The Syndicate

My perspective of rating definition is closer to MP's. I perceive the scale to be balanced from worst to best, with the "midpoint of average" being invisible at 2.75.
The ratings don't slant high because of my definition. They slant high because I listen to music I expect to like. I'm usually correct.

For your ratings thing, Rico, I give Woodface a 4.5.

Does that make me the first person to submit an album that I wouldn't give a 5?

I am a bigger hardass about 5-star ratings than almost everyone alive.

I understand, G-Man. I think that's just how it goes especially with pop music. To some people it is going to sound rather ordinary, and even though I don't feel that way at all -- I completely see how it could sound that way to other people. Music tastes are bizarrely arbitrary.

I just appreciate y'all giving the album a listen. I know it won't affect most people the same way it has affected me.

I gave Chuck Berry a 4. I also changed The Family Crest to 4 and Goat to 3.5.

Sorry to be a pain in the ass.

G-Man wrote:I've listened twice now. The first track is pretty dated thanks to the lyrics but overall the album is pleasant. Nothing's gripped me yet but the week is still young.

Yeah I have no idea who Tammy Baker is, but apparently she likes cake.

Together Alone is my favorite album in music period. I'd certainly recommend it to anyone who enjoys Woodface. It's a bit more conceptual and a bit less accessible, but the general aesthetic is still there.

A note about the songwriting: Neil Finn is the name you've seen a few times in this discussion as the lead songwriter. He wrote 13 of the 14 tracks on Woodface. The exception is "Italian Plastic", which was written by Paul Hester the drummer.

For Golden and anyone else having difficulties, here is a track-by-track presentation instead of the geoblocked playlist. Lemme know if there are issues with these:

"Chocolate Cake" "It's Only Natural" "Fall at Your Feet" "Tall Trees" "Weather With You"
The studio version is not on YouTube anywhere else, here's an alternative

"Whispers and Moans" "Four Seasons in One Day" "There Goes God" "Fame Is" -- Unfortunately I cannot find another studio version. This is live, and more subdued. "All I Ask" "As Sure As I Am" "Italian Plastic" "She Goes On" "How Will You Go" [plus hidden track "I'm Still Here"]

MovingPictures07 wrote:I remember reading somewhere Neil Finn expressing regret re: "Chocolate Cake" as this album's opener, and I think even as a song in general.

Many people believe that Crowded House's failure to stick in the US was a direct result of Chocolate Cake being the first single on Woodface. The lyrics poke fun at American [over]indulgence and some people apparently didn't appreciate the joke.

Golden wrote:Well here's something odd....

Jays YouTube link is geoblocked lol.

It's blocked in the country of origin?

I'll see if I can find a workaround. That's lame.

[More than] a few words about why Woodface is important to me:

I spent a couple years entrenched in the world of progressive rock. I viewed music through a lens of complexity -- generally speaking, the more complex the music, the more it warranted respect. My favorites all tended to fall within the genre, and I became almost snobbish about other music designed around what I perceived to be "simpler" concepts. I look back on myself with annoyance. This is not to disparage prog rock or its fans, but to reflect on my own silly mindset. I eventually found myself diverting hard and fast from prog, and Crowded House was the most significant reason why.

For Americans, this band is largely forgotten, or at best they're remembered as a one-or-two hit wonder. They hit it big in the late '80s with 'Don't Dream It's Over' and to a much lesser degree 'Something So Strong' but were otherwise not significant players in North America. In the UK they were a bit more successful, but even there their popularity was limited to a choice selection of hits, and their following in the present is limited.

This is the opposite of the reality known to people in New Zealand and Australia. The group's frontman, lead singer, and lead songwriter Neil Finn is from New Zealand. He and his brother Tim are household names there both for Crowded House (with which Tim had a limited role) and their spiritual predecessors Split Enz. In that part of the world, Crowded House may as well be The Beatles; they are legends and everyone is thoroughly familiar with their work. I tend to think of Finn brothers music as a cohesive "empire" encompassing all relevant acts: Split Enz, Crowded House, each brother's solo work, their releases as a duo, et cetera.

Crowded House, and more specifically the songwriting of Neil Finn, completely redefined my perception of what makes music good and interesting. To me, they filled the role that The Beatles seem to fill for so many other people but never quite managed with me: the seminal pop act in rock built upon obvious songwriting brilliance which [should] define an era. Woodface is not my favorite Crowded House album, but it was my introduction to them -- I think it's the perfect fit for that purpose. This album, almost on its own, made prog feel stale and emotionless to me. I lost interest quickly and totally, and my tastes began to re-shape around the template established by this band and this album. I don't mean to suggest that this is necessarily a "good" thing or that it should influence everyone that way. There's nothing wrong with prog; it's just the experience I had.

Where some bands boast virtuoso talent on guitar, or on vocals, or on whatever -- Crowded House offers virtuosity in pop songwriting. Paul McCartney is rumored to have said once something along the lines of "Don't Dream It's Over is the song I've been trying to write for 40 years" and even "I wish I could write music like Neil Finn". This man commands immense respect among his peers and I think it's obvious why.

I am in love with this music. I understand that no music is for everyone though. I look forward to hearing what you all think whether it's positive or negative. My musical interests gravitate to this center.

YouTube:
NOTE: for some reason this link wants to start the album on track 2 ("It's Only Natural"). When you begin, ensure you're back at track 1 ("Chocolate Cake"). I can't figure out how to fix that.

It's also on Spotify in full.

Thanks for the submission G-Man. It was educational and entertaining all at once.

It's time to proceed to the next album.

Maybe Back to the Future is an early option for Movie of the Week [Week 1].

Hit That Dislike IF You Dislike is a quality YouTube catchphrase. I enjoyed Quin getting yelled at in the review. I think my feelings about the album largely reflect Rico's. It's difficult to approach an album from the earliest era of rock after having spent a lifetime so far focused on the late '60s and forward. It's educational though and also genuinely enjoyable. Good pick, G-Man.

I think the album is very enjoyable independent of historical context. I'd wager that I'd be bored by most formative era rock and roll, but this is an exception. It is a bit formulaic, but I can forgive that as it is establishing a formula of such significant influence.

I've listened twice already since it's so delightfully brief. It's a ton of fun. The world definitely lost a great one.

It looks like it depends upon who you ask. Wikipedia calls it his third studio album and also a compilation of his best work. RYM calls it a compilation. Discogs calls it a studio album.

I didn't realize until just now that this Chuck Berry release is a compilation, which makes for an interesting change of pace along with the shift in era.

Golden wrote:The latter was composed in the wake of her husband dying by overdose, and has to be heard in that context. I think it's the most complete as an album, but not nearly so fun. The first was fun and breezy. The second was lush but melancholic.

That's good to know. Contextual details like that can often make all the difference. Crowded House's first comeback album seemed somewhat panned, for example, because [I don't think] it was being viewed in the proper context of what inspired it (similar tragedy).

Thanks again llama for the fun submission and closing our first queue on a high note. Moving on:

Our next queue:

6. G-Man - Chuck Berry - Chuck Berry Is on Top / 1959 / Rock and roll / 12 tracks / 29:26 / (YouTube Playlist- Listen to the first six tracks (through Johnny B Goode), then listen to this solo track (Little Queenie), then resume the playlist.), available on Spotify
7. JJJ - Crowded House - Woodface / 1991 / Rock-oriented pop / 14 tracks / 48:03 / available on YouTube and Spotify
8. triceratopzheul - The Kinks - Arthur / 1969 / Rock-oriented pop / 12 tracks / 48:43 / available on YouTube
9. A Person - Vanessa Rossetto - Whole Stories / 2014 / Field recordings/Musique concrète / 2 tracks / 39:39 / available on Bandcamp
10. Marmot - deadmau5 - > album title goes here < / 2012 / House / 13 tracks / 79:53 / available on YouTube

The order was chosen as follows (all of them had 8 votes):

~ Chuck Berry gets a bump in honor of his passing.
~ The other four are in order of submission this week.

Golden wrote:

JaggedJimmyJay wrote:I've heard one of CBR's other albums and enjoyed it a lot. She's a very easy listen.

Which one? Her albums are all very much defined by her life stage, so it was hard to pick which to go for.

Actually now that I look I have heard two. Her self-titled album and The Sea. The former I preferred, though I don't think I heard the latter more than once.

I've heard one of CBR's other albums and enjoyed it a lot. She's a very easy listen.

Quin wrote:

JaggedJimmyJay wrote:Rico is an authoritarian recruiter. Welcome to SAW, Quin, where we say things about music and pretend to know what we're talking about.

what is a song

an old, old wooden ship

Rico is an authoritarian recruiter. Welcome to SAW, Quin, where we say things about music and pretend to know what we're talking about.

Fine by me.

To be honest, I thought you originally submitted that album as a joke after Epi mentioned it.

I'll consider the poll and week 5 to have ended at midnight EST. Whenever I am around after that point I will set up the next queue and week 6.

I gave Crazy World another listen this morning. The most appealing thing about the album for me is that it breezes by so effortlessly. All three times I've listened I haven't realized it was over already until I was three or four tracks into the bonus stuff on Spotify. That's a good thing in my book, as it means I wasn't consciously sitting here waiting for it to be over. That happens more than I'd like with music.

Poll is up.

After two trips through Crazy World my perspective is quite positive. I've had some trouble in the past getting into '60s psychedelia (the likes of Os Mutantes are about as "deep" as I've bothered to investigate). This was a lot of fun though and it kept me engaged. The highlight track "fire" that everyone is familiar with is additionally entertaining for me now, because I had been considering submitting a hip hop album for this thread that samples that track without realizing the connection.

Since my ratings are showing up here anyway, I'll save Rico the click: 3.5. For me that's a good thing.

Bandcamp's fine.

That's fine with me.

At this point my primary motive for getting an album through here is to see Rico review it, not to expose y'all to it.

Also, we have five submissions this week by my count. It'll be a pretty easy poll if that holds. I'll give it until tonight and move forward. If that ends up being the number, then the votes will just determine what order we go in.

I've been through the album once, but I was too distracted to develop an opinion. Thankfully it's short and will get more opportunities throughout the week.

Golden wrote:(if it's findable)

It is!

In addition to listening to and discussing llama's album this week, we'll need to arrange for the next poll to determine how we continue. Based upon what appeared to be the more popular method for moving forward, these guidelines will be in place this time:

~ If you had an album selected by vote already, please wait until the third poll period to submit another.

~ You may resubmit a prior submission or an entirely new submission, whatever you like.

~ I'll open the poll up on Thursday or Friday depending upon my time constraints and it will continue through Saturday night so that the cycle may resume on Sunday.

~ Just leave your submissions in the thread and I will keep them updated in this post throughout the week.

~ Remember to listen to llama's album too! That's the larger focus now.

Submissions:

~ JJJ - Crowded House - Woodface / 1991 / Rock-oriented pop / 14 tracks / 48:03 / available on YouTube and Spotify
~ Golden - Corinne Bailey Rae - The Heart Speaks In Whispers (Deluxe) / 2016 / Neo-soul / 16 tracks / 75:32 / available on YouTube and Spotify
~ G-Man - Chuck Berry - Chuck Berry Is on Top / 1959 / Rock and roll / 12 tracks / 29:26 / (YouTube Playlist- Listen to the first six tracks (through Johnny B Goode), then listen to this solo track (Little Queenie), then resume the playlist.), available on Spotify
~ Epignosis - Echolyn - Echolyn / 2012 / Progressive rock / 8 tracks / 70:44 / available on YouTube
~ triceratopzheul - The Kinks - Arthur / 1969 / Rock-oriented pop / 12 tracks / 48:43 / available on YouTube
~ A Person - Vanessa Rossetto - Whole Stories / 2014 / Field recordings/Musique concrète / 2 tracks / 39:39 / available on Bandcamp
~ Marmot - deadmau5 - > album title goes here < / 2012 / House / 13 tracks / 79:53 / available on YouTube
~ Ricochet - Jethro Tull - A Passion Play / 1973 / Progressive rock / 4 tracks / 45:11 / available on YouTube (four videos) and Spotify

We've arrived at Sunday and it's time to proceed. That shouldn't stop anyone from offering final comments on Bish Bosch as they please though. Thanks for your submission, INH. It was an interesting experience and some of us were highly impressed.

Golden wrote:By no means am I savvy, but for reasons I don't understand when I click on the link to Youtube it no longer has the full album list, but just the one track. Can anyone help me?

It looks like an old playlist must have been disassembled or something. Here's a new one:

Click

Note: track 8 there is not a song, but some review. Replace that track with this: Pilgrim

I listened to the full album earlier today, and my initial impression isn't great. I'm not surprised by that though, since it's a hard departure from the Scott Walker I know (which is limited anyway). That's not really a criticism though; I appreciate it when artists branch out and try something different. I figure this one will need repetition to stand a chance.

But the farts were funny.

I am more familiar with the baroque pop version of Scott Walker, primarily via Neil Hannon and The Divine Comedy (he cites Walker as a huge influence).

The song with the farts is making me laugh.

Thanks again for sharing Goat, Boomslang. I'd say it was a very successful album in this thread.

It's Sunday, so I'll proceed to our next album.

nutella wrote:I think by OM they mean of Montreal, lol

I believe it's these psychedelic dudes

nutella wrote:and fwiw I hadn't heard of Crowded House until this thread

That's okay. 95% of planet Earth not in Australia or New Zealand probably fits that description.

I know nothing about what is required to put those videos together with all of the soundbites and graphic effects. It seems like you always finish them so quickly though Rico.

Golden wrote:I was considering nominating a Beatles album at some point. I don't think this is only about introducing something that's likely to be new to everyone, but also can be about hearing things a different way. Thinking about the music more. So, don't worry if you think people have heard it (I doubt I have, btw).

Certainly, it can be any album at all, obscure or not, canon or not. I nominated Crowded House for example, which in Golden's realm might as well be The Beatles. What is obvious to one person is unheard of to another. I have never heard of Om and I've been avidly exploring music for a long time.

I gave it two listens today. Perhaps its best quality is that it is a very smooth and effortless listen, aided by its brevity. It has gotten better with repetition.