Yes! Is this the most pretencious, overrated band of all time?

Does anyone here still/ever listen to Tubular Bells from beginning to end?

Yep,

I do and TB 2 and still play the live dvd and a few of Mikes other albums.

Stu.

Yes, occasionally, but more often fast forwarding through the caveman grunting.

I have no problems with music that lasts over five minutes per track, more the opposite to be honest.

Steve, I was just about to post that obviously Stu was a Watney Party 7 man.......... but you beat me to it !!

So here we go .......

We got opening a party Tin down to a fine art after carting it about all night.

It takes four people with  the old V can openers all pressing down at the same time.

123 PRESS.

No waste or people floating about on kitchen floors.

We just used to take a Young's special fookin barrel or lots of Sheps Hooligan party 4 tins.

Stu.

We were  teenagers when its was first released and we had "excuses" that helped us through the long journey. These days friends  don't do "excuses" anymore and If I invite someone to listen to TB , they'll probably think there's something wrong with me. I might, as  Jamie said, skip  a few tracks or just listen to the last 12 minutes of the b side. As for the rest of his stuff, I did try but,  nope, can't do them! Im Am sure there are other records that one is "better off" listening  to by oneself.

KR

Tony

Tony,

When friends come round to mine,They bring vinyl and CDs with them.

Mostly stuff i have not heard before.

It makes for interesting listening.

When those run out they go through my AtoZ vinyl and CD books as its faster than going through my racks,and pick stuff to play.

Its funny how many of the old fav's come out to play time after time as Cindy once said.

Stu.

Jamie,

Did the Kraftwerk turn up?

Stu.

Stu:
Yes, thanks. Have mailed you.

Tony:

In the context of sitting down and listening to music with others 20 minute tracks are difficult, but the vast majority of my listening is on my own, often when working.

A friend who I worked with last winter is a fan of Tangerine Dream, and other similar electronic music, and we both like long form electronic music to work to, it sets an atmosphere that helps concentration, and drives you along.

I don't only listen to long form music when working, I do listen it when just concentrating on it alone, but I am familiar with it from repeated listening in all situations. Driving long distances is also a way I immerse myself in music, and this again works well with long tracks, short as well, but a three or four hour drive gives you lots of time to take in music.

I listened to last Friday night on the TV live from the Olympic Stadium - absolutely wonderful: shame it was used for that third rate horror film nonsense back in the 70s: that was Branston's idea, just like pickle. 

Mike Oldfield was a member of The Whole World who supported Kevin Ayers on Shooting At The Moon and the even better Whatevershebringswesing (KA's master work)

Although not as good as any of the first five classic albums ELP, Tarkus, Pictures, Trilogy and the wonderful Brain Salad Surgery - Works Volume 1 is certainly adventurous - Sir Keith Piano Concerto is really good to listen to in the right atmosphere, as indeed are his film music albums and the superb Emerson Plays Emerson (his finest solo hour). However, the last side of Works is magnificent with Fanfare and Pirates. I agree the Carl Palmer side is awkward and Greg is a bit inconsistent though Hallowed Be Thy Name and to lesser extent C'est la Vie are excellent tracks. 

The album that followed Love Beach was not exactly their best ,,, though it is not awful. 

I certainly play much more Keith Emerson that other progressive outfits, both his work with the Nice, ELP and Solo. If Caravan are deemed prog then I play them a lot too. Kevin Ayres and Peter Hammill are also frequent vistors to the turntable. 

I wiuld suggest Fleetwood Mac's Rumours as the definition of Pretentiousness, as surely they should have called the band something else for without Peter Green or Danny Kirwan it really wasn;t cricket ... still it sold lots of copies ... I think every track from it was on the juke box until thankfully the Sex Pistols, the Clash, the Stranglers and a rare copy of Hawkwind's Urban Gorilla replaced them one day when a guy with spiky hair started working in the tea bar. 

It still had Fanfare For The Common Man on it though ... 

I agree 100% with the comments on U2 ... never understood the appeal, almost as dreary as New Order. 

I know what you are talking about - but their best stuff (which for me is Yes Album, Close to the Edge, Fragile) is excellent, and there are many FAR worse offenders than they, many of whom didn't have the chops that they had.

Steve Howe is EASILY one of the best guitarists in rock 'n roll history...and also one of the most underrated.

I thought Love Beach was the worst thing I'd heard in a awhile - even when Yes began to fade, Tormato is way better than that tripe.  It (LB) came out when I was working at my college radio station, and I could not believe how awful it was.

I cannot listen to ELP, IMHO the most overrated pretentious load of shite I've ever heard. I cannot abide them. I actually bought Tarkus because a couple of friends reckoned it was cool but I just couldn't take it. I exchanged if for Sticky Fingers. A wise move for me.

Each to his or her own though.

I like ELP OK - but Sticky Fingers is far better IMHO!

Seeing this leads me to a slight side-track memory of Kiwis and Aussies tipping these like regular cans of beer outside Twickenham in'77 at an England/All Blacks match as the stewards would not let them in with the tins! They did manage to empty the tins, stay upright and watch the match.

As an impressionable 14 year old cider drinker at the time I was taken aback some what.

Jono

Just a thought.

Hawkwind anybody ??

Nah. A band that releases and album called Warrior on the Edge of Time whose cover folds out into a shield, thus:

can never be considered overrated.

Watneys. Like making love in a punt.

It's hard to believe there was something worse than Party Seven, but here it is. During the late sixties and early seventies Watneys were producing this crud.

Hawkwind anybody ??

For me it's a little like Yes, the early albums are good. I still enjoy playing their 1st few albums. I can understand how some people find this prog music dated. I don't know how I would receive it if I heard this music for the 1st time today. I think you had to have lived through this period to appreciate it. There is obviously an element of nostalgia to those of us that did, and also saw the bands live. I saw both Yes and Hawkwind (along with the stripper) in the very early '70s and great shows they were.

I agree with DrMark that Steve Howe along with the other members of Yes were excellent musicians. During the late '60s/early '70s there were technically excellent musicians in a lot of rock/prog and blues groups, some of which came from classical e.g. Keith Emerson, and jazz backgrounds e.g. Jack Bruce, Ginger Baker, Alvin Lee. And, for those without the musical background, there weren't the distractions of youth today allowing them master their craft. I think this why, for me, this has to be the golden period for 'popular' music. Unfortunately this kind of music ran it's course by the mid to late '70s and many of the prog group albums did become pretentious and self indulgent spawning the seed for Punk to come in and 'freshen' youth music by going in the complete opposite direction. Some Punk 'musicians' literally picked up a guitar and formed a band.

I don't think we should judge groups from this period too harshly, it wasn't called Progressive music for nothing. It was a product of it's time and a lot of it is still very enjoyable and collectable today. A number of the Prog albums I have from that period are sought after and valuable. Try and buy a mint copy of the 1st Yes album and it will cost you a couple hundred quid in todays market. Same for Hawkwinds debut album. Pretentious? Non.

ATB

Steve

Nah. A band that releases and album called Warrior on the Edge of Time whose cover folds out into a shield, thus:

 

can never be considered overrated.

Steve,

 You have selected the gem in my opinion. I still have this on the black stuff and it is the greatest example of album art\design of all time. It makes me wonder why I (eventually and very late) moved over to CD.

Some tracks are excellent, like 'The Golden Void' - fabulous, as good as any Floyd in my humble opinion.

BUT.............. 'The Wizzard Blew His Horn' (for example), the most pretentious crap I have ever heard, together with the likes of 'Opa-Loka', a drum solo which goes nowhere and ends up up its own b.tt.m........ grief, it's also pretentious. Certainly was enough for Lemmy to say farewell (though he was actually sacked !!!).  

WW.

Really WW - the CD version of this shield would be too small to protect you from hardly anything!

It's a fair cop  but society is to blame ..........

Exactly. CD was misconceived from the start. Vinyl rules.