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Joined: February 10 2010
Location: Barcelona Spain
Status: Offline
Points: 5088
Posted: January 02 2015 at 15:06
The Son of Gorp wrote:
I haven't seen a lot of discussion about The Kindness of Strangers on this thread, which I think deserves some appreciation. It's not SB's best, but it stands up in its' own way. There are a lot of great tracks like "The Good Don't Last" and "Harm's Way", among others. I can't seem to get into "Flow" though; maybe I just need to listen to it more. Overall, a pretty solid album with lots of great moments. Anyone disagree?
I love The Kindness of Strangers and I think it is underrated, the previous albums were still a bit immature IMO and the later ones, while probably better in an objective / technical way, were less original, they went more towards the 'Prog by numbers' approach. Kindness has a very unique feel, in its time it didn't sound retro, it was a very modern-sounding and a very original approach to Prog back then and I loved it.
Joined: December 25 2014
Location: Kyrgyzstan
Status: Offline
Points: 146
Posted: January 02 2015 at 16:32
Gerinski wrote:
The Son of Gorp wrote:
I haven't seen a lot of discussion about The Kindness of Strangers on this thread, which I think deserves some appreciation. It's not SB's best, but it stands up in its' own way. There are a lot of great tracks like "The Good Don't Last" and "Harm's Way", among others. I can't seem to get into "Flow" though; maybe I just need to listen to it more. Overall, a pretty solid album with lots of great moments. Anyone disagree?
I love The Kindness of Strangers and I think it is underrated, the previous albums were still a bit immature IMO and the later ones, while probably better in an objective / technical way, were less original, they went more towards the 'Prog by numbers' approach. Kindness has a very unique feel, in its time it didn't sound retro, it was a very modern-sounding and a very original approach to Prog back then and I loved it.
Huh, I never thought of it like that before. Probably because I was a baby when it came out, but whatever
I have to say, I enjoy the immature kind of sound they had, they just released a ton of energy from what they were playing, and it was chaotic, which worked rather well, I think. Kindness must have been the transition stage between that chaos and refinement.
Joined: March 30 2008
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Status: Offline
Points: 3841
Posted: January 02 2015 at 17:22
The Glide wrote:
Any more thoughts on the concept of Snow? For instance is disc two just a continuation
on the story of disc one or something like a parallel universe. How
literally can we take the events on the album; is Carrie actually a
person or a could she be a representation of Snow's narcissism? Artwork
seems to hint towards a crossroad: as if Snow and the listener have to
choose which path to take: disc 1 or disc 2. Eventually either path
leads to somewhat the same goal: 'Wind at my back'.
Anyway after intensive listening I came to the conclusion that this must really be Spock's beard masterpiece!
I agree with you on your last comment, This is my favorite thing that Neal Morse and/or Spock's Beard ever did.
I've always seen Disc 2 as a continuation of Disc 1. Now, mind you, it's been a while since I gave it a good listen so my details may be sketchy. Carrie, to me, was a real person in Snow's life. As his popularity and megalomania increases, Carrie comes into his life and manages to calm him down to a certain extent. Then she appears to be gone towards the last half of the disc which in part leads to Snow's bender over the last couple of songs (Snow's Night Out, Ladies and Gentlemen . . . ). Like most Neal Morse themes, the final 'Wind at my Back' reprise refers to the lord rather than Carrie. I get the impression that Carrie was real and exited from his life but Snow gets saved from himself in the end by God. I always took disc 2 as literal.
-------someone please tell him to delete this line, he looks like a noob-------
I don't have an unnatural obsession with Disney Princesses, I have a fourteen year old daughter and coping mechanisms.
not been playing much SB music over the last few weeks. which as been noted so I`ll be bring the happiness of the SB sooner the ehcolyn album as finished...
Friedrich Nietzsche: "Without music, life would be a mistake."
Music Is Live
Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed.
Joined: March 29 2014
Location: USA
Status: Offline
Points: 2028
Posted: January 26 2015 at 13:56
SteveG wrote:
^Strange. Feel Euphoria is one of my favorite albums from any genre as it is extremely original.
I gave it a listen a few months ago (after not having listened to it in years) and it didn't really stand up for me. I liked it much better when it was released. I find it an interesting study in what the guys could do without Morse but overall it's not on my replay list anytime soon.
Looking forward to their next release. Brief Nocturnes..... really grew on me after a few listens.
Joined: July 27 2006
Location: wonderland
Status: Offline
Points: 41228
Posted: February 01 2015 at 13:08
I was amazed how well Ted Leonard fitted in SB, he sounded like he'd been with the band since always; the last album has become one of my favorites from SB.
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The Son of Gorp wrote:
