Moderately Acclaimed Albums 4 - Round 1.14

[Brad]

Round 1.14

Vote for your favorite album in each match-up.
Remember, anyone can vote as long as he or she has heard both albums!
Comments are encouraged but not absolutely necessary.
Deadline = June 11th at 10am EST

Match-ups:
1. Bruce Springsteen - The Rising vs. Fugazi - The Argument
2. Nico - Desertshore vs. Chet Baker - Chet Baker Sings
3. Townes Van Zandt - Townes Van Zandt vs. Drive By Truckers - Brighter Than Creation's Dark
4. Zero Boys - Vicious Circle vs. Vinícius de Moraes - Grabado en Buenos Aires con Maria Creuza y Toquinho

Crash Into June!

[Nassim]

1. Fugazi - The Argument
(One of) the most underrated band in AM forums facing one of the most overrated artists in... Rolling Stones magazine. Whether I love them (Nebraska, Born in the USA) or don't (The River, Born to Run) I have no issue understanding the appeal and merit of 70s and 80s Springsteen. 00s ? There I'm lost (not as much as with Dylan but still). On the other hand Fugazi succeeded in releasing their most accomplished album after more than 10 years of a brilliant career in which they never repeated themselves (despite the title of their 1st album), that's not a feat lots of bands have done (I don't see many except Swans who can claim to have topped an already rich and interesting career after being around for more than 10 years). While never sounding compromising, it is by far the most accessible Fugazi album, focusing their rage and energy in a more melodic approach of which the opening track "Cashout" is a great example, it never sounds as angry and raw as their 90s outputs but still as vital and sincere.

[Honorio]

1. Bruce Springsteen - The Rising vs. Fugazi - The Argument
2. Nico - Desertshore vs. Chet Baker - Chet Baker Sings
3. Townes Van Zandt - Townes Van Zandt vs. Drive By Truckers - Brighter Than Creation's Dark
4. Zero Boys - Vicious Circle vs. Vinícius de Moraes - Grabado en Buenos Aires con Maria Creuza y Toquinho

Brad, the title of the Vinícius album here (and on BracketMaker page too) is not correct. "Gravado ao vivo no Canecão" is a live album from 1977 credited to Tom, Vinicius, Toquinho and Miucha. It's also good but it's not the one I wanted to nominate. My choice was a fake-live album recorded in Argentina in 1970, released originally as "Grabado en Buenos Aires con Maria Creuza y Toquinho" but widely known as "La Fusa" because of the name of the concert hall in Buenos Aires where Vinícius and friends played at the time (they recorded during these days the songs in a studio adding audience sounds and comments from their live shows at La Fusa). You can find the track listing here and the complete album here

[Greg]

1. Bruce Springsteen - The Rising
2. Chet Baker - Chet Baker Sings
3. Drive-By Truckers - Brighter Than Creation's Dark
4. Maria Creuza, Vinicius de Moraes & Toquinho - La Fusa

[Brad]

Brad, the title of the Vinícius album here (and on BracketMaker page too) is not correct.

Thanks Honorio - I made the change; sorry about the mistake.

I think it's gonna have a tough time beating my awesome Zero Boys pick anyway (j/k)!
Vicious vs. Vinícius. Gotta love it!

[PlasticRam]

Rising over Fugazi. The Rising is like 4,5/5 stars and I was expecting Fugazi to be crap, but actually it wasn't that bad.

[Jackson]

Fugazi - The Argument is borderline T100 all time for me, it makes it through no questions. "Cashout" is my favorite too, Nassim.

[Jirin]

Anyone have tips on hearing the full Townes van Zandt album? Grooveshark only has five cuts of it.

Of course I'd probably vote for it without having heard the whole thing because those five cuts are awesome.

[DaveC]

I found Townes van Zandt on Spotify. 10 tracks, I think it is the real thing. I will be voting for it.

[Brad]

My Picks:
1. Bruce Springsteen - The Rising vs. Fugazi - The Argument
2. Nico - Desertshore vs. Chet Baker - Chet Baker Sings
3. Townes Van Zandt - Townes Van Zandt vs. Drive By Truckers - Brighter Than Creation's Dark
4. Zero Boys - Vicious Circle vs. Vinícius de Moraes - Grabado en Buenos Aires con Maria Creuza y Toquinho
I very much enjoyed the Vinícius de Moraes album - another great find!
While I understand the Zero Boys are unlikely to win here, I felt obligated to give this one a bit of exposure, no matter how little. I think the Zero Boys - this album in particular - suffered in what should have been their heyday due to their disattachment from any of the established hardcore "scenes" in America. If these four suburban-Indiana teenagers had been from Los Angeles, for example, or signed to SST, there's little doubt in my mind they would be mentioned in the same breath as the Circle Jerks, (early) Black Flag or the Minutemen. As it stands, this pretty brilliant album (the original 14-track release) remains relatively unknown outside the "Maximum Rock and Roll" set. But it's a fantastic set of songs - "New Generation", "Amphetamine Addiction", "Livin' In The Eighties", and "Civilization's Dying" are my faves - tons of raw energy. I still play these songs note for note on air guitar every time they come on. Funny how time works - "Livin' In The Eighties" blasts the Beatles and Stones as dinosaurs barely 20 years after those bands formed. 30 years later, the lyrics are ironically humorous, but the sentiment remains... just small town boys making their own fun. Currently my #110 album of all time.

[DaveC]

1. Fugazi - The Argument
2. Nico – Desertshore
3. Townes Van Zandt - Townes Van Zandt
4. Zero Boys - Vicious Circle
Gosh; Hardcore with melodies, guitar solos, and musical variety.

[Jirin]

Townes Van Zandt - Townes Van Zandt 96
Zero Boys - Vicious Circle 94
Drive By Truckers - Brighter Than Creation's Dark 89
Vinicius de Moraes - Gravado Ao Vivo No Canecao 85
Chet Baker - Chet Baker Sings 84
Nico - Desertshore 70
Bruce Sprignsteen - The Rising 60
Fugazi - The Argument 55

[Michel]

2. Nico - Desertshore
3. Townes Van Zandt - Townes Van Zandt

[jimmyj]

1. Bruce Springsteen - The Rising vs. Fugazi - The Argument

Both very good albums, but I am gonna have to go with the Boss on this one. The Rising just hit me a little more emotionally and felt better put together than did The Argument.

[Kingoftonga]

In the middle of moving, so let me post the albums I've been able to listen to, in case I get too busy later this weekend.

1. Bruce Springsteen - The Rising
2. Nico - Desertshore

Desertshore in particular was delightfully strange.

[jimmyj]

2. Nico - Desertshore vs. Chet Baker - Chet Baker Sings

This was a tough one. Wasn't a huge fan of either. The tie breaker was my seven yo daughter came in and started dancing to Chet Baker.

[Brad]

24 hours left to vote!

[Kingoftonga]

3. Townes Van Zandt - Townes Van Zandt

[Stephan]

1. Townes Van Zandt - Townes Van Zandt
2. Bruce Springsteen - The Rising
3. Maria Creuza, Vinícius de Moraes & Toquinho - La Fusa
4. Nico - Desertshore
5. Drive By Truckers - Brighter Than Creation's Dark
6. Chet Baker - Chet Baker Sings
7. Fugazi - The Argument
8. Zero Boys - Vicious Circle

[jamieW]

Bruce Springsteen - The Rising
Two really good albums: “The Rising” just has moments that are too emotionally powerful to me.

Chet Baker - Chet Baker Sings
I had never heard this Nico album before— what a great discovery! However, I still slightly prefer the haunting, smooth jazz of Chet Baker.

Townes Van Zandt - Townes Van Zandt
Absolutely brutal pairing for Drive By Truckers (especially since it’s such an exceptional album). But the melancholy songs of Townes Van Zandt are impeccable. Again, my two favorites of the week are against each other. I wish I could vote for both.

Vinícius de Moraes - Grabado en Buenos Aires con Maria Creuza y Toquinho
The difference in this one’s probably just a matter of personal taste, since I typically enjoy gentle harmonies (although my favorite, ironically, might be the instrumental “Valsa da Tunisia”) to hardcore punk (though you do have to admire the frenetic energy of Zero Boys).

[HRS]

Glad that I can play this game again!

1. Bruce Springsteen - The Rising vs. Fugazi - The Argument
2. Nico - Desertshore vs. Chet Baker - Chet Baker Sings
3. Townes Van Zandt - Townes Van Zandt vs. Drive By Truckers - Brighter Than Creation's Dark
4. Zero Boys - Vicious Circle vs. Vinícius de Moraes - Grabado en Buenos Aires con Maria Creuza y Toquinho

[Brad]

FYI - running a little late today as I am on vacation with spotty internet connection. Will update ASAP!

[Brad]

Winners:
1. Bruce Springsteen - The Rising over Fugazi - The Argument 8-5
2. Nico - Desertshore over Chet Baker - Chet Baker Sings 6-5
3. Townes Van Zandt - Townes Van Zandt over Drive By Truckers - Brighter Than Creation's Dark 9-1
4. Vinícius de Moraes - Grabado en Buenos Aires con Maria Creuza y Toquinho over Zero Boys - Vicious Circle 5-3

Round 1.15 up soon!

[Nassim]

Winners:
1. Bruce Springsteen - The Rising over Fugazi - The Argument 8-5

Dammit... well at least that was my bet in the bracket prediction !
Really close prediction score by the way, before this round we were 4 tied but Henrik and Greg are now one point ahead of me with 38 good predictions out of 56! Henry is 7th with 34 so it's all very close.

[nicolas]

Sh... I forgot to vote!!

And I would have voted for Chet Baker over the very pretentious Nico album

[Honorio]

Bye Chet