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4th Round Mod: Spirit of Eden v. Shaming of the

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Topic: 4th Round Mod: Spirit of Eden v. Shaming of the
Posted By: micky
Subject: 4th Round Mod: Spirit of Eden v. Shaming of the
Date Posted: August 29 2015 at 09:07
Last one of the 4th round!

Last up... a battle of two greats! In previous rounds we did song samples, great PA's reviews, with this round I wanted to do something a different. So I went outside PA's..  what do people outside of this site say about these albums.

Spirit of Eden by Talk Talk

Gorgeous and timeless
Mark Hollis, like David Sylvian of Japan, Bjork of The Sugarcubes and David Byrne of the Talking Heads, always seemed to be peeking over the horizon and onto the next thing even while his band was appearing on 'Top of the Pops' or pandering to record label execs.

SPIRIT OF EDEN is that moment when he finally realized that walking away from the safety of the pop charts was far more satisfying than making an album full of compromises.

SPIRIT OF EDEN isn't really a pop record or a new wave record or a jazz record. It defies classification and yet captures the heart of many pop, new wave and jazz fans alike. That is because this is a collection of timeless music made all the more memorable by Mark Hollis' frail and delicate musings on life, love and the heartbreak of heroin.

There aren't synthesizer hooks or an overkill of fretless bass as on previous Talk Talk efforts.. instead you'll find passionately played harmonica and carefully orchestrated horns and strings. This isn't your typical orchestral syrup poured over pop tunes masquerading as art. These are gorgeous freeform songs played with love and passion and held together by the thrill of hearing a band performing at its creative peak.

I don't want to explain what each of the six songs do for me personally because I think discovering that for oneself is the real gift of SPIRIT OF EDEN. My only wish in writing is that someone, somewhere, will read this and seek out a copy for themselves. It has been two months now and I haven't taken it out of my CD player.

I lied, I have another wish. That Mark Hollis will read enough of these and be forced to consider making more music. True, LAUGHING STOCK and MARK HOLLIS solo are wonderful too. It's hard to imagine, however, what lovely music Hollis lives with in his mind that might not see the light of day.

I don't expect that I'll be without SPIRIT OF EDEN anytime soon. It has become a part of my nightly ritual. Headphones on. Lights out. And the story begins...

The Shaming Of The True by Kevin Gilbert

As others have said, this album is a masterpiece. Sadly, like many great artists before him, Kevin Gilbert wasn't as fully appreciated as he should have been in his lifetime, but that frustration led him to his greatest creative heights. The way I see it, Gilbert's music was like the musical equivalent of the current Ford Mustang, seamlessly combining early 70s retro and modern styles and everything in between into a timeless whole greater than the sum of the parts. Unfortunately, unlike the wildly popular Mustang, Gilbert's music had difficulty finding a market, and for that I blame the narrow-mindedness of the record company and radio station executives. If it doesn't fit a predetermined radio-friendly format, they don't market it. Kevin Gilbert understood this all too well, and rather than compromise his vision, he chose to channel his anger and frustration into this brilliant rock opera. Ostensibly the story of a fictitious rock star named Johnny Virgil, I'm sure much of it was based on his own experiences. What really boggles my mind about it is that it wasn't completed at the time of his death, but thanks to the efforts of his collaborators Nick D'Virgilio. John Cuniberti, and others, it sounds every bit as polished as the other great rock operas, "Tommy", "Jesus Christ Superstar", "The Wall", and "Scenes From a Memory", and even more heartfelt. Stylistically, it runs the gamut from soft acoustic guitar ballads to angry metal riffs, with a lovely piano ballad and a baroque fugue thrown in for good measure. "Suit Fugue (Dance of the A&R Men)" is one of the standout tracks, a satirical hodgepodge of A&R clichés elaborately set to overlapping counterpoint to create the head-spinning feeling of an artist being courted by several record companies at once. "Certifiable #1 Smash" is even more bitingly satirical, and so it goes, tracing Johnny's path from obscurity to fame and back, skewering every target that deserves it along the way. I agree with those who say this disc deserves to be on a "desert island" list. It's immediately impressive and continues to get better with repeated listenings.


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The Pedro and Micky Experience - When one no longer requires psychotropics to trip



Replies:
Posted By: zravkapt
Date Posted: August 29 2015 at 09:16
I like the last two TT albums but don't love them; I 'get' them but never really enjoyed them. I much prefer the TT offshoot .O.Rang to anything TT did. Gilbert is hit or miss with me...mostly miss.


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Magma America Great Make Again


Posted By: micky
Date Posted: August 29 2015 at 09:26
proud to see Gilbert make it this far, as one of my few individual suggestions to the modern tournament not suggested by anyone else.

That said, supported it this far, but no further.  Spirit of Eden is one of my top 3 modern albums. Brilliant and so touching to the heart and soul.


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The Pedro and Micky Experience - When one no longer requires psychotropics to trip


Posted By: Nogbad_The_Bad
Date Posted: August 29 2015 at 10:45
Gilberts effort does nothing for me

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Ian

Host of the Post-Avant Jazzcore Happy Hour on Progrock.com

https://podcasts.progrock.com/post-avant-jazzcore-happy-hour/


Posted By: LearsFool
Date Posted: August 29 2015 at 11:27
Eden

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Posted By: The Bearded Bard
Date Posted: August 30 2015 at 07:40
Easily Spirit of Eden for me as well.

Originally posted by zravkapt zravkapt wrote:

I much prefer the TT offshoot .O.Rang to anything TT did.
Never herd of (pun intented) .O.Rang before. Better than TT you say? Sounds like something I need to investigate.

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Posted By: micky
Date Posted: August 30 2015 at 07:45
Originally posted by The Bearded Bard The Bearded Bard wrote:

Easily Spirit of Eden for me as well.

Originally posted by zravkapt zravkapt wrote:

I much prefer the TT offshoot .O.Rang to anything TT did.
Never herd of (pun intented) .O.Rang before. Better than TT you say? Sounds like something I need to investigate.


I don't think I have either...  I moved on to the Holis solo work and loved it. Definitely needed to check this out! Thumbs Up


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The Pedro and Micky Experience - When one no longer requires psychotropics to trip


Posted By: zravkapt
Date Posted: August 30 2015 at 11:56




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Magma America Great Make Again


Posted By: Svetonio
Date Posted: August 30 2015 at 12:03
The Shaming Of The True


Posted By: micky
Date Posted: August 30 2015 at 13:08
Originally posted by zravkapt zravkapt wrote:





cool! Thanks!


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The Pedro and Micky Experience - When one no longer requires psychotropics to trip


Posted By: micky
Date Posted: August 30 2015 at 13:21
well this goes on the emergency must buy.. must have list...  have some clappies Daryl.  ClapClap Thanks!


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The Pedro and Micky Experience - When one no longer requires psychotropics to trip


Posted By: Guldbamsen
Date Posted: August 30 2015 at 13:22
Skillet of Semen

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“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.”

- Douglas Adams


Posted By: Man With Hat
Date Posted: August 31 2015 at 21:52
What a poor matchup.
 
Thankfully my vote will be irrelevant , so I'll pass.


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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: Moogtron III
Date Posted: September 01 2015 at 01:56
First time I vote for Talk Talk in this tournament.


Posted By: Komandant Shamal
Date Posted: September 01 2015 at 08:26
i voted for "Spirit of Eden".


Posted By: chopper
Date Posted: September 01 2015 at 09:17
No contest - Talk Talk.


Posted By: Prog Sothoth
Date Posted: September 01 2015 at 11:36
10 years ago I would have probably voted for The Human League over Talk Talk, but thanks to PA I've discovered how good this band actually was.

Honestly, I'm kinda tired of rock story-songs about a boy musician named Johnny even if they are great, so Talk Talk it is.


Posted By: symphonicman
Date Posted: September 07 2015 at 15:46

Kevin Gilbert, The Shaming of the True.



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Master James of St. George.
Of the fields and the sky.
He used to build castles of stone, steel, and blood.
But lines get broken down.


Posted By: Raff
Date Posted: September 12 2015 at 06:56
The beautiful Spirit of Eden.


Posted By: The Bearded Bard
Date Posted: September 12 2015 at 08:25
Originally posted by micky micky wrote:

well this goes on the emergency must buy.. must have list...  have some clappies Daryl.  ClapClap Thanks!
Yeah, thanks for the vids, Darryl! Enjoyed both tracks. Will definitely try to get my hands on their albums at some point.

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Posted By: progrockdeepcuts
Date Posted: September 12 2015 at 09:06
Talk Talk is amazing. Don't know Shaming yet.


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Listen to older shows here: mixcloud.com/progrockdeepcuts/


Posted By: Nogbad_The_Bad
Date Posted: September 12 2015 at 09:08
I wouldn't bother

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Ian

Host of the Post-Avant Jazzcore Happy Hour on Progrock.com

https://podcasts.progrock.com/post-avant-jazzcore-happy-hour/


Posted By: micky
Date Posted: September 12 2015 at 09:09
bah... LOL. Not particularly challenging but still a great album B.  Just not as great as Spirit of Eden


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The Pedro and Micky Experience - When one no longer requires psychotropics to trip


Posted By: progrockdeepcuts
Date Posted: September 12 2015 at 09:35
Mike played a track from Shaming on the show once. It was fun with lots of GGish vocals. I agree it's not challenging, but I liked it. It's quirky.

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Listen to older shows here: mixcloud.com/progrockdeepcuts/



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