Invitation to the Album

[axolotl]

Welcome to Invitation to the Album.

I tried this on the prior iteration of MG, but failed, miserably. I could not even meet the rules that I set up. That's because they were insufferably stupid rules.

So, let's try it again, and this time I will try to get out of my own way.

The only rules are, anyone who chooses to play should select an album that you enjoy, that you listen to on average at least once every year-or-two (this listening priority does not have to be established), and that is performed by a musician or band that is not particularly well-known. [How can you tell? Remember, I'm not particularly well-known, actually.] The album can have any number of likes or comments on RYM. The album should be posted to and appear on RYM, at a minimum. The full album should be readily available to listen to on Spotify, Bandcamp, Youtube, or any other streaming site or source that does not necessarily require most people to buy a subscription.

The idea is to listen, if you want, and to form your own opinion.

 

[axolotl]

El Gato ~ We're Birds (2002)



This is a bit of a minor psych masterpiece, IMO, with jangly guitar and jaunty keyboard.

I have never failed to turn to this and ever once thought, "Why did I put this on?" In fact, once or twice, I have listened to it with a big ol' goofy grin on my face.

https://www.sonicbids.com/band/elgato/

CMJ calls We're Birds, An ambitious full-length debut that soars, swoops and flies like the birds they profess to be, El Gato's We're Birds makes a strong case for Headphone Album of the Year. For Fans of Grandaddy, Wilco, Sonic Youth, Modest Mouse, The Flaming Lips & Built To Spill.

https://www.allmusic.com/album/were-birds-mw00005924
ETA: It's available on Spotify.

 

[Nickyboy]

Various Artists- Sif Safaa: New Music from the Middle East (1995)


Infectious dance/pop music from some of the biggest names in traditional Arabic music. I listen to this compilation at least once a month an never get tired of it. You can listen to the whole album via individual videos on YouTube. Especially recommended to OjaiSam to supplement his Rough Guide excursions.

 

[axolotl]

^ Thanks, Nick. On order, already.

*********************

Musafir ~ Dhola Maru (1999)



If this doesn't get your whirling dervish on, maybe you haven't got one.

On Spotify ...and can be had rather cheaply, via Amazon.

Rajasthan, in northwestern India, has a unique mix of cultures that has continually enriched not only its own music, but that of much of Asia and Europe over the centuries. Gypsies, Muslims, and Hindus have all contributed to a potent blend of sounds and influences that have grown into a ceremonial music of rare sensuality. Musafir's members reflect this fusion of religions and cultures and by working together have generated a new energy that is all of the above and none. If you know the various sources, you can identify the complex ragas, the ecstatic qawalli voices, the incessant swirl of the Sufi, and the physicality of Gypsy songs, but they are merged into a new sound in the hands of these musicians, singers, and dancers. The nine tracks include mesmerizing love songs, frantic dance tunes, powerful ensemble and imploring solo vocals, accompanied by harmonium, dholak, sarangi, and a host of other instruments that represent the region's diversity. Musafir are uniquely equipped to translate these many cultures into an important cooperative of sound.

--Louis Gibson

 

[Ojai Sam]

Great thread idea! Thanks, Axo.

Here’s my first candidate:

Sergio Mendes & Brazil ‘66 - Herb Alpert Presents (1966)

Herb Alpert used his new record company to release an ever-expanding variety of music that managed to be both commercial and innovative. One of his key discoveries was Sergio Mendes. The Brazilian prodigy had released a bunch of albums on different labels but didn’t really jell. Herb came up with a unique new sound for him that emphasized the percussion and two female lead vocals (Janis Hansen and Lani Hall, who would eventually marry Alpert).

This is still my favorite Mendes album. “Mais Que Nada” was the big hit but every song is outstanding, Brazilian music for people who were bored with the innumerable jazzy sambas so prevalent at the time. I bought this one when it came out, my first foray into foreign music, because I loved The Tijuana Brass and The Baja Marimba Band.

 

[Old Uncle Toe]

Holy cow. My dad had a fondness for Latin music back in the 60’s. Herb Alpert was a regular spin. I too love Latin music - salsa, soca and the like and I attribute it to that youthful initiation and a certain amount of nostalgia. Until your post I had forgotten about dad’s Sergio Mendez albums. Thank you for the reminder. I’ll be listening to this tomorrow!

 

[axolotl]

Juan Martín ~ Painter in Sound (1986)




I remember, back in the day, when I posted this album as my 1986 pick for best album, and being roundly criticized (although, admittedly, I have never studied nor do I know the geometry of criticism) for posting such an obscure album that the thing did not even show up in RYM, or much anywhere else, for that matter. Please pardon my syntax.

A review of this stellar album is also available: http://www.fondsound.com/juan-martin-painter-in-sound-ft-mark-isham-1986/

As you can read from the review, this is a series of 11 musical pieces that depict a set of 11 paintings in impressionistic style, with guitar (Classical and Spanish), synthesizer, and saxophone (and perhaps some trumpet). In this sense, it is a bit akin to Pictures at an Exhibition, by Modest Mussorgsky. The more famous of the paintings that are being interpreted are Picasso's Guernica, Hokusai's The Great Wave of Kanagawa, The Dream by Matisse, Van Gogh's Self Portrait (to Gaugin), and Seurat's Bathers at Asnieres.

Lastly, the reason I bring this up now is, I found a copy available for 50 cents at a local library bookstore sale, today. The first CD copy of it I ever saw I bought, and I still own it. The first vinyl copy of it I ever saw I bought, and I still own it.

This new one is available to the first person who asks for it, absolutely free. All you need to do is, request it via PM.

Even Nick, who got the Keith Jarrett giveaway, may play - if he wishes.

Edited to add: The running order of the songs in the video above is indeed the same. In fact, the video shows the paintings that have been set to music on this album, as the compositions representing them are performed/recorded.

 

[axolotl]

^ A-a-and ...Unsomnambulist is the winner/first responder.

 

[Nickyboy]

Gaudi & Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan- Dub Qawwali (2007)

London-based musician and producer Daniele Gaudi gets the top billing here because he was the one who took Khan's vocals and remixed them into swirling, electronica, reggae-influenced, dub music. But be assured, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan is the real star here. His soaring voice has never sounded more beautiful here and pairs perfectly with Gaudi's minimalist approach to music. This should become your Sunday morning soundtrack, or perhaps a late Saturday night groove, if you prefer those ungodly late hours. This album pops up every so often on Amazon for just a few dollars used, and I will assure you that it is well worth the price (whatever it may be).

 

[Ojai Sam]

Here is the belated Spotify playlist for this thread:

 

[Ojai Sam]

El Gato ~ We're Birds (2002)



This is a bit of a minor psych masterpiece, IMO, with jangly guitar and jaunty keyboard.

I have never failed to turn to this and ever once thought, "Why did I put this on?" In fact, once or twice, I have listened to it with a big ol' goofy grin on my face.

https://www.sonicbids.com/band/elgato/


https://www.allmusic.com/album/were-birds-mw00005924

ETA: It's available on Spotify.

This one is not deep in my comfort zone, but that's a good thing. After one spin, I can begin to see why Axo likes it. On that basis alone, "We're Birds" deserves another shot.

 

[Ojai Sam]

Various Artists- Sif Safaa: New Music from the Middle East (1995)


Especially recommended to OjaiSam to supplement his Rough Guide excursions.

Thanks, @Nickyboy! I just ordered this for under $1 on Amazon.

 

[axolotl]

Time to revive a thread-gone-zombie.

Jabuti ~ Outro Ar (1997, 2004)



For a beautiful, sunny, Sunday afternoon, this could be my music of choice. Acoustic guitar, Portuguese lyrics, Brazilian tenor, occasional fluegelhorn or clarinet.

Oh, and German heritage. Seriously, it's on Traumton Musikverlag. For more information on this, read the quote below.

There's almost no Samba to it; please excuse.

It is available on Spotify, which gives it a 2004 release date. When accessing it on Spotify, I recommend clicking on the album cover, which then places the songs in the sequence that they appear on the album.

http://www.traumton.de/label/releases/?id=069&lang=en&what=press

"Jabuti is the nickname given to the Brazilian singer-songwriter Gilberto Miranda Fonteles, who has been working in music since the late '70s. His new album Outro Ar (Traumton 4422; 46:03) - "different air" - in Portuguese - is a lyrical yet smart set of songs tracing some sort of Brazilian-Berlin connection. Embarking on travels outside of his native Brazil in 1995 , he landed in Berlin, where he linked up with cellist Wolfgang Loos, part owner of the German-based Traumton label. Accompanying himself with clean- machined, finger-picked acoustic guitar parts, along with subtle additions of Eddie Hayes’ fluegelhorn, Denney Goodhew’s clarinet and Saxophone and Dietrich Kollöffel’s percussion, Jabuti has made an album of pretty, understated original songs, with traces of Milton Nascimento and Jobim’s lyricism."

 

[Ojai Sam]

^
Spotify link here:

 

[Ojai Sam]

Axo, thanks a lot for reviving this thread. In your honor, I went back and cleaned up the old Spotify links. The playlist is up to date too.

Outro Ar is a real sleeper (in the good sense). Jabuti sings softly so the listener will have to pay attention. The warm acoustic instrumental virtuosity is an added bonus. Great choice!

 

[Nickyboy]

Banco de Gaia- Last Train to Lhasa (1995)



If you enjoy world music mashed up with ambient and psych and electronica and dub, this is the album for you. I found this in a used CD bin and decided "yeah, for $3, I'll try it". Easily worth at least $4.50, if you ask me!
I think this would be of interest to Axo and possibly OjaiSam and RickB.

 

[axolotl]

^ My local rekkid shop has a handful of Banco De Gaia CDs in its Electronica section. I now know which album I should pick up.

 

[axolotl]

Eko ~ Evolution/The Best of Eko (2013) [Compilation, Remixed]



I picked up this CD for $1 last week. But, you see, I know most of these songs from previous Eko albums, primarily Future/Primitive and Alter Eko.

Eko is John O'Connor, a guitarist and composer, who takes on World fusion, with hints of neoprimitivism and Appalachiana, that is seamless and, at its more blasé , supremely competent.

 

[Ojai Sam]

Uh, oh. I’m falling behind....

EDIT: here's Spotify:

 

[axolotl]

Uh, oh. I’m falling behind....

You are also supremely competent, however. -y-poo: