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Joined: September 03 2012
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Topic: Is classic prog plagued by bad ending tracks? Posted: June 10 2013 at 18:32
There are certain records from the classic era that exhibit poor closing tracks, be it full or certain parts. Examples I came up with were as follows:
Selling England by the Pound: "Aisle of Plenty". I feel Cinema Show would have ended the album much more properly, and that this was a sort of filler.
The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway: "It.". This track doesn't really wrap the album up for me, coming in at around 3~ minutes if I recall correctly.
666: "Break". After a twisting and turning epic (All the Seats Were Occupied), we get this. A sappy pop tune, which kind of kills the flow.
In The Court of the Crimson King: "The Court of the Crimson King". The cold ending to this track after the free-jazz freakout felt a little forced. The album could've worked better with the 7-minute single version of this track instead of the 9 minute version.
Fragile: "Heart of the Sunrise". I really dislike the reprise of We Have Heaven. The cold ending to Heart of the Sunrise left me on the edge the first time I heard it, and kind of makes the listener beg for more, adding suspense to the next album Close to the Edge. But the reprise... not exactly the ending for such a great album otherwise.
So, is it just me, or do some prog albums suffer from a mediocre last track? Like I stated before, certain parts of tracks or just full ones.
I think the classic period is just "overrated" (for lack of a better word atm), you're just realizing that every prog album in the 70's wasn't perfect :P
Joined: December 25 2011
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Posted: June 10 2013 at 19:45
I don't think it was plagued by bad closers more than any other era, although there definitely were some subpar ones. I think it's interesting that, whereas conventional wisdom would say that you should close with one of your strongest tracks, one that wraps up the album well, Rush tended to close their albums with tracks that weren't as strong but pointed to the next album instead of wrapping up the album they were on. Cygnus X-1, for example, sets the stage for Hemispheres, and is in my opinion one of their weaker tracks (still good, though). Similarly, Vital Signs doesn't seem like the greatest way to end Moving Pictures until you consider that it leads into "Signals" perfectly.
It was once my favorite son on The Lamb, and I still really love it alot.
My perfect definition of "bad album closer" would be Mr Bungle's "Mary Go Bye Bye/Nothing". The "song" portion of this track is great, but the last minutes or so is just an awful way to end the album.
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Posted: June 11 2013 at 01:16
bytor2112 wrote:
It was once my favorite son on The Lamb, and I still really love it alot.
My perfect definition of "bad album closer" would be Mr Bungle's "Mary Go Bye Bye/Nothing". The "song" portion of this track is great, but the last minutes or so is just an awful way to end the album.
It's not a great ending, but it's typical Mr. Bungle.
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Posted: June 11 2013 at 02:32
I disagree about any of the classic albums endings mentioned here.
Aisle Of Plenty fits in quite well as an ending. A lot of SEBTP has moments where the music fades away, like in the ending of Dancing With The Moonlit Knight. Wanorak mentioned it as a reprise: well, even better.
Siberian Khatru is a nice closer.
So is the ending of ITCOTCK.
Lucky Man is a wonderful ending, with Emerson's portamento playing. Besides, I like albums with more complex pieces which end at a harmonic way.
Joined: July 13 2005
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Posted: June 11 2013 at 06:17
RedNightmareKing wrote:
There are certain records from the classic era that exhibit poor closing tracks, be it full or certain parts. Examples I came up with were as follows:
Selling England by the Pound: "Aisle of Plenty". I feel Cinema Show would have ended the album much more properly, and that this was a sort of filler.
The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway: "It.". This track doesn't really wrap the album up for me, coming in at around 3~ minutes if I recall correctly.
666: "Break". After a twisting and turning epic (All the Seats Were Occupied), we get this. A sappy pop tune, which kind of kills the flow.
In The Court of the Crimson King: "The Court of the Crimson King". The cold ending to this track after the free-jazz freakout felt a little forced. The album could've worked better with the 7-minute single version of this track instead of the 9 minute version.
Fragile: "Heart of the Sunrise". I really dislike the reprise of We Have Heaven. The cold ending to Heart of the Sunrise left me on the edge the first time I heard it, and kind of makes the listener beg for more, adding suspense to the next album Close to the Edge. But the reprise... not exactly the ending for such a great album otherwise.
So, is it just me, or do some prog albums suffer from a mediocre last track? Like I stated before, certain parts of tracks or just full ones.
I agree about "It", it always feels slightly out of place with the rest of the album.
"Aisle of Plenty" is a good way to end SEBTP as it links back to the opening track. I suspect some of its impact has been lost since the demise of Fine Fare and Safeway.
I also like the way the door opens and leads us back into "We Have Heaven"
Joined: October 12 2011
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Posted: June 11 2013 at 06:58
Guldbamsen wrote:
Van Damme Generator - Pawn Hearts - Plague
Ha! Dave, if they were called that, I wonder if I would have warmed to them more! Who do you think taught me my `Super Down Under Roo Boot Kick' move?!
Ha! Dave, if they were called that, I wonder if I would have warmed to them more! Who do you think taught me my `Super Down Under Roo Boot Kick' move?!
Michael Dudikoff?
“The Guide says there is an art to flying or rather a knack. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss.”
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Posted: June 11 2013 at 07:10
I don't necessarily agree with this idea of "bad ending tracks" simply because that's the heart of prog (IMHO). I wouldn't call any of these tracks "bad", just different, and moving in different directions. I thought that was the whole idea of prog - to take the music to a different plane, even if it does break up the "feel" of an album. And to mirror others in this forum, Aisle of Plenty is just phenomenal. (Yes, it's just my opinion, but, then again, they're my ears.)
I watched one of those not too long ago, and it's insane just how bad it was! I mean, I used to lab it up like a small dog, but now.........erm.....you know?
The 80s were confusing.
Alright let's get back to the thread here, before we start hijacking it with lame white boy Bruce Lee wannabees from the age of head bans and Cyndi Lauper.
How about this for a monster of a closer?
“The Guide says there is an art to flying or rather a knack. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss.”
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Is classic prog plagued by bad ending tracks?
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