What are we all listening to at the moment.

[Plenum n Heather]

I've been listening to Renaissance's Ashes Are Burning a lot lately. Sounds to me like they had quite a big influence on Kansas, but I would have to check the dates ... but a lot of their music sounds eerily similar to classic Kansas!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwAPFbQVMgs

[Philly Q]

I really liked the first Ghost album but thought the second one was teribad. Check out Serpent Venom and Uncle Acid & the deadbeats too then 8)

Yeah, I'm not sure about Ghost - I do like the sound but there's a whiff of fakery about them, like they think there's money to be made from the theatrical image and "nameless ghoul" nonsense.

Serpent Venom I hadn't heard of, love their album cover!  :D

I keep seeing Uncle Acid & the deadbeats (in my Amazon recommendations) but it's the name that puts me off - makes me think of Zodiac Mindwarp & the Love Reaction and (worse) Doctor and the Medics....  :lol:

[Philly Q]

I've been listening to Renaissance's Ashes Are Burning a lot lately. Sounds to me like they had quite a big influence on Kansas, but I would have to check the dates ... but a lot of their music sounds eerily similar to classic Kansas!

It's funny, I only really know Renaissance for a hit single they had in 1978 called "Northern Lights"!  Would never have thought of them as any kind of progressive rock band.

I see what you mean about the similarities to early Kansas.  I found this in an interview with Kerry Livgren:

Well, much has been said and much has been made of the British influence of progressive rock on Kansas. I think it has been an overstated taste. Truth is, Kansas was very much headed down a progressive road before we ever heard of most of those British bands. A couple of years ago some very early recordings were released of the original Kansas, under the name Proto-Kaw, which is the band I’m in now.

Those recordings were from ‘71 and ‘72, and I think they pretty well demonstrate, for historical record, that we had a very progressive sound prior to any influence by any of those British bands. It was more like we were contemporaries of them rather than derivative of them. I will give them due credit for later on, being part of the same genre, if you will.

Of course, you tend to bounce ideas off your contemporaries, if not in person, at least from listening to their music. I wouldn’t say we were completely devoid of their influence; that wouldn’t be true either. But on the other hand, we were very much cut from that same mold right from the get go.

[Plenum n Heather]

It's funny, I only really know Renaissance for a hit single they had in 1978 called "Northern Lights"!  Would never have thought of them as any kind of progressive rock band.

It's more Canterbury over straight up prog, but I quite like it. A lot of their cuts are quite long and epic in scope, too -- but more pastoral/symphonic a la early Genesis (which I also classify as Canterbury) not like Yes or Jethro Tull...

[Philly Q]

It's funny, I only really know Renaissance for a hit single they had in 1978 called "Northern Lights"!  Would never have thought of them as any kind of progressive rock band.

It's more Canterbury over straight up prog, but I quite like it. A lot of their cuts are quite long and epic in scope, too -- but more pastoral/symphonic a la early Genesis (which I also classify as Canterbury) not like Yes or Jethro Tull...

Ah, I'd forgotten all about the Canterbury sound!  I'm far from an expert in prog, but I have been getting into it a bit in recent years.  Still very much more on the "...rock" side than the "prog..." side, though.

[juansolo]

I embarrassingly have only just discovered Tony Martin era Black Sabbath. How the hell did I miss this first time around!? Tyr, Headless Cross and The Eternal Idol. What cracking albums they are! It's sad that he seems almost erased from Sabbath history really.

[Philly Q]

I embarrassingly have only just discovered Tony Martin era Black Sabbath. How the hell did I miss this first time around!? Tyr, Headless Cross and The Eternal Idol. What cracking albums they are! It's sad that he seems almost erased from Sabbath history really.

Cross Purposes is good too.  Forbidden, on the other hand, is $%&#ing bollocks.

Tony Martin was excellent on those records, I'd say he even (whisper....) gave Dio a run for his money, on sheer quality of the vocals.  The Eternal Idol is one of my absolute favourite Sabbath albums.

[Philly Q]

Atlanta Rhythm Section - The Best Of

I bought this after watching "Southern Rock at the BBC" on BBC4 last week - mainly because the ARS clip seemed so very good after the terrible Black Oak Arkansas song which preceded it.

It is, to be honest, all a bit too slick and polished, but they're good songs, very well played.  And there are some extremely nice melodic jazzy-rock guitar solos in some of the tracks.  It's reminiscent of Steely Dan at times.

[_tom_]

Discovered this Japanese shoegaze (I think) band thanks to reddit, loving it! I need to find more things like this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33JNwxSNNNY

Gonna have to go ahead and buy their cd, it's £20 on amazon though :(

[Philly Q]

Gonna have to go ahead and buy their cd, it's £20 on amazon though :(

Ah go on, 20 quid's not too bad!

[Elliot]

Not normally my kinda thing - but I am currently listening to Black Rebel Motorcycle Club:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYkhNWIdra0

[_tom_]

Ah go on, 20 quid's not too bad!

Yep consider it bought :D

[agentOrAnGe]

A lot of bluegrass both old and new:
The devil makes three
Doc Watson
Earl Scruggs
Trampled by Turtles

[Philly Q]

Orchid - Through the Devils Doorway and Capricorn

These guys sound so much like early Sabbath that it's almost taking the piss, you can sit dissecting the songs to try to figure out where they've nicked each riff from.  They're pretty much a tribute band.... but a good one. 

Points deducted for complete lack of originality, but if Sabbath had never existed I'd love Orchid.  Or I'd be sitting here saying they sound exactly like Led Zeppelin or Uriah Heep.

[rotpunkt]

A lot of bluegrass both old and new:
...
Doc Watson
Earl Scruggs

I'm a big Doc fan, I approve.... :lol: