mortified
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Post by mortified on Nov 27, 2018 11:18:09 GMT
David Bowie knew he didn't have long so was able to plan things. But he was also lucky enough, rich enough and famous enough that the music company allowed him to do that. His final album was also as avant garde as he ever got, which is quite something given his musical pedigree. Rick's passing was sudden so people had to step up to the mark to get the job finished. I personally think they did a fine job. They tinkered, of course, with his voice in many places. Nothing wrong with that whatsoever. It's done the world over with the best of them. OK, much of what was put together was a bit of a Quo pastiche to a great extent; an older Quo pastiche. But, like you say snakelady, if I like it, I like it. I might even la la like it I also happen to think this far down the (lonesome) road that Long Distance Love is an absolute gem. In another era, maybe even a no.1 single. Hooks from start to finish. Rick was putting together the music he wanted. Very much the same as Francis, Rhino, Andy and Leon. More Quo-like than the others but who can blame him for that?
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frozenhero
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Post by frozenhero on Nov 28, 2018 10:28:21 GMT
It's called Blackstar!
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mortified
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Post by mortified on Nov 28, 2018 10:40:08 GMT
I know! Oh, hold on. You're referring to snakelady's post. Sorry
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frozenhero
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Post by frozenhero on Nov 28, 2018 15:25:48 GMT
Indeed! (And why am I making things more confusing by not quoting? Heaven only knows... )
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Post by snakelady on Nov 29, 2018 8:50:58 GMT
I know too actually .. noideawhatmademethinkofdarkstar
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mortified
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Post by mortified on Nov 29, 2018 9:20:02 GMT
Seeing this the other day, I actually played Blackstar yesterday. God, it's hard work! Some magnificent stuff (like the title track for example) and some songs that I just cannot get my head round. Avant garde jazz some of it I reckon. Although I ain't no expert. The concept amazing; the listening process a bit of a challenge! A very clever man
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Post by snakelady on Nov 30, 2018 7:25:30 GMT
Seeing this the other day, I actually played Blackstar yesterday. God, it's hard work! Some magnificent stuff (like the title track for example) and some songs that I just cannot get my head round. Avant garde jazz some of it I reckon. Although I ain't no expert. The concept amazing; the listening process a bit of a challenge! A very clever man Yep, he did work with an avant-garde jazz musician Maria Schneider (?) during the last decade - and she recommended some jazz ensemble to him I had never heard of - I only recently watched a documentary about him and his last projects. I like only some of Blackstar same as you and very much prefer its predecessor. So I seriously doubt it would've been that successful had it not been David's last musical statement. Another case in point, the one that made me take notice of this whole 'death changes everything' attitude even more was Michael Jackson. While he was still alive at least for the last decade he was that child molester with daddy issues and far too white skin and his music was more or less brushed over. As soon as he was dead though, he was the musical superstar again with numerous albums of his topping the charts and selling like hot cakes and everything else was not to be mentioned again. Absolutely ridiculous .. Err .. what has this all got to do with the Rossi/Rickard album I wonder ? Btw. IMO this is not the solo album Francis has been recording or at least writing from ca. 2013 on. I seem to remember he signed the contract for it with Edel in autumn 2014. So what has become of this ? Turned into the R/R album or pushed back once again ? Actually I think we should change the thread title to 'New Rossi/Rickard album' to acknowledge Hannah's involvement.
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mortified
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Post by mortified on Nov 30, 2018 8:10:14 GMT
Seeing this the other day, I actually played Blackstar yesterday. God, it's hard work! Some magnificent stuff (like the title track for example) and some songs that I just cannot get my head round. Avant garde jazz some of it I reckon. Although I ain't no expert. The concept amazing; the listening process a bit of a challenge! A very clever man Yep, he did work with an avant-garde jazz musician Maria Schneider (?) during the last decade - and she recommended some jazz ensemble to him I had never heard of - I only recently watched a documentary about him and his last projects. I like only some of Blackstar same as you and very much prefer its predecessor. So I seriously doubt it would've been that successful had it not been David's last musical statement. Another case in point, the one that made me take notice of this whole 'death changes everything' attitude even more was Michael Jackson. While he was still alive at least for the last decade he was that child molester with daddy issues and far too white skin and his music was more or less brushed over. As soon as he was dead though, he was the musical superstar again with numerous albums of his topping the charts and selling like hot cakes and everything else was not to be mentioned again. Absolutely ridiculous .. Err .. what has this all got to do with the Rossi/Rickard album I wonder ? Btw. IMO this is not the solo album Francis has been recording or at least writing from ca. 2013 on. I seem to remember he signed the contract for it with Edel in autumn 2014. So what has become of this ? Turned into the R/R album or pushed back once again ? Actually I think we should change the thread title to 'New Rossi/Rickard album' to acknowledge Hannah's involvement. I agree There was talk a while back that Francis was going to record two albums, one with Hannah and one on his own. That might have been shelved, at least in the meantime, given that he's promoting the one with Hannah next year and, afterwards, Quo will be back on the road with the possibility of a new album of their own later in the year. As for the passing of an artist resulting in the increased sales of more albums, that's a topic in itself. I don't know why that happens. Not a clue. Never understood it. But the music industry does because they have always exploited it. Sometimes literally within days of the artist's demise. This has to be down to the public and their reaction. Or, frankly, the music industry people wouldn't bother. A lot of the Michael Jackson reporting I saw as gossip mostly. He was an odd character and an easy target.
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frozenhero
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Post by frozenhero on Dec 3, 2018 10:16:44 GMT
He was an odd character... Definitely - read Guy Pratt's (entertaining) book...
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Post by cammythemortonfan on Dec 7, 2018 8:54:49 GMT
I’m not really sure who this album is aimed at?
Francis’ last solo album didn’t do that well- I can’t think country album will fare any better ?
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mortified
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Post by mortified on Dec 7, 2018 9:33:27 GMT
I’m not really sure who this album is aimed at? Francis’ last solo album didn’t do that well- I can’t think country album will fare any better ? I suspect it's all academic now at his age. He'll be doing it simply because he wants to. Artistically that is. Same as Rhino no doubt. And Andy. Just getting a few songs down and out of the system. Sales as always nowadays depends on marketing and promotion. But the days of buying space near the door in HMV or somewhere are gone. Downloads and streaming are now the market so Spotify and probably iTunes come into play more. To be honest, the single chosen in advance of his last album wasn't really representative of what was in there and I suspect put quite a few off. It sounds like it would have been better sitting on this new one.
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frozenhero
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Post by frozenhero on Dec 12, 2018 10:33:48 GMT
Coupled with the promotion for the new book it might sell rather well.
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Post by craydarr on Dec 15, 2018 12:23:51 GMT
I’m not really sure who this album is aimed at? Francis’ last solo album didn’t do that well- I can’t think country album will fare any better ? Frans last album may not have charted but it did do a lot better than expected, I went to the St Luke’s gig where they filmed the dvd and was talking to Chris Hewlett who does the PR for Quo and Francis, he was telling me the reason they filmed the gig was because of the success of the album and tour. Don’t forget the singles from the album were all playlisted on Radio 2. Maybe it was just a slow burner outside of the chart.
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Post by snakelady on Mar 16, 2019 10:06:19 GMT
Book and CD have just arrived
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Post by dai on Mar 16, 2019 13:47:09 GMT
Book and CD have just arrived Any chance of a review? Haven't bought either as yet, did think about a pre-order but couldn't make my mind up. 😁
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colino
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Post by colino on Mar 16, 2019 18:01:10 GMT
I was very privileged to be at the first accoustic gig at The Roundhouse where Hannah was 1 of the backing singers and it still remains my best ever Quo gig I have attended. I think a female voice really compliments Francis's voice. I loved One Step at a Time and I am in love with this new album. All the tracks are so uplifting which gives you that get up and dance feeling (Not easy when recovering from the 20th operation on my broken leg). Yes it's not Piledriver but it is not meant to be. Francis's none Quo stuff is a beautiful aside to the regular Quo stuff and If you love Francis's voice and want a good easy listening pick me-up album this will not disappoint. My favourite track is Re-arrange (I know this a re-working of an old Quo song). Am Hoping Francis decides to do another proper solo tour. Well done Francis and Hannah on such a beautiful album.
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Post by snakelady on Mar 17, 2019 6:26:00 GMT
Book and CD have just arrived Any chance of a review? Haven't bought either as yet, did think about a pre-order but couldn't make my mind up. 😁 Gimme just a little bit of time ..
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mortified
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Post by mortified on Mar 17, 2019 7:27:04 GMT
I downloaded it from iTunes. I'll grab the CD later. I'll download and buy the book as well. Assuming there's a digital version available for the Kindle Fire HD. I haven't checked.
The new FTMO, which arrived on Friday, also concentrates on the album.
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mortified
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Post by mortified on Mar 17, 2019 7:51:46 GMT
I was very privileged to be at the first accoustic gig at The Roundhouse where Hannah was 1 of the backing singers and it still remains my best ever Quo gig I have attended. I think a female voice really compliments Francis's voice. I loved One Step at a Time and I am in love with this new album. All the tracks are so uplifting which gives you that get up and dance feeling (Not easy when recovering from the 20th operation on my broken leg). Yes it's not Piledriver but it is not meant to be. Francis's none Quo stuff is a beautiful aside to the regular Quo stuff and If you love Francis's voice and want a good easy listening pick me-up album this will not disappoint. My favourite track is Re-arrange (I know this a re-working of an old Quo song). Am Hoping Francis decides to do another proper solo tour. Well done Francis and Hannah on such a beautiful album. Certainly one of the best for me. On that we agree. I haven't listened to the new album yet and I'm trying hard not to have the preconceived notion that it just won't be my thing. It'll get a fair crack of the
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Post by snakelady on Mar 18, 2019 12:28:24 GMT
Book and CD have just arrived Any chance of a review? Haven't bought either as yet, did think about a pre-order but couldn't make my mind up. 😁 Book review done - see Rossi's new book thread The album will take a little longer as I haven't really formed an opinion yet (about halfway through).
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Post by snakelady on Mar 19, 2019 8:05:02 GMT
What I can say so far is, that while I loved OSAAT straight away most of the tunes I've heard so far left me cold. I don't usually listen to country music though, so maybe it's a case of getting used to it ?
It's got nothing to do with Hannah's voice either. In fact it probably fits well with Francis' voice and suits the music too. It's the music that hasn't grabbed me yet.
As the CD has disappeared in hubby's car for now it'll probably take a while till I'm able to return to it.
So what are your views on the album as a whole ?
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mortified
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Post by mortified on Mar 19, 2019 8:42:39 GMT
Still haven't listened to it. I'm visiting my dad this week so I'll probably stick on my headphones and listen to it on the train. Hopefully I can keep awake and not miss my stop What I've heard so far is pleasant, inoffensive but unfortunately a bit bland for my tastes. And that's basically what it all boils down to - taste. But I may be surprised when I listen to the whole thing through good quality headphones. We shall see.
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frozenhero
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Post by frozenhero on Mar 20, 2019 13:12:25 GMT
They're playing a song on SWR1 every day this week, so soon I'll have heard the entire thing
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Post by snakelady on Apr 10, 2019 7:59:22 GMT
Have finally got the album back and transferred it to the hard drive before listening to it through head phones and in random mode. Got to say, it's far better than I thought at first. Maybe it's the better quality through the head phones compared to the car speakers, maybe the order of songs on the record is not for me - I do use random mode with lots of albums. This time I listened all the way through and never felt I should skip a tune. There's some songs I like more than others, naturally, and the title track is one of the weaker ones IMO, but definitely not a disappointment. The word I'd associate it with is pleasant. Not exciting or great, but I will listen to it again.
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mortified
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Post by mortified on Apr 19, 2019 15:29:46 GMT
I've finally got round to giving this a proper listen. I won't bore everyone with a long winded 'review' but I can say that it's largely not for me. Whatever anyone says about it - even Francis - it is a country album in the main. Certainly most of the songs are heavily country influenced. But it's that old fashioned kind of country; homages to artists like Slim Whitman and Hank Williams all over the place, intentional or otherwise. The only song that isn't out and out country is probably the title track. Funnily enough (or not!) the three tracks that I rather like and will play again are all reminiscent to me of Quo . These are (obviously) Rearrange, But I Just Said Goodbye (which reminds me of Fine Fine Fine which I adore!) and Maybe Tomorrow, which I think I said before reminds me in the verses of The Way It Goes. Quo could easily have covered it and thrown in that extra rhythm guitar to give it some welly. Incidentally, I prefer it to the Quo song. The rest is a sort of take it or leave it job for me. If I hear it, I don't mind it; if I don't hear it, I won't miss it. I would like to hear or read what Hannah thinks of it. Get her perspective type thing. There are two names and two voices on this album
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