N4 fange 9 osgood 9

[rayge]

A Nucleus - Song For The Bearded Lady



B Neko Case – Night Still Comes

[fearlessfreap]

I've always had a soft spot for Bitches Brew pastiches, and Ian Carr was pretty good, so I'll happily take A

[~ / % ? *]

Like both

Nucleus, progressive, before it became prog, classic Vertigo band

But i love great voices, though this is not Neko's best

B

[Sneelock]

I like both but I'll take A by virtue of some rather enjoyable playing.

[toomanyhatz]

I enjoyed A a lot, 'jazz-rock' from when there was such a thing. Now the second you change the time signature or add a 6th, they call it prog.

I usually enjoy Neko in the moment - and my wife's actually a bit of a fan, so I've seen her live. But her stuff tends to not live in my memory for very long. This is lovely, but ultimately no exception.

[osgood]

I understand its belonging to a certain era but I found A drums far too loud in the mix and the guitars rather annoying, besides apparently not being able to do a proper solo. The trumpet was ace, though.

B is brilliant. Busy and overworked maybe, but it doesn't feel like that. Lyrics are nonsense to me (you never held it at the right angle?) but she could sing the proverbial phone book and I would buy it.

B

[Deleted]

Quite liked both, but also had some reservations.
Really enjoyed the first few minutes of A: A great sound and terrific drumming. It started to lose me a bit during the overlong solo and never quite got back on track.
This kind of earnest, literary female music isn't really my thing. It can feel like being in a Mindfulness clinic ran by someone who went to Sarah Lawrence. That said, I was somewhat won over by the musical strength of the chorus, which had a touch of the Carole Kings about it.

A

[oh oooh]

A sounded a bit like Blodwyn Pig to me - no bad thing. The busy-ness was a big part of its appeal, normally that level of activity turns me off. And having riffs feature more than solos pulled me in for the duration (more or less!). Good choice.

Peel used to play Neko Case quite a bit, she often featured in the Festive 50s. It's a strong song but it doesn't move me much, partly because it's sweet and very 'muso' - I can see the drummer spinning his sticks between fills, the expensive guitars gleaming.

A

[bungo the mungo]

i like nucleus and carr a lot. prime brit jazz. the case pick was ok. unlucky with the draw.

A

[DarknessFish]

A doesn't seem to know if it's a rock track or the titles to regional news bulletins. The stuffy jam rock backing is really quite cumbersome, it's a relief when that stops and allows the trumpet to go somewhere. A bit like that bossanova thing, it might be better if it had better backing. I'm not really getting much flight from that trumpet though, either, feels trapped by the echo and rubbish production/arrangement. Drowning in patchouli oil.

Ohh, solid singer-songwriter stuff. I bet they know all the chords, and the correct order in which they must be played. With a minor 7th when necessary. I guess if you experienced this live, you'd say "hey, this is ok, isn't it"? You wouldn't leave the building. Which isn't the case with A.

B

[fange]

I really like this match. A has a lot of energy and interesting mood shifts, from the moody Miles-like trumpet to the zinging guitars; B is both warm and kinda biting, a snapshot of a lover's tale, really well played. Maybe A by a nose.


A

[morgan]

Can't find much to say about these. Nucleus don't do it for me and B doesn't really start to gel until near the end but

B

[rayge]

I knew and worked with Sandy, Ian Carr's second wife (his first wife died in or around the birth of their daughter, Selina, and Sandy brought her up), for a good ten years or so. Unlike her husband, she was quite the looker. And she didn't play the trumpet, another plus. Jazz rock isn't for me. Bitches Brew is a boil on the arse of music.

Truth to tell, this isn't really to my taste, either. Another song in this cup that references Perry Como's finest cardigan moment, which is odd. Anyway, got to the end, so that's a WIN

B

[DayoRemix]

Vote B..That's about as much enthusiasm as I can muster for this tie..

[Half Machine Lipschitz]

I loathe the type of riffing going on in A. If I was in a band with someone who thought that could be the basis for a tune I'd tell them to fuck off. The breakdown/trumpet solo with the wah-ed out organ menacing around the edges is the best part of the whole thing but the rest is student-y rubbish.

I like Neko Case, but I'm sure there are better, more immediate tunes that could've been chosen for this competition. Still, it needs a bit of love, so...

B