TFTO popularity

bhikkhu wrote:     I've had my copy for about a month now, and it gets better each time I play it. I downloaded it from a music site, and the sound seems O.K. I'm not sure if it was the remaster, because there weren't any bonus tracks. Would it be worth getting the rhino edition?

Sean Trane wrote: micky wrote: Sean Trane wrote: Yes I had a copy of the vinyl , got lost in my Atlantic Crossing shuffle >> but never would I dream buying the Cd version sounds like we have a party crasher in the TFTO lovefest we have going here hahahha.. what rubs you wrong about it Sean? (if I'm reading you right)   If you really want me to ruin the rest of the party: This album is obtuse! The text/lyrics are incomprehensible (not unusual, as most of Anderson's texts are gibberish, but here, they take the cake), the music is dense and rather impenetrable and when it is penetrable (in Ritual) , it is plain weak. Howe is simply too little writer to have been able to write four full side of music by himself and having coming out as good or even acceptable. Only the artwork is fine >> one of Drean's best   Even Wakeman thought it was too much >> the man with the stardust-sprinkled cape, himself . The man that would record the two most pompous and ridiculous concept ever >> Journey to the center of the earth and the Prog-On-Ice of Arthur. The man content to make himself called the KB wizzard not liking TFTO: ............

don't agree of course but thanks for the input hahahha...since I LOVE this album so much...I'm always curious as to why others don't.  (the old thought that.... I love this album so much that I can't see why everyone doesn't )

for what it's worth... I only thought side 2 was on the weak side... yet other people think it was the best (ie their favorite) go figure.  My interest in the album also involves a bit of fascination at the wide ...WIDE range of feedback on it.  Some people have actually claimed this to be the best music composed in the last 50 or so years (hahahha)  and some the worst record of the last 50 years (hahahha..... hahahah..)  It's an album that 'hits' me on several different levels...

Sacred 22 wrote:   I do think it is one of the very best albums ever made in Rock history and it is rather interesting how peoples' opinions differ on it so much. I recently introduced the album to a guy who thinks Dream Theater is the ultimate. I figured he would dis the album but on the contrary, he remarked how interesting it was. "A collection of tone poems" as he described them. Of course he did say that the album would require a few listens to get a proper feel for it. I believe that people who truly appreciate music should have little trouble enjoying this music. This might sound a bit pompous, but I think TFTO appeals more to intellectual types. I liken it to classical music and there are a few people into prog who don't like classical music, which to me is rather interesting in itself.

*whew... 86's quote pyramid hahahah*

to be honest I feel like it is as well.  Lord knows I've thrown my two cents all over this one since I started posting here... but not only is the album great musicially (BTW... have always likened it to 4 sonic paintings)  but what gives it, for me, that extra leg up is the shear...proggishness of the album.  The audacity to put something that .....dense... out on the market... not as some unknown group doing what they please without regard to financial consequences. (2112 anyone hahaha)... but as a group sitting on the top tier of not just prog.. but all of rock.  Could you imagine the looks of sheer terror that would be on the record company executives faces today.... if but for a moment before they'd reject it out of hand.....when they found out that their group... massive album success.. successful tour.... on top of the world... wants to follow CttE with an double album of 4 side longs based on an obscure biography of an eastern religious figure..... HAH!!!!!!  That is what we LOVE prog for, and why I consider it a definative prog album. 


Of course it appeals to intellectual types.... you can't have a short attention span with this album....you have to THINK... the lyrics are typical 'what the hell is he singing' kind of stuff... it requires you to actually think about what he is saying.. and to appreciate the beauty of the spoken words... what some people see as fluff or being drawn out... could be construed as atmosphere and/or a build-up/prelude to 'more interesting sections' hahaha.   As far as fluff..... saying that TFTO is burdened by filler is like saying that Rubens used too much red.  It's all part of the finished work.... to shorten TFTO is to take away from the grand scale... that makes the album so damn great. 

Just my two cents as always hahahha

micky wrote: *whew... 86's quote pyramid hahahah* to be honest I feel like it is as well.  Lord knows I've thrown my two cents all over this one since I started posting here... but not only is the album great musicially (BTW... have always likened it to 4 sonic paintings)  but what gives it, for me, that extra leg up is the shear...proggishness of the album.  The audacity to put something that .....dense... out on the market... not as some unknown group doing what they please without regard to financial consequences. (2112 anyone hahaha)... but as a group sitting on the top tier of not just prog.. but all of rock.  Could you imagine the looks of sheer terror that would be on the record company executives faces today.... if but for a moment before they'd reject it out of hand.....when they found out that their group... massive album success.. successful tour.... on top of the world... wants to follow CttE with an double album of 4 side longs based on an obscure biography of an eastern religious figure..... HAH!!!!!!  That is what we LOVE prog for, and why I consider it a definative prog album.  Of course it appeals to intellectual types.... you can't have a short attention span with this album....you have to THINK... the lyrics are typical 'what the hell is he singing' kind of stuff... it requires you to actually think about what he is saying.. and to appreciate the beauty of the spoken words... what some people see as fluff or being drawn out... could be construed as atmosphere and/or a build-up/prelude to 'more interesting sections' hahaha.   As far as fluff..... saying that TFTO is burdened by filler is like saying that Rubens used too much red.  It's all part of the finished work.... to shorten TFTO is to take away from the grand scale... that makes the album so damn great.  Just my two cents as always hahahha

     Bravo Micky. This has a lot to do with why I had a feeling I would like it, even before I heard it. I have a background in classical music, so I tend to look at prog with some of the same expectations. I like it to be dense, challenging, and thought provoking. If I want to listen to something simpler, I have other genres in my collection. I also like what you said about the risk involved. It was a huge gamble, and one that would not likely have been given the greenlight in the current state of the business. Some say that this was also a product of tremendous ego. Well, you definitely have to have a lot of confidence to even attempt something like this.

   BTW, I really enjoy your posts. You always have something insightful to add, and maintain a positive feeling (even when being critical). Keep up the hahahah.

thanks guys... the kind words are appreciated. 

oh and Natural Science..... good call.... though I'd still go with Dancing with the Moonlit Knight hahahah.  It is a great opening.  The lyrics are great.. and the delivery... the chanting.... it puts the hook in you.

SymphoniColburn wrote: Yes, and I actually just listened to it today. I'm still not sure how I'd rate it though; probably a 4/5 right now, although I seem to enjoy it more each time I listen to it.

that's the sprit hahaha... like many others I grew to love more and more as I listened to it.  I didn't take to it at first... other than Ritual which blew me away hahaha.. my current favorite The Ancient... hated it at first.