My Road to Prog Enlightenment
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URL: http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=43586
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Topic: My Road to Prog Enlightenment
Posted By: rushfan4
Subject: My Road to Prog Enlightenment
Date Posted: November 17 2007 at 22:52
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I am starting this blog to track my ever continuing journey on the road to prog enlightenment. The earliest "new" songs I remember hearing from what are now some of my favorite prog bands on the radio were such prog "classics" as Owner of a Lonely Heart from Yes, New World Man from Rush, and Illegal Alien by Genesis. I was a 12 or 13 year old kid at the time and I was listening to pop 40 music. I suppose to a degree I may have had better taste than then I have now because I didn't really like those songs at that time. It was about this same time that the heavy metal/hair metal albums Mental Health from Quiet Riot, Pyromania by Def Leppard, and 1984 by Van Halen were all released. With these I was hooked and for the next 5 years my musical tastes were consumed by these and other mostly heavy metal bands such as Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Kiss, Motley Crue, Twisted Sister, Ratt (Yes, Micky, they were a favorite of mine at one time), Ozzy Osbourne, and Metallica, amongst many, many others. Now that I had a job and was making some money I could afford to spend some of these hard earned dollars on some of the necessities of life. I bought my first CD player in 1988 and my first two CDs were OU812 by Van Halen, and Long,Cold Winter by Cinderella. At that time, I was reading the book IT by Stephen King while listening to these two CDs over and over again. To me OU812 was the perfect soundtrack to that book and I will always associate those two together.
I did not attend my first rock concert until the week or so after graduating from high school. The first concert that I attended was David Lee Roth during the Skyscraper tour and he had Poison opening for him. It was the 2nd ever show to be performed at the Palace of Auburn Hills which had opened the night before. I can't remember who played the night before to open the Palace but I am pretty sure it was someone famous like Elton John or Paul McCartney or someone else in that vein. At any rate, my next show was the Monsters of Rock concert which was an all-day concert that was playing down the road at the Pontiac Silverdome, former home of the Detroit Lions. This concert consisted of Van Halen, The Scorpions, Metallica, Dokken, and Kingdom Come (the Led Zeppelin sound alike not the prog band). It was an awesome experience and the one and only time that I have attended a show with more than 3 bands.
Anyhow, on with the prog part of the story. During this time period me and my buddies from high school would spend every evening playing basketball or wallyball and then head over to one of our houses to shoot pool or play cards and listen to each of our most recent purchases. The one evening at my buddy's house he put on his brother's 2112 record from Rush. We had the speed on 45 instead of 33 1/3 so it sounded kind of strange but since we weren't familiar with this album it played quite a bit before we realized our mistake. Anyhow, we switched it to the correct speed and the rest as they say is history. Shortly thereafter I went out and bought my first Rush CD which was Caress of Steel. Bastille Day was absolutely awesome and it is still one of my favorites from them to this day. Needless to say it didn't take long before I had their entire discography. In 1989, they released Presto and it was the first brand new album that I owned from them. I must have listened to it a hundred times if not more. It was so awesome. That tour was the first tour that I got to attend a Rush concert and I don't think that I have missed a tour since then. Hence the nickname that I chose for this site and other sites that I have used it on, Rushfan4. The 4 is just because the first time I selected it elsewhere, 1, 2, and 3 had already been chosen. I assumed Alex, Geddy, and Neil had all been there first.
Since I was hooked on Rush, it was now time to set out and explore bands of a similar ilk. In order to try out these bands I would purchase the various greatest hits packages that were available at the time. If I liked them then I would explore further and expand my exposure to these various bands. I discovered Yes by purchasing the Classic Yes album. I discovered Emerson Lake and Palmer by purchasing The Best of Emerson Lake and Palmer (I was sceptical that I would like it since the cover had a picture of Japanese women on it, so I was afraid I might be getting something like Turning Japanese). I discovered Jethro Tull by purchasing Original Masters. I am certain that I had heard all of these bands at one time or another on the radio plus everyone knew Pink Floyd for The Wall and Dark Side of the Moon and Genesis for Genesis, Invisible Touch, and Abacab (what do you mean Peter Gabriel once sang with them and they had good long progressive rock epics?) King Crimson came later. I don't think that I have ever heard them on the radio, but maybe I have heard Schizoid Man, I don't remember.
My first new Yes album was the Union album (technically it would have been 90125 or Big Generator but I didn't purchase those until after I had gotten into Yes. And yes, I liked those albums enough that I continued to delve into other Yes albums). So again Union was an album I listened to hundreds of times and I absolutely loved. This was also the first tour in which I saw Yes in concert. What a spectacular show that was. Two awesome drummers, two great guitarists, two excellent keyboardists (although obviously one is much better than the other), and the one of a kind bassist and vocalist. Absolutely awesome show, and again another band that I have seen almost every other time they have come to town.
My first "new" Pink Floyd album was Momentary Lapse of Reason. My first new Emerson Lake and Palmer album was Black Moon. The first new King Crimson album was Thrak. My first new Genesis album was We Can't Dance, although obviously I had no choice but to be familiar with them because they were on the radio everywhere.
Herein lies my dilemma. I got hooked on all of these prog rock bands with their 1980's and 1990's material. I became a "prog rock" fan because I loved all of the "prog rock" that these bands were producing in the 80's and 90's. I come to this website and I am told that this music is not prog rock and that this music sucks. So am I a prog rock fan or what? The 7 bands that I listed above are the ones that I consider to be the Big 7 Classic prog rock bands because that is what I read on a couple of threads here and because they are all bands that I have been exposed to for a long time. Bands like Camel, VDGG, and Gentle Giant are often referred to as replacements or as candidates for the top 10 bands, but until the past few years I had very little exposure to any of these bands.
I pretty much love everything that these 7 classic prog bands have done from the classic albums of the 70's to the not-so classic albums of this millennium. Yes there are some that are way better than others but all and all almost everything that these bands have done is better than what passes for mainstream music.
Over the years I have discovered many other prog bands that I like. However in recent years, between my subscription to Progression Magazine and hanging out here on Prog Archives I have discovered many other prog bands. I have discovered that I really like most of what I have heard under the three categories that use to make up Art Rock, although I think Heavy prog is my favorite. I also really like everything that I have heard under Neo-prog, and Symphonic prog. I for one, am extremely greatful for the 3-way split of the prog metal category. I like almost everything that I have heard that remained in the new Prog Metal category. There are a couple of bands in both of the other two categories that I like, but the rest from what I have had heard are outside of my tolerance level. I suspect in my mind that the bands that I do like that are in those categories are probably mislabeled but I am sure that the Collabs have their reasons and I don't have any problems with that. I have dabbled in Jazz-fusion and have not been disappointed but I do prefer lyrics with my music so keep my listening there to a minimum. I have not spent much time in the other categories but really have been disappointed in what I have heard. I am sure that the music in these categories is really good if that is where your tastes are, but as of yet mine are not there. Never hurts to keep trying.
My purpose of this blog will be to continue my growth into knowing what is prog. I hope to become enlightened by those who are the enlightened ones. I know that music is art and categorization of art is subjective. The old different strokes for different folks. You say tomato, I say tomato (alright so that doesn't work well typed but I think you know what I mean. Alright maybe I say Tormato). From time to time I will post here various miscellaneous questions that come to mind or items that come up in other threads that particularly intrigue me.
Am I a lost cause since I grew up on 80's and 90's prog music, and I actually like it?
What is the difference between a well-crafted pop song and a poorly-crafted prog song?
What is the difference between symphonic rock and symphonic prog and symphonic metal?
Why does stringing a couple of pop song ideas together to make a long song make it a prog song, and yet a similar sounding pop song is kept separate and kept to 3 1/2 minutes and it is but a pop song?
These and many other thoughts may pop up here and certainly may be spun off into their own threads. Any input is extremely welcome and hopefully kept positive.
If you have made it to this point of my ramblings than you should now have further insight into who I am and somewhat of how I came to be here. Hopefully, you haven't put me on the automatic "block all posts from" list, but I can certainly understand if you have. I hope that some of you have taken similar paths, and also that some of you have similar questions and are looking for the same enlightenment and we can help each other along this road. I can help with pumping gas, but not so much with changing flat tires, although I'm sure I can help if necessary. If you have read this far, thank you. Hopefully, we may all benefit from what might be posted in this blog from time to time. If not, then at least hopefully we will be entertained.
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Replies:
Posted By: Easy Livin
Date Posted: November 18 2007 at 11:28
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Nice one RF4.
Others should try doing something similar, I'm sure it must be very therapeutic.
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Posted By: andu
Date Posted: November 18 2007 at 15:30
Symphonic Rock is the same thing with what we call Symphonic Prog. One thing to note is that Symphonic Rock does not equal Rock with Orchestral arrangements, despite many think so.
You may redeem yourself by purchasing the obscure new prog that a few chosen ones will recommend you. 
Those themes and motifs do not make a song prog because of the length, but because of the treatment they get... Musical themes and motifs are the same in prog or pop, it's the exposition, development and conclusion of the treatment what needs to have a certain complexity or refinement in order to get prog... There! Light.   ------------- "PA's own GI Joe!" 
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rushfan4 wrote:Posted By: rushfan4
Date Posted: November 18 2007 at 22:52
Thank you Bob. It actually was somewhat therapeutic. Hopefully it will lead to more knowledge and understanding, and the best part, more prog. -------------
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Posted By: rushfan4
Date Posted: November 18 2007 at 23:26
Thank you Andu. In a recent discussion regarding Lana Lane I was informed that her band and her were more symphonic rock than symphonic prog, which kind of confused me. To my untrained ear the music that I have heard sounds very familiar to other bands that I have heard that are symphonic prog or symphonic metal. The music may or may not be prog, and I suppose the difference may be in what you say is "the treatment they get". What sounds complex to me may actually be simple to those in the musical know.
I'm always interested in purchasing new music that blows my socks off, even if my wallet doth protest. My explorations here have been hit and miss. I have found some real nice new stuff with bands like Abigail's Ghost, Amaran's Plight, Black Bonzo, Oceansize, and Pure Reason Revolution, amongst others. But there have also been major disappointments with bands like Fantomas, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, and Meshuggah, amongst others. My biggest disappointment has been Opeth because as I have posted way too many times, their music is awesome but I can't stand the vocals.
In regards to the pop song issue I have read many a thread where it has been discussed that bands, especially Genesis and Yes, really just wrote pop songs, but by merging two or three different song ideas and creating a longer song they now created a prog song or quite frankly an epic prog classic. In their latter days, they still wrote those pop songs, but let them stand alone instead of merging them with other pop song ideas and now they were no longer prog bands but pop bands. A classic example might be something like Genesis' Duke album which started out as an epic and then was broken up into separate songs because of the desire to distance themselves from prog. If that had been kept exactly the same but merged as one epic song would it be a prog rock epic instead of a bunch of pop songs. Not being a musician this is outside my realm of expertise in regards to the actual difference in the complexity of the songs from Duke versus their more classic epic tracks from the earlier eras, although this earlier complexity is more obvious to everyone else. A band like Yes is constantly ripped for their hit Owner of a Lonely Heart, but one of their first minor hits was Time and a Word. What's the difference? Neither song included Steve Howe or RIck Wakeman, but one was before they became great and the other was after? (Not saying that either is a prog song). And I love I've Seen All Good People, but seriously, they repeat that same line over and over again at the end. Did this influence Journey with their Lovin' Touchin' Squeezin' ending of "na-na-na-na-na-nas" that last forever at the end.
To quote Alex Lifeson's wife, what I really need to do is "Shut Up and Play the Guitar", And maybe, just maybe, one day I might just learn how to do that. -------------
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Posted By: ghost_of_morphy
Date Posted: November 24 2007 at 03:33
I will offer this definition of pop in order to get people thinking about what they mean when they refer to pop.
If you can whistle it and it still sounds ok even though it obviously lacks all of the nuances of the recording, then you are whisting pop (or God help you, country!!!)
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Posted By: Teh_Slippermenz
Date Posted: November 24 2007 at 04:35
First off, I LOL'd. Since I only recently--like last month\earlier this month--bought "2112" (which confirmed my Rush fandom, must now buy "A Farewell to Kings") on CD, I didn't have this problem, lawl.
EDIT: Stupid system won't quote you. I'm answering your "So am I a prog fan or what?" question here: Second, YES, you are as much of a prog fan as anybody else on these boards. (Well, you still have a bit of Growing Up--/Peter Gabriel reference--, if you will, to do.  ) I also grew up with the 80s\90s material of Yes and Genesis (well, to get it straight, I grew up with a cassette of "We Can't Dance"! And I still listen to a CD copy that I bought my mother as a gift from time to time, although CERTAINLY not as much as "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway" or "Nursery Cryme", I'm still digging into the past of Genesis). I heard "Owner of a Lonely Heart" on the radio when I was young, and then looked for more and bought "The Yes Album", which I took to immediately, from the first blaring notes of "Yours is No Disgrace" to the catchy vocals of "A Venture", I loved it all. I shortly bought "90125" on cassette after that and now I don't like Rabin-led Yes anymore.  I guess I became angry with Trevor after hearing "Relayer" and realizing that it was put out by the same band who did the arena rocker "Owner of a Lonely Heart", because he took it over...
U liek wat u liek. Keep digging further, is all I can say. That's what I'm doing. Because of prog, thank God for it, I've come to realize that there IS still good music. I've also discovered great older bands such as Camel and Nektar. (You say that you haven't had much exposure to Camel, try "Mirage", the epic at the end is brilliant IMO) BTW, since you like symphonic prog, you could also try "A Song for All Seasons" by Renaissance.
No. You wouldn't be here if you WERE.
Well-crafted pop song is a moving popular rock song. Case in point: "Dreaming While You Sleep" by Genesis. Poorly-crafted prog is.....is...um.....it's when a prog song is boring, and unimaginative? Can't give you a case in point, as nearly every prog song that I've heard is brilliant. Well, I'm sure I've heard quite a few, but nothing comes to mind.
Symphonic rock\prog are the same. No difference except in naming. Symphonic metal would be a variation of symphonic rock only.....there is MOAR METAL. That's the only way I can describe it. BTW, I'm new to prog as well, technically, so I also have a progressive journey to make. <_< And now it is quite late, and of course I am  . So, I'll come back here tomorrow. |
Posted By: rushfan4
Date Posted: November 24 2007 at 14:43
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Teh slippermenz,
Thank you for the response. Confirmation of Rush fandom is definitely a good thing. A Farewell to Kings is definitely an excellent next stop on the Rush highway. Although, I am not the greatest for offering advice there since I like nearly everything that the guys from Rush have done. All of the "experts" say that the 5 album period starting with 2112 is their best.
Yes are my second favorite band to Rush and for that I like almost everything from the first notes of Beyond and Before to the last notes of Time is Time. Tales of Topographical Oceans was probably the album I had the hardest time getting into. It is still difficult to listen to the album as a whole, but hearing the individual songs independently or on live albums I have grown to appreciate them. Relayer was probably the second hardest for me to appreciate. I like it quite a bit now too. Like many fans I still prefer The Yes Album, Fragile, and Close to the Edge over these other two. My bigger problem in relation to Prog, is that I still like 90125, Big Generator, Talk, and Open Your Eyes. I think that these are all great albums with fine moments. Maybe they are well crafted pop songs, or they are poorly crafted prog songs, but in either rate these are albums that I still like. As I said above Union was my first "new" Yes album and I have some great memories of it. I haven't listened to it in a while and should problem throw it on to see if it now induces the vomit factor that it does to others, but I doubt it. It is bad enough that I like these albums, but I have also tracked down Trevor Rabin's solo albums and albums with the band Rabbitt. Nothing outstanding there but still good music.
In regards to Camel, I have a compilation album called A Compact Compilation which includes Freefall and Lady Fantasy from Mirage and Song Within a Song and Lunar Sea from Moonmadness. I also have The Snow Goose, Rain Dances, and Dusts and Dreams. I also own Echoes The Retrospective which contains songs from most of their albums. I haven't listen to most of this in a long time so I don't really recall the sound too much. I did listen to Snow Goose recently to refresh my memory and thought it had some decent moments, but it was kind of slow moving for my tastes.
I have heard some samples of Nektar but don't recall their sound either. Sort of jazzy if I recall. With Renaissance I recently heard "The Other Woman" which was OK, but nothing spectacular, but I believe this to be their least progressive work. Otherwise I have not explored them much further. I will keep A Song for All Seasons in mind as a next listening point for them. Another older band that I have neglected and would really like to explore next is Focus. Aside from Hocus Pocus, I am pretty much completely unfamiliar with them. If and when I track anything else down I will know if that is the further direction to go.
The other problem of course is there is so many new bands to explore as well. In the last couple of weeks, I have been listening to Amaran's Plight, Abigail's Ghost, Pure Reason Revolution, Grayceon, and Oceansize amongst others. In the meantime, Saga, Satellite, Dug Pinnick, and others have all released new albums that are on my must get as soon as possible list.
I'm not necessarily new to prog since I have been listening to forms of it for at least 20 years, but when it comes to everything that has been and is out there, I am still a n00b. My above ramblings were in response to the doubts that have crept into my mind as to whether or not I really am a prog fan. Given that I seem to like so much of what others dislike. I suppose that my tolerance level just leans further to the pop side than others. There are certainly nonprog bands out there that I enjoy as much if not more than the prog bands. My musical tastes just aren't exclusive to prog. I don't care for most of what gets played on mainstream radio or MTV, but once in a while a song gets through to me from these avenues.
Anyhow thank you again for your response. It is great to hear others ideas towards my confusions. I have found that I have liked much of what I have heard that is considered prog. The technical and extreme sides of things seem to be a bit too much for me but otherwise I have been quite pleased with most of my recent findings and discoveries.
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Posted By: Teh_Slippermenz
Date Posted: November 24 2007 at 20:40
I thought "Talk" was mediocre, although "The Calling" was pretty good. All in all, I'm not a big fan of Rabin I suppose, although I should probably check out his other projects besides what he did with Yes. Haven't heard "Open Your Eyes". I liked "Union" for the Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe tracks that they threw on there and tried to call Yes. LADY FANTASY: THAT'S the epic at the end "Mirage" that I was talking about. Brilliant IMO. As for FOCUS, try "Hamburger Concerto". I loved that one. I heard it on an internet prog radio station (I listen to three of them, so I can't tell you which one it was as I don't remember, but it may have been ProgRockRadio or Stellar Attraction). Not to mention it's one of the top 20 key Symphonic Prog albums.
Same here, actually. Sometimes I have doubts that I am really a progressive rock fan, but I think the fact that I loved "Tales from Topographic Oceans" (which I still have to listen to more, there's a problem with my turntable, it plays too fast, I have to touch my finger to the label to get it to play right. *sigh*) confirms my fandom, as well as taking to "Relayer", and Camel, and Nektar, and Mike Oldfield and lots of others. And as for MTV.....I dropped them shortly after they took off Beavis & Butt-Head. Although, aren't they only playing "reality" programming and rap music videos, anyway? |
Posted By: rushfan4
Date Posted: November 24 2007 at 23:44
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As much as I like PA for the guidance it provides for finding new prog music or old prog music that I don't have, it also reminds me of some of the great music that I bought awhile back and haven't listened to in a long time. Seeing polls comparing this band to that band, or "which song on this album is your favorite" has led me to dust off many an old gem in the past few months. After my previous response I pulled out the Echoes retrospective for Camel since I haven't listened to it in quite awhile.and yes, Lady Fantasy is an excellent piece of music. Also, Rhayader and Rhayader Goes to Town are the only representatives from the Snow Goose, and I think that those are easily my favorite from this album. I've only listened to the first disc so far as I was driving from place to place in my car, but it contains as I remembered some very good music. I also pulled out my King Crimson albums which I haven't listened to in a long long time. Being a Yes fan, I am more of a fan of the Bruford years than the older years, but at any rate I decided that I would review the King Crimson discography. I made it through the first 4 and gave my reviews. I also listened to the 5th, Larks Tongue in Aspic (awesome album). I haven't done that review yet, but sooner or later I will continue along that path. At any rate it has been kind of fun revisiting these older albums. Also, though I had to purchase Islands because by doing the reviews in order I found out that I didn't have that one, which for some reason I thought I did.
Hamburger Concerto is tops on my list of Focus that I need to track down. I haven't heard it yet but I have definitely seen people rave about it, so I certainly want to give it a shot.
Beavis and Butthead is probably the last time that I regularly watched MTV. I actually use my TV as an alarm in the morning and it turns on to ESPN. Some mornings when it goes to commercials I'll start flipping through the channels and MTV is like 1 or 2 channels off from ESPN. Once in a while I will catch a song on there (or maybe it is VH1; I don't pay that much attention to which channel it is on). Most recently I saw a video from Bruce Springsteen's new album. Mostly though when flipping through I see crap from Pink or one of the former American Idol contestants. For some reason though, I started listening to Evanescence because of a couple of different videos I had seen in the past couple of years and for some reason it appealed to me. Yet another confession to add to the reasons that will sooner or later get me banned from this site.
So much good prog to listen too, and so little time to listen.
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Posted By: rileydog22
Date Posted: November 24 2007 at 23:48
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Too....many....long....posts..... feel....inferior..... -------------   |
Posted By: micky
Date Posted: November 24 2007 at 23:49
great blog  and some clappies are in order...a couple for havning the good sense to check out the Hamburger Concerto and a couple more for the Beavis and Butthead statement... MTV was never the same after it went off. Neither have I for that matter hahah------------- The Pedro and Micky Experience - When one no longer requires psychotropics to trip |
Posted By: rushfan4
Date Posted: November 25 2007 at 00:28
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hehe hehe, he said "clap".
I probably haven't listened to Metallica, AC/DC or Krokus since Beavis and Butthead went off of the air either.
Thank you for the clappies Micky, they are much appreciated. -------------
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Posted By: micky
Date Posted: November 25 2007 at 00:35
hahah.. oh no me either.. I loved the off the wall grunge sh*t they'd play.. I even bought a Babes in Toyland album after seeing them cut up on a video of theirs... oh which album was it... oh yeah.. Fontanelle. I heard Kat screaming Liar!... and I had to have it no problem on the clappies.... enlightenment can bring many things.. wisdom.. inner peace and crap like that ... but here at prog archives... it brings you the most and rare and precious of rewards... clappies... ------------- The Pedro and Micky Experience - When one no longer requires psychotropics to trip |
Posted By: Teh_Slippermenz
Date Posted: November 25 2007 at 03:10
OK, I'm just going to quote your whole post here so that the system doesn't screw up and remove a quoted section and shrink my text. :| I also prefer the Bruford-era of King Crimson, the years with Bruford and Wetton produced some of my favorite KC material. Evanescence....don't worry about liking them, I think I saw two My Chemical Romance fans here on PA.  Or was that YesFans.com.....or something.....meh, whatever. I've never heard Camel's "The Snow Goose", so I'll have to try that one sometime. And, speaking of good prog to listen to, let me add to your load by adding Anthony Phillips's "The Geese and the Ghost". |
Posted By: ghost_of_morphy
Date Posted: November 26 2007 at 03:41
Obviously the scope of your taste is far larger than the restrictive boundaries of what we have agreed to call progressive rock. So it is with most people, I feel sure.
I don't have the excuse of having Union as my first album. I started listening to The Yes Album and Fragile and waited eagerly for every new release after Tormato. I can tell you why Union isn't that great of an album, but I listen to it more than I listen to anything post-Tormato with the exception of the Ladder, the Keys albums, and possibly Big Generator. And I'm ok with that. Something about Union makes it very easy on my ears (unlike Open Your Eyes, for instance.) I usually only listen to the first half or so of it, though, giving up somewhere around Angkor Wat.
That I pick and choose when I listen to some of the grade-B Yes probably goes a long way towards explaining my attitudes. For example, with Drama I usually just want to hear Machine Messiah and Tempus Fugit. Those very rare times that I put on 90125, I usually just listen to the last three tracks. I like Big Generator, but when I had it on vinyl I would spin the B side a lot more than I did the A side. When I get Talk out (which is very rare as well) I go straight for State of Play. I'm not necessarily going for the proggiest tracks, the most complex tracks, the most rocking tracks or the tracks that are ear candy. I'm going for the ones that resonate with me, regardless of what kind of music we call them.
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Posted By: rushfan4
Date Posted: November 26 2007 at 23:08
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John Wetton is another guy who appears in many bands where the prog masses are split. I think there are many who don't like King Crimson's output with him, although there are many that do (and it seems that he is preferred to Adrian Belew). Asia is highly disliked on this site, which I guess from a "prog" standpoint I understand, but otherwise they have released some really good music. Both during the supergroup era and the John Payne era. Another band that I like quite a bit. When Silent Nation came out it was one of my favorite albums from that year. I saw them in concert that year and their show was excellent. But alas, no love for Asia on this site. UK is highly regarded, but then again they only released two albums, and most prog fans really like their first album alot, and the second not so much. I'm not familiar with all of his musical involvements but most of what I have heard involving him is pretty good.
In regards to Anthony Phillips, I will have to check out "The Geese and the Ghost". I have a Finger Painting album from him but it didn't really hold my interest. Mostly really short instrumental songs. I don't mind instrumentals here and there but generally I prefer vocals. Although, for the most part I like most of Steve Howe and Bill Bruford's solo output (and Earthworks) and much of Rick Wakeman's. Artists like Niacin, LTE, and Derek Sherinian tend to hold my attention as well but the music is generally heavier than what I heard on the Anthony Phillips album.
I'm re-listening to Talk since I haven't listened to it for awhile. I figured that well maybe I will hate it now since the derision is getting in to my head; but I don't. The first three songs are very good. The drumming is OK, not great, but Alan keeps a good beat. Admittedly, Chris Squire doesn't seem to be doing anything to memorable. But I really like Trevor Rabin's guitar playing and tone and Jon's vocals and the harmonizing are as good as always. By the way, I'm listening to State of Play and it is a very good song. Is this great, "can't stop listening to", "I can't believe that they did that" music? No, of course not, but it is still very good in my opinion. People complain when bands repeat the same formulaic music (DT) but then they also complain when they change their sound because why couldn't they have recaptured the sound of CTTE or TOTO or Relayer. (Now up to track 6 and still liking all of the songs, and I know that I really like Endless Dream so I still like this album).
I guess some of my frustration is probably similar to Stonebeard's thread regarding elitism. I certainly find many things in common with many people on this site, but then the negative comments come regarding these "poppier" albums that I like, but many don't and it is just frustrating. To which of course the response is "Who cares?". Which is true, I like what I like, and since I am happy liking what I like that is all that matters.
For some reason either my ITunes or my computer's CD player is acting up. The last couple of days my ITunes has become nonresponsive after playing every other song on the CD. Now this is really frustrating. My other frustrations are just trivial ramblings to pass the time. Although I definitely enjoy the positive feedback. Thanks for helping me on my road to prog enlightenment.
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Posted By: rushfan4
Date Posted: November 28 2007 at 17:42
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Since this is my blog, I decided to fill it with additional useless information. I was perusing the different subgenre key albums to see where I stand within the various subgenres. There was a separate thread a couple of month back regarding being a subgenre completionist. I had a general post there, but wanted to explore this a bit further within the various subgenres.
Progressive Metal - 19 out of 20 key albums; the only one that I don't have is Kamelot's Black Halo. I'm not familiar with them at all.
Prog-Related - 13 out of 20 key albums. Go figure that the second most popular category for me would be a non-prog category.
Proto-Prog - 12 out of 20 key albums. And of course, the third most popular category would be the other non-prog category.
Heavy Prog - 11 out of 20. Mostly Rush. This is one of my favorite subgenres and yet I don't have too many of the top albums. Room for exploration.
 Although 4 of the ones that I am missing are Anekdoten and I don't know that I will be able to get my grubby paws on any of those. Eclectic Prog - 11 out of 20 key albums. I guess that this really isn't my category. It is dominated by King Crimson, Gentle Giant, and Van der Graaf Generator. Probably my least favorite of the classic prog era. GG & VDGG are both relatively new listens for me. GG has grown on me some. VDGG hasn't yet, but I will keep trying. KC has both good and bad phases. I'm not as big into their improvisation years as others. I tend to prefer the early Bruford years to any other era of KC.
Symphonic Prog - 10 out of 20. Another category where many of my favorite bands are, and yet I only have half of the key albums. Exploration is so much fun.
Neo-Prog - 9 out of 20. Another of my favorite subgenres. And yes more exploration.
. Unfortunately, some of the top albums like Nexus and Triangle don't seem to be available anywhere. Possibly with Greg Walker where I suppose I could check.Prog folk - 8 out of 20. Really I just dabble here, but since this is the home of Jethro Tull, The Strawbs, and Traffic that means I have 8 of the top 20 albums here.
Psychedelic Space Rock - 7 out of 20. 5 Pink Floyd and 2 Oceansize. Otherwise I know very little from this subgenre (excluding some Hawkwind and the early era of Porcupine Tree).
Crossover Prog - 5 out of 20 key albums. This is somewhat surprising because I like a lot of the bands that are listed, but I guess I just haven't discovered the key albums yet. Experimental Post Metal - 3 out of 20 key albums. The only 3 that I have are Tool's Lateralus, Dead Soul Tribe's A Muder of Crows, and OSI's Office of Strategic Intelligence. I will definitely be getting Dead Soul Tribe's A Lullaby for the Devil and maybe a couple of others, but the rest of the bands don't interest me too much. Tech/Extreme Prog Metal - 3 out of 20 key albums. I have 2 of the Opeth (Not Ghost Reveries) and Nothingface from Voivod. I like Opeth's music but can't stand the death metal vocals (as I have made known way too many times). I do like some of Voivod's output but not all of it. The only other band that I have heard and they were OK, was Psychotic Waltz. Jazz/fusion - 3 out of 20. This isn't surprising since I only dabble here. 1 Mahavishnu album, 1 Bill Bruford album, and 1 Derek Sherinian album (the latter 2 mainly because of their associations with other bands).
Canterbury - 3 out of 20. I like Caravan.
Post Rock/Math Rock - 2 out of 20. I have 2 GY!BE albums. I don't really like them very much though.
Krautrock - 2 out of 20. I have 1 from Amon Duul and 1 from Can. I don't really like these very much either.
RIO/Avant - 2 out of 20. I have 1 from Frank Zappa and 1 from Sleepytime Gorilla Museum. Both are OK but not really my cup of tea. I will probably further explore Mr. Zappa however, since he is so highly regarded on PA, and it is said that his sound covers so many different arenas I am bound to find at least some good stuff from him. I will further explore some of the threads that were dedicated to discovering some good Frank Zappa, although I think that at least 1 PA member mentioned each of his 1 gazillion albums so I don't know how useful that will be.
I have nothing from the other 3 subgenres Indo-Prog/Raga Prog; Italian; or Zeuhl. I'll probably explore the Italian prog further just because the streaming on this site that I listened to sounded interesting. The other two categories will probably long be ignored by me however.
Other than the traditional prog metal and the non prog categories I have much exploring to do amongst the various subgenre key albums. And of course much more room for prog enlightenment.
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Posted By: Evans
Date Posted: November 28 2007 at 18:06
And, well. the same with Godspeed. Those two came aroound at pretty much the same time, i guess it was just at a time when long song formats and noise suited me :) Rock on, rush fan! ------------- 
'Let's give it another fifteen seconds..' |
Posted By: rushfan4
Date Posted: November 28 2007 at 18:22
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Hi Evans, Actually the Can album that I have is Future Days. I also have Anthology which is a two disc set. I haven't listened to either in quite awhile so I don't recall what it was about them that I didn't like, or maybe it was it just didn't grab my attention. That is the same issue that I have had with GY!BE. Not enough action. Or probably not enough patience on my part. At any rate I should definitely give these some more listens to see if my tastes have changed at all.
Thank you for the advice. -------------
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Posted By: Evans
Date Posted: November 28 2007 at 19:49
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'Let's give it another fifteen seconds..' |
Posted By: rushfan4
Date Posted: November 29 2007 at 16:38
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Maybe it is the bleakness that I dislike about GY!BE Not really sure. I am sure that part of it is that I am not as "adventurous" as some prog fans. Another limitation that I have is that I do prefer vocals/lyrics with most of my music. If I am listening to instrumental music I like it to be lively. I suppose that much of the instrumental music that I do like is music that would not be out of place with lyrics and a vocalist. I know that there are some "words" included with GY!BE music but it isn't really singing. Well, with winter fast approaching I suspect that I will experience some moments of bleakness as cabin fever sets in. Maybe that will be the time to break GY!BE out again. Also, I haven't heard Yanqui yet, and I saw in another thread where some said that this was their best work. -------------
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Posted By: kenmartree
Date Posted: December 06 2007 at 01:34
My friends and I used to practice whisting Brain Salad Surgery back in the 70s so that must be pop!
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Posted By: Kim Ankara
Date Posted: December 06 2007 at 14:22
Not to derail this great thread, but over here we still get Beavis and Butthead on satellite TV.  ------------- "I'm a dinosaur" - Adrian Belew "I am a camera" - Trevor Horn "I am yourself" - Keith Emerson |
Posted By: rushfan4
Date Posted: December 06 2007 at 18:16
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I have been trying to think of something new and interesting to add to this blog and figured that I would start by typing just that. Of course there are those of you who might say "why start now?". It has been kind of an interesting week with the changes that were made to the PA home page with the blogs being added and shown near the top of the page. I think this blog went from 150 views in the first two weeks to 450 views in the two to three days that it was listed at the top. But of all those views there were only 2 posts. I imagine that many of the views stopped as soon as they saw how long my initial post was. I was really hoping for some new responses which would give me new ideas for posting, but instead I suppose that I will have to be "original" and come up with something new (and hopefully interesting).
I have spent most of the past week or two exploring more "obscure" prog bands within the genres that I am most comfortable with. From eMusic, I downloaded Posthumous Silence from Sylvan, Grayceon from Grayceon, Lady of the Light and Sound of the Apocalypse from Black Bonzo, Dawn on Pyther from Project Creation, Mirror from Blind Ego and the first two albums from Beardfish. I also broke out a pack of Camel(s) and listened to some of their compilations that I own.
In regards to Sylvan, I had already downloaded their other 3 albums and I had really enjoyed them, but the word on the PA street is that Posthumous Silence is their best. I really enjoyed it but I don't really see how it is that much better than the others. Again, I guess I just don't have the ear for the nuances that so many of you seem to have. Maybe it is because I heard Presets and Posthumous Silence out of order. I really like Presets alot, but I suppose that it is not that much different from Posthumous Silence so it loses marks for "progressing".
Grayceon is actually a very nice find as well. I believe that I owe thanks to Prog-Jester for mentioning them multiple times in multiple threads. Definitely one of the best new bands of 2007.
Black Bonzo has also been quite a treat. I think that their epic Sound of the Apocalypse may be one of the best unknown epic prog songs of 2007. I was pleased with the sound of most of this album as well as their earlier album Lady of the Light. If you want a more in depth discussion regarding them see Erik Neuteboom's lesser known prog band thread.
Project Creation's Dawn on Pyther is an album in the traditional prog metal vein. It is album two of a four album project. There is a nice intermixing of male and female prog vocals. Their website says that they are a supergroup from Portugal. I am not familiar with the source bands and have not heard the first album yet. I haven't listened to this album that closely yet in order to get an understanding of the concept, but it sounds intriguing.
It seems that Neo-prog is one of the least popular sub-genres on PA, but it is one of my favorites. I believe that the blurb said that Mirror from Blind Ego was a project including John Mitchell from Arena and Kino fame so that immediately piqued my interest. It is actually a side project of Kalle Wallner from RPWL and a bit of a prog supergroup including John Mitchell, John Jowitt from IQ, Paul Wrightson of Arena, and Tommy Eberhardt of Beatfreaks (I'm not familiar with them). As is the case with much Neo-prog there is nothing outstandingly fresh or new on this album, but it provides me with exactly what I want from listening to Neo-prog music. Inside-the-box prog-by-numbers with nice instrumental playing and nice easy listening vocals.
Beardfish's latest album was released on the InsideOut Music label and since I am a bit of a completionist with InsideOut Music this was a no-brainer for me. This latest album had some really nice music but also some music that was harder for me to get into (which probably what makes it appealing to others). I believe I read a post from Micky talking about their previous albums and having seen them at one of the prog festivals, so I was pretty excited when I saw the first two albums listed on eMusic. The first album has been playing in my car's CD player nonstop for the last week and a half. Grant it I only drive about a 1/2 hour per day so that means I have only listened to it 3 or 4 times, but it have been an enjoyable listen. There are a couple of songs that are sung in Swedish, which sound really nice, but lose points with me since I have no idea what is being sung. For most who don't care about lyrics anyways I know that this is not a problem, but for me it is still a hang-up. I am working to get over it though slowly but surely. I haven't actually listened to their second album yet, but that will probably make it into the car by the weekend as a replacement for the 1st album.
My re-excursion into Camel didn't have any new revelations. They are a good band with some nice music, but mostly too mellow for my tastes, which is sort of weird because I tend to like softer music than many on this site but somehow most of their music is too soft for me. A couple of the instrumentals on The Snow Goose are excellent but otherwise it doesn't really connect with me. I definitely need to pick up a couple of their earlier albums however because that seems to be where the best magic can be found.
As part of my road to prog enlightenment for those of you who might find this thread of interest I felt it might be interesting to share with you my thoughts on some of these bands that I have been recently listening to. I am definitely not going to turn this into an obscure band thread as guys like Erik and Avestin already do a great job with that.
I might eventually get around to actually posting reviews for some of these albums here on PA. I am not very good at that yet though. I can tell you that it is my opinion that an album is good or bad or that I like this song or that song, but I kind of like doing a song by song review and getting really comfortable with an album before I actually review it, and of course that takes lots of time. Also not being a musician I can't write those informative reviews that tell you there is an awesome 13/2 rhythm with a pentatonic guitar riff and a sweet classical hammond solo; I am limited to saying I really like the drums and guitar work and the songs sounds really good.
Yesterday, I paid a return visit to Rush's R30 Anniversary concert. Of course Rush are always welcome in my CD player and sometimes it is nice to return to the comfort zone.
Hopefully, those of you that made it this far found something interesting in this post. Comments are always welcome as they help me to formulate new ideas as well as get me to listen to new or old things (such as Camel). On the other hand, I know I should just go back to the Just for Fun area of the site since I am somewhat capable of posting there in a reasonable manner. Keep on progging and thank you for riding along on my road to prog enlightenment. -------------
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Posted By: rushfan4
Date Posted: December 15 2007 at 22:39
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Well I have spent most of my time here over the past ten days since my last post hanging out in the Just for Fun area of this site. The blogs regarding Gong and the Canterbury scene are far more interesting than anything that I really have to say on the subject of prog music, so if you haven't read them yet, I suggest that you do so.
It is ten days until Christmas day and I am certain that there are many progsters who are eagerly awaiting opening their Christmas packages and finding brand new progressive rock albums/CDs to listen to from either their favorite bands or new bands that they would like to discover. And as the Christmas song goes "It is the most wonderful time of the year." I, like most progsters, have provided my friends and family with a list of multiple CDs that I would like to hear. Also, like most progsters I have a list a mile long of all of the CDs that I haven't heard yet but of course want to hear, so my list includes only some CDs that I think that they might actually be able to find. But of course I get the common remark "What do you need more CDs for? You already have so many. You can't possibly listen to all of them." All true statements, but they just don't understand the prog addiction. Alas, what is a prog fan to do? Since I don't have much of anything interesting to say today I'll keep this blog entry relatively short. That is my Christmas gift to you.
I will end it with wishes of happiness and joy to my fellow PA members and family during this holiday season. I hope that everyone has a happy holiday no matter how they celebrate it and hopefully you all get to spend good quality time with friends, family and other loved ones. Merry Christmas.
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Posted By: Mellotron Storm
Date Posted: December 23 2007 at 23:29
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Very cool to read about your musical exploration. And don't worry that you like music that many trash.If you were older and grew up on GENESIS and YES,you would probably be horrified at their eighties output too. I got into music in the late seventies and was turned onto GENESIS from the song on the radio "Follow You Follow Me' from "And Then There Were Three" record.My first GENESIS purchase was "Duke" followed by their self titled album which i still like.Again it's because it was part of my youth and i liked it back then,that hasn't changed.When i got into their earlier classic albums it became quite clear why most don't like their eighties stuff. RUSH is my favourite band and i have to admit when "Signals" came out i enede up throwing it into my glove compartment of my car frustrated at their new sound, and at my not being able to get into it. I didn't give up though,and grew to really like it. I can't say that about late eighties RUSH though.Hey the most enjoyable thing about prog is finding new favourite bands and albums.Keep on exploring.Check out some Zeuhl too you might be surprised at how accessible a lot of it is. ------------- "The wind is slowly tearing her apart" "Sad Rain" ANEKDOTEN |
Posted By: uduwudu
Date Posted: January 03 2008 at 01:45
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Hi, I read your opinions on the Trevor Rabin led Yes. One thing that should be clarified is that the 90125 band was called Cinema. This was (then) a new project by the Yes men left in that band (such as it was by 1983) and then the record company which prompted the Yes banner. Thus comes the conflict between art and commerce. Owner Of A Lonely Heart (a very good pop / rock tune) would have been a hit anyway. What then would have happened to Yes? Perhaps the Trevor detractors may then be saying they should have called the band Yes... who knows. But 80s Yes was different; it was a reinvention and re-package. IMHO the most dramatic / traumatic thing in prog rock in 79 /80 was Jon Anderson leaving Yes. Had he not left Asia may not have happened (no Howe), the consequences of this action informed the whole 80s prog / pop rock collision. IMHO. That and the whole media / punk / fashion / conformist thing... |
Posted By: rushfan4
Date Posted: January 17 2008 at 18:38
Thank you for the kind words sinkadotentree. I find your comments to be quite interesting. I really find that bands walk a double-edged sword when it comes to later albums. Once you have created a
masterpiece it is darn near impossible to follow up with another one. As you might recall there was a thread a couple of months ago that discussed how many bands seemed to have eras where they were living in the world of masterliness for 5 consecutive albums. This seemed to apply to all of the major classic bands as well as some of the more recent bands. But the albums before and after these 5 albums just did not live up to this masterliness, and in many instances are severely panned because of that, despite the fact in many instances (but not all) the material is still pretty fantastic.
Back to the double edged sword. A band can create a second album in the same vein as the first album and they might get away with it if it is really good, but there will be some critics who dislike it for the sameliness. If they do a third album like this they are written off as being too formulaic. On the other hand, if they create a second album that is entirely different than the first album, there will be some who are thrilled at how they retained their progressiveness and how creative they were with the second, but there will be many more who dislike them because they are no longer the band that they fell in love with with the first album.
Back to my personal situation (the point of this blog) and to your comment (the point of this post), the music that I fell in love with from bands like Genesis, Rush, and Yes is the music from the 80's and 90's. I like this music as much or more than their earlier music. It is the reverse of those who first heard the 70's music and dislike the 80's music. I think mostly because of (1) familiarity and (2) childhood associations to the music. I am certainly not dissing the music from the 70's because it is very good. Since I am not a musician, I do not see many of the differences in the complexity of the music that the musicians see. Grant it, it doesn't take a genius to see that Firth of Fifth is far more complex than Invisible Touch. I am still working on my appreciation of early Genesis. I like a lot of the pre-Lamb music, but Peter Gabriel's voice hasn't grown on me yet. I like his voice much better during his solo period. I like parts of the Lamb, but not all of it. What I find funny about my tastes is that I could not stand Phil Collins in the 80's when I was listening almost exclusively to heavy metal, but you couldn't help but hear Phil Collins' or 80's Genesis music on the radio or the TV because it was everywhere. In my case, as I got older my tastes mellowed some and now I really like Phil Collins' solo and 80's Genesis. I do agree to state the obvious however that the Phil Collins version is quite different than the Peter Gabriel version. But there is nothing wrong with liking both versions.
I tend to be a completionist both in collecting and listening. Once I find a band whose sound I like I tend to collect it all, and like it all. I find that for bands where I don't like their later material, I generally didn't really care for their earlier material all that much either. I seriously can't think of any bands at the moment where I really liked their earlier material and can't stand their newer material. I'll have to think on that more and come back and edit this post later when I think of somebody, because I am sure they have to be out there somewhere.
My favorite music is the music from prog bands, but it is not necessarily their proggiest music. Again probably the nonmusician in me. I suppose that I tend to like well-crafted pop and rock songs. I can't stand rap or hip-hop. I can't stand bubblegum pop. I can't stand country music, although the Devil Went Down to Georgia is a pretty awesome song. I am not a big fan of the blues, for which I find too much sameiness, but that could be as an uninformed listener. I love symphonic rock, prog and metal, but I am not that keen on classical music, which I find mostly boring, although I generally like the heavy metal classical songs (mostly those covered by prog and metal bands). I am not that big of a fan of jazz music, but again I tend to like "acid" jazz. Not sure exactly how that is defined, but basically that means heavy metal jazz bands.
I listened to the samples on PA from Magma again. Great musicianship, but the vocals are quite irritating. I haven't quite learned yet how to treat vocals as another instrument. Maybe some day. On a plus side, I did sample some Guru Guru and Henry Cow and I was quite impressed with what little I heard. eMusic has a whole bunch of their albums on there and I am seriously considering doing some further investigating. The write-up on one of the Guru Guru albums mentions that the album sounds like they were going through a Rush phase, so I think that one will definitely be an upcoming download.
Thanks for the inspiration. Sorry for the delay in responding as I was waiting for my muse to return from sabbatical. I should probably do another post soon to discuss all of the new bands that I have been listening to and really enjoying lately and I am suspecting that post will probably have more to say (hopefully good) about Guru Guru and Henry Cow.
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Posted By: BaldJean
Date Posted: January 17 2008 at 19:24
well, one thing seems to be sure: we are from the opposite side of the spectrum. my favorite genres are Kraut, Avant/Rio and Eclectic. Canterbury and Jazz/fusion are high on my list too. and of course Zeuhl. oh, and I almost forgot Space. definitely a favorite of mine too -------------  A shot of me as High Priestess of Gaia during our fall festival. Ceterum censeo principiis obsta |
Posted By: rushfan4
Date Posted: January 18 2008 at 14:16
That is one of the things that makes this site so interesting. Interacting with people who like progressive music like I do, and yet as narrow as the genre tag might be in the realm of pop music, the music and individual tastes are so diverse. Having read many posts from yourself and BaldFriede I have no doubt that our tastes are on opposite sides of the progressive spectrum. I knew that the first time one of you had a negative post regarding Neil Peart and/or Rush.  Unfortunately for me, many of the bands/artists that you mention are bands and artists that I have never even heard of, let alone been exposed to. I am also quite sure that there is some wonderful music in the categories that are your favorites which I have yet to have been exposed to. I think that you would at least be pleased to know that I have yet to create a "who is the best "bassist" "drummer", "keyboardist"" poll and exclude Mani Neumeier, Christian Vander, Jannick Top, etc... I am not familiar with these artists, but I feel your pain for their exclusion from these type polls. As I mentioned in my last post, I am interested in exploring Guru Guru after hearing the samples on PA. I believe that I have you and BaldFriede to thank for creating an interest in them. No guarantees that I am going to like them, but the samples were definitely quite promising.-------------
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Posted By: rushfan4
Date Posted: March 18 2008 at 10:05
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I am not a religious person, and I am certainly not a Catholic, but in light of this Easter season, I have a confession to make. I really like rock ballads. (Somebody please talk the guy in the Meshuggah t-shirt down from the ledge).
I don't really know why that is, but I always have. If you have read my previous posts, it probably doesn't come as all that much of a surprise since my leanings tend to be more towards the poppier sides of prog, but I still find it interesting that there are so many songs that have been done by prog and non-prog artists that I really enjoy, that are written off as filler or sellouts by the posters on this site.
First off, is rock ballad an oxymoron like jumbo shrimp or military intelligence? Can a ballad be rock, or by definition are they two separate and distinct things?
One of the reasons that I find it interesting that I really like rock ballads is that I don't really listen to easy listening music all that much. There are certainly artists that perform nothing but ballads, but I can't think of any at this time, and I can't think of any that I listen to on a regular basis, if at all. But I suspect that if you were to list a bunch of names, I might be able to go down the list and say I don't really like that artist to most or all of them. That being said, I still really like rock ballads. Why is this? Is it because of the general contrast from the rest of the artist's album? After being bombasted for 45 minutes of nonstop double bass drum and guitar shredding and vocal gymnastics, is 4 minutes of acoustic guitar with a clean singing voice the proverbial port in the storm?
Although they probably weren't the first and despite the overwhelming exposure to this song, most would agree that Led Zeppelin set the bar pretty high for rock ballads with Stairway to Heaven. Pretty much since this point in time, the rock ballad has been a prerequisite to completing a rock album (not necessarily a prog album, but quite often a prog album as well).
Being a heavy metal fan from the 80's, rock ballads were something that these bands did really well. Again, I realize being on a prog forum, rock ballad translates for some reason to cheesy filler. But to me, rock ballads might be where some bands or musicians do their best work. For one, I have always liked the sound of the acoustic guitar and that usually gets pulled out for the rock ballads. Secondly, at times this is when bands sometimes write their best lyrics. Quite possibly because they are singing slower and cleaner and are therefore easier to understand so they have to make sure the lyrics sound better then when they are screaming and the vocals are drowned out by the double drum bass and shredding guitar.
I am not a musician. I can't play a guitar or keyboard or drums. When I hear a rock ballad, I think that whenever I actually get around to learning an instrument, that is something that I could play. I will use a baseball analogy to try and explain this phenomenon as to why I might like rock ballads whereas others here don't. Baseball pitchers can throw fastballs at 90+ miles per hour, and major league hitters are able to hit them with relative ease. Sort of like a shredfest, musicians can keep up with the shredfest, whereas I am "the batter that stood there like the house by the side of the road" (Ernie Harwell, Detroit Tigers Broadcaster). The rock ballad is sort of like the equivalent of a knuckleball. Knuckleball pitches are generally in the 60 mile an hour range. Major league batters have all kinds of problems hitting knuckleball pitchers, because their timing is gauged for a 90 mile an hour fastball, not a 60 mile per hour pitch. Major league hitters look like the batters on a Bugs Bunny cartoon with 3 swings on one pitch and their struck out. For me, a 60 mile an hour pitch is right about my speed, and I always think that the Tigers should sign me up for the one or two games a year that they face a knuckleball pitcher, because that is right about my speed. (Reality is I probably couldn't hit a 60 mile an hour knuckleball either, but I like to think that I can).
To bring this post back to prog, the "romantic" in me does like the love ballads that are sung by prog and heavy metal artists, but what I really like are the dare I say, non-love ballads (or at least more abstract love ballads). Songs like Lucky Man from ELP. Songs like Closer to the Heart and Nobody's Hero from Rush and Turn of the Century and Wonderous Stories and others from Yes. I am sure that you all have those types of songs from your favorite bands that you like.
To tie this in to my blog, to a certain extent, these type songs were the ones that were played on the radio (sellouts) and therefore were sometimes the first songs that I heard from these bands and they therefore had some affect in drawing me in to the various bands. Once in the prog spider's web I looked around and enjoyed the music and other "strands" of progressive music that made up the web.
I think that Opeth is a band that many can relate this phenomenon to. They're heavy. They're light. They growl. They sing. They shred. They play acoustic. And that is all in the first song or maybe first stanza. I have seen many a post where the posters have said that it is these contrasts within songs and within albums that makes them like Opeth so much. Personally, I still have a hang-up with the growl singing, but I can see what appeals to others with Opeth because of these contrasts. I just tend to prefer the port in the storm over the storm when it comes to them.
Anyhow, what thinks the kind folks of progland? Audience participation would be greatly appreciated, but please keep the "ballads suck" posts to a minimum. I would really like to have an intelligent discussion regarding this because I would like to get a better understanding of the appeal of these type of songs, but I also appreciate that there are those of you who can't stand these type of songs because they are "filler" or "sellouts", but if you have some intelligent comments regarding why these will also be greatly appreciated.
Thank you. And please don't take my Prog Rock Fan card away from me, because I like the pomp and bombast areas of prog as well, it is just that I sometimes find myself unusual on this site for liking the ballads also.
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Posted By: rushfan4
Date Posted: May 05 2008 at 16:03
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As a part of my Road to Prog Enlightenment in the past month and a half I have created a bunch of goofy polls to discuss bands listed in Prog Archives that are rarely talked about. I have gotten some good feedback from many and learned about some of these bands, but there is still room for additional knowledge. The point of this post is to bring a link to all of these related threads into one place to make it easier for myself (and hopefully others) to search out these threads which sank quite quickly to the dark bowels of prog archives where all threads eventually go. Hopefully, this will be helpful and maybe create additional interest in these threads, and these lesser known bands.
Share Your Knowledge - Food Related Bands Pt 1 - http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=47235 - http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=47235
Share Your Knowledge - Food Related Bands Pt 2 - http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=47236 - http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=47236
Prog Gone Wild Life Part 1 - http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=47302 - http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=47302
Prog Gone Wild Life Part Deux - http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=47340 - http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=47340
Prog Gone Wild Life Part Three - http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=47669 - http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=47669
Prog Gone Wild Life Part Four - http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=48279 - http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=48279
Prog Gone Wild Life-Have Yourself a Fifth - http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=48709&PN=1 - http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=48709&PN=1
A Bruising Poll - http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=47408 - http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=47408
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Posted By: micky
Date Posted: May 05 2008 at 16:06
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oh yes.... I owe those threads a visit... you posted those when I was hiatus from the forum... was either banned or busy.. one of the two.
------------- The Pedro and Micky Experience - When one no longer requires psychotropics to trip |
Posted By: rushfan4
Date Posted: June 28 2008 at 01:57
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Well, it has been almost 2 months since I visited this blog, and almost 4 months since I have written an actual post that included my thoughts. Not that that has stopped me from sharing my thoughts in numerous other threads. Anyhow, as I sit here watching the companion DVD to Ayreon's 01001001 (or whatever the numbers are) I thought that I would once again splatter these pages with my ramblings of a mad man. What have I been up to? Thank you for asking. Well let's see. I attended a Rush concert earlier this month, where I quite enjoyed myself. I attended the show with a buddy of mine that I attended high school with way back in the days of hair metal and new wave and Hold Your Fire, Presto, and Big Generator. My 20th year high school reunion is this year so nostalgia for my youth, I suppose, has led me to track down some of my old friends from high school. It was my buddy's first Rush concert. He wasn't a fan back when I first knew him, so I was surprised when I asked him if he would like to go to the concert, he said yes. Although, he certainly didn't become a fan boy like me, he had purchased Exit..Stage Left, which he said that he really liked, and had therefore been meaning to explore them further. Anyhow, he seemed to really enjoy the show, and he said afterwards that he did, so overall it was a great experience.
I also had purchased tickets to see Yes for next month, but unfortunately, as you all know, the tour had to be cancelled due to Jon Anderson's health issues. Hopefully, Jon fully recovers, and someday they come around and tour again. I recall once watching an interview in which they talked about passing on the family business to their children, so maybe one day Yes, Jr., will come around with all of the Anderson, Wakeman, and Howe, etc children playing the songs of their fivefathers, and maybe some new material of
comparable style and quality.
None of the above listed polls managed to generate enough negative interest to get closed, so they are still open and available for further input from anyone who feels like exploring the threads and sharing some info on the various bands. I haven't explored as many of the bands from those threads as I would like, but I do try to keep my eyes and ears open for these bands so that I can explore them further. Bands from these lists that I have purchased CDs and explored further are Blue Shift, Fond of Tigers, Yak, Arachnoid, Tea for Two, The Strawbs (I previously knew some, but I have explored further), Nektar, and Pineapple Thief. Check the poll threads for my thoughts on these various bands (at least most of them I have thrown a blurb or two in regarding my listening experiences. Edit: I missed some other bands that I have checked out some songs from that were included in those threads: Brother Ape, Super Furry Animals, Art Bears, Skywhale, Unicorn, Nightingale, Zebra, and Zzebra.
I happened to be up at the local Target one day and saw Protest the Hero's Fortress album and having seen them discussed here I decided to purchase it on the spot. After all, it is a rare occasion when one finds a prog band in a nonspecialty CD store. I am generally a fan of prog metal, but less so of the experimental and technical metal side of things. At times they sounded quite good, but mostly I was turned off by the vocal delivery. I also didn't particularly care for the lyrics once I sat down to give them a listen. Those that are familiar with my posts regarding Opeth know that I have this odd aversion to harsh vocals. (At least it seems to be odd here on PA).
I also finally got around to listening to the Satellite trilogy. What a great band they are. I truly enjoyed all 3 albums. Must be that I am a fan of drummer lyricists. This band definitely receives a very high recommendation from me. Warning: Before rushing out to buy these albums read the rest of my blog to understand my tastes and where I am coming from. As good as I find these albums, I suspect that they won't appeal to fans of RIO/Avant or highly experimental music. After all, I believe that Satellite is categorized as Neo on PA or retro prog and from my readings on this forum this only seems to appeal to a minority of us.
Oh well, I suppose that I have wasted enough internet space for one post. As always, please feel free to provide me with comments or suggestions.
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Posted By: micky
Date Posted: June 28 2008 at 06:54
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you are right Scott.... it is so rare to find prog in non-specialty music stores. Which may be a good thing. at least for me... I am an inpulse buyer... and if I 'see' something I like... I'll buy it. Ordering things is a bit more deliberate.. which again.. it a good thing.
------------- The Pedro and Micky Experience - When one no longer requires psychotropics to trip |
Posted By: MikeEnRegalia
Date Posted: June 28 2008 at 07:37
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^ emusic.com is a good online store for impulse buyers ... you get monthly download credits for your money, and if you see a track/album you like then you can download it with one click.
------------- https://awesomeprog.com/users/Mike" rel="nofollow">Recently listened to: 
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Posted By: rushfan4
Date Posted: June 28 2008 at 08:50
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Yes. emusic.com has a good selection of progressive music and I believe with certain memberships the price per song is much better than iTunes. I don't think that eMusic has much in Italian prog though. -------------
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Posted By: micky
Date Posted: June 28 2008 at 08:53
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I do not like mp3 copies of albums... sort of old school that I like having a 'hard' copy of an album. Never been into downloading.. legal.. or otherwise. Though Napster is the best 10 bucks a month I'll ever spend. It's like having a Barnes and Noble in your living room when you have a wild hair to hear something off the wall
------------- The Pedro and Micky Experience - When one no longer requires psychotropics to trip |
Posted By: rushfan4
Date Posted: June 28 2008 at 09:00
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I'm still fairly old school as well, as I have mostly "hard" copies. Although I have an iPod, and I have been using it more and more as a way to listen to music, I still burn the albums that I download to a CD-R and that way I can play it in CD players. I usually print the album covers with the song listings to include in a slim case with the CD so I have that information. Not always, but sometimes when I am particularly interested, I will track down the lyrics on-line and I'll print those to keep with the CD too. Obviously, it is not quite the same as having the booklets with all of the artwork and the liner notes, etc... but it is an OK substitute. -------------
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Posted By: micky
Date Posted: June 28 2008 at 09:02
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oh yes... I live for liner notes and the artwork ... it is one thing to 'hear' the music.. another when you have some insight into understanding the music.
------------- The Pedro and Micky Experience - When one no longer requires psychotropics to trip |
Posted By: rushfan4
Date Posted: August 27 2008 at 10:05
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Please forgive what could seem to be shameless self-promotion of a review but let me dust off this blog for a moment to promote an album that I feel is most definitely a highlight on my road to Prog Enlightenment. Rather than repeat what I wrote in my review of Presto Ballet's The Lost Art of Time Travel, I am just going to attach a link to that review. http://www.progarchives.com/Review.asp?id=180925 - http://www.progarchives.com/Review.asp?id=180925
I suspect that most of you might not have heard of this band and since it is a new release you probably have not yet heard this new album. As you can read from my review I genuinely enjoyed this album and I really think that fans of the glory days of prog will also really enjoy this album; especially those who enjoy the hammond organ and mellotron. I suspect that I hang out here enough and share my tastes enough that many of you have a pretty good sense of where my tastes in music lie. (If not please feel free to read the first two pages of this blog).
If you do happen to follow my advice and pick up this album, please let me know what you think.
Thank you,
Scott
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Posted By: jazzraptor
Date Posted: August 28 2008 at 12:46
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I notice that Kurdt and the boys are my new label mates, and that they also can be heard on mindawn.com. This means you can listen to the whole album for free, if you want, before deciding if you want to download it! And after reading your review, Scott . . .
I'm heading over there to listen to the album right now! Thanks! |
Posted By: Tuzvihar
Date Posted: August 28 2008 at 13:08
Why have you omited Progressive Electronic? Don't you have any albums from this subgenre? ------------- "Music is much like f**king, but some composers can't climax and others climax too often, leaving themselves and the listener jaded and spent." Charles Bukowski |
Posted By: rushfan4
Date Posted: August 28 2008 at 13:20
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Just checking to see if anyone was paying attention. -------------
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Actually, it was an oversight on my part, but looking at it now, I only have 1 out of the top 20 albums, and that is Brian Eno's Here Come the Warm Jets. I have 3 Tangerine Dream albums but none of them are from the top 20. Another pretty big hole in my collection. It looks like the only other artist listed in Prog Electronic that I have albums from is Scott Mosher, and that is because I downloaded the albums from his website a couple of weeks ago in response to another thread comparing albums that were available for free downloads. (I think that was Clarke's thread if I am not mistaken). Posted By: rushfan4
Date Posted: December 26 2008 at 20:38
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I return once again to add an update to My Road to Prog Enlightenment blog. I haven't really had too much to say and what I have had to say I have just posted elsewhere as I am prone to babbling on no matter what thread I might be in. Thanks to ProgArchives and my insatiable appettite to hear new music I have purchased many new CDs in 2008. The purpose of this post is to talk a little bit about some of my favorite new releases of 2008, but I should also mention that I have filled in some holes of some older releases as well such as The Soft Machine's Third; Jethro Tull's War Child and Stormwatch, Uriah Heep's Demons and Wizards; Miles Davis' Bitches Brew, Blue Oyster Cult's Secret Treaties; National Health; and some Triumvirat amongst others. I'll start by saying that my favorite album from 2008 is Presto Ballet's The Lost Art of Time Travel. It blew me away with the first listen and I still extremely enjoyed it with my listen today. I have already eluded to this album a couple of times in this blog and there is a link to my review of it somewhere above, so that is the extent that I will discuss that album in this post.
Number two on my list is the 2 CD set from The Tangent: Not As Good As The Book. This is another album that grabbed me from my first listen and it gets better with each listen. In many ways I found the lyrics for this album to be quite biographical. The premise of Not As Good as the Book, at least as I interpret it is that you spend your youth reading all of these books where the heroes are involved in great adventures filled with excitement on every turning page, where the hero gets the treasure, gets the girl, and saves the world, and if that hero is James Bond, or Jason Bourne, he usually gets to come back for many more exciting adventures. Then you grow up and you are living in the real world and you spend your day in front of the computer adding numbers to spreadsheets, etc.... Not very exciting at all. Being that I am an accountant I spend many a day in front of a computer preparing spreadsheets so I can definitely relate. I have been a fan of The Tangent since their beginning, with The Music That Died Alone probably being my favorite album of 2003, and In Earnest from 2006's A Place in the Queue being one of my favorite modern day songs, so needless to say I was thrilled with the release of Not As Good as the Book, and the CD was good enough to rate as my second favorite CD of 2008.
My 3rd favorite album of the year is The Reasoning's Dark Angel. My buddy Fandango mentioned the band Karnataka to me and in my search to find something from them I came across The Reasoning, which includes former Karnataka vocalist Rachel Cohen. This was kind of a two for one deal for me as I downloaded both Dark Angel and 2007's The Awakening from eMusic at the same time. Dark Angel kind of snuck into my top five with my most recent listens to it. One thing that has really changed for me this year is that I have discovered many new bands with female lead singers, which I am really enjoying. It has been a nice change of pace for me, as generally most of my favorite bands all have male lead singers, and I am not too big a fan of most of the female singers of pop-dom.
My fourth favorite album of 2008 is Pineapple Thief's Tightly Unwound. Pineapple Thief have been around since 1999, and before that members of the band were in a band called Vulgar Unicorn. I had heard of this band plenty of times before, but I had not actually heard them until the release of Tightly Unwound. I find them to be very similar in texture to bands such as Porcupine Tree or Pure Reason Revolution, but at least with this new album, I enjoy this more than the other two bands. Oddly enough, unlike my normal M.O. I have not attacked their back catalogue yet, so I still have that to look forward too. (I hope).
My fifth favorite album of 2008 was a PA album of the month a couple of months ago, and that is Edensong's The Fruit Fallen. Fellow Site Monitor, Pomt suggested Edensong as a band for inclusion prior to the release of The Fruit Fallen. They had the album streaming on their website and I immediately fell in love with it. Once it was released it showed up as an available download on eMusic, so I quickly downloaded it, and it has been in fairly regular rotation on my iPod ever since. This is a teriffic debut album and hopefully the beginning of great things to come. I am definitely hoping that the almost complete turnover of the band won't have a negative effect, but thinking King Crimson and Robert Fripp, there is something very prog about complete band turnover after one album.
This should make my buddies Dean and Micky proud that 3 of my top 5 albums fall in the Crossover genre, with the other two falling in Eclectic; although with The Tangent it appears that they might be on the move elsewhere; possibly to crossover.
I have plenty of runner up albums that I found to be almost as good and quite frankly on a different day in a different mood they would probably make my top 5 as well. These include local band Tile's Fly Paper, which had been in my top 5 all year, but after much thought I decided to bump them into the next group of 5. Also included is Thieves' Kitchen's Water Road, which I haven't given as many listens as I might like to. It could in future retrospect move higher on my list after more listens. It was also very difficult for me to exclude Karmakanic's Who's the Boss in the Factory? I am enjoying this album very much, but again I just haven't had it long enough or listened to it enough to justify it being in my top 5. Rounding out my other favorites include Simon Says' Tardigrade; Ayreon's 01011001; RPWL's The RPWL Experience; Marillion's Happiness is the Road; Frost's Experience in Mass Appeal; and Matthew Parmenter's Horror Express.
I also thought that it was a pretty good year for prog related and non-prog albums including King's X's XV; Metallica's Death Magnetic; Coldplay's Viva La Vida; Avantasia's The Scarecrow; Asia's Phoenix; Journey's Revelations; Judas Priest's Nostradamus; and even Guns and Rose's Chinese Democracy has turned out to be a little better than my first impressions, which were pretty low.
I know that many fans of more innovative forms of progressive music seem to be quite disappointed with 2008, but all and all for my more simple tastes I found 2008 to be a very good year. Here's hoping that 2009 brings more of the same.
I should mention that there are plenty of new 2008 releases that I have yet to hear so unfortunately I could not include those unheard albums within my favorites, but judging by my tastes and what I know or have heard about these bands there is a good chance that they might have been amongst my favorites. These include Pendragon's Pure; Everon's North; and It Bites' Tall Ships. This means that I still have plenty of new 2008 music to still discover and if the mood so strikes me when I happen across these bands I will let you know what I feel about them here within my blog.
If you made it this far thank you for taking the time to hang out with my thoughts. I hope that you too found plenty of good music in 2008 that fit your tastes, and I'll see you in 2009.
P.S. And lest I forget, I must give a big heartfelt thank you to our late friend Antoine (Febus) for all of his insight into prog that he gave to me this year prior to his passing. Rest in Peace my friend, and hopefully there is prog (and bossa) in heaven. -------------
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Posted By: rogerthat
Date Posted: December 27 2008 at 02:20
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Hey there, nice blog! Very good idea to update your progress in prog rock and get the members involved. I have heard great things about Presto Ballet, so I might want to give them a shot. I would just like a reference point as to what they sort of sound like. Vanderhoof has talked about his desire to carry forward the spirit of 70s prog, but 70s prog is a vast ocean , so what do they sound like? Rush? Kansas? Deep Purple? Genesis? ELP? And I am interested to know what happened of your Renaissance excursions. Yes, I am a fan, so there's a 'vested' interest. Just kidding, the giants like Genesis need no promotion but a lesser force like Renaissance needs a bit of prodding and pushing once in a while. If folk prog is what appeals more to you, then Ashes Are Burning and Prologue are worth looking up. From Turn Of The Cards to Songs for All Seasons is more orchestra-dominated and Cards gets my vote as the best album from this phase and also their overall best. They're not quite all sugary-sweet as much as they are made out to be, but it's not Van Der Graaf with female vocals either. Clear, powerful vocals with understated, restrained emoting which some people may find too flat for their liking - but unless you like the vocals, you have next to no chance of enjoying the band. Not a discredit to the other band members, it's just the way the music is arranged, it puts the focus squarely on the vocals. By the way, The Other Woman, of course, does not have the legendary Annie Haslam on vocals, so no surprises if you were underwhelmed. I have not heard that album so I can't tell you how that vocalist compares to Haslam. From the ratings, it looks to me to be a bad place to start with Renaissance, that much I can tell.
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Posted By: rushfan4
Date Posted: December 27 2008 at 10:35
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Hi rogerthat, Thank you for reading my blog and your input. I think that the best way to describe Presto Ballet's sound is a cross of Kansas with the hammond sound of Deep Purple with a little bit of Styx and even some Dream Theater or I suppose Metal Church thrown in for good measure.As far as Renaissance goes, I must admit that they are still on my to-do list. Last time I made it to my local store I did notice that they had Prologue in stock. I'll keep in mind your recommendation the next time that I make it over there. I've been looking at eMusic too. They only have Tuscany and the concert Live in the Land of the Rising Sun available for download. I might download the concert as that might give me a better flavor of their sound. Tuscany isn't from their golden era, but it does have Annie Haslam singing on it. so that might be a good download too. -------------
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Posted By: rogerthat
Date Posted: December 27 2008 at 11:29
Thanks, the presence of metallic elements with organs in the mix sounds interesting, I might look this up. As for Renaissance, yes, Prologue is more than worth a shot, it's not quite quintessential Renaissance but it's excellent nevertheless and I rate it higher than anything they made after Scheherazade, Annie never sounded so fresh again on any other Renaissance album. Wouldn't recommend Tuscany, sounded to me like they have lost touch with their core for too long to recapture it and the lady's power has considerably diminished though she's always pleasant to listen to. It's not bad by any stretch but not the place to start with the band. Just because it's a live album, that concert might be better especially since it has a decent cross section of their prime material...nothing like Live At Carnegie Hall though for the full blast of their combined powers.
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Posted By: rushfan4
Date Posted: July 28 2009 at 16:51
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I haven't posted anything in here for quite awhile. In an attempt to further enlighten myself as well as to bring additional discussions about new albums that haven't really been discussed I am creating a series of album discussion threads in hopes of bringing these albums additional attention, as well as to try and give both long and short-term PA forum members something different to talk about other than the same 6 or 7 bands that dominate the forums. Anyhow, as a central place for the various discussions I will post the links here.
Astra - The Weirding http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=59071&PN=1 - http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=59071&PN=1
The Wishing Tree - Ostara http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=59948&PID=3326358#3326358 - http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=59948&PID=3326358#3326358
Eureka - Shackleton's Voyage http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=60977&PID=3370008#3370008 - http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=60977&PID=3370008#3370008
Lobster Newberg - Actress http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=61661&PID=3400467#3400467 - http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=61661&PID=3400467#3400467
Knifeworld - Buried Alone: Tales of Crushing Defeat http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=62529&PID=3433550#3433550 - http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=62529&PID=3433550#3433550
Brother Ape - Tubulence http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=63402&PID=3471283#3471283 - http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=63402&PID=3471283#3471283
Black Bonzo - The Guillotine Drama http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=64197&PID=3507408#3507408 - http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=64197&PID=3507408#3507408
Shadow Circus - Whispers and Screams http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=64762&PID=3537210#3537210 - http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=64762&PID=3537210#3537210
Roswell Six - Terra Incognita: Beyond The Horizon http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=65438&PID=3568221#3568221 - http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=65438&PID=3568221#3568221
From.UZ - Seventh Story http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=66257 - http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=66257
I hope that everyone will participate and that I am doing at least a little part to give back to the PA community.
Thanks,
Scott -------------
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Posted By: rushfan4
Date Posted: October 08 2009 at 12:49
Since I like to use Mike's ProgFreak charts when he creates them. Here is a double list of my favorite Prog albums (1 per artist) for pre- and post- 1980. Thanks Mike.
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Posted By: rushfan4
Date Posted: November 02 2009 at 08:37
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Somewhere for me to save and post all of these charts that I can prepare from Mike's website. Here is a list of my top prog albums for 2009.  -------------
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Posted By: Toaster Mantis
Date Posted: November 22 2009 at 07:40
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This blog is a rather interesting read from my perspective, because I have very much the opposite tastes from rushfan4 - I generally don't care about traditional symphonic prog other than Yes' 1970s stuff and I liked Amon Düül 2 and Can upon first listen. Then again it looks like that's changing with him getting into Blue Öyster Cult, Jethro Tull and Uriah Heep! Anyway, I've within this year abandoned the "only 1970s and 1980s are real" mindset I used to have, and also begun exploring more and more new music though at the same time it becomes increasingly rare that I listen to new music. That said, I generally can't get much interested in new music that's marketed as progressive... the contemporary music that matches what I like in progressive rock is often filed under psychedelia or "post-rock" instead! Maybe that's another reason why I care less and less about genre classifications as time goes on.  ------------- "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 |
Posted By: Plankowner
Date Posted: November 22 2009 at 17:27
| This thread was actually one of my first reads when I joined the forum and one of the biggest reasons I stuck around in the beginning.. |
Posted By: rushfan4
Date Posted: January 06 2010 at 13:47
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Oh wow! A couple of posts in my blog that weren't mine, and I missed them. Thanks guys. The 70's and 80's were the real deal when it comes to music, but I do really like a lot of the modern bands that are assigned the progressive label. I have been pretty fortunate in that I like most of what I have heard within the hallowed halls of bands listed within Prog Archives. Of course, there are certainly exceptions to that rule as I have previously noted, and there is just so much here that I still have not heard and probably never will due to financial constraints, as well as the overall obscurity of many of the bands listed here.
Anyhow, I just dropped by this blog to leave another ProgFreak charted created by Mr. ProgFreak. Interestingly, my top 200 albums of the last decade. I'm not sure how accurate it is, and in reality I should probably tweak some of my ratings in comparison to other albums listed, but I am too lazy for that, and will play it as it lies for now.
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Posted By: Catcher10
Date Posted: January 06 2010 at 16:00
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Thanks Rushfan4 for this blog!....I too am a huge Rush fan from back in the mid 70's. I have been around this site for a couple of years but just recently joined the forums. I would usually just look at the album lists and check out stuff from there. It takes me back to my days of spending hours in Tower Records when it was all about VINYL..Tower had an amazing import section where I could find cool stuff. I am a Zune user since day one, and the Marketplace I can find a lot of prog music for download and usually I go out and buy the vinyl if it is available or the CD (I am a vinyl cover art junkie...) I have all the Scorpions "naughty" album covers that were banned from the US, imports from Japan and West Germany.
My music life began with R&B, Funk artists like Earth Wind &Fire, Parliament/Funkadelic.....Then I bought "Fly By Night", cause a friend told me they are inspired by Zeppelin. I was hooked from there and have never looked back.
I even grew with Rush during that late 80's early 90's "weird" stuff they were doing, I never thought much of it and looking back I just chalk it up to really understanding what a band does to change with the times.
I too am trying to expand my 'progness' and am having much success. I have been a huge heavy metal fan like Scorpions, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden (and still am!!)...so I tend to like heavier prog, but not the screamo stuff....can't handle that. Anything like Dream Theater works for me very well....
I first heard Porcupine Tree "Sky Moves Sideways" and it was so awesome back in '95 I think, I just thought hmm....the futuristic Pink Floyd, dark stories and songs...very cool stuff.
I have really only been calling myself a ProgRocker for maybe the past 10 years......but I have to say it is the best genre of music out right now....2009 was a great year for Progressive Music.
Cheers all! -------------   
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Posted By: rushfan4
Date Posted: January 06 2010 at 16:24
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Thank you Catcher10. I'm always glad to meet the acquaintence of another fan of Rush. Welcome to the forums. And I am definitely on the side of the prog world that thinks that 2009 was a great year for progressive music. It is interesting reading through the forums and seeing that there is a nice split between those who thought 2009 was great and those who say that there was nothing released that they like. I have a hard time understanding how that is possible, but to each their own when it comes to tastes. -------------
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Posted By: Catcher10
Date Posted: January 07 2010 at 14:49
2009 in my opinion was an awesome year for progressive music, everything I bought I enjoy very much. I'm not a fan of reviews because large portion of the time I do not agree, especially when an album is getting trashed.......IMHO. -------------
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Posted By: rushfan4
Date Posted: January 08 2010 at 13:20
That is fairly common amongst many of the posters on this site. There have been some fairly interesting discussions regarding hip hop and country, where posters have said that there are some really interesting artists in the underground areas of these genres who are doing things that might appeal to us prog rock fans. I haven't followed through yet and checked anything out there, because quite frankly, there is still way too much exploring to do with all of the bands listed here that I have never heard. -------------
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Posted By: Catcher10
Date Posted: January 08 2010 at 18:11
| I'm all for exploring.....bring it on. |
Posted By: rushfan4
Date Posted: October 06 2010 at 17:33
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According to my somewhat screwy rating system on ProgFreak these are my top 200 prog albums of this current century. I can't really say how accurate it is as far as ratings or rankings, but it is I suppose a good starting point, and worth saving somewhere where I can find it later.  -------------
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Posted By: rushfan4
Date Posted: February 10 2011 at 10:20
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Time to dust off my old blog and add a few thoughts regarding some 2010 releases. Not sure how far I will get and how informative I will be but I am not really in review writing mode, so instead I think I will just jot down some thoughts regarding these albums as I am evaluating them for determining my top 5 or 10 albums for 2010. And who knows, maybe these thought jottings might lead to reviews.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/images/B003KWWD4G/ref=dp_image_0?ie=UTF8&n=5174&s=music" rel="nofollow">
 The first album that I am listening to is arK's Wild Untamed Imaginings. arK is a neo-prog band from England that is probably best known for being a band that included ex-IQ and Jadis bassist John Jowitt. Wild Untamed Imaginings is their third album and their first release since Spiritual Physics from 1993. I am not familiar with their first two releases so cannot make a comparison, but I enjoy this album enough that I would be interested in acquiring their previous two albums if I can find them. The album consists of 11 songs ranging between 3 and 6 minutes in length. As with much music labelled as neoprogressive the music is highly accessible and easy to listen to, so it will most likely only appeal to fans of this genre of music. The album also includes another common theme of Neoprog music and that is the influence of Peter Gabriel-era Genesis and Fish-era Marillion on their sound. They are in no way clones, and they have their own unique sound, but those influences are still there in abundence.
Boudicca's Chariot is a lively heavy rocker that starts off with a Pink Floyd alarm clock and ends with the sounds of sea gulls. Just another day at the prog rock beach.
Coats of Red is a hard rock song with a guitar riff that highly reminds me of a guitar riff off of Michael Jackson's Thriller album of all things.
Flagday is the shortest track on the album and is a bit folky with a nice flutepiece within the song.
New Scientist is the longest track at just under 6 minutes. It is a slower track with a nice synth line leading the direction of the song and the use of a children's choir. Maybe a bit of a shoutout to Fantomas with the sound of "surgery" in the background with a female screaming.
Hagley is another slower rocker with flute, acoustic guitar and clean vocals.
Gaia returns to the hard rock direction with a screaming guitar to start off the track followed by some heavy synth work. It slows down at about the 3 minute mark and we get some nice flute work before the guitars take over and lead us to the end. Gaia is the first of three tracks that were included on their first album The Dreams Of Mr. Jones. I assume that these are reworked versions.
Eighth Deadly Sin starts out with NineInchNails like industrial rock drumming before the rest of the band joins in. The drum is the featured instrument early on this track, however there are some nice guitar and synth riffs after the halfway mark.
Change Pt2 is a nice hard rocker with probably the best guitar work on the album. I'm curious regarding the name as they don't appear to have released a Change Pt 1.
So You Finally Made It starts off with a Scottish feel to it and features guest musician Elena Albone playing a Hurdy Gurdy at the beginning of the song. It is a slower rocker which builds up in intensity and includes dramatic vocals which I find are featured a lot within the Neo Prog arena.
Kaleidoscope is the second song included which was also included on The Dreams Of Mr. Jones. Again, I assume that it has been re-worked for this album. There are some nice synth parts on this song.
The final track Nowhere's Ark isn't listed here on PA, so I am not sure if it is a bonus track or if it was just missed. This is the 3rd song from The Dreams Of Mr. Jones that is included on this album. A fast-paced rocker with some nice drum, guitar and synth work as well as some flute flourishes.
Overall, as I started off my thoughts this is a highly accessible album, which is easy for me to listen to and enjoy. Not a very challenging listen at all, and I suspect that it won't appeal to too many PA members, other than those like myself who are predisposed to Neoprog and arena rock music. Interestingly, even though John Jowitt is their best known member, the bass playing really stands out the least of the instruments for me. Fans of early Marillion, Arena, IQ, and Jadis might want to check this one out. I might suggest fans of Gabriel-era Genesis checking this out too, however, with a lot more caution as I know that many of you are really hard to please when it comes to Genesis influenced music.
Here is arK playing New Scientist live. -------------
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Posted By: rushfan4
Date Posted: February 10 2011 at 13:30
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/images/B003TEO3EI/ref=dp_image_z_0?ie=UTF8&n=5174&s=music" rel="nofollow">
At the Edge Of Time is the 2010 release of power metal band Blind Guardian. I "discovered" Blind Guardian a number of years ago while reading an issue of Progression magazine that had an article about the metal side of prog and it talked about Blind Guardian and Symphony X as two rising stars on the prog metal team. Blind Guardian are a love 'em or hate 'em type of band. If you have heard one of their albums then you probably have a pretty good idea of what most of their albums are going to sound like and if you like that sound, then you probably love most of their albums. If you don't like that sound then they are not the band for you to search further because you are probably not going to find anything that you like from them.
I bought the 2 disc special edition of At The Edge of Time, but the second disc is just alternative versions of the songs on the main disc. Most of the songs are based on the writings of other authors.
The first song Sacred Worlds is a 9 minute power metal epic with a number of symphonic music flourishes and is one of the best songs on the album.
Tanelorn (Into The Void) is a fairly typical Blind Guardian song. Racing drums and crunching guitars with a slightly folky undertone throughout. Tanelorn is a fictional city portrayed in Michael Moorcock's fantasy novels. I am not familiar with these stories, but I am now curious as to the tie-in of the song with the stories.
Road of No Release is based on Peter S. Beagle's The Innkeeper's Song. It is somewhat typical of Blind Guardian's slower songs. Some nice interplay between the drums and guitars.
Ride Into Obsession is one of two songs based on Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series, for which I have bought the first few books and will be embarking on my own ride into obsession with the Wheel of Time series sometime in the hopefully near future. This is the shortest song on the album at just under 5 minutes. Again a pretty standard power metal sound with the thundering drumbeat throughout, finely placed guitar solos, and changing time signatures.
Curse My Name is based on a political writing of John Milton titled "The Tenure of Kings and Magistrates". This song is done in the prog folk style that Blind Guardian is well known for. A nice slower pace with the inclusion of flute. These type songs always seem to have a Jethro Tull feel to my ears that I enjoy listening to.
Valkyries isn't based on a book, but it is based on Norse mythology. It is a slower based song with choral vocals for a chorus.
Control the Divine is based on John Milton's Paradise Lost. Another somewhat slower paced song. Some nice guitar riffs throughout, including some acoustic guitar. Steady prog metal drumbeat as well.
The next two songs War Of The Thrones and A Voice In The Dark are both based on George R.R. Martin's A Fire and Ice series. Another series that I am again sorry to say that I am not familiar with, so apparently I have a lot of reading to do. War of the Thrones is a fairly slow-paced song with strummed guitars and some symphonic interludes. A Voice In The Dark picks up the pace and follows the Blind Guardian power metal pattern.
The final song on the album proper is titled Wheel of Time, and as you might have guessed, it is also based on the Robert Jordan series. This is the second longest song on the album clocking in at just under 9 minutes. Similar to the first song, this is an epic symphonic metal song, i.e. power metal played to the accompaniment of an orchestra.
I don't think that I will discuss the songs on the second disc, as they are just alternative versions of the first disc.
If this album has accomplished anything it has provided me with what I expect to be a great source of reading material, as all of the stories that these songs are based on seem very interesting to me. I think that the lyrics are extremely important to follow along with for an album such as this. I was unable to do so with this listen, but plan on doing so shortly so as to see the effect my understanding of the lyrics have on the music. The singing is actually fairly easy to understand but as with most hard rock/metal music I don't hear all of it clearly and it will be easier to follow along with the booklet.
Sticking with my initial assessment, if you already like Blind Guardian, then most definitely check this album out. If you find that you haven't liked them in the past, then it it probably best to just pass this one by. However, if you are a fan of any of the above referenced books you might want to check out the related songs just for the heck of it to see how well their interpretations fit the books.
Check out Sacred Worlds and if you like it then definitely explore the album further.
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Posted By: rushfan4
Date Posted: February 10 2011 at 14:40
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/images/B00446BKIM/ref=dp_image_0?ie=UTF8&n=163856011&s=dmusic" rel="nofollow">
Destroy All Monsters is the debut solo release for Declan Burke, the lead singer on the second Frost* album and for Darwin's Radio. When I was on Amazon.com getting the picture for the above arK album, I was told that I could get a better deal if I bought that album and this album together. They sort of got that right as both albums fall within the neoprogressive family. This album doesn't quite have as progressive of a sound as the arK album however as it is mostly about Dec Burke's voice. At times the keyboards have that 80's synth feel of neoprog, but a lot of the time this is more of a pop/crossover prog album. Of note, is that the drummer is Tim Churchman, who also played drums for arK on Wild Untamed Imaginings. The songs range from 3 1/2 minutes to 7 minutes in length.
This is only my third listen to this album and although I enjoy it quite a bit, I'm not sure how much appeal it will have in the PA community. I am pretty sure that enjoyment of this album will be severely limited to within the group of prog fans who like the commercial form of prog, and even then it might be too commercial for many of them. -------------
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Posted By: rushfan4
Date Posted: February 10 2011 at 15:12
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/images/B0041A6RUC/ref=dp_image_0?ie=UTF8&n=163856011&s=dmusic" rel="nofollow">
The Bad Plus are a jazz rock band that I suspect will appeal to a greater range of PA users as it is a rocking jazz album centered around the piano with excellent support from drums and bass. For those of you who know my tastes, you know I am not a very big fan of jazz. I make some acceptions, and I make a significant acception for The Bad Plus. They are currently not included on PA. I'm not really sure why. They may be too jazzy and not enough prog, but most sites describe them as prog jazz. At any rate I "discovered" them while shopping at a record store while on vacation in Chicago. They had an able titled Prog, so I had no choice but to buy it, and to top it off they did a jazzy cover of Rush's Tom Sawyer. They are probably best known for their covers of "Everybody Wants To Rule The World" and "Smells Like Teen Spirit".
At any rate, Never Stop consists of 10 original tunes ranging in length from 2 and 1/2 minutes for the final song Super America to the 9 and 1/4 length People Like You. This is definitely one of my favorite albums of 2010, and would probably be in my top 5 for PA purposes if they were included on PA. A must hear for fans of jazz piano.
If you are interested in checking them out, check out the first song from the album The Radio Tower Has A Beating Heart as performed live here.
And just because I love their version of Tom Sawyer, check it out here.
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Posted By: rushfan4
Date Posted: February 10 2011 at 17:00
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/images/B0045AMHFM/ref=dp_image_0?ie=UTF8&n=163856011&s=dmusic" rel="nofollow">
Nymf is the fifth album from Carptree, who are a duo from Sweden consisting of Carl Westholm playing keyboards and Niclas Flinck on vocals. They have used musicians called the No Future Orchestra to play the remaining instruments on their albums. Carptree came to my attention with their 3rd album Man Made Machine, which blew me away and led me back to their self-titled debut and its follow-up Superhero.
I believe that Nymf is referring to the creature on the album cover, however, it could be about the Yankees, or as I like to call them the N.Y. Mother F******. (a shout out goes to my PA Yankee friends. haha). The album consists of 7 songs all at lengths in excess of 5 and 1/2 minutes, except for Between Extremes (Prelude) which is a short prelude into Sunrays with the longest being Dragonfly at over 8 minutes.
Sadly, this is only my second listen to Nymf, as I only recently acquired it. I would say that the Neo-prog label doesn't really apply to them anymore, and that they are more of a crossover/heavy prog band at this point. Carl Westholm is a quality keyboard player who is probably largely unknown within the prog community. There is a bit of an eerie quality to some of the songs on this album. For example, the symphonic part of Dragonfly reminds me a bit of the soundtrack music to an intense scene in a Hollywood horror flick. At any rate, I am really enjoying this second listen. A good quality album. If you are familiar with Carptree and haven't heard this album you should check it out. I'm not sure exactly why, but at times this album reminds me of Matthew Parmenter's Horror Express.
I was hoping to find Dragonfly on YouTube as it is my favorite song on the album, but no luck. But I did find the first song from the album, Kicking and Collecting, so check it out if you are interested in checking them out.
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Posted By: rushfan4
Date Posted: November 15 2011 at 15:05
Fond of Tigers - Continent and Western http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=82773&PID=4349285#4349285" rel="nofollow - http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=82773&PID=4349285#4349285 -------------
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Posted By: rushfan4
Date Posted: November 23 2011 at 09:09
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If you get a chance you can checkout my latest attempt to spur a discussion about a lesser known album here: Leprous-Bilateral http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=82985" rel="nofollow - http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=82985 I've seen a few collaborators list it in their top 10 albums of 2011 so I know that there are some of you out there that can discuss this album with us. -------------
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Posted By: rushfan4
Date Posted: November 13 2013 at 13:22
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*cough**cough*. Blows dust off of thread and revisits it. I've not been in a reviewing mood for quite some while, so I am thinking that instead I might "jot down" some thoughts on some new releases as I listen to them for purposes of sharing said thoughts currently as well as with my future self for the occasional revisit. Anyhow, I will start off this revamped blog with some thoughts on the second release from the Russian band Apple Pie. I was a big fan of their first release Crossroads, which was a beautiful slice of Neo Prog goodness that was right up my alley. I was quite excited when I saw that they had released a follow-up album titled The Gates of Never, and I pretty much immediately downloaded it from eMusic. They had a Neo Prog flavor with prog metal thrown in for good measure on the first album and with this one that sound is still there, but now...with the occasional growls.  They actually aren't too bad and not enough to turn me off from it. Of notable interest, the keyboard player from the first release is gone and the keyboards on this album are played by none other than ex-Dream Theater keyboardist Derek Sherinian, which leads me to think that this album might appeal to fans of his era of Dream Theater. Included on the album is the 9 minute opener The Gates of Never, the 24 minute 4-part suite Letters of a Deadman, and the 15 minute closer Strange Feeling Called Love, so this might also appeal to those who like their music of the epic length variety. It is just bass, guitar, and keyboards though, so it is probably not going to appeal to the Henry Cow and Magma set. -------------
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Posted By: rushfan4
Date Posted: November 13 2013 at 16:16
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Next up we have just a guitar, a bass, and drums and a whole lot of rock on The Aristocrats second album Culture Clash. For fans of Joe Satriani type guitar rock albums, but also Return To Forever if they didn't have Chick. Consists of 9 instrumental/fusion tunes from Guthrie Govan on guitar, Bryan Beller on bass, and Marco Minneman on drums. If the names sound familiar it may be because Guthrie Govan and Marco Minnemann both most recently on Steven Wilson's Raven album. -------------
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Posted By: rushfan4
Date Posted: November 19 2013 at 15:54
As of now, my top 50 albums of 2013 according to my ratings on progfreak.com -------------
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Posted By: rushfan4
Date Posted: November 20 2013 at 09:52
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Sanguine Hum's second album Weight of the World is a nice follow up to their debut album The Diving Bell from 2010. Both have a more song oriented change in direction from their previous band Antique Seeking Nuns. So far, one of my favorite albums of 2013. The kind of album to appeal to fans of the more modern symphonic/neo prog sound. This one, the Comedy of Errors' Fanfare and Fantasy, and Lifesign's self-titled debut make up a trifecta of lesser known bands within this style to compete with Big Big Train, The Flower Kings, and Spock's Beard for top symphonic/neo prog album of 2013. -------------
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Posted By: timothy leary
Date Posted: November 20 2013 at 11:25
| Glad to see Fromuz at #4.........a real gem under the radar. Each album they make gets better IMHO |
Posted By: BrufordFreak
Date Posted: November 22 2013 at 09:35
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^agreed. Great blog, Rushfan4. I just skimmed it start to finish. Because it came up on today's top sites I didn't pay attention to see that it was started in 2008. Still, an awesome and very indepth insight into your music-loving evolution. Very cool! I, too, grew up in the Detroit area. I just had a ten-year head start on you so my musical perspectives, history, and tastes have been shaped a little differently than yours. (Ever hear of CKLW-AM? Motown? Soul and R&B? Soul Train? WABX? WRIF? Those were the stations my evenings were passed listening to. Still have a profound soft spot and love of 1970-74 Soul music. But by the time I hit puberty the album rock stations had won me over. Then we moved to Petoskey!! Thank goodness for the Nederlanders and Castle Farms' summer concerts! Anyway, came down to DTW for many a concert (never in the stadiums, though, always the smaller or outdoor venues like Royal Oak Music Theater [Jan Hammer/Al DiMeola, Rickie Lee jones, Todd Rundgren, etc.) Meadowbrook (Pat Metheny, jean-Luc Ponty, etc.) or The Fox (Neil Young, Vinxx) or some of the old dives that existed for a few years and then died [whose names escape me but where I saw U2, Nina Hagen, doves, Within Temptation). Anyway, great posts--Got to get you into Zeuhl and more of the avant/RIO and experimental/post Rock groups, though. Try Proghma-C, Ga'an, SKE, and maudlin of The Well's Part The Second if you haven't already. And I will try Presto Ballet. ------------- Drew Fisher https://progisaliveandwell.blogspot.com/ |
Posted By: rushfan4
Date Posted: November 22 2013 at 10:04
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Cool. Thank you for taking the time to skim through it. I am familiar with just about all of those items. My parents used to listen to CKLW in the car all of the time. I don't remember WABX, but WRIF is still alive and kickin'. I used to listen to it a lot more back in the day, but it is one of the few radio stations that I still listen to from time to time. I was on vacation at Boyne Mountain a few weeks ago, and spent the one day in Petoskey checking out the lake and the stores in the downtown area. It is a nice little town. Thank you for the suggestions. maudlin of the well's Part the Second is good. I like that one. I'm not too big on their other stuff that I have heard though. I downloaded that Ga'an album but I haven't listened to it yet. I recently listened to Weidorje for the first time, and quite enjoyed that...so I guess that that is a step in the right direction. -------------
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Posted By: rushfan4
Date Posted: November 22 2013 at 10:14
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Posted By: rushfan4
Date Posted: November 27 2013 at 13:40
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Ayreon's Theory Of Everything comes with the classic Ayreon sound. I still need to sit down with the booklet and read along to the music, but I am enjoying the music and the parts of the story I can make out while casually listening. My biggest complaint on this album is that he has decided to make it into 42 separate songs rather than one long song or 9 ten minute songs. Not one of the songs is more than 4 minutes long with most of them under 2 minutes long. Listening to the album on my CD player causes 41 unnecessary pauses with some of them occurring mid-word within the lyrics. I really don't know what he was trying to do here. Not sure if he is trying to make people pay $42 on iTunes in order to purchase every song on the album? At any rate, I like the sound, but I guess I am not thrilled with the production/presentation of it. I will have to update my opinion once I have a chance to sit down with the booklet and listen to it. -------------
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Posted By: moshkito
Date Posted: November 29 2013 at 09:57
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Hi, I've always said that time never was when music was not progressive, and that it is a matter of our own enlightenment, and appreciation for things that are different, and sometimes a bit more pointed and meaningfull than most twerk'ing! For me, this probably started in Brazil, when radio and the music I was hearing was so different than anything in Portugal, and in that country, specially our house, things were very classical, academic and specially insulated from the outside world! Higher class well educated folks in Europe are like that! When we went to Brazil, dad basically took a massive step to become a bona fide writer, and that puts us in a shack in the state of Sao Paolo, and of course, that puts you in touch with the "street" and "people", something that the family did not like and had aversions to. Dad, was too worried about his writing and literary works, to give a darn about that but he was in a position that prevented him from doing politics and make comments on it, so he stayed away from it for the most part. So you land in Brazil, in 1959, and then you end up witnessing things like the coup later, and then the very impressive array of music and arts that were against the coup, and exploded. From Maria Betania, to many others and all of a sudden Beatles, Rolling Stones, and the like, it all became a symbol for something that people did not have. And the music was totally different! Form me, as I stated before, progressive, has always been tied to life and living and it's artistic side. Most of the work is not just a song in my mind and in many cases they are the most important works composed in the last 70 years! While there are some nice things in a lot of pop music, in the end, I'm not sure that most of it as as valuable or important but creating a line of definition for it, is tough, and I don't want to argue where Brown Sugar or Sympathy for the Devil belong! But one of those songs is meaningless to me! ------------- 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 |
Posted By: rushfan4
Date Posted: December 04 2013 at 12:01
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Currently listening to Turkish band Nemrud's second album Ritual. It is a really enjoyable psychedelic prog album. To a certain extent it brings to mind the sound of Pink Floyd, and more recently, Astra. It is a short album at just over half an hour and consists of 4 tracks; the highlight being the 18 minute long title track, which ends the album. I think that if you found Astra's The Weirding and The Black Chord to your liking, you should give Ritual a listen.
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Posted By: rushfan4
Date Posted: December 04 2013 at 14:33
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French band Nemo are one of those bands whose sound has a great appeal to me. Barbares was one of my top 5 albums in 2009 and Revolution was a top 10 album in 2011. I have just listened to Le ver Dans Le Fruit for the first time and I think that it too will be a strong contender for one of my top spots. I have only recently acquired downloads of Si parts 1 and 2, and really enjoyed these as well. My only negative with all of these albums is that I do not speak French. Non-English singing tends to be a problem for me. It falls under the "it's me...not you" thing that we hear from girls/women that we like who don't want to go out with us. I have found that this language issue doesn't really bother me as much as it once did, but it is still a problem for me. That said, this is still an excellent album, and I suppose that it may be best that I don't know what they are singing about. -------------
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Posted By: Mellotron Storm
Date Posted: December 04 2013 at 19:45
Yup i've got that on my "to get" list Scott, I have their first one which I really enjoyed, and that's a great reference(Astra) as well. ------------- "The wind is slowly tearing her apart" "Sad Rain" ANEKDOTEN |
Posted By: rushfan4
Date Posted: December 10 2013 at 09:29
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Brief Nocturnes and Dreamless Sleep is interesting as it is the most recent release from a band called Spock's Beard. This is their first album with new singer, Ted Leonard, formerly (and I suppose currently) of prog metal band Enchant. I enjoy this album well enough, but it doesn't really feel like a Spock's Beard album to me. I am a huge fan of the Neal Morse years of the band, who are one of my gateway bands to the modern prog scene, by way of Dream Theater, Mike Portnoy, and Transatlantic. Although disappointed that Neal left the band, the Nick D'Virgilio's switchover from the drumseat to the microphone worked well for me too, and I enjoyed the albums with him fronting the band. I suppose that it may just take additional listens for this new album to grow on me, but for now it is lacking something. I don't dislike it by no means, but it just seems to be lacking in Spockiness. -------------
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Posted By: rushfan4
Date Posted: December 10 2013 at 09:45
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Queensryche had a revolution calling or maybe it was a civil war, but at any rate on the other side emerged two Queensryches. For the most part, I am one of the few around these parts that has enjoyed all of their albums. The period through Hear In The Now Frontier obviously being their best period, but I also enjoyed their latter period albums as well. Now we have two albums, with the first being the now well-documented rushed Geoff Tate led F.U. to the other band members and the second being the other band members with a new singer who sounds quite a lot like Geoff Tate. I have read a number of reviews and comments regarding these releases and the general comments have been negative regarding Geoff Tate's release and pretty positive about the other guys' release. For me, it is kind of a toss up. Neither album really jumps out at me as an Operation Mindcrime/Empire type masterpiece. End result for me is that we have two decent releases with the Queensryche name on them but neither of them have a strong wow factor. -------------
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Posted By: rushfan4
Date Posted: December 10 2013 at 13:22
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Don't look now but I am listening to Top of the Charts music. The return of the Prince of Darkness and the Sabs sans Bill Ward rocked the charts upon its release earlier this year, and was well deserved as this is some excellent doom and gloom from the guys that started it all. Black Sabbath 13 is a nice return to form providing all of the stuff that made early Sabbath the legends that they are. If this is to be their last release it is one that they can be proud of. -------------
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Posted By: rushfan4
Date Posted: December 11 2013 at 08:56
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I know that it is a PA cliche to list Steven Wilson projects at the top of annual lists and for this year there is a good chance that I might follow this lead. I really enjoy Porcupine Tree, but have to admit that I was not that big on Steven Wilson solo projects...until now. The Raven is an album that wowed me upon first listen and it has just grown better with repeated listens. The pacing, sound and production are all excellent on this album. One of the highlights of this album that seems to stand out for me though is Theo Travis' flute and saxophone playing, which seem to add that extra oomph to put this album at or near the top of my albums of the year list for 2013.
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Posted By: rushfan4
Date Posted: December 11 2013 at 17:47
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I hit pause on my iPod for about 15 minutes and then hit play. After a few minutes of listening I had to ask myself which Genesis album was this again. Oh yeah, it is Sound of Contact and the singer is Phil Collins' son. He has a pretty similar voice to his more famous father. Their debut album Dimensionaut was quite the conversationalist piece earlier in the year upon its release. The band was actually going to perform at a bar in my general neck of the woods, but the show ended up being cancelled due to Visa issues. Too bad Harry Reid wasn't a fan, he could of got the Visas for them. Anyhow, this is a great debut album for those of us that are fans of "comfort" prog. Probably not as appealing for those that are looking for wild and weird adventures. Pale Blue Dot is kind of the "hit" song from this release and tells a story about earth from space. The highlight for prog fans is the 19+ minute closing track Möbius Slip. -------------
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Posted By: rushfan4
Date Posted: December 18 2013 at 09:38
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News from earlier this year that Andy Tillison had disbanded The Tangent came as quite sad news. News that the now re-formed more economically sound version of the band was releasing the album Le Sacre Du Travail was much better news. This album is/was musically formed around Stravinsky's Rites of Spring and tells the story of a day in the life of a working stiff aka today's Tom Sawyer. Multiple references to Rush automatically adds a star to this album for me. I have been a big fan of The Tangent's albums from the beginning. I find this one to be not quite as good as their earlier albums but still quite enjoyable..and I find that it is still growing on me, which is generally a good sign.
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Posted By: rushfan4
Date Posted: December 19 2013 at 12:13
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If your the type of person who likes their music the way they like their coffee, with lots of sludge, than Earthless is the band for you. Their latest album titled From The Ages clocks in at 66 minutes, with the title track clocking in at over half an hour and nary a word is spoken. This is old school psychedelic in an Ash Ra Tempel meets Black Sabbath kind of way. Strictly a guitar bass drum trio they play the type of face melting heavy rock that is sure to appeal to those prog fans who don't mind getting their ears a bit dirty while they listen. -------------
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Posted By: rushfan4
Date Posted: January 08 2014 at 13:05
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The last couple of days I have been listening to albums on the Prog Archives 2013 playlist on Spotify created by Andy Webb and I have been finding some wonderful albums. Not A Good Sign's self-titled debut; Airbag's The Greatest Show On Earth; Amplifier's Echo Street; some RPI with Ingranaggi Della Valle's In Hoc Signo; and Sky Architect's A Billion Years of Solitude. I am currently listening to Argentina's Jinetes Negros album Tawa Sarira. They are listed here as Prog Metal, but this album is not really metal and is highly eclectic. So far it is an excellent listen that is trying really hard to muscle its way into my top 10 for the year. I have enjoyed so many albums this year. It really is going to be difficult to narrow them down to a top 10 for the year. -------------
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Posted By: rushfan4
Date Posted: January 15 2014 at 10:37
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The new release from Manning "The Root, The Leaf & The Bone" is really good. With his voice and the use of flute it can inevitably compared to Jethro Tull. However, they also include fiddles, saxophone, mandolin, banjo, trumpet, violin, a diddlybow, and on track 3, Autumn Song, Chloe Herrington from Knifeworld adds some bassoon. It is quite accessible and yet also quite eclectic. -------------
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Posted By: rushfan4
Date Posted: February 01 2014 at 08:24
For anyone who may happen to wonder, here is my top 10 list as submitted for the Collaborator list:
Only numbers 1 and 9 made the http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=96999&PID=4935141#4935141" rel="nofollow - Collab list but a number on the Collab list made my next 10. Overall I found 2013 to be an excellent year for music. I listened to nearly 100 new prog releases for 2013 and aside from the ones that were overtaken by the Satanic Cookie Monster I really enjoyed most of them and even then those releases had many redeeming qualities. Here's to 2014 and hopefully another year of great music releases. -------------
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Posted By: rushfan4
Date Posted: September 03 2014 at 08:56
I hope that this message at least introduces one person to some previously unheard of before gem. -------------
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Posted By: rushfan4
Date Posted: December 05 2014 at 16:43
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The updated listing of recommendations: Astra - The Weirding http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=59071&PN=1" rel="nofollow - http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=59071&PN=1
The Wishing Tree - Ostara http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=59948&PID=3326358#3326358" rel="nofollow - http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=59948&PID=3326358#3326358
Eureka - Shackleton's Voyage http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=60977&PID=3370008#3370008" rel="nofollow - http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=60977&PID=3370008#3370008
Lobster Newberg - Actress http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=61661&PID=3400467#3400467" rel="nofollow - http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=61661&PID=3400467#3400467
Knifeworld - Buried Alone: Tales of Crushing Defeat http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=62529&PID=3433550#3433550" rel="nofollow - http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=62529&PID=3433550#3433550
Brother Ape - Tubulence http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=63402&PID=3471283#3471283" rel="nofollow - http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=63402&PID=3471283#3471283
Black Bonzo - The Guillotine Drama http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=64197&PID=3507408#3507408" rel="nofollow - http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=64197&PID=3507408#3507408
Shadow Circus - Whispers and Screams http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=64762&PID=3537210#3537210" rel="nofollow - http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=64762&PID=3537210#3537210
Roswell Six - Terra Incognita: Beyond The Horizon http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=65438&PID=3568221#3568221" rel="nofollow - http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=65438&PID=3568221#3568221
From.UZ - Seventh Story http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=66257" rel="nofollow - http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=66257 Monarch Trail - Skye http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=99553&PID=5043594#5043594" rel="nofollow - http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=99553&PID=5043594#5043594 Algabas - Angels and Demons http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=100124&PID=5068682" rel="nofollow - http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=100124&PID=5068682 Seven Impale - City of the Sun http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=100527&PID=5088921�" rel="nofollow - http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=100527&PID=5088921� -------------
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Posted By: lazland
Date Posted: December 06 2014 at 15:38
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I think my next purchase may well be Skye. I have been tempted after reading positive reviews. As ever, Scott, your recommendation rather confirms it. ------------- Enhance your life. Get down to www.lazland.org Now also broadcasting on www.progzilla.com Every Saturday, 4.00 p.m. UK time! |
Posted By: rushfan4
Date Posted: March 09 2016 at 05:10
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What I listened to from 2015  -------------
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