Posts by Witchwood

Quote from Christian

Booklets of both sets are no easy to scan - unless you want to destroy them. So I don’t think anybody has ever done this.

Yes, certainly the booklet from Archive 1, I recall handling it like an artifact unearthed from an ancient tomb.

I would partially open it and peak inside because I could tell from the crackling sound if I tried to open it properly, the pages would just come apart in my hands.

I don't recall if the Archive 2 booklet had that same problem. It's been a while since I tried looking at them.

Quote from MoonlitKnight

That's great news, though I think PG may need to book smaller venues in the US as compared to his last several tours. I was surprised at the shows I attended back in the 2000s (Growing Up and Still Growing Up) at the number of empty seats and the rather docile nature of the audience. I recall in particular that his attempt to get the audience to sing along to "Jeux Sans Frontieres" was met with almost total silence.

I'd welcome the opportunity to see him again, especially if he's promoting a new album.

The last two times I saw him in Toronto — 2002 and 2012 — they were arena shows and it was packed both times, but that's always been a good market for Genesis, Gabriel and classic prog bands.

Quote from BassAnd12Man

The '70s were brutal to bands in regard to all the crap that people threw on stage. In particular, in North America, fireworks were often lobbed at the stage which is insane...

Yeah, I remember the Canadian Music Festival in 1979 in Toronto. It was a one-day event. There were maybe 9 or 10 bands on the bill headlined by a trio of rockers: Aerosmith, Nazareth and Ted Nugent.

Johnny Winter came on before them, and before him it was The Ramones and that was the one act the crowd turned on.

It began with heckling and then people started whipping food and chunks of sod. I, of course, didn't participate in any of that, I was up in the stands as a young observer.

I recall The Ramones stopped playing mid-song very shortly into their set. One of the Ramones walked to the front of the stage, gave the audience the finger and the band walked off.

I'm saddened to learn that Gary Brooker (lead singer and keyboardist with Procol Harum) died a few days ago.

I always loved his voice.

In recent weeks, I had actually been looking over their discography, thinking of exploring their works beyond their initial years with Robin Trower.

R.I.P. Gary

https://www.procolharum.com/ga…w4yt9pFAF__XVPEhyQpz1-ycw

This is a backburner item that I have had on my want list for decades.

I saw it available once on Amazon and for some reason thought, I'll get it another time (perhaps the price was a bit high, I can't recall what deterred me).

Anyway, it would be nice to get another opportunity to pick it up.

Quote from thefarmer

Secret Life of Birds is one of 3 Tull/Anderson albums I don't have ... Is it much different from Tull style? Walk Into Light and Divinities were quite different. Not keen on either . Divinities is instrumental flute led stuff and WIL is electronic in the same vein as A as far as I can remember although both of those albums I bought not long after they came out played once or twice and sat on the shelf ever since. Thick As A Brick 2 and Homo Erraticus are Tull style both follow ups to ATAAB and well worth it but I prefer Zealot Gene.

Secret Life of Birds is most reminiscent to me of Roots To Branches — but a little lighter with more flute/acoustic interplay, and occasional hints of East Indian music.

If you liked RtB, I would think you might also like SLoB as well.

Thanks for your insights on the albums I don't have.

I'll keep the other solo albums on the backburner and move Zealot Gene up to the front of the line.

Meddle has always been my favourite along with the heralded string of albums they did with DSOTM, WYWH and Animals.

I also really love Saucerful of Secrets and rank it up there among the best..

I'd say in the last couple of years my most played Floyd album has been Division Bell - so I'm definitely on board with the Gilmour-led group.

The Final Cut is really the only album of theirs I don't like which explains why I have never been greatly interested in Waters' solo output.

I like about three quarters of The Wall.

I tend to think it's a bit over-rated and admittedly my view is probably tainted by the fact I was a Floyd fan when that album came out, my being in high school and seeing all these "fans" coming out of the woodwork, walking into class singing "We don't need no education..." but upon further discussion with them (being the music snob that I was) discovering what I already suspected, that they really only knew the hits off one or two albums.

I've got every other studio album by Tull and it's my intention to get this one as well at some point.

However, I sort of feel I should delve more into Ian Anderson's solo stuff before I get this one.

The one solo album I have is The Secret Language of Birds which I quite like and actually prefer to some of Tull's output.

That leads me to believe there may be a few other gems from Ian I should pick up before this one.

I had my first Genesis dream last night where I actually see members of the band.

In the one previous dream I had, and this was back when I was in my late teens...

I was standing in line to get tickets for a Steve Hackett concert. The line extended into an alley where I was standing and I noticed somebody had spraypainted on a brick wall "Genesis are priests" (an obvious reference to the famous "Clapton is God" graffiti) except the word priests was mispelled as "prests."

Strangely enough, in the dream I had last night...

Tony, Phil and Mike were rehearsing in the back corner of a church.

I was standing at the end of a pew, watching them. There were just a few other spectators standing there with me.

The band seemed focused that moment on fine-tuning the sound of the keyboards, so Tony began to play an unaccompanied version of "One For The Vine" .

As I was standing there listening, I was awestruck not only by the sound of the keyboards (which had a distinctive late 70s sound) but how great it sounded in that church.

Quote from Backdrifter

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But if that relationship has been established the fans can then feel a bit cut-off and adrift when the material stops. Sometimes that feeling can be expressed as resentment. I don't agree with it but it's how it sometimes emerges. I want PG to do a new album but it is indeed up to him! If he hasn't felt ready to do one or maybe even is past doing albums, that'd be a shame but so be it.

...

I don't think it's necessarily so much about fans getting cut off and demanding more.

If fans are a bit irked, it's likely due to getting teased with the prospect of a new album, which we were initially told was coming out in 2004 - and then having that release pushed back, other projects being given priority, and now we're at a point where most fans are grudgingly resigned to PG never releasing another album of new material ever.

I can't comment directly on what's been posted on Facebook because I haven't seen it.

Quote from thefarmer

I wonder if in 20 or 30 years time TV these days will be unwatchable.

Good comedy, good drama, good writing will never get old - even if the medium is a scratchy, black-and-white silent film.

Quote from Chessman

Beyond The Shrouded Horizon (I actually like the bonus disc even more than the main one!)

It was one of the last electric albums he did that I really liked.

The one thing that always sticks in my mind whenever I play that album though is the fact "Four Winds East" which is credited to Hackett/Fenner is really an uncredited cover of "The Supernatural" composed by Peter Green.

I'd love to ask Steve about that.

Quote from foxfeeder

PDT, Till we have faces, Darktown, To watch the Storms and Wild Orchids* (Would've been impossible to choose between the last two, lucky it was 5!)

* Awful title, great album.

First time I've encountered anyone (albeit online) who listed Till We Have Faces as one of their favourite albums.

It's actually one of the few studio releases of his I don't have (it fell under my radar at the time of release, and then afterwards I probably got a bit dissauded by the reviews, which seemed to be consistent across the board).

A scenario where I had just enough time to play a single song before heading out the door was something I might have regularly encountered in my youth when my music collection was on vinyl (these days, I just bring a few CDs, hop in the car and my music travels with me).

But back then, I remember often during my lunch hours, being home from school, no one else in the house and before heading back to class, wanting to blast off with one more song.

Frequently, I opted for the most convenient choice because it was on an EP and it was a song I loved for its great build-up. No need to search and carefully place the needle between the grooves. Just put on Side 2 of Spot The Pigeon and then up the volume to a level that would have outraged my parents if they were home.

Quote from Gaz

What are your all time favourite solo songs by Tony?

I don't listen to his solo work nearly as much as I should, although I have all his recordings.

Lately, I've been struck by the song The Border - remastered version.

Tony's playing, the arrangement, Alistair Gordon's vocals and lyrics are all outstanding.

Any other fans of this song?

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When I first got Bankstatement, I recall thinking there was just one standout track from that album, and "The Border" was it. I've since warmed up to the entire album, but the song that made an immediate favourable impression remains my favourite from Bankstatement.

My shortlist of favourite TB tracks, in no particular order, would be:

You

K2

The Border

Red Day on Blue Street

Angel Face

Still It Takes Me by Surprise

Another Murder of a Day

A Piece of You

With four of those eight tracks being off Still, it would seem likely that album would be my favourite — but it's actually my second favourite. I find most of Tony's albums, including Still, to be a bit uneven — great moments mixed with some less-than-great moments.

The one exception for me is ACF which I thoroughly enjoy evenly from beginning to end.

I listen to all of them but the ones I seem to play the most are Nursery Cryme, Wind & Wuthering, And Then There Were Three.

If you include unofficial live recordings, there are at least 7 or 8 of those I probably listen to more frequently than any of the other albums.

I find if I'm in the mood for SEBTP, more often than not, I'll play a live recording from that tour.

Same thing if it's The Lamb, my first impulse is to reach for a decent live recording from that tour.

Quote from foxfeeder

Above all else, I'd love to hear "Twice Around The Sun" one of the best prog instrumentals ever recorded.

Oh absolutely. I can imagine how ecstatic I'd be sitting second or third row watching that song performed in front of me.

What's bizarre is I don't think he's ever performed it live.

The last time I saw Steve in concert was eight years ago. I think it was during his first GR tour.

I absolutely loved it.

In fact - and this might sound strange - I enjoyed it so much I felt I there was absolutely no way I could go see him on another Revisited tour because I would invariably compare my levels of satisfaction, and I just don't want to do that when I go to a concert. I just want to enjoy the moment.

I thought maybe after 2 or 3 years, he'd be back to doing regular solo concerts.

Now it's been eight years and I'm thinking, well, I wouldn't mind hearing Can-Utility and GEOBF live, neither of which were performed the last time I saw him.

I'd be more enticed though if he'd play a few tracks from some of his middle-era albums: Darktown, Highly Strung, Guitar Noir, To Watch The Storms — even something from Cured would be greeted as a pleasant surprise.

David Longdon

17th June 1965 - 20th November 2021

Big Big Train are extremely saddened to announce the death of David Longdon this afternoon in hospital in Nottingham, UK at the age of 56 following an accident in the early hours of Friday morning. He is survived by his two daughters Amelia and Eloise, his mother Vera and his partner Sarah Ewing.

I saw this and my first thought was, it couldn't be true.

Devastating news.

Quote from raeltheduke

Thanks - but I see you are also arriving from outside of Quebec, did you already call the venue?

No, if I was going, it would be to one of the two Toronto shows.