rayge
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Post by rayge on Mar 31, 2020 14:00:52 GMT
A Jack Kittel – Psycho
B The Walker Brothers – The Electrician
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Post by Deleted on Mar 31, 2020 14:51:56 GMT
A. Hm. Country. Going for the comic irony appeal? Hm. Still fucking country, isn't it.
B. Oooh, moody intro. And for once the Walker Brothers' dramatic voice is perfect. Aaah fuck, ruined. The verse singing, that is. Oh dear god. What a waste. The lush strings are beautiful. It's almost like the third distinct part. So far, two-thirds of this song kick it. But that middle bit was enough to ruin it for me.
(According to wiki: The song describes the work of a CIA torturer. Midge Ure is said to have been influenced by "The Electrician" when composing "Vienna" for Ultravox.)
Just given it a second listening ... Fuck I don't know. What a weird one.
I'll have to come back to this one.
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Post by Crunchy Col on Mar 31, 2020 18:48:29 GMT
Not interested in either of these.
ABSTAIN-O
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toomanyhatz
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Post by toomanyhatz on Mar 31, 2020 19:09:13 GMT
B feels appropriately dark and disturbing for the topic, though a little Scott Walker goes a long way, as usual. (As suspected, it's mostly him, though officially credited to the group.)
A is clever, particularly the "surprise" ending, but played a little too cornball to be believable. Maybe some "Rubber Room" distorted electric guitars would help. Or a different singer.
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Post by DarknessFish on Apr 1, 2020 19:38:11 GMT
Why wasn't A in the novelty theme? It's not great but it would've been a clear winner there in most ties. I like the overly repetitive nature, it really grinds away with very little song, and never stops.
B is clearly an indication of the direction Scott would head in, and there are moments in that vocal that are more Bowie than Bowie. It's clearly a better song than A though, it's been constructed in a really theatrical way, there's more attention to mood and atmosphere, which has been strangely lacking in this theme.
B
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Sneelock
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Post by Sneelock on Apr 1, 2020 19:41:24 GMT
All I like about B is the spooky intro. A
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Post by osgood on Apr 2, 2020 15:29:59 GMT
Holy shit, B was a disgrace, what a waste of youtube bits. A is shit but I need to vote against B
a
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Post by Deleted on Apr 2, 2020 22:17:06 GMT
The Electrician had such a reputation in post-punk circles as this legendary track that when I finally heard it, it was a bit of a disappointment. I've never entirely come round to it, although I can certainly see it was brave and audacious. A's idea is to contrast MOR country with a lyric about killing people. As an idea it held my attention for about a minute.
B
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Post by Deleted on Apr 3, 2020 1:00:18 GMT
I became conscious quite quickly of the heaviness of the theme and some of my choices compared with other groups, but I was interested to see what people would return with. There's been a few country/folk narratives which I could've guessed at. At least no Maxwell's Silver Hammer.
This is a Scott piece I rarely play, despite rating it highly as a piece of music, it's a mood piece for a mood you'd rather avoid most of the time. Nite Flights is often cited as his watershed, but still, you can trace a thread somewhat easily from The Old Man's Back Again, to this, to The Day the Conducator Died from Bish Bosch, and see the same themes that interested him.
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fange
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Post by fange on Apr 13, 2020 4:42:58 GMT
Neither are my cuppa, but A for being shorter.
A
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Post by Crunchy Col on Apr 13, 2020 13:12:08 GMT
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~ / % ? *
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Post by ~ / % ? * on Apr 15, 2020 15:53:54 GMT
A
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rayge
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Post by rayge on Apr 21, 2020 17:48:27 GMT
I heard Elvis Costello's version of this first, and then Eddie Noack's version on this wonder, every track of which could have been a winner. This has perhaps the most seductive sound of the three, but I can't get over him killing the puppy . scott I prefer the Walker Brothers (when they're not murdering Stay With Me) to Scott solo, which, as others have pointed out, this is, basically. Don't think I've heard it before, and I love the instrumentation in poaces, but the verse singing, as thang said, drags it down a bit. But no dead puppies, B
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Post by neige on Apr 25, 2020 11:38:45 GMT
I wasn't familiar with B, but think it's great throughout.
What was "this wonder" you were alluding to in your post, rayge? The link frustratingly leads to the opening post of this thread... Even before hearing Costello's (terrific) version of Psycho, I knew a cover by an female American exilee in Switzerland, Chessy Weaver, which I liked a lot too. I finally got Eddie Noack's excellent original a couple of years ago on this highly recommended Bear Family sampler: But as much as I like the song, Kittel's take is so limp, I can't possibly vote for it.
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rayge
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Post by rayge on Apr 25, 2020 11:55:36 GMT
I wasn't familiar with B, but think it's great throughout.
What was "this wonder" you were alluding to in your post, rayge? The link frustratingly leads to the opening post of this thread... Sorry Felix, it was this album www.discogs.com/Various-Death-Dealers/release/1549748
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