LP Review: Genesis - Nursery Cryme

Nursery Cryme is regarded by many to be the first classic Genesis release - I'll have to wait until I hear Trespass and the other before it to make that call, but it is indeed a classic. "The Musical Box" is among the best Genesis I've heard, ranking just below "Supper's Ready," featuring some intricate and surprisingly heavy passages (including a soaring guitar solo) before a grand crescendo to the final majestic flourish. The other two long numbers are fantastic as well, though "The Return of the Giant Hogweed" is perhaps the least awesome.

Ah, damnit, the record just skipped. The cover is fairly worn as well, and I'm not a huge fan of the artwork as it is, but otherwise the album sounds just fine. As good as Nursery Cryme is, I think Foxtrot is a bit better overall in every regard, but that's what one more year of cohesion will do for a band; this is Phil Collins's first record with Genesis, after all.

One final thought: Check out the "personnel" section below. Did they really need three different people to record 12-string guitar parts?


Genesis personnel:
Tony Banks - keys, 12-string guitar, voices
Phil Collins - drums, percussion, voices (lead vocals on "For Absent Friends")
Peter Gabriel - lead vocals, flute, bass drum, tambourine
Steve Hackett - electric, 12-string guitar
Mike Rutherford - basses, acoustic and 12-string guitar, voices

Tracks - Times:
Side 1
1. The Musical Box - 10:24
2. For Absent Friends - 1:44
3. The Return of the Giant Hogweed - 8:10

Side 2
1. Seven Stones - 5:10
2. Harold the Barrel - 2:55
3. Harlequin - 2:52
4. The Fountain of Salmacis - 7:54

Purchased at Wuxtry Records in Athens, GA
Condition: F

Back Cover:

New Additions

So I went sort of crazy today and purchased five records, one from each of the Big Four Progressive Rock Bands, along with an album from a band that really deserves to be more popular. They are:

Yes - Relayer
King Crimson - Starless and Bible Black
Genesis - Nursery Cryme
Emerson, Lake and Palmer - s/t
Van der Graaf Generator - Godbluff

I'm only gonna be in Athens for about six more days, so I figure I need to get to Wuxtry as often as possible. I probably can't post for all of these albums today, but I do hope to get through more than one.

LP Review: Yes - Fragile

Yes's Fragile is a brilliant album from start to finish. Perhaps I'm committing some mortal sin by saying this, but I actually prefer Fragile to Close to the Edge. The songs "Close to the Edge" and "And You and I" are outstanding classics of progressive rock, to be sure; so is "Roundabout," and "Heart of the Sunrise" and "South Side of the Sky" deserve to be as well. "Heart of the Sunrise" is the best Jon Anderson vocal performance I've heard, and the bass line in "Roundabout" is the most awesome bass line of any song ever.

Fragile also features five individual compositions, one by each member of the band. They're hit (Steve Howe's "Mood for a Day," Rick Wakeman's Brahms thing) and miss (Squire's "the fish"), but they all lend a charming personal touch to the album.

I'm listening to "Heart of the Sunrise" as I write this. Jon Anderson just hit the high note. I wonder if I'll ever not get shivers at that part.


Yes personnel:

Jon Anderson - vocals
Bill Bruford - drums, percussion
Steve Howe - electric and acoustic guitars, vocals
Chris Squire - bass guitars, vocals
Rick Wakeman - a shit ton of keyboards

Tracks (Composers):
Side 1
1. Roundabout (Anderson, Howe)
2. Cans and Brahms (Brahms, arr. Wakeman)
3.We Have Heaven (Anderson)
4. South Side of the Sky (Anderson, Squire)

Side 2
1. Five Per Cent for Nothing (Bruford)
2. Long Distance Runaround (Anderson)
3. the fish (Squire)
4. Mood for a Day (Howe)
5. Heart of the Sunrise (Anderson Squire Bruford)

Purchased at Wuxtry Records in Athens, GA
Condition: G

Back cover:



Inside:

Changes

Hey, random readers! Hello, my one follower! How are you? I appreciate the support.

I have some thoughts regarding this blog.

1. Sometime in the middle of writing my review for Operation: mindcrime, it sort of struck me how silly it is to write such lengthy reviews of such old albums. If people want to know how good an album is, they can look up one of the billions of reviews that already exist on the internet, and those will likely have been written by someone with a bit more authority on the matter.

2. Related to #1: I'm mostly doing this blog for myself, because it gives me something to do and it lets me document my collection on my computer (and on the internet, on the off-chance that someone else is interested in my musical life). I already know whether or not I enjoy an album; writing long reviews is sort of pointless.

3. So I'm going to change my "LP Review" posts. Instead of a big review and a little bit of information, I'm going to start reversing that; I'm only going to write a short-to-medium-length blurb about the art/music, and provide a lot more details (track titles and times, band personnel, etc.). With albums that I love as much as Lizard, you might see an epic review since I just can't control myself, but I was literally forcing myself to write that Operation: mindcrime review, which meant I wasn't enjoying it, which meant I was doing something wrong.

4. I've been writing to please readers who don't exist. I'm going to stop doing that.

5. But I can't pretend that I don't want people to read this. If anyone has any ideas about how to make this thing a little more entertaining, feel free to comment.

New Addition

I found the classic Fragile by Yes today at Wuxtry Records. The album art is phenomenal, as it is for most Yes releases. It's in pretty good condition; there are a few blemishes on the cover, and I'm not sure how it plays yet, but at $9 it appeared to be a bargain (especially since they were charging $15 for a really banged-up copy of King Crimson's In the Wake of Poseidon). Pics and maybe a review to come.

LP Review: Queensrÿche - Operation: mindcrime

So far, I've only purchased two new (sealed) LPs, and Queensrÿche's Operation: mindcrime is one of them. I owe it to my dad for introducing me to Queensrÿche via Empire way, way back in the day, but I didn't discover this other (and I might say better) album until I was old enough to make my own musical decisions.

Since I bought it new and have been taking very good care of my records, there aren't really any flaws to speak of with the album cover or the vinyl itself. Pretty cool album art; the symbol in the middle might make a good tattoo.

Operation: mindcrime is a concept album about a guy who starts working for the cleverly-named Dr. X, the leader of Operation: mindcrime, an underground revolution that apparently doesn't do much besides kill people. We also meet Mary, a prostitute-turned-altar girl who is (naturally) the narrator's love interest, and the two do some terrible things before I lose track of what's going on on Side 2 (apparently, heroin is involved). The concept is little corny, but as a vehicle for Geoff Tate's political views, it serves nicely.

This album is fast-paced and full of hooks. Literally every chorus on Side 1 is ultra-catchy, and after the opening skit, there's no time to breathe until Side 2 begins. "The Mission," which closes out Side 1, may well be the best song on the album. Unfortunately, Side 2 is most certainly a B-side; after the phenomenal "Suite Sister Mary," we get mostly filler until the quasi-philosophical and dynamic "Eyes of a Stranger," a song that provides the album with a fittingly epic finish. Queensrÿche showcase a fair amount of musical skill on the album, most notably during an odd-time section in "The Needle Lies," but it's Geoff Tate's vocals that really shine.

Despite its somewhat dated sound and heavy-handed political themes, this record is a lot of fun to hear. It's not the most musically complex thing I've reviewed, but sometimes, all you want is a catchy tune to sing along with, and Operation: mindcrime delivers in spades.

Purchased at the Disc Exchange in Knoxville, TN
Condition: NM

Back:



Inside sleeve + vinyl:

A Reasonable Goal

A couple of days ago, I posted an extremely positive review of King Crimson's earth-shatteringly awesome Lizard. Since then, I have listened to Starless and Bible Black, which is also amazing, and Larks' Tongues in Aspic, an album that might actually be the single greatest thing ever. My appreciation for King Crimson has increased exponentially in the span of about three days. In light of this recent development, I have decided to formulate my first goal as a record collector, a goal that I actually don't think will be too difficult to accomplish:

I want King Crimson's entire discography on vinyl.

I say this without having done any research as to the rarity of the albums I don't already own. Maybe Red is crazy-hard to find or something; I guess I'll find out.