Trollheart's Wonderful World of Prog

Trollheart · 07-26-2018, 05:31 PM

Well so far we've had an album that apparently even Fripp himself hated (until Steven Wilson came to save the day, it says here) and now one that is seemingly the weakest of their career up to this point. Don't think this one is going to change my current mindset on them, but let's give it a go anyway.

Islands (1971)

1. Formantera Lady: Came and went without leaving the slightest impression on me. Boring as all hell.

2. Sailor's Tale: A little better, bit of excitement in it, but still nothing much to get excited about.

3. The Letters: Starts off very low-key and quiet, then explodes into a VDGG hornfest (oooer!) but it's still not gripping me. Yawn.

4. Ladies of the Road: A boring, annoying attempt at hard rock on an album that doesn't quite know what it wants to be.

5. Prelude: Song of the Gulls: Nice little almost classical instrumental, the first track on this album I've given a **** about. Very enjoyable. Beautiful, in fact. A welcome respite from the tedium this album is weighing me down with.

6. Islands: Okay this is also very nice. I'm not wild about this third vocalist either (seems he, and everyone else, left after this album anyway) but the sax from Mel Collins is very easy on the ear, and it's a really nice relaxing tune.

Result: Basically pretty disappointing, though reading about it I had kind of expected this. Nothing will bring me back to this album again, so currently we're at a 2/2 split in terms of albums by King Crimson that I liked and didn't like. I see though that what is apparently widely accepted as the trilogy of their best work is up next, so maybe things will take an upswing. At the moment, they couldn't drop any further.

Zhanteimi · 07-29-2018, 05:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trollheart

wtf

The Batlord · 07-29-2018, 10:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zhanteimi

wtf

Apparently the entire forum can agree that Trollheart is a piece of ****.

Key · 07-26-2018, 08:39 PM

^Band?

Oh
Nvm.

~~MicShazam~~ · 07-27-2018, 02:11 AM

I serached for songs from that album on Youtube and found Sailor's Tale. I like it allright so far. The drumming is epic!

Trollheart · 07-27-2018, 10:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MicShazam

I serached for songs from that album on Youtube and found Sailor's Tale. I like it allright so far. The drumming is epic!

Maybe I'm an anomaly. Nothing really since the debut has clicked for me. So far. It's not that it's bad, per se, just kind of meh what's the big deal?

grindy · 07-27-2018, 10:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trollheart

Maybe I'm an anomaly. Nothing really since the debut has clicked for me. So far. It's not that it's bad, per se, just kind of meh what's the big deal?

Seventies highlights are Red an Larks Tongues.

The Batlord · 07-27-2018, 10:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trollheart

Maybe I'm an anomaly. Nothing really since the debut has clicked for me. So far. It's not that it's bad, per se, just kind of meh what's the big deal?

I've liked everything up to and including Discipline (1981) so far. I'm sure I'm not nearly as into them as Frownie since I'm a prog and jazz noob dunce, but they manage to meld rock and jazz in a way that expresses the coolness of both and they did it seemingly without missing a beat at least for the entirety of the 70s. And not liking those horns is grounds for banning afaic.

Trollheart · 07-27-2018, 10:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by grindy

Seventies highlights are Red an Larks Tongues.

Okay well we'll see.

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Batlord

I've liked everything up to and including Discipline (1981) so far. I'm sure I'm not nearly as into them as Frownie since I'm a prog and jazz noob dunce, but they manage to meld rock and jazz in a way that expresses the coolness of both and they did it seemingly without missing a beat at least for the entirety of the 70s. And not liking those horns is grounds for banning afaic.

Meh

Trollheart · 07-27-2018, 07:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Batlord

I've liked everything up to and including Discipline (1981) so far. I'm sure I'm not nearly as into them as Frownie since I'm a prog and jazz noob dunce, but they manage to meld rock and jazz in a way that expresses the coolness of both and they did it seemingly without missing a beat at least for the entirety of the 70s. And not liking those horns is grounds for banning afaic.

I think this may be part of the problem. I've never mentioned it before, but I don't care for jazz. So any band, especially a prog one, who uses it in their music is going to have a hard sell to me from the get-go. This is also why I often find VDGG hard to get into. I'll have my prog sans jazz, please.

07-26-2018, 05:31 PM	#1 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,996	Well so far we've had an album that apparently even Fripp himself hated (until Steven Wilson came to save the day, it says here) and now one that is seemingly the weakest of their career up to this point. Don't think this one is going to change my current mindset on them, but let's give it a go anyway. Islands (1971) 1. Formantera Lady: Came and went without leaving the slightest impression on me. Boring as all hell. 2. Sailor's Tale: A little better, bit of excitement in it, but still nothing much to get excited about. 3. The Letters: Starts off very low-key and quiet, then explodes into a VDGG hornfest (oooer!) but it's still not gripping me. Yawn. 4. Ladies of the Road: A boring, annoying attempt at hard rock on an album that doesn't quite know what it wants to be. 5. Prelude: Song of the Gulls: Nice little almost classical instrumental, the first track on this album I've given a ** about. Very enjoyable. Beautiful, in fact. A welcome respite from the tedium this album is weighing me down with. 6. Islands: Okay this is also very nice. I'm not wild about this third vocalist either (seems he, and everyone else, left after this album anyway) but the sax from Mel Collins is very easy on the ear, and it's a really nice relaxing tune. Result:** Basically pretty disappointing, though reading about it I had kind of expected this. Nothing will bring me back to this album again, so currently we're at a 2/2 split in terms of albums by King Crimson that I liked and didn't like. I see though that what is apparently widely accepted as the trilogy of their best work is up next, so maybe things will take an upswing. At the moment, they couldn't drop any further. __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

07-26-2018, 08:39 PM	#4 (permalink)
Key . Join Date: Dec 2010 Posts: 13,153	^Band? Oh Nvm.

07-27-2018, 02:11 AM	#5 (permalink)
~~MicShazam~~ Account Disabled Join Date: Aug 2015 Location: Aalborg Posts: 7,634	I serached for songs from that album on Youtube and found Sailor's Tale. I like it allright so far. The drumming is epic!