I Talk To The Wind: Prog Blog and Reviews

Review 45, A Passion Play, Jethro Tull, 1973

After the phenomenal success of Thick As A Brick, Anderson and co. approached this next offering with their minds set to creating another one-song album. Whereas Thick As A Brick's approach (several songs welded together, and parts of pt. 1 cleverly reprised with variations in side 2) had a definite charm throughout, this is a much more acquired taste, and it takes time to fully appreciate exactly where the deliberate one-song album pays dividends. I did like this on the first listen, but it took a lot longer to remember the melodic hooks and clever twists in it. In short, the issue is very much one of cohesion and the opportunities for real twists rather than small additions. You can get the same bar of music leading up to a completely different entity, and that does grow on you. All of the flow is more deliberately handled than on Thick, certainly, but with Thick As A Brick, you come to love the problems as well as the greatness, and with the more clinical approach of A Passion Play, that is not the case.

John Anderson's vocals, lyrics, acoustics and flute are excellent as ever throughout the entire album, and the more prominent use of his sax (which isn't generally great, but does contribute to the more chaotic and dissonant sections of the album). We do get some well-applied touches of violin, most obviously on The Story Of The Hare Who Lost His Spectacles. The vocals here may well be his best ever. The other standout player is John Evan, whose hearty application of piano and organ for blocky, delicate, effervescent, grandiose, forceful and hectic sections in equal measure is a welcome development from Thick As A Brick. There are also valuable glimpses of VCS-3 in both the more chaotic and careful sections.

Martin Barre generally seems rather more carefully applied on this one, so carries a lot more weight when he does burst out of the woodwork. He does handle some superb soloing and hard rock lines around the 'All of your best friend's telephones/Never cooled from the heat of your hand' section, as well as some wonderful sax-guitar-VCS-3 interplay on the second half. Barriemore Barlowe has, somewhat deliberately, not so obviously spotlighted the glockenspiel on this one, and gone more typically for occasional bangs on tympani, as well as some very interesting rhythms (I don't pretend to understand them, I just find them interesting) on the drums. He contributes well throughout.

I suppose the player I find least enjoyable on this one is Jeffrey Hammond(-Hammond), who is still an excellent bassist and completely adequate. My small issue is that I loved his connecting bass on Thick As A Brick, with its oozing, flowing feel, and I find the bass on this slightly less distinctive. Nonetheless, his bass throughout is very good, and has its moments.

Now, that's just an overview of the musicianship. The combination of these things, and the masses of high-quality interplay in an initially overwhelming array of styles (whether that's pure acoustic guitar and piano, harder rock, chaotic jams or even the parodic Story Of The Hare Who Lost His Spectacles) is half of what makes this album so exceptional. There are very few moments, if any, where I feel someone is taking away from the mix. The much-loathed Story Of The Hare Who Lost His Spectacles, in my opinion, is a fairly amusing touch, and doesn't clash too much with the rest of the album. I could see it being split over the two sides as an annoyance on vinyl, but I think it's transferred well to CD format.

The other half is the composition. Anderson's writing provides clever catches and multiple cases where you have the same lead-up to two completely different sections and end up virtually tripping over yourself in either admiration or surprise as you hear the twists. The overture is neatly done, and the choices of instruments throughout is grand. This is not at all trying to be Thick As A Brick, it's trying to be a one-song concept album, and, as a rule, it succeeds monumentally at that. I do get a little irritated by the 'Overseer' section, and I think an ending with slightly more aggression or force would have been more desirable, though probably not better-suited, but otherwise the whole piece is fantastic listening.

After sufficient acquisition time, this album definitely begins to grow on you, and there are some incredibly good moments, both lyrically and musically, but its increased panache doesn't always result in an increased charm. Essential listening, for curiosity and interest as well as quality. The flow is impeccable, and the benefits of the one-song album as a basic concept are on display throughout.

If we're arguing objectively whether Thick As A Brick or A Passion Play takes the Tull crown, I'd go without hesitation for A Passion Play, but for personal connection, Thick is a much easier and better sell. For the hard-core proggers this is clearly of much greater interest, and noone should miss out on this album. More trivially, this is one of two albums to which I have been caught playing air acoustics very badly. I'm restraining myself from awarding five stars, but only because my personal preference finds itself elsewhere at the moment.

Rating: Four Stars + (four star album, but so damn interesting that you can't afford to miss it). Objectively, it deserves the full five.
Favourite Track: Ian Anderson unwittingly mocks my review format.

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Well, there's something about a more controversial album, and again I've deviated from my review format for the sake of the album in question. I gave Benefit another listen earlier, and I still think it's a very weird album. I'm not quite sure that John Evan fits the album as well as he certainly does Aqualung and TAAB. Still, early days yet. Gave (MO's) Apocalypse another listen yesterday, and that really did connect.

Anyway, that's another old album out of the way. Might try for another Tull one next, or go for Tales.

Review 46, The Doors, The Doors, 1967

'F**k yeah'

The Doors are rather an unusual outfit. On the one hand, you have full-blown psychedelic insanity with no respect for song structures, on the other, you have a blues and pop-structured output with a unique sound (mostly due to Ray Manzarek's love for the organ) and Morrison's bizarre and morbid lyrics. This album contains The Doors' three obvious staples: Break On Through, Light My Fire and The End, and those songs alone would be reason to buy the album, but the rest is generally excellent, with an occasional example of something that doesn't quite match up (Whisky Bar, especially). Essential album for anyone who likes psychedelia, which happens to include me.

Break On Through introduces the album incredibly, with a real beast of a concise (2:30) prog-pop-rock song. Morrison's brilliantly violent lyrics ('Found an island in your arms/A country in your eyes/Arms that chain us! Eyes that lie! Break on through to the other side!') and maddened vocals dominate the song, along with a guitar riff and a modified Bossa Nova beat. The organ kicks throughout, providing the song with a little more force. A huge favourite of mine. Well-worth cranking up the volume for.

The follower, Soul Kitchen, shows off a greater range of The Doors' appeal. A haunting atmosphere is created by the lyrics and odd harmony choices, and the rock moments are no less impressive. A bass hums carelessly in the background, preparing the changes in the song, while the organ alternately places itself behind the rest of the instruments, and over them during the rock moments. Robby Krieger's guitar provides a couple of twists over it, including a brief bluesy solo.

The Crystal Ship shows the more gentle qualities of The Doors, and their ability to create grandeur without any pomp, Jim Morrison's soft vocal is surprisingly excellent, given how much The Doors' harder moments rely on his raw aggression, and a beautiful contribution on piano from Ray Manzarek really makes the song, as strong as the guitar and organ are. A soft drum part showcases the diversity of John Densmore.

20^th Century Fox is another different piece, with the strained bass sound rather common on this album as a rather dominant instrument. The music is all top notch, with Krieger's guitar as a particular high point. The vocals, however, don't really carry it as effectively as they do other pieces, and naturally, the lyrical content doesn't transfer well across forty years.

Alabama Song (Whisky Bar) is a bit of a weak spot, in my opinion, with an awkward bombardon-like thingummy (presumably from Manzarek) underlying the song with a cheerful two-note beat. The rest of the material, particularly Krieger's mandolin-like guitar contribution, is pretty good. I'm just not particularly impressed with this one.

Light My Fire is another of the classic Doors songs, with a catchy organ riff throughout the verses, as well as an enjoyable rhythm section, with some potent crashes from Densmore. A longer psychedelic instrumental section features an excellent extended organ solo from Manzarek, as well as a guitar solo from Robby Krieger. Morrison's moderately stoned call for drug use is fairly amusing, and actually an excellent vocal performance.

Back Door Man is a cover, with an appropriate nodding bluesy rhythm, vague lyrical improvisation, and warming-up feel. We do basically get the same few bars of music throughout, but with some excellent additions from Krieger and Manzarek, as well as a very well-suited vocal from Morrison. It is a blues, so sounds like one. You have been warned.

I Looked At You is probably the purest pop song on the album, with a foot-tapping rhythm, completely mindless lyrics. Even the organ and guitar feel dancy and rhythmic. To be fair, nothing individually is very offensive, but I just don't get into it as a whole, with way too many repeats of the 'and we're on our way...' section.

End Of The Night features a chilling atmosphere, created mostly by the very slow playing from everyone, almost suspended in time. Krieger's guitar gives slow, curious soloing, with some very well timed movements. Morrison's vocal is equally slow and haunting. Without speeding up, the band can still convey a faster or more immediate burst of movement.

Take It As It Comes is an enjoyable pop song, with the psychedelic feel of the organ and lyrics nicely handled. The organ soloing is extremely good fun, and the bass again works quite nicely, even taking a solo to allow the organ to come in again with a lot more force. Morrison's vocals are again superb.

The album's final piece is probably the bands best-known work, The End. It is a fully psychedelic piece of work, and needs to be appreciated as one. The twists on guitar throughout are absolutely fantastic, and I can't think of another way you could have done the percussion than Densmore's combination of random noises and brief beats, not relying on one sort of drum or a sustained beat for too long at a time. The jungle of organ-work provides a psychedelic and constant, maddening force to the song. Morrison's vocals and lyrical style ('Lost in a Roman/Wilderness of pain/And all. The. Child-ren/Are insane) were made for this song. His untamed aggression gives us the powerful moments of the song, while his softer voice again feels almost-mantric in its conviction.

Of especial note is the section where Morrison narrates the actions of the killer with relish and glee ('He took a face from the ancient gallery!'), and the rest of the band fully support his vocal. The madness, the tragedy, the beauty and the anger of the piece are handled with a demonstrative force, conviction and power throughout, as well as bits of dissonance that are entirely right and a very nice understated conclusion. A masterpiece of progressive rock, if ever there was one. Those who call it boring just don't have the attention span.

I do really love this album as a whole, and any lover of good psych rock (or even people who don't usually care for the genre) should try this out, for historical interest as well as quality. The other albums of The Doors are certainly not without worth, but never again do they reach the sheer force of The End or Break On Through. Very enjoyable, but with a couple of tracks that bring the album down.

Rating: Four Stars

Favourite Track: Break On Through (To The Other Side) [or The End. Really no preference between the two]

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1) A bit of variety for the reviews, methinks. Just to shock people who were expecting Minstrel or Tales based on my horrid lies earlier.

2) Listened to Exiles and Third again earlier. I think I definitely got Third more. I am enjoying Exiles, I'd call it a good four star album.

3) This is my 1500th post. Tremble in awe.

Strange Days is slightly more sophisticated, but some bands need polish to shine, while The Doors need a paint-stripper. I do like Strange Days, but I don't think it often captures the primal nature of their debut. I'll have to review that and Waiting For The Sun sometime. I do also have a best of (*hides*), but I still need to pick up another one or two of their albums.

King By-Tor wrote: Apparently LA Woman is a good one (so says my friends who have knowledge of the band)... I'm only missing that and the debut, btu the only one I've listened to a lot of is Strange Days. I saw a copy of Full Circle in a record store the other day... but I didn't buy it. I almost did because I've never seen it before, but I hadn't heard anything good about it before. I don't think I'd like them sans Morrison.

I've heard the title track, which is very good, Love Her Madly, which is OK, and Riders On The Storm, which is superb. One of those bands I've got a few things by, and then have forgotten to go any further with.

fabulous Doors review Rob  personal thoughts on the sanity of their inclusion here aside 

Edited by micky - May 28 2008 at 07:32

Ghost Rider wrote: I have LA Woman, but I wouldn't say it's the band's best album, with the exception of the fabulous "Riders on the Storm". Personally, my favourite remains their debut, which Rob really nailed in his review. I even like "Alabama Song", which btw is a Brecht-Weill classic, so definitely very little to do with rock'n'roll...

couldn't have said it better myself... 

nice review! For once we agree on a star rating 

Personally my two favorite tunes on the album are the first two, Minstrel and Cold Wind are just excellent on my
ears. Although no one ever said a division on taste was a bad thing! (Unless we're talking about Rush ).

I missed JT when they were here a couple months ago .

Although! I gotta agree with you on warChild and Songs. My thoughts exactly. For me WarChild caught on really
quickly (first JT album I bought) but it wore off quite fast. I should listen to it again though - it had some good
tunes on it. Songs From The Wood (for me anyways) is one of their best, but I highly prefer Heavy Horses.

*kicks thread, but has no review*

A sketchy one of Look At Yourself will hopefully turn up later.

Posting to say that Frank Zappa's Hot Rats has arrived, accompanied by Rush's Hemispheres and Amon Duul II's Phallus Dei and Wolf City. A couple of days before that, Miles Davis' infamous 'Bitches Brew' also turned up.

Those and utter addiction to Planescape: Torment (BEST GAME EVER), and a load of exams have been the reason for my reviewing hiatus.

Hot Rats was great fun throughout. Jean Luc Ponty was an especial standout. Favourite track was probably Willie The Pimp.

Hemispheres was a very good album throughout. I particularly enjoy Circumstances and the solo on the  A Lerxt in Wonderland (I think) section of La Villa Strangiato. My only problem was the lyrical content for Cygnus X-I book II, which was admittedly a little tacky. I still liked it. Better than Moving Pictures.

The Amon Duul and Miles Davis stuff, I still need to try a little more, but

Phallus Dei was interesting and psychy. Not sure what to make of it. Started listening to it too late to justify the ear-destroying volumes I like.

Wolf City was interesting and condensed. I liked Wolf City and the one before it a lot. Still not quite sure what to make of Renate Knaup's increased vocal presence. Her accent is, to say the least, a little difficult for a longer period of listening, while it worked perfectly on, say, the briefer Archangels Thunderbird.

Now, Bitches' Brew was extremely good, but it's proved that I simply don't listen to enough jazz. I can't really comment, except that I liked the bass clarinet. I felt the trumpet solos were very good, but a little limited.

Otherwise, with new stuff:

A Louse Is Not A Home is one of Orb's all-time favourite tracks, and almost certainly my vocal performance of choice. Scheherazade is (I'm sure) a masterpiece album for me, and so is H To He. Still, we'll see what else time turns up.

In other news, preparing for my next spree (I spend months preparing...)

Mini-multi-national-spree planned: Maneige, Ni Vents Ni Vourelles + Maneige. PFM: Thing before Per Un Amico or thing after it. Banco: Darwin!, Di Terra. Le Orme: Uomo thingy?

Next spree, just basic ideas:

New Things:
National Health - 1st two albums.
Hounds Of Love - Kate Bush
Argus - Wishbone Ash
Ys - Joanna Newsom

Expansions:
whatever, so long as it has Annie Haslam - Renaissance (any obvious ones? Ashes are burning, maybe?)
A Live Record - Camel (Raff's recommendation)
Testing For Destruction (if I can find it easily) - David Cross
Soft Machine - Whatever's cheaper of the first two
Something else (thinking Free Hand) - Gentle Giant
Least We Can Do Is Wave To Each Other - VDGG (my second Fanboy group)
Underwater Sunlight - Tangerine Dream
Dire Straits - s/t. + whatever else, their albums are dead cheap atm.
Quadrophrenia - The Who
Hatfield And The North - Debut
Between Nothing And Eternity - The Mahavishnu Orchestra
A Saucerful Of Secrets - Floyd?
Phoenix - Asia?

Completionismifications:
Beat/Thrak? - King Crimson (first Fanboy group)
ELPowell + Trilogy (I have thisish) - ELP (any live stuff that is really vital for future spreeage?)
Heavy Horses, maybe, or Crest Of A Knave - Jethro Tull
Yessongs - Yes
Genesis Live/Duke - Genesis

Of course, this is not set in stone, and is looking for feedback. Anything else I must look out for?

@Fire Adept. Thanks for the compliment . I think my issue with calling The Yes Album a masterpiece (I can understand people liking it more than me) is that I simply can't see what makes it *stand out* from the rest of the progressive world. Historically, I'm doubtful about the significance (you'd really have to stretch it to a very Yes-centric view to call it a real benchmark). In terms of innovation, I can't really comment, but it doesn't sound obviously oddball to me.

Review 49, Relayer, Yes, 1974

I have spewed my thoughts on how 'over-rated' this album is all over the forum. However, I must admit, I do actually like it. It's an interesting progression in the Yes sound, with the added jazzy (rather than atmospheric) keys of Moraz. That may do it for some people, even if Wakeman was more to my taste. My 'problem' (for want of a less extreme word) with the album is The Gates Of Delirium. The other two tracks, especially Sound Chaser, are excellent, reaching the heights I'd expect of Yes. The Gates... occasionally gathers together the parts of Yes that I don't particularly like. Nonetheless, the album is overall a fairly sturdy construction, I do enjoy listening to it, even if I'm a little more partial to the second half than the first. Additionally, it's definitely progressive, rather than simply extended, and also features some dazzling playing. Very good, but not, for me, the masterpiece that it is often made out to be.

The Gates Of Delirium has a few essential problems. Jon Anderson's attempt to go for more tangible and physical lyrics doesn't really pay off, I think (lines like 'kill them/give them as they give us', for instance), and I feel he's more competent and capable with his more surreal/cerebral lyrical content. Second, it only in instants really hits the lyrical content for me. The battle section is simply unconvincing, and the build-up is broken up a little unhelpfully. Finally, though I'm perhaps being enormously hypocritical here, I feel Yes tried too hard to spell out exactly what they were doing without the spark that their previous albums had. The drums-keyboard battle is a case in point. I simply don't get much really cerebral out of it, and it doesn't convey the battle at all, just a pair of chappies on keyboard and drums.

On the plus side, the basic content is excellent. Chris Squire is the highlight player with a typically fluid and distinctive bass part. Alan White doesn't handle himself at all shabbily, either, showing his sort of synergy with Squire and a number of interesting percussion choices. Moraz' keyboards do definitely add something new, and even though I'm more of a fan of Wakeman's dense and subtle atmospherics: a jazzy tinge, especially in the central section, as well as a denser organ sound and superb use of the moog. Steve Howe displays his abilities as a killer soloist and player, though not throwing in his guitar when he doesn't really feel it's necessary. The vocals, perhaps, do not have the instant charm of previous Yes-work, but they're not bad, per sé. All in all, the various musicians merge excellently to create an interesting, superbly-played end product, even if it's a tad unconnected at times, could have been abridged without much serious harm, and has its weaknesses.

Of particular interest is the reverent and haunting section segueing to Soon, where I feel the whole atmosphere bursts in, and that entire concluding part, with its rather mixed message, crossing tragedy and loss with the need to go on, stunning vocals from Anderson and keys from Moraz, as well as a carefully ebbing bass from Squire (not too unreminiscent, oddly of a softer Floyd song). Howe, as always, is right at home on the acoustics, as well as a glowing electric. A gorgeous and emotive piece of music.

Sound Chaser is a more chaotic and overtly jazzy piece, with standout performances from all involved, especially Moraz's electric piano and organ and a jaw-dropping (slightly pseudo-Spanish on electrics) solo from Howe. The rest of the men are adapted very well to the jazz playing. Anderson's more upbeat harmonised vocals suit the fluid atmosphere, and the cross of the sheer noise of the full band pieces, the darker edges (mostly contributed by a classicalish drumming style from White) and the more careful (one could say pastoral, but in a very Iberian way) sections is handled with no slips.

Additionally, though the atmosphere is given less real obvious focus, it's very present throughout. The much maligned 'cha-cha-cha-cha' section is one of my favourite Yes moments because of the slightly rougher backing vocals and drums. The whole piece is consistently brilliant, impressive and enjoyable, and Howe's solo, especially, is not to be missed.

Finally, To Be Over rounds off the album. It, too, is a decent composition, though initially rather too hesitant for my liking, and occasionally the keyboards seem a little wallowing rather than concise. I feel that the introduction would have benefited from a touch of trimming, but the worries of the piece are lost by the vocal entrance, with another entrancing harmony, an interesting twist on the classic ballady drum-beat that we might more expect from Rush, as well as a decent solo from Howe, which turns into a slightly stronger backed solo (though I can't help but feel the backing is a little normal). The 'after all... your soul will still surrender' area shows some of the more successful efforts of this song, merging more gentle and positive sections with edgy attempts. Alas, the end is somewhat riffed ad nauseam. Not a bad effort, certainly, but it's pretty emblematic of the album's merging of positive and slightly weak ideas, and I won't get the urge for it as I might for something like Close To The Edge or South Side Of The Sky.

The bonus material has the same issue as Tales. It basically regurgitates things from the album in an unpolished format. Perhaps more of interest to those who really like this album, but there's nothing really to detain me after the obligatory To Be Over. A single version of Soon feels rather out of context to me, and I can't really enjoy it so much having heard the thing in context first. The edit of Sound Chaser similarly feels a bit like obligatory bonus rather than interesting bonus. The run-through of Gates is actually quite interesting in showing a couple of the early ideas in the piece, and the drumming is a little more vicious, I feel. Not a 'you must get the remaster for this track alone' bonus, but not too terrible if you're getting the album for the first time.

'After all, your soul will still surrender...'. Perhaps not, in my case, but I think that you can't miss this album. Some wow moments, some not so wow moments, but great playing throughout, and a solid Yes album. They clearly produced a unique album that Yes could not have really done with Wakeman, and with a real gem in the middle. Probably essential, especially if you're less whiny about lyrics than I am.

Rating: Four Stars

Favourite Track: Sound Chaser

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Also, much enawed by Linus, for his review of ELP's debut, which probably nailed it better than I did in about half as many words. Dammit.

I know it's not Tales, bear with me. The next review will be one of the new things. Specifically, the one which most excited me. I felt a need to review something new and interesting to re-invigorate my interest.

Obligatory Yes questions:

1) was Jon Anderson really up to scratch on that album? I've felt less impressed by his vocals on that album (not turned off, just not stunned) than on the preceding few albums. They also seem somewhat in the background and often full of harmonies. I think he only really gets to shine on Soon.
2) Which direction do you think Yes would have taken had Wakeman stayed on board after Tales? I doubt something like Sound Chaser would have emerged, but similarly I feel that the band still had the momentum to progress on this one, rather than a fairly conservative set of keys on GFTO. Perhaps more stuff like Awaken would have been in order?
3) Do you think that album would significantly have changed had White/Squire been replaced? I know they're both excellent players, and do contribute, but they seem far less crucial to the pieces' basic shape than the three soloist figures. Unlike, say, Close To The Edge, where the rhythm section is booming with direction.