Top Ten Texas Recordings

[Capricorndog]

Figured y'all might be opinionated bout this...
http://www.stylusmagazine.com/articles/ ... rdings.htm

01. Robert Johnson, “From Four Till Late” b/w “Hellhound On My Trail” (Dallas, 1937)
Could it be anyone else? The terrible daddy of the blues, Johnson unaccompanied could sound like two guitars and the shadow of death. Dead at 27, the Mississippi native left a towering vision of both hell and heartache, driven home by a beguiling playing style that depended on irregular meter, a boogie-woogie low-string line, and absolute control. Vocally, his froggy croon was at times seductive, haunted, playful, and ice-cold. This single, culled from his final recording session, is a neat primer to Johnson’s ethos. “From Four Till Late” is a rueful, laid-back blues about a trifler. “A woman is like a dresser,” he muses, “some man always ramblin' through its drawers.” But “Hellhound” is the show-stopper: an epic slouch from doom, Johnson shooting game at his lady with an eye to the hills. Wailing into the wind, the bluesman checks the signs: “I can tell the wind is risin'/ Leaves tremblin' on the tree/Hmm hmm mmm mmm/All I need's my little sweet woman/ And to keep my company…” Indispensable. Keep a copy in your glovebox, and one above the doorframe.

[ifihadahifi]

I was about to give it the ol' "WTF?!" until I saw the one caveat - "that apparently don't involve outlaw country"

It's weird to see Pearson and Brutal Juice listed with Leadbelly, Daniel Johnston, Buddy Holly and Robert Johson. Those are amazing albums... but I dunno if they are that amazing.

[mr_j]

those writers live in New York City
NEW YORK CITY!?!?!?

get a rope.

seriously, that list is total shit.
and that one daniel johnston tape is crap.
'hi how are you' is his best.

but the 'best' 'daniel johnston' record ever made
was k. mccarty's tribute, dead dog's eyeball.

[James]

i have to concur that that list is complete and utter shit. there are two GLARING omissions, in my opinion.

1) Flatlanders - Self-titled. You may not have heard it and that's a shame. Look it up and have a listen and tell me I'm wrong.

2) Richard Buckner - Bloomed. It was recorded in Lubbock I think, with some of the most pure alt-country instrumentation I've ever heard.

I'm surprised they didn't have "To The Extreme" by Vanilla Ice on there (recorded on the mean streets of Carrolton).

I agree with Mr. J; there are a lot of Daniel Johnston albums they could have picked, and that's not one of them. That's a true example of some uber-hip New Yorkster trying to be cool by picking the most obscure thing by an underground yet very well known artist, as if to say "hey, look what I know about Daniel Johnston". Idiot.

And why pick Brutal Juice over any of those early Butthole Surfers albums?

[James]

Oh, and that Lift To Experience record sounds like shit. Well, it didn't always sound like shit, because I've heard the original mix (and somewhere I have a copy of the original mix done by the band and Dave Willingham before the label got their hands on it) and it's mesmerising. Just further proof they're idiots.

[Capricorndog]

I <3 You Guys.

[aquaphase]

Oh, and that Lift To Experience record sounds like shit. Well, it didn't always sound like shit, because I've heard the original mix (and somewhere I have a copy of the original mix done by the band and Dave Willingham before the label got their hands on it) and it's mesmerising. Just further proof they're idiots.

Blasphemy.

I was actually pissed that the Lift record only made #8.

(the term "bootgazer" was rather clever though)

[eebs]

mean streets of carrolton.... amy never mentioned that one to me.

what did the label do to change the mix?

[James]

Oh, and that Lift To Experience record sounds like shit. Well, it didn't always sound like shit, because I've heard the original mix (and somewhere I have a copy of the original mix done by the band and Dave Willingham before the label got their hands on it) and it's mesmerising. Just further proof they're idiots.

Blasphemy.

I was actually pissed that the Lift record only made #8.

(the term "bootgazer" was rather clever though)

don't get me wrong, i love that album. a lot. but when i heard what it was supposed to sound like, it made the Bella Union version sound like shit.

[James]

mean streets of carrolton.... amy never mentioned that one to me.

what did the label do to change the mix?

they just put the vocals up really high and mixed a lot of the instruments down. the original version was swirling, like the live shows; it was a listening experience. Bella Union tried to turn it into a top 40 record as far as I can tell.

yeah, all of that Vanilla Ice stuff was recorded in the same studio as TWH. It seemed rather odd at the time...perhaps a bit ironic now.

[mere1975]

mean streets of carrolton.... amy never mentioned that one to me.

(Exactly. That's why Vanilla Ice lost his cred when people realized he was from Carrollton, TX -- not inner city Miami as his raps imply.)

- Mere "he used to race his expensive motorcycles along Forest Lane, according to my friend Will who hated his spolied ass when they were in high school together" 1975