Best EC Album of the Past 10 years

[Jackson Monk]

I wrote a long response to Alex expressing my agreement with all he had to say. Unfortunately I had one of those horror moments when the text disappeared in front of my very eyes as I tried to post. This may be a blessing and I will now summarise in a very simple way:

Elvis long ago lost the plot with regard to his UK fan base.
Elvis has abandoned his UK fan base and used his annoyance with the UK press as an excuse to do so.
Elvis decided to befriend showbiz buddies like Elton, Sting, and Lexus because it is in his financial interests to do so.
Elvis used to relate to his British heritage and now he takes every opportunity to have a dig at us. Is it any wonder his sales have dropped when he doesn't even bother to tour here to any reasonable level. I guess he doesn't care about such slim pickings when the dollars are rolling in.

I will NEVER stop buying his records but his relentless pursuit of all things Americana has left me feeling a little betrayed and abandoned over the past few years.

[Otis Westinghouse]

I was playing ATUB earlier, thinking how totally great most of it is (things like 'Distorted Angel', which I hadn't heard in a while, just lovely) and having very similar thoughts about his turning his back on us, and how it makes him seem less appealing whether you like it or not. 2005 was great, saw him three times, couldn't get enough. Now I can barely muster the interest, compared to all my other heroes. S, P and S has received at least three plays in total before the shelf claimed it. Things, it seems, will never be the same again.

[InvisibleMan]

hey, the only vote for "for the stars" has disappeared!

[And No Coffee Table]

Elvis decided to befriend showbiz buddies like Elton, Sting, his wife and Lexus because it is in his financial interests to do so.

You think Elvis befriended his wife for financial reasons?

[Jackson Monk]

Elvis decided to befriend showbiz buddies like Elton, Sting, his wife and Lexus because it is in his financial interests to do so.

You think Elvis befriended his wife for financial reasons?

Yeah....she's loaded I reckon.

[sulky lad]

Elvis used to relate to his British heritage and now he takes every opportunity to have a dig at us. Is it any wonder his sales have dropped when he doesn't even bother to tour here to any reasonable level. I guess he doesn't care about such slim pickings when the dollars are rolling in.

from Jackson monk
I have to say that I feel as if I'm being petulant when I concur with these sentiments but it really does feel like suddenly we Brits have everything to apologize for in Elvis's eyes (Ireland, slavery, not buying his records). He said after the Barbican show in London that he'd be over with the Sugarcanes to the UK if anyone would book him but it seems strangely odd that he couldn't get some form of interest particularly as he hasn't played with a band over here since 2005 and if Spandau Ballet can get a tour together !!!If he'd been honest and said, "my family and home are in Vancouver, I'm suddenly much more popular and acknowledged here in the US and I don't want to leave the kids for long periods" then I'd respect him a whole lot more.
Best album varies between my moods, I loved North when it came out ( it reminded me of his quote to record an album with just a guitar and a comb and paper and call it Wembley) and it's a great late night album but SP&S seems awesome and grows on me every time I listen to it. When it first came out I hated the Hans Christian songs but now they feel much stronger whilst his singing on I Felt The Chill has put it into my top 5 EC songs ever. I must be getting soft in my old age

[thepopeofpop]

Your great talent is in writing literate, witty, Beatles influenced rock and roll songs that work well within your vocal limitations. You should, by the way, take a look a footage of George Jones, Tony Bennett and Smokey Robinson, just to name a few, literally cringing as you sing along with them to understand what I mean about your vocal limitations.

You have misinterpreted the reactions of these guys. For one thing, they wouldn't work with him if they didn't think he could sing.

More to the point, I have spoken to singers who have worked with EC and most of them are amazed at how good he is ... and also at how BIG his voice is. Remember, he can sing without a mic in a big venue. Very few singers, other than opera singers, a few blues singers, and Tony Bennett when he was a lot younger, can actually pull that off. I am a singer myself, and I wish I had his voice.

One thing about EC is that he always takes chances. He doesn't play it safe. Sometimes he will push his voice beyond what it can safely do - but that's because he's got balls and he's not afraid to fuck up. Unlike most performers.

Same thing with his albums. Most people in his position would be putting out "Armed Forces version 12" or "This Years Model 2009". Not our fella.

Also, the sad truth is that if he were to release "Imperial Bedroom" or "Get Happy!!" in 2009 - we would probably write them off as disappointing. He's been around for over 30 years and by now we fans think we've already heard it all. It's just not possible to get the same excitement from him that you got in 1978, no matter how good he is.

[bambooneedle]

The Delivery Man



When I Was Cruel

North



the rest


Out of the rest SP&S & Momofuku are next, hovering around the 6.5-7 level. WIWC and TDM are due for a week of rotation in my car since they stand up so remarkably after months of not playing them. I rate TDM very highly, as high as any EC album. EC put loads of energy into it and WIWC.

[bambooneedle]

Youthful fervour may be highly endearing but you only get one go to seduce with it - ie. his first few albums. The songs on Get Happy!! may be saturated with it but if you look at them more soberly most of them really aren't that great.

[Lester Burnham]

Your great talent is in writing literate, witty, Beatles influenced rock and roll songs that work well within your vocal limitations. You should, by the way, take a look a footage of George Jones, Tony Bennett and Smokey Robinson, just to name a few, literally cringing as you sing along with them to understand what I mean about your vocal limitations.

You have misinterpreted the reactions of these guys. For one thing, they wouldn't work with him if they didn't think he could sing.

More to the point, I have spoken to singers who have worked with EC and most of them are amazed at how good he is ... and also at how BIG his voice is. Remember, he can sing without a mic in a big venue. Very few singers, other than opera singers, a few blues singers, and Tony Bennett when he was a lot younger, can actually pull that off. I am a singer myself, and I wish I had his voice.

One thing about EC is that he always takes chances. He doesn't play it safe. Sometimes he will push his voice beyond what it can safely do - but that's because he's got balls and he's not afraid to fuck up. Unlike most performers.

Same thing with his albums. Most people in his position would be putting out "Armed Forces version 12" or "This Years Model 2009". Not our fella.

Also, the sad truth is that if he were to release "Imperial Bedroom" or "Get Happy!!" in 2009 - we would probably write them off as disappointing. He's been around for over 30 years and by now we fans think we've already heard it all. It's just not possible to get the same excitement from him that you got in 1978, no matter how good he is.

Brilliant, not a word out of place.

[InvisibleMan]

personally, i surely wasn't around listening to ec stuff in 1978, but i find his latest efforts disappointing anyway...

the first albums that i listened were mighty like a rose and spike.

the quality of his early production, unmatched by his latest, hasn't got to do with the impressions left since you were a youngster and heard, in real time, the albums when they were released.

if he released another imperial bedroom, i would surely notice... just as i noticed when mccartney published the superb "chaos and creation in the backyard" in 2005.

(by the way, i think that mccartney is a better example of inspired aging than dylan, whose albums are using blues structures and old ballads, with anonymous melodies, to death).

[pophead2k]

I voted for River in Reverse for personal reasons.

[alexv]

POP, with all due respect, I don't think I have misinterpreted the reactions of these guys. The fact that they've worked with him has nothing to do with it. None of them have in fact "worked" with him. They've appeared with him in oneoffs, and the motivation was, in my opinion, career-based, theirs not his. The fact that EC has a big voice, which is true, and can sing loudly and off mic has nothing to do with what i'm talking about. His voice has severe limitations and they affect his ability to stretch musically. The fact that he has balls and stretches is not a virtue. My point is that this ambition is what hurts him musically. And my point was that "most people" in EC's position, acknowledged great artists, do NOT play it safe and go beyond what they can safely do. They do exactly what EC has done. And this is their downfall. Most great artists put out their great work early, while working within their sweet spot. Then they become self-conscious and their work becomes mannered. The desire to grow, in most cases, leads them away from what truly made them great. They fuck up a good thing, to paraphrase you.

Now, as i noted, EC's later work still has wonderful stuff in it that I appreciate. My rant was inspired by the notion that it could be thought odd that a long-time fan of EC's couldn't find a great EC album during the last 10 years. It would be odd, indeed, for somone like EC to put out a truly great record, by his standards, in his 50s. It just does not happen that often, for the reasons I layed out. Doesn't mean the records of the last 10 years are bad, or that the songs are bad or that the failure to appreciate them is because people are stuck in the past. I agree that IB or GH put out today would have a different impact. Of course. But there's no point speculating. They were put over 20 years ago. And we judged them, originally, by the old standards. The fact that they've held up pretty well speaks to their greatness. The new records have to be judged, unfortunately for them, in comparison to everything that came before. I'm not looking for EC to repeat GH. What he should be doing, and has done in bits and pieces (BY and BC and Momo) is work within what he does best. The results can still be great.

I will bet anything, with anybody, that in 100 years, if rock and roll still means anything, when someone mentions EC his name will be associated with the records he made early, the iconic records, iconic for a reason. Not one record made by him in the last 10 years will be on that list. My descendants, who will have inherited them all (including those made in the last ten years) will hopefully still have them and that will be evidence that like you, POP, I think very highly of EC, just with a different slant.

[alexv]

IM, I disagree with you completely that McCartney and Dylan have aged in anything like the same way. Clearly McCartney looks better but that's were the comparisons end. Listen to Time Out of Mind, or the Bootleg record released last year. If you still feel the same way, we'll have to agree to disagree. Musical tastes are after all completely subjective.

[bambooneedle]

Bob is better looking anyway...no weird eyelifts, etc.

[Jack of All Parades]

Well said AlexV-that the consistent quality of Ec's work has fallen off is, I think, undebateable- but I do not mourn this decline. That he continues to produce the occasional gem is fine with me- he is still actively producing music- I do not object to sifting through the dross for a gem-I concur the vast majority of artists have their success early and spend the greater part of their careers regurgitating that success- I applaud Elvis for trying to stay vibrant- it does not work for the most part- but he is trying. In a nod to a board member "it is better to burn out than to fade away". What I find curious is that your "rant" has morphed into a regret that EC no longer actively plays the British Isles- something that were I a resident would be of concern to me-rather than what I think was your intent- a spirited argument for the selective quality of EC's later work.

IM- I too disagree with you regarding citing McCartney as a better example of a continued and distinguished later career- Dylan, I firmly believe, wins hands down-maybe a second place goes to Neil Young-you state all he does is repeat the blues and old ballads- that is the point- he is continuously trying to enrich our musical heritage- where did Rock and Roll come from? The blues and old time C&W which comes out of the old English and Scottish ballads-Dylan's continued efforts to refresh this music and keep it vibrant is a singular lifelong project and one we should rejoice and support at every opportunity.

[jmm]

I voted for River in Reverse as I go consistently back to it (and the additional material more than the others these days). But momo, SP&S and others stand for me with TYM and IB from days of old (just like FTS is with GCW on the bottom end)

The diversity of these works over the last ten years (not to mention what came before) is what keeps me coming back to him again and again.

Good, bad, frustrating but always interesting. I'm happy to be along for his musical journey (both in the stuido and especially live)!

[Uncomplicated]

I narrowed it down to my top three albums which were When I Was Cruel, The Delivery Man, and Momofuku. Then used a ranking system of 1 to 5 (for each song) with 5 being the best, and then took the average for each album to find the best one. There was only one 5 from the lot, that being "Country Darkness", but that wasn't enough to vault TMD into the top spot. Using this formula I have come up with When I Was Cruel as the best, coming in at a 3.06 average to Momofuku's average of 3.0. This was my initial choice when I read the post, but it seemed at best WIWC showed up at # 3 on some lists, so I thought I would put this together. Through the years my most played track from either of these albums has been "My Little Blue Window", which I think is just a fantastic pop song. I too would have chosen Painted From Memory without any thought at all, had this been for the last 11 years.


Momofuku
01. No Hiding Place -4
02. American Gangster Time -3
03. Turpentine -3
04. Harry Worth -2
05. Drum And Bone -2
06. Flutter And Wow -2
07. Stella Hurt -4
08. Mr. Feathers -3
09. My Three Sons -2
10. Song With Rose -4
11. Pardon Me Madam, My Name Is Eve -3
12. Go Away -4

Average: 3.00

The Delivery Man
01. Button My Lip -1
02. Country Darkness -5
03. There's A Story In Your Voice -3
04. Either Side Of The Same Town -3
05. Bedlam -2
06. The Delivery Man -4
07. Monkey To Man -2
08. Nothing Clings Like Ivy -2
09. The Name Of This Thing Is Not Love -3
10. Heart Shaped Bruise -2
11. She's Pulling Out The Pin -1
12. Needle Time -2
13. The Judgement -3
14. The Scarlet Tide -3

Average 2.57

When I Was Cruel
01. 45 -3
02. Spooky Girlfriend -4
03. Tear Off Your Own Head ( It's A Doll Revolution) -2
04. When I Was Cruel No.2 -4
05. Soul For Hire -3
06. 15 Petals -1
07. Tart -4
08. Dust 2 ... -3
09. Dissolve -1
10. Alibi 4
11. ...Dust -3
12. Daddy Can I Turn This? -4
13. My Little Blue Window -4
14. Episode Of Blonde -3
15. Radio Silence -3

Average 3.06

[Jackson Monk]

My rant was inspired by the notion that it could be thought odd that a long-time fan of EC's couldn't find a great EC album during the last 10 years.

Second time I've been misquoted/misinterpreted. I didn't find it odd at all. I thought that it was indicative of the fact that his output over the past 10 years (IMHO) has fallen a little short of his exceptional standards....North excepted (again, IMHO)

[InvisibleMan]

well, of course i knew that my opinion about the later years of mccartney and dylan is not exactly "widely shared" (and of course i've listened to the last bootleg album, modern times, love and theft, time out of my mind and whatever).

but i still can't see how the two can be compared: mccartney is still showing a musical, melodic and structural skill and versatility, and even energy, that simply dylan doesn't possess.

and i'm thinking about the whole "chaos and creation in the backyard", songs like the intense rocker "lonely road", "from a lover to a friend", the indian flavoured instrumental "riding to jaipur", the ten minutes of neurotic jam "rinse the raindrops" from the album driving rain, or "mr. bellamy" and "only mama knows" from "memory almost full" , or the spontaneity and free creativity of "electric arguments" (under the alias "the fireman"), recorded and composed in 13 days, one song each day, improvising and letting the music flow.

that's why i think mccartney aged better.

(musically).

edit: oh, to re-enter in topic: i'm deepening my knowledge of momofuku these day, and now i like it a little more.
i've also listened again to sugarcane, and to me it still seems completely dull, a compositional failure.
(and of course there's also the fact that i surely didn't feel the need of a whole country record).

[The imposter]

I will say that the song EC wrote for Jones to record, the one on TL, is a terrific country song, best EC ever wrote.

I think Stranger in the House is incredibly trite...even for a country song. Elvis has written a hundred better.

[The imposter]

You have misinterpreted the reactions of these guys. For one thing, they wouldn't work with him if they didn't think he could sing.

More to the point, I have spoken to singers who have worked with EC and most of them are amazed at how good he is ... and also at how BIG his voice is. Remember, he can sing without a mic in a big venue. Very few singers, other than opera singers, a few blues singers, and Tony Bennett when he was a lot younger, can actually pull that off. I am a singer myself, and I wish I had his voice.

One thing about EC is that he always takes chances. He doesn't play it safe. Sometimes he will push his voice beyond what it can safely do - but that's because he's got balls and he's not afraid to fuck up. Unlike most performers.

Same thing with his albums. Most people in his position would be putting out "Armed Forces version 12" or "This Years Model 2009". Not our fella.

Also, the sad truth is that if he were to release "Imperial Bedroom" or "Get Happy!!" in 2009 - we would probably write them off as disappointing. He's been around for over 30 years and by now we fans think we've already heard it all. It's just not possible to get the same excitement from him that you got in 1978, no matter how good he is.

Well said!

Whatever you may feel about his later albums,there's no doubt that his voice has improved technically in every way. I still cringe ocasionally to be honest, but not as much as before. Remember the barking cabbage?

[InvisibleMan]

the WHAT?

he may have improved "technically" but i do prefer his previous voice, or, at least, his previous performances - until the juliet letters, and maybe brutal youth. now, often, it seems like he's acting, and simply pulling out tricks from his vocal repertoire.

[The imposter]

I narrowed it down to my top three albums which were When I Was Cruel, The Delivery Man, and Momofuku. Then used a ranking system of 1 to 5 (for each song) with 5 being the best, and then took the average for each album to find the best one. There was only one 5 from the lot, that being "Country Darkness", but that wasn't enough to vault TMD into the top spot. Using this formula I have come up with When I Was Cruel as the best, coming in at a 3.06 average to Momofuku's average of 3.0. This was my initial choice when I read the post, but it seemed at best WIWC showed up at # 3 on some lists, so I thought I would put this together. Through the years my most played track from either of these albums has been "My Little Blue Window", which I think is just a fantastic pop song. I too would have chosen Painted From Memory without any thought at all, had this been for the last 11 years.


Momofuku
01. No Hiding Place -4
02. American Gangster Time -3
03. Turpentine -3
04. Harry Worth -2
05. Drum And Bone -2
06. Flutter And Wow -2
07. Stella Hurt -4
08. Mr. Feathers -3
09. My Three Sons -2
10. Song With Rose -4
11. Pardon Me Madam, My Name Is Eve -3
12. Go Away -4

Average: 3.00

The Delivery Man
01. Button My Lip -1
02. Country Darkness -5
03. There's A Story In Your Voice -3
04. Either Side Of The Same Town -3
05. Bedlam -2
06. The Delivery Man -4
07. Monkey To Man -2
08. Nothing Clings Like Ivy -2
09. The Name Of This Thing Is Not Love -3
10. Heart Shaped Bruise -2
11. She's Pulling Out The Pin -1
12. Needle Time -2
13. The Judgement -3
14. The Scarlet Tide -3

Average 2.57

When I Was Cruel
01. 45 -3
02. Spooky Girlfriend -4
03. Tear Off Your Own Head ( It's A Doll Revolution) -2
04. When I Was Cruel No.2 -4
05. Soul For Hire -3
06. 15 Petals -1
07. Tart -4
08. Dust 2 ... -3
09. Dissolve -1
10. Alibi 4
11. ...Dust -3
12. Daddy Can I Turn This? -4
13. My Little Blue Window -4
14. Episode Of Blonde -3
15. Radio Silence -3

Average 3.06

your system is good, but you really need to take the total running time of each album and then divide it by the running time of each of the tracks on the album before allocating your scores, thereby achieving a proportional weight to the individual track scores. Otherwise a song that rates well but is only short, will give an unrepresentatively positive bias to the whole album. Similarly a "poor " song that is unduly long would have an even more adverse affect based on this more reliable system.

You should do that, or maybe get out more.

[Jackson Monk]

or get a girlfriend/boyfriend