Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 25 of 30

Thread: Simon Says ?

  1. #1
    Banned
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    Severn, MD
    Posts
    9,225

    Simon Says ?

    Listening to a track from Tardigrade an album by Simon Says. Ever hear of this California band from around 2001?

  2. #2
    Jon Neudorf
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Canada
    Posts
    442
    Nice album. Haven't heard it in a long time though.

    Regards,
    Jon

  3. #3
    Yeah, that's a good one. Suddenly the Rain is a standout for me.
    Progtopia is a podcast devoted to interviewing progressive rock, metal, and electronic artists from the past and present, featuring their songs and exclusive interviews. Artists interviewed on the show have included Steve Hackett, Sound of Contact, Larry Fast, Circus Maximus, Anubis Gate, Spock's Beard, and many more. http://progtopia.podomatic.com See you in a land called Progtopia!

  4. #4
    Member Koreabruce's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    Chuncheon, South Korea
    Posts
    1,501
    Simon says is a Swedish band. Great group. Love their singer; he has a unique voice.

  5. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by Firth View Post
    Listening to a track from Tardigrade an album by Simon Says. Ever hear of this California band from around 2001?
    These guys are hailed from Sweden! Their 'Tardigrade' was released in 2008. Excellent album indeed.

  6. #6
    Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    AZ (via Chicago)
    Posts
    113
    I like them, Tardigrade is great, and though not quite as good Paradise Square is pretty damn good also.

    And where in the world did you get that they are from California?

  7. #7
    Member Yanks2014's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    New Jersey
    Posts
    0
    Quote Originally Posted by bobert View Post
    I like them, Tardigrade is great, and though not quite as good Paradise Square is pretty damn good also.

    And where in the world did you get that they are from California?
    Yeah, nothing about them makes me think California. Cool album though. They have two earlier albums, not sure how they compare.

  8. #8
    Highly Evolved Orangutan JKL2000's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    Westchester, NY
    Posts
    16,529
    I've always liked their debut album, "Ceinwen." It has more of a Genesis sound than seems to get mentioned, but there's a quirky Canterbury-ish feeling too.

  9. #9
    Banned
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    Severn, MD
    Posts
    9,225
    Quote Originally Posted by Progtopia View Post
    Yeah, that's a good one. Suddenly the Rain is a standout for me.
    Suddenly the Rain was the track I was listening to on Slacker Radio, prog channel. They got the band's biography wrong though, referring to an alt-metal band from CA with the same name. Progarchives has the info:



    http://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=416

  10. #10
    They have a tune on the new Lovecraft cd from Synphonic/Musea.

  11. #11
    Member thedunno's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    Netherlands
    Posts
    2,119
    I think Simon Says is completey listenable NEo prog (mind you, I am a RIO-fan). Tardigrade has certain a freshness to it that sometimes reminds me of IQs Tales from the lush attic.
    Love the voice of the singer too

  12. #12
    Their first album is by far their best imo. Thanks for the reminder - putting it in the car now

  13. #13
    Quote Originally Posted by thedunno View Post
    I think Simon Says is completey listenable NEo prog (mind you, I am a RIO-fan). [...] Love the voice of the singer too
    I'm in the same camp as you, it seems. I've only heard the debut, which is nice. But the singer isn't all to my liking here.
    "Improvisation is not an excuse for musical laziness" - Fred Frith
    "[...] things that we never dreamed of doing in Crimson or in any band that I've been in," - Tony Levin speaking of SGM

  14. #14
    Also a fan of Tardigrade, although it took me a few spins to get in to it. Siren Songs, even though it's not a proper album, clicked with me the first time I listened to it.

  15. #15
    Ceinwein was a marvel when it came out back in 1995. It completed the Swedish trifecta of resuscitating classic British symphonic progressive rock. Anglagard revived Genesis (circa Selling England by the Pound). Anekdoten did similarly for King Crimson, cutting a much wider path. Simon Says, with all the noodly little counterpoint stuff, channeled Gentle Giant at their thundering best. The beauty of these three is that they wore their influences on their sleeves, but managed to turn it into something uniquely theirs, totally Swedish. It was approachable, recognizable, and darn, it made us all happy :-)

    As brilliant as Ceinwein was (unique vocalist notwithstanding), the followup was quite the other thing. It made you scratch your head and wonder - what were they thinking. It was Valinor's Tree in a blender.

    Another long passage of time and out of nowhere comes Tardigrade, and darn if they right the ship and produce a solid album. It doesn't have all the wonderful twists and turns of the debut, and there are a couple of hangovers from Paradise Square, but this is a solid neo-prog album with just enough retro-symphonic elements that should appeal to fans of Flower Kings, et al as well as some that run away from the Flower Kings holding their ears.

  16. #16
    That's Mr. to you, Sir!! Trane's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2004
    Location
    in a cosmic jazzy-groove around Brussels
    Posts
    6,091
    BTW, there is a Californ-based band named the same...

    Quote Originally Posted by JKL2000 View Post
    I've always liked their debut album, "Ceinwen." It has more of a Genesis sound than seems to get mentioned, but there's a quirky Canterbury-ish feeling too.
    I did score a slightly damaged copy of this debut album (OOP a long time ago, I think) at the time... It was hailed as a masterpiece by most everyone then, but I was totally underwhelmed.... Don't know what happened to that CD, though

    I got rid of Paradise Square quite quickly... atrocious and obtused-concept neo-prog (but I'm an RIO sausage )... yuckkkk!!! never heard their latest

    Quote Originally Posted by bob_netherton View Post
    Ceinwein was a marvel when it came out back in 1995. It completed the Swedish trifecta of resuscitating classic British symphonic progressive rock.

    As brilliant as Ceinwein was (unique vocalist notwithstanding), the followup was quite the other thing. It made you scratch your head and wonder - what were they thinking. It was Valinor's Tree in a blender.
    wxell, I think this is an overstatement (about Ceinwein), and it's not the classic trilogy (the third being Landberk's debut)....
    As its release date (95) indicates, Ceinwein is part of the second Swedish wave (with Catweazle, Twin Age, Per Lindh, etc...)

    but yeah, PS is definitely not good (and neither is VT, IMHO)
    my music collection increased tenfolds when I switched from drug-addicts to complete nutcases.

  17. #17
    Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    AZ (via Chicago)
    Posts
    113
    Quote Originally Posted by Trane View Post

    I got rid of Paradise Square quite quickly... atrocious and obtused-concept neo-prog (but I'm an RIO sausage )... yuckkkk!!! never heard their latest



    Completely disagree, I love Paradise Square, not as much as Tardigrade but still very good, IMHO.

  18. #18
    Ordinary Idiot Superfly's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    New England
    Posts
    343
    I'm quite a fan of the Tardigrade album. Easily as good as some of the other Swedish Neo stuff. Love the 'epic' track. The instrumental aspect of the band is great, although the singer took a little getting used to, but then, don't most of them? :P
    "The Bill of Rights says nothing about the freedom of hearing. This, of course, takes a lot of the fun out of the freedom of speech." - Pat Paulsen

    My Art- http://www.facebook.com/williamallenrenfro -My Life

  19. #19
    Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    Marietta GA
    Posts
    240
    They have a new one, available only as a download, called Siren Songs. This has some older stuff, but also has some songs that have been release on various compilation only albums. I hear there are a couple of new songs as well. Never have downloaded an mp3 but I think I'll be trying this one.

    Anyone heard this yet? I LOVE Tardigrade.....

  20. #20
    Quote Originally Posted by flatliner View Post
    They have a new one, available only as a download, called Siren Songs. This has some older stuff, but also has some songs that have been release on various compilation only albums. I hear there are a couple of new songs as well. Never have downloaded an mp3 but I think I'll be trying this one.

    Anyone heard this yet? I LOVE Tardigrade.....
    Quote Originally Posted by Ridge View Post
    Also a fan of Tardigrade, although it took me a few spins to get in to it. Siren Songs, even though it's not a proper album, clicked with me the first time I listened to it.
    I've heard it! You can tell is a compilation of sorts but it's still quite good.

  21. #21
    Highly Evolved Orangutan JKL2000's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    Westchester, NY
    Posts
    16,529
    Quote Originally Posted by Trane View Post
    BTW, there is a Californ-based band named the same...



    I did score a slightly damaged copy of this debut album (OOP a long time ago, I think) at the time... It was hailed as a masterpiece by most everyone then, but I was totally underwhelmed.... Don't know what happened to that CD, though
    It definitely took me a few listens to warm up to Ceinwen.

  22. #22
    Man of repute progmatist's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    Mesa, Arizona
    Posts
    3,806
    Quote Originally Posted by flatliner View Post
    They have a new one, available only as a download, called Siren Songs. This has some older stuff, but also has some songs that have been release on various compilation only albums. I hear there are a couple of new songs as well. Never have downloaded an mp3 but I think I'll be trying this one.

    Anyone heard this yet?
    The epic track Minds Of Mortal Men by itself is worth the price. Other tracks are solo piano works which are a nice change of pace.
    "Well my son, life is like a beanstalk, isn't it?"--Dalai Lama

  23. #23
    Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    Marietta GA
    Posts
    240
    I will be getting this....(Siren Songs)....but verify for me: this has not been released on CD, right? I see it in i-tunes and Amazon MP3 only. I would rather have CD if available.....

  24. #24
    Banned
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    Mission Viejo, California
    Posts
    0
    Quote Originally Posted by bob_netherton View Post
    Ceinwein was a marvel when it came out back in 1995. It completed the Swedish trifecta of resuscitating classic British symphonic progressive rock. Anglagard revived Genesis (circa Selling England by the Pound). Anekdoten did similarly for King Crimson, cutting a much wider path. Simon Says, with all the noodly little counterpoint stuff, channeled Gentle Giant at their thundering best. The beauty of these three is that they wore their influences on their sleeves, but managed to turn it into something uniquely theirs, totally Swedish. It was approachable, recognizable, and darn, it made us all happy :-)

    As brilliant as Ceinwein was (unique vocalist notwithstanding), the followup was quite the other thing. It made you scratch your head and wonder - what were they thinking. It was Valinor's Tree in a blender.

    Another long passage of time and out of nowhere comes Tardigrade, and darn if they right the ship and produce a solid album. It doesn't have all the wonderful twists and turns of the debut, and there are a couple of hangovers from Paradise Square, but this is a solid neo-prog album with just enough retro-symphonic elements that should appeal to fans of Flower Kings, et al as well as some that run away from the Flower Kings holding their ears.
    I've always heard the Swedish An bands described as sounding like King Crimson, never like Genesis.

  25. #25
    Tribesman sonic's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    Progland
    Posts
    0

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •