Defend The Indefensible: Rick Wakeman

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"Jamming"? Come on, Ned, admit it: the solos on "Roundabout" and "Close To the Edge" JAM.

― Naive Teen Idol (Naive Teen Idol), Tuesday, 16 November 2004 17:00 (8 years ago) Permalink

His playing on the above cited hit albums is downright awesome. I think Yes got a lot BETTER when he joined -- the guy before him sounded like a boring, second-rate jazz school student (though there was probably no jazz school at the time). Is this enough to forgive him for convincing Yes to include his Brahms arrangement on Fragile? Perhaps not.

― Hurting (Hurting), Tuesday, 16 November 2004 18:25 (8 years ago) Permalink

But a truly indefensible pick would, yes, be Tony Kaye.

― Naive Teen Idol (Naive Teen Idol), Tuesday, 16 November 2004 18:33 (8 years ago) Permalink

Yup, that's the guy. Thanks.

― Hurting (Hurting), Tuesday, 16 November 2004 20:03 (8 years ago) Permalink

Tony Kaye pre-1973 = very defensible
Tony Kaye 1987-onwards = indefensible, except for being a rock star with premature greyish-white hair

― Joe (Joe), Wednesday, 17 November 2004 03:11 (8 years ago) Permalink

His piano parts on Bowie's Hunky Dory were neat, and he didn't write the lyrics to "Owner Of A Lonely Heart"

― donut bitch (donut), Wednesday, 17 November 2004 03:48 (8 years ago) Permalink

As for Wakeman:

Prosecutor:

1) Most of his solo albums are pretty terrible, and I would include Journey to the Center of the Earth in the list. King Arthur has some decent moments and beautiful melodies, but a lot of it is either mediocre or bad--the vocals, the lyrics, the choirs shouting "Fight! Fight!" in irregular time. And albums like these don't even begin to scrape the surface of his really bad solo albums, the ones nobody knows about like: A Suite of Gods, Cost of Living, "Crimes of Passion"

2) For all claims of being a virtuoso, he is really a pretty limited virtuoso (i.e., relative to, say Keith Emerson, Patrick Moraz, a number of other keysman from that era).

3) He doesn't care for Tales from Topographic Oceans and he likes golf. :)

Defense:

1) Excepting Keith Emerson, there aren't many other people you could reasonably claim was a more influential (taking into account popular recognition and commercial success as well) person in defining the 'rock keyboardist' thang during the early 70s. Whenever you see someone today with a cadre of stacked keyboards (which, let's face it, is pretty much everyone), Wakeman was the guy at the forefront of doing that.

2) The aforementioned piano middle in "South Side of the Sky" (shivers).

3) I'd say Six Wives and Criminal Record at least are decent efforts.

4) Prog rock meets the Ice Follies wasn't really his fault (in that he had to accomodate the venue, which had an ice show going on).

5) The view of him as an aloof, cape-wearing prick is shredding paper tigers, at least going on for the past two decades plus. By all accounts, with perhaps the exception of the drummer, Wakeman is easily the most approachable and down-to-earth member of Yes.

― Joe (Joe), Wednesday, 17 November 2004 03:48 (8 years ago) Permalink

That's all very well-put, Joe. But tell me: what exactly is defensible about Tony Kaye ca. 1973? I mean, he was pretty fucking useless for the duration...

― Naive Teen Idol (Naive Teen Idol), Wednesday, 17 November 2004 03:52 (8 years ago) Permalink

I don't think Kaye was ever a stellar player, but I love his Hammon sound and thought his work on the first three albums, constrained to the organ and piano, 'fit' very well. The Yes Album is one in particular...Kaye's playing there is very well-integrated with the rest of the band, less flashy than Wakeman and more 'team playing'.

― Joe (Joe), Wednesday, 17 November 2004 04:01 (8 years ago) Permalink

Sure. I'd also say it was boring as piss.

― Naive Teen Idol (Naive Teen Idol), Wednesday, 17 November 2004 04:26 (8 years ago) Permalink

Well yeah, it was boring as piss if you're spending a whole Yes song straining to hear a Hammond solo to compare it to Wakeman. Joe's last post OTM. And Tony Kaye > Rick Wakeman because of the uber-virtuosic road Wakeman led Yes down. And upgrade your browser already so AMG won't crash it. Jerk.

― wetmink (wetmink), Wednesday, 17 November 2004 05:18 (8 years ago) Permalink

And Tony Kaye > Rick Wakeman because of the uber-virtuosic road Wakeman led Yes down.

I'll take that road over the Time and a Word road any day, thanks. At least it's not, well, boring as piss.

And I DID upgrade my browser -- AMG just doesn't work on Safari that well (no cookies, apparently). It's only when I look at it on my PC that I remember how much the new version blows.

― Naive Teen Idol (Naive Teen Idol), Wednesday, 17 November 2004 05:21 (8 years ago) Permalink

What ruined Time and a Word were generally uninspired songs and the lame orchestral contribution. But compare "Starship Trooper" on The Yes Album with the one on Yessongs - the original works much better without the superfluous Wakemanisms.

― wetmink (wetmink), Wednesday, 17 November 2004 05:26 (8 years ago) Permalink

Yeah, but "Perpetual Change" and "Yours Is No Disgrace" are both vastly superior on Yessongs, so there you have it...

― Naive Teen Idol (Naive Teen Idol), Wednesday, 17 November 2004 05:28 (8 years ago) Permalink

one CLASSIC story i heard about wakeman -- how during one really long yes live song, he got bored and ordered some roadie to get him a curry and proceeded to eat said curry. i even hear that this antic was at least indirectly responsible for him getting booted out (or maybe it was his vocal dislike for topographic oceans).

that he's the most down-to-earth yes-man is nice, but kinda beside the point -- isn't the POINT of yes that they're NOT down-to-earth? if i had to spend time with a yes-er, i'd actually rather spend time talking w/ jon anderson (even if 99.999% of what would come outta his mouth would be new agey malarkey) or drinking w/ chris squire.

this 1984 concept-album sounds pretty interesting, at least as kevin describes it. chaka khan -- SCREAMING orwell vocals?!? how could you NOT wanna hear that?!?

― Eisbär (llamasfur), Wednesday, 17 November 2004 05:29 (8 years ago) Permalink

I can't defend him. I remember listening to "Six Wives of Henry the Eighth I Am" and going, hmm. OK, he does seem down-to-earth. His keyboards on that Bowie song are great. He's not terrible on "Fragile" and he makes some cool *noises*. The "solos," well, I think it's shit. Steve Howe is what made Yes, pure and simple, and it would've been ten times better had they had two guitar players actually. The keyboard shit seems almost completely extraneous. Every prog band had to have a keyboardist--the guy in Genesis was actually pretty good, Tony Banks. But what do I know, my idea of a good keyboard player is Allen Toussaint or Earl Hines or Jimmy Rowles, Monk and Jerry Lee Lewis.

― eddie hurt (ddduncan), Wednesday, 17 November 2004 14:57 (8 years ago) Permalink

> Technical ability does not make a good artist though ... sometimes he is the keyboard's Jimi Hendrix.

If you honestly think that Hendrix was all about technique and not songwriting, then you simply can't have properly listened to him. In three years, Jimi recorded far more worthwhile music than Wakeman managed in thirty.

― Palomino (Palomino), Thursday, 18 November 2004 00:09 (8 years ago) Permalink

How should I listen to it? Standing on my head? While reading about how influential he is? While trying to play along on a guitar?

― Kevin Gilchrist (Mr Fusion), Thursday, 18 November 2004 01:13 (8 years ago) Permalink

But Wakeman's breaks on Roundabout are so fuckin cool!

― Hurting (Hurting), Thursday, 18 November 2004 01:37 (8 years ago) Permalink

Yeah!

― Naive Teen Idol (Naive Teen Idol), Thursday, 18 November 2004 01:43 (8 years ago) Permalink

The best of those kinds of stories is about Rick Wakeman of Yes ordering a curry and eating it during a Bill Bruford drum symphony or sumthin'.
-- Dadaismus (kcoyne3...), October 23rd, 2003.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

But that Rick Wakeman story is true - I had an old biography of his which tells the tale.
It was the "Tales from topographic oceans" tour and during one interminable song, Rick mouthed to his keyboard roadie - who sat under the stage keeping his Moogs in tune - that he fancied a curry later. Said roadie mishears and disappears for fifteen minutes, returning with a big bag of curry, rice, popadums, bhahis etc, which Rick proceeds to eat during a drum solo. Chris Squier was annoyed about it at the time, but Jon Anderson enjoyed it so much he came over and shared a popadum and bhaji.

(It didn't help that Rick was the only non-veggie in the band at the time so he couldn't really share the chicken vindaloo with the others).

Sorry, X-post again.

-- Rob M (durutti24...), October 23rd, 2003.

― Eisbär (llamasfur), Thursday, 18 November 2004 02:19 (8 years ago) Permalink

dave q to thread!!

― geeta (geeta), Thursday, 18 November 2004 02:49 (8 years ago) Permalink

Wakeman not being a vegetarian = awesome.

― Ian John50n (orion), Thursday, 18 November 2004 03:26 (8 years ago) Permalink

I wish I could post a link to an audio clip of me attempting to sing the Wakeman parts from Roundabout, which is what I would be over-excitedly doing right now if this was a real life conversation.

― Hurting (Hurting), Thursday, 18 November 2004 04:00 (8 years ago) Permalink

What about the robo-surf synth break in Close to the Edge after Jon Anderson does the really long dramatic build-up (I get up/I get down etc.)? So AWESOME!

― Hurting (Hurting), Thursday, 18 November 2004 04:02 (8 years ago) Permalink

Wakeman not being a vegetarian = awesome.

Macrobiotic, dude. Macrobiotic.

― Naive Teen Idol (Naive Teen Idol), Thursday, 18 November 2004 04:30 (8 years ago) Permalink

Eisbar, seems like the curry thing happened *on* the THTO tour during a long section where he had no part to play. Indeed classic.

― Rickey Wright (Rrrickey), Thursday, 18 November 2004 07:23 (8 years ago) Permalink

Whoops, sorry, missed previous post addressing this.

― Rickey Wright (Rrrickey), Thursday, 18 November 2004 07:25 (8 years ago) Permalink

Yes threads are some of my favorite things on ILM 'cause I like those guys just fine but really have no dog in this fight. Love reading the opinions of those who do, though.

― Rickey Wright (Rrrickey), Thursday, 18 November 2004 07:41 (8 years ago) Permalink

"Send an instant korma to me/Initial it with loving care . . . "

― Rickey Wright (Rrrickey), Thursday, 18 November 2004 07:48 (8 years ago) Permalink

The weirdest line in that song is "Just remember that the goal is for us all to capture all we want". It doesn't even seem to be used in a critical or satirical sense AFAICT. Didn't it occur to anyone that this might be a little contradictory to the overall message of the song. Actually the lyrics to that song are pretty weird on the whole - all that chess imagery and "use me any time you want" stuff.

I can't fucking believe the shit that the keyboardist on the glorious Yes Album is taking. Joe v OTM - what he played was perfect for those songs, whereas Wakeman could sometimes be really intrusive and overbearing. The organs and the jam on "Good People"! The organ riff on "Starship Trooper"! Also Moraz deserves major props.

Despite Wakeman's flaws, mind you, no one who played "South Side of the Sky" and "Siberian Khatru" is anything close to indefensible. He did get some classic sounds out of the keyboard - I love his bits on "And You and I" and nick is right about the synth float on "Heart of the Sunrise". And I'm surprised Ned doesn't even like "Long Distance Runaround".

― sundar subramanian (sundar), Thursday, 18 November 2004 08:44 (8 years ago) Permalink

i heard another story about wakeman torturing audiences with ridiculously high frequencies; is this true?

― jake b. (cerybut), Thursday, 18 November 2004 09:27 (8 years ago) Permalink

when i saw him it was the opposite - at one point he was almost inducing chest cavity resonance with slow-decay high-resonance filter-sweeps on 32'/sawtooth set minimoog oscillators...
god it was wonderful

― Snowy Mann (rdmanston), Thursday, 18 November 2004 11:22 (8 years ago) Permalink

(i always thought moraz much more towards the high-pitched squealy end of things - i haven't listened to 'relayer' for about 28 years, but the tendency is also all over his semi-mentalist 'story of i' 1st solo album)

(which nonetheless has an amazing first couple of minutes....as if Propaganda/ZTT had appeared 10 yrs earlier as mid-70's south american prog-rockers !)

― Snowy Mann (rdmanston), Thursday, 18 November 2004 11:33 (8 years ago) Permalink

The organ riff on "Starship Trooper"!

That's three chords — and Kaye didn't even write them.

― Naive Teen Idol (Naive Teen Idol), Thursday, 18 November 2004 15:18 (8 years ago) Permalink

Wakeman still has tea & biscuits with his keyboard tech during Alan White's drum solo on "Ritual", I think. Its become a tradition.

― Jay Vee (Manon_70), Thursday, 18 November 2004 16:13 (8 years ago) Permalink

no mention of his other 'classic' of the era - no earthly connection.

this along with Wives, and King Arthur are 3 wonderfully OTT albums for when your 14>16 and haven't discovered Foetus/ON-U Sound yet

.. then to be hidden deep in the archive forever after.

he was also one of the first Rock stars to ever respond to a sad fanboy letter ..

i'm revealing wayyyy too much here .. but hey ..

and live in 1984 Braford St Georges hall - he was quality (again, i was still within the predefined 14-16 years of age)

but damn - when the dude is bad he is seriously bad .. 'rock-n-roll prophet' album .. WTF ..

― mark e (mark e), Thursday, 18 November 2004 16:41 (8 years ago) Permalink

Three chords and the truth, man!

― sundar subramanian (sundar), Thursday, 18 November 2004 18:27 (8 years ago) Permalink

the keyb solo sounds like a harpsichord on "Sibertian Khatru" is indeed fine. That song is a masterpiece all around, actually. i actually found an old, scratchy copy of "Six Wives" yesterday in a box stored for years and it's...fun...

and while Tony Kaye was sort of neutral, I like that Hammond sound he got on "Yes Album," and "Yours is No Disgrace" does utilize the I-IV-VII progression (I think it's B-flat pedal tone with B-flat/E-flat-B-flat 7 sus 4 there) well.

― eddie hurt (ddduncan), Thursday, 18 November 2004 19:08 (8 years ago) Permalink

A monkey could've played it.

― Naive Teen Idol (Naive Teen Idol), Thursday, 18 November 2004 19:12 (8 years ago) Permalink

i wish there were more monkeys playing music, actually.

― eddie hurt (ddduncan), Thursday, 18 November 2004 19:17 (8 years ago) Permalink

And I'm surprised Ned doesn't even like "Long Distance Runaround".

It's sorta goofy.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 18 November 2004 19:21 (8 years ago) Permalink

it is goofy. I do like the beginning bit, though, that's kind of cool. It's funny to me, they way they try to funkify the backing tracks with that drum/bass interaction.

― eddie hurt (ddduncan), Thursday, 18 November 2004 19:32 (8 years ago) Permalink

A monkey could've played it.

A MONKEY, eh. Apparently you've never heard Kaye on 9012Live: The Solos.

― savetherobot, Thursday, 18 November 2004 19:49 (8 years ago) Permalink

Oh but I have — but of course we're making the same point. Look, I'm fine w/ people saying Kaye didn't screw things up like Wakeman maybe did or didn't, depending on your taste. But to sit there and say, "Those three chords he played on organ there are truly the bee's knees"? I mean, seriously — give me a fucking break. That's like complimenting a session drummer for managing to keep time. Yay.

― Naive Teen Idol (Naive Teen Idol), Thursday, 18 November 2004 19:58 (8 years ago) Permalink

NTI, you are unnecessarily harsh on Tony Kaye.

Give it up for the white-haired wonder!

― wetmink (wetmink), Thursday, 18 November 2004 20:30 (8 years ago) Permalink

I mean, look at that shirt!

― wetmink (wetmink), Thursday, 18 November 2004 20:39 (8 years ago) Permalink

I'm w/Sundar & Eddie & all the other folks who rate The Yes Album uber alles and preferred Tony Kaye's minimal contributions because of the less-obtrusiveness factor. No question Wakeman was a better player and a major component of those twin '72 masterpieces, but he could be obnoxious at times: One of the best things about his "Close To The Edge" Hammond solo is the respite it provides after many minutes of "I Get Up I Get Down"'s near-painful sustained cathedral-organ chords.

I admit I haven't heard Rick's solo LPs, but only because I don't want to.

― Myonga Von Bontee (Myonga Von Bontee), Thursday, 18 November 2004 20:45 (8 years ago) Permalink

NTI, you are unnecessarily harsh on Tony Kaye.

I have nothing against Tony Kaye. I do, however, find the notion of praising his abilities to be patently ludicrous on its face. The guy stayed out of the way — that's it, folks.

― Naive Teen Idol (Naive Teen Idol), Thursday, 18 November 2004 20:55 (8 years ago) Permalink

Yeah, I mean, seriously, that's true. Wakeman is a more skilled player and more entertaining to watch. But on the other hand, as generally agreed, to some people's tastes there's something to be said to Yes as a whole without Wakeman. I'm just sort of jokingly lionizing Tony Kaye as an anti-Wakeman.

― wetmink (wetmink), Thursday, 18 November 2004 20:59 (8 years ago) Permalink

Skipping 22 messages at this point... Click here if you want to load them all.

er, lol?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3IHVdG3rKqE

― gershy, Monday, 26 May 2008 06:30 (4 years ago) Permalink

Reminds me of somebody but I can't put my finger on it.

― Noodle Vague, Monday, 26 May 2008 18:37 (4 years ago) Permalink

Rick Wakeman, per chance?

― t**t, Monday, 26 May 2008 18:58 (4 years ago) Permalink

Or Gandalf the Grey with a reddish Rick Wakeman mane photoshopped unto 'im?

― t**t, Monday, 26 May 2008 19:00 (4 years ago) Permalink

('m making them silly jokeses just to alleviate the strain of awaitin' my cd copy of six wiveses, which i orderered on teh cheap, to arrive...)

― t**t, Monday, 26 May 2008 19:03 (4 years ago) Permalink

there some super funky shit on journey to the centre of the earth and no earthly connection.

― chaki, Monday, 26 May 2008 19:06 (4 years ago) Permalink

one of my first threads *tear*
Taking Sides! Rick Wakemen vs. Keith Emerson!

― chaki, Monday, 26 May 2008 19:07 (4 years ago) Permalink

All I'll say is he plays an INSANE keyboard. In fact two at the same time. I'm just echoing the sentiments of various youtube viewers but Rick can play, he's adventurous musically but I feel that you really shouldn't ignore the fact that he destroyed Yes because he did it so spectacularly.

― VeronaInTheClub, Monday, 26 May 2008 19:23 (4 years ago) Permalink

(pace the thread header, i WOULD kinda want to hear mr. wakeman's take on dizzee rascal).

― Eisbaer, Tuesday, 27 May 2008 05:04 (4 years ago) Permalink

Beck?

― Autumn Almanac, Tuesday, 27 May 2008 11:07 (4 years ago) Permalink

Rick creates a riotous pastiche of his extraordinary life and escapades

Eh?

― Ned Trifle II, Tuesday, 27 May 2008 11:19 (4 years ago) Permalink

― James Redd and the Blecchs, Tuesday, 27 May 2008 16:46 (4 years ago) Permalink

What Yes albums does he play on? When were they destroyed?

― filthy dylan, Tuesday, 27 May 2008 17:17 (4 years ago) Permalink

there some super funky shit on journey to the centre of the earth and no earthly connection.

totally insane that the brilliant No Earthly Connection is STILL unavailable on cd. that needs fucking sorting out.

― mark e, Tuesday, 27 May 2008 18:41 (4 years ago) Permalink

but I feel that you really shouldn't ignore the fact that he destroyed Yes because he did it so spectacularly.

Yes, we should. Nonsensical claim. Wakeman's part & parcel with the crew of over-the-top keyboard players working in Britain at the time: Keith Emerson -- ELP sold even more than Yes, Wakeman, and Vincent Crane, who never enjoyed much commercial success.

As for the classic Yes albums with Wakeman on them -- Fragile, Close to the Edge, Yessongs are great. Tales not so much although it's not his fault. Yes with Tony Kaye -- the first two can be passed on although the cover of "Every Little Thing" starts getting into the territory of righteous. The tunes arrive for Yes Album but not because of the keyboard player.

― Gorge, Tuesday, 27 May 2008 19:39 (4 years ago) Permalink

Going for the One's awesome too. Wakeman was back in the fold for that one after taking the (incredible) Relayer off. Whoever says he destroyed Yes has no idea what he's talking about.

― Bill Magill, Tuesday, 27 May 2008 19:54 (4 years ago) Permalink

Rick Wakeman is a genius and the main reason why Yes were so great in the 70s.

Solo Wakeman is largely indefensible though.

― Geir Hongro, Wednesday, 28 May 2008 08:42 (4 years ago) Permalink

"White Rock" though?

IT'S ABOUT SKIING BEFORE ANYONE STARTS!!!

(it's great)...

― Mark G, Wednesday, 28 May 2008 08:45 (4 years ago) Permalink

"Rick Wakeman is a genius and the main reason why Yes were so great in the 70s."

Wont argue whether he's a genius or not, but the second part of this sentence is wrong.

― Bill Magill, Wednesday, 28 May 2008 15:24 (4 years ago) Permalink

I don't have the patience to read this whole thread, but I'm sure hoping someone here already pointed out that he is quite classic on Sabbath Bloody Sabbath

― If Assholes Could Fly This Place Would Be An Airport, Wednesday, 28 May 2008 16:17 (4 years ago) Permalink

rick wakeman does a section of presets on my GForce minimoog vst, and they fuckin rock - they're the first presets i try on pretty much *any* song i make involving synths these days - ironically pretty much every last one of them sounds perfect for todays TranceCrunk(tm) production aesthetic...

― messiahwannabe, Tuesday, 3 June 2008 08:05 (4 years ago) Permalink

10 months pass...

Six Wives - live !

no chance of me going along, but this is just going to be insanely over the top isn't it ..

― mark e, Monday, 27 April 2009 09:57 (4 years ago) Permalink

3 years pass...

I've been on a big prog rock trek for a couple of months, probably started by watching that BBC Prog Rock Brittania on You Tube a couple of times.

Haven't ventured past it yet, but I liked The Six Wives of Henry VIII more than I would have thought and it is one weird ass album to have somehow sold like 15 million copies. People had some patience back in those days, I just don't see any of this kind of weird music being THAT popular.

I liked it enough that I probably am going to try out another Wakeman record.

― earlnash, Tuesday, 8 May 2012 04:11 (1 year ago) Permalink

The Sex Pistols was the reason Rick left A&M, not the other way round...

― Mark G, Tuesday, 8 May 2012 06:39 (1 year ago) Permalink

No it has to be the other way around if it's true at all. I'm sceptical that he would have had that much sway at the label, since sales were waning (though his late 70s stuff is good - often preferable to the earlier, better known albums). Wakeman's final album for A&M came out in 1979, two years after the fact. I know that Wakeman showed up in a documentary talking about this and said it was essentially a bullshit story.

― everything, Tuesday, 8 May 2012 07:26 (1 year ago) Permalink

xpost to earlnash - try Criminal Record, which is a digestible and enjoyably brief album from '77. It has a fair chunk of solo Rick mixed with Alan White, Chris Squire and Wakeman doing some fairly disciplined and enjoyable proggy bits.

― everything, Tuesday, 8 May 2012 07:41 (1 year ago) Permalink

Basically, McLaren had said that the Sex Pistols' signing had upset some of the proggers on the label (He'd read, upside down, a memo on the A&M-A&R's desk to the extent of "hey, do we all have to wear safety pins through our noses now?" and said more or less in passing that it was him wot got them sacked.

At which point lots of A&M staffers were all "yes, yes, that's exactly what happened", which got Rick extremely pissed off. Doubtless, that was not the only factor, but maybe one of them that made him see out his contract then goodnight vienna.

One further album, "Rhapsodies", then off. (his "Criminal Record" presumably well on the way by then..)

― Mark G, Tuesday, 8 May 2012 08:43 (1 year ago) Permalink

Thanks, that rings true. Wakeman was probably nearing the end at A&M anyway. "Criminal Record" did not sell too well I think - I recall stacks of copies marked down in Boots at the start of the 80s, which is where I got it from. Rhapsodies could be looked at as a stereotypical "last album for the label". It feels/sounds cut-price, has a terrible sleeve design (as did Criminal Record) and is all over the place, apparently hoping to appeal to the general public (there's everything from James Last-style orchestal disco to moogy riffs on famous classical/jazz tunes. This from a guy who has no business even considering what what "commercial" might sound like (listen to "Rock'n'Roll Prophet" to see how lamentable is his take on early-80s synthpop. Notwithstanding all that, to me there is some good stuff on these album due to his general creative quirkiness and blokey whimsicality.

― everything, Tuesday, 8 May 2012 17:03 (1 year ago) Permalink

People had some patience back in those days, I just don't see any of this kind of weird music being THAT popular.

hypothesis: prog rock fulfilled a cinematic purpose for fantasy/scifi/stoner nerds in the mid seventies, but that purpose was superseded by blockbuster sci-fi movies and the spread of D&D and then FPS videogames. Punk didn't kill prog rock, the triumph of nerdery in other pop culture areas did.

― bendy, Tuesday, 8 May 2012 20:26 (1 year ago) Permalink

Not wanting to sound negative but no.

― everything, Tuesday, 8 May 2012 22:30 (1 year ago) Permalink

5 months pass...

I'm totally digging Rock and Roll Prophet at the moment. It's like Wakeman meets the Buggles. And he sings weird duets!

http://open.spotify.com/album/1cOv3eKLgw8Tuas65QvaS6

― Naive Teen Idol, Friday, 26 October 2012 19:28 (6 months ago) Permalink

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