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Logan View Drop Down
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Direct Link To This Post Topic: William Sheller (Prog Related?)
    Posted: November 12 2009 at 13:30
I've been thinking about this one for quite a long time: his Lux Aeterna (written for choir, orchestra and rock band) being one of my favourite albums.  He's mostly known as a pop and classical artist and I don't think most of his discography would be right for this site. Lux Aeterna is one that I would put in a Prog category, but the rest?  Incidentally, he has a relation with Gerard Manset (whom I suggested and was added by Moris for the prog album La Morte d'Orion -- which is another favourite album of mine).

Now I only have Sheller's Lux Aeterna, well actually, I have Lux Aeterna - Les péchés de jeunesse .

Perhaps it could be squeaked in under concept albums, and although I've heard a fair amount of his music, I'm not as familiar as I should be, so I'd like some other opinions.  As for influence on Prog artists, well I'd have to research that -- this is a  thread really about getting people's opinions.

Here is a youtube clip from Lux Aeterna:



And one from a film he did the score for which I love too:



Here's a piece from his  Rock 'n Dollars:



And some more Sheller music:



He's one of those artists I would really push if we had a "prog album" based category rather than a "prog artist" based category, but I just wanted to get opinions from those that know Sheller reasonably well, know Lux Aeterna, and/or to get people to hear "Introit".

Here's Sheller's wikipedia page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Sheller
And http://rateyourmusic.com/artist/william_sheller



Edited by Logan - August 29 2019 at 10:39
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: November 12 2009 at 13:33
At first I read this as William Shatner and hilarity ensued.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 06 2009 at 17:28
maybe this is the William Shatner that Ivan believes is on Progressive Ears ? 
"Here I am talking to some of the smartest people in the world and I didn't even notice,” Lieutenant Columbo, episode The Bye-Bye Sky-High I.Q. Murder Case.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 06 2009 at 17:43
I'm watching a live video of his on Daily Motion (http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xfud2_william-sheller-symphoman), and if this is close to representative to most of his "rock" work, then gather some Supertramp / Roger Hodgson fans, reference a few Neo folk, and let the case for him being here build. Crossover maybe for the pop aspect , but certainly something there for PR.
The distraction is the occasions of French & Quebec chansonier stylings (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTVjKIFxUoA&feature=related), and well ... in this video he just doesn't carry off wearing a cape like Rick Wakeman could Tongue. Though the Supertramp sound isn't hard to find in this song, at least the Davies half of it.

I've bookmarked the Youtube page for now, 'cause I've got other things to do at the moment.
"Here I am talking to some of the smartest people in the world and I didn't even notice,” Lieutenant Columbo, episode The Bye-Bye Sky-High I.Q. Murder Case.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 06 2009 at 20:27
Thanks, Claude.  "Symphoman"s quite a good one, the other I find rather, erm, embarrassing.  I think that's fairly representative of a fair amount of his work.

Here's another vid:



While, since we don't have an album rather than an artist based category to put the, I think wonderful, Lux Aeterna, he may be best suited to Related.  Like with Manset before, only more-so in this case, that seems rather unfortunate to me.  I have thought of Crossover too. 

If people get the chance to hear Lux Aeterna, definitely do so (though I don't imagine it would be everyone's cuppa -- lovely choral work).  There's very nice Beatlesesque music on "Les peches...." (Sergeant Pepper's being such an influence on him when he was studying music at the conservatory, to his teachers' dismay I've heard).

Here is the description from Gnosis for L.A.: http://gnosis2000.net/review/sheller.htm

Quote Lux Aeterna is one of the few successful early examples of the fusion
of rock music and orchestra. It was masterminded by William Sheller, who
at the time was a successful French singer. He composed and recorded
the entire score, complete with lush choruses and a full blown
symphony orchestra, and only a skeletal rock presence of guitar, organ,
bass, and drums. At certain points a blistering lead guitar might come
screaming out of the symphonic blanket just to remind the listener
that this is a rock album after all. There is occasional narration,
along with some reminders of the times (voices jumping back and forth
between left and right speakers, mysterious psychedelic sound effects);
For those who need comparisons, I am reminded of Pink Floyd's Atom
Heart Mother
at times, also a bit of Clearlight Symphony, but
overall this
is a remarkably unique project.

(Originally published in Exposé #1, p. 16, Edited for Gnosis 1/21/01)


When I rediscovered Lux Aeterna, I got very into choral plus rock or jazz music, and that partially led me to rediscovering music such as the "Atom Heart Mother" suite and return to a bunch of other albums such as Vannier's L'enfant d'assassin des mouches (Vannier should definitely be in PA, by the way).  And it would have appeal to those who like Manset's ...Orion etc.

The other issue of interest to me that relates to this is how to best represent an artist or band that releases but one Prog album amongst many "non-prog" albums under the current system. Or starts off with an album suitable for a Prog category and then moves into Prog-Related music and then non-Prog (or a different permutation).



Edited by Logan - August 29 2019 at 10:39
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 21 2010 at 13:13
Bump -- Willam Sheller's Lux Aeterna is legally being streamed here (I love the album, please listen if you don't know it already)-->
http://www.musicme.com/#/William-Sheller/albums/Chemin-De-Traverse-0602498288580.html?play=01_02

A question remains with adding Sheller, if this album is considered includable (I definitely consider it PA worthy), should he be included if he only released one prog album?


Edited by Logan - May 21 2010 at 13:15
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 23 2010 at 17:26
I gave a listen to the album and it's excellent indeed, and I'd see it in PA. Just don't ask which category Tongue
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 23 2010 at 21:13


Placement is not easy (did another topic in the collab zone which I'd forgotten about). Prog Related is out, I'm pretty sure because he was not really influential to Prog that I'm aware of. Plus, I know there are concerns about it not being a band type of case, but more of a composer case (there are precedents for including him -- though he is also a performer, pianist and singer).

I considered Crossover, and think I informally mentioned it to them, because of his significant pop work. I don't
think he'd readily be acceptable to Eclectic whatever one thinks of Lux
Aeterna
. Lux Aeterna itself is a kind of symphonic music, but not what I'd call
Symphonic Prog (though it has similarities to Clearlight, I think), and it has a
psyche streak, but I don't think of it as being that Psyche.

Usually Eclectic looks for bands that clearly cross at least three prog styles without leaning to far towards one (inconsequential note: quite commonly there is quite a fine line between Crosover and Eclectic and Avant and Eclectic acts). I feel
that had Jimi Hendrix and Sheller collaborated, they could have done
something awesome. 

Really, I see Lux
Aeterna
as so-called classical (western academic music) with a rock infusion rather than rock with a
classical infusion ( it's the kind of experiment which had the
potential for real success at the time due to artists making classical
more populist -- things like Switched on Bach). I think Sheller did a marvellous job, and at least this is more original.

This is pretty cool (funnily enough, a fair amount of the music I suggested over the past nine or so months has been used and popularised by dub/ rap artists -- rather coincidental in a way, but then I've been into music that lends itself to such music (been adopted a lot) , e.g beat music, tropica.... Stuff like Axelrod etc.):



I rather doubt that he'd be accepted into Crossover (Gerard Manset, another I suggested, is the closest case I think of to his in Prog Archives and he's in PR.  Another similar case is Vannier, who is in Eclectic -- and whose discography I still need to complete).  I think the album would appeal to those who enjoy Pink Floyd's Atom Heart Mother suite and various artists who mixed choral music with rock such as Lalo Schifrin, Morricone etc.

I'm so tempted now to finally suggest Jason Havelock's Pop Symphony (one I've considered suggesting for ages).

A difficult case indeed.



Edited by Logan - August 29 2019 at 10:42
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 08 2014 at 12:04
I still wonder whether or not William Sheller should be included based on the strength of his debut, despite his later releases having not so much "progressive rock" value.



Here is the whole Lux Aeterna album (to me it remains one of the most accomplished "prog" albums).



Side one:







Side Two:







--------------------------------------------------------



This is a higher quality version of his Excalibur:







These seem fairly typical of his classical meets pop approach later on that was set-in motion with his first album (though still more applicable than quite a lot of his stuff).









{Edited to embed videos the way it now only works, but some, this topic being decade old, will not work}

Edited by Logan - August 29 2019 at 10:42
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: October 13 2014 at 10:59
Hi Greg

This is the first I've seen of this thread, and I too see him as a valid candidate for PA. If no team wants him, I'd be willing to take him to related. To my ears, this is a symphonic album, although it has more to do with say Atom Heart Mother than Foxtrot or Close to the Edge.
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