Am I the only one here who hits "SKIP" when this piece comes on?
https://youtu.be/io5bKpp7jmk
Am I the only one here who hits "SKIP" when this piece comes on?
https://youtu.be/io5bKpp7jmk
No, I usually skip it too when listening to First Circle -- but that's also just so I can get right to the wonderful "Yolanda, You Learn".I think "Yolanda" is possibly my favorite PMG tune ever.
What's yours?
I love PM, but this is definitely a "shit, hit the skip button!" when it comes on in the car with the missus.Originally Posted by ProgPariah77
I'm holding out for the Wilson-mixed 5.1 super-duper walletbuster special anniversary extra adjectives edition.
Oh, definitely not the only one.
Hey, we do have some common ground after all.
I saw the PMG on the First Circle tour. They opened with this piece.
But...……… It was actually pretty cool. Pat started playing his guitar synth off stage. Just wild notes, pretty loud. He then walked on, still playing intensely. Then the group came on one by one and joined in, I think Steve Rodby was playing a large double bass drum strapped to his body. Lyle Mays playing the trumpet I think.
The piece is a bit of a joke, it's their take on a poor school marching band, which I believe some of the group played in. Doesn't work as a serious of music of course, and I'm not sure why they recorded it, but on the night it worked very well as everyone was laughing, band included. They then launched into either Yolanda or Phase Dance, the latter I think.
I think it was both Metheny and Mays who played in the marching band in high school. This piece works a lot better live than on the studio album, I always skip it too. Favorite PMG? Song for Bilbao. Favorite from this album? First Circle. Yolanda is another great one but not one of my favorites.
I remember when first hearing FC and Forward March in a record store my first reaction was a big wtf? But the album is great and eventually the tune has become a part of the album as it is. Not good or bad, just a necessary part. So, no, I never skip it.
Greetings,
I never skip the tune, as the album wouldn't feel right without it. I also find it quite amusing.
Cheers,
Alan
Nope...I love it
Matt.
FWIW, I thought it was mildly amusing- once. But I've skipped past it every time I've played the album since.
That is a pretty cool story, and I can see how it would work better in a live setting. I have listened to it a few times on the record, but nowadays I usually just skip right to "Yolanda".
I don't think I'd like a whole album in this style, but I enjoy the track. Has a bit of an Ornette Coleman thing to it.
I'm OK with it. I never skip it. It's part of the overall album presentation and as a another poster mentioned it wouldn't "feel right" without it. In addition to it perhaps being inspired by their high school marching band experiences it, to my ears, also hints at the music of Ornette Coleman and 20th century Classical music.
I wholeheartedly agree with the Ornette Coleman thing.
I love nearly the entire First Circle record, this track included.
I remember that in one of his interviews during the 'Way Up' period, Lyle Mays said that 'Forward March' was a joke and that they "young" at that time ("come on, we were young" were his words). Of course how can a "young" band record timeless gems as 'The First Circle', 'Yolanda, You Learn', 'Tell it All' etc. is a big question. I never skip the track, it is impossible for me to disconnect it from the magic experience I go through every time I play the album. They actually performed it live for several years following the release of 'The First Circle'. I caught them in Athens in 1992 during their southern European tour (from which 'The Road to You' live album was culled) and the group walked on stage opening the concert exactly the way Philly112 described (yes, Lyle on trumpet, Rodby playing a huge bass drum and Paul Wertico a snare drum), before segueing into 'Phase Dance'. Unforgettable moments...
Wouldn't dream of skipping it. Man, what an album.
I recall reading that when Mark Ledford was in the band he and Lyle would both play trumpet on it.
I would hit the "pause" button on the missus instead, great track!
"Forward March" is what this record is all about. I played The First Circle start to finish every week for about a year and a half during 1984-85 which culminated in a great outdoor show in my hometown in June '85. I felt like the band took a big leap forward with this album. It sounds different than anything they did in the past.
Might just be me but Forward March does remind me a bit of the music Charles Ives and as such you could call quintessential American music.
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