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From: oyster@uwmacc.UUCP (Vicious Oyster)
Newsgroups: net.music
Subject: Re: regarding the so-called \"rip-off\" bands
Message-ID: <1367@uwmacc.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 6-Aug-85 11:28:22 EDT
Article-I.D.: uwmacc.1367
Posted: Tue Aug  6 11:28:22 1985
Date-Received: Wed, 7-Aug-85 08:54:48 EDT
References: <3354@decwrl.UUCP> <126@rdlvax.UUCP>
Reply-To: oyster@uwmacc.UUCP (Vicious oyster)
Distribution: na
Organization: UWisconsin-Madison Academic Comp Center
Lines: 55

In article <126@rdlvax.UUCP> salzman@rdlvax.UUCP (Gumby) writes:
>If you want to here a real treat, pick up
>an album called "Fountains of Light" by a band called "StarCastle".
>They sound a lot like older Yes, but they are quite good.  They are a
>Canadian group I believe. Also, Camel, a little Genesis like, but more
>jazzy. Lots of good stuff out there if you look for it, regardless of
>wether or not it sounds like someone else....
>
Enter opinion mode:
   I'd have to disagree about recommending Starcastle (sorry, Herb, if you're
out there).  I have 3 Starcastle albums.  They sound alright for the first few
plays, but what sounded interesting at first rapidly starts sounding stale, 
contrived, and saccharin sweet.  Way too much in the way of simple synthesizer
and perfect thirds harmony to really stand the test of time.  Still, if you can
get a cutout (or better yet, borrow from a friend), it just might be worth it
for the first few listens.  Oh, and the band was from Illinois.  I know a
programmer who worked with the above-mentioned Herb (the keyboardist); seems
Herb decided that he was the best keyboardist ever, so he quit while at the
top of the heap, taking up programming instead.  By now, he has probably gotten
to be the best programmer ever, and moved on to accounting.  [Warning: the last
few sentences are purely second-person hearsay; any resemblance to factual
information may be coincidental.]
 
   As for Camel, they are good, if you can pick up on the earlier stuff:

     The Snow Goose:  peaceful, easy, background-type music; lots of woodwinds,
     especially oboes and bassoons (my personal favorites in rock music).
     Tells the musical tale of the Snow Goose (oddly enough), which I think is
     a story by someone, somewhere.  Instrumental.

     Mirage:  Much heavier than the Snow Goose, while retaining a progressive,
     jazzy flavor.  My favorite Camel album.   Contains yet another F&SF in
     music reference ("Once he wore grey... The wizard of us all, came back
     from his fall, this time wearing white" or something like that).

     Moonmadness:  Good, but they're starting to sound more commercial...

     Breathless:  My second favorite.  More quiet, easy-going music (makes a
     nice change from collapsing buildings and what not).  The title track
     is great.


   One last plug:  try Brand X for some interesting, jazzy music; sort of a
cross between Jean-luc Ponty and recent King Crimson, but a little more 
consistent than the latter and a lot more interesting than the former.  Mail
me for specific recommendations- I haven't had enough coffee yet today for
my brain to function properly.

End of opinion.   
--
 - joel "vo" plutchak
{allegra,ihnp4,seismo}!uwvax!uwmacc!oyster

"Take what I say in a different way and it's easy to say that this is
all confusion."