It was the worst of times and the best of times

Wishbone Ash: There´s The Rub was brilliant but the follow-up Locked In was awful.

Henry Plainview wrote:     How old are you?   And yes I know people who have the same feeling about 70s synths and bluesy guitar licks.   So it is a generational thing, though I grew up in the 90s so maybe I wasn't overexposed to it, but I enjoy a lot of music from the 80s (very very little of which is prog, the 80s was a terrible decade for prog) and I think it's a pretty underrated decade overall.   I don't know how a prog fan can have problems with synths, but even the electric drums doesn't bother me, then again I'm a electronica fan. As far as the 80s is concerned, I'd take new wave groups like Talking Heads and The Police over Marillion and astonishingly boring stuff like IQ without a second thought. 20, and it's ok if people don't like bluesy guitar licks, I don't have much patience these days for classic rock. The point is not the synth itself, it's the synth tone. To someone who wasn't exposed to them at an early age, they're bafflingly awful. It's impossible for me to even understand why everybody thought that was a good idea. It's like listening Steve Howe play a chord, or Nickelback playing the same chord. I have no comment on The Police vs. Marillion because I don't know or care much about either. Except that Message in a Bottle is a pretty annoying song.

Someone needs to be drastically educated on the greatness of the 1980s.

Some good ideas there

Actually, I dislike a number of synth sounds. The synth Tony Banks used on SEBTP, for example, was awful. I can't remember the particular instrument but it sounds terrible. That being said, he upgrades for The Lamb, and that one sounds much better. I also think that the synths are far and away the worst part of Images and Words. Kevin's a great player but his tone is pure cheese. Not that Ruddess' "poor man's guitar" is all that much better.

But I guess that while I'm not a tremendous fan of synths, 80s synths were especially bad. Like, that is just the worst of the worst right there. I don't think it's even physically possible to get a worse sound than that. Even the synths on Dun's Eros can be a bit too much for me, and that's about as inoffensive as the 80s got.

Then when you put those awful sounds in the context of more awful sounds, including drum machines, cheesy vocals, and an entire production philosophy that seems to based around the assumption that adult contemporary is the only thing people listen to, it just becomes unbearable.

Anyway, all that is to say that no, I will not defend 80s Genesis. They did not make good pop. They made terrible pop.

Hi,

KingCrimson250 wrote: I'm not entirely convinced you've been following the discussion. It seems more like you just dropped in to let us know how close-minded we are being for not appreciating every facet of music ever.

Edited by Ivan_Melgar_M - May 07 2010 at 14:10

Henry talks about the Synth tones, and he's right.

Edited by boo boo - May 08 2010 at 18:35

boo boo wrote: Sorry Henry, I misinterpreted what you said.   But either way, what makes up a good tone or good sound is obviously subjective. I personally don't find 80s pop synths to be more cheesy or irritating than the synths used by neo prog bands (or by Wakeman on Tormato), and I hate a lot of the synths used in modern pop stuff but the 80s pop synth sound has a real charm for me.   KingCrimson250 wrote: Actually, I dislike a number of synth sounds. The synth Tony Banks used on SEBTP, for example, was awful. I can't remember the particular instrument but it sounds terrible.   Blah, SEBTP has my favorite synth tone ever, the synth solo from Cinema Show is probably the best piece of music Banks ever wrote in his career. Total seriousness.   The synth used is an ARP and it's a fantastic one, and probably the best after the moog and korg, it's used by everyone from Brian Eno to Stevie Wonder to Pete Townshend.   The only 80s synth that really bugs me is oddly enough, the ones typically used by neo prog bands like IQ.   And I hate Dream Theater's synth tones a lot, then again I hate everything about that band.

Actually, that's a good point. Cinema Show does have a good tone to it. And it is an exceptional performance, of course. But Dancing and Firth have both got, in my opinion, awful synth tones, despite the excellent playing. So does Wardrobe, but that's buried enough in the mix that it doesn't drive me nuts. Meanwhile, in listening to The Lamb, ToTT and WAW, the synth tone has consistently improved, IMHO.

Fully agree with the DT bit, though. It seems to me that whether it's Moore or Ruddess, if you enjoy the synth playing it's in spite of the tone, not because of it (especially with Moore I find a lot of moments where you hear something that's well played and well written, but still just sounds awful, but you tolerate it because you know it would sound good with a better tone)

You know, I really don't disagree with most of what you said I just want to say that you missed my point a lot of times, but I don't want to get into a dreary argument.

Edited by boo boo - May 09 2010 at 05:37