The first album has never got the appreciation it deserved. There are only a couple of cuts that are less than good, and even those don't require skipping. The best songs -- "Tse Tse Fly", "Red Light", " "Animal Day", "Crack the Bell", and especially "Back in Flesh" -- define their own distinctive, unmistakable sound -- like the shadow-side of the B-52s -- and I think Nanini was more essential to it than Ridgway.
Incidentally, the two solo albums by Andy Prieboy are fascinating. Some relatively ordinary-sounding (but lyrically adventurous) songs are mixed with music-hall pastiches and indescribably pop bizarreties like "Maybe That's Not Her Head", "Montezuma Was a Man of Faith", "New York Debut of an LA Artist", "Who Do You Think We're Coming For", "Daddy Buy Baby a Boobjob", and the ought-to-be-immortal "Psycho Ex".
Darren
· 1 year ago
Seven Days In Sammystown is one of my fave albums of all time. "Blackboard Sky" being a stellar track deserving of more than the complete thundering obscurity it has received to date. Ah well.
JohnHughes
· 1 year ago
Allow me to defend "Do It Again" - the droning synth beeps and beaten down vocal delivery complete with deadpan "doo doo doo's" turn the song from one of celebration to dread as we look forward to "do(ing) it (all over) again."
eric
· 1 year ago
I was just looking at the mixtape and wondering why we never see any Stan Ridgway. LOL. Surprise!
Actually, I like Ridgway's solo work much better than WoV. But he had to start somewhere. I think I enjoyed Happy Planet somewhat more than you did.
Listening to Ridgway's Talkin' Wall of Voodoo Blues Part 1 would make a nice coda to this piece. Maybe I'll pull Snakebite out just to listen to that one and Into The Sun.
GrayFlannelSuit
· 1 year ago
Yeah I meant to find some way to tie "Talkin' Wall of Voodoo Blues" into the piece but never did. Maybe if I get the gumption to write a Ridgway piece. : )
Breadalbane
· 1 year ago
Wow, just a few days ago in another Popdose thread, I mentioned "Call Of The West" was the first LP I ever bought.
These guys are still one of my favourite bands. i prefer the Ridgway years to the Prieboy ones, but there's still plenty o' nuggets to be found in those later releases.
Darren, excellent call on "Blackboard Sky". If you can, dig up the single version of "Big City"; it cuts the LP version on Sammystown to ribbons. Ian "Lightning Seeds" Broudie -- who produced the LP version, but not the single -- is a fine producer, but he didn't always seem to get this band...
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Incidentally, the two solo albums by Andy Prieboy are fascinating. Some relatively ordinary-sounding (but lyrically adventurous) songs are mixed with music-hall pastiches and indescribably pop bizarreties like "Maybe That's Not Her Head", "Montezuma Was a Man of Faith", "New York Debut of an LA Artist", "Who Do You Think We're Coming For", "Daddy Buy Baby a Boobjob", and the ought-to-be-immortal "Psycho Ex".
Actually, I like Ridgway's solo work much better than WoV. But he had to start somewhere. I think I enjoyed Happy Planet somewhat more than you did.
Listening to Ridgway's Talkin' Wall of Voodoo Blues Part 1 would make a nice coda to this piece. Maybe I'll pull Snakebite out just to listen to that one and Into The Sun.
These guys are still one of my favourite bands. i prefer the Ridgway years to the Prieboy ones, but there's still plenty o' nuggets to be found in those later releases.
Darren, excellent call on "Blackboard Sky". If you can, dig up the single version of "Big City"; it cuts the LP version on Sammystown to ribbons. Ian "Lightning Seeds" Broudie -- who produced the LP version, but not the single -- is a fine producer, but he didn't always seem to get this band...