WONDROUS STORIES

Various Artists (Concept albums & Themed compilations)

Various Genres

3.35 | 13 ratings

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thehallway
Prog Reviewer

This is the prog equivilant of those countless "driving compilations" that start with Blue Oyster Cult and end with Meatloaf......

A surprisingly commercial output (there was even a TV ad for it) which combines the giants of prog with the bands only progheads know about (but nothing from the REALLY obscure category; no Zheul, Metal, and very few songs that are post- 70s). Consider it a "classic" prog compilation. There are a few painfully obvious ommissions that the record company apparently couldn't get the rights to, but other than these everything is covered.

Yes opens and I wouldn't want it any other way (although they could have at least chosen a proggier song- this issue is true of many of the bands here actually; take a look at the track listings yourself) and the rest of disc 1 combines giants with lessers in a predictable fashion, growing less famous as the cd spins on. Disc 2 is a similar story with the same balance. This is a great way to introduce a beginner or semi-enthusiast to new styles and bands, but my main complaint is that longer tracks are shortened, considerably in the case of Iron Butterfly and Mr Oldfield. This is meant to be a prog album, but the people who released this still seem to think that it requires some commerciality, if not to increase sales then at least to increase the number of songs they can fit on each disc. Perhaps the more catchy-inclined selections are a strategy for luring oblivious classic rock fans into buying prog albums, but ultimately, these consumers will be shocked when they purchase their copies of 'Brain Salad Surgery' and hate everything they hear. This compilation is misleading, to say the least. But I'll still give it four stars because of the material itself.

Buy this for your dad if, like mine, he remembers 'Kayleigh' but has never heard of Caravan...

thehallway | 4/5 | 2010-7-26

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