Classic Albums

[stratman]

Have any of you guys bought "Classic Albums" on DVD. I bought AJA by Steely Dan, what a neat DVD, the musicians are sitting in front of the board in the studio, they examine each song bit by bit. They explain how it was recorded, instrumentation, etc. The sound is great. There's a bunch of artists/bands available: Hendrix, Phil Collins, The Who, U2, etc.

 

[Hans]

Yeah, I bought Classic Album - Iron Maiden: Number of the Beast. It was really great to hear their long time (now retired and sorely missed) producer Martin Birch going through every song one the album. Lots of anecdoctes, making it very interresting. It was very interresting for me, a hardcore, longtime fan.

I also saw a Judas Priest one, .. don't remember which album, Stained Glass I think. I don't know if they are made by the same people, but that one was not really good at all, even a bit boring...

I would certainly like to see most of them, I like those kind of documentaries when they are well done, but I don't I would buy some more.

 

[stratman]

Motorhead is now available, in fact I just VH-1 Classic had it on.

 

[billy p]

Classic

in what sense? Motorhead is not considered classic IMO !! So what are we talking about, great or just old school albums.

 

[genesis471]

Yup, got U2 and Phil Collins. Nice little insight on some of the stuff they do for there recordings etc.

 

[stratman]

I beg to differ, Motorhead is considered a "classic" band in the genre they play.
They were seminal in shaping the early metal sound, they've been around since 1974-75, that's 30+ years, and they were chosen to be included in the "Classic" series due to their influence in music. Now as to wether you like that style of music or not, that's obviously personal taste.

 

[billy p]

I beg to differ, Motorhead is considered a "classic" band in the genre they play.
They were seminal in shaping the early metal sound, they've been around since 1974-75, that's 30+ years, and they were chosen to be included in the "Classic" series due to their influence in music. Now as to wether you like that style of music or not, that's obviously personal taste.

I do like my metal, just never a fan of theirs. I will amit the other day I was doing some gift buying and checked out the cd and dvd section. Lots of great stuff just like you mentioned in your post .

PS: I do have to get out more . LOL

 

[stratman]

Hey Billy,

You are going to see more "classic" and old school (not classic yet or not good enough to become classic)music coming out, the younger kids are discovering the "old" bands and are realizing the music was that much better.

 

[billy p]

Hey Billy,

You are going to see more "classic" and old school (not classic yet or not good enough to become classic)music coming out, the younger kids are discovering the "old" bands and are realizing the music was that much better.

Definitely agree with you on that!! I was looking for a Mick Taylor cd for the wife and mostly kids where buying cd's. I'd be lying to you, if I didn't tell you that I was reminiscing. Looking back at all those Pink Floyd and Zeppelin cds(except mine are albums) and wondering where the time went.

 

[Nomo]

OK, OK,
sounds very cool, but can one of you guys post a link to where I can find these things?

Sincerely,
Frustrated in Wisconsin

 

[stratman]

Hey Nomo,

Amazon has them, so does Sams Club and I believe WalMart. Oh, and the BB here in Miami has them. They're in the DVD music section, if that's any help.

 

[aspaceintime]

kids!

My kids, 20 & 18 have listened to my "old" stuff for some time and in turn have hooked their friends as well. Now they are showing me of "old stuff" I never listened to. It's like the old saying, wait long enough and it will be back in style.

 

[jaxvon]

I've also seen the Aja DVD. It's quite impressive. I find it interesting though that Walter and Donald don't have an all-star team like they did then. After watching this DVD and reading other stuff about the making of Aja, it's clear that the quality of the album was the result of Donald and Walter using the help of a great team of people. Unlike now, where it seems they are the only ones really doing the writing, for Aja, Larry Carlton did most of the arrangements, Tom Scott wrote the horn arrangements, Chuck Rainey played and wrote almost all the bass parts, and the drummers were allowed to take personal liberty on the tracks. Steely Dan has always had access to the highest quality studio players, but only when they involve them more heavily is there a synergy that creates albums like Aja.

Of course, my interpretation might be incorrect. Feel free to take it or leave it.

 

[Geno]

I've also seen the Aja DVD. It's quite impressive. I find it interesting though that Walter and Donald don't have an all-star team like they did then. After watching this DVD and reading other stuff about the making of Aja, it's clear that the quality of the album was the result of Donald and Walter using the help of a great team of people. Unlike now, where it seems they are the only ones really doing the writing, for Aja, Larry Carlton did most of the arrangements, Tom Scott wrote the horn arrangements, Chuck Rainey played and wrote almost all the bass parts, and the drummers were allowed to take personal liberty on the tracks. Steely Dan has always had access to the highest quality studio players, but only when they involve them more heavily is there a synergy that creates albums like Aja.

Of course, my interpretation might be incorrect. Feel free to take it or leave it.

I agree completely; I've often thought that their latter-day stuff (esp. Everything Must Go) was kind of "cranking out product" I think Donald redeemed himself, though, with most of "Morph" Incidentally, Jaxvon, it's nice to see someone of your generation that appreciates these guys. I got hooked back in the day when they first started. My kids automatically don't like 'em.

 

[stratman]

I've also seen the Aja DVD. It's quite impressive. I find it interesting though that Walter and Donald don't have an all-star team like they did then. After watching this DVD and reading other stuff about the making of Aja, it's clear that the quality of the album was the result of Donald and Walter using the help of a great team of people. Unlike now, where it seems they are the only ones really doing the writing, for Aja, Larry Carlton did most of the arrangements, Tom Scott wrote the horn arrangements, Chuck Rainey played and wrote almost all the bass parts, and the drummers were allowed to take personal liberty on the tracks. Steely Dan has always had access to the highest quality studio players, but only when they involve them more heavily is there a synergy that creates albums like Aja.

Of course, my interpretation might be incorrect. Feel free to take it or leave it.

These guys used musicians as "colors"(one element in a painting); Rarely did a guitar player or a keyboardist played the whole song through. For instance in the song Peg, Jay Graydon did the solo ONLY! So it took 3 guitars for one song: rhythm, lead and solo! Can you believe it! That's why at one time this was the costliest album to be recorded, it cost ABC an arm and a leg. If you read a bit about Fagen and Becker what they really wanted to be were composers they never thought of themselves as top notch players, that's why they always played "musical" bands (like musical chairs instead with whole orchestras!)If you see the rosters of guys that performed on these albums: AJA, Gaucho, Can't buy a thrill, etc. they're the top musicians in their fields(with union pay scales to match!). I didn't really care for Becker's solo effort "11 tracks of whack" its dull and uninspiring, yet Fagen's Nightfly and Kamakiriad are amazing both in sound and composition. I consider their music classic rock/jazz that will never wear out. One of the reasons they don't play "musical bands" anymore is because they're keeping everything simple, just a straight ahead band, it's easier on rehearsal, costs, etc, when you're on the road. In the studio it's a different matter, also they're older and a few years back Fagen was going through a horrible writer's block that according to him stopped all inspiration and delayed any production for a long time. After all these years, now its when they're really enjoying themselves.

BTW, Teenage angst didn't come out from Seattle (Nirvana) Steely Dan was singing about it a decade before.

 

[jonnythan]

sorely missed producer Martin Birch

Yeah.

I saw the video for Holy Smoke the other day right after I listened to Tailgunner and Wasting Love.

Then I listened to The Longest Day, Montsegur, and Dream of Mirrors. I almost started to cry. Maiden hasn't done anything worth listening to since Birch left.

 

[jonnythan]

I beg to differ, Motorhead is considered a "classic" band in the genre they play.
They were seminal in shaping the early metal sound, they've been around since 1974-75, that's 30+ years, and they were chosen to be included in the "Classic" series due to their influence in music. Now as to wether you like that style of music or not, that's obviously personal taste.

Absolutely.

"Not classic"?! Motorhead is *legendary*. This quote from Airheads pretty much sums up how Motorhead is regarded among many metal fans:

Chaz: "Who'd win in a wrestling match: Lemmy or God?"
Fake record exec: "Lemmy?"
Chaz: *bzzzt*
Fake record exec: "... God?"
Rex: "Wrong, ********, trick question. Lemmy *is* God."


Here is AllMusic's opening line on Lemmy's biography:
"For many, heavy metal is personified by a single person -- unforgettable Motörhead bassist/shouter Lemmy. "

 

[stratman]

For you SteelyDan guys, Two Against Nature the live DVD recorded in NYs Sony studio is great, it's 5.1 DTS. IMO Two Against Nature is destined to become a "classic" it won best record of the year when it came out a few years back (3 or 4) and most young people were shaking their collective heads saying: Steely Whoooo?

 

[Geno]

For you SteelyDan guys, Two Against Nature the live DVD recorded in NYs Sony studio is great, it's 5.1 DTS. IMO Two Against Nature is destined to become a "classic" it won best record of the year when it came out a few years back (3 or 4) and most young people were shaking their collective heads saying: Steely Whoooo?

If you're talking about the "Plush TV Jazz-Rock Party in Sensuous Surround Sound", I hafta say it's my favorite Music DVD, too. Those guys ain't much to look at nowdays, but those backup singers more than make up for it!
Also, it's probably the last time you could see the late Cornelius Bumpus on sax.

 

[stratman]

Hey Geno,

Always good to hear from a Steely Dan fan, you're right Cornelius Bumpus will be sorely missed, he was great. Yup, the guys aren't much to look at these days, but some of the early photogs from 30+ years ago don't say much either! LOL. Fagen has developed a hunchback and Becker seems to stare into nowhere all the time, hey rock and roll and drugs took a toll, at least they were smart with their money, Becker has a nice house in Hawaii with a recording studio, I think it's called Parabolic Sound. These guys are my favorite all around band, they were doing it before anybody else. The later stuff (AJA, GAUCHO) is outstanding and already considered classic, as Ian Dury once said these guys can't be pigeonholed into a genre.