What Prog Albums That Are Not Well Regarded Among Prog Fans Are Still Your Favorites?

[moecurlythanu]

Subject line limited by space limitations. What Prog-Rock albums that are not well regarded by the vocal Prog fans on the internet are still among your favorites, critics be damned? Nostalgia is OK. I'll start:

Strange Days -9 Parts To The Wind



Galaxy -Nature's Clear Well

[Proglodite]

These two are both desert island discs for me to the continual befuddlement of anyone I mention them to!


Quill: Sursum Corda
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_w_yX72fUok

Trespass: The Final Act
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gr3FKONPufM

[Progbear]

Epidermis: Genius of Original Force

[Sputnik]

Epidermis: Genius of Original Force

I just had a look in my collection and was surprised to find this on my shelf. I have absolutely no memory of it, but I don't hang onto stuff I don't like. I need to give it a fresh spin. I have another album by them as well.

As far as the original question, I'd say Il Trono dei Ricordi. This album seems to get at best a collective "meh" from Progland, but it is among my favorite albums from the 90s, and an overall top-tier classic for me. Some consider it Neo Prog, some don't like the vocals, some don't like the production (which surprises me, but whatever). I feel like if this album were released in the 70s, it would compete with the other big name Italian one-offs like Balleto di Bronzo and Museo Rosenbach. I actually like this album far better than most of those (Zarathustra, for example), and I think far too musically complex to be lumped in with the Neo crowd. So, I'm definitely an outlier when it comes to this one.

For bigger name bands, I'd say the evergreen punching bag that is Tormato, and the Dire Straits album that wasn't, good ol' Crest of a Knave. While I wouldn't call Tormato a "favorite," I do like it a lot, and think much of the material holds up to their 70s greatness. Crest actually is a favorite of mine. I get its flaws, but for some reason that one has always resonated with me, and I feel it showcases the very last true vestiges of the "Proggy" Tull, with extended instrumental interplay and longer compositions. I also just think the songwriting here is very strong, even if the treatment is a bit tepid rhythmically, and has a sort of "Dire Straits" feel. Personally, I'd like Dire Straits better if they wrote songs like this.

Bill

[dropforge]

For bigger name bands, I'd say the evergreen punching bag that is Tormato, and the Dire Straits album that wasn't, good ol' Crest of a Knave. While I wouldn't call Tormato a "favorite," I do like it a lot, and think much of the material holds up to their 70s greatness. Crest actually is a favorite of mine. I get its flaws, but for some reason that one has always resonated with me, and I feel it showcases the very last true vestiges of the "Proggy" Tull, with extended instrumental interplay and longer compositions. I also just think the songwriting here is very strong, even if the treatment is a bit tepid rhythmically, and has a sort of "Dire Straits" feel. Personally, I'd like Dire Straits better if they wrote songs like this.

I also dig Tormato and Crest of a Knave. Heck, I started with the US version of Crest w/o "Dogs in the Midwinter" and "The Waking Edge." Those songs just make it better.

[Sputnik]

I also dig Tormato and Crest of a Knave. Heck, I started with the US version of Crest w/o "Dogs in the Midwinter" and "The Waking Edge." Those songs just make it better.

So did I! I was still on vinyl back then, and it was actually the release of this CD with the two extra tracks that convinced me to finally make the switch. This was in the lot of the first CDs I ever bought, and I still have it. Those two tracks were definitely worth it!

Bill

[dropforge]

So did I! I was still on vinyl back then, and it was actually the release of this CD with the two extra tracks that convinced me to finally make the switch. This was in the lot of the first CDs I ever bought, and I still have it. Those two tracks were definitely worth it!

Likewise!

[Piskie]

^^^^^ was just going to say Tormato. And I did!

[Digital_Man]

^^^^^ was just going to say Tormato. And I did!

Count me in as another Tormato apologist. I still like it better than anything the band has put out since ABWH and that technically wasn't even the actual band.

Also, not sure why this one has such a lukewarm reputation by many prog fans but I'm going to say Dust and Dreams by Camel. It took me a while to get into it (like with Tormato and Clutching at straws)but it ranks among my favorite Camel albums. I was just recently listening to Harbour of Tears and Rajaz (and I finally got around to hearing A Nod and a wink late last year or so) but nope D&D is still better than any of those in my book. I think maybe the really mellow parts put people off or something (not sure).

Oh and another one for me that(imo) definitely qualifies is Peter Gabriel's first solo album (car).

[Sputnik]

Tormato and Crest are good albums both. I listen to them regularly. But how many of you can happily sit through this entire album? I can.

Not me. I can't stand this record. Even if they removed the drum machine, I'm not sure it would do anything for me. But I know it has its fans, including Martin. To each their own.

Count me in as another Tormato apologist. I still like it better than anything the band has put out since ABWH and that technically wasn't even the actual band.

I like it better than any Yes-related release that came after. Drama and ABWH are the two that come closest for me, but I still prefer Tormato. Nostalgia may be at play there a bit because Tormato and the ensuing tour was my introduction to Yes, but I do really like the album.

Also, not sure why this one has such a lukewarm reputation by many prog fans but I'm going to say Dust and Dreams by Camel. It took me a while to get into it (like with Tormato and Clutching at straws)but it ranks among my favorite Camel albums. I was just recently listening to Harbour of Tears and Rajaz (and I finally got around to hearing A Nod and a wink late last year or so) but nope D&D is still better than any of those in my book. I think maybe the really mellow parts put people off or something (not sure).

Yeah, terminally dull for me. I do like a little rock in my Prog Rock.

Bill

[Digital_Man]

Yeah, terminally dull for me. I do like a little rock in my Prog Rock.

Bill

Well, then I guess most new age or new agey prog is not for you then.

[Sputnik]

Well, then I guess most new age or new agey prog is not for you then.

You guess correctly.

[Sturgeon's Lawyer]

It isn't technically a prog album, more of a pop album with occasional proto-proggy bits, but ... From Genesis to Revelation. These are really quite good pop tunes with the occasional proto-proggy bit.

[Progbear]

It isn't technically a prog album, more of a pop album with occasional proto-proggy bits, but ... From Genesis to Revelation. These are really quite good pop tunes with the occasional proto-proggy bit.

I have to say that until Invisible Touch, Genesis never released an album I disliked as much as FGTR. I remember one reviewer over at RYM went into FGTR hoping for "pscyh-Genesis" only to be highly disappointed, which made me laugh. They never sounded so much like what they were—i.e.: a bunch of snooty upper-crust private school* boys who decided to form a band. Listening to it always feels like a chore to me, and I only keep it in my collection for completeness.

More albums I could list here:

- Rare Bird: Born Again. Has a reputation as the band's worst album, but I think it's a marked improvement over the very mediocre and forgettable predecessor, Somebody's Watching, despite being mostly a straight pop-rock album. The songs are great, the performances are first-rate, and Steve Gould's voice is in fine form. "Last Tango in Beulah" (which returns to the keyboards/bass/drums format of the first two albums) is one of my favorite songs off of any of this band's albums.

- Renaissance: Azure d'or. No epics (or orchestra) this time, but I think it's a solid album with some fine tuneage. I'd scrap "Only Angels Have Wings" and "Friends," but every other song is a winner. "Forever Changing" and "Kalynda" are particular favorites, and "The Flood at Lyons" is a solid attempt at cramming an epic into half the space. Come to think of it, while I don't love it, Camera Camera isn't as bad as its reputation, as long as you don't mind an album of second-rate Kate Bush imitations in lieu of the usual Renaissance sound.

- PFM: Passpartù. Which has the band concentrating on the home market, making what's more of a Mediterranean folk-rock album than full-on prog (though there's still quite a lot of prog influence). I think the tunes are quite good (better, or at least more memorable, than Jet Lag, in fact) and Bernardo Lanzetti sounds much better to me singing in Italian than in English. I'd put Canto di primavera in this category as well; i.e.: poorly-regarded late-period Italian prog albums that I actually quite like.


*Speaking of things that make me laugh, I have long found it amusing that the British term for a private school is "public school." That is some serious Orwellian doublespeak right there!

[arturs]

Tormato and Crest are good albums both. I listen to them regularly. But how many of you can happily sit through this entire album? I can.

[Mister Triscuits]

But how many of you can happily sit through this entire album? I can.

I think it's Tull's best album of the '80s.

[Dave (in MA)]

I think it's Tull's best album of the '80s.

A very good album...
...with awful drums that have to be tolerated.

Anderson and Vettese should have stuck with the same approach to percussion that they used on Walk Into Light.

[dropforge]

Tormato and Crest are good albums both. I listen to them regularly. But how many of you can happily sit through this entire album? I can.

I can, but it's a patchy set compared to the albums before/after. Of course, I like it better than Rock Island. "Later, That Same Evening" and "Apogee" are standout tunes.

[Mister Triscuits]

I can, but it's a patchy set compared to the albums before/after. Of course, I like it better than Rock Island. "Later, That Same Evening" and "Apogee" are standout tunes.

Under Wraps is notably the last recording of Ian before his vocal cords were damaged, although he does some pretty bizarre things with them on the album.

[pb2015]

Camel - Breathless

[Digital_Man]

Camel - Breathless

A good one! I was listening to Rain Dances last night and that one is quite underrated as well. Maybe the only Camel album that deserves it's crappy reputation is the Single Factor but even that one isn't really that bad imo and actually has some good songs on it.

[JJ88]

Camel - Breathless

That 1978-81 period has some of their best stuff IMHO. I think Nude is actually their best album overall. I'm also very fond of I Can See Your House From Here.

Talking of Uriah Heep, I'm a fan of the John Lawton period.

And Then They Were Three by Genesis and Fly from Here (original edition not Return Trip) by Yes spring to mind right away.

ATTWT I've always loved.

Fly From Here- the original- is actually the last Yes album I own (I have never owned the later ones). It's decent enough on its own terms.

[SteveSly]

First one that popped into my mind was Yes - Big Generator. I don't know many Yes fans that rank that one very high, but I have always loved it.

[MudShark22]

First one that popped into my mind was Yes - Big Generator. I don't know many Yes fans that rank that one very high, but I have always loved it.

+1 - much better (IMO) than Talk

Sent from my NE2217 using Tapatalk

[Digital_Man]

First one that popped into my mind was Yes - Big Generator. I don't know many Yes fans that rank that one very high, but I have always loved it.

Count me in as someone who also thinks it's very underrated although I admit at least part of it could be for nastalgic reasons. These days most prog fans and even most Yes fans seem to look down on it probably even more so than Tormato (although maybe not quite as much as Union or OYE). I still say it might even be better than 90125 and at the very least it leans more towards their classic sound than that one does. As far as comparing it Talk goes I'd say they are maybe about even. I think which one I prefer might depend on my mood. Talk has Endless Dream and that's tough to be beat but then again it's only one track (even though that one track is probably their best post 70s epic imo).