TOP 20 prog songs after 1980

kit-kat wrote: The.Crimson.King wrote: kit-kat wrote:   Hmm. I can see why someone who doesn't like Discipline would say that but I can't say I agree, Crimson was always about change and about thinking forward, so keeping the band name makes sense in a way to me (half of the line-up stayed the same anyway) and I definitely don't think they did disservice to the band - quite the opposite, actually, Crimson managed to prove with this album that (unlike most prog giants in the 80s) they can adapt to the changes while also staying innovative and great, I couldn't imagine anyone else pulling off "prog new wave" so well. Of course, I also conider 70s Crimson the best but I still believe Discipline is a fantastic album (definitely in my top 5 Crimson) and "Thela Hun Ginjeet" is just a groovy and fun song. Do you feel the same way about their post-80s material? That's a great question and I've never really thought about it before.  I have to admit I don't feel that way about the 90's+ albums.  For some reason, those sound to me like a logical progression of where Crimso left off in the 70's.  Actually, if I take an objective look back at the 80's trilogy:   Discipline: Like AB sang, "I do think it's good"    though it's not one of my top 10 KC albums.  I really like Elephant Talk, Thela Hun Ginjeet, and Indiscipline. but don't care much for the rest.  I find the interweaving guitar parts tedious and I'd much rather hear Fripp solo than play arpeggios in 25/4.  Guess I wanted them to wail and not be disciplined!   Beat:  The only Crimso studio album I don't own.  I bought the "Live in Japan" 1984 video and the only "Beat" song that I love was "Sartori in Tangier", just couldn't get into the others and figured the live version of "Sartori" would kick@ss on the studio version so never bothered to buy it.  You know what though, I'm going to check out some of the Beat songs on youtube and see what I think in 2013.  Three of a Perfect Pair:  Now that I think about it, I love everything here except "Sleepless" (which I really hate).  So, I don't know what all this means, but I guess I have to limit my "calling the band KC was a mistake" point of view to Discipline. Now that's interesting. I don't like the other two albums nearly as much as Discipline, wasn't too fond of the "poppier" approach, they just aren't as consistent as Discipline (although they both have their merits and I agree Three of a Perfect Pair is the better one).  For me, the guitars are one of the main reasons why I love Discipline and it was just a nice surprise when I first heard it, wouldn't have expected something as generally upbeat and fun from them after SABB/Red. I think I prefer Thrak to Beat and Three of a Perfect Pair, but I haven't listened to that album much yet and I have yet to hear The Power to Believe... I'm ashamed that I haven't heard it yet.

As far as KC's 80's albums are concerned, I agree with many on this site. Discipline is the best, with hardly a week track on that album. Three of a Perfect Pair comes in next, with some good ones, though also some less spectacular songs (Nuages hurts my head). Beat isn't a bad album, but nothing screams for a listen from that album quite like the other two.

I do enjoy THRAK too. Good music on that album, though I'm torn whether I like it over the 80's albums. I didn't enjoy the ConstruKction of Light that much, and I haven't heart the Power to Believe yet.