Lazland playlist

progbethyname wrote: ^^ hey Steve. Looks like a great, air tight list. Thank you for sharing it because I do respect your taste in music and opinions. Quick question though. How many out of that solid 10 top ten you have would you say is masterpiece worthy either according to your personal feelings/tastes or to PA's rating system basis? Love to know. Oh and I'm a bit surprised that IQ didn't get the #1 spot for you, but that mostly autumn album is amazing. Love the track 'Home.' :)

Hi Nicholas.

The top two, IMO, are five star albums. The rest of the top ten list are, in PA parlance, excellent, or four star.

This is in keeping with my opinion, much stated here, that a masterpiece, five star rating, is the exception, rather than the rule. It should be a rarity, and I think that 20% of the top ten, or less than 10% of the albums purchased or listened to is absolutely right.

As for number one, it was such a close run race. Mostly Autumn pipped it, and that was, I think, simply because of the sheer love and blinding emotion that Josh and Mrs Josh put into this work. It is an album I will still be listening to in 20 years time, but I will not listen to frequently as others, simply because it is so emotionally demanding.

Meltdowner wrote: Great albums indeed, the ones I listened to, although AlieNatura was released last year

Cheers!

Apologies re Alie Natura. I will amend the Progfreak entry, but will leave it on my list.

Our esteemed admin, Andy Webb, runs an annual best albums of the year list for collaborators on the site. He the. Collates the results, and publishes them on the wider forum. I posted my top ten tonight in the Collaborator's Zone which is unseen by the wider membership and guests. So, I reproduce it here for interest and debate. Of course, people who know me well will expect no kind of Rio/Avant, Fusion, Experimental awful loud noises (aka metal) & etc., and I appreciate that the type of melodic Prog that I love is not particularly "trendy" these days.

Of course, I care not. I love it!

1. Mostly Autumn - Dressed in Voices
2. IQ - The Road of Bones
3. Introitus - Anima
4. Pendragon - Men Who Climb Mountains
5. Steve Rothery - The Ghosts of Pripyat
6. Nick Magnus - N'Monix
7. Panic Room - Incarnate
8. Corvus Stone - Corvus Stone II
9. Mike Oldfield - Man on the Rocks
10. Frequency Drift - Over (the follow up Summer is on my "to buy" list)

For completeness, here are the albums "bubbling under" the top ten. I should also point out that I have at least a couple more albums from 2014 not yet listened to, so the lists are subject to some change.

11. Gazpacho - Demon
12. Transatlantic - Kaleidoscope
13. Supernal Endgame - Touch The Sky Volume II
14. Monarch Trail - Skye
15. Ian Anderson - Homo Erraticus
16. Lee Abraham - Distant Days
17. Elephants of Scotland - Execute and Breathe
18. Yes - Heaven & Earth
19. RPWL - Wanted
20. Perfect Beings - Perfect Beings (no, I did not rate it as highly as many others on the site....)
21. Il Tempio Delle Clessidre - Alie Natura
22. Rick Miller - Heart of Darkness
23. Eden Shadow - Phases
24. The Watch - Tracks from the Alps
25. Cirrus Bay - The Search For Joy

The only two of the above list that rate with me as two on the PA site, i.e. poor and for completists only, are the final two. I really loathe The Watch, sorry. This album was such a poor and unoriginal copy of a great and original band that I wanted to throw something at them, and Cirrus Bay was the subject of a fan bombardment on the site, and was nowhere near as good as the said fans would have had us believe.

Of which, the greatest pleasant surprise of the year was absolutely Corvus Stone II. This, again, was not the masterpiece some would have us believe, but was, in contrast to The Search For Joy, an absolute joy to listen to.

When I get time, I will get around to reviewing all of the 2014 albums. I think I have reviewed 11 so far. My New Year Resolution is to create more time for reviewing, which is my favourite activity on the site, aside from this blog, of course!

Tuesday 16. Half day off work in the afternoon to look after father in law whilst wife and mother in law go off to a hospital appointment. I am really missing my son, who is not home until midnight tonight, having been on a four day school trip to Germany. So, when the wimmin got back, I decided it was time for an hour or so You Tube 'till dog walk time. I should do this more often, really, because this was a really pleasant time. I watch YT via a Chromecast thingy attached to the telly in the dining room.

Pendragon. If I Were The Wind live at Citadel, St Helens. It is never a bad thing to start off with a bit of Pendragon!

Pink Floyd. The Endless River, side one. This is essentially Shine On, and, whilst perfectly good, is not exactly making me want to rush out and buy it. I think there is some far better new music out there.......talking of which......

Colin Mold. Ancestral Song. Really nice Prog folk, with a Celtic tinge. I am very tempted to buy Mold's new album, based upon Thomas' review. We are normally as one on these matters! This, and the following track are from the last LP.

Cindy L Spear & Colin Mold. Will We Ever Return. Really quite a lovely song, full of melancholic yearning for a better, more innocent, time, with more than a touch of religiosity to it.

Anton Roolaart. Gravity. On my "to buy" list for quite a while this year, I have never really gotten around to it.

Anton Roolaart. Stars Fall Down. This chap deserves to be taken seriously when Richardh and Ivan rate him so highly, especially the latter, whose review of the new album was positively gushing. I really like this track. I think I am convinced.....

Having said that, a recommendation a while back from Scott (Rushfan4) was Iluvatar's new album, From The Silence. So, next I popped on The Silence. Basically, a recommendation from Scott is a shoo in for me, and this track is deeply impressive. The next one, Open The Door was fairly traditional neo-Prog.

Followed by Lee Abraham. The Corridors of Power, from Distant Days, another on my "to buy" list for much of 2014. Another deeply impressive track.

One of the reasons I am doing this is that Ioan always buys his Dad a cd for birthday, which is coming up shortly, and it is the big 50. I was originally going to get the Floyd album, but, to be honest, I am still not that bothered by it. Decisions, decisions......

I followed this with Tomorrow Will Be Yesterday, again from Abraham's new album. I absolutely adore this song.

Of course, a huge advantage of the digital era is the fact that we can listen before we buy. I have quite a decision to make, albeit a nice one. Ioan is always really lovely when he presents me with my present on birthday morning.

Okay, it is now approaching 5.30 in the evening, so dog walk, which, of course, involves a nice quiet pint half way through, and an evening of reflection before I make my final decision.

So....7.00. The decision has been made, this following two pints of Swn Y Dail, a gorgeous pale ale brewed in Llanddarog. And the winners are..........Mold & Abraham, and just ordered from Will at Caerllysi Music.

As for the runners up......well, they can be purchased in January

Nos da all.....

Meltdowner wrote: I found a lot of those over enthusiastic and too much long and descriptive (I don't want to know exactly everything that I'll listen or getting my hopes too high), Lazland's review has none of those attributes. Anyway, thanks for reminding me of the album, I forgot to check it

Meltdowner wrote: ^ Great review at last, I was tired of reading all those forced 5 star reviews. I still haven't heard it though. I really appreciate the Prog community, how artists and listeners collaborate to make sure their art reaches others who appreciate it. And a very nice cover indeed, Sonia did a great job

I think I have mentioned before that Saturday night is "get that bloody ironing done" night. I rather enjoy this, as it gives me an excuse to blast some stuff out on the decent sound system in the dining room whilst running said hot block over fabric.

Anyhow, tonight, the musical delights were Pendragon's latest, and then the DVD of Sylvan's Posthumpus Silence live.

I have been a fan of Nick Barrett's material since he first started the band. I suppose you could say I have grown up with it. We are of a similar age. I find his ruminations on life, society, and self extremely moving.

But Sylvan. I think I have stated in another thread that I have been, in recent weeks, rather down, a kind of mid-life crisis, for want of a better phrase. Pretty down, introspective, and thinking some rather dark thoughts. I believe that I am getting well and truly through this, and feel far more like my usual self, which is usually "glass half full", rather than "half empty".

What has this to do with Sylvan? Well, I will tell you. The subject matter is somewhat impossibly sad. Imagine, as a parent, coming across your child's diary, and reviewing its contents, knowing the incredibly bitter ending. Said child has committed suicide.

Sylvan manage to achieve an incredible feat. The album, whilst naturally not a barrel of laughs, does, nevertheless, include many moments of sheer and utter beauty. Yes, some incredibly uplifting moments of beauty as well. In fact, I would go so far as to describe it as, in essence, a celebration of life itself.

I am getting far better. Even two weeks ago, I would not have been able to write this post, or even listen to such an album. We all, I think, have such episodes in our life. Mine was triggered by the sad loss of dear friends, far too damned young. However, I know they are "up there", having a couple of beers, and chuckling at life's madness. In Nashy's case, he is, I know, cursing me for listening to Tull's Broadsword And The Beast as I type this, headphones in place as the wife is watching the jungle programme. Nashy will be saying......"sh*te, mate. Get some decent Tull on, if you really must listen to a bunch of hippies. Now that Aqualung..... There's an album!"

lazland wrote: Meltdowner wrote: ^ Great review at last, I was tired of reading all those forced 5 star reviews. I still haven't heard it though. I really appreciate the Prog community, how artists and listeners collaborate to make sure their art reaches others who appreciate it. And a very nice cover indeed, Sonia did a great job Cheers Samuel, I appreciate that. PA, and other sites such as Progressive Ears, are important communities. It was people like us who kept the flame alive during the dark days, and we play a huge part now in bringing great new music to the attention of the wider potential customer base. Try the CVII cd. You will really enjoy it. Sonia is quite gorgeous and gorgeously talented. People like her make this a fun place to keep coming back to

I never went to other Prog sites, never found a reason to

I'll try it tomorrow on their Bandcamp page.

True, lots of nice people here

^ Great review at last, I was tired of reading all those forced 5 star reviews. I still haven't heard it though.
I really appreciate the Prog community, how artists and listeners collaborate to make sure their art reaches others who appreciate it. And a very nice cover indeed, Sonia did a great job