Why is Tull's "A Passion Play" rated so low? - Progressive Rock Music Forum

Ratings are overrated and I could give a sh*t if an album that really appeals to me doesn't to others,

Released date are often when it it impacted you but recorded dates are when it really happened...

Really? I thought it helped saved the Rain Forrest back in the seventies.

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softandwet wrote:

moshkito wrote:

softandwet wrote:

What do you guys think about A Passion Play? I've listened to it once and it really bored me. Aside, Thick As A Brick is in my top 3 of Prog albums.
So should I listen to it again?

Sad that you think so ... it is, by very far, one of the most intelligent and expressive things ever ... but, then, you probably don't even know what a "passion play" is and its history for hundreds of years ... in order to even come close to appreciate what Ian and his band did, which is phenomenal!

This is the case where a little knowledge and intelligence really makes a difference. You might even go read the other thread where DE and others clarify the whole thing for you ...

I definitely know what a passion play is and I understand it's meaning, but it just doesn't match musically (at least for the moment) with me. Please stop being haughty and try to understand the meaning of TAAB then, because I think it somehow concerns you : "and your wise men don't know how it feels ; to be thick as a brick".

Thick As A Brick is about climate change.

(According to Al Gore.)

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So I did merge softandwet's "A Passion Play?" topic post, and all the subsequent replies one-by-one into this topic, which would make some of the responses as well as his post seem weird when reading through this thread if one were not aware that I had taken this action.

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.

^ your cold and contemptuous tone will always amazes me, man.

APP is a grower. It has a strange sound unique to it which may take a while to get used to. It is Tull's most dense album both musically and lyrically. I recommend patience with it but only if it catches your fancy in some way. Never try to like something others say you should like if you don't, but some music deserves more than one or even two listens. This is one of those cases. Part of the prog experience is trying out music new to you. Sometimes it will grab you, sometimes not. This one requires attention to the lyrics.

The world of sound is certainly capable of infinite variety and, were our sense developed, of infinite extensions. -- George Santayana, "The Sense of Beauty"

Liked it tremendously from the first listen and prefer it to taab.

softandwet wrote:

What do you guys think about A Passion Play? I've listened to it once and it really bored me. Aside, Thick As A Brick is in my top 3 of Prog albums.

So should I listen to it again?

It'll go over your head the first time. It's one of those top notch complex prog albums and requires many, many listens to sink in. Took me a long time to appreciate it as a 5 star album. There's so much to digest. I compare albums like A Passion Play as an album to math classes. You won't understand calculus until you master algebra. Thick As A Brick is a less complex album built on variations of a few themes. A Passion Play opens the floodgates and delivers a deluge of ideas that don't repeat. It's one of those many don't have the patience to decode.

https://rateyourmusic.com/~siLLy_puPPy

http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=121098

Maybe one of the Admins will see fit to merge the threads.

I would. I've always liked it, but I understand is not an easy listning. However, it is quite deep in compositional skills, and it gradually grows on you. Thick as a Brick is also one of my favorite pieces os music, probably the top one.