We're getting toward the end of the first round. For newcomers, Best Moderately Acclaimed Album is a tournament of albums ranked lower than 500 on the AM site. Nomination was done a couple months ago by forum participants.
Anyone can vote, but you have to have heard both albums in a matchup to vote. You can hear albums on sites such as Rhapsody or Grooveshark, and it's okay to vote in some matches but not others.
This week's matches:
Division 1:
Townes Van Zandt - Live At The Old Quarter, Houston, TX vs
The Breeders - Pod
Division 2:
GZA/Genius - Liquid Swords vs
Robert Plant - Raising Sand
Division 3:
Simple Minds - New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84) vs
Sade - Love Deluxe
Division 4:
Van Morrison - St Dominic's Preview vs
Brygada Kryzys - Brygada Kryzys
Division 2 is probably the biggest matchup of the week, a lot of big fans on both sides. Division 4 is interesting because it has one of the albums that least belongs in division 4 against a very obscure one.
I have nominated both albums in division 3. With both albums I have always been a fan but not had them in my all-time 100 until this year, maybe because I didn't admit to myself how much I love them. I like to think that my taste is varied, but these two records indicates favorite niches as good as any. They are two polished album, but neither new wave/synth pop or smooth soul have ever been more groovy!
The albums are currently my all-time #21 and #26. That margin is too small for me to vote. I leave it up you to separate them.
1. Townes Van Zandt - Live at the Old Quarter, Houston, Texas (One of the all-time greatest live albums, and certainly the greatest acoustic live album)
2. GZA/Genius - Liquid Swords (It's growing on me more and more and is now a strong contender for my favorite hiphop album)
3. Van Morrison - St Dominic's Preview
4. Robert Plant & Alsion Kraus - Raising Sand
5. Sade - Love Deluxe (Much better than Diamond Life, I was fearing more Smooth Operators)
6. Simple Minds - New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84)
7. The Breeders - Pod
8. Brygada Kryzys - Brygada Kryzys (probably the first album in this competition I really didn't enjoy)
A fantastic live album that just happens to hit on my current kick. I prefer the first half to the softer second half.
Vote: Robert Plant
This was a much closer vote than I expected. Liquid Swords is a very good album but doesn't quite match Raising Sand for me. Maybe if I hear it more times it'll pass it, but not yet.
Good versus better. I like the richness of New Gold Dream but I think they overuse the vocal echo.
Vote: Delayed
So, Brygada Kyrzys is not on Rhapsody or Grooveshark. I found a website of theirs and heard one MP3. It was so awesome I immediately ordered the CD on Amazon. All they had was one CD in the market, no MP3 album available. However, the item location is Poland. I probably won't get it in time to vote. I don't know, I'm always saying you shouldn't vote against stuff you haven't heard, but is it okay to vote for something you haven't heard? (Although St Dominics Preview is my third favorite Van Morrison, by a wide margin in both directions.)
I downloaded Brygada Kryzys via mediafire. But the one I'm having problems finding is the Van Morrison album. Anyone know where I can hear/download Saint Dominic's?
Division 3:
Simple Minds - New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84) vs
Sade - Love Deluxe
I know both of these, and it's a tough, tough choice. Both are very good albums. I'm a bigger Sade fan, but my favorite album of theirs is Lovers Rock. In the end, both are in my 150-250 range all-time, but I'll give a slight edge to Love Deluxe.
Division 1: Townes Van Zandt - Live At The Old Quarter, Houston, TX
Division 2: Robert Plant - Raising Sand
Division 3: Simple Minds - New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84)
Division 4: -
Division 2: GZA/Genius - Liquid Swords vs
Robert Plant - Raising Sand
I'm not a fan of either, Liquid Swords might be the Wu-Tang members highly acclaimed album I like the least while the mid or high tempo songs of Raising Sand does not appeal to me at all. At the end it was a match-up between Liquid Swords peaks and Raising Sand slowest songs and I have got to give it to GZA.
Division 1: Townes Van Zandt - Live At The Old Quarter, Houston, TX WINS vs
The Breeders - Pod
Both are perfectly fine albums, but I just happen to prefer Texas country over the Pixies-esque rock. The Van Zandt album does drag a little on the second half, but there's more than enough high points to justify this.
Sade - Love Deluxe 4 def
Simple Minds - New Gold Dream 81-82-83-84 2
Van Morrison - St Dominic's Preview 1 TIED WITH
Brygada Kryzys - Brygada Kryzys 1
...Is it really *that* rare? Rue De Siam and Les Stances a Sophie at least got up to four or five votes. Rather than go to sudden death I'm just going to leave this one open a full week.