*** 80's & 90's Record Draft Thread ***

[johnnya24]

Lucky's final 4 picks

22.15 (lucky)_._____B.L.T. – Bruce/Lordan/Trower ( )
23.02 (lucky)_._____Guitar Slinger – Johnny Winter ( )
24.15 (lucky)_._____Dose – Gov’t Mule ( )
25.02 (lucky)_._____Ambition – Larry McCray ( )

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22.15 (lucky)_._____B.L.T. – Bruce/Lordan/Trower ( )



23.02 (lucky)_._____Guitar Slinger – Johnny Winter ( )

Interesting album cover ...



24.15 (lucky)_._____Dose – Gov’t Mule ( )

Only one of the 4 I've heard off (Lucky's 70's picks should be interesting)



25.02 (lucky)_._____Ambition – Larry McCray ( )

Can't find full album.

[Erik]

I will go as well because I know that ElD hates this band.

16.08 Fantastic Planet -- Failure (1996)

I think this is one of the best albums of the '90s. It hits all my pleasure buttons -- elements of grunge, fantastic guitar work, intricate production, catchy songs, monster riffs, and -- on the instrumental segues that connect some of the songs -- bits of prog as well. Singer/guitarist/composer/producer Ken Andrews is a wizard in the studio, and this was his defining work. Every track has all kinds of neat stuff going on at and below the surface.

There are three songs you may or may not have come across:

"The Nurse Who Loved Me" was covered by A Perfect Circle, whose guitarist, Troy Van Leeuwen, was a touring member of Failure after Fantastic Planet was released (they couldn't do justice to the guitar work on the album with one guitar live).

"Stuck on You" got some Modern Rock radio play in the mid-90s. Oddly, I always thought it was the weakest song on the album.

"Sergeant Politeness" was taken by me in the Classic Rock Draft. If you think great rock riffage ended in the '70s, this song is for you. I want to jump around every time I hear it.

Fantastic Planet was their third and final album. It developed a following that still exists today and should have been a bridge to greater things, but intraband dysfunction, fueled mainly by bassist/lyricist Gregg Edwards' heroin addiction, led them to call it quits in 1997. (Many of the lyrics on this record could ONLY have been written by a heroin addict.) Andrews has continued to make excellent records, released under the names On, Year of the Rabbitt, and his own name.

Shockingly, the band just got back together. Whether it'll be for anything more than occasional gigs in their home base of LA, we'll see.

Going to see these guys tonight, on their first tour since 1997.

[Erik]

I will go as well because I know that ElD hates this band.

16.08 Fantastic Planet -- Failure (1996)

I think this is one of the best albums of the '90s. It hits all my pleasure buttons -- elements of grunge, fantastic guitar work, intricate production, catchy songs, monster riffs, and -- on the instrumental segues that connect some of the songs -- bits of prog as well. Singer/guitarist/composer/producer Ken Andrews is a wizard in the studio, and this was his defining work. Every track has all kinds of neat stuff going on at and below the surface.

There are three songs you may or may not have come across:

"The Nurse Who Loved Me" was covered by A Perfect Circle, whose guitarist, Troy Van Leeuwen, was a touring member of Failure after Fantastic Planet was released (they couldn't do justice to the guitar work on the album with one guitar live).

"Stuck on You" got some Modern Rock radio play in the mid-90s. Oddly, I always thought it was the weakest song on the album.

"Sergeant Politeness" was taken by me in the Classic Rock Draft. If you think great rock riffage ended in the '70s, this song is for you. I want to jump around every time I hear it.

Fantastic Planet was their third and final album. It developed a following that still exists today and should have been a bridge to greater things, but intraband dysfunction, fueled mainly by bassist/lyricist Gregg Edwards' heroin addiction, led them to call it quits in 1997. (Many of the lyrics on this record could ONLY have been written by a heroin addict.) Andrews has continued to make excellent records, released under the names On, Year of the Rabbitt, and his own name.

Shockingly, the band just got back together. Whether it'll be for anything more than occasional gigs in their home base of LA, we'll see.

They just released a new album after 19 years, and it's pretty damn good, building an organic, logical progression from Fantastic Planet. There's less grunge-inspired rock, as you might expect, but the glorious production and ambitious arrangements remain. I did see them on tour last year and it was awesome -- they played most of Fantastic Planet and for the first time could perform it live in its original arrangements or close approximations thereof. The technology didn't exist to do that in 1996-97.

If you want to find a taste of the new stuff on Youtube, my favorites are "A.M. Amnesia," "Fair Light Era," "Come Crashing" and "The Focus."