Funny, but those dodgy concept albums were my introduction to the band. It didn't stop me from enjoying the more audience friendly albums that followed. But I do find myself returning to the early 70s stuff more often.
Great appreciation of a great album. Sleepwalker is by far my favorite of the band’s Arista period, and I actually love the way the production on this one sounds; Misfits sounds good to me too, but the track listing is much patchier.
>>All recorded music is dated by the time of its recording, the available technology, and so forth. It can diminish one's enjoyment of a record if it's a sound you don't like, but it doesn't make decent music bad.<<
What a great observation! For years I had a hard time listening to old 'lo-fi' recordings from the pre-rock era, but gradually got past that as I dug into Robert Johnson, Charley Patton, Bob Wills & other artists who recorded in the '30s & '40s. Similarly, the processed/compressed quality of many 1970s recordings and especially 1980s drum sounds drive me crazy, but if the song is good enough I can get past it. Todd Rundgren's "Healing" album has syn-drums (?) all over it, and when I tried to turn a friend on to it recently he hated that aspect and couldn't get into the music because of it. I'm not a fan of those drums either but Todd's sublime compositions come through for me and I love that record.
To get back on topic, "Sleepwalker" is a great album, "Misfits" almost as good, and the good ol' Kinks finally hit pay dirt on Arista with "Come Dancing" and "Low Budget." Clive must have been delighted.
Funny, but those dodgy concept albums were my introduction to the band. It didn't stop me from enjoying the more audience friendly albums that followed. But I do find myself returning to the early 70s stuff more often.
Hey, Patrick, thanks for your comments. I personally love the two Preservation Acts, a little less so Soap Opera. But not everyone felt that way.
But, yeah, real Kinks fans love stuff from all the band's career.
Great appreciation of a great album. Sleepwalker is by far my favorite of the band’s Arista period, and I actually love the way the production on this one sounds; Misfits sounds good to me too, but the track listing is much patchier.
“Juke Box Music” is among the most underrated Kinks tunes!
>>All recorded music is dated by the time of its recording, the available technology, and so forth. It can diminish one's enjoyment of a record if it's a sound you don't like, but it doesn't make decent music bad.<<
What a great observation! For years I had a hard time listening to old 'lo-fi' recordings from the pre-rock era, but gradually got past that as I dug into Robert Johnson, Charley Patton, Bob Wills & other artists who recorded in the '30s & '40s. Similarly, the processed/compressed quality of many 1970s recordings and especially 1980s drum sounds drive me crazy, but if the song is good enough I can get past it. Todd Rundgren's "Healing" album has syn-drums (?) all over it, and when I tried to turn a friend on to it recently he hated that aspect and couldn't get into the music because of it. I'm not a fan of those drums either but Todd's sublime compositions come through for me and I love that record.
To get back on topic, "Sleepwalker" is a great album, "Misfits" almost as good, and the good ol' Kinks finally hit pay dirt on Arista with "Come Dancing" and "Low Budget." Clive must have been delighted.