Blog

Better late than never.

…or so they say? Well, it is kinda late, but then again, I was too greedy – wanted to rat—I mean, listen to so much music, hence the delay.

Note that my rating scale may (and probably will) differ from yours. Short summary:
9 – amazing
8 – very good, recommended for everyone
7 – not bad, if you like the genre/band very much, you might give it a try…
6 – well, you CAN listen to it, but there’s no point. Boring/annoying for some reason. Not recommended (maybe if you’re a fanboy of the band – but in that case you’d already own the album)
Anything below 6 – no. Just no.

2/10
This Or The Apocalypse – Dead Years // I’d rather have the Apocalypse…

5/10
All That Remains – A War You Can Not Win

5,5/10
As I Lay Dying – Awakened
Ektomorf – Black Flag
Every Time I Die – Ex Lives

6/10
Arthemis – We Fight
At Vance – Facing Your Enemy
Cradle of Filth – The Manticore and Other Horrors
Delain – We Are the Others
DragonForce – The Power Within
Eluveitie – Helvetios
…

http://za-progiem.blogspot.com/2013/01/audycja-nr-63-rok-1971-xx.html

Playlista:
1. Zaprogowe intro
2. Van der Graaf Generator - Lemmings ( Pawn Hearts, 1971)
3. Spring - Golden Fleece (Spring, 1971)
4. Gentle Giant - The House, The Street, The Room (Acquiring The Taste, 1971)
5. Barclay James Harvest - She Said (Once Again, 1971)
6. Genesis - The Return of the Giant Hogweed (Nursery Cryme, 1971)
7. Jan Dukes De Grey - Sun Symphonica (Mice And Rats In The Loft, 1971)
8. Le Orme - Cemento Armato (Collage, 1971)
9. Yes - Yours Is No Disgrace (The Yes Album, 1971)
10. Supersister - A Girl Named You (To The Highest Bidder, 1971)
11. Jethro Tull - Mother Goose (Aqualung, 1971)
12. Mainhorse - Pale Sky (Tago Mago, 1971)
13. Mahavishnu Orchestra - The Noonward Race (The Inner Mounting Flame, 1971)
14. Comus - Drip Drip (First Utterance, 1971)
15. Zaprogowe outro

http://www.ukrockfestivals.com/bj-harvest-400.jpg

When rating Prog albums I try to do so in a historical context, that is how an album compares against the musical ancestry. This means that the best album for any given year, which most people would rate with top marks may not receive the same rating in my charts as only the best albums of all time should get the highest ratings... This chart includes compilations, live albums and also any non-Prog albums I buy.

My Ratings:
Note: I vote on a bell curve, anything above 6 is really good, anything much below 4 really isn't :D
9+ - Masterpiece
8 - Incredible
7 - Superb
6 - Excellent
5 - Average
4 - Mediocre
3 - Fans only
2 - Completists only
1 - Run screaming from the room!

1. (=) Steven Wilson - The Raven That Refused to Sing (and Other Stories) (2013) - 7.72
2. (=) The Beatles - Revolver (1966) - 7.06
3. (=) Sly & The Family Stone - Stand! (1969) - 6.98
4. (=) Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin II (1969) - 6.89
5. (=) Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin (1969) - 6.73
…

- Favourite Albums:

- Strom Corrosion - Storm Corrosion:

http://i46.tinypic.com/2j4vgo2.jpg
http://i46.tinypic.com/4vfuz7.jpg

- Dead Can Dance - Anastasis:

http://i50.tinypic.com/rrjguc.jpg
http://i45.tinypic.com/14nenap.jpg
http://i47.tinypic.com/2zyl7vt.jpg

- Swans - The Seer:

http://i50.tinypic.com/261kfn5.jpg
http://i47.tinypic.com/214qwzd.jpg

- Soap&Skin - Narrow:

http://i45.tinypic.com/igxlbt.jpg
http://i47.tinypic.com/5kj85f.jpg

- Esbjörn Svensson Trio - 301:

http://i48.tinypic.com/upxjd.jpg
http://i50.tinypic.com/jubpkz.jpg
http://i46.tinypic.com/1o4z1j.jpg

- Beak> - BEAK>>:

http://i49.tinypic.com/351ad75.jpg
http://i47.tinypic.com/652648.jpg

- Om - Advaitic Songs:

http://i45.tinypic.com/2q0kjk7.jpg
http://i46.tinypic.com/t4tkrq.jpg
http://i49.tinypic.com/2w4jtyu.jpg

- Portico Quartet - Portico Quartet:

http://i47.tinypic.com/69hs35.jpg
http://i50.tinypic.com/1zzgigg.jpg
http://i46.tinypic.com/j5xxl3.jpg

…

10cc (1st evaluation on 18/12/2012)
ABBA (1st evaluation on 21/12/2012)
Aperture Science Psychoacoustics Laboratory (new artist)
Aphex Twin (1st evaluation on 04/05/2013)
Alton Ellis (1st evaluation on 11/02/2013)
America (2nd evaluation on 06/11/2012)
Anthony Phillips (new artist)
Anthrax (1st evaluation on 26/04/2013)
Antonio Vivaldi (known artist)
Atomsko Sklonište (1st evaluation on 27/01/2013)
Battles (1st evaluation on 11/02/2013)
Bee Gees (1st evaluation on 01/01/2013)
Belinda Carlisle (1st evaluation on unknown)
Billy Idol (1st evaluation on 09/05/2013)
Biohazard (1st evaluation on 13/02/2013)
Björk (1st evaluation on 13/02/2013)
Björk Guðmundsdóttir & tríó Guðmundar Ingólfssonar (new artist)
Bjesovi (1st evaluation on 13/02/2013)
Blackmore's Night (1st evaluation on 31/12/2012)
Block Out (1st evaluation on 13/02/2013)
Blondie (1st evaluation on 09/05/2013)
Bobby Womack (1st evaluation on 22/11/2012)
Bonnie Tyler (2nd evaluation on 18/12/2012)
…

OK, so this friend of mine (hey Paul!) asked a great What If? We had been discussing the disparity between the great ratings of early Prog albums compared to lesser ratings of many modern ones. One of the thoughts that cropped up was that modern albums tend to be bloated; that is the CD format allows the artist to fill up the space with mediocre tracks that would probably not have made it onto a vinyl release. So, what if we level the playing field and take only the best 40 minutes worth of each album and generate ratings from those tracks??

The results are below :D The number in (brackets) shows how an album's position changes against my last published chart and gives a great indication of how the albums would rate if they kept to a fixed time limit. The number in shows the change in rating from the normal chart.

Now there are weaknesses with this approach, particularly for concept albums that need the space to spread their story, but remember this is just an experiment.

…

Оригинал:

Van der Graaf Generator - Pioneers Over C

Left the earth in 1983, fingers groping for the galaxies,
reddened eyes stared up into the void,
a thousand stars to be exploited.
Somebody help me, I'm falling,
somebody help me, I'm falling down
into sky, into earth, into sky, into earth.
It is so dark around, no life, no hope, no sound,
no chance of seeing home again.
The universe is on fire, exploding without flame.
We are the lost ones; we are the pioneers; we are the lost ones
We are the ones they are going to build a statue for
ten centuries ago or were going to fifteen forward .....

One last brief whisper in our loved ones' ears
to reassure them and to pierce the fear
standing at controls then still unknown
we told the world we were about to go
Somebody help me I'm missing,
somebody help me I'm missing now
touch with my mind, I have no frame,
touch with my mind, I have no frame.
Well now where is the time and who the hell am I,
…

This list is completely subjective and will change frequently.

Please comment if you have any recommendations for similar albums / artists.

Criteria:
Studio albums only.
I have scrobbled / listened to the whole album at least once.
Top Ten from each year only.

Other lists:
http://rateyourmusic.com/list/F611/my_favourite_studio_albums_of_all_time
http://rateyourmusic.com/list/F611/my_favourite_album_from_each_year

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

1956:
1. Thelonious Monk - The Unique
2. Charles Mingus - Pithecanthropus Erectus
3. The Modern Jazz Quartet - Fontessa
4. Elvis Presley - Elvis Presley
5. Sonny Rollins - Plus 4
6. Elvis Presley - Elvis

1957:
1. Johnny Cash - Johnny Cash With His Hot and Blue Guitar!
2. The Modern Jazz Quartet - The Modern Jazz Quartet
3. Thelonious Monk & Sonny Rollins - Thelonious Monk & Sonny Rollins
4. Charles Mingus - The Clown
…