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Thread: Robert Reed - Cursus 123 430

  1. #1

    Robert Reed - Cursus 123 430

    Is there anyone as prolific and diverse as Rob Reed?




  2. #2
    Member Gizmotron's Avatar
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    Very cool!

    To answer your question: no!

    Robert is truly prolific, diverse, and clever. I really enjoy his work.

  3. #3
    Insect Overlord Progatron's Avatar
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    Andy Tillison might match the criteria, he's fairly prolific and does venture into different styles like his electronic side projects, etc.
    Interviewer of reprobate ne'er-do-well musicians of the long-haired rock n' roll persuasion at: www.velvetthunder.co.uk and former scribe at Classic Rock Society. Only vaguely aware of anything other than music.

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    Member rickawakeman's Avatar
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    Love the Kompendium and Sanctuary albums. Digging the new Magenta. I'm a fan.

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    Member Gizmotron's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by rickawakeman View Post
    Love the Kompendium and Sanctuary albums. Digging the new Magenta. I'm a fan.
    I could not agree more. To me, Kompendium is his best work. The Sanctuary CDs are excellent. And of course, Magenta has some wonderful CDs, especially the new CD (Masters of illusion). “Bela” is a phenomenal track.

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    Highly Evolved Orangutan JKL2000's Avatar
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    Already preordered this. The recent Chimpan A album is excellent! I haven’t even listened to a note of the latest Magenta album yet - I have to catch up! I was a fan of Cyan before Magenta.

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    Member Gizmotron's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by JKL2000 View Post
    Already preordered this. The recent Chimpan A album is excellent! I haven’t even listened to a note of the latest Magenta album yet - I have to catch up! I was a fan of Cyan before Magenta.
    You have some goodness to get to!!

    What is your favorite Cyan album??

    (If you like the lyrics to Cyan and Magenta and Kompendium, Steve Reed’s book explaining them is excellent. Highly recommended!)

  8. #8
    Member rickawakeman's Avatar
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    I found Cyan to be ok neo but Magenta sparked my appreciation of Mssr. Reed.

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    Highly Evolved Orangutan JKL2000's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Gizmotron View Post
    You have some goodness to get to!!

    What is your favorite Cyan album??

    (If you like the lyrics to Cyan and Magenta and Kompendium, Steve Reed’s book explaining them is excellent. Highly recommended!)
    I just a longish reply then accidentally deleted it. Frig!

    I’ll just sum it up by saying there are so many releases in the Robert Reed “universe” that it’s hard to keep up, but my collection is pretty complete. I think I’ve bought the Magenta album “Home” more than any other album, with all the different versions of it!

    BTW, I really like the packaging style they’ve been using, and it makes collecting the releases fun and sort of satisfying.

  10. #10
    Insect Overlord Progatron's Avatar
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    I have two Cyan CDs and they're pretty good, but they don't approach the greatness of the Magenta stuff IMO. I also have several of those Oldfield-esque CDs Rob Reed made, and they are very good.

    What about The Fyreworks CD? Anyone else have that one?
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    Member moecurlythanu's Avatar
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    ^ Yep. Decent to good. Nowhere near great.

  12. #12
    Fyreworks is the one major gap in my Rob Reed collection, and I've never even heard it.

    I picked up a couple of Cyan albums over the years, but post discovering Magenta, who have been a favourite studio and live band for many a year now.

    It is Chimpan A's first album that I return to the most, and I enjoyed this years release too.

    The new direction seems quite different to me, and whilst I love classic synths, I'm not a huge fan of albums that contain narration, so it remains to be seen if this is integral throughout or just introductory and scene setting. However I'll be sure to buy it and support one of my favourite musicians.

  13. #13
    The narration is quite sparce and just for scene setting purposes as you inferred.

    In regards to The Fyreworks, check out Broken Skies below.


  14. #14
    Highly Evolved Orangutan JKL2000's Avatar
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    Ok, so it’s a Rob Reed-off, is it? Time to get the big guns out:

    Do you guys have the ProgAid CD? It’s a benefit that I believe was initiated by Reed, because the song they rerecorded for it is All Around the World, which was originally on the Cyan album Pictures from the other side. The song has a load of neo-Prog vocalists, which is actually much more appealing than some might fear,as it included Peter Nichols, Christina Booth, I THINK Annie Haslam though I could be wrong on that. Anyway, it’s very well done, and includes three additional mixes which are all quite good.

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    Insect Overlord Progatron's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by JKL2000 View Post
    Ok, so it’s a Rob Reed-off, is it? Time to get the big guns out:

    Do you guys have the ProgAid CD? It’s a benefit that I believe was initiated by Reed, because the song they rerecorded for it is All Around the World, which was originally on the Cyan album Pictures from the other side. The song has a load of neo-Prog vocalists, which is actually much more appealing than some might fear,as it included Peter Nichols, Christina Booth, I THINK Annie Haslam though I could be wrong on that. Anyway, it’s very well done, and includes three additional mixes which are all quite good.
    Now that's one I don't have. From the Discogs info, I see there's a ton of performers on it. A who's who of the modern (at that time) prog world.
    Interviewer of reprobate ne'er-do-well musicians of the long-haired rock n' roll persuasion at: www.velvetthunder.co.uk and former scribe at Classic Rock Society. Only vaguely aware of anything other than music.

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  16. #16
    ^ That's one I missed too, I remember the event happening but hadn't realised there was a CD released.

  17. #17
    Member Gizmotron's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by JKL2000 View Post
    Ok, so it’s a Rob Reed-off, is it? Time to get the big guns out:

    Do you guys have the ProgAid CD? It’s a benefit that I believe was initiated by Reed, because the song they rerecorded for it is All Around the World, which was originally on the Cyan album Pictures from the other side. The song has a load of neo-Prog vocalists, which is actually much more appealing than some might fear,as it included Peter Nichols, Christina Booth, I THINK Annie Haslam though I could be wrong on that. Anyway, it’s very well done, and includes three additional mixes which are all quite good.
    No!
    But I am now interested.

    How about the R Reed and Les Penning discs? I have two of those. Very nice...

  18. #18
    Progaid



    The CD is still available. Very cheap as well.
    https://www.progrock.co.uk/progaid-a...ep-c2x20787763

  19. #19
    Cyan's Pictures From The Other Side album was one I really liked when it was released and I still love it. So I was very much intrigued when he eventually set forth as Magenta but pretty much none of what was released Magenta has ever clicked with me. Then came Chimpan A which I really like and like I have seen him and Steve Balsamo mention it is a project in which pretty much anything goes although it is much more pop / electronic oriented. Kompendium is another one of his I really, very dramatic, almost begging for a theatre production it seems.
    The Sanctuary albums are a fun listen but to be honest he just sticks way too close to the compositional structures and sounds as used once by Mike Oldfield. If I want to hear that I put on the originals in all of their splendour.

    What little we hear in this promo of this new Cursus project I must say I am rather intrigued as artists like Jean Michel Jarre has been such an important part of my music life when I was quite a bit younger. Probably will pre-order this.

  20. #20
    Quote Originally Posted by JKL2000 View Post
    Ok, so it’s a Rob Reed-off, is it? Time to get the big guns out:

    Do you guys have the ProgAid CD? It’s a benefit that I believe was initiated by Reed, because the song they rerecorded for it is All Around the World, which was originally on the Cyan album Pictures from the other side. The song has a load of neo-Prog vocalists, which is actually much more appealing than some might fear,as it included Peter Nichols, Christina Booth, I THINK Annie Haslam though I could be wrong on that. Anyway, it’s very well done, and includes three additional mixes which are all quite good.
    Not only do I have it, but I was on it. I was sort of helping out in the background.

    The fun part was being asked to be part of the 'prog chorus'. This was to record the refrain of the chorus for the end of the track.

    Now the problem is, there were a lot of lead vocalists there from various UK prog bands...and you stick a bunch of lead vocalists in a room and ask them to sing a couple of lines of backing vocals...straight...well, its just not going to happen.

    So there were many attempts at this, and at the end of each take the engineer would come in and say "Who the hell threw that 'whoah baby' in? Stop it...just sing the damn lines!".

    Next take...comes in again..."I definitely heard an 'oohhhh yeah' on that one' Pack it in!".

    A great, fun day in the company of a bunch of nutters. And the video is available on YouTube.

  21. #21
    Highly Evolved Orangutan JKL2000's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Gizmotron View Post
    No!
    But I am now interested.

    How about the R Reed and Les Penning discs? I have two of those. Very nice...
    I think I have all of those, but I admit I bought them for completeness’ sake. Some I haven’t listened to.

    Was there a ProgAid event? The song was recorded in a studio.

  22. #22
    Highly Evolved Orangutan JKL2000's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rogue Mail View Post
    Not only do I have it, but I was on it. I was sort of helping out in the background.

    The fun part was being asked to be part of the 'prog chorus'. This was to record the refrain of the chorus for the end of the track.

    Now the problem is, there were a lot of lead vocalists there from various UK prog bands...and you stick a bunch of lead vocalists in a room and ask them to sing a couple of lines of backing vocals...straight...well, its just not going to happen.

    So there were many attempts at this, and at the end of each take the engineer would come in and say "Who the hell threw that 'whoah baby' in? Stop it...just sing the damn lines!".

    Next take...comes in again..."I definitely heard an 'oohhhh yeah' on that one' Pack it in!".

    A great, fun day in the company of a bunch of nutters. And the video is available on YouTube.
    Great story! I think the Ed result was very good. I forget her name now, but the female lead vocalist from Quasar is on it too. Somehow hearing all those different voices taking turns sounded really good. Also, the whole thing sounded a hell of a lot better than We Are the World to my ears - that comparison helped me like it. And the long “Prog” version is the best to my ears. Peter Nichols’ voice added a touch of class. Isn’t Nick Barrett is on it too, isn’t he?

    When Pictures from the Other Side came out I was really impressed by the guitar, which had that Oldfield sound. And the vocals by...Nigel Voyle or Voil or something were great too. I actually MAILED a gushing fan letter to Rob, but he never wrote back! I mentioned that to Rob at NEARfest but I think he had no memory of it! He seemed very modest and kind of shy.

    No one’s mentioned the Kiama project! When that album came out I wasn’t too keen on it, but when I last listened to it it sounded better. I have that and the second demo disk too. I tossed out the t-shirt recently. It was way too big now (yay!) and kind of ugly as well.

    This is kind of reminded me of when Dave, the drummer from Red Jasper, called me from England because I was the only member of their fan club in the USA! (And he wanted me to buy tickets to the Styx/Kansas show at the Beacon theater!)

  23. #23
    Highly Evolved Orangutan JKL2000's Avatar
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    I got a shipping notice for Cursus 123 430 from progrock.co.uk today!

  24. #24
    Quote Originally Posted by JKL2000 View Post
    I got a shipping notice for Cursus 123 430 from progrock.co.uk today!
    I got my pre-ordered package yesterday.

  25. #25
    Highly Evolved Orangutan JKL2000's Avatar
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    Where are you?

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