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T-Paine posted:Drama is a really great album, so this has potential, and I agree that The Ladder and Magnification were both sorely underrated, especially with tracks like "Face to Face," "The River," "New Languages," and "Lightning Strikes" from former and the title track, "We Agree" and "Give Love Each Day" from the latter. Then again I think all of Yes's post-90125 output is underrated, and Keystudio is one of their best albums as a whole. I don't understand the appeal of Keystudio at all. Everything on it is mind-numbingly repetitive and overlong, the lyrics are Jon Anderson at his preachiest and cringingly bad, and it's the classic Yes lineup so you can't even pin the blame on Trevor Rabin or Billy Sherwood. There are one or two good bits buried in Mind Drive and That That Is, and Sign Language is a decent but unmemorable instrumental, but overall this is what cemented in my mind that there would never be another good Yes album. That the same band who made Tales from Topographic Oceans and Going for the One and Tormato could produce something this bad. I do consider Union a bit underrated, though—not because it's good, but because it still has the reputation of being Yes's worst album, and I think they've since done much worse. Still, I would call I Would Have Waited Forever one of their best pop songs (I actually like it more than Owner of a Lonely Heart), and there are some other good tracks throughout like Masquerade and Take the Water to the Mountain. Saving My Heart might be the single worst song Yes ever did, though. Edit: Had almost this same discussion 13 months and six pages ago. Rollersnake fucked around with this message at 20:55 on Apr 27, 2011 |
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Apr 27, 2011 20:50
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Rollersnake posted:I don't understand the appeal of Keystudio at all. Everything on it is mind-numbingly repetitive and overlong, the lyrics are Jon Anderson at his preachiest and cringingly bad, and it's the classic Yes lineup so you can't even pin the blame on Trevor Rabin or Billy Sherwood. There are one or two good bits buried in Mind Drive and That That Is, and Sign Language is a decent but unmemorable instrumental, but overall this is what cemented in my mind that there would never be another good Yes album. That the same band who made Tales from Topographic Oceans and Going for the One and Tormato could produce something this bad. quote:I do consider Union a bit underrated, though—not because it's good, but because it still has the reputation of being Yes's worst album, and I think they've since done much worse. Still, I would call I Would Have Waited Forever one of their best pop songs (I actually like it more than Owner of a Lonely Heart), and there are some other good tracks throughout like Masquerade and Take the Water to the Mountain. Saving My Heart might be the single worst song Yes ever did, though. From the sounds of it, Union was hampered by the studio executives. Jon Anderson actually released a collection of demos for what would have been the second ABWH album, which weren't included on Union and some of them are great if extremely poppy, like the title track: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4NuPktx3fg
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Apr 28, 2011 01:04
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Personally, I'm super stoked on the new Yes album/lineup. It's essentially the same lineup as on Drama which was a great record! Though I am curious how interesting the song "Fly From Here" will be once stretched from the 9 minute Buggles version to 20 minutes long.
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Apr 28, 2011 02:27
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I finally got around to editing and uploading my interview with Steve Hackett. 
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May 11, 2011 19:53
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Sprint posted:I didn't think this news could support its own thread, so I've resurrected this one to let all the Van der Graaf Generator fans on SA know that the band has just released a new album today, A Grounding in Numbers. Yeah - the more I listen to VdGG/Hammill the more I feel like he's in another league than the other prog musicians. I'm not surprised that this is very good - Hammill's been on a tear in recent years. IMO he's the one prog musician that really stands out in the pack, someone I don't feel bad reccing to people who don't like Yes/Genesis/KC. I like him because he doesn't really gently caress around with his lyrics or music, it's complex and hard to get into and so lyrically dense, so if you're not in for the ride then you're not going to get it. The man's got talent.
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May 20, 2011 17:07
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I haven't read through the whole thread yet, but has anyone mentioned Watchtower yet? Watchtower is one of, if not the, very first technical progressive metal bands (Queensryche wasn't technical.) and they actually did a really drat good job of combining thrash metal with really complex prog. Their second album, "Control and Resistance" is one of my all time favorite albums in no small part thanks to the addition of guitarist Ron Jarzombek, who is hands down one of the most amazing and creative axemen ever to hold the guitar. Of course, just like their idols, Rush, the instruments are great but the singing is at times painful. Ah well. The instruments make up for it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9NgBvsifTE
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May 21, 2011 23:52
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Efilnikufesin posted:I haven't read through the whole thread yet, but has anyone mentioned Watchtower yet? Watchtower is one of, if not the, very first technical progressive metal bands (Queensryche wasn't technical.) and they actually did a really drat good job of combining thrash metal with really complex prog. Their second album, "Control and Resistance" is one of my all time favorite albums in no small part thanks to the addition of guitarist Ron Jarzombek, who is hands down one of the most amazing and creative axemen ever to hold the guitar. Of course, just like their idols, Rush, the instruments are great but the singing is at times painful. Ah well. The instruments make up for it. You absolutely must hear Deathrow's 1988 album Deception Ignored. It's in a similar vein to Watchtower/Mekong Delta/Coroner, but I think it's even better. Here's the instrumental from towards the middle of the album http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WyayloODWrc edit: on second thought, after listening to that Watchtower song, Deathrow's not better but definitely worth listening to. Optimum Gulps fucked around with this message at 04:12 on May 22, 2011 |
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May 22, 2011 04:05
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Thanks dude Deathrow's awesome I'll have to check them out more later. In the meantime, Ron Jarzombek of Watchtower has done a bunch of solo projects, most of which is brilliant. Spastic Ink for instance, has a concept album about a redneck trying to use a computer. Seriously. And it's pretty fuckin sick too. This is with the singer from Pain of Salvation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Z6hOr32lXE This is with the original singer from Watchtower (before control and resistance) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Rj5giDYCFs And then this is a really kickass instrumental which sounds like awesome video game music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjNywIer4Mw
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May 22, 2011 05:36
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Yeah I own both Spastic Ink albums and both Watchtower albums, I just hadn't listened to Control and Resistance in a long time and forgot how great it is. Blotted Science is an excellent side project as well, and his solo album Solitarily Speaking of Theoretical Confinement (part one here) is fantastic and wild, and actually a solo album, as he played all the other instrumental parts and programmed the drums. Ron's probably best known for this clip, though. Perusing his Wikipedia page, I see he's working on an instrumental project called Terrestrial Exiled with the drummer and a guitarist from Obscura and the bassist from Spastic Ink. Definitely going to have to look into that.
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May 22, 2011 16:38
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TheForgotton posted:How about some Dark Suns? Kristoffer Gildenöw (formerly Pain of Salvation) plays bass on their latest album. They have a freaky official video for one of their instrumentals, but it's slightly NWS in a couple of places. Thanks for this, been craving some of this brand of prog metal ever since PoS went a bit awry. Which was right around the time Kris left, actually. Hmm... Few of my recent favourites I didn't see mentioned: Ioearth. Pretty hard to find any of their songs that aren't a poorly recorded live performance, so the stuff on their myspace will have to do. They seem to take themselves a bit seriously (as you can probably tell by that self-congratulatory banner proclaiming themselves an "amazing musical discovery"  ), but the album is quality stuff. Mostly cut-and-dry prog, not overly technical, but they incorporate a diverse range of styles pretty ably.Demians: solo project by french multi-instrumentalist Nicolas Chapel. His first album, Building an Empire, is among my favourites, really chilled back, mellow prog, but has a great sense of scope and cohesion. I've heard a few people say it's a little amateurish, but I think his passion really carries it, and it strikes me as one of the more ambitious and well-realized solo albums I've heard in the genre. His second album, Mute, is bit less solid in my opinion, it comes off as though he was trying to touch upon many different styles without really pulling them together as a whole. Still, worth a listen if you liked his debut. Panzerballett: german prog metallers with a fusion bent who make bizarre covers of popular songs (and some originals). I'll uhh... let the music speak for itself. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CgKzkriPQk
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May 23, 2011 11:40
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Optimum Gulps posted:Yeah I own both Spastic Ink albums and both Watchtower albums, I just hadn't listened to Control and Resistance in a long time and forgot how great it is. Blotted Science is an excellent side project as well, and his solo album Solitarily Speaking of Theoretical Confinement (part one here) is fantastic and wild, and actually a solo album, as he played all the other instrumental parts and programmed the drums. Ron's probably best known for this clip, though. Dude I've actually never heard Solitarily Speaking of Theoretical Confinement before, thanks man! Have you heard Gordian Knot? There a much more "traditional" progressive rock band which kinda reminds me of King Crim with more crazy guitar solos. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2UkQudlLiI edit: it's actually pretty different from crim edit2: I am now very excited about Terrestrial Exiled Dr. Notadoctor fucked around with this message at 20:46 on May 23, 2011 |
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May 23, 2011 20:21
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Henry Fungletrumpet posted:
They're playing in the US for the first time in a few months and I can't wait to see them at ProgDay XVII. Really looking forward to Už Jsme Doma too, from Czech Republic. They should both be a hell of a lot of fun live. And yes Efilnikufsein, I love Gordian Knot. Anything related to Cynic (goddamn that song is great) is always going to catch my eye.
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May 23, 2011 23:33
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Saw cynic live. Highly recommended. They played all of Focus and most of traced in air. It was amazing!
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May 24, 2011 09:26
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It looks like I might get to interview Jon Anderson in the near future!
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Jun 1, 2011 03:18
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Nice, a prog thread! I looove me some prog rock. I especially like the "finding gems in the rough" aspect that comes with any music genre like it, that had a particularly flourishing golden age years ago. Not that its dead now or anything! There are so many good but obscure prog rock bands who only ever made one album and then disappeared or mutated. Like Czar, a band I've stumbled upon while browsing youtube a few months ago. I had never heard of them back then. They somewhat remind me of early King Crimson with their sound, though the singing feels very different. I got their one album off ebay some time ago (It was actually re-released in CD form, so I guess they're more known in the UK?) and couldn't leave it alone since. http://www.last.fm/music/Czar/Czar They're from the late 60s and sound a lot like King Crimson. I love "thread softly on my dreams" and "Follow Me" especially.
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Jun 1, 2011 21:36
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TheForgotton posted:It looks like I might get to interview Jon Anderson in the near future! I'd love to hear how he feels about how things went down with Yes when he had his respitory problems. Not sure if he wasn't invited back in the band, or if he declined after they picked up the new singer.
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Jun 3, 2011 01:11
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Anyone else have a listen to A Scarcity of Miracles? I've had a few listens now and I really enjoy the first half of the album, the title track and The Price we Pay being my favourite so far, but I'm not too into the last few songs. In other news apparently there's a new live King Crimson album coming out soon http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=78800&FID=19
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Jun 21, 2011 23:57
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Iucounu posted:I'd love to hear how he feels about how things went down with Yes when he had his respitory problems. Not sure if he wasn't invited back in the band, or if he declined after they picked up the new singer.
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Jun 26, 2011 21:59
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Anyone else going to http://www.threeofaperfectpair.com/ in August? It's my treat to myself this year...
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Jul 9, 2011 20:04
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The new Yes album comes out today in the US. I had it pre-ordered, and I'm listening to it right now. I've got to say, I'm digging it so far. I think Benoit David really holds his own on this, even if he kind of sounds a bit too much like Trevor Horn sometimes. Has anyone else given it a listen?
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Jul 12, 2011 04:54
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I'm still listening to it right now, but if it holds up, this is the best they've done since 90125—there's not much that stands out as truly great, but everything is at the very least adequate. It's actually really refreshing that Benoit David sounds closer to Trevor Horn than Jon Anderson on this, as most of my negativity toward this lineup stems from early videos where he seemed like nothing more than Fake Jon. Edit: Best Yes album since 90125, though it feels weird to make that comparison, as now more than ever I feel compelled to judge Buggles-Yes as a separate band instead of an interesting aberration. This is Buggles-Yes's long overdue second album, it's good, and it isn't a rehash of Drama. Rollersnake fucked around with this message at 05:44 on Jul 12, 2011 |
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Jul 12, 2011 05:36
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Here's the full audio from my Jon Anderson interview.  I just got to talk with Jim Matheos and John Arch about their new project. I'll probably be playing that on this Sunday's show.
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Jul 12, 2011 12:55
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I just received A Trick of the Tail in the mail, as well as waiting for Yes - Close to the Edge too. I wish I found this thread earlier, but there are a heap of recommendations to check out now.
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Jul 21, 2011 09:56
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I just came across the band Yezda Urfa, and after hearing good stuff about their first album, Boris, I decided to buy it, only to realize that it is very difficult to find in anything other than vinyl, assuming that it was ever even released on CD. It took me a while, but I found it and I really like it. Anyway, they are often described as a mix between Yes and Gentle Giant (another band I strongly recommend if you're down for a little weirdness now and then), and I just finished uploading the album to youtube, if anyone wants to have a listen. The songs have a good deal of variety, so if you don't like the first one you hear, try listening to a couple of the other ones: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhKa17YOLwk&list=PLC65A7A6EC67DAEA4
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Jul 23, 2011 17:54
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This is really cool dude. How much did the vinyl set you back? The transfer sounds pretty good! Just finished listening to The Power and the Glory a few minutes ago, so this is right up there.
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Aug 5, 2011 10:15
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King Crimson's "40th anniversary remasters" are definitely worth a shot if you're big into the band. Particularly the one for Lizard, which was practically remixed from scratch by Steven Wilson of Porcupine Tree. Maybe one of the best re-mastering jobs I've ever heard. It completely transforms the album and makes it sound like the crazy experimental jazz freak-out that it was always meant to be. Some elements of songs like "Indoor Games" that were completely obscured come to the fore. The whole thing really is amazing!
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Aug 17, 2011 22:29
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JAMOOOL posted:King Crimson's "40th anniversary remasters" are definitely worth a shot if you're big into the band. Particularly the one for Lizard, which was practically remixed from scratch by Steven Wilson of Porcupine Tree. Maybe one of the best re-mastering jobs I've ever heard. It completely transforms the album and makes it sound like the crazy experimental jazz freak-out that it was always meant to be. Some elements of songs like "Indoor Games" that were completely obscured come to the fore. The whole thing really is amazing! Seconding this, I couldn't stop playing the Lizard remaster for at least a month after I got it. Can't wait for Larks Tongues in Aspic.
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Aug 18, 2011 06:43
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X-Ray Pecs posted:Who are the "big five"? I thought the "big four" of prog were Genesis, Yes, ELP, and King Crimson. Pink Floyd and Jethro Tull are usually among the big five, but I consider it a big 6. Nice thread. I've had a deep love for prog since I was a little kid, and still go back to it frequently. This was probably mentioned before, but you should check out The Strawbs and Renaissance if you like the folky, symphonic side of prog. Must have Strawbs albums: Strawbs, Dragonfly, From the Witchwood, Grave New World, Bursting at the Seams, Hero and Heroine, Ghosts and Nomadness. For Renaissance: Renaissance (also known as Innocence), Illusion, Ashes are Burning, Turn of the Cards, Sheherezade and Other Stories, Live at Carnegie Hall, Novella and A Song For All Seasons. For most of the classic British prog bands, you usually can't go wrong if the album was released in the late 60s or early to mid 70s. Later 70s they tended to lose a bit if their edge, and very few survived the 80s without selling out. But prog metal seemed to take off in popularity in the 80s with bands like Rush and Iron Maiden at the forefront. The 90s had a bit of a resurgence, with jam bands like Phish and some of the more experimental punk bands like Radiohead exploring prog. Some of those proggy punk bands got more progressive and became the more high energy prog like The Mars Volta or Muse. And some of them evolved into post rock bands, which, to me, is the furthest rock has progressed to date as an experimental art form. Prog metal took off in a big way too in the 90s with bands like Tool and Dream Theater hitting it big. I'd say prog metal is now a much bigger genre than prog rock and it's one of the most popular subgenres of metal.
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Aug 18, 2011 08:19
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Rollersnake posted:I don't understand the appeal of Keystudio at all. Everything on it is mind-numbingly repetitive and overlong, the lyrics are Jon Anderson at his preachiest and cringingly bad, and it's the classic Yes lineup so you can't even pin the blame on Trevor Rabin or Billy Sherwood. There are one or two good bits buried in Mind Drive and That That Is, and Sign Language is a decent but unmemorable instrumental, but overall this is what cemented in my mind that there would never be another good Yes album. That the same band who made Tales from Topographic Oceans and Going for the One and Tormato could produce something this bad. Yes was pretty hit or miss in the 90s. All of their albums from this period had some great moments, but they were surrounded by a lot of poo poo. Case in point: Keystudio. Mind Drive is excellent, and came close to being as good as their best stuff in the 70s. That That Is starts off great, but loses me about halfway through. And Sign Language is good, as you said. The rest of the album? Well it just plain sucks. But the funny thing is, if you add up all the good bits and throw out the bad stuff, it makes for almost 40 minutes of music, which is about as long as their best album, Close to the Edge. Maybe they should have just kept their albums shorter. As for Union, like you it's grown on me since that initial shock. Like the rest of their 90s albums, it's too long for its own good, but the good stuff is REALLY good. The Miracle of Life is one of Trevor's best, and a really good pop song. I also rather like Lift Me Up, despite how generic it sounds. But I Would of Waited Forever is great, I agree. I only wish they didn't fade out the end. That little jam they do when it's fading out sounds really cool and Yessy. When I first heard the album I hated "Saving My Heart" so much that I made up my own lyrics for it, "Saving My Fart". I'm saving my fart for you, On your face I'll go poopoo, till the poo poo in my guts runs dry, in your mouth my turds will die, there's a place in my fart for you... Gianthogweed fucked around with this message at 09:19 on Aug 18, 2011 |
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Aug 18, 2011 08:36
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Mind Drive is easily enough to make up for the unmemorable stuff on that album, at least to me.
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Aug 18, 2011 09:16
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I had almost given up on Yes, but was pleasantly surprised by the new album. I'd go as far to say it's their best album since Drama. It's not perfect, the title song gets somewhat repetitive and loses my interest in parts, but it still holds up as a strong epic throughout. It's at least on parr with Mind Drive. The rest of the album, with normal length songs, is even better. There are no bad tracks on this album. How long has it been since they've accomplished that? 30 years? That's definitely saying something. Benoit David's voice is kind of a mix between Trevor Horn's and Jon Anderson's, and I have to admit, I like it better than Jon's voice, at least more than how Jon sounded on the later Yes albums. Still, I admit the lyrics aren't too great (but then Jon's lyrics often were awful too, but he had moments of brilliance). As much as I love Jon's voice, I felt that his voice had become a bit grating on the later Yes albums. When you compare the older 70s albums to the later ones, you'll notice that Jon's voice was more like an instrument on the older albums. He really only actually sang over maybe 3/4ths of the record, and much of it was instrumental. But, on the later albums, he sang over almost everything. It wasn't too bad when he shared lead with Rabin in the 80s, but in the 90s it was pretty much all Jon, and his voice got very tiring. His higher range, which sounded great in the 70s, has also, somewhat, weakened somewhat with age. Benoit's voice is stronger in this higher range, but he doesn't overdo it, in fact Chris Squire seems to be singing a lot more here, and is practically a second lead vocalist. I always liked Chris Squire's voice, so this isn't a bad thing. It doesn't have the balls or edge of their classic 70s stuff, though. It's more reminiscent of their late 70s early 80s sound, namely Going For the One, Tormato and Drama period. Not so much 90125 or Rabin era Yes, but I definitely hear an 80s tinge to some of the sound. It's a safe sounding Yes album. They don't really explore much in the way of new ground, so I wouldn't call it true progressive, but it's definitely the most proggy sounding album they've done in ages. Gianthogweed fucked around with this message at 06:34 on Aug 19, 2011 |
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Aug 19, 2011 06:17
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Gianthogweed posted:When I first heard the album I hated "Saving My Heart" so much that I made up my own lyrics for it, "Saving My Fart". I'm saving my fart for you, On your face I'll go poopoo, till the poo poo in my guts runs dry, in your mouth my turds will die, there's a place in my fart for you... You're like the fourth person I know of, including myself, that mentally rewrote it as "saving my fart," though you were definitely the most dedicated. The song practically begs you to make it about farts.
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Aug 19, 2011 06:31
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Random thoughts: I rather enjoy the new Yes album, I'm trying not to let Geoff Downes' diary mess it up for me...what an rear end in a top hat. My favorite songs are "Sad Night at the Airfield" (sounds like late period Pink Floyd) and "Hour of Need" (has Oliver Wakeman sounding like his dad, and the lute reminds me of "Your Move"). But Downes' keys that do that Asia style-trumpet blare still sound cheesy as hell. I love the King Crimson Projekct "Scarcity of Miracles". It especially sounds great in 5.1 surround with all of those Fripp soundscapes swirling around you. I really wish this band would've toured. I never thought Union was as horrible as everyone said. I saw the tour on my 20th birthday and it was an amazing show. I certainly thought the album was better than anything that came after it. There were parts of were nice, like Steve Howe's solo guitar playing in one of the songs, but the rest was bland as hell. The band screwed up big time by axing Howe, Bruford and Wakeman to make the "Talk" album, and they never really recovered. A true Union album and tour afterwards would've been great with real collaborations. Oh, but as for "Saving My Heart", and ABWH's "Teakbois", Yes really needs to stay away from the Caribbean. Steve Wilson gave an interview recently, promoting his new album and the new remixes he did for Aqualung(!). He said just what I've been saying for years and why I can't get into neo-prog or even prog metal: prog these days is missing the key ingredient of the old days which is jazz. It just sounds cold without it. Speaking of which, if anyone is into the old Canterbury prog rock, Steve Wilson's remix of Caravan's "The Land of Pink and Grey" is a must have. I listened to it in 5.1 and the side long track "Underground" was fantastic. Wilson is the man. I'm still waiting on my new mixes of "Discipline" and "Starless and Bible Black"...Oct 1st I believe. When "Lark's Tongues in Aspic" comes out, I hope they have lots of video footage because they say getting the rights to it is what has held up the release. I need to see more Jamie Muir in action! Nice Jon Anderson interview. To answer one question, De La Soul sampled "Ritual". And the song is pretty strange sounding. Gimmedaroot fucked around with this message at 12:25 on Aug 26, 2011 |
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Aug 26, 2011 12:05
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Gimmedaroot posted:Random thoughts: I had the same reaction, but wasn't Rick Wakeman ultra-conservative too? And Igor Khoroshev sexually assaulted that security guard. Maybe Yes wouldn't truly be Yes without an rear end in a top hat keyboardist. Though I'm thankful Downes seems to have stopped blogging since the riots broke out as I really, really did not want to read what he had to say about them. Caravan are totally brilliant and I need to listen to them more. I first fell in love with In the Land of Grey and Pink years ago and still only have... two more albums. The Camel album Breathless is also a must-have for Caravan fans as it features Richard and Dave Sinclair, and ends up sound like the midpoint between the two bands... Caramel? Rollersnake fucked around with this message at 17:09 on Aug 26, 2011 |
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Aug 26, 2011 17:01
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Gimmedaroot posted:I love the King Crimson Projekct "Scarcity of Miracles". It especially sounds great in 5.1 surround with all of those Fripp soundscapes swirling around you. I really wish this band would've toured. I dunno, I really thought that album was pretty horrible. Obviously this is a group with some real talent but it's not exciting and it's not really soothing, it just occupies this middle-ground "nothing" space for me, nothing memorable and everything exactly the same. Given that's only from a few listens on headphones but I just didn't find the material interesting at all. I know Fripp is in his mid-60's but I wish that just one more time, he could reach back and do something incredible again. Gimmedaroot posted:Steve Wilson gave an interview recently, promoting his new album and the new remixes he did for Aqualung(!). He said just what I've been saying for years and why I can't get into neo-prog or even prog metal: prog these days is missing the key ingredient of the old days which is jazz. It just sounds cold without it. There's also kind of a blues influence in some of it (particularly Yes), and I do agree that a lot of newer prog focuses so much on technical precision and complexion that they've lost the 'feel' parts. I don't know if this means anything to anybody but whenever you read an article about the old King Crimson lineups, or Yes, or Van Der Graaf Generator, they don't seem like they're pretentious at all and have excellent senses of humor. It's almost jarring to hear Jon Anderson come off as a ridiculously friendly and respectful guy. I don't know why I expected different but I think many of the old-timey prog musicians didn't have that stick-up-their-rear end seriousness that ruins 'neo-prog' today.
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Aug 26, 2011 20:16
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JAMOOOL posted:I dunno, I really thought that album was pretty horrible. Obviously this is a group with some real talent but it's not exciting and it's not really soothing, it just occupies this middle-ground "nothing" space for me, nothing memorable and everything exactly the same. Given that's only from a few listens on headphones but I just didn't find the material interesting at all. I know Fripp is in his mid-60's but I wish that just one more time, he could reach back and do something incredible again. It takes a few listens to get into "Scarcity". I know lots of people were expecting "Islands" meets "Discipline" because of the lineup, but I like the laid back feel of it. Fripp was still trying to appeal to Tool fans with the last two Crimson albums that to me they felt forced, which is why "Power To Believe II" was my fav track on that album...it was mellow but played with feeling. I understand if people don't like soprano sax, which Mel seemed to play exclusively on Scarcity. It would've been nice to have heard a flute at least. You know, I forgot about the light bluesy feel. Wakeman does play some bluesy-gospel-ey organ on Roundabout (his solo after the quiet breakdown) and he was not into jamming jazz style at all. Squire admitted ripping off basslines from Larry Graham of Sly and the Family Stone (listen to Sly's "Dance to the Music" and Siberian Khatru, during the first verse). Those Yes hits were fun and poppy and funky at times, not just technically complex. It makes more sense that they went pop in the 80's, but the music press would have you believe the difference between 70s and 80s Yes was the equivalent of Henry Cow going hip hop. As for Wakeman's politics, yes he is a Tory now. Which is funny because one of my favorite quotes from him during an interview at the start of the Union tour was: "I knew I was in trouble when I saw your Dan Quayle watch!" The old interviews were great. Fripp kinda came off a bit pretentious, but also very weird. I love his Cameron Crowe interviews where he talks about low level magic and spell casting.
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Aug 27, 2011 02:16
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IMO Jakko just kinda ruins the whole thing, he's got like a 2-note range, which is irritating. Fripp's interviews do come off as pretentious but they're some of the most enlightening I've ever read, the guy really does know his poo poo and has a lot of interesting things to say.
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Aug 29, 2011 16:29
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If anyone is in any doubt or skipped over them, Jethro Tull are great, though typically more rock than prog. Living In The Past (1972), Minstrel In The Gallery (1975), Songs From The Wood (1977) are my personal favourites. Maybe I am just a closet farmer, but I love all the agricultural/pastoral themes. Ian Anderson sounds like such a great guy from all the snippets and interviews included on the various albums and remasters, as well as a consummate musician and in particular lyricist. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2MgU7PNHgw http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1IZijads1M http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LPP830fHms http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FFUA5rKwTg http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtLtrt6SQZI http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGnHzG-0a3Q Flaky fucked around with this message at 15:47 on Aug 30, 2011 |
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Aug 30, 2011 15:41
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I didn't see them mentioned in the thread, but one-off band Fuchsia's self-titled album is extremely good, and feels a lot like King Crimson. Lots of play with string instruments, and it makes for a really calm and cool experience, and is definitely worth listening to.
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Aug 30, 2011 17:35
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| # ? Apr 19, 2024 09:25 |
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Speaking of Fuschia, there seemed to be a Gormenghast craze in prog back in the 70s. There was the 1969 band Titus Groan, with songs Fuschia and "The Hall of Bright Carvings". And The Strawbs, Rick Wakeman's band before Yes had a song called Lady Fuschia. The Gormenghast craze was bigger in the UK than in the US, almost as big as Tolkien.
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Aug 30, 2011 23:52
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