| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| spunXtain |
Posted - 12/21/2006 : 22:00:28
I really enjoyed Honeycomb. Fastman/Raiderman, not so much... just a few songs. I dont know what it was, but I couldn't get into it. Maybe Frank just starting sounding too "Nashville" for my tastes. Which is fine, Frank has the right to grow and do what he damn well pleases. And odds are I'll still buy it, because I support what he does.
But all of these new songs from the last tour and Christmass... they're back to sounding weird and spacy, even moreso than the Catholics era songs. It's more like something from TOTY or Cult Of Ray or S/T. It's a second solo golden age!
Can't wait for the next full studio album...
--
Got coffee, got donuts, got wasted... |
| 31 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Carl |
Posted - 01/20/2007 : 09:46:44
 |
| fbc |
Posted - 01/20/2007 : 06:29:28
hey, I got nowt against capitals (except for Montevideo, but that's a long story). on my screen, my name's in lower case, but others type it with caps which makes me wonder if they see it as caps on their screen. then i get a life.
fastman is a weird one for me. i only really listen to a handful of tracks, and i love them, but the majority i have no craving for at this moment in time. one day soon though, they'll all make sense. while i wait, the songs i do listen to are like a fix. and the jon tiven thing never really bothered me. i was a little disappointed that it seemed to effect some folks views on the relevant records and became the main focal point rather than the songs (that frank wrote himself minus no producer's intervention) themselves, but that was and is none of my business. I can only speak for myself and like what i like, regardless of an outspoken majority. it's all disco! |
| coastline |
Posted - 01/20/2007 : 06:04:24
You don't like my CAPITAL LETTERS, heh?
I'm still not big on FMRM. I like some songs, but for the most part, I don't like the overall vibe. I can't shake this idea that an overbearing producer is ever-present, ready to step out of my speakers and start bugging me about the songs. But I've realized there's one thing I appreciate about this album that began to emerge on Honeycomb: the showcasing of FB's beautiful voice. There seemed to be a real effort to sing pretty on a lot of these songs, if that's the right way to put it. Maybe I'm just looking for something to like amidst all the saxophone sounds and other stuff that I don't like. But if there's something that really moves me on FMRM, it's how wonderful (soulful?) FB's voice sounds. He's gone away from that already, on rocking songs like Dead Man's Curve and Gyaneshwar, where the quality of his voice is more "cool" or "kick-ass" than pretty.
I don't know how much sense any of that made. Just random thoughts. Maybe I should just have written: His voice shore sounds pretty on FMRM.
 And aren't you havin' fun? |
| fbc |
Posted - 01/20/2007 : 05:40:32
Both Nashville albums, COASTLINE. (to be honest, honeycomb tracks are a regular occurance 'round these parts) |
| coastline |
Posted - 01/20/2007 : 05:29:33
Both Nashville albums, FBC?
And aren't you havin' fun? |
| fbc |
Posted - 01/20/2007 : 04:00:12
quote:
Originally posted by fbc
quote:
Originally posted by Cult_Of_Frank
That said, I have a feeling both will pale next to Christmass in spite of Christmass being a compilation. I really can't wait, I'm in a rut for new music.
You don't know how right you are.
I take this back and declare it one of the most stupid/uneducated comments I've ever made on the unofficial fan forum. My listening is on the decline except for the newbies, mainly because I've heard the live stuff in so many shapes and forms now it's untrue and it's finally caught up with me. I'm now riding the swept under the carpet far too quickly by fb.net nashville wave and it's never sounded better. |
| cellar_door |
Posted - 01/19/2007 : 19:43:44
listening to everything since show me your tears, I can hardly go back. And right around when things started slowing down a little, I didn't like it. Then I listened some more. And some more. Now I find the best songs now are SO much better then the Los Angeles days. The songs are so complete, both lyrically and musically. I mean when you listen to all the instruments, and how good the man's voice is now. Man I'm all for 3-4 more albums like this. I love it.
I was a hawk and I just flew...yeah
|
| kelladwella |
Posted - 01/11/2007 : 01:54:12
Hey NimrodsSon, what I love is your enthusiasm regarding HC. I don't share it to that extend, but it always makes me smile to read your praise posts, which inevitably will pop up every three months or so.
coastline's post has the same quality to it. Enthusiasm paired with eloquence. Quite an infectious combination. Entertaining at least.
Keep it up, guys!
|
| NimrodsSon |
Posted - 01/10/2007 : 20:13:55
quote:
Originally posted by coastline
I love this album in a very personal way, and I'm certain nobody else is going to see it the way I do -- but Dean, you've gotta give it at least a few more listens. I promise it's worth it!
I'm right there with you! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this album more than words can describe. Fast Man Raider Man is one of those, much like Show Me Your Tears that I was extremely enthusiastic about at first, but now not so much so (I haven't even listened to it in a few months); Honeycomb, on the other hand is one of those albums that I will enjoy until the day I day, that will keep getting better and better and will always be a treasured part of my collection. and I am confident that, given another few years, many more of you will feel the same way! ;)
ˇViva los Católicos! http://www.myspace.com/shadoplay |
| trobrianders |
Posted - 01/10/2007 : 19:39:56
Thanks coastline, my two cents duly added to that thread.
I've just now written a couple of volumes in my mind about all this and I'm only marginally wiser. Tomorrow I'll go get a massage and it wont matter. Oh and tomorrow I go see Kristin Hersh play in Great Newport Street so I guess it turned out nice again.
Delirious in the pain
_______________
Ed is the hoo hoo |
| coastline |
Posted - 01/10/2007 : 17:04:30
Hey, you should join this discussion, trobrianders: http://forum.frankblack.net/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=17569. They've got some more tips for what to listen to when dealing with tooth pain. I bet Carl's bill ends up slightly larger than yours, though. So maybe he should listen to "Honeycomb."
 And aren't you havin' fun? |
| trobrianders |
Posted - 01/10/2007 : 16:51:53
I got a tooth pulled today. Hurts like hell. Honeycomb's playing and it helps. Beat that!
_______________
Ed is the hoo hoo |
| kfs |
Posted - 01/10/2007 : 08:12:26
quote:
Originally posted by trobrianders
PPS coastline, that's beautiful man. Yes I get HC that way too. Oh and Dean's just teasing I think, isn't he?
_______________
Ed is the hoo hoo
Coastline, that was a very nice post and I agree with you. |
| coastline |
Posted - 01/09/2007 : 15:57:21
You're NOT teasing, are you Dean? Jeez, I guess maybe you were. Some people can be oh so dense. (Like me.)
And aren't you havin' fun? |
| trobrianders |
Posted - 01/09/2007 : 15:31:54
I could find my Honeycomb.
If you don't like 'em. you don't like 'em. I didn't like 'em and now I do. Funny that.
I have to thank whoever compiled the discopedia notes to the songs on HC. They helped me find a way in. And once I'd gotten over HC's slick(er) production I found a way into FMRM too. Whatever the production, the songs are key. Charles' songwriting is quite incredible.
I hate the sax but leave Jon Tiven alone.
PS I've been a fan since the Town & Country gig with Throwing Muses and I never imagined I'd find a forum where I'd discover that there are others who appreciate his songs like I do. Thanks guys.
PPS coastline, that's beautiful man. Yes I get HC that way too. Oh and Dean's just teasing I think, isn't he?
_______________
Ed is the hoo hoo |
| Chris Fabulous |
Posted - 01/08/2007 : 21:33:19
quote:
Originally posted by spunXtain
I really enjoyed Honeycomb. Fastman/Raiderman, not so much...
I like both of them very much. Honeycomb happened to come out the exact day I moved out of the bed I shared with my (now ex) wife and into my back house. I don't know how I would have delt with that pain had it not been for that record. FMRM is just a great collection of songs (some much better than others). Every time I listen to it, FMRM gets better for me. I really like the slick production. It doesn't seem overdone to me. In most cases, it really suits the songs.
In fact, although I enjoy all the records very much, it frustrates me to listen to the Catholics stuff. Had a little more care been taken in producing it, those records could have been something else. The live/two-track thing has its appeal, but there are a lot of flaws and sloppy overplaying that really don't add to the "vibe" for me at all.
I think I can agree with what many people here are expressing, though, and say that a return to something more akin to the early Yellow/Teenager material would not be unwelcome. I'm really looking forward to the new stuff.
CF
PS - Try picking out your favorite FMRM songs and putting them on a playlist or CD and listening to them that way. I did that and it plays better for me without the "filler." So go find your filler.
www.chrisfabulous.com |
| coastline |
Posted - 12/24/2006 : 05:22:08
quote:
Originally posted by Cult_Of_Frank
Hahaha, yeah. Funnily, that was the same typo on the leaked version. That's what I get for typing early.
I've listened to individual tracks (like the Bridge) more, but the whole album all the way through, five times. Maybe I'll go for number six today, it's been a while.
I listened to FMRM all the way through more times than that in the first day.
Whatever happened with this, Dean? Did you enjoy your sixth listening of Honeycomb?
When the first strums of Selkie Brid(g)e came on, did it soothe your soul and prepare you for the emotional journey? When the mood descended in the fourth and fifth songs and it was clear that the singer was bringing us a version of the tale of his own crumbling marriage, did it break your heart? Did you wonder, during Dark End of the Street, if this was a true story of unfaithfulness and covering this song was a way of helping clear the guilt?
And then when the next song, Go Find Your Saint, came on, did you feel the redemption in the chords and the lyrics? And did it make you smile to hear his ex-wife sing with him a couple tracks later, proving that people can have their differences but still love each other? And during Sunday Sunny Mill Valley Groove Day, did you realize that, yes, you ARE king of what you survive? It's true.
And did the second half of My Life is in Storage break your heart? It's meant to. You've been on this roller coaster for 10 songs already by this point, and then he sings this strange sad song, probably to his current wife, and it's just beautiful, and you wish you knew a little bit more about the story behind it. And then did you gag on the song Violet? It really doesn't belong. If it's the reason you don't like this album so much, I understand.
But when you got to Sing For Joy, did you realize that this is what it's all about? That no matter what goes down in your life, no matter how awful, you've always got the music, and you can always sing (even if you're like me and you can't sing).
Did you feel any of this? Well, probably not. I'm just projecting. That's how Honeycomb makes me feel. Besides liking a lot of the individual songs, I love this album for the way it makes me feel when I listen through it. It goes down so deep emotionally at times, and then there are these wonderfully redeeming songs, and he's placed them in just the right places, and I always get lost emotionally when I put this album on.
I love this album in a very personal way, and I'm certain nobody else is going to see it the way I do -- but Dean, you've gotta give it at least a few more listens. I promise it's worth it!
Is that a real poncho or is that a Sears poncho? |
| Ziggy |
Posted - 12/23/2006 : 17:17:15
I've found the 'Nashville' records to take even longer to appreciate than some of Frank's other work, for sure. Some real classic songs have emerged, nonetheless. |
| scruvs |
Posted - 12/22/2006 : 13:12:53
I dig the new songs, and the new way the old songs are played. I look forward to my Christmass present.
_____________________
Boy, you sure can holler. |
| fbc |
Posted - 12/22/2006 : 12:38:25
It is an exciting prospect. Then what comes after that? More and more music from the man. Yip-friggedy-ee!
I do have to say the Nashville stuff has yielded some amazing tracks that could possibly be in my top 10, 20, definately 30 favourite tracks ever, if I ever compiled such a list. |
| billy shabore |
Posted - 12/22/2006 : 08:12:44
What's really gonna be great is the missing ingredient that will finally be on the next studio album.......EDF! |
| Cult_Of_Frank |
Posted - 12/22/2006 : 08:08:46
Hahaha, yeah. Funnily, that was the same typo on the leaked version. That's what I get for typing early.
I've listened to individual tracks (like the Bridge) more, but the whole album all the way through, five times. Maybe I'll go for number six today, it's been a while.
I listened to FMRM all the way through more times than that in the first day.
 "Now you're officially my woman. Kudos. I can't say I don't envy you." |
| fbc |
Posted - 12/22/2006 : 08:08:10
quote:
Originally posted by Cult_Of_Frank
That said, I have a feeling both will pale next to Christmass in spite of Christmass being a compilation. I really can't wait, I'm in a rut for new music.
You don't know how right you are.
(mind you, some of the outstanding tracks on christmas (dvd, too) are the HC/FMRM ones) |
| speedy_m |
Posted - 12/22/2006 : 07:59:07
quote:
Originally posted by coastline
Dean, you've listened to Honeycomb only five times??? Am I reading this right?
Is that a real poncho or is that a Sears poncho?
Well, he seems to think it's Selkie Bridge, if that gives you any idea of how much he's listened to it.
maybe I'll kick it
|
| Broken Face |
Posted - 12/22/2006 : 07:13:34
I think that for HC and FMRM the sessions were so quickly done (just a few days or, in some cases, one day), that everyone involved just did what they are comfortable with. Mr. Tiven, Mr. Cropper, Mr. Hood and all the others had to fall back on what they know/what they usually do to get the sessions done in time, so what comes naturally to everyone is what came out. And all parties involve make much smoother, more polished stuff on an everyday basis than FB does, so that is why you get that sound on some tracks. Or so my theory goes.
-Brian - http://bvsrant.blogspot.com |
| coastline |
Posted - 12/22/2006 : 07:08:52
Dean, you've listened to Honeycomb only five times??? Am I reading this right?
Sorry, Mr. Tiven. Thanks for the correction. And thanks, as always, for dropping by.
Is that a real poncho or is that a Sears poncho? |
| Cult_Of_Frank |
Posted - 12/22/2006 : 06:56:09
I think you guys are confusing FMRM and Honeycomb. I have to this day only listened to Honeycomb about 5 times. I love Selkie Bride and.... that's about it.
The songs aren't bad, I enjoyed them when I heard them live, but the album ones don't spark that same fire. FMRM on the other hand has some oomph to it and also some darkness, which I really enjoy.
That said, I have a feeling both will pale next to Christmass in spite of Christmass being a compilation. I really can't wait, I'm in a rut for new music.
"Now you're officially my woman. Kudos. I can't say I don't envy you." |
| Jontiven |
Posted - 12/22/2006 : 06:12:19
That's Jack Kidney, not me, on sax.
You guys give me WAY too much credit. I appreciate you. But really, I jes do what I'm told.
Happy Chanukah,
JT |
| coastline |
Posted - 12/22/2006 : 05:47:08
Honeycomb is my favorite album of all-time, by anyone, and I had high hopes for FMRM, but it missed the mark completely for me. If the Nashville era is over, I'll be a happy fan.
I'd be hesitant to put words in FB's mouth ("he doesn't care about that too much"), but I have to agree that Tiven's production is too much and too smooth. I think the perfect case in point is "My Terrible Ways" on FMRM. I never liked it one bit when I got the album, I guess because it's too bluesy and there's that awful sax sound (which is Tiven himself playing). And then I heard FB do it solo acoustic and the song totally clicked for me. As far as I'm concerned, Tiven wrecked a good song.
I like what spunXtain says about this being a second solo golden age. I've been thinking the same thing for a few months now. A bunch of his new songs this year (not the FMRM material) have really gotten me excited when I've first heard them -- Deadman's Curve, Gyaneshwar, Rabbit Hole (when are we gonna hear that one again?), Don't Get Me Wrong, The Water, Where Is My Mind. Here's to moving on to the post-Nashville era!
Is that a real poncho or is that a Sears poncho? |
| two reelers |
Posted - 12/22/2006 : 00:36:40
my words.
my guess is that the sound of frank's (and also pixies) albums is always very much influenced by the producer since he doesn't care abou that too much. in my opinion, the sound on his "own" produced albums (solo+catholics) is great because he mainly focussed on the songs such that they are well played and recorded. point.
the jon tiven albums are ways overproduced & too smooth, in my opionion. (maybe this is what you mean with "nashville" sound).
I joined the cult of Souled American / 'cause they are a damn' fine band |
| mantaraysallright |
Posted - 12/21/2006 : 22:21:34
I have to agree...although I like FMRM it still doesn't click with me like the others...but I'm excited for the new stuff. |
|
|
