Your controversial opinions/thoughts on music

[romdrums]

I bought Selling England By The Pound for $5. Yuck.

Not enough dairy for you?

[cramx3]

....and none were given.

 

[The Walrus]

I bought Selling England By The Pound for $5. Yuck.

Not enough dairy for you?

  TOO much dairy!

[Crow]

John Petrucci can play guitar.

Pink Floyd released Dark Side of the Moon.

Justin Bieber is Canadian.

[Podaar]

I bought Selling England By The Pound for $5. Yuck.

Someone owes you $3.71 change.

[TAC]

First Kev, now Podaar...

I'm with TAC

[King Postwhore]

You must have rub n tug videos on them.

[pg1067]

Yeah, I think I'll have to agree with Genesis being really bad as well. I've tried many times to see what folks like Stadler see and always end up confused and frustrated. Take their definitive epic "Supper's Ready", I've probably heard it 100 times and it still sounds like a cobbled up mess.

In other words, I'm with TAC on this one. 

The Cinema Show?  No?   The live In The Cage Medley from 3SL?  No?

Gabriel era Genesis is seriously hit or miss.  I haven't heard Supper's Ready 100 times, but it's never connected with me.  The instrumental part of The Cinema Show is great; the beginning is fine but nothing great.  The Firth of Fifth is great.  20% of The Lamb is great, but most of it is nonsense.

Genesis from and after the self-titled album is 90% schlock.

The five album run from A Trick of the Tail through Abacab (plus side 4 of 3SL) is as good a run as any run by any band.  The 3SL In the Cage Medley might be my favorite keyboard song of all time.

That being said, as a whole, Yes >>>>> Genesis.

[TAC]

You must have rub n tug videos on them.

They were just "to monitor".

[ReaperKK]

A little off topic but if I were to listen to one Genesis album which one should it be?

[Cool Chris]

Who's Next is one of the landmark, elite, Mt Rushmore albums of the classic rock era. Quadrophenia is a masterpiece of songwriting and performance, and one of the best concept/story albums ever. And here comes the controversial part... These two albums are miles (I can see for miles and miles and miles and miles.....) above and beyond Tommy in every single way. Tommy has a couple of cool songs and starts off strong, but the whole second half is a bore until the final song. Even Pinball Wizard is in the middle of the pack of all The Who's songs.

I used to listen to the crap out of these three albums (though it took me a while to fully appreciate Quadrophenia). Now it and Who's Next are still as fresh as anything from that era, and Tommy sounds dated, stale, and drab by comparison.

A little off topic but if I were to listen to one Genesis album which one should it be?

The shortest one.

[DTA]

A little off topic but if I were to listen to one Genesis album which one should it be?

A Trick Of The Tail is their best imo

[Fritzinger]

A little off topic but if I were to listen to one Genesis album which one should it be?

Selling England By The Pound.

[Max Kuehnau]

A little off topic but if I were to listen to one Genesis album which one should it be?

Selling England By The Pound.

that's cool, but I actually like them all and both The Lamb, Foxtrot and Duke are my favourites

[The Walrus]

Please don't listen to SEBTP

[romdrums]

Please don't listen to Kattleox

FTFY.

In all seriousness, start with anything from the Hackett era (Nursery Cryme through Wind and Wuthering) except Lamb and you should be good.  Selling England and Trick of the Tail are probably the best places to start, but any choice from that run would be fine. The Lamb is great, but it's kind of its own thing.

[Stadler]

Yeah, I think I'll have to agree with Genesis being really bad as well. I've tried many times to see what folks like Stadler see and always end up confused and frustrated. Take their definitive epic "Supper's Ready", I've probably heard it 100 times and it still sounds like a cobbled up mess.

In other words, I'm with TAC on this one. 

The Cinema Show?  No?   The live In The Cage Medley from 3SL?  No?

Gabriel era Genesis is seriously hit or miss.  I haven't heard Supper's Ready 100 times, but it's never connected with me.  The instrumental part of The Cinema Show is great; the beginning is fine but nothing great.  The Firth of Fifth is great.  20% of The Lamb is great, but most of it is nonsense.

Genesis from and after the self-titled album is 90% schlock.

The five album run from A Trick of the Tail through Abacab (plus side 4 of 3SL) is as good a run as any run by any band.  The 3SL In the Cage Medley might be my favorite keyboard song of all time.

That being said, as a whole, Yes >>>>> Genesis.

I sent that In The Cage Medley (that specific version) to TAC as "my favorite three minutes of recorded music of all time" (it's actually four minutes, but who's counting).   

I think I agree on the hit or miss aspect of the Gabriel era, and I would go farther to say that IN EVERY CASE, the Phil versions of the Gabriel era songs are better.

I disagree with the "schlock" comment, though.  There are moments - That's All (HATE that song), Land Of Confusion, Hold On My Heart - but the epics are just as good, in my opinion (my beef is with the sound, not the writing or performance). 

[Stadler]

A little off topic but if I were to listen to one Genesis album which one should it be?

Trust me on this:   Wind and Wuthering or Duke.    Then from there you can decide which direction you want to go.  Starting with The Lamb is like getting into Dream Theater and starting with "The Astonishing".   Starting with SEBTP is like starting with Falling Into Infinity.   I would go with the transition records (the last with Hackett and the second without) to see the essence of the band.   

It helps that probably a third of both records are instrumental, so that if the "Phil" voice bugs you you can still have some meat to digest.   

[KevShmev]

I think A Trick of the Tail is a great starter.  It's still pretty heavy on the prog and has a lot of catchiness to it.  As much as I love The Lamb, that kind of double album is pretty daunting as a starter.   Selling England is great, and has arguably their two best songs, but I find the flow to be weird.  Duke would also be a good starter.

[Ninjabait]

A little off topic but if I were to listen to one Genesis album which one should it be?

Honestly, I'd say you should treat the two "eras" almost like different bands and pick two albums to listen to.

For the first proggy Gabriel era, I'd say listen to Selling England by the Pound or Trick of the Tail is the best option. The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway is the worst starter by far.

For the second poppy Collins era (which imo is the better one), tbh just go for a greatest hits album. It gives you a good overview of what they're all about and you can use that as a spring board for checking out their other stuff.

[Ruba]

Cathedral Spires is a top 10 Judas Priest song. Tends to be overlooked because of the whole Jugulator / Demolition era (Jugulator isn't even that bad), but it's outstanding. Tim is a King among men in that song.

I'm a Priest newb, but yes, that song is amazing!

[ReaperKK]

A Trick of the Tail it is, I'm going to check it out tomorrow.

[pg1067]

A little off topic but if I were to listen to one Genesis album which one should it be?

I'd go with A Trick of the Tail or Duke.

[pg1067]

I sent that In The Cage Medley (that specific version) to TAC as "my favorite three minutes of recorded music of all time" (it's actually four minutes, but who's counting).   

I think I agree on the hit or miss aspect of the Gabriel era, and I would go farther to say that IN EVERY CASE, the Phil versions of the Gabriel era songs are better.

I disagree with the "schlock" comment, though.  There are moments - That's All (HATE that song), Land Of Confusion, Hold On My Heart - but the epics are just as good, in my opinion (my beef is with the sound, not the writing or performance).

I did a double take on reading the 3-4 minutes statements.  I kinda view side 3 after Misunderstanding as a single medley (although I know it's not).  Is the part that's not In the Cage or Afterglow really only 4 minutes?  If so, that's one of the most satisfying 4 minutes in the history of rock music.

Your comments about the post-Abacab era and the beef being with the sound rather than the writing/performance reflect how I view Rush's Grace Under Pressure, Power Windows and Hold Your Fire.  With better instrumentation and production, many of the songs of that era that I don't like probably could be a lot better.

Starting with The Lamb is like getting into Dream Theater and starting with "The Astonishing".   Starting with SEBTP is like starting with Falling Into Infinity.

Those are damn good analogies (although, if TA had 1/4 of the weirdness that's on the Lamb, I think it might have connected with me a lot more).

[bosk1]

Well, I also consider myself part of the crowd that just doesn't really like most "classic prog."  I can appreciate most of it.  But it just isn't something I enjoy listening to.  I am grateful for the influence it has had on bands I really enjoy, like DT, Neal Morse, and Transatlantic, to name a few.  But I don't care for it.  Early Genesis definitely falls into that category, at least what I have heard from them.

[Cool Chris]

Well, I also consider myself part of the crowd that just doesn't really like most "classic prog."  I can appreciate most of it.  But it just isn't something I enjoy listening to.  I am grateful for the influence it has had on bands I really enjoy, like DT, Neal Morse, and Transatlantic, to name a few.  But I don't care for it.  Early Genesis definitely falls into that category, at least what I have heard from them.

Count me in as well.

[Crow]

i don't like classic prog, contemporary prog, OR neo-prog! i hate everything 
i actually just don't like most "prog rock" as a whole tbh. metal is where it's at for me. most modern prog rock is really samey aping of the classic prog sounds with no twist whatsoever so it's just like... if i wanted this at all i'd listen to the classics instead

[cramx3]

i don't like classic prog, contemporary prog, OR neo-prog! i hate everything 
i actually just don't like most "prog rock" as a whole tbh. metal is where it's at for me. most modern prog rock is really samey aping of the classic prog sounds with no twist whatsoever so it's just like... if i wanted this at all i'd listen to the classics instead

Yea, I'm a metalhead.  I like my prog infused with metal but when it's just prog I am not that interested, I find it a bit boring for my tastes really.  I need the heaviness to get the blood flowing.

[Stadler]

If I said this before, I apologize, but as much as I love certain prog - Genesis, Yes (I met Jon Anderson a few weeks ago, and I felt like i was in the presence of royalty), ELP, Marillion, Crimson... but when I don't like it, I REALLY don't like it.  I don't need to name names, but there is some prog that is just... ugh.   Even the bands I love, their moments can be cringe-worthy ("More Fool Me", "Circus Of Heaven", "Arriving UFO", "Benny The Bouncer"...).

[cramx3]

My favorite band, Iron Maiden, has a song that I find to be one of the worst pieces of music I have ever heard (The Angel and the Gambler) so I find it totally fine to say bands you love can also produce some shitty music (I know your bigger point was about prog but it made me think about the smaller point and this song just immediately comes to mind)

[ReaperKK]

i don't like classic prog, contemporary prog, OR neo-prog! i hate everything 
i actually just don't like most "prog rock" as a whole tbh. metal is where it's at for me. most modern prog rock is really samey aping of the classic prog sounds with no twist whatsoever so it's just like... if i wanted this at all i'd listen to the classics instead

I like my prog infused with metal but when it's just prog I am not that interested

I feel pretty much the same.

[ThatOneGuy2112]

I feel almost the opposite. Most prog metal just bores me these days, with some exceptions (DT obviously, BTBAM, and some of Devin's work just to name a few).

I usually get more mileage out of bands that rode just the edge of your "traditional prog" circle. Pink Floyd, King Crimson, Rush, The Mars Volta. Most of these bands have enough prog elements that draw my ears, but not so much that they become a cliche of themselves.

Not to say that bands in that traditional prog circle do. I love me some Yes and Genesis. But it intrigues me more to hear bands who worked the prog blueprint into something their own.

[ytserush]

Generally to pull off any Gabriel-Genesis off of the shelf except at a very odd moments.

My heavy Genesis listening is post-Gabriel, Gabriel solo, Hackett solo and the first two Collins albums (and his big band album.)

[Stadler]

One thing I do know for me?  I tend to go back to where I came in, in the sense of...   I got into Yes by listening to their 70's material, up through Drama.  Going For The One is my favorite album of all time.  I got into Genesis by getting "Abacab" and "Three Sides Live", as well as seeing the "In Concert" film.  My favorite Genesis era is "The Lamb" through "3SL".   I got into Rush around the time of Signals and Power Windows, and the run of A Farewell To Kings through Signals is by far my favorite.  Maiden, Priest, Kiss, all the same.   There are exceptions of course, but those are the records that just resonate. 

[Ninjabait]

Ooh, I've got a new one: most metal covers of pop and "mainstream" rock songs are usually terrible. I think it's because the original choice of chords, lyrics, and melodies convey a sense of brightness and joy and that doesn't really work well when you slap super distorted guitars, fast drumming, and screamed/growled vocals underneath it. I don't think I've heard a metal cover of a pop song that I would say unquestionably improved on the original. Very few are even on par with the original.