1973 - In between Masterpieces
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Topic: 1973 - In between Masterpieces
Posted By: someone_else
Subject: 1973 - In between Masterpieces
Date Posted: September 18 2011 at 08:02
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It is 1973. Two major representants of the Symphonic Prog subgenre have released double albums that cannot really compete with their predecessors or their successors, as is reflected in their weighted PA ratings. Focus 3 (3.69):  Tales from Topographic Oceans - Yes (3.85)  Which is your favourite? ------------- 
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Replies:
Posted By: Angelo
Date Posted: September 18 2011 at 08:15
The only masterpiece created in 1973 is the guy identified in my passport.  As for these two albums, my choice would be Focus, by many miles. ------------- 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: Hercules
Date Posted: September 18 2011 at 09:37
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Focus 3 for me. It just scrapes 4*.
Tales has never engaged me at all - I might give it 3* if I was feeling generous. ------------- A TVR is not a car. It's a way of life. |
Posted By: Barah86
Date Posted: September 18 2011 at 09:57
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Dark Side of the Moon is all i have to say... ------------- Death seed blind man's greed Poets' starving children bleed Nothing he's got he really needs Twenty first century schizoid man. 
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Posted By: Prog Geo
Date Posted: September 18 2011 at 10:12
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Focus!
------------- Sonorous Meal show every Sunday at 20:00 (greek time) on http://www.justincaseradio.com |
Posted By: octopus-4
Date Posted: September 18 2011 at 10:42
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Tales ------------- Curiosity killed a cat, Schroedinger only half. My poor home recorded stuff at https://yellingxoanon.bandcamp.com |
Posted By: Mellotron Storm
Date Posted: September 18 2011 at 11:10
FOCUS for me. I listened(or started to listen) to Tales the other day.I couldn't get passed the first song.Now i have listened to that double album many times just so you know and i thought maybe a fresh listen after so many years would cause me to suddenly get that album, but if The Revealing Science Of God is supposed to be one of the best tracks of the four well i give up then. "To each his own" as they say.I quite like the FOCUS album though.------------- "The wind is slowly tearing her apart" "Sad Rain" ANEKDOTEN |
Posted By: Hans il mercante
Date Posted: September 18 2011 at 11:33
| Among those two, Tales! |
Posted By: dwill123
Date Posted: September 18 2011 at 11:34
| "Focus 3" is a classic in my book. "Tales from Topographic Oceans" is on my ten worst albums list. |
Posted By: memowakeman
Date Posted: September 18 2011 at 11:37
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Both are great. ------------- Follow me on twitter @memowakeman |
Posted By: Hans il mercante
Date Posted: September 18 2011 at 11:41
| Even tough if I have to pick a 1973 album, my vote will be for Selling England by the pound, I know it's not on one of the two, but for me us a better album in so many ways. |
Posted By: Gandalff
Date Posted: September 18 2011 at 11:46
------------- A Elbereth Gilthoniel silivren penna míriel o menel aglar elenath! Na-chaered palan-díriel o galadhremmin ennorath, Fanuilos, le linnathon nef aear, sí nef aearon! |
dwill123 wrote:Posted By: lazland
Date Posted: September 18 2011 at 12:05
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I have always regarded Tales as a flawed masterpiece, but even when producing a flawed masterpiece, Yes were head and shoulders above anything Focus did (IMHO). ------------- Enhance your life. Get down to www.lazland.org |
Posted By: motoprog
Date Posted: September 18 2011 at 12:07
| TFTO |
Posted By: JD
Date Posted: September 18 2011 at 13:11
As much as I appreciate some of what Focus did I would tend to agree with this. ------------- Thank you for supporting independently produced music |
Posted By: Slaughternalia
Date Posted: September 18 2011 at 13:18
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I dislike both albums, but I can still hear that Yes has far better songwriting skill. Focus has never done much for me ------------- I'm so mad that you enjoy a certain combination of noises that I don't |
Posted By: Fox On The Rocks
Date Posted: September 18 2011 at 15:31
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Tales always gets bashed constantly but honestly I'd say its probably in my top 3 for Yes albums. Close To The Edge, The Yes Album, Tales From Topographic Oceans.
------------- 
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Posted By: Wanorak
Date Posted: September 18 2011 at 16:12
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I agree totally with Lazland - Tales! ------------- A GREAT YEAR FOR PROG!!! |
Posted By: Lark the Starless
Date Posted: September 18 2011 at 19:45
lolwut ------------- 
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Posted By: twosteves
Date Posted: September 18 2011 at 19:52
Tales--but love Focus 3 but only with the original album cover
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Posted By: Progosopher
Date Posted: September 18 2011 at 20:27
Tales is a masterpiece, so technically shouldn't be here, but I couldn't help to vote for it anyway just to get my point across.  ------------- 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: Man With Hat
Date Posted: September 18 2011 at 23:53
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Tales for sure.
Focus 3 aint bad though. ------------- 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: JS19
Date Posted: September 19 2011 at 03:06
In that case, I vote for donuts. They are much tastier.
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Posted By: antonyus
Date Posted: September 19 2011 at 08:15
| yesssss |
Posted By: crimhead
Date Posted: September 19 2011 at 13:14
| I need to hear more Focus it seems. |
Posted By: Logan
Date Posted: September 19 2011 at 14:20
I don't give average ratings much weight. For my tastes, Focus 3 is Focus best album (not that I'm much into Focus anymore). The ratings are just a popularity guide -- often tell one which is the most readily accessible for most. I didn't immediately appreciate Focus 3 as much as Moving Waves or Hamburger Concerto, but I grew to like it more than the others. A non-symph example, since I'm not that into symph anymore, of a 1973 album that rates considerably lower than the preceding and subsequent album by the band that I think much better than the average ratings would lead me to believe, if I put faith in them, is Neu! 2. I like it much more than Neu! subsequent album -- not that I hear people calling Neu! '75 a masterpiece, so not a greatly relevant example for the topic so excuse the digression. Anyway, I will vote for Focus 3. Even when I was pretty big on Yes (at least some Yes) I wasn't big on Tales. Actually, I never much cared for Close to the Edge either. Guess the only Yes album I ever really loved was Fragile; whereas I used to like pretty much all of Focus' albums. ------------- Just a fanboy passin' through. |
Posted By: Earendil
Date Posted: September 19 2011 at 15:23
| Yes dominates Focus, but they obviously aren't bad. |
Posted By: claugroi
Date Posted: September 19 2011 at 17:45
------------- Symphonic Prog Master |
Posted By: The-time-is-now
Date Posted: September 20 2011 at 02:39
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Tales. Incredible music.
-------------  One of my best achievements in life was to find this picture :D |
Posted By: Moogtron III
Date Posted: September 20 2011 at 02:52
| Two great albums, but I like the one from Yes a bit more. |
Posted By: someone_else
Date Posted: September 20 2011 at 14:40
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I give my own vote to Focus: TfTO has some good moments like a few tiny diamonds hidden in a large lump of clay, but in an overall impression Focus 3 is imho the best of these two (it's 3- against 2.5 stars). -------------
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Posted By: knecht56
Date Posted: September 20 2011 at 18:20
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Tales from Topographic Oceans. It's a flawed masterpiece--not as great as its predecessor, Close to the Edge, but then Close to the Edge is one of the greatest albums of all time, IMHO. Tales is still great. Focus 3 is also great, and is, all things considered, superior to Moving Waves, also IMHO. But Focus, great as they were, can't compare to Yes at their greatest--and their greatest extended from the Yes Album all the way through Drama.  |
Posted By: patday34
Date Posted: September 20 2011 at 21:09
| Tales |
Posted By: digdug
Date Posted: September 21 2011 at 14:56
well said my friend! I still listen to Tales every once in a while....but don't really enjoy it when I do The Focus album is pretty awesome ------------- Prog On! |
Posted By: LusoProgger
Date Posted: September 22 2011 at 15:33
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Tales have some flaws so... my vote goes to Focus!!! beside these 2 albums i would pick Selling England By The Pound or Darkside Of The Moon.
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Posted By: prog4evr
Date Posted: September 22 2011 at 23:16
I was going to say ELP, Brain Salad Surgery...
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Posted By: prog4evr
Date Posted: September 22 2011 at 23:17
| ...But neither DSOTM nor BSS is symphonic prog (oh well...) |
Posted By: Logan
Date Posted: September 23 2011 at 09:30
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^ More importantly, to my thinking, Dark Side of the Moon is rated higher at PA than the preceding album (Obscured by Clouds) andDSotM has a masterpiece rating at this site. In the original post it was pointed out that not only are both poll choices symphonic, but both albums can't really compete with their predecessor and successor in terms of the weighted ratings. And if one wanted to mention another similar case that is more relevant, it's also noted that both of the choices are double albums as well, so... Brain Salad Surgery would be an odd choice. It already has a very high rating at PA, is considered by many to be ELP's masterpiece, but how many would consider Works Vol I to be a masterpiece? (let alone better than BSS). The ratings at PA are much better for BSS than Works..... Don't know if you were being sarcastic, or not in response to Barah. ------------- Just a fanboy passin' through. |
Posted By: octopus-4
Date Posted: September 23 2011 at 09:34
I don't think I'll never write a review of it, but I really LOVE Works Vol.1, or better sides A and D. My fav ELP albums are the debut and Trilogy. BSS has some weak moments that those two don't have at all, IMO. ------------- Curiosity killed a cat, Schroedinger only half. My poor home recorded stuff at https://yellingxoanon.bandcamp.com |
Posted By: Logan
Date Posted: September 23 2011 at 09:58
Note: You caught an initial error of mine, which I corrected just before you posted, so I fixed my quote to the updated version. I used to really like ELP, and my faves were the debut and Trilogy too. I didn't like BSS, or Tarkus for that matter, that much. I've only heard bits and pieces of Works Vol. I, but did like what I heard. Just to mention Pink Floyd's pre- DSoTM album which is rated considerably lower than Dark Side, I prefer Obscured to Clouds to Dark Side of the Moon. I commonly find the average/ weighted ratings at PA to not reflect my tastes very well. ------------- Just a fanboy passin' through. |
Posted By: The Hemulen
Date Posted: September 23 2011 at 10:06
| Focus 3 was my first proper taste of prog, so for me it's a no-brainer. |