| Author |
 Topic Search  Topic Options
|
ScorchedFirth 
Forum Senior Member
Joined: May 16 2012
Status: Offline
Points: 257
|
 Topic: Modern Albums from the Neo-Prog Big 4
Posted: March 25 2013 at 16:38 |
|
By 'The Big 4' I mean Marillion, Arena, Pendragon, and IQ (I don't think it is widely disputed). I chose their best loved albums from the 21st century.
I think they all did a pretty good job of updating their sound here, you definitely couldn't mistake any of these albums as coming from the 'classic' neo-prog period.
My favourite is Frequency, which also happens to be the most recent, but they're all good.
|
breathing, eating, defecating, screwing, drinking, spewing, sleeping... 
|
 |
zbida
Forum Senior Member
Joined: January 16 2006
Location: Poland
Status: Offline
Points: 748
|
Posted: March 25 2013 at 16:54 |
|
Frequency is so good...
But Pendragon is my personal favourite.
|
|
octopus-4
Special Collaborator
RIO/Avant/Zeuhl,Neo & Post/Math Teams
Joined: October 31 2006
Location: Italy
Status: Offline
Points: 13358
|
Posted: March 25 2013 at 17:01 |
|
Frequency can't even be compared to the others. I'm not much into neo (I've been in the past) and that IQ album conquered me at the first listen.
|
|
Curiosity killed a cat, Schroedinger only half.
My poor home recorded stuff at https://yellingxoanon.bandcamp.com
|
|
richardh
Prog Reviewer
Joined: February 18 2004
Location: United Kingdom
Status: Offline
Points: 26151
|
Posted: March 25 2013 at 17:18 |
 octopus-4 wrote:
Frequency can't even be compared to the others. I'm not much into neo (I've been in the past) and that IQ album conquered me at the first listen. |
Some consider it to be a modern symph prog album. It sits comfortably between two genres to my ears. The new keyboard player and drummer broadened out the sound quite considerably.Technically that is the best IQ line up imo.
|
|
Mellotron Storm
Prog Reviewer
Joined: August 27 2006
Location: The Beach
Status: Offline
Points: 12938
|
Posted: March 25 2013 at 17:24 |
|
I'm leaning towards Pendragon but I need to listen to these.
|
|
"The wind is slowly tearing her apart"
"Sad Rain" ANEKDOTEN
|
|
lucas
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator
Joined: February 06 2004
Location: France
Status: Offline
Points: 8138
|
Posted: March 25 2013 at 17:43 |
|
Frequency
|
|
"Magma was the very first gothic rock band" (Didier Lockwood)
|
|
King Crimson776
Forum Senior Member
Joined: October 12 2007
Location: United States
Status: Offline
Points: 2762
|
Posted: March 25 2013 at 17:48 |
I was actually thinking Pallas rather than Arena. Their "Dreams of Men" would be a contender here.
Dark Matter is best IQ, though Frequency wins easily enough too. IQ has plenty of legit symphonic to it. Marillion and Pendragon mixed in too much ambient and alt/metal respectively.
|
|
sleeper
Prog Reviewer
Joined: October 09 2005
Location: Entropia
Status: Offline
Points: 16449
|
Posted: March 25 2013 at 17:50 |
King Crimson776 wrote:
I was actually thinking Pallas rather than Arena. Their "Dreams of Men" would be a contender here.
|
I was thinking the same thing, that it's usually Pallas listed ahead of Arena. Went with Marbles, but it was a very tough choice between that and Pure.
|
Spending more than I should on Prog since 2005 
|
|
Man With Hat
Collaborator
Jazz-Rock/Fusion/Canterbury Team
Joined: March 12 2005
Location: Neurotica
Status: Offline
Points: 166178
|
Posted: March 25 2013 at 18:05 |
|
Frequency over Marbles
|
|
Dig me...But don't...Bury me
I'm running still, I shall until, one day, I hope that I'll arrive
Warning: Listening to jazz excessively can cause a laxative effect.
|
|
Progmind
Forum Senior Member
Joined: June 29 2010
Location: Argentina
Status: Offline
Points: 3443
|
Posted: March 25 2013 at 18:53 |
|
Marbles over Frequency
Tough Poll, i really like all the albums from the list
|
|
fusaka
Forum Groupie
Joined: May 31 2007
Location: Québec
Status: Offline
Points: 62
|
Posted: March 25 2013 at 19:02 |
|
I love Frequency, but Marbles is a much more mature album. Apart from The Damage which is not that great, the rest is a great return to form for a band that was searching for itself in the previous years. For all its qualities, and they are many, Frequency is still "IQ-as-usual". I still listen to it constantly, I don't mind.
Edited by fusaka - March 25 2013 at 19:03
|
|
|
|
Horizons
Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator
Joined: January 20 2011
Location: Somewhere Else
Status: Offline
Points: 16952
|
Posted: March 25 2013 at 19:49 |
I hope IQ isn't contested as Big 4 or whatever, seeing they're the only real good neo-prog band i've heard.
|
|
Crushed like a rose in the riverflow.
|
|
jude111
Forum Senior Member
Joined: October 20 2009
Location: Not Here
Status: Offline
Points: 1741
|
Posted: March 25 2013 at 20:10 |
Marbles. And by Marbles, I mean this:
1. Invisible Man (13:37) 2. Neverland (10:55) 3. Ocean Cloud (17:58)
In the days of vinyl, the first two tracks would be Side 1, and the lengthy last track would be Side 2, and it would be one of the great prog albums of all time.
Edited by jude111 - March 25 2013 at 20:24
|
|
b_olariu
Prog Reviewer
Joined: March 02 2007
Location: Romania
Status: Offline
Points: 5531
|
Posted: March 26 2013 at 01:12 |
|
Arena - Contagion
|
|
richardh
Prog Reviewer
Joined: February 18 2004
Location: United Kingdom
Status: Offline
Points: 26151
|
Posted: March 26 2013 at 02:40 |
Horizons wrote:
I hope IQ isn't contested as Big 4 or whatever, seeing they're the only real good neo-prog band i've heard.
|
controversial  ..but its all an opinion
Pallas - Dreams Of Men is superb album and probably should have been in the poll
|
|
ScorchedFirth
Forum Senior Member
Joined: May 16 2012
Status: Offline
Points: 257
|
Posted: March 26 2013 at 03:03 |
jude111 wrote:
Marbles. And by Marbles, I mean this:
1. Invisible Man (13:37) 2. Neverland (10:55) 3. Ocean Cloud (17:58)
In the days of vinyl, the first two tracks would be Side 1, and the lengthy last track would be Side 2, and it would be one of the great prog albums of all time.
|
Ha, i've had that thought myself, only with ocean cloud for side one like CTTE.
|
breathing, eating, defecating, screwing, drinking, spewing, sleeping...
|
|
Hercules
Prog Reviewer
Joined: June 14 2007
Location: Near York UK
Status: Offline
Points: 7024
|
Posted: March 26 2013 at 04:58 |
richardh wrote:
octopus-4 wrote:
Frequency can't even be compared to the others. I'm not much into neo (I've been in the past) and that IQ album conquered me at the first listen. |
Some consider it to be a modern symph prog album. It sits comfortably between two genres to my ears. The new keyboard player and drummer broadened out the sound quite considerably.Technically that is the best IQ line up imo. |
If you are suggesting that Mark Westworth was a better keyboard player than Martin Orford, I respectfully but vehemently disagree.
I like all these albums (a lot) but Frequency is just the best of them. And as I've said many times, IQ are a symphonic prog band - neo prog is a pointless (albeit well established in the mythology of prog) classification.
|
|
A TVR is not a car. It's a way of life.
|
|
lazland
Prog Reviewer
Joined: October 28 2008
Location: Wales
Status: Offline
Points: 13243
|
Posted: March 26 2013 at 07:20 |
|
Marbles is genius. The others are merely utterly superb.
|
|
Enhance your life. Get down to www.lazland.org
|
|
yanch
Forum Senior Member
Joined: January 03 2010
Location: Lowell, MA
Status: Offline
Points: 3247
|
Posted: March 26 2013 at 08:00 |
|
Frequency for me.
|
|
richardh
Prog Reviewer
Joined: February 18 2004
Location: United Kingdom
Status: Offline
Points: 26151
|
Posted: March 26 2013 at 15:56 |
Hercules wrote:
richardh wrote:
octopus-4 wrote:
Frequency can't even be compared to the others. I'm not much into neo (I've been in the past) and that IQ album conquered me at the first listen. |
Some consider it to be a modern symph prog album. It sits comfortably between two genres to my ears. The new keyboard player and drummer broadened out the sound quite considerably.Technically that is the best IQ line up imo. |
If you are suggesting that Mark Westworth was a better keyboard player than Martin Orford, I respectfully but vehemently disagree.
I like all these albums (a lot) but Frequency is just the best of them. And as I've said many times, IQ are a symphonic prog band - neo prog is a pointless (albeit well established in the mythology of prog) classification. |
Classifications are a bit pointless always 
IQ are one of my favourite bands and have been for a long time. Orford is of course a great player and I cherish both of his solo albums but Westworth seemed to bring some much needed freshness at the very least..Funnily enough I was not that impressed with Dark Matter until I heard the Frequency line up play it live but hey ho.
|
|
Donate monthly and keep PA fast-loading and ad-free forever.
/PAlogo_v2.gif "Progarchives.com Homepage")
Modern Albums from the Neo-Prog Big 4