blickstein@eiffel.DEC (Dave Blickstein) (07/30/85)
A comment was made in a discussion comparing Marillon to Genesis that bands
that emulate other bands don't deserve much attention.
I think that there's a place for such bands although they clearly deserve
less credit than the originals.
During high school I was a very enthusiastic Emerson, Lake & Palmer fan.
A friend of mine introduced me to the music of a german band called
Triumvirate who were classified by most people as an ELP rip-off band
(I acknowlege that do sound a lot like ELP, but I think they have some
distinctive characteristics of their own and I can always tell them
apart from ELP).
The way I looked it at, ELP couldn't produce enough albums to satisfy my
appetite and Triumvirate was a bonus because they were producing extra
ELP albums, even though they were not done by ELP.
What it boils down to is that I think that personal evaluations of music
should be separated into to parts: how much the music appeals to you,
and how much credit the artist is due. Triumvirate albums sounded good
to me (sometimes as good as ELP). I'm not going to deprive myself of
the precious commodity of albums that I enjoy just because the person
who created the album wasn't entirely original. IF IT SOUNDS GOOD,
THAT'S ALL THAT MATTERS TO ME.
I feel compelled to add that it is my opinion that Triumvirate is
composed of very fine talented musicians, especially Jurgen Fritz
who plays keyboards and does most of the writing.
Dave Blickstein
(UUCP) {allegra|decvax|ihnp4|ucbvax}!decwrl!dec-rhea!dec-orphan!blickstein
(ARPA) BLICKSTEIN%ORPHAN.DEC@DECWRL.ARPAsalzman@rdlvax.UUCP (Gumby) (08/02/85)
> A comment was made in a discussion comparing Marillon to Genesis that bands > that emulate other bands don't deserve much attention. > > I think that there's a place for such bands although they clearly deserve > less credit than the originals. . . . I agree! You can't expect every band to be fully original. Listen to top-40 radio for a while and you'll really get sick. Thank goodness for bands like Triumvurate and Marillion. By the way, If you've heard Marillion's latest album, they are progressing quite well. The band itself is instrumentally moving from the Genesis sound to something more up to date (not that I don't like old Genesis, I love them). At least there are bands that are trying to keep progressive rock alive. I wouldn't knock it at all. If you want to here a real treat, pick up an album called "Fountains of Light" by a band called "StarCastle". They sound a lot like older Yes, but they are quite good. They are a Canadian group I believe. Also, Camel, a little Genesis like, but more jazzy. Lots of good stuff out there if you look for it, regardless of wether or not it sounds like someone else.... "...One likes to believe in the freedom of music. But glittering prizes and endless compromises shatter the illusion of integrity..." - Neal Peart (RUSH: Permanent Waves, "The Spirit of Radio") -- -Gumby +-----------------------------------------------+ | Isaac Salzman - Research Development Labs | | Culver City, CA. | | UUCP: ...!randvax!ttidca!rdlvax!salzman or | | ...!sdcrdcf!psivax!rdlvax!salzman | | ARPA: ttidca!rdlvax!salzman@Rand-unix.arpa | +-----------------------------------------------+
oyster@uwmacc.UUCP (Vicious Oyster) (08/06/85)
In article <126@rdlvax.UUCP> salzman@rdlvax.UUCP (Gumby) writes: >If you want to here a real treat, pick up >an album called "Fountains of Light" by a band called "StarCastle". >They sound a lot like older Yes, but they are quite good. They are a >Canadian group I believe. Also, Camel, a little Genesis like, but more >jazzy. Lots of good stuff out there if you look for it, regardless of >wether or not it sounds like someone else.... > Enter opinion mode: I'd have to disagree about recommending Starcastle (sorry, Herb, if you're out there). I have 3 Starcastle albums. They sound alright for the first few plays, but what sounded interesting at first rapidly starts sounding stale, contrived, and saccharin sweet. Way too much in the way of simple synthesizer and perfect thirds harmony to really stand the test of time. Still, if you can get a cutout (or better yet, borrow from a friend), it just might be worth it for the first few listens. Oh, and the band was from Illinois. I know a programmer who worked with the above-mentioned Herb (the keyboardist); seems Herb decided that he was the best keyboardist ever, so he quit while at the top of the heap, taking up programming instead. By now, he has probably gotten to be the best programmer ever, and moved on to accounting. [Warning: the last few sentences are purely second-person hearsay; any resemblance to factual information may be coincidental.] As for Camel, they are good, if you can pick up on the earlier stuff: The Snow Goose: peaceful, easy, background-type music; lots of woodwinds, especially oboes and bassoons (my personal favorites in rock music). Tells the musical tale of the Snow Goose (oddly enough), which I think is a story by someone, somewhere. Instrumental. Mirage: Much heavier than the Snow Goose, while retaining a progressive, jazzy flavor. My favorite Camel album. Contains yet another F&SF in music reference ("Once he wore grey... The wizard of us all, came back from his fall, this time wearing white" or something like that). Moonmadness: Good, but they're starting to sound more commercial... Breathless: My second favorite. More quiet, easy-going music (makes a nice change from collapsing buildings and what not). The title track is great. One last plug: try Brand X for some interesting, jazzy music; sort of a cross between Jean-luc Ponty and recent King Crimson, but a little more consistent than the latter and a lot more interesting than the former. Mail me for specific recommendations- I haven't had enough coffee yet today for my brain to function properly. End of opinion. -- - joel "vo" plutchak {allegra,ihnp4,seismo}!uwvax!uwmacc!oyster "Take what I say in a different way and it's easy to say that this is all confusion."
rs55611@ihuxk.UUCP (Robert E. Schleicher) (08/06/85)
> least there are bands that are trying to keep progressive rock alive. > I wouldn't knock it at all. If you want to here a real treat, pick up > an album called "Fountains of Light" by a band called "StarCastle". > They sound a lot like older Yes, but they are quite good. They are a > Canadian group I believe. Also, Camel, a little Genesis like, but more > -- > -Gumby > +-----------------------------------------------+ > | Isaac Salzman - Research Development Labs | > | Culver City, CA. | > | UUCP: ...!randvax!ttidca!rdlvax!salzman or | > | ...!sdcrdcf!psivax!rdlvax!salzman | > | ARPA: ttidca!rdlvax!salzman@Rand-unix.arpa | > +-----------------------------------------------+ The band "Starcastle" got their start at the University Of Illinois. When I was down there ('74-'78), Starcastle was a popular local band. Toward the end of this period, they were moving on to somewhat better things, as they had recently cut an album on some small label. In addition to local bars, they played at a couple of fraternity/sorority dances I went to. In addition to some of their own tunes, they played a long set of Yes material, as well as a very good Beatles set. (Other bands I had the chance to catch in bars down at U of I were: - REO Speedwagon - had already been making records, and were playing arena-size venues, but would return to their U of I "roots" by sneaking into bars after hours and playing for an hour or so, using the equipment of whatever local band was supposed to be playing. - Cheap Trick - they were a relatively small band in '74-'76 that played at a lot of local bars Bob Schleicher ihuxk!rs55611 : *** REPLACE THIS LINE WITH YOUR MESSAGE ***