Author Topic: Evermind's Top 50 list v. #1 "Did they get you to trade your heroes for ghosts?"  (Read 47936 times)

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Offline Sacul

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Re: Evermind's Top 50 list v. #11 "Gray sky where it should be blue..."
« Reply #280 on: January 24, 2015, 02:15:04 PM »
Meh for both :biggrin: . Looking forward to the top ten though.

Online Evermind

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Re: Evermind's Top 50 list v. #11 "Gray sky where it should be blue..."
« Reply #281 on: January 24, 2015, 02:16:12 PM »
Meh for both :biggrin: . Looking forward to the top ten though.

I thought you'll like Clutching At Straws, huh. Whatever.
This first band is Soen very cool swingy jazz fusion kinda stuff.

Offline Sacul

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Re: Evermind's Top 50 list v. #11 "Gray sky where it should be blue..."
« Reply #282 on: January 24, 2015, 02:36:01 PM »
I once listened to Misplaced Childhood, and it didn't do nothing for me. It's not my cup of tea.

Online lonestar

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Re: Evermind's Top 50 list v. #11 "Gray sky where it should be blue..."
« Reply #283 on: January 24, 2015, 02:40:27 PM »
And the sunlight flares, through a curtain's tear, shuffling its beam as if in nervous anticipation.......of another day.......





Damn man.....

Online Evermind

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Re: Evermind's Top 50 list v. #11 "Gray sky where it should be blue..."
« Reply #284 on: January 24, 2015, 04:15:37 PM »
And the sunlight flares, through a curtain's tear, shuffling its beam as if in nervous anticipation.......of another day.......

Damn man.....

It's just for the record, it's just a passing phase... just for the record, I can stop any day...

Damn poignant, the whole album is.
This first band is Soen very cool swingy jazz fusion kinda stuff.

Online lonestar

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Re: Evermind's Top 50 list v. #11 "Gray sky where it should be blue..."
« Reply #285 on: January 24, 2015, 07:14:23 PM »
And the sunlight flares, through a curtain's tear, shuffling its beam as if in nervous anticipation.......of another day.......

Damn man.....

It's just for the record, it's just a passing phase... just for the record, I can stop any day...

Damn poignant, the whole album is.


And if you want my address, it's number one at the end of the bar, where I sit with the broken angels clutching at straws and nursing our scars.....



 




Offline bl5150

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Re: Evermind's Top 50 list v. #11 "Gray sky where it should be blue..."
« Reply #286 on: January 24, 2015, 07:31:16 PM »
Some interesting choices there ............like a few others I find Blind Guardian just so - so and a bit too much a lot of the time.   There are certain tracks where I do enjoy Hansi's voice but it's just here and there -  Demons and Wizards' track Love's Tragedy Asunder is a good example.

I'm generally not a fan of old style prog rock so Marillion hasn't really been a big part of my life .  However many years ago I did decide to buy one of their albums which seemed to be best - and Clutching At Straws is it.  It is still unlistened to however  :-[  ..........on my long,long list of stuff to check out.

The Deep Purple I haven't heard - only really familiar with Hush from the Evans era.   I struggle with most 70's stuff let alone 60's but I'll check it out  :D
 
Looking forward to the Top 10.    Although it's good to be exposed to loads of new artists in a Top 50 , it has been nice to follow a list where I know what the fuck is going on for the most part  :)
« Last Edit: January 24, 2015, 07:39:01 PM by bl5150 »
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Online Evermind

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And if you want my address, it's number one at the end of the bar, where I sit with the broken angels clutching at straws and nursing our scars.....

Probably the best line of the whole album.

I'm generally not a fan of old style prog rock so Marillion hasn't really been a big part of my life .  However many years ago I did decide to buy one of their albums which seemed to be best - and Clutching At Straws is it.  It is still unlistened to however  :-[  ..........on my long,long list of stuff to check out.

Seems like this list is very long indeed.  :D I'm not die hard fan of old prog rock myself, but that album is just fantastic. Ironically, the next album is another old prog rock one.  :lol

Let's start the top ten with a quick callback to the very beginning of the list, shall we?

#10
Thick As A Brick
Jethro Tull
Genre: progressive rock
1972


(I know this is the cover of 1997 remaster, but at least it doesn’t have that Compact Disc stamp in the bottom left corner, so give me a break here)

We enter top ten now, folks! Two thoughts appear in my mind immediately as I’m starting to write this post. The first one is that from now on several people on DTF wouldn’t even need to enter this thread to know what albums we’re talking about. If some lyrics from thread titles before weren’t quite transparent, now most of the records I have in my list are so well known the lyrics are instantly recognizable. Like this line from Thick As A Brick, for example. That bring us to my second point, or rather that interesting fact I’ve found out when I outlined my list a few months ago. I’m talking about how Jethro Tull opened both my Top 50 and Top 10, with Crest Of A Knave and TAAB respectively. I wouldn’t say Jethro Tull is one of my favourite bands, although I have huge respect for the guys, but I won’t deny it seems kind of symbolic to me. If I had this one on #1, the list would’ve come full circle, I guess. But anyway, Thick As A Brick is Jethro Tull’s crowning achievement and one of the masterpieces in progressive rock overall. While I definitely like Aqualung and enjoy folkish era of Jethro Tull, while I love Crest Of A Knave enough so it even made this very list, while their Christmas Album is the best Christmas album I know out there, nothing tops Thick As a Brick. Just simply nothing.

If you somehow unaware what kind of record this is, it’s a concept album featuring only one song which is 42 minutes in length. The whole “concept album” is a big joke on the band’s part, though, and here’s why; the band released Aqualung in 1971, which received enough critical acclaim where reviewers stated it was a concept album (which it wasn’t); I guess the natural intricacy and complexity of Ian’s lyrics put them all off. In response to those statements the band decided to write a “real” concept album; Thick As A Brick is basically a satirical musical piece about the whole concept of those pretentious concept albums, being a concept in a concept (I’ve just used the word “concept” five times in a single sentence, sorry). So you can call it a parody of a concept album, I think. While all the lyrics were written by Ian himself, the booklet claims the whole piece is a musical adaptation of a poem penned by Gerald “Little Milton” Bostock and he’s even credited in the booklet along with Ian Anderson. The poem was meant to compete in some sort of literature contest, and even scored the win before it was disqualified; the reason stated that Gerald’s mind “was seriously unbalanced”, and the whole poem a product of his “extremely unwholesome attitude towards life, his God and Country”. It’s all on the cover, in fact. And well, while it’s obviously meant to be a joke, I kind of can imagine this situation in its whole awfulness and awkwardness. And it’s definitely meant to be a joke; the “Society for Literary Advancement and Gestation (SLAG)” and “her wonderful buffet luncheon at the fete last Saturday. Well done, Daphne!” parts alone are worth either a smirk or a few good moments of laugh. I wish I owned the whole newspaper from the original LP cover. According to Ian, the newspaper took longer to produce than the music itself, and I love the guys’ dedication to do such a thing, I always viewed the booklet and the cover art of any album as a very important addition to the music; when it’s done well, the experience can be enhanced a lot, and if it’s total crap I will think again about purchasing the record.

The music itself is intricate too, with a formidable progressive edge to it expressed in numerous time signature changes and shifts in the pace. There are constant callbacks to various movements of the song here and there, blended nicely with the new, exciting and diverse parts; some are loaded with flute melodies, some only have acoustic guitars; some are energetic, while the others are slow and longingly sad. A lot of instruments are used on Thick As A Brick, there are vocals, guitars, piano, flute and drums, as expected, but there are also such wonderful things as lute, violin, saxophone, harpsichord and timpani. Ian’s voice sounds much less irritating than, say, on Aqualung and is quite pleasant to listen to, also thankfully to the solid and compelling vocal melodies. While there are a lot of transitions, most of them are quite natural, resulting in impeccable flow for nearly all 42 minutes of music, the only problematic section I can think of is somewhere around 25 minutes with sudden stoppage of the music (where the spoken parts come in), but that’s about it, the rest of the tune is pure perfection. It’s amazing how the band managed to stay serious and professional musically while making the album based on such pretentious reason, and it’s great how the cover and the lyrics are humorous enough, but evocative and charming at the same time, like in “The poet and the painter casting shadows on the water” part. And of course with all those recurring themes neatly placed and structured in this giant of a song the story ends where it began, returning to the opening melody. Well, it’s not all new now, but I guess for 1972 it was quite a way to wrap-up a concept album.

Thick As A Brick is one of my all-time favourite progressive rock albums and it’s unlikely to change. Everything in this record is just so attractive and wonderful, from the outstanding, bewitching flute-work to the general beastly structure of the song. Ian and the band may have though they are creating a funny witty joke, but with that approach they’ve created a masterpiece. Well, they’ve certainly acknowledged this fact, and Ian even released the follow-up titled “Thick As A Brick 2: Whatever Happened to Gerald Bostock?” which is good, but not quite to live up to the perfection of its predecessor. Thick As A Brick is just that album that became a real classic, it still stands proud and high in our days, and rightfully so, for except a few tiny moments every second of this record is magnificent. I like some pure progressive rock in moderate doses, and I sometimes enjoy such classics as Selling England By The Pound, Hemispheres or Tales Of Topographic Oceans; but sorry fans of Genesis, Rush and Yes, Thick As A Brick is just on another level for me. It incorporates all elements I adore in progressive rock, twists them in a classic Jethro Tull style and just blows me away.

Do you believe in the day?

Disclaimer: for the most satisfying experience you should listen to the whole album

Favourite moment: Thick As A Brick 5:05 — 11:20 (The Poet and The Painter section)
This first band is Soen very cool swingy jazz fusion kinda stuff.

Offline mikemangioy

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My uncle has this on vinyl and I was always attracted by the packaging, done in this newspaper-style, haven't listened to it though. I should check it out  :tup
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Offline Sacul

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I do like this album, it's lots of fun - although I sometimes feel some parts of the song are a bit unnecessary or take too long. Great album anyways, almost made my top 50 (included it on the honourable mentions though).

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Re: Evermind's Top 50 list v. #9 "Look out! The sky is falling down!"
« Reply #290 on: January 25, 2015, 10:52:50 AM »
My uncle has this on vinyl and I was always attracted by the packaging, done in this newspaper-style, haven't listened to it though. I should check it out  :tup

Your uncle has a good taste indeed.  :tup

I do like this album, it's lots of fun - although I sometimes feel some parts of the song are a bit unnecessary or take too long. Great album anyways, almost made my top 50 (included it on the honourable mentions though).

I can see where you're coming from, but I guess it's obvious I don't agree.  :lol

Anyway, onward to the next one!

#9
Heaven And Hell
Black Sabbath
Genre: heavy metal
1980


Well, here’s another classic. It’s amusing how Ronnie James Dio participation with his outstanding vocal abilities enhanced nearly any record he was on, Heaven and Hell included. I’m not saying Ozzy was awful or simply not good enough or anything, it’s just Sabbath albums he fronted have never clicked with me, while the very first record Dio was on instantly became one of my favourites. It all comes down to the matter or preference, I admit that, but hell, this album is so classy it outshines everything else Sabbath has ever done by far. And considering they had those serious troubles with the lineup, with Ozzy being fired, Geezer Butler battling the problems on the personal front with that divorce of his (I think Dio ended up playing bass at one point), and Bill Ward suffered a loss of both his parents, followed by his descending into alcoholism at that time. He still performed drums on Heaven and Hell, even though he stated he doesn’t actually remember it because of being drunk all the time, and then he just, well, left the band (and returned in 1983. And left again. And then, apparently, returned again later. This guy is so changeable!). So Ozzy was replaced by Dio, and in fact I think this was the only possible replacement, so they’ve nailed it with this choice, and of course there was Tony Iommi. Can’t imagine Sabbath without Tony Iommi, eh?

Well, whatever, you can read all the fascinating things about the band on Wikipedia, like that Black Sabbath are an English band formed in 1968, and all the perturbations among the band’s lineup. Let’s talk about the music instead. Heaven and Hell clocks just under forty minutes and features eight tracks, four of them are stellar classics, three are great and one is merely good. Thus the structure of the album actually looks thoroughly thought out; the stellar tracks are even-numbered, alternating with odd-numbered solid, satisfying rockers. The first of them, Neon Knights, is a mighty song with memorable vocal melodies, which basically elevates it from being averagely alright to great, especially the chorus with Dio’s smashing delivery. Speaking of, since the song title rhymes with the word, I think everyone totally expected Dio belting out a couple alrights along the way, and he did indeed. This always makes me smile for some strange reason. The energy shifts into a lower gear then with one of the best Sabbath tunes ever and winner of DTF Black Sabbath Survivor (where, as I recall, only four people were participating), Children of the Sea. Starting out serene with acoustic arrangements, it quickly flows to a heavier approach with obligatory oooohs and mmmmhs during the switch. Unfolding further at this leveled pace, this tune fits my definition of power ballad to the bone, offering the opportunity to headbang without getting any kind of headache. The guitar solo, while being quite concise, ranks high in my imaginary Best Guitar Solos list, and the return of the first acoustic section is welcome too, paving the way for that famous climactic outro. It just adds another layer of magnificence and manages to wrap the song up creatively and without any unnecessary fadeouts.

The bassline of Lady Evil enters shortly after the last “Look out!” ceases. The song itself isn’t spectacular or anything, yet it provides the necessary breather between two Sabbath masterpieces. And I meant breather not in the usual way (not like a ballad before an epic), the song is quite driving and playful, but it doesn’t deserve a lot of attention or anything, nice tune for your above-average-relaxed-metal-listen. Also, more alrights from Dio can be heard in the chorus, which this time can come across as surprising, because the title can’t be rhymed to it, but sneaky Dio found the way to insert it anyway. My mild irritation with it vanishes without a trace when the duuuun — dun-dun-dun riff from album’s centerpiece and title track, Heaven and Hell, bursts through the headphones. Now this song is absolutely glorious. Being seven minutes in length, it highlights the band’s songwriting, for the song never gets boring. After two unhurried, bass supported verses and epic choruses, the pace picks up a bit on the next verse, but instead of chorus we get a transition to flawless, thoughtful instrumental section. And I guess most of you know how it goes after that. Bass and drums speed up, the song goes in a fervent state on this final section, the band giving out all they’ve got. This mad part can be compared with the cart rushing down the steep hill at the full speed, and then coming to a stop at its foot, closing the side one with the brief and wonderful acoustic melody.

The opening riff from Wishing Well provides the energetic kick off for the side two. The tune is short yet achieves quite a lot with its fast-paced, lively approach, inviting you to continue the ride on this masterful metal wave and promising more brilliant stuff to come. After Neon Knights and Lady Evil this track feels refreshing with upbeat style and faster rhythms, and it’s my favourite among the odd numbered tunes on the album. Quiet atmospheric intro of Die Young follows, flowing into another upbeat section in a couple of seconds. This one is done even better than Wishing Well, probably owing to splendid vocal melodies. However, the frantic speed doesn’t stay for a long time and soon gives way to another wistful section, only to return later. The amount of changes stuffed into this five minutes song and the way they’re working together pleases me immensely. I’ve warmed up to this tune over the years and now placing it in classic category. It’s just that awesome.

The only tune I’m not too fond of (well, compared to the over-the-moon quality of the rest) is Walk Away. There’s nothing wrong with it and due to listening to the album for quite a long time I’m kind of became accustomed to it, but my attention tends to wander off during it. I guess it’s just a bit generic and unexciting; the instrumental section is enjoyable though and carries the song to the higher level, not much higher though. The last tune on the album, Lonely is the Word is the opposite of generic and unexciting; it’s constantly fighting for the top spot with Children of the Sea and title track. I’m in love with everything this song offers, be that those rational, measured verses or bombastic parts I guess can be called choruses, having only one or two lines. And instrumental sections here not merely “enjoyable”, they are simply fantastic. I love Dio voice as you’ve probably noticed, but he has a lot of time to show his abilities on this album, so this guitar soloing perfection the album’s closer offers was a tremendous choice to include. What a fine choice for the record’s ending.

And I think I’m running out of compliments here, but damn, this album surely deserves this and more. I saw some scolding about the presence of filler in the recent Hard Rock / Heavy Metal thread on this album, and while I can see where this coming from, I can’t agree at all. Alright, maybe (maybe!) Walk Away. That’s as far as it gets regarding filler on Heaven and Hell. But obviously the decisive factor here is the taste, personal preferences in music and musicians both. For example, someone may think Ozzy rules and Dio is awful… and this someone would be wrong. :lol Alright, sorry, I just couldn’t resist.

Favourite tracks: Children of the Sea, Heaven and Hell, Wishing Well, Die Young, Lonely is the Word
This first band is Soen very cool swingy jazz fusion kinda stuff.

Offline mikemangioy

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Re: Evermind's Top 50 list v. #9 "Look out! The sky is falling down!"
« Reply #291 on: January 25, 2015, 12:38:51 PM »
Never was attracted by Black Sabbath, buuut Dio's voice is one of my faves. I just prefer him in Rainbow.
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Online TAC

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Re: Evermind's Top 50 list v. #9 "Look out! The sky is falling down!"
« Reply #292 on: January 25, 2015, 01:19:23 PM »
Heaven And Hell is one of my favorite albums of all time. GREAT choice Evermind!
would have thought the same thing but seeing the OP was TAC i immediately thought Maiden or DT related
Winger Theater Forums........or WTF.  ;D
TAC got a higher score than me in the electronic round? Honestly, can I just drop out now? :lol

Offline ThatOneGuy2112

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Re: Evermind's Top 50 list v. #9 "Look out! The sky is falling down!"
« Reply #293 on: January 25, 2015, 02:49:09 PM »
 :metal

I love Ozzy and Paranoid is still my favorite Sabbath album, but Dio really brought something else to a band that were really on the decline. I find it hard to imagine that they would have held stable for much longer had not such a presence joined on board.

Offline sneakyblueberry

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Re: Evermind's Top 50 list v. #9 "Look out! The sky is falling down!"
« Reply #294 on: January 25, 2015, 03:08:12 PM »
Great album!

Offline Sacul

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Re: Evermind's Top 50 list v. #9 "Look out! The sky is falling down!"
« Reply #295 on: January 25, 2015, 03:08:30 PM »
Never gave Sabbath a fair listen. Will fix that, someday soon.

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Re: Evermind's Top 50 list v. #9 "Look out! The sky is falling down!"
« Reply #296 on: January 25, 2015, 03:21:01 PM »
Heaven And Hell is one of my favorite albums of all time. GREAT choice Evermind!

Offline bl5150

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Re: Evermind's Top 50 list v. #9 "Look out! The sky is falling down!"
« Reply #297 on: January 25, 2015, 03:23:07 PM »
Hmm- Black Sabbath ........been meaning to check them out too Evermind  ;D
"I would just like to say that after all these years of heavy drinking, bright lights and late nights, I still don't need glasses. I drink right out of the bottle." - DLR

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Online jjrock88

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Re: Evermind's Top 50 list v. #9 "Look out! The sky is falling down!"
« Reply #298 on: January 25, 2015, 03:29:05 PM »
Hmm- Black Sabbath ........been meaning to check them out too Evermind  ;D

Brent you still have 6,000 albums to go through, you don't need any more bands lol

Offline wolfking

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Re: Evermind's Top 50 list v. #9 "Look out! The sky is falling down!"
« Reply #299 on: January 26, 2015, 04:01:55 AM »
Sort of lost me a bit with Marillion and Jethro Tull, but Heaven and Hell is classic, amazing pick!
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Online Evermind

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Re: Evermind's Top 50 list v. #8 "Every raindrop is telling stories..."
« Reply #300 on: January 26, 2015, 09:11:35 AM »
Hmm- Black Sabbath ........been meaning to check them out too Evermind  ;D

That was kind of thick and obvious sarcasm, don't you think? ;D

Anyway, thank you guys! Great to see so much love here for this spectacular Sabbath album.

Now, regarding the schedule, I'll wrap this thing up this week for sure, but for now I've got pretty busy days at work, so for a few days you'll have to do with one update a day. So, now that's out of the way, let's go for somewhat modern #8:

#8
The Old Man And The Spirit
Beyond The Bridge
Genre: progressive metal
2012


It’s in the moments like this one I’m so inexpressibly grateful I’ve found this whole DTF community and decided to register one day to participate in all kinds of discussions here. All the advantages aside like friendly and intelligent people sharing my interests in music and an opportunity to improve my English, the main thing it provided me is a hell lot of new albums to discover, directly from DTF and indirectly. I mean, it’s through this very forum I was offered a chance to write for a music magazine, and a whole lot of new wonderful records suddenly started appearing from everywhere, mailbox, Facebook, you name it. This particular gem popped up in our magazine Facebook group from RJ (huge thanks for you), so DTF is involved anyway. I’m not sure how I missed this release before, but only one listen to The Difference is Human was sufficient to buy this album in a heartbeat. And this is like the second best investment of my money in music from the last few years (because there is actually an album from 2013 further in this list). I mean, just everything about this album is so magnificent it’s just out of this world. The story, the music and the cover are all impeccable and even more; this is sheer perfection in the progressive metal genre. While I do love the other famous progressive metal acts, at this moment Beyond the Bridge seems simply unbeatable to me with their only one release. Yes, maybe they will fail at consistency later, their second album may turn out to be a travesty, and yet I don’t care at all, because The Old Man and the Spirit is an enormous treat for my ears.

I’ll take a bit of time to write about the musicians, because it’s not a very well-known band, at least in the whole world, on DTF they seem to be quite popular. Or wait, I won’t. I’ll just go the lazy route and quote RJ here, from his review for Lady Obscure Music Magazine:

In 2005, guitarist Peter Degenfeld-Schonburg, with the idea for Old Man and the Spirit, worked with keyboardist Christopher Tarnow to build the basic structure of the album. Best friend and former bandmate bass player Dominik Stoltzim was in, and with the help of producer Simon Oberender they added drummer Fabian Maier and lead vocalist Herbie Langhans. The other lead vocalist, Dilenya Mar finished out the lineup. With the lineup solid, they went to the studio in 2008 to start recording, and after three years, finally released the complete album in early 2012.

So what is the album, the concept all about? (have I mentioned that it’s amazing?) As the title suggests, there are two central characters in the story whose lines may overlay each other in the breathtaking harmonies or alternate in the number of dialogues. The first character is the Old Man, who is on the verge of passing away, having lived a long life and now pondering about the unrevealed mysteries of the world he lived in, about all he hadn’t the chance to see and about higher spheres and the meaning of it all. He views his whole life as meaningless and without any purpose, and overwhelmed with wonder, curiosity, regret, determination and desperation he’s calling to those higher forces up above. His plea is heard by the Spirit. She claims of being “of ancient days”, apparently possessing great wisdom of ages, yet isn’t able to feel anything of resemblance to human emotions. She and offers him to reveal the answers he seek, only if he trusts her blindly and follows all her instructions. After all kinds of admonitions and explanations it becomes clear the deal offered is the Old Man’s memory about the life he lived, his senses and feelings in exchange for eternal wisdom and all the imaginable secrets of the world. The Spirit is actively trying to persuade him into accepting, because this would allow her to feel and live like a human being, but the man is not certain and after struggling between his striving for knowledge and memories of all the time he existed in this world, he decides that all the promised secrets are, in the end, not worthy of forgetting this incredible journey and feelings he felt for all the years, rejecting the deal. The Spirit scolds him angrily, and Old Man realizes he made a right choice, not surrendering the memories of his beloved person, of all his ups and downs in life, of all the glorious and horrible moments he had experienced, because, after all, this is what makes him a man, a human being in the first place. He settles on this thought, being grateful for the years allotted to him, and peacefully passes away.

On the first glance this sounds like happy end of the usual story about a Good Old Man and the villainous Spirit, but I’m not entirely sure this is the case. There are a lot of interpretations possible to draw from the story, and from what I’ve heard, the opinions actually differ. It feels like the man made the right choice, choosing not to get rid of everything he remembers, and it is all fine and a hundred percent right if you consider the Spirit as a fraud, which is exactly what he does. The Man dies shortly after and it’s not exposed further if he goes into some kind of afterlife (I’m immensely glad it’s not explained, by the way), so except of dying peacefully, he has no use for the memories he decided to keep. And there might’ve been really interesting stuff the Spirit could’ve taught him (for example, how to go all “pitiful human, say goodbye”, while having this smug, half indifferent, half contemptuous look of superiority and then just vanish away. I would want this skill to use it in my daily job. Don't look at me like that.) I guess being reasonably young prevents me to levelheadedly claim if Old Man was right or wrong. And anyway, I think there is no objective answer to this. Everyone will find their own reasons to believe in either possible scenario, and that’s why the concept is so appealing.

And there I’ve got a thousand words and even haven’t started talking about the music itself. Let’s amend this! The music is pure progressive metal with outstanding mix; all the instruments are audible and sounding just right. The songs are entwined in the big picture by using a lot of recurrent themes. Look, The Apparition has a chorus from The Call in the end, Triumph of Irreality features intro from The Call during the spoken part and a chorus melody from Doorway to Salvation is also there, World of Wonders offers a callback to The Spring of it All in the outro, The Difference is Human and The Apparition both share a bunch of vocal melodies, the closer refers to the opener both musically and lyrically, and the list can go on and on. Some of those moments are blatantly obvious, while some are quite subtle, so the record is amazingly rewarding on the subsequent listens. Finding yet another reference in the lengthy sequence of great music makes me happy. So, well, it’s not just references put that record on #8. Every musician makes the album special. First of all, vocalists. They are essential, of course, playing their assigned roles and all that; however mediocre Dilenya Mar might be, she’s nailing the Spirit part, picturing this taunting person, annoyed with human stupidity, stubbornness and lack of awareness. Herbie Langhans just slays it as Old Man, especially when he goes into his raspy raging mode on “four cries of a bird” parts in Doorway to Salvation, but also providing a nice warm voice on the ballads. Moving on to the instrumentalists, keyboards are obviously the huge part of the picture, guitar has those so-beautiful-it’s-tearing-your-soul-apart moments (see the solo in Where the Earth and Sky Meet), bass has a satisfying appearance, say, in Doorway to Salvation second verse, while the drums are descending into a complete Finally Free-esque madness on the All a Man Can Do glorious ending. Everyone has the moment to shine, and all these moments are composed into a wonderful story, which just oozes feelings and emotions from every possible crack. It’s pointless talking about each track in details, you just simply have to experience this piece of art yourself.

And just how great is this cover? You know, the funny thing is when some album pops up in my Facebook feed or anywhere, actually, I always look at the cover art. If I like it, I may give it a listen. And that’s why I didn’t hesitate to click on this Beyond the Bridge thing. You know, the whole band strikes me as the pure perfectionists. They’ve made sure everything about this album is as perfect as it gets. This album took seven bloody years to get written and released, and I’m ready to wait another seven or, if needed, twice as much years to get the second album from this band if it’s going to be equally good or even better. Such releases are very rare, and I’m prepared to wait as long as needed.

Disclaimer: for the most satisfying experience you should listen to the whole album

Favourite tracks: The Call, Doorway to Salvation, The Difference is Human, All a Man Can Do

Most of those tracks are like nine minutes long, so I didn’t include Where the Earth and Sky Meet, The Struggle and The Apparition to the list. Well, whatever, the only right way is to listen to the whole album, so don’t blame me.
This first band is Soen very cool swingy jazz fusion kinda stuff.

Online lonestar

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Re: Evermind's Top 50 list v. #8 "Every raindrop is telling stories..."
« Reply #301 on: January 26, 2015, 09:49:50 AM »
Dang, I think that was longer than my review.

Ironically, I  had that at no. 8 on my list as well.

Offline bl5150

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Re: Evermind's Top 50 list v. #8 "Every raindrop is telling stories..."
« Reply #302 on: January 26, 2015, 09:55:55 AM »
Unfortunately I didn't connect with this one like you guys did - based on my song ratings I really enjoyed The Call and Triumph of Irreality but that's about the extent of it.   Certainly not a bad album but not something I came back to much.
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Offline Sacul

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Re: Evermind's Top 50 list v. #8 "Every raindrop is telling stories..."
« Reply #303 on: January 26, 2015, 11:34:59 AM »
Although I find the ballads a. Bit cheesy for my taste, it's still an amazing album, and one of my fav releases from 2012. Prog metal as it's ought to be written. Great choice.

Offline Shadow Ninja 2.0

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Re: Evermind's Top 50 list v. #8 "Every raindrop is telling stories..."
« Reply #304 on: January 26, 2015, 01:30:43 PM »
Awesome album, one of the best prog metal albums I've heard in a long time.

Offline wolfking

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Re: Evermind's Top 50 list v. #8 "Every raindrop is telling stories..."
« Reply #305 on: January 26, 2015, 01:36:47 PM »
Could never get into this album and I've tried.  Never understood the love TBH.
Everyone else, except Wolfking is wrong.

Offline mikemangioy

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Re: Evermind's Top 50 list v. #8 "Every raindrop is telling stories..."
« Reply #306 on: January 26, 2015, 02:09:27 PM »
Always wanted to try this, this is a good incentive to do it :metal
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Re: Evermind's Top 50 list v. #8 "Every raindrop is telling stories..."
« Reply #307 on: January 26, 2015, 03:07:52 PM »
Unfortunately I didn't connect with this one like you guys did - based on my song ratings I really enjoyed The Call and Triumph of Irreality but that's about the extent of it.   Certainly not a bad album but not something I came back to much.

I agree.
would have thought the same thing but seeing the OP was TAC i immediately thought Maiden or DT related
Winger Theater Forums........or WTF.  ;D
TAC got a higher score than me in the electronic round? Honestly, can I just drop out now? :lol

Offline wolfking

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Re: Evermind's Top 50 list v. #8 "Every raindrop is telling stories..."
« Reply #308 on: January 26, 2015, 04:07:15 PM »
Unfortunately I didn't connect with this one like you guys did - based on my song ratings I really enjoyed The Call and Triumph of Irreality but that's about the extent of it.   Certainly not a bad album but not something I came back to much.

I agree.

I'm glad I wasn't the only one either.
Everyone else, except Wolfking is wrong.

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Re: Evermind's Top 50 list v. #8 "Every raindrop is telling stories..."
« Reply #309 on: January 26, 2015, 04:56:57 PM »
Unfortunately I didn't connect with this one like you guys did - based on my song ratings I really enjoyed The Call and Triumph of Irreality but that's about the extent of it.   Certainly not a bad album but not something I came back to much.

I agree.

I'm glad I wasn't the only one either.
I literally haven't listened to it in a year. It's not a bad album by any stretch. It's just another one of those albums that I just get lost in.
I'm sure it'll click for me, but there's just so much else I'd rather listen to.
would have thought the same thing but seeing the OP was TAC i immediately thought Maiden or DT related
Winger Theater Forums........or WTF.  ;D
TAC got a higher score than me in the electronic round? Honestly, can I just drop out now? :lol

Offline Tom Bombadil

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Re: Evermind's Top 50 list v. #8 "Every raindrop is telling stories..."
« Reply #310 on: January 26, 2015, 07:22:39 PM »
#10 -  :metal
#8 -  :hefdaddy :hefdaddy :hefdaddy

Offline wolfking

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Re: Evermind's Top 50 list v. #8 "Every raindrop is telling stories..."
« Reply #311 on: January 26, 2015, 09:18:02 PM »
Unfortunately I didn't connect with this one like you guys did - based on my song ratings I really enjoyed The Call and Triumph of Irreality but that's about the extent of it.   Certainly not a bad album but not something I came back to much.

I agree.

I'm glad I wasn't the only one either.
I literally haven't listened to it in a year. It's not a bad album by any stretch. It's just another one of those albums that I just get lost in.
I'm sure it'll click for me, but there's just so much else I'd rather listen to.

I tried it again a few months ago and it was fine to listen to, but just doesn't really do it for me at all.
Everyone else, except Wolfking is wrong.

Online Evermind

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Dang, I think that was longer than my review.

I like to go for some rambling where I can.  :D

Always wanted to try this, this is a good incentive to do it :metal

Certainly a good idea. One of the finest prog metal albums out there.

Although I find the ballads a. Bit cheesy for my taste, it's still an amazing album, and one of my fav releases from 2012. Prog metal as it's ought to be written. Great choice.

Awesome album, one of the best prog metal albums I've heard in a long time.

#10 -  :metal
#8 -  :hefdaddy :hefdaddy :hefdaddy

Definitely amazing album, guys, I'm glad you appreciate it too. Pity it doesn't have a huge artbook or something, I would've bought it in a heartbeat.

Unfortunately I didn't connect with this one like you guys did - based on my song ratings I really enjoyed The Call and Triumph of Irreality but that's about the extent of it.   Certainly not a bad album but not something I came back to much.

I agree.

I'm glad I wasn't the only one either.

Well guys, that's the tastes for ya. Can't please everyone, I guess. I just love it and never get tired of it.

Actually, I have a suspicion the next few (three) albums will leave some of following people quite cold, yet I might be wrong, so let's jump up to #7 and see! (At this moment, I'm immensely glad I've done all my writeups in advance, because I've got a hell at work now. Yay.)

#7
On An Island
David Gilmour
Genre: art rock
2006


There are different albums out there. See, there are daring, sad, grandiose, energetic, dark, thought-provoking records, a lot of various stuff on the music scene and in my list both, and then there are those breathtakingly beautiful, serene albums, which are just putting your soul into a state of complete tranquility, and your mind in peace. And I can sincerely claim On An Island is the most beautiful album I’ve ever heard. There are six records I enjoy more, but this is the essence of beauty entwined in music; I don’t even care what genre this album represents. I wrote an ambiguous “art rock” there, but there is progressive rock, blues, I don’t know, this genre can’t be described in the usual terms and expressions. I would’ve put “Gilmour rock” here, but it sounds overly pretentious, so we’ll just stick with art rock. 

David Gilmour is simply my favourite musician in the world right now, there’s just no contest; but if I had to compare him with someone, it would be Mark Knopfler. The comparison isn’t in the amount of albums or anything, it’s clear Knopfler is much more prolific as of now, but it’s just the attitude the music shows. I can’t help but imagine how David is sitting somewhere on an island, resting on a beach marveling at the sunset, in a natural silence around him only with waves flowing and gushing at the coast, of course with his guitar in his hands, improvising and composing what would become On An Island later. And I know there has to be a lot of other equipment, but let’s just imagine he’s playing acoustic guitar. It’s Gilmour, after all, he can make the crabs and fishes on the shore cry and explode with overwhelming emotions after just a few arpeggios. And about that comparison, it’s just Knopfler’s music strikes me the same way, being oblivious about everything else, putting the very soul in music and getting a splendid result, that’s where both those guys exceed at. I guess it’s clear David isn’t doing the music for business and he certainly doesn’t want to rush things and press those albums every other year; On An Island is his soul speaking to us. Developing all those little ideas and flavouring them with his trademark sound, he managed to create a wondrous record, and he has every right to be proud of it. While some bands have the certain contracts with their labels that oblige them to release a studio album, say, every two years, this is not the case here. I can just imagine Gilmour telling the world “hey guys, I’m about to release my new album, got all the material written and ready, now I just need the label to release it”, and in a few hours there is enormous waiting line featuring every existing music label near his house or his studio or wherever he is.

On An Island is a wonderfully relaxed listen. The music is calm and minimalistic, the lyrics are peaceful and sedative; well, the whole record is just a huge effective demulcent, if you want to look at it that way. There are lots of trademark Gilmour solos where he makes his guitar weep, starting with stunning, sprawling notes in instrumental, guitar-oriented Castellorizon, which begins in rather unimpressive, atmospheric ambient way until that famous black Stratocaster makes its presence known. This short yet deeply impressive solo paves the way for a title composition, On An Island. This track represents the whole album in a classy fashion, featuring David Crosby and Graham Nash on backing vocals. The acoustic light-hearted, longing verses and choruses are setting up those climactic, soulful instrumental parts. The song reminds me of Time from Dark Side of the Moon, or Comfortably Numb for that matter, because despite the singing is quite good, what really make these songs shine are the solos between the vocal parts. The closing one is especially great, and though I’m not a fan of fadeouts, it actually works here. Of course I would rather hear this solo going on and on for another couple of minutes, but you can’t have everything.

The next song in a long string of misfortunes of ballads is The Blue, which for me has a distinctive Marooned vibe. It even has the line “still marooned” in the lyrics, and I think Gilmour used the same pedal effect on the solo as he did in Marooned. I may be wrong on this assumption, because I’m not a musician whatsoever, but it makes sense for me. The song paints a nice, evocative picture of a blend of huge dead calm sea stretching before you and endless starry skies above you, colliding on the horizon. It’s just as peaceful as it gets, before the only rocker of the album, called Take a Breath, makes its entrance. This one has a wary approach, keeping the tension up in the air, being the heckler among the hall of perfectly composed and imperturbable British gentlemen. It really feels like some kind of tumult and panic arises on the smooth surface of this musical pond, and at the first listen I started to think maybe this is some kind of breaking point of the record, and now the mayhem and heaviness along with a huge amounts of groove are coming my way, but hell no, I should’ve known better, for Red Sky at Night sets the things right back where they belong. This magnificent, out of this world piece is only three minutes long, but it doesn’t need to be any longer. The beautiful, wistful saxophone melody played by Gilmour himself, and the subtle, dormant keyboard arrangements together weave a canvas of perfection unlike any other, being a precise representation of sunset in music, with its beauty and glory and sadness of another day in your life passing by. Then This Heaven pulls us out of this dreamy reverie right back to where we were, offering the apparent blues influences in another rather energetic song. It’s nothing special, really, yet solid and a good fit into the record, and there is more great guitar playing by Gilmour, which is always welcome.

And with This Heaven ending we’re approaching the next four tunes which I tend to link together for some reason, probably the main cause for it is their ideas and serenity they provide, being alike in the mood. First of them, Then I Close My Eyes is a marvelous instrumental piece. The best way to listen to it would be follow the title advice and just close your eyes while being somewhere far away from home on vacation, either on a seashore or on some clearing in the woods, huddling with your friends around the campfire in the evening. The experience is beyond any description, as is the splendor of this track. The next one, Smile, wasn’t an all new one for ardent fans of David, because he started performing this one live in 2001 and it appeared on his DVD called David Gilmour In Concert. It’s a simple tune, yet it’s just another one you can’t help but imagine playing it somewhere over the countryside, sitting there with your beloved acoustic guitar. This kind of songs are always helpful to have when you need some form of distraction from all the shit happening with you at work or wherever; it’s just a four minutes of heartfelt singing and playing, but the effect is undeniable for me. Then A Pocketful of Stones follows, combining the same calming, careless attitude of Smile with dramatic, thrilling, darker parts during the “Rivers run dry, but there’s no line on his brow, says he doesn’t care who’s saved” lines. Richard Wright’s work during this track is subtle yet impeccable, and the atmosphere changes mostly because of his choice of notes; keyboard makes this track along with the guitar solo bookending the track, which shares the same tension as that part I’ve mentioned, and I think is a bit different from usual Gilmour spacey playing (it doesn’t make it less lovely, though), and after that the album’s closer, Where We Start, rolls in. It’s yet another wistful track and another great representation of an On An Island album in a nutshell. Depicting the romantic walk of two lovers through the forest, Gilmour makes use of both acoustic, electric guitar touches along with lovely keyboard sounds, and the lyrics he written for this song, combined with the way he sings it, are reaching to my very soul. This is the record’s peak of warmth, tenderness and finesse. Watching Remember That Night DVD and seeing the whole crew performing it along with Richard Wright with this keyboard run during the “We waltz in the moonlight and the embers glow” part tend to bring tears to my eyes sometimes since September 2008.

Since I mentioned Remember This Night, we might as well talk about it too, as it is my favourite concert DVD ever. It just has this spark and this total lack of tension in everyone’s performance. All the guys, Gilmour, Wright, Crosby, Nash, el magnifico Mr. Phil Manzanera and other people, they all look like they’re having the best time in their life. Ever.

Oh, and also, the Robert Wyatt’s appearance. Aw.

While I can’t say I’m having the best time in my life watching the whole performance, it’s pretty damn close, actually. I don’t think I can count how many times I’ve watched this DVD, really. It just speaks directly to my heart, both first and second set. Any time I’m going anywhere on my vacation every year I make sure I take my laptop and this DVD with me, and one evening I will just sit there and watch it, once again, delving into this timeless music and expressing our thoughts about how outstanding this concert is. There’s just no better way to spend an evening.

Disclaimer: for the most satisfying experience you should listen to the whole album

Favourite tracks: On An Island, Red Sky at Night, Then I Close My Eyes, Smile, A Pocketful of Stones, Where We Start

And I’m not sure I wrote about it before, but Echoes is my all-time favourite song, and as it appears in Remember That Night, with Richard Wright performing on keyboards, well, this fact played a huge role in RTN being my favourite live DVD ever.
This first band is Soen very cool swingy jazz fusion kinda stuff.

Offline Sacul

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Digesting this album slowly, its starting to reveal itself to me. I love the closer - thanks for recommending it to me. I also love whatever Gilmour does. The man's a god.

Offline mikemangioy

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Just finished listening The Old Man And The Spirit.


 :omg:  :hefdaddy

It needs a couple more spins, but I already can tell that I'll become a fan. Doorway To Salvation  :hefdaddy :hefdaddy :hefdaddy and all the other tracks  :hefdaddy :hefdaddy :hefdaddy
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