Joined: October 02 2005
Location: .
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Points: 46828
Posted: May 15 2016 at 17:23
emigre80 wrote:
I really want to like Rush, and would do so if the vocals weren't so damn annoying. I do like a few songs here and there (Limelight, for example) but it's in spite of the singing, not because of it.
I do wonder what they would sound like had they kept the band exactly as it is but added a singer who didn't make me cringe every time he/she opened his/her mouth.
why dear... it wouldn't have been Rush. Plenty of bands had chops... what set Rush apart were the grade school philosophy for dummies (and Rush fan) lyrics.. but in the end they eventually become endearing. who says Prog can not have humor.. even if not exactly what was intended to be funny...
then there is Geddy's voice... I couldn't imagine Rush being Rush.. or really all that notable to be honest without the great shrieking elf himself. Character man.. it is all about character..
The Pedro and Micky Experience - When one no longer requires psychotropics to trip
Joined: January 25 2015
Location: kentucky
Status: Offline
Points: 2223
Posted: May 15 2016 at 16:08
Because I never read about music, only listened to it, I always assumed the lyrics to Yes songs (not all of which were written by Anderson, btw) were perfectly comprehensible and have always treated them as such. They never sounded like gibberish to me.
I think that The Yes Album is in fact the first real Yes album, and that if Steve Howe had not joined the band, they would never have been half as amazing. Which is not to diss Anderson, Squire et al., I just think that Howe's guitar sound is what made Yes into Yes.
I like A Trick of the Tale best of all Genesis albums because it seems to me the perfect intersection between their prog and pop iterations. It's the most accessible. I don't consider accessibility a bad thing. I love Selling England by the Pound, but still prefer ATOTT.
I have never once knowingly listened to The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (although I may have listened to it unknowingly when my husband was playing it). Nothing I have read about TLLDOB has ever made me want to listen to it, although I do feel obligated to listen to it someday, in the same way I feel obligated to read Joyce's Ulysses someday, but I don't see either day coming up on the horizon anytime soon.
I think Pink Floyd would have been a much better band had Roger Waters been less of a self-pitying narcissist. The only Pink Floyd album that manages to be completely wonderful in spite of Roger Waters is Wish You Were Here. Other than that, I would be okay with never hearing another Pink Floyd album ever again.
I really want to like Rush, and would do so if the vocals weren't so damn annoying. I do like a few songs here and there (Limelight, for example) but it's in spite of the singing, not because of it. I do wonder what they would sound like had they kept the band exactly as it is but added a singer who didn't make me cringe every time he/she opened his/her mouth.
I like King Crimson's work a lot, but wish I could just enjoy it without feeling obliged to enjoy it.
I'm kind of thinking about liking Dream Theatre, but I'm waiting to see if the urge goes away before I invest in any of their CDs.
I like Opeth. Not love, but like. I kind of like Swedish prog generally and am hoping to find time to expand my knowledge of it.
Hi. Could you perhaps recommend a clean vocals Opeth album?
I didn't even know they had them and might give them another chance.
You can check out Pale Communion (pretty good and PA's Album of the Year 2014). Its predecessor, Heritage, may be clean as well (I have not yet heard that one).
Joined: May 12 2009
Location: Coolwood
Status: Offline
Points: 6397
Posted: May 15 2016 at 15:15
Aussie-Byrd-Brother wrote:
My unusual prog opinion?
Anything that Peter Hammill sings on is more or less overwrought and excruciating, and I cringe most of the time when I hear his histrionic wail.
A shame, because I can tell the music of VdGG behind his voice is terrific.
I agree , which is why I have not gotten into VdGG. Some other opinions of mine, many similar to some above:
PFs debut album is my least favorite album of theirs; Sid Barrett had his moments but usually not.
In many ways, 80s King Crimson was a better band than the various 70s versions.
Hold Your Fire by Rush is one of their best albums.
Out of the eight Gentle Giant albums I have, Three Friends is my least favorite because it's supposed story line doesn't hold together.
Foxtrot is my least favorite of PG era Genesis even though I still consider it 5 star.
Can is noise.
So is most Prog Metal and almost all of Extreme/Tech Metal.
We're Only In It For the Money is random garbage.
Soft Machine's Elton Dean sounds like he is strangling a goat.
Roxy Music's Andy MacKay could not play his instruments until 3 or 4 albums in. In fact, I don't think any of them really knew how to play when they recorded their first album.
Fear of a Blank Planet is either derivative or dull and turned me off from Porcupine Tree.
Renaissance's 80s pop music is listenable. So is Triumvirat's A La Carte. As I said, pop.
It is disappointing that Steve Hackett's greatest commercial success lies in revisiting Genesis.
Dave Cousins is one of the best songwriter's found on this site.
Both Steve Morse and Mike Oldfield have played the same guitar solo in different songs too many times (and I still love their music).
Some of these I have expressed before. Remember kids, it is your own ears that are doing the listening; you do not have to like or dislike anything simply because somebody else says you should. At the same time, keep an open mind, listen, and expand your horizons.
The world of sound is certainly capable of infinite variety and, were our sense developed, of infinite extensions. -- George Santayana, "The Sense of Beauty"
Joined: December 06 2015
Location: The USA
Status: Offline
Points: 18
Posted: May 15 2016 at 13:19
The majority of King Crimson's music sucks!
"There you go man, keep as cool as you can. Face piles and piles of trials with smiles. It riles them to believe that you perceive the web they weave. And keep on thinking free."
Fortunately not much of a problem in prog rock, but I absolutely hate bagpipes. Here, however, is one application of bagpipes I can get behind...
He neither drank, smoked, nor rode a bicycle. Living frugally, saving his money, he died early, surrounded by greedy relatives. It was a great lesson to me -- John Barrymore
Joined: January 24 2010
Location: Canada
Status: Offline
Points: 8126
Posted: May 15 2016 at 11:48
Libra's Winter Day's Nightmare is a super record, deserving much more attention than it ever got.
Helmut Koellen's song "Main Street" off of his solo album "You Won't See Me" should have been released as a single, and could have been a huge rock anthem.
Atomic Rooster's early 80s EPs with John du Cann are the best recordings the band ever recorded.
Joined: February 03 2007
Location: .
Status: Offline
Points: 16913
Posted: May 15 2016 at 09:51
Dellinger wrote:
Aussie-Byrd-Brother wrote:
The idea among many that prog bands aren't worth listening to unless the vocals/lyrics are in English.
Actually, for me if a band whose mother language isn't english sings in english, it's a downside. If I find bands that I like from different countries, I prefer them to sing in their native tongue... it's more interesting, even if I don't understand the lyrics. And I believe that's particularly important on RPI.
That's me as well. People singing in their first language is so much more rewarding, ultimately. I can't listen to poorly executed English vocals that some band is forcing themselves into, for what they think will be wider appeal.
Joined: May 14 2016
Location: Croatia
Status: Offline
Points: 206
Posted: May 15 2016 at 09:47
"Volume One" is my least favorite Soft Machine album. And "Land of Cockayne" is a great album, though it should've been released under some different name. I prefer "Ummagumma" and "More" to "Animals" and "The Wall".
I don't really think that Alex Lifeson can cope with filling long tunes with guitar lines. And I can't stand "Tom Sawyer". Actually, I think they're the best at playing more conventional hard rock.
I prefer Japan to David Bowie.
Anathema left metal riffs and growling vocals, but all the things I find cheesy and frustrating in modern metal remained in their sound.
I love some new age and smooth jazz.
Magma's and Queen's music contain too many massive vocals for me to really enjoy it.
I can't deny their originality and lyrical diversity, but I always considered VdGG to be the second rate prog band.
Joined: June 26 2011
Location: Portugal
Status: Offline
Points: 3654
Posted: May 15 2016 at 08:26
freyacat wrote:
This is a good thread, because it is exposing some of the discomfort we can feel with the standard dogma surrounding progressive rock.
An oft-unchallenged assertion here, especially among fellow Rush fans, is that the coming of the 80's, with greater emphasis on synthesizers and shorter-form compositions, was a time of musical degradation. My own view is that you can hear how tired the progressive rock genre was getting at the end of the 70's, and that the New Wave influence on our favorite bands revitalized most of them, and brought them melodic and lyrical focus.
I have lately been feeling that Robin Trower's music should be included here as a form of progressive rock. It usually gets categorized as blues-rock, and most progressive rock is based on classical melodies rather than the blues. But if you listen to the song structures, and hear Robin's creative use of guitar effects, you can tell that more is going on than your average blues rock. The lyrics as well are often mythical in scope, just like you find in Progressive Rock.
One last orthodox opinion to offer: I think that spirituality is an essential component of Progressive Rock which doesn't get recognized often enough. I define spirituality not necessarily as being connected to religious belief, but more in the sense that a quest for meaning is central to one's understanding. I think that part of the motivation for making music this different was that something more complex needed to be said.
Sensitive reasoning on both issues, fully support !
Joined: August 09 2015
Location: Italy
Status: Offline
Points: 14168
Posted: May 15 2016 at 06:15
Tago Mago, Ege Bamyasi and Soon Over Babaluma are my favourite Can albums and true masterpieces, but I've always struggled to get into Future Days; I miss the sharpness there that is in the others.
Another case where I can't get into the album of an artist that by and large is valued most highly by Prog fans is Bowie's Low.
Joined: April 25 2016
Location: wonderland
Status: Offline
Points: 143
Posted: May 15 2016 at 05:17
well, let's see
I've always liked Genesis - Nursery Cryme and SEBTP more than Foxtrot. Last time I listened to Foxtrot, I only listened to the short ones (haven't listened to Supper's Ready in a long time, I need a special mood for it, it seems)
Yes - the debut and Drama are two of my favorite from them. Don't remember the last time I listened to CttE (great album, no doubt about it, but I rarely listen to it).
I also like 80s Rush more than 70s Rush
Pink Floyd's debut is one of my least favorite albums from them.
In recent years, I've listened to Hogarth Marillion albums more than the Fish ones.
I'm appalled when I see DT fans/listeners saying they enjoy the later days albums more than the early/90s albums.
I haven't listened to Jethro Tull's TaaB in years.
The clean vocals Opeth albums are my favorite from them (I rarely listen to the death metal Opeth).
Joined: February 17 2004
Location: United States
Status: Offline
Points: 146
Posted: May 15 2016 at 04:56
This is a good thread, because it is exposing some of the discomfort we can feel with the standard dogma surrounding progressive rock.
An oft-unchallenged assertion here, especially among fellow Rush fans, is that the coming of the 80's, with greater emphasis on synthesizers and shorter-form compositions, was a time of musical degradation. My own view is that you can hear how tired the progressive rock genre was getting at the end of the 70's, and that the New Wave influence on our favorite bands revitalized most of them, and brought them melodic and lyrical focus.
I have lately been feeling that Robin Trower's music should be included here as a form of progressive rock. It usually gets categorized as blues-rock, and most progressive rock is based on classical melodies rather than the blues. But if you listen to the song structures, and hear Robin's creative use of guitar effects, you can tell that more is going on than your average blues rock. The lyrics as well are often mythical in scope, just like you find in Progressive Rock.
One last orthodox opinion to offer: I think that spirituality is an essential component of Progressive Rock which doesn't get recognized often enough. I define spirituality not necessarily as being connected to religious belief, but more in the sense that a quest for meaning is central to one's understanding. I think that part of the motivation for making music this different was that something more complex needed to be said.
sad creature nailed upon the coloured door of time
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Funny Ways: Your Unusual Prog Opinions
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emigre80 wrote:
, which is why I have not gotten into VdGG. Some other opinions of mine, many similar to some above: 
