Know as in could recite from heart without the record playing, not just sing along Thick As a Brick - Tull, was able to recite at 13 (school grades dropped like a stone that year. Would have got straight A's in rock music) Axis Bold As Love - Jimi Sgt Pepper - Beatles Are You Experienced - Jimi Tommy - The Who Rastaman Vibration - Bob Marley Crosby Stills Nash - debut Ever wished someone else didn't know all the lyrics? eg friends reciting Zappa, singing along during the quiet parts of concerts, etc? If this thread gets any traction I have a couple of bemusing tales.
If I was listening to The Wedding Present's Seamonsters with the vocals removed I could probably come up with all or almost all of the lyrics. I'd need the music to help me out though. I could maybe do that with TWP's Bizarro as well.
This is amazing. Reminds me of shamanic chanting but you're still a wiseguy! What's next, Christmas At the Dog Pound?
Almost forgot! Jesus Christ Superstar. Start to finish. Wanted to perform it solo but that last nail is a dealbreaker. Seriously though, a punk rock singer friend of mine and I used to do the whole album. He did The 39 Lashes solo, quite a spectacle, an audience participation thing, jumping on tables, audience chanting the crowd bits.
Most of the classic 70s albums by Yes, Genesis, Gentle Giant, Jethro Tull, Pink Floyd, Steely Dan, David Bowie, Roxy Music, Deep Purple, etc., etc.
Yep. Exactly. Probably more than 100 albums. Maybe 200... I seriously don't know, but to list them seems crazy to me. I also would expect most people on this forum to be in the same situation. I'm surprised at the question - are there any people here that know all the lyrics to every song of so few albums that they would be something you could list?!?
I know all the lyrics to the Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, Pocahontas, and Aladdin soundtracks. Does that count?
I thought so too at first, but when I consider a record I thought I had memorized if being honest there would be some parts I could not recall. If singing along, it would be hundreds, but reciting without the music playing - just try it, pick one album you assume you know every word, then one of the songs that you don't pay as much atttention to; sing or recite to yourself, you will be surprised . For example "Sticky Fingers," I thought was branded on my brain, but only know Brown Sugar, Wild Horses, Dead Flowers, Sway, and Moonlight Mile well enough to sing them through. And there is always one verse in Wild Horses that eludes me, like a block of some kind.
If you can "recite from heart without the record playing" "Voices of Old People", you are a better person than I. And I maintain that strongly.
I used to be a competitive distance runner, and ran 90+ mile weeks for over a decade. On many runs, I would "run" albums in my head beginning to end as a sort of experiment, to see if I could maintain the concentration needed to do it. I got pretty good at it. I understand what you are asking, and I still think there's at least 100 albums I could do this to.
None, sadly. While my mind is like flypaper for trivia, I've always struggled to retain lyrics/poetry. If I'm playing at an open mic, even songs I've sung hundreds of times can be a trial to get through. It's extremely annoying.
I believe you. That is an unusual intensive meditation however. I have played in professional cover bands, copied songs for personal enjoyment; performed the entire musical Tommy in theatre, and sing songs to myself all the time, so I probably have more actually memorized than most. I thought my list was going to be long, but when I really considered it I had to strike out several; possibly more if being honest.
It takes a lot of repetition to keep lyrics in circulation. I come up short while performing all the time.
The "without singing along" part is what makes this hard. Otherwise I could claim many records including some in Kobian.
It'd no doubt take an exorbitant amount of time to do a complete list. This is what pops into mind for starters (not including live albums and greatest hits collections): All Moody Blues from Days of Future Passed through The Present (the album titled The Present, not literally everything through the current day) Rush - everything from debut through Presto The Who - Who's Next, Who by Numbers, Who's Next, Face Dances Dan Fogelberg - Nether Lands Boston - the first two Electric Light Orchestra - A New World Record Black Sabbath - Heaven and Hell, Mob Rules Dream Theater - Images and Words Fates Warning - Parallels Kansas - Masque, Leftoverture, Point of No Return, Monolith, Somewhere to Elsewhere Blackfoot - All from debut through Siogo Outlaws - debut, Diablo Canyon Atlanta Rhythm Section - A Rock and Roll Alternative, Champagne Jam, Quinella Asia - XXX Shooting Star - Hang On For Your Life, Silent Scream Kinks - Schoolboys in Disgrace Rolling Stones - Sticky Fingers, It's Only Rock and Roll, Zep - I-IV Within Temptation - The Unforgiving Triumph - Debut through Surveillance
