Funny, I’ve always loved Face Dances, although I acknowledge it’s not the greatest selection of songs. You Better You Bet, Another Tricky Day, and Don’t Let Go the Coat are my favorites… plus Daltry turns in a freaking EXCELLENT vocal performance across this whole record despite not liking the material very much and having the same beef with Townshend that you do about keeping his best songs for solo material. Some of it is hilarious, too, like the way he belts out “And I look pretty CRAPPY sometimes” in YBYB. God I love that.
Shelton and Crumb are not at all similar in their distinctive styles. Completely different art, humor and signature characters (Crumb has Mr. Natural, Shelton has the Freak Brothers.)
Agree completely, but I think they get mixed up because Crumb is the only name that pops into a lot of people's noggins as the default underground artist. As a person who has been struck upon the head by a meatball, I am enlightened enough to know this is not the case. Also, it's fair to say that dope in times of no money is better than money in times of no dope. @@williamwoodall1293
Thanks so much for bringing up The Beach Boys 15 big ones. My father bought it for me and my brothers on release back in 1976. Yes, it is not Pet Sounds but damn it, I liked it back then and I still like it. Great memories and thanks for your fun video.
I know diehard Deadheads don’t like it, but I ‘m the one who’ll say ‘Shakedown Street’ is a good album! I actually enjoy the grove of Good Lovin, plus Shakedown Street, France, I Need a Miracle, Fire on the Mountain- a fun listen imo!
You may be the only other person I've come across who not only doesn't not like France, but actually "enjoys the groove." Might be my favorite non-GD like song of theirs. I like it more as a song than as a Grateful Dead song, if that makes sense.
Face Dances is a much better record than It’s Hard. But yeah, Chinese Eyes stomps all over both of them. As far as Procol’s 9th goes, it’s worth noting that the best song on there, which they open the album with, was a leftover from 1967. Shakedown Street cover is by the underground comix great Gilbert Shelton, but it looks like something he knocked out in five minutes.
Came here for some banter only to learn of the passing of Melinda Wilson (Ledbetter). My thoughts are with Brian and i hope he overcomes this tragic loss.
Freedom At Point Zero is excellent, as is Modern Times! Those two are loaded with memorable hooks and melodies! I don't know about the other albums from this period - can you recommend any others for me? Thanks!@@WhizzRichardThompson
I always felt if you had taken the best songs from "Face Dances" and "It's Hard" and put them on one album you would've had a very good Who record. Worst album by Fleetwood Mac is "Time", the one with Bekka Bramlett and Dave Mason. There are worse albums by the Beach Boys than "15 Big Ones".😎
Shot Of Love Is far from terrible. In The Summertime is a good song. Groom's Still Waiting At The Altar too. And Every Grain Of Sand is absolutely amazing.
Saved is one of Dylan's better records. Half of it is absolutely classic, as good as anything he's ever done: What Can I Do For You?, Pressing On, In the Garden, Saving Grace.
The title track is awesome, and Isn’t it midnight really good I also like seven wonders, a bit overplayed though. Mind you, Stevie Nicks could sing the phone book to me and I’d be happy.
I really like the Kinks Album Phobia which Norman calls out in his video. Some great tracks, Close to the Wire, Wall of Fire, Still Searching, Drift Away, Scattered, Its' All Right and of course Hatred etc.
“Still Searching” is a gem. He’s a little too harsh on this album, as your song list points out. It took me a while, to be fair, to get into Phobia, and I take his general point that some great bands got a little hung up in ‘80s over-production.
@@tkingsley5761 He does some fine videos and like us all he is entitled to his opinion. I read some saying Phobia was too long, but, I wish it were 5 hours long - it was the last studio album by the Kinks, even today we want more from them. Wishing the Kinks well.
He got flat-out mean on this one. It was maybe my fifth Kinks record and I listened to it a good 20 times before it moved out of rotation. And it is looooong, so 20 listens is a lot.
Phobia is a mess, mostly. But two Davies diamonds stand out: Only a Dream, and the exquisite, timeless Scattered. (Videos on RU-vid) Love your stuff!!😅
Scattered is in my top 10, or maybe top 5, of Kinks songs. Such great lyrics: "In the end what will it matter There'll only be my ashes to scatter And all the logical answers To a worrying mind Will be scattered in time"
I bought Phobia immediately on release, of course, and had a difficult time penetrating it, but it has grown on me over the years and now is on my playlist - I agree “Scattered” is a masterpiece
Some copies of Phobia also included the early Columbia single/EP track Did Ya, which would have improved Phobia immensely if it had been properly incorporated into the tracklist, and one of the more leaden tracks had been dropped.
Bob Dylan - Empire Burlesque David Bowie - Never Let Me Down/Labyrinth Neil Young - Trans/Everybody's Rockin' Led Zeppelin - Coda Rolling Stones - Steel Wheels/A Bigger Bang The Who - It's Hard (Eminence Front is ok) Pete Townshend - The Iron Man
Coda, a collection of outtakes fans were happy to get as a parting gift. Iron Man is a wonderful production with a great cameo from John Lee Hooker, Saved makes Empire Burlesque seem like a new morning, and Steel Wheels is a fine production with a few stellar tracks included. These are all spotty albums but not the worst at all.
I have to admit I love Broad Street but it's a sentimental favorite for me. It was the first McCartney album that I owned and was given to me as a Christmas gift. I still listen to it, but agree the movie is pretty bad.
I saw you "promoting" this video on Rachel's Ghost livestream and had to give it a look! Perfect choices. Spoiler Alert: When you showed Shakedown Street I had a flashback from high school. I had a friend who was trying to get me into Grateful Dead. I was at a record store and saw Shakedown and thought, "Ill give this a try." Didn't buy another GD album for years. Thankfully, I did eventually recover. Love Beach from ELP would have made my list.
There was a moment when Brian Wilson heard the Beatles and thought: we're finished. And they should have been. But then we would have had to live without Good Vibrations. Thanks Brian!
Brian's quote came after he heard "Sgt. Pepper's". However the Beach Boys were far from finished in 1967. Still great records to follow. "Wild Honey", Friends", "20/20", "Sunflower", "Surf's Up", and "Holland" were all great albums. For a true Beach Boys fan all these albums are indispensable and cherished.
There was plenty of good music out there besides the Beatles. Zeppelin, Floyd, The Who, Hendrix, Stones, and the list goes on. The Beatles though remain the LEGEND at the top of music!
@@brettwheeler7753 I learned a long time ago that the enjoyment of music is very personal and subjective to one's taste. While I agree the Beatles made some wonderful music I also have to say I don't love all their output. In fact they are responsible for some of my least favorite songs of all time. I couldn't say if the Beatles were at the top of music but they certainly are up there.
It's one thing to offer a crit on an album cover and a title.....looking at the jacket, easy to agree with the assessment, but if there was still some semblance of musicianship and quality vocal harmonies typical of the Wilson Brothers and their buddies and cousin....I'd cut them some slack. And, what the F kind of judgment do you have calling out Mike Love, yet leaving the wacko bass player and composer Wilson who fried his brains by illegal substance consumption and aberrant behavior for decades after???? Jesus H, you demonstrate questionable judgement big time on calling out assholes and wacko's among the living and the dead of this band. Love is still bringing it, dude, live on stage, on the north side of 80, with the nostalgia band version of The Boys......wake the F up and apologize, and redeem yourself. You are an incredible sack of wind about an art form that is largely subjective any way.........
The cover to Shakedown Street is by the wonderful Gilbert Shelton, who drew the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers. Not a great album though, and I agree that Dylan and the Dead stinks. I disagree on Face Dances though: I love it.
"It was all over after the second album..." -- Levon Helm (sharing refreshments with Billy Bob Thorton in the doco film.."Ain't in it for my health") The Dead tunes.."Good Lovin" and "Fire on the Mountain" are on many of the Dead's (archival) live albums. And those versions (the ones I have) are pretty good.
I think it has some good tracks and some not so great, the production holds it back imo. There's some great outtakes that should have been on the album. I also made myself an all Pete version when I realized the Scoop demo comp series covered nearly all the Face Dances album and bootlegs filled in the gaps and I like that better.
I like “Face Dances” quite a bit. The songs are mostly very strong…”Another Tricky Day”, “You Better You Better You Bet”, “The Quiet One”. It may have been even better with an “Empty Glass” tune thrown in there too. Anyway, FD is a good album…it’s production maybe could use a bit more heft but it’s an album worth checking out. He is correct, the cover of the album is excellent.
My memory is Face Dances was forgotten almost immediately after release except by MTV which played the three videos from that album in regular rotation through 1982. On the other hand, the Rolling Stones 1981 album Tattoo You was a big hit and was all the rage for many months.
@@moonbeamskies3346 “You Better You Bet” got a lot of radio airplay. It was Number 1 on the Billboard mainstream rock chart and Number 18 on Billboard’s Hot 100 (which was the record industry standard for all songs played on radio…I believe that meant all formats). The album itself peaked at No. 4 on the US Billboard Top LPs & Tape chart and No. 2 on the UK Albums Chart. I’d say it was pretty successful. Now, the band didn’t do a massive US tour like the Stones did for “Tattoo You”. The Who toured the UK and Europe at the start of 1981 but that was it.
BTW Mazzy, how did you miss 'Time' by Fleetwood Mac? It puts the 'awful' in 'God awful'! And 'Mardi Gras' by CCR - John Fogerty torpedos his own band by letting them do more.
After seeing your thumbnail, it's no wonder people laugh at my love for the Beach Boys. They're made a joke of for their missteps, and ignored for their brilliance.
Tsk, calling an album with abslute gems as The Informer, Still Searching, Only A Dream, Scattered, Hatred and Did Ya (as bonustrack, the 90's version of Sunny Afternoon) a crappy album? To paraphrase a quote of Ray himself: Everybody's got the right to speak their mind, so I won't shoot you for saying yours. But I do strongly disagree with your opinion on that one, lol....An amusing topic I have to admit that, lol
You are correct 15 Big Ones isn’t a great Beach Boys album - however it does have a few good tracks such as It’s Okay, Had to phone ya and That Same Song, Susie Cincinnati and Palisades Park are not bad - the rest I could without - I don’t think it’s as bad as their later Summer in Paradise album which is beyond bad!
Interesting re Tango, I strongly dislike post Peter Green Fleetwood Mac but I really like this album. Even its eighties synth sound doesn’t bother me whereas normally it gives me frowny face. It came out when I was 14 and starting to enjoy music, so maybe that’s the association.
Fifteen Big Ones has two tracks I like, It's Okay which sounds like a mashup of The Beach Boys' Do It Again and ELO and Had to Phone Ya. There are 60's and early 70's outtake versions of Back Home much better than the Big Ones version. Long John Silver has a few tracks I like but Grace Slick made the point in her book that everyone was more focused on the solo and side projects by then and it shows.
Saved is one of Dylan's better records. Half of it is absolutely classic, as good as anything he's ever done: What Can I Do For You?, Pressing On, In The Garden, Saving Grace.
Well, you almost lost me by attacking Face Dances. I'll admit it took some getting used to, but it really grew on me. It's way better than It's Hard. So, I was pouting and ready to give up on this video. Then you pronounced 'Davies' correctly for the Kinks. I instantly hit 'like'. Finally, someone on YT pronounces the name correctly!
To muddy the water somewhat, not even Ray and Dave pronounce "Davies" the same way! So I find myself having to say Ray "Davis" and Dave "Dayv-eez". Go figure.
@@moxievision More often than not, I hear them say 'Davis'. For me it's like a sly little test. A true Kinks fan will know. Fun fact, Louis Armstrong pronounced his first name as 'Lewis'... but how many people know or employ that?
@@lib556 Dave probably says "DAY-veez" to get on his brother's nerves more than anything. ;-) And I knew about Satchmo's preferred pronuciation thanks to Canadian blues guitar great Jeff Healy, who had a huge collection of 78s and knew more about Armstrong than most, and explained "Lewis" vs "Louie" on his radio show. Thankfully, at Louis Armstrong House in Queens, they stuck to "Lewis" as well. when I was there a number of years ago.
I am a big Jefferson Airplane fan. Long John Silver is an embarrassment. Jorma's song Trial By Fire was okay. Even the LP Bark was on shaky ground but was passible. Both Kantner/Slick and Hot Tuna faired pretty well individually during this period (1972 I believe.)
Long john silver is their second best album( Crown of creation is their best). The 1989 s/t is good. Also 'Takes off' has 3 great songs on it,two of them covers. Bark is terrible apart from the first track.
No, not 15 Big Ones! That and Endless Summer were my intro to the Beach Boys! I used to live across the river from Gong Show Host Chuck Barris' penned Palisades Park! And it did come out around the '76 Olympics! lol.
It's a great album, yes, and anybody who is offended by Dylan speaking his mind (on religion or anything) should probably not buy Bob Dylan records because, fyi, Bob Dylan is going to speak his mind.
Who's Last by The Who on MCA records. a live concert album of their final live performance held in Montreal Canada in December 1982, which was also aired live on TV. I was horrified to discover it was the same sound quality as aired on TV. Just a pair of cheap microphones likely used for sporting events and sounded like it was recorded on a cassette player. Compared to their epic 1970 Live At Leeds album Who's Last, sound quality was so sub-par and half-assed. I believe the album went out of print within a year or 2 of its release.
Because it went out on MCA it didn't have any songs from Its Hard or Face Dances on it. So it was just uninspired live versions of the oldies. I listened to it once and never again. Sad way to go out.
I'm very nostalgic for 15 Big Ones as it was my 1st Beach Boys LP and I can have a good time with it if I'm in the right mood for it. The covers are pretty weak (especially "In the Still of the Night") but I love some of the originals like "It's OK" and "Had to Phone You." Of course, the album went through several stages of developmental hell so (like all of their 1976-80 albums), it feels pretty scrambled and unfocused. Not my pick for their worst one, but I totally get the hate for it. Awesome collection!
Right on Mazzi! Imagine if The Who really called it quits after Who Are You? While not their best, it’s head and shoulders above anything released since. Alas, more practical matters than legacy ensued…….. .
Yeah , a lot of spotty albums from The Who, after Who Are You, but I really liked their latest, from a few years ago - most agreed it was a strong comeback and surprisingly loaded with tuneful, memorable songs! You heard it?
@@treff9226 I propose if the Who keep going after the death of one more original member they change the name to The Who? Likewise if the Stones keep going after Mick or Keith dies they be required to change the name to The Roiling Stone.
Lol! Great ideas, both of em! It's a tricky situation, these legendary bands just keep going on and on, which I'm all for, as long as the playing is still up to par, and the other main consideration would be - who is left from the bands glory days, I feel at least two original members should be there, members who played an integral part in bands success! Otherwise, change the friggin' band name! Foreigner now plays shows with NO original members, even Mick Jones is absent....ridiculous! They should then call themselves COMPLETE FOREIGNERS! Killer post, my friend!@@1978garfield
Saved could have been made worse (and Slow Train made better) if "Man Gave Names To All The Animals" was moved from one to the other. A great groove on Slow Train wrecked by those embarrassing lyrics.
Great video Mazzy. I'm a mexican fan of your videos. The Broad Street movie was not good, I agree, even though it works as separate music videos. But the "Give My Regards To Broad Street" Album is great! Not one of his best, but a great album to listen to. It got to #1 in the UK at the time. I really enjoy the Beatles songs he plays (with Ringo and George Martin) and the new songs were great, not only No More Lonely Nights, but also No Values and Not Such a Bad Boy, which are great rockers in the McCartney catalog. Eleanor's Dream was an early taste of the classical music he would do in the 90s. By the way you can find the complete version only in the cassette and the CD, not in the vinyl record version which was severly edited in various songs. I still love the "Give My Regards To Broad Street" Album.
Great video but i will defend most of these albums. Islands is a top 3 Band album for me. Saga of Pepote Rouge is a killer song and the cover of Georgia on my Mind brings me to tears. 15 Big Ones isn't a great album but it still has some stellar tracks. It's O.K. is one of their best singles , Had to Phone Ya is a wonderful Brian song and the last 2 songs are a wonderful closer to the album. As for Face Dances I haven't dived much into The Who's earlier albums from the 60's but I always put this album on when i want to listen to them. It flows together perfectly and never jolts you out of the album For a while there I didn't even know that the album ended with Another Tricky Day until I listened to the LP because the bonus studio tracks fit it amazingly. Love your content Maslov and have a wonderful day!
Islands is an excellent record. The only reason it gets dogged on is that it was a contractual album done out of necessity and the stuffy critics were expecting”Music from Big Pink or another Brown Album. Islands has much more production flourish and Garth layers it with all sort of synths/keys…it’s a Band album as they were in 1977. The songs and performances are great too. I think people need to get over these tropes about certain supposed “bad” albums.
Face Dances has some excellent songs. The Ox’s are lacking. Another Tricky Day, Daily Records, You Better, How Do You Do It Alone, Don’t Let Go The Coat are all top notch but this should have been a Pete solo album.
I'm with you. It was "Terrapin Station" that won me over - never paid much attention to them until then. "Shakedown" didn't disappoint me, since I didn't have a lot of reference to compare it to.
Nothing drives slow shoppers out of a record store at 15 minutes before closing time faster than The Beach Boys Love You or 15 Big Ones, sounds unless it's Give My Regards to Broad Street. Reverse the idea, 10 albums you love by artist you love that everyone else thinks is a lemon........ example....I love Dark Horse by George Harrison, no one else I have ever talked to has liked that record. I have a lot of those, I am indulgent and liberal when it comes to the artist I love, they get a pass usually. Sadly nothing good from The Beach Boys after Holland in my jaded opinion.
The only Beatle that should ever had considered acting as a career is Ringo and I don't know whatever happened to that promising acting career, kind of like Art Garfunkel. @@goplad1
Damning with faint praise😅. I wish people would stop trying to make out MMT was some kind of innovative, avant-garde, way ahead of its time work of genius. It’s boring. It’s HUGELY self- indulgent. I think I’ve sat through it once. Some me good individual little promo song videos in there, though 🙏. @@peterchecksfield9958
English being my second language, I don't find those Dylan Christian albums so problematic, they have excellent production values to begin with (all his records sounded like tin cans until Slow train coming came out). Saved also has a really beautiful track that I love, called "Pressing On". Never paid any attention to the lyrics ;)
Did Bob actually come to your door trying to sell religion? You say "Shot of Love" is equally terrible. Yet it contains one of Dylan's greatest works, which he still honors (Every Grain of Sand)
Oh yeah, those are some stinkers! I do like the cover of Shakedown. As for the Who, I think their latest album is a big improvement over Face Dances or anything else since the Moon years. Worth a listen! Jefferson Airplane reunion was 1989. I remember being excited about it until I heard it..
Great video Mazzy! Hilarious too. Give my Regards…was my intro to Paul for me. I was like “what’s the big deal about this guy? I don’t get it…” You should do a video about 80s production and artists of the 60s and 70s. Really did impact them more than the current artists at the time. Ok, I’m trying to think of my 10…
@@SPAZZOID100 Nick was 63 when he re-recorded his drums and tried to match what his 1987-88-89 touring self did when he was 43-44-45 respectively. The drums were re-recorded in 2007 and Rick's parts were taken from outtakes of AMLoR and Delicate Sound and removing Bill Payne and session keyboards for Rick's Hammond Organ was a stroke of genius. The Amused to Death and Animals remixes were despicable on par with The Who remixes.
@@Bigchet1223I agree with the studio side of ‘Ummagumma’ but ‘More’ has grown on me over time. I prefer it to ‘Obscured’. Like most others I’m divided on ‘The Final Cut’ but I’d rather hear that than say ‘Atom Heart Mother’.
@tpbrcombo I like obscured by clouds. Soundtrack album as well. Recorded at same time darkside of the moon was recorded. And u could hear snidbits of it. The endless river was crap as well. They advertised it a new pink floyd album. But just leftovers from the division bell sessions. Cash grab.
That Beach Boys album was the first BB album I ever bought. I was 12. Loved it then and haven't heard it in 45 years and I think back ... yeah, your assessment is probably right. Not a high point to be sure. But it did introduce me to a lot of those songs.
Can I say I have Summer In Paradise (on cd) and I like it. I have the uk version which features Roger McGuinn on the title track. I like it, yeh its not the best ever, but its a good record and the production is good 80s. 15 big ones is way worse.
i did hear that one song they did w/ john stamos on drums and was on the set of "baywatch".... minutes of my life i would never get back except for that brief bit where brian wilson gave mike love a look as if he wanted to kill him. now i know why that album is out of print.
@ianbrown3304 I got it on Korean vinyl before the vinyl comeback, $50 mint with the poster, now it's worth a small fortune. I hate the production, but I like the music. Cheesy as Hell, so I totally get why people hate it. The cover of Sly Stone " hot fun" is just as good as the og. It's more reminiscent of the early ballads, than the Pet Sounds years, plus I'm a big Baywatch fan, and it was featured on multiple episodes, in one way or another
Phobia is not a terrible album. Maybe bad or not very good, but not terrible. I'd give it a grade of C-. It's still better than the Kinks' MCA albums, I think the biggest problem with Phobia is that it's too long (they could have cut a few songs, shortened others) and it suffers from sterile, sometimes dated, studio production. On the other hand, the last song on the album, Scattered, is one of the best songs Ray Davies has ever written. Only A Dream and Still Searchining are good songs as well.
Bob ain't knock, knock, knocking on your door Mazzy, you bought the album, lol. And with the cover of Saved and after Slow Train, I would think you'd have a fair idea what the album was about. I love Saved and Shot Of Love - some great songs and performances. If I had to pick a poor Dylan album it would probably be Knocked Out Loaded (Brownsville Girl the only real keeper) or Under The Red Sky (some good songs, but let down by poor performances, imo). Stuart
I agree. And when you buy a Bob Dylan album & bring it home, you shouldn't really accuse Dylan on knocking on your door-as he's already been invited in. And the preaching that Dylan is doing on this record? It's called sharing one's beliefs. Which is the same thing Mazzy is doing when he says Dylan shouldn't share his beliefs. Oh, the irony.
I think a lot of the original songs on "15 Big Ones" are pretty good. "It's Ok", "Had To Phone Ya", "Back Home" and "That Same Song" are big favorites of mine. And I actually like their cover of "Rock And Roll Music", though it's my least favorite between theirs, The Beatles' cover and Chuck Berry's original.
I got Faces Dances still sealed at a record fair for 5€ instead of 15€ due to a 'pricing dot mix-up' (don't ask). Sat on it for a year, then did an unboxing hard listen with other Who fans, and we all loved it! What it's got?...ENERGY -- all the way through. Daltrey kills it with confident shimmering vocals. Now you owe us a track-by-track It's Hard vs Faces Dances. 40 lashes with wet noodles for Mazzy, who was not impressed.
I couldn’t do this thread, because if it’s a terrible record I get rid of it. No time in my life or collection for records I’ll never listen to. But still interesting seeing your take on it.
Just an observation, and maybe it’s me, but 6 months ago The Beach Boys lp made your video of the only record you would need by this band. I kind of agree with the updated review of this as it was probably a Mike Love project, and not very good overall, but what review is accurate?
Apparently you missed the joke of that last video. Those were probably the very last records I would choose from those artists. But thanks for remembering ✌🏼
