The Top 50 Sweetest Suites

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Topic: The Top 50 Sweetest Suites
Posted: April 13 2023 at 10:32

richardh wrote:

I'm not convinced that any epic track is always a 'suite'.

Me neither, but then again, short songs can sometimes be considered suites too, just like the song below. Wink

The Queens - Menopause Rhapsody

Edited by Psychedelic Paul - April 13 2023 at 10:35

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Posted: April 13 2023 at 10:21

I'm not convinced that any epic track is always a 'suite'.

ELP - Tarkus

Rush - 2112

Genesis - Suppers Ready

Yes - Close To The Edge

VDGG - A Plague of Lighthouse Keepers

Renaissance - Song Of Scheherazade

Kate Bush - The Ninth Wave

Mike Oldfield - Crisis

Dream Theater - A Change Of Seasons

Pink Floyd - Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Echoes version)

IQ - Harvest Of Souls

I think the difference is that you have to have several sections that can be isolated as 'Songs'. Something like Gates Of Delirium only has one easily isolated section 'Soon', the rest is just fluid with no obvious bridges.

Signed Mr P Dantic

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Posted: April 13 2023 at 08:40

^ it's murky sometimes. I guess my criteria is that they either have to be listed as one track or a suite with several movements. Many albums flow well together as concept albums but that doesn't make it a unified suite. I have to draw the line somewhere! Thanks for the suggestions though :)

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Posted: April 13 2023 at 07:37

siLLy puPPy wrote:

Grumpyprogfan wrote:

^Transatlantic The Whirlwind (one song).

The Psychedelic Ensemble Tale of the Golden King (One Song). He has another album, unsure of title, that is one song.

Actually neither of those are one song

Actually they are. They have several titles/movements but just one song.

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Posted: April 13 2023 at 07:07

Grumpyprogfan wrote:

^Transatlantic The Whirlwind (one song).

The Psychedelic Ensemble Tale of the Golden King (One Song). He has another album, unsure of title, that is one song.

Actually neither of those are one song

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Posted: April 13 2023 at 06:55

My personal list

VDGG - Plague Of Lighthouse Keepers

Present - Promenade Au Fond D'un Canal

The Muffins - Amelia Earhart

Present - Le Poison Qui Rend Fou Part 1

Art Zoyd - La Ville

Henry Cow - Living In The Heart Of The Beast

Univers Zero - La Faulx

Univers Zero - The Funeral Plain

Caravan - Nine Feet Underground

Hatfield & The North - Mumps

Klaus Schulze - Fredrich Nietzsche

Tangerine Dream - Phaedra

CAN - Bel Air

Mike Oldfield - Ommadan Part 1

Guapo - 5 Suns

Magma - De Futura

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Posted: April 13 2023 at 06:48

Hi,

I want to add one ... can I ... maybe 2 if I find the other! They might not come up to 20 but they are both special in their way. The vocals in CB are way beyond what we normally hear.

Capability Brown - Voice ..... "Circumstances (In Love, Past, Present, Future Meet)"

Byzantium - Season's Changing ..... "Something You Said - A Trilogy" (three parts)

Music is not just for listening ... it is for LIVING ... you got to feel it to know what's it about! Not being told!
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Posted: April 13 2023 at 04:57

Psychedelic Paul wrote:

Sean Trane wrote:

No Dabsong Conshirtoe? Confused

Nothing For Richard either. Confused

no Love In Your Eye, then? Cry

let's just stay above the moral melee
prefer the sink to the gutter
keep our sand-castle virtues
content to be a doer
as well as a thinker,
prefer lifting our pen
rather than un-sheath our sword

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Posted: April 12 2023 at 09:31

Saperlipopette! wrote:

chopper wrote:

Saperlipopette! wrote:

And hey number one on the list isn't sidelong Angry

Nothing here says they have to be, Awaken isn't either.

I know. It was a joke based on a discussion that in that other suite-thing that "gave birth" to this thread.

That's true. I think it was only James Baldwin who said they had to be side-long songs. Smile

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Posted: April 12 2023 at 09:24

chopper wrote:

Saperlipopette! wrote:

And hey number one on the list isn't sidelong Angry

Nothing here says they have to be, Awaken isn't either.

I know. It was a joke based on a discussion that in that other suite-thing that "gave birth" to this thread.

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Posted: April 12 2023 at 09:20

Top 10 Epic Suites from Renaissance (only one of which is in the overall Top 50)

1969: Renaissance - Kings and Queens - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrSCU_3hK34

1972: Renaissance - Rajah Khan - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ox_hzO6SIAY

1973: Renaissance - Ashes Are Burning - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXQATNJRLAg

1973: Renaissance - At the Harbour - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vODfYjbLxY

1973: Renaissance - Can You Understand - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2A3bb47J3xU

1974: Renaissance - Mother Russia - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bX7QsXJPoWQ

1975: Renaissance - Song of Scheherazade - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=baLPlJ9sQiA

1976: Renaissance - Can You Hear Me? - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdWA7l1FGcQ

1978: Renaissance - Day of the Dreamer - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBELR6Y5oFc

1978: Renaissance - A Song for All Seasons - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnINzfs6Pi8

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Posted: April 12 2023 at 09:04

^Transatlantic The Whirlwind (one song).

The Psychedelic Ensemble Tale of the Golden King (One Song). He has another album, unsure of title, that is one song.

Edited by Grumpyprogfan - April 12 2023 at 09:07

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Posted: April 12 2023 at 08:35

^ yeah it's meant to be comprehensive so if anybody sees something missing, please do tell!

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https://rateyourmusic.com/list/siLLy_puPPy/prog-albums-with-20-minute-plus-tracks/

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Posted: April 12 2023 at 08:15

siLLy puPPy wrote:

For a useful reference i made this list

PROG albums with 20 minute plus tracks

Some of them qualify as side long suites of course in the modern world there are many albums with no sides if only on CD or digital

I kept scrolling and scrolling down through your extensive list, wondering how many more epic suites there were still to go, then when I finally reached the bottom of your list, I discovered there's another five pages of suites to scroll through. Tongue

Edited by Psychedelic Paul - April 12 2023 at 08:16

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Posted: April 12 2023 at 08:02

For a useful reference i made this list

PROG albums with 20 minute plus tracks

Some of them qualify as side long suites of course in the modern world there are many albums with no sides if only on CD or digital

https://rateyourmusic.com/~siLLy_puPPy

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Posted: April 12 2023 at 07:46

I noticed there's no Camel songs in the Top 50, which has given me the hump. Unhappy

But it's good to see Lunar Sea in Drew's list. Thumbs Up

Edited by Psychedelic Paul - April 12 2023 at 07:47

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Posted: April 12 2023 at 06:19

BrufordFreak wrote:

Paul's list is definitely incomplete. I've been working on a list for ten years now and have only recently become satisfied with my Top Classic Era Epics list:

"Supper's Ready" - Genesis (99.5/100)

"Gates of Delirium" - Yes * (99/100)

"Close to the Edge" - Yes * (98.5/100)
"Cinema Show" - Genesis (98/100)
"The Fall of the House of Usher" - Alan Parsons Project (98/100)
"Can You Hear Me?" - Renaissance (98/100)
"Ludwig II von Bayern" - Klaus Schulze * (98/100)
"Awaken" - Yes (97/100)
"The Musical Box" - Genesis (97/100)
"A Trip to The Fair" - Renaissance (97/100)
"Romantic Warrior" - Return to Forever (97/100)
"The Ikon" - Utopia * (96.5/100)
"Henry: Portraits from Tudor Times" - Anthony Phillips (96.5/100)
"Friedrich Nietzsche" - Klaus Schulze * (96.5/100)
"Dogs" - Pink Floyd * (96/100)
"The Geese and the Ghost" - Anthony Phillips (96/100)
"L'auberge du Sanglier/A hunting we shall go / Pengola / Backwards / A hunting we shall go (reprise)" - Caravan (96/100)
"T. on a White Horse" - Eberhard Weber (96/100)
"In the Dead of Night" suite - UK (96/100)
"Adonis" - Anyone's Daughter * (95/100)
"Histoires sans paroles" - Harmonium * (95/100)
"Firth of Fifth" - Genesis (95/100)
"Moana I" - Eberhard Weber (95/100)
"The Court of the Crimson King" - King Crimson (95/100)
"Mother Russia" - Renaissance (95/100)
"L'araigné-mal" - Atoll * (94.5/100)
"Introduzione" - Il Balletto di Bronzo (94.5/100)
"Incantations (Side One)" - Mike Oldfield * (94/100)
"Utopia Theme" - Utopia (94/100)
"Heart of the Sunrise" - Yes (94/100)
"Sheep" - Pink Floyd (94/100)
"Canto nomade per un prigioniero politico" - Banco Del Mutuo Soccorso (93/100)
"A Plague Of Lighthouse Keepers" - VDGG * (93/100)
"Fool's Overture" - Supertramp (93/100)
"Sound Chaser" - Yes (93/100)
"Lunar Sea" - Camel (93/100)
"Hamburger Concerto" - Focus * (92.5/100)
"Sleeping Giant" - Herbie Hancock * (92.5/100)
"Pictures" - Island * (92.5/100)
"Things I Don't Understand" - Renaissance (92/100)
"Hortz Fur Dëhn Stekëhn Ẁest" - Magma (92/100)
"Prince and The Sea" - Lenny White (92/100)
"Can't be long now / Françoise / For Richard / Warlock" - Caravan (92/100)

"L'isola di niente" - PFM (92/100)
"Depuis l'automne" - Harmonium (92/100)
"Poisoned Youth" - England (92/100)
"Tubular Bells" (Side One) - Mike Oldfield * (91.5/100)
"Take a Pebble" - ELP (91.5/100)
"Friedemann Bach" - Klaus Schulze (91.5/100)
"A Treatise on Cosmic Fire" - Todd Rundgren * (91/100)
"Eruption" - Focus * (91/100)
"Tarkus" - ELP * (91/100)
"Huascaran I" - Fermata (91/100)
"Across the Waters" - Triumvirat (91/100)
"The Duel of The Jester and The Tyrant (Parts I & II)" - Return to Forever (91/100)
"W Kolysce Dloni Twych (Ojcu)" - SBB (91/100)
"One for theVine" - Genesis (91/100)
"Traummaschine" - Ash Ra Tempel * (91/100)
"Shadow of the Heirophant" - Steve Hackett (91/100)
"Wasting Time" - Zyma (91/100)
"Wassilissa" - Mother Gong * (90.5/100)
"Barbara" - Ivory (90.5/100)
"The Torture Never Stops" - Frank Zappa (90/100)
"Before the Fall" - Babylon (90/100)
"La femme aillée" - Pollen (90/100)

* denotes a side-long epic.

This really takes us back to the question about what a "suite" is. Cinema Show, Lunar Sea - are they really suites?

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Posted: April 12 2023 at 06:18

Saperlipopette! wrote:

And hey number one on the list isn't sidelong Angry

Nothing here says they have to be, Awaken isn't either.

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Posted: April 12 2023 at 06:09

Paul's list is definitely incomplete. I've been working on a list for ten years now and have only recently become satisfied with my Top Classic Era Epics list:

"Supper's Ready" - Genesis (99.5/100)

"Gates of Delirium" - Yes * (99/100)

* denotes a side-long epic.

Drew Fisher
https://progisaliveandwell.blogspot.com/

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