 Who would you compare the 77s to?  |
audiori 
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Registration Date: 05-27-2004
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| Who would you compare the 77s to? |
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Heres a tough one...
If you were trying to give a friend an example of what the 77s sound like by comparing them to other popular bands and artists - who would you list?
What if you were trying to explain what "Fun With Sound" sounds like?
Of course, they don't sound exactly like anyone else - but are there a certain list of artists or bands that you would put in a similar category musically? If so, reply and list which ones you'd list for each band.
- The 77s:
- Michael Roe:
- 7&7iS "Fun With Sound":
- The Lost Dogs:
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08-18-2007 11:49 |
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audiori
Administrator
Registration Date: 05-27-2004
Posts: 1,383
Thread Starter 
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By the way, heres the reason I'm asking.. I'm setting up pages for these bands on a website that asks me for a list of "similar artists". I guess the page recommends them to people based on this information. So, any suggestions would be helpful. Its something we've been asked before but its always hard to come up with a very decent list.
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08-18-2007 13:59 |
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Marti
Radioactive Crow
Registration Date: 06-01-2004
Posts: 10,098
Favorite 77s album: Drowning with Land in Sight
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| RE: Who would you compare the 77s to? |
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| quote: |
Originally posted by audiori
Heres a tough one...
If you were trying to give a friend an example of what the 77s sound like by comparing them to other popular bands and artists - who would you list?
What if you were trying to explain what "Fun With Sound" sounds like?
Of course, they don't sound exactly like anyone else - but are there a certain list of artists or bands that you would put in a similar category musically? If so, reply and list which ones you'd list for each band.
- The 77s:
- Michael Roe:
- 7&7iS "Fun With Sound":
- The Lost Dogs: |
I thought maybe if I answered the question badly, it would at least fuel the discussion with corrections.
The 77s--how do you qualify an enigma? Many of the die-hard fans are unique and eclectic themselves, and enjoy their one-of-a-kind mosaic band. They can cover Zep pretty well, since I heard the original Zep version of "Nobody's Fault but Mine" one day and thought that we'd had a miraculous 77s epiphany at a local radio station for a second, before I returned to reality. I would definitely say that they show a respect through emulation of musicians from a number of different eras and genres, such as Blind Willie, Washington Phillips, the Beach Boys, etc.
For Mike himself, I would say the same thing, the difference being that his solo work slows down on the whole, and can be more introspective. As far as influences go, my perennial favorite, "Hold Dearly to Me" is obviously Dylan-like. Safe as Milk is like a sampler that includes material reminiscent of older folk and country music icons. My son makes tonal and inflection comparisons of his voice to Tom Petty's, but the frustrated English major's frequent use of homonyms and oronyms is his own.
Fun with Sound seems very Beach Boys-influenced to me, with some of the above thrown in around the edges. "City of Refuge" shows some really original thinking--they sort of Zepped that out, too, for lack of better way to put it.
The Lost Dogs is similar (in concept, at least) to the Highwaymen, although I would put some of the song styles into a category with the work of Emmylou Harris or Buddy & Julie Miller.
Okay--now everybody has something to argue, so we can get this going.
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This post has been edited 2 time(s), it was last edited by Marti: 08-18-2007 16:12.
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08-18-2007 15:33 |
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77 bc
Radioactive Hatchling
Registration Date: 11-17-2004
Posts: 9,890
Favorite 77s album: The one's Mike plays guitar on
Location: Springtown
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| quote: |
Originally posted by phreaq
i hate comparisons... but if forced (this is a band that spans 25 years of recordings - there is going to be a lot of disparity):
77's - comsat angels; rolling stones; tool
michael roe - brian wilson; billy idol; brian eno/brian ferry |
holy crap...phreaq came out of "self imposed exile" for this one???
The 77's remind me of...the 77's.
Michael Roe...well...that's all over the map. From Art Garfunkel to Robert Zimmerman, but mostly, he makes me think of Doctor Love.
The "Fun With Sound" project is in a class of it's own. Incredible stuff, without all of the goofy stuff that Brian Wilson has been known to throw into his production. I still hold it on a level with "Pet Sounds," which was in a league of it's own.
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"tell me, what's worth more
what you'll lie for or
what you'll die for
i follow my heart
and it lies and it lies
and i don't understand it"
~ Roe/Harmon ~ "Woody"
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08-20-2007 08:12 |
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peawinkel
Mezzo
Registration Date: 09-30-2004
Posts: 3,685
Favorite 77s album: Tom Tom Blues
Location: Alabaster, Alabama
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Very difficult assignment due to the versatility of their sound from song to song & era to era.
Early stuff - Rolling Stones & I'm sure other punk bands (but I'm not that versed on that genre)
Mid stuff - Led Zeppelin, Kansas (on Indian Summer) -see what I mean....song to song
Later stuff - I don't know....it seems that at this point their sound has become more unique.
I know....not much help....
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Just solid rock
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08-22-2007 20:35 |
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Kit
Flower in the Sand
Registration Date: 06-02-2004
Posts: 1,695
Location: AUSKIMG TEGSAGS
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08-22-2007 20:36 |
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Ping Pong Over the Abyss
Unbalanced
Registration Date: 02-21-2006
Posts: 1,110
Favorite 77s album: Too Many...!
Location: In my earbuds...!
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Kit nailed it. Highly eclectic, the 77s ARE their own sound. 
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"Sunshine on my shoulder makes me sweaty...!" Dr. Love 
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08-24-2007 12:50 |
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Marti
Radioactive Crow
Registration Date: 06-01-2004
Posts: 10,098
Favorite 77s album: Drowning with Land in Sight
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I think everybody's saying the same thing while throwing in different influences--they're music history appreciation class, taking in many different genres and sounding uniquely like themselves doing it. Mike has a distinctive voice, and they're all great musicians.
__________________
“This Jesus that the Christians speak of, he sounds like a good man. Why don’t they follow his teachings?” - Crazy Horse
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08-24-2007 15:48 |
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peawinkel
Mezzo
Registration Date: 09-30-2004
Posts: 3,685
Favorite 77s album: Tom Tom Blues
Location: Alabaster, Alabama
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Dr.'s voice is the most versatile.
__________________
No pansy praise and worship
Just solid rock
On P103
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08-25-2007 09:47 |
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audiori
Administrator
Registration Date: 05-27-2004
Posts: 1,383
Thread Starter
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Helpful suggestions - thanks guys. Keep 'em coming if anyone thinks of any others.
This is primarily just so the site can recommend them to other people that might like similar music so it's fine for the list to be all over the place. Its not saying that the 77s or any of these bands sound exactly like this list... more that fans of these artists might also like the 77s.
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08-25-2007 09:52 |
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waterdog
Baby Elvis
Registration Date: 10-26-2005
Posts: 157
Favorite 77s album: late
Location: southern california
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| quote: |
Originally posted by audiori
Helpful suggestions - thanks guys. Keep 'em coming if anyone thinks of any others.
This is primarily just so the site can recommend them to other people that might like similar music so it's fine for the list to be all over the place. Its not saying that the 77s or any of these bands sound exactly like this list... more that fans of these artists might also like the 77s. |
this is just a thought , but maybe have the website list these posted opinions rather than just the band names.
just a thought
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11-01-2007 11:17 |
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ThePlowman
Someone New
Registration Date: 11-01-2007
Posts: 1
Favorite 77s album: Pray Naked
Location: Gold River, BC, Canada
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| RE: Who would you compare the 77s to? |
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The most obvious comparison, when considering the 77s, would be Zeppelin. But as everyone above has noted - their sound is so diverse and eclectic, it's impossible to definitively identify them with any one band or artist.
The bittersweet power of their lyrics and music transcends simple comparisons, and sometimes even defies genre placement. A fusion of alternative hard rock/blues/jazz (acid jazz?) and funk-pop are how I would describe the majority of their music. The "Pray Naked" (untitled) album, "Sticks and Stones", "Tom Tom Blues" and "Drowning with Land in Sight" are my fave albums of theirs, to date. These guys are such awesome rockers when they choose to cut loose, but they also create shimmering, incredibly touching ballads with lush, fluid instrumentation.
I've been a 77s fan since the early 80s but only got to see them live once, at the Abbotsford Airport up here in BC, Canada back in the early 90s. I can't wait to hear the new album and see them live very soon.
JM
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11-01-2007 16:21 |
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Doctor Love
Doctor Love
Registration Date: 08-24-2004
Posts: 1,998
Location: on the moon Alice
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| RE: Who would you compare the 77s to? |
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Gosh, I'm 'dead chuffed, man' at all the nice comments, comparisons and kudos here.
I used to compare us to The Pretenders on the Learning To Crawl album, but that was 23 years ago. That remains a great album and I still wish we sounded like that. 'My City Was Gone', anyone? That track is SO cool (Rockpile refugee Billy Bremner and I are twin sons of different mothers on guitar and that brilliiant bass player was borrowed from Big Country, of all places) and we could copy it letter-perfect, but I don't think we coulda ever come up with something as cool as that, especially in 1984 -- that's the difference, 'ya see... I mean, we did other things, but we didn't do that. I wish we had. I'd be sitting pretty about now.
Nowadays I wouldn't know what to say, but to be mentioned in the same breath as The Comsat Angels, Led Zeppelin, The Beach Boys and Bryan Ferry is more than enough for me.
Thanks a lot, everyone!
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11-02-2007 03:26 |
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77 bc
Radioactive Hatchling
Registration Date: 11-17-2004
Posts: 9,890
Favorite 77s album: The one's Mike plays guitar on
Location: Springtown
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| RE: waiting for a miracle |
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| quote: |
Originally posted by drowning
many influences, undoubtedly... yet... clearly the sevens.
~f |
I can agree with that.
(I thought the pretender's reference was about Mike's attempt to have hair like Chrissie's) 
__________________
"tell me, what's worth more
what you'll lie for or
what you'll die for
i follow my heart
and it lies and it lies
and i don't understand it"
~ Roe/Harmon ~ "Woody"
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11-02-2007 05:59 |
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Marti
Radioactive Crow
Registration Date: 06-01-2004
Posts: 10,098
Favorite 77s album: Drowning with Land in Sight
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In the way of adjectives rather than comparisons, they're intelligent music as reflected in both the lyrics and the ability to absorb and creatively recycle many different genres of styles and arrangements.
__________________
“This Jesus that the Christians speak of, he sounds like a good man. Why don’t they follow his teachings?” - Crazy Horse
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11-02-2007 12:42 |
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Nailtatt
Rocks in your Head
Registration Date: 05-28-2004
Posts: 24,078
Favorite 77s album: Sticks and Stones
Location: The NFP
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The Beatles.
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11-02-2007 13:12 |
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larryl
Rocks in your Head
Registration Date: 06-01-2004
Posts: 18,657
Location: hotlanta
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| quote: |
Originally posted by Nailtatt
The Beatles.
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there is certainly a bit of that there, at times.....
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11-02-2007 13:35 |
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