Wither the Sax?

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Somewhat inspired by this thread...

This is the thread where think up names for saxophone albums (and hopefully get some neat photoshop pics)

...I couldn't help noticing how far the saxophone has fallen in the past twenty years. While yes, certain bands -- like the Rapture -- have earnestly tried to re-introduce the much-maligned horn into the pantheon of cool, it seems no one picks up the sax anymore.

The last songs I can think of with "credible" or "effective" saxophone use:

"A Night Like This" by the Cure - Fantastic sax solo. Possibly the finest since Dark Side of the Moon/ Wish You Were Here-era Floyd.

"Urgent" by Foreigner - That signature sax hook? If you can't recognize that, you suck.

Cite some other moments of signature sax work that might redeem this cheated horn.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Sunday, 25 April 2004 22:42 (twenty-two years ago)

Baker St, you loon.

― N. (nickdastoor), Sunday, 25 April 2004 22:43 (twenty-two years ago)

The best song on the new Bright Eyes's EP has a sax solo on it.

Danny DeVito's sax solo on Billy Ocean's "When The Going Gets Tough" deserves a mention.

― Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Sunday, 25 April 2004 22:44 (twenty-two years ago)

You may find some serious answers here, Alex:

blazin sax

― N. (nickdastoor), Sunday, 25 April 2004 22:46 (twenty-two years ago)

are you talking strictly pop/rock here alex? cos if not BORBETOMAGUS!!!

― mullygrubber (gaz), Sunday, 25 April 2004 22:47 (twenty-two years ago)

One of the women in Electrelane plays sax. It's not really prominent on that great new album of theirs. Maybe just one song--I'm forgetting now.

― Tim Ellison, Sunday, 25 April 2004 22:49 (twenty-two years ago)

i like how dave q. was able to name that "oily 80s sax guy." truly, a question of the ages ANSWERED ON ILM!!!

― Eisbär (llamasfur), Sunday, 25 April 2004 22:51 (twenty-two years ago)

A Certain Ratio and its offshots (Kalima, Swamp Children) feature some nice saxophone parts. I recall ACR's "Force" as being a good example.

― AndreNY (AndreNY), Sunday, 25 April 2004 22:54 (twenty-two years ago)

The 'Oily Sax Guy''s name is Tim Capello, in case you want to track down some of his solo albums.
-- tarden (scrape10...), May 25th, 2001.

― Eisbär (llamasfur), Sunday, 25 April 2004 22:57 (twenty-two years ago)

I'm surprised "A Night Like This" is mentioned but not the Psychedelic Furs, which that song (which is great) always reminds me of.

― Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Sunday, 25 April 2004 22:59 (twenty-two years ago)

mr bowie liked to play the sax on occasion ... "absolute beginners," "v2 schneider," and a song or two on the other side of low were all nice ones.

― Eisbär (llamasfur), Sunday, 25 April 2004 23:02 (twenty-two years ago)

btw, is the 'wither' a pun or just a misspelling?

― N. (nickdastoor), Sunday, 25 April 2004 23:20 (twenty-two years ago)

X-Ray Spex's "Oh Bondage Up yours" and "The Day the World Turned Day-Glo".

― latebloomer (latebloomer), Sunday, 25 April 2004 23:23 (twenty-two years ago)

And for that matter everything else Lora Logic has done--though we're not really talking about recent stuff here.

x-post.

― poop (poop), Sunday, 25 April 2004 23:50 (twenty-two years ago)

Work Away Tokyo Day. 15 sax solos at once. 15. Count 'em. Dare ya.

― Autumn Almanac (Autumn Almanac), Monday, 26 April 2004 00:14 (twenty-two years ago)

"Rio", man.

― Maciej, Monday, 26 April 2004 00:36 (twenty-two years ago)

Trans Am - "1999"

― Mark (MarkR), Monday, 26 April 2004 00:49 (twenty-two years ago)

Seems like I've cited this song for any number of other reasons recently, but the sax solo on "Meet Me by the Water" by Saturday Looks Good to Me is a thing of beauty, and it just came out last year.

― spittle (spittle), Monday, 26 April 2004 02:01 (twenty-two years ago)

btw, is the 'wither' a pun or just a misspelling?

Dick!

with·er ( P ) Pronunciation Key (wthr)
v. with·ered, with·er·ing, with·ers
v. intr.
To dry up or shrivel from or as if from loss of moisture.

To lose freshness; droop.

v. tr.
To cause to shrivel or fade.

To render speechless or incapable of action; stun: The teacher withered the noisy student with a glance.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Monday, 26 April 2004 02:14 (twenty-two years ago)

mr bowie liked to play the sax on occasion ... "absolute beginners," "v2 schneider," and a song or two on the other side of low were all nice ones.

"Art Decade"? Is that one of those songs? I didn't realize that it was Bowie playing. (I don't have the album, just heard the track.)

― Rockist Scientist (rockistscientist), Monday, 26 April 2004 02:35 (twenty-two years ago)

I'll step outside the pop/rock circles a bit and mention James Carter's playing on "Strange Fruit" and "A Flower is a Lovesome Thing" off of last year's Gardenias for Lady Day and Paul Dunmall's work on Robin Williamson's Skirting the River Road, also from last year.

Otherwise, the sax solo on Ultravox's "Hiroshima mon Amour" and Allen Ravenstine's spooky soprano work on some of the early Pere Ubu tunes spring to mind.

― Marcus Barr (Marcus Barr), Monday, 26 April 2004 02:42 (twenty-two years ago)

I guess some people think stuff from 20 years ago is "recent."

― hstencil, Monday, 26 April 2004 02:44 (twenty-two years ago)

oh such an obvious one that has NOT been mentioned ...

"true" by spandau ballet!!

― Eisbär (llamasfur), Monday, 26 April 2004 02:52 (twenty-two years ago)

One of the best parts of the Hold Steady album is the Clemons-lite sax solo.

― C0L1N B3CK3TT (Colin Beckett), Monday, 26 April 2004 02:57 (twenty-two years ago)

I can't help it, but this is what I hear in my head when I think "sax":

"I Can't Go For That
No I...
No can do uh
I can't go for that can't go for that yeah..." {sax solo}

― bimble (bimble), Monday, 26 April 2004 06:17 (twenty-two years ago)

ik thought Baker Street was a trumpet. live and learn. (one of my favorite songs. actually)

― Orbit (Orbit), Monday, 26 April 2004 06:18 (twenty-two years ago)

Is Alex calling me a dick?

― N. (nickdastoor), Monday, 26 April 2004 07:35 (twenty-two years ago)

'danger high voltage' was a hit last year.

― Julio Desouza (jdesouza), Monday, 26 April 2004 07:51 (twenty-two years ago)

In the past few years, the only decent sax (on a pop recording) has been Air's Playground Love and the 'ironic' solo at the end of Bertrand Burgalat's Ma Rencontre.

Before that...I dunno...Echo Beach?

― Jez (Jez), Monday, 26 April 2004 08:08 (twenty-two years ago)

Is Alex calling me a dick?

In a nice way, I assure you.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Monday, 26 April 2004 12:31 (twenty-two years ago)

I did not understand your dictionary post. Was it saying that you did mean a whither/wither pun? In which case, why the nice dick?

― N. (nickdastoor), Monday, 26 April 2004 12:38 (twenty-two years ago)

oh nevermind

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Monday, 26 April 2004 12:42 (twenty-two years ago)

you guys are killing me..."Baker Street"? I thought I was the only one who still liked that song. We need a Baker Street thread!!!

― pheNAM (pheNAM), Monday, 26 April 2004 14:18 (twenty-two years ago)

Rock bands springing to mind that did a good job with sax a texture, rather than exclusively a solo voice: VDGG, Morphine, Romeo Void, Psychedelic Furs.

― briania, Monday, 26 April 2004 14:23 (twenty-two years ago)

"Baker Street" does indeed rock (especially for those wordless epic hook). Am I mistaken or didn't those Fighters of Foo cover that recently?

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Monday, 26 April 2004 14:24 (twenty-two years ago)

Midnight to Midnight-era Furs (featuring ex-Waitress Mars Williams on sax) were a bit too overproduced (to say nothing of their poor man's Judas Priest wardrobe) for my taste.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Monday, 26 April 2004 14:25 (twenty-two years ago)

It's too bad you have such a healthy disdain for one Mr. Lester Claypool, as his Frog Brigade band features the talents of a man called Skerik, among the most godzilla-proportions-talented sax monsters of recent history. I'd recommend tracks but, well, naw.

However, there's some fucking RAWKIN sax shit on Fishbone's Live at the Temple Bar & More which came out just last year, in particular "Get Out of the City", "Down Boy", and "Demon In Here".

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Monday, 26 April 2004 14:30 (twenty-two years ago)

Oh yeah, I almost forgot: JSBX's "Ditch" ft. John Zorn freaking the fuck out.

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Monday, 26 April 2004 14:31 (twenty-two years ago)

I want to be in a band with a saxophone soooo bad

― Sonny A. (Keiko), Monday, 26 April 2004 14:39 (twenty-two years ago)

I despise Primus.

― bimble (bimble), Monday, 26 April 2004 20:18 (twenty-two years ago)

I'll step outside the pop/rock circles a bit and mention James Carter's playing

with James Carter (who I'm listening to right now), you aren't stepping very far

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Monday, 26 April 2004 20:27 (twenty-two years ago)

Sax solos in mainstream rock songs went out right around the time that Rob Lowe played the sax player in St. Elmo's Fire. Talk about excruciating.

― abegrand, Monday, 26 April 2004 20:32 (twenty-two years ago)

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