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Those four Queensryche albums - Rage For Order, Operation Mindcrime, Empire and Promised Land - between '86 and '94 were absolutely stunning. The Warning was great, but not quite there yet. A lot of folks talk about the fracas between Geoff and the rest as being the reason for their gradual decline but it was Chris DeGarmo who was the glue in the band and, ultimately, the loss that set the decline in motion.

One of my funniest rock recollections was seeing Bon Jovi on tour at Hammersmith Odeon in '86 with Queesnryche as support; my friends and I were there just as much for QR and were well in the know about them. I remember QR opening with Neue Regel, probably their most off kilter track from Rage For Order and then looking around at all the crowd, which was fairly sizeable for a support act, and seeing the jaws drop and the brows furrow in complete confusion; this really wasn't giving love a bad name. Priceless. I don't know to this day whether QR had done this deliberately as a statement of intent but half the audience fled back to the bars, almost in fear. They made some new friends that night with their audacity and soared even higher in my estimation. Yes, Bon Jovi were also good, they always were in the flesh, but it was QR's night.
 
Only time I saw QR was when they supported Priest in Glasgow a few years back. They'd always been on the periphery of my listening but they sounded amazing that night. Made me go and pick up a couple of albums as a result.
 
See those four albums Ragr posted above? You have your mission. Make it happen. Report your findings.
 
The drive to Legoland is about 45 miles so the length is perfect for listening to one LP in the way up and another on the way back. This morning we played Close to the Edge; votes still need to be tabulated for the way home.
 
For those curious, we ended up playing Mahavishnu Orchestra for the drive home from Legoland.
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I bought today the latest Glass Hammer album, Chronomonaut. I've only played it a couple of times so far. It hasn't made much of an impression but that's not usual for me. It generally takes me a bit of time before I make sense and start enjoying a new prog album and my first impression is often unreliable. For example didn't think much of Glass Hammer previous album Valkyrie initially, but I've gronw to love it now I condsider it one of their best. I'll report in once I've given it a fair shake.

Couple of thoughts.

I've long suspected the core members of Glass Hammer are roleplayers. Given one of the tracks on this album is called "Roll for Initiative" I think can claim the case is closed.

While it is not usual for Glass Hammer to borrow liberally form classic prog bands, mainly Yes and ELP, I've never heard them channel Van der Graff Generator before. But the track "The Past is Past" is so much in the style of VdGG, with the howling organ, wild saxaphone and screeching vocals it is scary. I think I even detected a hint of a (faked?) British accent in the vocals but I'll have to hear it again to be sure.
 
Still not sure how I feel about "Chronomonaut" but I gratified I've not the only one to have picked up the Van der Graaf "homage". For an online review. It is uncanny.

Van der Graaf Generator fans will dig the heck out of `The Past is Past', a ten minute epic in the classic storytelling/character- driven approach of many a vintage prog album. Jamison Smeltz's saxophone that darts through the track reminds of how effectively the instrument was incorporated into Seventies rock albums, the vocal chameleon that is Matthew Parmenter moves through everything from everything from bluesy raspy croon to deranged Peter Hammill-esque theatrical snarl, and Fred's mischievously devilish keyboard runs carry a wink in their eye!
 
Rare Bird's As Your Mind Flies By finally arrived on Saturday so I got to listen to a bit of it on Sunday. Haven't been able to digest much of it yet but my impression of the first track was, "Gee, that really wouldn't sound too out of place on a Badfinger LP!" Probably it's the singer's voice reminds me of Pete Ham.* I'm hoping to listen to more of it today if my kids let me. My son keeps requesting Tarkus!

* What a damned shame re: Pete Ham and Tom Evans. Every time I think about Badfinger all I can think is what a waste. Those guys had such fantastic talent. Badfinger should've been HUGE and those guys should've been millionaires.
 
Wishbone Ash is one of those too prog for the rock crowd, too rock for the prog crowd kind of bands. Of course--at times--that means they are right up my alley. Here are some of those times.

The Pilgrim:


Vas Dis


The King Will Come:


Warrior:


Persephone:
 
Iona were a Celtic rock band, a Christian rock band, and a neo-progressive rock band, in roughly that order. I first saw this video when stumbling upon a religious cable network, and recognised right away who it must be after previously reading about them--a band that sounded like Clannad with a Chapman stick player singing about the Jesus and such. Turns out it was Nick Beggs on stick, but I did not know that at the time.


 
Wishbone Ash is one of those too prog for the rock crowd, too rock for the prog crowd kind of bands. Of course--at times--that means they are right up my alley. Here are some of those times.

For me Wishbone Ash always excelled with their instrumentals like the McDuff cover and 'Phoenix.' The vocal tracks feel mediocre compared to the inspired instrumentals and for me their best albums are the self-titled and Pilgrimage. I know a lot of fans think Argus is their best but I'm not feeling it.

 
While Wishbone Ash's singers' vocals are definitely not a dealbreaker for me, it's hard to argue against their instrumentals being their best works.
 
For me Wishbone Ash always excelled with their instrumentals like the McDuff cover and 'Phoenix.' The vocal tracks feel mediocre compared to the inspired instrumentals and for me their best albums are the self-titled and Pilgrimage. I know a lot of fans think Argus is their best but I'm not feeling it.
While Wishbone Ash's singers' vocals are definitely not a dealbreaker for me, it's hard to argue against their instrumentals being their best works.
If someone were to buy just one Wishbone Ash LP, which one should he buy?
 
While Wishbone Ash's singers' vocals are definitely not a dealbreaker for me, it's hard to argue against their instrumentals being their best works.

I was probably sounding harsher than I intended. Their vocals are okay but to me I’m often left wondering ‘when’s the next instrumental?’ Which speaks to the quality of those tracks.

If someone were to buy just one Wishbone Ash LP, which one should he buy?

My personal pick would be Pilgrimage. The first LP is worthwhile just for ‘Phoenix’ alone. Lots of people love Argus.
 
If someone were to buy just one Wishbone Ash LP, which one should he buy?

(With much respect to Voros' view.)

I'm pretty much in the Argus camp myself and would recommend that first off; it's probably the most representative WA album and if you don't like it you "probably" won't like much else of theirs.

For me the vocals aren't bad but they do weaken the overall sound in comparison to other bands of the times.
 
If someone were to buy just one Wishbone Ash LP, which one should he buy?

While Pilgrimage is my favourite Wishbone Ash album, I would probably echo Ragr's vote for Argus for the first pick up. Pretty much for the reasons he stated.
 
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The Secret is the fifth solo album by English rock musician Alan Parsons.

A new Alan Parsons album was released today, first in 15 years. Great times for me!
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Moon Safari is a Swedish band that displays some of the typical progressive rock influences, such as Genesis, Yes, and even occasionally ELP. Where they differ from the pack is a healthy dose of vocal influences from progressive pop pioneers The Beach Boys (in their Pet Sounds/Smile-era), and god forbid R.E.O. Speedwagon. While an odd choice, it does make them stand out from their peers in the now-crowded prog rock field.

 
As you mention Goblin, the theme for Deep Red (Profondo Rosso) was epic at the time.



The Suspiria soundtrack is better IMO.

Dunno whether the strange step-daughter of prog-rock has made an appearance in this thread or not, but she should!



The Ninth Wave on The Hounds of Love is a latter day prog offering.
 
The Suspiria soundtrack is better IMO.

Dunno whether the strange step-daughter of prog-rock has made an appearance in this thread or not, but she should!

Zombi are a great modern band that play in a style influenced by Goblin, Carpenter and othet 70s/early 80s soundtracks.

 
Dunno whether the strange step-daughter of prog-rock has made an appearance in this thread or not, but she should!

She has, way back in the heady days of page 4 of this thread, specifically in the context of Sky of Honey.
 
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Overall my latest prog purchase, Glass Hammer's "Chronomonaut" didn't really do it for me. The final track "Fade Away" is very powerful, as good as anything they've ever written and quite possibly worth the price of admission in on it's own. However for the most it's a case of "I can see what their doing, it's just not what I'm looking for".

It did leave me with a Glass Hammer hankering so I've bought "Ode to Echo". We'll see how that works out.
 
On the one hand my lack of disposable income means I can't buy more records at the moment, but on the other hand it means I'm spending quality time re-listening to what I have so far. As you guys know, my son has adopted Tarkus as his favorite non-soundtrack LP and both kids are into Trespass, but now my daughter has decided that Mirage by Camel is her album of choice. :thumbsup:

(My son asked if I have "more albums like Tarkus," but when I showed him some other ELP records he balked because they don't have the cool sci fi armageddon armadillo on the cover.)
 
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Overall my latest prog purchase, Glass Hammer's "Chronomonaut" didn't really do it for me. The final track "Fade Away" is very powerful, as good as anything they've ever written and quite possibly worth the price of admission in on it's own. However for the most it's a case of "I can see what their doing, it's just not what I'm looking for".

It did leave me with a Glass Hammer hankering so I've bought "Ode to Echo". We'll see how that works out.

The original Chronometree has probably been the only Glass Hammer album that really did it for me. I like the band well enough, but for some reason they have never fully resonated with me. Maybe they just try to hard for the classic sound, but never really seem to rival it the way that Anglagard, The Tangent, or Wobbler do, and they don't really seem to evolve from it the way echolyn, Spock's Beard, or more modern bands do.
 
I don't disagree. I do find Glass Hammer's output patchy, which is made me cautious about purchases and has held me back from investing heavily in their back catalog. But their high point I find are very high and really enjoyed both Valkyrie and Perilous.
 
It did leave me with a Glass Hammer hankering so I've bought "Ode to Echo". We'll see how that works out.

I really enjoying "Ode to Echo". It's got a strong set of songs leaning on the jazz/rock side with occasional hints of Gentle Giant in bith vocal and instrumental arrangements.
 
Although this wasn't a factor in my failing to get into them years ago, another issue I have with Glass Hammer now is how few of their albums are available to stream (and the ones that are, are not particularly indicative of the band's better moments). I still buy CDs, even of things I can stream, but if I don't know what I like by an artist, they're going to fall to low priority for me.
 
It's OK, I'm not here to preach Glass Hammer. It just happens that the last two albums I've bought are theirs, so to me it's topical.

This thread is full of superb recommendation, old and new, and for every good album one discovers there are 10 that one will never hear becasue there are only so many hours in day.

Still, as I am here, this is one of the tracks I am listening to a lot these days ; "Crowbone" from above mentioned album "Ode to Echo".

 
Let's see if I can prog rock right. :dice::clown:



There are huge swaths of Latin America that are a fabled realm where prog rock ruled eternal (hence Jodorowsky, Magical Realism, and others). :hehe:
 
On the one hand my lack of disposable income means I can't buy more records at the moment, but on the other hand it means I'm spending quality time re-listening to what I have so far. As you guys know, my son has adopted Tarkus as his favorite non-soundtrack LP and both kids are into Trespass, but now my daughter has decided that Mirage by Camel is her album of choice. :thumbsup:

(My son asked if I have "more albums like Tarkus," but when I showed him some other ELP records he balked because they don't have the cool sci fi armageddon armadillo on the cover.)

Check your Library. :thumbsup: Several library systems also subscribe to online music sites that offer several hours of listening per day -- and! usually 5 songs per week to download and keep for free.:heart: (Yes, I already have "years worth of albums" legally downloaded this way.)

Rasputin's and Amoeba Records is faster, but I can hardly keep up with my purchases there. Each time they have a sale on the cheapo $1 and $0.50 CDs I go nuts and end up with 100+ CDs. :trigger: I still have a backlog to chew through from four years ago... :eat: (But I snagged me some value nostalgia too, like nigh complete Beastie Boys, a lot of Madonna, all Lenny Kravitz, etc.:money:)
 
I appear to have fallen slightly down a power metal rabbit hole trying to find fantasy concept albums.
Ok so what you need is Ronnie James Dio. A rare beast, as he was in not one, not two but three bands that are straight up legit legends.

First we have Rainbow. Starting with the epic.


And then the power.


Then we come to Black Sabbath. Already a legend before Dio joined, but wow what they became with him stands on it's own two feet as some of the greatest rock ever recorded.

We begin with a riff. No, THE riff.


Then another riff. There's a theme here...


And finally, another epic.
 
After two incredible bands, you'd think RJD was done. But no, he went solo and gave us this:


(Yes, the video is bad. It was the 80s, so this stuff was cool)

There's this little gem, too.


And finally, this:


Now I know that RJD isn't exactly prog, though Rainbow sailed close to those topographic oceans from time to time. But there's so much great imagery to pillage in his lyrics that he's well worth checking out. Despite the lack of concept albums.
 
Now I know that RJD isn't exactly prog, though Rainbow sailed close to those topographic oceans from time to time. But there's so much great imagery to pillage in his lyrics that he's well worth checking out. Despite the lack of concept albums.

Yeah, I'd agree that this is prog rock in all-but-name:


He did also appear on one full-blown prog rock album, Kerry Livgren's Seeds of Change:


Finally, I've frequently described the progressive metal band Symphony X as being "Kansas, with Ronnie Dio singing and Yngwie Malmsteen on guitar":
 
I'm aware of Dio :grin:

Unforuantely he was one of those guys who needed a good band. His band were not that. Sabbath were, until he had a hissy fit and left after Mob Rules. Both that and Heaven and Hell are excellent albums, although the latter less so because Vinnie Appice is a terrible drummer and the songwriting isn't as consistent.

Rainbow had some decent tunes (Tarot Woman, Stargazer, Chase the Rainbow, Lady of the Lake, and others).

Dio the band was a very mixed bag. Some great tracks (Mystery, Caught in the Middle, Holy Diver, Hungry for Heaven) but the rest were just cringe inducing cock rock rubbish. His backing band was just never as good as Iommi or Butler. A shame because he himself was always consistently excellent, right up until his death.

There are many singers like this: great, but they need the right band behind them. Fish, Jon Anderson, Bruce Dickinson, that twat out of Queensyrche.

I appreciate the input though :smile:
 
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