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Thread: My Be Bop deluxe story - What are your favorite BBd songs?

  1. #26
    Member rcarlberg's Avatar
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    One of my favorite Bill Nelson solo albums is "Optimism" (1988) which is apparently getting a little hard to find. It's a little more "experimental" than some of his earlier stuff, using samples and looping.



  2. #27
    Member Gizmotron's Avatar
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    too much like Queen?

    Second rate Bowie clone?

    Wow, some people hear BBD differently than me.

    I don't think ANYONE sounds like Queen.
    I don't think BBD sounds like anyone other than BBD.

  3. #28
    Member rcarlberg's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Gizmotron View Post
    too much like Queen?
    Wow, some people hear BBD differently than me.
    Thank you. I thought I was going crazy.

  4. #29
    Member Gizmotron's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by rcarlberg View Post
    Thank you. I thought I was going crazy.
    Mr. Nelson's voice sounds like no one I have ever heard.
    His guitar work is so stellar and different that I cannot liken it to anyone else.
    And the material? Again, I just don't see anyone that came close to their style, their lyrical content, and perhaps most of all, Bill's unique sense of humor and how it is weaved throughout the BBD canon.

  5. #30
    Member rcarlberg's Avatar
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    And absolutely NOTHING like Freddie Mercury or Brian May!

  6. #31
    I saw BeBop open for Blue Oyster Cult in the late 70s. All I remember is an alien-looking guy in bright silver pants playing blazing guitar solos.

  7. #32
    Quote Originally Posted by Gizmotron View Post
    Second rate Bowie clone?
    To be fair, I was only referring to Axe Victim with that comment.
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  8. #33
    Jazzbo manqué Mister Triscuits's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Progbear View Post
    To be fair, I was only referring to Axe Victim with that comment.
    And that album is indeed hugely derivative of Bowie. But then it's also a different band from the classic Be-Bop Deluxe, and a younger Bill Nelson.
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  9. #34
    Member Gizmotron's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mister Triscuits View Post
    And that album is indeed hugely derivative of Bowie. But then it's also a different band from the classic Be-Bop Deluxe, and a younger Bill Nelson.
    In what way? Vocally? Or is the songs themselves?

    I really am interested in why you (and others) think this.

  10. #35
    Member rcarlberg's Avatar
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    Me too.

    "Axe Victim" was released in June 1974.

    In Bowie's world, "Ziggy Stardust" was June 1972, "Alladin Sane" was April 1973 and "Diamond Dogs" was May 1974. "Ziggy Stardust" was New Romantic (to my way of thinking), "Alladin Sane" was neo-Broadway (TMWOT) and "Diamond Dogs" was, I dunno, something in between. Bowie didn't get into the sort of "glam rock" represented by Be Bop Deluxe until "Young Americans" (1975) or "Station to Station" (1976). I always thought of Bowie as a trend-follower, not a trend-setter.

    But I'm no Bowie fan so feel free to disagree with me.

    He's as distinct from Bill Nelson as Bill is from Queen.

  11. #36
    Trivia: What BBD song was covered by Brian Setzer? And what was unique about the song?
    You say Mega Ultra Deluxe Special Limited Edition Extended Autographed 5-LP, 3-CD, 4-DVD, 2-BlueRay, 4-Cassette, five 8-Track, MP4 Download plus Demos, Outtakes, Booklet, T-Shirt and Guitar Pick Gold-Leafed Box Set Version like it's a bad thing...

  12. #37
    Member Gizmotron's Avatar
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    Radio silence duly noted.
    Ok, I'll do the research then.

    http://www.thevinyldistrict.com/stor...xe-axe-victim/

    https://www.popmatters.com/bebopdelu...495848878.html

    https://www.headheritage.co.uk/unsun...uxe-axe-victim

    The upshot is that the similarity of this album to Mr. Bowie seems to be the obvious talking point.

    I'll have to go back and re-listen.

    Like most of us, I am biased. Interestingly, my "bias" tends to be to try and keep a virtual set of absolute value signs around my ears and brain when I listen to music. I find that if I don't, the analytical side of my mind misses the beauty and the uniqueness of the music by continually comparing what I am listening to to other music.

    Naturally, certain bands and players ( say, Starcastle) wear their influences quite proudly so it can be difficult to fully resist the temptation to compare.

    So when I listen to BBD, I am generally fully in that place that I was in the mid to late 70s...I am simply blown away by Bill's zillions of great ideas and he sounds like no other. (And such a FINE voice!)

    My all time favorite is the "Modern Music Suite" by the way...
    Last edited by Gizmotron; 02-25-2020 at 12:46 PM.

  13. #38
    Member rcarlberg's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Gizmotron View Post
    Radio silence duly noted.
    Lack of a reply COULD indicate a lack of evidence to support a long-held view that, upon reflection, indicated a transfer of influence in the opposite direction from that claimed.

  14. #39
    Casanova TCC's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by bobert View Post
    I became a Be Bop Deluxe fan after reading the review of Sunburst Finish in Rolling Stone back when it was a new release . Still my favorite album from them.
    I got the deluxe reissue of it with the stereo remix & the 5.1 mix last year , outstanding!
    I like and own every album they ever made , Bill Nelson became one of my favorite guitar players.
    Bought today "Sunburst Finish" in a local store here in Costa Rica ... it's a second hand lp in a really good condition: this is my first Be-Bop ... believe it or not!!.

    Cheers!.
    Last edited by TCC; 03-01-2020 at 11:59 PM.
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  15. #40
    Jazzbo manqué Mister Triscuits's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by rcarlberg View Post
    In Bowie's world, "Ziggy Stardust" was June 1972, "Alladin Sane" was April 1973 and "Diamond Dogs" was May 1974. "Ziggy Stardust" was New Romantic (to my way of thinking), "Alladin Sane" was neo-Broadway (TMWOT) and "Diamond Dogs" was, I dunno, something in between. Bowie didn't get into the sort of "glam rock" represented by Be Bop Deluxe until "Young Americans" (1975) or "Station to Station" (1976). I always thought of Bowie as a trend-follower, not a trend-setter.
    Quote Originally Posted by rcarlberg View Post
    Lack of a reply COULD indicate a lack of evidence to support a long-held view that, upon reflection, indicated a transfer of influence in the opposite direction from that claimed.
    Or it COULD be recognition that it would be futile to argue the matter with someone with whom you clearly don't share the same frame of reference. In the reality the rest of us live in, it's just bizarre to dismiss Bowie as a trend-follower in the same breath in which you credit him with producing New Romantic music years before New Romantic emerged as a style; the Young Americans period is precisely when Bowie abandoned glam; the commonalities between a 1972 album and a 1974 are highly unlikely to indicate the influence of the latter on the former; and the Ziggy influence on Axe Victim sticks out a bloody mile.
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  16. #41
    Member moecurlythanu's Avatar
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    ^ Thank you.

  17. #42
    Member rcarlberg's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mister Triscuits View Post
    it's just bizarre to dismiss Bowie as a trend-follower in the same breath in which you credit him with producing New Romantic music years before New Romantic emerged as a style
    I said I was no Bowie fan and feel free to disagree with me. I was wrong about Bowie's influence -- clearly. Thank you for your gentle correction

  18. #43
    Member Mythos's Avatar
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    Saw this today and remembered this thread, new super duper Axe Victim release coming up in June (2020):

    https://www.cherryred.co.uk/product/...tered-edition/

  19. #44
    Quote Originally Posted by GeneTull View Post
    I first heard Drastic Plastic 30 years ago, just before I got into Gary Numan, John Foxx/Ultravox and the like. "Electrical Language" seemed to be the start of that whole style, so the album became a cornerstone in my musical development. I then bought Futurama, which is very different but also enjoyable once you get passed the abrupt, jarring key changes and the album's loud, explosive production. Queen II is probably its closest parallel.
    With Eno's four vocal albums and Bowie's first two Berlin albums right before it, I think Drastic Plastic is the sixth proto-80s album overall.

  20. #45
    Quote Originally Posted by Garden Dreamer View Post
    Trivia: What BBD song was covered by Brian Setzer? And what was unique about the song?
    Please tell!
    Setzer was the reason I picked up the guitar and I still love his playing. As do I Bill Nelson.

  21. #46
    I had forgotten how good "Sound Track" is!

    My own favorite track is "The Gold at the End of my Rainbow". That backward guitar ... that sad, resigned melody ...

  22. #47
    Outraged bystander markwoll's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by vlad the vet View Post
    I had forgotten how good "Sound Track" is!

    My own favorite track is "The Gold at the End of my Rainbow". That backward guitar ... that sad, resigned melody ...
    Somewhere the fade out solo from Sound Track is still playing
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  23. #48
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jones the Jug View Post
    With Eno's four vocal albums and Bowie's first two Berlin albums right before it, I think Drastic Plastic is the sixth proto-80s album overall.
    The first two Ultravox albums also come before Drastic Plastic. Tracks like "My Sex," "Dangerous Rhythm," "Hiroshima Mon Amour," and "The Man Who Dies Everyday"... those are the first aesthetically '80s songs in the modernist sense. Then Be-Bop did "Electrical Language," "Blimps," "Futurist Manifesto," "Superenigmatix," "Autosexual," etc. Bowie gets too much credit. His Low sound was a lot rougher and less developed than these songs.

  24. #49
    Member Bake 2's Avatar
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    Have to piss in some cornflakes here.
    Also was surprised by the dismissive Bowie clone comment. The Ziggy Stardust and Axe Victim cuts are possibly the two most similar songs on the two albums. There are other tracks on AV that superficially resemble some Bowie stuff (not just from the Ziggy Stardust album) but there's certainly no plagiarism lawsuit happening here. The AV guitar, drum, bass and vocals don't sound very similar to the Ziggy album. Ken Scott and Bowie made record has a sibilant quality and a conscious absence of dynamic range that is not replicated on Axe Victim. Bowie and Bill Nelson as vocalists could hardly be mistaken for one another by anyone with much of an ear. Ronson was really good as a Spider, but Nelson on Axe Victim is clearly calling the shots and is a lot more prominently featured. My guess is that the clone comment came from some selective recall over several years time... it won't hold up after a good back to back listen.

  25. #50
    “Clone” might be technically inaccurate but “hugely informed by” would be pretty accurate in my opinion. And I say that as a huge fan of Axe Victim! It’s my favorite BBD album.
    Love it or hate it, this review sums it up for me:
    https://www.headheritage.co.uk/unsun...uxe-axe-victim

    Futurama is also wonderful. It‘s a case of very gradual diminishing returns for me after that but all of BBD’s output has at least some merit for me.
    I also want to reiterate that Bill/BBD definitely found their own voice after their debut due to both having a different lineup and Nelson turning into a more sophisticated songwriter.
    Last edited by Rye-Ergot; 03-25-2020 at 09:45 PM.

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