Ticket 2 Ride

Through many decades of purchasing music, there are number of artists I avoided or pledged I’d never listen to, let alone purchase. Now, I’ll eat those words. “Could I have them with a side order of crow, please?”

Here are a few of those artists.

Frank Zappa – I’ve been intrigued by Zappa for decades, cherry-picked a few songs, but never followed the guy. The past few years I’ve watched films about him and sampled some re-released albums. So, I took the plunge and bought Freak Out! (1966), which I enjoy. Zappa was enormously talented, but just as weird. The weirdness on Freak Out! Works for me.

Richard Harris – Gotta love his wild version of “MacArthur Park,” courtesy of writer/producer Jimmy Webb, but Harris is no singer, although he’s better than Rex Harrison. So, on a lark, I listened to a few songs from Harris’s first album, the one with “MacArthur Park,” and what sells the songs is more Jimmy Webb’s arrangements, but they compliment Harris’s limited vocal ability.

Oasis – The only thing I knew about these guys was a dust-up with George Harrison. I had actually heard a couple of their songs but didn’t realize it was Oasis. I borrowed a copy of the latest Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds album and I loved it. So, of course, I circled back to see what Oasis is all about. I have a few of their CDs now, including their latest remaster, The Masterplan, which has a killer live version of “I Am the Walrus.”

Harry Styles – Who is this guy, an actor or a pop singer or a tabloid story? I had no interest in this pretty boy, but his recent album has some really good contemporary pop songs. Good enough for me to buy it. He has a solid team of talented people around him. I’ll be interested in his next album.

Duran Duran – I hated Duran Duran in the 1980s. Dreadful. Jump ahead to the early 1990s, their sound was more sophisticated and hipper, but didn’t have me convinced. In the 2020s, their sound had electronic rhythms and bold, funky bass lines. I bought a copy of Past Future (2021) after listening to it several times. I still don’t care for the early stuff.

AC/DC – I avoided this heavy metal band for years, as it seemed too raw and sludgy for my tastes. I started watching a rock and roll travel show hosted by Brian Johnson, then I read his memoirs, and decided to do through the band’s studio discography. I didn’t hate the band, my expectations were too narrow to fairly examine AC/DC in depth. Of their studio albums, I do like Back in Black best.

Paul Anka – Not a fan, but I respect his work. “(You’re) Having My Baby” barf. Terrible, but popular song. Anka tries too hard to be hip and contemporary. However, the album that he hooked up with producer David Foster, Walk a Fine Line (1983), who co-wrote most of the songs and got Peter Cetera and Michael McDonald to add vocals. This is a flashy 80-style production, but thankfully the strength of the songs make up for it.

Lizzo – Lizzo, really? I had watched Lizzo instead of listening to her music and letting it set in. I found a copy of Special (2022) and gave it a spin. My first reaction was mixed, but several songs immediately jumped out. I’m not a rap fan, but even the rap-style songs got my attention. It’s funky, dance-able and well arranged. The more I listened, the more I liked it. Normally, I would never have purchased this album without many listens, but I did.

Paul Williams – I like several of the songs he wrote that were popularized by others: “We’ve Only Just Begun” and “Rainy Days and Mondays” (The Carpenters) and “Out in the Country” (Three Dog Night). As a singer, his voice and performance were just so-so. I stumbled across his album, Someday Man, and it blew me away. Produced and co-written by Roger Nichols, the arrangements and production are sophisticated pop at its best. Simply amazing.

Radiohead – I actually did purchase a Radiohead CD and then decided that I didn’t like the band. In Rainbows was the CD. Then a decade or so later, I changed my mind and I dig the eclectic style the band adopted later. Still with me? What happened is that I listened the first album by The Smile, an offshoot band of Radiohead, and I liked it. So, I circled back and started listening to earlier Radiohead, this time with a different perspective. It happens.

Rush – I covered this in another blog post, but I’ll summarize to say that after many years of ignoring the band, after I read Geddy Lee’s memoirs, I bought a 2-disc greatest hits.