Sweet Papa Crimbo Posted November 5, 2008 Share Posted November 5, 2008 I somehow missed the boat on E. Any suggestions as to a good place to start? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
remphish1 Posted November 5, 2008 Share Posted November 5, 2008 Daisies of the Galaxy!! I also really think Shootnany is accessable too. I just wouldn't start with Electro Shock Blues.....very depressing album. You really can't go wrong with any of their albums but those two are the most accessable. Do yourself a favor though and catch the Eels on tour if you can. Their shows are highly unpredictable and E is a hoot! If you are looking for a top 10 songs to start on here is what I recommend1. Mr. E's Beautiful Blues2. Somebody Loves You3. Flower4. Mental5. Saturday Morning6. PS You Rock My World7. Fresh Feeling8. Railroad Man9. It's a Motherfucker 10. Souljacker PT2 PS if you get the Eels at Town Hall dvd I am all over it as I was in the front row for the Encores.... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mpolak21 Posted November 5, 2008 Share Posted November 5, 2008 I somehow missed the boat on E. Any suggestions as to a good place to start? Electro Shock Blues is his best and most consistent release, one of the ten greatest albums ever made in my humble opinion. The songs do deal with the death of his sister and his mother, who was dying of cancer at the time, but much like Aeroplane the record transcends it's dark subject matter and becomes something that's ultimately quite hopeful. Daises and Blinking Lights are really good as well. Shootenany, Beautiful Freak (which contains his sort of "hit" Novocaine For the Soul) and Souljacker all have some good moments, but I'd start with Electro Shock move to Daises of the Galaxy and Blinking Lights and if you like those pick up the other three. --Mike Quote Link to post Share on other sites
myboyblue Posted November 5, 2008 Share Posted November 5, 2008 All good suggestions. I would recommend Live at Town Hall with strings. Covers a good deal of ground and content from the albums mentioned. Quite a piece of work. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
PopTodd Posted November 5, 2008 Share Posted November 5, 2008 My first real intro was Electro-Shock Blues. Some might say that it's too depressing an intro and that may be true, but if you wanna get into the band, you'd better get used to depressing. And I still think that it's their best album. Period. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
yermom Posted November 5, 2008 Share Posted November 5, 2008 All good suggestions. I would recommend Live at Town Hall with strings. Covers a good deal of ground and content from the albums mentioned. Quite a piece of work.Me too. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
people are leaving Posted November 5, 2008 Share Posted November 5, 2008 I just put together a collection of the following songs for a friend.. I can put up the link later on tonight if you're interested. Also, 'Electro-Shock' is best presented in its entirety. Mr E's Beautiful BluesFlyswatterFresh FeelingLove of The LovelessRock Hard TimesSaturday MorningI Like BirdsIt's A MotherfuckerSouljacker Part 1Novocaine For The SoulTrouble With DreamsI'm Going To Stop Pretending That I Didn't Break Your HeartDirty GirlLast Stop (This Town)(Hey Man) Now You're Really Livin'Railroad ManThings The Grandchildren Should Know Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MattZ Posted November 5, 2008 Share Posted November 5, 2008 I would advise starting with something other than the Town Hall show. First off, it's a live album, and second, it's with strings. So all the songs are presented differently (obviously). My humble opinion is that you should start with the songs in their original permutation before venturing out to alterna-versions. I started with Blinking Lights and worked backwards. Seemed to work for me. Shootenanny is great too. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
m_to_the_c Posted November 5, 2008 Share Posted November 5, 2008 Blinking Lights wouldn't be too bad of a place to start either, if you could whittle it down a bit. Lots of hidden gems in that one. Electro-Shock Blues was my first album by them, too. Next up E's memoir? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
saluqi Posted November 5, 2008 Share Posted November 5, 2008 Did y'all catch this: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/manyworlds/father.html Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LouieB Posted November 5, 2008 Share Posted November 5, 2008 Get a big net......Oh you mean the group..... LouieB Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dondoboy Posted November 5, 2008 Share Posted November 5, 2008 Blinking Lights is a good place to start. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Golden Smoghead Posted November 6, 2008 Share Posted November 6, 2008 I think any of Blinking Lights and Other Revelations, Daisies of the Galaxy, or Shootenanny! are good to start with. As others mentioned, Electro-Shock Blues may be the best Eels album overall, but I find it to be the emotional low of their entire catalogue, so I am loathe to recommend it as the place to start. I also do not really recommend the Live with Strings stuff for starters; it's OK but I think the really layered, rich production of his studio work is not to be missed. (Maybe worth noting I got onto the Eels with Souljacker.) PS You Rock My World is one of about four cover songs I like to play at shows; love love love me some Eels! Man just reading you guys' lists of favorite tracks is great. I have to say I love the upbeat Eels tunes when I'm down ("Goddamn right it's a beautiful day, uh-huh!!") .. and the downbeat Eels tunes are some of the most honest, least-self-pitying explorations of depression out there. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Hollinger. Posted November 6, 2008 Share Posted November 6, 2008 My recommendation would be start with Live At Town Hall... With Strings and work your way back to the studio stuff from there. So basically, the opposite of the guy above me. Helpful, right? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
pmancini100 Posted March 17, 2009 Share Posted March 17, 2009 i just got shootenanny, i tried electro shock blues a long time ago and didnt like it. i dig this record though Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Wild Frank Posted March 17, 2009 Share Posted March 17, 2009 I suppose the best place to start would be the 'best of' package they put out last year. That gives a pretty good overview. Electro Shock Blues is the best album, although I am fond of Souljacker. The Live at Town Hall DVD is great aswell. On a side note, my kids (two and four year old boys) totally love the Eels and jump about laughing whenever 'Hey Man, Now Your Really Living' or 'Last Stop This Town' comes on the i-pod. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Calexico Posted March 17, 2009 Share Posted March 17, 2009 Why not start at the start, Beautiful Freak, and then as you live with that move onto the others? I agree Electro Shock Blues is bloody awesome. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
PopTodd Posted March 17, 2009 Share Posted March 17, 2009 Electro-Shock Blues is where I started.And, although I adore that album, I have yet to delve any deeper.Still, that is a brilliant record. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Beltmann Posted March 17, 2009 Share Posted March 17, 2009 I think Beautiful Freak is a great place to begin. Everett's style is, for the most part, consistent across the records, so if you like the first one, you'll like the rest. Besides, the opening track, "Novocaine for the Soul," might be the perfect introduction to the Eels. Everett released several earlier solo albums that are in a similar vein. I like them, but I would not recommend starting with those. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Preferred B Posted March 17, 2009 Share Posted March 17, 2009 Electro-Shock Blues is where I started.And, although I adore that album, I have yet to delve any deeper.Still, that is a brilliant record.Same here. I saw E as a guest at Largo last year, and that's what inspired me to buy Electro-Shock Blues. I'm looking forward to the new one. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GtrPlyr Posted March 17, 2009 Share Posted March 17, 2009 PS if you get the Eels at Town Hall dvd I am all over it as I was in the front row for the Encores....I was watching that DVD a couple of days ago. What was the cover song they preformed during the encore? (on the DVD they had to omit the audio for legal reasons.) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
remphish1 Posted March 17, 2009 Share Posted March 17, 2009 Prince "I Want To Be Your Man I think? I was at that show and it was aweomse! I am seen all over the encores in the front row! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GtrPlyr Posted March 17, 2009 Share Posted March 17, 2009 Prince "I Want To Be Your Man I think? I was at that show and it was aweomse! I am seen all over the encores in the front row! I kinda figured it was probably that Prince song as they've covered it in the past (one of my favorite Prince songs.) At least they managed to get a live version of it on the Useless Trinkets collection . That's cool that you got to see the show, it looked like a great one. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dondoboy Posted March 17, 2009 Share Posted March 17, 2009 I kinda figured it was probably that Prince song as they've covered it in the past (one of my favorite Prince songs.) At least they managed to get a live version of it on the Useless Trinkets collection . That's cool that you got to see the show, it looked like a great one.There's also a mp3 recording of that show floating around. With the song. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stagerug Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 I think any of Blinking Lights and Other Revelations, Daisies of the Galaxy, or Shootenanny! are good to start with. As others mentioned, Electro-Shock Blues may be the best Eels album overall, but I find it to be the emotional low of their entire catalogue. I agree with this. Although this album has all of the personal turmoil surrounding it, and is fantastic, I would start elsewhere. My favorite of his albums is Daisies of the Galaxy. I would start there. Maybe a little less melancholy. Electro-Shock Blues is so sad, and really doesn't let up until PS You Rock My World. Daisies has an air of healing... if that makes sense. Good Luck. Great music. Great lyrics. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.