ROUND 3 RESULTS
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Ruba – Trouble
1. Pray for the Dead
2. Bastards Will Pay
3. The Tempter
4. The Skull
First impression: The general sound and style was cool and dark, but not sure the music matched up to it.
Final opinion: I understand why you gave this a go, after early doom metal did pretty well in the last round. But I'm afraid it was a bit of a misstep. Not that it's bad, or even mediocre - it's pretty good and still gets over the 7/10 line. It’s just… not that great. In a way, it reminds me of the Slayer submission from round 1. The riffing and the general sound are cool, and enough to make it enjoyable overall. I just don't find it melodically interesting, and the vocals don't do it any favours.
Score: 7.1
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Kwyjibo – Nik Kershaw
1. Dancing Girls
2. I Won't Let The Sun Go Down On Me
3. Human Racing
4. You Might
5. Easy
First impression: I can see what you were going for, but it sounded a bit middle of the road for me.
Final opinion: After such domination in the first two rounds, I can only assume that this misstep was because you felt bad for everyone else and wanted to give them more of a chance. Don’t get me wrong, it has its moments - in particular, I Won’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me is a really good pop song, with catchy hooks and fun little guitar flourishes. And the rest is all perfectly pleasant, I just find it a little… uninspiring maybe? The vocal lines in most of the songs are ok but don’t really draw me in, and Kershaw’s voice does little to make them any more exciting.
Score: 7.5
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Puppies – Dinosaur Jr.
1. Forget the Swan
2. Little Fury Things
3. Sludgefest
4. In a Jar
5. Freak Scene
6. Pond Song
First impression: Hmm, well, there’s plenty to like but mainly I’m just glad that vocals in this genre have since improved.
Final opinion: To be honest, at first I thought this might come last in the round, but I have to say it’s grown on me a fair bit. Or perhaps it’s more accurate to say it’s been up and down. My first and third listens were pretty meh, but on my second and fourth I found myself getting into it quite a lot more, possibly a reflection of how I was feeling at the time. To issue a rating, I’ve gone with the upper end - music can be good for certain moods and not others, and that’s ok. On the good listens, I’ve been digging the general vibe and it’s an interesting and enjoyable insight to the origins of styles that later became very commonplace. The vocals are definitely a bit of a barrier though, I’ve never been a fan of that slightly out-of-tune style and I’m quite glad that a lot of indie/noise rock/etc seems to have recently moved away from it.
Score: 7.7
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Stadler – Billy Squier
1. Lonely is the Night
2. Don’t Say You Love Me
3. Eye on You
4. Too Daze Gone
5. In Your Eyes
First impression: Didn’t sound very distinctive, and yet some of the songs were really nice.
Final opinion: This is an odd submission. I don't really have anything negative to say, but nor do I have very much positive to say. It's solid enough hard rock - well performed, a good sound and some nice ideas. Lonely is the Night, in particular, is great and definitely bolstered the score - strong melodies and emotional without going overboard. The rest are all fine, enjoyable enough, they just don’t really have anything to make them really stand out.
Score: 7.8
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king – Chicago
1. Introduction
2. Make Me Smile
3. So Much to Say, So Much to Give
4. Anxiety’s Moment
5. West Virginia Fantasies
6. Colour My World
7. To Be Free
8. Now More Than Ever
9. 25 or 6 to 4
First impression: There’s something about this that reminds me of what I liked in your first submission.
Final opinion: So I didn't end up loving this as much as I thought I might at first, but I still like it a lot. While the style is different, it has a sort of similar warm-but-whimsical vibe that the Supertramp you sent me in round 1 had, including a nice use of horns. Some of the vocal moments don't really do much for me (for example Colour My World), but others are really good fun (such as Now More Than Ever), and instrumentally the whole thing has lots of charm and energy. All in all it makes for a very enjoyable listen, if perhaps not a mindblowing one.
Score: 8.0
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romdrums – Jean-Luc Ponty
1. Infinite Pursuit
2. Sunset Drive
3. Final Truth, Pt. 1
4. Final Truth, Pt. 2
First impression: Talented playing and a distinct sound - this is more like it as far as this genre goes.
Final opinion: Having not been too kind to jazz fusion in the last round, this is much more my cup of tea. It's intricate and rich in terms of harmony, structure and instrumentation, but it's also quite accessible and has a very pleasant sound to it all. The violin taking the lead also gives it a really interesting and fairly unique vibe, I've heard one or two things vaguely similar before, but nothing quite like it. All of this adds up to something very enjoyable.
Score: 8.1
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Luke – Focus
1. Hocus Pocus
2. Answer? Questions! - Questions? Answer!
First impression: Enjoyably bonkers.
Final opinion: A common view in this thread seems to have been that I must surely already know Hocus Pocus. It’s possible I’ve heard it before, but I honestly didn’t recognise it at all. It is bloody good though. Delightfully mad, full of great and highly entertaining ideas (apparently yodelling in prog works just fine), and yet with a strong sense of melody that keeps it all together. Answer? Questions! - Questions? Answer!, for all that it has a very silly title, is a little more straightforward. It’s still very good, but perhaps leans a bit much into the more indulgent side of 70s prog. I still enjoy it just fine, but I found myself losing interest somewhat on later listens.
Score: 8.1
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jingle – Phil Collins
1. I Don’t Care Anymore
2. Behind the Lines
3. Easy Lover
4. Don’t Lose My Number
5. Take Me Home
First impression: One possible dud, but otherwise a bunch of good, catchy songs.
Final opinion: Interestingly enough, the possible dud ended up not being a dud after all. It was actually Take Me Home, which I guess on first listen sounded a little cheesy and weak coming after songs with so much energy. No doubt, I prefer the first three to the last two. Of the Genesis singers, I know many prefer Gabriel and Collins has a more poppy approach, but I definitely prefer his voice and style. The first three songs here are all quite different, but they're tightly written, have some great tunes and he sings with a lot of character. The hooks aren't nearly as strong in the last two songs, but they're still a nice listen.
Score: 8.1
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Elite – Wes Montgomery
1. West Coast Blues
2. Caravan
3. Sunny
4. Eleanor Rigby
5. Four on Six
First impression: Very nice - chilled but with a fair bit going on.
Final opinion: This is more like it! It’s not one of the jazz styles that I tend to gravitate towards (which are generally on the more energetic side of things, like big band jazz and some more modern fusion stuff), but for this more laid back style, it’s really good. The playing is slick and there’s plenty of activity in the music, but this relaxed vibe throughout as well. It’s not quite the same, but he sort of reminds me of a guitar equivalent of Oscar Peterson, who similarly wrote cool, tasteful music but had that ability to throw in some deceptively fast licks without it feeling that way.
Score: 8.1
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TAC – Boston
1. Rock & Roll Band
2. More Than a Feeling
3. Peace of Mind
4. Foreplay / Long Time
First impression: Wasn’t convinced at first, but this got better with each track.
Final opinion: I was already fairly familiar with More Than a Feeling, although I'd never connected it with Boston. I've liked it when I've heard it, but not really thought more of it. This selection of songs you've sent me, though, is top notch. You'd have scored a little higher if you'd left Rock & Roll Band off - nothing wrong with it, just not that interesting and another good example of a tighter submission being better (not that I expect the fogeys to learn from this!). But the rest are excellent, good song writing, great and memorable tunes, and strong performances all round. Also helped by the singer, who has a lot of energy and charisma but steers clear of the cheesier excesses of some 80s vocalists.
Score: 8.2
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Evermind – Scorpions
1. Yellow Raven
2. When the Smoke is Going Down
3. Still Loving You
First impression: Bold choice to go for a style that I’m not sure has ever scored well in my roulettes.
Final opinion: I was a little cheeky and misleading with my first impression, but the style I was referring to was power ballads by 80s rock bands. Chad had a bad experience trying that in a tie-breaker in my first album roulette, and I think people have generally steered clear of it since. But congratulations on bucking the trend! Turns out I didn’t know Still Loving You after all, but it’s a great song and I can see why it’s popular. On the flipside, turns out I did know Yellow Raven, or at least Pain of Salvation’s cover of it. It’s odd to me that people in this thread questioned its inclusion (not sure what it means for me checking Scorpions out more generally later on) as it’s my favourite here - a very emotive and interesting song. When the Smoke... isn’t quite as good as the others (the guitar solo in particular is… kind of weird) but it’s still nice enough.
Score: 8.2
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wolfking – Magnum
1. Sacred Hour
2. On A Storyteller's Night
3. Vigilante
4. Before First Light
First impression: A good illustration of not needing to do anything fancy to write solid rock songs.
Final opinion: As you know, I’ve heard a few of Magnum’s later albums but not checked out any of their earlier work. These songs are up there with the better ones I’ve heard from them, and make me think I clearly need to revisit them. They’re fairly straightforward - not especially proggy (although I guess the general sound sort of is) and with no particular virtuosic elements, except perhaps the singer - but they’re thoughtfully and interestingly written and have some great hooks. The way they use synthesisers is also really nice, and helps give them their own flavour.
Score: 8.2
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Nekov – Pat Metheny
1. Ozark
2. Yolanda, You Learn
3. The First Circle
4. Eighteen
First impression: Lovely sound and great playing.
Final opinion: In general, this is really lovely stuff, and another example of good quality jazz fusion (of sorts). The overall sound is just great, very immersive and rich, and the performances are all excellent - not overly flashy but very skilled and tasteful. The thing that really elevates this particular submission (over, for example, the Jean-Luc Ponty) is The First Circle, which is one of the very best tracks of the roulette so far. It takes a much more emotive approach and there’s something about the way all the different elements come together that’s just gorgeous and incredibly satisfying.
Score: 8.3
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lonestar – Pete Townshend
1. Rough Boys
2. I Am an Animal
3. Empty Glass
4. Let My Love Open the Door
5. Slit Skirts
First impression: Not the strongest vocally, but the delivery is convincing and the music is mostly great.
Final opinion: Alright, so let me explain my first impression. Firstly, to be clear, when I said “the delivery is convincing”, I was referring mostly to the vocals. He strikes me as the kind of singer who is not especially skilled in a technical sense, but who makes up for it with his conviction and passion, and by writing music that suits it. I feel that way about Roger Waters (among others) and it works for Townshend too. These songs are great, and even the ones that didn’t grab me at first have grown on me a lot since, especially the last two. But I Am an Animal and Empty Glass are the real standouts here. They’re initially deceptive, sounding fairly straightforward, but then really hitting you right in the feels with gorgeous music and such emotional delivery.
Score: 8.3
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Buddy – Comus
1. The Herald
2. Song to Comus
First impression: Mysterious and eerie and pretty cool.
Final opinion: This was a real grower. Obviously I liked it from the start, as the first impression was positive, but it went from pretty cool to bloody good. The whole vibe is just really intriguing - on the surface a lot of it sounds ostensibly quite upbeat, but there’s an eerie undercurrent that’s just slightly unsettling, which only rears its head into actual weirdness in the odd moment but which makes the whole thing feel kind of creepy. But that balances nicely with the fact that, because it’s quite upbeat on the surface, there are plenty of quite enjoyable and melodic moments as well. I can see why Mikael Åkerfeldt quotes them as an influence on the folkier side of Opeth’s music, even though the two aren’t really anything alike.
Score: 8.3
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HOF – Journey
1. Still They Ride
2. Edge of the Blade
3. Only the Young
4. Mother, Father
First impression: More serious and heartfelt than I expected.
Final opinion: Like many plebs, pretty much the only thing I knew about Journey before this roulette was Don't Stop Believin' (the other thing I knew was that Steve Smith is also an accomplished jazz drummer). So I was prepared for a cheesefest, but that wasn't what I got at all. For sure the general style was aligned to my expectations, but I wasn't aware of how sincere and thoughtful their songwriting is, at least based on these songs. All four of these are great in different ways - Still They Ride is delicate and kind of romantic really, Edge of the Blade rocks, Only the Young is poppy and catchy, and Mother, Father has a wonderfully restrained intensity to it that provides a gorgeous contrast to the grand choruses.
Score: 8.3
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Cyril – Elton John
1. Crocodile Rock
2. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
3. Rocket Man (I Think It’s Going To Be A Long, Long Time)
4. Funeral For a Friend / Love Lies Bleeding
First impression: This was great - varied, catchy and surprisingly rocking.
Final opinion: I feel a little silly for having never really paid much to Elton John’s music. Rocket Man is the only one here where I’m particularly familiar with the original, as it’s been in so many movies and TV shows. But it’s been nice to give the whole song a proper listen - it’s rather lovely really, quite tender. At the other end of things, Crocodile Rock is the only one I wasn’t familiar with at all. It’s the weakest here, but it’s still good fun and has some very catchy themes within it. The other two I was aware of through cover versions - I love The Dear Hunter’s Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, and obviously DT’s ACOS cover of Funeral For a Friend / Love Lies Bleeding is pretty great too. These are the real standouts here, absolutely cracking songs. Other than the slightly older production (obviously) and not having Casey Crescenzo’s powerful voice, these originals are just as punchy and exciting as the covers.
Score: 8.4
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Sacul – Mike Oldfield
1. Ommadawn Pt. 1
First impression: Wow, this was quite a journey!
Final opinion: Damn, this is fantastic and the best submission of the roulette so far. I'm vaguely familiar with Tubular Bells from school music class many years ago, but I never bothered to check Oldfield out properly. This is just so rich and intricate. Long instrumental works like this can drag sometimes, but not this one. It doesn't jump around too much - the piece has a very natural flow to it - but it's varied and definitely goes on a journey. Similarly, I've heard other works (dare I say, including some of your past submissions) that have also been well-developed and well-produced, but seem to neglected melody. The great thing is that it has that too, and there are so many wonderfully lush melodies and harmonies throughout. Perhaps more than any other submission, this also benefits from the currently-available version being a more recent mix - makes me wonder if I should give other 70s and 80s albums I’d written off another chance.
Score: 8.7
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Topic: ariich’s fogey roulette (v7) – FINAL RESULTS (Read 65074 times)
