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Thread: Narrated Prog music albums

  1. #1

    Narrated Prog music albums

    I just came across yet another concept album that combines the narration and prog related music. I found it very enjoyable to listen to. So the question is what are the other albums produced using similar approach

    Some of the candidates:

    Robert Calvert - Captain Lockheed And The Starfighters (prog related and hard rock but still very well done)
    Pavol Hammel & Prudy - Slehackova Princezna (all sorts of influences including RIO, Canterbury like music)
    Rick Wakeman - Journey to the Center of the Earth (maybe the most (in)famous of narrated concept albums)
    Frank Zappa - Studio Tan (The Adventures Of Greggery Peccary is a classic)

  2. #2
    Member TheH's Avatar
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    Anyone's Daughter - Piktors Verwandlungen
    Rigoni/Schoenherz: Victor - A Symphonic Poem
    Euthymia - L'ultima Illusione
    PHOLAS DACTYLUS - Concerto Delle Menti

  3. #3
    Quote Originally Posted by TheH View Post
    Rigoni/Schoenherz: Victor - A Symphonic Poem
    There’s narration on this? Where?

    Add to the list:

    The Alan Parsons Project: Tales of Mystery & Imagination (remixed 1987 version)
    First Aid: Nostradamus
    Flaming Bess: Tanz der Götter and Verlorene Welt
    Stern-Combo Meissen: Weisses Gold

    There’s also that hideous disco-rock atrocity War of the Worlds with narration by Richard Burton, if you consider that prog (and I don’t).

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    MIKE (a.k.a. "Progbear")

    "'Thin Thighs For Your Man.' But I don't *like* men with thin thighs" --Daria

    N.P.:“Tigermoth”-Steve Hackett/Spectral Mornings

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    Member dgtlman's Avatar
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    Utopia - RA Not the whole album but Singring & The Glass Guitar
    Zappa - Joe's Garage

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    Geriatric Anomaly progeezer's Avatar
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    Side 2 of Small Faces Ogden's Nut Gone Flake (narrated by the same Stanley Holloway who sang "Get Me To The Church On Time" in My Fair Lady).

    Yes, that album was prog.






    imo
    "My choice early in life was either to be a piano player in a whorehouse or a politician, and to tell the truth, there's hardly any difference"

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    Parrots Ripped My Flesh Dave (in MA)'s Avatar
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    TAAB

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    Jazzbo manqué Mister Triscuits's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by progeezer View Post
    Side 2 of Small Faces Ogden's Nut Gone Flake (narrated by the same Stanley Holloway who sang "Get Me To The Church On Time" in My Fair Lady).
    That was Stanley Unwin on Ogden's, not Stanley Holloway.

    Procol Harum: side 2 of Something Magic

  8. #8
    Profondo Giallo Crystal Plumage's Avatar
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    Ayreon - Into the Electric Castle
    Various Artists - The Reading Room
    HuGo
    "Very, very nice," said a man in the crowd,
    When the golden voice appeared.
    She was gold alright, but then so is rust.
    "Such a shame about the beard."

  9. #9
    All Things Must Pass spellbound's Avatar
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    Jeff Wayne's War Of The Worlds
    We're trying to build a monument to show that we were here
    It won't be visible through the air
    And there won't be any shade to cool the monument to prove that we were here. - Gene Parsons, 1973

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  11. #11
    All Things Must Pass spellbound's Avatar
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    This One

    We're trying to build a monument to show that we were here
    It won't be visible through the air
    And there won't be any shade to cool the monument to prove that we were here. - Gene Parsons, 1973

  12. #12
    Member TheH's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Progbear View Post
    There’s narration on this?
    Haven't played my LP for ages, somehow I rememered it to have long narrations.
    Maybe I just confused it with the long story on the Multi FOC.

  13. #13
    All of Rhapsody (of Fire)'s albums have had some short narrations but the one with the most was their worst - Symphony of Enchanted Lands II. This is the album where they signed with Joey DiMaio's (of Manowar) Magic Circle label and he probably influenced them to have so much narration and it was dreadfully, laughably bad.
    You say Mega Ultra Deluxe Special Limited Edition Extended Autographed 5-LP, 3-CD, 4-DVD, 2-BlueRay, 4-Cassette, five 8-Track, MP4 Download plus Demos, Outtakes, Booklet, T-Shirt and Guitar Pick Gold-Leafed Box Set Version like it's a bad thing...

  14. #14
    Member bill g's Avatar
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    Anthony Phillips - Battle of the Birds (narrated by Gilli Smyth of Gong)

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    And don't say that it's not prog, because it's the very definition of prog.

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    Parrots Ripped My Flesh Dave (in MA)'s Avatar
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    People might argue that it's not prog, but it was the inspiration for Days of Future Past.

  17. #17
    Quote Originally Posted by Dave (in MA) View Post
    People might argue that it's not prog, but it was the inspiration for Days of Future Past.
    I just lit some incense and turned on the lava-lamp

  18. #18
    Member Digital_Man's Avatar
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    Two that have already been mentioned come to mind: Rick Wakeman's "journey to the center of the earth" and Jeff Wayne's "war of the worlds." I need to listen to APP's "tales of mystery and imagination" again. How much of this was narrated? Not that it matters. Just wondering.

    Also parts of:

    Triumvirat's "illusions on a double dimple" and Eloy's "power and the passion." Also parts of most of the earlier Moody Blues albums(usually at least one spoken word track on the 67-72 albums). Oh and let's not forget the introduction of the instruments on Mike Oldfield's "tubular bells" album. I'm not familiar with most of MO's music so I would like to know if any other albums by him have any narration on them.

    I really like spoken word and narration in prog/music. I think it gives the music a story like quality that I often find appealing.
    Last edited by Digital_Man; 06-24-2013 at 10:34 PM.

  19. #19
    Recently Resurrected zombywoof's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by spellbound View Post
    This One

    How is that? I've always wanted to hear it.

  20. #20
    Profondo Giallo Crystal Plumage's Avatar
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    I was in doubt about Jeff Wayne, but since WotW was mentioned: Spartacus as well. But I wouldn't call it Prog.
    HuGo
    "Very, very nice," said a man in the crowd,
    When the golden voice appeared.
    She was gold alright, but then so is rust.
    "Such a shame about the beard."

  21. #21
    Quote Originally Posted by spellbound View Post
    This One

    Wow, what a butt-ugly cover! Comic Sans ought to be outlawed! Here’s what the original cover looked like:



    ...and another alternate cover, which is nearly as hideous as the one posted above:



    Incidentally, I have heard Marscape but not this, how does it compare?

    -------------
    MIKE (a.k.a. "Progbear")

    "'Thin Thighs For Your Man.' But I don't *like* men with thin thighs" --Daria

    N.P.:“Incontro”-Alma sideris/Castelli in aria

  22. #22
    Thanks , lot of good suggestions...


    btw, is anyone familiar with Ensemble Modern's "Frank Zappa: Greggery Peccary & Other Persuasions"? Is it worthwhile?

  23. #23
    Highly Evolved Orangutan JKL2000's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Progbear View Post
    Wow, what a butt-ugly cover! Comic Sans ought to be outlawed!
    LOL. I used to work with a guy who submitted all his work requests to me in Comic Sans. Drove me crazy because I cut and pasted what he sent, and often had to change the font to something more normal, as it ended up being submitted to an overnight operations team.

    Here are a couple more narrated albums:

    Blind Guardian - Nightfall in Middle Earth (an edition without the narration just came out)
    Mad Puppet - King Laurin and His Rose Garden
    Pete Townshend - Psychderelict (narration-free edition also unavailable)
    Karmakanic-first album (BEGINS with a longish, hyper annoying narrated section - great move!)

  24. #24
    Parrots Ripped My Flesh Dave (in MA)'s Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Progmatic View Post
    Thanks , lot of good suggestions...


    btw, is anyone familiar with Ensemble Modern's "Frank Zappa: Greggery Peccary & Other Persuasions"? Is it worthwhile?
    It is if you like The Yellow Shark and Everything Is Healing Nicely. If you don't like those, you're probably better off skipping it.

    I don't know why everybody gets so worked up over comic sans when its zapf dingbats that should be avoided.

  25. #25
    Highly Evolved Orangutan JKL2000's Avatar
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    ^ Prepare to die!

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