The Official Needles and Grooves 1001 Album Generator Project (aka Preachin’ about the Preachers if today’s selection sucks)

1/24/24
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Bill Callahan - Sometimes I wish We Were an Eagle




This is a name that pops up from time to time, but I’m not overly familiar with him. This album sounds really interesting and something I think will grow with each listen, so I will probably dig deeper into this at some point.
 
This is a name that pops up from time to time, but I’m not overly familiar with him. This album sounds really interesting and something I think will grow with each listen, so I will probably dig deeper into this at some point.
Most albums for this project I just listen to once in the morning and then try to find what I want to listen to next. I'm on my third listen of this one already.
 
You should check out…

01 - Knock Knock
02 - A River Ain’t Too Much To Love
03 - Dongs Of Sevotion
04 - Red Apple Falls

Also, I know it’s a bit fangirlish of me to note, but Bill was a somewhat of an Indie Rock lady killer, he had dated both Cat Power and Joanna Newsom over the years. So kinda like how it’s fun to imagine PJ Harvey and Nick Cave were singing about their relationship over various albums of their career it’s also fun to wonder if any of his song were slightly autobiographical.
Those are all excellent and worthy of deep exploration, but I'd put Apocalypse and Dream River above 'em all. Bill was really on one in this stretch.
 
Most albums for this project I just listen to once in the morning and then try to find what I want to listen to next. I'm on my third listen of this one already.
I try (we will see how well I do starting next Tuesday) to listen to it right after I pull it at 11 and then at least once the next day (usually at work). Sometimes I get three times in, I listened to this twice last night. It will get a listen at work tonight. The f bomba prevent it from getting a hifi listen today.
 
Those are all excellent and worthy of deep exploration, but I'd put Apocalypse and Dream River above 'em all. Bill was really on one in this stretch.
Agree to disagree. While I love all of Bill’s albums, I have a feeling that we might be preferential to the era in which we came to discover his albums.

I think objectively I could probably intermingle some of his self titled stuff in with his smog albums but for me Knock Knock is the best album he ever produced, it’s pretty much perfect.
 
1/23/24
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The Specials - The Specials





One of the best things to come out of Coventry (aside from all the motorways which help you leave that hole really quickly - I used to live there so I'm allowed to say that)

Favourite tracks are probably Gangsters, A Message To You Rudy (though I prefer to play the Dandy Livingstone version out as it messes with people) and Monkey Man. Honourable mentions to Too Much Too Young, and Concrete Jungle (just for the football chant at the beginning)

Love the nods back to Prince Buster/Skatalites and the whole Jamaican reggae scene.

Another high scoring for one for me 4/5
 
Agree to disagree. While I love all of Bill’s albums, I have a feeling that we might be preferential to the era in which we came to discover his albums.

I think objectively I could probably intermingle some of his self titled stuff in with his smog albums but for me Knock Knock is the best album he ever produced, it’s pretty much perfect.
For me I think he learned to use his voice better as he went on, and just generally matured as a songwriter. I love all those Smog albums, but to me this three-album run was just him at the top of his game, not a single song that breaks the flow. Plus adding Matt Kinsey on guitar brought him sonically to a brand new (and to me, much more interesting) place.
 
For me I think he learned to use his voice better as he went on, and just generally matured as a songwriter. I love all those Smog albums, but to me this three-album run was just him at the top of his game, not a single song that breaks the flow. Plus adding Matt Kinsey on guitar brought him sonically to a brand new (and to me, much more interesting) place.
Yeah, I think his work with Jim O’Rourke on Knock Knock was super interesting. Jim adds a lot to most artists he works with, similarly to his contributions he made to some of Wilco, Sonic Youth, and Stereolab’s best albums there is a lot going on on that album in particular that expands his sound in inventive ways.

Again, I love all of his stuff and I can appreciate a differing opinion but I am gonna continue to reach for the smog albums first.
 
I'd choose Gilded, just barely.
Me too. Gilded was a second gateway drug into country for me in some respects, as I picked it up after American Recordings (my first gateway drug) and after I had discovered alt country stuff like Wilco, Son Volt and Whiskeytown/Ryan Adams in the late 90s/early 00s. I hadn’t listened to it in a while before today, but man it still rocks!
 
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1/25/24
ab67616d0000b27353ba02e4c3b1b6a297002afa

The Flying Burrito Brothers - The Gilded Palace of Sin



It's fine, didn't hate it. Sounds like record store music. It's also fun to say "burrito" repeatedly.

Christine's Burrito
Burrito City
Do Right Burrito
Dark End of the Burrito
My Burrito
Burritos
Burrito
Hot Burrito #1
Hot Burrito #2
Do You Know How it Burritos
Burrito Boy

Rating: 2.5/5 [Decent]
 
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Related a bit to an “old guy yelling at clouds” thought I’ve been exploring recently…

This is the 2022 reissue. I would not call it audiophile. Not sure who cut it. It was pressed at GZ. This sounds way better on vinyl than it it does in hi-res digital. I’m sure Grey or Smith or Bellman could pull some detail and separation out… I wonder how much of its character would be lost though. Quite content with this one and will listen this way over the 24 bit 96 kHz version any day.
 
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Related a bit to an “old guy yelling at clouds” thought I’ve been exploring recently…

This is the 2022 reissue. I would not call it audiophile. Not sure who cut it. It was pressed at GZ. This sounds way better on vinyl than it it does in hi-res digital. I’m sure Grey or Smith or Bellman could pull some detail and separation out… I wonder how much of its character would be lost though. Quite content with this one and will listen this way over the 24 bit 96 kHz version any day.
Bro…

This is one of Intervention Records gems. AAA cut by KPG pressed at RTI Stoughton tip-on jacket.

Intervention Records goes an amazing job on Reissues I just wish they would do more titles.

I have Guilted Palace of Sin and Matthew Sweet’s Girlfriend and both are excellent, worth every penny.
 
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