While re-listening to Bitches Brew tonight it occurred to me, there’s never been anything that sounds quite like it since, and there never will be again.
What are your favorite unicorn albums?
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Neil Young, Le Noise is amazing on a good system. The sub sub octave acoustic efffect is very unique.
Protomen volume I - they purposely went against arbitrary recording “laws”
Rush-2112, moving pictures
Also a rare one: Burlap to Cashmere, ,is there anybody out there. Its soooo clearly mixed. Hard to find any in depth info on this album.
Prince - Sign O the Times
One of the few albums I listen to beginning to end.
Also, Pink Floyd. Pretty much any album, but specifically Dark Side of the Moon or Wish You Were Here.
Check out the 1977 Prince Funk Sessions!
Future Shock by Herbie Hancock. Dude released like 25 jazz and funk albums over two decades, then in '83 just drops a hip hop bomb
Oh my God that’s one of the things I love about Herbie so much! He was not afraid to push himself in new musical directions. He has so many albums in his vast discography that changed the musical landscape forever.
Hell, I just listened to Headhunters before I listened to Bitches Brew, before I posted! And on that album is the seminal Watermelon Man where he incorporates hindewhu (pygmy music).
I would encourage anyone to listen to any Herbie album, in full, from any era. His first 6 albums are dope as hell!!
Totally almost picked Headhunters because of Watermelon Man! There’s nothing like it. Herbie occupies a different plane of existence
Agree. If Stevie Wonder is made of music as McCartney says, Herbie would be the quantum music field.
I came here to say Future shock. I just listened to it on the drive home.
I really like Pretty. Odd. by Panic! At the Disco - it sort of reminds me of the later Beatles albums but is still unique.
It’s like they took they’re sucess as a pop rock band and used it to make a proper art piece.
I’ll nominate Deep Forest’s 1992 self-titled album.
Gee that brings me some flashbacks!
I’ve been trying to find something similar to Holly Herndon’s Proto, but haven’t succeeded yet.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWGJxgOf-Z3CW7tJoN9f4lzIf8CEuMgne
Would you an everyone else reading this comment, please go into that playlist, find the unreleased video, click and Report it. I’ve been trying for 2 years… that crypto spam has infested 10’s of thousands of full-albumn playlists.
edit adding praying hands JPG to hopefully get eyes on this. This crypto spam has been driving me mental for years and I can’t understand how YT’s automated tools haven’t scrubbed it from the platform
The Prodigy - The Fat of The Land
It’s a one of a kind album. I don’t think the prodigy ever made another album that good. And I don’t think there is anything else out there similar to it. It has its own energy, it’s definitely a unicorn type.
Yeah. For quite a while I thought this was a best of, given the name too, until I realized it was just a regular album. Definitely their best.
The first album of The Crystal Method also no givese similar vibes.
Cannot believe I forgot this. Absolutely incredible album. Every single tune a banger and such a unique sound.
They absolutely nailed the Zeitgeist with it.
Smack My Bitch Up is insane. They won’t even play it in music venues and bars anymore, sadly :(
The music video was insane!
The Refused - The Shape of Punk to Come … blending melodic, hardcore, jazz, and electronic into one punk album
I’m kind of surprised it took so long to see Trout Mask Replica here. Although the prompt was for an album you like, which might exclude it.
I’m not sure if I like it, but I definitely have the phrase “fast and bulbous” run through my head sometimes.
Yei, I was hovering on nominating a FSOL album. Glad someone did.
Here is mine.
Such a unique time when it came out. Electronic music was at peak experimental stage in the late 90’s. Kind of like B**ches Brew was the peak 60’s psychedelic experiment. This album was the perfect culmination of two masters of world music, psychedelic trance, and ambient music. Simon Posford is the absolute genius sound engineer at the peak of his game and Raja Ram was the old hippie wizard guiding him through realms unknown.
Thanks for this. Listened to about 20 mins and already found an album for sale which is now on its way.
Shpongle are a trip. Been years since i heard this, thanks
Wow I forgot about Shpongle! Haha cool memory, thanks for sharing!
I had a friend who was always on coke and acid and always was asking people to get spongled with them
Dr. Pnut, wherever you ended up, I hope you’re still spongle-ing.
Gustav holst - the planets
Makaveili - the don killuminati the 7 day theory
Madlib - beat konducta vol 5-6 in india
Scientist - rids the world of the evil curse of the vampires .
There are many more artists that come to mind with unique sounds but that have more than one album with that sound.
Literally anything by madlib
2112 by Rush
In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida by Iron Butterfly
I’m the only person I know that’s heard side 2
Wreathed in smoke in Lebanon…
Iron Butterfly has an excellent live album too. The sound quality is tinny at best, but it has a good rendition of In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida.
I’m loving these comments, so many great albums! And a ton I’ve never hear of and will need to check out.
I have a few of these, but two that really jump out at me are
- The Inevitable Rise And Liberation Of Niggy Tardust - Saul Williams
- Music to Make Love to Your Old Lady By - Lovage
These are albums that you’ve just gotta let play.
Love that Lovage baby. That album is a gem.
The band[s] that jumps out at me when I think unique/original is anything that Les Claypool touches. It’s never just him but he has a knack for finding people with unusual talent to make something different. Even when they are doing covers. For example the Frog Brigade doing Pink Floyd’s Animals.
Tom Waits*
The Pixies*
Portishead*
Kruder & Dorfmeister the K&D Sessions
Massive Attack*
But maybe the most uniquely gifted musician on my list would be Richard David James.
Came to mention Les myself. Anytime I hear he has released something with another artist is always a surprising treat.
Great call on Waits! I love Step Right Up
Thats a great track. Reminds me of a band I forgot… Morphine.
The Postal Service
There are many synth artists that try to target a similar feel, but the way they tug on your emotions with just the subtlest of sounds. Everything feels like it’s meant to fit. Never has a song made me feel more homesick than Recycled Air. And I don’t even want to go back home.
Honorable mention goes to Moon Safari by Air. First time I heard every song on that album felt like I’d heard it before in a memory.
Honorable mention goes to Moon Safari by Air. First time I heard every song on that album felt like I’d heard it before in a memory.
I still remember my first time hearing this too.
The dregs of a house party. Only a few chill people still up. Sun starts coming up and someone put it on. Absolutely perfect setting to hear that album for the first time.
I can immediately place myself in that room it seared itself into my memory with how well it hit.
