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Beekstraat 1 - B-2640 Mortsel - Belgium |
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Beekstraat 1 - B-2640 Mortsel - Belgium |
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VARIOUS ARTISTS: The Best Symfo Rock |
| Choice Of The Month July 2005 | ||
| Cover |
Release |
Style |
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2005 | symphonic & progressive rock |
| Label | ||
| Universal | ||
| Website | ||
| Arrow Classic Rock | ||
| Contact | ||
| Playing Time | Cat. N° | |
| 75:28 - 76:36 - 75:11 | - | |
| Review by / Translated by | Rating | |
| Jany / Jennifer | compilatie | |
| nederlands | Review | |
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I’m very happy about this release. It’s a sign that progressive and symphonic rock can make a comeback. If a company like Universal is daring enough to release a CD of a collection of symphonic songs, then you can only conclude that we’ve all been successful in our struggle to put sympho rock back on the map. We need to thank Kees Baars (who plays sympho rock on his show, ‘Bingopaleis’) because he has helped to speed the progress along. Symphonic and progressive rock weren’t dead, and never have been, but, rather, silenced. If a radio station pus all its effort into promoting a certain kind of music, then it seems that the public must also follow it as well. But what is it that they must follow? There are young people who have never heard of this type of music before but that do appreciate it. Thanks to these three CDs, they can now get a very large overview of what symphonic rock groups have to offer. Even though it is impossible to compile everything on just three CDs, Universal has been successful in giving a good overview. Of course, there are comments to be made. For example, why do some bands appear twice on the CD when there are so many bands to choose from and why this song and not that one? It’s a lot like splitting hairs. I’m convinced that when a new listener (who owns very few sympho albums) hears this album, he or she won’t know which full CD of which artist to purchase. Even confirmed prog lovers will want to own this CD because it contains so many great songs. Almost every big name of this genre from long ago is present here: Genesis, Yes, Emerson, Lake and Palmer, Focus and Jethro Tull. You can even find bands from a more recent period, such as, IQ, Camel, Kayak, Marillion, Fish and Pendragon. The most recent names are Dream Theater, Arena and Mostly Autumn (finally recognition!). There are also lots of ‘cross over’ artists like Uriah Heep, Rush, Queenryche, Styx, Rainbow and Angel, who have connections with hard rock and even some heavy metal. And then there are bands such as Kansas, Asia, Manfred Mann’s Earth Band and Toto, who have connections with ‘adult only rock’. What’s really amazing to hear is a very recent song from Opeth. It’s a pity for the Supersister track, which isn’t completely representative or for the Mike & The Mechanics song which can be filed under the better pop, but has nothing to do with symphonic rock except that Mike once played the bass guitar with the super sympho band Genesis. I suspect that Colosseum is a bit too heavy for the average, new sympho lover. But this is just nit picking if you take a look at the songs that are presented. The beginning is well chosen: “Firth of Fifth” is probably the most prominent sympho song. But “Script for a Jester Tear”, “Paint Box”, “Lucky Man”, “Nothing is Easy”, “Merlin”, and “The Hanging Tree” are nothing to frown upon. In short, this is certainly a wonderful CD. It really doesn’t matter if you purchase it for the surprise of the music or for the nostalgia of it all. Personally, I find it great that Mostly Autumn is finally being recognized as a sympho band. I’m also happy that two songs from the group, Angel, (a counterpart to Kiss back then) are on the CD. I had forgotten about them, but then realized just how incredibly good their songs were. I would have rather heard Rush songs from the ‘70s instead of the ‘80s, but that’s just a personal matter. This album shows that symphonic rock is a type of music that speaks volumes. These three CDs overlap 6 decades of music. It’s proof that progressive or symphonic rock music is here to stay. |
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Musicians |
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Various Artists |
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| Tracklist | ||
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CD 1
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Last updated:
10 juli 2005 . |
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