Classic masterpieces, was the public aware?

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   A big part of what goes into a "classic" would have to be a large group of people all saying that a certain album is fantastic and so a constant rotation, must listen.
It also needs staying power, but a really popular album probably has the kind of chops to keep winning over new fans as time passes.

The only rub? Classic isn't really synonymous with "masterpiece", as you an obviously tell. To really be sure of such, time does help.

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LearsFool Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Prog Reviewer Joined: November 09 2014 Location: New York Status: Offline Points: 8644	Posted: February 03 2015 at 16:58
	A big part of what goes into a "classic" would have to be a large group of people all saying that a certain album is fantastic and so a constant rotation, must listen. It also needs staying power, but a really popular album probably has the kind of chops to keep winning over new fans as time passes. The only rub? Classic isn't really synonymous with "masterpiece", as you an obviously tell. To really be sure of such, time does help.

Gerinski Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Prog Reviewer Joined: February 10 2010 Location: Barcelona Spain Status: Offline Points: 5160	Posted: February 03 2015 at 16:39
	Alright I will throw some more coal on the 'Classic' vs 'Modern' Prog debate fire, but from another perspective. In a couple of recent posts regarding Modern Prog I mentioned that I hear many great modern albums but that I wonder how many of them will be remembered and regarded as classic masterpiece albums within 10 or 20 years. But perhaps it was the same in the early 1970's? people hearing great albums but completely unaware that they would become hailed as timeless masterpieces and hailed for decades to come? So my question is, can the audience ever tell right away what is destined to become regarded as a timeless masterpiece? Those people in the early 1970's listening to albums like Foxtrot, Tarkus, Close To The Edge, Thick As A Brick, Larks Tongues In Aspic and the likes, do you think they were aware at the time (or could they ever be aware) that they were listening to albums which would remain for decades remembered as true masterpieces? Can / should we attempt to judge current music now as calling it already a 'masterpiece'? or do we need to wait 10 or 20 years to tell which of the current releases will deserve being called masterpieces?