Worst Album by a Great Prog Band

Steven Wilson's next release!

Tormato was a softball wind-up towards the saccharine Drama. "It tastes awful, Bob!" - The Firesign Theatre

Edited by Rednight - October 16 2016 at 10:40

Terrapin Station wrote: Re "sound," or rather timbre, I think it's an important musical/compositional element, and I also think that Tormato is full of wonderful timbres, including the keyboard timbres.

Edited by Son.of.Tiresias - October 16 2016 at 03:52

i agree that both are Prog rock as defined by the genre. Now 30 plus years later the Fixx definitely were out of sync regardless of the hits of the day. I loved them but today i am struck at good they were. i suppose the nearest act would be Kate Bush who could be perceived to be new wave post punk alternative college rock ergo Prog. I feel that for 20 plus years Radiohead have brought light to the subject. Kinda odd but true as well. From a marketing aspect the Fixx could used the Prog title. I guess the tie that binds is that Rupert Hine produced both The Fixx and Saga plus a whole lotta odd ball sounds then.  

Re "sound," or rather timbre, I think it's an important musical/compositional element, and I also think that Tormato is full of wonderful timbres, including the keyboard timbres.

Magnum Vaeltaja wrote: DDPascalDD wrote: I feel the need to say... I'm not able to understand why sound makes such a difference. It's something you can get used to most of the time anyway, but there's little interest in me towards the sound of a particular instrument. A casio instead of a Hammond, who cares? If that's the only problem with Tormato... Timbre, and production as a whole, is a very big part of how enjoyable music can be. See: a large part of the reason why Pink Floyd is still universally respected 40+ years after the fact. The issue that I've found with Tormato is the fact that the production sounds very tinny and flat (not flat as in lower than the pitch played;flat as in lacking depth). It also sounds incredibly muddy.  So I suppose that the problem isn't so much in Rick Wakeman's "casio" keyboard sounds but how they were chopped together in the studio. The whole production sounds very amateur and dated, like it was recorded in someone's basement on a wax Edison cylinder. If the album were produced to the calibre of Yes' earlier albums, I feel like Wakeman's keyboards would probably sound a lot closer to those used by Moraz on Relayer. So, like others have maintained, Tormato is the unfortunate miscarriage of a marriage between strong ideas and horrible, horrible production.

uduwudu wrote: There's a big difference between albums one may dislike and one's that are bad. Two different idea. The first is a preference, the opinion. The second is a judgement - good? Bad? Back it up. As best as you can.

There's no coherent difference.  They're both preferences, opinions.  Aesthetic judgments a la good, bad, etc. are statements of preference or opinion.

This the funny thing about "sound". I always thought it was kind of important in music. YOu can play th emost interesting piece but if it sounds wrong or has bad modulation then it will miss it's mark. This is why guitar players get quite ummmm.... involed with their stomp boxes. 'Specially Fripp.

T Dream used the casio sounds in later life. To me, tres horrible.

As for Tormato I enjoy the album but never worried too much about Wakeman's sounds. I might have to give it another listen for that reason. Actually the only thing on that album that brings out the evil in me is that kid in Circus Of Heaven. So... nauseatingly sentimental. Quick, find me Master Of Reality.

Anyway a compilation of their own moments where Yes turned into Genesis maybe... ( a band of writers rather than collaborators).

Still reeling from the idea of Meddle having no music on there. It's got Echoes. It has a light jazz piece. It has the driving One Of These Days. And the Liverpool supporters. And the Dog of peace.

Probably fortunate they did not complete Household Objects.

noni wrote: Cristi wrote: ^ what do you mean there's no music?! I don't get it. I understand people's disappointment with TFC or AMLOR, but not Meddle. How can you say there is music?, there is  no music!!!!...  To me Pink Floyd is average, I would rate other bands better.

I feel the need to say...
I'm not able to understand why sound makes such a difference. It's something you can get used to most of the time anyway, but there's little interest in me towards the sound of a particular instrument. A casio instead of a Hammond, who cares?
If that's the only problem with Tormato...