I think you may have inspired me to listen to some KINKS albums this long weekend. Everybody’s in Show Biz, Lola vs Powerman and the Moneygoround, Muswell Hillbillies, Arthur - or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire.
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Based on “Classic Album Sunday” my 2 brothers my daughter and a couple of friends have Classic Album Sunday every couple of months, where I pick three or four old albums (Ww are in our late 60’s early 70’s) and listen completely. Try not to talk while listening just listen to the music and the system. A lot of fun and good memories of listening sessions back in the day.
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That sounds amazing! I’ve never heard of any of those, so I may check them out myself!
This is so cool! Nothing else but music…sounds like a great time!
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I’ve found myself listening to more full albums for a while. When I initially stumble on a new album/artist I always listen to the full album. As time goes on though, sometimes I skip around. It really depends on my mood or if I’m listening for enjoyment vs listening critically.
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When a new release comes out, full album; usually nothing but that album until I’m thoroughly familiar with it, actually. Besides that, it all depends on my mood.
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It was probably in the last decade that I transitioned from a Kinks greatest hits album to listening to their actual albums and I really kicked myself for not doing this earlier.
@jhsmastering , I’m sure everyone has their favorite Kinks albums but if you’re dipping your toes in the water, I’d recommend you start with “Something Else” and “The Village Green Preservation Society” to get a feel for their sound, and then go through @pennstac’s list in chronological order to see how their sound evolves. And also go back to the earlier albums because there is a lot of classic music you don’t want to miss.
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That’s similar to what I do. I think there are still a lot of good albums being produced. I’m not really sure if the Golden Age of the 60s and 70s were really all that much better, because there have always been artists that have focused on albums and artists that have focused on singles, and then release albums containing those singles plus filler.
Sometimes, it’s not the artist’s fault. I’ve just been listening to the Beach Boys’ discography, and I think they’re a good example of a band that would have preferred to focus on quality, but were forced by their record company to release product at a rapid rate.
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I will definitely do so, thank you!
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Albums. 92.3% of the time. Or, in the classical world, I listen to complete pieces, which sometimes get lumped on albums with other pieces that don’t go together.
I do have a few playlists for specific moods, or to remind me to look up albums by people I get recommendations for, but I’m an albums guy.
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While Village Green is one of my favorites, Arthur is a very accessible jumping in point. And with @jhsmastering ’s bluegrass proclivities, he’ll eventually get a charge out of Muswell Hillbillies (which is offbeat for the Kinks) once he understands that Muswell Hills is a rather low-rent section of London. And the album is a bit of a tribute to some US sound of the time.
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No argument from me. I just think “Something Else” is the first in a run of classic albums, and it’s interesting to start there and see how they evolve from album to album. Doing that would take longer to get to “Muswell Hillbillies” but it would still be a fun journey to get there.
I think Muswell Hill was considered a working class area when Ray Davies grew up there, but like the rest of London, it’s probably not within the grasp of normal people any more. I owned a very cheap one bedroom condo in a low-rent section of London in the 90s. It was what you would have considered a starter home, the first place I could afford to buy with the meagre wages from my first job out of college, but when I looked it up recently, I saw that it last sold for $500,000. I don’t understand how anyone can afford to live in London any more.
But to bring this back to music, I saw that “Something Else” was made in 1967. What a magical year for music (Sgt Pepper, The Doors, Velvet Underground & Nico, Are You Experienced etc etc). I think 1966-67 was the tipping point for albums being special.
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Absolutely no Greatest Hits albums.
I also keep a notebook of full albums. That I’ve listened too on my own. Just to see how many more of my nearly 4000 ripped cds I have to go.
Looks like I have to live another 60 years.
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