Your attitude towards Neo-prog?
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Topic: Your attitude towards Neo-prog?
Posted By: 1791 Overture
Subject: Your attitude towards Neo-prog?
Date Posted: May 17 2011 at 15:42
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Apparently, a lot of people really hate the genre, and I've never been able to figure out why. Is it because it's considered "watered-down" progressive music? The cheesy 80's synths used at its inception? Not enough folk, jazz, or avant-noise? Personally, I think it's one of the best genres of popular music around because of its strict focus on excellent songwriting as its only hook. It uses prog elements in a smart and conservative way and devotes itself to those elements of prog that were developed uniquely as part of the genre, rather than borrowed from others. I also enjoy how it has become heavier recently, embracing a blend of grit and sophistication that prog metal attempted but in my opinion never really realized. The bass is generally highly melodic yet very forceful, which is one of my favorite aspects of rock music. The tendency toward a conceptual and professional atmosphere is the icing on the cake. So, what do you guys think? I know there are quite a few reviewers here who like it, but I don't know if it's as universally accepted as "good" music as, say, Zeuhl or RIO, which I think is unfair.
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Replies:
Posted By: sleeper
Date Posted: May 17 2011 at 15:54
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Its a worthwhile genre and when done at its best, is excellent. The likes of Marillion, Pendragon, IQ, Arena, Pallas, Saens and a few others have released some really good albums, and despite what some people insist on believeing , none of them where ever Genesis clones as the arrangments and composition was always very different. The problem with it is is that there is an awful lot of half-assed rubbish in the genre thats best described as prog by numbers with no creativity at all, let alone originality. Its also noticable that a lot of the bands are good to great live, but their studio albums lack any real bite to them.
------------- Spending more than I should on Prog since 2005 
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Posted By: Guests
Date Posted: May 17 2011 at 15:57
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I don't generally like the Neo Prog from the 80's specifically, because I think it sounds too watered-down and derivative of bands like Genesis and Rush. On the other hand, I think Neo-Prog got better in the 90's. For example, Marillion and Dream Theater left behind the glam-rock and revitalized/enhanced their sound during this period. Marillion especially changed, for obvious reasons.
There are many people who do like Neo-Prog and will vouch for it strongly. I'm not one of them, but to each his/her own.
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Posted By: zravkapt
Date Posted: May 17 2011 at 16:40
| I think people who enjoy Neo the most are those with a very mainstream taste in music generally. I can't get into Marillion, they seem too poppy and soft-rock-y to my ears, not what I'm looking for in "prog." I heard one IQ album and thought it was decent but nothing special. Right now, I'm listening to the first Pallas album and plan on reviewing it at some point. I enjoy this album much more than what I have heard of Marillion or IQ. I have a feeling that I would like the Neo of the '90s and 00s more than the 80s stuff. |
Posted By: jean-marie
Date Posted: May 17 2011 at 16:40
In the eighties i didn't like what was called Neo Prog, these last days , i'm realy keen on Marillion ( Hogart time ) and Pendragon ( was at the show in Paris last week ) 
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Posted By: The T
Date Posted: May 17 2011 at 16:51
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I love it. Give me Arena, IQ, Pallas, and Fish-Marillion (plus Brave) any hour of the day. I have never understand the bad reputation it seems to have. Some of my favorite albums listed in PA belong to neo-prog. And Genesis's "And then there were three" and "Duke", both of which I love, would quite nicely fit in the genre, too. ------------- 
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Posted By: TheGazzardian
Date Posted: May 17 2011 at 17:23
| I'm not against it and in fact enjoy quite a bit of it. But none of it has wowed me the way other prog rock has. |
Posted By: Logan
Date Posted: May 17 2011 at 18:19
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I don't like Neo-Prog, but then I tend not to care for "melodic rock" oriented music. ------------- Watching while most appreciating a sunset in the moment need not diminish all the glorious sunsets I have observed before. It can be much like that with music for me. |
Posted By: Nathaniel607
Date Posted: May 17 2011 at 18:36
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It's fine. I really try to dismiss as few genres as possible. Very few genres are intrinsically broken as forms of music (well... in my opinion, I guess). Err... but more specifically, I haven't heard tons, but stuff I've hear, is lovely, and people just seem to hate it because it's inspired by the greats and dismiss it all. It seems to me that if a lot of them took the time to listen to some, they would realise there's a lot of original compositions and ideas involved. ------------- http://www.last.fm/user/Nathaniel607" rel="nofollow - My Last FM Profile 
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Posted By: giselle
Date Posted: May 17 2011 at 18:43
| I certainly don't hate it, but in general, it is a bit diluted, unoriginal, and uninspired (IMO). |
Posted By: Slartibartfast
Date Posted: May 17 2011 at 18:57
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I'm not interested in it other than Marillion.
------------- Released date are often when it it impacted you but recorded dates are when it really happened... 
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Posted By: Alitare
Date Posted: May 17 2011 at 19:29
There's other Neo-Prog than Marillion!?
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Slartibartfast wrote:Posted By: rogerthat
Date Posted: May 17 2011 at 20:10
I don't know, Pallas debut has only excellent songwriting? That apart, in prog, I tend to look for sprawl with the exception of Gentle Giant's work but they were a singular band and don't have peers in what they did. For more 'crisp' music without much noodling and such, I'd rather listen to smart rock or pop music because I want long pieces to have ambition and some breathing space. With that said, I love Fish-Marillion but could never really get into the other neo prog outfits. Maybe I liked it more for Fish's passionate singing, without which that Celtic guitar formula would probably run dry for me sooner. And Zeuhl or RIO are not universally accepted at all. In fact, a lot of prog listeners don't like either or only very few bands. But because these are more underground or obscure, people who don't like it don't seem to talk about it or review it but neo prog gets reviewed by a lot of people and gets some flak. It's like how in metal, doom metal gets high ratings because only its core fanbase is interested in discussing it whereas power metal gets trashed by a large section of the metal audience. Universally liked prog would be the good ol' symph and also fusion. Some people don't even like Canterbury so even that is not a universally accepted genre of prog. |
Posted By: Slartibartfast
Date Posted: May 17 2011 at 20:42
 ------------- Released date are often when it it impacted you but recorded dates are when it really happened...
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Posted By: Lark the Starless
Date Posted: May 17 2011 at 20:50
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I like what I've heard so far ("Misplaced Childhood", "Script for a Jester's Tear", and "Tales from the Lush Attic").
There's far more for to listen to, however. There is this French neo-prog band (Evolutive) that "claims" to be neo-prog (their 2 albums are available for a free download, if anyone's interested) but they sound way too poppy to be in PA, IMO. I personally don't see how they got into PA.  ------------- 
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Posted By: SaltyJon
Date Posted: May 17 2011 at 21:02
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I haven't found any I particularly enjoy yet, but that's not to say it's not there.
------------- http://www.last.fm/user/Salty_Jon" rel="nofollow"> 
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Posted By: Slartibartfast
Date Posted: May 17 2011 at 21:14
I've got just about all of their stuff and I like it. Seems like they've been stuck in a bit of a rut lately. Neither is it good nor bad. Perhaps they need to go through more personnel changes like Yes or something. ------------- Released date are often when it it impacted you but recorded dates are when it really happened...
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Posted By: Harry Hood
Date Posted: May 17 2011 at 22:15
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I personally love Neo-Prog. Some of my favorite bands are Neo-Prog. I'd even go as far as to say I enjoy many of them more than their 70's counterparts. I think a lot of people dislike Neo-Prog because they simply don't understand it or have enough of a proper context for it. When the Neo-Prog scene started out, it was a bunch of bands in the same area playing a lot of the same venues and hanging out together. As a result a lot of those earlier albums sound kind of samey. After about a decade or so most of the bands that stuck around grew and developed their own distinct style, as well as making significant development as songwriters. While Pallas have carried the torch for the "classic neo prog" sound, IQ, Pendragon, and Marillion are not the same bands people remember from the 80's. And they're honestly better for it. As long as you keep an open mind and realize that there's way more to these artists than their "classic" albums, I think there's a lot to love in the neo-prog community. ------------- 
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Posted By: The Truth
Date Posted: May 17 2011 at 22:36
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Marillion is about all that I like. Many others really just tried to hard to do what had already been done and didn't improve on it. ------------- http://blindpoetrecords.bandcamp.com/" rel="nofollow">  
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Posted By: stonebeard
Date Posted: May 17 2011 at 22:42
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All day 'errday.
------------- http://soundcloud.com/drewagler" rel="nofollow - My soundcloud. Please give feedback if you want! |
Posted By: 1791 Overture
Date Posted: May 18 2011 at 02:54
Hmm, a few things I would say: First, just coming from my own experience, I was completely into prog before I began to appreciate neo-prog. I was more of a King Crimson / Magma / Henry Cow / Univers Zero / Genesis kind of guy - all the big names of the 70's. I still love all those bands just as much as I did, but I do think neo-prog has something that they don't and deserves to stand on their level. Second, as for Marillion, I actually agree, except their first two releases are in fact very innovative and well-written. The accusation that they are Genesis clones is an extremely superficial analysis, IMO. Their sense of melody was completely different, as was their approach to songwriting and their arrangements. A great example is "The Web" - an extremely unique and inspiring composition. Misplaced Childhood is where I jump ship, though - then it gets too bland for me.
It doesn't necessarily follow that every release has to have good songwriting. I'm just saying that it's the thrust of neo-prog's appeal when it has appeal. It cannot fall back on promiscuous eclecticism as a distraction, and it does not fill its ranks with questionable improv, as even some of the best bands of the past were prone to do.
I think, however, people are more likely to give RIO and Zeuhl credence as "sophisticated" genres of music even if they personally don't like it. Where I would argue that Zeuhl, some strands of RIO, and especially the Canterbury scene suffered from at least as much stagnation/imitation as neo-prog. It makes my eyebrows go up when cries of copying Marillion go up everywhere, but not for the numerous Canterbury bands that sprung up in the 70's that were essentially continuous rehashes of the founding groups. Not to say that the hypocrisy makes neo-prog's stagnation okay, but I don't think it has the problem any more than other categories of prog. I may as well also give another positive examples of why I find neo-prog amazing - if you listen to the title track of IQ's Frequency, it's just perfect in so many ways. The atmosphere is grandiose without being bloated, the instruments are in perfect compliment to each other, Nichols' voice is very unique and weaves through some amazing melodies...the kind that are instantly memorable, rather than just "catchy," The guitar work is highly economical, with no excess noodling, and the song has no trouble keeping itself together. All together, it's just an intense, well-crafted experience. That in a way approaches my ideal of a good neo-prog song...all meat, no crap. I think IQ are some of the best songwriters around right now, and who represents the core of neo-prog more than they do?
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Posted By: Man With Hat
Date Posted: May 18 2011 at 03:00
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I like it, although admittedly not as much as I used to. Tastes change and all that. Having said that the bigger names of neo prog still sound fantastic to me and I can enjoy them much more than the lesser known stuff. (Of course I know more of the bigger name....but still....) ------------- 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: King Manuel
Date Posted: May 18 2011 at 06:53
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I love Neo-Prog! “I think people who enjoy Neo the most are those with a very mainstream taste in music generally”. Well, ask my friends, family and colleagues, they would probably say I have the weirdest and wackiest taste in music of anybody they know. Not a bit mainstream at all! However, ask the prog community; they would probably associate me with the above quote. I love the somewhat more “mainstream “prog artist and genres. My taste includes Neo-Prog, Classic/Symphonic Prog, and Retro Prog. Also Prog Metal I quite enjoy. And Zheul and RIO/Aavantgarde stuff, I cannot stand a bit. |
Posted By: rogerthat
Date Posted: May 18 2011 at 09:07
And thereby the difference between your and my approach. I can forgive the few things that don't work for the sake of that mindblowing masterwork but I don't like consistency for the sake of it so much. Not to say I don't like it at all but consistency per se is not so important to me. The title track is the only track I really LOVE on Tarkus but that one I absolutely love. Whereas, on Tales from the Lush Attic, there are several songs that I quite enjoy but don't really get beyond that and it's important for me, if I want to really get into a band's discography, to get beyond that stage.
This is a trickier issue. I do agree there are some stagnant releases within the Zeuhl umbrella as well as Canterbury too. If people are discriminating, oh well, there's nothing much you can do about it. I have said on different occasions before in this forum that I don't see what the RIO crowd's beef with neo prog essentially is, especially on the ground of being derivative, if they like that Eros album so much. It's rooted in well trodden territory and just having a more 80s drum sound doesn't disguise that. Anyway, I would personally call the bluff in any case, the genre by itself is not going to make me adopt a more partial attitude. The thing is, progheads worship complexity head over heels and even derivative Canterbury and Zeuhl releases will give you that but not necessarily so with neo prog because it is a more simplified approach (again, this is not to say there are no complex neo prog pieces at all, the title track of Script itself is very interesting in terms of structure). I am not saying that is necessarily justified or fair but that's just how it works. As for somebody who raised an objection to calling Marillion a Genesis-imitator, I agree. I hear more Rush (Trewavas's grooves or the beat of He Knows You Know) and Pink Floyd (Rothery's solos, especially the moments he chooses to play lead) and also Supertramp, but Genesis is restricted to the partiality to arpeggios. Vocal wise, Fish draws from Hammill, Waters and Roger Chapman and even his lyrics are not a whole like Gabriel's in his Genesis days. As such, Marillion's delivery is hard hitting and direct where Genesis's is more subtle. |
Posted By: harmonium.ro
Date Posted: May 18 2011 at 09:13
| Neutral. I used to dislike it when I was a prog-snob, but now that I'm starting to like and investigate 80s alternative music I think I'm starting to like some of the original neo-prog for that strong 80s vibe. |
Posted By: richardh
Date Posted: May 18 2011 at 10:16
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I take neo prog as being based more on songwriting with lyrics that are more emotional and about human things.It can incorporate ideas from symphonic prog which seems to confuse people and me at times. Its just music though when it comes down to it. I discovered IQ in the eighties when I heard them playing a session for the BBC on the radio and it was superb. I was convinced almost immediately. However after that they went in an AORish direction with Nomzamo and my initial enthusiasm waned until I stumbled across Subterannea years later. Marillion I always had a hard time with. Fish was far too theatrical (and therefore insincere in my eyes) and the band was just too stiff. Howeve I do really like Hogarths debut Seasons End which is as good as most of IQ's releases and there is no higher praise from me! I got a bit bored with them after that. Pendragon I had one album in the eighties (or was it the nineties) on cassette and it didn't do anything for me so I didn't explore further. Arena I do like though ,so I'm not off all Clive Nolans work! They have the most direct and emotional style of all the neo bands I have heard.Good stuff. Don't like Pallas for some reason although I havn't tried that hard to like them. Saw them live at a prog festival not that many years ago and their fans went nuts. I get the feeling they are like a 'mini Marillion' as it were. Other bands I like are sometimes counted as neo prog but more often not.Thinking especially Glass Hammer and Magenta so I'm not sure if I can discuss them on this thread. The most recent neo prog band I have discovered is Alta Via. I have written a positive review for the debut album Girt Dog.
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Posted By: proginrev
Date Posted: May 18 2011 at 11:51
| Neo-prog with Marillion, IQ, Pallas, Twelfth Night, Solstice, Haze etc were my personal introdcution to the prog genre, I therefore have more of a love of their music than the original artists. I do have a few Genesis albums, a Yes best of, some Floyd and a few other bits and pieces but my first love was the above scene. When I first heard Garden Party I was addicted. Hated it when alot of these bands changed into a more pop, less prog direction, but now after journeys through loads of types of music loves I have been reintroduced through a love of Radiohead, Muse, Gazpacho etc. Although I now enjoy the more modern H version of Marillion, I still listen to and enjoy the neo bands of the eighties. |
Posted By: lazland
Date Posted: May 18 2011 at 12:11
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We've done this one a few times, so i suppose i will be repeating myself a bit when I say that I love it, but that as a sub-genre, I think it has had its day. For example, i never will understand for the life of me why H era marillion (my favourite band) are classified as neo and The Flower kings are not. If ever there was a band who have massive nods to the past, it's them. Anyway, if we accept the sub genre, it contains some of my favourites. The aforementioned marillion, especially latterly, have been responsible for some of the most groundbreaking and breathtaking music written. Arena, Pendragon, Pallas, Twelfth Night, in other words the bands responsible for the re-genesis pardon the pun) of prog in the 1980's (which is all neo is) are all marvellous. It is interesting that Pallas & Pendragon especially have been moving away from their neo & symphonic roots and into a heavier, almost heavy prog, direction in recent releases. There is also some very good modern neo about. Gazpacho stand out for me, a great original band. Big Big train are simply exceptional, whilst some of the Polish stuff such as Satellite is extremely good. So, in spite of the fact that I don't really regard it as a true sub genre any more, if you look at the bands we classify there, it is my favourite sub-genre. ------------- Enhance your life. Get down to www.lazland.org Now also broadcasting on www.progzilla.com Every Saturday, 4.00 p.m. UK time! |
Posted By: 1791 Overture
Date Posted: May 18 2011 at 13:02
I guess that depends on what you mean by simplified - personally, I think a lot of neo-prog bands pay more attention to song structure and arrangement than a lot of other genres of prog. As much as I love Univers Zero, can anyone deny that some of their more rambling pieces have sections that are arbitrary and interchangeable, with no recourse to the piece as a whole? (When I say interchangeable, I mean in the way it's written, not in the quality!) In my opinion, neo-prog is far less prone to this problem.
I disagree - neo-prog has its own distinctive sound aside from just being the wave of new prog from the 80's. That's why newer bands sometimes get classified that way, and why Flower Kngs is symphonic rather than neo. The boundaries get fuzzy sometimes, but when I hear Sylvan or Frost*, the neo sound jumps out at me immediately, and I wouldn't confuse it with the Flower Kings / Wobbler / Glass Hammer type of revival, which is a whole other animal.
Yeah, right on. I'd also say Marillion's approach to songwriting is more linear than Genesis - there's less of the traditional Western tendency toward harmony and "filling out the space." The only musical aspects that are introduced are those that directly go along with the story being told, usually centering around the vocals, so you're always following one continuous thread rather than putting pieces of a landscape together. I will say that Genesis wrote one song that really exemplifies this approach - The Musical Box - and that Marillion no doubt loved it, but that's not enough to cry clone for me.
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Posted By: Mr. Maestro
Date Posted: May 18 2011 at 13:12
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The more I listen to Neo-prog, the more I feel like I don't really like it, and yet the more of it I listen to. Maybe I'm just hoping I'll eventually come across something I do like.
There are a few newer Neo bands I do enjoy, but that's mainly because they combine Neo with other subgenres, like Symphonic or Heavy or Crossover. That's why I kind of like Knight Area, early Enchant, Frost*, and Vienna Circle. More traditional Neo-prog bands, though, just don't really interest me. ------------- "I am the one who crossed through space...or stayed where I was...or didn't exist in the first place...." |
Posted By: verslibre
Date Posted: May 18 2011 at 13:46
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I love Twelfth Night, though I don't really think of them as neo-prog. Live At The Target certainly isn't neo-prog, and the Geoff Mann era is stellar and edgier than what Marillion, Pallas, Pendragon and I.Q. were doing at the time. Lyrically and vocally, Mann had a leg up on those other singers. Then Andy Sears came in as lead vocalist for the Art & Illusion mini-album and I'd say that's neo-prog. After that, they went more or less mainstream amd even got a short-lived contract with a CBS subsidiary before the label folded and the contract got deep-sixed. ------------- https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_ipg=50&_sop=1&_rdc=1&_ssn=musicosm" rel="nofollow - eBay |
Posted By: Noak
Date Posted: May 18 2011 at 14:00
| Marillion makes me want to puke. I've given the genre many chances, and it keeps failing on me. I don't doubt that there is some Neo-Prog album which I might enjoy, but so far I haven't found it. |
Posted By: Eloy82
Date Posted: May 18 2011 at 14:40
I'm with you. I love neo prog. Been a fan of Arena, Pallas, IQ, Pendragon, etc. for years... Thanks to the good noobaronis at this site, I've gotten introduced to some other great neo prog bands. I've heard people say that they don't like the genre because these bands are redoing something and aren't original. I couldn't care less about this "accusation." If something is redone well, who cares? And I even doubt the accusation is correct to begin with in most cases. |
Posted By: Eloy82
Date Posted: May 18 2011 at 14:43
I can't believe anyone would ever call you a snob! |
Posted By: Eloy82
Date Posted: May 18 2011 at 14:44
IQ - Subterranea You're welcome. Oh, and Arena's "visitor" album. You're welcome again. |
Posted By: QuestionableScum
Date Posted: May 18 2011 at 14:53
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While I have not listened to a ton of neo-prog I generally do not like it. Most of what I have heard seemed to fail not because it was not progressive enough, but even when taken as fairly mainstream music it was not particularly well written or interesting. I would rather listen to Cocteau Twins, or Slowdive over Marillion any day of the week.
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Posted By: Eloy82
Date Posted: May 18 2011 at 15:04
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I don't understand what the big deal is about Marillion... they are OK but that's it. I'll take any better known neo prog band over them any day. If neo prog is judged solely based on Marillion, my fellow neo proggers and I are in trouble :( |
Posted By: colorofmoney91
Date Posted: May 18 2011 at 15:16
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I don't really know too much about neo-prog, but I've listened to both Ever and Frequency by IQ, some albums by Marillion of both eras, and some Arena. So far, I only enjoy Arena. Something about the neo-prog genre seems artificial and completely unemotional to me, but I occasionally enjoy it. ------------- http://hanashukketsu.bandcamp.com" rel="nofollow - Hanashukketsu |
Posted By: rdtprog
Date Posted: May 18 2011 at 15:25
| I have learned to never judge the quality of a prog cd's by his genre. There is some excellent neo-prog like there is some excellent RIO/avant-garde also. I am always open to listen to any genre, as long as the quality is there. And i want to listen to as much as possible genre to avoid being bore by the music. |
Posted By: Slaughternalia
Date Posted: May 18 2011 at 15:49
| Marillion is awesome, and that's pretty much as far as the genre goes |
Posted By: Logan
Date Posted: May 18 2011 at 16:02
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There is music that I think of high quality in Neo-Prog that has qualities that simply does not personally appeal. There is music I have discovered that I like inlcuded in every category, including Neo-Prog (music that is not so Neo-Prog by artists included in Neo-Prog), but it seems to me that the qualities that seem to indicate that music is Neo-Prog are not qualities that appeal to my ears. It doesn't help that I'm not a so-called "melodic rock" fan, and that I'm not a big Symphonic Prog fan. When I discovered Neo-Prog, I was big on alot of classic Symph, but my tastes moved in other directions (still like Symph qualities in music). I tended to gravitate towards more eclectic and avant oriented music (favourite styles in PA include chamber rock/ music, acid folk and kinds of jazz-rock, Kosmische/ electronic/ Krautrock, Canterbury Scene.... I also love musique concrete, Tropica, jazz, experimental generally, psychadelic, folk, and classical music, as well as "world" music. I like a lot of pop, erspecially 60's French pop. For me, my lack of enjoyment wasn't about Neo-Prog being derivative, but being of a style, or referencing styles that don't appeal. I think it would be very interesting to correlate the music we like with other arts (favourite films, literature, paintings etc.) and with non- so called Prog forms of music we like. When I discovered this site I used the mp3 lists to discover a lot of music -- I would go through the lists and discovered s much new to music that was great, but Neo_prog did not seem to fit my tastes. I don't think Neo-Prog is bad, and I don't think what I like is objectively good in large part, but the music does not speak to me -- I am not inclined towards it. It seems to largely be outside the kinds of music that I am accustomed to or would want to grow into. My ear is not trained to enjoy such music easily. Ever since I can remember, I've liked "quirky" music (and not because others I knew liked it, but becuase I related to it at some level - it communicated with me). If Neo-Prog resonates with some people, great. I don't think the majority here would like a lot of the music I love. I know that I have expressed that I think Neo-Prog too unsophisticated before, but I can love simple music and don't consider prog that sophisticated to begin with (though some is quite complex). ------------- Watching while most appreciating a sunset in the moment need not diminish all the glorious sunsets I have observed before. It can be much like that with music for me. |
Posted By: Garden of Dreams
Date Posted: May 18 2011 at 18:26
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I'm not a huge fan of neo-prog but I like Fish-era Marillion is great and IQ's Frequency is one of my favorite albums. From what I have heard so far, Pendragon is pretty good.
I understand why neo-prog is unappealing. Neo-prog has a stigma thats its commercialized symphonic prog. I stayed away from the genre for that reason but all bands should get a fair chance, regardless of genre or stigma. It usually takes me several listens to like an album so give it a shot.
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Posted By: Logan
Date Posted: May 18 2011 at 20:02
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To some that will be why it is unappealing, but I had no particular preconceptions about Neo-Prog before trying Neo-Prog music. I'd never heard of Neo-Prog before checking out music. Actually, I guess I did have preconeceptions, just not based on what others said, but based on the classic prog I liked and knew already I had certain prog expectations and it sounded watered down to me with AORish (melodic rock) elements and arena rock type characteristics in some music. I had big disappointments at the time when trying more modern symph included bands that I had read good things about as well: Spock's Beard (had heard it likened to Gentle Giant which I loved then) and Flower Kings I really disliked and bought albums of without hearing. Perhaps hearing a lot more negativity about Neo Prog after my dislike from hearing the music reinforced negative feelings I had for the category. That said, I've listened to scarce few albums, and know that for me it is often best to listen to music that I am unaccustomed to using headphones without distraction to really experience it. I've said or felt fairly negative things about a few albums that I grew to love which I hadn't listened to properly (in the right conditions, which ideally should include not having the kids yelling at me). For some reason, for instance, I hadn't thought Offering good, but then I really listened to it and loved it. Can's Tago Mago I initially thought too amateurish-sounding, but with subsequent listens I grew to love it. Henry Cow's Western Culture took more than one spin to really click etc. For a category which encompasses the kind of music one is not used to, it can take a while for the brain's wiring to re-adjust before the person can get interested in it. Often there's good gateway music to help a person on that journey. When I was new to this forum I asked for Neo-Prog recommendations and got some excellent ones based on my then tastes. I was recommended Discipline's Unfolded Like Staircase (It was subsequently moved to Symph) as a good gateway, and it was a good recommendation. So was The Watch. An album I like where the artist is included in Neo Prog is Marc Ceccotti's Sometimes Around Saturn (I don't love it, but I do like it, but I don't think it's really Neo Prog itself even if it has some Neo Prog elements. I quite like Edhels, a Neo Prog band, which features Marc Ceccotti. ------------- Watching while most appreciating a sunset in the moment need not diminish all the glorious sunsets I have observed before. It can be much like that with music for me. |
Posted By: Padraic
Date Posted: May 18 2011 at 21:21
| Utter indifference. |
Posted By: Garden of Dreams
Date Posted: May 18 2011 at 21:25
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Not being a fan of "melodic rock" certainly doesn't help not being a fan of the genre. I am the opposite and prefer "melodic rock" so I am mainly a fan of symphonic prog (especially The Flower Kings). If repeated listens don't make you a fan than you probably won't ever become one. I personally don't get King Crimson (except their debut) and Gentle Giant despite numerous listens. IQ's Frequency took me 5 or 6 listens before I loved it. I am the same way with new music, I prefer a headphone listen so its more articulate.
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Posted By: The T
Date Posted: May 18 2011 at 23:04
You totally see the light Eloy82. Both amazing albums... -------------
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Posted By: Harry Hood
Date Posted: May 18 2011 at 23:28
 Quoted for awesomeness. -------------
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Posted By: verslibre
Date Posted: May 19 2011 at 16:30
My faves are, respectively, Ever and Pride, though Visitor's right behind it.
It's pretty much Fugazi and (their peak) Clutching At Straws for me. When Fish split, it wasn't good for either him or the band. At least not musically.
See my post re: Twelfth Night. I'd even suggest Pendragon's The Jewel ahead of Marillion. ------------- https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_ipg=50&_sop=1&_rdc=1&_ssn=musicosm" rel="nofollow - eBay |
Posted By: Eloy82
Date Posted: May 19 2011 at 17:37
Incorrect. |