Our recent Curse of the Completists thread has me thinking about times when I’ve reached the end of the road with an artist. Like so many Beatles fans, I was pretty excited by the Anthology sets that were released in the mid-1990s. I was underwhelmed by Vol. 1, and then I was not-quite-satisfied with Vol. 2, culled from my favorite period of Beatles albums. I especially hated the two Lennon demos they completed with Jeff Lynne. The best thing I got out of buying those two collections was final confirmation that The Beatles had the exquisite taste not to bother recording many songs not worth their time. How many big, long-running bands can boast so few totally unrecorded, unreleased songs?
Anyhow, that was the end of the road for me and Beatles reissues. I didn’t feel like hearing scraps of the unlistenable jams from The White Album and the Abbey Road medley. I already had my German true stereo version of Magical Mystery Tour. There was nothing more left for me to explore in The Beatles’ catalog, and I’ve felt confident holding this point of view. I can’t imagine what Beatles recordings could be unearthed or repackaged to make me want to add onto my collection. I can’t even get excited to read any more books on them. How much more do I need to hear a pathetic, jealous rock journalist tear down John and Paul for their personal lives? Some day I’ll read that latest recording book on them, but even that will likely fail to make me love the band any more than I already have loved them since boyhood.
Have you ever reached the end of the road with collecting records by a beloved artist? Do you recall the exact moment when you knew it was over?
There’s a stray track or two I’d like to get, but I am pretty much done with Costello. I got most of the Ryko reissues, then most of the Rhino ones (although I acquired the latter during my rock-crit days, so I scored them for free). I was slightly aghast when I heard about the three-disc versions of My Aim is True and This Year’s Model that came out. Not because I wanted them; more out of outrage due to the hubris, the gall, the brass balls that Costello/record company must possess to put these things out with straight faces.
Around the same time, he put out The River in Reverse and then Momofuku, and the bits I heard of the first, and the entirety of the latter convinced me that they were completely unnecessary, that I was completely cognizant of E.C.’s capabilities, and these albums revealed nothing new in that department. They don’t even add some quality late additions to the canon. Talk to dotting i’s and crossing t’s. Give latter-day XTC all the shit you want, but at least they didn’t water down their discography with an endless deluge of diminishing returns.
It’s the price we pay for expecting continuted greatness and inspiration from artists that have been doing this a damn long time.
This from a guy who never missed a Saturday Night Live since I started watching in 1985 (and saw reruns of the classic seasons and not-so-classic ones) I KNOW they are not going to live up to the promise, but I am still hoping for a “not bad” at 12:59 pm
I enjoyed Springsteen’s Magic, but it is no Darkness On The Edge Of Town. Costello, Rollings Stones, Bowie, Tom Petty.. I still buy them and give ’em a handfull of spins. The single may make my regular Ipod rotation.
I stopped buying Brian Setzer stuff, I love him but I have 20 CDs between his Stray Cats, Solo and Setzer Orchestra stuff and there is nothing new.
Same with John Melencamp, I think I picked up the last two used for $5 but not sure If they got more than one play.
Here is another twist on this theme
What artist did you give up on and then have them come back to do something worthwhile?
Dylan (Under The Red Sky was so bad)
Neil Young
Motorhead (new one is fantastic)
AC/DC
Johnny Cash
George Harrison
After that Nick Lowe and His Cowboy Outfit album I had no intention of ever listening to a Nick Lowe album again. Then a friend played me that Incredible Bird album, or whatever it was called. At least it didn’t sound lousy, but it was boring. The next one he released, however, caught me by surprise on an NPR interview, and he’s been back in good graces with me ever since.
Momofuku was my first venture back into Costello waters since his album with Burt Bacharach, which I liked. As much as I tried to be taken in by its associated gimmicks, it hasn’t stuck with me. At least Elvis keeps hope alive for me with his talk show and other “multi-talented” nonsense.
Some other end-of-the-road moments:
High Llamas: Buzzle Bee
Paul McCartney: Driving Rain
Aimee Mann: The Forgotten Arm
Los Lobos: The Town and the City
Sam Phillips: Those dull MP3s from her last album Mr. Mod posted
Just yesterday I just saw Aimee Mann’s The Forgotten Arm sitting in a box of CDs I will never spin again. Man, that album blows. That’s an end-of-the-road release for me too. She and Sam Phillips need to undergo some serious therapy.
Others who redeemed themselves:
GBV
Westerberg
I’m not challenging you, cdm, because it took me a really long time to appreciate much of anything by this band, but I’m curious, when did GBV lose you and when did they redeem themselves?
They lost me with Mag Earwig! Too proggy and clinical sounding. They got me back with Isolation Drills. I am still not crazy about Mag Earwig or Do the Collapse but both have songs that I like.
They kind of lost me at the end there too. All their stuff was starting to sound the same so I’m not sure if I even have their last album.
I’m a total sucker when it comes to these things. My sickness is that I cannot reach the end of the road with someone, even though I should.
In the early 90s, I fell in love with The Cranberries. Loved the first and second albums. The that Faithful departed album record came out. I haven’t even been interested since. But I would say that outgrew them more than I reached the end of the road.
My love for The Beatles remains. Back when the Anthologies were coming out, it was exciting for me. This was primarily because I had not been exposed to the countless bottlegs that many fans had been hearing for years. Many folks were quibbling about the choice of this take versus that take and why they mashed two seperate takes together, blah, blah. To my ears, it was all fresh and exciting. Even the Jeff Lynne stuff. I was genuinely excited to hear these “new” songs. As I’ve gotten older and exposed to all others sorts of artists, I have discovered that my devoted love and excitement for The Beatles is not what it used to be. I remember the rush of discovery I felt when I heard “Strawberry Fields”. I’ve heard that song for so long now, that it just sounds good to me. I wish I could go back and feel that feeling. It’s more of a sadness on my part. I still ove The Beatles, but I just don’t get excited for them anymore like I used to.
R.E.M. was one of my favorite bands when I was a youth, but ever since Bill Berry left the band, they have bored me. When Accelerate came out, I was too busy to be bothered. I did finally get this record and was very happy with it. To my ears, it’s the best thing they’ve done without Berry and certainly the best thing since Automatic for the People. Maybe I’m just longing for that youthful love I had for these bands and so I’m looking to deeply into these things.
There are two bands that taught me how to rock: Kiss (maybe I can explain that later) and AC/DC. The new AC/DC record makes me happy, but it’s because they are simply doing AC/DC. Nothing wrong there. It’s just a basic rock record, which is what you come to expect from them.
There rest just fall under the category of my undying love and devotion to said artist. I still buy McCartney product because I’m supposed to. Ditto for many many others that populate my collection. I can’t seem to give up on them no matter how hard they try.
TB
I’m excited to see the debut of a “german true stereo” tag to go with the “walter becker’s beard” tag. What a day!
Given that they’ve come up a few times recently, and that we’re coming up on the Historic 14th Anniversary, I wonder if a look back at the Anthologies might be worthwhile the next time* a Beatles lull happens at RTH.
*Next time meaning first time, naturally.
Alexmagic, you may be the man to lead us through that re-examination of the Anthologies. Don’t forget that other choice idea you had for a thread, the one we discuss at our “live” gathering!
I’m afraid that other thread idea can never see the light of day. It will remain Too Hot For Rock Town Hall. I received at least one horrified look when I mentioned it at the RTH gathering – thankfully, the Beach Boys discussion quickly arose and I was able to slip out in the confusion – and it has tested poorly since. They’ll think I’m a monster. A monster!
As for an Anthologies review thread, I’ll have to keep an eye on the potential interest here. It might be equally monstrous to ask people to listen to the Live in Stockholm/Royal Variety Show tracks on Anthology 1 again. Not that there’s anything wrong with them, but even I don’t see a need to ever listen to them again.
All of those live tracks from the Anthologies annoyed me. Particularly the ones on the second installment. I was all geared up for some studio fun and felt that those unnecessary live cuts were taking the space up on a disc that could contain more outtakes and studio chatter. I know they included most for a historical perspective, but let’s face it: As great as The Beatles are, they never were that thrilling live. Maybe early on, but later…egh….
I do humbly sumbit the third Anthology for my vote for the most listenable of the three. It has a good flow and most of the tracks are interesting. I suppose it doesn’t have those annoying live tracks.
Do we need a live version of “Everybody’s Trying To Be My Baby”?
TB
I’m surprised I have more enthusiasm left for the Beatles left the Mod. I think I stopped listening to them after high school and have been often annoyed at their ubiquitous spot in modern culture. In recent year’s though I’ve found myself absorbed in the most indefensible Beatles minutiae. The Beatles Virtual Museum site is a big culprit (you should really check it out if you haven’t already) even the complete live in Stockholm set has gotten repeated plays here (they are pretty smokin’ as a live band at that point). Alternate mixes, false starts, bungled takes, all oddly fascinating to me.
Otherwise, I’ve stopped being the loyal consumer for most of my favorites at this point, ditching most after feeling burned a single time. Rock groups in general say everything they need to in three albums or so, our favorites here are mostly major exceptions. That new Animal Collective is wonderful, but it does seem to me like the first time that they’ve looked backwards to try to deliver the record their fans most want. Even when bands successfully do that, it often feels like the end of their creative arc.
After collecting every studio date from the Ellington Orchestra (and many major live recordings) I’ve stopped seeking more (I have over a hundred discs, but that’s not so much when you consider he recorded for 49 years). Van Morrison had me until that horrible live blues album from ’94 A NIGHT IN SAN FRANCISCO (although I’ve backslid a few times).
Interesting thread here…
I’m at the end of the road with XTC. I just got the last two Fuzzy Warbles discs this holiday season after avoiding them for a few years. There are a few gems on them but I’m done with Partridge (even Mr. Moulding is done with him). I will stay away from his free improv experiments I’ve heard about. For many years the old question “Whats yer favorite band?” would be answered with “XTC!” but I don’t listen to them much any more…
The Beatles – I went through a period of hating them after over exposure in the 80’s but came back around later – interestingly enough when the Anthology discs came out. I owned those discs once but sold them off a few years later. I was recently given the wonderful “Recording the Beatles” book that any gear geek should own: http://www.recordingthebeatles.com/
…and now that I have that I’d consider buying the anthology discs again – for nerdy cross referencing moments…
The only other artist this household tends to be completest about is Robyn Hitchcock but to be honest I’ve been less than thrilled with his recent output. Still a great live performer though.
To be clear, db, I have no less enthusiasm for The Beatles than I ever did. I love them as much as ever. I love them for who they are. At this point, digging into false starts of “Why Don’t We Do It in the Road” would be akin to digging around for my wife’s 8th grade diary. I’m not saying I was ever beyond digging for the Beatles’ collective diary, just that I’m content for us to grow old together and trust the love we have.
How do you feel, mrclean, about the fact that Robyn Hitchcock is still promising a full-length album of Hitchcock-Partridge songs?
I can’t buy any more of those Fuzzy Warbles albums (I’ve only bought one or two and downloaded about 5 songs from other volumes), but if there were ever a new XTC album or a real Andy Partridge solo album I’m afraid I couldn’t resist buying it. I will not, however, buy remastered extended, bonus reissues of Oranges and Lemons, Skylarking, and whatever other post-real drummer albums they wave in front of my nose.
I too have more than enough Fuzzy Warbles (four volumes). But I hold out hope that someone will give Partridge a good studio, a great drummer, a producer who somehow won’t piss him off (or get pissed off), and a 50-minute time limit, so we can get one more concise-but-arty hook fest from him before he disappears into Swindon forever.
I’d probably dig around in my wife’s eighth grade diary, if she had been dead since 1970 and I really missed her.
A lot of my interest in all those unofficial recordings is the vicarious thrill of being in the studio while those carved in stone classics were being forged, just to hear the bits of banter and the dead ends. It’s definitely trainspotter behavior though, kinda indefensible.
Hate to being the subject back to jazz again (just one of my irritating quirks) but it is interesting that so few jazz musicians find themselves written off my “check ’em out” list. I did tire of some of those revivalist acts from the 80’s and 90’s (Roy Hargrove, Cyrus Chestnut) yet it seems like the ability to rejuvenate yourself with new players and surroundings can keep jazz players vital for decades, where few rock musicians in general warrant my complete interest for more a ten years. I’m just as interested in the next William Parker or Sam Rivers record as I was when I first feel in love with them. And man, that last Anthony Braxton/William Parker/Milford Graves record just killed me.
I thought it was interesting that 33% of RTHers wouldn’t be caught dead jamming.
I’m tempted to quote Shakespeare, db — “The fault, dear Brutus, lies not in our stars, but in ourselves….”
I reached the end of the completist road with Paul Weller about 10 years ago. Andy Partridge and the endless XTC remix/acoustic/demo-thons have left me cold, as well. I *would* buy a Colin Moulding album, though; you guys know I’ve begun to think his contributions will age much better than Andy’s as time goes by.
I’m a bit excited about a new completist jag upon which I feel I’m about to embark — but that would spoil the meat and potatoes of a thread I’ll be posting soon, on the topic of “artists you were completely WRONG about when you were a younger, stupider music consumer.”
zeppelin: done with ’em. no more ‘walking to clarksdales’ or dvd’s or box sets, please.
and PLEASE: no more live versions of ‘dazed and confused’ or ‘communication breakdown.’
i stopped buying albums by people who were in the band Japan. Mick Karn has 2 really good solo albums. David Sylvian has 3 or 4. The other 2 called themselves the Dolphin Brothers and all their records stunk. After the 2nd Fripp collaboration, Sylvian’s work just stopped speaking to me. Karn just kinda fizzled out doing new age type albums with people of vague ancestry.
I think I might like Oranges and Lemons demos better than the actual album, since it feels like the production is what turned me off most about it.
Moulding seemed to have a really nice niche carved out for himself on the last two XTC albums that I’m surprised he hasn’t been able to run with on his own.
Live performances of the Beatles don’t especially interest me, but like Buskirk, I enjoy/enjoyed hearing them in the studio, getting a sense of how far some songs went and how others were easily changed on the fly. The stuff at the end of Anthology 1 was great for this, which made all the live ‘filler’ around it even less interesting to me.
Shawkilroy, your “people of vague ancestry” quip is in the running for Comment of the Month.
Definitely Bowie for me. I checked out Heathen and it’s pretty good, but I haven’t played it since the months after it came out. I don’t even remember the songs on it. I had written him off before then anyway, but I had heard it was worthwhile to check out Heathen.
I’ll probably never write off the Stones. One of my favorite albums is Undercover, and I think Voodoo Lounge is pretty good. Bridges to Babylon leaves a lot to be desired and A Bigger Bang flat out blows. It literally took me almost two years to really start enjoying them again after that turd in my Stonesy punchbowl. But no more live DVD’s unless they’re younger than I am in them.
Hey, 2000Man — I’m very curious to get your thoughts on “A Bigger Bang.” To hear a true Stones fanatic slag off that album is unusual — and refreshing. But what are your reasons for hating it so?
We’ll see if it ever materializes… I suppose since Hitch is on it I’ll be getting it (my “out” is that my wife is the one who got me into Robyn)
I always a joke with a record-collecting friend of mine that Bowie makes it really hard to collect his stuff. He puts out so much product that you have to be exclusively into Bowie to fully appreciate/afford it all. I’m sure that if you’re a Bowiephile, it’s wonderful.
I was utterly shocked when Uni decided to rerelease the Costello catalogue. I was so thrilled with the Rhino editions, that I thought it absurd to put them out again, just a few years later. I did sucker up and buy those deluxes of My Aim Is True and This Year’s Model. I refuse to buy the cardboard digipak single releases.
Still on the fence with that Murmur, but I don’t why. I’ve got the deluxes of those Who records. And the Costellos. And some others. So why don’t I have this?
So, anybody pick up that reissue of Odessa yet?
TB
A 25-cent used copy of Odessa wasn’t worth it in 1980. I would advise against buying the expanded reissue. You don’t even get the thrill of the velvet cover, do you?
I think the new reissue actually does come with a velvet cover.
I think it’s Sister Ray! (ba-dum-dum!)
But seriously folks, according to amazon it does comes “presented in deluxe packaging that reproduces the original release’s red-flocked cover, including a poster and sticker”.
Good one, Al.
It does come with the red velvet cover.
I’m not familiar with this record, but I loved the three Bee Gee reissues. From what I understand, Odessa is a good record, but I wouldn’t know…
TB
Years ago, I bought every Bowie album and would purchase the new one when released. I had to have them. Then “Let’s Dance” came out and I so didn’t like it that my need to continue getting all his music ended. Not that I thought everything prior to this was essential (it’s not) but that record ended the compulsion.
i heard regular Odessa a few months back.
I ran screaming. And I LIKE the BeeGees.
Regarding the abundance of Bowie product, it sounds to me like someone was trying to amp up the returns on the “Bowie Bonds”.
Do you guys remember that? He sold the rights to his music recorded pre-1990 for a 10 year period. That was 1997, so the rights to the songs have now reverted back to Bowie.
I remember those Bowie Bonds. Wasn’t he the first (only) rock star to lend his visage to a credit card too?
yes. he was. bowie day-trades on his catalogue at around the same time as Prince looses his name and becomes just a sex symbol.
I don’t know if there was a Dead charge card but I once saw a Deadhead sticker on a Cadillac. I believe the Stones have their own charge card.
Did David Bowie cause the credit crunch?
http://new.uk. music.yahoo. com/blogs/ guestlist/ 14935/did- david-bowie- cause-the- credit-crunch
I just got my copy of Odessa yesterday, it does come in small red velvet box which is a bitch to open & it also comes w/a 60s Bee Gees logo sticker & a poster. As for the music, I have only listened to the first disc (stereo) so far & it seems OK, although it seems that the catchier songs seem to be near the end.
As for the “end of the road” for me, It would have to be Elvis Costello (who was once #2 of my fave raves), Graham Parker, Robyn Hitchcock & XTC. As for the Beatles, there are times that I can go without them for long periods of time & then I have times that I really get into them, such a several months ago when I watched the whole Anthology on DVD, as well as Help!.
As for the Kinks, I just got the new box set, although I have probably 95% of the material. I’m not really interested in Dave’s solo stuff, although I did pick up his compilation Kinked, which does include Fortis Green, which sounds like Something Else era Kinks.
A Bigger Bang was better than Bridges, and if they had made it an 8 song CD it would be considered a classic. The problem was they felt the need to put 16 songs on this thing and there were only 7-8 essential songs. Somehow Voodoo Lounge works better, although they are similar records. Bridges has that crappy production and a couple of real turds. I think I will make a best of the Stones 1990-2006 and see how it fares
I’m definitely on the side of ODESSA, I can understand why someone might not like it (the orchestral parts aren’t my favorite element) but I can’t understand how someone who describes himself as a Bee Gees fan would not like it. Even if you’re not down here the “conceptualness” of the thing, it’s chock full of memorable songs.
I bought Odessa on the recommendation of the usual suspects — you know, the guys who are always telling me to buy that Skip Spence solo LP. It sounded perfect — I’m a huge sucker for Orchestral pop music. Man, was I disappointed. There are a couple of winners on there, but in general, it’s a turd. In fact, the Bee Gees are one of my biggest disappointments in rock. That first album is damn near perfect — and the peak-era disco stuff is mighty strong, too. I get serious wood for Left Banke-ish style baroque pop music, and that seemed to be what the Bee Gees promised… but no. Every time I find a late 60s-early 70s Bee Gees LP in the thrift bin, it stinks.
I’m with dbuskirk on this one. Odessa is worthy of repeated listens.
I really like the first record.
I haven’t listened to Odessa for a while. I’ll give it a spin this week and get back to you.
I was listening to my Odessa vinyl a few weeks ago. There’s good stuff on there, but it hasn’t yet really registered with me the way my favorite Bee Gees singles have.
I have a French double-album best-of covering early Bee Gees. A ton of good stuff on there, not just from Bee Gees 1st.
BEST OF BEE GEES
France – Polydor 2675 088
1974
1. Holiday
2. I’ve Gotta Get A Message To You
3. I Can’t See Nobody
4. Words
5. I Started A Joke
6. Spicks And Specks
7. First Of May
8. World
9. Massachusetts
10. To Love Somebody
11. Every Christian Lion…
12. New York Mining Disaster 1941
13. Let There Be Love
14. IOIO
15. Don’t Forget To Remember
16. Saved By The Bell
17. Lamplight
18. One Million Years
19. August October
20. Sweetheart
21. Railroad
22. I’ll Kiss Your Memory
23. Lonely Days
24. Tomorrow Tomorrow
I never owned Odessa, and I haven’t heard it in years, but I can still summon the chorus of Marly Purt Drive (I had to use google to find the name of the song) from the memory banks based on hearing it on underground radio when it was a current release. A forty-year-old memory is worth something I guess.
I always assumed based on this song that the album was them jumping on The Band bandwagon, but judging from the comments about orchestral pop I must be mistaken.
Hey BigSteve,
Yeah, it’s overall orchpop but with a few songs that branch outside of that feel.
Isn’t Odessa the one where one of the brothers (Robyn I believe) left the group for a few years per some sort of arguement?
Unlike a few here, I’ve come to like many of the deeper cuts more then some of the singles (I’m talking early period Bee Gees). Mainly per some of the singles I’ve heard soooo many times that I’ve had my fill of them..(“Holiday”, “Words” to name a few).
How long until Cucumber Castle is gussied up for a 3-CD reissue? You guys are going to drive me back to Odessa just so I can be sure that what I heard so many years ago was as weak as I recall:)
Mr. Mod said:
How long until Cucumber Castle is gussied up for a 3-CD reissue?
The reissues of the 1st 3 albums, Odessa & The Best of Vol 1 & 2, will be more than enough Bee Gees for me.
I listened to the alternative/demo CD of Odessa last night & there was a version of “Never Say Never Again” that had a fuzz guitar overdub that sounded horrible.
Also, there’s pictures of Robin Gibb in the booklet that have him wearing sunglasses that make him look like he auditioning for the title role of The Fly.
Odessa’s dramatic storylines and forays into Americana remind me of a record released a year later, John Cale’s Vintage Violence.
I like Odessa a lot, especially because it has some great deep cuts, such as “Black Diamond.” This is an album for people who appreciate the band’s stylistic quirks, rather than their ability to mimic other bands to create pop hits.
dbuskirk,
I’m not sure I agree with you about the new Animal Collective. If they have indeed delivered the record their fans (not exactly a massive constituency) most want, who’s to say that these fans might indeed want them to remain unpredictable–rather than moving backwards, moving forwards?
To my ears, the new record does just that, revealing pop moments at unexpected moments. Of course, if this is their “formula,” I would be the last to condemn it.
Dr. John prescribes: “I’m not sure I agree with you about the new Animal Collective.”
Would we agree that it is their most accessible release?
My favorite record from the collective in that Avey Tare & Kria Brekken release, but only the leaked version before they turned the whole thing backwards as some loopy experiment. Crazy kids….