Let's hope this isn't representative of the whole album.
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Some of you be like....
"A fresh excuse to break out the whip! YAY!"
Ever notice how these same gripes pop up every time Billy does anything new? It's like the prog contingent is butthurt he didn't deliver a tried and true PROG OPUS and is bummed he wrote something more pop. Why are they looking to Billy for that anyway? Even Yes, the band he is in, does not always go there.
Don't you get it by now? That's his forte. Want that prog opus? Go play that new Wobbler or something.... You aren't getting it from Billy and are silly to look to him for it and to treat him like shit because it didn't happen. Just saying. I see a pattern here over the years.
Last edited by Sean; 12-09-2020 at 07:17 PM.
What if people listened to this track and the other sound samples and made their decision that it was not good for their own earst? Good is good and bad is bad no matter what genre one attempts to throw a track into. I didn't need to listen to the entire track to make my mind up.
This song/band is getting creamed across the 'net from the few prog-related places I can see.
I think therein lies the issue. The prog association sets up certain musical expectations that that are unfulfilled. It's like they are making an album for a different audience, but only the prog one really knows them.
Just my take.....
You'd have to ask them.
Or maybe there's a "Heart of the Sunrise" tucked in there we haven't run across yet? <shrugs>
I can only tell you MY reaction. And that's "Fuck, I'd hoped we'd get ONE Sherwood-helmed project where he DOESN'T SING LEAD!!!"
Seriously... when I heard of this, I thought, "Awesome. I don't mind Sherwood's songwriting or production abilities, and with JD singing, this ought to be a lot of fun." And what we get is Sherwood's strained "vocals" up front AGAIN, like with Circa and his myriad solo albums. I mean, what the hell? It's like having Freddie Mercury* and Lee "The Nice" Jackson in the same band and having Jackson sing half the material.
I'm glad Henry sorted out which songs JD is singing lead on, so I know which tracks to get when it's available on Amazon. I'm sorry. I just couldn't believe this. I used to think Sherwood sang lead on all his solo and band efforts because he was the only one available who'd do it for free. Now I think he actually believes he's lead singer material. It finally broke me and now I'm another music critic asshole. Sue me.
---
*Mercury used as an example for analogy purposes only. JD is very good, but obviously not a scratch upon Mercury in his prime.
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You clearly explained why you feel the way do. Thanks for that, Thomas.
Two things. First, this new song is just not very good IMO. I like a lot of pop. I like a lot of AOR. This song doesn't cut it in either of those domains. The main riff is anemic. The chorus is cliche, both in terms of melody and lyrics. For me, it has nothing to do with Sherwood or his voice. It wouldn't be any better if JD were singing it.
Second, just go back and listen to the Circa Windmill album. Some totally credible "prog opuses" on that one. Sherwood can and does write them, and when he does, I'm a fan.
I meant you aren't getting it from Billy THIS TIME. Though even those Circa epics aren't enough to satisfy many here.
Last edited by Squids; 12-09-2020 at 08:30 PM.
I wasn't sure what I expected from this lineup. I did not expect a prog masterpiece - Frontiers is not known for that. They are a label that specializes in '80s rock and rockers from that era with a strong slant on melodic rock or melodic metal. They obviously released records also from Asia and Alan Parsons - two proggy-pop bands that I adore and was kinda thinking that AOL might fall in that realm. This song kinda leaves me baffled. The vocals (as have been mentioned) are clearly not a strong suit on this song. I see Squids playing keys, but darned if I can hear what he is playing. It is also sounds like it is missing something - not sure what - keyboards maybe? - but it feels "demo-ish" to me. It sounds like it might have fit on a Conspiracy record? As a fan of bands like Asia/APP/GTR/World Trade, I was looking forward to this a lot.
The press blurb that they threw out there says:
"The concept behind Arc Of Life is, in keeping with the progressive rock philosophy, to craft creative, challenging and ear-pleasing music that pushes boundaries.
Sherwood describes the music as, “interesting, with well-crafted songs, performed with precision and grace. All songs feature memorable melodies and lyrics that take the listener on a sonic adventure. Dynamic arrangements with peaks and valleys ... it's all there.”
The other idea behind the band is that YES would be a clear point of influence. But while YES is clearly the main point of comparison, a lot of musical similarities can be drawn to describe Arc Of Life’s grandiose and epic approach to music.
In Davison’s words, “Each YES member understands and supports when others may desire to explore and thrive along new artistic avenues. We then each find further inspiration to bring back to the YES fold.”
But all the descriptions are best left to the listeners to discern for themselves as repeat listens will reveal more layers.
A press release said, “Arc Of Life is a true garden of delight for progressive rock fans, and the band is looking forward to performing live.”
“Once the world gets over the COVID hump, Arc Of Life will be planning as much touring as we can fit in between YES and our other projects. Quite honestly, we’re all chomping at the bit to be out performing again!” Davison said."
I don't know. I am looking forward to hearing a well-crafted song that features memorable melodies from this band.
Last edited by Dan Roth; 12-09-2020 at 08:36 PM.
You guys are way too clever! Especially Henry! haha. But he is the YES expert so...
I didn't even know the Ava project was made public at all but I heard about it. I'm not the authority on that subject or the story behind it but I CAN tell you that I was added into the mix after the songs were already written and I wasn't asked to co-produce, engineer or sing. Just keyboards for now but on the next album the idea is that I will at least co-write with the band. The songs are mostly written by Billy and Jon so naturally it would predominantly be their style... which tbh you either like or you don't.
Would I do songs differently? Well, yeah I mean I already do. I linked to some In Continuum tracks a few pages ago that happen to have Jon. I've released things I've done with Billy and if you haven't heard my solo albums or Sound of Contact, that'll give you an idea of my songwriting and production style if you don't already know. BUT... I am also a keyboard player and it's fun to join these guys on this adventure.
I did expect there to be the typical Pop vs. Prog and "will the real Yes please stand up" controversies and endless debates. I'm not stupid. I know what I signed up for regarding that! However, man, I just love these guys. They have a lot of talent and experience. Much to learn from them I have (say that in Yoda's voice for full effect). And if they want more from me down the line then that would be really cool! In the meantime, I'm still writing my own albums regardless so... the idea of touring with Arc of Life, a band of great people I admire and enjoy hanging with (and hopefully playing some cool Yes tunes too in the set! I'm practicing my Yes keys just in case!!!) is quite simply FUN! Can't wait till that can happen safely and I'm sure the shows will be full of energy and all kinds of surprises.
Really a bit of what I was expecting it would sound like. Vocals & harmonies are excellent and it sounds well mixed without me putting on headphones yet. Perhaps other songs on this album will sound different and perhaps Jon will sing lead on some of them. What are the chances of that happening. ;-)
Spot on, Sean. At soon to be fifty-six (though with Covid I 'm going back in time to growing out my hair a bit, only getting younger so I will say forty-something ;-) ) YES-fan, fan of All Things YES, and Billy and the rest of "the boys", I still consider myself a younger YES-fan. And as you most of you all know, the older YES-fans are, well, DAMN OLD.
Most take a full minute to piss out a meager steam, let alone do most things that pass for acceptable from when they were actually younger. Okay, certainly not all of you. Bitching is something my wife does well, along with many folks who could probably hold off and say nothing at all after hearing the first song, probably just once. I love P.E. where there are also a lot of so-called YES-fans who do the most polite versions of dissing YES, or Jon Davison. My favorite rather recently here was when someone wrote, I live Jon Davison's singing, but not with YES. Life us too short to bitch and moan; and yes, even be grumpy. ;-)
That being said, there are so many good oeople on here with a wealth of music knowledge and information, but prog is such a limited group genre, that it matters little to the masses. Perhaps like the god-awful Owner, this group may be a gateway to future fans and musicians for those whi really aren't versed in prog, yet. ;-)
Thank goodness some of my favorite's are still making music and will be touring, again, sometime in the future. Warts, old age and all despite old grinches. :-)
My progressive music site: https://pienemmatpurot.com/ Reviews in English: https://pienemmatpurot.com/in-english/
it just feels like a bit of cruel joke to have billy on lead vocals when jon is in the band lol
Possibly because he often doesn't do anything new? That's one problem with what I've heard so far: it all sounds a lot like CIRCA:, Yoso, Citizen etc. I think the most-loved musicians show development and change from album to album.
Consider Steve Howe's most recent 3 solo/trio releases: Love Is, New Frontier, Time. A track from any one of those would stand out on either of the other albums. They're all recognisably Steve Howe albums, but they each bring something new.
Also, this is meant to be a band with 5 musicians in it. We didn't know, until now, that it would sound so Sherwood heavy. I was hoping that Davison and Squids would bring more variation from the CIRCA: mould. The best bands sound like more than the sum of their parts: that single sounds like less than the sum of the parts. I remember when Squackett came out: you could hear the Squire elements and the Hackett elements, but the collaboration brought something extra as well.
I don't think that's fair to Sherwood or the fans. (I'm picking a fight in order to add some exciting tension to our SOAL chat on Saturday!) Sherwood has a range: this single, like Yoso, is at the poppier end of that range. But he's also done albums like Valley of the Windmill or songs like "Homeworld". Arc of Life's promo hypes up their Yes connection and says things like "The concept behind Arc of Life is, in keeping with the progressive rock philosophy, to craft creative, challenging, and ear-pleasing music that pushes boundaries." If that's your pitch, I suggest you pick a first single that delivers on that.
Also, I love a PROG OPUS, but I also love pop. I've spent most of the last month listening to the new Dua Lipa album. I'm happy to get pop, but make it good pop, make it pop that sounds like the musicians have noticed the last 30 years of other pop music. I threw up a quick Twitter poll comparing "You Make It Real" to the new DBA single. DBA are ahead 11:1.
Henry
Where Are They Now? Yes news: http://www.bondegezou.co.uk/wh_now.htm
Blogdegezou, the accompanying blog: http://bondegezou.blogspot.com/
Where Are They Now? Yes news: http://www.bondegezou.co.uk/wh_now.htm
Blogdegezou, the accompanying blog: http://bondegezou.blogspot.com/
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