Legion World Forums LEGION COMPANION The Anywhere Machine So, what are you listening to?

Still decorating the house (evil lair) and listening to Pentatonix's We Need A Little Christmas.

Years ago, I bought a used cassette of KISS's "Crazy Nights" for the title track* , which I'd heard on Ecuadorian radio when I was 13. I've *tried* to listen to the rest of the album, still haven't gotten all the way through.









*I've never understood why the song is called "Crazy, Crazy Nights," but the album is called "Crazy Nights."

A crazy decision!

Ha ha ha ha. I make no apologies for loving poodle rock (or, as we call it in America, hair metal.)

A fun, slightly irreverent cover of Nights in White Satin by Ed Palermo.

A lot of The Outfield... Singer/bassist Tony Lewis just passed, joining guitarist John Spinks, who died several years ago after a battle with cancer. Discovered I only own about half of their discography, and listened to their second album, BANGIN', in which I found my new favorite song by them-- NO SURRENDER.

Listening to The Outfield's "No Surrender." What a lost treasure of a song! Thanks, Pov!

https://youtu.be/fPUg6wcWhTA

When I read Pov's post I thought "never heard of them" Then, thinking of HWW's top 40s where I'd come across lots of new things, I made a little mental note. which I promptly forgot. Ann's post told me to take a look. Despite being British, I'd really never heard of them. No impact whatsoever. I've not even heard any of their material on the radio. No Surrender is good, and I wonder how much I'd have liked them had I heard something years ago. Thanks Pov and Ann.

You're welcome, Thoth. That's one of the reasons why this thread is one of my favorites at Legion World.

Another Eighties obscurity (The Parachute Club's "Rise Up") :

[video:youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNwuB76pBcc[/video]

(Well, probably not as obscure if you're Canadian.)

A Marianas Trench song making fun of pop songs:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBDNvlvR8vA

Keeping up the Canada theme, here's Abdominal deconstructing some rap...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ME0nzWmcd5s

Where has this been all my life?!



I'm even chuckling over the graphics!

Unearthing this one took forever because first I remembered the wrong band and THEN I remembered the wrong name for the song! Gah!

(Heaven 17 - "Penthouse and Pavement," 1981)

[video:youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33W3kMS2vp0[/video]

Wow! I've not heard that one since forever! That's the first time I've seen the video. Which is supers. Thanks Cleome!

Hee hee... Wait. Why do I suddenly want to wear nothing but purple and pink satins, and iridium accessories?!

I'm considering buying "Best of" albums of the Moody Blues and the Alan Parsons Project. I only know and like 2 or 3 songs of each that I know of, but I like the styles of those songs and would like to hear more. Any fans of either or both?

I'm a huge Moody Blues fan. I never really got into APP, though they're pretty cool.

My favorite Moody Blues songs are from their mid-late 80s comeback: "Your Wildest Dreams" and "I Know You're Out There Somewhere." Overall, I tend to prefer the songs written by Justin Hayward, which are usually romantic and melodic, to the rockier and more experimental songs by the other members.

For me what makes the "Classic Seven" MB albums work is the balance/contrast between the different members. It's Hayward's romantic ballads sitting along side Lodge's rock and roll numbers, with Roy Thomas's childlike whimsy and Mike Pinder's more philosophical explorations, and the occasional bit of Graeme Edge's poetry. The loss of Pinder and decreasing influence of Thomas makes the 80s albums much less memorable, though you still have some particularly strong Hayward singles.

Of course, a greatest hits album is going to be dominated by Hayward and Lodge, because most of the singles were theirs. One thing to look for is whether it includes "Go Now" from the original lineup featuring Denny Laine (later of Wings). It tended to be left off collections for a long time, but I think more recent ones tend to include it.

None of the compilations on iTunes include "Go Now". I think, though, that I've narrowed my choice down to one that has a lot of good material, including a long version of "Nights in White Satin".

Meanwhile, I'm trying to figure out if "Eye in the Sky" and "Don't Answer Me" are the only 2 Alan Parsons Project songs I know. Both songs are excellent, so I'd like to buy a compilation and hear more.

Best ofs/compilations aren't always the be all/end all of my interest in an artist. If the material is good enough, I will definitely dive deeper. Witness how I started with an ELO compilation and now happily own the majority of their discography!

Yay Lardy! ELO is great!

I think I started with a Moody Blues compilation on cassette like 30 years ago. It's probably buried in a box somewhere.

I ended up getting a compilation album of both. I've sampled Alan Parsons first because "Don't Answer Me" is my favorite single from either band. The two I knew for sure were that and "Eye in the Sky". I also listened to the instrumental "Sirius" (a tune I think everyone will recognize as being played in stadiums and various other events), which serves as an intro to "Eye in the Sky", "Psychobabble" and "Prime Time". The latter two are after and before "Don't Answer Me" and are nice songs.

Just with these five, I feel it's already earned the purchase price.

Funny thing is, Apple has the songs, "Games People Play", "Time" and "I Wouldn't Want to Be Like You" as the most popular tracks on the compilation, and those weren't the one's I recognized! (Pretty sure I'll know "Games People Play" when I hear it, though.)

Also, using the same Apple gift card to buy the above two, I bought "Pet Sounds" by the Beach Boys, an album I've seen on "best album" lists consistently, up there with "Sgt. Peppers" and the like. Though it only contains two songs I recognize, the album is a sonic treat. The vocals and the instrumentation are complex and very masterful. There's no doubt why Brian Wilson is spoken of in such awe.

I definitely need to listen to it more to see if I ultimately agree with the critics that it belongs in the upper echelons.