Prog Bands that had a great debut and a poor 2nd album

[Spiral]

Is this what all the fuss was about? Sure it was adventurous and technologically clever, but as a composition I don't think it was all that great. It's as though he thought "Oh I haven't put in a bit of this, or that, I better do that here".

That's exactly what I like about it. It's the kind of kitchen-sink mishmosh that only could have been produced by a 19-year-old with loads of ambition and little self-consciousness to make him stop and think "wait, do I even know what I'm doing really?"

For this thread, though, it's hard to imagine anyone rating TB as great without considering Hergest Ridge in a similar range (if not even better).

[NogbadTheBad]

Ommadawn > Hergest Ridge > Incantations > Tubular Bells

But all great

[Halmyre]

I think Incantations has too much filler (endless bloody Hiawatha - give over!). Hergest Ridge is more subtle than TB and so gets seen as a lesser work than it really is.

[sergio]

Spock's Beard. Beware is weaker than Light and Kindness is even worse. They improved on Day, and with V they were back in the game again.

[snowsnow]

Ommadawn > Hergest Ridge > Incantations > Tubular Bells

But all great

+1

[snowsnow]

Spock's Beard. Beware is weaker than Light and Kindness is even worse. They improved on Day, and with V they were back in the game again.

interesting. I think The Light starts off with the superb title track and the just meanders (IMHO). Whereas BOD had several strong tunes (The Doorway, Walking on the wind and Waste Away). Agree taht V is a very strong album!

[Jeremy Bender]

I recently borrowed Tubular bells from the library, never actually having heard it before in its entirety. My reaction was: Is this what all the fuss was about? Sure it was adventurous and technologically clever, but as a composition I don't think it was all that great. It's as though he thought "Oh I haven't put in a bit of this, or that, I better do that here". And that bloody spoken part where he introduces the instruments just sounds pompous. He had to start somewhere i suppose, but I contrast that with Incantations, which I bought completely on spec. Incantations is to me much more like a genuine musical work; it is more like a 4-part symphony than a "sampler" to showcase Mike Oldfield's talents

I love Tubular Bells, every second of it, having heard it initially via the excerpt used in the The Exorcist. Yes, it does have the feel of "time for another part" to it and I can see why Viv Stanshall intoning "Bass guitar!" etc. can get to be too much, but there's so much good music on it, I take it for what it's worth. I lost interest in Oldfield after Hergest Ridge, which I thought was a very poor clone of TB and the one time I heard Incantations, I said to my friend who put it on "Why are you playing this crappy New Age music, what have I done to piss you off?".

[cavgator]

To invert what someone else said on another thread: Bloodrock. The debut was a quite cool, and very evil sounding, hard rock album with great tunes galore. The second, though...I challenge anyone to make it all the way through from “Lucky in the Morning” to “D.O.A.” (not inclusive, those are the only worthy tracks on this sad excuse for an album) without losing the will to live. “Sable and Pearl” proves that Jim Rutledge should not attempt to sing ballads.

Funny. I preferred Bloodrock II over their debut (which was good).. I liked Bloodrock III even better, particularly their proggy piece, Breach of Lease. Also liked the later Bloodrock album, Passage, with Warren Ham on it (a Tull-tinged Bloodrock).

A rather underrated band, often compared to Grand Funk Railroad.

[Adrian]

Spock's Beard. Beware is weaker than Light and Kindness is even worse. They improved on Day, and with V they were back in the game again.

For the Neal albums, I'd rank them V / Light / Kindness / Day / Beware / Snow

But "Day" and "Beware" could change order depending on my mood.

[Dave (in MA)]

And that bloody spoken part where he introduces the instruments just sounds pompous

Wasn't that a nod to The Intro and The Outro?

[TheH]

Funny. I preferred Bloodrock II over their debut (which was good).. I liked Bloodrock III even better, particularly their proggy piece, Breach of Lease. Also liked the later Bloodrock album, Passage, with Warren Ham on it (a Tull-tinged Bloodrock).

A rather underrated band, often compared to Grand Funk Railroad.

Both Bloodrock albums (and the unreleased third) with Warren Ham are like a prototype for Kansas (Tull isn't to far also).
Those are really underrated.

[Progbear]

Both Bloodrock albums (and the unreleased third) with Warren Ham are like a prototype for Kansas (Tull isn't to far also).
Those are really underrated.

I'm convinced the Rolling Stone Record Guide based their blanket zero-star review of Bloodrock's entire oeuvre solely on that second album (with perhaps a token needle drop on selected songs from the rest). I'm not kidding, "Sable and Pearl" made my ears bleed.

While I think that U.S.A. is probably their best album (interesting take on their established dark hard rock sound with a soupçon of prog, shame about the hideous cover art), I agree that the final two (the spotty Unspoken Words not so much) are much underrated; fine little unassuming prog albums. Now if only they didn't close out Whirlwind Tongues with the atrociously embarrassing "Jungle." Oh, Bloodrock! I so very much want to leap to your defence, but you make it hard when you keep writing the worst songs in human history!

[Scrotum Scissor]

Picchio dal pozzo

Hardly, 'though YMMV.

Both of their initial albums (70s) semble levitations of flawed genius, as I hear them.

Comus' debut was the masterpiece First Utterance, To Keep From Crying was pretty ordinary & the they shut it down for 38 years!!

I've been coming back on To Keep From Crying this past year or so, and I honestly have to say that my opinion of it has changed. Whereas I used to be quite oblivious due to the obvious diversion from the debut, I now can't seem to get the very -layers- of finesse separated from merits of ignorance on my part. There's a depth of fulfillment devised to that exact divide/divergence - as in "diversion" - that I probably didn't notice at all.

Folks should definitely relisten to Comus's To Keep From Crying. Nowadays to me this isn't merely a gem but an astounding collection of ideas, songs and decisions. Underrated, for lack of a fitting coin.

[Trane]

Have to disagree. The Family That Plays Together is a fabulous album. Not as good as the first, but definitely not "poor."

mmmmhhh!!!!...

their weaker one in their first four, IMHO

Sure, it's got its share of pure gems, but also half of the album that I can do without.

Folks should definitely relisten to Comus's To Keep From Crying. Nowadays to me this isn't merely a gem but an astounding collection of ideas, songs and decisions. Underrated, for lack of a fitting coin.

I have earlier this year. Different beast to Utterance, but half of the album is very worthy...
Had they included that long-lost sidelong epic and placed it on TKFC, the album might be of equal stance to the debut.