Wobbler- Rites at Dawn

Rites At Dawn is my first Wobbler and I like it, not a masterpiece but I enjoy it lot. Maybe litte too much Yes but on the other hand - much better than the new Yes album!

"Rites at YAWN" should have been the correct title..
Boring*zzzzzzzzzzzz*

Dick Heath wrote: This Wobbler appeals more than their earlier albums, but agree echoes of Yes are pretty loud especially in the opening tracks - and I'm afraid I find the Mellotron overused. 6 out 10 - which IMHO is  better than most cliche ridden recommendations tracked down over the last 5 years.

I have the sense that people either like this album or hate it.
The fans of their earlier albums tends to hate it, and people that discovered Wobbler with THIS album, likes it.

As much as I love Mellotron, agree that it is overused on "Rites"

The only track that works for me on "Rites" is "The River" which builds really well. Near the end of the song, the Yes influence is pretty obvious, TOO obvious, but I'll forgive them for it, since the song itself is good. If one listens to the Norwegian band "Høst", one can also hear a clear resemblance at the end of the "The River", almost damn right STOLEN.
The "Gentle Giant"-like parts with saxophone is just annoying, and completely out of place in places..

Infocat:

Yes, you should definietly give Wobbler's older albums "Hinterland" and "Afterglow" a listen.
I dont think "Rites at dawn" is representative for what Wobbler is really about. They have moved too far away with "Rites", in my opinion.
It's sweet & poppy in comparison. Think of Yes' debut album, and compare it to "Tales of topographic oceans", and you'll get the idea..

I really dont get what Wobbler is doing.
A frustrating album to listen to.. The melodies are weak, harmony vocals like Yes all over the place, and MUCH less keyboards.
They have abandoned the frantic ELP-like sound, which I liked.
The old Wobbler is completely gone, and a Yes-clone is what remains,
and they're not even close to Yes' standards.
I LOVE Yes, but I dont need Wobbler to try to sound like a bad verson of them, I just want them to sound like Wobbler.

I have listened to it maybe 30 times, but it doesn't get any better, it just gets more annoying really.
If this is their new path, I think I'll pass on their future albums.
One of this years biggest dissapointments in the Prog-world, at least for me..

Have to check it yet.

I'm quite dissappointed by Rites of Dawn, from what I've listened on the tubes. Then again, I doubt they will ever surpass their second album, a concise, well organized, though through and round masterpiece.

Hinterland is good, but goes on for way too long IMO.

I couldn't disagree with this thread more. I think the addition of the vocals has put Wobbler on a whole different level. I love the vocals in combination with the crazy eclectic prog music they are known for. It is like some crazy combination of Yes and Gentle Giant with their own sound mixed in. I really love it. Rites at Dawn is sure to place high on my year end list of best albums.

Great mellotron I will say. After a couple of more listens this sounds like Yes Mk. I(s/t and Time And A Word) and even, do I dare say it, a little bit of a Styx sound scattered in there.

Hi all (first post in about a year, I think) ...

Been anticipating Rites of Dawn for a while  ... and now that I've given it the obligatory 3 spins ... I still tend to agree with Sleeper's opening comment.

When the vocalist is silent, Rites of Dawn has some great moments (for example the awesome synth solo work towards the tail end of In Orbit, ... but it's hard not to feel a little frustrated at this new Yes-clone direction ...  Wobbler has never made a secret about its "retro" roots, but it feels like something has been lost here.

Hinterland and Afterglow had different personalities but I enjoyed both immensely. This is taking some getting-used to.