You can't beat a good bit of........
Posted by: Squonk on 13 May 2005
PROG ROCK...
Well that's the conclusion a few of us were making the other day in the Hello XPS2 thread.
Genesis, Yes, Hackett, Van Der Graff Generator - what glorious memories.
So what are your fave prog rock recommendations - now don't be shy!!
Anyway below are the parting words in the XPS2 thread from the one and only HTK.
Recommendations forthcoming please.
Cheers
Adrian
"Christ Adrian! Now you’ve got me going.
Anthony Phillips. The Geese and the Ghost, Sides, and 1984, the latter being a cliché from start to finish but still good. On vinyl it’s very good, on CD it’s a bit uh-oh. Quite honestly, and IMHO he hasn’t produced a duffer (but don’t touch Race The World because it’s just muzzak and really shouldn’t have been put out – it was for a documentary). Oh, and Slow Dance – that’s the last one I bought. I must check the catalogue.
All of Yes is now on remaster and/or HDCD. Unlike many, I actually like the Yuggles Album, Drama. On HDCD it’s close to ‘the perfect recording’. Going For The One on HDCD is also pretty stunning. Ditto TFTO. I prefer The Yes Album and Close To The Edge on the Rhino (non HDCD) remasters, which are reasonably priced. Relayer (Rhino) is my biggest favourite. Had to wait 13 years to hear it properly on CD. I’m trying to get the HDCD.
Rush have also been remastered. The results are more subtle but I prefer them. Moving Pictures is one of those Rock Standards, and capable of giving any system a good pounding, although it’s always sounded a bit biased of the left channel to my ears. I prefer Signals. If you get to hear Signals, listen to Digital Man. See how many bass overdubs you can count, how many different techniques Geddy Lee manages to cram into 4 min, and how many fingers you think he’s got on his left hand – seven at the last count! This is a loud, dirty track which can sound like mush. But good systems will play it and every upgrade adds more detail and cleans it up.
With Power Windows you go from mush to brittle hardness. It was only with the advent of the CDX2 that the bass really started to make sense. There is much more inspired and clever bass playing on this CD than any of my earlier systems could show. It’s a 3D cacophony of some brilliance IMO – but there’s no accounting for taste I guess. Counterparts and Test Fro Echo are also worth the outlay IMO – both remastered.
Not exactly Prog Rock but some Tull has come out well latterly on CD. Living In The Past and Aqualung (not withstanding the fact that it seems to have been recorded in a hanger) standing high. Less so Benefit and not at all War Child – a bloody mess. I’ve heard that Tick As A Brick and Songs From The Wood are pretty spiffy in latest guise too, but War Child put me off a bit.
I’ll have a think and come back with some more – got to get back to work for now, but here’s something really left field. Ever heard of a Dutch band called Earth and Fire? Their back catalogue is now out on remastered CD. Unfortunately a lot of bland Euro Pop included but they produced some very memorable stuff – Song Of The Marching Children being my favourite.
Must dash…."
Well that's the conclusion a few of us were making the other day in the Hello XPS2 thread.
Genesis, Yes, Hackett, Van Der Graff Generator - what glorious memories.
So what are your fave prog rock recommendations - now don't be shy!!
Anyway below are the parting words in the XPS2 thread from the one and only HTK.
Recommendations forthcoming please.
Cheers
Adrian
"Christ Adrian! Now you’ve got me going.
Anthony Phillips. The Geese and the Ghost, Sides, and 1984, the latter being a cliché from start to finish but still good. On vinyl it’s very good, on CD it’s a bit uh-oh. Quite honestly, and IMHO he hasn’t produced a duffer (but don’t touch Race The World because it’s just muzzak and really shouldn’t have been put out – it was for a documentary). Oh, and Slow Dance – that’s the last one I bought. I must check the catalogue.
All of Yes is now on remaster and/or HDCD. Unlike many, I actually like the Yuggles Album, Drama. On HDCD it’s close to ‘the perfect recording’. Going For The One on HDCD is also pretty stunning. Ditto TFTO. I prefer The Yes Album and Close To The Edge on the Rhino (non HDCD) remasters, which are reasonably priced. Relayer (Rhino) is my biggest favourite. Had to wait 13 years to hear it properly on CD. I’m trying to get the HDCD.
Rush have also been remastered. The results are more subtle but I prefer them. Moving Pictures is one of those Rock Standards, and capable of giving any system a good pounding, although it’s always sounded a bit biased of the left channel to my ears. I prefer Signals. If you get to hear Signals, listen to Digital Man. See how many bass overdubs you can count, how many different techniques Geddy Lee manages to cram into 4 min, and how many fingers you think he’s got on his left hand – seven at the last count! This is a loud, dirty track which can sound like mush. But good systems will play it and every upgrade adds more detail and cleans it up.
With Power Windows you go from mush to brittle hardness. It was only with the advent of the CDX2 that the bass really started to make sense. There is much more inspired and clever bass playing on this CD than any of my earlier systems could show. It’s a 3D cacophony of some brilliance IMO – but there’s no accounting for taste I guess. Counterparts and Test Fro Echo are also worth the outlay IMO – both remastered.
Not exactly Prog Rock but some Tull has come out well latterly on CD. Living In The Past and Aqualung (not withstanding the fact that it seems to have been recorded in a hanger) standing high. Less so Benefit and not at all War Child – a bloody mess. I’ve heard that Tick As A Brick and Songs From The Wood are pretty spiffy in latest guise too, but War Child put me off a bit.
I’ll have a think and come back with some more – got to get back to work for now, but here’s something really left field. Ever heard of a Dutch band called Earth and Fire? Their back catalogue is now out on remastered CD. Unfortunately a lot of bland Euro Pop included but they produced some very memorable stuff – Song Of The Marching Children being my favourite.
Must dash…."