I like Rush. Their sound is fairly heavy, and certainly closer to commercial prog like Pink Floyd or Supertramp; not as exprimental. Despite that, their songs are very tight and catchy, with great vocals, guitar, and drums (Neil Peart is actually one of my favourite drummers, though Carl Palmer from ELP is better IMO). I don't really like them enough to buy more than their best of, though ("Retrospective 1" I think the collection was called). That material is wonderful, but on the prog site I noticed that each album tends to be under 35 minutes (which is a bit of a ripoff) and when I did download some of the other tracks not on "Retrospective 1" I wasn't really impressed. So between buying other albums from better bands like Yes, King Crimson, Frank Zappa etc., and the short albums (whose best material I've got on the best of collection), I haven't bought any other of their main albums. If I were to get some of their actual albums, which would you suggest? Also, which songs by Ayreon do you reccomend? Because I've just downloaded a bunch of them off Limewire, but I need to know what represents some of their better material. All I need is the song titles, and if I have some of the ones you recommend, I'll tell you what I think after. So far I find they have a newer, heavier sound, and they also pay great attention to production, so there's a lot of synths, guitar soloes, and altered voices. I listened to "2084" and "My House on Mars" which I found too heavy for my tastes, but "And the Druids Turn to Stone" was actually quite impressive.
That is pretty much what I have read and have observed in reviews made by websites. How do you feel about Rush?
The way I interpret early Floyd is this: The first album, for its time, was actually a quite early psychadelic version of proto-prog (which basically means the early introduction of prog elements prefacing real prog) and it really did work well due to Syd Barret's leadership. (At the time he was the lead vocalist and guitarist, before Gilmour replaced him.) Though very different than usual Floyd and much less musically mature, it still is a good listen once you get used to the huge difference from the band that made Dark Side of the Moon. Afterwards, a transition point began. Syd started to become mentally ill due to heavy drug consumption (a very sad story actually) and Gilmour was brought in to "play like Syd." This changed albums later, with Gilmour developing his own, more mature style, but for the next few albums Gilmour would be trying his best to sound like Syd, even though he started to diverge away from this. Basically, the band became worse over time; Syd still had some influence in Saucerful of Secrets, but the band was also developing in other, better ways. Still, this album is actually pretty boring. As Syd left and the band lacked his leadership, they made two really bad albums, "More" and "Ummagumma." The latter, a double album, was the worst, except for its live sections, which actually once again showed the band maturing like in "Saucerful." It wasn't until Atom Heart Mother that the band did a 180, and suddenly were miles ahead whereas before they were in a downward spiral of bad music. They were still improving, but now half-assed expiriments and attempts at new sounds were a thing of the past, with the band fully prepared to play their usual masterful music.
Yes, albums early in a prog band or artist's career are almost always infinetly better than later offerings, but there are exceptions, like Pink Floyd, whose first few albums before Atom Heart Mother were terrible. And yes, I hate commercial rock. As for the pun, that was totally unintended actually, but it is a funny coincidence. As for which is better, I doubt Selling England by the Pound could be better than Lamb, which was awesome. Sometimes the site has pretty wierd ratings; ocassionally I really disagree with them. I'm not completely sure, but... Lamb was a masterpeice. I heard Floyd's first album, Pipers At The Gates Of Dawn was a great album (but that was considered a psychedelic rock album, so does that count towards Floyd being a prog band). The pun certainly humoured me. Well, I'll take your word and check out Lamb first, and see where I should go from there.
Originally Posted by Ryth I figured the early work would've been better, it usually is. Eww commericial rock. Petered off? Peter Gabriel? Do I smell a pun? I heard teh same thing about their first album. Well, England got better reviews than Lambs, so I'm kind of stuck all over again, aren't I? Yes, albums early in a prog band or artist's career are almost always infinetly better than later offerings, but there are exceptions, like Pink Floyd, whose first few albums before Atom Heart Mother were terrible. And yes, I hate commercial rock. As for the pun, that was totally unintended actually, but it is a funny coincidence. As for which is better, I doubt Selling England by the Pound could be better than Lamb, which was awesome. Sometimes the site has pretty wierd ratings; ocassionally I really disagree with them. I'm not completely sure, but... Lamb was a masterpeice.
I figured the early work would've been better, it usually is. Eww commericial rock. Petered off? Peter Gabriel? Do I smell a pun? I heard teh same thing about their first album. Well, England got better reviews than Lambs, so I'm kind of stuck all over again, aren't I?
Well, I don't know a lot about Genesis, because the only album I have on CD is Lamb Lies Down on Broadway. I have some others from my father's collection on LP, but I rarely listen to them. From what I remember, a few albums after "Lamb" were still progressive, but lacked Peter Gabriel's darker, yet more creative influence, and eventually even that petered off. By 1980 at the latest (but probably earlier), Genesis were pretty much a commercial rock band, and that material is bad. Early Genesis is better, though I've heard their first 1969 album lacks their usual sound. I'm really not sure what Selling England By the Pound is like myself, but there are reviews for all the Genesis albums here. So if you want other people's opinions, just click the link and pick an album.
I think I do enjoy "Court" more, but I am still a pretty big fan of "Poseidon" I like the style, where the music will change from soft and peaceful to a more chaotic and loud sound. I have high hopes for Zappa. I adore experimentation in music, even if the end result isn't the best ever, it's still something new. I like to listen to experimental music (such as Animal Collective). So I have a feeling I will enjoy (or appreciate) much of his work. I'll keep those albums in mind, and download/buy one when I can. I have all of Ayreon's albums, thanks to Faris. I think you'll like them, I'd reccomend checking out the song "Day Three - Pain" from their Human Equation album. When I check out Genesis, I'll get that album, how do you feel about "Selling England By The Pound"? I heard that one was very good, and was originally going to be the one I was to get. How does New Genesis stack up to the old Genesis? It isn't like Pink Floyd when they reassembled (without Waters) is it? I wasn't a fan of A Momentary Lapse Of Reason.
Originally Posted by Ryth I really enjoyed Poseidon myself (namely Cat Food and Cadence And Cascade, excellent tracks). My favourite parts of Poseidon were "Pictures of a City" "Cadence and Cascade" and "Cat Food," so yeah, I agree it had some great moments. Other than those tracks, the rest of the material was mediocre, except for "the Devil's Triangle" which personally I thought was just dissonant noise. I don't think it's a bad album, but I don't think it's spectacular either. I think it's quite similar to "Court," and that basically did everything better. Originally Posted by Ryth I've been meaning to check out ELP and my dad said he had some Zappa albums, and said he'd dig it up for me sooner or later. So I'm sure to hear some Zappa sooner or later. Frank Zappa's music is highly rewarding, but also very difficult to get into. If you listen to the wrong album, you might get scared off at the sheer expirimentality and wierdness of it. Personally, I recommend starting with any of the following: Hot Rats (for a prog fan, especially one who likes jazz influenced prog this is the very best place to start; it's his best album IMO) The Grand Wazoo( his second best album, with a large band and catchy music) One Size Fits All/ Over-nite Sensation (two of his more commercial albums, but also still with exprimental aspects) If you start with another album, there are probably only three possibilities. One, you might hate it. Two, you might not like it right away, but with a few listens you'll start to like it. (For example, when i listened to Uncle Meat, I was appalled at first, but eventually it became one of my favourite Zappa albums.) Three, you might actually love it right away. Zappa changes a lot from album to album, and I mean that he changes so much that you wonder how it can be the same person writing it! So don't base you opinion of him just on one album. I hate certain albums of his, love others, and some I only like parts of. As for Ayreon, I'm downloading a couple of their tracks to test them out. I'll tell you what I think after I've listened to a few. Oh, and if you do try out Genesis, I recommend "the Lamb Lies Down on Broadway" as their best. You liked the Wall, and this album is a lot like it. It's a concept album, it's a double album, it has an interesting and sometimes philisophical storyline, and there are many re-emerging musical themes. Interestingly enough, the band broke up a short time after this album, like Pink Floyd after the Wall. Genesis reformed a few albums later, but it was a completely different band with a different sound.
I really enjoyed Poseidon myself (namely Cat Food and Cadence And Cascade, excellent tracks). I don't have a definite favourite. It's pretty hard. Pink Floyd is quality prog, my favourite album being The Wall. I've been meaning to check out ELP and my dad said he had some Zappa albums, and said he'd dig it up for me sooner or later. So I'm sure to hear some Zappa sooner or later. Genesis has also been on my list for a long time. I'll keep an eye out for the bands you listed. If you haven't already I'd reccomend you check out Ayreon. Great stuff in my opinion.
