What other artists do you listen to?

[remarkblz]

leonard cohen
john hiatt
bob dylan
pink floyd
hal ketchum
vince gill
dwight yoakam
jerry jeff walker
elmore james
bo diddley

[John Etherington]

Hi Table Top Joe,

I agree - "Smile" is THE Brian Wilson album (but believe me -"That Lucky Old Sun" comes very close). Have you got the "Smile" DVD - for me that's THE real "Smile" since the visuals are so integral to it. As it happens, I have my fifteen seconds of fame in the aftershow comments section of the DVD (shortly before Kate Moss". I'm the one who says "It's a miracle...in one word!".

Hi Yankovic,

Thanks for drawing my attention to the Elton John "Rare Masters" CD. That's the era of his that I like...as serious singer-songwriter, before all the high-camp stuff! One Elton John rarity that you may not know about is the "Sweet Suggestions of the Pink Moon" EP
- listed under Nick Drake page 2 on http://www.amazon.co.uk. This contains Elton's demos of three songs for Nick Drake's "Five Leaves Left" plus one other (not "Saturday Sun", as listed).

All the best, John E

[table top joe]

Hey John good to see ya .....thats a great dvd isnt it? must have been some gig.....from what ive seen on the net he has abandoned recording sessions for "That lucky old sun" .....

[table top joe]

to name but a few of my fave artists

John Cale

A strange mixture, isn't it?

I dont know if its a strange mixture but im delighted to see two people mention John Cale here,im a huge fan of the guy,saw him in Dublin last year,great gig,"Circus" is well worth getting if you havent heard it already....."Fragments of a rainy season" is one of my all time favourite albums,would make the desert island list

[st theresa]

Appears that we are as different as we are the same.
My favourites after LC
Kd Lang
Natalie Cole
The Beatles
Donovan
Frank Sinatra
Hildegarde von Bingen's music
Joan Baez
Bob Dylan
Bob Marley
Simon and Garfunkel
Indigo Girls
Tchaikovsky
Mozart
and many more.....

[John Etherington]

Hi Table Top Joe,

"Smile" was more than just a great gig, it was a spiritual experience!...a rage against the dying of the light!...the aftershow gatherings continued at the Travel Inn into the early hours, with various members of the Brian Wilson Band and the Stockholm Strings and Horns, present. I saw it thirteen times...it was that good. "I believe you, Mr. Wilson"...!

All the best, John E

[secretchord]

Leonard is pretty much the only western music I listen to, I mostly like middle-eastern stuff, arabic, moroccan, persian, turkish etc


although I recently bought the Beastie Boys latest album which is very good, just instrumentals

[Yankovic]

Leonard Cohen, Chicago, Peter Cetera, Elton John, Bernie Taupin,
Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, Prince, Madonna, "Weird Al" Yankovic.

How about we all get a little more specific?:

Favorite Songwriter: Leonard Cohen
Favorite Songwriting Duo: Elton John & Bernie Taupin
Favorite Band: Chicago
Favorite Singer/Voice: Peter Cetera

[Steven]

Hi,

Could it be that Leonard Cohen listeners have a wider breadth of
musical appreciation than those that are not? If so, as Leonard's creativity
is often impossible to typecast into a format/genre, the fan-base, likewise,
might reflect that (to some extent) with their musical tastes.

[John Etherington]

Hi Steven,

In my own age group (early-mid 50s) I haven't personally found that to be case - not in recent years, anyway. I like to thing my own musical appreciation is fairly wide, even though I haven't embraced a great deal of new stuff in recent years. One thing is for sure though - from when I first heard Leonard in late 1968, he has always been the most important artist for me...the one who has touched my soul on the deepest level. Other (often quite different) artists have loomed large in my musical appreciation, and some have lost their importance, while others return periodically. However, from "Songs From a Room" onwards, I have bought every one of Leonard's albums as soon as they became available. I have also tuned into all of his London tours and booked immediately - always managing to get best seats. Leonard's significance has never diminished for me - even though there have been lengthy periods when I haven't listened to his music. However Leonard's last two albums didn't have quite the same initial impact on me as the others. "Ten New Songs" came hot on the heels of Dylan's masterful "Love and Theft", so its greatness grew on me more gently. "Dear Heather" was for me initially eclipsed by Brian Wilson's "Smile" which was so totally different, and I do think it's the least of Leonard's albums.
However, I thought Anjani's "Blue Alert" was perfection and I do count that as an extension of Leonard's work.

All the best, John E

[Steven]

Hi John,

I've entered my 50s also and share some of the same musical appreciation that
you do. I couldn't tell you who most of the prominent new musicians are.
I saw Brian Wilson on TV at the Kennedy Awards. I was saddened to see the
way he appeared. What I've heard of "Smile," intrigued me. By the way,
I won tickets for the Beach Boys a few weeks ago. Love and another long-time
member were in the group and I enjoyed a lot of the music. It was great to see
some of the audience members looking as if they were reliving teenage feelings.
I just had a 300 mile round-trip in my car today and brought along
"Pet Sounds," by the Beach Boys, which I bought the other day. There are
some things on "Dear Heather" that I like greatly; others far less so. I agree
with you that "Blue Alert" was perfection (or at least something close to it).

[John Etherington]

Hi Steven,

Thanks for your post. The two messages boards that I post on most are this and http://www.brianwilson.com, and rarely do the two worlds meet. Yet strangely, in the last 24 hours, two people on Brian's site have listed Leonard as one of their favourite artists. I haven't seen the Beach Boys since the mid-Seventies, and have been reluctant to do so because of Mike Love's behaviour (criticising Brian and persistently starting law-suits). However, I know that many people do still like their show. I'm not surprised that you were saddened by Brian's appearance in the awards ceremony, as he often comes across badly in public events of this type. His concerts, though, are something else altogether - and he can come across as cheerful, confident and communicative. The other great thing about his shows are the wonderful, young and talented musicians that play with him including the beautiful blonde singer Taylor Mills. If you are even remotely interested in "Smile", I would urge you to buy the DVD. As well as a perfect rendition of the concert, this includes David Leaf's extremely moving film about Brian's life "Beautiful Dreamer". By the way (attention Table Top Joe) Brian has not abandoned his new masterwork "That Lucky Old Sun", and I for one hope that an official recording will be made, very soon.

All good things, John E

[jerry]

Al Stewart
Jonathan Richman
Graham Parker
Lou Reed
Richard Thompson
Dylan
Cat Stevens
Elliot Murphy
Big Country
Thin Lizzy
Dire Straits
Paul Simon
Nils Lofgren
Patti Smith
The Beatles
Solo Beatles
Bruce Springsteen

[Steven]

Hi John,

I think I enjoyed seeing some of the audience at the Beach Boys concert, as
much as hearing the group. It was good to see people looking, acting and
feeling like the teenagers they once were.

I'm going to try to see the "Smile" DVD. I'm glad that you report that Brian Wilson
is able to come across better during concert. He's had some hard days and, hopefully,
during concerts and elsewhere, he is feeling better. The "Pet Sounds" anniversary
CD comes with a DVD, which I'm looking forward to seeing and hearing him on.

John, I recently bought a box set of Frankie Valli CDs. As you enjoy the Beach Boys
sounds, you might also be a fan of The Four Seasons. The first CD of the set is
absolutely great; the others less so, i.m.o. When I bought this set, I told the
store person that I don't usually buy much pop stuff. But, the earlier stuff (on
that first CD) is really a lot of fun to listen to.

[Minna]

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