Sloan

[Doug]

The "A-Sides Win" compilation? Perhaps the new one? Or should I start chronologically?

[bobfrombob]

The new one is spectacular. Hence, from my best of 2006 list:

 

1 Sloan - Never Hear The End Of It

[Dreamin']

Yes, Never Hear The End Of It is excellent! Twice Removed is my sentimental favourite, followed closely by One Chord To Another and Navy Blues. The A-Sides Win comp is great for a beginner, too, but the best place to start is to see them live (if you haven't already).

 

Here are some upcoming dates from their website

 

Jan 15, 2007 Barrie Foundation

Jan 16, 2007 Boston, MA Middle East

Jan 18, 2007 New York, NY Bowery Ballroom

Jan 19, 2007 Buffalo Town Ballroom

Jan 20, 2007 Detroit, MI Saint Andrew's Hall

Jan 21, 2007 Cleveland, OH Grog Shop

Jan 24, 2007 Mount Forest Old Roxy Theatre

Jan 25, 2007 Montreal Sala Rossa

Jan 27, 2007 Toronto, ON Nathan Phillips Square Winter City

 

You can also sign up for their e-mail newsletter and they will notify you when they're coming to your area.

 

[lizish]

'Jan 24, 2007 Mount Forest Old Roxy Theatre'

 

 

what the hell? 'Mount Forest, Ontario, Canada, population 4,585 (2001), is a village located in the Township of Wellington North, County of Wellington.'

[Kalle]

I'd go with Never Hear The End Of It or One Chord To Another to start.

 

I believe Sloan is playing the Sault in the next few months too. We only have 70, 000 people.

[fortuneinmyhead]

One Chord to Another .... with the bonus disc.

[TCP]

One Chord To Another is one of my all time favorite albums. Every song on it is great.

[bobfrombob]

One Chord to Another .... with the bonus disc.

I found a copy with the bonus disc for $6 used.

[TheMaker]

One Chord, Twice Removed and Between the Bridges are the best of the bunch. The new one was a bona fide comeback.

[street spirit]

the new one's a pretty sweet return to form, but it's a bit... bloated.

 

Twice Removed is a classic classic album though. Although you can't really lose with A-Sides Win. They're a pretty great singles band.

[ms. yvon]

my first thought when reading the title of this thread was, "dreamin' judy. this is where one should start in re: sloan."

[rareair]

i am four songs into the new album as my maiden sloan voyage.

 

it is helping a dreary holiday work day tremendously.

 

pretty funny that an album with 30 tracks also offers free download bonus tracks

[HighFives]

I have never heard Sloan what are they like?

[TCP]

No one hang me over this, but they kind of remind me of The Beatles. Except more Canadian!

[m_to_the_c]

Sloan is basically power-pop, with loads of influences (beatles, stones, who, big star, ac/dc on and on)

 

I love the fact that Sloan wears their influences on their sleeves.

 

It makes for interesting listening, when you get into other older material (particularly 70's rock) and realize how much Sloan has borrowed. But that isn't a slight. There is a certain Sloan-ness that brings it all together and brings you back for more. That being said, iTunes the two new songs from A-sides and don't bother with the rest of the comp unless you want the DVD footage, if you can still find it.

 

Sloan albums (in order of my purchase)

1- One Chord to Another (w/ party record)

2- Pretty Together

3- Between The Bridges

4- Navy Blues

5- Action Pact

6- Smeared (returned this one, good songs, horrendous sounds!)

7- Twice Removed

 

I'd list these by preference, but there are parts of each I like so much I can't really rank them (though OCTA, BTB, NB and TR have garnered more listens for their vintage sounds).

 

Where was that underappreciated songwriter thread? This band has proven itself continually for about 12 years now.

[Dreamin']

they kind of remind me of The Beatles. Except more Canadian!

 

Where was that underappreciated songwriter thread? This band has proven itself continually for about 12 years now.

I nominated Jay Ferguson in the first underrated songwriter thread. (An underappreciated songwriter in an underappreciated band.) I love all of his songs on the new album, especially "Light Years."

 

I have never heard Sloan what are they like?

Andrew Scott has said that Sloan is equal parts Roy Orbison (Jay), leather (Patrick), stand-up comedy (Chris), and the Muppet Show (Andrew).

 

In an unprecedented act of gushing fangirl love, I wrote this review for GloNo last year. For me, they're right up there with Wilco (live).

[Doug]

Thanks for y'all's input regarding Sloan. I found the new one and I love it. I'll start scouring the used CD stores in town and see what else I can find. Now that I think about it, I think I heard and liked "Smeared" when it first came out, but apparently "Smeared" sounds nothing like the rest of their catalog and is widely considered their worst album. Do y'all agree?

 

What do y'all think of their live CD? Is it worth getting?

 

Well, I'm off to find some more Sloan CDs!

[Dreamin']

Now that I think about it, I think I heard and liked "Smeared" when it first came out, but apparently "Smeared" sounds nothing like the rest of their catalog and is widely considered their worst album. Do y'all agree?

 

What do y'all think of their live CD? Is it worth getting?

I like Smeared, but I think they had been listening to too much My Bloody Valentine at the time. There are some great songs on that album (buried under a lot of noise), but it hasn't aged as well as the other stuff. "Underwhelmed" still makes me smile.

 

I also like 4 Nights at the Palais Royale, but if my budget was limited, I'd go for One Chord To Another and Twice Removed first.

 

This is a good primer.

AMG: Sloan

[lizish]

I also like 4 Nights at the Palais Royale..

 

I was there for one of the nights and fool myself to thinking that a 'woohoo' made it onto the recording. Probably not though.

[EL the Famous]

I've always just dabbled in The Sloan, but a buddy of mine of who really has gotten into them over the past couple of years was distraught at how much he thought the newest album sucked. Said it was really mellow.

[TheMaker]

Now that I think about it, I think I heard and liked "Smeared" when it first came out, but apparently "Smeared" sounds nothing like the rest of their catalog and is widely considered their worst album. Do y'all agree?

 

Their noisy grunge-era debut is quite a bit different from the rest of their overtly power-pop canon, but I think it's a really solid record. As Dreamin' said, it's aged poorly compared to their other stuff, mostly due to the production, but some of my favourite Sloan songs in the world appear on it. "Take It In," "Sugartune," "I Am the Cancer," "Median Strip" and especially "500 Up" surely rank among the best tunes this band has ever recorded.

 

I think the consensus view is that the recent string of albums (barring the brand new record) is Sloan's worst. Pretty Together was the first truly uneven album of their career, and Action Pact is, at least in my opinion, execrable. I think I said this on here shortly after its release, but it's basically Sloan's April Wine album. Uninspired and really not worth listening to.