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Hello folks,
I'm a new member here. I only recently found out about Motorpsycho. A couple of friends had mentioned them a few times, but it wasn't until a few weeks ago that I actually listened to any – Phanerothyme and Behind The Sun (on recommendation from one of those friends). On the the strength of those same friends' recommendation I also bought a ticket to go see MP in London next month. And having listened to those two albums, I had to get the wallet out and buy those two and a bunch more. So within two weeks I have become the proud owner of 11 MP albums. The only time I've bought that many albums by one artist in such a brief period of time was Magma's Konzert Zund live box set – which is utterly awesome.
I have pretty eclectic tastes, but veer strongly towards progressive rock having grwon up in the 60s/70s listening to Yes, Floyd, Genesis etc. etc. Since then my tastes and consumption varied considerably, but in about 2010 I started coming back towards prog and have discovered a whole bunch of bands I either didn't hear back in the 70s (Magma being an example) or who came to life in the 90s and since (especially a number of Scandinavian bands such as Anglagard, Anekdoten, and now MP).
Now for two weeks I've been obsessed with MP, listening constantly to the albums I've bought (BTS, HMF, HBM, LLM, Phano, RW vol. 4, SLWE, Trust Us, ITF10, TDDU, and The Tower) and checking out songs on Spotify that do not appear on those albums but which are cropping up in the setlists on this tour.
Having become used to bands who tend to play pretty much the same tracks night after night (and usually in the same orer), it's been refreshing, not to say a little mind-blowing, to see that MP seem to have about 4-5 hours of music ready to go, from which they draw about 2/12 hours each night. It makes me wish I wasn't going to just one gig of the tour!
Anyway. Here I am. I'll mostly just be lurking, or maybe commenting or asking questions of all you more experienced MP lovers. See you around the forum.
Welcome Psychonaut!
If you don't own it already, you HAVE to get Timothy's Monster! For a lot of people this is the best album they ever did.
Also Blissard and Angels and Daemons at play are essential!
If you want to listen to loads of their live stuff, you can find it on dimeadozen (if you don't know that site, it is a non-illegal torrent site for the sharing of live recordings).
Welcome aboard and consider yourself lucky to have some first-time spins of life-changing albums still ahead of you
Thanks for the welcome and recommendations. As you all point out, I've not dug into the older material much – just the tracks that are being played this tour. I'm looking forward to hearing those albums. For now though, I'm savouring and trying to digest the ones I've already bought – and I'd like to keep some held back, so I have something to look forward to! I don't want to overeat and make myself sick
The earliest of the albums I have is Trust Us, which is superb. What I find so amazing is MPs ability to stay fresh, to release album after album that not only veers into different territory, but remains true to a certain (psychedelic?) core. Moreover, that the quality remains high. Here Be Mosters, for example, is an album that (IMHO) stands out for being so beautifully laid-back, and seems on the face of it to be so different to the preceeding album (BTS), and yet it is unmistakably MP. And now The Tower, which is totally different again, and yet still dripping in MP DNA. And brilliant to boot.
Of course, these are all the rramblings of someone who hasn't heard half of MPs output, and has only been swimming in the MP sea for a couple of weeks – so excuse me if I sound like I'm talking rubbish, or preaching to the converted
I'm just blown away and can't help myself Anyway, it's nearing 8:30 here in London and about time someone should be posting last night's setlist. Where is it? Where is it? Where is it?
@Be – thanks for the dimeadozen recommendation. I've been aware of dime for some years now, but I'm not keen on and don't link into torrent sites (it is a torrent site, isn't it?). But I do from time to time download boots from other sources, but I find the results are mixed in terms of quality and I hate wasting time listening to bad recordings when I could be listening to something else (there's only so much time available). I'll have to hunt down some MP recordings though. Any particularly classic recommendations from over the years? Soundboard recordings would be particularly welcome if you know of any.
I just noticed last night's setlist posted on setlist.fm. Unbelievable – two more tracks not played thus far on this tour! These guys do not let things get boring do they?!
As I said, dime is not illegal in any way, so there is no risk involved, if that is your concern.
There are some soundboards from over the years, but I don't know exactly which. There are also some really good audience recordings, too. MP has been and is followed by some really good tapers, also the band has been quite taper friendly.
Usually you can check a sample on dime. I don't know how picky you are about sound quality.
Not all recordings will still have seeders, but there are always people reposting older recordings. Just check it out.
@Be – I'm not concerned about the legality of it. I'm just not conversive enough with the Torrent concept to feel comfortable enough with it. Fear of the unknown? Luddite? Technophobe? I probaly need to get with the times
There's no question that some audience tapers are excellent. There was a guy in the US in the 70s who used to tape shows by turning up at the concert in a wheelchair which had his equipment stuck to the underside of his chair (Mike Millard?). I have a couple of his Floyd boots that are very good indeed. I also know a long-time taper (Lostbrook) who produces some fantastic recordings – outstanding. If Dime allow samples that really helps – it's really just a matter of having limited time to listen – so preferring not to waste it on poor quality recordings. I can barely keep up with the official releases of bands I get new recommendations of – especially when, like Motorpsycho, they have 20+ albums to get to know! An embarrassment of riches I'm glad to have discovered.
Hi there and welcome. Yeah it's a bit overwhelming and time and money consuming if one discovers a great band with a huge back catalogue. I wish I'd find me one nowadays…. It's funny that you're hooked without knowing the classics like Timothy's Monster or Demon Box, but who knows? Maybe we cherish those albums a bit too much due to nostalgia and because they've been our introductions to the band when we were young and more prone (proner?) to be impressed
Timothy is grand, though. I consider it to be the very core of Motorpsychodelia. The Wheel, Giftland & The Golden Core! I also envy everyone who's about to experience them live for the first time, despite all my memories.
@Supernaut – Thanks for the welcome. I'm a huge Yes fan and it always seems weird to me when fans say they first got hooked on Yes through the 90125 album, which for me came out after I saw them fall apart and break up! And I wonder, how can you get into them through 90125 not have known Close to the Edge and the other albums of the 'classic' years. Nostalgia for sure plays a part in it. But as far as I can see, Motorpsycho are an exception to the rule that most bands are past their prime after the first (roughly) ten years. But who knows, I did read someone on this forum say that nothing they did after Trust Us comes anywhere close to the earlier material. Fair enough. We all come to music through different routes and with different histories and experiences. I'm just glad to be on this Motorpsycho ride now!
@pfnuesel – Thanks for the welcome. No gigs yet. Can't wait for the London gig in just over three weeks. I'm also thinking about taking a trip to try to catch another date – maybe Cologne, as I'm already hoping to go to Holland to see the brilliant Monomyth in the same week. That will depend on two things though – my wife, and a possible knee operation I might be having between now and then.
Quote:I did read someone on this forum say that nothing they did after Trust Us comes anywhere close to the earlier material.I'd strongly disagree with that. They developed so much. Many other bands have their prime time at some point but not those guys. I'd say most people go to their shows eager to hear their new material, though the classics are always welcome (I'd love to hear Lighthouse Girl done live nowadays…). And what other band has achieved that? Timothy, AADAP or LTEC have been written and played. Done. They could repeat that, but I wouldn't want them to. Instead we got for example Little Lucid Moments and The Unicorn which rank in my top 5 MP albums. I don't even think about anymore if they're getting better or worse or whatever. Their vast oeuvre cannot be pinned down to time's arrow and every new release is just a new release which I like very or not so much. In 1995 I couldn't imagine anyone – including themselves – could top or at least match Timothy's Monster. Where to go from there? But they just went on and on, taking detours, hard brakes, experimenting and style changes, while trusting themselves.
About Yes, I'd love to hear MP do South Side Of The Sky….
@supernaut – Great comments. You've summed up a lot of what I've been thinking. If I go to see Yes or Hawkwind or Gong, 90% concert will almost certainly comprise 70s material. Fine, that was their heyday and my favourite period for each of those bands. But it would also be nice to hear them put more effort into playing more recent material. The fact that they don't almost betrays their own feelings about the newer stuff. MP clearly have no doubts – neither in the studio nor on stage. That in itself is exciting, quite aside from the brilliance and consistency and breadth of the music (or at least the 40% of it I've heard so far
@supernaut – MP do South Side of the Sky. Yep, I could buy in to that!
I reckon they could absolutely murder (in a good way, if you know what I mean) Yours Is No Disgrace too.
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