Rooster_Ties Posted October 2, 2003 Report Share Posted October 2, 2003 (edited) OK, over the years I think I've seen tons and tons of records and CD's by all kinds of bands (from the 60's through today), but sometimes the solo projects and/or side projects slip through the cracks, especially if they aren't filed alphabetically with the rest of a band's output. Many worthy releases I'm sure I'm not even aware of. I'll mention a couple that I think are obvious (at least the 2nd one is), but perhaps not known to everyone here... Justin Hayward & John Lodge (of "The Moody Blues") on an album called "Blue Jays, from 1975. I'm no longer very much into the Moody Blues, but when I was - I used to think this was every bit as great an album as anything the Moody Blues ever recorded. It has been released on CD, and appears to still be in print. Keith Richards - "Talk Is Cheap" from 1988. A fantastic album that grooves quite deeply, featuring Sarah Dash on vocals on several tracks (with Keith on vocals on every track), along with a whole bunch of other greats like Bootsy Collins, The Memphis Horns, Mick Taylor, Johnnie Johnson, Bernie Worrell, Ivan Neville, and Maceo Parker. A 5-star album in my book (and I'm no Stones fanatic either). Edited May 18, 2006 by Rooster_Ties Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster_Ties Posted October 2, 2003 Author Report Share Posted October 2, 2003 And perhaps one of the very best side-projects of all... XTC's side band/project under the name The Dukes of Stratosphear, which released one EP and one full album, which have both been combined on one CD: Chips from the Chocolate Fireball. Frankly, as much as I love XTC (and I do really like XTC quite a lot!!!), I think I like The Duke's output as much as anything in the entire XTC catgalog. Yes, it's in print. Sound samples are HERE. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AfricaBrass Posted October 2, 2003 Report Share Posted October 2, 2003 Nice thread, Rooster! I love the The Dukes of Stratosphear, I have to admit I like them even more than XTC. Some of my favorite solo albums are: David Crosby (CSN) - If I Could Only Remember My Name Skip Spence (Moby Grape) - Oar Syd Barrett (Pink Floyd) - Madcap Laughs and Barrett George Harrison - All Things Must Pass I have more, but I'll have to think about it. :rsmile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Dye Posted October 2, 2003 Report Share Posted October 2, 2003 One of my favorites: Bob Mould - Workbook Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A Lark Ascending Posted October 2, 2003 Report Share Posted October 2, 2003 Well, I'm sure I could list lots given time...does the entire Robert Wyatt catalogue count as a Post-Soft Machine 'solo project'? I would support Crosby's 'If I Could Only Remember My Name' - an undervalued gem if ever there was one by an underappreciated and unfairly maligned performer. Robert Fripp's 'Exposure' is a big favourite of mine - Fripp after disbanding King Crimson in the mid-70s and going to New York, colliding with punk and taking on some very out philosophical notions yet retaining some key Crimson moments. Definitely a strange record but one I can listen to from start to finish without losing attention. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saint Vitus Posted October 2, 2003 Report Share Posted October 2, 2003 I'd say Talk Is Cheap is the best Stones album since Exile on Main Street. That Mick's not there to mess things up might have contributed greatly to such an outcome. B) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster_Ties Posted October 2, 2003 Author Report Share Posted October 2, 2003 Jeff Lynne - "Armchair Theatre", from 1990. A good (but probably not 'great') album. Back in the early 90's, I used to spin this fairly often, although I don't nearly as much now. (Something about Lynne's production techniques that I've grown to like less and less over the years.) Still, well worth getting if you see in used in a bargain bin for $3 (which I have seen quite frequently), and have any interest at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saint Vitus Posted October 2, 2003 Report Share Posted October 2, 2003 (edited) These two have provided many hours of happy listening for me: Daryl Hall - Sacred Songs (1980) Daryl Hall - 3 Hearts in the Happy Ending Machine (1986) Edited October 2, 2003 by Saint Vitus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Dye Posted October 2, 2003 Report Share Posted October 2, 2003 And this: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster_Ties Posted October 2, 2003 Author Report Share Posted October 2, 2003 I'd say Talk Is Cheap is the best Stones album since Exile on Main Street. That Mick's not there to mess things up might have contributed greatly to such an outcome. B) Could be. I'm not really much of a Stones nut, but for some reason - "Talk Is Cheap" really took hold of me when it first came out. I didn't care quite as much for Keith's 2nd solo album, "Main Offender" (from 1992), but I thought Keith's one live release, "Live at the Hollywood Palladium (Dec. 15, 1988)" was pretty darn good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster_Ties Posted October 2, 2003 Author Report Share Posted October 2, 2003 Both of these are pretty good too, IMHO... And one could easily argue that these were solo projects as well... (And if I was fanatical about how I sorted my CD's, I would most certainly include "The Final Cut" in the solo Waters section, and "Momentary Lapse..." in the David Gilmour section.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster_Ties Posted October 2, 2003 Author Report Share Posted October 2, 2003 I haven't heard this in many, many years -- but seem to remember having a roommate that used to have this on tape. Roger Hodgson - "In the Eye of The Storm", from 1984. Hodgson was half of Supertramp (he was the higher of the two voices), and you might remember the tune "Had a Dream [sleeping with the Eneny]" which got some airplay, if I remember right. The AMG review is quite favorable, and says that Hodgson played nearly all the instruments on this album himself - which I think is impressive. (Ben Folds did the same thing on a recent album of his.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Dye Posted October 2, 2003 Report Share Posted October 2, 2003 What happened to White City, Roost? I never quite warmed to that album. I don't know why. Maybe it's time to give it a spin again. I did like "Give Blood". As for the Final Cut, that is absolutely my favorite Floyd/Waters album. The close miking on Waters voice and the transients on that record give me chills. I can't listen to it casually. Its always an intense experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster_Ties Posted October 2, 2003 Author Report Share Posted October 2, 2003 What happened to White City, Roost? I never quite warmed to that album. I don't know why. Maybe it's time to give it a spin again. I did like "Give Blood". Was on the fence about including it, but I guess Pete's solo work is certainly to be discussed here, even if it is far better known than maybe some of the other things some people have brought up. I really rather like "White City", and in some ways I consider it a companion work to David Gilmour's "About Face". Gilmour plays guitar on all (or most) of "White City" and Gilmour co-wrote at least one of the tunes ("White City Fighting"). And Pete wrote (or co-wrote) two of the tunes on Gilmour's "About Face" ("Love on the Air" and "All Lovers Are Deranged"). And the two albums were recorded within a year of each other. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazzmoose Posted October 2, 2003 Report Share Posted October 2, 2003 YEAH!! I love that first David Gilmour disc. Much more than any of the various Floyd projects (from either "side") since the Wall. Hmm. Maybe since Wish You Were Here... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AfricaBrass Posted October 2, 2003 Report Share Posted October 2, 2003 YEAH!! I love that first David Gilmour disc. Much more than any of the various Floyd projects (from either "side") since the Wall. Hmm. Maybe since Wish You Were Here... I feel the same way about Floyd. That first Gilmour disc was good. I remember really loving the first song on it (it's been years since I have heard it). I just can't get into the the Final Cut or the Roger Water's solo stuff and Post-Waters Pink Floyd. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster_Ties Posted October 2, 2003 Author Report Share Posted October 2, 2003 I both like and dislike Waters' solo stuff. I mean, there are aspects of it that I really like (when I'm in the mood), but most of the time I have little interest in Waters' solo work. Hard to explain. On a related note, Waters' did half of the soundtrack to an animated movie called "When The Wind Blows". The whole of side 2 of that record is a suite of music by Waters (with vocals mostly, but a couple instrumentals), that easily rivals the best of "Pros and Cons..." or "Radio Waves". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmjk Posted October 2, 2003 Report Share Posted October 2, 2003 Since we're on ex-Who members, I'd like to mention Under a Raging Moon. I think it's Daltrey's solo masterpiece, if it could be said that he has one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AfricaBrass Posted October 2, 2003 Report Share Posted October 2, 2003 On a related note, Waters' did half of the soundtrack to an animated movie called "When The Wind Blows". The whole of side 2 of that record is a suite of music by Waters (with vocals mostly, but a couple instrumentals), that easily rivals the best of "Pros and Cons..." or "Radio Waves". I forgot about that soundtrack. I do remember liking it. I thought Pros and Cons was pretty good, but I really hated Radio KAOs. Speaking of Waters, do you remember his collaboration with Ron Geesin from the early '70s - Music From the Body? That's some pretty weird stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazzmoose Posted October 2, 2003 Report Share Posted October 2, 2003 jmjk, I remember liking Ride a Rock Horse (if I remember right) when it came out, but I never met anyone else who did... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sundog Posted October 2, 2003 Report Share Posted October 2, 2003 Ex "mats" frontman Paul Westerberg has consistently delivered as a solo artist. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmjk Posted October 2, 2003 Report Share Posted October 2, 2003 jmjk, I remember liking Ride a Rock Horse (if I remember right) when it came out, but I never met anyone else who did... Moose - I remember that album existing, in that I've seen it all over the place, but I've never heard it. So I guess you still have yet to meet a fan of it. On your rec, I'll gladly pick it up and give it a listen if I see a used vinyl copy for less than $2.50. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BFrank Posted October 3, 2003 Report Share Posted October 3, 2003 Another thumbs up for that Darryl Hall album, "Sacred Songs" produced by Robert Fripp. Here's a few more ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster_Ties Posted October 3, 2003 Author Report Share Posted October 3, 2003 This was kind of a side project, and kind of not one too. I can't remember the details of how this album came to be, but Eberhard Schoener's LP "Video Magic" from 1981 features the complete line-up of The Police as the backing band (Sting, Summers, and Copeland - all three), with Sting performing all the lead vocals. Not exactly a "lost" Police album, but kinda close (at times), and well worth checking out, for established Police fans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazzdog Posted October 3, 2003 Report Share Posted October 3, 2003 (edited) Bev, I wonder if you are familar with the album McDonald and Giles recorded after the two left the original Crimso. I prize my copy, found relatively cheap in the used bin at a local record store. I really liked this one. I also really like some of Anthony Phillips' work after he left Genesis, the most memorable being Sides, which also utilized Michael Giles as drummer. Edited October 3, 2003 by Jazzdog Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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