Solo albums you like more than any by the group

[everyday]

I loved Ross Jennings’ solo album. I like Haken well enough, but “A Shadow of My Future Self” is the sort of prog-tinged power-pop, full of hooky melodies and tricky harmony, that pushes all my buttons.

And I am entirely indifferent to the band Tribulation, but former member Jonathan Hilton made an album, “Chants From Another Place,” that is pure magic to my ears — melodic, spiritual, euphonic, magical. His natural singing voice is other-worldly.

Just got this - superb album. Not familiar with Haken at all but I really like the albums with Neal Morse and Nick d'Virgilio.

[Trane]

Hmmm... not easy. Better than some or many by their parent groups is easy. Better than any, as in every? That's tougher by a wide margin.

indeed almost impossible

I have to say I prefer both Phil Manzanera’s Listen Now and Diamondhead (and Eno’s first few solo albums!) to any Roxy Music albums. Maybe because a little Bryan Ferry goes a long way.

That could be proof 1:
Except for Four Your Pleasure, I don't like anything from Roxy, so it's easily beatable with early Manza solo career (Quiet Sun included)

the other exhibit would be John Cale and Velvet Undeground: the only VU album I +/- like is WL/WH, and I can think of at least two Cale albums I like/love more (including the Riley collab)

I like Wigwam fine, but none of their albums equals the heights of Pekka Pohjola's solo career.

Not sure about that, but it's a very close call. Being is the album that stops that touchdown and Fairyport would stop the conversion, anyway

I like Hot Rats better than anything by the Mothers of Invention.

Kind of cheating, here

Neil Young 'nuff said

Never into Buffalo Springfield (so no call) but indeed better than CSN&Y (despite their great début)
But David Crosby's If I Could Only Remember My Name also achieves that.
In general I prefer Neil's Crazy Horse albums to the ones with out them, though.

Hackett's 1st 4 solo albums better than anything the band did after he left. (Post-Duke, anyways)
Pekka Pohjola solo being better than Wigwam did after he left..

now we agree

I like Lou Reed and John Cale's solo albums (and the one they did together) more than Velvet Underground.

Cale, yes, Reed, no. Nico either.

[Garden Dreamer]

Thought of a couple of ties. I like the solo albums by Michael Romeo and Mike LePond's Silent Assassins as much as Symphony X albums, and I like Luca Turilli's solo albums as much as Rhapsody (of Fire) albums.

[Tangram]

“Peter Gabriel” Melt & Mask can hang with the best of Genesis. Not a popular opinion but I would put Tony Banks’ “A Curious Feeling” up there too.

[mozo-pg]

Peter Gabriel III is a materpiece. I remember (get the pun) the concert very well.

[mozo-pg]

I was thinking, would I put III above Selling, Trick, or Wind? it's not a fair comparison, they're all brilliant.

[Progbear]

I think Steve Hackett's first 4 albums are vastly superior to Genesis' last 4 albums.

Unpopular opinion: I find Hackett's solo output to be mediocre, even highly hyped albums like Voyage of the Acolyte. Yes, it continues to be "prog," but it tends to be a bunch of tasty guitar solos surrounded by not so memorable music. Hackett is unquestionably a great guitarist; but not so much a great songwriter.

[progmatist]

^^ GTR. Need I say more? The Hackett to Bits track on GTR was a rehashing of what he did on a solo album. Just as Steve Howe's Sketches in the Sun was a rehashing of what he did live with Asia. When Greg Lake replaced John Wetton.

[Ten Thumbs]

I'm only mildly familiar with Soft Machine but I've liked a lot of Kevin Ayers.
I'll take Jeff Beck over The Yardbirds.

[dropforge]

^^ GTR. Need I say more? The Hackett to Bits track on GTR was a rehashing of what he did on a solo album. Just as Steve Howe's Sketches in the Sun was a rehashing of what he did live with Asia. When Greg Lake replaced John Wetton.

GTR makes Asia sound like Rush.

[SteveSly]

Unpopular opinion: I find Hackett's solo output to be mediocre, even highly hyped albums like Voyage of the Acolyte. Yes, it continues to be "prog," but it tends to be a bunch of tasty guitar solos surrounded by not so memorable music. Hackett is unquestionably a great guitarist; but not so much a great songwriter.

I think he has improved as a songwriter over the years and some of his strongest albums have been in the last decade or so.

[veteranof1000psychicwars]

Spectral Mornings is a better album than And Then There Were Three.

[iguana]

In 2012 i preferred Steve Hogarth’s & Richard Barbieri’s joint album “Not The Weapon But The Hand” over Marillion’s “Sounds That Can Be Made”.

Interesting bit of trivia: the phrase “F**k everone/-body and run” (to be immortalized by Marillion’s next effort in 2016) first appeared in the Hogarth/Barbieri track “Only Love Will Make You Free" from that album.

[JKL2000]

Squire's Fish Out of Water must have come up early in this thread. I was never a big listener of this album, but after hearing it a couple of times the last two days, I like it better than SOME Yes albums. I'm not sure I can say which yet - not most of the great ones. But it's sure a good album.

[Sturgeon's Lawyer]

Spectral Mornings is a better album than And Then There Were Three.

The Philosophy of the World is a better album than ...and Then There Were Three.

[veteranof1000psychicwars]

The Philosophy of the World is a better album than ...and Then There Were Three.

Whoo! That's harsh. Although l admit l would rather listen to My Pal Foot Foot than Follow You Follow Me!

Edit: My comparison of Spectral Mornings to ATTWT was to illustrate that at least some of Hackett's solo work was anything but mediocre, certainly in comparison to what his ex-mates were up to...and certainly up against what many progressive bands were up to in the last half of the 70s.

[veteranof1000psychicwars]

Squire's Fish Out of Water must have come up early in this thread. I was never a big listener of this album, but after hearing it a couple of times the last two days, I like it better than SOME Yes albums. I'm not sure I can say which yet - not most of the great ones. But it's sure a good album.

I also rank this higher than several Yes albums. Probably anything after Relayer, in fact.

[JKL2000]

I also rank this higher than several Yes albums. Probably anything after Relayer, in fact.

Higher than GFTO, I think.

[veteranof1000psychicwars]

Higher than GFTO, I think.

Yup, me too. Probably a question for some but as a real-time Yes fan l lost interest after Relayer. Although l enjoy GFTO a LOT more than l did when it came out.

[progmatist]

I would rank Tony Banks' orchestral albums higher than Genesis. Particularly when the band was only three.

[Trane]

Edit: My comparison of Spectral Mornings to ATTWT was to illustrate that at least some of Hackett's solo work was anything but mediocre, certainly in comparison to what his ex-mates were up to...and certainly up against what many progressive bands were up to in the last half of the 70s.

Hackett: Maybe he's a better songwriter today than he was in the 70's, but he doesn't have the ideas and things to say as he did back then.
When I do get a chance, I listen to his new stuff, but I yawn at it.

As for ATTWT & Hackett solo album, it would be fairer to compare it with PDT (which I've never liked or hatdf) rather than SM (which I mostly live/love).But, TBQH, between FYFM and Decomposing Man, my brains prefer the former.

Squire: Fish is certainly better than anything post-Drama, and probably post)relayer as well. Can't help but feeling that if a couple of FOOW tracks had found their way onto GFTO, this would've been a much better album. Indeed, we listen patiently while waiting for Awaken.

[moecurlythanu]

^ Not all of us. Some of us like "Turn Of The Century" more than "Awaken."

[Trane]

^ Not all of us. Some of us like "Turn Of The Century" more than "Awaken."

second best track on GFTO, but distant IMHO. The rest +/- sucks.
Adding one or two FOOW Squire tracks would've done much to help out the general GFTO level

Of course I cheated, playing the flipside transparent.

[Mister Triscuits]

second best track on GFTO, but distant IMHO. The rest +/- sucks.
Adding one or two FOOW Squire tracks would've done much to help out the general GFTO level

You just said that the track that was held over from FooW, "Parallels," sucks.

[Shadow]

I like John G. Perry - Sunset Wading as much as any Caravan album.