Short answer.
No.
Actual Fantasy and The Human Equation are my two favourites. Actual Fantasy was the first Ayreon album I heard and it blew me away, so I might be a bit biased towards it.
When we were auditioning speakers a couple of years ago, we used Abbey of Synn off of Actual Fantasy as one of our demo songs. Boy did we get some weird looks from salesmen! LOL! Except for one guy who LOVED it and made me write down all the album info for him. Guess who we bought our speakers from?
I like the Universal Migrator albums for the very reason a lot of Ayreon fans don't; its not a rock opera. It plays more like a compilation of songs that have a common theme.
My nest venture into Ayreon was Electric Castle and it was just too cornball, too Tim Rice for me.
My first Ayeron was Universal Migrator Part 1, which I still love. Unfortunately, it isn't very representative of his other work, so I got a bit of a shock when I got Part 2. Not being much of a prog metal fan, I gave it away several years ago.
The Human Equation is by far his best work, IMO. That album is still one of my favorite concept albums.
Electric Castle I enjoy, but it IS pretty darn cheesy and I would like it a whole lot more if there wasn't narration on every single track (or nearly so). First album is decent, but is sort of a first attempt type thing. Second album, Actual Fantasy is decent, but not one I pull out much.
The most recent two, 0101100 (or something) and Theory Of Everything both suffer from over literal lyrics. It's like having a novel read to you, with melody. I don't know how any of the singers could really FEEL anything from those lyrics to give a good performance (there are exceptions of course......I think John Wetton could sing the phone book, as the old saying goes, and make it sound good). I like the music on both those, so there is that. I just think his lyrics have gotten progressively worse since Human Equation, which had his best in my view.
I think I should probably get Guilt Machine, as I keep hearing good things about it but have never yet heard it.
This is why a total non-lyric guy like myself can get so much out of the Ayreon albums. I just don't place much importance on the lyrics or even the storyline. Human Equation is the only one I've ever followed along to the story. Other than Electric Castle, I have no idea what the story lines are for the rock operas. But I sure like the performances.
I love Hansi Kursch's vocals, so I really enjoy The parts on Human Equation and 1001001 where he sings. If I have those right.
This is my favorite tune from The Human Equation:
<sig out of order>
Another vote for Guilt Machine. I love them all though.
I guess I just figure that the artist put the lyrics on there for a reason......if not, why have them at all? I just prefer them to be more enigmatic and poetic. I like when you can apply your own interpretation, while still understanding what the artist was trying to convey. With Theory Of Everything (and even the binary one), he just lays out the story without any nuance or, well, artistry. I just find it too much like reading a text book.
I certainly know lyrics are there for a reason, I just don't care why. It's just not part of music I'm interested in all that much. It's not out of ignorance, it's more the way I listen to music, where I hear every sound the same, whether it's an instrument or a voice. It all floats over me, so I hear every note, but the words, I really don't hear what they are at all, unless I make the extra effort. And when I focus of the meaning of the words, I lose my focus on the instruments. The melody and the sounds used are just more important to me, so keeping my focus there is just better for my enjoyment. After 46 years, I'm not changing the way I listen just so I can appreciate the words more.
^^ I think you listen in a similar way to me then. Lyrics are just another melody line to listen to, the words are a by-product.
Yeah, I have a good friend who doesn't like vocals at all, so he obviously never cares much for lyrics. I realize that is not what you are saying, and I do understand where you are coming from. I know other people who say the same thing........the voice is another instrument, the words aren't really important. If a singer is good enough, I can often work with that as well.......I listen to a lot of Italian, French, etc. prog with vocals in the native language and I don't understand a word. Yet I can still love the music and the voice. So I get it. I just think that with Aryeon, the lyrics are the whole reason for the music, so I figure he wants people to pay attention to them. I doubt he would care how people appreciate his music though, as long as they do.
I do that as well. Usually the only reason I'll try to figure out the words if it I think it will be fun to sing along to. I actually love singing, even if it's limited to the car where nobody has to hear me. I'll also sing along to instrumental bits. I found myself singing nearly all of Steve Hacket's leads back when I saw his Genesis show last fall. I was in the 2nd row, so I doubt many people heard me at all. What an awesome experience that was.
Into The Electric Castle and (especially) The Human Equation are my personal faves. I'm also rather partial to Actual Fantasy. I need to revisit (or in some cases hear for the first time) some of his other work. Certainly a stellar musician.
'The smell of strange colours are heard everywhere'- Threshold
Huh, The lyrics are the one thing in all of Ayreon's albums that bother me. I wonder if its because English is a second language for him? They just seem to have a high cheese factor. I LOVE the music of Ayreon, but I'm also a lyrics guy. His lyrics seem to "try too hard" that's my fear about "the theory of everything" - I haven't listened yet, but I suspect he saw a Michio Kaku lecture on Youtube and decided to build a concept album from string theory or quantum mechanics. - That would be weird - and frankly, hard to do without using some strange words like "entanglement" or "double slit experiment" or some other weird terminology. A rock song about Nills Bhor would be just plain goofy.
For me, a concept album has to have a decent concept behind it. But I'm sure the musicianship will be great. I have this new one on my list, but haven't taken the leap. (pun intended) I have to take Ayreon in limited amounts, because of the lyrics.
I got nothin' :
...avoiding any implication that I have ever entertained a cognizant thought.
live samples:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwbCFGbAtFc
https://youtu.be/AEE5OZXJioE
https://soundcloud.com/yodelgoat/yod...om-a-live-show
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUe3YhCjy6g
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VOCJokzL_s
Interesting, that was my problem with The Human Equation! That album was where I got off the Ayreon bandwagon so I haven't heard the two you've mentioned.
If Star One/Space Metal is considered an Ayreon album, then that's my favorite by a long shot. I love the exotic Richie Blackmore-type scales/riffs and Floor Janssen...floors me.
I find that the earlier Ayreon albums (before Human Equation) haven't had staying power with me. I enjoyed them when they came out but they've lost their luster. Perhaps the only one I would still listen to is the Universal Migrator set.
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...
Have you guys seen this?
http://www.thetheaterequation.com/
http://www.facebook.com/thetheaterequation
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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Thread's over a month old, but I'll add my thoughts. I'm a big fan and have listened to everything but the new one.
My recommendations, in order:
Into The Electric Castle
The Final Experiment
The Human Equation
01011001
Flight of the Migrator
Actual Fantasy
The Dream Sequencer
All are recommended.
After that, you can go through Arjen's other projects:
Star One - His tribute to SciFi TV shows and movies. Never thought I'd see someone write a Blake's 7 song...
Lost In The New Real - His solo album where he sings about more SciFi concepts and Rutger Hauer narration.
Stream Of Passion - If you like Marcela Bovio on The Human Equation, you can check out the band Arjen helped her form. He only plays on the first album, but it is a pretty good band.
Guilt Machine - The band he formed after leaving Stream Of Passion
Ambeon - Originally intended to be reworked instrumental pieces from previous Ayreon projects, he discovered 14 year old Astrid van der Veen and had her singing to her own lyrics.
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