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Originally Posted by zoom
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Originally Posted by kp8
okay... i have to admit i have always been baffled by EC's popularity. So someone here quick, convince me that EC is really great. Seriously. What is the record i gotta have listened to a few times before i can just say, i don't like EC, or "oh, now i get it" cause well, so many dang folks rave about him that i figure he's worth another go. So what (preferably early) EC is gonna blow my socks off? I really want to know what people hear in this guy's music that i haven't yet.
-kp8--
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It's hard to pin it down to any one album or any one sound. |
Gotta agree with you there. The work is very diverse. Let's see if this helps:
[*]My Aim Is True: "angry" new waver (backed by a Huey Lewis-less News!). Hits: Alison, Watching The Detectives[*]This Years Model: similar, but the Attractions have coalesced around him. Hits: Pump It Up, Radio Radio[*]Armed Forces: the EC & Attractions sound settles in. Hits: Accidents Will Happen, Oliver's Army, What's So Funny 'Bout Peace Love And Understanding[*]Get Happy!!!: soul homage. Hits: probably none you'd know[*]Trust: stripped down and stylistically diverse, from bareknuckle guitar rock to piano bar torch. Hits: Clubland[*]Almost Blue: country covers(!). Hits: Good Year For The Roses[*]Imperial Bedroom: EC's "wall of sound" record, produced by Beatles engineer Geoff Emerick. Hits: Beyond Belief, Almost Blue, Man Out Of Time[*]Punch The Clock: superpolished '80s pop. Hits: Everyday I Write The Book, Shipbuilding[*]Goodbye Cruel World: superpolished '80s flop. Hits: The Only Flame In Town, Love Field[*]King Of America: "americana-ey" before there was such a thing. Hits: Indoor Fireworks[*]Blood And Chocolate: The Attractions return to EC (who is cranky). Hits: I Want You[*]Spike: scattered, yet beloved among the fans. Hits: Veronica[*]Mighty Like A Rose: bearded Elvis gets even more scattered. Hits: The Other Side Of Summer
And that brings you to the 90s where he turned into even more of a cult artist than he'd been before. I like Brutal Youth a lot, but that's about where I started to lose it with him. Which is not to say that his duo gigs with Steve Nieve in the late 90s weren't brilliant...
I'd get My Aim Is True, Imperial Bedroom, King Of America, and Brutal Youth. If none of those do anything at all for you, you don't get EC, which is okay.
Good luck. I hope this helps some. Thanks incidentally to allmusic.com, to which I referred often in building my woefully underthought list.
JAM