Round 2: 60's-90's
Another solid round overall. I know it gets a bit more difficult to find some older bands or material that I may not have heard but in many cases here its definitely worth the effort.
senecadawg2King Crimson- 21st Century Schizoid Man (
7.5)
Obviously this is a band and album I've heard of before. It's one I've long intended to give a listen to but have just not gotten around to. I've heard of this song before as well but this is my first full play through. My immediate reaction is to the power of the music, the quality of the musicianship and the manic frenzy composition. Extremely hard to believe this was released in 1969.
Dr. DTVTMarillion - Sugar Mice (
6.5)
This song caught me off guard. For some reason I thought this would be much more proggy than it turned out to be. This had a touch of pop and definite late 80's radio sound. I like the lyrical story of the song. I like the music and particularly the guitar quite a bit. Get a Mike & The Mechanics vibe from this song. The vocals seem strained to me a little like he's wanting to go bigger but keeps holding back.
Big HathAl Di Meola - Suite Golden Dawn (
7.5)
Whoa! Was expecting total jazz type stuff but there's lots of groove and of course the playing is impeccable. Reminded me lots of Zappa material without so much of the insanity. Being a longer instrumental the groove behind keeps my attention and flows well with the stellar leads.
NekovThe Waterboys - Rags (
6.0)
Liked this a bit more than I expected I would. The horns are quite an interesting addition in the song and it works really well IMO. Like the strong vocals for this type of music. Most vocals in this style of song and from this era tend to be very frail from my perspective.
lonestarUFO - Rock Bottom (
7.5)
I've heard lots about this band from the biggest fan on the planet I believe in radio and tv's Eddie Trunk, but this is my first listen. Love the catchy riff right out of the gate. This is a straight up driving rock song. Schenker's solo is pretty smoking (no surprise!) and really takes the song to another level.
EvermindDire Straits - Brothers In Arms (
6.5)
My brother had this album when I was young and played it often but I only remember the hits "So Far Away", "Money for Nothing", and "Walk of Life".... and I enjoy those but I really don't know a whole lot about the band beyond that. Well, I take that back I've heard lots of people talk a lot about Mark Knopfler's guitar playing and that's exactly what I take from this song. Really love the great slow building guitar throughout.
UltimetalheadYes - South Side Of The Sky (
7.5)
Here's another band that obviously i'm going to be to some extent familiar with. I know a number of their hits and what's been played on classic rock radio, and enjoy those songs but hadn't really explored their catalog. Ulti made sure to send me a deeper cut to check out so that I could get more familiar with this legendary band.
What I really like most here is the edgier sound and the slightly darker vibe than some of the radio songs have (not that I dislike them, just that this shows a different side). The band is just as tight here as they are in the songs I'm familiar with. Clearly great musicians!
orcus116Death - Politicians In My Eyes (
7.0)
Well first off pure punk music hasn't really appealed to me so I was hesitant from the beginning. The sneaky groove and jam that is found here really sold me. Fairly simple and quite raw in the way punk music should be, but the chorus was very different than you'd usually find. Found this interesting and enjoyable!
jingle.boyWinter Rose - Asylum City (
7.0)
Surprise! I somehow was unfamiliar with the backstory that included Sebastian Bach and James LaBrie being in this band and jingle.boy bounced through a couple submissions before enlightening me here. Ripping right from the start and yep thats our boy LaBrie! Actually really enjoy the tune and LaBrie's vocals and maybe I'm influenced slightly from what I'm used to hearing him sing but the two styles don't really seem to mesh when he really takes the higher vocal parts. Of course being a bit of a hair metal fan I really like the guitar and music so thats a bonus!
LucienVangelis - My Face In The Rain (
5.5)
All I really know of Vangelis is the classic composition for the movie "Chariots of Fire". Almost anything athletic related seemed to have "Titles" played somewhere in the 80's.
Now on to "My Face In The Rain"... I like the almost ethereal quality to the music and enjoy the synths and or keys he uses here to create the feeling of almost standing in the rain. I have to assume the vocal style is specific to create a mood of being alone but it just doesn't do much for me.
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Round 2 Results:
senecadawg2: 7.5
Big Hath: 7.5
lonestar: 7.5
Ultimetalhead: 7.5
orcus116: 7.0
jingle.boy: 7.0
Dr. DTVT: 6.5
Evermind: 6.5
Nekov: 6.0
Lucien: 5.5
Current standings after round 2:
1.Big Hath: 16
2.lonestar: 15.5
3.Ulitmetalhead: 15
4.senecadawg2 14.5
5.Nekov: 14.5
6.Evermind: 14
7.jingle.boy: 14
8.Dr. DTVT: 13.5
9.orcus116: 13
10.Lucien: 11.5
You guys be sure to keep a check on my poor math skills to make sure all standings are correct...lol
Round 3 is limited to bands from 90's-10's and will conclude with first set of elimination and scores reset. Thanks everyone!