Would you be willing to write an ending to this song or any others that you feel are lacking or incomplete? It would be interesting to have your take and talk about it in another video.
This may be slightly off topic, but it's something I've been wondering about, and your discussion of choral music sparked the question again. 😄 What do you call a collection of choral pieces that are meant to be sung together? For example, in theater you might say, "Make them Hear You" comes from Stephen Sondheim's *musical,* _Ragtime._ Or, you could say, "Ride of the Valkyries" comes from Wagner's *opera,* _Die Walküre._ So, what word would fill in the blank for, "Wolcum Yole" comes from Benjamin Britten's *[blank,]* _A Ceremony of Carols?_
Consider reaching out to Sam Vallen of Caligula's Horse, not to discuss "Graves" but rather as a prog rock musician who can converse with you academically. In 2020 Vallen completed a PhD in music at the Queensland Conservatorium exploring the history of progressive rock and its position as a progressive musical style.
This song is the last song of a concept album called In Contact, and your summary of it being a sort of index is actually sort of correct. The whole album is a build up to this song. This is definitely an album that is worth sitting through and listening to truly appreciate what this band does. If you want to listen to some songs that are more stand alone check out their next album Rise Radiant. The song is about an artist, a stonemason, who discovers that his wife is pregnant once again. Previous pregnancies have been stillborn or miscarriages. The opening section of the song is about his fear and anxiousness towards having a child as his relationship with his father was violent and angry which led him to be just that in his adult life. He was able to control that anger through his artwork, but having to leave his artwork behind may cause him to revert back to his old ways. But when his son is born he sees his child and the ""waves recede" he sees the child as one to heal his ways once again. In the back of his mind though he has this itching thought about how his "work is undone" or not finished. He learns later in the song that another artist has stolen his work and completed it which unleashes his anger and he takes it out on his wife, who "forced him" to leave his work behind, "She married my anger too". The final part of the song is supposed to leave you unsure of what the future holds as the artist does not know that, "What am I to say to my son now?". The final section being much heavier than the earlier parts of the song essentially indicates that his anger has returned.
I absolutely love this piece and am kind of obsessing over it a bit. I think you're 90% spot on in your interpretation, but there's one amazing image at the end that in my opinion you're overlooking. The relationship with his father is clearly key in that he fears being what his dad was, then fears his son being that too. The answer of "what do I say to my son now" is the conclusion of the piece. His father has passed away and the vocalist is meditating on all these things as he carves the gravestone for his father's headstone. His conclusion is that, even though this tenancy to be rock hard and angry, lashing out at our loved ones is a curse that runs in our bloodline, my father, myself and now likely you too son, we have the power to slowly sculpt ourselves into the image of a man we want to be, just as this chisel sculpts this gravestone. It's not easy and is an ongoing work (help me to finish it--become the man I want to be) just as "hands shape stone" continues on adimfinitum and you may never be the man you wish you were--but just keep working at it, because that's what we do. The work, the stone, is ourselves and a good mason never stops improving it.
It's funny (and why I love this channel) hearing what someone sees as a fault in a song or a style as being some of my favorite things. The harsh stops and changes are some of the things I look for the most in music. I love being caught off guard as to what and when something comes next. Even with being in this style of music for a while now I still remember some of my first few listens of my favorite songs to be off putting because of this but know it will grow on me. This brings me to the lyrics and how it ends. This song is about an abusive man that is soon to be a father and fears he will pass this onto his son. He feels raising his child is healing him until has a relapses and abuses his wife. I feel like the abrupt changes in the music shows his struggles very well and ends it all on a question. "My work undone And what am I to say to my son now?" I think because he doesn't have an answer that we don't get one either. I see it as letting the listener decide if he does change or even if he can. I can see your point musically about it just ending but I don't think this song can have a "true" ending due to the subject that doesn't have a good answer. We are just left with anger and knowing he messed up and might not get better.
Abrupt changes both in volume, in melody and in rhythm are now part of the prog rock vocabulary. It's a stylistic recourse. To appreciate it you probably need to get accustomed to its use.
I would suggest Firth of Fifth by Genesis!! Definitely classic progressive MAGIC!! Lots of piano and time signature chances. Great piece of music. Have to expand from Metal, as much as I love it
I can’t help but think that the early ‘70s “progressive” rock genre is where your classical background and your current rock journey will intersect, and there the skies will open and the metaphorical bolt of lightning from the heavens will strike (or - less flamboyantly - a song will make your play list!) ... Your eventual destiny is “Close To The Edge” by Yes -- this is the crossroads where the precise moment will occur. I do think lightning will strike for you. It has a glorious a cappella part (or at least *nearly* a cappella) - it has a very unexpected acoustic moment - it rocks - it flows effortlessly - it’s warm and inviting. It’s long, but it’s perfect.
Been urging Amy toward early prog since the channel started. No luck so far. Seems like e natural place for her to go, but I think that neither Vlad nor those who commission songs from her are into early prog rock, so it gets ignored. Tull is the closest we’ve gotten.
@@ssa9820 I am sure she is capable and musically qualified to do some great videos. Keep trying. I’m watching in curiosity. I’m not placing any bets, not yet.
If you want something that develops, you want some full proper prog rock, like Close to the Edge by Yes, which is a long song in 4 movements (I. The Solid Time of Change, II. Total Mass Retain, III. I Get Up, I Get Down, IV. Seasons of Man), and features one of the greatest keyboardists, usually placed second only to Keith Emerson, which is Rick Wakeman, CBE, who it ought to interest you, given you use the LRSM and FRSM after your name, went to the Royal College of Music in London for a time before leaving to become a full time musician.
Absolutely! Caligula's horse is more obscure but Close to the edge is one of the pillars of progressive rock. Also, being progressive rock and not metal, it lacks the harsher elements that she doesn't particularly enjoy (and me neither to be honest). It is symphonic and more coherent, almost like a classical symphony. I think she would find it very interesting.
Great commentary! Your comments remind me of the first Dream Theater song I heard. I forget the name, unfortunately. :( It seemed they were trying to simply cram as many notes into the song as possible and "force" some feeling of "complexity". So, your "contrived" comment really hit home. Since then, I've developed an appreciation of Dream Theater and my mind has opened up to their music quite a bit, but I wouldn't consider myself a fan. So, your comments about Caligula's Horse and "Graves" brought all that to mind. :) Thanks for posting this and I look forward to the next song! :)
The longer i follow this channel, the more i get convinced you should listen to ayreon- the day that the world breaks down. It's the introduction to the rest of the album, which is a rock opera
Love the insight, and specially the phrasing comparison for the main melody. The lyrics definitely must have been frustrating without the context of the rest of the album.
Have you heard of "Genesis" or "Yes" Amy? You might find their early 1970s output of interest - I hope! Also; did you know there was a song called `AMY` ? It was from the `New Vaudeville Band` in 1967.
I agree with you Amy ,to many tangents to this song which is hard to follow logically at first. Perhaps more listens to the piece would help to appreciate the music. Some nice guitar though.
I was thinking the same thing, although she may have to wait on Bohemian Rhapsody until after she does the Queen version next month. Pentatonix cover of this is amazing, particularly the way they vocalize the instrumental parts.
Prog rock/metal is one of my favorite styles of music. But yeah sometimes it can be like your having a car chase with the sound. The reason for this I believe is taking the art too far from the norm. They are a making music for people who listen to prog music and expect the changes in the flow and timings but this will not be enjoyable to someone not as familar with the style. It is something artist need to be aware of. Don't get too lost in your form of art. I disagree with you on Ghost Love Score though. My favorite prog composer is Arjen Lucassen. His Ayreon projects(Sci-fi rock/metal operas) are awesome. I recommend watching the music video from the Ayreon song The Day That The World Breaks Down. His give written insight into the music and vocalist as the music plays during the video.
Late to the party here, not sure if you ever heard what the song is actually about. On first listen the obvious interpretation is that its about relationships, past trauma, growing and relapsing. Interestingly, it was confirmed by the writer that the song is actually about an artist's or creator's relationship with their work, and not his family. The creator fears ("I'm scared like you wouldn't believe") that everything he creates will be no different from what anyone else creates ("Then it hits me... what if I'm just like him?"). References to the character as being a father and having a son are meant as he is the creator of a piece of art. But when he finally lets go and creates, and lets others see or experience his creation he feels good about it ("all was reconciled when I held my child"). Theres... a lot of lyrics but if you go through it with this new perspective some of the lines that used to trip me up start to make sense. Especially the first 3 verses took on a whole new meaning. Interestingly, to me at least, where a lot of the rest of the lines become more metaphor, the persistent line "Hands shape stone" becomes the most literal line in the song, whereas with the other interpretation its almost reverse.
I never heard Caligula´s Horse before, but i would agree with your perception. When a transition is not well prepared it feels a little disjointed. The Song has nice bits here and there but there seem to be no noticable structure to me. I´ve heard your examples of A-cappella, bur even "The King´s Singers" were too much Church choir to me. If i think of A-cappella, Barbershop is the first thing that comes to my mind. The Beatles songs from "The King´s Singers" are much more in that Barbershop style of singing. In church choirs i feel no pulse to groove to. My favourite A-cappella music is "The Swingle Singers" who did mostly Bach tunes. ua-cam.com/video/BHhROtNwDBE/v-deo.html Greetings from Germany
I guess "Graves" is a progressive metal classic now, because many music reaction channels have been asked to listen to it. I always say that "Graves" is not a good song for reactors. It's a song for "advanced" listeners of progressive rock music. People who aren't already used to the tropes of that style of music will likely find Graves to be jarring, obnoxious, and perplexing. I think the best first song to listen to from Caligula's Horse is the same one I first listened to, track 1 of _In Contact:_ "Dream the Dead." I wish people didn't thrust "Graves" upon reactors.
It's extra puzzling that there are so many reaction videos to Graves, considering it's the finale to an incredibly varied concept album. Still, it's pretty interesting to see what people can get out of it while missing a ton of very specific context, specially in the lyrics.
I have not heard this band before, but I am interested now. I think the aspects you did not like are what I see as a sad pitfall of prog rock/metal: it is trying to sound like a prog metal song. Prog rock started out injecting European classical and folk as well as the more advanced jazz that developed after rock and roll had formed. The bands doing this were looking to break the conventions that had developed around rock and roll and create more space for compositional possibilities. They also tended to be virtuosos and/or seekers of esoteric music theory. This led to unconventional music that upset almost everyone: it was too fancy for rock fans, too low-culture for classical and jazz fans and too bombastic for folk fans. It also accidentally created a genre of music with a fuzzy definition, but which you can definitely recognise. Thus you get the great irony of creating a set of conventions that people try to fit into in order to make "Prog Rock" rather than trying to expand what rock music can do. A similar thing happened to Punk Rock. I cannot judge this band from one song so I am not accusing them of this, but it is a trap and the fact that you pointed out the arbitrary stops and the scaffolding of a story without an actual story jumping out makes me think this. If it is the first or last track on an album it could merely be an overture or whatever you call one of those if they come at the end of a large work (fermerture?)
Excellent and thoughtful,comment. I’ve never really thought of it in those terms, but I think you’re right. Another aspect of the prog scene unfortunately, was the arrogance of those who figured if you didn’t enjoy prog, it was because you just didn’t have the required intelligence to “get it”. That was a real turn-off.
Perhaps the best known a cappella group doing secular music theses days is Pentatonix. Incredible catalogue. Another is Home Free. I’m certain you must be familiar with them, Amy, but if not, I think you would enjoy them. I’m. It suggesting for the channel, but for your own pleasure.
As many lthers here, I find i a positive fakturę- those abrupt changes. Perhaps to a classical musician they dont spund li they reasonably follow from what comes before. For us, they mąkę a lot of sense somehow xd
Yeah, I find the choice of material a bit odd but it has only been a few songs so far so I'm gonna give Vlad the benefit of the doubt. Also curious how the collab with the rock school teachers is gonna turn out.
the song could have been much shorter I think, every section was pretty great individually but they should have saved a bunch of material for other songs. Dream Theater is sort of the founder and master of the genre really, as their songwriting holds up too and that's one reason they're the most popular. This entire genre is ultimately based largely on Dream Theater's 1990s albums. For this kind of extremely episodic music with highly distinct sections that tell a story I'd recommend Octavarium, a 24 minute epic they wrote
The abrupt and frequent changes are a hallmark of the prog music genre. To it's fans this is a feature, not a bug. It is meant to keep the listener on their toes a bit. For the uninitiated it can be off-putting but it is somewhat of an acquired taste. Perhaps you will revisit the style later in your journey. I do appreciate that you are honest with your opinions, most "reaction" channels pretend to love everything for fear of angering their viewers.
Amy nails it again. Many have convinced themselves that prog rock is highly technical, and that's going to appeal to Amy. Even though it rarely has any real dynamics or expression really, and the musicianship is very narrow in nature; Focusing on things like notes-per-second, accuracy and structure. Athletic music if you like, sport not art. To me it’s head not heart music, in every way that objective can be achieved. In that way to many it’s disagreeable and jarring to listen to. Not sure it’s ever been that ‘progressive’ really. A good example of what I’d call genuinely ‘progressive’ rock was Bohemian Rhapsody. Which to most people is musically successful, as well as having interesting dynamics, intuitive melodies. Some other songs early in that bands career, also are genuinely interesting musically, and certainly "progressive". It was before click tracks and digital, also huge advantage. But for some reason this music was never defined as prog rock. I wondered why. Another example of a great band of course, Pink Floyd, although generally defined now as "prog", weren't always. It’s always seems like the definition of prog rock was “not very good really.”
I was very underwhelmed by this song. Attaching a label such as 'progressive' to a song doesn't make it so, no matter how many styles you try to throw in to it. There are so many great examples of progressive rock from the late 60s to early 80s that I think you would have found very enlightening and pleasurable to listen to (band such as, Yes, King Crimson, Gentle Giant, among others). You got a slight hint in Jethro Tull, although they have other songs that would fall more into the progressive category. Such a missed opportunity.
Yes, King Crimson, Gentle Giant, Genesis, Jethro Tull, Van Der Graaf Generator all classic proper British Prog bands. I think there are plenty of none British Prog bands that are amazing as well but the center of the genre is in those and other British bands of that period. Progressive Metal is a completely different thing imho.
@@Hartlor_Tayley Gentle Giant made my list due to your recommendation. One of my new favorite bands that I really wasn't aware of (other than the name sounding familiar), but that I should have been aware of having growing up in this time. But now you give me more homework with Van Der Graaf Generator, who I haven't heard of. The British bands really should have been more considerate. After all, they had already dominated rock music through their British invasion. Just getting back at us for that little misunderstanding we had back in the 1700s.
@@LeeKennison for Van Der Graaf Generator try the album Pawn Hearts. It’s a pretty dramatic album. No Bass or guitar in that band but Fripp does guest a little on this album. Like gentle Giant they are deep in the Prog genre but unlike Gentle Giant the have a heavy psychedelic sound and the vocalist may take some getting used too. They have some other less wildly mind warping albums but you can handle pawn hearts no prob. GG and VdGG are a must for Prog fans imho. I agree about Zappa I only really like some of his stuff. Some I admire and respect and some I just can’t stand it’s torture. It’s
@@Hartlor_Tayley Thanks for the specific recommendation. I will check it out and let you know. Although, as both a bass and guitar player, it might be challenging due to their absence. These days, I tend to listen to songs to play on my bass. But this might be a chance to broaden my horizons. Speaking of which, I was planning on diving into progressive metal more, since I really don't have a good handle on it yet. This particular song didn't do much for me, but it would be very unfair of me to make a personal judgement on a genre based on one song.
@@LeeKennison is Dream theater Prog Metal ? I don’t know much about it but I’ve heard some Scandinavian bands that were really good and might have been Prog Metal. I don’t know. The Pawn Hearts album is best with headphones like a Darkside of the Moon kind of thing. ;)
My problem with “Graves” is that it completely lacks emotion. Just my personal take. There’s some fine musicianship, but no warmth, which is what I need to latch on to.
You nailed it for me in the critical analysis at the end. The jazz bit after the opening could have been made into its own song as part of an album side. The initial melody could have been made into a more direct song as the first song of the album, and then do a reprise as the last song that ties all of the songs on that side of the album together. A complete acapella song could have been another song somewhere in the middle. As it was, you have a lot of intense music, and you're left wondering what was so important that it had to have a song written about it, when you have so many lyrics that are overwhelmed sonically by the loudness of the music. Did really like the King's Singers video, going to check out their Beatles covers. Another name for Beatles lovers to check out is Rastrelli, playing Beatle music in the way it was meant to be played, as a cello quartet.
I have never understood why people spend so much time with lyrics. If the music doesn't stand on it's own then I'm not going to pay any attention to the lyrics. I would argue that ninety percent of people don't even get the lyrics right and I personally just think of the singer as another instrument which I either like or dislike and frankly there are many songs that I would like if it wasn't for the singer and I very much don't pay attention to the lyrics anyway . Like I said if the music doesn't get me then lyrics are not going to stand a chance as I personally don't care that much what is sung but how it is sung and musically fits in with the rest of the song. Sorry lyric writers.
@@w.geoffreyspaulding6588 electric is ok but definitely not a big fan. I did not mean that the lyrics don't matter but when I listen to music lyrics are low priority and not what brings me the joy of music. There are plenty of bands like Ramstein for example that I love but have no clue what they are saying and even when I listened to this song I don't remember one word or even paying attention to the words. The voice as another instrument though in the band is something that will stand out to me. Just my take but there are always exceptions.
@@digitalblues01 It's great that you like to listen to Rammstein without knowing what they are singing about and I was doing the same thing 20 years ago because I didn't speak German and there was no way for me to understand it. BUT, with Rammstein lyrics are, actually, one of the most important things because only knowing their lyrics you can fully appreciate their music and the band in general. After I found out what their lyrics were about I strarted feeling Rammstein reaching to my soul and becoming my no.1 band ever. And I even changed my view on other bands then. I found myself thinking that most of bands are seriously in lack of something if their lyrics are not good, no matter how good their music might sound. So, I think that lyrics are important and should be important, but if it's not the case, if lyrics don't say anything smart, then just listen to the music (if it's enough for you) and that's fine.
I feel exactly the same. Yellow matter custard dripping from a dead dog's eye or greenish golden liquid pouring from a barrel of rye, I am the bird man, I am the bird man, I am the monkey...
Never heard of this band, and I tend to agree with your appraisal. A typical modern prog song, where the point is not to express a thought or feeling but to cramp as many weird musical techniques and ideas into the song as possible. I love good prog, but it`s not that good.. Regarding lyrics: in pop/rock music often the lyrics are there only so that the singer doesn't have to sing fa-la-la-la-la-la-la-la. :) Imho this song is a perfect example of that. To appreciate really good prog rock please follow the advices given in several comments (Yes, ELP, Genesis, Rush) but be careful with Dream Theater. They are very good, but have the tendency to "let`s play F minor mixolydian arpeggios in alternating 11/4 and 7/4 at 199 bpm" to amaze the audience, which is amazing indeed for 20 seconds, but quickly becomes boring.
It is not enlightening to use common places to criticize a band for doing what - in general - people say to criticize progressive music. It is naive because the same can be said to apply - even stronger - to the bands that are being recommended in this thread. So the advise is misplaced. The idea that older prog music is better than new prog music is just an obvious generational bias. Though in the case of DT - at least in some of their recent output - I think it is fair to say that they are the great example of "cramping weird musical techniques and ideas into a song", but this is not an example of that.
code to the lyrics: Part I: Faint Heart Singer is afraid that he'll turn out just like his father who was a wifebeater because he is often hardly able to contain himself against his wife. Part II: A Few Peaceful Years The singer's wife is pregnant and he forgets about wifebeating for a while because he is distracted by the thoughts of having a child and emotions and imaginations about the future because of it. Part III: The Boy and the Broken Wheel The singer's child is born and he grew up a bit but now the wifebeating rage is also back and furthermore he is afraid that he will beat up the child before hitting his wife because he gets so angry at the child too. Part IV: Hands Shape Stone Disaster strikes, he beats up his child and thrashes his bicycle (foreshadowed in the previous part, classy) and also he beats his wife but he is sorry now. At least this is what I make of it. The fact that they purposefully obscured the lyrics so much supports my reading in my opinion because nobody would enjoy hearing about something so base, common and reprehensible and people could tell this is from personal experience because why would anybody write lyrics about something like this unless they experienced it which would make them appear bad but they couldn't think of anything else interesting to write about so they wrote it anyways but in an unintelligible manner like this. The music is terrible too, it's almost as distasteful as wifebeating. I'm sorry to have heard it.
I love listening to your analogies and breakdown of different songs. I have learned a thing or two from you. Could you please cover some southern rock n roll? Specifically Lynyrd Skynyrd "The Ballad of Curtis Lowe" Ibelieve it will earn a high score from you. Thank you, enjoy your channel.
Unabashed hot-take here, but the song reminds me of so many mediocre rock songs built around a single good melodic idea, with the remainder of the song being unmemorable filler. Whenever I hear one I can’t help but imagine that the band was so eager to get their new hook into the public ear that they didn’t take the time to surround it with a cohesive piece of music that would let the hook live up to its potential. The bands I love/respect most coincidentally all have stories of songs that sat on their back burner for YEARS because e.g. they had an amazing chorus but hadn’t yet found verses that lived up to the chorus. Artistic discipline! I don’t doubt that the band has a passionate fanbase for whom the song makes perfect sense, and for them I’m happy that they have something they love so much.
That's a very good point! The melodic idea is good, but they don't really develop it. They just come back to it. I like some progressive rock but avoided a lot of it in my youth for the reasons you mentioned. The music goes off on tangents that sometimes sound disjointed.
Oh, go for it. You are our resident expert on progressive music after all (not being sarcastic, I mean it). Although I appreciate your sentiment since we all come at music from different places.
@@LeeKennison oh no, I’m not putting the resident expert hat on, no way but thanks. I agree with Amy about it. You know I’m not a progressive metal guy, to say it doesn’t click for me isn’t really saying anything about the music. It sounds less cohesive on the whole but it had some good ideas that didn’t develop like I would have liked.
@@Hartlor_Tayley Okay, I will refine my statement. You are 'my' resident expert on progressive music. After all, Gentle Giant made the list of progressive influencers I mentioned in the comment I made on this song. They really weren't on my radar until you recommended them. But before you get your hopes up about having a new personal fan boy, I didn't put Frank Zappa in my list. (just kidding, about the personal fan boy part, the Zappa part on the other hand... Let's just say the jury is out.)😉
@@LeeKennison wow so you listened to Gentile Giant? Cool. I think they are Amazing and live videos where they perform maybe better than the albums. Those guys are are well trained multi instrumentalists and their songs have great lyrics but once again they take some getting used to. Have you seen the channel Andy Edwards ? He talks about fusion and Prog. He’s toured with Robert Plant as his drummer. Great channel.
@@Hartlor_Tayley Yeah, I did and really enjoyed it. Although, in the whole one thing leads to another thing, this led me back to King Crimson, who I was already familiar with. Although, I don't think I owned any of their albums. I really got into playing the bass parts to some Crimson songs. Generally, very simple, but very satisfying to play. At least based on my limited selection so far. I will have to check out Andy's channel. Although watching music related UA-cam has become a full time job for me. Granted, one I really like. Just too bad the pay really sucks.
Dream Theater would be a much better choice. My personal favourite is Forsaken, which has just enough to be prog, but not too much to get lost in transitions.
Typical of what is referred to as prog these days pretentious, disjointed, and every time it fi ds a theme it wanders off it. Prog at it's best is amazing but it's become a cover term for anything over complicated. You did a great job Amy, but the music choice was terrible.
Watching this video two days after your first listen video, I had forgotten most of this song which is telling of its impression on me, and also, the song has too much "stuff" in it to remember. But Amy, My thought are the same as yours, you just express it in your words. It does have nice pleasing melodies that sound open and clear, "easy listening" and that is, or those are the hooks of the song. I never heard clearly any of the lyrics and that is problematic. The drum work, while standard (unimaginative) issue for this type of music, sounds as if the drummer is in a hurry to beat a competitor to a finish line. But overall the makers of this song seem to just have grabbed everything available in the musical resources box with no conviction or restraint to commit to a theme or message. But now I see in my notifications that you are doing Deep Purple's Child in Time. This is, in my opinion, a "must do" in your journey and also a favorite of mine to watch others react to, so I can't wait, I'm excited.
First take on this song, the heavy part comes too late and there's too little of it. It's starting to look like this channel is deliberately avoiding the many metal bands know for excellent storytelling like Iron Maiden, Helloween, Sabaton, Unleash the Archers... Though if Amy wants to go for a Easter egg hunt through a story she knows well, And Then There Was Silence by Blind Guardian would do the trick, it's the Illiad from Cassandra's point of view. An absolutely masterful composition, as those here that follow Doug's channel know. Live version please.
Leave your questions ONLY here, please!
Would you be willing to write an ending to this song or any others that you feel are lacking or incomplete? It would be interesting to have your take and talk about it in another video.
@@a2zme depends on who picks the songs…..
Will you let us know when you put a first listen rock piece on your playlist? I'm sure it will happen eventually!
@@w.geoffreyspaulding6588 that's the problem, not everyone thinks quite the same with music... LOL!
This may be slightly off topic, but it's something I've been wondering about, and your discussion of choral music sparked the question again. 😄 What do you call a collection of choral pieces that are meant to be sung together? For example, in theater you might say, "Make them Hear You" comes from Stephen Sondheim's *musical,* _Ragtime._ Or, you could say, "Ride of the Valkyries" comes from Wagner's *opera,* _Die Walküre._ So, what word would fill in the blank for, "Wolcum Yole" comes from Benjamin Britten's *[blank,]* _A Ceremony of Carols?_
Consider reaching out to Sam Vallen of Caligula's Horse, not to discuss "Graves" but rather as a prog rock musician who can converse with you academically. In 2020 Vallen completed a PhD in music at the Queensland Conservatorium exploring the history of progressive rock and its position as a progressive musical style.
This song is the last song of a concept album called In Contact, and your summary of it being a sort of index is actually sort of correct. The whole album is a build up to this song. This is definitely an album that is worth sitting through and listening to truly appreciate what this band does. If you want to listen to some songs that are more stand alone check out their next album Rise Radiant.
The song is about an artist, a stonemason, who discovers that his wife is pregnant once again. Previous pregnancies have been stillborn or miscarriages. The opening section of the song is about his fear and anxiousness towards having a child as his relationship with his father was violent and angry which led him to be just that in his adult life. He was able to control that anger through his artwork, but having to leave his artwork behind may cause him to revert back to his old ways. But when his son is born he sees his child and the ""waves recede" he sees the child as one to heal his ways once again. In the back of his mind though he has this itching thought about how his "work is undone" or not finished. He learns later in the song that another artist has stolen his work and completed it which unleashes his anger and he takes it out on his wife, who "forced him" to leave his work behind, "She married my anger too". The final part of the song is supposed to leave you unsure of what the future holds as the artist does not know that, "What am I to say to my son now?".
The final section being much heavier than the earlier parts of the song essentially indicates that his anger has returned.
I absolutely love this piece and am kind of obsessing over it a bit. I think you're 90% spot on in your interpretation, but there's one amazing image at the end that in my opinion you're overlooking. The relationship with his father is clearly key in that he fears being what his dad was, then fears his son being that too. The answer of "what do I say to my son now" is the conclusion of the piece. His father has passed away and the vocalist is meditating on all these things as he carves the gravestone for his father's headstone. His conclusion is that, even though this tenancy to be rock hard and angry, lashing out at our loved ones is a curse that runs in our bloodline, my father, myself and now likely you too son, we have the power to slowly sculpt ourselves into the image of a man we want to be, just as this chisel sculpts this gravestone. It's not easy and is an ongoing work (help me to finish it--become the man I want to be) just as "hands shape stone" continues on adimfinitum and you may never be the man you wish you were--but just keep working at it, because that's what we do. The work, the stone, is ourselves and a good mason never stops improving it.
@@paulfay8861Excellent!
@@paulfay8861 I know I'm a year late but both of you guys just gave me even more love for this song. Thank you for writing this up
It's funny (and why I love this channel) hearing what someone sees as a fault in a song or a style as being some of my favorite things. The harsh stops and changes are some of the things I look for the most in music. I love being caught off guard as to what and when something comes next. Even with being in this style of music for a while now I still remember some of my first few listens of my favorite songs to be off putting because of this but know it will grow on me.
This brings me to the lyrics and how it ends. This song is about an abusive man that is soon to be a father and fears he will pass this onto his son. He feels raising his child is healing him until has a relapses and abuses his wife. I feel like the abrupt changes in the music shows his struggles very well and ends it all on a question.
"My work undone
And what am I to say to my son now?"
I think because he doesn't have an answer that we don't get one either. I see it as letting the listener decide if he does change or even if he can. I can see your point musically about it just ending but I don't think this song can have a "true" ending due to the subject that doesn't have a good answer. We are just left with anger and knowing he messed up and might not get better.
Abrupt changes both in volume, in melody and in rhythm are now part of the prog rock vocabulary. It's a stylistic recourse. To appreciate it you probably need to get accustomed to its use.
Yeah... she doesn't understand the style. Should have began with other band if she actually has any interest in progressive music.
This is more used in prog metal than prog rock generally. She needs to listen the original founders of progressive rock first
I never heard of this group before.
I would suggest Firth of Fifth by Genesis!! Definitely classic progressive MAGIC!! Lots of piano and time signature chances. Great piece of music. Have to expand from Metal, as much as I love it
THIS. Genesis Firth of Fifth it is a must
Thank you, Ma’am.
I can’t help but think that the early ‘70s “progressive” rock genre is where your classical background and your current rock journey will intersect, and there the skies will open and the metaphorical bolt of lightning from the heavens will strike (or - less flamboyantly - a song will make your play list!) ... Your eventual destiny is “Close To The Edge” by Yes -- this is the crossroads where the precise moment will occur. I do think lightning will strike for you. It has a glorious a cappella part (or at least *nearly* a cappella) - it has a very unexpected acoustic moment - it rocks - it flows effortlessly - it’s warm and inviting. It’s long, but it’s perfect.
Been urging Amy toward early prog since the channel started. No luck so far. Seems like e natural place for her to go, but I think that neither Vlad nor those who commission songs from her are into early prog rock, so it gets ignored. Tull is the closest we’ve gotten.
That makes sense. I wouldn’t bet though.
Well if she can't fathom this how could we espect she will do with the likes of ELP, Genesis, King Crimson, and what have you...
@@ssa9820 and is anyone wondering why she didn’t start with “ Elenor Rigby” by the Beatles? Never mind groups like Yes.
@@ssa9820 I am sure she is capable and musically qualified to do some great videos. Keep trying. I’m watching in curiosity. I’m not placing any bets, not yet.
If you want something that develops, you want some full proper prog rock, like Close to the Edge by Yes, which is a long song in 4 movements (I. The Solid Time of Change, II. Total Mass Retain, III. I Get Up, I Get Down, IV. Seasons of Man), and features one of the greatest keyboardists, usually placed second only to Keith Emerson, which is Rick Wakeman, CBE, who it ought to interest you, given you use the LRSM and FRSM after your name, went to the Royal College of Music in London for a time before leaving to become a full time musician.
Seconded
Third. ! Please. You will love it. I’d suggest you start wit side 1 :
Close To The Edge.
Absolutely! Caligula's horse is more obscure but Close to the edge is one of the pillars of progressive rock. Also, being progressive rock and not metal, it lacks the harsher elements that she doesn't particularly enjoy (and me neither to be honest). It is symphonic and more coherent, almost like a classical symphony. I think she would find it very interesting.
Great commentary! Your comments remind me of the first Dream Theater song I heard. I forget the name, unfortunately. :( It seemed they were trying to simply cram as many notes into the song as possible and "force" some feeling of "complexity". So, your "contrived" comment really hit home. Since then, I've developed an appreciation of Dream Theater and my mind has opened up to their music quite a bit, but I wouldn't consider myself a fan. So, your comments about Caligula's Horse and "Graves" brought all that to mind. :) Thanks for posting this and I look forward to the next song! :)
Blowen away
I’m so happy you did this song, it’s my all time favorite. I would love if you did “The Ascent” by these same guys.
The longer i follow this channel, the more i get convinced you should listen to ayreon- the day that the world breaks down. It's the introduction to the rest of the album, which is a rock opera
I really love your content! As a rock musician, I continually take away incites for writing and playing. Thank you!!
Melody for president!...
I'm sure the fellas in C-Horse would love to see their music played in this way. Beautiful!
We now know Vlad trolls Amy with his driving.
Love the insight, and specially the phrasing comparison for the main melody. The lyrics definitely must have been frustrating without the context of the rest of the album.
Have you heard of "Genesis" or "Yes" Amy? You might find their early 1970s output of interest - I hope! Also; did you know there was a song called `AMY` ? It was from the `New Vaudeville Band` in 1967.
@Vlad as curator of what Amy should hear, what do you think about Billy Joel - Scenes from an Italian restaurant?
I agree with you Amy ,to many tangents to this song which is hard to follow logically at first. Perhaps more listens to the piece would help to appreciate the music. Some nice guitar though.
If you like a cappella, then you should know about Pentatonix. Sometimes they do covers of rock songs (including Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen).
I was thinking the same thing, although she may have to wait on Bohemian Rhapsody until after she does the Queen version next month. Pentatonix cover of this is amazing, particularly the way they vocalize the instrumental parts.
Prog rock/metal is one of my favorite styles of music. But yeah sometimes it can be like your having a car chase with the sound. The reason for this I believe is taking the art too far from the norm. They are a making music for people who listen to prog music and expect the changes in the flow and timings but this will not be enjoyable to someone not as familar with the style. It is something artist need to be aware of. Don't get too lost in your form of art.
I disagree with you on Ghost Love Score though.
My favorite prog composer is Arjen Lucassen. His Ayreon projects(Sci-fi rock/metal operas) are awesome. I recommend watching the music video from the Ayreon song The Day That The World Breaks Down. His give written insight into the music and vocalist as the music plays during the video.
It would be great if you reacted to Thick as a brick. Its a 24 minute progressive Jethro Tull song. My personal favourite
It's almost 44min
An example of what you describe is the song Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence by Dream Theater.
FIRST! So excited!
I liked parts of it.
Late to the party here, not sure if you ever heard what the song is actually about. On first listen the obvious interpretation is that its about relationships, past trauma, growing and relapsing. Interestingly, it was confirmed by the writer that the song is actually about an artist's or creator's relationship with their work, and not his family. The creator fears ("I'm scared like you wouldn't believe") that everything he creates will be no different from what anyone else creates ("Then it hits me... what if I'm just like him?"). References to the character as being a father and having a son are meant as he is the creator of a piece of art. But when he finally lets go and creates, and lets others see or experience his creation he feels good about it ("all was reconciled when I held my child").
Theres... a lot of lyrics but if you go through it with this new perspective some of the lines that used to trip me up start to make sense. Especially the first 3 verses took on a whole new meaning. Interestingly, to me at least, where a lot of the rest of the lines become more metaphor, the persistent line "Hands shape stone" becomes the most literal line in the song, whereas with the other interpretation its almost reverse.
I never heard Caligula´s Horse before, but i would agree with your perception. When a transition is not well prepared it feels a little disjointed. The Song has nice bits here and there but there seem to be no noticable structure to me.
I´ve heard your examples of A-cappella, bur even "The King´s Singers" were too much Church choir to me. If i think of A-cappella, Barbershop is the first thing that comes to my mind. The Beatles songs from "The King´s Singers" are much more in that Barbershop style of singing. In church choirs i feel no pulse to groove to. My favourite A-cappella music is "The Swingle Singers" who did mostly Bach tunes. ua-cam.com/video/BHhROtNwDBE/v-deo.html
Greetings from Germany
Surprised you didn't link to Chanticleer! Nice choral choices though.
I guess "Graves" is a progressive metal classic now, because many music reaction channels have been asked to listen to it. I always say that "Graves" is not a good song for reactors. It's a song for "advanced" listeners of progressive rock music. People who aren't already used to the tropes of that style of music will likely find Graves to be jarring, obnoxious, and perplexing.
I think the best first song to listen to from Caligula's Horse is the same one I first listened to, track 1 of _In Contact:_ "Dream the Dead." I wish people didn't thrust "Graves" upon reactors.
It's extra puzzling that there are so many reaction videos to Graves, considering it's the finale to an incredibly varied concept album.
Still, it's pretty interesting to see what people can get out of it while missing a ton of very specific context, specially in the lyrics.
Obligatory suggestion for Genesis Supper's Ready. A grandfather to this kind of composition.
May I suggest the song Breaking all illusions by Dream Theater? Thanks!
I love this song, but I can see why people who are stuck in the past don't like it
I have not heard this band before, but I am interested now. I think the aspects you did not like are what I see as a sad pitfall of prog rock/metal: it is trying to sound like a prog metal song. Prog rock started out injecting European classical and folk as well as the more advanced jazz that developed after rock and roll had formed. The bands doing this were looking to break the conventions that had developed around rock and roll and create more space for compositional possibilities. They also tended to be virtuosos and/or seekers of esoteric music theory. This led to unconventional music that upset almost everyone: it was too fancy for rock fans, too low-culture for classical and jazz fans and too bombastic for folk fans.
It also accidentally created a genre of music with a fuzzy definition, but which you can definitely recognise. Thus you get the great irony of creating a set of conventions that people try to fit into in order to make "Prog Rock" rather than trying to expand what rock music can do. A similar thing happened to Punk Rock.
I cannot judge this band from one song so I am not accusing them of this, but it is a trap and the fact that you pointed out the arbitrary stops and the scaffolding of a story without an actual story jumping out makes me think this. If it is the first or last track on an album it could merely be an overture or whatever you call one of those if they come at the end of a large work (fermerture?)
Excellent and thoughtful,comment. I’ve never really thought of it in those terms, but I think you’re right. Another aspect of the prog scene unfortunately, was the arrogance of those who figured if you didn’t enjoy prog, it was because you just didn’t have the required intelligence to “get it”. That was a real turn-off.
Epilogue?
Yep, i totally agree
Thank You for sharing! Can you share opinions about the group Dream Theater music? Maybe about Boston, song called Foreplay. Thanks again!
Looks like I had the same problems with the song. My two dominant thoughts: "What's the point?" and "Make up your mind!".
Perhaps the best known a cappella group doing secular music theses days is Pentatonix. Incredible catalogue. Another is Home Free. I’m certain you must be familiar with them, Amy, but if not, I think you would enjoy them. I’m. It suggesting for the channel, but for your own pleasure.
I second this recommendation. And after Amy does Bohemian Rhapsody next month she can check out the Pentatonix cover of it.
As many lthers here, I find i a positive fakturę- those abrupt changes. Perhaps to a classical musician they dont spund li they reasonably follow from what comes before. For us, they mąkę a lot of sense somehow xd
Concerned you're not getting the best of rock, or even close to it. Please take this as constructive. Love your chanel.
Yeah, I find the choice of material a bit odd but it has only been a few songs so far so I'm gonna give Vlad the benefit of the doubt. Also curious how the collab with the rock school teachers is gonna turn out.
Agree. I think throwing oneself into a pool without taking a slow first step can be overwhelming. I have not liked most of the songs so far.
Thank you Amy. I believe you are being too kind to this music. I am only here to support Amy and Vlad. Rock on. Ha ha ha. "Less than satisfied".
the song could have been much shorter I think, every section was pretty great individually but they should have saved a bunch of material for other songs. Dream Theater is sort of the founder and master of the genre really, as their songwriting holds up too and that's one reason they're the most popular. This entire genre is ultimately based largely on Dream Theater's 1990s albums. For this kind of extremely episodic music with highly distinct sections that tell a story I'd recommend Octavarium, a 24 minute epic they wrote
The abrupt and frequent changes are a hallmark of the prog music genre. To it's fans this is a feature, not a bug. It is meant to keep the listener on their toes a bit. For the uninitiated it can be off-putting but it is somewhat of an acquired taste. Perhaps you will revisit the style later in your journey. I do appreciate that you are honest with your opinions, most "reaction" channels pretend to love everything for fear of angering their viewers.
Amy nails it again. Many have convinced themselves that prog rock is highly technical, and that's going to appeal to Amy. Even though it rarely has any real dynamics or expression really, and the musicianship is very narrow in nature; Focusing on things like notes-per-second, accuracy and structure. Athletic music if you like, sport not art. To me it’s head not heart music, in every way that objective can be achieved. In that way to many it’s disagreeable and jarring to listen to. Not sure it’s ever been that ‘progressive’ really.
A good example of what I’d call genuinely ‘progressive’ rock was Bohemian Rhapsody. Which to most people is musically successful, as well as having interesting dynamics, intuitive melodies. Some other songs early in that bands career, also are genuinely interesting musically, and certainly "progressive". It was before click tracks and digital, also huge advantage. But for some reason this music was never defined as prog rock. I wondered why. Another example of a great band of course, Pink Floyd, although generally defined now as "prog", weren't always. It’s always seems like the definition of prog rock was “not very good really.”
Agreed
I was very underwhelmed by this song. Attaching a label such as 'progressive' to a song doesn't make it so, no matter how many styles you try to throw in to it. There are so many great examples of progressive rock from the late 60s to early 80s that I think you would have found very enlightening and pleasurable to listen to (band such as, Yes, King Crimson, Gentle Giant, among others). You got a slight hint in Jethro Tull, although they have other songs that would fall more into the progressive category. Such a missed opportunity.
Yes, King Crimson, Gentle Giant, Genesis, Jethro Tull, Van Der Graaf Generator all classic proper British Prog bands. I think there are plenty of none British Prog bands that are amazing as well but the center of the genre is in those and other British bands of that period. Progressive Metal is a completely different thing imho.
@@Hartlor_Tayley Gentle Giant made my list due to your recommendation. One of my new favorite bands that I really wasn't aware of (other than the name sounding familiar), but that I should have been aware of having growing up in this time. But now you give me more homework with Van Der Graaf Generator, who I haven't heard of. The British bands really should have been more considerate. After all, they had already dominated rock music through their British invasion. Just getting back at us for that little misunderstanding we had back in the 1700s.
@@LeeKennison for Van Der Graaf Generator try the album Pawn Hearts. It’s a pretty dramatic album. No Bass or guitar in that band but Fripp does guest a little on this album. Like gentle Giant they are deep in the Prog genre but unlike Gentle Giant the have a heavy psychedelic sound and the vocalist may take some getting used too. They have some other less wildly mind warping albums but you can handle pawn hearts no prob. GG and VdGG are a must for Prog fans imho. I agree about Zappa I only really like some of his stuff. Some I admire and respect and some I just can’t stand it’s torture. It’s
@@Hartlor_Tayley Thanks for the specific recommendation. I will check it out and let you know. Although, as both a bass and guitar player, it might be challenging due to their absence. These days, I tend to listen to songs to play on my bass. But this might be a chance to broaden my horizons. Speaking of which, I was planning on diving into progressive metal more, since I really don't have a good handle on it yet. This particular song didn't do much for me, but it would be very unfair of me to make a personal judgement on a genre based on one song.
@@LeeKennison is Dream theater Prog Metal ? I don’t know much about it but I’ve heard some Scandinavian bands that were really good and might have been Prog Metal. I don’t know. The Pawn Hearts album is best with headphones like a Darkside of the Moon kind of thing. ;)
I will hit the like button because of your time and effort. This piece lost me, here's to the future
My problem with “Graves” is that it completely lacks emotion. Just my personal take. There’s some fine musicianship, but no warmth, which is what I need to latch on to.
Prog rock tends to be quite cerebral, yeah. Emotion is usually left for the guitar or keyboard solos.
You nailed it for me in the critical analysis at the end. The jazz bit after the opening could have been made into its own song as part of an album side. The initial melody could have been made into a more direct song as the first song of the album, and then do a reprise as the last song that ties all of the songs on that side of the album together. A complete acapella song could have been another song somewhere in the middle. As it was, you have a lot of intense music, and you're left wondering what was so important that it had to have a song written about it, when you have so many lyrics that are overwhelmed sonically by the loudness of the music.
Did really like the King's Singers video, going to check out their Beatles covers. Another name for Beatles lovers to check out is Rastrelli, playing Beatle music in the way it was meant to be played, as a cello quartet.
I have never understood why people spend so much time with lyrics. If the music doesn't stand on it's own then I'm not going to pay any attention to the lyrics. I would argue that ninety percent of people don't even get the lyrics right and I personally just think of the singer as another instrument which I either like or dislike and frankly there are many songs that I would like if it wasn't for the singer and I very much don't pay attention to the lyrics anyway . Like I said if the music doesn't get me then lyrics are not going to stand a chance as I personally don't care that much what is sung but how it is sung and musically fits in with the rest of the song. Sorry lyric writers.
You must have a very low opinion of Bob Dylan then.
@@w.geoffreyspaulding6588 electric is ok but definitely not a big fan. I did not mean that the lyrics don't matter but when I listen to music lyrics are low priority and not what brings me the joy of music. There are plenty of bands like Ramstein for example that I love but have no clue what they are saying and even when I listened to this song I don't remember one word or even paying attention to the words. The voice as another instrument though in the band is something that will stand out to me. Just my take but there are always exceptions.
@@digitalblues01 It's great that you like to listen to Rammstein without knowing what they are singing about and I was doing the same thing 20 years ago because I didn't speak German and there was no way for me to understand it. BUT, with Rammstein lyrics are, actually, one of the most important things because only knowing their lyrics you can fully appreciate their music and the band in general. After I found out what their lyrics were about I strarted feeling Rammstein reaching to my soul and becoming my no.1 band ever. And I even changed my view on other bands then. I found myself thinking that most of bands are seriously in lack of something if their lyrics are not good, no matter how good their music might sound.
So, I think that lyrics are important and should be important, but if it's not the case, if lyrics don't say anything smart, then just listen to the music (if it's enough for you) and that's fine.
I feel exactly the same. Yellow matter custard dripping from a dead dog's eye or greenish golden liquid pouring from a barrel of rye, I am the bird man, I am the bird man, I am the monkey...
Never heard of this band, and I tend to agree with your appraisal.
A typical modern prog song, where the point is not to express a thought or feeling but to cramp as many weird musical techniques and ideas into the song as possible. I love good prog, but it`s not that good..
Regarding lyrics: in pop/rock music often the lyrics are there only so that the singer doesn't have to sing fa-la-la-la-la-la-la-la. :) Imho this song is a perfect example of that.
To appreciate really good prog rock please follow the advices given in several comments (Yes, ELP, Genesis, Rush) but be careful with Dream Theater. They are very good, but have the tendency to "let`s play F minor mixolydian arpeggios in alternating 11/4 and 7/4 at 199 bpm" to amaze the audience, which is amazing indeed for 20 seconds, but quickly becomes boring.
100% with you
It is not enlightening to use common places to criticize a band for doing what - in general - people say to criticize progressive music. It is naive because the same can be said to apply - even stronger - to the bands that are being recommended in this thread. So the advise is misplaced. The idea that older prog music is better than new prog music is just an obvious generational bias. Though in the case of DT - at least in some of their recent output - I think it is fair to say that they are the great example of "cramping weird musical techniques and ideas into a song", but this is not an example of that.
code to the lyrics:
Part I: Faint Heart
Singer is afraid that he'll turn out just like his father who was a wifebeater because he is often hardly able to contain himself against his wife.
Part II: A Few Peaceful Years
The singer's wife is pregnant and he forgets about wifebeating for a while because he is distracted by the thoughts of having a child and emotions and imaginations about the future because of it.
Part III: The Boy and the Broken Wheel
The singer's child is born and he grew up a bit but now the wifebeating rage is also back and furthermore he is afraid that he will beat up the child before hitting his wife because he gets so angry at the child too.
Part IV: Hands Shape Stone
Disaster strikes, he beats up his child and thrashes his bicycle (foreshadowed in the previous part, classy) and also he beats his wife but he is sorry now.
At least this is what I make of it. The fact that they purposefully obscured the lyrics so much supports my reading in my opinion because nobody would enjoy hearing about something so base, common and reprehensible and people could tell this is from personal experience because why would anybody write lyrics about something like this unless they experienced it which would make them appear bad but they couldn't think of anything else interesting to write about so they wrote it anyways but in an unintelligible manner like this.
The music is terrible too, it's almost as distasteful as wifebeating. I'm sorry to have heard it.
tard
How dare musicians discuss their trauma?
I love listening to your analogies and breakdown of different songs. I have learned a thing or two from you. Could you please cover some southern rock n roll? Specifically Lynyrd Skynyrd "The Ballad of Curtis Lowe" Ibelieve it will earn a high score from you. Thank you, enjoy your channel.
Freeeeeebiiirrrrddddd!!! Lol.
Unabashed hot-take here, but the song reminds me of so many mediocre rock songs built around a single good melodic idea, with the remainder of the song being unmemorable filler. Whenever I hear one I can’t help but imagine that the band was so eager to get their new hook into the public ear that they didn’t take the time to surround it with a cohesive piece of music that would let the hook live up to its potential.
The bands I love/respect most coincidentally all have stories of songs that sat on their back burner for YEARS because e.g. they had an amazing chorus but hadn’t yet found verses that lived up to the chorus. Artistic discipline!
I don’t doubt that the band has a passionate fanbase for whom the song makes perfect sense, and for them I’m happy that they have something they love so much.
That's a very good point! The melodic idea is good, but they don't really develop it. They just come back to it. I like some progressive rock but avoided a lot of it in my youth for the reasons you mentioned. The music goes off on tangents that sometimes sound disjointed.
I’m not sure what the band was going for here. It’s outside the realm where I generally lurk so I’m not going to criticize it.
Oh, go for it. You are our resident expert on progressive music after all (not being sarcastic, I mean it). Although I appreciate your sentiment since we all come at music from different places.
@@LeeKennison oh no, I’m not putting the resident expert hat on, no way but thanks. I agree with Amy about it. You know I’m not a progressive metal guy, to say it doesn’t click for me isn’t really saying anything about the music. It sounds less cohesive on the whole but it had some good ideas that didn’t develop like I would have liked.
@@Hartlor_Tayley Okay, I will refine my statement. You are 'my' resident expert on progressive music. After all, Gentle Giant made the list of progressive influencers I mentioned in the comment I made on this song. They really weren't on my radar until you recommended them. But before you get your hopes up about having a new personal fan boy, I didn't put Frank Zappa in my list. (just kidding, about the personal fan boy part, the Zappa part on the other hand... Let's just say the jury is out.)😉
@@LeeKennison wow so you listened to Gentile Giant? Cool. I think they are Amazing and live videos where they perform maybe better than the albums. Those guys are are well trained multi instrumentalists and their songs have great lyrics but once again they take some getting used to. Have you seen the channel Andy Edwards ? He talks about fusion and Prog. He’s toured with Robert Plant as his drummer. Great channel.
@@Hartlor_Tayley Yeah, I did and really enjoyed it. Although, in the whole one thing leads to another thing, this led me back to King Crimson, who I was already familiar with. Although, I don't think I owned any of their albums. I really got into playing the bass parts to some Crimson songs. Generally, very simple, but very satisfying to play. At least based on my limited selection so far. I will have to check out Andy's channel. Although watching music related UA-cam has become a full time job for me. Granted, one I really like. Just too bad the pay really sucks.
Dream Theater would be a much better choice. My personal favourite is Forsaken, which has just enough to be prog, but not too much to get lost in transitions.
Typical of what is referred to as prog these days pretentious, disjointed, and every time it fi ds a theme it wanders off it. Prog at it's best is amazing but it's become a cover term for anything over complicated. You did a great job Amy, but the music choice was terrible.
I'm impressed by your ability to find the beauty in that mess. It's actually very pretty when you play it.
Pentatonix and Home Free should be two groups you check out for yourself. Wonderful a capella work.
You are razor sharply wording the pretentiousness of this music.
Watching this video two days after your first listen video, I had forgotten most of this song which is telling of its impression on me, and also, the song has too much "stuff" in it to remember.
But Amy, My thought are the same as yours, you just express it in your words.
It does have nice pleasing melodies that sound open and clear, "easy listening" and that is, or those are the hooks of the song. I never heard clearly any of the lyrics and that is problematic. The drum work, while standard (unimaginative) issue for this type of music, sounds as if the drummer is in a hurry to beat a competitor to a finish line.
But overall the makers of this song seem to just have grabbed everything available in the musical resources box with no conviction or restraint to commit to a theme or message.
But now I see in my notifications that you are doing Deep Purple's Child in Time. This is, in my opinion, a "must do" in your journey and also a favorite of mine to watch others react to, so I can't wait, I'm excited.
First take on this song, the heavy part comes too late and there's too little of it.
It's starting to look like this channel is deliberately avoiding the many metal bands know for excellent storytelling like Iron Maiden, Helloween, Sabaton, Unleash the Archers...
Though if Amy wants to go for a Easter egg hunt through a story she knows well, And Then There Was Silence by Blind Guardian would do the trick, it's the Illiad from Cassandra's point of view. An absolutely masterful composition, as those here that follow Doug's channel know. Live version please.
She has too much to contribute to waste her time in a genre as pretentious as progressive metal