Doof 2024 Deep Dive Potential New Favourites
I've said it before and I guess I'm saying it again but I'm going to try and scale stuff back so that this is my main 'project' for the next 6-12 months (whenever I get bored) - I was thinking about what older bands have really made an impression on me the last few years, the ones I got real gold in terms of albums and songs, and three of them were on my 2022 version of this list - The Church, Jackie Leven and Richard Thompson. That is a really good hit rate and shows my instincts were sharp and the format worked. I might put up some small reviews for any album that I find interesting for any reason. |
| 22 |  | Wire
Chairs Missing
Sophomores (continued):
11. Minutemen / What Makes a Man Start Fires? - [[4.0]] bit of a generous 4.0 as I don't dig this all that much more than the debut and I l know it isn't as good as 'Double Nickels', solid though.
12. Bob Drake / Little Black Train - [[3.5]] mostly instrumental and mostly very good indeed.
13. Wire / Chairs Missing - [[4.0]] prefer the atmosphere to the debut....maybe not quite as memorable a set of songs. Both albums are very solid high 4.0 ratings.
14. Notorious B.I.G. / Life After Death - [[4.0]] less consistent in style and quality, this shows the excesses of fame alright, the r n' b and pop moments threaten to clog things up. When it's hot it's hot though.
15. Pig Destroyer / Prowler in the Yard - [[]]
16. Underworld / Change the Weather - [[]] |
| 21 |  | Rollins Band
Hard Volume
Sophomores (continued)
6. The Rolling Stones / 12 x 5 - [[3.0]] the playing has more of their later personality, a higher 3.0 than the debut.
7. Willie Nelson / His Own Songs - [[3.5]] a 'no shit' title and 'no shit' quality.
8. Stars of the Lid / Gravitational Pull - [[3.5]] good ambient.
9. Kreator / Pleasure to Kill - [[4.0]] pleasure to kill? Pleasure to listen, this is the legendary Kreator album released in a legendary year for thrash.
10. Rollins Band / Hard Volume - [[]] |
| 20 |  | John Martyn
The Tumbler
Sophomores:
1. Motorhead / Overkill - [[4.5]] what a step up this one was! No misses on this album.
2. John Martyn / The Tumbler - [[3.5]] He's a tumbler, born under punches! - more whimsical than the debut but I dig the eccentricity, good bloke.
3. Levellers / Levelling the Land - [[3.5]] the one I know best and is it their most popular/famous? This one feels more direct than the debut but I'm torn between them honestly.
4. The Fall / Dragnet - [[3.5]] a weaker 3.5 than the debut, the production here sounds even more like ass but not in a 'game over' way, more just a sub optimal way I'm sorry, I know I know...
5. Killing Joke / What's THIS For...! - [[3.5]] good question because it's effectively the debut once more without a song as strong as 'The Wait'. It's fine, a weaker 3.5 than the debut but no great drama cobbers. |
| 19 |  | Minutemen
The Punch Line
Debuts (continued):
11. Minutemen / The Punch Line - [[3.5]] sounds a bit like Fugazi warming up - but this predates Fugazi so they're 100% allowed to sound like Fugazi rehearsing.
12. Bob Drake / What Day Is It? - [[3.5]] his solo stuff is just free wheeling and enjoyable from the off, excellent prog aligned work.
13. Wire / Pink Flag - [[4.0]] very strong start from Wire without there being too many truly stand out all-timer cuts imo, it's more about the whole.
14. Notorious B.I.G. / Time to Die - [[4.0]] one of the great hip hop debuts of the '90s, only a 4 rating cap because I still find him almost too smooth at times, I prefer some grit and that only shows up on maybe a third of the material here.
15. Pig Destroyer / Explosion (+ 38 Counts) - [[3.5]] I'm considering both these releases as their debut, but the official rating goes to '38 Counts...' for the more pummelling production job.
16. Underworld / Underneath the Radar - [[1.0]] wow this is bad '80s and a half, dross |
| 18 |  | The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
Debuts (continued):
6. The Rolling Stones / The Rolling Stones - [[3.0]] it's quite literally only rock n' roll and I guess I 'quite like it'. You can hear the band to come in there but only some of these covers burst into life for me really.
7. Willie Nelson / ...And Then I Wrote - [[3.5]] preferring this to the Stones debut was a mild surprise, Nelson's voice is ready formed even at the tender age of 29.
8. Stars of the Lid / Music for Nitrous Oxide - [[3.5]] I respect the ambience, I feel the drone, possibly only a 3.0 down the line but for now we stay positive.
9. Kreator / Endless Pain - [[4.0]] surprisingly meaty and still hard hitting early German thrash album that isn't derailed by the production or mix - great guitar tone and the vocals have some pure punching power.
10. Rollins Band / Lifetime - [[3.5]] think I prefer Rollins on his own ahead of the Black Flag output - here you get that bluesy pummelling approach that just seems to service his voice/writing/persona better. |
| 17 |  | Motorhead
Motörhead
Debuts:
1. Motorhead / Motorhead - yes it has a song called Motorhead = [[3.5]] gritty and very punk sounding tbh
2. John Martyn / London Convo - [[3.5]] Nick Drake is the comparison...but this predates 'Bryter Layter'. Oh. Smoother and more appealing voice than Nick, weaker in every other regard (at this early stage anyway).
3. Levellers / A Weapon Called the Word - [[3.5]] have a feeling this might just end up my favourite Levellers as it is already sneaking ahead of 'Levelling the Land' for me.
4. The Fall / Live at the Witch Trials - [[3.5]] close to a 4.0, has all the required attitude but I'd be lying if I said all the track hit equally hard, opener and closer, plus 'John Quays' and 'Rebellious JB' are the standouts (so far).
5. Killing Joke / Killing Joke - [[3.5]] used to have this on a 3.0 and yes, I still find the writing a bit perfunctory, but...since then I've listened to a lot more post punk and this is the sound/atmosphere so many p-p albums fail to achieve, rare stuff. |
| 16 |  | Pig Destroyer
38 Counts of Battery
…and time for this. |
| 15 |  | Rollins Band
Rise Above
…plus Rollins |
| 14 |  | The Levellers
Peace
...oh, and the Levellers |
| 13 |  | Bob Drake
The Skull Mailbox (And Other Horrors)
Have to squeeze in an obscure one too. |
| 12 |  | The Notorious B.I.G.
Greatest Hits
Just a small discog for obvious reasons but I feel I never quite 'got' it - I do dig his storytelling but there's a lot of room for a deeper bond with his stuff let's just say. |
| 11 |  | Underworld
1992 - 2002
I know quite a bit of their catalogue and y'know last couple of years some of their deep cuts have absolutely floored me on return visits - think this one might be love. Still, a dense old discog I'm anticipating. |
| 10 |  | Stars of the Lid
Carte-De-Visite
Dismissed these when I first arrived on the site but that was before my ambient awakening. has anything changed? Will the frequencies my ears have lost these last seven years help or hinder? |
| 9 |  | John Martyn
Sweet Little Mystery: The Essential
For someone who's supposed to be the folk expert on the site (according to the all knowing pie) then only having listened to three of this bearded wonder's albums feels like criminal negligence. Big but not too intimidating discog. |
| 8 |  | Minutemen
The Politics of Time
I'm pitching these fellas as the sorbet course - minute long songs...how taxing can this be? Again I've listened to most of their stuff but only really know 'Double Nickels' all that well. Small discog...lots of songs though. |
| 7 |  | Kreator
Love Us or Hate Us: The Very Best of the Noise
Are they a love or hate band? Did they take some bad stylistic detours? I wanted a metal band in here and there's something I like about Kreator I don't know...this one maybe I'll live to regret. Pretty prolific these. |
| 6 |  | Killing Joke
The Singles Collection 1979-2012
Pretty big back catalogue here....this time I've heard most of their albums but how many have I truly digested? Maybe three? They deserve better. |
| 5 |  | Wire
Not About To Die
Another mammoth discog and another band I like but there's no way I have a real bond with them yet and I feel that needs to change. |
| 4 |  | The Fall
50,000 Fall Fans Can't Be Wrong: 39 Golden Greats
I wanted to choose a silly one in terms of discog size and I've always felt I've neglected The Fall - it was them or Guided By Voices but I've listened to GBV more recently and didn't fancy it right now. |
| 3 |  | Willie Nelson
Greatest Hits (& Some That Will Be)
Same deal as with the Stones, I started getting into some Willie at the tail end of '23 - might not cover everything as some looks pretty fluffy but will try and scoop up most of the good stuff. Pretty big discog. |
| 2 |  | Motorhead
The Best of Motorhead: Deaf Forever
Horribly sometimes Motorhead get filed in my mind palace somewhere close to other hard rock stuff I dismiss like ACDC and ZZ Top or the like....I'm thinking that's probably unfair as I've like a lot of the deeper cuts I've heard once i have spun a whole album. Daunting discog again... |
| 1 |  | The Rolling Stones
Big Hits
So I already started exploring the Stones backlog the end of last year but I want to focus a bit more - really starting to feel that The Beatles are all well and good but this is the band you actually put on and sink a beer to. Maybe that wins? Daunting discog anyway |
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