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Thread: The Road of Bones -- IQ

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    Member DoubleDrummer's Avatar
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    The Road of Bones -- IQ

    I was introduced to IQ in 2000 with the release of THE SEVENTH HOUSE..............which I totally consumed for months.
    I then picked up past releases on recommendation............EVER & SUBTERRANEA.
    I've purchased the releases since those too............DARK MATTER & FREQUENCY.
    I like all these collections from IQ -- each CD has it's own flavor and identity -- and each has some great composition as well as performance.

    But for weeks now, I have been focused on THE ROAD OF BONES............even though I've had it since it came out, I'm just now getting around to understanding and appreciating the full impact.
    This is a great piece of work.............well done and complete.

    In the few videos I have of this band one can see they play very few dates at smaller venues...........generally in Europe............they must do well with music sales because these shows look like relatively moderate revenue. Also...........these videos reveal that Mike Holmes is a terrific musician, and while Peter Nicholls is a bit dorky on stage, I think he is a wonderful composer of lyrics and singer, even with limited range.

    I figure most of the people that linger here at PE are very familiar with IQ, but if not, check it out................a very good British neo-progressive band.

  2. #2
    I saw them in Bury a year ago and, although the PA was inadequate, they were a fine live band. I'll return to see them at the same venue in three weeks time, late September 2015. I hope they have a better PA this time. As to "The Road Of Bones", hardly a week goes by without me dipping into a track or two, especially from the first CD. Every so often I pay the whole two-disc set all the way through. I've already recommended it once before on here, and elsewhere. They are well regarded by their loyal fans, but the numbers are relatively small, and it seems to me that they should be more widely regarded.

    If you don't know IQ, or disliked them from past listens, I once again recommend "The Road Of Bones".

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    Member DoubleDrummer's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by jcarr73729 View Post
    I saw them in Bury a year ago and, although the PA was inadequate, they were a fine live band. I'll return to see them at the same venue in three weeks time, late September 2015. I hope they have a better PA this time. As to "The Road Of Bones", hardly a week goes by without me dipping into a track or two, especially from the first CD. Every so often I pay the whole two-disc set all the way through. I've already recommended it once before on here, and elsewhere. They are well regarded by their loyal fans, but the numbers are relatively small, and it seems to me that they should be more widely regarded.

    If you don't know IQ, or disliked them from past listens, I once again recommend "The Road Of Bones".
    Agreed -- they deserve more fan-base and appreciation.
    In their way-too-seldom appearances in America, they always play venues far away from me..............I would like to see them perform.

  4. #4
    I would never describe Nicholls as being 'dorky' on stage. In fact, I think he is one of the best frontmen out there. I wish more would adopt his "less is more" approach. I remember a gig where he almost didn't move during one song but had me utterly transfixed just through the way he sang and the emotion he showed in just his face. But for me, the highpoint in live performance where the Subterranea and his portrayal of the main character(s). Nothing dorky about but a very well thought out dramatic performance.

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    Member rickawakeman's Avatar
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    My favorite English neo group. Saw the Road of Bones tour in Montreal, Nichols was ill but a fine show nonetheless. Saw them twice previously at Nearfest(s). A remarkable run of top-quality albums since "Ever".

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    Quote Originally Posted by rickawakeman View Post
    My favorite English neo group. Saw the Road of Bones tour in Montreal, Nichols was ill but a fine show nonetheless. Saw them twice previously at Nearfest(s). A remarkable run of top-quality albums since "Ever".
    Agreed though I'm especially fond of Dark Matter.
    The Prog Corner

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    Quote Originally Posted by ChrisXymphonia View Post
    I would never describe Nicholls as being 'dorky' on stage. In fact, I think he is one of the best frontmen out there. I wish more would adopt his "less is more" approach. I remember a gig where he almost didn't move during one song but had me utterly transfixed just through the way he sang and the emotion he showed in just his face. But for me, the highpoint in live performance where the Subterranea and his portrayal of the main character(s). Nothing dorky about but a very well thought out dramatic performance.
    Agreed, I think he is a great front man and one of the few vocalists who's voice has actually gotten better as he has gotten older. Road Of Bones is indeed a great album as is most of their stuff. They should have been much bigger than they ever got to be.

  8. #8
    A superb album, and a superb run of albums indeed. This band is aging gracefully (through various line-up changes) and Peter Nicholls, whose voice used to upset me, is now one of my favourite singers.

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    I'm not much of a neo prog fan but IQ do what they do very well. I'm a person that really has trouble with many prog vocalists, but Nichols vocals resonate with me. I can't explain it. He does have a way with elocution that can make you hang on every word. The Road Of Bones is a fine release. I'd go see them again if they came close to me in PA.

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    Member hFx's Avatar
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    To me, IQ is very much about the superb and captivating vocals of Peter Nicholls!
    My Progressive Workshop at http://soundcloud.com/hfxx

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    Quote Originally Posted by SteveSly View Post
    Agreed, I think he is a great front man and one of the few vocalists who's voice has actually gotten better as he has gotten older. Road Of Bones is indeed a great album as is most of their stuff. They should have been much bigger than they ever got to be.
    For me Nicholls was a lot more visceral and dynamic in his youth, circa The Wake. Some of his singing back then sends chills.

    But just listen to any boot or watch some of the live footage from that period and it becomes clear that he could never pull off on stage what he laid down in the studio. He just didn't have the chops or stamina for it. It became even more apparent in the 90s when he would try singing some of the older stuff. Some of those recordings are downright embarrassing.

    I think somewhere along the way -- maybe around the time of Subterranea -- he realized all this and worked on adjusting his singing to both work better with what he had, but to also still do credit to his younger self. I do like where he's gone with his singing, although I still miss the earlier frenetic and edgy Peter Nicholls.
    I'm holding out for the Wilson-mixed 5.1 super-duper walletbuster special anniversary extra adjectives edition.

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    Ever is my favorite release by them. Road of Bones a close second. I like the new keyboard player much better than Martin Orford. Really, IQ are abgreat melodic prog band despite the guitarist being somewhat of a Hackett clone. He does it well, though!

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    Quote Originally Posted by Guitarplyrjvb View Post
    IQ are a great melodic prog band despite the guitarist being somewhat of a Hackett clone. He does it well, though!
    "Hackett clone"...............I never thought about it but I see the comparison............and yes, he does it well.

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    Member PotatoSolution's Avatar
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    IQ is one of the few rock bands that get better as they age. I'd say their last 3 releases are the best of their career.

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    NEARfest Officer Emeritus Nearfest2's Avatar
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    I bought "Frequency" when it came out. I'm embarrassed to say that I have yet to spin it. Sad, I know. I've heard good things about "The Road of Bones," so I'll have to grab that at some point.

    I'll say that I thought the IQ guys were some of the most down-to-earth, easiest guys to worth with at NF. They were total pros and were just great guys. Jowitt goes without saying. Mike is more low key, but very nice. Martin was very personable and fun to hang out with. I can't say I interacted too much with Cookie. I though Peter may have been a little stand-off-ish but that was not the case at all. He was super nice and had a great sense of humor. Peter was also my contact for getting IQ to donate a track to the "After the Storm" project (the Mike Holmes penned "Chemical Rain").
    Chad

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    My favorite neo prog band .....especially like Ever, Dark Matter, and Frequency.....still getting into Road of Bones; it's not grabbing me as hard as the earlier ones.

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    I have Dark Matter, and like it a lot. A then moved to 'Tales from the Lush Attic' - I want to explore more so....where would you fine people suggest I go next?

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    The road of bones is a good start and then go backwards.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Michael_2 View Post
    I have Dark Matter, and like it a lot. A then moved to 'Tales from the Lush Attic' - I want to explore more so....where would you fine people suggest I go next?
    Well.....I think The Wake or Ever....should be the next choice. I like Ever over The Wake but it's a matter of taste. I'm also a huge fan of Frequency which is very similar to Dark Matter.

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    IQ is, in my humble opinion, the best prog band in the world today. The Road of Bones is great, best album of 2014. But still I think they have never bettered Dark Matter. Peter Nicholls somehow learned to sing starting with Subterranea. However, their great albums started with Seventh House and has not let up since. I find Nicholls vocals somewhat hard to take up until Ever.

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    Quote Originally Posted by emperorken View Post
    IQ is, in my humble opinion, the best prog band in the world today. The Road of Bones is great, best album of 2014. But still I think they have never bettered Dark Matter. Peter Nicholls somehow learned to sing starting with Subterranea. However, their great albums started with Seventh House and has not let up since. I find Nicholls vocals somewhat hard to take up until Ever.
    Nichols has definitely improved as a singer over time. Although I like the early stuff he at times used to sound pretty off key, especially live, but man did he get better over the years. Usually it is the other way around.

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    Member Paulrus's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Michael_2 View Post
    I have Dark Matter, and like it a lot. A then moved to 'Tales from the Lush Attic' - I want to explore more so....where would you fine people suggest I go next?
    Wow, from Dark Matter to Tales?

    Anyways, both albums represent the band at different ends of their career spectrum. If you like Dark Matter then The Road of Bones or Frequency would naturally follow on that end (bearing in mind some minor lineup juggling takes place across all three albums).

    If you like Tales then you have a lot left to explore, starting with The Wake, which some (I might be included) consider IQ's best album simply because it represents a refinement of what they started out with on Tales and in some ways offers a blueprint for everything they have done since. That's an oversimplification, but it's not hard to trace back elements in latter day IQ material directly to The Wake or Lush Attic. Still, I get how the early band can be a bit too raw for some, but that there's some classic neo-prog goodness AFAIC. Yeppers.
    I'm holding out for the Wilson-mixed 5.1 super-duper walletbuster special anniversary extra adjectives edition.

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    Quote Originally Posted by SteveSly View Post
    Nichols has definitely improved as a singer over time. Although I like the early stuff he at times used to sound pretty off key, especially live, but man did he get better over the years. Usually it is the other way around.
    See my earlier comment about PN's vocals on some mid 80s (heck, even some of the early 90s) shows. Stamina was not one of his strong points (I still wonder if that's one reason they don't gig that often) and bootlegs of early IQ shows are often a mixture of high entertainment value (hey, it's Mike Holmes in a dress playing "Material Girl"! ) to bleeding eardrums listening to PN trying to belt out the end of "Widow's Peak" .
    I'm holding out for the Wilson-mixed 5.1 super-duper walletbuster special anniversary extra adjectives edition.

  24. #24
    Peter Nicholls is my favorite male vocalist right now (and possibly of all-time). The band also holds a special place in my heart. The first time I heard The Wake I was hooked. I am particularly fond of "The Last Human Gateway" (from Tales from the Lush Attic), as well as Ever and The Seventh House. Even though I am shamelessly a fan of neo prog, I readily admit that many of the bands in the subgenre sound more than a little bit similar. That being said, Marillion and IQ seem (to my ears, anyway) to unquestionably have their own sounds, respectively.

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    I like them a lot, while acknowledging the sometimes laughable similarities to Gabriel-era Genesis. I've only seen them live once, in 1993 here in Los Angeles at Progfest. Setlist:

    Outer Limits / The Wake / The Darkest Hour / The Last Human Gateway / The Thousand Days / Nostalgia / Falling Apart at the Seams / Leap of Faith / Human Nature / The Enemy Smacks / Encore: Headlong

    This is a great performance of The Last Human Gateway:



    They are well regarded by their loyal fans, but the numbers are relatively small, and it seems to me that they should be more widely regarded.
    From what I gather, the band is something that's always been a part-time thing as the members had day jobs to pay the bills. Per his bio on the IQ website, Mike Holmes was a "a web manager for the NHS" until he retired a few years ago.

    I lost interest in the Paul Menel days, but the albums from Subterranea on are quite different from the first two and I enjoy them a lot.

    I'd really like to see the movie that was made from Subterranea, the trailer is interesting:

    You made it, I knew you would

    It doesn't seem to have a theatrical release date yet, maybe sometime in 2016.
    Last edited by Jeremy Bender; 09-16-2015 at 01:18 AM.
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