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Dellinger 
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 Posted: May 30 2014 at 20:59 |
 richardh wrote:
that ELPowell album has a lot of devotees. I've always had mixed feelings about it. It never had that 'Wow factor' that classic ELP had. It is a massive pompous thing that seems to be what people think ELP was. I always saw them as a creative band that made some of the most original keyboard based music ever. BSS was their peak. Possibly they should have ended it there and then to retain their standing. Easier said than done and hindsight is a great thing.  |
There are many songs I really like from ELP, but there is no ablum I really like. They always managed to put some rather annoying songs, whether trying to make lighter just for fun songs, or even some of their more proggy songs.
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Dellinger
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Posted: May 30 2014 at 21:01 |
Metalmarsh89 wrote:
M27Barney wrote:
KE9 first Impression parts one/two is amongst the best prog music ever produced, unfortunately the rest of the album is so much inferior it's criminal.....Imagine they had managed to get near that quality all the way through...BSS would be in the top 5 releases for sure!!! |
I'd say that Toccata is right up there with those two parts, as well as the second impression of KE9. Those are two of my favorite ELP songs. |
For me the best thing on BSS is Toccata. I just haven't been able to be much of a fan of KE9, on any of it's parts. But for somewone who actually likes that piece, I would imagine that all 3 impressions should be equally impressive.
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richardh
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Posted: May 31 2014 at 02:55 |
Dellinger wrote:
Metalmarsh89 wrote:
M27Barney wrote:
KE9 first Impression parts one/two is amongst the best prog music ever produced, unfortunately the rest of the album is so much inferior it's criminal.....Imagine they had managed to get near that quality all the way through...BSS would be in the top 5 releases for sure!!! |
I'd say that Toccata is right up there with those two parts, as well as the second impression of KE9. Those are two of my favorite ELP songs. |
For me the best thing on BSS is Toccata. I just haven't been able to be much of a fan of KE9, on any of it's parts. But for somewone who actually likes that piece, I would imagine that all 3 impressions should be equally impressive. |
Toccata is probably my favourite prog track. KE9 is uneven but i see it more as a work of bravura from a band that could reach some incredible levels of performance. Trying to analyse it is very difficult for me. Parts of it are genius though. The first 5 minutes of 3rd Impression wipes out everything else on the album pretty much. ELP were never more perfect than in that 5 minutes of music imho.
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M27Barney
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Posted: May 31 2014 at 10:53 |
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I've never ben impressed with Toccata....I would admit that 3rd impression does have some of the better bits after the fairly awful 2nd impression but Impression one is magnitude 7 on the Richter (of prog excellence) whilst the rest is 1 or less......
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richardh
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Posted: June 02 2014 at 09:42 |
M27Barney wrote:
I've never ben impressed with Toccata....I would admit that 3rd impression does have some of the better bits after the fairly awful 2nd impression but Impression one is magnitude 7 on the Richter (of prog excellence) whilst the rest is 1 or less...... |
1st Impression seems to go round in a circle a bit which is why I prefer 3rd impression overall.That is a pure piece of symphonic prog. My only genuine criticism is that seems to be too short. The last section needed a bit more thought.
2nd Impression has its fans. Its totally different to anything else on the album. Most of the album is electronic based so to fit in an acoustic piece was tricky. I think it works best as an 'interlude' and also perhaps as a build-up to 3rd Impression. Some of it was actually written about 3 years earlier so maybe there is some suspicion that it was using whatever was lying around at the time. I still think its interesting. Most of BSS is unique , even the dodgier moments,and that is a big positive in my view.
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M27Barney
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Posted: June 02 2014 at 12:52 |
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I just love the Hammond organ work and the whole track (especially Part 1) is the best thing that ELP did by a very wide margin (well I reckon that Pictures, comes a close 2nd I suppose!) (And Tarkus a little bit after that, mind you I prefer Rudess' version of that better!!!)
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M27Barney
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Posted: June 02 2014 at 12:55 |
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Benny the Bouncer??? a Chas & Dave track and is completely out of place like a Monk at a Swinger's Party !!!
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richardh
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Posted: June 03 2014 at 01:16 |
M27Barney wrote:
Benny the Bouncer??? a Chas & Dave track and is completely out of place like a Monk at a Swinger's Party !!! |
Its an old chestnut this but yes you are correct. For whatever reason ELP didn't want to to be seen as deadly serious all the time so they inserted this track presumably to counter the 29 minutes of Karn Evil 9. Keith Emerson liked to hammer out the odd tune on a detuned piano. Its poor and if there was such a thing as 'Directors Cut' it would be edited and replaced with When The Apple Blossom Blooms... which was a truly inventive little jazz rock peice that was recorded at the same sessions. Only made onto the b-side of Jerusalem at the time. Obviously was a commercial decision top help sell the single(failed miserably btw)
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igySK
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Posted: June 03 2014 at 04:38 |
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I really like their last 4 albums, but I was really disappointdd when I saw them perform last week in Bratislava. The new singer is nowhere as good as Jon Anderson or the Canadian singer who sings at Fly From Here. I think the overall performance was poor and I didn't like the setlist at all.
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M27Barney
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Posted: June 03 2014 at 13:04 |
richardh wrote:
M27Barney wrote:
Benny the Bouncer??? a Chas & Dave track and is completely out of place like a Monk at a Swinger's Party !!! |
Its an old chestnut this but yes you are correct. For whatever reason ELP didn't want to to be seen as deadly serious all the time so they inserted this track presumably to counter the 29 minutes of Karn Evil 9. Keith Emerson liked to hammer out the odd tune on a detuned piano. Its poor and if there was such a thing as 'Directors Cut' it would be edited and replaced with When The Apple Blossom Blooms... which was a truly inventive little jazz rock peice that was recorded at the same sessions. Only made onto the b-side of Jerusalem at the time. Obviously was a commercial decision top help sell the single(failed miserably btw) |
H'm But Genesis, with the equally quirky English - contemporary folkish/Comedic stories of Harold the Barrel and Get' em out by Friday - didn't detract from those Fine Releases and you can include The battle of Epping Forest in that group too....THAT WAS THE WAY TO DO IT!!!
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richardh
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Posted: June 03 2014 at 14:45 |
M27Barney wrote:
richardh wrote:
M27Barney wrote:
Benny the Bouncer??? a Chas & Dave track and is completely out of place like a Monk at a Swinger's Party !!! |
Its an old chestnut this but yes you are correct. For whatever reason ELP didn't want to to be seen as deadly serious all the time so they inserted this track presumably to counter the 29 minutes of Karn Evil 9. Keith Emerson liked to hammer out the odd tune on a detuned piano. Its poor and if there was such a thing as 'Directors Cut' it would be edited and replaced with When The Apple Blossom Blooms... which was a truly inventive little jazz rock peice that was recorded at the same sessions. Only made onto the b-side of Jerusalem at the time. Obviously was a commercial decision top help sell the single(failed miserably btw) |
H'm But Genesis, with the equally quirky English - contemporary folkish/Comedic stories of Harold the Barrel and Get' em out by Friday - didn't detract from those Fine Releases and you can include The battle of Epping Forest in that group too....THAT WAS THE WAY TO DO IT!!! |
At least two of those Genesis tracks are prog tracks though
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M27Barney
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Posted: June 03 2014 at 14:57 |
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Aye, I was sort of concentrating on the lyrical content as all four tracks are basically English 70's comedic / social commentary....
I Love GEOBF and TBOEF and also love the lyrics of HTB.....not too keen on BTB though.....the lyrics are mildly amusing....
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Dellinger
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Posted: June 03 2014 at 21:07 |
richardh wrote:
M27Barney wrote:
richardh wrote:
M27Barney wrote:
Benny the Bouncer??? a Chas & Dave track and is completely out of place like a Monk at a Swinger's Party !!! |
Its an old chestnut this but yes you are correct. For whatever reason ELP didn't want to to be seen as deadly serious all the time so they inserted this track presumably to counter the 29 minutes of Karn Evil 9. Keith Emerson liked to hammer out the odd tune on a detuned piano. Its poor and if there was such a thing as 'Directors Cut' it would be edited and replaced with When The Apple Blossom Blooms... which was a truly inventive little jazz rock peice that was recorded at the same sessions. Only made onto the b-side of Jerusalem at the time. Obviously was a commercial decision top help sell the single(failed miserably btw) |
H'm But Genesis, with the equally quirky English - contemporary folkish/Comedic stories of Harold the Barrel and Get' em out by Friday - didn't detract from those Fine Releases and you can include The battle of Epping Forest in that group too....THAT WAS THE WAY TO DO IT!!! |
At least two of those Genesis tracks are prog tracks though |
Actually all the songs on this posts (Benny the Bouncer, Harold the Barrell, Take them Out by Friday, Battle of Epping Forest) are the reasons why I can't consider any of those albums from Genesis and ELP as masterpieces. I really hate them and make me want to skip them and destroy the flow of the albums.
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King Crimson776
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Posted: June 04 2014 at 05:53 |
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Get 'Em Out By Friday is a great track. The clunker on the album for me is actually Watcher of the Skies.
Yes is a great band, but they don't make my top 20.
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Tom Ozric
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Posted: June 04 2014 at 06:25 |
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I'm certain that out of the countless bands I listen to that Yes will always hold a place in my 'top 20'. Regardless of how many superb one-shot bands have existed, how many obscure sub-genre albums have appeared, Yes will always be a high-point of my Prog life.
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hobocamp
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Posted: June 04 2014 at 07:17 |
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They don't like you, either.
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Dellinger
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Posted: June 04 2014 at 21:04 |
King Crimson776 wrote:
Get 'Em Out By Friday is a great track. The clunker on the album for me is actually Watcher of the Skies.Yes is a great band, but they don't make my top 20.
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Yeah, actually I'm not much of a fan of Watcher of the Skies. There's something kind of cold and mechanic about it that just doesn't do it for me. However, strangely enough, when I heard Hackett's version from Tokyo Tapes I really liked it a lot. It's basically the same song, but I guess the warmth of Wetton's voice instead of Gabriel's, plus some less mechanic drums, were all the song needed for me... plus, perhaps the keyboard intro is even more dramatic on this version.
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richardh
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Posted: June 05 2014 at 00:49 |
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Have you heard the single version of Watcher Of The Skies? I think I prefer it to the album version.
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M27Barney
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Posted: June 05 2014 at 12:37 |
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The Mellotron / organ intro - didn't Genesis open with this in the Foxtrot tour and afterwards too?
Everyone is entitled to their opinion but surely not many fans of symphonic prog would think that Watcher....was a clunker???
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richardh
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Posted: June 05 2014 at 15:28 |
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It makes a perfect opener for the album and the tour. Genesis obviously had a strong sense of what worked in a live setting and Foxtrot was an album that supported that. It works well a bit shorter though and has a killer hook. Its pretty unique.
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I don't like Yes.
