Close To The Edge or Red?

ProgMetaller2112 wrote: Complex composition is well thought-out while improv loses any genuine feel its just pussyfooting and it doesn't go anywhere,sorry I much rather prefer something like The Cinema Show over say a Moonchild. Why? It's well crafted and complex and well thoughtout while Moonchild is a waste of time

Er, what??  Improv brings about a vital human element in the music as also an element of surprise/chance.   But I guess you perhaps love listening to Celine Dion play pre recorded tracks while she pretends to perform live.    I mean, well thought composition (and by implication, its immaculate reproduction) is better than improv, right?

And, besides, what are you doing listening to prog, which is based on rock and which in turn is based on blues?  Blues has always been about flawed spontaneity and not calculated precision.  


Edited by rogerthat - December 20 2012 at 00:34

thellama73 wrote: m I the only one who thinks One More Red Nightmare is brillliant? People always talk about the title track and Starless (which is admittedly amazing) but I never hear much talk about that one. It's one of my all time favorite Crimson tracks.

No, you're right. It's brilliant! One of my favourite KC tracks too.

sagichim wrote: The Bearded Bard wrote: Red.   What's wrong with Providence? Better than most of the tracks, improvs or not, on SaBB, IMO. Yes it is. And I dare say it's my favorite track on Red!

It's great, but it's not my favourite. Would put it fourth behind Fallen Angel, Starless and One More Red Nightmare. But all the tracks on Red are great! That's more than I can say about CttE. The title track is amazing, and the other two have their moments, but they're not consistent enough, IMO. 

Ambient Hurricanes wrote: rogerthat wrote: ProgMetaller2112 wrote: Sumdeus wrote: thellama73 wrote: Nobody listens to the Grateful Dead. :( still, i think it is simply ridiculous to say "composition>improvisation". imo the best compositions usually involve improvisation to a certain degree, and I also like a lot of music that is composed through improvisation itself... How about this COMPLEX Composition>Improvisation That's what I iniltially meant, f**k And improvisation cannot be complex?   Should I seriously choose a set of, say, Spocks Beard over Barbara Dennerlein or Bela Fleck?  Why on earth?  Apart from all this, complexity is not everything in music and it is also a very broad based concept, nothing to be pigeon-holed in the way you are attempting to. Improvisation is merely spontaneous composition.  Ergo, composition (complex or not) cannot be inherently greater than improvisation.

rogerthat wrote: ProgMetaller2112 wrote: Sumdeus wrote: thellama73 wrote: Nobody listens to the Grateful Dead. :( still, i think it is simply ridiculous to say "composition>improvisation". imo the best compositions usually involve improvisation to a certain degree, and I also like a lot of music that is composed through improvisation itself... How about this COMPLEX Composition>Improvisation That's what I iniltially meant, f**k And improvisation cannot be complex?   Should I seriously choose a set of, say, Spocks Beard over Barbara Dennerlein or Bela Fleck?  Why on earth?  Apart from all this, complexity is not everything in music and it is also a very broad based concept, nothing to be pigeon-holed in the way you are attempting to.

Improvisation is merely spontaneous composition.  Ergo, composition (complex or not) cannot be inherently greater than improvisation.

To the thread topic...although I love both, Close to the Edge is pretty close to untouchable.  It deserves its top spot in our top 100 albums list, imo (even though its not my personal favorite).

ProgMetaller2112 wrote: Sumdeus wrote: thellama73 wrote: Nobody listens to the Grateful Dead. :( still, i think it is simply ridiculous to say "composition>improvisation". imo the best compositions usually involve improvisation to a certain degree, and I also like a lot of music that is composed through improvisation itself... How about this COMPLEX Composition>Improvisation That's what I iniltially meant, f**k

And improvisation cannot be complex?   Should I seriously choose a set of, say, Spocks Beard over Barbara Dennerlein or Bela Fleck?  Why on earth?  Apart from all this, complexity is not everything in music and it is also a very broad based concept, nothing to be pigeon-holed in the way you are attempting to.

Red, if only for "Starless" alone. Never has the end of the world sounded more beautiful than that one track.

For the record, I like "Providence". Yes, it's the weakest track on the album, but even that's a keeper.

Sumdeus wrote: thellama73 wrote: Nobody listens to the Grateful Dead. :( still, i think it is simply ridiculous to say "composition>improvisation". imo the best compositions usually involve improvisation to a certain degree, and I also like a lot of music that is composed through improvisation itself...

How about this
COMPLEX Composition>Improvisation

That's what I iniltially meant, f**k

Close to the edge.

Sumdeus wrote: am I the only one that loves Moonchild?

No

Sumdeus wrote: am I the only one that loves Moonchild?

Nobody is the only one.