4th Round Class: Scheherazade v. Octopus |
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dr prog
Forum Senior Member Joined: September 25 2010 Location: Melbourne Status: Offline Points: 2448 |
Posted: August 30 2015 at 22:37 | |
Scheherazade for me. Octopus has some of GG's weakest songs of the 70-75 period although it has 3 or 4 strong tracks also
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All I like is prog related bands beginning late 60's/early 70's. Their music from 1968 - 83 has the composition and sound which will never be beaten. Perfect blend of jazz, classical, folk and rock.
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Komandant Shamal
Forum Senior Member Joined: February 02 2015 Location: Yugoslavia Status: Offline Points: 954 |
Posted: August 31 2015 at 00:23 | |
i voted for "Scheherazade and Other Stories".
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Dayvenkirq
Forum Senior Member Joined: May 25 2011 Location: Los Angeles, CA Status: Offline Points: 10970 |
Posted: August 31 2015 at 05:40 | |
Go Renaissance.
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Saperlipopette!
Forum Senior Member Joined: December 20 2010 Location: Tomorrowland Status: Offline Points: 10055 |
Posted: August 31 2015 at 06:53 | |
Godspeed You! Gentle Giant
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kenethlevine
Special Collaborator Prog-Folk Team Joined: December 06 2006 Location: New England Status: Offline Points: 8854 |
Posted: August 31 2015 at 08:41 | |
wow Renaissance closing the gap!
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digdug
Forum Senior Member Joined: July 13 2005 Location: Canada Status: Offline Points: 4707 |
Posted: August 31 2015 at 10:29 | |
Octopus for me for sure
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Prog On!
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Moogtron III
Prog Reviewer Joined: April 26 2005 Location: Belgium Status: Offline Points: 10616 |
Posted: August 31 2015 at 12:34 | |
This is one of the hardest in this round of polls...
Okay, Octopus, but only by the length of a... sucker... you know, on the arms of the octopus |
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Man With Hat
Collaborator Jazz-Rock/Fusion/Canterbury Team Joined: March 12 2005 Location: Neurotica Status: Offline Points: 166178 |
Posted: August 31 2015 at 21:58 | |
GG
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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. |
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AEProgman
Forum Senior Member Joined: August 11 2012 Location: Toadstool Status: Offline Points: 1787 |
Posted: September 02 2015 at 08:49 | |
Always struggled with som of GGs stuff, but still like them. Went with Renaissance instead.
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Prog Sothoth
Collaborator Honorary Collaborator Joined: May 03 2011 Location: MA Status: Offline Points: 1940 |
Posted: September 02 2015 at 08:54 | |
Scheherazade gets the vote, a name that would eventually move on to represent a cool Japanese prog rock band in which its members would then move on to even cooler Japanese prog rock bands.
Funny enough though, the band Scheherazade seems to sound a lot more influenced by GG than Renaissance. Such a crazy world...
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t d wombat
Forum Senior Member Joined: August 14 2007 Location: Australia Status: Offline Points: 504 |
Posted: September 02 2015 at 19:32 | |
So many people speak fondly of GG but I'm afraid I simply do not get it. Its not awful, indeed well played no doubt but another highly respected mob who have simply never wormed their way into my heart.
Renaissance on the other hand are obviously a whole lot easier to listen to than GG and seemingly just as competent. I confess that I find them a wee bit trite, too much hippy dippy for me to really love them but like yes definitely. Looks as if the Giant is gaining the upper hand though. I should really give them both another good listening too before voting but .... not now ... Hybris hasn't finished yet. |
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Andrew B
“Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.” ― Julius Henry Marx |
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Dellinger
Forum Senior Member VIP Member Joined: June 18 2009 Location: Mexico Status: Offline Points: 12608 |
Posted: September 02 2015 at 21:10 | |
Which albums have you heard from GG? I almost gave up on them with my first album, which was the Live "Playing the Fool". It was almost noise to my ears... or simply I didn't find any enjoyable melodies. Actually, I still don't particularly like it, and since I had heard The Power and the Glory on Youtube and didn't really like it much either, I thought I wouldn't bother more. But there was the song Strange Ways, which I did love, plus I had also heard Octopus on Youtube, and that one was OK, as much as you can take in with one such listen. So, somehow I ended up giving them another chance (some recomendations in the forum helped me make up my mind) and got their fist 4 studio albums, the ones that still had Phil... and well, Octopus was better than Playing the Fool, certainly, but the ones that I really got to love were their first 2 albums. They were much warmer and with more beautiful melodies to make contrast to their noisy weirdness... with 3 Friends they started to go into the more noise less melody mode, though. |
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t d wombat
Forum Senior Member Joined: August 14 2007 Location: Australia Status: Offline Points: 504 |
Posted: September 03 2015 at 03:32 | |
OK, I'll give Acquiring and three Friends a go. It is many years past but I know I did have GG on vinyl and it didn't do a great deal for me. We shall see but thanks for the suggestion. I think with many bands you need to find the one album that clicks and go on from there.
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Andrew B
“Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.” ― Julius Henry Marx |
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David64T
Forum Senior Member Joined: January 19 2013 Location: South Australia Status: Offline Points: 392 |
Posted: September 03 2015 at 07:19 | |
Octopus is a great album, probably my favorite album from GG. I'm listening again to it now and loving it.
But Scheherazade has that epic, epic sidelong title track that grabs me, regardless of what the rest of the album is like - rather like Echoes from Meddle, or 2112... So I've just temporarily reduced the minimal lead GG currently has... And my cat has just left the room - she does not seem to like the screeching strings and shouty sounds of GG doing Troubador... |
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Seasons Of Change - weekly programme on community radio: http://seasonsofchangeradio.blogspot.com.au/
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rogerthat
Prog Reviewer Joined: September 03 2006 Location: . Status: Offline Points: 9869 |
Posted: September 03 2015 at 09:32 | |
I would not rate Ren as equally competent as Gentle Giant. Just about every member of GG was a multi instrumentalist and in concert could drop one instrument and pick up another, just like that. Also, their improvs, variations all reflected a lot of imagination which I have usually found somewhat lacking in Renaissance. I would rate Minnear, Ray Shulman and John Weathers higher than Tout, Camp and Sullivan respectively. Derek Shulman is not a great singer to say the least but then vocals aren't that important in prog rock and especially not in GG. But they are a far more polarizing band than Renaissance, that I give.
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micky
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator Joined: October 02 2005 Location: . Status: Offline Points: 46828 |
Posted: September 03 2015 at 14:51 | |
those are the two IMO that if you are going to enjoy the band.. that will grab you. They have more emotional depth, more atmosphere, in those that the whole lot of the rest of their albums have combined. They just don't impress with abiity.. they can be quite touching. That kind of thing works for Fusion..lack of anything outside of technical displays of ability I suppose.. but for the most part GG impresses the head. but fails to really impact the soul..outside of those two albums Edited by micky - September 03 2015 at 14:52 |
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The Pedro and Micky Experience - When one no longer requires psychotropics to trip
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t d wombat
Forum Senior Member Joined: August 14 2007 Location: Australia Status: Offline Points: 504 |
Posted: September 03 2015 at 17:49 | |
Nailed it I reckon. Fusion , it seems to me, is the land of all head no heart . GG meanwhile are loitering with intent, waiting for the opportunity to sneak across the border. They are/were talented no doubt about it and even I can appreciate that there is depth to what they do. |
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Andrew B
“Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.” ― Julius Henry Marx |
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Finnforest
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator Joined: February 03 2007 Location: . Status: Offline Points: 16913 |
Posted: September 03 2015 at 18:02 | |
Strange, I find Octopus to be their warmest and most listenable recording. Great melodies and interesting ideas and sounds. Without trying too hard to be complicated like their more prog-cred albums.
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micky
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator Joined: October 02 2005 Location: . Status: Offline Points: 46828 |
Posted: September 03 2015 at 18:02 | |
I think you'll enjoy those two albums
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The Pedro and Micky Experience - When one no longer requires psychotropics to trip
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SteveG
Forum Senior Member Joined: April 11 2014 Location: Kyiv In Spirit Status: Offline Points: 20506 |
Posted: September 03 2015 at 18:24 | |
Scheherazade by God! |
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