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Post by luxexterior on Dec 6, 2022 19:30:12 GMT
Without a doubt a fabulous album, probably the best BOC album since Spectres. I'm still regularly playing it three years after it's release which doesn't happen too often. 26 months. My mistake. Contrarian or pendent?
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Post by joe on Dec 7, 2022 3:37:30 GMT
The guest host will argue against them with facts…… subjective and objective!] Have always found these “discussions” as enlightening as having someone explain to me why their favorite flavor of ice cream is the best. Combining a unique mix of personal opinions and candid discussions of actual facts, I turn to music video commentaries offered by the well respected music critics Beavis and Butthead, as presented in their shows, as a definitive go-to source for concise and unbiased reviews.
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Post by Buck on Dec 7, 2022 5:27:38 GMT
I don't mind reading reviews, even slag ones. Opinions are like anuses it's said, everybody's got one. I don't take pans personally, and to the degree people appreciate what I and the band (from all eras) do, I'm grateful. It's a living. : )
I'm happy to host a hang here with people and speak to posters.
As for TSR, I'm proud of it, as the first and perhaps only studio recorded effort of BOC of the 21st Century featuring Richie, Jules and Danny.
Ranking TSR is difficult, mainly because it's 14 cuts. In the post vinyl era, I haven't played an entire CD (since 1985) start to finish hardly EVER.
For you younger people, the attraction of the golden age of "album rock" was playing an LP in it's entirety. Which meant listening to a 15-19 minute side, taking a brief break to turn the disk over, then doing it again for another 15-19 minutes. IMO, it was a GREAT way to digest an artist's presentation and vision. If you can't SAY something over all in 30-40 minutes total, you shouldn't try. Attention spans, coincidently, have deteriorated in the same mean time.
When CD's came in, with 80 minute capacity, artists stopped trying to do "album rock." Ironically, the 60-80 minute "LP" of today coupled with the rise of internet streaming I think has led to the return of the "hit single" as the dominant form of music distribution. Like it was when I was a kid growing up in the 1960's.
Maybe TSR should be re-imagined as an 8 cut LP. Program it the way you'd like. That's another thing about today. You can do that!
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Post by luxexterior on Dec 7, 2022 11:02:31 GMT
I don't mind reading reviews, even slag ones. Opinions are like anuses it's said, everybody's got one. I don't take pans personally, and to the degree people appreciate what I and the band (from all eras) do, I'm grateful. It's a living. : ) I'm happy to host a hang here with people and speak to posters. As for TSR, I'm proud of it, as the first and perhaps only studio recorded effort of BOC of the 21st Century featuring Richie, Jules and Danny. Ranking TSR is difficult, mainly because it's 14 cuts. In the post vinyl era, I haven't played an entire CD (since 1985) start to finish hardly EVER. For you younger people, the attraction of the golden age of "album rock" was playing an LP in it's entirety. Which meant listening to a 15-19 minute side, taking a brief break to turn the disk over, then doing it again for another 15-19 minutes. IMO, it was a GREAT way to digest an artist's presentation and vision. If you can't SAY something over all in 30-40 minutes total, you shouldn't try. Attention spans, coincidently, have deteriorated in the same mean time. When CD's came in, with 80 minute capacity, artists stopped trying to do "album rock." Ironically, the 60-80 minute "LP" of today coupled with the rise of internet streaming I think has led to the return of the "hit single" as the dominant form of music distribution. Like it was when I was a kid growing up in the 1960's. Maybe TSR should be re-imagined as an 8 cut LP. Program it the way you'd like. That's another thing about today. You can do that! Buck I think you have nailed this. TSR has way more songs than the classic album format but overall I think this is a good thing as long as the quality is high which on TSR it is. Listeners can consider their least favourite tracks as bonus tracks & skip them. Almost all the CD's I own with bonus tracks I find that I mostly stop listening to the bonus material after the first few plays. Alternatively your least favourite tracks could be programmed out as you suggest.
I guess that there are two tracks on TSR that I like less than the rest & another two I like less (this was tough) than the other remaining tracks. This leaves us with ten tracks & makes the comparison to the classic rock album format easier. Leaving the running order as it is (minus the four bonus tracks) TSR to me sounds even more impressive & while I agree that it maybe isn't up there with the first three albums or Agents & Spectres it is by a long long way the best album since Spectres. Just think how TSR would have been received as the follow up to Spectres. I also suspect it would have yielded at least one hit single.
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Post by frog on Dec 7, 2022 12:11:43 GMT
Better than Cultösaurus Erectus or Fire of Unknown Origin ? hmmm... ok. (to each its own, of course... one's mileage may vary...)
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Post by luxexterior on Dec 7, 2022 12:43:30 GMT
Better than Cultösaurus Erectus or Fire of Unknown Origin ? hmmm... ok. (to each its own, of course... one's mileage may vary...) It's a difficult comparison but I initially thought TSR was BOC best since FOUO then the best since Cultosaurus. I now think it edges both because (especially trimmed to LP size) FOUO has a track I have never liked & another that is an obvious filler. With Culosaurus I never much liked Black Blade & have got tierd of the Marshall Plan it was funny for a while but as all comedy songs it doesn't last. I must say that I love both albums minus the tracks mentioned. But as you to each his own.
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Post by soonerbillz on Dec 8, 2022 0:18:42 GMT
TSR gets plenty of play from me. I still really like the album but to compare it to OYFOOYK!!!!!!!!!! I'm a hardcore first 3 album guy and sorry but TSR is nowhere near that level IMHO Thats my opinion which is worth nothing to anyone else but there it is I absolutely love the 1st 3 and OYFOOYK is on top of those in my list. But the the production, coupled with such great lyrics, perfect arrangement, vocals and some of possibly BÖC's best instrument play ever.... That so much of the album ties into BÖC mystic history I know Sandy would have loved it. Collaboration and use of contributing writers earlier stuff, add in with what feels like double lp. Such goodness. Yeah it's so tough when you rank greater than the best from before. But that's my call on this album.
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Post by robreich on Dec 8, 2022 2:19:20 GMT
As my Spotify wrap up shows, I'm still digging TSR - all of my top 5 were from the album, with Secret Road (of course) in the 1st position.
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Post by joe on Dec 8, 2022 4:11:35 GMT
I'll admit I need to spend more time with TSR. As well as the deeper and heavier cuts of ALL the albums. Being new to the full spectrum of material, there's a lot to choose from!
I always manage to get myself into a "rut". I have a list of tracks that I play on a very regular basis, and it's long enough that I'm finding that I'm not venturing out into new territory. I normally have to listen to something new a number of times before I can decide whether I like it, don't like it, love it, or just not sure yet. Some my favorite tunes now are ones that I wasn't fond of at all at first.
To me it's easy to throw out a positive opinion on something that I already really like, but throwing out a negative one on something I haven't given a fair shake just isn't in my blood.
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Post by bloyster on Dec 9, 2022 3:24:39 GMT
I'll admit I need to spend more time with TSR. As well as the deeper and heavier cuts of ALL the albums. Being new to the full spectrum of material, there's a lot to choose from! I always manage to get myself into a "rut". I have a list of tracks that I play on a very regular basis, and it's long enough that I'm finding that I'm not venturing out into new territory. I normally have to listen to something new a number of times before I can decide whether I like it, don't like it, love it, or just not sure yet. Some my favorite tunes now are ones that I wasn't fond of at all at first.To me it's easy to throw out a positive opinion on something that I already really like, but throwing out a negative one on something I haven't given a fair shake just isn't in my blood. I agree. I’ve never been able to listen to any new music by my favorite bands and like it on the first few listens. I have to listen to it many times before I take to liking it. I’d say most of the time, when I get a new album, I will have it playing in the background when I’m doing things around the house just so that I’m kind of listening and at the same time not listening but it’s becoming familiar to my ears. One of my all time favorite albums is Quadrophenia by The Who. When I first got that album way back in the 70’s I didn’t like it at all and I was trying to think of ways to take it back to the record store to get my money back. I’m glad I didn’t because as I said it turned out to be one of my favorites. As far as TSR is concerned I think that it is a very good album and is now in my top 5 favorite albums by BOC. It’s rare that a band 50 some years into their existence could put out such a good album. But, as with all my favorite bands, I didn’t like all of the songs on first listen but as of now I like pretty much the whole album. I’m not skipping any of the songs when I listen to it which is rare for me because usually there will be a song or two, on an album, that I don’t care to much about and will skip. I know many BOC fans say that the first 3 albums are quintessential BOC. I respect those opinions but in my opinion there are other BOC albums that I think are better. I’m not saying the songs on those first 3 albums are not any good. They are good but to me they sound like there is to much treble and no bottom end. I like the re-recorded versions of the songs much more from the first 3 albums that appeared on the 1994 album, Cult Classic because the songs don’t sound as trebly and there is a bottom end. They have more power and punch to them on that album. Makes me wonder if there are any other songs that was recorded for that album that are filed away somewhere in someone’s studio. If so I’d love to hear them. Anyways, I think BOC is a great band and that the current line up is very solid and I would love to hear more new music from them. I seem to remember hearing Eric say that they are getting up there in years and won’t have it in them to tour like they do now in a few years. I think the fans would still want to hear new music from them even if the touring stops.
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Post by marty on Dec 9, 2022 21:37:04 GMT
“Maybe TSR should be re-imagined as an 8 cut LP. Program it the way you'd like. That's another thing about today. You can do that!”
I have 9 in my top 100 on Spotify, would sure hate to be the judge of cutting it to 8.
There are songs on nearly every record that I don’t listen to. I don’t base my liking of a BÖC album, on that. My quality barometer is how well it translates, live. To be top tier, the record needs to have at least 3 or 4 songs that are heavy rotation, either official or bootleg live versions, long term. So, with that as criteria, TSR might be middle to top, but we will never know if BÖC would still be playing TSR tunes, live, 20 years from now. Hard to say if I’ll still be listening to TSR tunes, 20 years from now, hope to find out.
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Post by soonerbillz on Dec 10, 2022 0:29:36 GMT
"but we will never know if BÖC would still be playing TSR tunes, live, 20 years from now. Hard to say if I’ll still be listening to TSR tunes, 20 years from now, hope to find out."
Maybe we won't be around to hear if BÖC is still playing TSR songs 20 years from now... I might be I not that old dammit! I'm only in my 60s! LOL.. but that said there is a few BÖC tribute bands out there and I'm just sitting here thinking "are those guys all looking around trying to figure out how they're going to add in all the TSR songs to their rotation" ...?
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Post by joe on Dec 10, 2022 3:22:13 GMT
I'll admit I need to spend more time with TSR. As well as the deeper and heavier cuts of ALL the albums. Being new to the full spectrum of material, there's a lot to choose from! I always manage to get myself into a "rut". I have a list of tracks that I play on a very regular basis, and it's long enough that I'm finding that I'm not venturing out into new territory. I normally have to listen to something new a number of times before I can decide whether I like it, don't like it, love it, or just not sure yet. Some my favorite tunes now are ones that I wasn't fond of at all at first.To me it's easy to throw out a positive opinion on something that I already really like, but throwing out a negative one on something I haven't given a fair shake just isn't in my blood. I agree. I’ve never been able to listen to any new music by my favorite bands and like it on the first few listens. I have to listen to it many times before I take to liking it. I’d say most of the time, when I get a new album, I will have it playing in the background when I’m doing things around the house just so that I’m kind of listening and at the same time not listening but it’s becoming familiar to my ears. One of my all time favorite albums is Quadrophenia by The Who. When I first got that album way back in the 70’s I didn’t like it at all and I was trying to think of ways to take it back to the record store to get my money back. I’m glad I didn’t because as I said it turned out to be one of my favorites. As far as TSR is concerned I think that it is a very good album and is now in my top 5 favorite albums by BOC. It’s rare that a band 50 some years into their existence could put out such a good album. But, as with all my favorite bands, I didn’t like all of the songs on first listen but as of now I like pretty much the whole album. I’m not skipping any of the songs when I listen to it which is rare for me because usually there will be a song or two, on an album, that I don’t care to much about and will skip. I know many BOC fans say that the first 3 albums are quintessential BOC. I respect those opinions but in my opinion there are other BOC albums that I think are better. I’m not saying the songs on those first 3 albums are not any good. They are good but to me they sound like there is to much treble and no bottom end. I like the re-recorded versions of the songs much more from the first 3 albums that appeared on the 1994 album, Cult Classic because the songs don’t sound as trebly and there is a bottom end. They have more power and punch to them on that album. Makes me wonder if there are any other songs that was recorded for that album that are filed away somewhere in someone’s studio. If so I’d love to hear them. Anyways, I think BOC is a great band and that the current line up is very solid and I would love to hear more new music from them. I seem to remember hearing Eric say that they are getting up there in years and won’t have it in them to tour like they do now in a few years. I think the fans would still want to hear new music from them even if the touring stops. I listen to music a little like you do, especially in the past before I retired and was still driving around a lot. Now I just play my regulars and with somewhat frequent random picks on YouTube. I rarely EVER hear anything new on the radio anymore. Whole different distribution, presentation, and business model today compared to the 60's to 80's period. I definitely need to re-visit TSR after looking at the track list for the first time in many months. The tracks below I've gone through at least once, the rest I don't think I've even tried yet at all! Sad. Too many songs, too little time. Not just for this album. That Was Me - this one is a little heavy for me. Doesn't make it bad at all, just not my taste preference. Box in My Head - Like it. Very unique and "different" It's one of my wife's very favorites, especially with the video. That was a daily play for her. Tainted Blood - I really like the video version, haven't really done the audio-only version yet. The Machine - The message in this one is cool, and it sounds good. Florida Man - This one is really cool, especially once I did some research on it. The Alchemist - I like the video version, not sure yet about the audio-only Secret Road - I remember the sound really grabbed me. I really need to go back to this one. Not sure what it's really about (I'm slow at figuring songs out) Train True - I like this one live - like actually at a show. Really great performance at last week's Woodlands concert So for a 14 (or 15?) song album, about half is actually pretty good for me. Everybody here probably has a different opinion. Opinions is how this thread started out didn't it?
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Post by joe on Dec 10, 2022 3:57:08 GMT
How many hours would it take for me to fully listen to EVERY BOC album, then give some percentage a second or third listen? How would somebody like me be able to competently compare or rate one album vs another, especially given the 50'ish year difference from first album to last? And with taste preferences and culture changing over time?
So just an amateur winging it based on what tracks I remember on previous albums, TSR is a very good creative album and stands strong with the best of the rest.
Dunno, maybe some amateur's opinion is just as good as any professional's?
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Post by frog on Dec 10, 2022 10:01:17 GMT
How many hours would it take for me to fully listen to EVERY BOC album, then give some percentage a second or third listen? I'd say 30 hours, more or less. (15 studio album (including Cult Classic), the vinyls era album being really shorter than an hour each...)
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