Genesis' The Waiting Room or Crimson's Providence? - Progressive Rock Music Forum

Here are two avant-garde pieces that both came out in 1974 with similar overall contours. Both start out in an improvised free form (for want of a better description) and then cross a threshold mid-way through that starts a more driving rhythm. Both have a somewhat disconcerting mood to them. This is a tough comparison, I think. Which one do you like better?

Both nice and freaky.

A GREAT YEAR FOR PROG!!!

The Waiting Room

Dig me...But don't...Bury me
I'm running still, I shall until, one day, I hope that I'll arrive
Warning: Listening to jazz excessively can cause a laxative effect.

Providence

Both. But imho Providence does not really fit on Red. And the unedited version is, well interesting as well. Wonder what Red would have been like with Fracture (or a later more practiced version of it)...

KC are one of the few prog bands that really do have improvisations (most prog rock is well arranged - KC do both). Maybe it comes from not having a dedicated keyboardist (mellotron double duties aside); also unique for a prog rock band.

Waiting room--describes perfectly what is going thru Rael's head and what he is seeing in the waiting room lol--humorous and weird.

Waiting Room - I like that it feels more composed. As good an improv as Providence is, it's just an improvisation and I never thought those "live on the spur of the moment" pieces fit especially well on KC's studio albums. I prefer them to stay on live albums, otherwise they feel like filler to me.

Edited by HolyMoly - March 03 2014 at 09:43

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BaldFriede wrote:

HolyMoly wrote:

Waiting Room - I like that it feels more composed. As good an improv as Providence is, it's just an improvisation and I never thought those "live on the spur of the moment" pieces fit especially well on KC's studio albums. I prefer them to stay on live albums, otherwise they feel like filler to me.

I would never use the phrase "just an improvisation", for several reasons. First of all many improvisations are better than composed stuff (at least in my opinion), second improvising is not easy at all, and third many classical compositions arose from improvisations. Bach could improvise whole fugues, and many other composers were known to be excellent improvisors.

That improvisations are looked down upon is due to the romantic era with its genius cult

I don't disagree, I just think KC's studio albums aren't particularly well served by the purely improvisational pieces. Their live albums, on the other hand, are all the better for them. As for my choice of words, I concede that "just an improvisation" sounds dismissive, and that was more due to my current mood than any real appraisal of the music.

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It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle if it is lightly greased.

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Providence, but I enjoy both.

Providence stands on its own better than The Waiting Room and gets my vote because of it.

The world of sound is certainly capable of infinite variety and, were our sense developed, of infinite extensions. -- George Santayana, "The Sense of Beauty"

Poll Question: Which do you like better?
Poll Choice	Votes	Poll Statistics
The Waiting Room	20	[39.22%]
Providence	20	[39.22%]
Both too Freaky	1	[1.96%]
Both nice and Freaky	10	[19.61%]
This topic is closed, no new votes accepted

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