Moderately Acclaimed Albums 5 - Semi-Finals

Post Reply
Brad
Higher Ground
Posts: 4718
Joined: Thu Feb 09, 2012 10:38 pm

Moderately Acclaimed Albums 5 - Semi-Finals

Post by Brad »

Welcome to the Semi-Final round of Moderately Acclaimed Albums 5!

Vote for your favorite album in each match-up.
Remember, anyone can vote as long as the voter has heard both albums!
Comments are encouraged but not absolutely necessary.
Deadline = October 20th at 10am EST.

Match-ups:
1. Tom Waits - Bone Machine vs. Godspeed You! Black Emperor - F#A#8
2. Fela Kuti – Original Sufferhead vs. Jacques Brel - Jacques Brel [Ces gens-là]


Contort Yourself!
User avatar
Michel
Unquestionable Presence
Posts: 516
Joined: Fri Feb 10, 2012 7:41 am

Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 5 - Semi-Finals

Post by Michel »

1. Tom Waits - Bone Machine
2. Jacques Brel - Jacques Brel [Ces gens-là]
Gillingham
Into the Groove
Posts: 2022
Joined: Mon Feb 06, 2012 8:33 pm
Location: The Hague, The Netherlands

Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 5 - Semi-Finals

Post by Gillingham »

1. Godspeed You! Black Emperor - F#A# Infinity
Brad
Higher Ground
Posts: 4718
Joined: Thu Feb 09, 2012 10:38 pm

Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 5 - Semi-Finals

Post by Brad »

My picks:
1. Tom Waits - Bone Machine vs. Godspeed You! Black Emperor - F#A#8
2. Fela Kuti – Original Sufferhead vs. Jacques Brel - Jacques Brel [Ces gens-là]

Thanks!
Jirin
Running Up That Hill
Posts: 3350
Joined: Fri Feb 10, 2012 4:12 am

Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 5 - Semi-Finals

Post by Jirin »

Bone Machine, #59 AT - #661 AT
Original Sufferhead #298 AT - Unranked
User avatar
Stephan
Site Admin
Posts: 913
Joined: Sun Feb 05, 2012 10:34 am
Contact:

Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 5 - Semi-Finals

Post by Stephan »

1. Jacques Brel - Jacques Brel [Ces gens-là]
2. Tom Waits - Bone Machine
3. Fela Kuti – Original Sufferhead
4. Godspeed You! Black Emperor - F#A#8
Henry
Into the Groove
Posts: 2349
Joined: Thu Feb 09, 2012 9:39 pm

Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 5 - Semi-Finals

Post by Henry »

1. Godspeed You! Black Emperor - F#A#8 is preferred over Tom Waits - Bone Machine vs.
2. Fela Kuti – Original Sufferhead is preferred over Jacques Brel - Jacques Brel [Ces gens-là]
User avatar
PlasticRam
Into the Groove
Posts: 2202
Joined: Tue Feb 05, 2013 12:51 am

Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 5 - Semi-Finals

Post by PlasticRam »

1. Tom Waits - Bone Machine vs. Godspeed You! Black Emperor - F#A#8
2. Fela Kuti – Original Sufferhead vs. Jacques Brel - Jacques Brel [Ces gens-là]
I feel like that
jamieW
Keep On Movin'
Posts: 1938
Joined: Sat Oct 27, 2012 9:19 pm

Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 5 - Semi-Finals

Post by jamieW »

Godspeed You! Black Emperor - F#A#8 (This matchup was razor close.)
Jacques Brel - Jacques Brel [Ces gens-là] (And I would've picked Fela over both Waits & GYBE.)
DaveC
Running Up That Hill
Posts: 3482
Joined: Wed Jan 16, 2013 12:04 am

Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 5 - Semi-Finals

Post by DaveC »

1. Godspeed You! Black Emperor - F#A#8
2. Fela Kuti – Original Sufferhead
DocBrown
Shake Some Action
Posts: 1255
Joined: Tue Apr 23, 2013 2:15 am
Location: Edmonton, Canada

Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 5 - Semi-Finals

Post by DocBrown »

1. Godspeed You! Black Emperor - F#A#8
2. Fela Kuti – Original Sufferhead
User avatar
Romain
Happy Up Here
Posts: 5431
Joined: Fri Feb 10, 2012 2:25 pm
Location: Lyon, France

Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 5 - Semi-Finals

Post by Romain »

1. Tom Waits - Bone Machine
2. Jacques Brel - Jacques Brel [Ces gens-là]

But the four albums are good.
Jirin
Running Up That Hill
Posts: 3350
Joined: Fri Feb 10, 2012 4:12 am

Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 5 - Semi-Finals

Post by Jirin »

Fela is coming closer to becoming the first repeat winner of BMAA.
antonius
Movin' On Up
Posts: 976
Joined: Fri Feb 10, 2012 7:47 pm
Location: Hoboken, Antwerp, Belgium

Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 5 - Semi-Finals

Post by antonius »

1. Tom Waits - Bone Machine
2. Jacques Brel - Jacques Brel [Ces gens-là]
User avatar
Dan
Movin' On Up
Posts: 988
Joined: Fri Feb 10, 2012 4:41 am
Location: Newcastle, England

Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 5 - Semi-Finals

Post by Dan »

Tom Waits - Bone Machine vs. Godspeed You! Black Emperor - F#A#8
Fela Kuti – Original Sufferhead vs. Jacques Brel - Jacques Brel [Ces gens-là]
...will keep us together.
User avatar
Henrik
Site Admin
Posts: 6439
Joined: Sun Feb 05, 2012 10:09 am
Location: Älvsjö, Stockholm, Sweden
Contact:

Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 5 - Semi-Finals

Post by Henrik »

1. Godspeed You! Black Emperor - F#A#8
2. Jacques Brel - Jacques Brel [Ces gens-là]
Everyone you meet fights a battle you know nothing about. Be kind. Always.
Brad
Higher Ground
Posts: 4718
Joined: Thu Feb 09, 2012 10:38 pm

Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 5 - Semi-Finals

Post by Brad »

Jirin wrote:Fela is coming closer to becoming the first repeat winner of BMAA.
way to rally the troops!
User avatar
nicolas
Moderator
Posts: 1545
Joined: Mon Feb 06, 2012 12:55 pm
Location: Paris area, France

Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 5 - Semi-Finals

Post by nicolas »

I vote for Bone Machine and Ces gens là
User avatar
acroamor
Shake Some Action
Posts: 1490
Joined: Sun Apr 15, 2012 3:16 pm
Location: Atlanta, GA

Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 5 - Semi-Finals

Post by acroamor »

1. Tom Waits - Bone Machine vs. Godspeed You! Black Emperor - F#A#8
2. Fela Kuti – Original Sufferhead vs. Jacques Brel - Jacques Brel [Ces gens-là]
Brad
Higher Ground
Posts: 4718
Joined: Thu Feb 09, 2012 10:38 pm

Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 5 - Semi-Finals

Post by Brad »

Only 24 hours left to vote!
sonofsamiam
Feeling Good
Posts: 1053
Joined: Thu Feb 09, 2012 10:19 pm

Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 5 - Semi-Finals

Post by sonofsamiam »

Difficult choices here, especially group 2!

Tom Waits - Bone Machine

Jacques Brel - Jacques Brel [Ces gens-là]

I love Fela, but Original Sufferhead is not among his very best work.
User avatar
Honorio
Higher Ground
Posts: 4480
Joined: Sat Feb 11, 2012 7:38 am
Location: L'Eliana, Valencia, Spain

Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 5 - Semi-Finals

Post by Honorio »

Sorry for lasting that much to post my votes, this has been a hectic week culminating in a live gig on Friday and a conference about ophthalmology on Saturday (sometimes I feel like having a double identity, just like Superman/Klark Kent, lol).

The "winners" of the quarter finals with one nomination each were Henrik, Jirin, Logan, nicolas and TimmyWing.

And fantastic semi finals! USA, Canada, Nigeria and Belgium present four excellent and very different albums. Four "difficult" albums, sometimes including unsettling sounds and lyrics, moreover being not the most acclaimed of their artist/bands and maybe not the best albums to get introduced properly on their music world (probably "Rain Dogs," "Lift Your Skinny…," "Zombie" and "Olympia 64" should be the ones). Moreover the results had been quite close during the first days but the last votes are tipping the scales. Jirin, you talked too early, the Brel army was just waiting to land (although I expected nicolas to vote for Fela being his own nomination, even if Brel's album is higher on his all-time list).

And enough four-line or one-line comments, time to write until (quoting Ringo) "I get blisters on my fingers!"



1. Tom Waits - Bone Machine vs. Godspeed You! Black Emperor - F#A#∞

I should admit that for this game I've only listened (for three times) to the 1997 original vinyl edition (38:22 of length) and not to the re-recorded 1998 CD edition (63:27 of length). After listening this time to the 1998 version I realized my mistake. Some re-recorded parts sound quite similar (especially the first movement) but some parts like the extended "The Sad Mafioso…" on the second movement or "Dead Metheny..." on the third movement expand the original tracks to epic heights. A fantastic (and groundbreaking) album that gets better and better with every new listening.
Anyway it can't beat (in my book) to Tom Waits' "Bone Machine." Oddly it was an album I didn't like too much when it came out. At the time I was a rabid fan of what was later called the Tom Waits' Island trilogy and then I probably found the album too dark and depressing, even by Waits' standards. But seeing it with the perspective of his whole trajectory as a musician now this album was undoubtedly a new turning point on Waits' career. With "Swordfishtrombones" he left behind his late-night-smokey-jazz-club sound (brilliant bur not entirely original) to open a new world of possibilities. After fully developing that new approach in that Island trilogy he made a step further into his particular mad music world with an album that can be considered a concept album about death, an album that (quoting myself) "buries you six feet under the ground." And there is when the latter part of his career started. More than twenty years after "Bone Machine" and far from accommodating with age, he is still traveling the same insane and disturbing territory with every new album, fearlessly venturing into the dark. Quoting EarthIsInteresting (a RYM user), "he's the painter of wicked dreams, dreams soaked in bourbon and sautéed in Hell. But they're fearfully and wonderfully made. Tom deals in the dark, and we all love him for it."


2. Fela Anikulapo Kuti & Egypt 80 - Original Sufferhead vs. Jacques Brel - Jacques Brel

And now a match-up that should have been the final. Two winners of past editions of the Moderately Acclaimed Albums game (Fela Kuti won the third edition with "Zombie" and Jacques Brel the fourth with "Olympia 64") fronting each other. Could one of them repeat as a winner of the fifth edition? Let's wait and see…
"Original Sufferhead" (the song) is Fela Kuti at his best, the first song recorded with his new band, Egypt 80, with his trademark music improvisations on the first half of the song (this time featuring mainly organ but also sax) and his combative call-and-response chants on the second half. Fela talks here about the shortage of water supply, light, food or houses ("to dey sleep inside dustbin"), the exorbitant inflation or the blatant differences between first and third world. If you want to fully understand the lyrics you can go to this traslation from Nigerian pidgin English to "normal" English. A fantastic song, sadly "Power Show" (the B-side) is not up to par with it and in my opinion it detracts some points to the overall album.
But let's go where we were heading, to Jacques Brel. As a proud member of the Five Nation Army of "Ces gens-là" supporters that includes South Africa (Dan, #2 of all time), Sweden (Henrik, #42), France (nicolas, #55), Netherlands (Stephan, #155) and Spain (me, #161), I'm going to jump to defend Brel. Moreover Henry asked in the all-time albums poll results thread about it. So let's go…
First of all, this is not my favourite Brel album (it's "Olympia 64"), in fact the album grabbed my attention after a Henrik's suggestion. And secondly I'm going to follow the structure of the argumentation from the excellent review by Dan posted in the mentioned thread.
a) Brel the poet: yes, Dan, Brel was a fantastic lyricist. The way he turns the story upside down at the end of some songs is masterful, sometimes in the last verse. We know at the end that the narrator of the dysfunctional family of "Ces gens-là" is also part of this family, we know that both the narrator and "Jef" are beggars only in the last verse, we know in the end that the real infidelity is not committed by the grandfather but by the grandmother on "Grand-mère" and, tying life and death, that in the end the real meaning of the word "barrack" is "coffin" in the last word of "L'âge idiot." And the lyrics themes covers (as always in his case) a lot of ground, there is of course the vivid dissector of social costumes and groups (family in "Ces gens-là," army in "L'âge idiot," high society in "Grand-mère" and even the life of shepperds in "Les bergers") but Brel also talks about life (the nostalgia of childhood in "La chanson de Jacky," the sudden fall and decline in "Jef" and the slow fall and decadence in "L'âge idiot"), death (one of his favourites subjects, represented here by the superb recreation of his own death "Le tango funèbre" and the lonely funeral of a friend in "Fernand") and of course love ("Mathilde" but also the belle comme un soleil Frida amidst the monsters parade of "Ces gens-là"). The tone of the lyrics, closely tied to the music, goes from the euphoric "Mathilde" to the melodramatic "Fernand," from the cynical "Tango funèbre" to the sympathetic "Jef," from the solemn "L'âge idiot" to the humble "Les bergers," from the weird "Ces gens-là" to the compassionate "Les désespérés."
b) Brel the performer: yes, Dan, in my opinion the natural state of Jacques Brel was the stage. No more about this subject, just see Ces gens-là or La chanson de Jacky.
c) Brel the musician: but yes, Dan, I agree with you wholeheartedly that the music itself is more than enough to appreciate Jacques Brel. It's also true that too often the easy-listening arrangements on many Brel songs deadweight them in the eyes (and ears) of a pop or rock aficionado. But, apart of the brilliant melodies created by Brel (sometimes teaming with Gérard Jouannest), the arrangements were truly remarkable throughout this particular album. To name a few: the combination of xylophone and accordion raising spirits during the chorus in "Jef" after the gloomy strings of the verses, the playful percussion (playing on the rim snare) on the "être une heure" part of "La chanson de Jacky," the pastoral piccolo melodies on "Les bergers," the incredibly sad melody on the accordion at 3'01" on "Fernand" (I remember Henrik pointing out at this melody while listening to the song at nicolas' house three years ago), the jubilous trumpets on "Mathilde," the waltz-time piano on "Les désespérés" and many more. But the crowning achievement of the album in this matter is undoubtedly the arrangements of "Ces gens-là." The first two minutes features a minimalist arrangement of only piano and double bass repeating two slightly dissonant notes. At 1'59" an accordion enters playing a distant melody, substituted at 2'25" by the strings at a high register. And then, preceded by some flute trills it come the explosion. At 2'55", when the singer mention Frida qui est belle comme un soleil (who is beautiful as the sun) all the orchestra enters, blinding us with a light brighter that the sun. But the reality prevails (parce que les autres veulent pas, because the others don't want to), the horns shut up and the strings change the previous jubilous melody for an eerie melody from 3:43 that tinges the scene with a sense of unreality. This push of joy is finally completely lost at the end of the song. And during the whole song the double bass played the same two notes. Absolutely brilliant. At least in my opinion. And in the opinion of the Brel Five Nation Army.
Last edited by Honorio on Sun Oct 19, 2014 6:03 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Kingoftonga
Rust Never Sleeps
Posts: 759
Joined: Thu Feb 09, 2012 9:50 pm

Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 5 - Semi-Finals

Post by Kingoftonga »

1. Tom Waits - Bone Machine
2. Fela Kuti – Original Sufferhead
Brad
Higher Ground
Posts: 4718
Joined: Thu Feb 09, 2012 10:38 pm

Re: Moderately Acclaimed Albums 5 - Semi-Finals

Post by Brad »

Great turnout this week -
19 voters in total:
acroamor
antonius
Brad
Dan
DaveC
DocBrown
Gillingham
Henrik
Henry
Honorio
jaimeW
Jirin
KingofTonga
Michel
nicolas
PlasticRam
Romain
sonofsamiam
Stephan

Winners (to the Finals!):
1. Tom Waits - Bone Machine over Godspeed You! Black Emperor - F#A#8 11-8
2. Jacques Brel - Jacques Brel [Ces gens-là] over Fela Kuti – Original Sufferhead 11-7

I'll be posting the Finals match-up very soon!
Post Reply

Return to “Music, Music, Music...”