1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:13,160 Welcome to the Album Nerds podcast with your hosts, Andy, Don, and Dude. 2 00:00:13,160 --> 00:00:15,520 Hello, hello, hello. 3 00:00:15,520 --> 00:00:17,320 Is anybody in there? 4 00:00:17,320 --> 00:00:18,760 The Album Nerds podcast. 5 00:00:18,760 --> 00:00:21,520 I'm Dude, I got Andy and Don with me. 6 00:00:21,520 --> 00:00:23,640 Andy, what the hell is happening, my friend? 7 00:00:23,640 --> 00:00:28,040 I'd love to tell you, buddy, but after this week of listening, I think it would take me 8 00:00:28,040 --> 00:00:30,960 about 18 minutes and I'd have to break it into about five different parts. 9 00:00:30,960 --> 00:00:33,840 It might be a sci-fi theme intertwined somewhere. 10 00:00:33,840 --> 00:00:34,840 Sweet. 11 00:00:34,840 --> 00:00:35,840 I'm in. 12 00:00:35,840 --> 00:00:37,640 Skip it for now. 13 00:00:37,640 --> 00:00:38,640 Professor Don. 14 00:00:38,640 --> 00:00:39,640 What's up? 15 00:00:39,640 --> 00:00:44,440 Because it's time, it's time and time with your time and its news is captured. 16 00:00:44,440 --> 00:00:45,440 You know that song? 17 00:00:45,440 --> 00:00:46,440 No. 18 00:00:46,440 --> 00:00:47,440 Yes. 19 00:00:47,440 --> 00:00:48,440 I gotta do it in the voice. 20 00:00:48,440 --> 00:00:49,440 No. 21 00:00:49,440 --> 00:00:53,440 Because it's time, it's time and your time with the... 22 00:00:53,440 --> 00:00:55,920 That song. 23 00:00:55,920 --> 00:00:58,440 That Mickey Mouse song. 24 00:00:58,440 --> 00:01:00,400 All right. 25 00:01:00,400 --> 00:01:02,580 So we are the Album Nerds. 26 00:01:02,580 --> 00:01:05,100 This is the Album Nerds podcast. 27 00:01:05,100 --> 00:01:07,040 We got a great show for you today. 28 00:01:07,040 --> 00:01:12,120 We're going to be musing about the progression through progressive rock that we took throughout 29 00:01:12,120 --> 00:01:13,120 the week. 30 00:01:13,120 --> 00:01:15,440 We're going to each pick an album and discuss it. 31 00:01:15,440 --> 00:01:20,080 We're going to be answering a question that's loosely related to the topic of today's show. 32 00:01:20,080 --> 00:01:23,160 We're going to talk about what we learned and then we'll spin the wheel of musical destiny 33 00:01:23,160 --> 00:01:26,200 to find out what kind of albums we'll talk about next time. 34 00:01:26,200 --> 00:01:30,920 But here we go, folks, 70s progressive rock. 35 00:01:30,920 --> 00:01:33,920 That's what I'm talking about. 36 00:01:33,920 --> 00:01:39,600 Progressive rock is a broad genre of rock music developed in the UK and the US in the 37 00:01:39,600 --> 00:01:44,400 mid to late 1960s and it kind of peaked in the 1970s. 38 00:01:44,400 --> 00:01:48,720 Would you say it progressed to its highest pinnacle in the 70s? 39 00:01:48,720 --> 00:01:49,720 Yes, thank you. 40 00:01:49,720 --> 00:01:54,840 Epidemic bands abandoned standard pop traditions in favor of instrumentation and compositional 41 00:01:54,840 --> 00:01:59,720 techniques more frequently associated with jazz, folk and classical music. 42 00:01:59,720 --> 00:02:04,280 Lyrics became more poetic and technology was harnessed for new sounds. 43 00:02:04,280 --> 00:02:06,360 The studio became a key instrument. 44 00:02:06,360 --> 00:02:11,800 Stereotypically, progressive rock involved long solos, long albums, fantasy lyrics, grandiose 45 00:02:11,800 --> 00:02:14,020 stage sets and costumes. 46 00:02:14,020 --> 00:02:19,540 Many artists have donned the progressive label, including King Crimson, Genesis, Emerson Lake 47 00:02:19,540 --> 00:02:22,480 and Palmer, Jethro Tull and Pink Floyd. 48 00:02:22,480 --> 00:02:26,880 Today, each of us will present a progressive rock album from the 1970s. 49 00:02:26,880 --> 00:02:31,320 Yeah, that's a daunting task. 50 00:02:31,320 --> 00:02:35,480 Because of the time period, the albums themselves aren't super long unless they're a double 51 00:02:35,480 --> 00:02:36,480 album. 52 00:02:36,480 --> 00:02:37,480 So that's a bonus. 53 00:02:37,480 --> 00:02:41,640 If we did 90s progressive rock like Dream Theater or something, we'd be in big trouble, 54 00:02:41,640 --> 00:02:42,920 which that may come. 55 00:02:42,920 --> 00:02:44,220 Who knows? 56 00:02:44,220 --> 00:02:45,760 The Wheel knows, that's who. 57 00:02:45,760 --> 00:02:49,880 Yeah, I had already had an album in mind. 58 00:02:49,880 --> 00:02:51,880 And so when this came up, I just jumped to it. 59 00:02:51,880 --> 00:02:54,600 I didn't really navigate those waters. 60 00:02:54,600 --> 00:02:58,400 I was counting on you guys for picking two classics for me to digest. 61 00:02:58,400 --> 00:02:59,680 So thank you for that. 62 00:02:59,680 --> 00:03:00,680 How'd you guys do? 63 00:03:00,680 --> 00:03:04,080 Looks like you were really working the list. 64 00:03:04,080 --> 00:03:06,320 Yeah, there's a lot to pick from this. 65 00:03:06,320 --> 00:03:10,520 I knew this was like the peak of the genre, but man, there was a plethora of bands going 66 00:03:10,520 --> 00:03:14,840 at it, at the sound in the early to mid 70s. 67 00:03:14,840 --> 00:03:19,000 So yeah, I listened to a bunch of Genesis, Selling England by the Pound, and Foxtrot 68 00:03:19,000 --> 00:03:25,720 specifically, a bunch of King Crimson records, Supertramp, a group called Gentle Giants. 69 00:03:25,720 --> 00:03:27,720 I did listen to that one, yes. 70 00:03:27,720 --> 00:03:28,720 Octopus, yeah. 71 00:03:28,720 --> 00:03:33,500 A lot of these records, I gotta be honest, were really cringy and sounded super dated 72 00:03:33,500 --> 00:03:34,500 to me. 73 00:03:34,500 --> 00:03:39,080 I don't know how you guys felt similarly about some of the topics if not age too well. 74 00:03:39,080 --> 00:03:40,440 Well, that's what I'm counting on. 75 00:03:40,440 --> 00:03:43,000 I'm counting on that sound though. 76 00:03:43,000 --> 00:03:45,240 I expect it and that's what I want. 77 00:03:45,240 --> 00:03:47,960 If I'm listening to 70s prog, that's what I want. 78 00:03:47,960 --> 00:03:52,040 If I find something that holds up, that's great, but I go into it with this is gonna 79 00:03:52,040 --> 00:03:53,040 be cheesy. 80 00:03:53,040 --> 00:03:57,240 Well, I was not disappointed to go into that mindset. 81 00:03:57,240 --> 00:04:00,600 Hopefully, we found one that does hold up pretty well. 82 00:04:00,600 --> 00:04:04,760 I don't know if you guys are aware, but I'm a Pink Floyd fan. 83 00:04:04,760 --> 00:04:11,360 I mean, I think there's a large number of albums from their catalog that would apply. 84 00:04:11,360 --> 00:04:15,640 I had actually thought about doing Adam Hart Mother, which came out in 1970. 85 00:04:15,640 --> 00:04:20,480 It's a pre Dark Side of the Moon album, but in typical progressive style. 86 00:04:20,480 --> 00:04:25,120 The opening cut is like 18 minutes long and has an orchestra and all that. 87 00:04:25,120 --> 00:04:28,800 Also spent some time with Genesis, Selling England by the Pound. 88 00:04:28,800 --> 00:04:33,760 Then also Mike Oldfield has an album called Tubular Bells. 89 00:04:33,760 --> 00:04:36,400 The one cut was actually the music for The Exorcist. 90 00:04:36,400 --> 00:04:38,720 That was an interesting record. 91 00:04:38,720 --> 00:04:43,800 Yeah, sounds like, well, you guys in particular had quite a journey and we narrowed it down 92 00:04:43,800 --> 00:04:44,800 to three. 93 00:04:44,800 --> 00:04:45,800 Why don't we get into it? 94 00:04:45,800 --> 00:04:46,800 Well, we don't have to rush. 95 00:04:46,800 --> 00:04:47,800 Hey yo. 96 00:04:47,800 --> 00:04:48,800 You choo choo choos me? 97 00:04:48,800 --> 00:04:49,800 Modern day warrior named Tom Sawyer. 98 00:04:49,800 --> 00:04:50,800 He loaded down a river on a raft with a black guy. 99 00:04:50,800 --> 00:04:51,800 That's not Tom Sawyer, that's Uncle Barry Fitts, stupid. 100 00:04:51,800 --> 00:04:52,800 I am Tom Sawyer. 101 00:04:52,800 --> 00:04:53,800 You're a fool. 102 00:04:53,800 --> 00:04:54,800 I am Tom Sawyer. 103 00:04:54,800 --> 00:04:55,800 I am Tom Sawyer. 104 00:04:55,800 --> 00:04:56,800 I am Tom Sawyer. 105 00:04:56,800 --> 00:04:57,800 I am Tom Sawyer. 106 00:04:57,800 --> 00:04:58,800 I am Tom Sawyer. 107 00:04:58,800 --> 00:04:59,800 I am Tom Sawyer. 108 00:04:59,800 --> 00:05:00,800 I am Tom Sawyer. 109 00:05:00,800 --> 00:05:01,800 I am Tom Sawyer. 110 00:05:01,800 --> 00:05:02,800 I am Tom Sawyer. 111 00:05:02,800 --> 00:05:03,800 I am Tom Sawyer. 112 00:05:03,800 --> 00:05:04,800 I am Tom Sawyer. 113 00:05:04,800 --> 00:05:05,800 I am Tom Sawyer. 114 00:05:05,800 --> 00:05:08,800 I am Tom Sawyer. 115 00:05:08,800 --> 00:05:13,800 I am Tom Sawyer. 116 00:05:13,800 --> 00:05:14,800 That's not Tom Sawyer, that's Uncle Barry Fitts, stupid. 117 00:05:14,800 --> 00:05:15,800 I am Geddy Lee and I will sing whatever names I will. 118 00:05:15,800 --> 00:05:16,800 That's great. 119 00:05:16,800 --> 00:05:17,800 All right. 120 00:05:17,800 --> 00:05:18,800 Indeed we are talking about Rush and their 1976 album 2112. 121 00:05:18,800 --> 00:05:25,640 This is the fourth studio album for the Canadian three piece featuring Geddy Lee, Alex Leisson, 122 00:05:25,640 --> 00:05:26,640 and Neil Burt. 123 00:05:26,640 --> 00:05:29,280 It was kind of a make it or break it album for the band. 124 00:05:29,280 --> 00:05:34,640 One of the band's labels was considering dropping them because of their previous records performance 125 00:05:34,640 --> 00:05:37,360 and then they put out this masterpiece. 126 00:05:37,360 --> 00:05:39,480 So let's play a little bit of the opening cut. 127 00:05:39,480 --> 00:05:42,800 This is the section called The Temples of Syrinx. 128 00:05:42,800 --> 00:05:48,520 I think that's a reference to you, dude. 129 00:05:48,520 --> 00:05:49,520 No idea. 130 00:05:49,520 --> 00:05:58,160 Isn't that the girl on the iPhone? 131 00:05:58,160 --> 00:06:03,040 Hey Syrinx, play Rush. 132 00:06:03,040 --> 00:06:07,360 I don't know what Rush is, but I'll read you this article from Wikipedia. 133 00:06:07,360 --> 00:06:13,200 Well that song in particular is tied to some elements of a book by Anne Rand called Anthem 134 00:06:13,200 --> 00:06:16,040 tells the story of the city of Megadon. 135 00:06:16,040 --> 00:06:17,040 Megadon. 136 00:06:17,040 --> 00:06:18,040 Yeah. 137 00:06:18,040 --> 00:06:19,040 Yes, Megadon. 138 00:06:19,040 --> 00:06:23,440 I thought that's my transformer name. 139 00:06:23,440 --> 00:06:24,440 Megadon transformer. 140 00:06:24,440 --> 00:06:31,440 Yeah, so there's a cabal of benevolent priests who live in the Temple of Syrinx where creativity 141 00:06:31,440 --> 00:06:32,480 is outlawed. 142 00:06:32,480 --> 00:06:33,480 So there you go. 143 00:06:33,480 --> 00:06:34,480 Now you know. 144 00:06:34,480 --> 00:06:37,480 And also the plot to Footloose. 145 00:06:37,480 --> 00:06:43,920 Pretty close actually. 146 00:06:43,920 --> 00:06:47,720 Oh, okay. 147 00:06:47,720 --> 00:06:52,400 My three words describe this record are still years ahead. 148 00:06:52,400 --> 00:06:58,200 I think as futuristic as this music sounded in 1970 and I think it still sounds pretty 149 00:06:58,200 --> 00:06:59,200 modern today. 150 00:06:59,200 --> 00:07:02,840 You know, as we're talking about some of these prog records from the 70s have not aged too 151 00:07:02,840 --> 00:07:03,840 well. 152 00:07:03,840 --> 00:07:08,720 I think this one still sounds great to me, especially that side A, that really lengthy 153 00:07:08,720 --> 00:07:09,720 20 minute opener. 154 00:07:09,720 --> 00:07:14,720 You could say maybe it's a bit uneven at times, but there's so many cool parts to it and it 155 00:07:14,720 --> 00:07:18,440 really does unfold kind of like you're watching a sci-fi movie. 156 00:07:18,440 --> 00:07:21,200 You know, like a lot of cinematic qualities to it. 157 00:07:21,200 --> 00:07:23,880 I really appreciate it on Headphone Listen. 158 00:07:23,880 --> 00:07:29,360 That is one requirement I think of progressive rock from this era at least. 159 00:07:29,360 --> 00:07:34,800 Have headphones on then you hear little things, whispers and stuff that might take you by 160 00:07:34,800 --> 00:07:35,800 surprise. 161 00:07:35,800 --> 00:07:36,800 Yeah. 162 00:07:36,800 --> 00:07:40,240 There's so many little details and studio effects sprinkled in here that really do make 163 00:07:40,240 --> 00:07:42,840 it feel cinematic, I think. 164 00:07:42,840 --> 00:07:47,240 So yeah, once you get past that long opening cut, which is the entire side A of the original 165 00:07:47,240 --> 00:07:52,440 release, you get into a collection of more traditional lang songs that are a little bit 166 00:07:52,440 --> 00:07:53,440 tighter. 167 00:07:53,440 --> 00:07:55,600 More rushy, you know, more of their standard stuff. 168 00:07:55,600 --> 00:07:56,600 More standard rush style. 169 00:07:56,600 --> 00:07:57,600 Yeah. 170 00:07:57,600 --> 00:07:58,600 Let's play one of those next here. 171 00:07:58,600 --> 00:08:06,240 It's a little bit of a passage to Banker. 172 00:08:06,240 --> 00:08:17,720 I saw someone describe the lyrics as being about like drug tourism. 173 00:08:17,720 --> 00:08:18,720 Yeah. 174 00:08:18,720 --> 00:08:23,040 Actually, Alec Lifeson said, this piece is about a fun little journey to all the good 175 00:08:23,040 --> 00:08:25,280 places you could go to have a puff. 176 00:08:25,280 --> 00:08:27,640 We thought it would be kind of fun to write a song about that. 177 00:08:27,640 --> 00:08:30,080 Sorry, is have a puff Canadian for smoke weed? 178 00:08:30,080 --> 00:08:31,080 It might be. 179 00:08:31,080 --> 00:08:32,080 I think so. 180 00:08:32,080 --> 00:08:33,080 Yeah. 181 00:08:33,080 --> 00:08:34,080 Yeah. 182 00:08:34,080 --> 00:08:39,680 So that's a nice little rock tune to start off side B. The words I chose to describe 183 00:08:39,680 --> 00:08:43,440 the album are the holy triumvirate. 184 00:08:43,440 --> 00:08:51,320 I believe among Rush fans, I don't know what they call themselves, Rush heads or Russians. 185 00:08:51,320 --> 00:08:56,640 They use that expression to characterize the three members of the band. 186 00:08:56,640 --> 00:09:01,280 And it makes sense because the three of them are just kind of masters of their crafts, 187 00:09:01,280 --> 00:09:02,280 right? 188 00:09:02,280 --> 00:09:05,960 I mean, Neil Peart is considered to be one of the great drummers. 189 00:09:05,960 --> 00:09:09,440 Lifeson is a really innovative guitarist. 190 00:09:09,440 --> 00:09:13,240 And you know, Geddy Lee is, well, I mean, he's a vocalist. 191 00:09:13,240 --> 00:09:16,240 It's very unique those lyrics. 192 00:09:16,240 --> 00:09:17,240 Yes. 193 00:09:17,240 --> 00:09:18,240 He is a vocalist. 194 00:09:18,240 --> 00:09:23,120 Well, it's weird because he's got the high pitch sort of, you know, you would think Led 195 00:09:23,120 --> 00:09:28,920 Zeppelin E. You would think kind of like what, you know, Judas Priest and metal voices, but 196 00:09:28,920 --> 00:09:29,920 not really. 197 00:09:29,920 --> 00:09:34,880 It's a little more nasally, I would say, than Led Zeppelin or Judas Priest. 198 00:09:34,880 --> 00:09:39,840 There's less machismo behind it, I think, because that's not the intent. 199 00:09:39,840 --> 00:09:41,980 That's not what this band is. 200 00:09:41,980 --> 00:09:45,340 They're just following the muse, right? 201 00:09:45,340 --> 00:09:47,000 Also Geddy's bass playing is very... 202 00:09:47,000 --> 00:09:48,000 Oh, sure. 203 00:09:48,000 --> 00:09:49,000 Very good. 204 00:09:49,000 --> 00:09:52,000 You know, there's some really cool licks in there that I keep saying, oh, the bass player's 205 00:09:52,000 --> 00:09:53,000 good. 206 00:09:53,000 --> 00:09:54,000 I'm like, oh, wait, that's Geddy. 207 00:09:54,000 --> 00:09:57,080 I picture him using like the double neck bass where he's using six string bass and four 208 00:09:57,080 --> 00:09:58,080 string bass. 209 00:09:58,080 --> 00:09:59,080 Yeah. 210 00:09:59,080 --> 00:10:00,080 Yeah. 211 00:10:00,080 --> 00:10:04,040 So, I mean, you know, despite them just being this tight and innovative rock band, you know, 212 00:10:04,040 --> 00:10:09,800 I do think maybe the barriers to people listening to Rush are often, I think, Geddy Lee's voice 213 00:10:09,800 --> 00:10:15,760 and maybe, you know, Peart's some of the kind of sci-fi fantasy style lyrics. 214 00:10:15,760 --> 00:10:20,040 Just the discography is like super dense and there's a lot going on in each record. 215 00:10:20,040 --> 00:10:25,120 Even 2112, there's only six tracks, but there's a lot to absorb. 216 00:10:25,120 --> 00:10:26,600 A lot of space and time. 217 00:10:26,600 --> 00:10:27,600 Yeah. 218 00:10:27,600 --> 00:10:32,200 But yeah, I understand why, you know, this is viewed by many as being their best record, 219 00:10:32,200 --> 00:10:36,280 even though like none of the hits that I know that used to be played on like classic rock 220 00:10:36,280 --> 00:10:38,840 radio and stuff are on this. 221 00:10:38,840 --> 00:10:41,160 Yeah, it's just an excellent album. 222 00:10:41,160 --> 00:10:43,520 I think all the songs are solid. 223 00:10:43,520 --> 00:10:48,040 Once you embrace Geddy Lee, you know, you're good. 224 00:10:48,040 --> 00:10:50,400 I think that's true for a lot of singers. 225 00:10:50,400 --> 00:10:56,420 And of course, I appreciate the use of analog synthesizers and Mellotron. 226 00:10:56,420 --> 00:11:00,360 Maybe it's because you have more artists now that have kind of gone back and done some 227 00:11:00,360 --> 00:11:02,400 of those early synth sounds. 228 00:11:02,400 --> 00:11:05,620 But you know, if there was anything that was kind of dated about Rush, I think it would 229 00:11:05,620 --> 00:11:07,560 be the Mellotron usage. 230 00:11:07,560 --> 00:11:11,000 But now I think maybe it fits again with what's out there now. 231 00:11:11,000 --> 00:11:12,000 Yeah, that's a good point. 232 00:11:12,000 --> 00:11:13,720 Let me play the next cut from the record. 233 00:11:13,720 --> 00:11:16,680 This is a little bit of The Twilight Zone. 234 00:11:16,680 --> 00:11:31,200 Yes, classic Rush. 235 00:11:31,200 --> 00:11:36,740 So The Twilight Zone was an homage to Rod Serling, the creator of The Twilight Zone 236 00:11:36,740 --> 00:11:41,080 television program that was popular in what, the 60s? 237 00:11:41,080 --> 00:11:42,080 Love that show. 238 00:11:42,080 --> 00:11:45,520 Every Halloween, I'll just put that on in the background. 239 00:11:45,520 --> 00:11:47,320 I think I've seen all of them. 240 00:11:47,320 --> 00:11:53,040 But you know, if I had known, as when I was younger, if I had known about Rush's love 241 00:11:53,040 --> 00:11:56,760 for The Twilight Zone and sci-fi stuff, I might have actually dug in. 242 00:11:56,760 --> 00:11:59,960 I didn't know any of those elements were there because I think people weren't talking about 243 00:11:59,960 --> 00:12:01,880 that as much. 244 00:12:01,880 --> 00:12:07,560 The three words I used to describe this album, geek gods on high. 245 00:12:07,560 --> 00:12:13,360 Yeah, the geekiness is what I've finally really figured out here. 246 00:12:13,360 --> 00:12:19,400 I've always preferred moving pictures, but listening to this album and kind of digging 247 00:12:19,400 --> 00:12:24,040 into the lyrics and understanding that there's a story and then Twilight Zone references 248 00:12:24,040 --> 00:12:31,360 where, I mean, they did it so well in that song because they actually, like at the beginning, 249 00:12:31,360 --> 00:12:36,040 that clip we played is kind of the intro that Rod Serling would have done. 250 00:12:36,040 --> 00:12:40,860 And then they actually are referring to, will the real Martian please stand up and stop 251 00:12:40,860 --> 00:12:44,360 over in a quiet town two episodes of The Twilight Zone. 252 00:12:44,360 --> 00:12:47,920 Their love of it is like, it's a bonding moment. 253 00:12:47,920 --> 00:12:52,160 And I think that's what Rush is able to do in this area. 254 00:12:52,160 --> 00:12:55,520 No wonder why their fans love them because they're them. 255 00:12:55,520 --> 00:12:58,080 They're their friends. 256 00:12:58,080 --> 00:13:01,120 And then you can look up to these guys, but they're the same as you, right? 257 00:13:01,120 --> 00:13:03,760 And I think that's part of what makes it so appealing. 258 00:13:03,760 --> 00:13:06,200 Yes, they fund a little nerd subculture. 259 00:13:06,200 --> 00:13:09,680 They're all into these same ideas. 260 00:13:09,680 --> 00:13:11,200 I just think that's awesome. 261 00:13:11,200 --> 00:13:14,280 And I didn't get it before this week. 262 00:13:14,280 --> 00:13:16,960 I didn't get that part and now I do. 263 00:13:16,960 --> 00:13:20,400 And I think I'm going to have to dig in a little bit more. 264 00:13:20,400 --> 00:13:24,460 I mean, I listen to, I think I've listened to all their records over time, but I haven't 265 00:13:24,460 --> 00:13:27,360 done it from a perspective of connecting. 266 00:13:27,360 --> 00:13:29,920 It was always from trying to connect. 267 00:13:29,920 --> 00:13:34,180 And this time, because we had to listen to things so many times and had it in my headphones 268 00:13:34,180 --> 00:13:38,560 and in The Twilight Zone song, I've got Geddy Lee giving me the ASMR treatment in the left 269 00:13:38,560 --> 00:13:39,560 channel. 270 00:13:39,560 --> 00:13:42,000 Like he's whispering some of the lines. 271 00:13:42,000 --> 00:13:44,280 I was like, the hell? 272 00:13:44,280 --> 00:13:49,640 So yeah, it's digging into this stuff. 273 00:13:49,640 --> 00:13:53,120 Sometimes this show helps me probably more than it helps our listeners. 274 00:13:53,120 --> 00:13:56,240 And I hope they're listening carefully right now. 275 00:13:56,240 --> 00:13:59,280 Go listen to these records that we're talking about because sometimes you're just going 276 00:13:59,280 --> 00:14:01,360 to find stuff that really surprises you. 277 00:14:01,360 --> 00:14:02,720 So that was my experience. 278 00:14:02,720 --> 00:14:03,720 It was great. 279 00:14:03,720 --> 00:14:04,720 Yeah. 280 00:14:04,720 --> 00:14:10,520 I think, you know, 2112 and Green Pictures, they both have those iconic nerdy elements 281 00:14:10,520 --> 00:14:14,160 you expect with Rush, but they're, at least in my experience, they're both accessible 282 00:14:14,160 --> 00:14:18,920 enough and have enough, you know, tight tracks and catchy melodies and enough things you 283 00:14:18,920 --> 00:14:24,120 can relate to, to make them pretty accessible, at least in terms of Prog Rock goes. 284 00:14:24,120 --> 00:14:25,840 This is the one I usually come back to the most. 285 00:14:25,840 --> 00:14:31,200 Yeah, I think I'm going to nominate this for the Elm Nurtz Hall of Fame. 286 00:14:31,200 --> 00:14:38,760 For me, it's like kind of a toss up on whether this or Moving Pictures is their masterpiece. 287 00:14:38,760 --> 00:14:41,200 This opening cut here, I think is the best thing they've done. 288 00:14:41,200 --> 00:14:42,680 So what do you guys think? 289 00:14:42,680 --> 00:14:45,160 Yeah, I think it's a Hall of Famer. 290 00:14:45,160 --> 00:14:48,700 You know, I mean, Rush is a legendary act. 291 00:14:48,700 --> 00:14:49,900 They're their own sound. 292 00:14:49,900 --> 00:14:54,000 So even though they're kind of lumped into this progressive era, you know, I think they 293 00:14:54,000 --> 00:14:57,640 do stand out from the other artists. 294 00:14:57,640 --> 00:15:01,520 And you know, if there is a Rush album to go in, I think this is it. 295 00:15:01,520 --> 00:15:03,120 So I vote yes. 296 00:15:03,120 --> 00:15:04,120 All right. 297 00:15:04,120 --> 00:15:05,120 Yes. 298 00:15:05,120 --> 00:15:06,120 Yes. 299 00:15:06,120 --> 00:15:08,400 I don't think that they're a Prog Rock band. 300 00:15:08,400 --> 00:15:13,160 I think they're a rock band that can do progressive rock and they have those elements throughout 301 00:15:13,160 --> 00:15:14,160 their other albums. 302 00:15:14,160 --> 00:15:19,120 And this one is the most fully progressive rock in my limited exposure. 303 00:15:19,120 --> 00:15:22,240 I don't put them into the same like genre as like a Pink Floyd. 304 00:15:22,240 --> 00:15:25,880 I think that they'll use different colors and paint different pictures. 305 00:15:25,880 --> 00:15:27,920 It's not always in that same path. 306 00:15:27,920 --> 00:15:32,280 So I appreciate this record and I think it's definitely Hall of Fame worthy. 307 00:15:32,280 --> 00:15:33,280 All right. 308 00:15:33,280 --> 00:15:37,160 Well, congratulations to the Triumvirate. 309 00:15:37,160 --> 00:15:40,200 Welcome to the Ain't Hops guys. 310 00:15:40,200 --> 00:15:42,720 Finally living in the limelight. 311 00:15:42,720 --> 00:15:44,960 Yes. 312 00:15:44,960 --> 00:15:45,960 So proud. 313 00:15:45,960 --> 00:15:48,240 So that is Rush, 2112. 314 00:15:48,240 --> 00:15:49,240 I'm good enough. 315 00:15:49,240 --> 00:15:50,280 I'm smart enough. 316 00:15:50,280 --> 00:15:51,360 And doggone it. 317 00:15:51,360 --> 00:15:52,720 People like me. 318 00:15:52,720 --> 00:15:57,240 If you're enjoying the show and we hope you are, do us a solid and leave a review on Apple 319 00:15:57,240 --> 00:16:00,240 podcasts or your favorite podcast app. 320 00:16:00,240 --> 00:16:03,760 Maybe we made you laugh or you discovered an album you enjoy. 321 00:16:03,760 --> 00:16:08,240 Leaving a review keeps the show going and helps other music fans find us. 322 00:16:08,240 --> 00:16:09,240 Yes. 323 00:16:09,240 --> 00:16:10,240 Yes. 324 00:16:10,240 --> 00:16:11,240 Yes. 325 00:16:11,240 --> 00:16:12,240 Yes. 326 00:16:12,240 --> 00:16:13,240 Yes. 327 00:16:13,240 --> 00:16:14,240 Yes. 328 00:16:14,240 --> 00:16:16,240 I'll have what she's having. 329 00:16:16,240 --> 00:16:22,580 The Progressive Rock album I chose from the 1970s is Close to the Edge by the band Yes. 330 00:16:22,580 --> 00:16:28,200 This is their fifth studio album by the group founded in London in 1968. 331 00:16:28,200 --> 00:16:30,320 Yes has changed their lineup many times. 332 00:16:30,320 --> 00:16:35,440 The lineup at this time featured John Anderson on lead vocals, Steve Howe on guitars, Chris 333 00:16:35,440 --> 00:16:41,560 Squire on bass, Rick Wakeman on like every type of keyboard you could possibly imagine. 334 00:16:41,560 --> 00:16:43,060 All at the same time. 335 00:16:43,060 --> 00:16:47,640 And Bill Bruford on drums. 336 00:16:47,640 --> 00:16:50,800 So let's hear the opening cut, the title track. 337 00:16:50,800 --> 00:16:56,040 In fact, the entire side A is 18 minutes of this song, Close to the Edge. 338 00:16:56,040 --> 00:17:12,360 Typical of prog rock, this opening cut is all over the place. 339 00:17:12,360 --> 00:17:16,520 There's some kind of improvisational stuff mixed in. 340 00:17:16,520 --> 00:17:22,860 And then there's some good kind of progressive E pop in there, some sound effects. 341 00:17:22,860 --> 00:17:25,720 But somehow it all ties together pretty well. 342 00:17:25,720 --> 00:17:31,760 The whole album, Close to the Edge is supposedly inspired by the book Siddhartha. 343 00:17:31,760 --> 00:17:32,760 Siddhartha. 344 00:17:32,760 --> 00:17:33,760 Siddhartha. 345 00:17:33,760 --> 00:17:34,760 Siddhartha. 346 00:17:34,760 --> 00:17:35,760 Yeah. 347 00:17:35,760 --> 00:17:40,160 By Herman Hess, which is a spiritual journey of self discovery. 348 00:17:40,160 --> 00:17:46,200 Actually, you know, one of my favorite parts of this album, there's actually four movements 349 00:17:46,200 --> 00:17:47,200 to it. 350 00:17:47,200 --> 00:17:52,000 But in the final movement, there's this late jam where Wakeman is on the keyboards. 351 00:17:52,000 --> 00:17:56,080 I believe he's actually playing a pipe organ at a local church. 352 00:17:56,080 --> 00:18:01,200 And that's, yeah, there's some really good instrumental parts to that track. 353 00:18:01,200 --> 00:18:06,920 So the three words I chose to describe the album, Close to the Edge indeed. 354 00:18:06,920 --> 00:18:08,120 That's more than three words. 355 00:18:08,120 --> 00:18:15,720 But it is sort of teetering or straddling kind of that line between like really good 356 00:18:15,720 --> 00:18:20,040 experimental rock and kind of like overdone cheese. 357 00:18:20,040 --> 00:18:24,560 They remain on the good side of that, but they're dangerously close to slipping over 358 00:18:24,560 --> 00:18:25,560 that edge. 359 00:18:25,560 --> 00:18:31,620 Interestingly, so the producer they worked with, Eddie Offord, actually handled the live 360 00:18:31,620 --> 00:18:33,960 sound for them on tour. 361 00:18:33,960 --> 00:18:38,240 And in order to recreate sort of the live experience in the studio, he actually built 362 00:18:38,240 --> 00:18:44,880 a stage for them in the studio so they could perform as if they're at a concert, which 363 00:18:44,880 --> 00:18:45,880 is interesting. 364 00:18:45,880 --> 00:18:49,920 Apparently, the recording process was a big struggle. 365 00:18:49,920 --> 00:18:55,520 You've got four creative types all kind of attempting to dominate. 366 00:18:55,520 --> 00:19:00,680 I guess they were meticulously going through every instrument and every part and debating 367 00:19:00,680 --> 00:19:01,680 it. 368 00:19:01,680 --> 00:19:08,120 But I think they do a great job of still maintaining a true rock and roll performance. 369 00:19:08,120 --> 00:19:12,360 It doesn't succumb to, I don't know, studio trickery or something like that. 370 00:19:12,360 --> 00:19:16,720 This is still just four guys playing their instruments for the most part. 371 00:19:16,720 --> 00:19:18,880 Plus they're cutting tape, right? 372 00:19:18,880 --> 00:19:22,200 This was before all the Pro Tools and all that stuff. 373 00:19:22,200 --> 00:19:27,000 So even if you are manipulating things, you still are cutting pieces of tape, taping little 374 00:19:27,000 --> 00:19:28,600 chunks together. 375 00:19:28,600 --> 00:19:30,680 And it's artistry regardless. 376 00:19:30,680 --> 00:19:33,440 Okay, well, let's hear some more artistry. 377 00:19:33,440 --> 00:19:40,400 Here's the first cut on side B, And You and I. 378 00:19:40,400 --> 00:19:53,440 Okay, so And You and I, another long one of the three tracks on the album. 379 00:19:53,440 --> 00:19:58,600 I chose the movement part three, the preacher and the teacher. 380 00:19:58,600 --> 00:20:03,720 It kind of addresses the role of religion and spirituality in our lives, criticizes 381 00:20:03,720 --> 00:20:06,160 the division between science and religion. 382 00:20:06,160 --> 00:20:10,480 And I think it's shining light on this sort of holistic integrated approach to understanding 383 00:20:10,480 --> 00:20:14,480 the world where we all kind of try and see things from each other's perspectives. 384 00:20:14,480 --> 00:20:18,680 Or it's just a bunch of rhyming words strung together on a super long track. 385 00:20:18,680 --> 00:20:26,240 He does have kind of a stream of consciousness style to his lyric writing, I would say, reading 386 00:20:26,240 --> 00:20:27,240 through them. 387 00:20:27,240 --> 00:20:29,520 And there's a natural flow to them. 388 00:20:29,520 --> 00:20:38,720 Yeah, but the whole song is a multi-layered piece with these sections where it's a chord 389 00:20:38,720 --> 00:20:42,920 of life, eclipse, the preacher and the teacher, and apocalypse. 390 00:20:42,920 --> 00:20:45,600 And my question is, why don't just make them four tracks? 391 00:20:45,600 --> 00:20:46,600 Right. 392 00:20:46,600 --> 00:20:48,560 That's a good question for a lot of these records. 393 00:20:48,560 --> 00:20:54,840 And that's kind of where sometimes it loses me with progressive rock of this era where 394 00:20:54,840 --> 00:21:00,600 it's like, are you stringing them together, making it one piece because it has to be? 395 00:21:00,600 --> 00:21:01,880 And that's the artistic question. 396 00:21:01,880 --> 00:21:10,640 I mean, are these chapters of a book as opposed to individual short stories? 397 00:21:10,640 --> 00:21:15,880 So I think that's the part that's sometimes hard to parse when it comes to this music. 398 00:21:15,880 --> 00:21:19,740 The three words I used to describe this album are what she's having, because this is not 399 00:21:19,740 --> 00:21:23,240 something I would have gone out of my way to listen to, mostly because of Owner of a 400 00:21:23,240 --> 00:21:28,480 Lonely Heart, and that's all I think of Yes being is an 80s kind of corny. 401 00:21:28,480 --> 00:21:32,960 I mean, it's okay, but I'll go, bam, bam, so 80s and splashy. 402 00:21:32,960 --> 00:21:37,760 So I've known that Yes and Rick Wakeman are like a big deal in the space, but I've never 403 00:21:37,760 --> 00:21:40,040 listened to those albums. 404 00:21:40,040 --> 00:21:46,200 And Yes, again, like The Rush, I'm starting to get it. 405 00:21:46,200 --> 00:21:47,720 I'm getting the appeal. 406 00:21:47,720 --> 00:21:52,000 And so if someone else was playing this, they would say, yes, yes, yes, because they're 407 00:21:52,000 --> 00:21:53,000 so into it. 408 00:21:53,000 --> 00:21:55,920 And then I'd say, I'll check out what she's having. 409 00:21:55,920 --> 00:21:58,580 So again, open up, learn something. 410 00:21:58,580 --> 00:21:59,580 And I love that. 411 00:21:59,580 --> 00:22:05,800 Okay, well, let's since there's only three official songs on the album, let's listen 412 00:22:05,800 --> 00:22:07,680 to the final one. 413 00:22:07,680 --> 00:22:10,680 Siberian Tattoo. 414 00:22:10,680 --> 00:22:23,760 Damn you, Andy, you got your song picking before me. 415 00:22:23,760 --> 00:22:27,520 This was my choice because it's the most like regular song. 416 00:22:27,520 --> 00:22:28,520 Guitar riff, man. 417 00:22:28,520 --> 00:22:31,520 I love that little thing. 418 00:22:31,520 --> 00:22:32,520 So good. 419 00:22:32,520 --> 00:22:35,080 My three words for this record are shit. 420 00:22:35,080 --> 00:22:36,760 I guess I like Yes, No. 421 00:22:36,760 --> 00:22:37,760 Hey. 422 00:22:37,760 --> 00:22:44,240 I like the dude is saying I kind of also had similar ideas in my hands about what Yes sounded 423 00:22:44,240 --> 00:22:47,520 like mostly tainted by their eighties output. 424 00:22:47,520 --> 00:22:49,520 But I really enjoyed this record. 425 00:22:49,520 --> 00:22:54,520 It's got a lot of stuff that I appreciate as kind of like a nerdy technical guy. 426 00:22:54,520 --> 00:22:57,680 I found a lot of the especially the opening cut close to the edge. 427 00:22:57,680 --> 00:23:02,400 I thought it was just like a small miracle in some ways that they were able to pull off 428 00:23:02,400 --> 00:23:06,600 all of the technical wizardry at the beginning and then develop some themes and then bring 429 00:23:06,600 --> 00:23:07,600 them back later on. 430 00:23:07,600 --> 00:23:09,920 I just thought that actually worked really well. 431 00:23:09,920 --> 00:23:10,920 Yeah. 432 00:23:10,920 --> 00:23:14,000 And I guess the other thing that really impressed me by them, you can hear a lot of like folk 433 00:23:14,000 --> 00:23:17,960 influence on their music, maybe from like the sixties. 434 00:23:17,960 --> 00:23:21,920 I'm not exactly sure where they were getting their influences from, but a lot of these 435 00:23:21,920 --> 00:23:26,080 songs were a lot softer and a bit warmer than I expected from like a, you know, usually 436 00:23:26,080 --> 00:23:29,840 Prague is very technical and just cold sounding. 437 00:23:29,840 --> 00:23:34,440 You and I, I thought it was pretty grounded sounding and, you know, had some real warmth 438 00:23:34,440 --> 00:23:35,440 to it, kind of gentle. 439 00:23:35,440 --> 00:23:40,440 But yeah, lots of interesting moments on this record and I, you know, I'll probably listen 440 00:23:40,440 --> 00:23:41,440 to Fragile a lot. 441 00:23:41,440 --> 00:23:43,200 They wrote their album before this growing up. 442 00:23:43,200 --> 00:23:46,960 I might revisit that a little bit now and kind of dig into this era of yes, because 443 00:23:46,960 --> 00:23:48,800 I think they were really doing something pretty interesting. 444 00:23:48,800 --> 00:23:52,960 I don't know if you guys remember the guitar solo at the end of that track we just played 445 00:23:52,960 --> 00:23:53,960 there. 446 00:23:53,960 --> 00:23:59,000 It is this kind of bizarre guitar solo that doesn't seem to fit with the rest of the song 447 00:23:59,000 --> 00:24:00,000 or even the rest of the album. 448 00:24:00,000 --> 00:24:01,480 Did you guys know that? 449 00:24:01,480 --> 00:24:06,640 No, I mean, I just assume everything fits in with the song or album because they put 450 00:24:06,640 --> 00:24:10,040 it there and this was all so deliberate, right? 451 00:24:10,040 --> 00:24:14,560 So you're, we're just, if you think it doesn't belong, you're missing something. 452 00:24:14,560 --> 00:24:15,560 Go back and listen again. 453 00:24:15,560 --> 00:24:16,560 Right. 454 00:24:16,560 --> 00:24:21,520 It was probably written on a tablet somewhere that they discovered a guitar solo must sound 455 00:24:21,520 --> 00:24:22,520 like this. 456 00:24:22,520 --> 00:24:23,520 Yeah, they are. 457 00:24:23,520 --> 00:24:24,520 I mean, similar to Rush. 458 00:24:24,520 --> 00:24:29,440 You know, I think this really is a great collection of musicians, right? 459 00:24:29,440 --> 00:24:32,520 I mean, I think Steve Howe is another kind of innovative guitarist. 460 00:24:32,520 --> 00:24:37,760 You know, of course, Rick Wakeman is a great keyboardist and then similar to Rush, I think 461 00:24:37,760 --> 00:24:42,320 John Anderson vocally might also be a barrier for some people. 462 00:24:42,320 --> 00:24:47,160 I thought he was less off putting on this album than others. 463 00:24:47,160 --> 00:24:49,160 Yeah, totally agree. 464 00:24:49,160 --> 00:24:51,160 Yeah, it's always smooth. 465 00:24:51,160 --> 00:24:53,880 It's always smooth from him. 466 00:24:53,880 --> 00:24:59,880 Which I kind of like now, I'd say there's more precision here everywhere and comparing 467 00:24:59,880 --> 00:25:05,600 it to Rush, 2112, there's still that rock band mentality, even though there's a lot 468 00:25:05,600 --> 00:25:12,440 of really purposeful stuff, there's still a little bit of that looseness and yes, nothing's 469 00:25:12,440 --> 00:25:13,440 loose. 470 00:25:13,440 --> 00:25:14,440 Okay. 471 00:25:14,440 --> 00:25:20,280 So from September, 1972, that was Yes with Close to the Edge. 472 00:25:20,280 --> 00:25:23,640 Excuse me. 473 00:25:23,640 --> 00:25:26,920 I'd like to ask you a few questions. 474 00:25:26,920 --> 00:25:33,000 Okay, it's that exciting time on the show when we ask ourselves a question. 475 00:25:33,000 --> 00:25:38,440 One of the biggest critiques of progressive rock is its over complexity and lengthy track 476 00:25:38,440 --> 00:25:39,680 runtimes. 477 00:25:39,680 --> 00:25:46,600 What else do you guys partake in that others might perceive as being overly complex? 478 00:25:46,600 --> 00:25:54,160 Yeah, I'll mention a nerdy video game I was into for a couple of years called Path of 479 00:25:54,160 --> 00:26:00,240 Exile, which is like a PC game where you develop a character and you have all these different 480 00:26:00,240 --> 00:26:03,240 traits and stuff. 481 00:26:03,240 --> 00:26:04,760 It drives me nuts. 482 00:26:04,760 --> 00:26:08,460 It is one of those games you could literally spend the rest of your life playing and learning 483 00:26:08,460 --> 00:26:12,360 all the intricacies and details of and all the different systems and whatnot. 484 00:26:12,360 --> 00:26:16,880 No, it's one of those games you could definitely lose yourself for a long time or get really 485 00:26:16,880 --> 00:26:21,560 deep into something and then realize it really has no bearing on the rest of your life or 486 00:26:21,560 --> 00:26:22,560 any realities. 487 00:26:22,560 --> 00:26:25,680 Yeah, you look down, your nails are three inches long. 488 00:26:25,680 --> 00:26:28,680 It's like, what the hell just happened? 489 00:26:28,680 --> 00:26:29,680 Totally. 490 00:26:29,680 --> 00:26:34,640 But yeah, I mean, the depth of video games nowadays is definitely so much more than when 491 00:26:34,640 --> 00:26:37,160 I was growing up and it's pretty impressive. 492 00:26:37,160 --> 00:26:42,240 I like those kinds of games, but I don't like it when there's too many attributes and things 493 00:26:42,240 --> 00:26:43,320 that I want it to be. 494 00:26:43,320 --> 00:26:49,560 I need simplicity, except for when it comes to fantasy football, which I've been playing 495 00:26:49,560 --> 00:26:54,260 for over 20 years and it has evolved. 496 00:26:54,260 --> 00:26:58,040 Everyone is familiar with, you pick players from real teams and then each week you get 497 00:26:58,040 --> 00:27:00,620 points based on what they do in real life. 498 00:27:00,620 --> 00:27:05,720 But for the overly complex people, the people that can't get enough and want to be involved 499 00:27:05,720 --> 00:27:11,380 in fantasy football year round, there's dynasty leagues, which basically you draft a team 500 00:27:11,380 --> 00:27:14,240 and you keep those guys forever. 501 00:27:14,240 --> 00:27:18,840 And then every year there's a rookie draft and you draft rookies. 502 00:27:18,840 --> 00:27:24,000 But throughout the off season, there's constant chatter where you're trading future draft 503 00:27:24,000 --> 00:27:26,120 picks for players. 504 00:27:26,120 --> 00:27:31,640 It's just like, I did a draft in March, a startup dynasty, and I've made a bunch of 505 00:27:31,640 --> 00:27:32,640 trades. 506 00:27:32,640 --> 00:27:36,280 There's this constant chatter among my league mates all year and I love it. 507 00:27:36,280 --> 00:27:40,780 But it is certainly more complex when you've got to think about age. 508 00:27:40,780 --> 00:27:46,320 Do I want Tyreek Hill or do I want a younger Amon Ross St. Brown because I'll have him 509 00:27:46,320 --> 00:27:47,320 for more years? 510 00:27:47,320 --> 00:27:49,200 Is he going to develop into something more? 511 00:27:49,200 --> 00:27:53,840 Like a lot more of that, like you can sort of pretend like you're a team owner or a coach. 512 00:27:53,840 --> 00:27:56,520 Sounds like a full-time job, man. 513 00:27:56,520 --> 00:27:59,400 It's a little in depth, but I'm really loving it. 514 00:27:59,400 --> 00:28:03,280 It's keeping me satisfied as far as year round fantasy football. 515 00:28:03,280 --> 00:28:04,280 Yes. 516 00:28:04,280 --> 00:28:10,120 Well, my answer is a game as well, but it's more aspirational because I'm terrible. 517 00:28:10,120 --> 00:28:14,080 Andy recently kind of reintroduced me to the world of chess. 518 00:28:14,080 --> 00:28:17,800 I think my dad showed me how to play when I was a kid and I've basically stayed at that 519 00:28:17,800 --> 00:28:20,680 skill level since then and I barely ever played. 520 00:28:20,680 --> 00:28:24,560 But I decided maybe because I'm a professor or something, I feel like I should be decent 521 00:28:24,560 --> 00:28:25,560 at chess. 522 00:28:25,560 --> 00:28:27,280 Yeah, you got those elbow patches. 523 00:28:27,280 --> 00:28:28,280 You got to play chess. 524 00:28:28,280 --> 00:28:29,280 Exactly. 525 00:28:29,280 --> 00:28:31,460 So I've been trying to get better. 526 00:28:31,460 --> 00:28:37,480 What I like about chess as compared to other board games is there's no chance involved 527 00:28:37,480 --> 00:28:39,120 at all. 528 00:28:39,120 --> 00:28:41,080 There's no dice. 529 00:28:41,080 --> 00:28:42,080 It's all just... 530 00:28:42,080 --> 00:28:43,080 It's very even. 531 00:28:43,080 --> 00:28:44,080 Yeah. 532 00:28:44,080 --> 00:28:47,740 And the piece of it, some of the movements are kind of complicated. 533 00:28:47,740 --> 00:28:50,400 It's sort of a simple game, but it's also complex, right? 534 00:28:50,400 --> 00:28:52,480 Well, you got to do a lot of... 535 00:28:52,480 --> 00:28:55,040 Depending on your opponent, like with me, it wouldn't be complex. 536 00:28:55,040 --> 00:28:56,040 You would destroy me. 537 00:28:56,040 --> 00:28:57,700 I don't like that. 538 00:28:57,700 --> 00:29:01,160 If you have a strong opponent, then yeah, you're playing mind games. 539 00:29:01,160 --> 00:29:03,380 You're trying to look at their style. 540 00:29:03,380 --> 00:29:04,560 What move did they make? 541 00:29:04,560 --> 00:29:05,560 Why did they make it? 542 00:29:05,560 --> 00:29:06,560 What are they thinking? 543 00:29:06,560 --> 00:29:09,240 What are their next five steps that they might take? 544 00:29:09,240 --> 00:29:11,000 And yeah, that's why I don't play. 545 00:29:11,000 --> 00:29:16,360 I'm not there yet, but Andy's actually the chess master of the album nerds. 546 00:29:16,360 --> 00:29:18,920 Oh, well, that's not saying much. 547 00:29:18,920 --> 00:29:24,160 I would play it if they developed a kind of a die that's like the one for Dungeons and 548 00:29:24,160 --> 00:29:28,760 Dragons and you roll it and it tells you what piece to move where. 549 00:29:28,760 --> 00:29:29,760 Then I would play. 550 00:29:29,760 --> 00:29:32,520 If it was all random chance, I would play. 551 00:29:32,520 --> 00:29:36,800 If you turn chess into life, then... 552 00:29:36,800 --> 00:29:39,800 Okay. 553 00:29:39,800 --> 00:29:42,920 So what other complex things are you guys into? 554 00:29:42,920 --> 00:29:43,920 Let us know. 555 00:29:43,920 --> 00:29:48,240 Reach out on the socials, Facebook, Instagram and threads. 556 00:29:48,240 --> 00:29:51,120 Also discord, albonderds.com slash discord. 557 00:29:51,120 --> 00:29:54,480 If anything should happen to me, you must go to God. 558 00:29:54,480 --> 00:30:01,160 You must say these words, clatul, berada, nicto. 559 00:30:01,160 --> 00:30:07,960 So that was a little something from the day that Earth stood still from 1951. 560 00:30:07,960 --> 00:30:08,960 It's a film. 561 00:30:08,960 --> 00:30:12,040 There was a remake with Keanu as well. 562 00:30:12,040 --> 00:30:19,080 So I went with Clatu for my 1970s prog rock pick. 563 00:30:19,080 --> 00:30:26,280 Clatu is a Canadian rock band formed in 1973 by John Woltzchuck, Dee Long and Terry Draper. 564 00:30:26,280 --> 00:30:29,200 Dubbed the Canadian Beatles and we'll get into that in a bit. 565 00:30:29,200 --> 00:30:31,340 But this album is their debut. 566 00:30:31,340 --> 00:30:35,120 It's called 347 Eastern Standard Time. 567 00:30:35,120 --> 00:30:38,280 In America it was just called Clatu. 568 00:30:38,280 --> 00:30:48,200 So why don't we jump in with the opening track, Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft. 569 00:30:48,200 --> 00:31:00,000 Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft. 570 00:31:00,000 --> 00:31:01,720 Kind of sounds like a sneeze. 571 00:31:01,720 --> 00:31:02,720 Gesundheit. 572 00:31:02,720 --> 00:31:03,720 Thank you. 573 00:31:03,720 --> 00:31:09,040 Yeah, there's a whole story here that I don't want to get too deep into because we should 574 00:31:09,040 --> 00:31:10,940 talk about the music. 575 00:31:10,940 --> 00:31:13,480 But essentially they were on Capitol Records. 576 00:31:13,480 --> 00:31:18,240 They decided they wanted the music to speak for itself. 577 00:31:18,240 --> 00:31:20,900 So there's no pictures of them in the album art. 578 00:31:20,900 --> 00:31:22,280 There's no mention of their names. 579 00:31:22,280 --> 00:31:24,460 Just all songs written by Clatu. 580 00:31:24,460 --> 00:31:29,560 So this came out in August of 1976 and there was an article written. 581 00:31:29,560 --> 00:31:34,360 The reviewer said, hey, because there's some really Beatles moments on here, could this 582 00:31:34,360 --> 00:31:36,560 be a secret project of the Beatles? 583 00:31:36,560 --> 00:31:39,960 And then they found all these reasons as to why. 584 00:31:39,960 --> 00:31:45,240 Clatu is the character from When the Earth Stood Still and then Ringo Starr had an album 585 00:31:45,240 --> 00:31:51,640 cover that had the robot from that movie on it and a spaceship. 586 00:31:51,640 --> 00:31:56,160 And there was a bunch of other goofy reasons that people decided that was what was going 587 00:31:56,160 --> 00:31:58,480 on or could be. 588 00:31:58,480 --> 00:31:59,960 So there's a lot of chatter. 589 00:31:59,960 --> 00:32:04,960 Capitol took advantage of it and said, oh, they're very mysterious and wouldn't say, 590 00:32:04,960 --> 00:32:10,560 and they're the same label that distributed Beatles records in America. 591 00:32:10,560 --> 00:32:14,300 And the band was actually in London recording their second album at the time this was going 592 00:32:14,300 --> 00:32:17,360 on with the London Symphony Orchestra. 593 00:32:17,360 --> 00:32:23,200 And the rumor mill took off and then it got discovered, the truth, and it kind of died 594 00:32:23,200 --> 00:32:24,200 off. 595 00:32:24,200 --> 00:32:29,860 So this had a little burst of popularity, so much so that the song Calling Occupants 596 00:32:29,860 --> 00:32:35,080 of Interplanetary Craft was covered by the Carpenters and was a minor hit. 597 00:32:35,080 --> 00:32:42,720 The three words I used to describe this album, psych, prog, casserole, lots of influences. 598 00:32:42,720 --> 00:32:47,920 It's kind of like ELO on acid with the Beatles-esque undercurrent. 599 00:32:47,920 --> 00:32:53,600 So we got Beatles queen, King Crimson, Beach Boys, little ZZ Top Boogie Rock. 600 00:32:53,600 --> 00:32:59,600 It's progressive and psychedelic, but it's really a mixed bag of things. 601 00:32:59,600 --> 00:33:07,400 It's more of a psychedelic or just a rock band that fiddled in progressive rock and 602 00:33:07,400 --> 00:33:08,680 other areas. 603 00:33:08,680 --> 00:33:12,000 Very creative chaps there from Canada. 604 00:33:12,000 --> 00:33:14,640 Yes, another Canadian band. 605 00:33:14,640 --> 00:33:20,480 Also same producer for this record, Terry Brown, produced it with Clatoo and he produced 606 00:33:20,480 --> 00:33:21,480 2112. 607 00:33:21,480 --> 00:33:29,480 So why don't we check out a little bit more of these kooky Canadians with, God, why Andy, 608 00:33:29,480 --> 00:33:48,000 by Sir Bodsworth, Rugglesby the Third. 609 00:33:48,000 --> 00:33:53,760 So the album podcast was brought to you by the letter C and the number 12. 610 00:33:53,760 --> 00:33:59,720 Yeah, definitely has some Oscar the Garage vibes going on there. 611 00:33:59,720 --> 00:34:01,280 Yeah, that's Sesame Street. 612 00:34:01,280 --> 00:34:02,760 Like I don't get it. 613 00:34:02,760 --> 00:34:06,200 Well, why would I pick a song like that to play? 614 00:34:06,200 --> 00:34:11,800 I think I just want to show the breadth that this album goes through over the course of 615 00:34:11,800 --> 00:34:13,800 its 35 minutes. 616 00:34:13,800 --> 00:34:18,560 There's such a variety or a smattering of different psychedelic related sounds happening 617 00:34:18,560 --> 00:34:19,560 here. 618 00:34:19,560 --> 00:34:25,520 The three words I use to describe this album are Beatles from Mars. 619 00:34:25,520 --> 00:34:27,520 It's a very strange record. 620 00:34:27,520 --> 00:34:29,720 I mean, I definitely enjoyed moments here. 621 00:34:29,720 --> 00:34:34,240 I think the opening cut is very good and there's a handful of other kind of like surf rock 622 00:34:34,240 --> 00:34:39,080 related psychedelic jammy things happening that are cool. 623 00:34:39,080 --> 00:34:45,160 There's Anus of Uranus, which is the sort of ZZ Toppy boogie rock thing. 624 00:34:45,160 --> 00:34:47,920 It's again about an alien, right? 625 00:34:47,920 --> 00:34:48,920 Of course. 626 00:34:48,920 --> 00:34:52,080 There's definitely this sort of like sci-fi theme here. 627 00:34:52,080 --> 00:34:54,760 It's inescapable in this genre. 628 00:34:54,760 --> 00:34:59,160 There are those couple of songs that are super Beatle-y though, Sub Rosa Subway, which is 629 00:34:59,160 --> 00:35:05,560 very McCartney-esque and Dr. Marvelo, which is I would say has a lot of George Harrison 630 00:35:05,560 --> 00:35:08,320 sound, even the way they pronounce words. 631 00:35:08,320 --> 00:35:09,760 It's a little suspect. 632 00:35:09,760 --> 00:35:13,520 Yeah, I could definitely see why that rumor would start. 633 00:35:13,520 --> 00:35:16,920 There's moments on here that sound very Beatle-esque for sure. 634 00:35:16,920 --> 00:35:18,400 But I don't know. 635 00:35:18,400 --> 00:35:22,680 There's so many other weird moments that don't sound like something the Beatles would do. 636 00:35:22,680 --> 00:35:26,000 I could see, this is definitely its own thing. 637 00:35:26,000 --> 00:35:30,960 I mean, the closing track I think is something the Beatles could never pull off. 638 00:35:30,960 --> 00:35:34,760 That's much more in line with something like Pink Floyd would do. 639 00:35:34,760 --> 00:35:36,120 Yeah, more progressive. 640 00:35:36,120 --> 00:35:38,320 But I don't know. 641 00:35:38,320 --> 00:35:43,160 It's an interesting little bit of history, but as an album as a whole, I felt like it 642 00:35:43,160 --> 00:35:45,960 was pretty inconsistent for me at least. 643 00:35:45,960 --> 00:35:51,240 It's fun, but it's weird and I enjoy the story behind it and I really like some of the songs. 644 00:35:51,240 --> 00:35:56,160 That's something I will continue to listen to just because it's so kooky. 645 00:35:56,160 --> 00:36:02,520 But they did made I think five albums total and their second album, Hope, is much more 646 00:36:02,520 --> 00:36:09,120 developed and it's more progressive and it is a concept album about, again, aliens. 647 00:36:09,120 --> 00:36:14,760 But it's got real orchestration and I think it's a better album, but by that time the 648 00:36:14,760 --> 00:36:16,160 hype had already died. 649 00:36:16,160 --> 00:36:22,920 So, why don't we explore the closing track that Andy alluded to? 650 00:36:22,920 --> 00:36:39,720 It's called Little Neutrino. 651 00:36:39,720 --> 00:36:40,720 I like that song. 652 00:36:40,720 --> 00:36:41,720 I do too. 653 00:36:41,720 --> 00:36:42,720 I love it. 654 00:36:42,720 --> 00:36:43,720 I like it too. 655 00:36:43,720 --> 00:36:44,720 Yeah. 656 00:36:44,720 --> 00:36:49,520 That one was written by Dee Long. 657 00:36:49,520 --> 00:36:55,520 I assumed the voice effect, I assumed that it was like the talk box thing that Peter 658 00:36:55,520 --> 00:36:57,920 Frampton made famous. 659 00:36:57,920 --> 00:36:58,920 And Bon Jovi. 660 00:36:58,920 --> 00:36:59,920 Oh, right. 661 00:36:59,920 --> 00:37:04,480 But it's actually just one of those artificial Lernixes, but I feel like this could be one 662 00:37:04,480 --> 00:37:08,440 of those anti-smoking PSAs. 663 00:37:08,440 --> 00:37:16,480 Well, yeah, I think the first time I listened to this album, I was getting angry by the 664 00:37:16,480 --> 00:37:21,320 Beatles cuts because they were just so blatantly Beatles. 665 00:37:21,320 --> 00:37:24,300 So, I wasn't pleased with that. 666 00:37:24,300 --> 00:37:30,280 But then finally, I think this last song cut through and maybe it was appealing to that 667 00:37:30,280 --> 00:37:33,840 Pink Floyd sensibility that I have. 668 00:37:33,840 --> 00:37:35,960 But it's a darker song. 669 00:37:35,960 --> 00:37:41,680 Used to be about loneliness, like he's a lonely neutrino or something. 670 00:37:41,680 --> 00:37:46,320 From what I read is a journey of the neutrino from the sun. 671 00:37:46,320 --> 00:37:50,960 So, solar neutrinos traveling to the earth, making its way to us and becoming a part of 672 00:37:50,960 --> 00:37:51,960 us. 673 00:37:51,960 --> 00:37:54,160 Again, the sci-fi spacey stuff. 674 00:37:54,160 --> 00:37:57,600 But yeah, a really cool way to end the album. 675 00:37:57,600 --> 00:37:59,960 I did warm up to it over time. 676 00:37:59,960 --> 00:38:05,240 Just like all these, all three of these records I think required some breathing space or something. 677 00:38:05,240 --> 00:38:09,120 The three words I chose to describe the album, again, not three words. 678 00:38:09,120 --> 00:38:11,040 The day rock stood still. 679 00:38:11,040 --> 00:38:12,040 All right. 680 00:38:12,040 --> 00:38:15,960 So, I did see this more as like a regressive album than a progressive album. 681 00:38:15,960 --> 00:38:19,720 Because I think for the most part, they're just kind of emulating others. 682 00:38:19,720 --> 00:38:23,800 Like you said, there's the Beatles obviously and ZZ Top. 683 00:38:23,800 --> 00:38:30,320 They managed to be good enough at all of it that it's still like a good record. 684 00:38:30,320 --> 00:38:33,800 I wouldn't say it's like an all-time great, but it's a good record. 685 00:38:33,800 --> 00:38:38,680 It's entertaining and fun to listen to and there's a lot to imagine when you're hearing 686 00:38:38,680 --> 00:38:39,680 it. 687 00:38:39,680 --> 00:38:40,680 Yeah. 688 00:38:40,680 --> 00:38:46,400 Yeah, I agree that they do a great job with kind of emulating their influences. 689 00:38:46,400 --> 00:38:48,400 There's some good songwriting here. 690 00:38:48,400 --> 00:38:50,640 The Carpenters don't just cover anything. 691 00:38:50,640 --> 00:38:51,640 Yeah. 692 00:38:51,640 --> 00:38:57,160 So, I mean, overall, I'm happy with the listening experience. 693 00:38:57,160 --> 00:39:01,480 I see it kind of more as like a novelty record or whatever with a cool story. 694 00:39:01,480 --> 00:39:05,440 But I mean, I'll probably listen to it again at some point. 695 00:39:05,440 --> 00:39:10,520 If the spirit of progressive rock is to kind of advance things or take music in different 696 00:39:10,520 --> 00:39:12,920 directions, they're not really doing that. 697 00:39:12,920 --> 00:39:19,200 Maybe they were trying to progress the sound of the Beatles, which really needed some adjustments. 698 00:39:19,200 --> 00:39:20,200 Yeah. 699 00:39:20,200 --> 00:39:25,800 I mean, when I first heard of this a couple of years ago, I've wanted to talk about it 700 00:39:25,800 --> 00:39:32,280 on the show just because that's what I think the best part of this record is, yes, it's 701 00:39:32,280 --> 00:39:33,280 enjoyable. 702 00:39:33,280 --> 00:39:37,520 You can get into some of the songs and it's fun, but it's the kind of thing that you get 703 00:39:37,520 --> 00:39:41,000 to go talk about and tell people about and they're like, what the hell? 704 00:39:41,000 --> 00:39:46,880 And you can get people to listen to it and it sparks conversation and that's what I really 705 00:39:46,880 --> 00:39:49,040 enjoyed the most about this record. 706 00:39:49,040 --> 00:39:55,720 Clatou, depending on if you want to just call it Clatou or you want to call it 347 EST, 707 00:39:55,720 --> 00:39:56,720 go check it out. 708 00:39:56,720 --> 00:39:57,720 It's weird. 709 00:39:57,720 --> 00:40:01,240 It's only 35 minutes of your life and I think it'll be a good 35. 710 00:40:01,240 --> 00:40:02,240 George Washington, man. 711 00:40:02,240 --> 00:40:05,160 He was in a cult and the cult was in the aliens, man. 712 00:40:05,160 --> 00:40:08,160 You didn't know that? 713 00:40:08,160 --> 00:40:09,680 All right. 714 00:40:09,680 --> 00:40:15,840 So we progressed through progressive rock of the 1970s. 715 00:40:15,840 --> 00:40:16,840 What did we learn? 716 00:40:16,840 --> 00:40:24,320 Well, as an album nerd, I guess I really appreciated the nerdiness of this music, especially all 717 00:40:24,320 --> 00:40:31,160 of the little in-jokes and references to sci-fi and other nerdy kind of things. 718 00:40:31,160 --> 00:40:36,560 Like that Clatou record, he mentioned the title of 347, apparently a reference to the 719 00:40:36,560 --> 00:40:39,440 time that the aliens attacked and the day they were stilled still. 720 00:40:39,440 --> 00:40:44,080 I thought that was kind of a cool nod to sci-fi. 721 00:40:44,080 --> 00:40:49,280 All these albums are very soaked in sci-fi and storytelling and I love that shit, the 722 00:40:49,280 --> 00:40:51,440 concept records and all that. 723 00:40:51,440 --> 00:40:55,640 The genre itself is pretty dense and can be hard to get into, but I think we found a way 724 00:40:55,640 --> 00:40:57,600 in there a little time, a little patience. 725 00:40:57,600 --> 00:41:02,760 Yeah, it was kind of the same for me where the sci-fi elements, I really hadn't connected 726 00:41:02,760 --> 00:41:06,040 that so much. 727 00:41:06,040 --> 00:41:08,920 I always thought it was just too much. 728 00:41:08,920 --> 00:41:14,480 If I wanted orchestration, I'd go listen to classical, but listening to these records 729 00:41:14,480 --> 00:41:18,960 really did open me up to playing around in the genre a little bit more. 730 00:41:18,960 --> 00:41:25,400 I mean, there are a lot of bands from the 70s, 80s, 90s, 60s and beyond that I just 731 00:41:25,400 --> 00:41:30,120 haven't given a lot of time because that progressive rock label just made it seem like it'd be 732 00:41:30,120 --> 00:41:31,680 too complicated. 733 00:41:31,680 --> 00:41:39,520 It can be, but sometimes the reward is so great that it's worth wading through it and 734 00:41:39,520 --> 00:41:41,200 seeing if there's something special there. 735 00:41:41,200 --> 00:41:46,520 Yeah, and the beauty of progressive rock is just that there's more to it usually than 736 00:41:46,520 --> 00:41:48,640 the surface. 737 00:41:48,640 --> 00:41:53,120 This was a tough week even though I think I listened to these albums as much as I ever 738 00:41:53,120 --> 00:41:57,520 do in preparation for a show, but I still don't feel like I listened enough. 739 00:41:57,520 --> 00:42:02,920 And they're short records, but it's just dense. 740 00:42:02,920 --> 00:42:09,600 The lyrics are usually something interesting that I have to look up to make sense of. 741 00:42:09,600 --> 00:42:13,160 I also decided that I prefer Pink Floyd. 742 00:42:13,160 --> 00:42:15,840 Oh, God. 743 00:42:15,840 --> 00:42:16,960 Give it some more time. 744 00:42:16,960 --> 00:42:21,520 You said that you didn't get enough, so maybe it's time. 745 00:42:21,520 --> 00:42:26,480 I mean, I'm not saying stop loving Pink Floyd, but sometimes it's best for the things we 746 00:42:26,480 --> 00:42:29,120 love to leave them alone, leave them behind. 747 00:42:29,120 --> 00:42:30,120 Maybe it's time for something else. 748 00:42:30,120 --> 00:42:34,200 Yeah, you know, if Pink Floyd loves you, it'll let it go and it'll come back. 749 00:42:34,200 --> 00:42:35,200 Yeah. 750 00:42:35,200 --> 00:42:36,200 And that's one to grow on. 751 00:42:36,200 --> 00:42:37,200 I'm your density. 752 00:42:37,200 --> 00:42:38,200 I mean, your destiny. 753 00:42:38,200 --> 00:42:39,200 All right, boys and girls. 754 00:42:39,200 --> 00:42:54,200 Time to gather around and give that Wadbot a spin to see what we'll be listening to. 755 00:42:54,200 --> 00:43:05,600 Next week. 756 00:43:05,600 --> 00:43:07,160 You better check the weather. 757 00:43:07,160 --> 00:43:09,920 The forecast calls for a quiet storm. 758 00:43:09,920 --> 00:43:14,520 This week, you will be exploring albums featuring songs that could be included in the Quiet 759 00:43:14,520 --> 00:43:16,280 Storm Radio format. 760 00:43:16,280 --> 00:43:17,760 Lay back and enjoy. 761 00:43:17,760 --> 00:43:19,600 Oh, lucky us. 762 00:43:19,600 --> 00:43:21,760 Lucky me, because I just put this on the wheel. 763 00:43:21,760 --> 00:43:22,760 Quiet Storm. 764 00:43:22,760 --> 00:43:24,360 Is that wheel weighted over there? 765 00:43:24,360 --> 00:43:25,360 What's going on? 766 00:43:25,360 --> 00:43:26,360 It's not weighted. 767 00:43:26,360 --> 00:43:30,840 It was really close to being metal guitar shredders, but it went one more stop, which 768 00:43:30,840 --> 00:43:34,600 was what I was really hoping for. 769 00:43:34,600 --> 00:43:35,600 We got Quiet Storm. 770 00:43:35,600 --> 00:43:36,600 Quiet Storm. 771 00:43:36,600 --> 00:43:37,600 All right. 772 00:43:37,600 --> 00:43:40,680 So some easy listening for late night. 773 00:43:40,680 --> 00:43:42,720 Potentially sexy soul music. 774 00:43:42,720 --> 00:43:45,560 Sounds good for these cool autumn nights. 775 00:43:45,560 --> 00:43:46,560 Maybe. 776 00:43:46,560 --> 00:43:50,440 Don't forget, we do have two ongoing Albinards Hall of Fame votes in progress. 777 00:43:50,440 --> 00:43:52,000 You can vote for Slana Tommy Stone. 778 00:43:52,000 --> 00:43:58,800 There's a rock going on and Roxy's Music Avalon on our website, albinerds.com and on our Discord, 779 00:43:58,800 --> 00:44:01,080 albinerds.com slash Discord. 780 00:44:01,080 --> 00:44:04,040 What's your favorite 70s progressive rock album? 781 00:44:04,040 --> 00:44:05,440 What the heck is Quiet Storm? 782 00:44:05,440 --> 00:44:06,440 Let us know. 783 00:44:06,440 --> 00:44:10,240 Join fellow Album Nerds on Discord at albumnerds.com slash Discord. 784 00:44:10,240 --> 00:44:13,360 You can email us at podcast at albumnerds.com. 785 00:44:13,360 --> 00:44:16,960 Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and threads at Album Nerds. 786 00:44:16,960 --> 00:44:19,760 Please subscribe, rate and review on your favorite podcast app. 787 00:44:19,760 --> 00:44:24,480 And if you'd like to support the show, you can do so via PayPal at albumnerds.com slash 788 00:44:24,480 --> 00:44:25,480 support. 789 00:44:25,480 --> 00:44:28,040 Thank you so much for joining us on the Albinards podcast. 790 00:44:28,040 --> 00:44:30,520 We'll catch you next time with Quiet Storm. 791 00:44:30,520 --> 00:44:32,120 Thanks for listening everybody. 792 00:44:32,120 --> 00:44:33,120 We'll catch you next week. 793 00:44:33,120 --> 00:44:38,160 Though his mind is not for rent, don't put him down as arrogant. 794 00:44:38,160 --> 00:44:39,160 How's that? 795 00:44:39,160 --> 00:44:42,160 It's up there even for you. 796 00:44:42,160 --> 00:44:43,160 What? 797 00:44:43,160 --> 00:44:44,160 Not bad. 798 00:44:44,160 --> 00:44:45,160 Salesman. 799 00:44:45,160 --> 00:44:46,160 I know. 800 00:44:46,160 --> 00:44:51,360 We can appreciate that.