Lists with a twist!

Trouserpress wrote: 10 Disgustingly Overrated Prog Albums: But not by the same people 1. Spock's Beard - Snow 2. King Crimson - Lark's Tongues In Aspic 3. Yes - Tales From Topographic Oceans 4. Soft Machine - Third 5. Rick Wakeman - Journey To The Centre Of The Earth 6. Pink Floyd - Dark Side Of The Moon 7. Anything recorded by Genesis... ever. 8. ELP - Tarkus/Brain Salad Surgery - They're both horrffic. 9. Mike Oldfield - Tubular Bells 10. Traffic - The Low Spark Of High Heeled Boys I'm 60% with you here, and 30% quite  against and then Traffic??????????????   10 Progressive Near Misses: 1. Frank Zappa - Hot Rats 2. The Flower Kings - Unfold The Future 3. Curved Air - Air Conditioning 4. Henry Cow - Leg End 5. Jethro Tull - Heavy Horses 6. Yes - Tormato 7. Pink Floyd - Atom Heart Mother 8. Thinking Plague - A History of Madness 9. Kevin Ayers - Shooting at the Moon 10. Caravan - If I Could Do It All Over Again I'd Do It All Over You

A very wide ranging  - eclectic even - choice. Although it seems impossible to anchor you down to liking any particular form of prog. Bemused by the likes and dislikes - for instance I prepared to argue there is a  progression (i.e. prog/jazz to jazz rock to jazz rock/RIO), in the Caravan/Soft Machine/Henry Cow albums listed above.

Well, to keep Ivan happy, I won't say you're ignorant... however I will say that I hope the bird of paradise poops in your trousers.

Of course he's not an ignorant, just a misguided prog' fan.

1. Tarkus and Brain Terrible?
2. Dark Side and Journey to the Centre overrated?
3. Tubular Bells in that list?

But worst of all:

Anything recorded by Genesis... ever,  Overrated?

Holy God, I think I heard everything

Iván

Edited by ivan_2068

Yes Danbo, the list is pretty decent (except the overrated zone), I totally agree with Hamburger Concerto being absolutely underrated, it's a masterpiece and by far the best Focus album, I can't understand why so few people ever mention it.

Iván

My personal list:

True Masterpieces

1. Genesis – The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway
2. Pink Floyd - Animals (and Wish You Were Here)
3. Crimson – In the Court of The Crimson King
4. Yes – Close to the Edge
5. Genesis - Foxtrot
6. Tull - Thick as a Brick
7. Banco del Mutuo Soccorso – Darwin!
8. Anglagard – Hybris/Epilog
9. Rick Wakeman - Myths & Legends
10. Magenta - Revolutions
11. ELP – Brain Salad Surgery/Trilogy

10 Criminally Underrated Prog Classics:

1. Genesis – Nursery Cryme
2. Focus – Hamburger Concerto
3. Triumvirat – Illusions on a Double Dimple/Spartacus (Unfairly accused of cloning ELP)
4. Frágil – Sorpresa del Tiempo (Masterpiece of Peruvian Prog’)
5. ELP - ELP
6. Yes - Drama
7. Kansas - Leftoverture
8. Rick Wakeman – Criminal Record
9. Arthur Brown – The Crazy World of Arthur Brown
10. Steve Hackett – The Voyage of the Acolyte

10 Overrated albums:

1. Anything by The Beatles except Abbey Road
2. King Crimson: Everything after In the Court (Hang me, but that’s my opinion).
3. Yes - Going for the One (and Tormato)
4. Genesis – ATTW3/Duke/ABACRAP
5. Yes - Fragile
6. PFM – Photos of Ghosts
7. Floyd - The Final Cut
8. Marillion: Everything, especially Hogarth era
9. Coldplay: Not remotely Prog
10. Styx – Everything after Styx II

Don't believe in nearly misses, or you get it or not, as simple as that.

Iván

10 Undisputed Prog Masterpieces:

1. Yes - Close to the Edge

2. Rush - Hemispheres

3. Camel - Snow goose

4. Genesis - Foxtrot          ;           ;           ; 

5. Genesis - Selling

6. Tull - Thick as a Brick

7. PFM - Photos of ghost

8. Triumvirat - Spartacus

9. Wakeman - 6 wives of the Big H8

10. Renaissance - Turn of a card

 

10 Criminally Underrated Prog Classics:

1. Happy the man - Happy the man

2. Happy the man - Crafty hands

3. Frank Zappa - Studio Tan

4. Collage - Moonshine

5. Roger Waters - Amused to death

6. IQ - Subterranea, Ever and Seventh house

7. Jadis - More than meets the eye

8. Rush - Signals

9. Anthony Phillips - Wise after the event

10. Eloy - Planets

 

10 Criminally overrated albums:

1.Yes - Tales from topographic oceans

2. Most of the Van Der Graaf records

3. All the Floyd records of the Barrett era

4. ELP - Pictures at an exhibition

5. Genesis - Lamb lies down on Broadway

6. All the Porcupine Tree albums

7. All the Tool albums

8. All the Neu! albums

9. All the Godspeed you black emperor albums

10. King Crimson - Red

Prog Rock Classics

1.  Selling England, The lamb, Foxtrot (Genesis)
2.  Topographic Oceans, Close to the Edge, Relayer, Going for the one (Yes)
3.  Subterranea, Ever, The Wake, Dark matter (IQ)
4.  Meddle/Wish you were here (Floyd)
5.  Tarkus/Brain Salad Surgery (ELP)
6.  Snow Goose/Moonmadness (Camel)
7.  Bedside Manners are Extra (Greenslade)
8.  Live @ the Target (Twelfth Night)
9.  Arrive Alive (Pallas)
10. Spectral Mornings (Steve Hackett)

Notable Mentions

1.  Trespass/Nursery Cryme/Trick of the tail/ Wind & Wuthering (Genesis)
2.  The yes Album/Tormato/Drama/The ladder (Yes)
3.  Tales from the lush attic/Seventh House (IQ)
4.  Animals / DSOTM (Floyd)
5.  Mirage (Camel)
6.  Pictures at an Exhibition (ELP)
7.  Beware of Darkness (Spocks Beard)
8.  The Sky moves sideways (Porcupine Tree)
9.  Force majeure - (Tangerine Dream)
10. Hemisperes (Rush)

No overrated - Taste is personal - most people will only agree with
20-25% of my considered classics.

maani (diplomatic, as ever) wrote: Re overrated albums, I take the fifth...

Being a scaredy-cat, I'm taking the fifth on the whole subject - also I'd only get angry if I started reacting to that which I don't agree with.........

dude!

I threw that stone! Freefall, only good track on Mirage? Huh!, I dont know..darn Aussies.

Anyway, Sheik Yerbouti  Great album. Good choice.

Dark side of the moon is a classic in my book too. I dont think its like any other Floyd album. Despite being preoccupied with death and despair it has a more commercial feel than alot of their other stuff. I guess death sells..

I cant be bothered to put together another list of my own. I've done so many lists on this forum all saying the same thing..whinge moan...

Well... I knew I'd get a little bit of stick for some of my choices... so let's defend them shall we?

First of all, a bit about my personal tastes: I love good symphonic music with a dash of complexity. Straight "lush"ness bores me a little. I simply adore the Canterbury movement, but that doesn't stop me spotting flaws once in a while... Logically, I also dabble in RIO, despite the fact that I find it's a devillishly tricky bugger to get right. I've recently begun exploring Italian prog in a big way. I'm loving every moment of it.

Most importantly I love music that defies categorisation. I maintain that Prog isn't a genre, but an anti-genre where inventiveness is praised and encouraged. For this reason I tend to go for bands with a really different sound in a big way. Sound-a-likes tend to disappoint me. I've been collecting prog for about 4 and half years now, since the age of about 13.

 

ELP - I'm sorry but I find their music shallow, showy, dithering and ultimately unsatisfying. They destroyed my favourite suite of classical music ever (Pictures - how DARE Greg Lake put lyrics to The Great Gates of Kiev?! How DARE he?!), not that I don't mind different versions. I love Tomita's take on the suite.

 

Genesis - Something about their sound simply leaves me cold. I've tried and tried (God! How I've tried...) to like them, but it simply doesn't gel for me. It doesn't work at all. I understand why so many people love them (almost) but their music curdles in my head. I can't enjoy it.

 

Traffic - Many's the time they've been described as prog. Very mellow prog perhaps, but listen to that title track and tell me there aren't shades of earlier Yes/Canterbury there.

 

Pink Floyd/Dark Side of the Moon - They produced much better albums. Live with it.

 

And why didn't I mention Marillion? I just didn't want to revive horrible memories, I suppose...

 

Well... so there you are. Maybe you can understand my choices a little more now. Do remember though, I'm not making any personal attacks - I'm simply stating my opinion! Glad to see so many people willing to supply theirs too. Carry on.

threefates wrote:   I loved the orchestral PAAE also, but I love ELP's version better...

Meant to ask what do you make of PAAE as Mussourski's originally wrote, ie.e as a piano piece - good old Ravel did the best known orchestral transcription I believe?