The best less popular prog LPs
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Topic: The best less popular prog LPs
Posted By: toolis
Subject: The best less popular prog LPs
Date Posted: June 04 2006 at 05:43
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i was looking at the top 100 list of the most popular albums and i couldn't help notice that the first places are held by more than obvious choices, the 'classics', the 'it would be a sin if i rated it with less than 4 stars' LPs. and i'm not saying that they they don't deserve it, but aren't there a lot of others that have a soft spot in your heart? that if you could you would replace them for a top 10 position? how would that top 10 list of yours be?let me start.. 01.Yes - Drama 02.Pink Floyd - The Wall 03.Porcupine Tree - Recordings 04.Camel - Camel 05.Eloy - Floating 06.Dream Theater - Falling Into Infinity 07.Queensryche - Rage For Order 08.Fates Warning - Inside Out 09.Rush - Grace Under Pressure 10.Marillion - Seasons End U Go Now... |
Replies:
Posted By: Tasartir
Date Posted: June 04 2006 at 07:17
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Marillion - Marbles
Yes - Drama
Dream Theater - Awake
Riverside - Out of Myself
Spock's Beard - V
TOOL - AEnima
Radiohead - Ok Computer
Opeth - Still Life
Agalloch - Ashes Against the Grain
Rush - Grace Under Pressure
I think those would be my choices, but in no particular order...well, maybe Marbles first and AEnima second. ------------- ...Histoires Sans Paroles... |
Posted By: Dirk
Date Posted: June 04 2006 at 07:22
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1 Grobschnitt - Solar music live 2 Novalis - Novalis 3 Lands end - Natural selection also ... Amon DuulII - Wolf city Steve Hillage - Fish rising Kebnekajze - Kebnekajze II Mostly autumn - For all we shared the Trees - On the shore the Strawbs - From the witchwood Anekdoten - Vemod And a lot of others like The Flowerkings and Spocks beard that might be too well known to be of interest in this thread. |
Posted By: billbuckner
Date Posted: June 04 2006 at 08:37
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People love to give The Wall bad reviews, and it's a damn shame. One of Floyd's best, IMO. |
Posted By: Teaflax
Date Posted: June 04 2006 at 09:13
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Drama. Man, it is so much better than Going for the One or The Yes
Album, which are just adored but overrated. Drama was the last time Yes
really pushed themselves, absence of Jon notwithstanding. As for The Wall getting slammed, it really has a few too many duff tracks to hold up as a whole. Yes, it has some truly great moments (Comfortably Numb, Run Like Hell), but also some trite (Young Lust) or annoying after the tenth time (Another Brick in the Wall Pt. 2) tracks. The trio of albums Floyd released before that were much cohesive, and I think that alone pulls The Walls rating down. -------------  
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Posted By: Dirk
Date Posted: June 04 2006 at 09:20
 . Second after Animals for me.
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billbuckner wrote:Posted By: Raff
Date Posted: June 04 2006 at 09:36
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I've always found "The Wall" a great album, but what Teaflax said above is true after a fashion. The three albums that precede it are undoubtedly much more successful on a merely musical level - "The Wall", though, has an undeniable dramatic element, and it is quite intriguing as a story. As to "Drama", the only thing that pulls it down are Trevor Horn's vocals, which are much weaker that Jon Anderson's. Musically, thouth, it ranks among Yes's absolute best - "Machine Messiah" is a masterpiece. Camel's first is also quite a good album, though a bit derivative in comparison to others by the band. As to my own choices, I won't be drawing up a list. However, I'd just like to mention a few of my personal non-top-100 favourites: Traffic - John Barleycorn Must Die, The Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys King Crimson - In the Wake of Poseidon Rush - Counterparts Hatfield and the North - both albums (where the heck is The Rotters' Club? It used to be in the Top 100.. that's a scandal!  ) |
Posted By: DeepPhreeze
Date Posted: June 04 2006 at 09:57
Couldn't agree more. I don't think people get it, y'know? Like, they're listening to it as a collection of songs based on one theme instead of listening to it as one person's life story. And they let the almost 80s-ish tone ruin the whole thing for them.
The tracks are laid out to give a better sense of the insanity/immaturity that the main character is going through. Young Lust is just there to show that Pink is reverting to being a teenage sex-fiend at heart. And it is critical in understanding that Pink's marriage is shot to hell. Another Brick in the Wall Pt. 2 is just there to heighten suspense. Hey, I never said I liked it, but that's why Pink Floyd put it in there. I just wish the version of 'Empty Spaces' from the movie would have been put on the album instead of that miserable little pathetic watered-down version. I guess time-constraints made this not feasible. |
Posted By: cucacola54
Date Posted: June 04 2006 at 10:09
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all italian prog IMO, lots of great bands, lots of excelent musicians that dont have the credit they deserve...
Sud-American prog too ------------- Most listened albums last week 
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Posted By: Dirk
Date Posted: June 04 2006 at 10:19
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It is certainly true that the three albums that preceded The Wall are more progressive. Much of the compositions on these 3 albums are longer and also most of the shorter ones as Welcome to the machine don't have a mainstream feel about them.Then again I don't believe myself that more progressive automatically equals better. The Wall has a lot of moments that are not that progressive in itself. Most of he melodies on this album are so good though and the story so interesting (says i who don't care about lyrics too much generally) that i can spin it over and over again without getting bored. As for Wish you were here, I don't like Welcome to the machine while Have a cigar is just about ok.The rest of the album is sublime. Darkside of the moon is a very good with few flaws, maybe Them or us is somewhat long. Somehow this album has never clicked on me as much as a lot of the rest of Pink floyds output. Animals is the perfect album for me. |
Posted By: Psychedelia
Date Posted: June 04 2006 at 10:33
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Jethro Tull: Too Old to Rock and Roll, Too Young to Die Caravan: For Girls that Grow Plump in the Night Peter Gabriel II Pink Floyd: Piper at the Gates of Dawn Beatles: Rubber Soul ------------- Another emotional suicide, overdosed on sentiment and pride |
Posted By: Fearless
Date Posted: June 04 2006 at 13:22
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With average rating below 4 stars:
King Crimson - In the Wake of Poseidon
Supertramp - Supertramp
Steve Hackett - Defector
Genesis - And Then There Were Three
Kansas - Kansas
Steve Hackett - Please Don't Touch
Pink Floyd - The Wall .... or Atom Heart Mother
Rush - Caress of Steel
The Moody Blues - Every Good Boy Deserves Favour
Yes - Time and a Word
Uriah Heep - The Magicians Birthday ------------- If you don't stand up You don't stand a chance! |
Posted By: Kord
Date Posted: June 04 2006 at 13:33
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In my opinion:
1 Space Shanty - Khan
2 Snafu - East of Eden
3 unfolded like staircase - discipline
4 Green Eyed God - Steel Mill
5 it'll all work out in boomland - T2
6 charge - paladin
7 Fish rising - Hillage
8 Arzachel - Arzachel
9 mice & rats in the loft - jean duke de grey
10 mainstream - quiet sun
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Posted By: glass house
Date Posted: June 04 2006 at 13:34
| Can't think of ten but with an average of 4.02 Kansas - Masque is one of my top ten. |
Posted By: micky
Date Posted: June 04 2006 at 13:34
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nice variation of the old.... what are your top 10 prog albums thread ahahhah... less than 4 stars yet could/should be in the top 10 huh.... 1. Tales From Togographic Oceans.... damn crime that this thing ISN"T in the top 10 period anyway hahahha. Blows the doors off of half the Genesis albums sitting in there anyway... a defining album of prog. Ask the punks as they railed against the pompous nature of prog.... they had this albums cover pinned to their walls. the only one really.... most albums if they are below a 4... don't deserve to be top 10 hahahah ------------- The Pedro and Micky Experience - When one no longer requires psychotropics to trip |
Posted By: JusLisn
Date Posted: June 04 2006 at 14:27
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Some of my personal prog classic period favorites that will probibly not be found in the top 10...
Genesis - A Trick of The Tail
Jethro Tull - Songs From the Wood
King Crimson - Beat
Klaatu - Hope
Elton John - Capt. Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy (I kid you not... some good stuff there)
Yes - The Yes Album
Queen - A Night At The Opera
Judas Priest - Sad Wings of Destiny
Jethro Tull - Minstal in the Gallery
Rush - 2112
------------- Ad hoc, ad loc and quid pro quo. So little time, so much to know. |
Posted By: Certif1ed
Date Posted: June 04 2006 at 15:22
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My alternative Top 10 (for today - I'm in a mellow mood):
1. Marillion - Script For a Jester's Tear 2. Gentle Giant - Free Hand 3. Kraftwerk - Kraftwerk 4. Camel - Mirage 5. Radiohead - Amnesiac 6. Steve Hillage - Fish Rising 7. Twelth Night - Fact and Fiction 8. Muse - Absolution 9. Queen - Queen II 10. Genesis - Duke ------------- The important thing is not to stop questioning. |
Posted By: micky
Date Posted: June 04 2006 at 15:24
good call... as a matter of fact.... I owe you a......  (highest possible micky rating by the way) hahaha..your review of Kraftwerk 1 was the tipping of the scale as to buy it or not..... and I absolutely LOVED that album. Great review by the way. ------------- The Pedro and Micky Experience - When one no longer requires psychotropics to trip |
Posted By: salmacis
Date Posted: June 04 2006 at 16:28
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I have to put 'And Then There Were Three' in the list- I've read many harsh things about the album but for me personally, it's a classic. There's still a lot of prog there- same with 'Duke' to an extent. Camel's 'I Can See Your House From Here', 'Breathless' and best of all, the flawless 'Nude' (which is often given lacklustre ratings) that stands as a pinnacle of their whole career imo, are all regularly played. Second division my foot!!
Caravan's 'Cunning Stunts' and 'Blind Dog At St Dunstans' are highly enjoyable- the quality on both is very high.
Magnum are one of the more unsung bands here, though to these ears their music screams prog- early on, at least. Perhaps their most unsung release is 'The Eleventh Hour'- I didn't like it much at first, but it's a real grower and is probably their last album to have significant prog influences.
White Spirit aren't prog as such, but it's a classic album and hugely polished and underrated- one of the NWOBHM's best albums but with a strong influence from Rush/Uriah Heep...superlative keyboard work throughout.
As for 'Captain Fantastic'? Well, imo it does have the very best song Elton John ever wrote in 'Someone Saved My Life Tonight' (a perfect song in every way- his career dropped alarmingly from there imo), but I've never been that hot on the rest of the album. It has its moments though, of course.
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Posted By: E-Dub
Date Posted: June 04 2006 at 17:12
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<<09.Rush - Grace Under Pressure>>
So glad to see this disc get a mention or two. In my opinion, it's one of Rush's finest. Especially Lifeson. I think he was under a heavy Edge influence around this time, too. E ------------- 
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Posted By: E-Dub
Date Posted: June 04 2006 at 17:18
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1. Marillion - Brave
2. Neal Morse - Testimony 3. Kansas - Leftoverture 4. Genesis - Duke 5. Marillion - Marbles 6. Rush - Grace Under Pressure 7. Spock's Beard - Snow 8. Pendragon - Masquerade Overture 9. Glass Hammer - Lex Rex 10. Dream Theater - Images And Words E -------------
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Posted By: Raff
Date Posted: June 05 2006 at 05:36
I would also add "Rain Dances", which is considered better than those three, though not on a par with "Mirage", "The Snow Goose" and "Moonmadness". "Breathless" is much poppier than "Rain Dances" (which contains some really fantastic tracks, instrumental and otherwise), but it's quite a pleasant listen when you're not in the mood for anything more demanding - with the added bonus of Richard Sinclair's divine vocals! |
Posted By: onslo
Date Posted: June 05 2006 at 06:14
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yeah, i agree with the Seasons End entry by Marillion. infact, all the Steve Hogarth Marillion albums are underrated. i prefer Hogarth Marillion!
um... Going For The One by Yes should be seen as a classic, but is not.
Signals by Rush should be a classic.
Steve Hillage's Fish Rising and Green should be up amongst the most highly rated, surely!
oh, and Ozric Tentacles should be more recognised for the amazing things they do with music.
that's all i can think of right now.
oh yeah, and Believe by Pendragon should be accepted as a fantastic album. but i think that'll take time for people.
~Adam ------------- 
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Posted By: Bj-1
Date Posted: June 05 2006 at 10:13
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1. Supertramp - Crime of The Century
2. Jean-Michel Jarre - Equinoxe
3. Meshuggah - Destroy Erase Improve
4. Brand X - Livestock
5. Frank Zappa - One Size Fits All
6. Magellan - Impending Ascension
7. Shadow Gallery - Carved In Stone
8. Hatfield And The North - The Rotter's Club
9. Gentle Giant - Acquiring The Taste
10. Gong - Gazeuse!
------------- RIO/AVANT/ZEUHL - The best thing you can get with yer pants on! |
Posted By: Zargus
Date Posted: June 05 2006 at 10:37
You took the words out of my mouth.  ------------- 
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Posted By: thetick
Date Posted: June 05 2006 at 11:05
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This is a fun topic!! I am always touting albums by "popular bands"
that never seem the light of day. Here is my list (in no particular
order): 1. Pink Floyd - Animals 2. Yes - Relayer 3. Jethro Tull - Minstrel In the Gallery 4. Rush - Caress of Steel 5. DT - Six Degrees of Inner Turbulance 6. Shadow Gallery - Room V 7. Porcupine Tree - Voyage 34 - The Complete Trip 8. Fates Warning - Disconnected 9. Rush - Power Windows 10. Jethro Tull - Stormwatch I am sure there are more. ------------- Handing sanity to a faceless mind I step though the void into this blind Memory where I see life, death and purity Clocks dream tolls endlessly |