Collaborators Top Prog Rock Albums 2009

Kotro wrote: Otherwise, nothing unexpected - just how much of a landslide win was Magma's?

In points:
1. Magma
2. maudlin  (-14 points)
3. Transatlantic (-21 points)
4. The Decemberists (-37 points)
5. Porcupine (-43 points)

In appreciation, Magma was chosen #1 by 7 collaborators and #2 by another 7 collaborators.  maudlin was #1 only for 4 collaborators, otherwise landing more variedly (but scoring big, because a lot of people voted for it, one way or the other).

Until yesterday, Decemberists and Porcupine were 1 point apart. But something changed his mind.

Also, Isis was #10 also until yesterday. One more vote pushed Miriodor instead.

Tsevir Leirbag wrote: Damn it! None of my choices is in the top five. At least Miriodor's Avanti! made the top ten.

^ He's with his nose caught in chamber rock.  BTW Jon don't get Miriodor until you're really sure (I would suggest Cheer Accident and Zu before). Also, I'm angry on Gabe for knocking Isis out from the top 10 on the last moment 

Windhawk wrote: Slartibartfast wrote: Just curious, did the list of nominees go over 100? Read the opening of the initial post and you'll see the answer there ;-)

I totally whizzed right by that.

Interesting to see the predominance of metal and metal related artists in the list.  Curious to see how 2010 comes out to see if it's a trend.


Edited by Slartibartfast - March 01 2010 at 11:57

It's not like I voted for what would be the top albums of the year when I was a collab, but if I were to make an exclusively prog list, only Crack the Skye would make it. Maybe in a good mood The Hazards of Love.

E-Re was spectacularly routine and boring. I can't expect much else from Magma playing the same Magma music Magma always does.

But then again, this year was horrifically disappointing for the prog music I like. I seriously laugh when I see Porcupine Tree on this list at all, thought it's predictable they'd be here, given Wilson could poop out anything and people'd love it (re: Insurgentes) (re:re: this was me before 2009).

Wow,  I am extremely disappointed to see magma at #1.  Ëmëhntëhtt-ré isn't special not even by zehul standards, and that in a genre that has less important bands to progressive rock than you have fingers in a single hand. That is really frustrating.

Not that it a bad album, no, but I think it is as representative to progressive rock as Putin is representative to Nigerian People and, hell, it can be easily surpassed in quality by 80% of all Magma studio input. A damn shame, that is what this is. I would have been satisfied with almost any other album listed in the list (top 49?).

Unfortunately the year of 2009 ends with a bittersweet taste in my mouth. The year was possibly the best year for progressive rock since 1972 and yet the album of the years is such an uninteresting one, when put in perspective. It is the same as having Obscured by Clouds as the best album of 1972, seriously. I still can't believe a simple list could make me truly sad. I'm off to listening Atheist to try to shake that off.

Just hope that in 2010 we have better results.

Oh, and by the way, congratulations Rico for the effort and the result compilation.

WalterDigsTunes wrote: A classic band sweeps aside all the would-be usurpers. Awesome!

That coming from a guy with a Zappa avatar is as logical as albinos against sun blocker, or men against bikinis, or Russians against vodka. Zappa was one of the biggest supported of new bands in the prog scene, it just don't make sense.


Edited by CCVP - March 01 2010 at 13:31

CCVP wrote: Wow,  I am extremely disappointed to see magma at #1.  Ëmëhntëhtt-ré isn't special not even by zehul standards, and that in a genre that has less important bands to progressive rock than you have fingers in a single hand. That is really frustrating. Not that it a bad album, no, but I think it is as representative to progressive rock as Putin is representative to Nigerian People and, hell, it can be easily surpassed in quality by 80% of all Magma studio input. A damn shame, that is what this is. I would have been satisfied with almost any other album listed in the list (top 49?).

On the contrary, I think it's one of the best albums Magma has managed to put out in their careers.  It's easily in my top 3 studio releases by the band.  As for how important they (or Zeuhl) are to progressive rock, isn't that pretty subjective as well?  Sure, they're not well known, but that's not equivalent to important.  And if you disliked it so much...why bother to type out all the umlauts and accents?

After having given that latest Magma album enough spins for me to write about it a while ago, I failed to get the magic there.

Bog standard repetitive fusion with Wagnerian overtones so strong that I was tempted to stretch out my right hand in a signature pose, the one and only element that was truly amazing on that album was the performance.

Nothing new, nothing original, okayish compositions utterly devoid of any emotion whatsoever. But  perfectionist and clinical in performance, I readily admit that. Vander in particular may be among the best drummers in the business.

Padraic wrote: rushfan4 wrote: so it would be kind of like being able to vote for the King Crimson remastered releases as the top album of 2009.  So what you're saying is that there has to be some time limit on when material can be recorded after it's been composed.

Pretty much, especially since a version of the music was already previously in existence.