lost and doesn’t provide an entirely accurate listening experience.
  • They can be scratched easily, which can lead to permanent playback issues.
  • In some scenarios, CD audio can sound overprocessed or inconsistent depending on your playback system.

Allegedly.
 
Just going back to last week's pick, I've just got round to watching a bit of the stuff from last Saturdays Orbison night on BBC2. Can highly recommend the biographical documentary Roy Orbison: One of the Lonely Ones. Think it's on iPlayer for about another 20 days or so.

Very interesting and gives an insight into how he became the fairly unique character and musician he was.

As for this week's pick, think I'll be declaring victory early on this one having listened to it 5 times already!
 
I've heard a couple of his songs before, but never a full album. I'd heard the class "After Midnight" by Clapton and knew it was a song by JJ but hadn't heard the original for some reason.

I absolutely love this album. The whole vibe of it is just perfect. It's one of them albums where you can't add anything in to improve it.

I've always said that some albums can only be listened to at certain times of the year, or even day. This album would sound great on a red hot summers day as you could imagine yourself in New Orleans with that laidback, almost country feel would sound. It would also sound good on a winters night, locked up with a beer.

As I've said before, it's another example of this thread throwing some treats up and this is absolutely that. I'm definitely going to listen to more of his stuff.

It's a 9/10 from me!
 
Just on the LP v CD v streaming debate... a friend of mine has a very expensive setup and I've had a listen of LP/CD/streaming and to be honest there was something about the LP that sounded .. "richer" than the others. I can't put my finger on it though!

Something he did say which I thought was interesting was that his favourite LP had a slight "click" on a particular song and he said he knows where it is. Because of that, the LP is unique to him - he cannot buy the same album. In a way I quite liked that idea that this "click" had been listened to so many times that he expects to hear it on the CD and radio etc!

I think though, ultimately, it's because we're probably seeing a backlash to the "any song, any time, any where" culture that Spotify etc have created. We end up taking songs from albums, putting them into playlists and losing the context of the song on an album and to some extent, how it fitted into an era.

When I listen to something like "Smooth FM", you will sometimes hear a song like "What's Goin On" by Marvin Gaye. It's a beautiful, laid back sounding song that is incredibly "smooth". You're now listening to this smooth, soul classic on "Smooth FM". It encourages you to think it's just a nice, easy song. But ultimately it's a protest song. By taking the song from the album and out of it's era you lose it's entire meaning. I do think that when you pick up an album, your brain shortcuts you to think about it's context - the decade, who else was around, what they were singing about, the artwork, the lyrics. A lot of that gets lost on Spotify.

I love Spotify though, but if I wanted to listen to an album I would like the 'ceremony' of choosing it, putting it on and HAVING to listen to it from start to finish. I think in some ways - regardless of whether it sounds better - that ceremony sets up to listening to it better so it will sound good.
 
GoatersLeftShin said:
Just on the LP v CD v streaming debate... a friend of mine has a very expensive setup and I've had a listen of LP/CD/streaming and to be honest there was something about the LP that sounded .. "richer" than the others. I can't put my finger on it though!

Something he did say which I thought was interesting was that his favourite LP had a slight "click" on a particular song and he said he knows where it is. Because of that, the LP is unique to him - he cannot buy the same album. In a way I quite liked that idea that this "click" had been listened to so many times that he expects to hear it on the CD and radio etc!

I think though, ultimately, it's because we're probably seeing a backlash to the "any song, any time, any where" culture that Spotify etc have created. We end up taking songs from albums, putting them into playlists and losing the context of the song on an album and to some extent, how it fitted into an era.

When I listen to something like "Smooth FM", you will sometimes hear a song like "What's Goin On" by Marvin Gaye. It's a beautiful, laid back sounding song that is incredibly "smooth". You're now listening to this smooth, soul classic on "Smooth FM". It encourages you to think it's just a nice, easy song. But ultimately it's a protest song. By taking the song from the album and out of it's era you lose it's entire meaning. I do think that when you pick up an album, your brain shortcuts you to think about it's context - the decade, who else was around, what they were singing about, the artwork, the lyrics. A lot of that gets lost on Spotify.

I love Spotify though, but if I wanted to listen to an album I would like the 'ceremony' of choosing it, putting it on and HAVING to listen to it from start to finish. I think in some ways - regardless of whether it sounds better - that ceremony sets up to listening to it better so it will sound good.
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Excellent post and your 4th paragraph hits the nail on the head for my next choice in this thread.
 
Naturally – J.J.Cale

I think I’d heard one J.J.Cale track before listening to this: the excellent “Cocaine”.

As others have said, Naturally works very well at any time of day, but in the evening, when the house is quiet, it was bliss listening to this last night. It was my third listen, I had my headphones on, and I fell asleep about four tracks from the end! This is not a negative, it’s a complement to the mellow atmosphere that the album invokes.

“Call Me The Breeze” has an unusual start with its early 70s drum machine, but it moves quickly into a comfortable boogie with some tasteful guitar. Even better is the slow jazz/blues of “Call the Doctor”, with its hushed vocals and late-night vibe.

I love the guitar opening of “Don’t Go To Strangers” and the melody seems very familiar – it sounds like the chord progression to “House of the Rising Sun” to me, but it’s a really cool song. Loved it, probably my favourite on the album.

“Woman I Love” really grooves with a continuous, rolling piano riff and bursts of brass. Is there any brass on this album? The Wikipedia entry for the album says not. Maybe it’s the organ. Another great song.

“Clyde” is very much in the spirit of Bob Dylan’s Rolling Thunder Revue – with its extra instruments joining in to drive the melody. Of course, this album precedes the Dylan album by a few years.

I love the piano on “After Midnight”, plus whatever those intermittent percussion sounds are (wooden blocks?) and the bluesy guitar is great. The song seems to flow effortlessly into “River Runs Deep”.

As others have said, a few of the tracks fade out quickly and leave you yearning for the instrumental passages to stretch out for a bit. Is this the first album we can all agree is too short and doesn’t go on enough?

My general impression is of a whole album and not individual songs. The playing and chilled-out vibe are so loose, it makes for a really pleasant listen. I’d almost say that this is one of those albums where the vocals are incidental – I’m glad they are there, but it’s the playing that really shines. Some of the fade outs give it the feel of a demo, albeit a highly polished demo, and I think that the album would have been stronger had the instrumental parts been longer. This is only a minor criticism, and it scores a comfortable 8/10.

Great pick @OB1
 
Coatigan said:
Careful what you wish for, haha. It is a well known long-held common view (that both brothers themselves have reinforced) that Oasis and City both doing well can not coexist.

I'm not having us compete for Europa league places for some throwback sloopy-shooldered parka-wearing nasal-wining snot-fest!
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Sorry to temporarily distract from the album at hand. But this little outburst now suddenly feels relevant again.

I don't follow the oasis brothers, but apparently last week Liam was mooting a reunion. And then this week we get hit with PL charges that some think may lead to potential relegation.

I blame Liam for it all now.
 
Love this from an artist I have heard of but not listened to.
The first track I have heard but not sure if it was him or not.
Love most tracks and see this as an album sitting back with your favourite drink and just enjoying.
The horn,mouth organ and piano/keyboards fit perfectly with guitars,base and drums.
Not bothered about the fade outs.Fits in with the mood of the album,no need for extra guitars solos on this recordings.
Call the doctor,Don't go to strangers,Nowhere to run,Bringing it back and Crying eyes bringing the album to a great finish.
My favourite pick so far.9/10
For Dylan fans Ryan Adams Blood on the tracks album is on Spotify now.
 
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