I'm on #teamMitch here. The three songs he mentions are fantastic--especially, "Baby, Can I Hold You Tonight." Why that wasn't as big of hit as "Fast Car," I'll never know. The rest of the record never really landed with me.
Am I the only guy who came to this album through a cassette in his girlfriend's car? I doubt it! Same girlfriend made me learn For My Lover on guitar so she could sing it. Oh well. I remember thinking that it was good to hear someone singing about revolution in the late 80s. Otherwise, it didn't really 'rock my world' as the kids probably don't say anymore. What did change my life in 1988 was Trinity Session by the Cowboy Junkies. In June, I visited the church in Toronto (my hometown) where it was recorded. What a record. I'd interviewed them on college radio when their first album came out. I told them they should change their name because it wouldn't be well received south of the border. I think Trinity Session topped some big readers' poll in LA about 18 months after my excellent advice. I was stuck on Copperhead Road by Steve Earle that year too but I don't think that has aged quite as well.
While average song length isn't the be all end all of a great album (see Abbey Road, depending how the "medley" songs are measured), the fact that two songs on Tracy Chapman weigh in at 2:06 or less and another four under 3:30 pretty much says it all that a lot of those songs are throwaways and it is more EP than LP (I give Talkin' Bout a Revolution at 2:41 a pass). Regarding the Luke Combs cover, it's too close to the original for my taste, just as soon listen to Tracy's superior warble. The woefully overlooked cover is Wyclef Jean's rappy version with Paul Simon's overdub anchoring it just the right amount to the original.
I having been wanting to make this comment for awhile. This week is a great time to bring it up. You all need a 4th voter so that one person having a bad week cannot blackball a nomination. Voters in Ohio voted yesterday to not make it harder for voters to change the state Constitution. They recognized that this was a power play by the establishment to limit the rights of the citizens. Newbury St. is hamstrung by the way the numbers work out. A split decision is not a majority decision, so you all should go back to having a fourth member to break the ties.
I have to agree with Mitch here. I love the first 44.7% of this album. It's emotional, heartfelt...REAL. "Behind The Wall" has given me chills since the first time I heard it. But track 6 thru 11 is forgettable. I WANT to love the entire thing, but.....never have.
Agreed the scoring system was overly complicated and fussy. I still think a 2 out of 3 vote would be cleaner.
Otherwise, I would like to see a published description of the consensus protocol you are employing. There are different ways to approach consensus, and the readers should have some insight into how the sausage is being made.
I'm on #teamMitch here. The three songs he mentions are fantastic--especially, "Baby, Can I Hold You Tonight." Why that wasn't as big of hit as "Fast Car," I'll never know. The rest of the record never really landed with me.
P.S. Somerville sounds like my kinda town.
Am I the only guy who came to this album through a cassette in his girlfriend's car? I doubt it! Same girlfriend made me learn For My Lover on guitar so she could sing it. Oh well. I remember thinking that it was good to hear someone singing about revolution in the late 80s. Otherwise, it didn't really 'rock my world' as the kids probably don't say anymore. What did change my life in 1988 was Trinity Session by the Cowboy Junkies. In June, I visited the church in Toronto (my hometown) where it was recorded. What a record. I'd interviewed them on college radio when their first album came out. I told them they should change their name because it wouldn't be well received south of the border. I think Trinity Session topped some big readers' poll in LA about 18 months after my excellent advice. I was stuck on Copperhead Road by Steve Earle that year too but I don't think that has aged quite as well.
While average song length isn't the be all end all of a great album (see Abbey Road, depending how the "medley" songs are measured), the fact that two songs on Tracy Chapman weigh in at 2:06 or less and another four under 3:30 pretty much says it all that a lot of those songs are throwaways and it is more EP than LP (I give Talkin' Bout a Revolution at 2:41 a pass). Regarding the Luke Combs cover, it's too close to the original for my taste, just as soon listen to Tracy's superior warble. The woefully overlooked cover is Wyclef Jean's rappy version with Paul Simon's overdub anchoring it just the right amount to the original.
I having been wanting to make this comment for awhile. This week is a great time to bring it up. You all need a 4th voter so that one person having a bad week cannot blackball a nomination. Voters in Ohio voted yesterday to not make it harder for voters to change the state Constitution. They recognized that this was a power play by the establishment to limit the rights of the citizens. Newbury St. is hamstrung by the way the numbers work out. A split decision is not a majority decision, so you all should go back to having a fourth member to break the ties.
I have to agree with Mitch here. I love the first 44.7% of this album. It's emotional, heartfelt...REAL. "Behind The Wall" has given me chills since the first time I heard it. But track 6 thru 11 is forgettable. I WANT to love the entire thing, but.....never have.
Agreed the scoring system was overly complicated and fussy. I still think a 2 out of 3 vote would be cleaner.
Otherwise, I would like to see a published description of the consensus protocol you are employing. There are different ways to approach consensus, and the readers should have some insight into how the sausage is being made.