Is Symphonic Prog dead??
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Topic: Is Symphonic Prog dead??
Posted By: desistindo
Subject: Is Symphonic Prog dead??
Date Posted: April 15 2015 at 13:42
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I would say my favorite genre in music is Symphonic Prog. So you must understand how sad is to discover the genre is kind of "dead". I mean, we have some very good saviors, such as Transatlantic, The Flower Kings, Neal Morse, Moon Safari, Magic Pie, Anglagard. But, besides the forementioned, would you quote any other artist relevant in the genre? ------------- Who watches the watcher of the skies? |
Replies:
Posted By: justin4950834-2
Date Posted: April 15 2015 at 14:02
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I can't, but its not that surpirising. Symphonic Prog is probably one of the most dated sounding sub genres of Prog rock. People are moving past Symphonic Prog, and it just sounds to old to some prog fans especially newcomers. And you got to admit that the bands that are doing the symphonic prog revival, there pretty corny and fake sounding, not authentic. And I'm not saying I don't like Symph Prog, its probably my favorite sub genre too. |
Posted By: bhikkhu
Date Posted: April 15 2015 at 14:02
It may be heresy for me to say this but I kind agree with you. Even the bands you mentioned have been around for quite a while now. The last one that really knocked my socks off was Deluge Grander (there is another relevant one for you  ). I don't really think Symphonic is dead but it is definitely in decline. We get very few suggestions anymore and even then quite a few of those get sent to other sub-genres. It also kind of makes sense. Music has to evolve. That's why Rio/Avant and Eclectic are so vibrant. These are the artists pushing boundaries. That does happen in Symphonic too, just not as often. Most of the time you see new artists that want to make music like the masters who inspired them. It can be very good but not necessarily innovative. I don't think Symphonic will ever completely die. It's just in remission right now. ------------- a.k.a. H.T. http://riekels.wordpress.com" rel="nofollow - http://riekels.wordpress.com |
Posted By: Svetonio
Date Posted: April 15 2015 at 14:04
Of course. For example, Spanish artist http://grey-field.bandcamp.com/album/greyfield" rel="nofollow - Greyfield , already in Prog Archives due to my suggestion.
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desistindo wrote:Posted By: bhikkhu
Date Posted: April 15 2015 at 14:05
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P.S. You should also add Discipline to your list. ------------- a.k.a. H.T. http://riekels.wordpress.com" rel="nofollow - http://riekels.wordpress.com |
Posted By: Nogbad_The_Bad
Date Posted: April 15 2015 at 14:43
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About bloody time, next up neo. ------------- Ian Host of the Post-Avant Jazzcore Happy Hour on Progrock.com https://podcasts.progrock.com/post-avant-jazzcore-happy-hour/ |
Posted By: Man With Hat
Date Posted: April 15 2015 at 14:56
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No. ------------- 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. |
Posted By: Progosopher
Date Posted: April 15 2015 at 15:02
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No. Are the Beatles irrelevant? Elvis? Beethoven? Miles Davis? As long as people listen to the music, it is relevant. As long as Symphonic artists keep releasing material and/or performing, and people buy/attend, it is still alive. It may not be in the top 40 and the fans may not be teenagers, but both of those are beside the point. I consider it a fallacy, perpetuated by record executives and others, that the only pertinent music on the planet is what they are promoting and what hits the top of the charts. Don't succumb to their dictates. Nor does it matter how old the artists are. Yes, for example, is still alive, if not particularly well (but at least they are still striving to do something different). ------------- The world of sound is certainly capable of infinite variety and, were our sense developed, of infinite extensions. -- George Santayana, "The Sense of Beauty" |
Posted By: desistindo
Date Posted: April 15 2015 at 15:24
Hey, I really enjoyed that band! Thx ------------- Who watches the watcher of the skies? |
Posted By: JD
Date Posted: April 15 2015 at 15:37
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No, absolutely not. At least no more than Jazz or Blues music is. They have an audience so they will always be relevant in that respect. Are they the most popular bands to be heard nowadays, of course not. That honour belongs to the crappy bands pushed by an industry that focuses on who has buying power (ie: the young crowd) since that is where their revenues come from. It's sad because Symph is some of my favourite music. It cover a lot of range, more so than a lot of the other genres IMHO. ------------- Thank you for supporting independently produced music |
Posted By: verslibre
Date Posted: April 15 2015 at 16:03
Those are bands with vocalis but there's plenty going on in the instrumental side of the court, too. Motoi Sakuraba's bread and butter is soundtracks but he keeps recording the erstwhile keyboard-orgy album (which I always buy). Wakey hasn't retired yet, and I doubt he will. Rocket Scientists (songs and instrumentals) have a new album, too. ------------- https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_ipg=50&_sop=1&_rdc=1&_ssn=musicosm" rel="nofollow - eBay |
Posted By: desistindo
Date Posted: April 15 2015 at 16:21
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Hey, ironically, Ive just discover this wonderful album today: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8iTR5admcs A must listen. ------------- Who watches the watcher of the skies? |
Posted By: HackettFan
Date Posted: April 15 2015 at 16:21
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Posted By: The Dark Elf
Date Posted: April 15 2015 at 16:29
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Prog in general has been receding in popularity for quite some time, obviously so since the heyday of the 7 or 8 big bands in the 70s (and the dozens more that eked out nice careers on their coattails). Certainly, it has had a resurgence thanks in no small part to the Internet, but generally speaking it is an outlier on the edge of popular music. But then again, one shouldn't expect a big payday as a classical, jazz or blues musician either (as a poster above inferred). These forms are nowhere near dead because they still have avid, one might say even rabid, followings from a global perspective, just not from a Billboard perspective. Symph prog is really no different. If the music is good someone is bound to listen, just don't expect any real music industry involvement or advertising. P.S. By the way, add Big Big Train to your list. Very symph prog in the Genesis/Yes vein. I've really enjoyed their last three albums. ------------- ...a vigorous circular motion hitherto unknown to the people of this area, but destined to take the place of the mud shark in your mythology... |
Posted By: Catcher10
Date Posted: April 15 2015 at 17:59
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Maybe very heavy symph prog is not alive much now, but I suppose I can hear traces of symph prog in a lot of newer music....It will continue even if just in influence mode. -------------   
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Posted By: SteveG
Date Posted: April 15 2015 at 18:04
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Are groups like Transatlantic and Spock's' Beard (which you yourself stated) dead? The last time I looked they seemed to be breathing alright.
I'm not sure what your point is here. ------------- This message was brought to you by a proud supporter of the Deep State. |
Posted By: Catcher10
Date Posted: April 15 2015 at 18:11
I think he is calling those bands "good saviors" of symph prog. Maybe it is tough to quantify "dead"... -------------
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Posted By: SteveG
Date Posted: April 15 2015 at 18:17
^Oh, well...never mind then.  ------------- This message was brought to you by a proud supporter of the Deep State. |
Posted By: Catcher10
Date Posted: April 15 2015 at 18:23
ahhh...no worries my friend!! Hope you are well sir -------------
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Posted By: bhikkhu
Date Posted: April 15 2015 at 21:14
I wonder that as well. I do think some artists get put in other sub-genres because they stray too far from what we would naturally consider being Symphonic. I tend to champion the "oddballs" for inclusion. If my compatriots still vote it down, so be it. I have had a few victories though and even the ones that don't make it still spark healthy discussion. ------------- a.k.a. H.T. http://riekels.wordpress.com" rel="nofollow - http://riekels.wordpress.com |
Posted By: Manuel
Date Posted: April 15 2015 at 21:38
| Unless the Symphonic bands of today get to do something more inventing instead of copying the old timers, like Yes, old Genesis, ELP, etc, the genre will continue declining; not to disappear, but to become less and less influential. |
Posted By: Gully Foyle
Date Posted: April 15 2015 at 21:56
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Folks seem to be talking in two directions- about influence, and about the quality of current bands symph is still hugely influential of course - but its Yes and Genesis inspiring people, not Transatlantic or Anglagard. I think that there is some unknown horizon of symphonic out there, and some band will find it and release an album that will stand among the greats. I have not heard that band. The recent symphonic to me always sounds like retread. Even Yes itself is really just a Yes retread band.
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Posted By: 42ndAGE
Date Posted: April 15 2015 at 22:15
| You might want to check out the new IZZ album. I find it to be a fine example of modern symphonic prog. |
Posted By: Dellinger
Date Posted: April 15 2015 at 22:16
Hey, I guess I'll have to give that album a listen soon. I have only heard Originalis from Cast, but I really love that album. There you have a somewhat modern excellent symph album. |
Posted By: Svetonio
Date Posted: April 15 2015 at 22:22
My pleasure :)
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Posted By: HackettFan
Date Posted: April 15 2015 at 23:27
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Posted By: cstack3
Date Posted: April 16 2015 at 00:22
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The original symphonic bands had tremendous personality! Wakeman in his cape, Gabriel in his costumes, Emerson with his daggers etc. I don't think that the modern symphonic groups have that strength of personality. Of course, there are some strong musicians, but I'm not sure that they draw the audiences like the originators did. Personally, if we had more women in prog, I think we'd draw more attention. Annie Haslam was perhaps the greatest female vocalist in symphonic, and there have been a few others (Magenta, etc.), but why so few? Mind you, I'm not talking about a stage full of dancers!
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Posted By: richardh
Date Posted: April 16 2015 at 01:25
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This is quite a complex subject just because the classification of bands is problematic. For instance someone mentioned Big Big Train yet they are 'crossover' according to the site. Then you have neo prog which many consider to be the modern evolution of symphonic prog. Plus you have all those Italian bands ( see below*) that apparently get lumped together just because they come from the same country! All very confusing. It seems to me that the subgenre that is thriving is crossover. There are wonderful albums by Big Big Train , Lonely Robot , Dave Kerzner , Sound Of Contact and Lifesigns that have been released in recent years that I know I will never get bored of. Pure symphonic prog? I would add Glass Hammer to the list along with The Three Monks (although they are classified as RPI*). Deluge Grander are a good shout. Are Beardfish symph?.. if so they should be on the list. A great one off album Fright Pig is classified as symph although I would question it, If they are then so are Presto Ballet , another band from the USA that have put out some solid releases in recent years. I suspect when you sit down and think about it then there loads.
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Posted By: richardh
Date Posted: April 16 2015 at 01:30
I'm not convinced by the argument based solely on Magenta , another band I love yet the presence of a very attractive female vocalist as made jack all difference to their popularity in my opinion. Seven is generally considered a great album and the often overlooked Metamorphosis is a fill blown symph prog album that deserves more attention.
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Posted By: rogerthat
Date Posted: April 16 2015 at 01:57
I think more than costumes, what (partly) gave the big three symph prog bands a lot of character was the distinct style of the vocalists. One may or may not like Gabriel, Anderson or Lake's singing but they certainly didn't sound like the rest of the crowd. Imo vocals are important in lending flavour to an often bombastic and stately style of music. But vocals per se have changed in Western music over the last 20 years or so such that vocalists can often sound annoyingly uniform. Christina Murphy could be just another pop singer, you know the ones who actually have a lot of range and all that. Mary Fahl has an unique voice but somehow never rose to a comparable level of popularity (even within prog).
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Posted By: ExittheLemming
Date Posted: April 16 2015 at 08:32
The first bit's fine as the music of artists of that calibre is widely considered timeless in essence etc (but I couldn't fail to notice that most of your choices are deceased, apologies to Paul and Ringo of course) but do you honestly believe there is merit in the humiliating spectacle of watching those from the 70's who are now in their 70's becoming their own sagging tribute bands? (ELP, Yes, Crimson etc) If such musicians were continuing to create and perform music that was genuinely innovative and advancing what they had done previously then yeah, fine, more power to the 'ash blondes' but in 2015 they just aint. Similarly, the retro-Progressives like Transatlantic, Wobbler, Corvus Stone, Flower Kings, Black Bonzo et al are incredibly talented and skillful musicians who appear to be frittering away their fleeting ripeness by merely replicating the structures and textures of 1st Gen Prog Rock. (I don't actually believe there is a 2nd Gen Prog Rock but that's my issue perhaps...) Given that the internet and affordable digital technology has made the music industry unrecognisable from what it was in the 70's with unprecedented marketing and promotional opportunities afforded to recording artists so that major record labels do not dictate what most of us listen to, why do you persist in this redundant cliche about 'record executives and their dictates?' The days of the Pop svengali and A&R man are long gone comrade. It makes you sound like an implacable Scottish Trade Union leader. Unthinking conformity to a popular culture is no worse than blind allegiance to a freshly minted nostalgia for an earlier popular culture. ------------- 
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Posted By: BrufordFreak
Date Posted: April 16 2015 at 08:42
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Good subject for a discussion. I've been feeling the same way about Prog Folk, Jazz-Rock/Fusion, Indian/Raga--if you look down the list of PA artists under each of these sub genres there are not a lot of new names. Obviously there are sub genres which are (still) inspiring new (and old) artists. I would add Kotebel, Kant Freud Kafka, Wobbler, Freguency Drift, Introitus, White Willow, Dan Britton, Clearlight, The Enid, Solaris, Odyssice, David Minasian, Anima Mundi, and Fromuz to your list of bands who may be helping to keep Symphonic Prog alive. ------------- Drew Fisher https://progisaliveandwell.blogspot.com/ |
Posted By: verslibre
Date Posted: April 16 2015 at 10:18
Definitely. There's a new album coming this year from Goblin, too. And like you said, Glass Hammer have a new one. There's plenty of symph being made.
There have been many great female-fronted [heavy] symph bands that have come and gone after one album, which really sucks, like Italy's Tale Cue, Argentina's Supernova, and Chile's Matraz (two albums, but the second had a new female singer and was leaps and bounds beyond the first album). I was chomping at the bit for another Matraz album with Loreto, but it never materialized. Their guitarist, Claudio Cordero, later surfaced in Cast and has been in the band since 2007 (four albums, so far). ------------- https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_ipg=50&_sop=1&_rdc=1&_ssn=musicosm" rel="nofollow - eBay |
Posted By: moshkito
Date Posted: April 16 2015 at 10:31
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One of the saddest moments I have ever seen and experienced, was in SF on the Progressive Music Festival. A band from LA, The Rocket Scientists opened and everyone left the seats to go outside, and they brought on Lana Lane, (Erik Norlander's wife) and they put on an extremely tight, professional and well done show ... and someone said they were just a "metal" band from LA. They were the highlight of Saturday for me, and it was just sad to see that. Outstanding keyboard work, and her vocals were very strong and not timid, in all of the material. With sad comments like that, I would like to suggest that maybe our main problem with progressive is that it does not have enough women, and the boys club is not interested in them! We had, an incredible number of stuff that had women in it, and I still love it dearly ... but discussing it here is often very sad ... because the inevitable comment is ... it doesn't sound like the originals! ------------- Music is not just for listening ... it is for LIVING ... you got to feel it to know what's it about! Not being told! www.pedrosena.com |
Posted By: verslibre
Date Posted: April 16 2015 at 10:43
When ProgFest moved to San Francisco (for 1999 only), I heard afterward about the Scientists' cold reception. The next year, they opened for Spock's Beard (at the Troubadour, I believe) at the "pre-show" for ProgFest 2000, which was back in L.A. where it started. The lack of enthusiasm for RS with Lana Lane at PF99 was probably the sole reason they didn't get on the official bill for ProgFest, which is too bad because they're very, very good at what they do, especially if you love the analog stylings of Erik's keyboard work and Don Schiff's excellent NS/Stick and fretless bass playing. ------------- https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_ipg=50&_sop=1&_rdc=1&_ssn=musicosm" rel="nofollow - eBay |
Posted By: NutterAlert
Date Posted: April 16 2015 at 11:02
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symphonic prog with women - ARS NOVA - Japanese version, not the American one. Need them to come back to UK...  |
Posted By: verslibre
Date Posted: April 16 2015 at 11:21
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^One of my favorite bands! The current line-up was working on some new material, but life happens. ------------- https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_ipg=50&_sop=1&_rdc=1&_ssn=musicosm" rel="nofollow - eBay |
Posted By: Badabec
Date Posted: April 16 2015 at 11:40
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To be honest, I really got rid of all these symphonic prog bands that quote themselves to death and just don't develop in musical terms. If they sound as slippery and sterile as, for example, Transatlantic, it's even worse to me. I usually see only little progress and innovation within the symphonic prog genre and I guess that is the problem. There are few exceptions. Someone already mentioned Deluge Grander who are pretty wild and crazy, you could say the same things about Birds And Buildings (both bands' compositions are penned by keyboarder Dan Britton). Another exception is the Cuban group "Anima Mundi" who were the bomb when I saw them live. But all in all it seems that what had to be said in the symphonic prog genre has been said now, at least for the most part. By the way, I don't know if I would subsume (the contemporary) Änglagård under the term "symphonic prog", at least the latest album contains lots of fusion elements. Back in the early 1990's, "Hybris" and "Epilog" were pretty innovative, I think. I really like this band a lot. If you like Änglagård, check out the american band "Cathedral", Tord Lindman mentioned them as a big influence in an interview, if I am not wrong. Excellent symphonic prog band! ------------- Mesmo a tristeza da gente era mais bela E além disso se via da janela Um cantinho de céu e o Redentor - Antônio Carlos Jobim, Toquinho & Vinícius de Moraes - Carta ao Tom 74 |
Posted By: altaeria
Date Posted: April 16 2015 at 13:51
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The original top-tier Symphonic bands fundamentally tip-toed a line between Classical, Rock, and even Pop. Many of their members had some sort of upbringing in Classical music, and that influence was evident. Meanwhile, their vocal parts were extremely melodic and (gasp!) quite catchy more often than not. The more recent generations of prog musicians just don't seem to have the same approach in combining (1) strong Classical motifs with (2) accessible vocal hooks over (3) Rock arrangements. In many cases, the newer acts only successfully combine two of those three ingredients. If they do rock out to classical ideas, then most likely they're instrumental and don't engage with strong vocals. If they generally focus alot on strong vocal hooks, then most likely the classical influence is minimal if at all. If they actually utilize classical motifs along with appealing vocals, then odds are they never really rock out. Just a generalization, of course.  |
Posted By: bhikkhu
Date Posted: April 16 2015 at 14:05
Gotta agree with you an Cathedral. A true gem. Two albums, over 30 years apart and both excellent.  ------------- a.k.a. H.T. http://riekels.wordpress.com" rel="nofollow - http://riekels.wordpress.com |
Posted By: memowakeman
Date Posted: April 16 2015 at 14:13
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Not at all. There are so many bands / projects / musicians who are still creating great symphoniic prog. One of them is Willowglass, which I highly recommend. ------------- Follow me on twitter @memowakeman |
Posted By: Hercules
Date Posted: April 16 2015 at 15:03
Well, since IQ, Marillion and Pendragon (amongst others) are producing great symphonic prog (you may call it neo-prog but it's exactly the same thing by another name), the answer is an emphatic no. Personally, if pushed I'd prefer to see Rio/Avant/Zeuhl die because I can't stand the genres, but since some people (including yourself) enjoy them for some reason I don't get, I'd actually rather see all forms of prog thrive. ------------- A TVR is not a car. It's a way of life. |
Posted By: The Sloth
Date Posted: April 16 2015 at 15:45
| Are you saying you don't like Magma, or just the bands who came after and fell under the Zeuhl category? I notice things get a whole lot more cheesy once there's a genre for bands to conform to. |
Posted By: dr wu23
Date Posted: April 16 2015 at 15:46
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And we get into the old what is 'symph prog' again.......I also lump many of the neo prog bands like IQ nto that area . But as was mentioned there is also Wobbler and bands like Astra who get called space rock.
And of course both Birds and Buildings and Deluge Grandeur (Britton) who have also been named. ------------- One does nothing yet nothing is left undone. Haquin |
Posted By: hellogoodbye
Date Posted: April 16 2015 at 15:52
| Just after the sacrifice of the lamb on Broadway ... |
Posted By: lazland
Date Posted: April 16 2015 at 16:16
This, in spades  ------------- Enhance your life. Get down to www.lazland.org |
Posted By: verslibre
Date Posted: April 16 2015 at 16:21
This. ------------- https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_ipg=50&_sop=1&_rdc=1&_ssn=musicosm" rel="nofollow - eBay |
Posted By: Thandrus
Date Posted: April 16 2015 at 19:34
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Almost every recent year's Top10 list features a couple (sometimes even more) RPI albums in Top10 - and RPI, moreso in modern sense, is essentially the Italian version of Symphonic Prog. Beyond, it depends on our breadth of definitions, on what we call "Symphonic Prog". PA genre policy (to which I adhere to) a bit confined "Symphonic Prog" definition strictly to the sound and complexity reminiscent of 70s bands. For example, if you instill some electronic music motives in your sympho prog, you're more likely to end up as Crossover Prog (like for example, iamthemorning did), or if you're not complex enough, you're just neo, or you amplify your sound and you go to Heavy Prog. ... but even so, there are still a plenty of great bands playing "Symphonic Prog" in its original sense - many great bands have been mentioned here, and I'd lie to turn your attention to yet another amazing group: Little Tragedies - their albums, "Chinese Songs Vol.1" and "Vol.2" serve for me as an example of music that can defy time or musical period. Here's a couple of links to one song from each of the volumes. |
Posted By: Barocknroll
Date Posted: April 17 2015 at 10:13
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There is a band just about to release their fourth album. They are BAROCK PROJECT and they are awarded by two HUGE experts in terms of symphonic rock the titlke of "fresh blood" of symph/progressive rock. Check this out: http://youtu.be/9MKWkNVhO1M?t=2m39s" rel="nofollow - http://youtu.be/9MKWkNVhO1M?t=2m39s More info on http://www.barockproject.net" rel="nofollow - www.barockproject.net |
Posted By: lop
Date Posted: April 18 2015 at 15:12
| descipline is a must. I feel like glass hammer and big train have some symphonic moments as well... do not forget tangent! |
Posted By: Chicapah
Date Posted: April 20 2015 at 14:23
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I don't think symphonic prog is any more dead than any other category of prog. As one of the elder reviewers on this site my view is a bit wider and deeper than some, for what it's worth. Seems to me that the music biz in general is in a weightless drift right now because downloading one song at a time has gutted the financial side of making music drastically. While being a musician was never a good bet as far as making money went, if you were able to sell a modicum of LPs or CDs you could be self-supporting to a certain degree and that was an incentive to keep at it. No more. It's a real conundrum. The ability to get one's art out to the world without having to answer to a handful of conceited suits at a major label is a godsend. Let freedom ring! But the inability to reap a even a plug nickel from one's art must be enormously depressing to a young person with talent. It's true that quality prog has never been created with a dollar sign in mind but still I wonder how many potential Keith Emersons or Peter Gabriels have opted to get a business degree instead of following their prog muse, thereby denying the world more great epics. Will albums (with their ability to introduce the masses to different kinds of music styles) ever return to prominence in the market place? I have my doubts. ------------- "Literature is well enough, as a time-passer, and for the improvement and general elevation and purification of mankind, but it has no practical value" - Mark Twain |
Posted By: Nogbad_The_Bad
Date Posted: April 20 2015 at 15:21
I really shouldn't try humor on the internet, I'm bad enough at it in real life. I going to ROSfest in a couple of weeks and expecting to have a great time. I have nothing against any of the bands you mention, they're just not my tastes & I like to occasionally like to poke the bear.  ------------- Ian Host of the Post-Avant Jazzcore Happy Hour on Progrock.com https://podcasts.progrock.com/post-avant-jazzcore-happy-hour/ |
Posted By: bhikkhu
Date Posted: April 21 2015 at 10:17
 ------------- a.k.a. H.T. http://riekels.wordpress.com" rel="nofollow - http://riekels.wordpress.com |
Posted By: Altairius
Date Posted: April 21 2015 at 18:22
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After Crying, Echolyn, Glass Hammer, Tempano, Isildurs Bane, Big Big Train, Mr. Sirius, Minimum Vital, Anglagard, Thieves' Kitchen, Kant Freud Kafka, Asturias, Ciccada, Kotebel and Karfagen are good too. Not all of those are purely symphonic but I consider it to be the most prominent influence within all of them. There is no style of music that still smells real fresh in 2015, but I think all of those bands are original enough.
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Posted By: Horizons
Date Posted: April 21 2015 at 18:55
How did i miss this work of art? ------------- Crushed like a rose in the riverflow. |
Posted By: Nogbad_The_Bad
Date Posted: April 21 2015 at 19:06
I'm kind of surprised you automatically thought I was serious. I didn't claim to be good at humor. ------------- Ian Host of the Post-Avant Jazzcore Happy Hour on Progrock.com https://podcasts.progrock.com/post-avant-jazzcore-happy-hour/ |
Posted By: Horizons
Date Posted: April 21 2015 at 19:07
Who said i thought you were serious? It's my semi-serious agreeing with the thorny comment that is so brilliant. That's the art of it.
------------- Crushed like a rose in the riverflow. |
Posted By: Nogbad_The_Bad
Date Posted: April 21 2015 at 19:29
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Well played Sir, well played. ------------- Ian Host of the Post-Avant Jazzcore Happy Hour on Progrock.com https://podcasts.progrock.com/post-avant-jazzcore-happy-hour/ |
Posted By: cstack3
Date Posted: April 21 2015 at 21:26
I'm thinking more like a prog Stevie Nicks. Rock has had all sorts of women vocalists, some pretty amazing, but only a few capture lightning in a bottle. Nicks was one of 'em. If Lady Gaga reprised "The Lamb," I think it would be amazing! She is a New Yorker after all, and a damn fine keyboardist/vocalist! She also has Gabriel's sense of costume drama, in spades!
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Posted By: richardh
Date Posted: April 22 2015 at 01:35
Well funnily enough I happened to watch a 2 hour retrospective of Curved Air over the weekend. Sonja Kristina wow!! She had all that stage presence 'in spades' and could write a decent song and play acoustic guitar so was not just a vocalist. One might wonder though why they weren't more popular and better remembered. Noted rock journalist Jerry Ewing mused on this very fact. I agree that Stevie Nicks is amazing btw! Perhaps Natasha Khan ( Bat For Lashes) could take on the prog mantle? She is a big fan of Kate Bush and has released some very interesting music ( 3 solo albums to date). I keep dropping her name on here but generally get no 'takers' . Oh well.
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Posted By: rogerthat
Date Posted: April 22 2015 at 02:29
| I feel that Sonja's actual vocal delivery doesn't live up to the promise of her as well as the band's image though she is certainly a fine singer. But that apart, is Curved Air really symph prog? If we widen the scope to all prog, then you have, apart from Annie Haslam, Kate Bush, Bjork, Diamanda Galas, etc. Flat out some of the most talented female singers rock has ever produced. So that's not the problem, irrespective of whether listeners are unable to look beyond Gabriel and Anderson. Symph prog has not produced great female singers to succeed Annie. Which is not really a surprise since it hasn't featured great singers in a long time post its 70s heyday. |
Posted By: verslibre
Date Posted: April 22 2015 at 09:26
Nicks, Ann Wilson, and Carly Simon. Okay, not Carly. 
That gal has a mean set of pipes! She knows how to butter her bread, but I wager she's no stranger to prog. Her good friend Lady Starlight, who was in her pre-fame band, doesn't hesitate to cite VdGG as one of her favorite bands in interviews. And they both like Rush (not the commentator). ------------- https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_ipg=50&_sop=1&_rdc=1&_ssn=musicosm" rel="nofollow - eBay |
Posted By: cstack3
Date Posted: April 22 2015 at 10:47
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In the 1970s, symphonic prog concerts were real spectacles! Yes had their Roger Dean stage sets, ELP had similarly ponderous stages, etc. The audiences were huge parties....people came to smoke pot and enjoy. With all the smoking bans/fire codes, that stuff is ancient history.
I've seen numerous neoprog symphonic shows since the olden days, and they rarely seem to have the same sense of drama and spectacle. Dream Theater is one that seemed to come closest, are they symphonic or metal? |
Posted By: Ivan_Melgar_M
Date Posted: April 22 2015 at 22:04
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It's all ciclycal. Every rational person thought Symphonic had died in 1980, but 1993 came and proved we all were wrong. There are lots of Symphonic bands out there, the problem is that people is searching for something different, but things will change again. Iván
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Posted By: Rick Robson
Date Posted: April 23 2015 at 07:06
I'm pretty sure about this when we consider the stylistic fashion trends, if the cyclical thing really applies to music too then someday people will hear what is called the new avant-garde of the moment growing enough to become the popular music of the future, or many of the electronic instruments being abandoned in favour of the 'new' fever of the massive use 'old' acoustic instruments. Ok, there is the famous instruments emulation, but personally I don't give credit to this. Maybe I'm wrong and the cycle 'wavelenght' is bigger than what I imagine, frankly I've not heard considerable changes in most of the popular music in the last decades, but when it comes to the media thing perhaps the Internet radio is the fashion nowadays, I don't know, just wonderings about a complicated issue, jmo. -------------  "Music is a higher revelation than all wisdom and philosophy." LvB |
Posted By: PRSO
Date Posted: April 23 2015 at 16:13
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Not here it's not. I will soon be releasing a 2 CD set with the music of Genesis (both the Gabriel era and Early Collins era) backed by a full Symphony Orchestra. Here are a couple of links on YouTube for Cinema Show & The Musical Box. Cinema Show https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txtmD-dLf-I" rel="nofollow - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txtmD-dLf-I The Musical Box https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqzXqGln3tw" rel="nofollow - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqzXqGln3tw Mark Emanuele - Music Director - The Progressive Rock Symphonic Orchestra |
Posted By: desistindo
Date Posted: April 23 2015 at 16:26
Thats really good! Congratulations, pal! ------------- Who watches the watcher of the skies? |
Posted By: The Dark Elf
Date Posted: April 23 2015 at 16:28
Coming soon to PBS, Australian Genesis. Hope you brought your light show. ------------- ...a vigorous circular motion hitherto unknown to the people of this area, but destined to take the place of the mud shark in your mythology... |
Posted By: Angelo
Date Posted: April 24 2015 at 08:26
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I dare say it's not dead at all. I hope the OP can appreciate Tiger Moth Tales, a.k.a. Peter Jones. ------------- http://www.iskcrocks.com" rel="nofollow - ISKC Rock Radio I stopped blogging and reviewing - so won't be handling requests. Promo's for ariplay can be sent to [email protected] |
Posted By: Altairius
Date Posted: April 24 2015 at 21:47
| ^ Nice. Aside from those mentioned in OP, speaking of the 00's to now, there's Echolyn, Glass Hammer, IQ, Frost*, Big Big Train, Thieves' Kitchen, Nick Magnus, Kant Freud Kafka, Ciccada, Kotebel, Karfagen, Mars Hollow, Luca Scherani, Salem Hill and classics like Steve Hackett, Tempano, PFM and Museo Rosenbach with great recent albums. There's plenty more I could mention. In all honesty, I think it's doing better than most genres. |
Posted By: Gerinski
Date Posted: April 27 2015 at 03:23
What a beautiful song ! And with your enthusiastic great review I think it's not going to take me long to order the album.
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Posted By: windycrawford
Date Posted: April 27 2015 at 09:58
| As far as I understand, this thread is rather for getting acquainted with newer bands than for finding out if symphonic prog is alive(dead). Still I'm gonna take the thread title srsly. So the answer is - symphonic rock is not dead, prog rock is dead nowadays(and so is symphonic prog or w/e). |
Posted By: M27Barney
Date Posted: April 28 2015 at 02:06
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How is "Dead" defined ? - the first phase of prog had it's popularity in main-stream music magazines (1970-76) and it was at it's zenith then (in Britain, anyway) - The money-men realised that they could make far more money out of manufacturing music for the masses (1976) and thus musicians who wanted to do their own thing and not just make money were cast aside! But I think that the flame has kept burning by the die-hards here in Britain - Mind U in Holland/Germany prog has always had far more fans than here in blighty!!! ------------- Play me my song.....Here it comes again....... |