EC and the Attractions Tour-De-Force?

[migdd]

Which album presents EC and the Attractions at the height of their powers? Discussion, please. If you vote in the "other" category, please explain. Poll is in effect for 30 days.

[bronxapostle]

i'm with you...GH!!!

[migdd]

Wow. Three votes for Get Happy! already. I'm really expecting IB to take this one away because of its "range"; however, as a band, I find them somewhat reserved in that recording. GH, for me, portrays the band in unbridled glory. BA, why did you select GH?

[sulky lad]

There's something joyous about GH that the other albums don't seem to capture even though most reports if that time suggest it wasn't a straight-forward album to make. Add to that the swagger of The Attractions, the most exquisite bass playing and Elvis' voice always sounding like he's just behind you, for me it's so far ahead of any other Attractions album that I don't have a second place choice !

[strangerinthehouse]

I went with Trust, it's the one where the band is most cohesive and an integral part of the song. I love their performances elsewhere but each individual seems to tower everyone else in other albums - Bruce's bass drives GH for me, Pete's drums in TYM, Steve's keyboards in nearly everything else- but in Trust everyone comes together with an understated but facinating performance.

Just think of the beginning of New Lace Sleeves...

Still, it's hard to just pick one because they are so great throughout all those albums. After Trust, I would say TYM, GH and IB.

[Emotional Toothpaste]

Get Happy is a great collection and one of my favorites, but on Trust, their playing has graduated another year, they are listening to each other better, and each member more integral, so I picked Trust. With Trust, here is a band playing as a TEAM in their prime. I was tempted to pick Blood and Chocolate, but I think the band was a pretty well-fractured Atlas by then.

[when i was cruel]

May I ask what is so amazing about GH, now Iam not trying to rouse the hornets nest, I just want a full album opinion from someone who holds it dear and why, just curious.

[sulky lad]

After Strangers comments, I tend to agree entirely with his view, there is more cohesion in the playing of The Attractions on Trust - however, Get Happy lifts me up, breaks me down and leaves me breathless and intoxicated- much like an evening in the company of the forum members in London !! (although I've never yet managed to giggle like a schoolgirl whilst listening to GH.)

[Jack of All Parades]

I will still vote for "Get Happy" and for the fellow poster a few notes up who asks why? Yet again:

"I have been spending the last few months revisiting "Get Happy"and to a lesser extent, it's sister album "Trust". Re-listening has only reinforced my unequivocal appreciation for this album as my favorite EC record in his discography. I continuously marvel at the inventive and fun word play, the tightly constructed melodies and harmonies that throb with great bass lines and which are punctuated with vibrant drumming. The piano and organ bits add great color. My favorite musical aspect of the record has to be the bass playing with a close second given to EC's singing[he has rarely sung a ballad so well as he does on "Riot Act" or "Motel Matches"].

The twenty songs that comprise the record are like a guided tour through 60's pop and R&B music played with a verve and speed that gets one's pulse up and foot tapping. I love the sampling of R&B, country, pop racing by one's ears. I have previously talked of 'clutter' in his music as EC progressed into the eighties and beyond as a songwriter-there is no evidence of that in these songs. The lyrics are a model of compression with inventive conceits and lines that are concisely expressed emotional statements offered in a non-trite way. There is no cliche, just real emotion and strong conviction and self-judgement presented honestly and with an urgency that I often find missing in his later musical efforts that to my ears sound too frequently artificial in their construction.

You have an artist in his prime commenting on his fame, his troubles with women, his tenuous connection with the world around him and paying homage to influences on his music either directly quoting lines from songs or borrowing a lyrical reference. I cannot get enough of the singing. I think this is one of my favorite albums for EC's vocal efforts[it made me appreciate his abilities as a ballad singer]. You have a band that as a working unit never sounded stronger to my ears. Mostly you have an album that never disappoints me whenever I listen to it. It is a life affirming record for me; it keeps me 'happy' when I am in the dumps. That the Rhino re-release has 50 songs between the two cds is a nice bonus. Though I would not want to see EC frozen in this time period as a songwriter or performer, I am grateful that this album exists and that I can continuously revisit it for refreshment. It is simply that life affirming for me as an aural document."

_________________
"I have to say the things I feel;
I have to feel the things I say."
Tift Merritt