Music Banter - The Prog & Fusion Album Club

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Great, thanks for the suggestion Anteaster! :)

This week will be Genesis week. Techincally, it was a draw between Passport and Genesis, but since Genesis has been in the poll longer, that one wins the poll! So, here's this week's homework album :

Quote:

Originally Posted by eric generic (Post 978718)

Genesis - Selling England by the Pound (1973)

http://www.chartstats.com/images/artwork/25785.jpg

we haven't tackled this yet have we?

from ABC&T Presents: Your Introduction to Prog

Quote:

Those who don't know prog probably knows Genesis as the rock band fronted by Phil Collins and they've certainly gained a bad rep over the years. However, there was a time when Genesis was one of the most exciting acts of the prog movement. Their songs rather than their skills as musicians took center stage and their musicality and songwriting skills coupled with then frontman Peter Gabriel's over the top on-stage theatrics earned them a following which has lasted and gained them fans to this day. Their efforts then now sit comfortably as some of the biggest influences on the genre. Their fifth album "Selling England by the Pound" is widely regarded as their top album and mixes progressive rock with pop accessibility for a powerful result. It is one of the most essential prog albums you can get your hands on.

Our Comments :
Anteater : I may not be English, but that doesn't change the fact that Selling England... is a majestic piece of work from start to finish.
Boo Boo : This is indeed their best work. The Cinema Show is their most beautiful song, the acoustic guitar harmonies alone could hook you, but the way they could pile on one goregeous melody after another is just astonishing.
Comus : Along with Foxtrot this is one of the best examples of what progressive rock is all about. Highly recommended.
toretorden : Not one of my highest ranking prog records, but damn fine album all the same. Peter Gabriel is a weirdo.

I'll edit this post soon with a link to Hatfield and the North's discussion thread. :)

edit :

Discussion of Hatfield and the North's debut takes place here!

http://www.musicbanter.com/prog-psyc...th-1974-a.html

If we're still able to nominate, I'm nominating First Utterance (1971) by Comus. I'm sure most of you have heard this album, but I thought it would be a fun album to talk about. For those who don't know, this album is a folk album that uses worldly sounds incorporated into its music (you can hear bongos, Romani-sounding violin, old blues/slide guitar, folky voice, etc). The strangest and most interesting aspect about this album, though, is its juxtaposition between the sound of the music and the actual topic that the music is about.

http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:A...uZ5dzRmI8z0-9A

Too late for this poll, Jack, but I'll include it in next week's poll :)

Good and interesting album too by the way!

This week's album and the poll winner is Dün's Eros from 1981! About time perhaps, it's been in the poll for a while now. :p:

Quote:

Originally Posted by James (Post 892566)

Dün - Eros

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vY8I5HvOvk...0/Dun-Eros.jpg
Eros is a Zeuhl album (Zeuhl is a subgenre of Avant-prog originating from France that describes a blend of Modern Classical, Prog Rock and Jazz), but it's so much more than that. This album had a huge influence on Math-Rock and the best description i've saw of it is, "A blend between Zappa and Mahavishnu Orchestra with Mathy overtones". The Zappa influence is rather obvious, especially in the time signatures which are just crazy. After the powerful opening track the music takes a more atmospheric turn. The titletrack is a personal highlight with the slow build-up of the flute until the breathtaking climax. This album also has some outstanding Xylophone playing, which for me is a very underrated instrument.This album truly leaves me on the edge of my seat, completely and utterly thrilling. This is the best Prog album of the 80's in my mind, nothing can beat it. A lot of Zeuhl you hear(I haven't heard much though) is just boring and does exactly what it says on the tin, but this takes it to a new level. It takes Zeuhl and turns it into something outstanding. So please vote for this album, it's a masterpiece and i'd love some other opinions on it. Plus if you haven't already heard it(Although this club is usually dominated by major Progheads so you probably have) you must, leaves me in awe every time I play it.

I will create a discussion thread for Genesis' Selling England by the Pound shortly.

Might hop on board whenever the next voting period starts.

May I suggest an album that hasn't been assigned as homework yet?

/noob question

Here's a link to the discussion thread by the way in case someone's missed it :)

http://www.musicbanter.com/prog-psyc...nd-1973-a.html

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kinda Blue (Post 996814)

May I suggest an album that hasn't been assigned as homework yet?

/noob question

Yes! We're getting a bit skimpy on the poll options, so more suggestions would be welcome.

I'd like to throw in a next suggestion for the upcoming poll myself.

Gentle Giant - Free Hand (1975)

http://www.ferhiga.com/progre/portad...-free-hand.jpg

Although popular on musicbanter and in prog communities in general, some here may not know Gentle Giant. They were an extremely talented prog band from England largely made up by multi-instrumentalists whose collective musical style and compositions were creative and unique. They were perhaps just a bit too strange to ever quite tap into the mainstream like contemporaries Yes or ELP, but their influence within the prog scene is significant and far reaching both in time and space, making them a must-know for anyone whose serious about exploring prog rock.

The general consensus is that the bands first 7 studio albums are all gems of the prog genre. Free Hand from 1975 is the last in this line and is generally very well liked by fans. Like the other albums, it features some hard rock flavours, medieval influences, a capellas and more, often within a single track. However, I consider Free Hand to be slightly easier to get into compared to many of their earlier albums (except perhaps their 1970 debut) and it's also one of my favourite GG albums. I figure it's as good an entry point into this super-interesting band as any. Highly recommended!

Wishbone Ash – Argus (1972)
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...sh_-_Argus.jpg
Widely regarded as their best album, this is the album in which they finally found themselves. After struggling with making something that sounded original in their two previous albums, they came up with this; Argus – a unique blending of all the different styles of music they had tried out earlier – a rather folk-ish prog rock album with lyrics touching on, not so uncommonly, medieval themes. But what I think makes this album so good is definitely the instrumentation. The dual lead guitar just works so well! I do also believe Argus was one of the first albums with such an extensive use of twin-lead guitar. So yeah, if you haven’t heard this album yet, I suggest you do your homework for once!

Brilliant suggestion, Kinda Blue :)

Here's this week's poll : http://www.musicbanter.com/prog-psyc...lbum-poll.html