Neo Prog do I like it?

I think I have seen the great ones come along by now. So I think Cacho has a pretty good idea what he can go after. I can only add Skeem (bit rare but awesome neo) and Jadis to the list. But as you like the more mellow neo Cyan, Primitiv Instinct and Like Wendy could be an idea or (Belgian) Now. Unfortunately they are a bit hard to obtain.

I used to like a lot of neo prog, the big names of the eighties: Marillion, IQ, Pendragon, Pallas, Twelfth Night... Later on Casino and Shadowland.

Some albums to try before you determine neo is not for you are:

jplanet wrote: E-Dub wrote: About as subtle as Rosie O'Donnell in a roomful of Twinkies, John.  E You just made me spit coffee out of my nose laughing!

John, I hope I didn't inflict any harm that could delay a follow-up to the Freakroom.

I also recommend it highly. I thought it was symphonic. I've been known to be wrong a time or two, though.

E

E-Dub wrote: About as subtle as Rosie O'Donnell in a roomful of Twinkies, John.  E

You just made me spit coffee out of my nose laughing!

Well its my own personal belief that there is no such thing as Neo Prog though many of the bands I like are listed there.  For example take the case of Little Atlas and Izz.  If you can tell me why one is listed as Neo and the other as Symphonic I'd count myself as enlightened.  Or for that matter why Spock's Beard is symphonic and IQ (and Magenta for crying out loud) are Neo? 

I simply recommended music which I thought fit Cacho's own description of music he personally liked and I  very carefully prefaced by stating say "Neo or Not".  I made no pretense of including any band (Cryptic Vision is under Heavy Prog and Moon Safari is under Symphonic) in any other sub-genre.  Its "all for one and one for all" to me.  As a matter of fact, just to muddy the water further I should add Beardfish, Shadow Circus and Phideaux to the list of recommendations.  I think Cacho would like them both.

I had no intention of hijacking this thread into a sub-genre argument (they never end well) so any further discussion of my views on this subject should be addressed in a PM.


Edited by Trademark - February 21 2008 at 15:46

About as subtle as Rosie O'Donnell in a roomful of Twinkies, John. 

E


Edited by E-Dub - February 21 2008 at 14:10

Moongarden have recently started to incorporate post-rock into their music... apparently there'll be a track on the upcoming album which is basically shoegaze. =) but there is clearly an experimentation deficit in the base neo sound.

OK, here's a genre where I have major difficulty.  I've heard several "classic" Marillion albums and Spock's Beard, & I think some Magenta too.  So far, I can't get into any of it.  To me, it seems real formulaic, and also, so polished and precise that it seems sterile.  As if they use the same checklist for each song.  Perhapse there's almost no balance or room for minimalism.  Lack of warmth maybe? or lack of dry human elements?  No attempt to incorporate contemporary styes perhapse?  No jazz or psychadellic elements?  No roughness around the edges?

I've never listened to a neo-prog album in its entirety, but from many of the samples I've heard the vocals are very dramatic, sometimes bordering on overblown. Now, I like this, but it's not everybody's cup of tea. Just as a word of warning.