Joined: November 11 2005
Location: Manchester, UK
Status: Offline
Points: 9226
Topic: Prog meets AOR Posted: November 25 2014 at 14:00
I admit I have a "sweet tooth" for proper, sophisticated,
well-constructed AOR (see e.g. Toto) if there was ever such a thing.
More so, I enjoy when prog blends with AOR and creates a nice, catchy mix of powerful melody and intricate passages with changes of rhythm etc.
I guess a lot of this would come from late 70's/80's e.g. I particularly enjoy (early) Magnum, Styx. They are both under prog-related here which makes absolute sense. Similarly the early 80's era of Blue Oyster Cult shows some great mixes of prog with AOR. And of course Kansas have, IMO, often done the same.
Any more examples please? Prog bands that have blended AOR successfully? Any modern examples?
Joined: July 01 2004
Location: CA
Status: Offline
Points: 17136
Posted: November 25 2014 at 14:12
Saga does the AOR-Prog thing well. Some albums like Silent Knight emphasize prog more, while Worlds Apart and Heads or Tales are a pretty even mix. The newer albums are more in line with their early works, which is wise. Full Circle, House of Cards, Trust and 10,000 Days are the best of their post-1998 offerings.
Joined: April 01 2009
Location: Atlanta
Status: Offline
Points: 26138
Posted: November 25 2014 at 14:29
Gino Vannelli made some really nice albums in the 1970s. "Brother to Brother" (the song and the album) was probably his most successful. He was a highly talented white R&B type vocalist who favored complex arrangements and dabbled with progressive suites (e.g. "War Suite" from Gist of the Gemini, and the orchestrated title track from "Pauper in Paradise", each taking up nearly a whole album side). His bread and butter was soulful balladry like the hit "I Just Wanna Stop", but even those have a pretty high level of musicality to them.
My other avatar is a Porsche
It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle if it is lightly greased.
Joined: April 11 2014
Location: Kyiv In Spirit
Status: Offline
Points: 20604
Posted: November 25 2014 at 14:37
^Sorry aapatsos, but my tolerance for AOR wears thin do to associations with groups like Starship and songs like We Built This City or Heart with These Dreams. A bit too sweet for taste and probably the only rock genre that I cannot get into. But AOR is the most successful rock category, so it must have done something right.
Joined: November 11 2005
Location: Manchester, UK
Status: Offline
Points: 9226
Posted: November 25 2014 at 15:04
That Mars Hollow did not sound bad
SteveG wrote:
^Sorry aapatsos, but my tolerance for AOR wears thin do to associations with groups like Starship and songs like We Built This City or Heart with These Dreams. A bit too sweet for taste and probably the only rock genre that I cannot get into. But AOR is the most successful rock category, so it must have done something right.
One hundred million Journey fans can't be wrong.
Yes, I can see why you might not like it - I have to say I am pretty selective in my AOR likings
Joined: March 21 2008
Location: Tigerstaden
Status: Offline
Points: 34055
Posted: November 25 2014 at 15:45
Your probably awere of Enchant, they fitt the bill.
Steve Lukather solo, full blown blues rock fusion With crazy genre span, With AOR coating. Falling in Between by Toto, probably also the New Toto album is also in that wein,
Joined: May 22 2007
Location: Michigan, U.S.
Status: Offline
Points: 66262
Posted: November 25 2014 at 16:00
Not sure if you would like any of these but a few AOR bands that I really like include FM (UK not Canada), Giuffria and House of Lords; The Magnificent; Mecca, Oz Knozz, W.E.T. and Work Of Art. Foreigner did have a guy named Ian MacDonald playing saxophone.
Joined: March 21 2008
Location: Tigerstaden
Status: Offline
Points: 34055
Posted: November 25 2014 at 16:06
rushfan4 wrote:
Not sure if you would like any of these but a few AOR bands that I really like include FM (UK not Canada), Giuffria and House of Lords; The Magnificent; Mecca, Oz Knozz, W.E.T. and Work Of Art. Foreigner did have a guy named Ian MacDonald playing saxophone.
not just that, but also main songwriter on the two-Three first albums .O
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot create polls in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum
This page was generated in 0.143 seconds.
Donate monthly and keep PA fast-loading and ad-free forever.