Thrilled by the possibility of punning a previous thread, I wonder if there is any mileage in calling for examples of successful acts who stretched their talent beyond their familiar genre?
Could you list* songs by mainstream acts that aren’t bad, but just don’t fit the expected mould – like the track in the first comment below.
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*Of course you could – you’re salivating at the chance.
Who would have expected this song from the original metal stoners?
Me. I would.
That’s the kind of fresh, outofthebox thinking that’ll get this thread rolling, HP. Ready to get listing?
You asked a question, I answered. That’s a healthy and robust debate right there, and I doubt the thread will get much more interesting. Also, I can’t think of anybody.
and I thank you for its concise clarity. The joy of text is that nuance and sentiment can hide behind words unless semaphored with emojis. I’m not sure if there was snark in my response, like I wasn’t sure what lay behind your 3 words – but I took them in the spirit of fun and play (I sense you bring to the site) to respond in kind.
My post is a bit in the tradition of ‘will this do, ed?’ laziness, but there’s already interest for me in responses below. The reaction divided by OP input is sometimes more for a throwaway comment than for a post over which I have laboured for weeks.
How about these? The Cowsills were a happy family pop band unknown outside the USA, where they were famous for their harmony-soaked hits, led by impressive vocals from Susan Cowsill. Their surprise “coming of age” album Cocaine Drain remained unreleased for many years. It’s excellent, and a “who would have expected” contender.
Closer to home, The Blossom Toes were the perfect Swingin’ London pop psych group who burnt their kaftans with the ever-so-‘eavy If Only For A Moment album.
Thanks for the suggestions – I’m not sure either act count as successful or mainstream, but it’s good to be made aware of them. It looks like the couple had an enjoyable walk in the woods.
The Cowsills were definitely very successful and mainstream, even if the Afterword has never heard of them. I grant you Blossom Toes are little obscure, but I’m trying to lead you musical dunces up into the warm sunlit uplands of music by anybody other than the usual dreary bunch of whey-faced herberts we see time and again here.
I know how to contextualise the Cowsills, Aitch, for the h8ers: Susan Cowslip was a member of Continental Drifters, who did a record covering the Fairport Convention!
I’ve always thought the following was an outlier in the Waterboys’ work. It sounds nothing like the album it’s on, nothing like much the Waterboys subsequent records, that is until very recently, when Mike has started experimenting with R&B. I’d love to know how it came about.
The reason it sounds nothing like the album it is on is that it wasn’t on the original release of A Pagan Place. It was added in the re-issued CD album after the original release as a bonus track to show contemporary work.
Indeed. Its sounds like Orange Juice, which is probably why it was left off initially.
Never ever heard that before. Thanks! V strange indeed.
I love that album.
Obviously, Paul McCartney’s experiments with Youth, as The Fireman.
Maybe Steely Dan’s cover of Duke Ellington’s “East St. Louis Toodle-oo”?
The Fireman tracks I have heard seem to have a lot of Youth in them. The McCartney traits don’t come across very strongly., which makes it seem rather one-sided. There’s going in new directions, and there’s disappearing completely in the process.
I am slowly working my way through a Steely Dan listening project, having always dismissed them before now. I’ve only got to ‘Can’t Buy A Thrill’, so it’ll take a while till I get to their third album. I’ finding it surprisingly productive of earworms.
Your first para indicates why it’s called The Fireman instead of Paul McCartney. Assuming the elements that don’t “sound like Paul McCartney” must be the other guy is a bit …. limiting.
It reminds me of someone at my school the morning after the first episode of Filthy Rich and Catflap. He said “It was stupid, Neil was talking in a different voice…”
Yeah, I get that – going in a new direction may involve jettisoning all the Hey Judeisms, Still McCartney, just a different side.
But I thought I read that the first Fireman album was essentially Youth taking bits from McCartney’s last album and remixing it. That’s what it sounds like – generic pureed ambient techno.
Sing The Changes is one of my favourite McCartney songs. Nice video too.
What about this – a nine-minute Indian-flavoured psych-prog epos from the housewives’ favourite:
Housewives’ favourite now, maybe: but an ex-progger, so maybe not quite such a shock?
Did VdGG ever do any pop tunes, fs?
They certainly released some singles early on – but I’m not sure that’s quite the same thing…I’ll have a ponder.
This is modestly poptastic.
That’s quite nice, in an arch, en-un-ci-a-ted Bowie kind of way.
That’s Hammill in a nutshell. Sledgehammill to crack a nut.
Well, no – to be precise, that’s 1969 Hammill in a nutshell…
The first time I heard VDGG was only about 6 or 7 years ago. They sounded exactly as I had expected them to sound, most particularly Hammill’s arch grammar-school voice.
Nice to have one’s preconceived ideas confirmed once in a while, isn’t it? Out of interest, which album did you hear?
Wave. Rather liked that so later listened to Hearts. Didn’t set my world on fire but perfectly agreeable. I think you probably had to be there.
Play Some Old, indeed…so you didn’t listen to anything recorded after 1971?
Does anybody?
I considered recommending lots of post-1971 VdGG, right up to the present decade – posting clips, you know, the whole schtick…
…but no, I’ll give up here. (Moose breathes a sigh of relief…)
Grammar school? Wasn’t he a Crapthusian or whatever?
Well, something posh anyway. Grammar school, public school, Hogwarts, Feltham Young Offenders’ Institute, they’re all the same to me.
Hammill was schooled by Jesuits – you may be thinking of the chaps out of Genesis, HP…
I’m always thinking of the chaps out of Genesis – the wholesome horseplay in the showers after a sweaty game of rugger – the floppy fringes and come-hither looks – sorry, I’ve been reading Jonathan King’s autobio.
Feeding the school griffin at evensong, but only in Michaelmas term. And then beating one of the first-years to death with a hockey stick before lights out.
But enough about my school etc
Muffin the Mule
One could argue that it’s an authentic voice, Moose. I can remember a period where almost painful authenticity was guaranteed to get you an NME cover story…and then there’s Joe Strummer.
(Prepares to duck as Telecasters are thrown at head…)
I’m not denying it’s his voice. Retaining the way he speaks as his singing voice is as artful a decision as trying to sound like Blind Lemon Chitlin’ or whatever.
Even “Mr England” Ray Davies sings almost all of the Arthur and Lola albums in an American accent, albeit ironically. Hedging his bets I suppose.
I’m sorry – who are we talking about? I’ve lost the thread.
Vivian Stanshall, of course
Blind Lemon Spiteri, of course
I’d love to hear what Sharleen would make of Goin Downtown Gonh See My Gal.
That’s raaght, shugah!
»Did VdGG ever do any pop tunes?«
Well they had a top ten chart hit with »Theme One« in Italy and Germany.
And The Ham’s solo albums with the full band (»Fool’s Mate« and »Nadir’s Big Chance«) are full of pop tones.
Nadir’s Big Chance – “the beefy punk songs, the weepy ballads, the soul struts…”
Theme one was played lot here in the UK too. Wasn’t it the music used to open the Alan Freeman show?
Yes indeed…
Don’t forget Peter Hammill’s song about Cornwall and King Arthur for Play Away
It’s like Syd Barrett and Edward Tudor-Pole sired a child.
That’s quite jolly – possibly inspired by the wonderful introduction – what a Cant!
Admonishing the parrot at 2:50 : “Don’t swear at the nice progressive rock musician”
“Admonishing the parrot” – is that a euphemism?
No, you’re thinking of berating the budgie.
I know you are.
Not that different from Aphrodite’s Child. Unexpected though, like if Rod Stewart suddenly became good again.
er Scott Walker anyone?
This is a shoe-in as a one-off that’s unlike most of the rest of the band’s material:
Now I want to hear Peter Jones saying something wry with a kick at the end, causing me to reflect on the tinyness and comic futility of humanity’s every action.
Quite Beatley in a War of the Worlds type way. You can see why DA liked it.
I can’t stick the Eagles but I like this, which proves your point.
Weather Report “Jungle Book”?
I’m not hearing so much of the original film soundtrack, pleasant though this track is. Here’s a mix that brings that out a bit more
https://rave.dj/8TbUtzh_9ItFmw
King Crimson – The King Crimson Barber Shop, it’s rather jolly.
Inspired by Gabriel’s Excuse Me, perhaps?
Also would have, musically at least, passed without comment on the Giles Giles and Fripp album.
When one thinks of Peter Tosh one thinks of reggae. But I like this.
Are you actually reaching for an ‘acts who went disco thread’ by another name? I am sure you are and you’d enjoy this hugely in a mould-breaking way.
I always think this a good one out of their (and my) comfort zone: https://youtu.be/clp6LsIDxAY?si=VnY0Ux0Mw4EAhg1i
‘You certainly nudged open an enormous and rather nightmarish door there @moselymoles!
An “Acts who went disco” thread would be a motley crew of showbiz has-beens making one last desperate attempt to jump on a glittery, lucrative bandwagon.
Then again, there are songs that went disco with magnificent results…
This I have always felt is a really excellent attempt at the same task. Co-written with Horn and Downes:
Love the way she takes two minutes off in the middle, while there’s some twiddling, and just restarts.
I’m not that familiar with The Carpenters’ canon, but I’m guessing this was a pretty wacky choice of song for them. Or for anybody, really.
Only found out recently that’s a cover version. Which self evidently means two bands did it.
Three if you count the Beatles.
…and do we?
They have to be brought into every conversation, as you well know. It used to be Taylor Swift.
‘Mrs Mills Plays Led Zeppelin’ really stretched the envelope.
D’you mind, I’ve just had me tea.
When I announce to someone “this is The Damned” and play this, they don’t believe me. Until it gets to the 2:00 mark
(weird cos I think that intro does sound Damned-ish, but hey what do I know about other peoples ears)
But this was my introduction to the Damned so of course it’s like the Damned! Bloody ace.
That is magnificent
Very underrated the Damned, what other punk band could put out a track like that
You could also have some of Captain Sensibles output. Happy Talk is hellish and unpunklike. I quite like his other early 80’s solo stuff though
At the time, The Damned were the only “punk” band that I had any time for – still true after all these years!
Little Feat go prog.
Couldn’t be more Feat – couldn’t be less Prog
Now THIS is the Feat doing prog if you ask me.
I have to ask – what are the two Feat tunes above (I can’t see the videos).
Many thanks
The Fan, and Day At The Dog Races.
Thanks, HP.
Neither of those are prog, IMO. Dog Races gets a bit jazzy, I suppose…but The Fan is Lowell’s “cracked mosaic” method in action, shurely…
I believe LG used to walk off stage for “a livener” when “Day At the Dog Races” was performed. Certainly no laconic slide guitar to be heard here:
I know Lowell disapproved – but I love it anyway; and the whole Time Loves A Hero album, really…and I’m as big a Lowell fan as the next trucker, but I just think TLAH is superb.
“Play some rock’n roll fer Chrissake!”
Not prog.
This is the definitive version of “The Fan” IMO.
.
Could it be that Day At The Dog Races developed from the soloing on this?
A rare occasion when Motörhead REFRAINED FROM ROCK:
This is the most remarkable example to me. And funnily enough, the opening tune of the Iggy album that I now play the most.
This tune surprised me more than when I first put on Scott’s Tilt album.
Wow! I really like that one! What’s the rest of the album like?
Be prepared for all kinds of weirdness, definitely no metallic rock. I love it.
“All kinds of weirdness”…huzzah!
If you’ve listened to Igworth’s radio programmes you’ll know that nothing is off-limits for the pint-sized shirt-dodger.
I think he’s made a Christmas record, but then everyone does that eventually.
Tinkering deluxe