Value of proarchives’ suggestion

Hello i just want to check how reliable do you think that are the suggestions of the progarchives

Ummm, I'm not sure what to think about it...

I'm all for reviewers, because I have the vivid imagination that people wanting to find something to listen to check out certain bands and find a certain prog reviewer reliable to their taste of music...

So then it's just a matter of following in the rough direction of that reviewer... I mean, you tend to review more music that you like than music you don't like... Also it's great for reasonably new to prog who want to know what followup cd they should buy of Genesis, Jethro Tull, Caravan etc... etc...

I don't think it's a question of reliability but a question of personal taste...

A reviewer should weigh up the positives and negatives of an album and provide the reader with as much information as possible, but they are also simply giving their own opinion... If you buy recommended music that you don't like then you know that you're taste is different from the reviewer who recommended it...

This site probably has the most comprehensive amount of information about various prog bands on the net... Don't know about Peter Rideout's musical brain, though...  It's pretty comprehensive too!

 Firstly, I must thank my fellow Archivist Verisimilitude for the compliment! (I feel I should say, in the interest of "becoming modesty," that I am not a musician, just a life-long music fan, so my knowledge of music is by no means encyclopedic. While I listen to a wide variety of music, and "I know what I like," not all prog listeners will agree with my choices -- nor should they! Vive la difference!

 Regarding the issue of the Archives Recommendations Aerander (and Max), I say leave them there. The makers of this site have proven themselves to be solid judges and fans of good progressive music, so why should they not make recommendations? One won't always agree with their choices or ratings, but they are of value. (I haven't liked everything that the site's designers/administrators have deemed praiseworthy, but I do like -- to varying degrees -- the vast majority of the MP3s they select as samples of a band's music.) Taste in music is a highly personal thing, but, as Verisimilitude suggests, one can get a "feel" for a particular critic/website, and then either dismiss or hearken to their advice as your taste dictates. You just have to "take the leap of faith," try the music, then decide if your "faith" in the advisor was justified or not. In either case, you'll be "wise after the event" and then know how to proceed.

It should be noted that MP3s of most, if not all, of the acts/albums recommended are available from the Archives, so if you don't want to "take their word for it," you can listen to some of the music in question, and thereby reach an informed decision. You really can't lose, at least in the long run!

 

Edited by Peter Rideout

There are suggestions and"suggestions",i mean, if i were to go to the "REPORT A BUG" site and tell them i have just found a huge black beatle with lots of hairy legs and nasty big pointy teeth..what do i do about it?.....well no one would take me seriously(until i start screaming HELP, HELP, HEEEEEEEEEELP).But much of my music collection came about as the result of suggestions from other people(reviews if you like "here what do you think of this..or i heard this great band" etc)these suggestions helped me make a choice or decision and it is the same here.I read the album reviews with interest and i have found that the same album will have several different reviews and from that i can get a "feel" for the flow of opinion as to the albums listening potential(as a matter of fact i took the plunge and have already bought a couple of albums based on reviews and opinions exspressed here(as well as listening to the MP3s if they are available for that band and found myself pleasantly surprised,however that wont always work so i try to get as much information outside this site as i can, but first i have to look at which sub genre of prog interests me(at the moment it is PSYCHADELIC/SPACE ROCK And go from there!!!!!!)...As you can see i have just discovered how to do the colour thing, now can anyone tell me how to get back to basic black!!!

Peter Rideout wrote: (I haven't liked everything that the site's designers/administrators have deemed praiseworthy, but I do like -- to varying degrees -- the vast majority of the MP3s they select as samples of a band's music.)

Peter (all members), we always searching for improving our website. We are currently(always) working for a new interface, new navigation systems ... so

What are your recommendations and suggestion to improve and always get better and better

Thanks

MAX@

Edited by MAX@

When I first started listening to music when I was a kid there was no such thing as the internet. For me it was trial and error by haunting used record stores and buying anything that looked wierd. This is how I discovered dozens of bands and    many of these trophies still survive in my record collection to this day. The whole beauty of this web-site, though (and it`s the only music web-site I visit besides the excellent Gentle Giant homepage), is that it lists so many bands old and new along with brief descriptions and a discography. This is all you need although the reviews are fun to read. Bottom line is music is simply a matter of individual taste and sometimes an acquired one. Did anyone ever own that stupid Rolling Stone Record Guide and read what some of those sub-moronic reviewers wrote about classic "prog" bands like ELP, Yes an Gentle Giant?

Edited by Vibrationbaby

And,well, there are curious recommendations too: I read several weeks ago the "best 500 rock albums" in the Rolling Stone magazine. "Suggestions" by those "experts" didn't include, almost, any prog album.