Wild Frank

Nixon is a great album but I feel the last two tracks don't quite fit in with the feel of the record. If you take those two off, the first eight songs would make the best album in the world, ever. I agree with your comment that each one has its own character. I absolutely love Damaged but it doesn't seem to get as much love as other albums. The new one OHio is also pretty good, although not up there with Nixon/Is A Woman/Damaged. They also put out a really good live DVD last year called 'No such silence' which is a great watch and a good introduction to the band. I believe it was only availa

Don't know too much about BPB but love M. Ward and Lambchop. I would definitely recommend checking out 'Nixon' and 'Damaged' by Lambchop. 'Is a Woman' is also great, if somewhat sparce. Lambchop are a great 'album' band. The albums I have mentioned are really great for siting down with and listening to in their entirety (glass of wine goes well with Lambchop!!). In terms of M. Ward, its all good. I would probably start with 'Transistor Radio' as it has a lot of his best songs on (Paul's Song, 'Hi-Fi' etc). transfiguration of Vincent' is really good too. Obviously 'Hold Time' is his most rec

That kind of hits the nail of the head I suppose. I like the line "I did it once, and I can do other things now. But, I can't do that." I've just been listening to 'Love and Theft' and it does have some really strong songs on it. As mentioned earlier in the thread you gotta love 'Po Boy'.

That's a good point.

I still listen to and enjoy them, but I don't think, in the cases of Neil Young and Bob Dylan, the recent work is a good as their sixties/seventies output. I think you just listen to them on different terms. Its the same in all forms of art I suppose. I look forward to, and enjoy, each new Woody Allen movie when it comes out, but they never seem to reach the greatness of 'Annie Hall' or 'Manhatten' for example. In contrast, when a new Tom Waits or Nick Cave (or Wilco!) album comes out I listen to it with a feeling that these are artists still very much on the top of their game.

I think you can do both. I don't care what category artists fall into and listen to all sorts of music, irrespective of reputation, releventness or 'hip-ness'. However, I do think you can also discuss the merits of artists as well and comment on how they fit into the history of rock etc. I like 'Love and Theft', 'Modern Times' and, as I mentioned, recent Van Morrison albums, but in terms of quality they are lesser works of these great artists.

I might have to re-visited 'Greendale'. It did nothing for me when first listened to it. My favourite Neil Young albums have to be 'On The Beach', 'Tonight's The Night' and 'Ragged Glory'. I also like 'Broken Arrow' but the last track ruins that album for me. On a related issue, the new Archives Volume 1 looks like, in my opinion, a massive let down.

With Dylan and Neil Young both putting out new records in the coming weeks I was wondering about people's views on who of the 'big boys' are still cutting it in 2009. I love Neil Young, but I don't think he has put out a truly great album for many, many years (Sleeps with Angels..or possibly Silver and Gold). Dylan's last three efforts have been significantly better (Time Out of Mind is great) but do they stack up against his greatest efforts of the sixties and seventies?. The only guy I think that is really putting out top quality albums that are still creative, vital and comparable to any

I'm gonna stick up for this album. It has some great songs on it. 'Bowl of Oranges', 'Method Acting', 'Make War' and 'Nothing Gets Crossed Out' are all top-draw. There are a couple of whiney moments, such as 'Waste of Paint' but overall I think it holds up quite well. Probably would get more love if it was edited down a bit. Sometimes 70 minutes of Conor Oberst is too much to take in any one siting!!. In general he does seem to get a lot of stick but if you look at his whole catalogue there's a lot of really good songs in there.

You're probably right on that to a degree. I'm probably guilty on that charge. I agree the playing on the album is sloppy, and Neil is known to have problems with it. That said, it is a great album, definately in his top five.

Doesn't that album have 'touch the night' on it? If not for the shocking 80s production that song could have been a major addition to Neils catalogue. The album artwork sucks too.

That is an amazing set list. I always loved 'Change Your Mind'. 'Barstool Blues' is another underplayed favourite. The only downside is the three new songs towards the end of the set. That's a strange way to pace a show. They should have been near the start of the set. I'm loving the four Tonights The Night tracks in a row!!

I thought everyone liked Time Fades Away?. This is one of his recognised classics. I actually love the fact it's not readily available and not out of CD. Gives it even more mystic status.

There's a new documentary titled 'Tremendous Dynamite' up on the Eels Myspace page. It's a half hour documentary on the making of the new album, 'Hombre Lobo', due out in a couple of months. I've not checked it out yet (Myspace is Blocked at work ) but it sounds interesting.

My personal favourite album is 'Sound of Lies', the first album after Mark Olsen departed. Songs like 'Trouble', 'Up to You', 'Sound of Lies' 'Dying On The Vine' are beautiful. 'Hollywood Town Hall' is obviously chocked full of great songs and is the best place to start. Great band, but not enough 'grit' and 'experimentation' for my liking. I always following the Jayhawks and Wilco from the early days but the latter went down the 'YHF' route and Jayhawks went down the more 'twee' route with 'Rainy Day Music'.

I know Lynch has done quite a bit of music himself. He had a album out a couple of years ago, called 'bluebob', which was very industrial and atmospheirc (as you would expect). I woundn't be suprised if his contribution related to the album artwork though. If you look at the artwork for the first Sparklehorse album (Vivadixie......) it is quite influenced by Lynch. This whole project does look very interesting though. I loved the last Sparklehorse record, although it did seem to get some negative press at the time. If I recall, Dangermouse produced a fair few of those tracks aswell.

Van Morrison - Veedon Fleece. This is a lovely album and one that always gets overlooked in Van's catalogue. Its a real autumnal album, siting by the fireside, glass of wine etc.

Tom Waits - Heart of Saturday Night. Neil Young - On the Beach/Tonights the Night. Mercury Rev - Deserters Songs Genesis - the Lamb Lies Down on Broadway!! Decemberists - The hazards of Love M. Ward - Transistor Radio

Not sure if there are any Sparklehorse fans out there. They are my favourite band, bar none. They (or he) have been pretty quiet for a few years now but, by the looks of this article on Paste, thats about to change. New project with Dangermouse, featuring Flaming Lips, Iggy pop and David Lynch!!. Looks amazing. Really can't wait for this one. http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2009...-posse-for.html

'Saved' is actually not a bad album. There are a couple of great songs, like 'Pressing On'. Personally, my favouorite Dyaln album is a live one: 'Hard Rain'. It has so much energy and is really agressive and punk-ish. 'Idiot Wind' off Hard Rain is so epic and angsty. I would say 'Highway 61' is the best album, but I listened to it so much when I stated getting into Dylan 10-15 years ago.

I don't tend to shuffle on my i-pod much. I have 4,000 tunes on it, but over 500 of those are Bob Dylan. So on shuffle Mr. Dylan seems to come on every twenty minutes or so. I really think I should edit down the Dylan section of my i-pod. There are tracks he's done that are extreamly poor that are on there for completist purposes only. On the plus side, it did pull up 'Grant Lee Buffalo' yesterday, which I hadn't listen to for a while. Great Band.

That song always reminds me off when my first child was born. There's a bit in the 'I am trying to break your heart' DVD where Jeff is playing with his kids which I always liked. So when I had a son I always thought of that moment. Similarly, there is another bit of that DVD where Jeff's kids are sliding around on the venue floor whilst the band are on-stage soundchecking 'Pieholden Suite'. Always loved that bit too. Back on subject, my boys don't really listen to Wilco.....but stick some 'Eels' on and they go crazy!!

How about: M. Ward: Well-Tempered Claviar (Although credit should really go to Bach I suppose) Faith No More: Woodpeckers From Mars Tom Waits: Russian Dance!

'The wanting comes in waves' and 'The Rake Song' were the most immediate songs. 'Hazards IV' is also really beautiful. I do agree that the rest kind of merge into each other, but...it does grow on you.

I'm loving this album. It does take four or five listens through to really start to appreciate it, and many more to really love it. It is a total 'prog-fest', the likes of which I haven't heard for many years. There are bits of 'Yes', 'Jethro Tull' and 'Genesis' all through it. There are a couple of moments (the accoustic interlude and the kids singing) that reminds me of 'Supper's Ready' by 'Genesis'. It think the last twenty minutes or so are amazing but the start of the record is not as strong and may put off the casual listener. I can see reviewers putting it on and drawing an opinion base