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Topic ClosedLiterature
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Poll Question: Pick your favorite.
Poll Choice Votes Poll Statistics
8 [20.51%]
17 [43.59%]
11 [28.21%]
3 [7.69%]
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mlkpad14 View Drop Down
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    Posted: January 09 2018 at 05:24
I thought this would be a cool poll to do.

Peter Hammill - The Fall of the House of Usher
In 1839, Edgar Allan Poe published The Fall of the House of Usher, and to this date it is considered one of his most important works. It is a classic in gothic literature, and it is one heck of a wonderful short story.
Chris Judge Smith wrote the opera, and Peter Hamill (Roderick Usher and the House) sang in it, along with Lene Lovich (Madeline Usher), Andy Bell (Montresor), Sarah Jane Morris (the Chorus), and Herbert Grönemeyer (the Herbalist). It was released November 1991.

The Alan Parsons Project - Tales of Mystery & Imagination

In 1976, the debut studio album by The Alan Parsons Project, Tales of Mystery & Imagination, was another nod towards Edgar Allan Poe, and his awesome discography. The lyrical and musical themes of the album attracted a cult audience.
The Alan Parsons Project included more literary themes in their other release I Robot (1977), which drew on Isaac Asimov's science fiction Robot trilogy. 
Note: In general, they are the kings of the concept album, and always include interesting themes in their work.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Alan_Parsons_Project_discography

Rick Wakeman - Journey to the Centre of the Earth

Journey to the Centre of the Earth, by Rick Wakeman, was released in 1974. Its concept was based on the science fiction novel of the same name, by Jules Verne. The album tells the story of Professor Lidenbrok, his nephew, Axel, and their guide Hans, who approach Earth's center using the method Arne Saknussemm originally discovered. In 1999, Wakeman released a sequel called Return to the Centre of the Earth, to positive reception again.

Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds

Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds is the debut studio album by Jeff Wayne, released September 6, 1978. It retells the story The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells (1897). The album was met with praise, and since, it has generated other versions of the album, as well as video games, DVDs, and live tours.
For more on the structure of the piece, see this wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Wayne%27s_Musical_Version_of_The_War_of_the_Worlds#Reception
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Matti View Drop Down
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Points: 2116 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: January 09 2018 at 05:35
A very very easy choice: Parsons/Woolfson and E.A. Poe.
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Points: 13255 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: January 09 2018 at 05:45
My vote goes to Rich Wakeman, excellent piece of literature from Jules Verne. Alan Parson's Project comes in second.
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Points: 7034 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: January 09 2018 at 06:50
Alan Parsons. It has Orson Welles :-)
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Points: 24283 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: January 09 2018 at 06:53
Haven't heard Hammill. Wakeman and Wayne leave me totally cold. Parsons' debut is excellent.
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Points: 990 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: January 09 2018 at 07:26
Wakeman "Journey..." and "1984"
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Points: 197 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: January 09 2018 at 08:07
Hammill by a mile; Wakeman a distant second. Never heard the WotW album in its entirety.
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Points: 4707 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: January 09 2018 at 09:03
Since the comprehension of sweet sound is our most indefinite conception, music, when combined with a pleasurable idea, is poetry. Music without the idea is simply music.
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Points: 8944 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: January 09 2018 at 10:10
this poll really needs a "too close to call" choice.  I don't know the Hammill take on Poe, but the other 3 are all great IMO.  I'm going to give the slight nod to Wakeman's Journey.  I just happened to listen to side 1 recently and thoroughly enjoyed it.  Parsons is a great album but the orchestral part could have been left out.  If I Robot was on the list the choice would have been more difficult. Jeff Wayne's is great but side 4 is a mess.
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Points: 4596 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: January 09 2018 at 10:15
Ricky for the win Wink
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Points: 66237 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: January 09 2018 at 10:16
This is a neat idea for a poll.  I've not heard the Peter Hammill or Jeff Wayne, so really can't vote.  I just thought I would mention Shadow Circus' On A Dark and Stormy Night, which is based on The Wrinkle In Time series.  There are probably a number of other albums based on stories too, but that was the first one to come to mind.
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Points: 4574 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: January 09 2018 at 12:29
Alan Parsons.
A GREAT YEAR FOR PROG!!!
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Points: 665 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: January 09 2018 at 16:52
Originally posted by rushfan4 rushfan4 wrote:

This is a neat idea for a poll.  I've not heard the Peter Hammill or Jeff Wayne, so really can't vote.  I just thought I would mention Shadow Circus' On A Dark and Stormy Night, which is based on The Wrinkle In Time series.  There are probably a number of other albums based on stories too, but that was the first one to come to mind.

Thanks, and I will make sure to check it out!
Personally, my favorite is the opera by Hammill.
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Points: 6777 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: January 09 2018 at 21:27
Originally posted by someone_else someone_else wrote:

Haven't heard Hammill. Wakeman and Wayne leave me totally cold. Parsons' debut is excellent.

I'm in the exact same boat. Didn't vote since I haven't heard the Peter Hammill album and could very well like it, but if I were to vote I'd go for Alan Parsons Project.
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Points: 166178 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: January 30 2018 at 16:41
Hammill 
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Points: 4775 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: January 30 2018 at 16:56
Originally posted by kenethlevine kenethlevine wrote:

this poll really needs a "too close to call" choice.  I don't know the Hammill take on Poe, but the other 3 are all great IMO.  I'm going to give the slight nod to Wakeman's Journey.  I just happened to listen to side 1 recently and thoroughly enjoyed it.  Parsons is a great album but the orchestral part could have been left out.  If I Robot was on the list the choice would have been more difficult. Jeff Wayne's is great but side 4 is a mess.


Agreed - Tales is very good, but the Project went onto even greater things. Rick's album remains a true prog classic - especially Side 1. Haven't heard War of the Worlds for quite a while - some great songs, but a bit of soft rock filler too. The Caped Crusader for me!
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Points: 16961 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: January 30 2018 at 17:01
I love those Wakeman and Wayne albums, but as a Poe fan, I can't vote without first revisiting the one by Hammill.

I concur we need an "All of the above" option!
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Points: 665 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: January 30 2018 at 19:02
Originally posted by verslibre verslibre wrote:

I love those Wakeman and Wayne albums, but as a Poe fan, I can't vote without first revisiting the one by Hammill.

I concur we need an "All of the above" option!

That is what I would vote for!
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Points: 12719 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: January 30 2018 at 21:49
Originally posted by Squonk19 Squonk19 wrote:

Originally posted by kenethlevine kenethlevine wrote:

this poll really needs a "too close to call" choice.  I don't know the Hammill take on Poe, but the other 3 are all great IMO.  I'm going to give the slight nod to Wakeman's Journey.  I just happened to listen to side 1 recently and thoroughly enjoyed it.  Parsons is a great album but the orchestral part could have been left out.  If I Robot was on the list the choice would have been more difficult. Jeff Wayne's is great but side 4 is a mess.


Agreed - Tales is very good, but the Project went onto even greater things. Rick's album remains a true prog classic - especially Side 1. Haven't heard War of the Worlds for quite a while - some great songs, but a bit of soft rock filler too. The Caped Crusader for me!


For me Tales is the best Parsons album (though I agree that the orchestral section, I guess you mean form The House of Usher song, really doesn't work very well), closely followed by I Robot. However, I don't really know how well I Robot would work for this poll, as I understand it, it doesn't really have much to do with Asimov's book (at least I don't find much relation apart from the name and it's theme is robots... I think there's some other book with the same name, I don't know if the album might be related to that one instead).
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Points: 10387 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: January 31 2018 at 01:03
Peter Hammill for me. the 1999 version, not the 1990 one. the two versions are very different; the 1999 version is for example completely without drums, and there are many other changes in arrangement too. here an excerpt, the beginning of the second act:



and here one of my favorite passages, the duet between Madeleine Usher and Montresor



the line-up of the album is this:

Roderick Usher - Peter Hammill
Montresor - Andy Bell
the Chorus (in the sense of the Elizabethan theater) - Sarah-Jane Morris
Madeleine Usher - Lene Lovich
the Herbalist - Herbert Grönemeyer
the Voices of the House - Peter Hammill (in a chorus with himself)

Peter Hammill plays keyboards and guitars (and in the 1990 version drums and percussion too); Stuart Gordon adds some violin in the 1999 version



Edited by BaldJean - January 31 2018 at 01:34


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