10 Prog Albums You Should Own

[spellbound]

I have all except #10 Berlin, A Concert For The People. But I do have these by Barclay James Harvest:

Barclay James Harvest/Once Again
BJH And Other Short Stories/Baby James Harvest
Early Morning Onwards
BBC In Concert 1972
Live
Everyone Is Everybody Else
Time Honoured Ghosts
Octoberon
Gone To Earth
Live Tapes
XII

I'm inclined to agree with

But Berlin a concert for the people, really? Couldn't they find a better album by BJH?

[moecurlythanu]

???

Socrates is saying that he has 5 or less total of other LPs by the bands named in the article. C'mon Jed, tighten it up.

[Sputnik]

I'm unaware of any friends/relatives/acquaintances in real life who has bought an album in the last 3-4 years except for one, and it's mostly because he's a Grateful Dead addict (and has a large amount of disposable income).

People have moved on from this - awhile ago.

Do people here not count as being in "real life?" I knew there was something wrong with me, and now I know what it is; I'm not real!

Funny experience I had last weekend. I was selling a bass on Craigslist, and finally got a serious nibble. So Saturday morning two young guys, college-age, show up at the house to check out the bass. One guy goes for the bass, but the other guys sees my CD collection which is in the front hall, and his eyes nearly popped out. So he and I chatted while the other dude was checking out the bass. Turns out he knew quite a bit of Prog and was a fan, so we had a nice conversation. He said, "my CD collection is about 1/20th the size of yours," and I said, "yeah, but you probably have tons of stuff ripped to your iBlah." He surprised me by saying he didn't, and that he only listened to CDs. He liked the album oriented approach, and found that with streaming he was too apt not to really listen to the music.

The other guy bought the bass, and I gave them each copies of both Eccentric Orbit albums, and they were psyched. I know, sample of one, doesn't disprove what you're saying, etc. But physical product is still being made for a reason. Some are buying it and value it. But maybe aren't real either.

Bill

[GuitarGeek]

BTW, I've been spending most of the last hour or so checking out some of the other lists on this site, and they're all flawed, but that shouldn't be any surprise, as almost all of these list things tend to be.

I liked how for thei rlist of the 20 essential A&M records, they managed to include a proviso saying that they're not counting anything that wasn't released by A&M worldwide, which naturally allows them to avoid even thinking about Magma.

[spellbound]

I'm unaware of any friends/relatives/acquaintances in real life who has bought an album in the last 3-4 years except for one, and it's mostly because he's a Grateful Dead addict (and has a large amount of disposable income).

People have moved on from this - awhile ago.

I have bought albums in the last 3 years. Not all of us have moved on from album purchases. Some of us enjoy Living In The Past, in real life. Cheers!

[Steve F.]

I own six of them. I would not call any one of them the best release of any of the artists featured on that liste that I am familiar with, except perhaps for Pawn Hearts (for example, I don't know Supertramp well enough to argue if that's a good pick or not).

I've certainly seen much worse lists.

My list would have been better

[JKL2000]

I'm unaware of any friends/relatives/acquaintances in real life who has bought an album in the last 3-4 years except for one

How many friends/relatives/acquaintances in real life (forgetting music habits) are you aware of in addition to that one?

[JKL2000]

Socrates is saying that he has 5 or less total of other LPs by the bands named in the article. C'mon Jed, tighten it up.

I guess I should have tried to figure out the missing words!

[Facelift]

Do people here not count as being in "real life?"

Bill

No. That's the distinction I was trying to make. "Real life" meaning the people you interact with in person - not avatars.

Any specialist internet discussion board is full of the exceptions that prove the rules about just about anything. Of course people in here buy and collect albums, as do I (just on a greatly curtailed basis). But much like how places like this can give the skewed perspective that progressive rock is much popular than it actually is (it's a teeny, tiny blip) it gives a skewed perspective on other things as well. I've been laughed at twice when I told people I was having my CD player fixed. Few people I know even own CD players (and it's not because they switched to vinyl).

[strawberrybrick]

Udiscover is Universal Music's "social media" marketing site.

[yamishogun]

(for example, I don't know Supertramp well enough to argue if that's a good pick or not).

Definitely a good pick.

[Facelift]

I don't know Supertramp well enough to argue if that's a good pick or not.

It's a good pick for Supertramp; not necessarily a good pick for prog.

[Steve F.]

^ ^ ^ ^

don't nitpick the pick.

[Dave (in MA)]

Just because most people have "moved on" and have a music collection consisting of individual songs on their phone they heard on the radio/tv or while shoe shopping, or they get them spooned out from Spotify doesn't mean that we should.

[Dave (in MA)]

I've been laughed at twice when I told people I was having my CD player fixed.

Maybe because it's probably twice as expensive as buying a new one.

[smcfee]

I own the first nine, although I'd probably only listen to King Arthur again at gunpoint...

Haven't heard the BJH.

[Socrates]

???

That statement (the one about albums being counted on one hand) followed on from the beginning of the sentence in terms of what I owned. So it was supposed to say that I own 5 or less albums by these artists.

Edit: ... as correctly pointed out by Moecurlythanu (hadn't seen your message before I typed my reply).

[JKL2000]

That statement (the one about albums being counted on one hand) followed on from the beginning of the sentence in terms of what I owned. So it was supposed to say that I own 5 or less albums by these artists.

Edit: ... as correctly pointed out by Moecurlythanu (hadn't seen your message before I typed my reply).

Ok, got it! I hope you've HEARD more than 5!

[chalkpie]

Good list with some killer albums. You can do a lot worse, although you can also do better. But I could be happy on a road trip spinning this lot.

[Mascodagama]

I pity the fool who thinks King Arthur is an essential album.

[Facelift]

Maybe because it's probably twice as expensive as buying a new one.

$50?

[Facelift]

Just because most people have "moved on" and have a music collection consisting of individual songs on their phone they heard on the radio/tv or while shoe shopping, or they get them spooned out from Spotify doesn't mean that we should.

I wasn't advocating something that should be, just explaining what is. Many people will use "hear" to describe the process of getting familiar with a particular album or song, because "owning" it is not a practice that they typically engage in.

[The Dark Elf]

So, no King Crimson, Yes, Jethro Tull, Pink Floyd, ELP, Gentle Giant or PFM. I've got to own these 10. If I own these 10 I will be complete. No historical or musical context. No logic whatsoever. Just these 10.

[gryphs also]

Pawn Hearts-------Absolutely
Mirage and Land of Grey and Pink--------debatable
The rest-------not even close.

[arthurfrayn]

Yeah Pawn Hearts is the indispensible one on that list. That's the only prog essential there, IMO.
SCaES is one of his great solo records, though.