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The Prog & Fusion Album Club
The Prog & Fusion Album Club (PFAC) is an initiative sort of birthed by the discussions in this thread :
http://www.musicbanter.com/general-m...ut-how-do.htmlPFAC is a loosely organized "club" for listening to and discussing prog and fusion albums. Why those two genres? A lot of the prog I listen to is a bit jazzy and some of the jazz-rock and fusion I listen to is a bit proggy. In my real life experience, people who like prog tend to like fusion and vice versa and the styles often mix, so why not bring the two together in an albums club as well? How it's done The general idea is to give a prog or fusion album as homework for each week. Then, every monday, a discussion thread is created for the album which was last week's homework assignment. Which album is the homework assignment is voted for in a 4 days poll which is constructed every thursday. Those who want to participate should suggest albums they would like considered for homework assignment and then that suggestion is included in the upcoming thursday poll. In order to get people to vote for your suggested album, you should include a little information about it and perhaps some album art to pique people's interest! Don't worry about committing yourself. You can join once, then never do it again or join every other week or whenever you want. You can vote, suggest and not discuss, anything goes. Next Week's Homework Assignment Poll
Discussion Threads for previous homework :
This week's (from March 28th, 2011) homework assignment : Quote:
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Although noone else have yet to respond, my suggestion for first homework assignment album will be ..
Return to Forever - Romantic Warrior (1976) http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vFStmePm1x...ticWarrior.jpg This is a fusion album and arguably the most popular in the Return to Forever discography, the band led by keyboardist Chick Corea who previously played with Miles Davis. The line-up here is incredible, Chick Corea on keyboards, Al Di Meola on guitar, Stanley Clarke on bass and Lenny White on drums. Unlike a lot of the improv-flavoured fusion out there, this album is incredibly composed with complex arrangements played with amazing skill. The production is also damn near-perfect! Supposedly, after recording it, they figured this was as good as they could get and so this was the last RTF album with that line-up, similar to why Bill Bruford left Yes after Close to the Edge. I obviously know this one, but I'd like to get to know it even better. You should as well! :) |
Is this strictly Prog Rock or does Prog Folk count?
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Prog folk should count as well I think :) I know I'm not gonna be a genre nazi. It's just rough one or two-word descriptions after all!
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Great! Prog-Folk is amongst my favourite genres i'll have my choice put up in due course ;)
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I know there are a couple or even few more out there who I believe would like to get in on this and I know there's a whole lot who should, so .. Come on guys! :D
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I am so in.
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PUSH IT :p
also, as I only have very limited Internet usage (3gb), I will (probably) do all my "homework" at the end of the month (I.e. When I download all the albums so I run out if internet only a few hours before my new cycle). |
As it is now, I think I'd mostly end up pushing it all on my own .. and then it'll only last a very few weeks before noone bothers with it, me included.
Sorry if I seem like a cynic. If more people get interested at some point, I'm all over this. :) |
I'll be interested after exams.
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I don't have much of either genre... But I'm in!
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How many people do we need to "be in" to get this thing going?
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Okay, great!
As I mentioned I will probably only be able to hand my homework in at the end of the month :/ |
Alright, this has been off to a really slow start - much slower than I expected. The only album so far suggested is Return to Forever's Romantic Warrior and so my suggestion is that unless someone can come up with some other suggestions to vote for within monday, it will become homework assignment for next week. If someone does come up with something else, we will poll over which album should be the homework assignment next week instead and make the winner the assignment for next week.
So, either return to forever the coming week or possibly that or something else the week after :) Personally, I'd like to see some suggestions! |
Of course I want to join. I'm listening to Romantic Warrior right now and it's freaking fantastic.
But here's my vote. https://www.insideoutshop.de/images/AndersonOlias.jpg Olias of Sunhillow by Jon Anderson. This album is very strange indeed. Jon plays almost all of the instruments here (guitar, harp, percussion, synthesizers, bass) and all the backing vocals. No he is not a virtuoso like his bandmates, though I'm surprised by his harp playing chops, shame he never got to use them in Yes (except Wonderous Stories if I recall). The emphasis here is Jon's vocal harmonies, the layering of instruments and the ambient and ethereal atmosphere throughout. This is a hard album to describe, some have called it proto new age music, I dunno about that, but there is no "rock" in here whatsoever, the emphasis is on repetition and atmosphere rather than complex rock suites and musicianship, and it sometimes has an oriental vibe to it. The lyrics are a change of pace for Jon. There's actually a story and coherent narrative here, which is inspired by the art for Fragile, about an an alien civilization who make a trip to a new world. And that's pretty much the best possible metaphor I can make for the music itself. Certainly not for all tastes. But I really love it. I think people forget that Jon really is a great songwriter and his contributions to Yes are really underestimated. |
^Brilliant Boo, that one's been in my collection for a long time and while I've given it a spin, I should definetly check it out again :) Excellent suggestion!
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I've constructed a poll now so that people can vote over which album should be next week's homework!
Feel free to suggest albums for homework and subsequent discussion week 25 :) |
ooo nice thread.
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Winner of the poll was Jon Anderson's "Olias from Sunhillow" from 1976 with an astonishing twice as many votes as there were for Return to Forever's album.
So, you've now got your homework :) If you don't have the album, well .. Try sending me a PM and I can help you out. Noone's suggested any homework for next week and we should have a poll up by wednesday or latest thursday, so then I will propose this one : Jean-Luc Ponty - Enigmatic Ocean (1977) http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...atic_Ocean.jpg This is an excellent album from the french virtuoso jazz-rock violinist Jean-Luc Ponty. Before this solo record, he played with Frank Zappa on various albums like f.ex Over-Nite Sensation and Apostrophe ('). He was also a member of the much acclaimed fusion band Mahavishnu Orchestra led by John McLaughlin where he played on albums like Apocalypse and Visions of the Emerald Beyond. About Enigmatic Ocean, well .. what to say? It's generally regarded as one of Ponty's finest efforts and, according to the Wikipedia article, it reached #1 on some jazz billboards 1977. Having listened to it, I can see why. Unlike some fusion out there, Ponty composes and plays with a style which is pleasant, easy to like and easy to get into. If jazz rock and fusion is your thing, you will like the album from the first listen on. Although there are no guarantees in life, this one comes pretty close. More suggestions please! :) |
ooo, posting for bookmark.
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Okay, if there are no other suggestions by friday when I come to work, then it's gonan be Jean-Luc Ponty's Enigmatic Ocean. ;)
Otherwise we won't have enough time to do a vote! |
...Does prog-metal count?
The board is going to hate what I'll nominate if the answer's yes. |
Sure, prog metal can count. Anyone who hates a suggestion can choose to not vote for it in the the poll ;)
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Homework assignment for week 25 is Jean-Luc Ponty's Enigmatic Ocean from 1977!
I've made a discussion thread for Olias of Sunhillow :) |
So now I've made a thread for Jean-Luc Ponty's album Enigmatic Ocean from 1977.
http://www.musicbanter.com/jazz-blue...an-1977-a.html Noone's suggesting albums to do, so then I'll simply decide on this week's album and hope that people will suggest some albums for next week instead! This week's homework assignment will be Moving Waves" by the dutch prog-band Focus. Focus - Moving Waves (1971) http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...aves_cover.jpg This is the second album by Focus. It spawned a peculiar hit song, Hocus Pocus, which featured yodeling and crazy facial expressions from singer/keyboardist/flutist Thijs Van Leer. This release lifted them them to the height of their popularity in the early 70s and Jan Akkerman was voted the world's greatest guitarist in 1973 by readers of the UK magazine Melody Maker. The album is known for being somewhat experimental but having achieved popularity nevertheless and contains among other things the 23 minutes long epic "Eruption" which is an adaptation of Jacopo Peri's opera Euridice, which tells the tale of Orpheus and Euridice. So let's listen to some Focus! |
AWESOME.
Focus are great. Though MW isn't their bestest work, it is their most accessible though. I also need to check out that Ponty album still. Anyway I have a rec for next week. Lizard by King Crimson, by far one of the most underrated albums of early KC. |
Great! A suggestion :D
I'd like to suggest Leg End by Henry Cow, but perhaps I can push that suggestion to the week after. There are so few participants after all. |
I'm halfway through writing a suggestion now, expect it in here by tonight.
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Great James, then I might as well put Henry Cow in there with your suggestions and make a poll :) Boo, you should consider making a short write-up as well!
I think we might make a general policy that we do polls on thursdays so if a suggestion comes after that, it's valid for next week's poll. Then we get thursday, friday, saturday and sunday to vote for the coming week's album. |
Dun-Eros
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vY8I5HvOvk...0/Dun-Eros.jpg Eros is a Zeuhl album (Zeuhl is a subgenre of Avant-prog originating from France that describes a blend of Modern Classical, Prog Rock and Jazz), but it's so much more than that. This album had a huge influence on Math-Rock and the best description i've saw of it is, "A blend between Zappa and Mahavishnu Orchestra with Mathy overtones". The Zappa influence is rather obvious, especially in the time signatures which are just crazy. After the powerful opening track the music takes a more atmospheric turn. The titletrack is a personal highlight with the slow build-up of the flute until the breathtaking climax. This album also has some outstanding Xylophone playing, which for me is a very underrated instrument.This album truly leaves me on the edge of my seat, completely and utterly thrilling. This is the best Prog album of the 80's in my mind, nothing can beat it. A lot of Zeuhl you hear(I haven't heard much though) is just boring and does exactly what it says on the tin, but this takes it to a new level. It takes Zeuhl and turns it into something outstanding. So please vote for this album, it's a masterpiece and i'd love some other opinions on it. Plus if you haven't already heard it(Although this club is usually dominated by major Progheads so you probably have) you must, leaves me in awe every time I play it. |
Brilliant James :) Another good album I know I like but which I also would like to listen to more. I'll construct a poll later on and then hope that we get some votes from someone else than just us 3.
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I just found out about that club. So I'm sure I'll be one of the participants (not much the one suggesting albums though).
But I wonder, where's Anteater in this club? |
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i have gotten all of the suggestions in my library now. i am working on hearing them all.
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Brilliant Trace :)
Alright, I've made the poll! In the future, I'll make it on thursdays every week. When I get to the office on monday, I'll put the poll in the thread graveyard and announce the result as well as create a discussion thread for Focus' Moving Waves. http://www.musicbanter.com/prog-psyc...week-27-a.html |
I would like to participate, at least this time. All three albums in the poll have piqued my interest, especially Henry Cow's. I've heard it maybe once or twice, and always meant to get back to it. It certainly demands one's full attention. I've never even heard of Dun, but I youtubed some of the songs and it's very interesting.
And I have a question. When an album is picked, do we discuss it through formal reviews, or through a more free discussion, like a conversation, or anything goes? |
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Every monday, I make a discussion thread for last week's album. Whenever I make a "PFAC thread", I make an announcement post here in this thread and I also add all relevant links to the first post. If you check it out now, you'll find links to the discussion threads for the previous albums. On monday, I'll create a thread for Focus' Moving Waves and then a week later for one of the three albums we're polling over now. |
^^Thanks for explaining. So we'll have a whole week between choosing an album and a discussion thread for it. Great, that's enough time for it to sink in.
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