Most Overrated Prog Bands Of All Time Poll

Manuel wrote: iluvmarillion wrote: Manuel wrote: The "Overrated" title seems a bit radical to me, since most people don't even have a clue on how to play an instrument, what to speak of writing a song, and yet, decide that somebody's music is good or bad, pretentious or overrated etc, based on our personal taste and opinions, which are as faulty, if not more, than the people who wrote the music we criticize. Based on personal taste you have every right to criticise an album if you don't like it. What you don't have any right to do, particularly if you don't play a musical instrument, is to criticise the artist's playing of their instrument. Based on the list I don't happen to like Egg or Riverside, based on my own personal taste, but I'm open minded enough to listen to their next albums and change my mind if the music suddenly appeals to me. Yes, if you like or don't like something, you can express it in every way you want, that is a given, but to go to the extreme and give the "overrated" title just because you don't like it, that is a little too far, at least on my book. It's line if you don't like an album, but if you don't know how to write music or even play an instrument, it's like judging a piece or architecture, or literature, or even a painting, without knowing what it takes to create it.That applies to every aspect of life, and unfortunately, it happens more often than not.

Manuel wrote: Jeffro wrote: Manuel wrote: iluvmarillion wrote: Manuel wrote: The "Overrated" title seems a bit radical to me, since most people don't even have a clue on how to play an instrument, what to speak of writing a song, and yet, decide that somebody's music is good or bad, pretentious or overrated etc, based on our personal taste and opinions, which are as faulty, if not more, than the people who wrote the music we criticize. Based on personal taste you have every right to criticise an album if you don't like it. What you don't have any right to do, particularly if you don't play a musical instrument, is to criticise the artist's playing of their instrument. Based on the list I don't happen to like Egg or Riverside, based on my own personal taste, but I'm open minded enough to listen to their next albums and change my mind if the music suddenly appeals to me. Yes, if you like or don't like something, you can express it in every way you want, that is a given, but to go to the extreme and give the "overrated" title just because you don't like it, that is a little too far, at least on my book. It's line if you don't like an album, but if you don't know how to write music or even play an instrument, it's like judging a piece or architecture, or literature, or even a painting, without knowing what it takes to create it.That applies to every aspect of life, and unfortunately, it happens more often than not. I don't agree. I dislike REM. Extremely dislike their music. To me, they are the epitome of overrated.    There is plenty of art that I think is overrated and I would still think it's overrated even if I knew what went into making it.  Let's say I hated Fripp's guitar playing, I don't but let's just say that I did. I don't play but if I learned how and then studied his work, I might still come to the same opinion. If something is aesthetically unpleasing to me, simply knowing the work that went into it isn't suddenly going to make me like it. I may very well come away respecting the artist more but liking it? I don't think so. It's still overrated to me. I can respect the artist while not respecting the art. You go down a dangerous road by basically saying to people, "You can't criticize if you aren't an artist." I've heard the same thing from sports figures who say to the effect, if you've never played, you can't know what it's like to (insert sports activity here). Most of us will never know how hard it can be to play professional sports. I guess we can fire all the beat reporters and the sports columnists. Where does it end? Can we not criticize politicians if we aren't a politician ourselves?  I might even like the art but still find it overrated. There are plenty of musicians that I can say I like but I still find them overrated. Aerosmith is one. OK. I guess we have some very different views, and I respect the way you think and feel about it. I never meant to say that you should like something just because of the amount of work that went into creating it. If you don't like it, well, you don't, and that's perfectly fine. I just think that saying is overrated based on your taste is a little bit harsh, considering that many other have rated it very highly, but without the diversity of opinions, the world would not be what it is. Again, I mean no disrespect to you, or your opinions.

Tapfret wrote: Dismissing this may be dismissing the greatest thing ever. I will go on record as a staunch believer that everybody should be required to hear this at least once in their lives.

I didn't mean to imply Portsmouth Sinfonia's recordings had no artistic merit; sorry if it came across that way. It was interesting that the musicians were still able to perform the music as recognizable classical compositions. I just wanted to make the point that a non-musician can use his existing knowledge of classical music and harmony to make an objective assessment that the orchestra is playing off key.

From the Wikipedia page: "Bryars was interested more in experimenting with the nature of music than forming a traditional orchestra. Instead of picking the most competent musicians he could find, he encouraged anyone to join, regardless of talent, ability and experience. The only rules were that everyone had to come for rehearsals and that people should try their best to get it right and not intentionally try to play badly."

Here's another piece you may enjoy. It gives me the impression that the orchestra is playing drunk.



Here is the Sinfonia's "Classical Muddly", containing famous snippets set to a poorly synchronized disco beat.



Finally, here is the The Sinfonia's own interpretation of The Shadows' Apache. I love how the conductor is standing behind the band. Enjoy



The musicians were actually improving their playing, which is probably one of the reasons why the Sinfonia disbanded.

Tommy Seebach's version is probably worse


Edited by Replayer - March 13 2017 at 21:59

Don't really relate to the term "overrated". There are well liked prog bands that don't float my boat, like Can, Neu!, or Trace, but that's just my perspective; others may find them to be excellent. To each his own, and one person's food is another person's poison. If everybody felt the same way about things, it would be a pretty boring world.

I keep seeing the whole "pretentious" thing coming up over and over again. This always kind of bugged when I would see critics writing about prog bands and I'm kind of surprised to see it here. A hand full of people learned to play their instruments at an extremely high level (Wakeman, Emerson , Squire, Fripp, Howe, Peart, Collins, Portnoy to name a few) and when they actually utilize those skills on an album they get criticized for it. It's almost like saying it's OK for you to be able to play great as long as you never actually do it. Never made sense to me.  Now I get that some stuff can be a little over the top sometimes and drag out for too long but at least give people credit for trying to push the envelope.


Edited by Argo2112 - June 27 2017 at 14:58

Spinal Tap is absolutely overrated, have you heard their album "Shark Sandwich", lol it's more like **** Sandwich

I am with a few on this thread - who realise that Gentle Giant, VDGG and King Crimson are truly extremely important bands in the prog pantheon, but I don't particularly rave over any of their output, but I still can't say that any are 'Overrated'.

^ have to agree with most of that and it's interesting that no-one really gave Kyle Smith any credit for making exactly the same valid point in his (otherwise wretched) article:

http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=111334&PID=5468474#5468474

Without a little pretension it's unlikely we would have ever gotten past Merseybeat

Any popular music artist (which includes EVERYONE listed on this site) who believes they are substantially more than 'entertainers' bankrolled by their fans, is probably deserving of the odd 'pretentious' barb now and again.


Edited by ExittheLemming - June 28 2017 at 07:14

Flight123 wrote: Chilltoss wrote: Perhaps ELP. They do have their moments with songs like "Lucky Man" or "The Sheriff", however the rest of their work is filled with pretentious, self-indulgent, and bombastic noodling(half the bands on your list are probably similar in this regard, but I've yet to listen to them and don't plan to). Look no further than Karn Evil 9. ab-so-lute rub-bish    Harsh - you sound like a punk journalist from the late 70s

Yes, it's puzzling (in'nent it?).