If Curiosity Leads Taryn...
Submitted by lbangs on Wed, 04/03/2002 - 08:07
Tags:
- T. Rex - I would start with Electric Warrior and follow up with the equal The Slider. T. Rex is much better served on proper albums than on best-ofs. LATE CORRECTION - Just this year, a new collection, 20th Century Boy - The Ultimate Collection, does indeed seem to live up to its name, and would also work great as a first dip of the toe into the pond...
- The Beta Band - Stick with The 3 E.P.'s for a first taste.
- Diana Krall - First stop: 1995's All for You, easily her best disc. If seconds are in order, try 1997's Love Scenes.
- Unbelievable Truth - I'm no expert on this band, so I'll only say that any group named after a Hal Hartley film can't be a waste of time.
- Manic Street Preachers - Contrary to what most people would tell you, I recommend starting with The Holy Bible and working your way to Everything Must Go. A good third choice is This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours
- Faithless - I'm not a big fan of this band, so I should probably leave this for someone else. My first choice would probably be Reverence.
- Count Basie - Look around the Internet and find Count Basie's The Complete Decca Recordings (1937-1939) on sale (Sam Goody sells it online for $27.99 - http://www.samgoody.com/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/ProductPage?upcId=01110506112...). Many sites have it at around $30; it may be three discs, but it is the perfect first stop for the Count. Afterwards, I'd move to 1955's Count Basie Swings, Joe Williams Sings, then 1956's April in Paris, 1957's Atomic Mr. Basie, and finally to 1957's Count Basie at Newport. Honestly, you can not go wrong with any of the above discs, and he has many more great ones out there.
- Fats Waller - This one is easy - Run out and buy Turn on the Heat: The Fats Waller Piano Solos. Good follow ups would include Breakin' the Ice: The Early Years, Part 1, I'm Gonna Sit Right Down: The Early Years, Part 2, and Fats Waller and His Buddies.
Author Comments:
Just a few suggestions. Not that Taryn needs my help, but it is early and too cold outside to jog, so... (I've left out artists with only one album to their names.)
I hopes this helps!
Cloned From:
man, you totally rock--this is exactly what i needed. thank you! without this kind of guidance, this list may never have translated into action... i'm going to take this like a prescription from my kindly musical doctor and go fill it at my local record shop this weekend!
No problem. I hope my suggestions help you find some stuff you like.
If you are like me, you love suggestions to begin investigating artists with. I am horribly turned off an artist by a terrible first purchase. I nearly lost out on several of my current favorites by buying awful albums first. That's almost a bit scary.
In the last few hours, I sadly discovered that the fantastic Fats Waller album is out of print; however, I also discovered several used copies on sell at Amazon and half.com. If you really are interested in Fats, I highly recommend taking the risk and buying this one used; it is clearly his best collection, and thus, one of the best jazz piano collections in history.
If you pick any of these up, you'll have to post some comments on them. I'd be very curious to see what you think (even if you hate them!). A personal ordering of these artists would be something like this:
Count Basie
Fats Waller
T. Rex
The Beta Band
Manic Street Preachers
Diana Krall
As I said, so far, I'm not a huge Faithless fan.
Anyway, I certainly hope you discover some great music you enjoy!
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
re: Basie. I agree with your suggestions but wanted to throw one more out there. Live at the Sands (before Frank)
thanks for the update on the t. rex selection. sadly, i've been so poor i haven't been able to dip into any of these and the list just seems to grow longer.
however, i just got dsl and have been able to download a track here or there...
I understand. Me, I've only been able to afford used vinyl records running about a buck each lately. My, I love the Internet and friends! No doubt the only way I begin to even try to keep up with musical stuff. (My local library seems to keep me up with books and DVDs...)
I'm glad you saw my comment, though. I wasn't sure if you'd notice.
I hope you enjoyed the tracks you heard!
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs