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 Jared wrote:

 lazland wrote:

I must also admit to becoming very sceptical of recent TFK, Transatlantic, and Beard stuff because there is nothing excitingly new there. I crave something which takes me somewhere else, and on that basis Ghost Toast this week wins hands down.

I get where you are coming from Steve but on the other side of the coin, is it fair to expect to expect bands of considerable longevity to constantly moving forward, reinventing themselves and saying something new with each album? As an example, many have derided Dream Theater for trotting out only a slight variation on a well worn formula, until the released the Astonishing... which frankly wasn't. Ultimately, these bands have essentially the same personnel and they know what works for them and their fan base and a change of direction can come at a reputational risk. I remember seeing SB on their first mini UK tour supporting Day For Night and they really were revelatory, but after 13 studios, they aren't going to deviate from their sound.

Maybe Ghost Toast do win hands down (you can raise a glass to this weeks toast!) but after 10 studio albums, will they still be taking you somewhere else??  

I think this is a really interesting question, and it goes to the heart of peoples love of music and tastes down the ages.

As an example, I will discuss Genesis, universally appreciated as one of the classics of prog rock bands in the 70’s, but derided by many so called prog fans in the 80’s onwards as having “sold out”.

Gabriel left Genesis in 1975 after The Lamb. When he returned to recording studio albums and new music, it sounded bugger all like his parent band. Especially after Melt. 

Genesis deliberately released a couple of symphonic albums in ATOTT and WAW. When Hackett left, they again deliberately released albums which were seriously divergent from those. Whether you liked those albums, or not, is somewhat besides the point. The point is that what was released was different. If Genesis had released ten albums sounding exactly like Foxtrot or SEBTP, or The Lamb, I would have grown very bored very quickly. If Ghost Toast do something similar, i.e. do something different, then the Laz glass will be raised as high as it is tonight. 