Prog albums that didn't age well

Probably what sounds trite or what reminds one of a sound from a particular era when some musical quality became overused tends to get described as not aging well. 

Here's a silly thought, what kind of fuzz is growing on your prog albums that didn't age well? 

JD wrote: I'm sorry but you've got it all wrong. Music doesn't age. It's not bottled up and changes over time. It is what it is. It's the listener that ages. By your logic classical music is "dated" as would be jazz etc. If your "tastes" have changed then so be it. sell what you don't like and move on to what strikes your interest now. For my part when I was first getting into prog (early 70's) I had no interest in "rock" music. I mean I listened to the Beatles and enjoyed them, but while my friends at school were listening to Kiss and Iggy Pop and such I had no interest in that kind of music whatsoever. However, after a few decades I decided to go back to see what all the fuss was about and lo and behold I discovered lots of music that I actually enjoy (now). But at the time not at all. So maybe my tastes are suffering from the Benimin Button syndrom and are aging backwards?

You have a perfectly valid point there. It's all in the eye of the beholder. Let me give you one example. When I grew up (late sixties, early seventies), few TV programs or TV Game Shows featured rock guitars, rock keyboards etc. Many game shows (or chat shows) still used old-fashioned big bands. (You could say something similar about the Disney cartoons of the period. There's no rock music in THE JUNGLE BOOK or the ARISTOCATS. Around 1970, Disney had only just discovered jazz!) Even as a ten-year old, I used to think big bands were incredibly old-fashioned. I couldn't imagine I'd ever listen to them for fun.

Sure enough, I first went through at least ten years of discovering rock music (prog, punk, new wave etc). I also listened to lots of fusion and 1970s/1980s jazz (ECM etc). But in the late Eighties I discovered Duke Ellington's music from the 1930s-1940s. And it was a real eye-opener. So colorful, so varied, so inspired! Not at all like run-of-the-mill game show music. I imagined how new and exciting this music must have been to those who heard it when it was just released. And I still love it.

So all you have to do is get rid of your blinkers and forget the idea that any music MUST NEEDS BE OLD-FASHIONED. The problem is when a certain musical genre has undergone technical or stylistic innovations. For example, many Romantic composers (Berlioz etc) looked down upon Haydn's music because it seemed too neat and tame to them. And from about 1800 until the 1970s hardly anyone performed baroque keyboard music on harpsichord, because they all believed the piano did a far better job. In a similar way, someone mentioned (earlier in this thread) that Frank Zappa's 1960s albums sounded terribly old-fashioned. I tend to agree. I love Zappa's 1970s albums, but those so-called classic albums with the Mothers... Just listen to those jangly guitars! Surely Zappa only found his footing when he started sounding proggy? Perhaps it'll be up to future generations to really enjoy early Zappa...

I discovered SEBTP and THE LAMB before I got to know Genesis' earlier albums. (This was just before the release of A TRICK OF THE TAIL.) I thought they sounded pretty "modern" then. When I first heard FOXTROT and NURSERY CRYME, I was shocked that they sounded much more old-fashioned. Especially Tony Banks's Hammond organ solos. Technically, these solos were far more pedestrian than Emerson's or Wakeman's, anyway.

There was a time I was really fond of the "Supper's Ready" finale, but I must admit it has never stopped bothering me that FOXTROT as a whole sounded so amateurish! For many people, of course, that's part of its charm. I can also imagine that those who first got to know Genesis through A TRICK or later albums might have similar feelings about SEBTP...

Anyway, I hardly ever listen to FOXTROT for pleasure nowadays. But I've just voted for SEBTP in a poll of "The best prog albums of the 1970s".

A B Negative wrote: fusionfreak wrote: I don't care either about "dated" sounds as long as I dig the stuff:

^ ^


By the way , what exactly means 'dated' in music?

I would define dated as something which sounded fresh when you heard it fresh when it was new but now sounds a little stale.  Doesn't necessarily make it bad.  Sometimes listening to something that reminds of the era or year it came from can be quite nice.

Raff wrote: Perhaps I'm odd, but this 'dated' thing has never been a big issue with me. Obviously, many Seventies albums sound way different from those recorded now, but that's part and parcel of the experience. In my very limited view of the world, there's music I like, and music I don't like, and that's all... And I'm afraid this is another of those threads that offers people a ready excuse to bash music they don't like with the excuse that it hasn't 'aged well' (makes me think of wine ).

I agree entirely.

I wouldn't say anything sounds 'dated'.

The entire Genesis discography up to and including Trick of the Tail sounds very woolly and dated to my rodent ears. That's no slight on the music, some of which is truly breathtaking but Gabriel, Collins & Co always sound muddy and 'boxy' to me, even the supposedly remastered, digitally enhanced, 24 bit, racing striped, go faster CD versions. I read an interview with PG recently where he commented that the production on the earlier albums didn't really do the music justice ?

akamaisondufromage wrote: In reply to 'Snow Dog'.  you are right I'm not a 'Prog Fan' but I do like a lot of Canterbury scene stuff, Krautrock, Spacerock which features heavily on this site.  (oh and early to mid Genesis too :see above) But I am sure there are others out there who do concider themselves Prog Fans and DON'T like Rick Wakeman's opus.  Or maybe I'm wrong?

crimson87 wrote: Dated???? What does that mean???

I was about to ask the same question. And himtroy gave a great answer:

himtroy wrote: I don't really understand what you would mean by this.  I can listen to music and pretty immediately tell what era it's from, but I don't feel that its dated. 60's music for example has a very specific sound, but that doesn't mean it's outdated....People will always like good music and dislike bad music however it suits them