You should check the upcoming remastered version of sc1 then :D

Excellent, meticulous reviews man.

You should listen to the new Ruins of Beverast and give us another one of your reviews! I am personally loving it so far!

Incredible review of an incredible album from an incredible artist. Just read the Exuvia review; your last two sentences couldn't be more apt.

Yes I already saw your review for Exuvia! Still, thanks for letting me know! Such a good review, as usual. The album is indeed great, it could very well end up being my favorite, but it's so hard to choose a favorite with this guy. All the albums are great. Cheers bud!

Upon reading your review for Giant for a Day, I have to say that you've made my writing a review completely redundant, as what you've written completely echoes my thoughts about the records. The reason their attempt to transition into mainstream Rock face-planted where Genesis and Yes went into lift-off is because those two artists had people in their group that understood Pop music - the Shulman brothers and Minnear simply didn't. Sadly, the reason so much of it sounds shallow is because the only reason they actually tried to make the transition was for money, and because they were tired of touring and selling to a "cult" of loyal fans, and wanting the same success they enjoyed in the 60s. Miles away from the lofty statements of intent found in their earlier work...

I think for Yes and Genesis, it was always inevitable because they always had that influence in their music, primarily through a strong influence from groups like the Beatles. What marked GG out was that they were so separate from other groups in that regard, all their influence being in jazz and medieval folk music and the like.

I don't think the whole concept of them making a 'pop' transition was entirely doomed, tracks like "Two Weeks in Spain" and some cuts from Interview show they could have made a good transition to doing weird, Talking Heads-styled complex New Wave stuff (much like King Crimson!), but with no passion there, it just winds up an awkward end. I must admit, the more I listen to the later era albums, the more their highlights grow on me, but the disparity in quality between that and the run of work from 71-74 is noticeable to my ears.

I suppose I more think they could've just modernised for the 80s (and I think modernised is the right word to use) more effectively than they chose. Clearly it was the wrong route for them to take!