The Prog Rock Album Club

djchameleon · 11-11-2013, 06:16 AM

Since this seems to be the only active club. Well club with people that are actually interested and participate then I will join it.

I will take Invertigo.

Trollheart · 11-11-2013, 08:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by djchameleon

Since this seems to be the only active club. Well club with people that are actually interested and participate then I will join it.

I will take Invertigo.

Welcome DJ: look forward to your thoughts!

So, at the moment we have

Fish: "A feast of consequences" taken by Unknown Soldier
Willowglass: "The dream harbour" taken by Anteater
Invertigo: "Next stop vertigo" taken by DJChameleon

Nice one guys! Just leaves Sean Filkins then. Anyone seen or heard from Big Ears? I'll be doing SF myself but interested to see if he wants to try it, or one of the others.

Ninetales · 11-12-2013, 11:04 AM

Hm so only one review per album? Guess ill do the Sean Filkins one then. Super ugly album cover tho and that somehow lowers my expectations haha

djchameleon · 11-12-2013, 04:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ninetales

Hm so only one review per album? Guess ill do the Sean Filkins one then. Super ugly album cover tho and that somehow lowers my expectations haha

No, we want to make sure each album gets reviewed but there are going to be more reviews per album as long as the min. are covered.

I believe that's the gist. Correct me if I'm wrong US or TH.

Unknown Soldier · 11-12-2013, 04:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by djchameleon

No, we want to make sure each album gets reviewed but there are going to be more reviews per album as long as the min. are covered.

I believe that's the gist. Correct me if I'm wrong US or TH.

Sure you can review all four albums if you want, but the initial idea is that somebody takes at least one different album, so every album has at least one review.

Trollheart · 11-12-2013, 04:10 PM

That's correct DJ. It's up to the members. Scenarios range from:

A. Each member picks only one album, resulting in four separate reviews for four albums

B. Each member picks more than one album, resulting in anything from I guess eight to sixteen separate reviews (unlikely, but it could happen)

C. Some members pick more than one album, resulting in anything from five to maybe ten reviews, or more, depending.

Everyone is free to pick one to four albums, Ninetales. If you want, you can choose all four, or just one. However if you choose all four you are then expected to review them all, which is why it seems unlikely anyone would go for that option. But you can also choose two or three albums if you want. The main point is, whatever you choose you need to review. So it's really up to you.

And the two week limit is really flexible. If you want, you can post your review(s) tomorrow, or if you chose too many albums you can stagger them while the next choices go out in two weeks, though that might be taking on too much work unless you decided not to take part in the next round of reviews.

Hope that's all clear as mud now!

Trollheart · 11-12-2013, 04:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ninetales

Hm so only one review per album? Guess ill do the Sean Filkins one then. Super ugly album cover tho and that somehow lowers my expectations haha

I don't see it as ugly but then, beauty is in the eye and all that.
I hope you'll be surprised. I certainly was.

Unknown Soldier · 11-20-2013, 02:32 PM

Have listened to the Fish album and here are my general thoughts. Firstly it should be noted, that I don't have the time that some people do on here to write a big review, as I can just about keep my own journal going at the moment, so the review will be very short and just contain my general thoughts on the album. Firstly I know the Fish era Marillion really well, despite never really ever being a fan of the band and their music, but Fish Marillion always held a sense of nostalgia for me as I remember how popular they were in the UK when I was growing up, in fact they were the only prog band at that time that was popular. As for Fish's solo career I'd only ever heard before his first solo album Vigil in a Wilderness of Mirrors and that came out in 1990 and hadn't heard anything from him since.

I had some trepidation before I listened to the album as I was expecting a middle of the road effort by a mature artist and there are certainly a number of slower tracks on the album that fit this bill. Some are tracks that I would bypass as being boring despite being accomplished but there are others like "The Great Unravelling" which are a strong listen. But what really surprised me was the quality of tracks like the title track "Feast of Consequences" where Fish doesn't actually sound like Fish on certain parts of the song and there's even a hint of Roger Daltrey in there! Then there is the pretty epic at times sounding "Thristle Alley" which I really liked.

Feast of Consequences is one of those albums that I guess really grows on the listener on repeated listens and overall the album is probably better than I was expecting and it's certainly accomplished. 7.5/10

Anteater · 11-26-2013, 05:02 PM

From the mind of multi-instrumentalist and composer Andrew Marshall of Yorkshire comes a 3rd LP from his idyllic Willowglass progressive rock project, The Dream Harbour. As a fan of his second release Book Of Hours back in 2008, the prospect of sitting through this new recording and giving it a proper whirlthrough wasn't to my detriment in any way, shape nor form: hell, it may actually be a cut or two better than that second album I liked so much!

So what do we have here exactly? To put it one way, Andrew's music plays out like a lush Baroque fantasy painting, complete with the vintage keys, flute, plenty of guitar and a host of other instrumentations. People have likened his particular compositional approach to Steve Hackett and Anthony Phillips of Genesis fame, but in reality what we have here is something more akin to the Canterbury Scene being extrapolated by, say, someone like Keith Emerson of ELP. And what I mean by that is that despite a decidedly pastoral, whimstical feel throughout, songs like the 20-minute 'A House Of Cards Pt.1' possess that quality of ever-shifting extravagance and indulgence that made songs like 'Tarkus' or 'Karn Evil 9' so iconic within the burgeoning era of "art" rock back in the day.

That being said, whatever your tolerance for purely instrumental fare, much of the music here is the specter of Beauty incarnate. The title track in particular is quite the marvel, transposing his finger picked guitar under some of the best "old school" synthesizer work I've heard in recent memory. And when that flute comes in...well, your ears perk up whether you like it or not.

Although I'd like to see sir Marshall change things up stylistically on future records, I would definitely say The Dream Harbour is his best set to date, so listen below and judge for yourselves! 8.5/10

Trollheart · 11-27-2013, 02:15 PM

Thanks guys! I think this is the way to go. If I really love (or hate) an album I'll more than likely review it for my journal, so shorter, snappier entries are probably better here than long-drawn or "Trollheart-style" reviews. Of course, if that's what you want to do you're perfectly welcome, but I'll probably follow the example of Ant and US and do a relatively short review of my album.

Which should be up tomorrow or Saturday.

Given the date, I'd say extend the deadline to the end of the month, after which the next person up should have their four choices ready for us. Naturally, the deadline is not carved in stone and if you miss it you can still post a review after it, but it would be nice to get everything tied up so that we can all concentrate on our next album(s).

Who's next anyway?

11-12-2013, 04:10 PM	#536 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,992	That's correct DJ. It's up to the members. Scenarios range from: A. Each member picks only one album, resulting in four separate reviews for four albums B. Each member picks more than one album, resulting in anything from I guess eight to sixteen separate reviews (unlikely, but it could happen) C. Some members pick more than one album, resulting in anything from five to maybe ten reviews, or more, depending. Everyone is free to pick one to four albums, Ninetales. If you want, you can choose all four, or just one. However if you choose all four you are then expected to review them all, which is why it seems unlikely anyone would go for that option. But you can also choose two or three albums if you want. The main point is, whatever you choose you need to review. So it's really up to you. And the two week limit is really flexible. If you want, you can post your review(s) tomorrow, or if you chose too many albums you can stagger them while the next choices go out in two weeks, though that might be taking on too much work unless you decided not to take part in the next round of reviews. Hope that's all clear as mud now! __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

11-27-2013, 02:15 PM	#540 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,992	Thanks guys! I think this is the way to go. If I really love (or hate) an album I'll more than likely review it for my journal, so shorter, snappier entries are probably better here than long-drawn or "Trollheart-style" reviews. Of course, if that's what you want to do you're perfectly welcome, but I'll probably follow the example of Ant and US and do a relatively short review of my album. Which should be up tomorrow or Saturday. Given the date, I'd say extend the deadline to the end of the month, after which the next person up should have their four choices ready for us. Naturally, the deadline is not carved in stone and if you miss it you can still post a review after it, but it would be nice to get everything tied up so that we can all concentrate on our next album(s). Who's next anyway? __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

11-12-2013, 11:04 AM	#533 (permalink)
Ninetales Music Addict Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: livin wild Posts: 2,179	Hm so only one review per album? Guess ill do the Sean Filkins one then. Super ugly album cover tho and that somehow lowers my expectations haha