Super Furry Animals - Love Kraft poll

I kind of feel that way about most of the band's albums and even their b-sides. There's so much studio trickery going on in most of their songs... background vocals that never jumped out before, little effected bass and guitar riffs, synth lines that come in and out of nowhere. They're a really fun band to devote a lot of time to.

Well yeah, but I think it's especially true of this particular album.

I love the whirring bg vox in "Venus in Serena."

Ah, I completely forgot about Frequency, and couldn't place the title against a song from memory, but I love this one. Chorus is great, beautiful strings, that synth cascading all over the place about 3:12.

Oi Frango's maybe not as bad as I remembered either, but it's clearly not going to win this..

I do really enjoy the sound of this album.

"Oi Frango" is a pretty good song for cruising down the street with your windows open, like your own little personal cartoon theme song for those three or four minutes it lasts.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUMBAZfkJr4&feature=related

You ever hear that? It's the "Lazer Beam" instrumental, which honestly sounds pretty cool.

Also interesting:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9o6MUbw4jE

Yeah, those are both from the infamous "lost SFA techno album" bootleg. In interviews from around the time 'Guerrilla' came out, the band said they were working on a couple of other projects: a Welsh language album (which eventually became 'Mwng'), and a techno album. The techno album didn't see the light of day, but it appeared as a bootleg about five years ago. They used the best bits of the material on other Super Furry Animals songs, like obviously 'Slow Life' and 'Lazer Beam'. 'Miniature' from Rings Around The World is on there as well, I think. Most of the rest became the Acid Casuals album, 'Omni'. There's one or two that I don't recognise from anywhere else, though. It wouldn't be the last time they'd salvage parts of scrapped projects for other releases, anyway!

I wish they'd gone through with this, speaking of aborted projects:

Ok, I got the story on this from the source today: Mr. Gruff Rhys and Bunf. I told them of the leak of this "album" and asked them what it could be. They weren't entirely sure (as they didn't hear it), but Gruff told me SFA recorded a joke album as "Das Coolies", a "band of their imagination", which would dress up in sci-fi jumpsuits. They talked of a massive 20 minute track with steel drum. Damn if I can't remember what they called it ("Steel & ____" or "_____ & Steel"). You can hear a version of it on this leak. (The longest song, toward the end.) Bunf told me that a sound guy of theirs, "a mate", had tons of tapes of them fucking around in the studio. He believes he's the guy who's leaking this stuff. They were cool with it. You know, they're really laid back. Well, high. So this is not "an album". It's demos of the band fucking around with Cian then manipulating it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocTH63vd4e4

Yeah. People often give the impression that they think the 'lost' Das Koolies album and the 'lost' techno album are the same thing. I don't think they are, because I remember them being billed as very separate things in the music press years ago. 'Steelwerks In Stone', the album was supposed to have been called. The idea was that they'd do what XTC did with The Dukes Of Stratosphear and form a different band with the same members.

I do feel though that some of these projects didn't get finished for a reason... lack of time, or maybe they just weren't working out. It's hard to get hung up on their aborted projects, though, when they usually end up keeping and recycling all of the best bits to use for other things. Like, these more than a handful of Gruff solo tracks which were originally written for the band, for example... the 'Pwdin Wy' songs... 'Take A Sentence'... 'Space Dust #2'... there's a few from Candylion as well. And 'The Very Best Of Neil Diamond', which was salvaged from the orchestral project... I think they always get used eventually.

Many years ago I recall Gruff talking of an hour-long song they had worked on that was "terrible".

I believe it's the same as Das Koolies. He mentioned how they used charts and spreadsheets to prove how they were the best band in the world. Anyway, "Charge" is subtitled "Theme from Das Koolies" and I'm pretty comfortable saying it's an awesome song.

Yeah, he was talking about the Das Koolies project there as well.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

voted "Ohio Heat"

Salty Maurine had a bun in the oven!

Love the Ennio Morricone-inspired bits.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

Bit more of a mixed bag this time. Don't really have much problem with 'Zoom!' being in pole position, but I can't get on board with 'Cloudberries' being in second place over 'Cabin Fever'. 'Frequency' seems to be a bit of a fan favourite ususally, so very surprised to see it so low. And 'Lazer Beam' over 'Atomik Lust', 'Ohio Heat' and 'The Horn'!? I really like both 'Psyclone!' and 'Back On A Roll', but not entirely surprised that they didn't get any votes - they're probably two of the least "epic" things here.

"ususally"!?? USUALLY.

Lazer Beam suuucks

Walk You Home is really great. I would've voted for it if I hadn't voted Atomik.

Well, this poll completely passed me by. Love Kraft gets such a kicking but does have some truly wonderful moments. If I'd been able to vote, however, it'd have to be "Zoom!". Fantastic opener, and also a really nicely-done Jean-Claude Vannier homage (rip off, even? No, let's stick with "homage") in one.

What in particular is it ripping off? I've heard that before. Is it the Gainsbourg stuff?

And if we're talking about "homages," how about this one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPl11lh1wBk

If we venture off the road to Love Kraft, how about this? At least Gruff admitted they ripped this off...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgsTZT64hGM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bih629U_LUE

Wow. "TRR" is one of my POX SFA trax; never realized it was indebted so strongly to the Captain!

Yeah, Gruff's already admitted to that one - in fact, he admitted to it around the time of Rings Around The World's release. I couldn't call it a rip-off, since its they've clearly written a new song around the sample and SFA would have had to get clearance for the sample anyway.

True... But I'm pretty sure most who've heard the song don't realize it. It's definitely their most blatant sample. The song goes in a completely different direction, of course, and it's integrated perfectly.

@afriendlypioneer: The JC Vannier comparison lies more with his album "L'enfant Assassin Des Mouches" (sp?). There's references to the album sprinkled throughout Love Kraft, but Zoom! contains the more obvious homages, like the choral bits etc.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0KHQ_onGWY&feature=youtube_gdata_player

(Mind you, I think "Y Gwyneb Iau" borrows quite a bit from "Space Oddity", so YMMV and all that)

I just listened to that album (the Jean-Claude) today and it is indeed phenomenal. Not sure if I hear anything blatant, but I see your point. That said, the band seems to have amazing taste.

So when do we do the Fuzzy Logic poll?

This album (Love Kraft) is really great. I think it's something everyone who thinks highly of SFA needs to revisit occasionally. It never sounded so good to me.

I don't know who the hell this is, but it's interesting: http://secretsoundshop.com/2011/11/07/my-favourite-album-luke-woolley-uk/