Can you identify "the shape of things to come"?
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Topic: Can you identify "the shape of things to come"?
Posted By: steveha
Subject: Can you identify "the shape of things to come"?
Date Posted: May 03 2015 at 16:48
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In the late 70's or early 80's I heard a song on the radio, and I would like to identify the song if possible so I can track it down and maybe other music by the same band. It was progressive rock, played on a radio show devoted to progressive rock and jazz fusion. The show was called "Stone Trek" ("with your host, Greg Stone") and played on the radio in the Silicon Valley area. The lyrics of the song included the words "that's all it takes... but that's not all there is" and the chorus included the words "the shape of things to come" (IIRC that phrase, repeated twice, was the whole chorus). I could actually whistle the melody, but I'm guessing that the lyrics are the more useful part. I used to have this recorded on a tape, and I listened to it over and over, but I think the tape ran out before Greg Stone announced the name of the song. So I've heard the song many times, but never known its name. (Based on the chorus, maybe the song is called "Things to Come" or "The Shape of Things to Come"?) Greg Stone found some obscure stuff sometimes to play so this might be really obscure now. The song might never have been released on CD. It might even have been some local band that was never very famous. But if I can find it, I would be very happy.
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Replies:
Posted By: Progosopher
Date Posted: May 03 2015 at 19:04
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It is difficult to whistle a melody on a forum such as this. The only thing that comes to mind is the Yardbirds song, Shapes of Things. Jeff Beck also did it with his group with Rod Stewart on the vocals, but I doubt either of these versions was the song you heard. Was it progressive in a Yes sort of way? ELP? Floydish? Eloy? Psychedelic in any way? ------------- The world of sound is certainly capable of infinite variety and, were our sense developed, of infinite extensions. -- George Santayana, "The Sense of Beauty" |
Posted By: steveha
Date Posted: May 03 2015 at 22:48
Ways in which I remember the song being "progressive rock":
I really have no idea who it was, but whoever it was, they didn't rip off the style of Genesis, or Pink Floyd, or Yes, or anyone I can think of. I can't tell you "they sound like Genesis with the serial numbers filed off". (For example, if it were by Starcastle I would be saying "sounds a lot like Yes"... And I don't mean to say that Starcastle ripped off Yes, but I think the resemblance there is undeniable.) Also, they can't be Camel or Saga or Genesis as I have pretty much listened to all the songs and I would have already found it, or at least identified it by the singer's voice. |
Posted By: steveha
Date Posted: May 03 2015 at 22:54
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Through the magic of the Internet and the Rhapsody music streaming service, I just listened to "The Shape of Things" by The Yardbirds. Heavy guitars, a toe-tapping melody, and the lyrics don't match. Also, a Google search finds it, so it's not obscure enough to be the one I'm looking for... I have Googled for those lyrics many times over the years without finding my song. If I can ever find the tape that has the song, I will try posting the actual song somewhere and see if anyone can identify it or at least guess at the band.
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Posted By: dr wu23
Date Posted: May 04 2015 at 09:03
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I know this isn't the right song but love this old fossil from the past..... ------------- One does nothing yet nothing is left undone. Haquin |
Posted By: 42ndAGE
Date Posted: May 04 2015 at 18:13
| FM did a cover version of that song around 1980. The album was called surveillance. I bet that is what you heard. Good album, by the way. |
Posted By: zravkapt
Date Posted: May 04 2015 at 18:23
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^Really? So this is what the OP is looking for? ------------- Magma America Great Make Again |
Posted By: SteveG
Date Posted: May 04 2015 at 18:26
Max Frost and The Troopers was a fictional rock music group created for the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exploitation_film" rel="nofollow - - Wild in the Streets , released in 1968. The film featured http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Jones_%28actor%29" rel="nofollow - A studio group appeared on the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soundtrack" rel="nofollow - - Cynthia Weil and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barry_Mann" rel="nofollow - - Les Baxter , however the songs were not originally credited to Max Frost and the Troopers, but rather to The 13th Power. Due to the success of the song " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shape_of_Things_to_Come_%28song%29" rel="nofollow - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shape_of_Things_to_Come_%28Max_Frost_and_the_Troopers_album%29" rel="nofollow - - Tower record label in 1968. Musicians playing on the album are believed to include members of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Davie_Allan_and_The_Arrows" rel="nofollow - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychedelic_rock" rel="nofollow -
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dr wu23 wrote:Posted By: Dean
Date Posted: May 04 2015 at 19:12
Different different song. FM covered The Yardbirds' "Shapes of Things" ------------- What? |
Posted By: steveha
Date Posted: May 04 2015 at 21:27
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Thank you for trying to help me, but no, it's not the FM song from Surveillance. The lyrics don't match, and it's got a toe-tapping beat, and it's just not the song. I like it though, and I'm going to listen to the whole album. I'm digging "Seventh Heaven", the next song on the album after "Shapes of Things".
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Posted By: Dean
Date Posted: May 05 2015 at 02:05
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This isn't it either, but it's another curiosity track: ...all the other's I've found are instrumentals. Sorry.
------------- What? |
Posted By: richardh
Date Posted: May 05 2015 at 02:48
| I'm pretty sure this was a punk/prog crossover band called The Headboys. The track was called The Shape Of Things To Come and has some excellent Wakeman style keyboards but with a typical hard driving punk rhythm section. Its a gem! I have it permanently on my I-POD. It was a so called 'radio hit' in 1979 but I don't think it charted in the UK. |
Posted By: dr wu23
Date Posted: May 05 2015 at 09:07
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For Richard......;) here's the track ------------- One does nothing yet nothing is left undone. Haquin |
Posted By: Dean
Date Posted: May 05 2015 at 09:11
 that doesn't sound like it fits Steve's description either.------------- What? |
Posted By: The Dark Elf
Date Posted: May 05 2015 at 09:21
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I racked my brain and even did a tentative google search with the parameters the OP suggested. My thought at this point in time is that he/she is disremembering the song that he/she thought he/she heard. ------------- ...a vigorous circular motion hitherto unknown to the people of this area, but destined to take the place of the mud shark in your mythology... |
Posted By: Slartibartfast
Date Posted: May 05 2015 at 11:28
| d http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dodecahedron" rel="nofollow - |
Posted By: Dean
Date Posted: May 05 2015 at 11:35
------------- What? |
Posted By: Padraic
Date Posted: May 05 2015 at 11:52
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Posted By: steveha
Date Posted: May 05 2015 at 19:34
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I have concluded that my only hope is to find the old cassette tape that has the song on it. I must still have it... somewhere? I remember the lyrics I quoted quite clearly. So I will be very surprised if I have them wrong or if I imagined the song. But who knows, I'm a human and fallible. I'm glad I asked about this though... I'm going to buy FM's albums Black Noise and Surveillance now. They both had songs on them that I remember fondly from Stone Trek. (In fact I would say that FM is a good candidate for being the correct band. Much of their stuff is synth-heavy and light on guitars, and they put effects on the singer, and I could totally picture them doing a song like I remember. But I haven't found the track I remember on any of their albums yet.) P.S. Here for the record is how I remember the lyrics: [Synth intro] [More synth intro] X x x x x x, [pause] x x x x x; X x x x x x, x x x x x x x x; X that's all it takes, [pause here for a bit of synth] But that's not all there is. [pause again for more synth] [then above four lines pretty much repeats one time, probably with different lyrics for the first two lines] X x x x x x, x x x x x; X x x x x x, x x x x x x x x; X that's the shape of things to come, X that's the shape of things to come. [And I guess all of the above repeats at least once] That's all I got. I can guess at some of the words (I think one of the early lines ended with "answer" and I think it might be "*And* that's the shape of things to come") but mostly I remember the tune, the rhythm, and the lyrics that repeated. Like I said, I think my only hope now is to find the cassette tape. I'd better start looking.
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Posted By: mathman0806
Date Posted: May 07 2015 at 13:57
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I used to listen to Stone Trek - making it's way KOME and KSJO(?) - but don't remember that track (though it was 30+ years ago). Hadn't thought about that in ages... Anyway, if you are feeling nostalgic, found a guy streaming old tapes of Stone Trek (plus music he thinks would be played on Stone Trek) at http://www.progtrek.com/" rel="nofollow - http://www.progtrek.com/ |
Posted By: infocat
Date Posted: May 07 2015 at 23:26
------------- -- Frank Swarbrick Belief is not Truth. |
Posted By: JD
Date Posted: May 08 2015 at 06:23
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Has there ever been a better reason for PA to allow 60 sec. mp3 clips to be posted much like the way we can add images? And please do not get me started on copyright crap. 60 sec. not a whole song. ------------- Thank you for supporting independently produced music |
Posted By: steveha
Date Posted: May 18 2015 at 21:57
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I first started listening to Stone Trek in 1980 or 1981. At some point in the late 80's Stone Trek moved from KOME to KSJO (IIRC) and then later moved back to KOME. I moved away from Silicon Valley in 1990 so I couldn't listen to Stone Trek anymore but I know that at some point KOME went away and a different radio station took over... IIRC that was KFOX. Greg Stone kept working for KFOX, as just another DJ. Eventually, for whatever reason, KFOX started allowing him to do Stone Trek again, and he ran for a while (and I believe it was multiple nights per week!). And then, sadly, KFOX laid Greg Stone off and that was the end of Stone Trek. (As I understand it, KFOX is now relying more on computers to play music without human DJs, and just having DJs for a few times during the day, like the morning shows.) I am not sure what Greg Stone is doing these days. I wish he could do Stone Trek as some sort of Internet streaming thing or podcast, but I don't know how he could do that and make any money. (The big recording labels have figured out by now that there is money in the Internet and they are trying to get as much money as possible out of Spotify, Pandora, and everyone. My guess is that the royalties would wipe out Greg Stone's profits before he made any. But I wish that wasn't the case; I wish he could just keep on doing his thing and that I could use the Internet to listen to it.) Greg Stone had a very long run with Stone Trek, and I am personally grateful that he exposed me to progressive rock and jazz fusion. He had a huge impact on my enjoyment of music, an impact that continues to this day. I don't only listen to prog and fusion but that's a huge chunk of my music library and I still listen to it pretty much every day.
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