Magenta - The Twenty Seven Club in stock

[robh]

It is all on the DVD.

The Lizard King - Jim Morrison
Ladyland Blues - Hendrix
Pearl - Janis Joplin
Stoned - Brian Jones
The Gift - Kurt Cobain
The Devil at the Crossroads - Robert Johnson (agree about the text on this one).

If you look at the picture for each song, you'll see a pair of numbers, which are the coordinates that each one of these poor folks passed away. I know, I should have better things to do. There is another pair of numbers on the picture of the band on the middle page of the booklet. If I were the band, I wouldn't go near that place.

[progeezer]

Not a great surprise (particularly to the band) that I'm certainly in!

[Teal]

Great album! Will make my top 10 list for sure.

Definitely Karl!

[Teal]

The whole album is great! I am really digging Pearl!

[JKL2000]

The whole album is great! I am really digging Pearl!

Ditto!

[Sunhillow]

The whole album streams at Progstreaming, right here: http://www.progstreaming.com/_wb/pag...20Seven%20Club. It's only for ONE WEEK, so hurry if you want to listen before buying it.

I personally think it's a great album. I lost track since "Home" (the last album of them I actually enjoyed) and I've never warmed up to their subsequent releases. This new album is a return to form, from my perspective!

[JKL2000]

The whole album streams at Progstreaming, right here: http://www.progstreaming.com/_wb/pag...20Seven%20Club. It's only for ONE WEEK, so hurry if you want to listen before buying it.

I personally think it's a great album. I lost track since "Home" (the last album of them I actually enjoyed) and I've never warmed up to their subsequent releases. This new album is a return to form, from my perspective!

I think they're all good, but I agree that this seems to be the best since Home.

[JKL2000]

It is all on the DVD.

The Lizard King - Jim Morrison
Ladyland Blues - Hendrix
Pearl - Janis Joplin
Stoned - Brian Jones
The Gift - Kurt Cobain
The Devil at the Crossroads - Robert Johnson (agree about the text on this one).

If you look at the picture for each song, you'll see a pair of numbers, which are the coordinates that each one of these poor folks passed away. I know, I should have better things to do. There is another pair of numbers on the picture of the band on the middle page of the booklet. If I were the band, I wouldn't go near that place.

Also, is that supposed to be God or Satan on the front, in the white suit? I suppose we each have to answer that for ourselves.

[Dan Marsh]

The Lizard King is my favorite.

[Yanks2014]

I think they're all good, but I agree that this seems to be the best since Home.

I'm hoping it's better than "Home" since I find that to be their weakest effort. I'm not bashing "Home", I still like it, but I prefer their more overtly proggy material.

[JKL2000]

I'm hoping it's better than "Home" since I find that to be their weakest effort. I'm not bashing "Home", I still like it, but I prefer their more overtly proggy material.

I think you'll be happy - although the songs aren't short, it's all-in-all more compact than Home, but definitely proggy. There are parts in one of the songs that are very Yes-like to my ears. And the guitar solo in "Pearl" is really great - very Gilmour- or Latimer-esque.

[Yanks2014]

I think you'll be happy - although the songs aren't short, it's all-in-all more compact than Home, but definitely proggy. There are parts in one of the songs that are very Yes-like to my ears. And the guitar solo in "Pearl" is really great - very Gilmour- or Latimer-esque.

I love the guitar work in Magenta already, so I'm looking forward to hearing this. I bought a lot of music lately, so I have not gotten around to this release just yet.

[Pedro]

It's great to see so many people getting into The Twenty Seven Club, I absolutely love it and think it stands above all Magenta's previous albums. Their back catalogue is refreshingly varied in terms of style and song format, rather than just sticking to one formula.
Get along to progstreaming.com in the next couple of days and listen to the whole of the new album for nothing while you can. I think really good prog always takes time and several listens to "settle" but the really great stuff gets its hooks into you after the first listen; the odd riff here, a gorgeous*soundscape there. Just enough to get you back for another listen.

[Teal]

Chris Fry is definitely one of the best guitarists out there!

[aith01]

Really enjoying this one! My appreciation for Magenta has been rekindled, and I picked up the 2-disc edition of Home as well to revisit it.

Thank you guys for all your posts about the album. The enthusiasm here is part of the reason I decided to give The Twenty Seven Club a chance, and I sure am glad I did.

[ThomasKDye]

I really like this one, too. I've never really warmed up to Magenta the way I thought I should, though peculiarly enough "Speechless" got a LOT of repeat play with me. But there's some real killer arrangements on here and Christina rivals Annie Haslam in sweet vocalese.

[progeezer]

1. Tina takes more chances with the top end of her range than on any previous album, and shoots & scores!

2. As a child of the 60s, there is much to be garnered by a Welshman's take on some 60s icons (stellar work, Steve Reed!).

3. The (died at) 27 Club for performers has Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Alan Wilson (Canned Heat), Brian Jones & Amy Winehouse in it. I'm sure there are others I don't know about.

4. This word isn't usually used when describing Magenta, but this album has more balls than anything else they've done.

5. If I were introducing someone to the band, until this album I would have played them Seven. Not any more.

[Guess Who]

If I were introducing someone to the band, until this album I would have played them Seven. Not any more.

The Twenty Seven Club is rather good album. But not great in any sense. It doesn't reach the splendours of Seven and Home.

[rickm]

I like Seven and Home... this is a return to that sound which I like more than Metamorphosis... It's much easier and pleasant to my ears. Though I found it too similar to Home I like it.

[gingernut]

I like Seven and Metamorphosis, but this latest one is not hitting the spot after half a dozen spins. Undoubtedly proggy and technically proficient, but too much high-pitched and wah wah wah guitar for my liking. Each to their own.

[JKL2000]

Watched a good portion of the Making Of thingy on the DVD last night. There's some great info from both Reed brothers on the inspiration behind the music and words. Steve Reed's comments on the lyrics are particularly helpful, because the lyrics feature his usual, brilliant way of approaching subjects in unexpected ways. His lyrics are never as simple or direct as one might expect when hearing that all the songs are about musicians who died at age 27. Rather than being "summaries" or life stories, or describing the musicians' ends, the lyrics more often focus on specific moments or times in their lives, and will take more examination before I can fully appreciate them. One cool detail he mentions is that the line in Pearl "The comforting smile that comes from the south, it lends its helping hand" is a reference to Southern Comfort, which he says was Joplin's "favorite tipple." That's the kind of thing I just wouldn't figure out on my own.

Rob Reed mentions some interesting things too - one is that Drama is his favorite Yes album, and I think it's "Ladyland Blues" that he intentionally gave a Drama-like sound, and he considers it the most prog song on the album. Although he obviously considers it to all be typical prog in the classic Magenta style, and he likens the album to Seven a lot. His comments are all pretty interesting.

Over all I wish there was a bit more talking about the music and lyrics and a bit less of the in studio rehearsing, recording, etc. because it's usually just one person at a time with little interaction. It can be interesting to watch how it's all done (skillfully!), but there's just too much of it and I found myself waiting for the bits where someone was talking. Those parts, though, are well worth finding.

[JKL2000]

Steve Reed also cleared up my question of is it God or the Devil on the cover, in the white suit. It is, in fact, the Devil. I say this because Reed mentions the story about Robert Johnson selling his soul to the devil for his guitar skills, and also one of the other characters doing something similar - forget which one.

Oh, and forgot to mention, the video for The Lizard King on the DVD is pretty nice too. Basically a well-shot performance video (but I don't think before a live audience or even on a stage). Christina is dancing around barefoot being her cute self.

[ThomasKDye]

Does he mention what the title of "The Gift" has to do with Kurt Cobain? All the other titles make sense.

[JKL2000]

Does he mention what the title of "The Gift" has to do with Kurt Cobain? All the other titles make sense.

Didn't watch that part of the DVD yet, actually. Good question, though - probably that's something he'll enlighten us on a bit.

[aith01]

Steve Reed also cleared up my question of is it God or the Devil on the cover, in the white suit. It is, in fact, the Devil. I say this because Reed mentions the story about Robert Johnson selling his soul to the devil for his guitar skills, and also one of the other characters doing something similar - forget which one.

Personally, I like to think that the guy in the white suit represents fame (or perhaps the entertainment industry), feeding or profiting off of the artists' work during their lifetimes and also after they have died. Using them up and moving on to the next.

Just my take on it.