Album Club Selection #7: String Driven Thing - Self-Titled

So, starting a catch up....

I confess this album didn't float my boat.

Too "of its time" and a bit of a mish mash for my taste.

It has its moments but not one that'll send me hunting for more.

Finally found time to play catch-up on previous recommendations. I’ll put my cards on the table here, anything that might be construed as prog usually gets the bums rush from me. I put this down to a mid-seventies attempt to get into Yes which has left indelible musical scars. Saved by the Clash.

Listened to this via Tidal, which has it as a studio recording with some live tracks tacked on to the end - In The Studio 72. More of this anon.

I vaguely knew the name but never given them a listen until now. Bear in mind these are my rough notes from a couple of listens - does anyone else make notes, or am I taking this too seriously?

A real curates egg for me: some songs I really like, others I felt needed a proper rhythm section to anchor them and give them momentum. A few I actively disliked……

By track number:

1. Pass, bar the wig-out outro.

2. Fav track by a country mile. Loved it. Swooning fiddle great & female vocallist spot on. Unfortunate she doesn’t feature elsewhere. If I was a playlist sort of a guy this would be on one.

3. Scratchy RnB that needs that drummer to fulfil potential.

4. Fey prog-folk. Yuk! 5. Rustic Haight Asbury. OK, but again felt would benefit from a full rhythm section.

6. Another goody, thanks to the dirty riff and the obvious Beatles/Lennon pastiche.

7. Nice folk Byrds vibe for me.

8. Irritatingly catchy!

9. A 2nd highlight. Love the woozy feel that reminds me of something/one, but I just can’t place it at the moment. Another one for that playlist.

10. While I liked the retro feel I have to be honest and say the violin ended up annoying the shit out of me.

I think this completes the album but in the live extras there was a song called To See You, which I thought a stand-out in a very Dylan sort of a way. So I’d be adding it to this playlist that will never be.

Am I going to revisit? Tbh I doubt it, but certainly an interesting couple of hours.

Thanks Bill.

Now back to #6.

This is a band that I discovered through a local band a friend of mine played in called Folkenstein. They played the same kind of eclectic progressive folk and were clearly inspired by String Driven Thing. They played a lot of covers from String Driven Thing's catalog, but I did not know that at the time. I bought Folkenstein's home-recorded cassette at one of their gigs and then found out about STT through the hand-written liner notes of that cassette. Next trip to the record store I bought this album and over the years I've gotten most of their other stuff. I don't listen to it as much as I should, but I'm that way with a lot of my music library, just because there's so many artists and I tend to gravitate around my favorites.

I've enjoyed playing this a few times the last two days and will have to remind myself to break it out once in a while.

I've kept myself a bit too busy to comment on this thread much, but I will post on it tomorrow. I'm not overly familiar with the album, but have heard it at least a dozen times over the years. I'll give it a few fresh listens tomorrow and make time to post.

This is one of the most perplexing, disorienting albums I can remember ever listening to. I'd never even heard of it before, much less heard it, and had no idea what to expect, and yet it somehow managed to confound expectations all the same, by setting up new ones over and over, just to know them right the hell down. Fantastic. 1. Circus — this first song opens in a disorienting way, with the downbeat not being where you expected. Somehow feels like a cross between kind of heartland blooze rock and yet with a punk vibe due to the mixing. Little doubt that this vocalist MEANS it. Also, the clarinet tootling towards the end made me literally laugh out loud.

2. Fairground — and after that cockrockish bloozy opening what do we get? Why, a female-sung folk tune from decades past, of course. DUH. God, what a lovely voice. Solo violin can be a bit screechy at times, but this was just delightful. 3. Hooked on the Road — then we get another raveup, but this time redolent of Highway 61 or even Bringing It All Back Home Again, sonically. Little to no drums audible, which is a strange but ultimately, I guess, effective choice? Then we get what I thought was a wah wah solo but is it actually violin through a wah? Or even just violin? 4. Easy to Be Free — and then we get a sort of Cat Stevens-like modern folk ballad—only, to my ears, more pleasant, but then I don't care for Stevens—and props to what I guess is the same singer as the leather-lunged belter? This should 100% be used in a film or TV show, where it would be crazy effective and drive the internet crazy trying to figure out what the hell it is. 5. Jack Diamond — surprisingly--to me--the next tune feels at first like early (Charisma labelmates) Genesis, circz Nursery Cryme or even Trepass. The chorus, though, is nothing like them but feels more like an early 70s minor Top 40 hit. (Actually, melodically, it kinda reminds me a bit of "In the Year 2525.") 6. Let Me Down — another rocker, with another tasty yet rockin' violin solo, and for the first time ever, I think the violin may indeed have been seriously underutilized in rock and roll. Despite Dylan and Springsteen being two of my very top all time favorite artists--with the Beatles and Neil Young and Peter Gabriel and the Replacements way up there too--I've never actually cared much about lyrics. If they're great, that's awesome. But generally speaking, as long as they don't really jump out as terrible, passible is perfectly fine. These jump out as maybe not stellar. But, again, the music makes up for it. But why so little drums? Is it just that they were mixed into oblivion? It does kinda have a Velvet Underground vibe, so that would make sense. 7. The Last Blue Yodel —​ and we're back to the sensitive singer-songwriter vibe. This ​definitely has the Cat Stevens thing going again, although it also feels a bit Richard Thompson, albeit with a much more approachable vocal style. 8. My Real Hero​ — time for a more aggressive​ track? Of course it is! I like that this one doesn't really rip off "Come Together" but it definitely has hangs out more than a bit in that 'hood, but with lovely female vocals added. Speaking of, why on earth has she only gotten one lead so far? She's fabulous! Again, with the very Vu-like instrumental mix. And absolutely love the chicken scratch guitar. Also, for the record, God may not play in a rock and roll band, but I think it's indisputable that She's absolutely a huge, huge fan. ​ 9. Regent Street Incident — and sensitive! This time we've got a "Helpless" thing going on. And how much higher praise can one give? Man, I'm baffled as to why this band didn't hit it much bigger, given what great songs the guy could write, and how likable a voice he had. (And flexible--if I didn't know better...and maybe I'm wrong...I'd have thought there were at least two and maybe three different male vocalists.) The fickleness of fame and fate, I guess. What a shame. ​1​0. There You Are​ — ​speaking of vocal stylings, here he's got a less whispery Nick Drake thing, in a decidedly non-Drake setting. The pseudo-country clip-clop is a great way to end a confounding and fascinating album. ​Man, this was quite the discovery and quite the musical journey. I'll be adding the quieter songs to some reflective playlist, without question. Great choice, Bill.

So, we have a 50 year old album, originally on the Charisma label. The recording itself is excellent and reminded me of various other albums and artists I've heard over the years.

I'm always intrigued by bands with different vocalists. Sometimes that really works, like with Fleetwood Mac, other times not as well, to my ears. (I love Alison Krauss & Union Station but only like the tracks Alison sings on, sorry gents...)

This actually reminded me of an album by a band my dad had, from a similar time period. Silver Sails by Steeleye Span, although that was a slightly more traditional band layout and sound.

My overall impression is that I like it, glad I got to hear it but I suspect I might not go back and relisten too many times.

My Real Hero is another one which sounds a little bit Beatleish too, started off well, but its gone to those screechy violins again, which I just don't like.

Regent Street Hero has a beautiful introduction, another more gentle song, which is what I prefer. Incredibly sad song which tells a story, somewhat in the Bruce mould - not musically, but the way the song tells a story. Like this one a lot.

There You Are sounds a bit old fashioned, in a good way. Musically I can imagine it coming from the 40's. Another one I really like.

Overall, it's a mixed bag for me. Some songs I really enjoyed. I much prefer the more melodic, gentle songs to the louder ones.

I will give some of the songs another listen over the next few days.

A very good choice for album club, as it's introduced me to something I had never heard of.

First listen (I had never heard of them, feared they might be similar to Incredible String Band, who I dislike intensely!)

The first song, Circus, I really didn't enjoy at all. I can't exactly put my finger on it, but it sounded a bit discordant to my ears.

Fairground I think is much more pleasant. It did conjure up thoughts of a fairground and I enjoyed it.

Easy to be Free is my favourite so far. I like the lyrics and musically, it sounds rather gentle.

Jack Diamond I thought started off excellently, but I really didn't like the ending. Sorry, I just can't take screeching violins!

Let Me Down I am enjoying - a bit Beatleish, which is never a bad thing in my book. In fact, when he singing the line 'let me down' I can hear John Lennon.

Lovely introduction to Very Last Blue Yodell, melodic with lovely harmony. Enjoying this one a lot.

That's it for now - food awaits!

Have you all noticed that they have no drummer? Circus, Jack Diamond, no drummer!

I don't think I've said this before, and an Album Club thread might be the right place.

So I'm someone who tends to feel embarrassed very easily, often caring too much about what people think. In a way I think this is the reason I listen to so little music other than Bruce and certain others who've slipped through the cracks. The thought of people hearing me listening to a certain artist and thinking, well, anything, is something I'd rather avoid. Hopefully these threads can sort me out.

I'm not gonna write down thoughts about every song, but here are some.

"Circus" - I like it, I'm getting a touch of Hendrix's version of "All Along the Watchtower" in it instrumentally, and while I'm very likely the only one, it's making me like it more. The singing itself is also 'familiar', but I'm not sure. Maybe someday I'll appreciate music for what it is rather than searching for comparisons, y'know?

"Fairground" - Maybe never has a song title been more apt in terms of the imagery it evokes in the mind. As soon as it started my brain was mustering up the same sort of 'sights' as when "County Fair" comes on.

Maybe I'm losing it, but I'm hearing that same beautifully haunting "Watchtower" melody in "Easy To Be Free" as well. That isn't a bad thing at all, I love it. And again with the singing, it sounds so much like I've heard this before, I might have to start Googling this band.

Fun fact, there's a Sunderland player called Jack Diamond. Hopefully he knows where he's going this season, and that's out of League Bloody One!

Ok, so I know I said about comparisons, and once more I think I'm way off the mark, but as "Jack Diamond" ends I'm sure I know what I'm thinking of with this singing. I'm thinking it's a voice kinda similar to Robert Plant's. The same extensive range isn't there (or explored), but there's something.

I think I'm rambling, and maybe I'm embarrassing myself with awful takes, so I'll stop here for now...

My first impression is that this is a split personality album. Lightweight progressive rock (does it even qualify as the progressive rock?) hand in hand with acoustic folk-sounding songs, almost ballads. Excellent vocals, both of them, dreamy and ghostly...

It would be a surprise if the violin weren't arranged on the front. The string solos are beautiful, especially on the electric songs, accompanied by groovy guitar playing.

Have to listen again and focus on the lyrics.

I've heard of these (as I should have) but I've never indulged myself in their work.

I've always laboured under the misapprehension that there was some connection to "The Incredible String Band" but apparently not?

We have a radio station here in town KSHE 95, back in the day it was a very progressive Rock Station, today it's nothing more then a Classic rock station. But they have what is called their "KSHE Klassic's" And "Circus" is a KSHE Classic!

www.kshe95.com

KSHE Klassics have been available 24 hours a day on HD Radio for more than 15 years, but we know that not everyone has an HD Radio. Now the KSHE Klassics online

Completely unknown to me, this will be an interesting one, thank you @Bill Zebub

*EDIT* well that sucks big hairy donkey balls... It appears the debut is not on Tidal...

The album is on Spotify with some added live versions and a bonus studio track. The original LP was 10 tracks, There You Are as the album closer?

I've read a little bit about the band now, and this record, I believe this will be a unique listening experience. Thanks @Bill Zebub .

I discovered this album in a bargain bin when I was 18, a couple years after it was released. Never heard of them. Gambled $1.99 because I liked the cover and the name of the band. The words range from good to less so, and it's not particularly well recorded. But I'd never heard anything quite like it, and I've returned to it over and over in the decades since. At first, certain songs really stuck out for me. I won't say which. And as time passed, the other songs sunk in one by one. I hope it appeals to you.

Jerseyfornia: Will you be providing a link?