Eels albums

Having recently been playing Beautiful Freak way too much I was wondering if any of their other albums are as good as this one.

Beautiful Freak got a kinda weird outsider subject matter, some funky base and mixes rock/pop with a sort of Faithless styled ambiance.

Or anything else out there in the same vain, although I wasn't too keen on the Avalanches album.

 

"Electroshock Blues" is as good, if not better IMO, as "Beautiful Freak" .
"Souljacker" is meant to be quite impressive as well but I've not had a chance to hear it yet.

I wasn't a big fan of the Avalanches album either .

How about some Ben Folds Five ?

 

Beautiful Freak is good, but in a way not as good as some of the subsequent albums. Beautiful Freak was written by E before the deaths of his mother and sister, which heavily affected him, and comes through a lot in Electro-shock Blues.

My current favourite is Daisies of the Galaxy, which has some tracks that are better than anything on Beautiful Freak, in particular Flyswatter and Mr E's Beautiful Blues (which was released as a single... it is the hidden track at the end of Daisies).

I don't have souljacker... it's on my list to get. I have Shootenanny, whcih doesn't seem as good, so I'd recommend Daisies and Electro-shock blues, if you like beautiful freak.

 

Thanks for the replies, I'll have to have a look at Electro-shock blues.

Ben Folds playing got way better when he split form the other two members of the group, his solo live performance on Ben Folds Live is quite brilliant, also the Suburbs album is worth a listen to.

 

I'm with Isaac on this one – Daisies of the Galaxy is definitely my favourite Eels album. It is far more a continuation of Beautiful Freak than Electroshock Blues, I found Electroshock a bit dour and flat.

Tony.

 

Right that's two on the list then!

 

I've got them all, they are all great and each one has its own flavour.

 

Right after a purchasing both Galaxy and Electro I can say thanks guys, nice selections. Galaxy has got more play time and therefore is the one I prefer just now, got some kicking bass, real earth moving stuff. Electro seems more down beat/morbid, but both are really good.

Next question, The Streets, discuss.....

 

He (Mike Skinner) is a god! Well, he's got a good wit and delivery of chav culture, so we don't have to go there. The first album cover is great, the second sucks.

Oh - his mate was all over the shop when they did Glastonbury last year!

 

I think Mike Skinner is the best lyricist in current pop music. A Grand Don't Come For Free is excellent IMO.

He's far too smart and witty to be regarded as a chav. He's not afraid to take the mickey out of himself in his lyrics, either, which is a refreshing change.

-- Ian

 

Electro-shock was written after E's mother died and sister committed suicide (Beautiful Freak was written before these events), and hence the feel of the album. The last song sums it up... "And I was thinking about how, everyone keeps dying."

Daisies is a bit more upbeat, particularly Mr. E's Beautiful blues ("God damn right, it's a beautiful day").

I've just got souljacker (arrived in the post yesterday), but not had a chance yet to really evaluate it. Seems to have some quality stuff though.