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Tom Ozric
Prog Reviewer
Joined: September 03 2005
Location: Olympus Mons
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Points: 15916
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Topic: What do you think of these albums.... Posted: November 30 2013 at 07:54 |
someone_else wrote:
my favourite post-2000 VdGG album is A Grounding in Numbers.
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That sounds about right......
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Tom Ozric
Prog Reviewer
Joined: September 03 2005
Location: Olympus Mons
Status: Offline
Points: 15916
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Posted: November 30 2013 at 07:49 |
I do not have Clockwork Angels - the last Rush album I have is 'Roll The Bones', then I lost interest.
Tull's 'Roots To Branches' - I received the CD as a gift that came highly recommended by my friend Daniel, and it is my fave Tull since Broadsword. Many excellent moments throughout.
Naturally I jumped on the VDGG reunion release (being a long-time fan) and was instantly impressed with it - especially some of the improv pieces - took me right back to when I discovered Pawn Hearts (in 1990).
I had a taping of Magnification from a mate since its release - I listened a few times and thought it was O.K. Now I have the (3 sided) dbl LP in purple vinyl and having lapped it up the way I prefer, it is a wonderful album.
Really not sold on 'modern' Rush though.....
Edited by Tom Ozric - November 30 2013 at 07:51
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Toaster Mantis
Forum Senior Member
Joined: April 12 2008
Location: Denmark
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Points: 5898
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Posted: November 30 2013 at 05:25 |
That's not really true concerning Roots to Branches, it incorporates influence from several styles of music Jethro Tull hadn't really drawn inspiration from before. Or maybe it's just that it does more interesting things with them than the band has done since Broadsword...
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"The past is not some static being, it is not a previous present, nor a present that has passed away; the past has its own dynamic being which is constantly renewed and renewing." - Claire Colebrook
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Man With Hat
Collaborator
Jazz-Rock/Fusion/Canterbury Team
Joined: March 12 2005
Location: Neurotica
Status: Offline
Points: 166178
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Posted: November 29 2013 at 22:59 |
Present is an excellent return from nowhereland for VDGG. A slightly more modern take on what you'd expect from later period VDGG. At times aggressive, at times beautiful, at times soaring. I agree with MS that it's the best album since their reunion.
Roots To Branches is a continuation of things they've been doing through the 80s. Straighter, more rock, less adventurous than the Tull of the prog days. That said, it is better than pretty much everything they've done since BATB, but doesn't really touch the prog stuff. Solid and if your a big fan worth owning.
Only heard Magnification once, never had a desire to again.
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Dig me...But don't...Bury me I'm running still, I shall until, one day, I hope that I'll arrive Warning: Listening to jazz excessively can cause a laxative effect.
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Prog_Traveller
Forum Senior Member
Joined: May 29 2005
Location: Bucks county PA
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Points: 1474
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Posted: November 29 2013 at 22:50 |
[- Van Der Graaf Generator Present I have not heard any of the reunion albums; I am familiar with where they left off as Van Der Graaf.]
I have only heard Trisector of the more recent ones. I like it but I'm hoping the others are at least as good.
I don't know the JT and have only heard the Rush CA album once. I'm a Yesfanboy so of course I like Mag and even OYE(to some degree anyway).
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dr wu23
Forum Senior Member
Joined: August 22 2010
Location: Indiana
Status: Offline
Points: 20623
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Posted: November 29 2013 at 22:35 |
Roots To Branches is a decent album......Clockwork Angels is also pretty good....certainly not the best work by either band. Haven't heard Mag, stopped listening to Yes after GFTO,.....nor The Present.
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One does nothing yet nothing is left undone. Haquin
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Michael678
Forum Senior Member
Joined: June 02 2013
Location: United States
Status: Offline
Points: 2466
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Posted: November 29 2013 at 14:43 |
Clockwork Angels is excellent, and a couple of songs on Magnification are good too, but i need to listen to the latter in its entirety as well
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Progrockdude
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ghost_of_morphy
Prog Reviewer
Joined: March 08 2007
Location: United States
Status: Offline
Points: 2755
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Posted: November 29 2013 at 13:42 |
Magnification is good The Keystudio material is much better.
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schizoidman
Forum Senior Member
Joined: March 25 2006
Location: Los Angeles
Status: Offline
Points: 460
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Posted: November 29 2013 at 11:02 |
Don't know any of the four so, have to pass.
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Making the useless useful 24/7.
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Horizons
Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator
Joined: January 20 2011
Location: Somewhere Else
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Points: 16952
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Posted: November 29 2013 at 10:59 |
Snakes and Arrows and Vapor Trails (remastered or not) is miles past CA.
CA is not only lyrically boring, but the drumming and some of the compositions just fall flat. The production is bleh like mentioned. I was so disappointed with it. It didn't sound interesting whatsoever.
The only songs i did listen to were Caravan, title track, and Garden. I say did because i no longer even give those a listen unfortunately. Maybe in the future ill try it again, but honestly i'll just keep to S&A or VT. Both 4* albums.
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Crushed like a rose in the riverflow.
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moshkito
Forum Senior Member
Joined: January 04 2007
Location: Grok City
Status: Offline
Points: 17510
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Posted: November 29 2013 at 07:57 |
Hi,
I skipped all 4.
I have not enjoyed VDGG as much as I have Peter Hammill solo. I am not sure that the band has the strength and spunk that id did 30 years ago, and I think the design is getting tired and old, and the lyrics are not enough.
I'm on to other things already, and re-hashing is not on my agenda.
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Music is not just for listening ... it is for LIVING ... you got to feel it to know what's it about! Not being told! www.pedrosena.com
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zravkapt
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator
Joined: October 12 2010
Location: Canada
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Points: 6446
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Posted: November 29 2013 at 07:23 |
chopper wrote:
Clockwork Angels is good, but like someone else said, there's something about the production which makes it hard to listen to in one go.
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I've heard/read the same complaint about all their post-'90s albums.
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Magma America Great Make Again
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chopper
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator
Joined: July 13 2005
Location: Essex, UK
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Points: 20030
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Posted: November 29 2013 at 06:45 |
Magnification is good, but I admit I haven't played it for a while, I must dig it out again.
Present I really like, particularly the Silver Surfer song!
Clockwork Angels is good, but like someone else said, there's something about the production which makes it hard to listen to in one go.
I haven't heard the Tull one.
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ProgMetaller2112
Forum Senior Member
Joined: December 08 2012
Location: Pacoima,CA,USA
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Points: 3145
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Posted: November 29 2013 at 06:17 |
What is with all this good talk about Clockwork Angels. Initially, I liked it a lot but it is growing old fast.I have been listening to it often over the past year and Im thinking that it is probably their worst of the new millennium. I'm liking Vapor Trails and Snakes & Arrows more now. Its decent but it gets boring quickly
Edited by ProgMetaller2112 - November 29 2013 at 06:20
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“War is peace.
Freedom is slavery.
Ignorance is strength.”
― George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four
"Ignorance and Prejudice and Fear walk Hand in Hand"- Neil Peart
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tamijo
Forum Senior Member
Joined: January 06 2009
Location: Denmark
Status: Offline
Points: 4287
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Posted: November 29 2013 at 06:05 |
Toaster Mantis wrote:
Roots to Branches is okay, it's definitely better than most of the band's 1980s output. |
This
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Prog is whatevey you want it to be. So dont diss other peoples prog, and they wont diss yours
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someone_else
Forum Senior Member
VIP Member
Joined: May 02 2008
Location: Going Bananas
Status: Offline
Points: 24295
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Posted: November 29 2013 at 05:30 |
Present sounded pretty good to ne (I heard it once). Better than Trisector, but my favourite post-2000 VdGG album is A Grounding in Numbers.
Clockwork Angels is, as far as I heard their albums, obviously the best they did since Signals. A rock solid 4-star album which indicates that Rush have not grown old yet.
I have not heard the other two.
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zravkapt
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator
Joined: October 12 2010
Location: Canada
Status: Offline
Points: 6446
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Posted: November 29 2013 at 05:13 |
Thanks for the responses so far.
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Magma America Great Make Again
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BarryGlibb
Forum Senior Member
Joined: August 28 2010
Location: Melbourne, Oz
Status: Offline
Points: 1781
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Posted: November 29 2013 at 01:08 |
Roots to Branches has 3 or 4 classic songs on it... Rare and Precious Chain, Beside Myself and the mind boggling This Free Will. The rest of the tracks range from 3 or 4 good tracks (Valley, Roots To Branches, At Last Forever) to 2 or 3 awful offerings (Stuck in the August Rain, Another Harry's Bar). I rate it a 3.5 star album....it's well worth getting.
Present does have some great tracks (the first 4....I downloaded from iTunes) but I haven't heard the rest of the album.
Don't know about the others.
Edited by BarryGlibb - November 29 2013 at 16:43
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Neo-Romantic
Forum Senior Member
Joined: January 09 2013
Status: Offline
Points: 928
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Posted: November 28 2013 at 23:53 |
The only one I've heard of the bunch is Clockwork Angels. For me, it's a 4 star album. It doesn't work quite as well if listening to isolated tracks, more so than the past few they've done, but that's not a problem for someone like me who prefers to digest entire albums at a time. It's on par with the stuff they were doing three decades prior in my opinion.
I can safely recommend it. It's very solid and has probably the best album closer they've ever done, which says a lot. It's not quite as musically complex as others, but it's still very tasteful and well-executed.
Edited by Neo-Romantic - November 28 2013 at 23:54
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verslibre
Forum Senior Member
Joined: July 01 2004
Location: CA
Status: Offline
Points: 17131
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Posted: November 28 2013 at 23:51 |
Horizons wrote:
Clockwork Angels is bad, and that's coming from a man that cites them as their favorite band.
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I must admit you're the first person I've heard say/write that. Most Rushians like or love it. What is it about it that turns you off and what do you think of VT and S&A?
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