Not Forgotten
Lately I’ve been spending time with some old friends from the 70s. By friends I mean several recordings of things that entranced me in my younger life. It was music that was way before it time, yet at the same time it was just the right time.
I’m talking about the “Concept” bands from the United Kingdom such as King Crimson, Gentle Giant, Genesis (With Peter Gabriel), Yes and there was probably a smattering of some other groups like the Moody Blues as well. These groups had an amazing command of musical literacy blending Jazz fusion, rock, with the sometimes sounds of traditional folk and classical. These groups mastered vocal harmonies often every bit as interesting as the American harmonies from Crosby Stills and Nash or the Beach Boys. They pulled off Jazz riffs every bit as interesting as the works of Frank Zappa with strains of minimalism on the side.
Having not listened to this stuff for a while, I’m reacquainting myself with it all again and I wonder why this stuff isn’t being played today. I mean, you can turn the dial and hear crap like Benny and the Jets and Just the Way You Are until your ears bleed, yet I haven’t heard things like the link below since the 70s. This stuff is too remarkable to be forgotten.
Check out this Gentle Giant Video and tell me is this is work that should be forgotten
posted by The Guy Who Writes This at 4:00 AM
8 Comments:
I'm hearing overtones of Yes with some Rush thrown in.
Funny you should mention going back to music listened to in the 70's. I just got a CD of an album called Appletree Theatre that was a standard for us back then. So obscure that I thought it would no longer be available. Apparently John Lennon's favorite album...
http://therisingstorm.net/appletree-theatre-playback/
Moose
You're only As Old as You're Young
Damn, I forgot how much I liked that album (The Missing Piece). I used to play it over and over again.
That was very cool. Sounded like what you would get if you had Dave Mason from Traffic (remember them?) and Frank Zappa's old band do a number. All they needed was some of those wooden xylophones.
And thanks to you I am all off on a metal nostalgia thing again. Listening to much harder stuff than is usual for me these days. A friend who is into harder and louder stuff turned me on to a band called Royal Bliss. Might give them a listen. Ballad metal.
That European art rock stuff is inventive and makes for a challenging listen, let alone play. But nobody wants to dance to it, the first step in the mating ritual. So it lost out to disco Reggae and butt rock. I did come across Rare Birds 1st LP the other day. Played it, pretty sweet from 1969.
I love 70's rock and listen to it frequently. I never tire of it. I love old Pink Floyd early 70's (before Darkside).
Moose, they were almost good enough to make it.
Rich, they are the good stuff.
Darev, OK, I'll let you settle down before another music post.
Anon, I thought they pre-dated 1969. They are relatively late comers in the 60s movement.
g, you're talking about stuff before you were born, aren't you?
Thanks for the compliment.
The Pink Floyd released Piper at the Gates in 1967 - Nearly a year after yours truly entered the world.
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