Ozric Tentacles
Printed From: Progarchives.com
Category: Progressive Music Lounges
Forum Name: Prog Bands, Artists and Genres Appreciation
Forum Description: Discuss specific prog bands and their members or a specific sub-genre
URL: http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=112135
Printed Date: November 30 2024 at 20:45
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Topic: Ozric Tentacles
Posted By: AFlowerKingCrimson
Subject: Ozric Tentacles
Date Posted: October 19 2017 at 20:14
| I'm wondering if anyone else out there likes this band or follows them. At one point in the 90's they were probably one of the most visible prog bands( I even remember seeing a guy wearing an OT shirt when I saw King Crimson in 1995) but in the past several years they seem to have gone largely unnoticed which is a shame. Maybe this thread can help rectify that. I myself admit to having lost track of their releases since the 90's and don't currently have anything by them but I have seen them live twice(both times in this decade)and they are very good live. Apparently some of their late 90's and early 2000 albums are some of their best. To this day, though, I consider Jurassic Shift to be one of my personal favorite prog albums of all time and I think it's pretty essential for any self respecting prog fan to have(especially those who like psych/space sounding stuff). So, any other fans or opinions on these guys? |
Replies:
Posted By: Larkstongue41
Date Posted: October 19 2017 at 20:56
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Great band. It's hard to believe that so many '90s prog bands of questionable quality are getting a lot of attention while these guys are mostly ignored. That being said, I should own more albums by them. I own all the albums from Pungent Effulgent to Waterfall Cities and get a kick out of all of them but their discography is intimidating. My favourite is Erpland. ------------- "Larks' tongues. Wrens' livers. Chaffinch brains. Jaguars' earlobes. Wolf nipple chips. Get 'em while they're hot. They're lovely. Dromedary pretzels, only half a denar." |
Posted By: AFlowerKingCrimson
Date Posted: October 19 2017 at 21:25
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I'm not sure what bands you are referring to specifically but at least some of them do deserve more attention. A band such as Discipline for example or even Echolyn does deserve more recognition but then again so do these guys these days. Changing tastes could have something to do with it or also just the way certain bands are promoted. I know Ozrics have a big jam band following so maybe people assume they are more like Phish or some other jam band than prog. Not sure. Like I said I sort of fell off the bandwagon with OT but the earlier stuff such as Jurassic Shift, Arborescence, Strangeitude and Erpland are really great instrumental prog to my ears. Sure there is a jam quality but you could probably say that about a lot of psych influenced stuff. |
Posted By: Tom Ozric
Date Posted: October 19 2017 at 21:48
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My user name (still ?) says it all......... I have a really hard time enjoying their post-2000 releases. Sure, they nail it on stage, but in the studio they sound too programmed these days. There’s some great material here and there, but what happened to the bass guitar ?? All programmed, synthetic bass lines. This factor is very disappointing to me, plus the composition is lack-lustre compared with the Roly/Zia years. Brandi is great bassist, no doubt, but I don’t think she ever touches a bass guitar in the studio. And if she does, the production renders it so fake that it’s pointless. I don’t hate them, on the contrary, I’ll buy anything they release, but I wish they’d go back to a more ‘organic’ formula in the studio. I probably don’t know what I’m raving on about, but that’s my story and I’m sticking to it 
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Posted By: chopper
Date Posted: October 20 2017 at 08:52
| I've only heard a few of their albums so I'm not an expert and I know some people are not massive fans of it, but I bought "Technicians of the Sacred" on a whim a while ago and I really like it. |
Posted By: Meltdowner
Date Posted: October 20 2017 at 09:05
I saw them last year, a really short two and a half hours concert   |
Posted By: Barbu
Date Posted: October 20 2017 at 09:20
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Awesome live band indeed (insane Wynne). I think Technicians is a great album but still I agree with most of what Tom is saying. I prefer the more organic sound but any Ozric is a good listen for me. Curious Corn and Arborescence have always been favorites of mine. ------------- |
Posted By: moshkito
Date Posted: October 20 2017 at 17:48
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Hi, I like the band, still, despite it being the Wynne Family Band, and it does not have the depth and beauty that the original did. for some reason, and I do not think I am the only one, I miss John adding the touches to the music, that have been missing since, and even as far as the Seaweed fun stuff, that was fairly interesting, though by that time, the stuff was already becoming the keep daddy up with the bass, and keyboards, and the quality of the music kinda lost its spark a bit, though, of course, there are, still, quite a few moments in the family material that are really nice, but the inventiveness and fun stuff that was there in the early days is not there anymore. Still a very nice band, but it feels lilke we have to wait for mom to learn the bass more, and the son to learn the keyboards even more, before the band can do something stronger and more valuable than the early materials they had. Still, an enjoyable band, although the new material is more about the "song", than the earlier material that tended to extend the trip of the piece a bit more, and as such, I kinda think that they have lost the progressive edge since. Nice listens though, but I stopped at arounc Curious Corn, although I have all the CD's. I do not, however, expect any more explosive material that will just flare up your imagination like ... yeah ... !!! PS: They are good live, but twice they have been hurt in Portland with really band sound mixes during the show and various instruments going out ... and as is the case in Portland, just about no keyboards ... you couldn't hear much of them at all, most of the time. I really thought the band was more than just a guitar ... but ... but ...
------------- 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: verslibre
Date Posted: October 21 2017 at 13:13
Quite a few fans on this forum! I've listened to the Ozrics for over 25 years now. The first album I bought when it was new was Jurassic Shift. That one and Strangeitude really hit the spot. There was nothing else like those on the shelves at the time. Favorite albums: Pungent Effulgent Erpland Strangeitude Live Underslunky Jurassic Shift Arborescence The Hidden Step Spirals in Hyperspace The Floor's Too Far Away The YumYum Tree Paper Monkeys
------------- https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_ipg=50&_sop=1&_rdc=1&_ssn=musicosm" rel="nofollow - eBay |
AFlowerKingCrimson wrote:Posted By: Lewian
Date Posted: October 21 2017 at 15:22
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I have Erpland and Jurassic Shift and know Pungent Effulgent in full. I like these a lot but have sampled a number of tracks from several albums over the time and always thought that it just sounds like more of the same without really sucking me in. I may not have looked in the right place (and also I never saw them live and should) but to me it always seemed that had they done one or two albums only, they'd be a super awesome promising band but with the monster discography they now have it seems they didn't add that much to their style over the years. Obviously feel free to recommend stuff that is great but sufficiently different from said three albums. |
Posted By: Sagichim
Date Posted: October 22 2017 at 02:18
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I've been a long time fan of the Ozrics and currently have most of their albums, I'm not sure how many bands I know that still deliver quality albums after 30 years in action. I'm sure most of their fans consider the early 90's to be their strongest and I do too, but you definitely shouldn't avoid post 2000 albums, especially Technicians Of The Sacred which after a short period of time made me understand that it is their best album to date!! I don't think I ever heard the Ozrics to be as focused as in this album, the songwriting is simply stellar, do not miss it. After that I would recommend The Floor's Too Far Away which I think fell under the radar of a lot of fans, excellent album! Also worthy of mention are The Hidden Step and of course Waterfall Cities.
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Posted By: verslibre
Date Posted: October 22 2017 at 11:19
Give Strangeitude and Jurassic Shift a thorough listen. They do sound like companion albums, but the compositions, the playing is so brilliant, it doesn't matter. It's like Rush with Grace Under Pressure and Power Windows, or King Crimson with Discipline and Beat. You get one, you want the other. Technicians has gotten a lot of love, but also check out 2011's Paper Monkeys. I like that one a lot. ------------- https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_ipg=50&_sop=1&_rdc=1&_ssn=musicosm" rel="nofollow - eBay |
Posted By: verslibre
Date Posted: October 22 2017 at 11:20
THS is superb. ------------- https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_ipg=50&_sop=1&_rdc=1&_ssn=musicosm" rel="nofollow - eBay |
Posted By: Nogbad_The_Bad
Date Posted: October 22 2017 at 12:25
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Think I have 5 of their albums inclding most of those recommended, its good stuff but I doubt I'll buy any more, there is a sameyness to their style. ------------- Ian Host of the Post-Avant Jazzcore Happy Hour on Progrock.com https://podcasts.progrock.com/post-avant-jazzcore-happy-hour/ |
Posted By: Cosmiclawnmower
Date Posted: November 18 2017 at 15:07
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Living in the West country (of the UK) I saw the Ozrics a lot in the late 80's/ early 90's (just generally around Frome/Shepton Mallet and Glastonbury) at Stonehenge and other free festivals and lots of small gigs in the West. After the success (well in the UK indie charts..) of Strangeitude, Jurrasic shift and Arborescence they just seemed tired out and lacking in the energy of their earlier lps. I sort of lost touch and then saw them about 15 years ago and they seemed somewhat re-energised. This summer at Kozfest, Ed Wynne rejoined former members of OT's in the Ullulators, eat static and the Oroonies to do a 'near original OT line up gig' Cracking stuff!! One of my favourite lps is 'Spice Doubt- streaming a gig in the ether' from around 1996, a 'live in the studio' lp which just shows what they were capable of live! ------------- |
Posted By: TheH
Date Posted: November 18 2017 at 15:14
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I would go for the first 4 studio albums. Spice Doubt is an more than brilliant live album, it sounds better than most of their studio albums and they really explode the songs. (It was a stream from the studio live with no audience)
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Posted By: moshkito
Date Posted: November 19 2017 at 08:15
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Hi, I'm not a great fan of their current line up and work. I think that Ed had to simplify things to allow some time for his wife and son to catch up musically, in order to be able to get better and give the band a much needed infusion since John left ... when the band begun losing its character and its musicianship kinda fell into the song mentality, instead of the "experience" thing that they were a part of. I'm not usually a sentimental person, or one that lives in the past, but I kinda miss the freshness and quality of the early material, which is missing in the current version, and I'm not sure Ed knows how to solve it, and probably can't until someone joins them that can shake up the core of things ... but it might hurt the "family unit" thing. ------------- 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: Jzrk
Date Posted: November 19 2017 at 21:11
| I am newer to discovering them and have listened to many of their albums and prefer the 90’s out out too. It for the most part enjoy most of what they do.When I am in the mood for them it’s some of my favorites post 70’s prog |
Posted By: starless2112
Date Posted: November 29 2017 at 19:46
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Love Love Love Ozrics! Listening to them right now. Erpland, Tantric Obstacles, and Curious Corn are favorites. Favorite Songs: Dissolution Og Ha Be Oddhamshaw Fast Dots Thyroid Oolite Grove Domes of G Bal Oddhamshaw Style Dots Thots Trees of Eternity Tidal Otherness
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Posted By: dr wu23
Date Posted: November 30 2017 at 12:12
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Hmm...been a while since I played them.....I have 4 or 5 studio and one live one....Spice Doubt I think. I suppose Strangeitude and Jurassic Shift are my favorites but then that was around the time I discovered them.... ------------- One does nothing yet nothing is left undone. Haquin |
Posted By: Jeffro
Date Posted: December 01 2017 at 05:47
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I was listening to some of Strangeitude last night and I really liked it. Definitely going to check out more from this band
------------- We all dwell in an amber subdomain, amber subdomain, amber subdomain. My face IS a maserati |
Posted By: Guldbamsen
Date Posted: December 01 2017 at 06:59
If you like Strangeitude I highly recommend you check out Erpland, Jurassic Shift, Arborescence and Waterfall Cities  ------------- “The Guide says there is an art to flying or rather a knack. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss.” - Douglas Adams |
Posted By: Jeffro
Date Posted: December 01 2017 at 08:23
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Will do, and thanks! Probably take me a while though. I didn't realize they've been around as long as they have ------------- We all dwell in an amber subdomain, amber subdomain, amber subdomain. My face IS a maserati |
Posted By: Guldbamsen
Date Posted: December 01 2017 at 11:36
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Heh don't worry. The running joke regarding The Ozrics is that once you've heard one of their albums you've pretty much heard them all. That is not entirely true but there is a sameyness across the board methinks. Kinda like The Rolling Stones have made new versions of the same album - just as IQ have since Ever. New instruments and new pedals obviously sprinkle given albums with a certain flavour, but the stock and main ingredients tend to stay the same. ------------- “The Guide says there is an art to flying or rather a knack. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss.” - Douglas Adams |
Posted By: verslibre
Date Posted: December 01 2017 at 15:02
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In lieu of samey, can we say consistent? ;) ------------- https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_ipg=50&_sop=1&_rdc=1&_ssn=musicosm" rel="nofollow - eBay |
Posted By: scruffydragon
Date Posted: December 31 2017 at 08:01
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I must replace my copy of Waterfall Cities. Somehow it looks as if someone has gone at it with a brillo pad. I think my computer ate it and spat it back out at me before I could rescue it. Since got an external disc drive that loves great music.Cover reminds me of Dinotopia. I have been meaning to get the box set Vitamin Enhanced containing their early albums.
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Posted By: noni
Date Posted: December 31 2017 at 08:10
Not Viagra by any chance?
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Posted By: scruffydragon
Date Posted: December 31 2017 at 08:19
Not too sure, but the groove should certainly get me going.
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Posted By: Tom Ozric
Date Posted: December 31 2017 at 09:18
| OT were amazing from the mid-80’s until 2000 (Hidden Step). They seem to be on auto-pilot since. |
Posted By: verslibre
Date Posted: January 02 2018 at 13:24
You didn't like The Yum Yum Tree or Paper Monkeys? ------------- https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_ipg=50&_sop=1&_rdc=1&_ssn=musicosm" rel="nofollow - eBay |
Posted By: moshkito
Date Posted: January 03 2018 at 09:13
I think that a lot of this "auto-pilot" has to do with Brandy and Silas having to learn music quickly and to play even quicker and better. Brandy is still too much in the background, and not strong enough to be out front, and the bass mix in most of these last albums, is quite far "below" the rest, and it is as if she is not confident enough, YET, to take this further up. IF, and WHEN, both of these come up some, and stand up, it might make the band better and stronger, but right now, it is still ... the Wynne Family Band, and calling it "Ozric Tentacles" is a sad thing compared to what they used to do ... now it's all just a riff oriented thing, which helps Brandy and Silas quite a bit. I don't dislike it, but the touch they had is long gone ... and hoping they can pick it up again, is ... probably not likely, when you can hear Shpongle do some Ozric stuff ... right out of those days ... and do it much better, sometimes. ------------- 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: Mirror Image
Date Posted: June 03 2018 at 17:12
I absolutely adore the Ozrics! Someone mentioned earlier that their discography is intimidating. That’s only true if you intend on buying them all.  A few of my favorites from them: Jurassic Shift, Erpland, Arborescence, and Waterfall Cities. Truth be told, all of their albums have something enjoyable on them.------------- “Music is enough for a lifetime but a lifetime is not enough for music.” - Sergei Rachmaninov |
Posted By: Kingsnake
Date Posted: June 03 2018 at 23:20
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Funny that someone mentioned Shpongle. True tgat Shpongle sound more fun and playful than Ozrics these days. Other elecrronic bands that fall in that category are Ott and Entheogenic. Especially Entheogenic is sounding more and more organic wich each new album. |
Posted By: geekfreak
Date Posted: July 24 2022 at 04:29
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Ozric Tentacles Yum-Yum Tree playing now ------------- Friedrich Nietzsche: "Without music, life would be a mistake." Music Is Live Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. Keep Calm And Listen To The Music… < |
Posted By: BrufordFreak
Date Posted: July 24 2022 at 07:28
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I agree with David and E RE the "sameness" of the Ozrics' albums and sound--and that one could extoll their extraordinary "consistency." No album seems void or deficient. I find that all of their albums are quite enjoyable to listen to, I just don't find myself remembering particular songs (other than "Jurassic Shift") and I certainly don't find myself feeling compelled to return to any one album or another. This being said, I really found 2015's Technicians of the Sacred to be a most excellent album--having over half of the songs earning 9s or 10s in my estimation. ------------- Drew Fisher https://progisaliveandwell.blogspot.com/ |
Posted By: wiz_d_kidd
Date Posted: July 24 2022 at 07:39
I agree. Their last few albums sound too cookie-cutter for me. Same old Wynne guitar lines and synth bubbles. It's all to predictable. They're just phoning it in now. That said, I still like to go back to their previous works for an enjoyable listen. Wob Glass, Neurochasm, Throbbe, Splat!, Tight Spin, and Psychic Chasm are amongst my favorite tracks.
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