A Beginners Guide To ...

not_the_dj

Stones is easy. Sticky Fingers, Exile on Main Street, Beggers Banquet, Let it Bleed.

stickyfiddle

Beatles...

Essential:

Abbey Road

Revolver

Rubber Soul

Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

Good (and these are all really good)

Please Please Me

With The Beatles

A Hard Day's Night

Help!

The Beatles (aka the white album)

Let It Be.. Naked

Magical Mystery Tour - originally on my fans only list but then I checked the track listing and there are only a couple of duffers on there. Between Strawberry Fields, Penny Lane and I Am The Walrus it gets promoted.

Fans Only:

Let It Be (original Phil Spector version)

Beatles For Sale

Avoid:

Yellow Submarine

TTony

Classics

Live (the original, from the 70s, live double)

Piledriver, Quo, On The Level, Hello

Very Good

Dog, All the Frantic Four live recordings, Blue for You, Ma Kelly, Heavy Traffic

For fans only

Anything and everything between the Live and Heavy Traffic albums

Avoid

Anything that only fans listen to.

No, really, really avoid

Bula Quo soundtrack.

Vibetronic

Bucket said:

Devin Townsend.

Classics - "Ocean Machine", "Accelerated Evolution", "Ki"

Very good - "Epicloud", "City" by SYL, "Terria", "Addicted", "Ghost"

For fans only - "Deconstruction", "Sex and Religion" with Vai, "Ziltoid the Omniscient"

Garbage - Genuinely can't think of anything.

yep I do love Sex and Religion though; still think that's the best thing both of them have done.

ChrisMusic

Fretwired said:           Focus:

The essential albums: Moving Waves, Focus III and the Hamburger Concerto

Basically forget everything else.

The first album was In and out of Focus - a couple of decent tracks including House of the King and Anonymous and Focus 1 but too much filler.

Mother Focus [Mother Fucker] was Akkerman's last album. They were big in the US at the time and were persuaded to produce a US inspired instrumental album. Akkerman called it elevator music and hated it. He quit. Avoid like the plague.

Worth a listen: Live at the Rainbow, Live at the BBC in 1972, Live at the BBC in 1976 and the Greatest hits compilation.

Thanks for that @Fretwired, I appreciate you putting the list together, and the later information too, a lot of very interesting stuff I didn't know before.

I would have put Live at the Rainbow right up there as possibly my favourite Focus album, but then I am biased as I was there, well a very young me was anyway.

I have to agree totally with you about Mother Focus, an appalling nod to disco.  But that was not uncommon in the late 70s as every one it seemed wanted a bit of the fad and make a quick buck.  I would have hoped they had more integrity than to do that.  Rather answers one perspective of Drew_fx's question about needing to live a genre to make good material, maybe.  One irony is Akkerman's comment about elevator music, whilst true, a lot of his first solo album sounds like that to me, but his lute music is exemplary.

So can I ask another favour Fretwired, could you pad out the releases from Jan Akkerman himself to date, and maybe a bit of Philip Catherine's too?  Any other stories are always great, they put the humanity with the music.  Thanks  

Fazer

The Tubes:

Awesome:
The Tubes (1975)
Young and Rich
Now
Remote Control

Good With Some Great Tracks:
The Completion Backwards Principal

A Couple Of Good Tracks:
Outside Inside

Meh:
What Do You Want From Live

Completists Only, Dont Expect Too Much:
everything else

octatonic

I'll do Clutch

Essential Albums: Blast Tyrant, Robot Hive/Exodus, From Beale Street to Oblivion, Earth Rocker.

Very good: Clutch, Pure Rock Fury, Elephant Riders. 

For fans Only: Transnational Speedway League: Anthems, Anecdotes, and Undeniable Truths, Jam Room

Avoid: Nothing.

Fazer

Awesome:
Fly by Night (1975)
Caress of Steel (1975)
2112 (1976)
A Farewell to Kings (1977)
Hemispheres (1978)
Permanent Waves (1980)
Moving Pictures (1981)
Signals (1982)
Grace Under Pressure (1984)
Power Windows (1985)

One Track Thats Better Than The Studio Version, Otherwise Meh:
Exit Stage Left

Can't Remember, Never Made Any Positive Impression:
all the other live albums

None Of The Songs Ever Grabbed Me In Any Way Or Stuck In My Memory However Many Times I Tried:
everything from Hold Your Fire 1987 onwards

Fretwired

ChrisMusic said:

Fretwired said:           Focus:

The essential albums: Moving Waves, Focus III and the Hamburger Concerto

Basically forget everything else.

The first album was In and out of Focus - a couple of decent tracks including House of the King and Anonymous and Focus 1 but too much filler.

Mother Focus [Mother Fucker] was Akkerman's last album. They were big in the US at the time and were persuaded to produce a US inspired instrumental album. Akkerman called it elevator music and hated it. He quit. Avoid like the plague.

Worth a listen: Live at the Rainbow, Live at the BBC in 1972, Live at the BBC in 1976 and the Greatest hits compilation.

Thanks for that @Fretwired, I appreciate you putting the list together, and the later information too, a lot of very interesting stuff I didn't know before.

I would have put Live at the Rainbow right up there as possibly my favourite Focus album, but then I am biased as I was there, well a very young me was anyway.

I have to agree totally with you about Mother Focus, an appalling nod to disco.  But that was not uncommon in the late 70s as every one it seemed wanted a bit of the fad and make a quick buck.  I would have hoped they had more integrity than to do that.  Rather answers one perspective of Drew_fx's question about needing to live a genre to make good material, maybe.  One irony is Akkerman's comment about elevator music, whilst true, a lot of his first solo album sounds like that to me, but his lute music is exemplary.

So can I ask another favour Fretwired, could you pad out the releases from Jan Akkerman himself to date, and maybe a bit of Philip Catherine's too?  Any other stories are always great, they put the humanity with the music.  Thanks  

@ChrisMusic ; .. I saw Focus at the Rainbow as well. The BBC recorded the band in 1972 for a radio concert and a friend of mine at the BBC gave me a copy of the limited edition heavy duty vinyl copy that BBC DJs used when broadcasting. I rated that a better concert than the Rainbow gig. Incidentally the whole thing was broadcast again last year on BBC radio. I also got a copy of the band playing live in Texel around '71 which Pierre found in a draw at his house.

Ping me an email if you want a copy of the BBC recording.

This is quite good as well .. Amsterdam 1971 .. an early rough version of Eruption ...

I'll have a go at Akkerman and Catherine.

EricTheWeary

dafuzz said:

dchwhite said:

Aerosmith

[...]

Can't believe I didn't do Aerosmith first! The only thing I disagree with is Just Push Play - it's way worse than Nine Lives and Get A Grip which are both very decent, otherwise I agree completely

Not the biggest 'Smiths fan in the world but surely Toys is essential - title track, Walk This Way, Sweet Emotion, Big Ten Inch Record,etc.

ChrisMusic

Thanks Fretwired  

and a quick agreement with boogieman about the quality of Hamburger Concerto, it is also one of my my favourites, including the magnificent La Cathedral de Strasbourg. 

Fretwired

ChrisMusic said:

Thanks Fretwired  

and a quick agreement with boogieman about the quality of Hamburger Concerto, it is also one of my my favourites, including the magnificent La Cathedral de Strasbourg. 

@ChrisMusic and @boogieman

Recognise this .... :-)

PolarityMan

Opeth

Essential Albums: Ghost Reveries, Deliverence, Blackwater Park

Very good: Damnation, Still life, Watershed

For fans Only: Morningrise, My arms, your hearse, Orchid 

Avoid: Heritage

PolarityMan

Mastodon

Essential Albums: Crack the Skye, The Hunter

Very good: Blood Mountain, Leviathan

For fans Only: Remission

Avoid: Nothing

ICBM

not_the_dj said:

Stones is easy. Sticky Fingers, Exile on Main Street, Beggers Banquet, Let it Bleed.

And Goats Head Soup. Those five plus Hot Rocks, which will give you the early classics, are the extent of my Stones collection and I don't think I'm really missing much.

Actually, buy Hot Rocks first anyway, since Jumpin' Jack Flash and Honky Tonk Women are not on any of the original studio albums.

My one for this morning…

Warren Zevon

Essential: Excitable Boy

Good: Warren Zevon, Bad Luck Streak In Dancing School, Sentimental Hygiene, Mr. Bad Example, Mutineer, My Ride's Here

Fans only: The Envoy, Transverse City, Life'll Kill Ya, The Wind (and the two live albums, Stand In The Fire and Learning To Flinch)

Avoid: Wanted Dead Or Alive. There is a reason he disappeared after this first album and only became successful much later.

dchwhite

dafuzz said:

dchwhite said:

Aerosmith

[...]

Can't believe I didn't do Aerosmith first! The only thing I disagree with is Just Push Play - it's way worse than Nine Lives and Get A Grip which are both very decent, otherwise I agree completely

I think, like Draw the Line, ...Ruts and Rock in a Hard Place, these three do diminish in quality as the series goes along. In the interests of fairness though, I'll listen to Get a Grip, Nine Lives and JPP again over the next week & report back

Phil_aka_Pip

@Fretwired I think you're largely right in your evaluation of the Focus catalog. I enjoyed more of the 1st LP than Mother Focus. Ship of Memories isn't bad. Recent CDs new skin and Focus X are reasonably enjoyable.

EDIT Jan Akkerman's solo stuff Profile, Tabernakel are "for fans". I'd avoid "Jan Akkeman 3", it's worse than elevator music: in fact it's so bad it stopped me buying any other Jan Akkerman albums. Thijs van Leer has a dvd out of him playing keys in some disused industrial building. I don't think his playing is garbage, but you'd have to be a big fan to buy it

2nd EDIT BUT ... if you ever get the chance to see TvL and the re-formed Focus playing live, GO! Your ears will love you.

dchwhite

EricTheWeary said:

dafuzz said:

dchwhite said:

Aerosmith

[...]

Can't believe I didn't do Aerosmith first! The only thing I disagree with is Just Push Play - it's way worse than Nine Lives and Get A Grip which are both very decent, otherwise I agree completely

Not the biggest 'Smiths fan in the world but surely Toys is essential - title track, Walk This Way, Sweet Emotion, Big Ten Inch Record,etc.

I agree, I think it's a very good album - I suppose I was trying to keep within the paradigm set out in the OP, and put everything into just a few categories, rather than acquiesce to my (over-!) enthusiasm, and tell people they NEED to buy the Box of Fire, and PV, and Pump, and whilst you've got that far, it's a shame to miss out on Done With Mirrors, because that fills the chronological gap, and then of course, there's some cracking songs on Get a Grip, and ....

So, having to draw the line* somewhere, I thought the two I listed were the essentials, but I agree, Toys is very, very good as well; if someone wanted to go out and buy more than two Aerosmith albums, I'd say that would be the third one to get.




......................
*sorry

Fretwired

Phil_aka_Pip said:

@Fretwired I think you're largely right in your evaluation of the Focus catalog. I enjoyed more of the 1st LP than Mother Focus. Ship of Memories isn't bad. Recent CDs new skin and Focus X are reasonably enjoyable.

EDIT Jan Akkerman's solo stuff Profile, Tabernakel are "for fans". I'd avoid "Jan Akkeman 3", it's worse than elevator music: in fact it's so bad it stopped me buying any other Jan Akkerman albums. Thijs van Leer has a dvd out of him playing keys in some disused industrial building. I don't think his playing is garbage, but you'd have to be a big fan to buy it

2nd EDIT BUT ... if you ever get the chance to see TvL and the re-formed Focus playing live, GO! Your ears will love you.

@Phil_aka_Pip
Ship memories is OK - it's mainly out-takes from a few sessions the best of which appeared elsewhere. I actually enjoyed side one of Profile although Jan hates it. I haven't listened to it for years so I guess it's probably dated. Jan Akkerman 3 cost a fortune to make and lost money - it had the best of the US session musician scene like the Brecker Brothers. There are a couple of decent tracks but whoever stuck the strings over everything needs shooting.

Get a copy of Jan's 1999 album Focus in time - it sounds like an old Focus album. Very good. When it came out I managed to get a review and and an interview for Jan in Total Guitar and they gave it four stars and put a track on the cover CD.

The Noise of art is pretty good as well. Recorded in a studio in England for Miles Copeland as part of his Night of the guitar projects. The Jan Akkerman album [guitar in bed cover] is also very good as is Eli with Kaz Lux which won a Grammy. His 10,000 clowns live album is worth seeking out as he had a great band and his wife convinced him to play some old Focus material. Cracking version of Eruption.

Avoid the car crash that is Focus a 1980s effort with Thijs van Leer. It's only the two of them with a drum machine and isn't regarded as a Focus album. They made the most cringe worthy video in the history of music videos - it's on YouTube.

Jan's two live DVDs are worth seeking out as well - check out YouTube.

The 1976 Live Focus album is also good - I was there. Jan had quit and Philip Catherine came in at short notice. He had all the music stapled to the floor and wasn't able to play many of the old tunes so they played some of his material which was contemporary jazz rock [if you like that sort of thing].

This is a Philip Catherine track [not an Akkerman/Leer track as the video states].

stickyfiddle

U2

Essential:

The Unforgettable Fire - Eno. 

The Joshua Tree - Streets, Still Haven't Found.. With Or Without You, Bullet The Blue Sky, Running To Stand Still. That's just side A...

Achtung Baby - Everything flipped upside down after they out-earnested themselves on Rattle & Hum. Still defines them today.

All That You Can't Leave Behind - The album that brought them back after Pop fell flat. Hasn't been bettered since. 

U2 Go Home: Live At Slane Castle - It's a DVD not strictly an album but it's the best single thing they've recorded. 

Good:

Boy - The first album, and the first time the world heard that echo trick. I Will Follow and Out of Control are still played live regularly.

War - This is when Bono learned to sing rather than shout. "40" alone would get it into this category for me.

Under A Blood Red Sky - The Red Rocks gig. The point they started getting big in the USA, and a really powerful live show.

Fans Only:

Wide Awake in America EP- it's got cracking live versions of Bad and A Sort of Homecoming on it, but the rest is just unnecessary.

Rattle & Hum - Some of R&H is fantastic, but it's far from special, and tries far too hard. Doesn't feel like a band being themselves.

Zooropa - Achtung Baby with more beats and less riffs. Song good moments but doesn't gel.

Pop - some great ideas but most are half-finished and recording/production is rushed. It's interesting but not that easy to get through.

How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb. Yes, it has Vertigo on it, but the second half is weak.

No Line on the Horizon - Again some great ideas and production is wonderful but trying too hard again in places.

Avoid:

October - Just no good songs on it. Almost saw the label drop them.