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Featured Replies

if you haven't seen the natalie imbruglia masked singer uk clips you need to.  so talented.  look up the jewel ones also while you're at it.

  • 2 weeks later...
  • Author

So this link skips ahead to 28:48 in the video, where he covers "Panama," which is not (per the title) the "Greatest song" yet. But after nearly half an hour of mind-blowing songs (and a couple of plugs), he hears this again, and just ... loses it.

It starts when you hear him say, "How do you do that?" and he just goes off.

It's beautiful.

The rant inspired by "Panama" keeps going past the 31-minute mark. And he really hashad some of the greatest guitarists in the world on his channel... Brian May, Steve Vai, and so on.

Edited by Rimbo

  • Author
13 minutes ago, tbone_ said:

He’s right about Unchained

Yes.

Always thought Panama was one of their most bland songs. 

  • Author
Just now, DougO said:

Always thought Panama was one of their most bland songs. 

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I'm no van halen fan boy and i even like the Hagar shit so I am not a good reference but my five:

Drop dead legs

Unchained 

Best of both worlds

Ain't talkin bout love 

Running with the devil 

One of the things that strikes me about revisiting Van Halen since Eddie’s death is that it really was a perfect soundtrack for it’s time.  Early to mid 80s.  I was in high school, reckless and spent the vast majority of my time partying and trying to get laid, and that was something perfectly distilled by Van Halen in the music of the DLR years.  It was a potent cocktail of testosterone and adrenalin served to testosterone and adrenalin junkies like me.

At this age in my life, it all seems a bit trite, but it brings back some great memories from a time when my buddies and I were all young, unchained and hot for teacher.

On 11/5/2022 at 1:14 AM, tbone_ said:

He’s right about Unchained

We've had this discussion a half dozen times, but I just don't get it.  I'd rank "Unchained" behind almost every song on VH 1 and VH 2.

But I've heard that opinion so many times in my life, from so many people, it obviously puts me in the minority.  That's cool.

37 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

We've had this discussion a half dozen times, but I just don't get it.  I'd rank "Unchained" behind almost every song on VH 1 and VH 2.

But I've heard that opinion so many times in my life, from so many people, it obviously puts me in the minority.  That's cool.

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  • 2 weeks later...

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On 11/6/2022 at 10:24 AM, Butch Had Not said:

I'm no van halen fan boy and i even like the Hagar shit so I am not a good reference but my five:

Drop dead legs

Unchained 

Best of both worlds

Ain't talkin bout love 

Running with the devil 

 

  • 2 weeks later...

Are there Boston fans?

I would have posited all sentient beings but apparently I was wrong

1 hour ago, jimmyjazz said:

Interesting show for Boston fans:

 

Thanks for posting.  

Pre YouTube, I used to hang out on recording forums where engineers would share behind-the-scenes rehearsals/alternative takes/demos/etc.  It used to feel like you were really getting a privileged "insider" look, but I think a lot of that stuff is widely available now.

I find that stuff interesting.  A little tempo change, different instrumentation, a key change...  you realize how many songs that are among the most-played album tracks in history sounded like a shitty garage band five or ten minutes before the take that's been heard a billion times. 

No one watching this in real time would have predicted where this would land:

 

 

I realize Boston is a polarizing band - the overly dramatic lyrics and the overproduction sometimes get really cornball.  But you've got to tip your hat to Tom Scholz for making a highly polished/produced record like this in a basement in the early 70's.  That's a remarkable work of imagination, engineering, and perseverance.  And Brad Delp... wow.

 

Edited by Paul Wesley

I think a lot of those parts in the demos made the album.  I don't think Rick sussed it all out correctly.  His comment on tempo struck me as odd -- seemed on point with the album (although I didn't go back and listen).  Lots of those guitar parts sounded spot on, although it wouldn't shock me a bit if Tom Scholz were so anal retentive that he could practice his way into nailing hundreds of takes.

Regardless, it's cool to hear the demos.

I almost hate to admit, but I was a borderline Boston-hater when they first arrived on the scene. I got so sick of hearing the same two or three songs that all the popular kids played that pretty much sounded the same. It took years for it to sink in and take hold. Now I really dig those first two albums, even a lot of the third one. Some really good songwriting and great rock guitar riffage. The nasally guitar tone is a bit cheesy, but it was what it was back in the day.

 

Edited by DougO

34 minutes ago, DougO said:

I almost hate to admit, but I was a borderline Boston-hater when they first arrived on the scene. I got so sick of hearing the same two or three songs that all the popular kids played that pretty much sounded the same. It took years for it to sink in and take hold. Now I really dig those first two albums, even a lot of the third one. Some really good songwriting and great rock guitar riffage. The nasally guitar tone is a bit cheesy, but it was what it was back in the day.

 

How old are you?  I was just rounding into an FM radio freak when they showed up.  It was absolutely refreshing, a completely 180 from the blues-based heaviness that was dominating rock radio at the time.  I can quite clearly recall the very first time I heard "More Than A Feeling", listening to my clock radio as I went to bed as a teenager.  It was ear-opening, eye-popping, never-ever-heard-before stuff.  Not only the guitar tone, although that was a huge part of it, but the vocals, and the harmonies.  Amazing album.

12 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

blues-based heaviness that was dominating rock radio at the time. 

As god intended.

47 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

How old are you?  I was just rounding into an FM radio freak when they showed up.  It was absolutely refreshing, a completely 180 from the blues-based heaviness that was dominating rock radio at the time.  I can quite clearly recall the very first time I heard "More Than A Feeling", listening to my clock radio as I went to bed as a teenager.  It was ear-opening, eye-popping, never-ever-heard-before stuff.  Not only the guitar tone, although that was a huge part of it, but the vocals, and the harmonies.  Amazing album.

I grew up in a small town that was a few years behind the rest of the world, but I was music conscious at a very early age, especially with my oldest brother having a nice collection of early hard rock. It's the only good thing I got out of that "relationship."

I couldn't understand what the big deal was with Frampton, either. I hated his blurry album cover, and I hated the goofy talk box gimmick thing. Came to appreciate him much more later when I gave other songs a listen. But all you hear back then are the overplayed hits, so it's easy to get sick of them in a hurry when people were blasting it on their 8-track players everywhere, same two songs repeated endlessly.

Edited by DougO

10 minutes ago, DougO said:

I couldn't understand what the big deal was with Frampton, either. I hated his blurry album cover, and I hated the goofy talk box gimmick thing. Came to appreciate him much more later when I gave other songs a listen. But all you hear back then are the overplayed hits, so it's easy to get sick of them in a hurry when people were blasting it on their 8-track players everywhere, same two songs repeated endlessly.

Ha, damn we are going from bad to worse.

 

In all seriousness though i have no strong opinion on Boston one way or another besides I think Scholz is an epic goober.

 

Frampton though is interesting, as his work in Humble Pie is some of my all time favorite stuff, yet I think Frampton Comes Alive may be the worst album ever made. It takes every ounce of willpower I have not to bash my radio with a baseball bat if Do You Feel Like We Do comes on. Thankfully I usually manage to just change the station.

Yeah, I never got into Frampton.  I don't hate him or his music, but it's not my thing.

27 minutes ago, DougO said:

I grew up in a small town that was a few years behind the rest of the world, but I was music conscious at a very early age, especially with my oldest brother having a nice collection of early hard rock. It's the only good thing I got out of that "relationship."

Honestly one of the things I'm most grateful for is my parents both passed on a lot of good music to me. My dad as I've mentioned was a professional musician when I was born, and turned me on to all the Floyd and Zeppelin besides stuff like Uriah Heep, Wishbone Ash and Gentle Giant. My mom was just into music in general, she had a lot of stuff like Fleetwood Mac, Talking Heads, Rolling Stones and Steely Dan

Say what you will about "Frampton Comes Alive", but it got him more pussy than all of us combined. 

More power to him. 

  • Author
On 11/6/2022 at 11:15 AM, jimmyjazz said:

We've had this discussion a half dozen times, but I just don't get it.  I'd rank "Unchained" behind almost every song on VH 1 and VH 2.

But I've heard that opinion so many times in my life, from so many people, it obviously puts me in the minority.  That's cool.

I mean, like Rick said, trying to pick just one best Van Halen song is a fool's errand.

"Unchained" was my number one for a while. I'll tell you why.

First, it's just an amazing riff, showing Eddie at his rhythm guitar best. And it's the way he bends those chords into tune while playing the riff at that speed. Then the ear candy of the pick hits up and down the string... in pitch and on time.

The bridge to the chorus perfectly shows off the way their vocal harmonies line up together.

Then there's Dave doing a riff like in their stage show during the solo... but in a recording.

And then it comes to a halt right on schedule, leaving you wanting more.

It's pretty great, really.

20 hours ago, jimmyjazz said:

Interesting show for Boston fans:

 

This is killer.

The demos sound like old KTel commercials.

Scholz is an epic goober.


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I’m going with straight up genius over goober.

As well stated by PW and JJ above, to put out two albums that sounded like that, at that time, and have one guy write the songs, arrange the songs, play the songs, and invent the tech shit that made them sound like they do, and record everything himself, with no prior experience and in his damn basement on top of all that, and oh yea get them published and played is just insane levels of capability. And to my ears I don’t hear a weak moment on either of those first two albums.

Overlayed and wears you out? OK, sure I can appreciate that.

But to me if you just think about what it must have taken to envision all that, then create it basically on your own and from scratch it’s just mind blowing. Admittedly, blowing my simple mind is not that hard to do. But still.

Total nerd? Yea sure. But epic goober? Not it any world that I understand.
9 minutes ago, tbone_ said:

But to me if you just think about what it must have taken to envision all that, then create it basically on your own and from scratch it’s just mind blowing

Yeah it would be except for the fact I don't care.

 

Like I said I don't actually have a real strong opinion on Boston one way or another other than Tom Scholz is 100% a dork. I guess also I think he was a real prick to Brad Delp, who was that actual talent in the band. Without Delp you wouldn't even know Scholz existed. More Than a Feeling and Hitch a Rode are decent songs, Long Time and the rest kinda suck, overall giving Kansas a run for most nondescript band ever.

8 minutes ago, G650 said:

Yeah it would be except for the fact I don't care.

 

Like I said I don't actually have a real strong opinion on Boston one way or another other than Tom Scholz is 100% a dork. I guess also I think he was a real prick to Brad Delp, who was that actual talent in the band. Without Delp you wouldn't even know Scholz existed. More Than a Feeling and Hitch a Rode are decent songs, Long Time and the rest kinda suck, overall giving Kansas a run for most nondescript band ever.

This is a remarkably 100% wrong take.  Kudos to you, sir.

23 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

This is a remarkably 100% wrong take.  Kudos to you, sir.

 

Hey, you guys like Boston then carry on, no judgement. I listen to all sorts of unremarkable shit too. 

I guess I forgot I was in the Beato thread, which is essentially the pumpkin spice latte for white dudes.

3 minutes ago, Deej said:

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Well to be honest @jimmyjazzand @tbone_got the last laugh as I had Hitch a Ride stuck in my head the rest of the night. Fml.

  • Author
19 hours ago, G650 said:

I guess I forgot I was in the Beato thread, which is essentially the pumpkin spice latte for white dudes.

Try not to cut yourself with that edge, emo kid.

7 minutes ago, Rimbo said:

Try not to cut yourself with that edge, emo kid.

Only thing I hate more than Frampton Comes Alive is emo.

Listened to the whole first Boston album this morning on a long walk. Still holds up fantastically after a billion listens and 46 years.

Beato lives about an hour from me. I should stalk him.

I wonder if I could catch him at a show somewhere in Atlanta. I think he still goes to shows.

9 hours ago, G650 said:

Only thing I hate more than Frampton Comes Alive is emo.

How did you feel about Foreigner? I hated them back in the day. Still never did warm up to them that much.

5 hours ago, DougO said:

How did you feel about Foreigner? I hated them back in the day. Still never did warm up to them that much.

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Great interview with Steven Wilson (Porcupine Tree, producer, etc)

 

  • 1 month later...

This is a great Beato video about his early years, and his guitar teacher.

The end is the best part.

 

  • 2 weeks later...
 

While that trend thoroughly sucks for the music it makes, I look at it as further ensuring demand for actual humans making actual music. That energy connects to people better, though the listener may not understand why.

It may keep real artists from turning into Justin Bieber. But I’m ok with that.
On 11/25/2022 at 4:38 PM, G650 said:

Are there Boston fans?

Boston is kind of like Rush.   We all like them but not many really, really like them.

14 minutes ago, Macanudo said:

Boston is kind of like Rush.   We all like them but not many really, really like them.

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I'm not a Boston fan per se, in fact there are few if any groups that I fanboy for or against ... I just like what I like.

Flip to any of the time marks in this video and tell me this was not a good performance / concert.  More about the music than the spectacle that fucking glam pop "rock" was about to bury us in.

 

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