Brian's musical recommendations

On 18 June Brian tweeted:

"Sam Smith album preorder received today! @samsmithworld everybody get on this."

So I thought 'ok' and ordered the album unheard.  Not quite what I expected and not quite what I'd usually pick, but I see why Brian would have recommended it (both sonically and lyrically) and I must admit that I really like it.

Has anyone else followed up any of Brian's recommendations?

I wouldn't have bought any Fake Problems if TGA hadn't covered one of their tracks, and i think Brian said good things about them on his old blog (remember that?!?!) or Twitter. So i've picked up a couple of good albums there that i otherwise wouldn't have.

I recently listened to Better Sense on the basis of the implicit recommendation in "45", but didn't think much to it.

So what's the Sam Smith album like? Who could you compare him to?

Yeah the Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan - got back into them again recently - maybe Springsteen, too.

Good shout on Springsteen. I used to like him as a kid - my dad played a lot of his stuff. But i love him more than ever since i got into TGA.

Yeah - I grew up when Springsteen was a big star along with Madonna and Michael Jackson etc - took me a while to backtrack to Born To Run and Darkness On The Edge of Town.

With the exception of Springsteen, Pearl Jam, and Tom Petty, and a few others, pretty much everything I currently listen to is because of recommendations he's made or artists he's played with/been associated with (okay, I'm exaggerating a little). Some of which I'd already heard of and just never made an effort to listen to much; The Bouncing Souls, The Clash, Bob Dylan, etc. And some I'd never heard of; The National, Dave Hause, Chamberlain, etc.

Pre-Gaslight I was convinced that all music after the 90s sucked, and I was picky about the classics. Gaslight in general opened up a whole other world of music for me!

Sam Smith has a very nice voice.

Not really a recommendation but when I heard that a singer called Mat Mays was gonna sing on some songs of the new album, I listened and I really love it.

This isn't through Brian specifically, but through Gaslight in general, I've found out about Frank Turner, Tim Barry, Chuck Ragan, Against Me, Fake Problems and more. I've also fallen back in love with bands like the Bouncing Souls that I listened to before I found Gaslight in 2009. I think I found Jason Isbell and Cory Branan directly from Brian's tweets. So happy that I gave them a chance.

Brian once said he likes the 1st Tori Amos record. So Tori Amos, mostly...

http://www.americansongwriter.com/2012/01/the-many-influences-of-brian-fallon/

I saw Sam Smith live a couple days back and he was nothing short of amazing. Truly one of the greatest concerts I've witnessed, despite not knowing a single song.

Afghan Whigs and Tom Waits have been huge for me when Brian recommended them leading up to the making of Elsie on his blog

I remember Brian recommended Gregory Alan Isakov on Instagram.. Great album!

uh, i love this thread!! i allways listen very closly about what brian is recommending!! because of him i started listening to: bruce springsteen (of course), frank turner, hot water music, chuck reagan, jawbreaker, pearl jam, bouncing souls, replacements...some of them i heard of before, some never..but actually starting to really listen to them came because of brian, and for that i am very very thankfull!!!
especially the bouncing souls!! heard the name before, now listening to them since three years..just loving them!!! but also the others..all great bands!! love getting tips from brian in interviews for new music!!

Brand New is pretty solid. Brian covered Sowing Season, and I danced around youtube listening to them for awhile. Shout out to Cory Branan. He is one of the funniest people you will ever meet. I also looked into Tony Sly because of Gaslight's cover of "Capo 4th fret," which needs to be heard by all (either version). Basically everything said above as well.