Alan Parsons Project vs Steely Dan

I took a real long time for me to warm up to SD, as I thought they were bland.  I was always waiting for someone to let lose on keys or especially guitar, but they never did.  APP always had a great sound and excellent production.  APP wins here.  Surprised they are getting crushed in the poll. 

rogerthat wrote: Polymorphia wrote: What it takes a lot of is luck and knowledge of the music biz and the sensibilities of various groups of people, and more things which are independent of the things that should inform one's appreciation of an artist. In other words, their success makes them special as far as models of how to navigate the music industry, but it doesn't make them special as artists, which is what I assumed we were trying to evaluate here. Respect of other musicians is not about luck. I mean, do you consider Holdsworth a particularly lucky musician? You can get the first two - commercial success and critical acclaim - with luck and connections but the respect of your peers has to be earned.

You're right about that. But then your comment disqualifies success and critical acclaim as reliable measurements of quality, so they are really irrelevant to the conversation. And as to the authority of musicians in this equation... that's a complicated subject.

rogerthat wrote: Polymorphia wrote: rogerthat wrote: Polymorphia wrote: What it takes a lot of is luck and knowledge of the music biz and the sensibilities of various groups of people, and more things which are independent of the things that should inform one's appreciation of an artist. In other words, their success makes them special as far as models of how to navigate the music industry, but it doesn't make them special as artists, which is what I assumed we were trying to evaluate here. Respect of other musicians is not about luck. I mean, do you consider Holdsworth a particularly lucky musician? You can get the first two - commercial success and critical acclaim - with luck and connections but the respect of your peers has to be earned. You're right about that. But then your comment disqualifies success and critical acclaim as reliable measurements of quality, so they are really irrelevant to the conversation. And as to the authority of musicians in this equation... that's a complicated subject. I didn't disqualify them. That's your inference. I only conceded that sometimes the accruing of commercial success and critical acclaim may have more to do with luck. Doesn't mean it is true in all cases. What is evaluation of artists anyway? It is not an objective concept. A snob may dismiss somebody who is talented but prefers to write short songs. Doesn't make him not talented or not deserving of success.

Oh, I totally believe it's subjective, but using success, acclaim, and the respect of peers to "measure" quality is necessarily an attempt to make an objective judgement (which is futile). For micky's subjective judgement, none of these qualities need be invoked. Further, when I say you disqualify the two of those qualities, the rest of the sentence is key: "as reliable measures of quality." If there is often a cause other than musical quality (such as luck, business acumen, social status, etc.), then no reliable inference of quality can be made from an artist's success and acclaim. In short, just say that you like the band and why, and not that other people like them, as if that means anything.

Edited by Polymorphia - January 31 2019 at 06:34

Definitely The Alan Parsons Project for me. I Robot was a favourite of mine as a child, and it remains one of my favourite albums. Tales of Mystery and Imagination is great. I like Pyramid a lot. Other music such as "Lucifer" has become a part of my DNA....

Rednight wrote: With the exception of Gaucho, Steely Dan's preceding albums rule here. The APP's work, sans its first few albums, couldn't be more irrelevant if Donny Osmond provided the vocals.

Rednight wrote: With the exception of Gaucho, Steely Dan's preceding albums rule here. The APP's work, sans its first few albums, couldn't be more irrelevant if Donny Osmond provided the vocals.

Four years later, and "the Dan's" seemingly insurmountable lead has shrunk to 36-25.

geekfreak wrote: This imho was an easy one to choose from. Alan Parsons Project by far.

Have we run out poll options that a four year old thread needs to be revisited?

Grumpyprogfan wrote: Have we run out poll options that a four year old thread needs to be revisited?