what was the last 'classic album' you got and were knocked out by?

also Nick Drake - Bryter Later - but I already knew most of the songs on that, so it wasn't quite such a revelation.

:-) :-) I'm most happy to hear that!

pre-1990: Poison, Open Up And Say Ahh....

Also that Joe Cuba Sextette Diggin' the Most I just got is pretty great, except for the English language tunes. But the tracks that Cheo Feliciano sings on are uniformly very good.

i more or less have all of his records and i have the feeling otb is his best studio album. it's the most intense of his folky/soft songwriter albums. there are no real standouts except the first song which i knew from decade. it's all pretty much made of one stone. by the way neil did many shit and average albums. most of his 90s (except ragged glory, dead man was ok) and a lot of his 80s releases (trans, reactor, landing on water etc., hawks + doves was ace) should be mentioned here.

Karen Dalton - In My Own Time
One of those albums that inhabit their own realm

Here’s the original Duck Rock VHS which really should come on a DVD with the new reissue but.. doesn’t oddly.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXnUb5w9mcU

I can’t say enough good things about the McLaren albums, particularly Waltz Darling which is so crazily charming and I still play it a lot. Nothing else is quite like it.

Sir Victor Uwaifo Guitar-Boy Superstar 1970-76
Soundway compilation of African psych guitar player and bandleader who I hadn't picked up on for some reason a the time this came out when I think I was discovering a few other artists from the time and general location. Somehow took me getting hold of the Wire guide to West African psychedelia for the 2nd time to actually get hold of the set.
So pretty great funky stuff which I should have picked up earlier, I think I do have a couple of tracks by him and co elsewhere hat are repeated here. So glad i have this now.

Cal Tjader Agua Dulce
1971 lp by jazz vibes player that had a couple of tracks turn up on a mix Spotify presented me with. Hasa cover of Gimme Shelter which was one of those in that mix.
pretty clean a bit electronically augmented and reflecting the time it came from or the previous couple of years.

a bunch of Proper box sets i foun in a charity shop for cheap mainly early country and bluegrass which is pretty great.
Also had a copy of Farewell To Ireland the set of early recordings made by police and fire brigade bands in New England way before there was much recording being done back home in Ireland. So among the earliest recordings of traditional Irish music.
Have had an earlier copy of this but a very cheap replacement couldn't be passed up.
I was listening to some Bill Monroe earlier.

Just discovered I have a copy of what appears to be a reshuffled version of Mogollar's first l.p. repackaged as Mogollar Efsanesi.
Great grooves based on traditional Turkish sounds meet Western rock.
Unfortunately no linernotes but seems to have semi decent sound. Whatever the bowed drone instrumentvis ceryainly adds layers of atmosphete.
Glad I found this. Have a different set by the band plus some tracks by Silhueter or something similar so think I forgot I had this too. & I think this is much better.not sure how this would feel if it had the original track order, if that would change anything.
But this is definitely what I was looking for when I started looking at Anadolu Pop and some of what i got from the US Kaleidoscope

"getting an album" - this turn of phrase is pretty obsolete now, isn't it? nobody "gets albums" anymore unless they're weirdy collectors like us. people listen to albums (sometimes), rather than "get" them. but they don't even do that very much.

idk a lot of music made much more sense to me when I got older, like pet shop boys

oh wait by “get” you meant literally “obtaining” an album, lol me

Probably safe to say that no one buys a record anymore to see what it sounds like.

Hey Stevo, always enjoy your updates.

If you don't already have the debut album by Selda (reissued on Finders Keepers) you should get that one right away. And do you have Erkin Koray's Elektronik Turkuler?

Been digging Julius Eastman's "Stay on it". idk if "classic" enough to qualify, but very fashionable atm.

Have the 2nd Selda I think. Guerssen had a load of middle eastern psych or funk influenced titles going cheap a few years back soon grabbed a few. May still do under their sale section. Couldn't find 1st. & Spotify had that l.p. as a suggestion a few weeks ago then had all the tracks unplayable. Don't getvthatvand come across it semi frequently.

Do have Elektronik Turkuller and I think another title by Koray. Bought a number of titles from the area a while back. Had just forgotten I had this set among them.
Which is now a recognised oversight cos its getting played a few times. Great stuff.
I bought the book Anadolu Psych which I've also seen denigrated by somebody who lives there and knows the genre. But does seem an ok starter.
Worth having a look at that Guerssen site if you like the area. Think they did still have some stuff at like €6 a pop last time I looked which is like 3 years after I bought mine. Think I had to wait for postal services to start back up after the initial lockdown to order my stuff.

just checked Guerssen and they do have a number of the titles I got on sale a few years ago still on sale it's worth looking through the whole sale area though
https://guerssen.com/product-tag/oferta/

got a few other titlesnon middle eastern in there worth a look too Dave Bixby's 2nd lp for one. Bought a copy of that from there a couple of years back too.

not sure if this counts for a couple reasons-
1. it's a song not an album.
2. i've known it since i was a kid. just haven't heard it in 25+ years.

anyway, tara kemp's "hold you tight" is surely one of the definitive radio hits of my childhood and i support any retro love it receives.

I've never heard of that song or artist, but I've just added it to music videos featuring industrial exhaust fans and blowers

Anyway, that's a solid tune, Austin.

Prince, "Dirty Mind". God knows why I had never heard it before now.

a couple recently, but with caveats

Japan - Quiet Life. i had a tape of some best of since 6th form ('86 or so) but never followed up. bought this and love the tracks that i knew from the best of, but everything else is a bit meh.

West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band - Part One. great byrdsy jangle from 1967, except for the one where he's being a rock. this was in a box with two more lps and some outtakes but the second is much heavier and the titles and lyrics start to get dodgy in an underage girls kind of way, something he was apparently investigated for. only The Smell Of Incense gets anywhere near the quality of the first LP.

I decided many years ago I just didn't like David Bowie as his voice got on my nerves and I found the music a bit blah in comparison with a lot of the acts he inspired. But, having recently enjoyed a song I heard burbling away in an airport which then revealed itself to be Sound & Vision when it got to the chorus, I thought I'd try again.

Young Americans and Station To Station - whatever. But Low is not bad at all! Clearly this was the sole inspiration for about a thousand 80s bands on 4AD, Factory Benelux and Les Disques Du Crépuscule, rather than Neu! and Cluster like they all claimed.

So, 45 years after everyone else, I now like Low. Next up - Heroes.

I've listened to it many times on a crappy mp3 that was on my last iPod, but just bought it on vinyl and it sounds amazing.

In re: Roxy Music - Siren.

not an album per se but I've been going thru the early Dangerhouse catalog and really enjoying it. the bands usually have an arty edge to their punk, an identity. particularly love the expanded Eyes "TAQN" EP and the Deadbeats "Kill The Hippies" EP.

Oh, I got a copy of "ABCD" / "Let's get rid of New York" in a chuckout sale from Good Vibrations recs (mystery pack - should have bought ten!)

"Charlie" Mingus, Tijauna Moods

As my big Mingus phase was in the CD era, ran out of cash before I got to this one, though I'm familiar with everything else all around it. So rowdy! Especially the crazy flamenco fusion of "Ysabel's Table Dance"

Anyone know why the 1975 rerelease I just picked up is called "Tia Juana Moods"? Is that some late-life pun Mingus wanted for it?

The Floating Bow
A collection of solo Donegal fiddle.
Picked up in a charity shop a few days ago.

Milladoiro A Galicia de Maeloc
Celtic type folk band from Galicia.
Percussion heavy plus various types of pipes etc
I'd never heard of them until I hit that charity shop and bought this in the same purchase as teh Floating Bow.
Pretty great, hope I didn't leave a cd by them there.
THis was their first lp so will look out for others.

Unfortunately just seen them being lauded on stormfront which seems weird.

Classic albums I first heard in 2023:

Painted From Memory, Bacharach and Costello - at the time, I was put off by what he was doing after Spike, but this is beautifully textured and crafted without seeming overthought and overwrought.
Big Plans for Everybody, Let’s Active - I heard and loved their other two records at least twenty years ago, I guess I kept this one unheard knowing I'd like it when I finally did.
Long Division, Low - created out of almost nothing, the album is not perfect but the best songs are.
The Natch'l Blues, Taj Mahal - "good-time" music where I actually had a good time listening to it.
Everybody is Fantastic, Microdisney - it's so exciting to discover a new "voice" knowing there's an entire career to search out.
Odyssey of Iska, Wayne Shorter - terribly ominous abstract instrumental exploration.
I Spider, Web - late 60s blues-going-prog is usually kind of dreary - this is really spirited, passionate, imaginative and energetic.

did the usual back-catalogue cd rummage in the local shop whist home for christmas and some of those will qualify (2 for £10)

Blondie - Blondie
Sparks - Kimono My House
Brian Eno - Another Green World
Television - Marquee Moon

and the last one wins by some distance i think. i knew more of it than i would've thought (6/8ths), probably because radcliffe plays a track from it every month or so when he gets a free choice. not too sure about the voice for extended periods but...

(as for the others, the blondie wasn't punk enough for me, although i did enjoy rifle range. the sparks singles were great but the rest was a bit too musical theatre. the eno is pleasant enough and includes the Arena theme which is all-time)

previous to that i bought and listened to, for the first time, get this, Dark Side Of The Moon...

Surely you are familiar with at least 6/8ths of Dark Side?

yeah, but not as an lp, only as individual tracks, if that makes sense. (and it is meant to be listened to as two sides rather than n tracks because it's all sequenced together)

I think I've listened to the entire album, start to finish, once.

I 'discovered' it myself only two years ago (yes I was familiar with most of the songs individually), then slept on it again, then a couple of weeks ago I listened to it front to back five times in two days.

I've always dug a couple of Pentangle albums, but their entire 60s/70s run is really landing for me right now. Listened to them all on a four-hour solo car journey yesterday; dirges, dances, the lot.

Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever listened to Dark Side front to back...

I went to a Dark Side laser light show in LA once, where they just play the album with some smoke machines and lasers.

My recent discovery is Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana, the 1968 Jochum recording. I can see where Zeuhl got some inspiration for the unhinged vocal stylings.

> Surely you are familiar with at least 6/8ths of Dark Side?

listening to it again, not really. two singles, one of which has a big swear in the middle of it meaning it's unlikely to be played on radio 2. first side isn't exactly full of bangers. (i do like the synth track).

Breathe came up on shuffle yesterday but the end is very abrupt on the CD. i either need to rip it as two sides (too long) or add my own fades. there's also a touch of the fuzzy thing people are talking about in that other thread, even though this is supposedly remastered.

I listened to Joy Division's Unknown Pleasures all the way through for the first time on Sunday, having owned a copy for decades (the 2CD "deluxe edition" that comes with a bonus live disc). I wouldn't say I was blown away by it, but I did like it better as a whole thing than I'd liked the few songs I was previously familiar with. Curtis's vocals have always annoyed me, but maybe listening to them while it was -20 degrees outside helped.

I had trouble getting past the first couple of tracks on Unknown Pleasures for a long time, even after being fond of Closer for years. Now I have no idea exactly why.

Found my copy of High Tide Sea Shanties and put it on for the first time in a while.
Crushingly heavy and apparently not as extreme as they were live.
Blooming essential innit.

Simply Saucer Cyborgs Revisited playing now. & it is still as trepanningly good as when I first heard it 28 years or whatever ago. Edgar Breau's guitar still as gosh darn as ever.is this still in print in some form? It is on Spotify at least.

I’ve been “caning” to mega therion by Celtic Frost and it’s just completely stolen my soul this winter. I was previously familiar with morbid tales which I also love, but this is next level. The new drummer they got here really kicks ass, the songs got more complex and he really brings the right dynamics to the picture. Awesome!

Marvin Gaye, "Here, My Dear".

Had avoided it because of its reputation as a (relative) disappointment and because of the idea of a double album of someone whinging about alimony and their ex-wife didn't exactly appeal. I was wrong though.

It's funky, and I love Gaye's synth work.

10cc - Sheet Music

How did this band escape my radar for so long? Like I had no idea The Worst Band In the World is pretty much all of the source material for Dilla's Workinonit. Impeccably recorded, joyful and just bouncing with energy, chic and cheek-iness. Guessing this vibe doesn't last much longer on future albums given what I've briefly read, but plan on listening their debut and The Original Soundtrack. Kinda reminds me of Wizard era Rundgren and the Beatles. But in the best way possible. Something tells me They Might Be Giants dug them a lot.

Man Original Albums box.
Listened to 4 of them so far. Might be s/t yet but all pretty great. Nice psych prog stuff from a band I've known of but not been familiar with for decades.
I read Andrew Lauder memoir Happy Trails where he talks about them quite a bit and wanted to hear the lps he mentions. So got this when I saw it.
Pretty great.

T2 the It Will All Work Out In Boomland
Box set. I did half know the main l.p. and it is pretty great heavy prog. Other 2 discs are both pretty good too.

octobeard, definitely give How Dare You a go too, there’s no loss of quality there. :)

hell yes to that T2 album, so classic. cool to hear the extra discs are good too, I need to spring for that eventually.

The Associates - Fourth Drawer Down

(Also, T2 and 10cc obv classique)

Man Original Albums box.
Listened to 4 of them so far. Might be s/t yet but all pretty great. Nice psych prog stuff from a band I've known of but not been familiar with for decades.
I read Andrew Lauder memoir Happy Trails where he talks about them quite a bit and wanted to hear the lps he mentions. So got this when I saw it.
Pretty great.

Funny that you mention this, I am going through the exact same box. I've had Maximum Darkness, the live album with John Copollina, for awhile, but this is my first deeper dive into them. I've only made it through the first three albums, they all have highlights but I do like the S/T best too I think. I also picked up the similar box with their five live albums, excited to go through this.

In the past few years I've had a lot of fun digging into those UK bands that drew heavily from West Coast psych and country rock, like Man, Mighty Baby and Help Youself.

Alchemist on s/t seems to be the one track that doesn't work for me so far. Maybe I need to listen on headphones. But seems not to have anything happening.
I had a great live set from Germany in 1970 that reminded me of Mirror Man Beefheart but haven't heard anything similar so far.
But generally great band from this.

Mighty Baby are great. I loved the Action from the time the Edsel compilation came out. Lauder talks about that too.
Good to have the box sets of the 2 eras of the band.

& I probably need to know Help Yourself better. I have one 2fer CD which is good.
Not sure what the pairing is.

Lauder also talked about Cochise who I've heard a little bit of since. Sound interesting. Individual take on country rock.

Yeah "Alchemist" felt too much like random experiments stitched together, was hard to keep my attention throughout.

This was the Help Youself box I got, from Esoteric: https://www.cherryred.co.uk/help-yourself-esoteric-recordings-present-the-complete-studio-albums-of-help-yourself/

I'll have to check out Cochise.

happy trails rools

Abbey Lincoln - Abbey Is Blue

Holy crap, how have I missed out on this amazing album until now? And is there really no dedicated Abbey Lincoln thread?