Proggier tracks from It Bites’ OATW
Printed From: Progarchives.com
Category: Progressive Music Lounges
Forum Name: Prog Recommendations/Featured albums
Forum Description: Make or seek recommendations and discuss specific prog albums
URL: http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=126633
Printed Date: February 23 2025 at 07:00
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Topic: Proggier tracks from It Bites’ OATW
Posted By: Crane
Subject: Proggier tracks from It Bites’ OATW
Date Posted: June 09 2021 at 14:42
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The proggier tracks from It Bites’ Once Around the World are great. The synth sounds and chords, the guitar playing, the compositions, the instrumental flourishes, the production, the catchy melodies. They sound so good. I was disappointed to find that Eat Me In St. Louis didn’t carry on that sound at all. Do any of their contemporaries do anything comparable? ------------- “Art is the recognition of the universal presence of God.” —Ernest Hello |
Replies:
Posted By: richardh
Date Posted: June 10 2021 at 00:25
| The Tall Ships is one of my favourite albums of the last 20 years. I'm not so familiar with the Francis Dunnery line up if I'm honest but they were always noted for bringing the worlds of pop and prog together perhaps in a similar way to what Genesis did with Duke. I would also recommend IQ - Are You Sitting Comfortably (1987) as an album that may be of interest to you. |
Posted By: chopper
Date Posted: June 10 2021 at 02:05
| Maybe check out Frost* and some of John Mitchell's other work (he is in the current It Bites line-up if they're still going). |
Posted By: Crane
Date Posted: June 14 2021 at 07:05
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I love IQ but had heard bad things about Are You Sitting Comfortably?, so I was pleasantly surprised to have enjoyed it as much as I did. It’s a good companion piece to OATW. I listened to Frost*’s first album. Still need to digest it. The compositions are very cool but the production and vocals are... off-putting. I’d like to listen to Tall Ships but didn’t find it on Spotify. I’ll check YouTube. ------------- “Art is the recognition of the universal presence of God.” —Ernest Hello |
Posted By: chopper
Date Posted: June 14 2021 at 08:45
The Tall Ships is on Spotify (in the UK anyway). I get what you mean about the Frost* production but I'm a fan of John Mitchell's vocals.
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Crane wrote:Posted By: miamiscot
Date Posted: June 17 2021 at 12:41
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I don't understand It Bites. They don't sound like Prog to me. They sound like mediocre radio rock. Clearly I am in the minority... ------------- The Prog Corner |
Posted By: richardh
Date Posted: June 18 2021 at 01:09
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They were mainly a pop group with prog leanings. No one is saying they were out and out prog but more a 'gateway band' . There is some great song writing and that is always appealing. |
Posted By: Blacksword
Date Posted: June 21 2021 at 02:04
I think it was their intention to fool pop fans into listening to prog. Even on their very poppy debut there were some prog leanings here and there. Screaming on the Beaches is a good example. The follow up One Around the World is their finest album IMO. Yellow Christian, Old man & the Angle and the title track are fantastic. They remain one of the best live bands I've ever seen. I also think Frank Dunnery was the best 'neo prog(?)' guitarist of the 80's. They were also superb with John Mitchell on board on the Tall Ships tour. Sadly their pop fans sussed them out too early, and insufficient numbers of prog fans took to them. ------------- Ultimately bored by endless ecstasy! |
Posted By: Crane
Date Posted: June 23 2021 at 08:02
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A lot of their output is not prog. But I don’t know how you could listen to this and say it isn’t prog. I’ve been listening to Arena, who I like, but this is objectively proggier than much of Arena’s material. https://youtu.be/P_TKvlq1GHo" rel="nofollow - https://youtu.be/P_TKvlq1GHo ------------- “Art is the recognition of the universal presence of God.” —Ernest Hello |
Posted By: Blacksword
Date Posted: June 23 2021 at 09:39
Classic song. I think some folk objected to the poppy choice of sounds the band used. Had the intro to this song been played on 12 string, piano and mellotron, some PA folk would be frequently listing it in 'Favourite Epic' polls. ------------- Ultimately bored by endless ecstasy! |
Posted By: Crane
Date Posted: June 24 2021 at 06:21
Agreed! As a composer myself, it has never been lost on me how complex some of IB’s music can be. It definitely stands abreast the classic 70’s bands, choice of sounds notwithstanding. ------------- “Art is the recognition of the universal presence of God.” —Ernest Hello |
Posted By: Blacksword
Date Posted: June 24 2021 at 06:52
I was quite taken aback at how good IB were live. Their performance of OATW and the full length version of Old man & the Angel were astonishing. I remember reading a review of one of their gigs in a heavy metal magazine back in 87. The writer had been in awe of their 'musical literacy at such a young age' as he had put it, but said he thought they were simply 'too good' to be huge. I remember they were referred to on a TV pop quiz as 'Marillion with sex; a far more palatable concept than sex WITH Marillion'  ------------- Ultimately bored by endless ecstasy! |
Posted By: Crane
Date Posted: June 26 2021 at 05:21
------------- “Art is the recognition of the universal presence of God.” —Ernest Hello |