Nice music is worth keeping. I think all of the albums I have in my collection are nice to some degree. If nothing else, they are at least interesting.
Nothing. None. No other albums come to mind starting with the letter N that I have let go. Apparently I must have avoided artists whose names began with N. That is except for these that I kept...Links to the music are included throughout the post if you want to hear the music.
Rick Nelson "Rick Sings Nelson" (1970) Hello, Mary Lou! This ain't the teen idol Ricky Nelson from the "Ozzie and Harriet" television show of the fifties, but this is grown up Rick Nelson of the seventies. In this fantastic album Rick heads down a country rock road in a genre that he helped pioneer along with artists like Gram Parsons, Poco, and the Eagles. Unfortunately, lack of promotional push from his label kept Nelson from achieving a resurgence of the popularity he had in his rock and roll days as a TV teen idol His death in a 1985 plane crash put an end to his career. Fortunately he left a legacy with his wonderful music as is exemplified by this great album. It's another one that I found in the cut-out bins and I am so glad I did.
The National Gallery "Performing Musical Interpretations of the Paintings of Paul Klee" (1968) This was indeed a crazy cut-out find. I don't recall where or when I found it, but I'm glad I did. This is an interesting musical experiment that is just up my lane of quirky musical interests. It's actually skillfully put together by a team that includes jazz musician and composer Chuck Mangione. This is some trippy curious stuff, but worth the listening effort.
The Nice "Five Bridges" (1970) This is a big classical orchestra album with some big rock and roll by the Nice with keyboards of the famed Keith Emerson later of ELP. The album is a nice mix of high brow composers updated with rock and classical treatments of modern rock songs. The type of album I always dreamed of finding and then I did.
Nirvana "The Story of Simon Simopath" (1967) Most likely I picked this one up at the Green Acres Discount Store in Louisville TN sometime around 1970. The colorful cartoon art cover surely was an initial appeal to me. I also liked the name of the group--Nirvana. Keep in mind that this is from 1967 and is a group from Great Britain and not the now more famous group from Seattle. Personally I like this old Nirvana better, but it's a matter of taste.
Did you recognize any artists in this post? Can you think of other same name artists that could be confusing? What are some N artists that you think of?
You got me curious with the Rick Nelson album and I took a listen. I enjoyed the song you linked to and am going to explore some of his later work more.
ReplyDeleteL&L, Rick Nelson's later efforts are vastly underrated in my opinion. The link leads to the entire album so there is a nice chunk of music from his country rock period that you can listen to.
DeleteLee
I knew all but the National Gallery.
ReplyDeleteJamie, the National Gallery is one of those weird records that you don't see that often. Strange music that takes time to get accustomed to appreciating.
DeleteLee
I must say that you have the most widely varied musical taste of anyone I know, including me. I've known this for a while, and it has surprised me. I almost always win on this subject! Whenever I've been in a music trivia contest, I win. My own musical tastes are broader than anyone else I know (except you) by at least 50%. I still attend all kinds of concerts except hip-hop. I've got a giant record and CD collection. And still you come up with countless bands I've never heard of and you even remember the stories about the records you bought.
ReplyDeleteOf today's current crop, I like Nelson and The Nice. The others,.. not so much. The Nice is actually quite nice!
This is a wonderful A to Z this year, Lee! Congratulations!
Sixgun McItchyfinger
6-Gun, I think my diverse musical tastes were cultivated by my parents and then later certain teachers. Even as a little kid my ears seemed attuned to whatever different and interesting music I would hear. And my parents much smaller album collection was a wide mix of music.
DeleteI'd bet that you'd win in music trivia over me. I can probably come up with a lot of arcane stuff, but there's a lot of trivia out there. I love trivia games though.
If it fit into my budget I'd possibly go to concerts still, but I probably wouldn't be motivated to endure the hassle so I'd likely stay home most of the time anyway. I definitely would avoid anything like hip-hop concerts.
Back in those music pursuit days, keeping up with the music scene and seeking out new albums became a passion for me so the stories about many of my searches stay strong in my memory--at least for now.
National Gallery is a peculiar collection of music that for me took a few listens before I started appreciating it. There is some first class musicianship involved, but some of the songs sound really weird (which I'll admit I like).
Thanks! I also like this idea a great deal because it inspires me to listen to music I haven't listened to in a long time and that I used to enjoy listening to. I'm thinking in some future A to Z doing my cassettes, CDs, and even DVDs.
Lee
I was expecting the New Riders of the Purple Sage, but such is life.
ReplyDeleteHadn't thought of Rick Nelson for a long time, my sister used to play it three times a day, though.
Can't go wrong with Nirvana, though.
Craig, although I always liked New Riders, I never bought any of their music in any form. I probably heard their music at other peoples' houses.
DeleteI never much listened to the grunge group Nirvana although I do have their Unplugged album on CD, But this psychedelic British band Nirvana I like a lot. They have nice orchestrations and harmonies. It's nice trippy music to listen to. I'll have more of the British Nirvana when I get to the letter T.
Lee
I did know. In high school my best friend was a military brat. He had crates of albums from Europe and England that he drug back from there.
DeleteThat Nirvana record was one of them.
Rick Nelson is about the only one I care about here...
ReplyDeleteJohn H, he left some fine work behind him.
DeleteLee
RICKY NELSON is definitely one of my very favorite artists from the '50s / early '60s.
ReplyDelete#1 is easily EDDIE COCHRAN, for reasons I won't even bother to explain.
Also high on that list would be CHUCK BERRY, of course (whom I once met and got an autograph from). And "THE KING OF ROCK & ROLL". Although I don't own any of The King's music, because it doesn't thrill me much in 2022, I still recognize all the reasons why he WAS most definitely The King. (Heck, he was clearly a *major* influence on COCHRAN... even though Eddie turned out to be better: more clever, more humorous, and more punky).
~ D-FensDogG
'Loyal American Underground'
STMcC, I wasn't a huge fan of the 50s rock and roll sound for the most part. I mean not enough to buy many albums from those artists. Ricky Nelson I had always enjoyed from watching Ozzie & Harriet. I liked the songs he did as well. So when I heard him going the country rock direction I was definitely interested in hearing more and liked what I heard.
DeleteLee
I only know Ricky Nelson whom, I think, would have made a comeback if he didn't die. I bet I would not like the album based on Klee's work because I know the Artist and dislike his artwork:) I am thinking Neil Young, Nat King Cole, ...that's it for now.
ReplyDeleteBirgit, I think Ricky Nelson had already made a bit of a comeback in his country rock years, but he was no longer the teen idol he had been and his audience had grown up.
DeleteI don't think the National Gallery album reflects the art of Klee as much as the spirit of the works. Either way it's kind of weird, but not as weird as the paintings I don't think.
Neil Young will be coming in my "Y" post.
Lee
The only N I found in my CD collection was Nilsson greatest hits. I'm kind of surprised I don't have Ricky Nelson. I'm going to look for that album on Amazon.
ReplyDeletePatricia, many of my more recent album purchases (on CD and now a number of years ago)have been greatest hits compilations. I figure it's usually hard to go wrong with those collections. For some reason I never got into Harry Nilsson's music though several of my friends had albums by him. He did some good stuff.
DeleteLee
Loved Nelson, liked Nilsson.
ReplyDelete“How you remind me” and “Photograph” are two really good songs by Nickelback. Nitty Gritty Dirt Band was cool. My dad liked them more than I did ;-)
Diedre, I did enjoy Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, but never bought any of their music until CDs. I've also got one or more CDs by Nickelback. I'm losing track since many of my CD acquisitions in the 1990s to the most recent times I probably only listened to a few times long ago.
DeleteLee
That's funny about the old Nirvana! How come the new Nirvana didn't have to change their name? The band from the UK that I like, The Charlatans, had to change their name to The Charlatans UK whenever they issued records in North America!
ReplyDeleteDeniz, yes, I recall having a recording by Charlatans UK. Maybe the original Nirvana didn't secure the rights to the name? I don't know how that stuff works.
DeleteLee
I've always liked Rick Nelson's "Garden Party." It was one of those songs from summer of 1972 that I listened to on an AM radio station after we moved to a new house in a new neighborhood and I was so lonely
ReplyDeleteDyanne, I liked "Garden Party" as well, but never enough to buy the album it was on. Summer of 72 I was working and hanging out with friends, but if friends weren't around I would feel very lonely as well. For me it was a time of my life I guess and a yearning to find a girlfriend. But it was a great year looking back. One of my favorites.
DeleteLee