minneapolisgenius said:

Actually, MinniG was the one that posted that, not me. It was in her review from Amazon.com. I never gave a specific number of Zeppelin anthologies. In fact, I only named 3: the first "Remasters," the second "Remasters," and the "Complete Studio Recordings."

Opinions are like assholes. Everybody has one. I stand by my statement. "Achilled Last Stand" sucks. Can't stand it. Skip it every time. The music is great, the lyrics are crap.

And I just don't plain like "Presence." I think Jones, Page, and Bonham came strong with that one. I think Plant should've stayed the fuck at home.

I do have all of the Zeppelin albums. I like Zeppelin, but I wouldn't say that they're even one of my 10 favorite bands. But I do own all of the albums. And I've listened to them rather extensively, so my opinion is no less valid than anyone else's here.

And it does seem on point to rank covers among Zeppelin's best songs. In fact, many of their great songs are covers or are derivative to the point that they may as well have been covers: The Lemon Song, You Shook Me, Babe I'm Gonna Leave You, Whole Lotta Love, Custard Pie, In My Time of Dying, Gallows Pole, How Many More Times, Nobody's Fault But Mine, etc, etc.

JACKAL said:

I posted that? Oh. I didn't even see that he listed 4 in his review.


Oh stop rolling your eyes dammit! I for one, am aware that their not one of your top ten bands, so you know I just do this when you talk about them:



I'm just kidding with you of course. (kind of) I don't know though. I was just thinking about whether I liked early or later Zeppelin more. They had more original material later, and I'm sort of stuck in the middle on that one. For me, their cover songs are not necessarily my favorites. I don't know, I like it all. I can't decide.

Lori Maddox is my, I mean Led Zeppelin is one of my fave all-time bands and has been a huge influence on me as a musician and songwriter. After Hendrix, Zeppelin simply displayed the most power and majesty in all of rock.

blackguitaristz said:

blackguitaristz said:

[Edited 1/20/05 18:31pm]

minneapolisgenius said:

I like early Zeppelin more, for the most part. However, Physical Graffiti is probably my favorite Zep album, which makes it sort of an oddity.

This is how I see Zeppelin (disclaimer, this is just my opinion).

Classic (or damn near classic) Albums: Physical Graffiti, I, II, IV
Damn Good Albums: III
Decent Albums: Houses of the Holy
Pretty Damn Bad Albums: In Through the Out Door
Shitty Albums: Presence

So, even though my favorite album is one of their latter albums, all of their first 4 albums rank as Damn Good or Classic. While 3 of the last 4 run the gamut from Decent to Shitty. That said, after burning my 2 disc anthology (which has the highlights of the 1st 4 on disc one, and the last 4 on disc 2), both discs stand up fairly strongly against each other. Even though I think that latter Zeppelin recorded some crappy albums, that doesn't mean that they didn't record some kick ass songs. Which is especially true on "Houses of the Holy." Some of their most ass kicking songs are on that album (Over the Hills, Dancing Days, The Ocean, D'yer Mak'er). What sets that album apart from the others is that there's nothing nearly as weak as "The Crunge" or "No Quarter" on the early albums. So, the album as a whole suffers, for me. Again, this is all just my opinion. I understand that "No Quarter" is supposed to be a Zep-fanatic's masterpiece. I just don't like it. Which is fine, because I have a love-hate relationship with Zeppelin anyway. So, it's fitting that I would hate a song that so many hardcore Zeppelin fans love.

I know a lot of Zeppelin freaks, and I love to play the devil's advocate with them. Downgrading and criticizing Zeppelin around them, while owning all of their albums at the same time. Because I do love and hate them.

I try not to do that too much to MinniG, though, because I know that it's sacred territory. Like Steve Earle or the Rolling Stones or B.B. King or Buddy Guy or somebody, for me. Prince. The Isley Brothers. Whoever. I do it some, but it's meant to be tongue-in-cheek and good natured. Not pretentious.

I don't really see how any of this even amounts to a hill of beans, really.

Shitty thread. I want to rate it 0. Bring back thread ratings.

JACKAL said:

JACKAL said:

Yeah, you are kinda douchy like that, aren't you?

Can I tell you now that Steve Earle sucks and that his show tonight will blow? Of course I can't say that because I've never seen him before. grrr

And hey, this is YOUR shitty thread. But I love it because I can post pics here.

minneapolisgenius said:

You can tell me that, but I won't believe you. It was a kick ass show. I was front and center (as always). And afterwards, I got to meet all of the band members, and :gasp: Steve fuckin' Earle. Got to have my picture taken with him, and got him to sign my ticket. And got to watch him curse some people out. Of all of the people that I have ever seen in concert (Prince included), I think that Steve Earle gives the best concerts. This is the 5th time I've seen him. There's just so much interaction with the audience. He talks a lot more to the audience than anyone else I've ever seen. And it's never generic "You guys rock" or "Everybody do thisorthat." I mean, it's legitimate talking with a purpose. Friday night, it was a lot of Bush-bashing and a lot of "In a democracy, we still have the ability to rise up against the government and do yaddayaddayadda like we did in the 60s" type of stuff.

I should burn you some Steve Earle. This week on Little Steven's Underground Garage radio show (as in Little Steven Van Zant from the E Street Band), he picked Steve Earle's "The Revolution Starts Now" as the coolest song in the world. ...

Yes, I am douchey. I even told Steve Earle that.

minneapolisgenius said:

I miss Jana.

Steve is nominated for 2 Grammys for "The Revolution Starts...Now" The song is up for the Solo Rock Performance and the album is up for the Contemporary Folk Album category.

JACKAL said:

How did you get to meet the band and the man himself? And why haven't you posted the pics here yet?! You should burn me some. You've been saying that you're going to forever now. Although, I COULD have gone out and picked it up myself when I was in the U.S. I don't know how easy it is to find Steve Earle stuff here in Holland.

minneapolisgenius said:

We stood where the buses were parked outside of the club. We met the bandmembers on their ways to the bus. Steve was already inside. But after about 20 minutes or so, he came out to smoke a cigarette. I could have died, I suppose. I didn't really have anything to say to him, because. I dunno. My first Steve Earle album was "El Corazon." The only reason I bought it is because I liked the cover art. I'd never heard or heard of him. It changed the way I looked at music. And from there, I went back and bought them all. And have bought all the ones that have come out since. So, I was so afraid to really say anything, because.

And I had already felt like an idiot, because everybody else out there had cds or dvds or something for him to sign. And I didn't have shit, really, except for my ticket, because I had left all of my cds in the car. Because I never think ahead for stuff like this. "Ooh, I'd better bring my cds in case I get to meet him." And I should think ahead, because I have met a few people, and just about every single damn time, I didn't have anything for them to sign.

So, when it's my turn, I walk up holding my ticket and say, "I'm kinda douchey and didn't think to bring a cd or something for you to sign. I left them in my car... in the parking garage. Could you sign my ticket?"

He laughed, at least. And then I asked if I could get my picture taken with him, and he said, "Sure."

About this time, the dudes who worked for the venue were shoving their way through all of the people. They had 2 kegs on a hand-truck that they were wheeling into the back of the club, and they were just shouting "outta the way" and shoving everyone. Well, they shoved Steve Earle, and he turns around. Pissed.

"Don't you ever lay your fuckin' hands on me again. Do you understand?"

And one of the dudes says, "We've got to get the kegs through."

And he responds, "Do I look like I give a fuck about those kegs. You don't fuckin' shove me. Believe me, trust me when I say it is not a good fuckin' idea for you to ever do that again."

And then the dudes scurried off pretty quickly. But he was still pretty pissed about it, when I went to stand next to him for my picture, cause he was still muttering "Fuckin' G**damn assholes" under his breath.

I'll send you the pic, but I'm not posting it. He looks pretty happy, considering. I think I had said something about me not shoving him in the picture, and he kinda grinned.

http://steveearle.net/dis...corazo.jpg

That's a lot bigger than I thought it would be. Click on the link to see.
[Edited 1/25/05 10:00am]

JACKAL said:

I recognize that cover. I had actually planned on buying it when I was in the U.S. and then just never got around to getting much of anything.

That's a cool story though. I know what you mean about not bringing anything for anyone to sign. It always just seems like a hassle to carry around CDs and whatnot to a show. But then I suppose you regret it later if an opportunity comes up. A camera's always good though. (unless it's for Prince ) Funny how he got all pissed at that guy. You could have ended up in the middle of a big brawl.

JACKAL said:

What the fuck does "spam" supposed to mean? Hip me to it.

blackguitaristz said:

Sorry about him. That's just an inside joke between us from way back on the org. It always went and then

minneapolisgenius said:

yup...

minneapolisgenius said:

Yeah, it's a kick ass, album. I think. I'm not sure that it's considered one of his "masterpieces" or "classic" albums. Or maybe it is. Somedays I think it's his best album, and other days, I'll think it's something else. But regardless, if I had to pick just one Steve Earle album, it would be that one. There's a special place for it, cause it was my first, I guess.

If I recall correctly, the critics' choices for Steve Earle albums are:

"Guitar Town": the album that started it all... a classic... always makes the Rolling Stone top albums list... generally in the 100s somewhere, but makes it nonetheless...

"Copperhead Road": his commercial highpoint... title track still gets heavy play on classic and hard rock stations...

"Train a Comin'": his first album after his prison release... all acoustic... this one won some grammys...

"Feel Alright": his first electric album after his prison release...

"Transcendental Blues": this album is just plain solid... and not quite as political as a lot of his other albums... it showcases a lot of different musical styles...


And, the allmusic guide does give "El Corazon" 4 and a half stars out of 5. So, I guess it is one of the classics also.

He's been nominated for 11 Grammys overall, which isn't bad for someone nobody knows.

That's true about many people not knowing who he is. I had no idea about the Grammys, and I don't think I had even heard of him until you told me about him about a year and a half ago. I assume you weren't the only one at his show though so, he does have a following then.

The first album and the acoustic one sound the most interesting to me so far. Maybe you should start a Steve Earle thread.

minneapolisgenius said:

The first album is probably the countriest of all of Steve's albums, but really sounds a lot more like Bruce Springsteen than anything from Nashville. As a matter of fact, the album was inspired by seeing Springsteen live on the "Born in the USA" tour. And on the remastered & expanded version of "Guitar Town," there is a live version of Springsteen's "State Trooper" that rocks like a mutha.

"Guitar Town" is the shit, though. As soon as it starts. Upbeat acoustic guitar rhythm, then the kick-drum comes in, then finally "Hey, pretty baby, are you ready for me/ It's your good-rockin' daddy down from Tennessee." After the first verse, the electric guitar kicks in, as does the rest of the band. The organs. No chorus in the song. The closest thing it has to a chorus is the lead guitar line, which is actually played on a 6-string bass.

When the album was first released, the Nashville industry was silent. They looked over it, as if it didn't even exist. Then Rolling Stone reviewed it. 5 stars, I believe. Then a lot of rock critics began praising the album and calling it an instant classic. And on tour for the album, Steve played a lot of "rock" clubs like CBGBs. Steve was interviewed by Rolling Stone. And slowly, the country critics came around, because they couldn't ignore it any longer, or they'd look even more foolish than they already did.

That said, the head of MCA Nashville (Steve's label at the time) dropped him after a second album, because Steve Earle wasn't interested in being a country artist and was interested in playing along with Nashvilles rules. Anyway, that's too much info.

But just to show how wide the audience for this album was. Steve's tour for the album found him opening several shows for both the Replacements and George Jones. Those are two completely different demographics.

I should start a Steve thread. Or maybe I'll just retitle this one.

"Gotta keep rockin' while I still can/ Got a 2 pack habit and a motel tan"

Yeah, re-title it: "The Led Zeppelin for the first half and Steve Earle for the second half thread"



There you go again describing a particular song in minute detail from start to finish. The funny thing is, it's not for nothing with me. I always try to imagine exactly what it would sound like. Then I try and see later if you're right.

minneapolisgenius said:

How do I do? Like, how accurate are my descriptions? Or do I hear shit that nobody else hears?

Guitar Town song by song. Briefly.

1. "Guitar Town": Think I covered this one well enough earlier. Just a kick-ass rocking song about life on the road.

2. "Goodbye's All We've Got Left": Another up-tempo song. An almost tex-mex tejano feel to the rhythm, with lots of organ/keyboards. Just a song about not wanting to deal with inevitable leaving of a woman. Extremely catchy song.

3. "Hillbilly Highway": Mid-tempo. Kind of a folk-song, I guess. Not a true story, but could’ve been, and was for many people. It’s about the lack of jobs in Appalachia and the northern migration of many Appalachians to Detroit to work in the car factories. Which was something very common in the south. If you’ve ever seen “Standing in the Shadows of Motown,” they talk about how that’s how most of the Funk Brothers ended up in Detroit. And I think that’s how the Temptations ended up there, also. It goes from generation to generation. His grandfather travels the Hillbilly Highway to Detroit to build cars and a better life for his family. “He sent my old man off to college to use his brains and not his hands.” His father gets an education and a good job. The narrator (the 3rd generation) quits school to play guitar, and travels the Hillbilly Highway to be a rock star. Damn catchy guitar solo. Almost rockabilly.

4. “Good Ol’ Boy (gettin’ tough)”: A very left-wing lashing out against Reaganomics. “I was born in the land of plenty, now there ain’t enough.” This song was another reason why Steve Earle never really caught on among the country crowd (which is historically a very patriotic and conservative group of people). The hardest rocking track on the album.

5. “My Old Friend the Blues”: A killer ballad. Starts off with a slow finger-picked acoustic line. Devastating song. It was recently covered as a soul song by Percy Sledge (when a man loves a woman) on his latest cd, which came out last month.

6. “Someday”: A concert staple, some left-wing politics, and the classic theme of feeling trapped in by a small town. This theme has been done to death by Bruce Springsteen, the Allman Brothers, Everclear, and others, but nobody does it better than Steve Earle. Even Steve Earle never does it better than he does in this song. “There ain’t a lot that you can do in this town/ You drive down to the lake and then you turn back around/ You go to school and learn to read and write/ So you can walk into the county bank and sign away your life.” My wife swears that this song was written about her hometown.

7. “Think It Over”: Rockabilly. Some groovy guitar sounds in this song, but overall, this song is not as substantial as some of the others. That said, it is catchy as hell. Chick problems.

8. “Fearless Heart”: My f’kin’ jam. This song is mine. Love it. Very defiant lyrics and very heavy drum beat. If Steve had been allowed to use his touring band, this song would’ve rocked much harder (check the version on the live album“Shut Up and Die Like an Aviator” to see just how much this song can jam). But this is the perfect blending of country and rock. The pedal steel plays a lick and is matched by this electric guitar with a very freaky metallic tone. The electric guitar solo in this song is bitchin’. “A fearless heart just comes back for more”

9. “Little Rock ‘n’ Roller”: A very sentimental song written to his son, who was really young at the time, 2 or 3. It’s about life on the road and how hard it is to away from his song for such long periods of time. “Your daddy won't be home for a while / It's gonna be another couple weeks and another couple thousand miles.” The song is pretty sappy, but he does hint at the fact that he and his baby’s mama aren’t on the best of terms (they were divorced when he wrote the song). “No little guy, don't bother your mamma right now/ 'Cause I only got a minute and I called to talk to you anyhow.” All in all, it’s a bit sappy for my liking, but critics seem to really dig this song. And it’s a song that a lot of musicians who have kids tend to identify with. I don’t really like or have kids, so.

10. “Down the Road”: Ending the cd on kind of a dark note, which is fitting, as none of the songs on this cd are light-hearted. In fact, there aren’t really any happy songs on this cd, and this song is probably the most optimistic song here, because at least it has the belief that love can be found, it’s just further down the road “Though the miles lay long behind you, you have still got miles to go.” Pretty bleak, but the most optimistic thing here. “The night is filled with strangers/ All you need is one you know” is probably my favorite line in this song. One of my favorite songs on the cd, and a perfect way to end the album. Again the live song is a little bit better, but is only available on a bootleg session from the BBC.

Brief, eh?


[Edited 1/27/05 17:48pm]
[Edited 1/27/05 17:49pm]

[Edited 1/27/05 17:49pm]

^

You're fucking nuts, you know that?



Yeah, that was real brief. Anyway, yeah you're usually pretty spot-on with your descriptions. I can't say about these now though until I hear the album of course.

minneapolisgenius said:

Yes, I am nuts... nuts about Steve Earle. ba-dum-bing That was corny.

It would be a little freaky, if you were already able to tell me how accurate those were without hearing any of the songs.

I was thinking about it, and I might make you a few Steve Earle comps. One of his 80s stuff AKA pre-prison Steve Earle. One from the 90s AKA post prison Steve Earle. And then one of what he's done so far in the 2000-date. I think there is a very noticable difference in pre & post prison Steve Earle, which I think is probably due to the fact that everything he has recorded since his prison release has been on his own label E-Squared (with distrubtion by Warner Bros and now Artemis) and he has also been producing the records himself. Also, the fact that he's no longer hooked on smack and cocaine probably has a lot to do with it also.


[Edited 1/28/05 15:37pm]

Supernova said:

*sees Supernova from across the thread and runs toward her a la Celie and Nettie in the Color Purple*



"...you and me, us never part..."
okay... yall can continue the discussion now.
[Edited 2/4/05 13:48pm]

Supernova said:

psykosoul said:

Been away for a while...it's good to be back home. Literally, my home.