Spoken Word & Prog

[proggy_jazzer]

Color me surprised that we made it through a whole page without a mention of this:

Journey.jpg

[Rarebird]

Color me surprised that we made it through a whole page without a mention of this:

Journey.jpg

And then there is Return to the centre of the earth, where the spoken word parts can be programmed out.

The first things that came in my mind were:
Anyone's Daughter - Piktors Verwandlungen (which is only spoken word with music) At first I had to get used to it, but now I think I like it.
Anne Clark poetry read on music. Not sure if it's prog though.

[Progbear]

Pholas Dactylus: Concerto delle mente. I only really heard it once, but I wasn’t really paying attention. Definitely unique, but I’m not sure I care for it. I need to add it to the huge pile of things to check out again.

Aria Palea: Zoicekardi’a. I know a lot of people are fans of this psych/Jethro Tull throwback from the 90s but I’m not one of ’em. They had another album but I was so unimpressed by the first I never bothered to check it out.

[interbellum]

What about Annette Peacock's 17 minutes epos Survival from The Perfect Release:

[Digital_Man]

Color me surprised that we made it through a whole page without a mention of this:

Journey.jpg

Yep. I believe there's a bit of spoken word on Triumvirat's Illlusion On A Double Dimple and Eloy's Power And The Passion too.

[EBES]

Yep. I believe there's a bit of spoken word on Triumvirat's Illlusion On A Double Dimple and Eloy's Power And The Passion too.

If I remember right the spoken bits on Power and the Passion seem more like dialogue to me, people acting out the events of the story, like a radio play. As opposed to many of the other things mentioned here which are either narration or poetry. Obviously it's all "spoken word over prog," just kind of interesting to think about the subcategories of spoken word that arise.

[Sturgeon's Lawyer]

I guess he isn't technically prog (though Krimso covered him), but Donovan's "Atlantis" is (to my mind) an excellent use of spoken word over music.

[Sturgeon's Lawyer]

Oh, and Pete Townshend's Psychoderelict, which is so full of dialogue-acting that he put out a second version without it.

[Twelfth Earl of Mar]

Many years ago at Rosfest, I saw Tinyfish, and they had a guy walk on stage between almost all the songs and perform spoken word. I don't have any of their albums, but I imagine they also recorded with spoken word.

[Mister Triscuits]

What about Annette Peacock's 17 minutes epos Survival from The Perfect Release

I would get an erection listening to her read the phone book.

[SunRunner2]

I would get an erection listening to her read the phone book.

[Koreabruce]

I don't really like spoken word in the music I listen to, the Moody Blues being the one significant exception. However, I've been a fan of the Brighton U.K.-based folktronica/pastoral pop group Oddfellow's Casino for the past 4 years or so, and a year ago they put out an album called The Cult of Water, which is almost entirely spoken word over an intriguing instrumental backing. Later in 2021, the band released a version of this minus the spoken word bits called Music from the Cult of Water due to the demand for it from their fanbase. Both are worth your time. On top of that, I will add, they've got a new album Prince of the Starry Wheel that is superb. My personal favorites are the new one, The Raven's Empire, and The Waters Between Us.

https://oddfellowscasino.bandcamp.co...lt-of-water-lp

https://oddfellowscasino.bandcamp.co...lt-of-water-lp

[Trane]

In general I've never liked those monologues because it doesn't bear repeated listening, even the start of Parsons' Tales or Alice's Black Widow (though that one's extremely well incorporated in the song)

Do The Moody Blues qualify?

I don't see why not. If anyone did it right it was them.

still find it extremely cheesy and TBH, if I can skip them monologues, I do.

Other oldies that come to mind: The Moody Blues: Days Of Future Passed and Seasons my Magna Carta.

TMB, I'd rather retain the start of Lost Chord
MC's monologue is so cheesy that it's almost ridiculous/laughable, (IMHO).

Color me surprised that we made it through a whole page without a mention of this:

Journey.jpg

That's a bit different of an object, as is WotW, but TBH, I don't like either.

If I remember right the spoken bits on Power and the Passion seem more like dialogue to me, people acting out the events of the story, like a radio play. As opposed to many of the other things mentioned here which are either narration or poetry. Obviously it's all "spoken word over prog," just kind of interesting to think about the subcategories of spoken word that arise.

we've just discussed this farce in the APP featured album thread.

==================

One thing that really cooled me off were those monologues or dialogues in the early GYBE! albums
If that worked quite fine in the first listen, it kind of ruined the ambiance in the few following listens.
Without them, I'd probably listened much more F#8# and Slow Riot a lot more.

[revporl]

Noty really prog, but certainly progressive. If we can have Dry Cleaning, we can certainly include the mighty Fall. This is probably my favourite blend of music and spoken word. The LKJ albums are great too, if you like reggae https://youtu.be/0W9IcDCZggY

[Zeuhlmate]

[infandous]

And then there is Return to the centre of the earth, where the spoken word parts can be programmed out.

Yeah, but it's Patrick Stewart!! That might be the only album where I prefer the narration to the music

I am surprised that Eloy's last two albums haven't been mentioned. The spoken word doesn't ruin it for me, but I know it does for a lot of people. I felt the first album it was tolerable, but the second I just feel like it's too much. Though obviously I would have preferred if Frank had just not included any spoken word.

Also, Ayeron's Electric Castle has narration on just about every track, which detracts from the music, IMO. But I usually don't mind spoken word with music, as long as it's not too much of it.

[Rarebird]

Yeah, but it's Patrick Stewart!! That might be the only album where I prefer the narration to the music

I don't mind the spoken word on that one as well.

I am surprised that Eloy's last two albums haven't been mentioned. The spoken word doesn't ruin it for me, but I know it does for a lot of people. I felt the first album it was tolerable, but the second I just feel like it's too much. Though obviously I would have preferred if Frank had just not included any spoken word.

Also, Ayeron's Electric Castle has narration on just about every track, which detracts from the music, IMO. But I usually don't mind spoken word with music, as long as it's not too much of it.

I don't mind the spoken words on the last Eloy albums.
I could imagine some people would be annoyed by the spoken words on Piktors Verwandlungen, because they are very prominent and in German. I also have a later live recording with a German singer doing the narration.

[interbellum]

I really like the spoken words by Giorgio Morodor on Daft Punk's Giorgio by Moroder. Great epic and the spoken words are very effective.

[Munster]

... and then there are some who never stop talking. Here's Ken Nordine's Crimson, with a modern slant.

[JKL2000]

I discovered a good candidate for "spoken word removal" the other day: The Aurora Project - Unspoken Words (an ironic title, since far too many words are spoken!). It's a very good prog metal/prog rock album with good vocals and everything else, but about five spoken-word interludes that are totally dispensable, and really ruin the flow of the album. One is FIVE MINUTES long, the others are 30 sec - 1 minute. Not sure why they thought people would listen through a 5-minute speech every time they listened to the album, or even once.

[neuroticdog]

What about Annette Peacock's 17 minutes epos Survival from The Perfect Release:

I just picked this album up after seeing her Big Ears performance...I've wanted it for a while and was happy to see it up on Band camp. Survival is a fantastic cut, and I love it when she goes off on her pissed off anti capitalist rants. Another great epic in the same vein is a cut called "Elect yourself" from the Abstract Contact album.

What a voice!!!!

best
Michael

[interbellum]

And of course we have the unforgetable Creepshow from Twelfth Night's best album Fact And Fiction:



Funny thing was that I once had a team-leader with the name Amanda and every time I was talking to her the screaming Geoff Mann came to mind: "Amandaaaaaaa"....

[Scrotum Scissor]

That Thin Lips album, at a sampling, seems odd and abrasive enough to be of interest, and I've added it to my list of things to check out in more depth.

Back in 2005 I was immensely flattered that Karen Alkalay-Gut displayed a review I'd written about the Thin Lips-release on one of her websites. She's a much published academic and poet/writer with considerable standing both in her native Israel and places abroad, and the Thin Lips project saw her teaming up with Yishay Sommer and Roy Yarkoni, who were both at the time in seminal avant-progressive group Ahvak (whose work I loved as well).

I still listen to the Thin Lips on occasion; it's essentially different from just about anything else I know, and definitely transcends the poetry-to-music tag as such. Absolutely worth getting if you can find it, although I'd suspect that might be hard... (Until I grasp to my perplexed perception that none other than Greg Walker actually has it! Who'd have thought? http://synphonicmusic.com/country/israel.html).

As far as spoken word/voice and progressive rock in general goes, I have a soft spot for legendary Yugoslavian veteran band Indexi's Modra Rijeka from 1978. It features a couple of purely recitated poems but overall a set of lyrical adaptations of Bosnian national poet Mak Dizdar integrated as songs into sometimes extremely interesting arrangements. It's probably one of my fave 10-or-so progressive albums from Eastern Europe as a whole, and should be heard by more people. The following two clips comprise the opening of the record.

[Zeuhlmate]

On Captain Beyonds first album there is 1 or 2 tracks with spoken words.

[Sturgeon's Lawyer]

Then there's some (highly distorted) spoken words in Karn Evil 9 - Third Impression...