Is TLLDOB the greatest prog album of all time ?

Is TLLDOB the greatest prog album of all time

  • Total voters
    9
yes, Lamb is the best Prog album in my opinion. Gabriel took total control of the story and lyrics, which was needed. And wrote some of their best material ever. It had a concept, better than Tommy or Yes Tales From Topographic Oceans. And Gabriel’s voice and articulation of his rhymes were brilliant. Also creative contributions from Eno.

It’s a shame that in all of the Genesis docs you see the rest of the band members are always downplaying the album mainly because of Gabriel’s conceptual control and his costumes for the live performance. They always talk about the technical failures of the tour and not the album itself. Tony Banks is the main naysayer and the one band member to have failed at his solo efforts. The album is brilliant despite their self evaluation, especially the Tony Banks instrumental sections.

The competition in my mind is something by Yes, my pick would be Tales From Topographic Oceans, for the depth and instrumental arrangements. Howe and Squire went crazy on this one, Waksman was a little more subdued. And Alan Watts turned out to be a more palatable drummer than Bruford, who might be technically better. A lot of people pick Close to the Edge as a best Yes album, but I find between the nice parts that there’s a lot of noise and unpleasantness.

King Crimson Red is another pick of mine. The most focused Crimson album with the absolute best lineup of the band. It’s darker than other Prog bands, with no discernible English folk or American roots influence. Crimson probably had more proto metal sounds than Sabbath.

Van Der Graaf Generator’s Pawn Hearts is another pick of mine. They definitely sound like no one else and scoffed at being lumped in with Prog rock just as Robert Fripp did.

Jethro Tull made two overtly progressive albums; Thick as a Brick and A Passion Play. I would pick the latter as one of my favorite Prog albums.

Gentle Giant has to be in there somewhere as they are the definitive Prog band in every way. It’s hard to pick one album from them but Octopus, The Power and the Glory, and In a Glass House are all up there.

I also agree that Radiohead’s OK Computer is a great Prog album in every way.
 
rickenvox said:
It’s a shame that in all of the Genesis docs you see the rest of the band members are always downplaying the album mainly because of Gabriel’s conceptual control and his costumes for the live performance. They always talk about the technical failures of the tour and not the album itself. Tony Banks is the main naysayer and the one band member to have failed at his solo efforts. The album is brilliant despite their self evaluation, especially the Tony Banks instrumental sections.
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The Lamb does have a bit of a fractured feel to me, from the lads doing their thing and then Gabriel doing his on top. But it succeeds anyway. A lot of great art has been created by people who wanted to fight each other. :grin:

These days if I play The Lamb it is likely to be a live version - on that tour they were a cohesive unit in spite of themselves, and the results were sometimes stunning.
 
tiger roach said:
The Lamb does have a bit of a fractured feel to me, from the lads doing their thing and then Gabriel doing his on top. But it succeeds anyway. A lot of great art has been created by people who wanted to fight each other. :grin:

These days if I play The Lamb it is likely to be a live version - on that tour they were a cohesive unit in spite of themselves, and the results were sometimes stunning.
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Live Lamb? You mean the Phil Collins lead singer live album?
 
rickenvox said:
Live Lamb? You mean the Phil Collins lead singer live album?
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No I mean the real deal! There is an excellent version on the Genesis Archive 1967-75 boxed set (out of print but that’s why there’s eBay etc.). And you can download the Groningen show (which has an amusing example of the famous tech issues) and probably others if you probe around on the net a little.
 
DdBob said:
always bad with good...allways cuz that's the nature of the world BUT Genesis, RUSH, Electric Wizard, High on Fire are good and then their is the cross bands like Tool who are both metal and prog
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HoF and Electric Wizard? prog?

That must of been a huge rip before posting that one
 
rickenvox said:
yes, Lamb is the best Prog album in my opinion. Gabriel took total control of the story and lyrics, which was needed. And wrote some of their best material ever. It had a concept, better than Tommy or Yes Tales From Topographic Oceans. And Gabriel’s voice and articulation of his rhymes were brilliant. Also creative contributions from Eno.

It’s a shame that in all of the Genesis docs you see the rest of the band members are always downplaying the album mainly because of Gabriel’s conceptual control and his costumes for the live performance. They always talk about the technical failures of the tour and not the album itself. Tony Banks is the main naysayer and the one band member to have failed at his solo efforts. The album is brilliant despite their self evaluation, especially the Tony Banks instrumental sections.

The competition in my mind is something by Yes, my pick would be Tales From Topographic Oceans, for the depth and instrumental arrangements. Howe and Squire went crazy on this one, Waksman was a little more subdued. And Alan Watts turned out to be a more palatable drummer than Bruford, who might be technically better. A lot of people pick Close to the Edge as a best Yes album, but I find between the nice parts that there’s a lot of noise and unpleasantness.

King Crimson Red is another pick of mine. The most focused Crimson album with the absolute best lineup of the band. It’s darker than other Prog bands, with no discernible English folk or American roots influence. Crimson probably had more proto metal sounds than Sabbath.

Van Der Graaf Generator’s Pawn Hearts is another pick of mine. They definitely sound like no one else and scoffed at being lumped in with Prog rock just as Robert Fripp did.

Jethro Tull made two overtly progressive albums; Thick as a Brick and A Passion Play. I would pick the latter as one of my favorite Prog albums.

Gentle Giant has to be in there somewhere as they are the definitive Prog band in every way. It’s hard to pick one album from them but Octopus, The Power and the Glory, and In a Glass House are all up there.

I also agree that Radiohead’s OK Computer is a great Prog album in every way.
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This is a thoughtful and intelligent post. the rest of the posters in this trhread could do good to learn from you, thank you!
 
Prog and metal have gotten way too intertwined. It breaks my heart. It’s like my daughter ran off with a biker. :cry:
 
You could add Marillion - Misplaced Childhood to the argument. I don't think it is the best, but it is good enough to be in the discussion.

As for TLLDOB, in my humble opinion not even in the top three Genesis albums, though it is really good. I put it fourth behind Selling England, Foxtrot, and A Trick of the Tail.
 
Flatspotter said:
As much as I love Lamb, I think Selling England by the Pound was better and multiple Crimson albums were better still.
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Selling England should have come after Lamb as it sounds like a lot of their Collins era stuff. I Know What I Like was probably the first sappy Genesis song before Gabriel left and they went to shit.
 
It's a personal taste thing. There are a few albums that I like better than Lamb. Don't get me wrong, Lamb is a masterpiece. But I prefer stuff like "Selling England by the Pound", "Red", "Starless and Bible Black", ""Larks' Tongues in Aspic " by King Crimson, "The Yes Album", and a few others.
 
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