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From: jeff@dciem.UUCP (Jeff Richardson)
Newsgroups: net.music
Subject: Re: The destruction of Yes and comebacks in general
Message-ID: <783@dciem.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 14-Mar-84 14:22:30 EST
Article-I.D.: dciem.783
Posted: Wed Mar 14 14:22:30 1984
Date-Received: Wed, 14-Mar-84 16:35:50 EST
References: <5697@umcp-cs.UUCP>
Organization: D.C.I.E.M., Toronto, Canada
Lines: 53

I agree with Tim that Genesis and Yes are not nearly as good as they
used to be, but if I think of today's versions as different groups from
the old versions (there have been significant personnel changes) I can
get a lot of enjoyment from the new groups.  I say to myself, "if this
album was by a group I had never heard of before, would I like it?"  The
answer is usually yes.  Genesis especially is doing new and different
stuff which stands up well if you can avoid comparing it to the old stuff.
I particularly like their new hard-pounding drum style in songs like "Mama".
I'm glad they changed because even though it's one of my all-time favourite
albums, I wouldn't want half a dozen Lamb Lies Down On Broadways.  Sure
they do a lot of filler and boring pop songs, but I still think they have
a lot of talent and good new ideas, but they're spreading them too
thinly by releasing 2 1/2 albums (group & solo) per year.

As far as comebacks being useless, I have to disagree.  Here are a few
comebacks without which I would have enjoyed music a lot less in the last
few years:

1. King Crimson was a pioneer in the field of progressive rock in the
   early 70's until they broke up around '74 or '75.  Robert Fripp, the
   main force in the original group, reformed the group in 1981 with two
   members from the old group and two new ones.  The result was "Discipline",
   one of the year's best albums and an excellent combination of 70's
   progressive rock and 80's progressive new wave (for lack of a better term).

2. Mike Oldfield made three albums between '73 and '75, two of them excellent.
   He then took a few years off and then made a comeback with a new, more rock
   oriented style that seems to have all the elements of his old style, plus
   a whole lot more.  He's also branched out and there's a lot more variety
   in his albums now.  His Five Miles Out album (1982) is one of my all-time
   favourite albums, and Crises, which has the most variety of any of his
   albums, was my favourite of last year.  His 70's stuff seems empty by
   comparison.

3. Camel was a good progressive rock group in the mid-70's, but by 1979 they
   had evolved (devolved?) into a useless pop band and lost most of their
   following.  In 1981, they came out with their next album, Nude.  They
   went back to their old style but did it much better than they ever had
   before, and it was my favourite album of the year.  I don't care if prog.
   rock was out of style by then, it's still great if it's done well and
   isn't just a rehash of old stuff.  Nude is the last great progressive
   rock album I've heard.

4. I guess you can call Peter Gabriel's recent work a comeback, since he
   fell from popularity and from the public eye from the time he left
   Genesis until a couple of years ago.  Security was second only to Five
   Miles Out on my list of top albums of 1982.

I could name other comebacks that I wouldn't be better off without, but these
are the ones I consider essential.  Numbers 1 and 4 have probably influenced
a lot of newer artists as well.
                                        Jeff Richardson
                                        DCIEM, Toronto