The Power of Independent Polling – A Selection of Steve Albini'ed LPs

Oh wait, I wanted to post this to ILM. Can a mod please move this? Sorry.

Write-in: Cheer-Accident - Introducing Lemon

Write-in: Tad, Salt Lick.

It's an EP but I'll allow it.

In my infinite philistinism, I hadn't heard of Cheer-Accident.

I don't know how I didn't know he was involved with the McLusky album but it seems so obvious now.

No Bedhead?

I take full responsibility and accept the consequences of my actions.

no Silkworm?

I'll tally all your write-ins when the time comes.

I ain't moving no more threads!

Write-in for Ut, Griller

Thanks, WmC. And my apologies for the apocalypse.

Are we voting for our favourite album, best engineered, or something else?

Favourite album.

I should have specified that, sorry. I'll need to brush up on my pollmaking skills.

Write-in vote for either Journal for Plague Lovers or Totem and Taboo.

Not even the shadow of a consensus so far, even as far as the write-ins are concerned. Interesting.

best albini production
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kR3FAs54a0

Undeniably so, which is why it makes more sense to poll our favourites.

Songs about Fucking is really two albums: Songs about Fucking and Sad Otter. I don't listen to Sad Otter because sad.

I love Hissing Prigs and Blessed Black Wings (& I need to listen to Griller!) but The Big Classic here is also my favourite album of the 80s so

no pocky for kitty

Ocean Songs

Seamonsters. So much is Gedge's melodies, but also so much is Albini

I love many of the options but Rid of Me is the most amazing capture of the slam and breath of a trio in a room I’ve ever heard. So that for the Albini-ness pick.

Had no idea Albini produced Advaitic Songs. Still going with Pod, though, because goddamn I love that record.

Pod is gonna run away with this

Link with a bigger list to consider.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Albini_discography

Probably one of the most obscure listed on the site is Captain Blood which was?/is a band from Indy. They were this vet band that usually played biker shows for like 3-4 hours. We played a show with them and I thought they were really cool and they put out this CD a few months later and then split up and this one isn't really available now at all.

My single favorite would probably be the Shellac 'Uranus' 7 inch with Doris and Wingwalker. I was pretty obsessed with that single and listened to it every day for a year.

rid of me is the best sounding rock record of all time

i may vote for seamonsters bc it feels like he had a pronounced effect on the sound of the wedding present for that record

feeling american don a lot atm

Songs: Ohia w/o a doubt

Low

might go for Blackened Air, that's about as good as music can be produced imo

Between mclusky, the breeders, Seamonsters, and Goat, which I’m thinking is the GOAT here

Jesus Lizard sort of the ideal band for Albini's trademark sound.

The drums on Goat crush so hard, and the guitar sounds like a feral dog

if we're going for favorites musically i prefer liar! but voting times of grace

Liar and Goat are equally incredible, but I prefer the production on Goat ever so slightly

wait is this a vote about best production? i.e. not about best or favorite of these albums?

in that particular case (liar v goat), production is a tiebreaker--so i guess goat is my favorite JL album

Voted Pod, but write-in for this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Es-bGRYkj4

Britt's drums on Pod are maybe my favorite drum sound ever recorded, honestly Albini's best recording ever imho... also, you need to hear the LP not the terrible CD mix, apologies for being an analog stalwart.

even on youtube the sound immense:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-eC1MJjxD8Y

not a single note of distortion on this song and it's so much more fierce for it, Tanya's such a totally underrated guitarist.

I cannot BELIEVE Sloy were not included in this poll

At Action Park for me, but other strong contenders were Jesus Lizard (both records), Palace, McLusky, Nirvana, Om

Maybe I need to get my ears checked but I feel like almost every song on Pod has a much better-sounding version that's not on Pod: whether on the demos or through live version scattered here or there

Just a friendly reminder that you should vote for your favourite, but if you'd rather pick the best-engineered, that's fine too.

They're all the best-engineered tbf

Rid of Me is a great record but it sounds like shit.

Think I went for Low but could as easily have been ‘Seamonsters’ or Songs:Ohia or ‘Mclusky do Dallas’ or one of the Nina Nastasia records or...

Would add Electrelane's Axes and Edith Frost's Wonder Wonder.

ctrl-f "the ex" 0 results

wtf

good point!

Top 20 according to Stereogum (in 2012):

https://www.stereogum.com/933612/the-top-20-steve-albini-recorded-albums/franchises/list/attachment/steve-albini/

Looking through my notes, I made this list in 2015, I guess waiting for a thread like this. I'd change that order now.

High on Fire - Blessed Black Wings
Joanna Newsom - Ys
Nina Nastasia – On Leaving
Breeders - Pod
Esben & the Witch - A New Nature
PJ Harvey - Dry
Pixies - Surfer Rosa
The Ponys - Celebration Castle
Electrelane – The Power Out
Future of the Left - Travels with Myself and Another
Nina Nastasia – Road to Ruin
Neurosis – Given to the Rising

contemporary bands I'd like to hear stop by Electrical: Ufomammut, Shana Cleveland/La Luz, Goat Girl

Shana Cleveland/La Luz

yes please!

Still haven't made up my mind.

yeah i kinda just threw a dart at Goat, but coulda easily picked a half dozen or more others

So many good albums. Would add Low's "Secret Name" personally as well. Love that album to death.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Things We Lost in the Fire is my actual favorite album of this bunch, but I voted for Goat because I don't think Albini had a particularly significant impact on Low whereas he did with tJL, and Goat is their crowning achievement. (Also it felt like a cheat to just vote for one of his own bands.)

pussy galore - sugarshit sharp

Toss up between Liar (which I haven't listened to in ages), Pod or Braniac, but I voted Braniac.

Lazily going with In utero because it has shaped my listening habits more durably than any other record on this list.

The bit where all the instruments come in on the first track on The Blackened Air is my favourite moment of recorded sound, gives me huge goosebumps, as for rock records I like the sound he got on the album Plug by Sloy very much, or more obviously Goat.

Love that Brainiac album but Albini only recorded one song on it ("Nothing Ever Changes"). The rest was done by Eli Janney.

Going with Goat myself.

You're right. Apologies for the flub!

"Rid Of Me" is an amazing document of a specific chemistry but PJ Harvey has made better albums

Low's best albums come before and after the Albini period

"Goat" is a wonderfully recorded album but I have no room for The Jesus Lizard in my life at this particular time

My favourite albums on this list are The Breeders, but

It is profoundly disappointing that Electrelane is nowhere to be found on this list, they are the best rock band of all time, and they'd beat out The Breeders any day,

But even if Electrelane were on this list I would still be voting for Neurosis "Times Of Grace". There is no band that has benefitted more from having their sound Steve Albini'd, and no better document of Albini's singular abilities as a recordist.

https://s.put.re/8H2x2J7E.png
super curious whatever EMF recorded with albini sounds like.

Low's best albums come before, after, and during the Albini period.

xp I think that's a mistake. the only things I could find were a Killdozer single where they covered EMF on the B-side, but Steve Albini didn't produce that, he did the A-side, and a 12" record by Wreck (House of Boris) which is copyright EMF Publishing.

Such a mistake in a fact-checked book? That's Unbelievable!

Has Albini ever worked with a band that had... *checks notes*... a turntablist member?

He did the space streakings album which featured some wayward scratching but it didn't sound as good as the one produced by KK NULL.

Finally going for American Don, though it's my 2nd favourite Don Cab after What Burns, but 2nd best Don Cab is still pretty damn good.

Was tempted by Pod but it doesn't seem very quintessentially Albini to me - too murky, or something. I think someone said elsewhere on ILX that it's just the CD that sounds murky and the vinyl sounds way better, but hey, I have the CD, or had - lent it to someone and haven't seen it or them since.

Tomorrow I may feel guilty for not voting for Low or Pixies. And I just spotted Palace in there and thought how much I loved that record but I haven't listened to it in nearly 20 years so I'm not going for that one (must revisit it soon).

would've voted for a silkworm album, but picked mclusky from the available options

Has anyone he has ever recorded not owned a turntable?

This thread got me to thinking about this song that I have not listened to in years. Mind boggling to think how many years have passed since the time I got a shot to see the Dirty Three at Sudsy Malone's in Cincy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iw6j_etAiW0

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

That was considerably closer than I expected. And only six votes for Pod?

Run to Ruin deserved way better.

One vote for each of these 'official' write-ins:

Cheer-Accident - Introducing Lemon
Pussy Galore - Sugarshit Sharp
Superchunk - No Pocky for Kitty
Tad - Salt Lick
Ut - Griller

Or not so official since only three people clicked on 'write-in'.

Jesus Lizard, The Goat

I can live with the results of this poll, "Rid of Me" is such an amazing sounding album, I can't believe it got released on a major label. No one voted for "Empire Inward" ?! wtf

Quibbling here but, "At Action Park" sounds great, but I think technically that's a John Loder/Iain Burgess joint.

there's something off about those early albini productions, namely surfer rosa and pod, that does not sound great to me. maybe the compromise between the (unformed) albini style and the gauzier 4ad sound?

Those are like peak Albini productions imo. Love the way those sound.

Yeah no, if those records don't sound not great to you.... shrug.ascii

i think i just came to them too late, i heard the albums that were influenced by them and mid-period albini productions before i heard them.

Shana Cleveland/La Luz

yes please!

― Jeff the grown man (voodoo chili), Wednesday, May 29, 2019 3:06 PM (one month ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Agreed!

It is profoundly disappointing that Electrelane is nowhere to be found on this list, they are the best rock band of all time, and they'd beat out The Breeders any day,

i have almost no problem saying that this is among the most wrong things i've ever read on this board.

Well, nobody appreciates Steve Albini in the fashion I do, apparently, which is to listen to "Axes" and "Times Of Grace" on repeat

ig i forgot to vote for the neurosis, oh well

Always thought it interesting that the guy known for getting these awesome room drum sounds started out using a drum machine for his first project. (Ed. note - There are a couple Big Black tracks that were cut with a live drummer.)

Pretty much anything before '97 was recorded in Steve Albini's basement or an external studio. After that I would figure the lions share is all recorded at Electrical Audio. Albini really likes Abbey Road and has done a couple projects there.

xpost to flamboyant goon tie, i mean...i like Electrelane all right, haven't listened to them in maybe 15 years tho. whereas Pod is one of the only rock records i have on tape, LP, CD, and digital, and i also have the demos.

I prefer Last Splash! idk, I think Albini's soundworld works incredibly well for certain artists and others? not-so-much, but I clearly have somewhat of an outlying idea about What's Good, I mean, "Kidnapped By Neptune" would also make my top 5 Albini records but I know everybody here hates that stuff. Flip-side of the coin, I don't care for what Steve Albini does for Nina Nastasia, really

'Tis time for me to catch up with the Albini'ed LPs so many of you have graciously singled out as highlights, and that I haven't heard yet. Cheer-Accident and Tad and others, here I come.

Love both of those - you're in for a treat

Been on a kick listening to a couple of Tar Cds (Jackson & Toast) in the car the past couple of weeks. Still don't know what the heck most of their lyrics are about, but they got cool drums and feedback.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghzzqQWbb-A

Impossible, but would vote for Firewater because more people need Silkworm in their lives