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Post by Deleted on Oct 23, 2019 18:46:17 GMT
Dylan’s probably a contender but I won’t sit through a fifty song list by him, a thing I could easily do with the Bowie list. Dylan's musically less interesting, but you could make an argument he's a better songwriter. They're in the same league anyway. |
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nolamike
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Post by nolamike on Oct 23, 2019 19:48:47 GMT
You're insane. Stevie's six-album run from "Where I'm Coming From" through "Songs in the Key of Life" is pretty damn close to being perfect straight through... and that's not even including any of his '60s singles, of which there are some stone-cold classics. You have to wade through a lot of generic material and soppy ballads to get to the gold. His best is certainly comparable, but artistically he's not on the same scale and he works from a far narrower genre template. Where's his equivalent of Quicksand or Sweet Thing/Candidate? I don't think he has the artistic reach to try and write something like that. I'd argue that "Songs In the Key of Life" shows an incredibly broad artistic reach, as much as anything Bowie ever did - lyrically, musically, in terms of production, as a cohesive concept for any album. |
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Post by countmachuki on Oct 23, 2019 19:54:25 GMT
That being said, there aren't any BIG ASS ROCK songs in the Stevie canon, so...whatever.
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loveless
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Post by loveless on Oct 23, 2019 20:03:59 GMT
You have to wade through a lot of generic material and soppy ballads to get to the gold. His best is certainly comparable, but artistically he's not on the same scale and he works from a far narrower genre template. Where's his equivalent of Quicksand or Sweet Thing/Candidate? I don't think he has the artistic reach to try and write something like that. I'd argue that "Songs In the Key of Life" shows an incredibly broad artistic reach, as much as anything Bowie ever did - lyrically, musically, in terms of production, as a cohesive concept for any album. , for me - seeing him play the first three or four songs in sequence live absolutely reinforced the...you know..."journey" he takes the listener through. I'm INTO how into Bowie G is. I mean - I want to have fans like that! The sort of begrudging concession that Dylan might also be in that league, the (seeming) defensiveness when an artist as colossal as Wonder is mentioned. I might very well sound like I'm giving you shit, but...I like that connectedness to an artist's whole thing, that level of esteem, etc. And Bowie was assuredly "that dude" for me at one point in my own musical life (and I absolutely still love him), but I don't remotely see him as this untouchable behemoth towering over every other great artist of his primary era. |
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Post by Ollard on Oct 23, 2019 20:17:20 GMT
Maybe for us Brits (and we've talked about this before) Bowie was continuing the good work the Beatles had done a decade earlier. There are certainly similarities in the way they approached music - balancing experimentation with commerciality, moving from style to style, yet managing to do it all at least fairly well (there are still many who resist Young Americans' charms, of course).
It's pretty superficial I know, but if you line up the record covers there are some parallels there too - the way their faces are often featured, but still with ambitious ideas behind the artwork. The fact that these images became absolutely iconic might or might not have something to do with the artists behind them - but I do think Aladdin Sane and Heroes are as gallery-worthy as Abbey Road or Pepper. For what it's worth!
Leaving aside the fact that I'm not really a huge fan of Stevie Wonder, I really do not see the same kind of diversity in his work as I do in DB's. That's not to say that diversity in itself is something to be praised, of course.
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loveless
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Post by loveless on Oct 23, 2019 20:25:19 GMT
Maybe for us Brits (and we've talked about this before).. FWIW, his biggest American fans (certainly the ones I know) are as obsessive as anyone. I think the connection that people made with him (whenever they did - be it 72/Spiders or belatedly poring over the cornucopia of his entire 70s journey) tended to be pretty major. |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 23, 2019 20:32:45 GMT
That's not to say that diversity in itself is something to be praised, of course. No, and there are plenty of artists who aren't particularly diverse whom I love. But diversity, as represented in some sort of artistic journey of exploration, is what seems to separate the truly great artists, and not just in music, from the very good. It's central to Bowie's appeal for me as it was for The Beatles. |
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osgood
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Post by osgood on Oct 24, 2019 8:36:10 GMT
Dylan’s probably a contender but I won’t sit through a fifty song list by him, a thing I could easily do with the Bowie list. I just made a Dylan playlist for my son and I came with 55 titles covering just until Street Legal. I played the list at random on a road trip and it was a great experience.
But if we are discussing just post Beatles, he might be below Bowie. Joni Mitchell could be a candidate, also Paul Simon, and I might be alone at this, but I would not underestimate Leonard Cohen, granted that variety is not his stregth, but if you happen to like him, you like all his records. |
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Post by DarknessFish on Oct 24, 2019 8:52:30 GMT
I would not underestimate Leonard Cohen, granted that variety is not his stregth, but if you happen to like him, you like all his records. I'm not joinging the debate about who's the bestest since the bestest, because this trying to make objective claims on subjective matters is definitely not my thing. But I absolutely refute the idea that if you like Leonard you like all his records. Songs of... and Songs of... are two of the greatest albums ever recorded, and some of his other stuff ain't bad at all. But I'm not having it that I'm also supposed to give Dear Heather or even Death of a Ladies Man a free pass because of that. Ain't for me. |
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Post by Ollard on Oct 24, 2019 8:57:01 GMT
Skinny Puppy?
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Post by DarknessFish on Oct 24, 2019 8:59:24 GMT
I think Coil are usually who you're meant to mention in an ironically mocking tone.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 24, 2019 9:15:35 GMT
He could have opted for Current 93...  |
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osgood
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Post by osgood on Oct 24, 2019 11:03:42 GMT
I would not underestimate Leonard Cohen, granted that variety is not his stregth, but if you happen to like him, you like all his records. I'm not joinging the debate about who's the bestest since the bestest, because this trying to make objective claims on subjective matters is definitely not my thing. But I absolutely refute the idea that if you like Leonard you like all his records. Songs of... and Songs of... are two of the greatest albums ever recorded, and some of his other stuff ain't bad at all. But I'm not having it that I'm also supposed to give Dear Heather or even Death of a Ladies Man a free pass because of that. Ain't for me. Well, you've proved me wrong. I have not heard Dear Heather, so cannot comment on that. Death of a Ladies Man I agree is a different animal, and thinking about it I could have phrased differently. I do like it, in fact I like it a lot, but I know not many people are on my side regarding that album. |
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Post by Ollard on Oct 24, 2019 16:27:52 GMT
Anyway there's no way on this earth that Cohen managed to create a catalogue as exciting, as diverse and as musical as David Bowie's.
Please stop it. Please
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Post by Ollard on Oct 24, 2019 16:30:30 GMT
Cohen, Dylan and Young and black and white artists. Bow is IN COLOR
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