Favourite albums

Any NON-FSOL based music chatter can go right about here....
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Ross
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Favourite albums

Post by Ross »

To try and spice things up and add some variety from the artist threads, here's a bit of fun (possibly).

What are your top all-time most favouritest favourite albums of all time ever ever? Try not to list more than 20 otherwise things get complicated. And maybe some reasons why... would be interesting to see how tastes vary between members of the board.


Here are mine, in vague order (the top five are, after that it gets hazy)

The Future Sound of London - Lifeforms
Perhaps unsurprising. I rate this on a whole different level to other albums, nothing is quite so visual in its atmosphere, no album takes me away from the real world quite as much as Lifeforms. I've had it for fourteen years and don't tire of a second of it yet. Other than Elaborate Burn, never got that one...

Idlewild - 100 Broken Windows
My favourite set of songs ever. There's something beautifully... Scottish about Idlewild. They seem to sum up the cold, bleak landscape in their music. Retains the punk roots of their early stuff but hints at the folk leanings of their later material, and contains Roddy's best lyrics to date.

Million Dead - A Song to Ruin
I don't listen to anywhere near as much hardcore punk as I used to, but this album will always stay with me. Frank Turner has such a brilliant turn of phrase that he manages to deconstruct so many of the social ills within the world while keeping the whole experience personal. The music's melodic enough to seem as relevant as the words, which is a rarity in decent politial punk.

Aphex Twin - Selected Ambient Works Vol. II
On the whole, I'm not such a big fan of traditional synthy sounding ambient, but RDJ has such an ear for melody and atmosphere that he pulls this off brilliantly. The soundtrack to a night in the countryside, sinister goings on somewhere out of sight and moments of beautiful pause. Rhubarb is about as good as music gets.

Blur - Parklife
Britpop was something I grew up with, and while in hindsight much of it was poor, shallow crap, the odd band remains vital to this day. Parklife's seemingly endless twists and turns throughout the history of popular song, from 30s style lounge to disco, post-punk and muzak, combined with some of the most beautiful songs in the band's repertoire - To the End and This is a Low in particular - give it the edge over similar classics by Pulp and Suede.

Deaf Center - Pale Ravine
Phenomenal electro-acoustic modern classical ambience, combining strings, piano, synths and samples into a soundscape almost unmatched in its convincingness (that's not a word, I know). Erik Skodvin classes FSOL among his influences and it's easy to see why - this music is positively alive and dripping in atmosphere. A darker version of the classical ends of FSOL's Environments series and some of the most haunting compositions ever put to tape.

Tears for Fears - Songs from the Big Chair
There's something about excessively 80s sounding production that I love, which I think stems from childhood memory, so anything that sounds like this is good with me. However, it's the fact that Roland Orzabal has such a good way with a tune that puts this so high on my list. The Working Hour is haunting, while Listen, with its layers of vocal chants and synths, shows they were more than just a pop band.

Current Ninety Three - Soft Black Stars
Beautiful, melancholic piano work is the only music behind David Tibet's voice here, as he comes to terms with having to throw off his, hmm, 'less than Christian' past and move forward to his new life and his wife. Utterly heartbreaking. Tibet's voice is an acquired taste, but, being a fan, I find this one of the most beautiful albums ever recorded.

Max Richter - The Blue Notebooks
Without his FSOL collaborations, I'm not sure I'd have paid Richter as much attention as I have - which would be shameful, as anybody who hasn't heard this collection of beautiful miniatures for string quartet, piano, organ and electronics is really missing out. On some of his later albums, Richter has begun to repeat himself a little, but at this point every idea is so fresh that there is little criticism to put upon such a beautiful album.

The Divine Comedy - Promenade
Baroque pop in all its glory. A small string section, piano and guitar, Neil Hannon's spectacularly dense songwriting and a tale about a day in the life of two young lovers. A beautiful, romantic little record, bursting with wonderful melodies.

Underworld - Oblivion With Bells
Not their most popular album, hated by some in fact, but - perhaps unsurprisingly - its ambience and soundtrack leanings make it my favourite. From the laid back dance tracks of the first half to the more acoustic stylings of Good Morning Cockerel, things here are uniformly beautiful. My love for this direction made Barking's dance pop tedium even harder to take...

Wire - A Bell is a Cup Until it is Struck
Wire's poppiest record, but certainly my favourite. The icy detachment of their earlier works is equally on display here, just through a catchy chorus-filled, melodic filter. Kidney Bingos is possibly their career highlight, while the surreal lyrics keep the music from ever becoming too commercial sounding.

Autechre - Amber
More cool, glacial sounds, this time from Autechre whose career I tend to enjoy, but never as much as this. Their most ambient record, this is far from the traditional definition of the word - clattering beats are still in play and sometimes to the fore, but the overall vibe is one of atmosphere. Piezo and Nine are both masterpieces.

Mercury Rev - Deserter's Songs
What amazes me most about Deserter's Songs is that no orchestra was present in the recording of it, just a couple of string, brass and wind players, a mellotron and some samples, yet together they manage to suggest the presence of a full ensemble, which orchestrates this beautiful lush album. The album's sweeping melodies and evocative lyrics manage to match the sounds, and it's not hard to see how Gaz rates the record among his favourites of modern psychedelia.

The Future Sound of London - Environments II
I love this album. Every track sounds like it was written intentionally for the record, yet we know that the tracks date from the ISDN era, the 1997 era and even some new tracks. A soundtrack to an icy wilderness (yes, I like 'icy' music) which flows superbly from one piece to the next, eventually exploding (in a subtle way) during the album's centerpiece run of three - North Arctic, Factories & Assembly, Ice Formed - before fading away again. The mixture of ambience and modern classical sounds was a surprise, and one I hope they continue with long into the future. Magnificent.

Mike Oldfield - Hergest Ridge
I do love this record. The pastoral, acoustic sound is marvellous and lends a stillness to the mood; the oboe and acoustic guitar section in part one is so evocative of being entirely cut off from the modern world. Some of his other albums are good too (many are awful), but this is his masterpiece and makes up for the awfulness of his 80s pop songs.
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seedy
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Re: Favourite albums

Post by seedy »

too many to name or think about

instead i'll just rant a bunch of favorite bands/acts:

Phish
Medeski Martin and Wood
Zappa
Pink Floyd
Beatles
Ozric Tentacles
FSOL
The Orb
Eat Static
System 7
African Head Charge
Mad Professor
Dub Syndicate
Squarepusher
Aphex Twin
Boards of Canada
Autechre
Shpongle
Hallucinogen
Prometheus
Younger Brother
Ott
Charlie Hunter
Amon Tobin
Infected Mushroom
Juno Reactor
Jah Wobble
Bill Laswell



lol ok.....even this list is just too much for me to grasp at work!
partial list is all i can offer for now ;p
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RazorJack
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Re: Favourite albums

Post by RazorJack »

too many to name of course, but the first few (and possibly most significant) that come to mind:

Sanctum - Lupus In Fabula
Ulver - everything from 1998-now
FSOL - Dead Cities / Lifeforms / Environments 1
Sunn O))) - Black One
Solefald - The Linear Scaffold / Neonism
Arcturus - La Masquerade Infernale / The Sham Mirrors
Massive Attack - Mezzanine
Neurosis - Through Silver In Blood
The Kovenant - Animatronic
Michael Stearns - Planetary Unfolding
In Flames - all from 1995-2004
Beyond Dawn - In Reverie
Biosphere - Substrata
Leftfield - Leftism
Eminem - (mostly) everything until 2005
World of Warcraft OST's

Not sure about the order either, top 10 might be close to actual order, it's simply too difficult to choose :lol:
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Motorik
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Re: Favourite albums

Post by Motorik »

Excellent thread idea.

Where to start?

Big Star - #1 Record
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I go through phases of really, and I mean really hammering this record. It does get to the point where I have to make myself stop playing it.
That does not sound like the act of a sane human being... I have no defence.
Recorded in 1972 it is many different things, pop / rock / glam, at times like Bowie others like Tom Petty or The Byrds or The Beatles. When asked to sum it up I usually say, well Teenage Fanclub built their entire career off one of the songs (Thirteen), that's not really fair, but it might give you an idea.
This has melted my head for many a year.



Simple? Yes. Magical? Definitely. The backing vocals kill me.
An album that if it doesn't click immediately, which it didn't with me, is worth persevering with.
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Motorik
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Re: Favourite albums

Post by Motorik »

Ross wrote: Max Richter - The Blue Notebooks
Without his FSOL collaborations, I'm not sure I'd have paid Richter as much attention as I have - which would be shameful, as anybody who hasn't heard this collection of beautiful miniatures for string quartet, piano, organ and electronics is really missing out. On some of his later albums, Richter has begun to repeat himself a little, but at this point every idea is so fresh that there is little criticism to put upon such a beautiful album.
I wholeheartedly agree with this.
Incredible album which I would have missed without his collaborations.
Love his work, Memoryhouse is also excellent.
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Re: Favourite albums

Post by Pandemonium »

Max Richter - The Blue Notebooks
+1
totally.
You're doin' too much, do less.
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Tito Lozano
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Re: Favourite albums

Post by Tito Lozano »

1990 (Daniel Johnston album)
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OffLand
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Re: Favourite albums

Post by OffLand »

This album is definitely in the my top five (I am too lazy to put a top five together though):

Woob - 1194

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tryptych
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Re: Favourite albums

Post by tryptych »

Tito Lozano wrote:1990 (Daniel Johnston album)
Cool stuff.. mental health problems are no joke. I have heard about this guy, but never his music.

My absolute favorite records:

FSOL - Dead Cities
Pink Floyd - Dark Side Of The Moon
The Beatles -Revolver
The Smashing Pumpkins - Siamese Dream
Slowdive - Pygmalion

That's probably the top 5, but it's of course hard to put them in order. Too many memories associated to so many records..
from the source flows the endless...
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Re: Favourite albums

Post by SneakyLion »

Hey everyone, I'm new to this forum so I guess this is a good way to enter the fray.

FSOL - lifeforms. (hate to be so predictable on this one but it's a masterpiece)
Steve Reich - 18 musicians
FFWD - FFWD
Irresistible Force - Global Chillage
Massive Attack vs Mad Professor - no protection
Global Communications - the Chapterhouse Rmxs & the Slowdive remix (under alia Reload)
McCoy Tyner - Asante
Eric Dolphy - Out there
Sam Rivers - Waves
Black Uhuru - Dub Factor
Yesterdays New Quintet - tribute to brother weldon
Sandals - cracked ep
Faust - Faust IV
23 Skidoo - gospel goes to guinea 12"
Primal Scream - higher than the sun (all of the mixes)
Terry Riley - Rainbow in Curved Air
Autechre - tri repetae
Masada (everything they've done)
Tom Waits - Bone machine
Bill Laswell - Imaginary Cuba

If you asked me tomorrow I might change some of these but most have been on repeat for years if not decades.
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Tito Lozano
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Re: Favourite albums

Post by Tito Lozano »

tryptych wrote:
Tito Lozano wrote:1990 (Daniel Johnston album)
Cool stuff.. mental health problems are no joke. I have heard about this guy, but never his music.


That's probably the top 5, but it's of course hard to put them in order. Too many memories associated to so many records..
I respect to Daniel Johnston and his ill,sure is a really survivor and never threw in the towel as other 90´s heroes with problems,for me is authentic genius as Salvador Dalí was a genius and not a mad or upset

Check his Biopic made in 2006 called, The Devil & Daniel Johnston ,the friendly ghost...



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Re: Favourite albums

Post by LooseLink »

In terms of albums, my favourites are albums that I can sit through front to back, without skipping a track or going uuuuuurggghh, so that narrows me down abit, here's a few off the top of my head:

Soundgarden: Superunknown
Pearl Jam: Vs
Alice In Chains: Dirt
Leftfield: Leftism
FSOL: Dead Cities
Pink Floyd: Dark Side
Yello: You Gotta Say Yes To Another Excess
The Orb: U.F.Orb
Dire Straits: Brothers In Arms

Most of the standards, my branching out consists of individual tracks from people, I try to listen to the albums they're from afterwards, slowly.
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tryptych
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Re: Favourite albums

Post by tryptych »

LooseLink wrote: Pearl Jam: Vs
Alice In Chains: Dirt
Nice, used to listen to these when I was younger. Also Rage Against The Machine and Nirvana Unplugged (although not a Nirvana fan in general) were played hundreds of times.

Some recent favorites:

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CRIMINALLY underrated and unknown album

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from the source flows the endless...
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Ross
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Re: Favourite albums

Post by Ross »

You know, mine's changed a lot in the past eighteen months.
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Re: Favourite albums

Post by Akkya »

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The one with the 15min Galaxial Pharmecutical version

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My own album, but my best work so far imo

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Last edited by Akkya on Tue Feb 19, 2013 9:29 am, edited 2 times in total.
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