2011 - Very disapointing so far?

This has been a good year for cheesy comfort food dad-prog-rock but there hasn't been much challenging or genuinely progressive stuff that I've come across. Well there is that new Unexpect which is probably not exactly the sort of uber-cornball music that Neal Morse and the like are making, but I didn't really enjoy In A Flesh Aquarium so I'm hesitant to hop on board. I'm sticking with Tuneyards.

Credo - Against Reason
Pendragon - Passion
Comedy of Errors - Disobey

All of the above released this year have entered my top 100.


Edited by TartanTantrum - June 27 2011 at 09:55

cstack3 wrote: What about Yes & "Fly From Here"?  I've read PA reviews posted, but I get tired of the "Drama, Part 2" theme over & over.  I haven't heard the entire disc yet, and the samples aren't BAD...however, Howe and Squire really sound mixed down to near irrelevance.   I wasn't much of a Drama fan anyway, will FFH make 2011 a success, or just "meh"?

I'm very much enjoying the album on a first listen, but it is oddly difficult to describe outside of saying it sounds like a somewhat lighter Drama.  The vocal melodies are some of the most memorable Yes have done for quite a long time, but the instrumentation has taken more of a back seat. 

Howe and Squire certainly seem less present in the Fly From Here suite in favour of the keys, except for the proggy Bumpy Ride section, but they're a lot more prominent on the remaining tracks (especially the last one), for what it's worth.  And there's some right cheese thanks to Squire's Ladder-esque ballad The Man You Always Wanted Me To Be.  The Ladder meets Drama is probably the nearest album to album pinpoint for the sound of the record.

I can't say the album is a disappointment - I am really enjoying it, but it's not exactly the fantastic return to the 70s classic that they promised.  But then, what band doesn't say that before every single bloody album is released?  It hasn't won over 2011 for me yet, anyway.

Don of the Dead wrote: I'd give Fly From Here a bit more time to sink in. It's the first Yes record we've had in a freakin' decade after all.

Edited by Polo - June 28 2011 at 11:53

Textbook wrote: This has been a good year for cheesy comfort food dad-prog-rock but there hasn't been much challenging or genuinely progressive stuff that I've come across. Well there is that new Unexpect which is probably not exactly the sort of uber-cornball music that Neal Morse and the like are making, but I didn't really enjoy In A Flesh Aquarium so I'm hesitant to hop on board. I'm sticking with Tuneyards.

verslibre wrote: cstack3 wrote: What about Yes & "Fly From Here"?  I've read PA reviews posted, but I get tired of the "Drama, Part 2" theme over & over.  I haven't heard the entire disc yet, and the samples aren't BAD...however, Howe and Squire really sound mixed down to near irrelevance.   I wasn't much of a Drama fan anyway, will FFH make 2011 a success, or just "meh"?     I listened to the entirety of Fly From Here, and rather than Drama II, the feeling I got was Asia with Squire and Benoit David replacing Wetton. And you are correct about Howe and Squire. Howe's guitar sounds borderline neutered, and while you can hear Squire's bass, it isn't prominent enough. Too bad because he does have some good basslines (and some ordinary ones).   The material after the title epic is lighter, softer. "Hour Of Need" is very sedate and what might have been a nice Moog synthesizer solo by Oliver Wakeman is mixed so that it sounds irrelevant. The last track is called "Into The Storm" and I felt it may be the best song on the album. While I do consider Fly From Here much better than something like Talk, it's still a bit underwhelming.

Was the album officially released??

My first thoughts of the new Yes album are that it's a pity that it was released under the Yes banner as I think that it has some very stiff competition under that name album wise and that it's going to be listened to and compared as such.

^ +1

Neal Morse-Testimony 2 and Snowtorch -Phideaux excellent albums for me nevertheless I have a little disappointing

I'm enjoying Make A Rising's free EP a lot.