Melody... who are the kings?
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Topic: Melody... who are the kings?
Posted By: The T
Subject: Melody... who are the kings?
Date Posted: June 28 2007 at 13:56
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Who? (not The who of course...)
I think The Beatles, as much as I don't like them as much as other people (
 that sounded so gramatically awful), are some of the undisputed kings of melody.... Yes, this thread is about melody. Not about odd time signatures or incredible harmonies, but about that underrated element in music called melody.
What band do you think is capable of writing some of the best melodies in the rock world?
I don't think, by the way, that Messhugah would qualify for this thread...  ------------- 
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Replies:
Posted By: progismylife
Date Posted: June 28 2007 at 14:02
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The Who!!!!!! (I'm probably only saying htis cause I went to see them at Wembley Arena last night  ) |
Posted By: MikeEnRegalia
Date Posted: June 28 2007 at 14:02
Shadow Gallery come to my mind ... 
------------- https://awesomeprog.com/release-polls/pa/aoty-2024/vote" rel="nofollow - 2024 Release Poll Listened to: 
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Posted By: laplace
Date Posted: June 28 2007 at 14:10
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I never thought about this, and it must be strange, but I don't look towards prog for melody and consider it fairly unassuming along those lines. ------------- FREEDOM OF SPEECH GO TO HELL |
Posted By: Asyte2c00
Date Posted: June 28 2007 at 14:12
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Gentle Giant
Barclay James Harvest
Steely Dan
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Posted By: erik neuteboom
Date Posted: June 28 2007 at 14:30
Camel, The Moody Blues, Supertramp, Marillion, IQ, Pendragon, Barclay James Harvest and also mid-Genesis (ATOTT and W&W), great melodic lines and (perhaps worth another thread The T  ) great harmonies  It will not be a surprise that abovementioned bands often appeal to female progheads who are more into melodics than complex music.
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Posted By: Tormato
Date Posted: June 28 2007 at 14:31
YES. There's nothing like the majesty and beauty of Howe's guitar and Wakeman's piano underlining Anderson's voice performing amazing melodies like "Turn of the Century", And you and I", "Onward", "To Be Over" -no Wakeman, I know- and so many more that absolutely make life worth living......some would say "soundtrack of our lives", but not me, that's corny. ------------- I like Tormato, so shoot me! Every person in the world can't think the same. |
Posted By: aprusso
Date Posted: June 28 2007 at 14:37
| The Beach Boys |
Posted By: The Doctor
Date Posted: June 28 2007 at 14:37
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I would say the best melodies come from Genesis. Also, Camel, the Moody Blues, BJH, sometimes Yes...to the poster above you forgot "Soon" from "Gates of Delirium" - probably Yes at their most melodic. Of the newer bands, I would say Rocket Scientists have some great melodies. I also found Karfagen's The Space Between Us and Sylvan's Presets to be full of gorgeous melodies. ------------- I can understand your anger at me, but what did the horse I rode in on ever do to you? |
Posted By: Melomaniac
Date Posted: June 28 2007 at 14:53
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Genesis - Gentle Giant - The Beach Boys - Porcupine Tree - The Beatles - Spooky Tooth, and a whole lot of others... ------------- "One likes to believe in the freedom of Music" - Neil Peart, The Spirit of Radio |
Posted By: thellama73
Date Posted: June 28 2007 at 15:00
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The best melodies came out of the late sixties. The Beach Boys and the Zombies come to mind, as well as the Kinks.
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Posted By: Astrodomine
Date Posted: June 28 2007 at 15:07
| I would say early King Crimson (In the court, cirkus, lizard) and Pink Floyd (Atom hearth mother, Echoes) |
Posted By: queenlerxst
Date Posted: June 28 2007 at 15:11
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Opeth, Rush, Black Mages Is this limited to just vocal melodies? Do catchy guitar solos count? ------------- 
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Posted By: Progger
Date Posted: June 28 2007 at 15:11
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1.YES [nOBODY ELSE COMES CLOSE]
2.NEAL MORSE
3.CAMEL
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Posted By: queenlerxst
Date Posted: June 28 2007 at 15:13
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Oh, and Eric Johnson's Cliffs of Dover is one of the most melodic instrumentals of all time. -------------
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Posted By: pedroechoes
Date Posted: June 28 2007 at 15:21
| Nat king Cole,Sam Cooke.........in prog i think David Gilmour have a lot of melodic blues songs:Fat old sun,fearless......... |
Posted By: micky
Date Posted: June 28 2007 at 15:25
 a certain female proghead I know would beg to differ with that Erik hahhaha. |
erik neuteboom wrote:Posted By: micky
Date Posted: June 28 2007 at 15:27
| for shear melody.... yes on the English side.. and PFM on the Italian side |
Posted By: Hercules
Date Posted: June 28 2007 at 15:40
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Camel first, followed closely by Genesis. Also, I think Mostly Autumn, Marillion and IQ are top flight for melody. ------------- A TVR is not a car. It's a way of life. |
Posted By: fuxi
Date Posted: June 28 2007 at 15:42
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I usually prefer Yes to Genesis, but "Mad Man Moon" and "Star of Sirius" (on VOYAGE OF THE ACOLYTE) are far more beautiful melodies than anything in the Yes catalogue, except perhaps "soon".
Also great for melodies: Kevin Ayers and 10CC! |
Posted By: Tasartir
Date Posted: June 28 2007 at 15:55
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Yes ------------- ...Histoires Sans Paroles... |
Posted By: grimpiter
Date Posted: June 28 2007 at 16:09
| Just for naming another band, i would say DREAM THEATER... (SDOIT, OCTAVARIUM, UNDER A GLASS MOON, ITPOTE, FINALLY FREE, VOICES, HELL´S KITCHEN, STREAM OF CONCIOUSNESS, ETC) |
Posted By: Man Overboard
Date Posted: June 28 2007 at 16:13
The Flower Kings are my melodic masters. 
------------- https://soundcloud.com/erin-susan-jennings" rel="nofollow - Bedroom guitarist". Composer, Arranger, Producer. Perfection may not exist, but I may still choose to serve Perfection. Commissions considered. |
Posted By: R o V e R
Date Posted: June 28 2007 at 16:27
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Iron Maiden
Melody 
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Posted By: Paulieg
Date Posted: June 28 2007 at 16:51
| Nobody beats the Italians for melody. Bands like Banco, PFM, Le Orme, Metamorfosi, Quella Vecchia Locanda, Locanda Delle Fate, Maxophone, and Nuova Era are full of beautiful melodies. Newer bands like Maschera Di Cera, Finistere, and The Watch too. |
Posted By: rileydog22
Date Posted: June 28 2007 at 16:53
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FOCUS! One of the things that has always stood out for me from their music is the sheer melody of it all, particularly in Akkerman's guitar work.
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Posted By: febus
Date Posted: June 28 2007 at 17:04
First names popping up in my head!
not prog:PAUL MC CARTNEY, of course
Prog: number #1 : BARCLAY JAMES HARVEST (Remember ''Child of the universe'' ''moonlight'' ''For no one'' ''suicide'' ''mockingbird'' ''the world has woken'' and maybe 60 more as good!!!!! can't beat that for melodies.
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Posted By: ProgBagel
Date Posted: June 28 2007 at 17:11
| Opeth. |
Posted By: Dalezilla
Date Posted: June 28 2007 at 17:21
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Steely Dan!
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Posted By: theBox
Date Posted: June 28 2007 at 17:36
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Flower Kings and Kaipa!!! Nothing else comes close regarding the
melodic themes in their instrumental sections. Now, for vocal melodies
i'd go with YES. TFTO has the best vocal melodies I've ever heard (tales being just the tip of the iceberg of course...)
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Posted By: Komodo dragon
Date Posted: June 28 2007 at 18:16
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^One band that fit's with that first two just perfectly -The Tangent
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Posted By: BroSpence
Date Posted: June 28 2007 at 18:37
| Peter Gabriel is pretty good with melodies. |
Posted By: NotAProghead
Date Posted: June 28 2007 at 18:56
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Hungarian OMEGA. One of the greatest masters to create good melodies. ------------- Who are you and who am I to say we know the reason why... (D. Gilmour) |
Posted By: Harold Demure
Date Posted: June 28 2007 at 19:04
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GENESIS high above the rest, for me. ------------- You can choose a ready guide In some celestial voice If you choose not to decide You still have made a choice |
Posted By: Asyte2c00
Date Posted: June 28 2007 at 19:18
| Pure Reason Revolution--a throwback to the Zombies and the Beach Boys but great nonetheless |
Posted By: Dim
Date Posted: June 28 2007 at 19:58
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Yes!
Jon Anderson and Chris Squire's voice's put together are beautiful!
Not to mention Chris' bass with Steve Guitar ------------- 
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Posted By: auralsun
Date Posted: June 28 2007 at 20:58
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In regards to melody, I'd say the undisputed king of this generation is Nobuo Uematsu, prolific composer for the Final Fantasy series and other video games. As far as prog bands go, I'd include Camel, Genesis, Opeth, and Porcupine Tree. |
Posted By: Endless Wire
Date Posted: June 28 2007 at 21:10
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The Beatles, The Who, Yes, and Rush. And Dream Theater. ------------- . |
Posted By: E-Dub
Date Posted: June 28 2007 at 21:11
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I think Neal Morse has such a wonderful ear for Melody.
E ------------- 
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Posted By: Dean
Date Posted: June 28 2007 at 21:26
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Camel
Moody Blues
Pink Floyd
Robert Wyatt
Riverside
Carptree ------------- What? |
Posted By: pianomandust
Date Posted: June 28 2007 at 21:27
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I would have to say that it is a 4-way tie between Opeth, Neal Morse, Riverside, and Porcupine Tree. ------------- and then there was music... |
Posted By: obiter
Date Posted: June 28 2007 at 21:30
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Gentle Giant and Marillion
------------- An té nach mbíonn láidir ní folláir dó bheith glic |
Posted By: Reverie
Date Posted: June 28 2007 at 22:13
| Godspeed You! Black Emperor |
Posted By: Equality 7-2521
Date Posted: June 28 2007 at 22:47
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The Beatles ------------- "One had to be a Newton to notice that the moon is falling, when everyone sees that it doesn't fall. " |
Posted By: Atavachron
Date Posted: June 28 2007 at 22:48
big time |
Posted By: Jaydubz
Date Posted: June 28 2007 at 23:37
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The King of Melody - Frank Zappa
Crown Princess - Joni Mitchell
Court Jesters - Steely Dan
Dukes of Modern Progressive - Roine Stolt & Neal Morse
 ------------- "Music is the best." ~ FZ |
Posted By: asimplemistake
Date Posted: June 28 2007 at 23:42
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The melodies I enjoy most are in Opeth's soft stuff and in a lot of Camel songs. For Opeth, songs like Hours of Wealth and Isolation Years have amazing melodies that I just love (also most anything from Damnation). Other bands include Pink Floyd and Blackfield (and PT). |
Posted By: puma
Date Posted: June 29 2007 at 00:13
| Queen. Think about it for a second. |
Posted By: Atavachron
Date Posted: June 29 2007 at 00:23
^ don't need to think at all... 
Tori Amos as well, and Stevie Nicks' solo stuff |
Posted By: Runaway
Date Posted: June 29 2007 at 00:33
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Everything Roine Stolt or Neal Morse are involved into, and most neo-prog. |
Posted By: FruMp
Date Posted: June 29 2007 at 00:53
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Yes
------------- 
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Posted By: Dean
Date Posted: June 29 2007 at 04:48
You forgot Queen and the Baron Knights ------------- What? |
Posted By: Hrvat
Date Posted: June 29 2007 at 04:52
| Pain of Salvation |
Posted By: Rolling Ronnie
Date Posted: June 29 2007 at 04:56
| The Alan Parsons Project. Great melodies and the very finest production. |
Posted By: Atavachron
Date Posted: June 29 2007 at 05:01
she's a genius |
Posted By: The Whistler
Date Posted: June 29 2007 at 05:11
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I think I can safely stand behind all of my art poppers on this one...The Beatles, the Moody Blues. Yes. Points off for Yes for sometimes clouding all that melody behind stuff.
Thicker stuff, but still solid, can be found with Genesis and, uh, Tull. As if you didn't see that coming. The Who I reckon too. ------------- "There seem to be quite a large percentage of young American boys out there tonight. A long way from home, eh? Well so are we... Gotta stick together." -I. Anderson |
Posted By: The Whistler
Date Posted: June 29 2007 at 05:25
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OH! How could I forget? Carmen. They was great. And Procol Harum. I'll stop now. ------------- "There seem to be quite a large percentage of young American boys out there tonight. A long way from home, eh? Well so are we... Gotta stick together." -I. Anderson |
Posted By: manticor
Date Posted: June 29 2007 at 08:39
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John David Gladwin and Amazing Blondel ------------- mantikora |
Posted By: Soul Dreamer
Date Posted: June 29 2007 at 10:11
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Yes
Genesis (ATOTT)
Marillion, specially the Hogarth era
Collage
Many, many more neo prog ------------- To be the one who seeks so I may find .. (Metallica) |
Posted By: Mandrakeroot
Date Posted: June 29 2007 at 10:41
NEW TROLLS, in their last album: "CONCERTO GROSSO, THE SEVEN SEASONS" ------------- 
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Posted By: StyLaZyn
Date Posted: June 29 2007 at 10:43
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The Beatles top the list, even if not fully Prog.
Petrucci has a great sense when he decides he wants to use it.
I find Rush fairly melodic.
Yes has many melodic highly moments that get shuffled away with pretentiousness.
One the flip side of this question, there are a ton of Prog artists that are NOT melodic. I attribute the lack of Prog popularity do to this.
------------- 
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Posted By: clarke2001
Date Posted: June 29 2007 at 11:30
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How do you measure the melody-ness of the band? I understand if someone says "Camel and Italian prog rock in general are more melodic than Meshuggah", but that's only my gut feeling. Melody is one of the major ingredients of the human phenomenon called music, and every music without melody...well, I'm not sure if it's music any more. Everything that could be written with musical notation contains melody, and not only that, because Stockhausen's "Contacts" can't be written by old-fashioned musical notation, and that piece is still melodic to some extent. Melody needs a pitch, I guess. (Or not?) But does this peach need a change? No, it could be constant electronic tone, or death metal growl. It doesn't matter. The music lacks melody if it lacks music. Or maybe not? John Cage's "4'33" contains only silence. However, in a strict sense of musical theory it contains melody: in musical notation, the melody is written entirely with note pauses. (Maybe not, but it could be easily described that way) Perhaps music that contains ambient elemets is the least melodic. It's funny how many people mentioned The Beatles as one of the most melodic bands, but "Revolution 9" is one of the less melodic things ever. ------------- |
Posted By: el böthy
Date Posted: June 29 2007 at 11:42
I also would say Yes... I mean, the Soon melody... is probably the climax of all prog  and some more ------------- "You want me to play what, Robert?" 
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Posted By: dedalus
Date Posted: June 29 2007 at 16:10
| Andrew Latimer's CAMEL |
Posted By: Dim
Date Posted: June 29 2007 at 20:10
Wow is it legal to give away that many clappies?
Oh yeah, I agree -------------
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Posted By: The Miracle
Date Posted: June 29 2007 at 21:25
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Dredg and Red Hot Chili Peppers However I don't think melody is necessary in music at all, in fact it's more challenging and fun without.  ------------- http://www.last.fm/user/ocellatedgod" rel="nofollow - last.fm |
Posted By: IVNORD
Date Posted: June 29 2007 at 22:27
Looks like the discussion took a detoure and deviated from the original topic widely. It has been melody.
Taking into consideration the sheer spectrum of their melodiousness, the beauty of their melodies, and the fact that they almost never duplicated their own tunes neither in melody nor in melodic harmony (only What Goes On / The Word (both from Rubber Soul) and Paperback Writer / Baby You're a Richman both in part using arpeggio as a base come to mind as somewhat similar) - the Beatles, of course. I wonder what could they achieve if they were trained musicians?
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Posted By: Norbert
Date Posted: June 30 2007 at 11:17
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Yes
Gentle Giant
Genesis
The Flower Kings
Marillion...
and probably many more.
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Posted By: JayDee
Date Posted: June 30 2007 at 11:33
 Oh yeah!
Anathema, Indukti, Dreamscape and Riverside from the progmetal genre.
Oh, and Enchant. ------------- 
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Posted By: StarBreaker
Date Posted: June 30 2007 at 12:53
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Amorphis! Vocal melodies, keyboard melodies, guitar melodies... Yeah, pretty much melody in every sense of the word. |
Posted By: MikeEnRegalia
Date Posted: June 30 2007 at 13:32
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Music is melody ... it's as simple as that. Of course there are many other elements, but melody is the essence. ------------- https://awesomeprog.com/release-polls/pa/aoty-2024/vote" rel="nofollow - 2024 Release Poll Listened to:
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Posted By: Forgotten Son
Date Posted: June 30 2007 at 13:40
| Marillion, Pendragon, Joe Satriani, Ayreon, Mostly Autumn Pure Reason Revolution, Steve Hackett and Camel are all artists that spring to mind. |
Posted By: The T
Date Posted: June 30 2007 at 18:20
Somebody knows Amorphis!!!   -------------
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Posted By: Komodo dragon
Date Posted: June 30 2007 at 18:26
Amon Amarth  what'a melody ....what'a face
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Posted By: MusicForSpeedin
Date Posted: June 30 2007 at 19:09
I was typing a response but then I found this one, which is just about what I was going to say.
Who makes up the best motifs or melodies? Those people who make up those licks where you think, "Damn...why didn't I think of that? That is so simple yet so affective!"
I get that feeling when listening to Miles Davis, The Flaming Lips, Primus, and The White Stripes.
As for prog. bands? Most prog. bands don't make up these GREAT melodies. As said ealier this is probably the reason prog. is so disliked.
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Posted By: el böthy
Date Posted: June 30 2007 at 19:15
so you like Meshuggah, eh? ------------- "You want me to play what, Robert?"
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Posted By: kenethlevine
Date Posted: June 30 2007 at 20:10
I consider myself obsessed with melody, and prog is one of my favourite genres because I think the melodies in folk/prg and symphonic prog, and some "clasic rock", if you will, are powerful and deep, sometimes very subtle, and perhaps this subtlety is why mainstream audiences don't get it. There are too many bands for me to name that produce highly melodic prog...just look at my four and five star reviews for an idea...obviously many more to come. |
Posted By: The T
Date Posted: June 30 2007 at 20:25
I don't agree completely.... While it may be true that prog has not as "catchy" melodies as other more mainstream genres, prog has more, say, complex melodies, melodies that need more notes, longer phrases, and in that respect this genre is also closer to classical music... Whereas the usual melody for pop songs is very very short, catchy, inmediate, in prog the whole melody, for the whole phrase to go from beginning to end we may need more measures than in a simple pop melody.... -------------
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Posted By: MusicForSpeedin
Date Posted: June 30 2007 at 20:38
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I agree that prog has many great melodies
but for a band/artist to be considered a king of melody I don't think prog is the best place to look. I feel kings of melody would be able to have their songs be considered the standards or something of the sort. You can have a melody just go the entire song, but I wouldn't consider that a way to go about making AMAZING melodies. You need a motif. You need to expand on your motifs but not make it a cluster #$%@ of notes.
Too many notes is musical masturbation. I rather listen to something that is amazing for its simplistic style than a band that flexes its technical ability...but this is a whole other discussion.
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Posted By: billbuckner
Date Posted: June 30 2007 at 21:08
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Simon and Garfunkel. |
Posted By: Dean
Date Posted: June 30 2007 at 21:22
Aggghh! Noooooo! Not here, not now.
 Try this thread... http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=39154&PN=6 - http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=39154&PN=6 ------------- What? |
Posted By: billbuckner
Date Posted: July 01 2007 at 08:30
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Posted By: earthrise
Date Posted: July 02 2007 at 01:00
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definitely CAMEL
------------- EARTHRISE |
Posted By: StarBreaker
Date Posted: July 02 2007 at 04:45
I f'ing adore Amorphis! |
Posted By: Dim
Date Posted: July 02 2007 at 10:43
Simon and Garfunkel have great melody, even if they're "horrible". -------------
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Posted By: The Miracle
Date Posted: July 02 2007 at 15:22
Meshuggah's riffs are often melodic IMO, there's always some rhythm to them. I was talking about ambient and avant/noise stuff like Kluster, Merzbow, some Zorn's stuff... with no melody at all. ------------- http://www.last.fm/user/ocellatedgod" rel="nofollow - last.fm |
Posted By: StarBreaker
Date Posted: July 02 2007 at 16:26
They are not horrible in any possible sense of the word, though. |
Posted By: refugee
Date Posted: July 16 2007 at 09:37
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Back to the topic: The Beatles, of course, but also Ray Davies. In prog I would say Genesis and Supertramp.
------------- He say nothing is quite what it seems; I say nothing is nothing (Peter Hammill) |
Posted By: wooty
Date Posted: July 18 2007 at 07:00
i don't know why more people haven't noticed this . This is the obvious choice to me. I think only Gentle Giant and Yes can match the Italian masters. ------------- "We turn and turn in the animal belly, the mineral belly, the belly of time. To find the way out: the poem." |
Posted By: prog4evr
Date Posted: November 02 2007 at 02:39
Touche! Agree wholeheartedly on the above edit...
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Posted By: Lady In Black
Date Posted: November 02 2007 at 10:36
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INDIAN SUMMER in HEAVY PROG sure wins! ------------- It's dark... I've fear... I have strong pains... A serpent is being born... That badly I did, I? |
Posted By: ghost_of_morphy
Date Posted: November 02 2007 at 12:22
Ok, Star of Sirius is really good and Yes wouldn't be who I'd list first as great composers of melodies, but let's recognize that "And You And I" has some of the most inspiring melodic lines ever written.
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Posted By: heyitsthatguy
Date Posted: November 02 2007 at 12:50
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The Dillinger Escape Plan
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Posted By: Shakespeare
Date Posted: November 02 2007 at 12:53
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Ulver
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Posted By: andu
Date Posted: November 02 2007 at 15:36
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Mr. Bungle
------------- "PA's own GI Joe!" 
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Posted By: Trickster F.
Date Posted: November 02 2007 at 18:41
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This is a tough question to answer immediately.
I just wanted to ask, The T, why is melody underrated in your opinion? ------------- sig |
Posted By: aapatsos
Date Posted: November 02 2007 at 19:38
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Posted By: Ivan_Melgar_M
Date Posted: November 03 2007 at 02:10
Won't see the previous until after I write mine:
Iván ------------- 
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Posted By: Prog-jester
Date Posted: November 03 2007 at 11:02
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YNDI HALDA, GODSPEED YOU BLACK EMPEROR, MONO and any other melodic Post-Rock
And Fish-era MARILLION...kings...
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Posted By: jimmy_row
Date Posted: November 03 2007 at 14:57
------------- Signature Writers Guild on strike |