The Afghan Whigs "Gentlemen" Poll

"Debonair" wins over the title track by a very narrow margin. I still play the hell out of this record.

i think we've done this? what an album

my band in high school covered debonair, so i'm going with that

we never did a poll, i checked obv

'Be Sweet'

i am leaning toward be sweet fwiw. when we two parted also in the running.

oh don't make me choose!

im sure i did a poll on this and debonair won.
voting debonair anyway

"If I Were Going" into "Gentlemen" still one of my favorite segues, right up there with Friends into Celebration Day.

"My Curse"

srsly WTF:

...because I really want to believe that it isn't, but I can't stand it. I consider selling it back every time I see it, but there's always something (aside from the cover-- which is really cool) that stops me. I think it might be darnielle and kellman's claims on another thread that it's one of their favorites from the 90s. Is this one of those you-had-to-be-then-and-there albums?
And if I don't like this album, am I not going to like Sebadoh? I've never heard them, but I think "Poledo" is one of the best tracks on YLAOM (and that's saying a lot).

Anyway, if you care, what exactly is so interesting about this album? I haven't really listened to the lyrics that closely, but that's supposedly what this guy's know for, yea?

[and don't tell me to use the search function. unbelievably, this really is the first thread exclusively about the album]

― poortheatre (poortheatre), Monday, April 11, 2005 12:07 AM (4 years ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

from Convince me that Afghan Whigs' "Gentlemen" isn't crap...

marcy mays ftw

"My Curse" really is great, it's the highlight of the record. It seems like the band is reaching back for just a little bit extra when they bring this home and, Marcy May's vocals fit the songs perfectly.

Exactly. "My Curse" all the way.

'My Curse' was a very close second for me.

Be Sweet. But if I could pick a favourite part of a song, it'd be the first third or so of the last track.

ladies, let me tell you about myself. i've got a dick for a brain. and my brain, is gonna sell my ass to you.

Naturally, Dulli sells his ass quite well throughout the Whigs' career:

Hey... Welcome home
I got a little wine
Some Marvin Gaye
Come on and taste me
Come on and take me, I'm yours
Dance, little sister, dance
This is my girl you're talkin' to
There isn't anything I wouldn't do
So take me... Taste me... Erase me
I'm yours... Let's get it on

underrated genius

Dulli's more recent Twilight Singers are fucking great as well.

"What Jail Is Like."

fuck i'd forgotten how much i loved this album

moniker OTM

all the twilight singers records actually

the gutter twins album with Lanegan was quite brilliant.

Dulli's acoustic solo album sucked though. And I say this as a big fan.

another for 'what jail is like'

Plz to remaster and reissue and include What Jail Is Like B-side My World Is Empty Without You KTHXBYE

Dulli's acoustic solo album sucked though. And I say this as a big fan.

Sadly, you are correct. It was leftovers.

I <3 Dulli. Have to think about this one a bit. Hmmm.

There's no way I could rank all of Dulli's work. My fav to this day is likely Blackberry Belle, which soundtracked my life for a good six months when it came out. Lots of good stuff he's released, though!

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

this is one of the best albums from the 90's, voting for "Be Sweet."

a good album, but kinda too pretentious and taking itself too serious.
Fountain and Fairfax for me.

I love the Afghan Whigs but as a relative latecomer to Dulli I find the Twilight Singers to be much more dynamic, varied, interesting.

Check out Dulli's recent iTunes-only live rekkid Live at Triple Door for a fucking flooring rendition of King Only.

When I got rid of my albums to devote myself to songs, Gentlemen was one of the four I couldn't bear to let go. That said, I've never quite been totally convinced of its greatness - it somehow feels just a little bit too unrelenting in its grittiness. Torn between 'My Curse' and 'Brother Woodrow', but it's hard not to vote for the title track

'My Curse' and 'Brother Woodrow' being fairly bleak forms of light relief

Gentlemen was one of the four I couldn't bear to let go.

What were the other three?

this album is unfuckwithable.

i've loved all of them, debonair was my favorite track for a while but after wearing all of them out now you know is kind of my underrated go-to on this.

This was one album I gladly sold back—I'd loved it in middle and high school, and then on relisten just couldn't get over how samey and how forced it all sounded.

That's sort of how I feel about it, except that for me that's probably just a minor flaw. Dulli's sincerity always compensates for his forcedness, if that contradiction makes any sense

(the other three were Grace, Marquee Moon and The Holy Bible, by the way)

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

wow, surprised be sweet ended up so low. my vote went to when we two parted but i understand why that's low.

i expected some votes for my curse, but seriously that song wrecks the whole flow for me. i kind of feel like for the album to be 100% true to its vision dulli needs to be the only singer on it. his performance here is hall of fame type stuff to me.

this album's sound and U2 have some things in common

"You think I'm scared of girls? Well, maybe. But I'm not afraid of you."

What a brilliant line.

the flipside of the LP is what I keep coming back for (swidt?):

My Curse -> Now You Know -> I Keep Coming Back -> Brother Woodrow/Closing Prayer

doesn't get better than this, actually replace "I Keep Coming Back" with "When We Too Parted" from Side A and that's like the perfect EP for me.

your kisses scourge me, hyssop in your perfume

i don't think you should be fucking with the track order tbh

dude, this is 2010. track sequences are primitive. ***EVERYONE IS A DJ***

Plz to remaster and reissue and include What Jail Is Like B-side My World Is Empty Without You KTHXBYE

― StanM, Wednesday, May 20, 2009 9:09 PM (5 years ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Your wish was granted. God this album is amazing and fresh 21 years on - the remaster sounds incredible. One-of-a-kind.

steve earle is a god

last night i dreamt that an evil shapeshifter was using mutant bugs to turn everyone into zombies. a spiderman-type figure (i'm not sure if i *was* him or if the dream-story was just centered on him) was trying to stop him, without success until he realized that clues to reversing the zombification were strewn throughout 'gentlemen' and indeed, the ultimate solution proved to be to kind of hug/squish the zombies together while blasting 'brother woodrow/closing prayer' on a boombox. during this process i think there was a brief glimpse of dulli in the shadows nodding approvingly

nb i don't watch zombie shows or superhero movies. i *have* listened to the whigs a lot, but not particularly recently

I read the Vice "rank your records" piece with Dulli and I'm glad he agrees with me that the album kinda tapers off at the end.

Listening to the demos on the deluxe edition for the first time and holy hell these these are maybe the most polished I've ever heard? "Be Sweet" in particular might be better than the album version.