Fave Yes, Crimson, Giant, Floyd albums.

This time with comments:

Keppa4v wrote: Off the top of my head: King Crimson: 1. Red My first touch of Prog, and their best album as a whole. Starless is my number one favourite song ever, another one I particularly enjoy is The Fallen Angel. 2. In the Court of the Crimson King The latter part of Moonchild does its best trying to ruin this otherwise perfect album, but the other songs (and the beginning of the aforementioned) are so damn strong that I can't call this less than a masterpiece. Also a very important album in my early progdays. 3. The Power to Believe Decades after their golden days (at least to me) they're back with another magnificent album. As close to a masterpiece as an album can be, but there's that little something missing that drops this one from five stars. 4. Islands Every song on the album improves on the previous one, starting with the very good Formentera Lady and ending up in the fantastic title track. Crimso at their most beautiful. 5. Starless and Bible Black Red was the first Crimso album I loved, but this one was the first I heard. I wasn't blown away, but Trio planted a seed that later grew when hearing Starless. The Night Watch is probably the second best Crimso song. Some other day this spot could well be taken by In the Wake of Poseidon. Gentle Giant: 1. Gentle Giant 2. Free Hand 3. Octopus Can't really say anything clever about these yet, I'm just in the process of digging my way into the world of GG. This is the order I would place them at the moment, but tomorrow it might be different. Yes: 1. Close to the Edge The only total Yes masterpiece in my book, also one of the best bass albums ever. 2. Fragile I borrowed this one from library a couple of years back when I heard all the praise going on about Yes, but it ended up being a very unpleasant experience. Can't really remember why anymore. I tried again a little later when I found it cheap in a used record store, and that was the start of my Yesfandom. Could be a masterpiece if they left most of the individual tracks in the studio and put on one more "real" track. 3. The Yes Album The hammond sound can get a bit boring in constant use, but the songs are all great, except for the only good Venture. Some magical Howe moments especially. 4. Magnification They're not all great songs, but there are lots of little things that touch me deeper than most of their other material ever. 5. Relayer Depending on the day could be Going for the One, Topographic or 90125. Pink Floyd: 1. Wish You Were Here A perfect album from start to finish. It's weird that with so much great material over time, this is the only Floyd album I consider a masterpiece. There's always something missing or too much something, but this is a perfect piece of art. 2. Animals This one is still, after many many listens, opening up. Interesting compositions all the way. The last good album by Roger Floyd before lyrics kicked music to the ground. 3. Dark Side of the Moon A very enjoyable album, but at some points a bit too much weight is put on the lyrics at the cost of the music. Genesis: 1. Wind and Wuthering 1. A Trick of the Tail A very tight race for the number one spot, and the last listens to these confirmed that they indeed did cross the finish line side to side. Both have three great songs with the rest of the album made from a little less engaging, but still always enjoyable material. 3. Trespass Selling England by the Pound I was going to say Trespass, but then I listened to both of these albums yesterday, and decided otherwise. Selling England might just be the most uneven album I've ever heard, mixing totally great songs with songs that set my teeth on edge, but the few moments of absolute brilliance are enough to lift it a bit above Trespass, although that album is much more consistent in quality. I too haven't heard Supertramp and only about a half of Genesis catalogue.

Edited by Keppa4v - March 13 2008 at 04:34

Okay here we go:

King Crimson:
1) Lizard - inaccessible, but after listening nearly 10 times, it's easily the most interesting album KC made
2) In The Wake Of Poseidon - feels like an improvement on the debut; "Pictures of a City" is just as good as (if not better than) "Schizoid Man", and of course, this album doesn't have 1/4 of its length dominated by worthless "noodling" (a la Moonchild)
3) In The Court Of The Crimson King - great album, but would have ranked higher if Moonchild was only 2-3 mins long and if another song (or two) were added for good measure.
4) Islands - haven't hear it that many times yet, but I'm liking it each time more
5) I feel sort of indifferent/the same about the rest of their albums between Islands and Discipline. They aren't bad, but not as good as I would have though with all of the praise they get.

Gentle Giant:
1) Gentle Giant [debut] - simply excellent! Every song is great (especially like their rendition of the final track, "the Queen.")
2) Acquiring The Taste - nearly as good as the debut, besides the title track and "Edge Of Twilight"
3) Octopus - pretty good, but not as enjoyable as the previous two (probably ties with Playing The Fool: Live)

Yes:
1) Close To The Edge - perfect Symphonic Prog album. Does everything right.
2) The Yes Album - flawless, but not as sublime as CTTE
3) Time And A Word - criminally underrated/overlooked, has some great songwriting and the instrumentation with the horns / strings works wonderfully ( I group this sound with UH's "Salisbury" title track and PF's "Atom Heart Mother Suite")
4) Yessongs - the length keeps me from listening to it as often as the others, but every track is worthwhile and some exceed the studio recordings (specifically "Heart Of The Sunrise" and "Yours Is No Disgrace").
5) Probably a tie between Fragile and Relayer. The former is flawed with some tracks (the 2 songs shorter than "Cans and Brahms"), and I feel that "To Be Over" on the latter album is too lengthy for its own good... well only sometimes.

Pink Floyd (the albums besides Dark Side through The Wall):
1) Meddle - Atomsphere/mood perfection. Echoes is a defining moment
2) Atom Heart Mother - misunderstood, but definitely a classic. The title track is like a Symphonic "epic", and side B is excellent material
3) The Final Cut - what I consider to be the "3rd disc" to The Wall - Roger Waters' swan song for his involvement in PF.

Supertramp:
1) Crime Of The Century: perfection
2) Breakfast In America: Excellent, catchy songs while still being interesting to listen to
3) Paris: Covers the previous two albums fairly well (for some reason all of COTC is included except "If Everyone Was Listening") and includes some highlights from Crisis and Even In The Quietest Moments (well, except for "Give A little Bit")

Genesis:
1) Foxtrot - Classic of the genre, even if it just contained the music from side 2
2) Selling England - Really good album, but "I Know What I Like" has some irritating parts, and "More Fool Me" I sometimes skip
3) Nursery Cryme - Great album, just not as familiar with it
(Although I haven't listened to my "Seconds Out" LP yet - could become a new favorite!)

Ok Here goes, I ranked em in order from fav to less fav( but always still incredible)

ahh... why not

Yes - TFTO, TYA, Drama, Yes, CTTE

Crimson - LTiA, ItWoP, SaBB, Lizard, ItCotCK

GG - Three Friend, Acquiring the Taste, GG, Octopus, Free Hand

Floyd - Ummagumma, ASfoS, More, WYWH. ObC

Genesis - SEbyP, Genesis, FGtR, Nursery Cryme, Trespass

KC:  Red, LTA, Discipline, ICOTCK, Thrak

Supertramp

Edited by Bj-1 - March 24 2008 at 11:33

King Crimson ITCOTCK, Starless and Bible Black, Discipline, Thrak, Islands.

Gentle Giant Octopus, Power and Glory, Free Hand.

Yes Yes, Time and a Word, Close to the Edge, Tales From Topographic Oceans, Fragile.

Pink Floyd Animals, Wish You Were Here, Piper at the Gates of Dawn.

Supertramp Crime of the Century (is ok).

Genesis Selling England by the Pound, Trespass, Foxtrot.

KC:1- ITCOTCK (why is that not a surprise?)

Edited by tszirmay - March 26 2008 at 17:06

Edited by Philip - April 05 2008 at 12:59