Do you still "discover" musicians that were popular BITD.

d-ray657

d-ray657

Ain't this boogie a mess
I used to think that I was fairly familiar with rock music, but really I just had real familiarity - i.e. a collection of records by - a few of my favorites: Jethro Tull, Neil Young, Allman Brothers, Led Zep, Jimi Hendrix, Zappa, Who, Beatles, Santana, Pink Floyd, Crosby Stills Nash & Young, Leo Kottke, come to mind quickly. There were quite a few others that I had an album or two of and enjoyed. There are a few in my record pile that have long since lost my interest, but I'll not go bashing right now.

What I find amazing is how some artists I had heard a thing or two from had a musical body of work much broader than I imagined. One that has been getting more and more time on my TT is Ten years After. Alvin Lee could play a hell of a guitar, and did a pretty good job of singing some blues.

In the past couple of years I have gotten deeper into Traffic, Moody Blues, Johnny Cash, even more Neil Young, More Zappa, Tom Waits, Leonard Cohen, Warren Zevon, Jefferson Airplane, - not to mention a whole new introduction to Jazz and Blues, and newer generations of rockers.

Any one else had a recent experience where you said "Wow, I didn't know these guys played like that!"

Regards,

D-Ray
 
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Absolutely!
Gentle Giant, Caravan, Soft Machine, Nick Drake, Leo Kottke, Pink Floyd (pre Meddle), Camel, Ry Cooder, and Fleetwood Mac (Peter Green era). I could go on and on, but I'll stop there.
 
Good topic. And yes, we all live in our own musical caves. Music is a part of the huiman experience, and it would take several lifetimes of study and listening to take in just a fraction of even the well known music produced through history.

But it isn't most people's apiration to be a walking music encyclopedia. Most people stick with music similar to stuff they like. But as music lovers, we aspire to something more than that, even if somewhat short of knowing everything that is out there.

Putting jazz aside (another topic), artists I have discovered or re-discovered in recent years include Bob Marley (finally went beyond the Legend compilation), Leonard Cohen, Warren Zevon, John Hiatt, Ry Cooder, Neil Young, Eric Clapton, the Allman Brothers, The Kinks, Joni Mitchell, Elvis Costello (beyond Armed Forces and other assorted hits from the early 80s), Little Feat, the Band, and Dylan.

Additionally, I have been listening a lot more lately to Zeppelin and the Stones, both bands I had gotten away from in recent years. In the former case, have been listening a lot to Physical Graffitti, in the latter, Beggars Banquet and Sticky Fingers. Great Rock albums I hadn't listened to in over 20 years.
 
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Yup. Many bands and individuals from my formative years (~1965 - early 1980s) that I've only discovered or learned to appreciate recently, but even more from periods just before then. Nina Simone, Lena Horne, Janis Ian, Phoebe Snow, Nils Lofgren, Supertramp, WAR, Dakota Staton, Tony Bennett, Leonard Cohen, Al Jarreau, Stevie Wonder, Joni Mitchell.... (Hmm, an awful lot of female vocalists in that list...)
 
I look more for current artists (some of whom are listed in your original post) because I'd rather know what's going on now than what was going on 40 years ago. I like artists like Lucinda Williams, Los Lobos, Ry Cooder (like I said...), Michelle Shocked, David Byrne, Suzanne Vega, Brian Eno, etc...

That's not to say I don't enjoy the occasional stroll down memory lane (right now, I have Frank Zappa's Roxy and Elsewhere on my turntable at home), but I like to listen to music that speaks to me where I am now, and that's pretty rare to get from an artist in his 20s.
 
The first time I heard Montrose was like that but that was awhile ago. I'm still finding more and more stuff that I had never heard growing up - alot of 60's and 70's artists.

Listen to UFO's Stangers In The Night and you'll figure out that Michael Schenker is one helluva guitar player too. :thmbsp:
 
cwall99 said:
I look more for current artists (some of whom are listed in your original post) because I'd rather know what's going on now than what was going on 40 years ago. I like artists like Lucinda Williams, Los Lobos, Ry Cooder (like I said...), Michelle Shocked, David Byrne, Suzanne Vega, Brian Eno, etc...
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I wouldn't assume that digging through the back catalogs of greats from the past and discovering new music are mutually exclusive. I interpreted the question as one of have you ever heard something that made you question your assumptions about a particular group? Or that you sort of knew a band was there and heard the hits, maybe didn't like them and never explored further, only to be pleasantly surprised years later when you actually heard their entire back catalog?
 
mrt2 said:
I interpreted the question as one of have you ever heard something that made you question your assumptions about a particular group? Or that you sort of knew a band was there and heard the hits, maybe didn't like them and never explored further, only to be pleasantly surprised years later when you actually heard their entire back catalog?
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True. I think for me Talk Talk is the best example of this.
 
cwall99 said:
I look more for current artists (some of whom are listed in your original post) because I'd rather know what's going on now than what was going on 40 years ago. I like artists like Lucinda Williams, Los Lobos, Ry Cooder (like I said...), Michelle Shocked, David Byrne, Suzanne Vega, Brian Eno, etc...

That's not to say I don't enjoy the occasional stroll down memory lane (right now, I have Frank Zappa's Roxy and Elsewhere on my turntable at home), but I like to listen to music that speaks to me where I am now, and that's pretty rare to get from an artist in his 20s.
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I'm a little confused. Most of the artists you mentioned have been producing music for at least 15-20 years. I'm familiar with music that Ry Cooder and Lucinda Williams have put out over the last five or so years, and I know Byrne has put out some new stuff, but I don't consider any of them as new artists, In truth, however, some of the artists I consider modern have been around for a few years - Radiohead, Pearl Jam, Stone Temple Pilots, Gorillaz, Red Hot chili Peppers, Muse, Beck, etc.

And that's just in the rock area. Most Jazz artists are new to me, whenever they began recording. I have been familiar with dozens of blues artists for several years, but still, most of my "new" discoveries were recorded years ago.

I find your last statement to often be true, but not universally. Some of the music produced by 20 year olds when I was in my teens and twenties is still with me today, and seems relevant. I also find some relevance in some of the newer artists mentioned above.

Neil Young, however, is in his own category. His music has always spoken to me, and he has continued to put it out year after year.

Regards,

D-Ray
 
mrt2 said:
I wouldn't assume that digging through the back catalogs of greats from the past and discovering new music are mutually exclusive. I interpreted the question as one of have you ever heard something that made you question your assumptions about a particular group? Or that you sort of knew a band was there and heard the hits, maybe didn't like them and never explored further, only to be pleasantly surprised years later when you actually heard their entire back catalog?
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I wish I had stated it as well as you.

Regards,

D-Ray
 
Yes, mostly jazz and blues!
Regards,
Jim
 
Well, I first heard about the Trees on the VinylAsylum, and about Mellow Candle right here.

It pays to read the threads!
 
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