Where to start with Royal Trux?

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Never got into them, but was always a big PG fan...

― Lee is Free (Lee is Free), Monday, 16 January 2006 01:55 (twenty years ago)

accelerator

― jim p. irrelevant (electricsound), Monday, 16 January 2006 02:01 (twenty years ago)

Definitely Accelerator. The others all have at least a couple really amazing songs on it, but that one is pretty much classic from top to bottom.

― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Monday, 16 January 2006 02:15 (twenty years ago)

Not Accelerator. Stick to the first five albums. Start with Thank You or Cats and Dogs.

― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Monday, 16 January 2006 02:26 (twenty years ago)

Accelerator or Veterans of Disorder

― sovietpanda (sovietpanda), Monday, 16 January 2006 03:22 (twenty years ago)

accelerator is where to start. "i'm ready" and then "the yellow kid" will set you up for "banana question," and then you'll be into them or not

― of montreal, Monday, 16 January 2006 03:37 (twenty years ago)

Singles, Live, Unreleased. A great comprehensive overview of all their styles.

― sleeve (sleeve), Monday, 16 January 2006 03:40 (twenty years ago)

for real. "faca amolada" is amazing. but it might be too much for people first trying them out. accelerator is how to do it

― or montreal, Monday, 16 January 2006 03:42 (twenty years ago)

Definitely go for Accelerator! That shit is hot! One of my favorites of all time.

― marybeth, Monday, 16 January 2006 03:52 (twenty years ago)

Oy. Really, Lee, Accelerator seemed to me like a record from a period of theirs that I saw as directionless and disappointing. They were just about my favorite band up through Thank You.

― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Monday, 16 January 2006 04:21 (twenty years ago)

yes, Tim, you've said that many times. and you continue to be wrong!

have you at least tried to relisten to Sweet Sixteen? C'mon man, I always relisten to stuff when you tell me to ... and guess what, I just listened to Godzhundheit tonight -- and you were right, it's not half bad!

― Stormy Davis (diamond), Monday, 16 January 2006 04:25 (twenty years ago)

Accelerator

― gear (gear), Monday, 16 January 2006 04:29 (twenty years ago)

twin infinitives!!!

― Michael J McGonigal (mike mcgonigal), Monday, 16 January 2006 04:30 (twenty years ago)

Twin Infinitives seconded!

― r3000, Monday, 16 January 2006 04:34 (twenty years ago)

I would Stormy but I sold it. Man, remember that thread a few months ago where someone linked to that Wire article w/ Hagerty describing Sweet Sixteen as something like "a bunch of bad ideas strung together?"

― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Monday, 16 January 2006 04:35 (twenty years ago)

Really, not Accelerator. It's the album that people who didn't like the idea of Royal Trux finally latched onto. Tim is 100% OTM, especially for someone coming via PG.

― dlp9001, Monday, 16 January 2006 04:44 (twenty years ago)

wow, no, I don't remember that at all! hm... interesting that he would say that. sounds like typical myth-engineering. you have to take anything he says with about a tablespoon of salt....

but yeah .. "Wisdom of a Fool"? that is great Dylan-worship. and "Dirty Windows" and "Take the Time" are pretty enjoyable. my initial lukewarm reaction was obviously down to the radical DISCONNECT from the first three albums, but taken on its own terms, Godzundheit is fine listening. Still do hate the two covers though, they seem out of place and just are big bummers. but yer right, Thornton at least was obv a big Dylanphile .. he even uses "pillbox" in "Give A Damn"!

― Stormy Davis (diamond), Monday, 16 January 2006 04:47 (twenty years ago)

Thanks for the info, guys.

I checked out some 30 second clips of songs from most of the albums on Amazon, and I've got to agree with Tim on this one (of course, it may be hard to tell from just 30 seconds). Coming from PG, however, Accelerator just sounds...wrong. "It's the album that people who didn't like the idea of Royal Trux finally latched onto" sounds about right, again, from the little that I heard of it. Cats and Dogs and Twin Infinitives both sound like albums that I need to add to my collection immediately. I think I'll start with those, as soon as I can find a copy of them...I'll let you guys know what I think sometime.

― Lee is Free (Lee is Free), Monday, 16 January 2006 04:54 (twenty years ago)

Lee - based on that, I would start with Cats and Dogs. that's a nice cross-section of everything they did; it's got the noise, it's got the jams, it's got the ROCK. I really think you will like it. Start there before Twin Infinitives (but do pick that up eventually) cuz you might get the wrong idea...

― Stormy Davis (diamond), Monday, 16 January 2006 05:03 (twenty years ago)

Cats and Dogs was my first introduction to them when it came out and I was so enthralled with it back then, everything else seemed like a letdown for many years. Hand of Glory was the thing that brought me back, after which (since nobody else was around anymore whose albums I could overhear or borrow), I snatched up Accelerator, Veterans of Disorder, Pound For Pound and Sweet Sixteen, all of which I now enjoy very much. Oddly, Cats and Dogs doesn't do it for me any more. Too slow and too straight. I'd rather hear their weirder layered music (Hand of Glory, Sweet Sixteen) or the rockier stuff.

― Fencey Fence, Monday, 16 January 2006 05:16 (twenty years ago)

i've been listening to royal trux for about two and a half years, i've liked them for about one and a half, and i'm still nowhere near done discovering them, if it's any help... i change my mind about accelerator and agree with them up thread (except i think it's fuckin great). i'd say cats and dogs or veterans.

― sovietpanda (sovietpanda), Monday, 16 January 2006 05:35 (twenty years ago)

Pound for Pound is underrated

― gear (gear), Monday, 16 January 2006 05:43 (twenty years ago)

greatest band of all time. seriously.

start with Thank You.

― sistinas, Monday, 16 January 2006 07:11 (twenty years ago)

greatest band of all time. seriously.

"Seriously"-- that's what makes it so funny!

― Yeah huh. I mean no., Monday, 16 January 2006 07:14 (twenty years ago)

search out the dogs of love EP. 'back to school' is unspeakably beautiful, just insanely gorgeous guitar and vocal arrangement.

― i am not a nugget (stevie), Monday, 16 January 2006 11:14 (twenty years ago)

"Back To School" definitely is a major highlight.

Maybe we should be recommending individual songs rather than albums?

Other essential tracks:

"Stop"
"Blue is the Frequency"
"Yo Se!"
"Inside Game"
"Dirty Headlines"
"You're Gonna Lose"
"Map of the City"
"Ray O Vac"
"Don't Try Too Hard"
"Sunshine and Grease"
"Blind Navigator"
""Let's Get Lost""
"Junkie Nurse"
"New York Avenue Bridge"

― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Monday, 16 January 2006 12:59 (twenty years ago)

And the key tracks from Accelerator:

"Stevie"
"I'm Ready"
"The Banana Question"
"Juicy Juicy Juice"

― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Monday, 16 January 2006 13:01 (twenty years ago)

Cats & Dogs is great! Go with that! Pound for Pound is probably the best of their last two albums. 3-Song Ep is great too. I love Accellerator (that's the one that made me L-O-V-E Royal Trux, though I was already a Cs&Ds fan)(and I also saw them on the Accellerator tour, well, I guess it was really the 3-Song EP tour, but whatever!), but if that's not your thing, it's not gonna be yr thing. However, what is it? "Yellow Kid" where the guitar layers are so thick it sounds like toy piano? That shit is awesome. "New Bones" is great.
But I think Cats & Dogs is a winner. Thank You is wonderful too.

Key tracks from Pound for Pound:

"Sunshine & Grease"
"Small Thief"
"Dr. Gone"
"Call Out the Lions"
"Platinum Tips"

And also check out the RTX album.

― Huk-L (Huk-L), Monday, 16 January 2006 14:47 (twenty years ago)

My taste in Royal Trux seems to overlap w/ Matthew's almost exactly.

― Mark (MarkR), Monday, 16 January 2006 15:03 (twenty years ago)

they were insanely brilliant on the accelerator tour

― i am not a nugget (stevie), Monday, 16 January 2006 15:18 (twenty years ago)

That drummer! (can't remember his name, but he plays on the 3-Song EP) Dave Pajo was playing bass with them for most of that tour, but was replaced for some dates (including the one I saw) by one of Will Oldham's brothers. I think Paul.

― Huk-L (Huk-L), Monday, 16 January 2006 15:20 (twenty years ago)

http://www.rtxarchive.com/x/Beside_You/

― Anon., Monday, 16 January 2006 19:08 (twenty years ago)

Wow!
thanks for the link!

― Huk-L (Huk-L), Monday, 16 January 2006 19:09 (twenty years ago)

one month passes...

So the new Bad Wizard album was produced by Jennifer Herrema. WTF? Has anybody heard it?
My BW experiences have been a little too cock-rocky for my tastes, but if JH is stirring shit up...

― Huk-L (Huk-L), Wednesday, 22 February 2006 18:05 (twenty years ago)

four months pass...

Jon Theodore was the drummer on that tour?

― Mike Dixn (Mike Dixon), Saturday, 24 June 2006 04:37 (nineteen years ago)

Back in '93 or so I saw them play in Tucson at the late great Downtown Performance Center. They got lost on their way to town and kept calling from payphones on the highway. By the time they showed up 90% of the crownd had gone home. It was just the stoned two of them and a drum machine but they still kicked ass.

― ramon fernandez (ramon fernandez), Saturday, 24 June 2006 05:25 (nineteen years ago)

six years pass...

Chicago Reader wrote up a 3 Song EP reissue this week, but Drag City site says it's oop on CD and 12".

howlinghex.com has this though
http://24.media.tumblr.com/f38be358a9615a472643906ab94c976a/tumblr_mklyuzR9R81qfwekzo1_r1_400.jpg

― Mike Dixn, Sunday, 7 April 2013 01:13 (thirteen years ago)

I was way into last year's Black Bananas album, and having been getting into Trux sort of backwards from that: first, RTX's Transmaniacon, and then Pound for Pound and Veterans of Disorder, both of which are p great, esp Veterans, which I actually had a bit of a hard time taking out of the CD player. Love the late Zep deconstruction one two of Witch's Tit (Houses) and Lunch Money (Out Door)

― que sera sriracha (Drugs A. Money), Sunday, 7 April 2013 02:21 (thirteen years ago)

jj got live ratx or whatever it's called is by far my favorite post-trux album.

― sleepingsignal, Sunday, 7 April 2013 03:04 (thirteen years ago)

I would agree the box set is an excellent choice - also the Three Songs Ep or as already mentioned Accelerator. The first one I got into was the one with skulls all over it... Junkie Nurse etc... Oh how I miss this band. Is there any concert footage around? Does not seem to be the usual DVD collection and hardly any You Tube clips.

― Hinklepicker, Sunday, 7 April 2013 05:12 (thirteen years ago)

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