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Verbal reviews his record collection


VerbalPuke

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I know I mentioned in another thread I had suggested reviewing my record collection and got some good feedback from the idea. It was a few months back but I haven't forgot about that. I am going to go through with this now that I have a semester off of school and can write a bit more about things. 
The plan is to go from A-Z on my records starting with the 12 inch sized vinyls then moving on to the singles/EPs type things. It's kinda weird with vinyl, I have some full albums on what you'd think is a 45 and some EPs on what you'd think is a 33 size record. I have a pretty cool variety of albums, live stuff, compilations, etc. Everything is fair game, though I am probably going to skip a few things I consider problematic and that I bought as 19-22 year old edge lord (so unless anybody is really desperate for me to review GG Allin and the Mentors, I'll just pass). 
I have probably close to four hundred albums, so this could be an ongoing thread that I never finish. Honestly, I probably wont finish this thread especially since buying albums is something I always do so it's very unlikely that I'd finish this thing without adding more and more. 
Anyway, my hope is to offer some entertaining reading, maybe expose people to some obscure stuff (which is a definite because I've been known to buy something based on liking the title, or spending money on a mystery grab bag, or trying to buy up as much local stuff as I can). I'll also probably add a bit of a story behind how I acquired the album, what it means to me, etc etc. Something like that. 
Sorry I don't have a review today, but I'll just say that the first few albums are bands that start with numbers. I believe that when alphabetizing numbers always come first. 
Edit - @Krabby I saw you liked this when I only had the picture posted, lol. Might wanna read the edit. 
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Good guesses with the number 7. 

So the first album is 7 Seconds - The Crew. 

 

So I'm not going to lie, some albums wont get as much as attention as others because obviously we have our favorites, stuff that is significant to us in some way, and then we have albums like this that we like but wouldn't put on a pedestal. 

Don't get me wrong, this is really good 80s West Coast punk. In fact, in a different time or place this could have been what the Adolescents self titled album is to me, something that had a profound impact on my music listening at a young age. As it is, it's a good album that I thought I should own a copy of. 

It's a really good album though if you're into hardcore punk type stuff. I feel like it's a good precursor to something like Pennywise with the melodic power chording and the sorta synchronized vocals (whooooaaa ooohhhh oooohhhh). It's definitely something that I don't listen to often but wouldn't turn it off if it came up on a random set up. Actually, I'd say if anybody is familiar with the band Gorilla Biscuits they bare a resemblance to them musically. 

This is probably going to be a theme, there's some albums I simply have because they were a good deal or I got really into the band briefly and so I bought the album. This is one of those cases. One thing I do love about this album is that it clocks in at about 29 minutes, which I always kind of loved about punk. No fucking around here, lets make our point and get the fuck out of here. The Ramones and Circle Jerks did this spectacularly (spoiler, we'll be hearing from both of those bands). 

I don't have a ton more to add, 7 Seconds The Crew is a good hardcore punk album definitely worth a spin or seven to give you a nice kick in the butt. 

My top 3 from this album: 

"This is angry, Pt. 2" 
"Not just boys fun" 

"Clenched fists, black eyes" 

Next time:

Another group that begins with a number. They are a Christian band, and I have a story about one of their songs. I'll have more to say about this one as it has been in heavy rotation for me for years now. 

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Good job metalman, you correctly googled the correct band. 

16 Horsepower - Sack Cloth and Ashes

So, not really a punk band, more of a southern gothic style though they were influenced by the Gun Club who were a punk band (kind of, they were more like the Cramps but less B Movie spooky and more Voodoo/Religion spooky). 

Anyway, this is a really special album to me. I'm not a religious person and would normally turn my nose at a "Christian" album but this is something entirely different. The first song I heard by them isn't on this album, it is called "Wayfaring Stranger" which could very well be a cover. I loved it though, the singer of this group has a really good bellowing, haunting voice. At the time I was really listening to a lot of blue grass and eventually started moving toward some of the darker side of more modern blue grass. 

It seems that Denver is a hotbed for Southern Gothic styled music which seems odd but 16 Horsepower, Wovehand, Slim Cesna's Auto Club, and Jay Munly are all Denver groups/artists that really capture that sounded beautifully. 

Anyway, this album is the class of Southern Gothic in my view. The band is really good, utilizing banjo, nice slow bass lines, haunting slide guitar, drumming that provides a lovely rhythm, and some accordion to top it all off. 

Story time. The year was 2016 in the month of November and I was driving from Las Vegas to Detroit after I had finished my military enlistment. My wife was driving with the kids separately so it was myself and my dear departed dog Horton in a 12 foot U-Haul. We had made it to Tennessee and were driving through a part of the highway that had winding roads, hills, and a really beautiful backdrop of forest. With it being November the leaves on the trees had begun to change and the sun was just beginning to set to really give you an idea of the scene. So as I'm driving I had been listening to Spotify on shuffle when this song came on...

It fucking gave me goose bumps when that accordion kicked in. I'm in unfamiliar territory with beautiful scenery but somehow this spooky sounding accordion is tying the moment together beautifully. Definitely something I'll never forget and every time I hear this song I'll think of that portion of my drive. Also, there is a really cracking live version of this out there. 

This album has had a very profound impact on my music tastes. When I first heard them I really felt like "Hey, these guys are like a natural successor to the Gun Club" and funny enough I'd learn that these dudes have covered the Gun Club. Oh, they also do a REALLY cool cover of CCR's Bad Moon Rising. 

But yeah, this album is definitely their finest work. It really surprised me that they were a Christian group singing about religious themes because I expect most Christian rock to be happier? This is so somber and feels like it touches more on the darker violent side of Christianity (not necessarily talking about religious atrocities, but talking about "my father shedding his skin" or "I'm digging you a shallow grave"). I highly recommend this band to anybody with an interest in country/bluegrass/southern goth/folk whatever. 

Top 3 Tracks

Black Soul Choir - Brilliant banjo work, this song is their best work. I also love the video for it. 

American Wheeze (well duh) 

Then third? I'd have to go with I seen what I saw which opens the album. \

I understand that we all have different music tastes and not everything I review will land with everybody. There's going to be a few albums that I do implore people to really make an effort to check out, this is absolutely one of them. 

Next time: That is it for numbered bands lads and ladettes. We jump to the letter A next and this should be a fairly easy one to guess. This next band begins with A, 1980s thrash metal, and the album was released in 1987. 

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Wayfaring Stranger is an old folk song - probably mid-19th century, at least. 

There's a lot of incredible versions of it out there, it's an old favourite of mine. I first knew it from Natalie Merchant, but there have been great version by Johnny Cash, Paul Robeson, Tim Buckley and (my personal favourite) Norma Waterson. 

 

Guessing that the next album is "Among The Living" by Anthrax, as I can't think of any other 1980s thrash metal acts beginning with A.

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23 minutes ago, Colly said:

That was all very interesting, but the big question it raises for me is that while I agree numbers should come first in a music alphabetical system, should 1(6) come after 7? Not for me Clive.

Well when I count numbers 16 comes after 7. 

So that's how I do it. 

Kinda does explain my Spotify artists numbering. 

Oh well. No more numbers. 

Oh also need to note I don't count the word "The" when alphabeticizing. So there won't be a long series of the bands.

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