One man albums

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as in, then first Jason Falkner record, which featured full band arrangements(quite intricate too) but none other than the man himself playing any instruments. Drums, bass, piano, guitar, etc. plus he produced and mixed the thing.

I know there are tons of these, name them.

― derrick (derrick), Sunday, 6 July 2003 16:37 (twenty-three years ago)

The first Foo Fighters and Paul McCartney's first solo album, if I'm not mistaken.

― Prude (Prude), Sunday, 6 July 2003 16:39 (twenty-three years ago)

Squarepusher : Music Is Rotted One Note.

― Sommermute (Wintermute), Sunday, 6 July 2003 16:52 (twenty-three years ago)

"Messages for the Cakekitchen" by Graeme Jefferies. I think there's a guest vocalist on one track actually.

― Paul Eater (eater), Sunday, 6 July 2003 16:55 (twenty-three years ago)

that there 'original pirate material' thing

― mitch lastnamewithheld (mitchlnw), Sunday, 6 July 2003 16:57 (twenty-three years ago)

the early work of babybird, 5 solo Lps i believe

― scottjames23 (worrysome-man), Sunday, 6 July 2003 18:36 (twenty-three years ago)

Dirty Mind and 1999

― Sonny A. (Keiko), Sunday, 6 July 2003 18:40 (twenty-three years ago)

there is also a drummer on messages from the cakekitchen, gary sullivan from jps experience.

other examples squires of the subterrain, one man beach boy though he does have some assistance on some songs but not on most of his seven records. allen clapp's solo record.

― keith (keithmcl), Sunday, 6 July 2003 18:45 (twenty-three years ago)

Prince's debut For You was all him. I think every record after that has at least one other person playing somewhere on it. But the thing is he could have done them all entirely by himself if he wanted.

Also Stevie Wonder's Music of My Mind might as well qualify. I think he hired a horn player for a couple cuts but it's essentially all him.

― Mr. Diamond (diamond), Sunday, 6 July 2003 18:48 (twenty-three years ago)

Shuggie Otis & Skip Spence are the rediscovered owners of this thread

― autovac (autovac), Sunday, 6 July 2003 19:33 (twenty-three years ago)

captain beefheart ;-)

― Julio Desouza (jdesouza), Sunday, 6 July 2003 19:36 (twenty-three years ago)

jandek
east river pipe

― electric sound of jim (electricsound), Sunday, 6 July 2003 22:25 (twenty-three years ago)

someone told me today that ed harcourt plays all the instruments on his records. this may be untrue, and i don't know whether he produces and mixes the whole thing...

― weasel diesel (K1l14n), Sunday, 6 July 2003 22:29 (twenty-three years ago)

graham coxon solo?

― weasel diesel (K1l14n), Sunday, 6 July 2003 22:30 (twenty-three years ago)

Busted?

― Lynskey (Lynskey), Sunday, 6 July 2003 22:50 (twenty-three years ago)

Also Stevie Wonder's Music of My Mind might as well qualify. I think he hired a horn player for a couple cuts but it's essentially all him.

one of the more interesting parts of the book 'Analog Days' (Pinch / Trocco) described the exact nature of the work Bob Margouleff and Malcolm Cecil did for Stevie on Music of My Mind through Fulfillingness. Not just programming and engineering, but actually knob twiddling on the Moog during Stevie's performances on the keyboard. Which is a huge lightbulb for me, knowing those keyboard sounds were the work of several people 'playing' the Moog at once. The keyboards on 'Boogie On Reggae Woman' are so loaded with expressive detail, and that's because they're being 'played' by more than one person at once.

― pointless, Sunday, 6 July 2003 23:01 (twenty-three years ago)

About 90% of pre-"Loser" Beck. 4-tracks and footstomp percussion ahoy!

― Nate Patrin (Nate Patrin), Sunday, 6 July 2003 23:31 (twenty-three years ago)

3/4 of Todd Rundgren's Something/Anything.

― JesseFox (JesseFox), Monday, 7 July 2003 01:21 (twenty-three years ago)

plush "more you becomes you"

― electric sound of jim (electricsound), Monday, 7 July 2003 02:16 (twenty-three years ago)

There's a horn player on that, only for about 20 seconds though. As I remember.

― Andrew Thames (Andrew Thames), Monday, 7 July 2003 02:20 (twenty-three years ago)

really? must listen out for it next time

― electric sound of jim (electricsound), Monday, 7 July 2003 02:20 (twenty-three years ago)

Erm, Coxon is working with Stephen Street for his new album, and even his first few, he had one or two session guys always in. But mostly him, yes.

Does Ben Folds count?

― Sam Bloch, Monday, 7 July 2003 03:46 (twenty-three years ago)

anything by Bob Log III

also, Bob Mould's last 3 solo discs.

― Kingfish (Kingfish), Monday, 7 July 2003 03:54 (twenty-three years ago)

come on keith... roy montgomery!

― fortunate hazel (f. hazel), Monday, 7 July 2003 03:54 (twenty-three years ago)

oh, and it obv doesn't count if it's a lo-fi bedroom recording/solo piano recording/newly-found demos. it needs to be an album that *could* have had session musicians or a full band, but didn't, like the prince, mccartney, bob mould stuff.

i guess i mean artistic choice is the key, not monetary necessity.

― derrick (derrick), Monday, 7 July 2003 04:48 (twenty-three years ago)

Jim I checked, there's a horn following the chords on the instrumental. For quite a bit more than 20 secs, it turns out.

― Andrew Thames (Andrew Thames), Monday, 7 July 2003 05:26 (twenty-three years ago)

Brendan Benson - Lapalco

I believe I read in Mojo that he recorded the entire album by himself in his basement on an 8-track. On second glance, it appears that Jason Falkner helped on about 4 of the tracks.

― AlienBoy (AlienBoy), Monday, 7 July 2003 06:17 (twenty-three years ago)

All the Emitt Rhodes LPs

― harveyw (harveyw), Monday, 7 July 2003 06:50 (twenty-three years ago)

Roy Wood owns this thread. The ex-Move/ELO/Wizzard star's first solo album, Boulders, obviously was all written and produced and sung by him. He also played all the instruments - and as I recall that was over 30 different ones. That may have been matched - but he also painted the album cover, so I reckon he wins. Far as I know he didn't bung the pressed copies in his van and deliver them to the shops himself...

― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Monday, 7 July 2003 19:47 (twenty-three years ago)

Nine Inch Nails and Ultra Vivid Scene to thread!!!

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Monday, 7 July 2003 19:50 (twenty-three years ago)

JIM FOETUS did all that on multiple lps. Though he didn't have any hits like Wood.

― rw, Monday, 7 July 2003 19:56 (twenty-three years ago)

From memory, doesn't James McNew of Yo La Tengo play all the instruments on his recordings released as Dump?

― nickn (nickn), Monday, 7 July 2003 19:57 (twenty-three years ago)

Blue Ridge Rangers (John Fogerty)

― Charles McCain (Charles McCain), Monday, 7 July 2003 20:14 (twenty-three years ago)

hasil adkins

― stirmonster, Monday, 7 July 2003 20:30 (twenty-three years ago)

elliott smith-roman candle and i think either/or

― Felcher (Felcher), Monday, 7 July 2003 20:39 (twenty-three years ago)

magic pie-paul mc cartney

― robin (robin), Monday, 7 July 2003 21:10 (twenty-three years ago)

now that i think about it its fairly odd that i know that,since i couldn't even name one song by mc cartney,but i think i saw an interview with him around the time it came out

― robin (robin), Monday, 7 July 2003 21:12 (twenty-three years ago)

one song by mc cartney as mc cartney,obviously

― robin (robin), Monday, 7 July 2003 21:13 (twenty-three years ago)

Adrian Belew - Mr Music Head

― dave225 (Dave225), Tuesday, 8 July 2003 11:40 (twenty-three years ago)

(hm, must be a third or fourth occasion when, on ilm, i cannot but name him again)

BOB MOSES,
the percussionist & vocaliser, has made quite a few alb's on his own

― t\'\'t (t\'\'t), Tuesday, 8 July 2003 13:06 (twenty-three years ago)

John P. Strohm - Vestavia

― Jamie Morrison, Tuesday, 8 July 2003 17:17 (twenty-three years ago)

Mark's Keyboard Repair!!!

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Tuesday, 8 July 2003 17:41 (twenty-three years ago)

About 90% of pre-"Loser" Beck. 4-tracks and footstomp percussion ahoy!

Oh yeah, by the way, today's Beck's birthday. Happy Birthday Senor Hansen!!!

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Tuesday, 8 July 2003 17:42 (twenty-three years ago)

Gary Wilson, "You Think You Really Know Me"

― andrew m. (andrewmorgan), Tuesday, 8 July 2003 17:44 (twenty-three years ago)

Ha ha...Nickalicious' Nobody Has Ever Listened to This Album That Isn't a Blood Relative or an Ex-Girlfriend! (okay so it was actually self-titled)

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Tuesday, 8 July 2003 17:48 (twenty-three years ago)

Except for the occassional guest vocal, Atom Goren does everything including cover art on Atom and his Package records. But he should really consider hiring an artist because - holy crap - his art is butt-ugly.

― Tom Breihan (Tom Breihan), Tuesday, 8 July 2003 18:29 (twenty-three years ago)

Also, the first two Cex albums fit.

― Tom Breihan (Tom Breihan), Tuesday, 8 July 2003 18:31 (twenty-three years ago)

Elliott Smith's Either/Or has a fair bit of Joanna Bolme on it i think

― electric sound of jim (electricsound), Wednesday, 9 July 2003 00:52 (twenty-three years ago)

Several Bevis Frond albums are one-man jobs.

― John Bullabaugh (John Bullabaugh), Wednesday, 9 July 2003 01:45 (twenty-three years ago)

All the albums of Sad Rockets. Although the second one has a guest drummer on one song, if I remember correctly.

― Tuomas (Tuomas), Wednesday, 9 July 2003 07:05 (twenty-three years ago)

In other words, Sad Rockets is a one man band.

― Tuomas (Tuomas), Wednesday, 9 July 2003 07:06 (twenty-three years ago)

(BOB MOSES, the percussionist & vocaliser, has made quite a few alb's on his own -- t\'\'t ---- ahem, this *could* be untrue. sorry. must have mixed him up with David Moss ...somehow)

― t\'\'t (t\'\'t), Wednesday, 9 July 2003 19:58 (twenty-three years ago)

Aldo Nova -- Aldo Nova

― christoff (christoff), Thursday, 10 July 2003 15:55 (twenty-three years ago)

Anyone mention Emitt Rhodes yet?

I admire any musician who can play drums - I don't admire drummers themselves, they're despicable.

― Dadaismus (Dada), Thursday, 10 July 2003 17:15 (twenty-three years ago)

I might dispute that Skip Spence album. I think I read that although he played all the instruments himself, he wasn't really coherent enough to actually write entire songs, and the songs were basically assembled piece by piece by the producer, who spliced different things together to make the songs. Depending on how technical you want to be about it or what you consider "songwriting," this could change the one-man album designation.

― NA. (Nick A.), Thursday, 10 July 2003 17:26 (twenty-three years ago)

he wasn't really coherent enough to actually write entire songs, and the songs were basically assembled piece by piece by the producer, who spliced different things together to make the songs

Pretty much sums up the history of Rock and Roll. Who spliced together "Strawberry Fields"? Here's a clue - it wasn't John Lennon, he was up on the roof of Abbey Road full of acid at the time.

― Dadaismus (Dada), Thursday, 10 July 2003 17:30 (twenty-three years ago)

Edwyn Collins -- Doctor Syntax, minus drums.

― christoff (christoff), Thursday, 10 July 2003 18:56 (twenty-three years ago)

Are you sure that Skip Spence was not in charge of his sessions? I seem to remember a
mystique about him being alone in the studio, pumping songs out feverishly. You may be
mixing him up with Syd Barrett and Roky Erickson, other eccentric musicians who were
too far gone to function well in the studio (Roky's classic album and most of Syd's output
match the description you gave).

― squirl plise, Thursday, 10 July 2003 20:58 (twenty-three years ago)

More Todd Rundgren-A Cappella

― Charles McCain (Charles McCain), Thursday, 10 July 2003 21:02 (twenty-three years ago)

Post Lou Barlow Dinosaur Jr.

― David Beckhouse (David Beckhouse), Friday, 11 July 2003 04:26 (twenty-three years ago)

does anybody know where i could track down film footage of those old stevie sessions? i know i have seen a bit but i'm not sure where. i recently watched the rhino classic albums for 'songs in the key of life' which was good, but recent

― ron (ron), Friday, 11 July 2003 04:44 (twenty-three years ago)

I don't admire drummers themselves, they're despicable.

What'd I ever do to you, daffy?

― oops (Oops), Friday, 11 July 2003 04:52 (twenty-three years ago)

Dadaismus - the difference is that no one is claiming that the Beatles or John Lennon were a "one man" band.

If you're lucky, I'll try and find where I read that stuff about Skip Spence, but realistically, I'm too lazy to do so.

― NA. (Nick A.), Friday, 11 July 2003 11:49 (twenty-three years ago)

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