I had heard the hype about Animal Collective* a long time before caring about them. I had even bought the Grass EP at my local music store, but the tribal madness the group grooved to wasn’t my cup of tea.
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Month: January 2012
Record #13: Andrew Bird – Noble Beast (2009)
Somewhere between 2007 and 2009, Andrew Bird faced the challenge of following a nearly perfect record (because let’s be frank; Armchair Apocrypha is very truly nearly perfect).
During that time, he must have sat down and made lists about what worked (just about everything) and what didn’t (just about nothing), because he returned with Noble Beast, which offers more of every good part of Armchair. Continue reading
Record #12: Andrew Bird – Armchair Apocrypha (2007)
Andrew Bird is a world-class whistler. He’s also a concert-level violinist.
But neither of those are likely to be your first impression of his breakout album, Armchair Apocrypha.
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Record #11: Anathallo – Canopy Glow (2008)
This record starts a pretty long streak of a whole slew of favorites, and I’m pretty psyched about it.
Anathallo, in particular, has been one of my favorites for a while. I discovered them in college when they played down the street from my school, and I bought both of the CDs they had for sale, and a shirt, so when I found this record (after hearing nothing from it) in the record store in Chicago, I had to buy it, and I was rewarded for my faith.
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Record #10: America – America (1971)
Up until listening to this record (today being its first time on my platter), the only America song I knew, like you probably, was “A Horse With No Name,” a mildly convincing Neil Young impression.
Given that to go on, I was expecting an album that opens with the hit single, and then offers a bunch of attempts to rehash its success.
I was wrong.
The single doesn’t arrive until five tracks in, using the preceding four to reintroduce America to the fan who bought the record solely on the merit of their most well-known song.
And these opening four songs are strong in their own right, showcasing an America that is capable of writing folk-pop songs that bounce higher and rock harder (“Sandman” features a beaten drum set and a fuzzed out lead guitar) than the relaxed, midtempo “Horse,” and the excellent vocal harmonies that weave through all of the songs conjure more Simon & Garfunkel than Neil Young, which is a welcome comparison (compare anyone to Simon & Garfunkel and I’m there).
By the time “Horse With No Name” arrives (which was added on later editions, as it hadn’t been recorded on the album’s debut. Thank you Wikipedia) it’s more impressive than any of the other times I’ve heard it. The band sounds more confident, sure-footed and, judging on the four tracks that precede it, more self-aware of themselves than the amateurish copy-cats that the listener could have dismissed the group as after hearing the single out of context.
America goes on from “Horse” to prove themselves more than competent as songwriters, composers, and instrumentalists, especially on “Here,” which starts with a slow droning chord progression, then bursts into a raucous clap along before an impressively executed acoustic guitar solo takes the front of the mix, dies down, and returns to the opening segment.
Side two opens with “I Need You” (the album’s second single), which is the only weak song on the album. “Here,” America hangs up their guitars and tries their hand at a Beatles-style piano ballad. The result is boring and disappointing, and even the writing suffers (“I need you/like the flower needs the rain.” Really, guys?) “I Need You’s” shortcomings are only augmented as the group takes the guitars back after the next song and continues on the album doing what they do best, which is making guitar songs that, while pretty, explore enough through means of song structure and tempo changes, are still interesting enough to have merited the 1972 Grammy for Best New Artist.
America, we’ll be hearing from you again.
Record #9: The Album Leaf – Into the Blue Again (2006)
See: chill music.
This is one of the first post rock records I ever got into. In fact I hadn’t even heard the term “post rock” yet, but one thing I definitely heard was how tranquil and haunting it was. Continue reading
Record #8: The Alan Parsons Project – The Eye In The Sky (1982)
And now we come to the final Alan Parsons Project record in my collection.
According to Wikipedia, this is the best selling of the project’s albums, and the sound makes that easy to hear.
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Record #7: The Alan Parsons Project – The Turn of a Friendly Card (1980)
While I Robot has seen many days out of its sleeve, the rest of Alan Parsons’ discography has not seen nearly as much. In fact, I believe this is the second time I have listened to this record at all.
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Record #6: The Alan Parsons Project – I Robot (1977)
This was the second or third record I ever bought (in fact, lead single “I Wouldn’t Want To Be Like You” was the first APP song I ever heard), and it has gotten plenty of time on my turntable.
And not just for sentiment—it’s also a dang good record.
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Record #5: The Alan Parsons Project – Tales of Mystery and Imagination, 1976
I will tell you right now: I love The Alan Parsons Project.
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