Starter CDs [Archive] - RonFez.net Messageboard

mikeyboy

03-22-2009, 06:44 PM

Many times you may hear good things about an artist or only know know a few select tracks and decide you are interested in digging a little deeper. However, sometimes, especially in those cases where the artist has an extensive discography, knowing where to jump in can be daunting. This thread is for providing opinions on the best "starter CDs" to pick up for an artist.

As an example -- The Replacements. Many people will disagree and choose "Tim" or "Let it Be", but I think the best place to start with the Replacements is "Pleased to Meet Me". It showcases a bunch of great songs written by Paul Westerberg, in a variety of styles -- some which will grab you right away and others that will get in your head later. It also avoids the occasional clunker like "Gary's Got a Boner".

You can also use this thread to ask for suggestions.

Personally, I like what I know from Tom Waits, but I don't go all that deep with him. What's the best "starter album" for him?

Death Metal Moe

03-22-2009, 06:46 PM

Just do what Ronnie does. Best Of albums.

MacVittie

03-22-2009, 06:50 PM

I'm pretty sure this was an on-air topic a few years ago.

Tenbatsuzen

03-22-2009, 07:06 PM

Just do what Ronnie does. Best Of albums.

Agreed, seriously. The only way I can get into an artist is by best of albums or a live performance.

Marc with a c

03-22-2009, 07:07 PM

Agreed, seriously. The only way I can get into an artist is by best of albums or a live performance.

i think he was kidding. or at least i hope he was.

epo

03-22-2009, 07:19 PM

Agreed, seriously. The only way I can get into an artist is by best of albums or a live performance.

Savage.

hammersavage

03-22-2009, 07:21 PM

Agreed, seriously. The only way I can get into an artist is by best of albums or a live performance.

That's very midwest housewife of you.

I agree with the Tom Waits suggestion. I'm pretty much in the same boat as Mikey.

Here's one I'd like some help with. I noticed the other day that all of the Rolling Stones I have are 40 Licks on my Ipod. I know most of their work but I want to start experiencing their albums as a whole. My favorite songs are 'Tumbling Dice' and 'Under My Thumb' if that makes any difference. What should I listen to first?

razorboy

03-22-2009, 07:21 PM

This thread, at least in title, would have been WAY more relevant in 1993.

hammersavage

03-22-2009, 07:21 PM

Savage.

Hey, c'mon

epo

03-22-2009, 07:28 PM

Personally, I like what I know from Tom Waits, but I don't go all that deep with him. What's the best "starter album" for him?

I've always thought that "Nighthawks at the Diner" is a great intro for his work. Its a live performance from 1975 that really captures his personality well and shows his songwriting skills.

Plus its before his weirdness...which is best consumed by listening to his catalog chronologically...otherwise listening to something like "Alice" will make zero sense.

Tenbatsuzen

03-22-2009, 07:36 PM

This thread, at least in title, would have been WAY more relevant in 1993.

Mmmhmm. Itunes and downloading have changed the game significantly.

Tenbatsuzen

03-22-2009, 07:38 PM

That's very midwest housewife of you.

I agree with the Tom Waits suggestion. I'm pretty much in the same boat as Mikey.

Here's one I'd like some help with. I noticed the other day that all of the Rolling Stones I have are 40 Licks on my Ipod. I know most of their work but I want to start experiencing their albums as a whole. My favorite songs are 'Tumbling Dice' and 'Under My Thumb' if that makes any difference. What should I listen to first?

Steel Wheels.

Just kidding. I'm sure starting with Sticky Fingers or Exile On Main Street is your best bet.

PapaBear

03-22-2009, 07:43 PM

Just kidding. I'm sure starting with Sticky Fingers or Exile On Main Street is your best bet.
Aside from hearing Satisfaction on the radio, I learned about the Stones by sneaking into my brother's album collection and listening to Exile On Main Street. I was hooked.

John Galt

03-22-2009, 07:43 PM

Personally, I like what I know from Tom Waits, but I don't go all that deep with him. What's the best "starter album" for him?

When I first started listening to Tom Waits, I couldn't get into the later stuff, when his voice is totally fucked up and it's all creepy carnival music. I love it now, but I had to ease into the guy (:wub:).

So I'd recommend starting with the earlier stuff, such as The Heart of Saturday Night. His voice is still normal, and it's a good bridge between his early soft piano style and his jazz-beatnik phase. It's got a little of both, and at least four of the songs I would put in his all-time best ("(Looking For) The Heart of Saturday Night," "San Diego Serenade," "Shiver Me Timbres," and "New Coat of Paint.")

That's my pick for a starter album. Other favorites include: Small Change, Alice, Franks Wild Years, foreign affairs. Lastly, his live album Nighthawks At The Diner is easily one of the best I've ever heard. Just throw it on and let it roll.

For a best of: The Early Years Vol. 2. So help you god, make sure it's Vol. 2. Some of the cuts are better than their normal album counterparts.

Oh and his song "Burma Shave" off foreign affairs could be his best.

Tenbatsuzen

03-22-2009, 07:45 PM

Aside from hearing Satisfaction on the radio, I learned about the Stones by sneaking into my brother's album collection and listening to Exile On Main Street. I was hooked.

The sad part about the stones is that Mick Jagger can pass very well for my grandmother. I wish I could be joking but I'm not.

Death Metal Moe

03-22-2009, 08:03 PM

i think he was kidding. or at least i hope he was.

The world may never know...

hammersavage

03-22-2009, 08:06 PM

Mikeyboy, I think perhaps this thread can serve another purpose.

What if people are looking to get into an era of music and don't know where to start?

Maybe early indie rock or new wave or Motown. Someone can give an album that would be the quintessential of that era and start from there.

Liverspot

03-22-2009, 08:11 PM

I wanted to jump in on this but I can only echo epo and John Galt. I have been a big Waits fan for many years, I saw him while he was still the piano troubador, telling stories and singing songs about the whorehouse across the street of whatever city he was in. The man is brilliant. Waits is Nighthawks, Swordfish, Small Change and Blue Valentine.

OK, the introduction to New Order would be the double "Substance" cd set, of course you would need to check Joy Division if you like it.

My selection in music has changed so much over the years it is hard to define what is a "favorite". I still like the Beatles and the Stones, never got enough of that revolution stuff.
Beatles: white album and Abby Road
Stones: Sticky Fingers, Let it Bleed, I'ts only Rock and Roll, and Black n Blue for a couple of songs

Marc with a c

03-22-2009, 08:13 PM

http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k252/RTBrooke/hijack.gif

TheMojoPin

03-22-2009, 08:17 PM

I've always thought that "Nighthawks at the Diner" is a great intro for his work. Its a live performance from 1975 that really captures his personality well and shows his songwriting skills.

Plus its before his weirdness...which is best consumed by listening to his catalog chronologically...otherwise listening to something like "Alice" will make zero sense.

Heartattack and Vine is a good way to ease people in. Worked for me. That and Frank's Wild Years.

who6489

03-22-2009, 08:37 PM

Bein' into alot of bands, I'll try. Most that I'm into have been around for a long time, so their sound would change every few years, so there may be a few on some. I'll admit that most of these are not my personal faves (I like the more obscure stuff)

The WHO - 60's (Sell Out - good mix of their pop sound and the beginnings of the "Tommy" sound)
70's (Who's Next - Every song is a classic)

RUSH - 70's (2112 - The best example of their "prog" era)
80's (Moving Pictures - The transition from prog to hard rock)
90's (Counterparts - Straight forward with great lyrics)
00's (Snakes & Arrows - A little something from each era)

Pink Floyd - 60's (Piper At The Gates Of Dawn - The first and only album with Syd Barrett, very psychedelic)
70's (Wish You Were Here - Dark Side meets The Wall)

GENESIS - Peter Gabriel era (Selling England By The Pound)
Phil Collins era (Duke)

Van Halen - Roth (Fair Warning)
Hagar (For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge)

ANTHRAX - Belladonna (Persistence Of Time)
Bush (We've Come For You All)

METALLICA - 80's (Master Of Puppets)
90's ("Black" album)

There's a ton more, but that's a good starting point :smoke:

epo

03-22-2009, 08:41 PM

Van Halen - Roth (Fair Warning)

That's the craziest thing I've read all day.

who6489

03-22-2009, 08:54 PM

That's the craziest thing I've read all day.

Why? It had all the power of the first album, plus some of keyboards that would be more up front later.
I was trying to find the best album from the Roth years, although my fave is "Women and Children First"

mikeyboy

03-22-2009, 09:26 PM

This thread, at least in title, would have been WAY more relevant in 1993.

Well, yeah. It seems even more antiquated to call them albums, so I wasn't sure how to title the thread. For my kinfolk who still want to approach an artist's release as a whole in the age of the digital download, this thread is for you.

razorboy

03-22-2009, 09:33 PM

Well, yeah. It seems even more antiquated to call them albums, so I wasn't sure how to title the thread. For my kinfolk who still want to approach an artist's release as a whole in the age of the digital download, this thread is for you.

I agree. With a very few exceptions I feel like I am cheating myself if I don't have the entire album to listen to as a singular piece of art when the mood strikes me. I just don't know too many people nowadays who share a similar sentiment. Most of the people I know just DD singles to their computer and are happy that way. To be honest I find their listening habits rather frustrating.

drjoek

03-23-2009, 04:56 AM

This thread brought me back to a thread from earlier by the one and only Fat_Sunny. It is a good history lesson for some of the newer members back to a legend in these parts.
Take a look at the thread enjoy the thrill that was a F_S thread (http://www.ronfez.net/forums/showthread.php?t=60981)

Fat_Sunny come back, Please!

Drjoek just went back through the thread drjoek recommended.Drjoek is sincere in recommending this thread for its music and the reviews by F_S.

badorties

03-23-2009, 07:20 AM

for tom waits, swordfishstombone would be good starter album ... or big time is a live 'best of' with a little waits sprinkled throughout -- 'time' is a great cut from that album

for van morrison, i would recommend moondance and then astral weeks those would set the table

OGC

03-23-2009, 07:52 AM

TheMojoPin

03-23-2009, 08:30 AM

for van morrison, i would recommend acting like he never existed

Fixed.

Marc with a c

03-23-2009, 08:33 AM

Fixed.

lunacy.

Crash

03-23-2009, 08:45 AM

What about Wilco?

I've liked the few songs I've heard (don't know the names), but don't know where to start with them.

paulisded

03-23-2009, 08:46 AM

I would agree with Mikeyboy on PTMM. While I prefer Tim and Let It Be, PTMM is a perfect intro to the band.

For Waits, you do have to separate the two portions of his career. I'd pick Bone Machine for a latter-day disc, but all of the early-years picks are great suggestions.

When it comes to acts that began in the 60's, I see no problem with starting with a hits collection. Hot Rocks would be the best album of that sort for the Stones. Exile On Main Street is my favorite album ever, but I wouldn't choose that as the album to introduce somebody to the band. Sticky Fingers would be a good choice, but I'd probably start a person off with Let It Bleed.

razorboy

03-23-2009, 08:49 AM

What about Wilco?

I've liked the few songs I've heard (don't know the names), but don't know where to start with them.

I would probably just dive in. There isn't really one Wilco album that is going to act as a primer. A.M., Being There and Summerteeth probably have the most broad based appeal, but that hardly means they are the albums you would most enjoy or are the best introduction to the band.

mikeyboy

03-23-2009, 09:08 AM

What about Wilco?

I've liked the few songs I've heard (don't know the names), but don't know where to start with them.

I would start with Summer Teeth. I kind of see that one as a bridge between the more traditional songs on their first couple of albums and the more experimental stuff on their later releases. Plus, the songs are great.

TheMojoPin

03-23-2009, 09:58 AM

I would start with Summer Teeth. I kind of see that one as a bridge between the more traditional songs on their first couple of albums and the more experimental stuff on their later releases. Plus, the songs are great.

I'd actually reccomend YHF or BT over ST, even though ST is far and away my favorite album by them. I actually think YHF strikes more of a balance between old and new Wilco. ST is, in my opinion, too unto itself as almost being a power pop album compared to everything else they've done.

epo

03-23-2009, 11:05 AM

Fixed.

lunacy.

I side with Marc....Mojo is obviously mentally unstable.

Misteriosa

03-23-2009, 11:14 AM

Bjork's Post album is a good gateway into her music.

follow that with Debut then Volta, Homogenic, Vespertine, and finally Medulla and you get what in my opinion is a nice slide from her popular stuff to her more experimental material.

of course you can always check out Greatest Hits or Family Tree for the short short versions

TheMojoPin

03-23-2009, 11:16 AM

I side with Marc....Mojo is obviously mentally unstable.

Only one such as you would see a man of intelligence, taste and handsomeness as being mentally unstable. Such things are overwhelming to you...but I understand. I will try to tone down my magnificence so as not to push you further over the edge.

El Mudo

03-23-2009, 11:22 AM

Fixed.

Savage

TheMojoPin

03-23-2009, 11:26 AM

Bet you guys are big Boz Scaggs fans, too.

epo

03-23-2009, 12:04 PM

Only one such as you would see a man of intelligence, taste and handsomeness as being mentally unstable. Such things are overwhelming to you...but I understand. I will try to tone down my magnificence so as not to push you further over the edge.

The mere fact that you claim any level of attractiveness with your hideous beard only solidifies your mental instability.

TheMojoPin

03-23-2009, 12:06 PM

The mere fact that you claim any level of attractiveness with your hideous beard only solidifies your mental instability.

I also understand how my ability to grow so much hair on my head must be hurting you. There-there, little one. I can share if you wish.

Aqualad

03-23-2009, 01:11 PM

Bittorrent the entire discography, play random tracks.

hammersavage

03-23-2009, 01:18 PM

What about Wilco?

I've liked the few songs I've heard (don't know the names), but don't know where to start with them.

It's Summerteeth or YHF to start. I think Summerteeth is a little more accessible, especially for a beginner. Can't go wrong with anything they've ever done, at least after Being There.