New to Daniel Johnston - Recomendations please!

[robmurphy]

Hello people.

Short story:

I went to see a band, they are called The Trachtenburg family slideshow players. (I'm sure some of you have heard of them, if not - google the name and find out about them!).

I spoke to Mr Trachtenburg afterwards to ask if he had heard of "the shaggs" (again I'm sure some of you have heard of them, if not - google the name and find out about them!). He said he had. I asked if he had heard of Wild Man Fischer (yet again I'm sure some of you have heard of him, if not - google the name and find out about him!). He said he hadnt. So i told him to google the name and find out about him. He then asked me if I had heard of Daniel Johnston. I said I hadnt, so he told me to google his name and find out about him. So i did. And here I am.

I know you guys are going to be able to give me some direction here, So whats a good song/album to get hold of for a newcomer?

Many thanks,

Love Rob.

[Henry Long]

Welcome, Rob. Gotta love that google.
 
I'd suggest "The Late Great Daniel Johnston- Discovered Covered." It's as good a place as any, and is a 2 disc set, one a tribute and the other all originals. It's chock full of neat stuff, art, spell-checkless liner notes (smile and a nod, Jordy... all is forgiven...come home) And you can get it right here: www. rejectedunknown.com

Be warned, however. Daniel IS habit forming. Do not drive or operate heavy machinary while listening.

Honestly, you can pick any tape or CD (or record for that matter) at random and get right in. Try the early tapes at Stress. I know those other musicians you mentioned, and although Daniel may be considered among such "fringe" acts as those, he truly is a unique experience.

Good Luck, and let us know where you go from here!

[gina164]

Henry...he's gotta have some Dan Johnston CDs in his car!
At least, I do

Oh...Hi, Rob!

Welcome.

Let's see...where do you start?


His CD "FUN" is...well, fun!
If you have any kiddos in your life, you gotta play it for them, too.
It's got a great 'burp' on it that kids LOVE to hear in the middle of a song!

"Discovered Covered" is a must, of course.
At first, I would not listen to 'the covers' CD, as I only liked Dan's versions ...but, weirdly, now that time has passed, I like both CDs, but at different times.

In terms of all of the rest of his stuff...it's all good...again, depending on what mood you're in, and how it effects YOU.

I like it all, but I am realizing that I am simply a happy-go-lucky Dan Johnston fan...I just love hearing his voice, and I am so happy knowing that the poetry in his songs frees him...and it frees me, too...and a lot of others...

...and now you, too

ENJOY!

Gina

[Disfranchise]

I'd recommend the early tapes since those were the songs that cought my attention and I doubt that if I heard FUN or Rejected Unknown first that I would have tried to track down every song of his (however I like them too alot now). Those tapes are really something, like The Beatles White Album or the Kinks Something Else. It's so god damn melodic and he tells the most moving stories you'd ever hear but no matter how sad a song is, it's still has something fun in it. One of the greates songwriters of all time... but when will people understand? Take a  look how many registered members there is on this board... it should be a couple of thousand atleast.
Anyway, my advice is to check this out:
http://members.aol.com/yipeye/orderfrm.htm
here you'll find the early tapes, and it's cheap aswell.

[D. Sulpy]

Well, I dunno. I'd heard of Daniel, but didn't actually hear him until "Fun" came out. That's still one of my favorite albums, as well as his most recent, "Fear Yourself." I have nothing against the early albums, but I'd suspect they're not the best thing to get a newcomer hooked on Daniel's music. It's hard enough for most people to get beyond Dan's unusual voice - why put the obstacle of the voice AND the crappy sound quality in their way?

Anyway, Rob, what I'd suggest is that you head on over to:

http://rejectedunknown.com/multimedia/audio/audio.htm

listen to various numbers, and decide for yourself what you like .

Doug

[Gammon Records]

Yip / jump.

All the way.

[dbeefy]

I have to say , don't be scared(ahem.)  by the dodgy sound quality of the early tapes, the overall atmosphere as well as the songs themselves, is great!

'Don't be scared' for instance has a lot of stuff in between the songs (bits of day-to-day speech, sound effects, funny little experimental bits) which adds a whole different layer for me. It sounds as if DJ was trying to do more than just a collection of songs - just yet more of that unstoppable creativity.

[raphneck]

from the early stuff, I would say "Songs of Pain", Yip/jump", "continued story"
If you like sad songs: "1990"
And for the morecent album: "Fun" "Why Me?" and "Rejected unknow"
but I don't think you can make a bad choice with him.

[Marquis of Sadness]

If I had to recommend an album, I'd say "Fear Yourself" or the cover album.

If you're into the infranet piracy, here's the best of the best, of what I've heard:

Hate Song
Fish
Syrup of Tears
Now
King Kong
Devil Town
Mountain Top
Pot Head

Try that out, and go for it from there.

[wickedwill]

Yip / jump.

All the way.

Yeah! Man I just cant recommend one so I will also say "1990"
I think ALL of Daniels stuff is great! The only one you should approach with caution is The Danny and the Nightmares cd with the monsters on the cover! I even believe at one time the website even warned the potential buyer of the album of its contents. Talk about Lo-Fi

I just bought the "Lost Recordings Vol I and II" and I think there are some real gems on those also! I had em on cassette its great to see em finally get to cd!

As far as live goes "Why Me?" is a maserpiece! Daniel at his best! That album ranks up thier with KISS "Alive" and Thin Lizzy "Live and Dangerous" as far as if it aint in your collection of 1000+ or however many cd's you own your collection of music is half assed and you need to get it! MAN I love that album!
Never gets old no matter how many times I hear it!

[Gomez]

Living life.

I've been a musician for a good numer of years and I don't understand how people can come up with stuff like 'Living life'. It's a gift and it pisses me off terribly that I know that I'll never be able to do something like that.

Gomez

[Stallion]

Songs of Pain

[The Dentist]

"Continued Story" and "Yip Jump Music" still speak to me. But I'm really partial to "Artistic Vice". Go figure!

[PaulTMA]

Maybe buy Yip and Hi How Are You? for two sides of the coin from the same era.  And then throw in The What Of Whom, which is my personal favorite (never heard anyone else agree, yet!)