Gentle Cardiacs have a Giant Gong Here and Now

Thanks for all responses and sorry for not responding to all right now, but I don't want to risk overloading this post with quotes. My posts end up getting longer than most at the best of times which has caused some consternation, frustration and complaints from some.

Cosmiclawnmower wrote: I'm gonna give Here & Now my vote as they're the under-dog here and 'Give & Take' is a great lp, a real invigorator for the moribund UK counterculture

Here and Now is the album here that I have heard the least, but really want to listen a lot more now. It's wonderful, I think. I really enjoy that album, and that was the impetus for the poll that got me associating. Well, actually I was looking up bands that sound like Cardiacs on Google (I had planned to do "Big Ship" by Cardiacs since I mentioned that in another topic) and one of the results was a topic at PA that I'd seen before where David (Guldbamsen) mentioned this track particularly. My first thought was that it reminded me most of Gong (but of course Gong has similar qualities to Cardiacs, as well as Gentle Giant), and "Master Builder" came to mind. I might have thought of better parallels, but I so love "Master Builder", and this Cardiacs song (a favourite of mine) sprung immediately to mind as well. The epicness and glorious way to my ear that this Cardiacs song finishes reminds me of "Three Friends" (the track). I included both of the two final Three Friends albums tracks as the two are always linked for me (one moves into another).

All four of these bands can be related with each other musically quite easily, although might well make different associations, and I might on a different day.

Spacegod87 wrote: Oh you just had to include two of my favourite bands (GG and Cardiacs) didn't you? In this case, it has to go to Cardiacs. That ending...floors me evertime.

I so love this Cardiacs track, and both the ending of "Three Friends" and "The Everso Closely Guarded Line" have moved me in a very similar way. Some say that Cardiacs is not progressive, but to me such music is inherently progressive. Like with GG, Cardiacs could present an awful lot and make interesting tonal shifts and make twists in a short time. Sometimes both might seem a little disjointed and frenetic at times... and maybe a little zenetic, by way of segue...

Frenetic Zetetic wrote: Maybe if these bands were busy Working All Day, they'd be as good as Gentle Giant .

One might say "Maybe if these bands were all at the Gong level of being "Master Builders", then they'd be as good as Gong" as well.

But instead of saying good, instead I'd say it's much more subjective and "What you See is What You Are" as it reflects more on the individual psyche than objective reality. Some will always vote for the song by the band that is in-line with their own "Everso Closely Guarded Line" (people can be quite defensive in matters of taste), and may rarely step out of their comfort zones to give the new or lesser-known to them an equal opportunity. I tend to favour newer discoveries (particularly in polls where I had not known all the choices very well). I'm not taking this that seriously, but I wanted to riff a bit on your song word play.

That said, this being my poll, and all loved by me, I won't vote (I rarely vote in my own polls that mention favourites of mine, that's would be rather like choosing between my children (not that I couldn't do that, but it would seem unfair somehow). Normally I do such things as multiple votes. Suffice to say, all four of these have a certain similar energy about them to me.

Master Builder but the GG track is nice

Maybe if these bands were busy Working All Day, they'd be as good as Gentle Giant .

I'm gonna give Here & Now my vote as theyre the under-dog here and 'Give & Take' is a great lp, a real invigorator for the moribund UK counterculture

GG for me.... also love that tune from Gong