Moderately Acclaimed Albums 8 - Round 1.4

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Brad
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Moderately Acclaimed Albums 8 - Round 1.4

Post by Brad »

Welcome to Round 1.4 of Moderately Acclaimed Albums 8!

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 = April 4th 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. Prince & the Revolution - Parade vs. The Cramps - Songs The Lord Taught Us
2. St Germain - Tourist vs. Jorge Ben - A Tábua de Esmeralda
3. John Fahey - America vs. John Adams - Nixon in China (performed by Orchestra of St. Luke's)
4. Dollar - The Dollar Album vs. Stone Jack Jones - Love & Torture


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Bang Jan
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Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 8 - Round 1.4

Post by Bang Jan »



3 | Prince & the Revolution | Parade
6 | The Cramps | Songs the Lord Taught us

5 | St Germain | Tourist
1 | Jorge Ben | A Tábua de Esmeralda 

4 | John Fahey | America
2 | John Adams | Nixon in China (performed by Orchestra of St. Luke's)

7 | Dollar | The Dollar Album
8 | Stone Jack Jones | Love & Torture

Favourite song of the week: Jorge Ben | Zumbi
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Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 8 - Round 1.4

Post by DaveC »

1. Prince & the Revolution - Parade vs. The Cramps - Songs The Lord Taught Us
2. St Germain - Tourist vs. Jorge Ben - A Tábua de Esmeralda
3. John Fahey - America vs. John Adams - Nixon in China (performed by Orchestra of St. Luke's)
4. Dollar - The Dollar Album vs. Stone Jack Jones - Love & Torture
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Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 8 - Round 1.4

Post by hectorthebat »

1. Prince & the Revolution - Parade vs. The Cramps - Songs The Lord Taught Us
2. St Germain - Tourist vs. Jorge Ben - A Tábua de Esmeralda
3. John Fahey - America vs. John Adams - Nixon in China (performed by Orchestra of St. Luke's)
4. Dollar - The Dollar Album vs. Stone Jack Jones - Love & Torture
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PlasticRam
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Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 8 - Round 1.4

Post by PlasticRam »

4. Dollar - The Dollar Album vs. Stone Jack Jones - Love & Torture
I feel like that
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Honorio
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Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 8 - Round 1.4

Post by Honorio »


1. Prince & the Revolution - Parade (1986) vs. The Cramps - Songs the Lord Taught Us (1980)


2. St Germain - Tourist (2000) vs. Jorge Ben - A Tábua de Esmeralda (1974)


3. John Fahey - America (1971) vs. John Adams - Nixon in China (performed by Orchestra of St. Luke's) (1988)


4. Dollar - The Dollar Album (1982) vs. Stone Jack Jones - Love & Torture (2015)

Favourite song from every album:
Kiss | I Was a Teenage Werewolf | Rose Rouge | Zumbi | Knoxville Blues | Landing of the Spirit of '76 | Videotheque | Song

Favourite song of the week: Kiss
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Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 8 - Round 1.4

Post by Jirin »

Parade 86 - Songs The Lord Taught Us 71
A Tabua De Esmeralda 85 - Tourist 76

Abstain since I don't feel qualified to judge musical scores. Just not my wheelhouse. If it ends up against an album I feel strongly positive or negative about I'll vote.

Need to find Dollar Album on YouTube but Love & Torture is my nomination.
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Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 8 - Round 1.4

Post by Romain »

1. Prince & the Revolution - Parade of course.
2. St Germain - Tourist
3. John Adams - Nixon in China (performed by Orchestra of St. Luke's)
4. Stone Jack Jones - Love & Torture

Very interesting week.
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Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 8 - Round 1.4

Post by StevieFan13 »

This was not easy, but I think I have my choices.
Match-ups:
1. The Cramps - Songs The Lord Taught Us (I dunno...the great tracks on Parade are some of the best Prince has ever done, especially Kiss, one of my all-time favorite songs. But Songs the Lord Taught Us is all killer, no filler, and Parade drags in some places, especially the instrumentals. A hair away from being a draw.)
2. Jorge Ben - A Tábua de Esmeralda (Beautiful stuff.)
3. John Fahey - America (More my thing than the John Adams album.)
4. Dollar - The Dollar Album (Love me some good '80s pop. Stone Jack Jones is too slow for me.)
Last edited by StevieFan13 on Wed Mar 29, 2017 4:16 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 8 - Round 1.4

Post by StevieFan13 »

Just as I expected: I'm the only person who's voted for Songs the Lord Taught Us and am almost definitely going to stay that way.
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Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 8 - Round 1.4

Post by luney6 »

1. The Cramps
2. Jorge Ben
3. John Adams
4. Dollar
StevieFan13 wrote:Just as I expected: I'm the only person who's voted for Songs the Lord Taught Us and am almost definitely going to stay that way.
You and the guy that nominated it.
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Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 8 - Round 1.4

Post by StevieFan13 »

luney6 wrote:1. The Cramps
2. Jorge Ben
3. John Adams
4. Dollar
StevieFan13 wrote:Just as I expected: I'm the only person who's voted for Songs the Lord Taught Us and am almost definitely going to stay that way.
You and the guy that nominated it.
True.
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Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 8 - Round 1.4

Post by Bang Jan »

Jirin wrote:Need to find Dollar Album on YouTube.
The Dollar Album
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Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 8 - Round 1.4

Post by Brad »

StevieFan13 wrote:Just as I expected: I'm the only person who's voted for Songs the Lord Taught Us and am almost definitely going to stay that way.
nope
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Rob
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Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 8 - Round 1.4

Post by Rob »

I'm actually still undecided on the Prince and The Cramps (and as usual will abstain my vote until I have heard each album twice; quite the challenge in this week with many lengthy albums). They're both great, in very different ways. If I don't vote for The Cramps it won't be because I don't like it. It might be the City of Evil of this week: a very good album of a specific genre that isn't particularly popular here versus an equally good album that's right in the wheelhouse of many voters here. Too bad.
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Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 8 - Round 1.4

Post by BleuPanda »

Prince & the Revolution - Parade (8.75)
Jorge Ben - A Tábua de Esmeralda (8.25)
The Cramps - Songs The Lord Taught Us (8.0)
John Adams - Nixon in China (performed by Orchestra of St. Luke's) (7.5)
St Germain - Tourist (7.5)
Stone Jack Jones - Love & Torture (6.75)
John Fahey - America (6.5)
Dollar - The Dollar Album (3.25)
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Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 8 - Round 1.4

Post by Jirin »

I'll now vote Stone Jack Jones, 90-60. Dollar strikes me as an album that was trying to piggyback the disposable trend of its day.
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Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 8 - Round 1.4

Post by EmilienDelRey »

Jorge Ben - A Tábua de Esmeralda
John Fahey - America
Prince & the Revolution - Parade
John Adams - Nixon in China (performed by Orchestra of St. Luke's)
St Germain - Tourist
The Cramps - Songs The Lord Taught Us
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Rob
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Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 8 - Round 1.4

Post by Rob »

Some very tight match-ups this week.

3. Prince & the Revolution - Parade vs. 2. The Cramps - Songs The Lord Taught Us
I said earlier this was going to be a tough choice and I still stand by that. Parade is the more ambitious album and it succeeds in it's ambition, but in a week where quite a few albums run long, Parade feels somehow to short. As if it is a sampler from the film it accompanies. It doesn't quite gel as well as some of Prince best albums. Still, with songs like Kiss and Under the Cherry Moon it is still a very good album.
Songs the Lord Taught us is just unpretentious fun performed to perfection (even though I doubt it strives for perfection). Honestly, the very though choice was finally decided thanks to their cover of Fever, a song I have heard in various versions, but never as delicious as here.

6. St Germain - Tourist vs. 5. Jorge Ben - A Tábua de Esmeralda
This one could have gone either way, too. A couple of tracks on Tourist could have been enough to blow A Tábua de Esmeralda out of the water, but I also think that Tourist drags at periods, whereas Jorge Ben is in great form during the whole album, making it the more satisfying whole.

1. John Fahey - America vs. 4. John Adams - Nixon in China (performed by Orchestra of St. Luke's)
This would have been a difficult choice if America wasn't so amazing. Brilliant, creative guitar playing. The title track alone might have been the best song in this year's Moderately Acclaimed up til now. It is an amazing showcase of writing for the guitar.
Not that Nixon in China is a minor work of course, but even though opera is supposed to be the more pushing genre (and Nixon in China is very original in every way) I felt there was more invention in John Fahey's album, despite him using only one instrument!

8. Dollar - The Dollar Album vs. 7. Stone Jack Jones - Love & Torture
They look close together, but this is a huge gap. Love & Torture is a weird album to me, but not in a bad way. I just feel that I haven't fully grasped it's hushed tones yet.
I apologize in advance to the person who nominated it, but The Dollar Album is a rare album in which I couldn't find any merit. It's a combination of clichés of the early eighties, done without any personality or originality. Apparently hey actually had several hits in their days, but that they now are a forgotten band (as far as I can tell at least) says it all.


One question: Is Nixon in China really eligible? It is actually a very acclaimed piece in modern classical music, if I'm correct. A real classic. The thing is, in Acclaimed Music lists classical music is not eligible and therefore it might seem that Nixon in China is not acclaimed. I'm pretty sure we had this discussion once before (although in the underrated song game, if I'm correct), about classical works. It's not completely fair game. I'm sorry for mentioning this so late, but I didn't think about it myself before.
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Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 8 - Round 1.4

Post by PlasticRam »

To defend The Dollar Album, I would argue that when it was released, synthpop was still relatively new in the mainstream. Only in retrospect it might sound clichéd. Kind of like how early Enya might sound clichéd, but she was still a pioneer of sorts and was followed by thousands of impersonators.

Just my two cents.

Edit: But certainly I wouldn't call Dollar a pioneer. Producer Trevor Horn though I do rate very high. If not a pioneer, then at least a person who commercialized a certain sound.
I feel like that
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Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 8 - Round 1.4

Post by Jirin »

I see no reason musical scores shouldn't be eligible but like I said in my vote, I don't see how to even compare it against other albums because I personally don't see what you would get from it if you have not seen the musical, don't have any visuals to associate with it and do not understand the story context.

I understand 100% why somebody who saw a musical and loved it would want to listen to the score by itself, but how can you really listen to it and get what you're supposed to get from it if you haven't seen it? To me it's analogous to listening to a radio broadcast of a sports game.
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Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 8 - Round 1.4

Post by Kingoftonga »

Winners in red:

1. Prince & the Revolution - Parade vs. The Cramps - Songs The Lord Taught Us
2. St Germain - Tourist vs. Jorge Ben - A Tábua de Esmeralda
3. John Fahey - America vs. John Adams - Nixon in China (performed by Orchestra of St. Luke's)

I think Nixon in China should be eligible...after all, someone nominated a specific recording, and not the general opera itself (there are at least two professionally released audio recordings of the opera, I think, and probably some video versions as well). And there is some classical music on AM - Glass' Einstein on the Beach, Reich's Music for 18 Musicians, Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue are ones I can name off the top of my head.

I love Nixon in China, but it does feel a bit repetitive toward the end. If it were just the first act, I'd probably give it my vote - I love how Adams utilizes the minimalism of Glass and Reich to convey a world-changing political event that carries both a hint of optimism and a hint of apprehension. But the opera goes on too long, and I don't like all the Pat Nixon stuff in Act II. John Fahey was more succinct, and so I gave it my vote. This was a tough bracket, though, and a fun one - I know this wasn't planned, but these two albums both are commenting on America in very different ways.

Edited to add: Jirin has a good point about us not getting the full "experience" of Nixon in China. (For example, the character of Henry Kissinger has very few lines, but when the opera is staged that character is a sinister presence lurking in the background of every scene. You get none of this in the audio recording). But there's many albums that we rate in these contests without getting the full experience - Tommy is the first one that comes to my mind.
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Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 8 - Round 1.4

Post by jamieW »

The Cramps - Songs The Lord Taught Us
Jorge Ben - A Tábua de Esmeralda
John Adams - Nixon in China (performed by Orchestra of St. Luke's)
Stone Jack Jones - Love & Torture

Favorite album I couldn't vote for:
St Germain - Tourist (My second favorite of the week)
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Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 8 - Round 1.4

Post by spiritualized »

Very very polarised choices this week (out of 5)

1. Prince & the Revolution - Parade (2.5) vs. The Cramps - Songs The Lord Taught Us (3.5)
Never been a fan of Prince and this album is not going to change it. Girls & Boys is a brilliant track though. The sheer fun of the Cramps psychobilly/garage rock deserves to win.

2. St Germain - Tourist (4.5) vs. Jorge Ben - A Tábua de Esmeralda (4.5)
Can't vote against my own nomination, but Jorge Ben would have won against any other nominees this week. St Germain's downtempo/nujazz dabbling in all influences (brazilian rhythms, even blues) is a cornerstone of the genre. The first track (Rose Rouge) in particular, upon re-listening, will make my top 500. Jorge Ben is one of the discoveries of the tournament so far. There is something magical about Brazilian music. This album should go far.

3. John Fahey - America (3.0) vs. John Adams - Nixon in China (performed by Orchestra of St. Luke's) (0.5)
I hate opera, I really do. It's screaming inside me to turn it off. John Fahey's guitar work is simply amazing in comparison.

4. Dollar - The Dollar Album (1.0) vs. Stone Jack Jones - Love & Torture (3.5)
My second most-hated genre is 80's synthpop. I do like Stone Jack Jones' slow, tortuous delivery.
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Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 8 - Round 1.4

Post by Brad »

My picks:
1. Prince & the Revolution - Parade vs. The Cramps - Songs The Lord Taught Us
2. St Germain - Tourist vs. Jorge Ben - A Tábua de Esmeralda
3. John Fahey - America vs. John Adams - Nixon in China (performed by Orchestra of St. Luke's)
4. Dollar - The Dollar Album vs. Stone Jack Jones - Love & Torture

Less than 2 hours left to vote!
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Rob
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Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 8 - Round 1.4

Post by Rob »

Jirin wrote:I see no reason musical scores shouldn't be eligible but like I said in my vote, I don't see how to even compare it against other albums because I personally don't see what you would get from it if you have not seen the musical, don't have any visuals to associate with it and do not understand the story context.

I understand 100% why somebody who saw a musical and loved it would want to listen to the score by itself, but how can you really listen to it and get what you're supposed to get from it if you haven't seen it? To me it's analogous to listening to a radio broadcast of a sports game.
Nixon in China is not a musical, but an opera - a different genre that's filed under classical music. It's true though, that there are some other neo-classical works on AM, although not without controversy. I guess we can let it pass.
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Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 8 - Round 1.4

Post by Brad »

16 total voters this week. Participation starting to dwindle?:
Bang Jan
BleuPanda
Brad
DaveC
EmilienDelRey
hectorthebat
Honorio
jamieW
Jirin
Kingoftonga
luney6
PlasticRam
Rob
Romain
spiritualized
StevieFan13

Winners:
1. Prince & the Revolution - Parade over The Cramps - Songs The Lord Taught Us 9-6
2. Jorge Ben - A Tábua de Esmeralda over St Germain - Tourist 11-4
3. John Adams - Nixon in China (performed by Orchestra of St. Luke's) over John Fahey - America 8-6
4. Stone Jack Jones - Love & Torture over Dollar - The Dollar Album 9-5

Round 1.5 up soon!
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