Moderately Acclaimed Albums 8 - Round 1.3

[Brad]

Welcome to Round 1.3 of Moderately Acclaimed Albums 8!

Awesome participation so far... good discussions as well - it's great to see such passionate responses to music, and I believe everyone has tried to be respectful on the boards in regards to the opinions of others, though our actual words sometimes get in the way. I always encourage positive discussion (though I confess I rarely contribute anymore for a variety of reasons - among them, yes! frustration - but primarily due to time constraints). Anyhow, please don't get discouraged. Your opinions are a vital component of what makes these "games" work - the more the merrier!

Vote for your favorite album in each match-up.
Remember, anyone can vote as long as the voter has heard both albums.

Good-spirited comments are encouraged, but not absolutely necessary.
Deadline = March 28th at 10am EST.

Here's a link to the bracket for the entire tournament:
http://www.bracketmaker.com/tmenu.cfm?t ... Albums%208

Match-ups:
1. Ghostface Killah - Fishscale vs. The Undertones - The Undertones
2. John Zorn - Naked City vs. Kylie Minogue - Fever
3. Queen - The Game vs. Labradford - Mi Media Naranja
4. Various Artists - I'm Your Fan vs. Avenged Sevenfold - City of Evil

Does anybody remember laughter?

[Bang Jan]

I'm Your Fan

2 | Ghostface Killah | Fishscale
3 | The Undertones | The Undertones

1 | John Zorn | Naked City
5 | Kylie Minogue | Fever

7 | Queen | The Game
4 | Labradford | Mi Media Naranja

6 | Various Artists | I'm Your Fan
8 | Avenged Sevenfold | City of Evil

Favourite song of the week: Ghostface Killah | Shakey Dog

[BleuPanda]

Hmm...is there a better link for I'm Your Fan? That one appears to be out of order and missing tracks...

[DaveC]

1. Ghostface Killah - Fishscale vs. The Undertones - The Undertones
2. John Zorn - Naked City vs. Kylie Minogue - Fever
3. Queen - The Game vs. Labradford - Mi Media Naranja
4. Various Artists - I'm Your Fan vs. Avenged Sevenfold - City of Evil

[Bang Jan]

Hmm...is there a better link for I'm Your Fan? That one appears to be out of order and missing tracks...

Maybe this one?

[hectorthebat]

1. Ghostface Killah - Fishscale vs. The Undertones - The Undertones
2. John Zorn - Naked City vs. Kylie Minogue - Fever
3. Queen - The Game vs. Labradford - Mi Media Naranja
4. Various Artists - I'm Your Fan vs. Avenged Sevenfold - City of Evil

[Honorio]

1. Ghostface Killah - Fishscale (2006) vs. The Undertones - The Undertones (1979)


2. John Zorn - Naked City (1990) vs. Kylie - Fever (2001)


3. Queen - The Game (1980) vs. Labradford - Mi media naranja (1997)


4. Various Artists - I'm Your Fan: The Songs of Leonard Cohen by... (1991) vs. Avenged Sevenfold - City of Evil (2005)

Favourite song from every album:
Kilo | Jimmy Jimmy | The Sicilian Clan | Can't Get You Out of My Head | Crazy Little Thing Called Love | V | Hallelujah | Bat Country

Favourite song of the week: Can't Get You Out of My Head

[spiritualized]

1. Ghostface Killah - Fishscale (4.0) vs. The Undertones - The Undertones (4.0)

Two very strong contenders. Fishscale is a return to form from my favorite Wu, although I thought that Ironman was, thus far, unmatched. Excellent beats and delivery, shame about the R&B songs...They cost Fishscale the win vs the Undertones. Their debut is excellent punk-pop at a time when it was uncool to be "pop". Feargal Sharkey's voice is peculiar but lends itself brilliantly on the O'Neills crafty 2 min songs. They went on to disband and create one of my favourites, That Petrol Emotion.

2. John Zorn - Naked City (4.5) vs Kylie - Fever (3.0)

10 years after my first and only listen of Naked City, I have decided it is a masterpiece. Maybe my ears have opened up a bit since then. The insanely fun mix of film score, smooth jazz, jazz-rock and even grindcore struck a chord this time. This will definitely be one of the highlights of the 90s from now on. Sadly, the rather good Fever suffers the comparison. Good pop album, Kylie grew with this album.

3. Queen - The Game (3.0) vs. Labradford - Mi Media Naranja (5.0)

I used to loathe Queen and its far-too-operatic frontman. And then I heard a cover of "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" and sought out its writers. From that point on, I paid attention to Queen. So this album is a revelation - but it fails the test over its length. Apart from the aforementioned track and Another One Bites the Dust, it is nothing special. Mi Media Naranja, on the other hand, is pure gold. A firm favourite of mine, its slow structure but crystalline tunes is enchanting.

4. Various Artists - I'm Your Fan (4.5) vs. Avenged Sevenfold - City of Evil (2.0)

I risk being harsh with A7X... Their mix between Metallica riffs, Judas Priest solos and boy band vocals works perfectly on Bat Country, their best track here. The rest however... I recognised some Faith No More in the singing, but the tracks are too long and the magic simply doesn't work on the remainder of the album. On the other hand, I am kind of ashamed to say that I'm Your Fan introduced me properly to Leonard Cohen. Many of these songs were new to me when I first listened to it. They are covered by (with a few notable exceptions) the "stars" of the alternative music scene of the 90s. Pixies / REM / James / The House of Love / Lloyd Cole / Nick Cave / John Cale, all BIG names at the time. This kind of tribute can fail miserably but on this record, the artists were given free reign to cover their favorite Cohen's song (hence the presence of Tower of Song twice). With the quality of the songwriting from Leonard, most songs were given a new lease of life in the 90s. Essential compilation.

[BleuPanda]

John Zorn - Naked City (9.75)
Ghostface Killah - Fishscale (7.75)
The Undertones - The Undertones (7.75)
Kylie Minogue - Fever (6.5)
Queen - The Game (6.5)
Labradford - Mi Media Naranja (6.25)
Avenged Sevenfold - City of Evil (4.25)


Still need to listen to:
Various Artists - I'm Your Fan


I feel there's a high chance I'm Your Fan will beat out City of Evil for me...I just need to find time to listen and make sure I'm not missing tracks from it.

[spiritualized]

Still need to listen to:
Various Artists - I'm Your Fan


I feel there's a high chance I'm Your Fan will beat out City of Evil for me...I just need to find time to listen and make sure I'm not missing tracks from it.

I ought to give you guys an opportunity to listen to it... I have the full album, I think Bang Jan's link is ok, but the link is full of ads and doesn't lend itself to a smooth listening experience...
What would be the best way to share this ?

[Jirin]

So far can vote

Fishscale 78 - The Undertones 71
Naked City 78 - Fever 58
Mi Media Najanja 81 - The Game 76

Hard to find a complete YouTube collection for I'm Your Fan.

[Honorio]

Hard to find a complete YouTube collection for I'm Your Fan.

1. The House of Love - Who By Fire
2. Ian McCulloch - Hey, That's No Way to Say Goodbye
3. Pixies - I Can't Forget
4. That Petrol Emotion - Stories of the Street
5. The Lilac Time - Bird on the Wire
6. Geoffrey Oryema - Suzanne (only the first 4:18 minutes)
7. James - So Long Marianne
8. Jean-Louis Murat - Avalanche IV
9. David McComb & Adam Peters - Don't Go Home With Your Hard-On
10. R.E.M. - First We Take Manhattan
11. Lloyd Cole - Chelsea Hotel
12. Robert Forster - Tower of Song
13. Peter Astor - Take This Longing
14. Dead Famous People - True Love Leaves No Traces
15. Bill Pritchard - I'm Your Man (only the first 3:45 minutes)
16. Fatima Mansions - A Singer Must Die
17. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Tower of Song
18. John Cale - Hallelujah

Nobody asked for it but here's my Top 5 off the album:
1. John Cale – Hallelujah (obviously)
2. R.E.M. - First We Take Manhattan
3. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Tower of Song (according to Wikipedia "a radical deconstruction of the song, edited from an hour-long jam session held by the band")
4. The House of Love - Who By Fire
5. Lloyd Cole - Chelsea Hotel

[spiritualized]

Thanks to Honorio for finding these, I encoded them whilst you were creating your post

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=P ... vI1j0eALof

Please let me know if it doesn't work

[StevieFan13]

The Undertones - The Undertones
Kylie Minogue - Fever
Queen - The Game
Various Artists - I'm Your Fan

[bonnielaurel]

The Undertones - The Undertones
Kylie Minogue - Fever
Queen - The Game
Various Artists - I'm Your Fan

[Brad]

Nobody asked for it but here's my Top 5 off the album:
1. John Cale – Hallelujah (obviously)

New Yorker magazine recently profiled Cale and discussed his version of "Hallelujah", which I found interesting enough to quote here:

In the early nineties, Cale closed most of his sets with a cover of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah,” which Cale first recorded in 1991, for a tribute album titled “I’m Your Fan: The Songs of Leonard Cohen,” and later included on “Fragments of a Rainy Season.” “Hallelujah,” which was released by Cohen in 1984, has been covered so relentlessly that it now feels like a shortcut for conjuring feelings of despondency. In 1991, though, the song was still an obscure track from “Various Positions,” a record that nobody was paying much attention to. Cohen’s take is cool and moody, sung in a staid, stately baritone. Cale’s version is sparse and undulating, and he sounds freshly gutted after every verse. It’s this iteration—which Jeff Buckley covered in 1994 and Rufus Wainwright sings on the soundtrack for the animated film “Shrek”—that most people recognize.

Cale also monkeyed with the lyrics. After he heard Cohen singing different words to the song during a show at the Beacon Theatre, he asked about alternative verses. Cohen reportedly faxed him fifteen pages of unused lines; from these, Cale pulled together new lyrics, which change the entire narrative trajectory of the song, making it bloodier, less celestial. It contains a heartbreakingly succinct account of how it feels to watch someone fall out of love with you:

There was a time you let me know
What’s really going on below
But now you never show it to me, do you?
I remember when I moved in you
And the holy dove was moving too
And every breath we drew was Hallelujah.

The fifth verse opens, “Maybe there’s a God above / but all I ever learned from love / was how to shoot at someone who outdrew you.” On this line, Cale resists the temptation to sing “you” as the more colloquial “ya,” which Cohen often did, and cheekily—to make it rhyme in a satisfying way with “hallelujah.” He seems to know that the lyric contains too tough a lesson to be made cute: how to be bested by someone you trusted but still land a blow on your way down. How to survive.

- New Yorker JANUARY 30, 2017 ISSUE

[Brad]

My picks:
1. Ghostface Killah - Fishscale vs. The Undertones - The Undertones
This very close matchup was firmly decided when I had the striking realization that "Teenage Kicks" and "Get Over You" were not on the original album. Never knew that, and it makes a big difference.
2. John Zorn - Naked City vs. Kylie Minogue - Fever
3. Queen - The Game vs. Labradford - Mi Media Naranja
4. Various Artists - I'm Your Fan vs. Avenged Sevenfold - City of Evil
Similar to spiritualized, this was my first introduction to a large chunk of Cohen's work. I purchased this disc as an avid R.E.M fan when it came out and have thoroughly enjoyed it (well - most of it... there are a few clunkers). Listening now, it feels like most of these covers work primarily because they're such powerfully written songs; on the other hand, very few hold up against Cohen's own interpretations, which have firmly been injected into my bloodstream in the 25+ years since this album's release.

Thanks!

[notbrianeno]

1. Ghostface Killah | Fishscale vs. The Undertones | The Undertones
2. John Zorn | Naked City vs. Kylie Minogue | Fever
3. Queen | The Game vs. Labradford | Mi Media Naranja

Discovery of the week goes to Labradford's excellent post-rock stylings, reminiscent of labelmates Godspeed You! Black Emperor

[DaveC]

Discovery of the week goes to Labradford's excellent post-rock stylings

I will add my thanks for that nomination too. (Before it sadly departs - or after a quick count back maybe not .)

[Dan]

Ghostface Killah - Fishscale vs. The Undertones - The Undertones
John Zorn - Naked City vs. Kylie Minogue - Fever
Queen - The Game vs. Labradford - Mi Media Naranja
Various Artists - I'm Your Fan vs. Avenged Sevenfold - City of Evil

Favourite songs:
1. Queen - Crazy Little Thing Called Love
2. Kylie Minogue - Can't Get You Out of My Head
3. Kylie Minogue - In Your Eyes
4. Ghostface Killah - Be Easy

[Jirin]

Thanks Honorio! Listening now. The site Bang Jan linked to has ads and redirects on every click that somehow beat ad blocking software so clicking links individual is probably the least annoying available option.

[BleuPanda]

Add in a vote for I'm Your Fan from me.

[EmilienDelRey]

Ghostface Killah - Fishscale
Labradford - Mi Media Naranja
The Undertones - The Undertones
John Zorn - Naked City
Kylie Minogue - Fever
Queen - The Game

[Jirin]

Now I will vote for I'm Your Fan (83-65)

[PlasticRam]

1. Ghostface Killah - Fishscale vs. The Undertones - The Undertones
3. Queen - The Game vs. Labradford - Mi Media Naranja

Fishscale is on my all-time list.

[Nassim]

1. Ghostface Killah - Fishscale vs. The Undertones - The Undertones
2. John Zorn - Naked City vs. Kylie Minogue - Fever
I'll admit I enjoyed Naked City more than I expected, or at least the fun and fairly direct half of it, the rest is not for me. Fever was ahead of its time, if poptimism had started by then she'd be a good 1000 spots higher. It's far from perfect but the best songs are fantastic and the lesser ones still listenable.
3. Queen - The Game vs. Labradford - Mi Media Naranja
The Game is one of the most consistent Queen albums, almost all of them have a shitty song or 2 but not that one. I'm not saying Coming Soon or Don't Try Suicide are all time great but at least they don't kill the momentum like some do on Sheer Heart Attack or A Day at the Races.
That being said I'll stick with my nomination. I discovered Labradford through their self titled album during an early Moderately Acclaimed game (I'd say it was one of sonofsamiam pick on the 2ND poll if I remember correctly) and fell in love with Lake Speed, still my favorite post-rock and/or ambient track ever. But as a whole album, it's Mi Media Naranja that really clicked (though I also really like Prazision and the self titled album)

[BleuPanda]

There's a set of three albums in my top 100 that I'd say I listen to more to have my view of music challenged than out of a more straightforward desire to find enjoyment through its sound; I refer to these as experience albums, since they go beyond just being music. Those three are:
Trout Mask Replica
Naked City
Shaking the Habitual

Shaking the Habitual separates itself by finding moments of pop, which in turn makes the most experimental tracks all the more overwhelming through contrast; even then, the true dance nature of the album is buried deep beneath odd rhythms and abrasive soundscapes.

I expect these three to be the most polarizing among my top 100; when I recommend Naked City to someone, I expect it to either click with the person on the same level it did with me, or for them to view it as an unlistenable mess. Though its parts are familiar enough, Zorn takes two of the most niche genres and combines them into a true monster. I'm generally not a fan of the harder metal genres, but there's something catastrophic about the sound Zorn creates. Above all else, he commandeers a totally unique style of music; the best part is this isn't his only style.

[Rob]

6. Ghostface Killah - Fishscale vs. 5. The Undertones - The Undertones
The most difficult choice of the week. Both are pretty great in very different ways. Fishscale is a sonic experience with great creativity, but perhaps of its length it is uneven. The Undertones is less original and it's pleasures are immediate. It doesn't waste a single breath. I could vote for either, but the sheer fun of The Undertones just edges Ghostface Killah out.

1. John Zorn - Naked City vs. 7. Kylie Minogue - Fever
Naked City is right up my dark alley. I love the mix-up of thriller, noir and spy music and the exciting sordid atmosphere it creates by combining styles in a surprisingly consistent styles. I could do without those very short freak-outs, but despite that this is the best album of the week for me.
Fever is a good pop album, with some pop songs I actually like. What saddens me though is that Kylie Minogue already in her thirties still felt she needed to sing lyrics that only teenagers could get away worth. What's even worse is that she has a great voice, but that she never lets you here it here, because if you want to be a pop singer in 2001 you have to sound exactly like Madonna and not like better singer. I wish the whole thing had more a character of its own. Still, it's a rare pop album that doesn't feel like a couple of hits with lot of filler to me.

8. Queen - The Game vs. 3. Labradford - Mi Media Naranja
Am I the only one who feels that Queen isn't really all that into The Game? They sound oddly subdued, especially for a band that usually trades in exuberance. I love Another One Bites the Dust and Crazy Little Thing Called Love is fun, but outside these two hits everything sounds rather soulless. Even Mercury sings less full, as if its heart isn't in it.
There is a lot of heart, though, in Mi Media Naranja, post-rock full of emotion and beautiful compositions.

2. Various Artists - I'm Your Fan vs. 4. Avenged Sevenfold - City of Evil
I really wanted to vote for City of Evil, if only because straight-forward heavy metal sometimes seems to be perhaps the least appreciated genre on this forum. I do like the genre, mostly for the instrumentals. City of Evil is very good for the most part, but goes on too long and has some glaring weak spots. I do like it that at later parts of the album things sometimes become more orchestral, like a show-tune or epic movie soundtrack.
I'm Your Fan is long too, but not a minute feels wasted. I've listened to quite a few tribute albums, because I think the idea is interesting, but mostly they are a mixed affair. Not this one. Although not every cover here is a masterpiece or challenges Cohen's originals, it has to be said that every song here works on its own terms. I also like the tight selection of musicians from the alternative rock faction. The frequently tough guitar sounds give the songs their own identity and it works better than you might think.

[jamieW]

Ghostface Killah - Fishscale
John Zorn - Naked City
Labradford - Mi Media Naranja
Various Artists - I'm Your Fan

Favorite album I couldn't vote for: Kylie (my second favorite of the week, of course). On my rating scale, Zorn came out ahead by exactly .22 in a battle of very good albums that are polar opposites.

I was a little disappointed by the inconsistency of "I'm Your Fan," a tribute to one of my all-time favorite artists. Some of the songs are brilliant, while I felt some just didn't work at all. In fact, if Avenged Sevenfold had been just a little shorter, they may have pulled the upset.

[Kingoftonga]

Winners in red.

1. Ghostface Killah - Fishscale vs. The Undertones - The Undertones
2. John Zorn - Naked City vs. Kylie Minogue - Fever
3. Queen - The Game vs. Labradford - Mi Media Naranja
4. Various Artists - I'm Your Fan vs. Avenged Sevenfold - City of Evil

Matches 2 and 3 were particularly tough this week. John Zorn vs. Kylie is one of those matches where it's hard to judge because both albums are doing radically different things (and doing them well!) And I'm normally a fan of post-rock, but Labradford was a bit too subtle for me; it could just be that I was in Queen sort of mood when listening.

I loved I'm Your Fan, but that Nick Cave track needs to go.

[Brad]

Last call - 35 minutes left to vote!

[Brad]

18 voters this week:
Bang Jan
BleuPanda
bonnielaurel
Brad
Dan
DaveC
EmilienDelRey
hectorthebat
Honorio
jamieW
Jirin
Kingoftonga
Nassim
notbrianeno
PlasticRam
Rob
spiritualized
StevieFan13

Results:
1. Ghostface Killah - Fishscale over The Undertones - The Undertones 13-5
2. John Zorn - Naked City over Kylie Minogue - Fever 11-6
3. Labradford - Mi Media Naranja over Queen - The Game 10-8
4. Various Artists - I'm Your Fan over Avenged Sevenfold - City of Evil 13-1

Round 1.4 up soon!