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MaryJanes2ndLastDance

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Posts posted by MaryJanes2ndLastDance

  1. Posted · Report reply

    4 hours ago, Hoodoo Man said:

    I had a juvenile response lyrically with a slight addition to that one "I ain't coming down.. " 🙄   

    Ha ha!

    4 hours ago, Hoodoo Man said:

    Rhino skin feels like a hidden gem now, Gainesville may have given the album a kinder gentler and happier vibe but clearly that is not where Tom was in life at the time. 

    Yeah, I quite like Rhino Skin quite a bit and agreed about Gainesville. Knowing what went on during that time period it's not surprising that they didn't play much from it. I think Tom must've had some sort of connection to Swingin', perhaps because of the spontaneous nature of the jam it emerged from, that he played it a few times on their final tour.

    cheers

  2. Posted · Report reply

    1 hour ago, TheSameOldDrew said:

    I feel that both catalogs cover numerous styles, nearly equal in terms of style variety, and far more varied than most popular artists/bands.   But if people want to disagree with me and say TP hewed to a narrow number of styles, well - it ain't nothin to me! 

    I thought maybe others would engage on this with you. I don't want to break it down to percentages and I couldn't anyway but my impression is the Beatles covered more ground than TPATH. But within their format, TPATH were more than just an average rock band from the 70s and there's a lot of little flourishes and touches within a lot of their songs that helped make them different, aside from the more obviously "experimental" like DCAHNM, Money Becomes King, Its Rainin' Again, Looking for Daddy etc.

    It ain't nothin indeed.

    cheers

  4. Posted · Report reply

    9 hours ago, Shelter said:

    The sadness of it all, the downer effect the lyrics seem to have on people doesn't bother me that much. I like the atmosphere of it well enough.

    That's 'cause you have no heart. It's fine, you can admit it, you're among friends here. 

    I think that's the big selling point of the album, the downer effect. People enjoy the moodiness of the record, the exploration or expunging of dark feelings, sadness and so forth. I'm fine with that if the music was more to my liking, but the songs they came up with coupled to the lyrics just make for one un-compelling listen. Long, dreary, a bit of a slog. But I get why people enjoy or appreciate the record.

    Maybe that's what it should have been called: Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers 10th album, THE DOWNER EFFECT, for when regular misery and heartache just aren't enough. Get some exercise in with Swingin' but be prepared to go down hard. Tired of people with their talking? Lock yourself in with Room at the Top and never come down! Except when you come down hard with Billy The Kid. But don't worry, it Won't Last Long, heck who has time for that when you can wallow in a sad, sad Echo. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers 10th album, THE DOWNER EFFECT. Fun for the whole family! 

    cheers

  6. Posted · Report reply

    19 hours ago, Shelter said:

    but a certain variety seems to me to be quite the corner stone of what an album is, or should be, right? At least in order to be succesful. Very few artists and albums go far if all their songs are the same or in the same style, beat, groove, mood to a too large degree.

    Of course yes. I'd put the Ramones as a band that succeeded by largely hewing to an ideal, but even within their more or less rigid guidelines they varied it a bit. But yes to your point but I guess I wasn't clear enough with mine. Any time I discuss TPATH as experimental, it's relative to themselves as a band, not in comparison to Radiohead, or Neutral Milk Hotel or whomever. People discuss songs they like or don't like, or attempt at concept records (SA and The Last DJ) but I don't recall anyone really getting into the whole variety of each song within each record. Maybe they did and I missed it. Maybe it's just too much minutiae. When Drew mentioned variety within the albums it seemed like another avenue for conversation, who knows maybe a cul-de-sac.

    19 hours ago, Shelter said:

    That said - I think Tom operated mainly in one main classic rock field, with a rather limited number of sub-styles, and perhaps one or two more unusual efforts over the course of his 45 years with Mudcrutch & Heartbreakers.

    I agree. Probably a huge reason for his appeal, let alone his often succinct yet poignant lyrics.

    19 hours ago, Shelter said:

    After all, Tom worked great wonders within his field, in terms of how he tweeked stuff, developed them, how he had a very unique and oftentimes fresh way with words, and how he produced and arranged his songs to quite a few different flavors over the years. I don't think he ever stagnated. But I don't think he changed his game that much either, or was that incredibly ecclectic really. It's more like he kept exploring the core he loved and knew.

    I think that sums it up well.

    19 hours ago, Shelter said:

    Also the frequent use of "Ain't", "Don't" and "Won't" incidentally.

    Ha!

    19 hours ago, Shelter said:

    (You Don't Care, Don't Pull Me Over), or cutting what to me seem more like a joke-turned-studio-product-turned-groovy-hit-under-the-influence-of-cocaine-Dave-Stewart (DCAHNM), implementing Las Vegas sentiments or delicate jazz swagger (It Ain't Nothing To Me or Full Grown Boy), unusual pulsating minimalist spook sensations (Peace in LA or Looking For Daddy) he was rarely THAT far out there. I'd say he stuck pretty well to the punch rock, the jangly groove and mellow introspects mentioned. (Especially the latter allows for leaning towards a few traditional pillars within the wider rock tradition in which he worked - as in "blues", "country", "southern", "stoner" type of spicing - without becoming overly adventurous at that, or unusually diverse, doesn't it. To me it seem only natural, really.

    Yes. For me, it's how far they pushed things from time to time within their own context, hence DCAHNM, Lookin, etc.

    19 hours ago, Shelter said:

    But again.. those three modes, or tempers, hardly makes him THAT incredibly diverse compared to his peers, is all I'm saying.

    It's odd but I think the popular perception is ex-angry corporate defying, laid back hippy guy of rock-n-roll with some super catchy hits and one more or less mellow classic in WF. I think most would balk at the word "experimental" being used anywhere near TPATH, especially when contrasted with rock music over the years, that's why I've usually qualified it. At the same time, most people on this forum are aware of the wider range of songwriting, even within the TPATH context you and Drew mention above and it's not something that really gets discussed much. Then again, perhaps there isn't much to say about it. Take Money Becomes King. There's no chorus, or not in the traditional sense, just verse after verse. The only time (I think) where he's done that. Second song on the album too. But I don't recall anyone else mentioning it. But then, once mentioned what to add to it? Could someone pull out some meaning as to why? Is it ironic perhaps? A band that was all about Don't bore us get to the chorus releasing a song discussing the sell out of a musician lacking a chorus? Or perhaps showing how once Johnny went down that road he lost that magic, to create a chorus. My guess is neither, but just that it felt right and the song came to Tom that way.

    So maybe, much like this digression away from ranking is the same thing you said about the band, that there's only so far to take this type of conversation before losing peoples's patience or perhaps warping topic and meaning beyond recognition.

    But anyway yeah, I agree with you, crazy experimental band they weren't, but I generally like anytime they ventured off their own beaten path.

    8 hours ago, TheSameOldDrew said:

    I recall a point - I think it was after Hard Promises was released - the music critics liked TPATH music but also knocked it as "derivative", as if you have to be a complete musical pioneer in order to get their respect. 

    I think eventually respect came with time, after a couple decades of new listeners just took in Tom's music as the quote soundtrack to their lives. Greatest Hits became ubiquitous and people appreciated how he and the band did so much with so little. But I agree, and I think I stumbled on the explanation for it from a movie critic who said something like after watching so many movies they were eager for films who didn't follow a traditional structure. TPATH were all about tradition, from the verse-chorus-verse of their songs to playing covers from the early days of rock and blues. If one is listening to nonstop verse-chorus-verse "heartland rock" I could see why they'd get fed up with it and want something different in addition to wanting artists to progress. That doesn't mean they should dismiss bands like TPATH who deliver rock-n-roll. Perhaps there's an underestimation of that style of music because there's so much of it. 

    8 hours ago, TheSameOldDrew said:

    The "derivative" label never really stuck

    I'd prefer traditional to derivative really but I could see TPATH having a collective laugh over the whole discussion of what critics think.

    8 hours ago, TheSameOldDrew said:

    They did great sounding albums, and Petty often contributed unique and straightforward insight with his lyrics, to which a large part of his audience could relate - unlike the oblique and overly complex lyrics of some professional critics favorites, on topics to which few listeners could personally relate.       

    Yes, but oblique lyrics have their place too. But Tom's way with words, as you say, really connected. As far as we know, they never did TPATH's Magical Swamp Tour but I'd have been curious to hear them go completely weird for one album, to whatever degree.

    8 hours ago, TheSameOldDrew said:

    Overall I think TPATH covered about as much musical ground as The Beatles, and probably most would view their output as eclectic. 

    I don't know if I agree but I respect you putting forth the argument! I've not listened to the Beatles in a long time aside from the occasional song and a lot of their music was either too teeny-bopper or ballady and maudlin for my taste. I'd rather listen to Blue Jay Way or Octopus's Garden to something like The long and Winding Road. But if people engage with you on this, I see a lot of disbelief at your statement if not outright fury. All right, maybe not fury but certainly some disagreement. If I listened to them more I'd have an opinion on this, certainly by reputation alone it seems they covered more musical ground than TPATH, just with some of that album, Abbey Road  with the song snippets thrown together and that long dirge that goes and on and on and suddenly cuts off; or the ending of A Day in the Life, or putting two versions of a title song on one album, Sgt. Pepper or the sonic stupidity of Revolution or is it Revolution 9 which is both funny and annoying at once. They went from short quick ditties of pop perfection like Paperback Writer and Help and Hold your Hand to things like Within You, and Mr. Kite. And Penny Lane. Geez, I feel like I'm already offering a rebuttal. And here I approved of you making such a bold statement.

    No, I think the Beatles, not even based on having listened to a third if that of their output were more experimental and diverse and thus covered more ground musically in their songwriting than TPATH.

    This went in an unexpected direction.

    But it doesn't matter, TPATH stayed true to Tom's creativity, that's what counts. And I think, in their own way, especially around DTT through, I don't know, maybe LAD they'd come up with as Benmont called it, their chamber music approach which really was unique, as soon as certain TPATH songs start there's an instant recognition, those intros with the different instruments joining in at different points before unifying, well...is there another band from that period of time that sounded like that? That feeling, vibe, Tom's songwriting and a bit of weirdness running through the band helped differentiate them from their peers.

    8 hours ago, TheSameOldDrew said:

    and eclecticism of styles. 

     I'd say that the Beatles were more eclectic for sure than TPATH. As to the weighing of whose songs are better, well, that's just subjective. And again, I don't want TPATH to be the Beatles, very wisely neither did they. Just like I don't want some future band to be TPATH or Pearl Jam or Pixies, influenced sure, but following their own unique creativity, whether it's all out experimental rock, more traditional or some point between.

    cheers

     

  7. Posted · Report reply

    8 hours ago, RedfordCowboy said:

    I'm gonna steer it back to Wildflowers now, if you all are good with that.

    Ha ha, definitely. Glad you did so.

    8 hours ago, RedfordCowboy said:

    Do you think that IF a WF All the Rest is to appear in time to coordinate with this date, that it probably would've been announced by now, no?

    I really thought they'd get it together to have it released like you said. At this point, I won't say never but I don't see any point in pining away after it. I feel badly for the fans who have been waiting years for it, teased by a release that hasn't happened; I'm not in that group but it's more for their benefit than my own I've been hoping it would be released already. Maybe one day. I would be curious to hear what exactly caused the delay if Tom had it all set in place. Who cares if Ryan found more tracks, should've released those another time and gone with Tom's vision. If it was completed. It's a mess and while not as beaten into the ground as the set list issue, it's a sadly well worn loop of mixed messages, frustration and disappointment. 

    8 hours ago, RedfordCowboy said:

    It never fit with the rest of the album for me, sonically, thematically

    I think that's part of the appeal, a bit of a come down after the more harder rocking tracks and a totally different vibe. But I agree, Casa Dega could've fit on the end. I think it has more in common with DTT than Louisiana Rain but perhaps that difference is what makes it work (for some) as the conclusion to the record.

    cheers

     

  9. Posted · Report reply

    37 minutes ago, TheSameOldDrew said:

    I haven't seen where TP thought Wildflowers was his best, but he certainly favored it for songs performed in concert, ever since it was released.

    I think it was in Paul Zollo's Conversations with Petty book.

    Granted his taste may have changed but I could see why he liked it so much, having a big hit album after putting in so much work, weathering Stan's departure and moving in another direction from ITGWO, and I think, he was proud of the songs he'd come up with, and the mix, from the harder edged You Wreck Me and Honey Bee to Wake Up Time and Only A Broken Heart etc. what he viewed as the diversity of the album. 

    ciao

  10. Posted · Report reply

    1 hour ago, RedfordCowboy said:

    Well, here's a shot. Happy Echo.

    Good effort. I don't know if there's enough to really call it happy, but here is a more uptempo record. Though a part of me feels like they should've gone all in on the misery and kept anything pointing towards hope, or defiance or with a quick beat for an e.p. and just wallowed in the darkness and gloom.

    I kept with Shelter's A and B side approach:

    A1 Room @ Top---I just think this is a good start, particularly the way it transitions with the drums and has two excellent solos.
    A2 Swingin'
    A3 Billy The Kid
    A4 I Don't Belong
    A5 Free Girl Now
    A6 No More
     
    B1 Sweet William---copping from Shelter but its good, it's a nice way to rev up side B.
    B2 Won't Last Long---I'd keep the energy up with the next couple songs
    B3 I Don't Wanna Fight
    B4 Rhino Skin
    B5 One More Day---Good outro solo, good end to the album.
     
    That would totally transform the album, but like I said, if they'd gone all in with the darkness that would've been fine since I don't like the album anyway, but at least it would be one solid consistent block.
     
    But some people, like TomFest and others love the record as is and I get that too.
     
    Doing this really makes it evident that even uptempo numbers have a gloomy or fatalistic side. Billy The Kid, going down hard. Sure, he gets up but this whole album seems about going down hard in different ways. Even the fun (for me, I realize a lot of people can't stand the song) I Don't Wanna Fight is a reaction to something negative. 
     
    cheers
     
     

  11. Posted · Report reply

    4 hours ago, Shelter said:

    B3 Swingin

    B4 About To Give Out

    B5 One More Day...

    Overall I think that's a pretty balanced mix of songs, I particularly like the way you'd close out Side B, the feeling of fighting, resignation and the pleading desperate finale, kind of like the character in Room at the Top has fallen all the way down but is now moving forward into the unknown. Not exactly hopeful but not a complete misery either.

    I also like how you delineated A and B sides, as the record is probably best appreciated in chunks, not all at once, as you note, the songs go on a bit.

    cheers

  12. Posted · Report reply

    9 hours ago, Zargo said:

    I even don't mind Face in the Crowd these days, which I thought was very dull as a young man. Nobody compiling anthologies likes it, however.

     

    8 hours ago, Shelter said:

    Which is, arguebly, a lot for one single album to carry. Perhaps even a few songs too many for your average Anthology Compiler to bypass and start digging for more stuff.

    Aside from Greatest Hits I would think they'd look to other albums besides DTT, FMF and WF for tracks since (and I could be wrong) those are the three most popular or well known records, odds are if people are going to put some money down besides GH it'll be on one of those. 

    cheers

  13. Posted · Report reply

    8 hours ago, Mr Timba said:

    It is one of the most important songs of the album. Room at the top, Echo, One more night... Devastating songs, they put you down... But Rhino Skin is just like, hey, I'm down but I have elephant balls to keep running through this world.

    Interesting; never thought of it that way before as some kind of big note of defiance within the album and as you say, "devastating songs." I always thought of it as more of a fun heck with it track like I Don't Wanna Fight but I like your take on it.

    cheers

  14. Posted · Report reply

    9 hours ago, Zargo said:

    Clearly somebody (other than just me) likes Accused of Love, as it ended up on "American Treasure." For me, it's a really catchy brother to the equally likable "This one's for me."

    I just tried giving it another listen but it's the same feeling, the marching tempo music, the way Tom sings, the tightness of the drums, all of it rubs me the wrong way and then the terrible chorus kicks in, it just comes across so self-pitying to me. But you're right about others like it, otherwise it wouldn't have ended up on that box set. I do like This One's For Me though, "catchy brother" is a good way of putting it too.

    cheers

  15. Posted · Report reply

    9 hours ago, Zargo said:

    "Dreams of Flying" on Mudcrutch 2

    Dreams of Flying is a great song!

    9 hours ago, Zargo said:

    "Beautiful Blue," a Wildflowers/ HC hybrid triumph. "Full grown boy" is boring to me, and I can't recall "U get me high," but I do remember it being boring. I'll have to give it another listen, though :). The album could still be growing on me.

    I like Beautiful Blue though I have to be in the mood for it as it goes on for quite a while. Full Grown Boy took just a couple listens for me to like it. U Get Me High is driven by Tom's bass playing I think, definitely one of my faves on HE but you like what you like. Maybe some time in the future these songs will grow on you, maybe not.

    cheers

  17. Posted · Report reply

    1 hour ago, Zargo said:

    I recall buying this one and expecting a poorer man's FMF (I used to look at the reviews on allmusic.com a lot). Playing it through for the first time, I was mighty surprised and mighty delighted. 

    I think that is a common perception of the record; while for me it wasn't as good as FMF I still really like it quite a bit. Returning to Drew's point about a lot of different styles or feelings to the songs, I think that really holds true with ITGWO, even with the numbers I don't care for (All The Wrong Reasons, Kings Highway, ITGWO etc.) there's a wide range of emotion to the record.

    All or Nothin', Makin' Some Noise and Built To Last all have such different approaches in music, tempo and feeling and are a lot of fun to listen to.

    1 hour ago, Zargo said:

    Echo, and all the mid-tempo/ up-tempo sounds have a crisp Rick Ruben sound but with some real energy behind it.

    It does feel of a piece. If you didn't know, I guess after hearing FMF and listening to it nonstop, Rubin wanted to work with Petty and that's why they ended up doing Wildflowers together; very simplified version. But I guess he loved FMF.

     For me, Echo is too long and a lot of the songs just don't connect. I think Accused of Love could be the nadir of the record and one of the worst things Tom ever wrote.

    Oddly enough though, when I think about it now, Rhino Skin and the line about "elephant balls" shows his stubborness and dedication to his creativity; I guess some wanted him to change it but it's an effective and funny lyric.

    1 hour ago, Zargo said:

    remind me of your top two?

    Full Moon Fever. Just a great run of songs, perfectly placed on the record. Side A is just fantastic, it's so good but then Side B is equally good yet different. I think Mike Campbell played his best solo ever in the outro to Runnin' Down A Dream. A Face in the Crowd is moody and evocative, Zombie Zoo a carnivalesque stomp and then you've got Alright For Now, a simple, powerful lullaby right towards the end. It's one of those records you could just play front to back over and over.

    I feel the same about Hypnotic Eye, a really good run of songs at nearly forty years into being a band! Tom could've gone a more singer-songwriter approach, or kept with the blues or "blues" of Mojo but instead went for a rockin' album. The first three songs alone are these really good rock songs, yet each are so different, the heaviness of American Dream Plan B (yet with that amazing acoustic moment), the thrilling groove of Fault Lines and then boom! Red River, that opening sounds so heavy, yet kinda makes me feel like I'm hearing a big band play that first note/chord. I think they perfectly balanced faster moving or heavier tracks with lighter ones. The album has a couple different songs that could serve as the emotional core of the album, from All You Can Carry's defiance in the face of adversity to the celebration of the imagination in U Get Me High. The record ends on an epic song for them, from Benmont's piano intro, the heavy groove and then the optimistic finish with just Tom and a guitar.

    Well, anyway, those are my top two TPATH records (I just ignore that FMF is a solo album when I mention my favorite) and while I won't say it's impossible for them to be knocked down, I doubt it. I think, aside from the singles that a lot of TPATH records are a mix of filler songs (from my perspective not the band's) or weaker tracks and others that are good, but not too many albums of theirs I can listen to from beginning to end, so it's a combination of the songwriting, performances and the tracklisting.

    cheers

  18. Posted · Report reply

    23 hours ago, Big Blue Sky said:

    Maybe as-yet-unreleased albums from the vaults will be incredible. Maybe the best is yet to be? Here's hoping!!! 

    I don't know if I'd go so far as to say "best" but based on An American Treasure and even that new song tacked on at the end of the other box set, Best of Everything, I'd say there could be quite a number of good songs, hopefully across a variety of style's (as Drew noted above). Walkin' From The Fire could be my favorite of that bunch. And some time earlier they released Lookin' for Daddy which to my ears, is one of their more experimental tunes. Maybe there's some really weird stuff in the vaults, songs that will make Don't Come Around Here No More sound pretty straightforward.

    The band certainly seems to think so, alluding to lots of songs so I guess we'll see.

    cheers

  19. Posted · Report reply

    1 hour ago, TheSameOldDrew said:

    maybe I'm just winging It at this point; there's variety within each of the albums to some degree.

    Wingin' it is good!

    1 hour ago, TheSameOldDrew said:

    Think of Mystery Man on the first album, or Louisiana Rain on DTT, or The Criminal Kind on HP, both I Should Have Known It and Something Good Coming on Mojo, etc.. 

    You got Money Becomes King on The Last DJ, My Life/Your World on LMU, Shadow People and Full Grown Boy on HE, what else? 

    It's a good point, maybe something that might seem obvious now but was left unsaid, maybe never really discussed on here before. A good observation to make!

    cheers

  20. Posted · Report reply

    1 hour ago, TheSameOldDrew said:

    I thought that's what you meant, and I likewise meant that the ordering of the entire 16 is not so skewed to one or the other major types of music presented by TP/TPATH

    I understood you, I just figured it was interesting that the "best o' the best" at least among the 16 voters ended up with that grouping. This could've been 16 people who favored the more mellow end of things, like HC and Echo. But yes, there is a pretty good mix which you get into below:

    1 hour ago, TheSameOldDrew said:

    I think I might even see 3 major types of music with TP/TPATH, for me it's the more hard rocking DTT/LAD/HE, the more mellow WF/STO/Echo, and the more jangly HP/ITGWO/HC.  With maybe FMF/LMU/TPATH/YGGI straddling the line between jangly and hard rocking.   

    That's a pretty good breakdown (pun intended). Though I'd maybe put FMF with the DTT bunch but really, that's a pretty good summary. Reminds me of a girl I knew, she said she cared about me...no no, that's not what she said, what she said was how TPATH covered a wide mix of musical styles, this was after watching the WF show, at night on the lawn, dancing under the stars,  years and years ago. We all pretty much agreed with her. There's been finer nights since but I didn't know how good I had it at the time. 

    I suppose one could take your perspective and map it onto the Greatest Hits, a fine mixture of jangling, hard rocking, moody, and even a dash of the psychedelic. 

    1 hour ago, TheSameOldDrew said:

    But what we are both saying is that one type doesn't completely dominate the fan rankings.

    Yes.

    It's neat how there's the Greatest Hits, and a few albums that are still considered classic, DTT, FMF & WF and the rest a melange of styles for the more hardcore fan to seek out. And on this forum a combination of people who have all kinds of differing taste and opinion.

    cheers

  21. Posted · Report reply

    2 hours ago, TheSameOldDrew said:

    Yes, and I think that's true when looking at the entire 16 album ranking.

    More my point was that it could've been more skewed with their more rocking albums (DTT/HE/FMF/Self-titled/) or the more mellow, depressing ones (Echo/WF/Last Dj/Mojo) but instead ended up with a mix.

    2 hours ago, TheSameOldDrew said:

    Then again, it's currently quite far behind the 14th most popular album, so it would take a lot of very different voting just to raise it one notch. 

    It seemed to have a lot of fans on here as I recall but who knows. 

    2 hours ago, TheSameOldDrew said:

    I have Southern Accents as my 4th choice, but it's 11th in the consensus here.  And I think that's unlikely to change even if a lot more fans join in voting, though I hope they do anyway. 

    That's an album that keeps dropping in my estimation, same with Last Dj. 

    1 hour ago, Shelter said:

    It's ranked there because it was the only slot left.

    I see how it is. Fine, be that way, ignore 8 3/4.

    1 hour ago, Shelter said:

     The result is very unusual. Intense, urgent, fresh. And at times a little strange. And quite frankly that's exactly why it's more timeless than most of the more stylish, sharp and experienced  efforts out there

    Yeah, makes sense. I agree about the strangeness as well, of which I think it continues on here and there even just from little things like "normal noises in here" to all out with the ITGWO stage show. There is a sense of them trying anything and having fun with the process.

    1 hour ago, Shelter said:

    It's Magic that way. Energy is too sleepy a word, I'm afraid.

    That's a first. I mean the energy, I don't blame you for being afraid, ranking can be a serious business.

    1 hour ago, Shelter said:

    I just don't think the first attempt is quite as stellar as official legend has it

    Despite the much lauded and worked for drum sounds on DTT, which I like, I also like the drums on the first two records as well, overall both album one and two sound quite good to me.

    cheers

     

  22. Posted · Report reply

    On September 15, 2019 at 1:36 AM, Zargo said:

    1. Into the Great Wide Open

    2. Echo

     

    That's an interesting combination, definitely getting a whole range of emotions from the band. I think of ITGWO as largely a happy album, from the bright cover, to the chiming guitars, the fun of Makin Some Noise, Learning to Fly and the power of You and I Will Meet Again. Even Built to Last ushers the listener home on warm soft sounds.

    Which is a far cry from Echo, an album cover so gray and gloomy it fits the songs within.

    Thanks for sharin'!

    cheers

  24. Posted · Report reply

    On September 15, 2019 at 12:25 PM, TheSameOldDrew said:

    New Consensus Rankings (16 rankers):

    1. Damn The Torpedoes (3.00 first place votes) - 196 points

    2. Hard Promises (3.33) - 185 points

    3. Long After Dark (0.33) - 183.5 points

    4. Wildflowers (5.00) - 164 points 

    5. Full Moon Fever (0.50) - 158.1 points

    Interesting approach! A quick perusal of the top five, let's see. I guess it's not a big surprised that DTT is number one with its list of hits. No, you know what, let's try a different approach. Looking at the top 5 as a whole, it's interesting to me in that it pretty much covers the spectrum of TPATH's music.

    You've got the big breakthrough record filled with hits, the moodier follow up where they stretched themselves, another more rocking affair but different then DTT, WF which was another huge record and showed a big shift in Tom's songwriting and finally FMF, third of three big significant records for the band and one of uptempo fun pop-rock-n-roll.

    On September 15, 2019 at 12:25 PM, TheSameOldDrew said:

    15. Highway Companion - 80.6 points 

    16. Mojo - 79.3 points

    I think if more people had voted HC would be much higher up, I don't know about Mojo though. I think it's better than other albums but I'm not surprised that the one record where they really abandoned all their signature styles in favor of longer meandering guitar heavy pieces, or at least, an album dominated by such, would come in last. I think I remember on the old official board how people were upset with the record when it first was released, the long songs a big turn-off for a lot of listeners.

    23 hours ago, Shelter said:

    9. Damn the Torpedos

    Is DTT ranked here because of its quality or just that you've heard it and the big hits on there so much? I was surprised to see this record at this spot for you. Then again, FMF has been overplayed and is higher so perhaps it's nothing to do with overplayed songs at all.

    My guess is you rank You're Gonna/Self-titled so high not just because of the songwriting but the overall energy and sound quality of those records too.  

    cheers

  25. Posted · Report reply

    Next to TPATH's greatest hits I think the Cars is one of the best collections of a group's songs. I've not heard much beyond those songs but I think they're fantastic. The Cars are a very unique sounding band and their mix of riff, melody and synths somehow make them feel timeless. Moving In Stereo, Dangerous Type, BFG, Good Times Roll...I've heard them for years but still think they're quite good! Just What I Needed intro is wonderfully simple and simply powerful. You Might Think is a perfect pop-rock song. 

    Anyway, I was a bit sad to learn about his death. The Cars are a unique rock band, they don't sound like anyone else from a combination of his voice and their layered catchy music.

    cheers

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