Reviewing The Most Notorious Albums Ever!
Вставка
- Опубліковано 28 тра 2024
- I listened to this notorious albums so that you don't have to. Unbelievable records from Lou Reed, John Lennon & Yoko Ono, Elvis Presley, Neil Young, Sonic Youth, The Shaggs, and more... How do some of these even exist?
For me, TroutMaskReplica is a great album, one of many by this true maverick. I can totally understand it hitting most people upside the head. It certainly did that for me at first. It's arty party music; which is my cuppa tea.
Nearly everything by the Captain is a great album. Even his 'commercial' albums have their points of interest. But TMR is perhaps the greatest of them all. Nowhere near as inaccessible as its reputation suggests. It does challenge. But it starts to make sense after a few listens.
It's a massive challenge to be sure, but the musicians are spot on. It sounds random on the surface, but the whole band is just right there. It's amazing they all found each other. I can't say I enjoy this album, but I am blown away when I hear it.
@@brucetutton7897 Yep - that is perfectly put. Except, I actually do enjoy it : )
Lol, “Anyway, it’s not a big penis”, the words I always look for in an album review 😂
Welcome to the small penis club my friend.
I've heard that Iggy Pop and Peter Criss, on the other hand, are quite, um, well-endowed (or is that Ace Frehley, not Criss?). 😆
There is no way that Captain Beefheart and his magical band didn't practice that album over and over because they wouldn't have been able to have played it at all. You can find some of their live performances of some of the songs and yes, they play note for note (they dance around too). I dig the album but I wouldn't castrate anyone for not liking this insane album.
According to Jimmy Carl Black, Beefheart & TMB went into the studio and recorded the entire TMR album in one take. They had it down cold.
Zappa was at the controls during the recording session and even he couldn’t wrap his head around what they were doing.
It's an experiment in avante-gard brainwashing. I love it. I'm compelled to say. For some reason. Because when you play it, the stylus releases nanobot spores that enter through your ear... each time the record plays, the spores increase, until they create a neuro-bypass over your thought centers controlling discernment and other stuff.... that I'm incapable of remembering...
@sardonicus76 yep!! The BBC special. They LLLOOOVED him in Europe. In fact, his label was Virgin for the last half of his career... and he had a cherry deal. Just do what you feel. They considered him a God. Yea, this guy (up above ^^^) doesn't know music from the other side. He likes boom tap boom tap, get it over with quick baby. Lol.
Castrate huh
There are recordings out there of some of the Trout Mask Replica rehearsals and demos. Believe it or not, they're pretty much note for note identical to what went onto the album. Plus the Magic Band played some of this material live for many years. It's hard to believe I suppose, but that album is a very finely tuned monstrosity. I personally love it, but I wouldn't fault anyone for not enjoying it.
I'd never heard of The Shaggs before, thanks for letting me know about them. Their story sounds really interesting. They really have their place in history.
Check this out - ua-cam.com/video/yRML7EJkBZU/v-deo.htmlsi=65rU6f7aQUn3G5E_
I sang and played in a tribute show, in front of them!
It's a brilliant album! I've loved it for years.
On a side note, I believe My Pal Foot Foot was about their cat, not a human friend.
Neil Young's ARC is a 1-track collage of snippets from live recordings on the "Ragged Glory" tour...and it was Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth who inspired the idea, they toured with Neil & Crazy Horse on that tour...i personally like it...Weld is a killer live album & this is a good companion piece...yes it's various starts pieced together, but that's the point...its a feedback collage from various performances...good for background music & it flows surprisingly well i think...
I agree it has a seamless quality.
I love Trout Mask but i love weird stuff.
I also love that most people hate it.
Captain Beefheart has always been- and will always be- an acquired taste...
Captain Beefheart's band played large parts of Troutmask Replica live, so those parts were almost certainly composed and rehearsed many times.
Dolly Parton famously said, " It costs me a lot of money to look this cheap". Similarly, it took a lot of hard work and practice by some very good musicians to sound as bad as Trout Mask Replica. Although I actually love the album. I bought it back in about 1973, when I was fifteen. I've always liked non-mainstream stuff.
It's becoming more and more mainstream which, I think, makes it lose it's charm.
@@RobertFithenWell, that and the fact that it fuggin sux.
@@RobertFithen What, because it's also the mainstream view that Metal Machine Music is Lou Reed's unlistenable FU to his record label, for that reason you're more merciful in your review of it? Sounds like you're influenced by a lot of things besides the music, like those contrarian UA-cam critics you were complaining about.
@@RobertFithen
Mainstream among whom?!
@@Icecreamforcrowtoo Rolling Stone, for just one example, has championed this album for decades, always putting it in their Top Albums of All-Time list. I see no other avant-garde, leftfield albums there. That's just one major example.
While it is an awkward album, “Philosophy Of The World” is also an album you must hear before you die. I do listen to in in full on occasion because does fall under the “so bad it’s good” category.
It was hard to learn most of their songs!
ua-cam.com/video/yRML7EJkBZU/v-deo.htmlsi=65rU6f7aQUn3G5E_
It’s 3 different musicians playing 4 different songs. 😂. Once you get over laughing your butt off, it actually starts growing on you.
Jeez. I literally spewed a mouthful of coffee over my keyboard when you did the impersonation of Yoko ‘backing’ John & Chuck!! 😂
Thank God the sound guy had the presence of mind to kill her mic. He should get a medal, lol.
I love "Trout Mask Replica"
I love it so much that I got on a factory PA system and yelled "Tits! Tits! The Mother ship! The Mother ship! Yes, I got away with it.
😂
I once taught at a broadcasting school where someone put that song about "my neck, my back, my pussy, and my crack" song on the PA. lol
I will have to watch again as i missed lots due to laughing so much at your sound effects. Brilliant😂
Thanks!!
"An evening with Wild Man Fischer" is another weird one you might want to check out
Thanks!! I've never heard of it. I will check it out.
@@RobertFithenWell if you must, but don't pay a lot for it. Larry Fischer was a talent free acapella busker who struggled with homelessness and mental health problems, and Zappa exploitation of him in retrospect isn't cool.
I love that album! My father bought it new in 1969
Dr. Demento always played my name is larry.
Great video. I actually love Trout Mask, I've got a lot out of it over the years. Having said that, I can totally understand why normal people wouldn't like it.
Love The Shaggs record too.
Nothing worse than being "normal".
I've heard just as many people saying they love it as hate it, which makes loving it somewhat "normal". Maybe that's one of the turnoffs for me.
Trout mask replica is loved by the High Fidelity music snobs. You hit the nail on the head with your opinion mate.
@@dumpwoodhere well, I bought it on release (I already had the first two Magic Band albums and had seeen them play at Middle Earth), was a little non-plussed at first, but grew to love it, athough for the first twenty years or so never heard it on a Hi Fi system, just a good old box record player. Then again, I'm more into words, theatre, literature and performance than I am 'music', which is what I believe 'High Fidelity music snobs' are/were into.
Hey Robert, that was hilarious. I'd heard of The Shaggs, but had never taken the time to check them out. I went on Spotify just to hear My Pal Foot Foot and this is truly some remarkably bad stuff.. you are completely right about its authenticity. I don't think there's anyone out there that could truly represent this and actually keep a straight face. Thanks for the laughs on this one!
Trout Mask is a masterpiece, everyone's opinion is to some extent valid, however there are reasons why Trout Mask is so important. It's probably the first attempt by anyone inside rock or popular music to make a deschooled album. The Captain (Don) wrote the entire album on piano, an instrument he couldn't play, making notes about his finger positions in order to notated the discordancy of what he was composing and then rehearsing the Magic Band for weeks until they got the songs perfect for recording. It's not an easy listen, it's not really meant to be enjoyable but it's one hell of statement. You don't have to be an intellectual or a critic to get this record, it really is just a different way of writing and performing and the influence of Trout Mask on artists as varied as Scott Walker and Tom Waits. At pretty much the same time as Trout Mask Tim Buckley recorded 'Starsailor' also for Frank Zappa's Straight label, but Buckley made the decision to break up the discordancy of `Starsailor with a couple of more accessible songs. Perhaps the great thing Robert is that bought a copy and gave it a go, but I wouldn't put Trout Mask along with the other records in this list, Trout Mask really is something different and it should be seen in that context.
The first Shaggs album was recorded shortly after their formation, while their second was done when they'd gotten a better grasp on what they were doing. The naive innocence was still there, but they were playing better constructed songs. They used to play after school dances up the road from where I was living at the time.
The Sing It Again, Sam album sounds like a good mescaline record.
We have to say it: You are EXACTLY the right guy to do this video....I haven't laughed this hard since your April Fool's joke of 2023..Bravo!!! Peace and Love, Terry and Julia Tutor
Thanks!! I appreciate that you get my attempts at humor.
@@RobertFithendude, you (and Pat Finnerty) are the funniest people on the internet. I don’t even collect records, but I never miss an episode!
Hearing there was an " 8 track version of Metal Machine Music, just in case you wanted to listen to it while driving around in your car" was the first time I laughed today. After approximately 9 hours and 11 minutes I started to guffaw my head of. Keep it up Robert!!
Hey Robert Fithen! As it Should Be brought me here to you, and I just want to say that you are hilarious and wonderful! Subscribed!! 😊
Thanks!! That's my favorite channel.
I like the way you talked about Yoko - with respect while still pointing out that sometimes, her contributions were unlistenable. The Internet is full of haters, its crazy. Most people dont know anything about her work, that she already was an accomplished (non-musical) artist when she met John. Anyway, the video is hilarious haha.
Thanks!!
Yeah wearing a sanitary towel as a blindfold on stage...very revolutionary. Chuck and Eric gave their glares when she started wailing at live peace in Toronto
Sad story with no baby:
Hemmingway (so the story goes) was asked how short he could make a story and he came back with...
"For sale. Baby's shoes. Never worn"
That's genius.
In the early 80s I often played the Shaggs album in my record store. My regular customers either loved it, and sometimes actually sang along with it, or hated it with a passion. I recently played it for my wife. Her resulting therapy session fees informed me of my mistake.
This is the funniest thing I’ve seen for a long time. Bravo! 😂
Thanks!!
Great ! Very funny stuff Robert, thanks for the comedy gold 😅
That Metal Machine Music sounds interesting. Music like that is normal to me, so I'll have to check it out. Even Brian Eno has a drone album that's an hour long "song" and only has a slight variation of sounds throughout. Trout Mask Replica is great, and I don't say that based on the shallow reasons why you say someone would like it. It's fine if you don't get it though. I've been listening to "out there" music since I was around 12 or 14 years old, back in the 80s and greatly enjoy it. It's funny because I don't really like Revolution 9. I think it's a little amateurish, but I give them props for putting it on the album.
When you talked about having fun with Elvis. “Oh look honey I gotta talkin record!” Oh my gosh I haven’t laughed that hard in a while.
Dude always comes through with the great shirt
Trout Mask is a masterpiece. I love it and all of his records.
This video is really fun. Thank you!
There is a record called "The glory (?) of the human voice" from a rich lady, who believed she had the voice of an opera star and was wrong. It shakes you to the bone. They made even a movie of her story. Her name was Florence Foster Jenkins.
Didn't Frank Zappa like the Shaggs?
Ms. Jenkins was said to have been the inspiration for the talentless Susan Alexander character in Citizen Kane.
I've seen that movie about her, but never actually heard the real person.
The records are on UA-cam, if you have a good nervous system.
Great video. All of the stories are fantastic. That Shaggs story is crazy.
I never heard that many Beatles songs as a kid. I knew more about John Lennon than the Beatles due to his assassin. The first song I sat down to listen to by the Beatles was “Revolution 9” after going to a Jerry Garcia concert. I couldn’t believe they could make a song like that. Been a fan of them ever since. That song will always be in my top ten of their songs.
I’m so glad you brought the shirt up. I was wondering, “Why does Robert look like he’s been hit by shrapnel after a golfer and Rastafarian jumped on a grenade?”
“TALKiN’ REKKEDS!”
I can't imagine being introduced to the Beatles through "Revolution 9". The first Beatles song I heard was "Mr. Moonlight". lol
ua-cam.com/video/yRML7EJkBZU/v-deo.htmlsi=65rU6f7aQUn3G5E_
I suspect that a lot of the people who like Trout Mask also have a few albums by The Residents in their collection.
lol yes I am guilty
I'm not smarter than anyone, really, and I don't mind if anyone else likes, or dislikes Captain Beefheart. I bought Trout Mask Replica in 1972, after I had heard Lick My Decals Off Baby. I was like 17 years old. I had never heard anything even close to these records musically in my life. My friends and I studied these albums. We would listen to TMR and LMDOB over, and over and over again, trying to divine the lyrics, and follow the music as it zig-zagged along way out there, like nothing any of us were aware of, anyway. Of course, I was into Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Albert King, Michael Bloomfield, Butterfield Blues Band, etc. The point being I was familiar with the blues, I was familiar with a lot of music, but this, this was just so different, daring. It was definitely chaos magic. I love your channel, and I appreciate your views, Robert, thanks for your honest opinions.
PS - Two Virgins was murder! That said, I do have several of Yoko's albums, (check out Fly and Approximately Infinite Universe, for her earlier work, as well as Between My Head and the Sky for later stuff) and well she was so far ahead of John it's not funny, and I love John! But that's another argument/discussion for later.
I love trout mask replica and I'd give it 6 stars if i could.
Don't give me any shit, some of you guys like Kiss.
The ultimate throwdown, from which there is no recovery.
A couple of WTF songs you should definitely hear once are “Invasion Of The Polaroid People” and “Fred Loves Betty”. Both tracks are from Kim Fowley. I enjoyed your vid!
The hilarious book WORST ROCK N ROLL RECORDS OF ALL TIME agrees with you and should be read after seeing this, another great video from you!!!
I love how you find the actual (if specialized) value of MMM, you're making me want to finally check out Trout Mask Replica. I've had chances for forty years, but put it off because I wanted to hear someone with great taste express an honest opinion about it. Now I'm intrigued enough to check out, but doubt I'll buy, Great reviews! ... Your support of "Revolution #9" proves you know exactly what you're talking about, btw.
This had me rolling!! Amazing upload.
Thanks!!
I had heard a story years ago that Reed released Metal Machine Music just because he owed a recording to his record label, a label that he apparently wasn't happy with. As far as Trout Mask Replica, Van Vliet apparently had no musical talent, and the directions that he would give to his bandmates as to how he wanted them to perform were somewhat similar to the type of directions that Erik Satie would sometimes give vis-a-vis how his compositions should be performed; for example; "Play like a nightingale with a toothache."
Van Vliet didn't read music or have much technical proficiency on any instrument other than the harmonica. All of the original Magic Band members have acknowledged that he was a great harp player. They also have a lot to say about his poor work habits and tyrannical behavior. None of those players, (who were all excellent musicians) after leaving his band put out anything as innovative or groundbreaking. It took a lot of work to compose and play the music on this record. The raw stupidity of the host here provides a great example of the Dunning Kruger effect (like many mental weaklings he fails to understand that I don't get it doesn't automatically mean that it sucks or that it's "nonsense"). There are quite a few "real people" who have listened to Trout Mask Replica enough to have it playback in the head and recognize what's going on. Checking out Safe as Milk might help you get to a point where you won't want to advertise the fact that you have a poorly informed opinion when it comes to Trout Mask Replica.
@@bakeone4406 Actually, I'm not quite sure where I put forth any "opinion" about Trout Mask Replica. I like Captain Beefheart, and have several of their albums. Nowhere did I mention in my comment that I didn't like Trout Mask. all I mentioned was the fact that Van Vliet was known for giving his bandmates rather curious and inscrutable directions as to how he wanted them to perform the music.Perhaps if you had read my comment more closely and not have jumped to conclusions, you wouldn't have advertised the fact that you accused me of implying something that I did not, actually, imply.
@@jbb-cj1md Sorry about any confusion. The comment was directed at the host (in response to his feeble poorly assembled conclusions). It would be difficult to know exactly what happened during the making of TMR. I'm in the middle of reading the book by John French, the drummer and guy who had to translate Van Vliet's piano work into something the band could play. It's kind of a long painful read that might be less than objective at times.
@@bakeone4406 Spot on
Composer Samuel Andreyev (has a youtube channel) not only has a thorough review of Trout Mask Replica but analysis of some tracks and looooong interviews with all the musicians.
You HAVE TO LIKE THE ALBUM to want to sit through it all, but if you do LIKE THE ALBUM it's fascinating.
You have been warned.
And that comes from someone who actually met Captain Beefheart.
The Shaggs are Rock Goddesses
This was a great video Robert, I thoroughly enjoyed it. The only LP in my collection I could think of that could possibly be on this video is Tony Conrad & Faust's 'Outside The Dream Syndicate", but I actually love that album. If you've never heard it, check it out! It's mesmerizing.
I have a couple of Faust albums, but I've never heard that one.
@@RobertFithen Definitely check it out. I actually think you'll like it but most normal people would think it's absurd.
I agree with just about everything in this video except for Trout Mask Replica. I completely understand that you don't like it, but I love the album and have been listening to it for decades. OMG that Sam Sacks is repulsive!
Trout Mask Replica is my 2nd favorite album, such a crazy and weird experimental record. I think it got me into Avant-Garde Jazz
As for your review, I accept your review, but we can agree to disagree 😏
Hey, Robert. That was fantastic. I was laughing out loud; especially about 'Metal Machine Music'. I don't have time right now to watch the whole clip. But I shall return. You have a very engaging and wonderful style of communicating your passion. I've liked and subscribed. Thank you.
Thanks! I appreciate it!
I just listened to Sing It Again, Sam! FANTASTIC! I haven't laughed for 18 minutes straight in a long time! It's a keeper. Thanks for the recommendation!😂
Hey Robert! There are 4 Yoko songs I actually like: "Walking On Thin Ice" of which actually charted, "Kiss Kiss Kiss" was a dance hit I think, "Who has seen the wind" flip side of "Instant Karma" and finally " Remember Love" flip side of "Give peace a chance". I was really young when I heard these but, I do like them.
Yoko does have a couple of good songs . Her song Yang Yang is alright.
I've heard all of those actually. I remember being put off by "Who Has Seen the Wind?", but I heard it when I was really young, too, expecting something like The Beatles.
Yoko has no talent. Never has.
@@Bigchet1223 I agree but the rest of The Plastic Ono band was ok sometimes.
I agree with you, your shirt could be described as a cash grab. But your hair is looking fine. And another fun video from you once again.
1. I love your shirt.
2. You need to hear Yoko's APPROXIMATELY INFINITE UNIVERSE from 1973. It truly is a five star album - and it will give you a whole new perspective of Yoko and just how misunderstood she was (is).
3. I'm surprised there's no mention of Lou Reed's album with Metallica, LULU. Quite possibly even worse than METAL MACHINE MUSIC, considering the talent involved.
4. Van Morrison's CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATION album, which he recorded to close out his contract with Bert Berns for Bang! Records, is quite hilarious. Needs a listen.
5. Elton John's VICTIM OF LOVE is notoriously bad, yet campy fun at the same time. I'm actually one of the few who like LEATHER JACKETS and do not fully understand the hate towards it - it's better than ICE ON FIRE and REG STRIKES BACK (and WONDERFUL CRAZY NIGHT, which was awful).
I thought "Lulu" was OK in places. I thought Metallica did OK with it, but Lou Reed playing the role of a young girl in one song was just not a good idea. I have another video where I talk about bad albums that are more conventional like "Victim of Love". ("Leather Jackets" was the Elton John album I chose for that one.) I will check out those Yoko Ono and Van Morrison albums.
Just started the video buzzed up. This is gold! Not sure if you will discuss legend guitarist Pat Metheny "Zero Tolerance for Silence" but it's definitely a head shaker. Keep on rockin Mr Fithen!
I love that one.
@@jasperburchfield2028 I got it on CD, it's wild
It's on my list to check out.
I’m here for Duran Duran, Notorious, which I love!
I did another video which focuses on more conventional bad albums like that.
@@RobertFithen What? Bad? Life is now over 🏴☠️
I enjoyed Frank Zappa on CSPAN defending El Duce & The Mentors & their classic You Axed 🪓 For It album before the PRMC .. They were appalled by the behavior of Darling Nikki as well ..
Lou reeds record executives were probably a bunch of music dilettantes who were convinced they were rubbing shoulders with greatness of-something. They didn’t know what. They just thought everyone else did. Kudos to Lou for giving them all an audio middle finger
I suspect John and yoko had the same idea
Props for the Brainticket reference, "White Noise - Electric Storm, was one i thought might make the list. It's notorious as a party killer in the UK.
The Shags were genuinely terrible... they were also genuinely TEN YEARS AHEAD OF THEIR TIME!! Starting roughly 1979 there were several UK post-punk/art-punk bands who where INTENTIONALLY sounding like "Philosophy of the World": The Raincoats, Delta 5, Essential Logic, Kleenex (aka Lilliput), the Slits... these bands got on the Euro Top 40 and developed small-but-loyal American cult followings! (Dorothy Wiggin even recorded a solo album for Alternative Tentacles Records!)
"It's Halloween" from The Shaggs always makes my Halloween playlist.
Great job! Never heard of Shaggs or Sacks. More please!
I had a sealed quad version of metal machine music on 8 track tape. Sold it for $600!! That was the most valuable 8 track ever produced in quantity... I got to listen to it years later... and a was like "this??? This??? Really??" Lol
Excellent video! Thank you Robert for calling out "Trout Mask Replica" for the steaming pile that it really is. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
It might be the best Lp in Robert's collection, he probably owns Led Zeppelin records!!
Yup. 100%. Can't "This" this comment enough. So thank YOU!
Apparently Frank Zappa called The Shaggs "better than the Beatles" and Kurt Cobain said they are one of his "20 favorite albums of all time".
Anyone that wants to be cool and hip, praises the Shaggs but it's actually garbage.
@@stevenadams1795I listen to the Shaggs fairly regularly, and, at least part of me, enjoys their “outsider” music. Where else can you hear the guitars and drums be played at an entirely different tempo? That’s quite a trick, if you ask me. I also get a kick out of their “anti-cool” lyrics. I must confess, however, that Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band is my favorite rock band of all time, so what would you expect from someone who has musical tastes like that?
I had TMR on vinyl and could not get into it until I got it on CD. Not having to get up and change the record over and suddenly I got it. Love it.
And then there was the sequel “Elvis having fun farting on stage”
There was a popular bootleg called "Elvis' Greatest Shits" which compiled his worst movie soundtrack songs and a couple of bad outtakes.
I have the ultra rare version that gave off a stench when played backwards
yes, i suppose that would be a “major release”…. (See what I did there?)
@scottrap My dad had that one on 8-track.
You really should listen to The Shaggs again. It has a way of getting under your skin and staying there. I bought The 1980 Red Rooster reissue on the strength of NRBQs Terry Adams recommendation and it is one of my all time favorite recordings. The original 1969 release on Third World Recordings is nearly impossible to find. Fascinating indeed.
I originally thought people only listened to the Shaggs ironically because it seemed so awful to me. Maybe I should listen again too
Give it another listen. There's something going on here that I can't put my finger on but it is unique as hell and seems organic in its ineptness.Charming may be the correct description.@@Pluralofvinylisvinyls
You missed the boat on Trout Mask. (Surprise there’s someone who disagrees..). Watch any of the interviews with the former band members. They literally learned the songs but by bit, and someone actually spent time notating the songs. It’s also an acquired taste And you have to have an ear for the avant- garde and can tolerate dissonance. Love the lyrics…
I can see why people don’t like it but there’s some nice stuff on here if you take the time. I mean, it takes effort to get a lot of modern jazz too. You mentioned Ornette Coleman and he’s often blamed as a precursor to jazz losing its way in the post-bop era…Remember the Rites of Spring was also considered noise at first. There is a level of pretentiousness here though that is both naive and cacophonous but I think when they hit the mark, it’s stellar. It’s not easy listening. I agree with all of your other takes…
Behave yourself, Trout Mask Replica is a genuine work of genius.
I’m not saying it doesn’t feel you’ve been put through the ringer but like coming home from war, you survived!
I’ll buy it from you but I bet you don’t want to lose it cos deep down, you know Robert, you know.
Yoko love was justified and appreciated, to say she’s patchy is an understatement but when she’s good, man
Yes, The Wedding Album & Life With the Lions don’t depart too much. There’s no Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da!
Three reasons I thoroughly enjoyed your video…
1. Your information and delivery is interesting and fun.
2. Your shirt is awesome!
3. You could literally be Mark Hamill’s brother 😂
You have a new subscriber. Thank you for the awesome content!
Thanks! I appreciate it.
"Metal Machine Music" is an experience, for sure. Also, I recommend "European Son", the last track on "Velvet Underground And Nico". And, there's "The Murder Mystery", on side two of the self-titled "Velvet Underground" album. As for Captain Beefheart, I like "Ice Cream For Crow". As for Frank Zappa, try "Help! I'm A Rock!" from his Mothers Of Invention days.
This video literally had me peeing pants!! I remember getting Two Virgins as a kid and thinking it was cool to have an album with naked John Lennon on it. Listened to it only once!!😂 I loved Why and Why Not, because I used to get high and listen to those with my friends!! I would love to hear The Shags!! Have you heard Mrs. Miller?! Absolutely hilarious!!! Robert, thank you! Killer video!!🤣🤣
Thanks! I' probably going to review Mrs. Miller in a follow-up.
I first came across a lot of this stuff via Lester Bangs. Thanks Lester! 😵💫
Excellent video. I had no idea that some of these albums existed.
Robert, Another John and Yoko record that is awful was Life with the Lions/ Cambridge 1969. The only Yoko record I could get through was a later one called Walking on Thin Ice. Great shirt!
If you want to understand and enjoy Captain Beefheart "Safe as Milk" would be the album to begin with not Trout Mask. Spotlight Kid and Clear Spot are good Beefheart albums too .
I'm familiar with most of your selections, but only own two of them. The only way I can listen to Trout Mask Replica is one side per listening session. That's usually enough to just get me interested before getting too annoyed. My favorite element of the Shaggs is the drumming, which in a weird way is almost Keith Moon-like. Not rhythmic, but an attempt to follow the melody. Genius!
"Metal machine music" by accident, created many genres and influence. It can be quite hypnotic and it is like an aural magic eye puzzle. But like ambient Eno, this just irritates after 15 mins. Literally like a migraine headache to music.
Cpt Beefheart did great albums like "Clear Spot", and "Doc at the Radar Station" but yes "Trout Mask Replica" is exactly what is described here, noodling with tape machines, being weird and random for the hell of it. "Neon meate dream of an Octofish" and "Pena" is pure mind disintegrating weird to the point of possible mental patient admission.
The Shaggs album is kinda cute, and likeable. They were oddly cohesive in an extreme amateur kind of way. A bit overexposed attention wise , but the story behind it is pure crazy.
Aural magic eye is a great way to describe "Metal Machine Music."
Good video. The Shaggs album is a classic. I recently got it on CD. Yoko Ono’s Apple Records albums have some great tracks on them. “Greenfield Morning” is awesome. 😊
ua-cam.com/video/yRML7EJkBZU/v-deo.htmlsi=65rU6f7aQUn3G5E_
Very interesting vid! Great shirt. Your hair looks great that way. 👍
Thanks!! The hair was the barber's suggestion "for the new year".
This hairstyle is 1000% more suited to you. It's a subtle change but makes all the difference.
Re: Lou Reed: many have conjectured that this album is a contractual obligation album. Re: Captain Beefheart: I think what he really was saying is the following: Be careful of which rules that you break. at the time of the album's release, there was a mania of breaking the rules. Beefheart was saying that if you break too many rules, you'll end up sounding terrible. There was an analysis I once saw of it that said that every band member is playing in a different key and time signature on each song.
I'm with you all the way about professional music critics. I grew up taking them very seriously, and being upset if they didn't like my favourites. Now I realise their opinions were never any more valid than mine, or anyone else's.
Some notorious albums I've heard:
1. Chocolate and Cheese by Ween--there have been some friends of mine that have told me, "You should hear this, it's brilliant!" And, I must admit, the brilliance escaped me. It just sounded like noise to me. "The Mollusk" was entertaining and fun, but this one lost me and kinda freaked me out.
A 1970 EP by Fleetwood Mac--the title of this record escapes my memory, but the story behind this from what I understand is that when the big Mac were getting ready to release Then Play On, the band kinda felt bad that there wasn't any showcase for Jeremy Spencer, so they let him have his way in the studio with the rest of the band backing him up. The record sounds like an old radio show, featuring Spencer spoofing fifties style Rock-'n'-roll, blues, psychedelic rock, Alexis Korner, etc. This was originally released as a companion EP with promotional copies of Then Play On. It's good, entertaining fun once one gets the idea, but when I first heard it, I was like, "Ummm...ok..."
The Way-Out Record For Children by Bruce Haack--yeah, I tried to play this for my son, to see if it might be something he could jump and dance to. It didn't work. So, yeah! Although there is an interesting video on UA-cam of Bruce Haack demonstrating a homemade synthesizer he called The Electric Lucifer to Mr. Rogers...
This was a really fun post to listen to and watch ... i love your humour an take on these ridiculous releases.. Don t Play it again Sam 😂
Thanks!!
I bought Metal Machine Music from the CD Warehouse, used.
Took it up to the guy to pay and he looks at me. “You DO know what this is, right?”
“Yeah”, I answered,”a full album, four tracks, of feedback”
“Ok……..”
Thank You for keeping the cover on with Two Virgins.....No one needs to see that! Gordon photo was hysterical.
I loved Metal Machine Music and even bought it on DVD. Unfortunately the blu-ray was sold out.
Trout Mask Replica is a gem. I sincerely think it's a five star album and I'm hardly a pretentious snob. But to each his own. However, it's not really in dispute that all that "chaos" on the record was actually very carefully planned out. The Magic Band were extremely talented.
I do agree with you that a lot of people who would give TMR five stars do grandstand like you say. I think that's annoying too. People do it with movies quite a bit too.
💯
RCA: Think about it! Lou Reed, Elvis, David Bowie, John Denver, and Waylon Jennings were once all label mates on RCA!
Ooooooh, love the new haircut! Looks so nice 🥰
I agree with you about avant-garde pretensions - no one is obliged to like any particular album. That said, Trout-Mask is very musical. The material was composed, and performed repeatedly. Samuel Andreyev, a classically -trained composer, has made an interesting
analysis of the song Frownland (on UA-cam).
It's musical, but no one is obliged to like it for that reason. The Rolling Stones for example are very musical, but they do nothing for me. Same with Zep. 🙂
On Elvis: There are some hilarious recordings of him railing against tabloids. Well worth a listen
I love all of Captain Beefheart's discography. But at the same time, Trout Mask was many times the record I would break out when I wanted my friends to go home.
Yea, you need to do more research on Trout Mask Replica. It isn't just hearsay and folklore, but interviews with band members that reveal how it was made. Plus this music has been analyzed. It isn't random.
I agree it is an acquired taste, and definitely unique, but I respect and appreciate an album like this more than any "safe" pop album of the last quarter century that would't "offend" you by its mere existence.
Think of it this way: If the Shaggs is what you get when you have people who have no clue how to play their instruments but nevertheless come up with something unique and "honest," then Trout Mask is very skills musicians throwing away the script and trying to come up with something unique. It is really hard to "fake" either of these albums by "just playing badly" or "just doing random crap." When you see the results of doing those isn't the same then you might see what these two very different albums have to offer. Assuming one cares to allow themselves the possibility of coming to such a conclusion.
The first side of John and Yoko's Life With the Lions is worth at least one listen, 26 minutes of guitar feedback like Metal Machine Music with Yoko screaming along. The feedback and screaming actually go well together and it's impressive that Yoko can scream for so long!
That sounds like “Zaireeka” for masochists.
Yeah I always wondered how she could scream that long and not get hoarse.
MMM was a great pitch, I imagine. Lou Reed telling the old guard execs at RCA, "LOOK... you never understood anything I've ever done. Just because you don't "get this" doesn't mean it's not gonna fly off the shelf, quadruple PLATINUM, leaving you all shaking your heads like before. Remember, I'M the artist. You are just there to PROFIT from my genius. See you in hell." He whispered that last part.
Hey Robert, great video. With regards to ARC, have you heard Half Man Half Biscuit’s wonderful song, “Look Dad no tunes” with the line, “And I’ve seen him walk through the park a lot,
And I bet he listens to Arc a lot”? Makes me smile every time, as my big bro had the album ARC
Btw, the same song also has the genius line “And I feel cursed and sore, like I’m Thurston Moore-like”
I'll have to check it out for that line alone. lol
‘Metal Machine Music’ fulfilled Lou Reed’s contract and allowed him to move to a different label, according to the old Encyclopedia of Rock.
I have “Metal Machine Music,” “Trout Mask Replica,” “Yoko Ono / Plastic Ono Band,” “Pop Tari,” and “Philosophy of the World.” I’m particularly fond of the Shaggs. Of those I don’t have, I’d like to get “Two Virgins” just cause I’m a big Beatles fan. I wouldn’t expect much from it. One album you could have covered is Van Dyke Parks’ “Song Cycle,” which is featured in that book despite having a pretty good reputation among critics. It’s certainly bewildering but also kinda charming.
I sometimes walked home from school with a friend, stopping off at his house for a couple of games of chess. One time he put on the newly released 'Trout Mask Replica' and after a bit asked me what I thought. "I really like it", I replied, "... and I don't know why." Over fifty years later, it's still one of my eight 'Desert Island Disks' albums, though I fully understand why many/most people can't stand it.
It's probably the amazing combination of order and chaos that gets me. Apparently Beefheart would play little snippets, which were transcribed, combined and orchestrated by John 'Drumbo' French, and then learnt by the Magic Band. The whole laborious and brutal process is documented in e.g. John French's book 'Beefheart: Through the Eyes of Magic' and Bill 'Zoot Horn Rollo' Harkleroad's 'Lunar Notes'. Nine months of abuse in isolation on a starvation diet. The album itself was then mainly recorded live in the studio; Beefheart adding vocals without being able to hear the music properly.
But the end result is like being invited into someone's head.
P.S. I also love 'Cottonwoodhill', Yoko Ono's 'Fly' (bits of it remind me of Can's 'Tago Mago'), 'A Love Supreme', Ornette Coleman, Miles Davis, and your shirt. ❤
Lou made MMM, he heard it all the way through at least once. It came out in quad because it was contractually worked out to be partially released on a classical music standard. Trout Mask was literally rehearsed to the point of exhaustion.
I don't want to promote drug use among teens but if you are an adult the consumption of beer or hashish can make listening to Trout Mask Replica more enjoyable. The first and second listening was difficult but discovered that it was decent and some parts a truly hilarious. Seeing people's reaction to the album is also a blast.
I love playing it for people who aren't really music nuts and only listen to whatever plays on the radio.
I just casually drop the needle and pretend everything is normal.
I heard it for the first time while stoned on Florida hydro, and it blew my high. Powerful music. It’s not about any kind of hip factor-it’s just been with me for so long now that it’s part of my permanent library. It’s like a musical painting.
No need for drugs listening to it, it is the drug. Sad that people need things like that to enjoy something different.
... Even my cat left the room when I played the Captain Beefheart album.
Wonder if Lennon had a professional fluffer at the photo shoot.
yes. that's her on the cover with him.
Trout mask replica is one of my fave 100 albums .No compilations.
Odd list with obvious titles (Beatles,Rolling Stones,Van Morrison,Joni Mitchell) rubbing shoulders with My Bloody Valentine,Sonic Youth,Yoko Ono,Richard and Linda Thompson,The Band,Spacemen 3,PIL,Miles Davis and Kasami Washington