An interesting format with the four albums, but another even more basic idea that has been overlooked and doesn't involve writing reviews at all, is the old "Album Wars" and "Metal Wars" concepts where just two/three albums go head to head. Not only would this get votes from the members here, but also from a lot of other members on the site as well, of course just prog and very similar albums would be considered here. But normally when there is an active organizer of the format, it normally guarantees good participation.

It's a good idea, however it presupposes either that a) all the albums are well known and so can be rated (Dark Side vs Close to the edge vs The Lamb for instance), and also removes the main function of the club, in my view, which is to hear new stuff and comment on it. I'm not so sure it would work in this format. But if the others think it would I guess we could try it. I rprefer my new format idea though: gives us all a chance to hear more than one album per session.

I'd also like to suggest another thing, outside of the main "discussion", as it were. If members want to suggest new albums/bands they've come across to see if others here like them, a sort of discovery of the week thing, or even a daily discovery, I dont know. I feel this club should be more about hearing new prog albums and getting maybe into new bands than pitching one classic or well-known album against another. Didn't I already do this in a "Prog Wars" thread anyway? I'm sure I did, and it got very little interest...

But on these "Wars" threads it make no difference whether the albums are well known or not and a lot of the time lesser known stuff would be nominated. The whole idea is that people listen to the two albums on offer and then vote, and if they want to then they can write a line or two. The whole idea is that this concept takes away the burden of writing reviews and increases thread participation.

Also I don't remember you having a "prog wars" thread?

Well I guess we could incorporate the two. My own feeling is that if we just did the "wars" thing this would just become another thread, not a club, and also people might just start voting for albums they knew, or guessed, to be better than others rather than listening to them. To me, this is the sort of thread, or should be, equivalent to lending your albums to your mates or saying hey I heard this great new prog album and then gushing about it, or indeed one you hated and saying why. I jsut don't really like the "one album against another" format: I think it simplifies too much and takes away from the overall ethos of what I had been trying to create here. That sounds very pompous doesn't it? What I mean is I would like people to invest more time than just voting for albums.

Maybe I'm seeing this wrong, but if this became just a Prog Wars thread I'd be less interested in participating, but we could rate the albums after they've been reviewed and then face them off against each other maybe? To be honest I'm not that bothered about that side of it, though of course I don't know how others feel.

Oh, and http://www.musicbanter.com/prog-psyc...prog-wars.html

Right, well since the basic idea seems to have found some sort of agreement (US and I are still wrangling over this "Prog wars" thing), and so as to try to get this underway and so get the club back on track as soon as we can, and as it's my suggestion to change the format plus kind of my fault the club has stalled, I'm gonna kick this off. So here then are the first choices.

Next stop vertigo --- Invertigo --- 2010
http://www.progarchives.com/progress...1719122010.jpg

German prog band who have been compared to Genesis, Yes, Marillion and Spock's Beard (mostly by themselves!) among others, and having listened to this album I can definitely see that, though I also hear echoes of Supertramp around the early eighties on albums like "Even in the quietest moments" and "Crisis? What crisis?" Been listening to this on repeat for a few weeks now and it just gets better every time. Only six tracks so for those among you who fancy an easy ride this might be the one.

A feast of consequences --- Fish --- 2013
http://www.progarchives.com/progress...21192013_r.jpg
I'm sure you don't need me to tell you who Fish is! The brand new effort from the ex-Marillion frontman, this is so new I haven't even had a chance to hear it myself, so will be interested in what anyone has to say about it.

The dream harbour --- Willowglass --- 2013
http://www.progarchives.com/progress...19762013_r.JPG
I reviewed this recently in "Bitesize" and was very impressed with it, especially considering it's basically the work of one man, Andrew Marshall, who goes under the name of Willowglass for his projects. This is his third album, well worth a listen. Oh yeah: it's all instrumental.

War and peace and other short stories --- Sean Filkins --- 2011
http://www.progarchives.com/progress...12462011_r.jpg
One-time singer with Anteater favourite Big Big Train, this is Sean's first solo effort and it just blew me away! Only six tracks yes, but you have an eleven-minuter and two twenty-minuters, so great value. Not to be missed.

So there's the selection guys. Choose which album you want to listen to --- or what albums --- and throw us a review of your thoughts and impressions in let's say two weeks' time, unless anyone wants to move this along earlier? But I think with four separate albums to be reviewed two weeks is about right. Anyone needs the albums let me know and I'll PM ya!

Ok so I just choose one album here or more etc and give my thoughts in a two week period?

Yeah that's pretty much it. You can choose one or up to four, but ideally everyone choosing a different one and giving a review/report/their thoughts on it after the two weeks (or within the two weeks, you don't have to wait till the end) is the idea.

In that case everybody needs to say which album they're going with to avoid one or two albums being missed out.

I'll go with the Fish album as my main one and add another one as well.

Cool. Yeah, I should have said that but I thought it was taken as read: as you choose your album(s) let us know which one(s) you go for. Of course, as you say, one or more albums could get missed out, but if that happens sure it happens. There's nothing to say all four albums have to be reviewed: it just gives us a wider choice, is all.

So then, Unknown Soldier chooses "A feast of consequences" by Fish

Willowglass for me. :D