Kudos to the producers of these records, too. I was never a fan of the Yes production sound so I loved having that "kind of sound" done with a different style of production.
As an old roadie for REO, I knew Terry Luttrell, in 1971 I ran into him and asked him why he had left REO. He replied he had put together a new band called "Starcastle" !! It took him 5 years to get signed.
I lived the life of Starcastle. Their first album is the story of my life. I always wondered why he left REO. Saw Starcastle numerous times at the Plowboy Club under the viaduct in Ottumwa , Iowa. They were so popular they cut their demo tape there. Some of the very best vocal harmony of ANY band!
My ranking: 5. Real to Reel 4. Song of Times 3. Citadel 2. Fountains of Light 1. Starcastle Bonus fun fact: Annie Haslam drew the cover to "Song of Times."
I have been their fan for over 40 years, and I never identified them as an "Yes clone". For me their synths, moog and vocals style are very unique. Great band. I really dig them a lot.
I saw these guys a few times opening up for Jethro Tull during the stadium Too Old to Rock N Roll tour. Instantly fell in love with Nova and Forces and got their album the next day. Need to start listening to their other releases.
I'm almost 2 years late with my comment, but I just rediscovered Starcastle for myself. And since there is not much to be found about Starcastle on TH-cam, I was very happy about your ranking.
i used to refer to them as CSN combined with yes. their vocal harmonies are great. still have the original cd i purchased in the early 80s , always liked them, great band. and if you like that chris squire bass sound you will love this!
I shamelessly love the first two starcastle albums, especially fountains of light. Fantastic soaring symphonic prog, they have some yes in their sound, but they also have their own touch and style. At the end of the day, I just like music that sounds good and they fit that bill.
I’m so glad that you did a review of the Starcastle albums. In 1976 I got my first taste of Starcastle while on a two week summer stint at RIT in New York. Lady of the lake was a selection on the jukebox in one of the basement facilities. From that point forward I was hooked! Thanks for covering.
Just found their debut album in my CD collection and gave it a spin. Then I went to listen to parts of their other albums but did not know about their last one. Ordered the second and third and a live album then I saw this ranking.
Glad to see you rank these guys. I was in their basement on Division St. in Urbana one day while they were practicing and arranging Lady of the Lake. I met Gary and Matt in 1970, went on to play with Matt for 6 years in the early 2000's. Gary was as kind as anyone I've ever met.
Very cool. I never heard the Styx in Starcastle but then you point out the obvious and now I hear the influence perfectly. Damn you know and love this stuff. I am lucky that you are willing to educate and share. Thank you again.
Good ranking. Was fortunate to see them live right after their debut at a free outdoor concert sponsored by a local radio station. (Remember when they did stuff like that!?)
I wonder if there's any live footage from their Glory Days in the 70s? It's hard to believe with all the cell phones we have today that filming a show back then was such a big deal.
Almost Famous. I heard them when the album came out in 1976. I thought it was YES and bought it. Good musically, but the LYRICS were lacking. I'm glad a lot of stuff I missed in the 70s is on TH-cam.
I like your ranking videos. I’ve been going through my vinyl collection and recording them into my computer via a usb turntable my son got me for Christmas a couple of years ago. I’m surprised that most of them are in good shape after all these years. I’ve had to replace a few of the most played albums with cd’s or digital. Most are in good condition due to recording them onto cassettes when they were new to listen to them in the car. The tapes have disintegrated since then. Thanks for reminding us of all the great music that is out there. I totally agree with the ranking on this band as well as Triumvirat. Spartacus has been played quite a bit this week.
I agree with you Pete: the self titled album and Fountains of Light are the absolute cream of the crop from this band. My fave is Fountains of Light.The synth work of the keyboard player is awesome! Fountains of Light is Yes meets Space Rock! Great band.
Very late to this chat but I wanted to thank you for discussing Starcastle...I actually found the Citadel album while DJing up at St. Lawrence University in Canton NY back in the late 80s. I dare say it's a "living in oblivion" band...but great music heads like Pete know about these folks. I fear prog rock is going away like the laserdisc...but fortunately we have your site. We picked up Long Island/New Haven/Hartford radio growing up...never heard these guys.
Thanks Pete, for introducing me to this band's existence! Yes, they do emulate Yes, but I actually don't mind that at all. I also get some Styx vibes as well. So far, I've picked up the first two albums and Citadel. Loving all of it!
That was an interesting review of Starcastle, not one of my favourite bands but they did produce some very listenable material (when you can take your mind away from it all sounding like YES). Think you rated the albums exactly as I would have. So nice to hear one of the lesser known bands (in the UK) having their material reviewed. Perhaps one day you will do a review of The Mystery, I find it almost impossible to rank their albums as I constantly change my mind on the order.
They also had a ELP sound to them too. I saw this band open for Laroux. New Orleans Ladies. Me and my gang were up against the stage. We were shouting out song. I don't think anyone else there knew who they were. I didn't go for Laroux, I went for Starcastle.
Looks like they opened fur journey.thats about right.journey with anydley Dunbar drums wheel in the sky was a big song.journey was a ferocious live band Perry on vocals Neil schon guitar was amazing.he blew the roof off the capitol...
Michael Marino 💯 %. Dead on. JOURNEY/ Starcastle. 6-10-78. I live in NJ/ but was not at that show. I do remember from prior comments you saw a ton of shows at CAPITOL. Lol. Tremendous venue/ but long gone !
I’m especially glad to see this one. I saw Starcastle on a bill with original Journey lineup and Atlanta Rhythm Section. I really like them! Bought Citidel,Fountains and debut back in the day. I keep hoping Prog mag does an article on them. Fun stuff. Not much out there on them. I love these guys in a cultish way. Glad I got to see them in there prime
I know a lot of music, and I'm sure I could name some bands Pete's never heard of, but he got me on this one. First time I've ever heard of Starcastle.
Hey, I stumbled across this, great review. I rank the albums the same, 'Fountains' had more masterpieces than the First Album, but 'To The Fire Wind' is my favourite Starcastle track, also one of my favourite tracks ever written. I say Chronos 1 is definately worth it, it has a longer version of 'To The Fire Wind' and 'Forces' is recorded in a different key.
Great band that never got their due! I agree though, Fountains of Light, my favorite! Their first a close second! Thanks for pulling them out of the archives!
This is my first time listening to them,and I picked Lady of the lake.First and foremost I heard Chris Squires Rick,lol.I really liked what I've heard,thxs for this🤘
Very excited for this video. While I feel that only their first couple albums hold up, it's well worth sort of tracking the fast rise and fast fall of the group.
william white - this mirrors my list, but I confess never hearing Reel to Reel. That cover makes it look like their version of Love Beach. I have never heard Song of Times either ....
By the late '70's prog bands had to have hit singles or albums to stay on labels, the early to mid 70's artistic indulgences were over. Same thing happened in Hollywood as detailed in the book "Easy Riders Raging Bulls" Early/mid 70's was unparalleled for American artistic expression.
I bought Starcastle and Fountains Of Light when they came out on 8 track, still have them, I really like the band, I bought the two again along with Citadel a few years ago on CD. infortunatly I never saw them live.
I agree with your list though I would definitely put Citadel in 3rd place and, while I think their second album is actually better and probably deserves first place, I have to put the first in that slot. The year it came out a friend and I went on a road trip to Glacier Park and only had a handful of cassettes (remember those?) we played Starcastle over and over. And I can tell you now Starcastle 1 is made for road trips in mountain country. It holds a special place in my heart.
We were kids getting into complex music... Yes, Rush, Styx, Kansas, Journey, etc. These guys should have been bigger than they were... much more accessible and melodic than Yes... epic composition with super cool production... still sound great today... Turn 'em up.
Nice. Only recently got into this band. Pretty cool 👍 For American prog I highly recommend Crack the Sky. First album is probably the best. All access DVD is a great place to start.
cool video....always thought their debut cover reminded me of rainbow's debut cover...(and the debut album itself would be at the top of my listbut certainly rocky your list as well....)....peace...rocky
Great to see Starcastle get some credit. Those first two albums blew me away in the mid 70's! My ranking: 1. Starcastle 2. Fountains Of Light 3. Song Of Times 4. Citadel 5. Real To Real
Nice appreciation for this little known but excellent progressive rock band. I really did believe it was Yes when I heard them, but that's a mistake most other Yes fans make! My personal favorite LP is their debut album, and I have been following them for many years, although I never got to see them live.
Kind of funny, I used to freak out my friends who liked Yes, and tell them the Starcastle album I was playing was an unreleased Yes album! What a great band! Very unknown by the general public it seems. Tragedy honestly.
I really didn't know this band until i saw your Best Debut Albums show; so i gotta thank you for it; because they're an excelent quirky prog band in the mold of Yes. Anyway here's my ranking: 4-Real To Reel 3-Self Titled 2-Citadel 1-Fountains Of Light
I always considered Star Castle as a poor man's Yes but I really liked their music. I talked to people older than me, they say in 1976 they saw Star Castle open for Boston, who opened for Rush on their 2112 tour. Sometimes I wish I was 5 years older!
I really like Fountains of Light. Diamond Song (Deep Is The Light) is one of my favorite songs by them or anyone. Love the bass line. Definitely get a Yes/Styx/Rush vibe but still sounds original to me.
Seen them live many times in the bars of eastern Iowa. First as Mad John Fever. Big fan. Chronos 1 is is a must have for hearing as they sounded in the bars. As good as the debut album is, some of cuts failed to capture their energy. Too bad they never recorded an official live album.
Id change the top 2 around and Ive never heard the reunion release (yet) but I wholeheartedly agree with Petes pics on this one. Look for their live album as well, its pretty good.
Hey Pete, You said you saw them live. When and where? Wasn't your 1st concert in the early 80's? They would of split up by then. I luckily saw them (My 8th concert) also. They opened up a show at Tucson Community Center Arena in Mar.1977. After them was Nils Logren and the headliner was Boston. They had big banks of keyboards and the sound reverberated. A strange lineup though; pure Prog, Gritty Song writing and flashy Guitar Pop. That was a good segment Pete; I will listen to a Starcastle album tomorrow on my day off. (Although I never got Real to Reel or the new one.)
If Yes was an American band, they would sound like Starcastle. I think that the accessibility in their songs make them different enough from Yes to be taken seriously, the material is excellent and is, to me, closer to Styx and Kansas. I only know the first three that I like in chronological order.
Just listening to Fountains of Light, Fountains is so Tormato ish - not a bad thing as that is one of my favourite Yes albums. Not forgetting there was a live concert classics cd from presumably a radio broadcast in 1978 I think - marvellous stuff and I agree that Real to Reel isnt that bad as long as you dont listen to it after listening to the first three!
My grandson gets crazy when i play lady of the lake me to saw them in78 with leslie west and black oak Arkansas had this hot 70s girl with me even got a starcastle sticker at that show that was a good show
I really like Fountains Of Light. Diamond Song (Deep Is The Light) is one of my favorite songs by them or anyone for that matter. It reminds me of Styx but it still sounds original to me.
This band was a lot of fun when Yes were in a bit of a drought period in the late 70’s. The arrangements and instrumentation were really good but the Jon inspired nonsense lyrics were ridiculous. According to guitarist Steve Hagler, there was only one hardcore Yes fan in the whole band - bassist Gary Strater.
I agree. Jon Anderson's lyrics were chosen for tonal quality and elements. His approach to lyrics was a collage of words whose tones created images and themes rather than content. They weren't meant to mean much lyrically and that took me quite a while to get adjusted to. In comparison Starcastle's lyrics might be positive (following the general trend of Yes), but made far more sense as songs. The charm of Starcastle was the hybrid of Yes orchestration and instrumentation surrounding lyrical themes that have a more positive vibe but function as songs with content and context. This band has a fond place in my recollection.
Music Nerd - yeah, I remember back in high school, I was beating myself silly trying to wrench literal meaning out of Tales from Topographic Ocean lyrics 😂 At his best though, Jon’s abstract word patterns did what any abstract painting is supposed to do - create a certain mood and emotion rather than literal meaning. Starcastle really imitated that style, but I think the difference is that Jon actually talked that way 😂
@@JosephFrancisBurton ROLF. Me, too! I bought that album while enrolled in a philosophy course--and tried to apply philosophical techniques to the lyrics. It took me a few minutes to realize there's no accounting for logic anywhere in those lyrics. Tales is a brilliant album sonically--but lyrically it's a mess if you expect a traditional song.
Music Nerd - I remember seeing a copy of Autobiography of a Yogi at the local Waldenbooks. I was so excited to finally discover the key to those mysterious lyrics! I bought the book, ran to my bedroom, and went straight to that lengthy footnote on page 83..!! Alas, that just made everything even more confusing. 😂 I gave up on finding hidden meanings in lyrics pretty soon after that. 😂
Probably a good thing you didn't have Real to Reel. The label turned them into a boy band. That cover gave me nightmares for weeks... : p I love StarCastle... in my opinion, I thought SC was like Yes with better, Queen-level vocal harmonies. I know Alan White is on record as absolutely hating the band, but yet who played keyboards for them at their final performance at ROSfest? Oliver Wakeman. Cool story I learned from Gary Strater's widow: SC was playing a show with Rush and Geddy was playing Gary's brand new Alembic bass. Geddy stood up with it quickly and hit the headstock, denting it quite badly. And Gary wasn't even mad about it.
Haven’t hear the fifth, but agree with the ranking of the other 4. I have a bootleg Starcastle live recording from the Citadel tour. Real-to-Reel was an attempt to popularize them more - amazing failure.
Many years ago I bought the LP Citadel just on a chance having heard nothing by or about the band (we used to have a great used vinyl shop near us which I spent many hours in). I was generally unimpressed, immediately got the "Yes" thing (albeit not so good) but really liked the track Change In Time and still do to this day. *Music for Disney princesses to get high to* 🐸
if you love Yes (who doesn't) then a lot of Starcastles songs are in the direction of yes very good energizing stuff.what you should listen to on acid for a good trip.
I only have the four 70s albums: 4. Real to Reel 3. Citadel 2. Fountains of Light 1. Starcastle If that 4th album had just developed the accessible Prog of Citadel, it would have been just as good. "When the Sun Shines at Midnight" is a good example of that. A slightly Proggy tune, more in the Pomp camp.
Pete I know you love prog rock. This group only released one l.p. "Touch" by Touch. A great album singing and munchie guitar playing 1969. Give it a try. You will be impressed. I guarantee. The tune "Seventy five" is worth the money. Let me know. Maybe you already know about them. Doug D.
I think the whole Yes comparison is an internet thing Started listening to Starcastle when their first album dropped. I don't think I ever heard someone saying....hey, these guys sound a lot like Yes.
Pete, I know you are pretty adept in musical knowledge. I'd even say somewhat of an expert. So could you settle an argument? Is or were Rush a heavy metal band or a hard rock/progressive rock band who may have some metal elements in some of their songs?
Not a metal band in my view, but a prog rock band who went through their heavy phase, their more commercial/experimental phase, and back to heavy prog/hard rock to close out their career.
Got to admit, for being a teenager in the 70's, I never heard of this band, so I went and checked out a couple albums on youtube, wow, they sound ALOT like Yes! Granted they sound great, (and I'm not the biggest progressive rock fan), they are very good musicians, but to much like Yes for my tastes. But, everyone has their taste.
Kudos to the producers of these records, too. I was never a fan of the Yes production sound so I loved having that "kind of sound" done with a different style of production.
As an old roadie for REO, I knew Terry Luttrell, in 1971 I ran into him
and asked him why he had left REO. He replied he had put together a new band called "Starcastle" !! It took him 5 years to get signed.
I lived the life of Starcastle. Their first album is the story of my life. I always wondered why he left REO. Saw Starcastle numerous times at the Plowboy Club under the viaduct in Ottumwa , Iowa. They were so popular they cut their demo tape there. Some of the very best vocal harmony of ANY band!
Cool! Starcastle.
I found 3 of their albums at my Salvation Army for $1 each. All in great condition. Very amazing discovery.
You one lucky SOB! Which 3? Hopefully not *Real To Reel* 😞
Great comments. Love the band. Thank you also for reviewing my music. Very helpful in making me a better musician.
My ranking:
5. Real to Reel
4. Song of Times
3. Citadel
2. Fountains of Light
1. Starcastle
Bonus fun fact: Annie Haslam drew the cover to "Song of Times."
Starcastle is phenomenal! So overlooked!
Thank you for featuring this great band.
There is a big Emerson influence as well. They had their own style and compositions. Great band.
Their own compositions, yes....their own style? Not really. Pretty much total Yes clones but still a great band IMO. I have their first two albums.
Agree to disagree.
I have been their fan for over 40 years, and I never identified them as an "Yes clone". For me their synths, moog and vocals style are very unique. Great band. I really dig them a lot.
I think it’s mainly from the bass sound and lyrics.
I saw these guys a few times opening up for Jethro Tull during the stadium Too Old to Rock N Roll tour. Instantly fell in love with Nova and Forces and got their album the next day. Need to start listening to their other releases.
I'm almost 2 years late with my comment, but I just rediscovered Starcastle for myself. And since there is not much to be found about Starcastle on TH-cam, I was very happy about your ranking.
i used to refer to them as CSN combined with yes. their vocal harmonies are great. still have the original cd i purchased in the early 80s , always liked them, great band. and if you like that chris squire bass sound you will love this!
No commercials ,please.I enjoy this channel!
I shamelessly love the first two starcastle albums, especially fountains of light. Fantastic soaring symphonic prog, they have some yes in their sound, but they also have their own touch and style. At the end of the day, I just like music that sounds good and they fit that bill.
shame is good sometimes
That's the bottom line here....just a very talented band playing great music.
Excellent. Now we need a top 10 list!
Thank you! Love this band. Glad you recognized them. Rock on Pete
I’m so glad that you did a review of the Starcastle albums. In 1976 I got my first taste of Starcastle while on a two week summer stint at RIT in New York. Lady of the lake was a selection on the jukebox in one of the basement facilities. From that point forward I was hooked! Thanks for covering.
Just found their debut album in my CD collection and gave it a spin. Then I went to listen to parts of their other albums but did not know about their last one. Ordered the second and third and a live album then I saw this ranking.
Glad to see you rank these guys. I was in their basement on Division St. in Urbana one day while they were practicing and arranging Lady of the Lake. I met Gary and Matt in 1970, went on to play with Matt for 6 years in the early 2000's. Gary was as kind as anyone I've ever met.
Thank you for ranking the studio albums of Starcastle.🎤🎸🎵🥁
Very cool. I never heard the Styx in Starcastle but then you point out the obvious and now I hear the influence perfectly. Damn you know and love this stuff. I am lucky that you are willing to educate and share. Thank you again.
Cool! Another band for me to get into! I don't see "sounding like Yes" as being a bad thing.
I just ordered that Zior box set last night, too.
I have a bridge in Brooklyn for sale. call me
Good ranking. Was fortunate to see them live right after their debut at a free outdoor concert sponsored by a local radio station. (Remember when they did stuff like that!?)
I wonder if there's any live footage from their Glory Days in the 70s? It's hard to believe with all the cell phones we have today that filming a show back then was such a big deal.
Glad to see I am not the only one who likes these guys.
Almost Famous.
I heard them when the album came out in 1976. I thought it was YES and bought it. Good musically, but the LYRICS were lacking. I'm glad a lot of stuff I missed in the 70s is on TH-cam.
Thanks. I've just discovered the first album, like it a lot, and now I'll take a look at the second.
Amazing Ultra- Underrated band, saw them open for Todd & Utopia. They were formed in Springfield and Terry Luttrell was original lead singer for REO.
Nice to see Starcastle make an appearance! Haven’t heard their music in ages; time to give them a second spin.
I saw them open for Boston in a small venue, fantastic show
Pete: very interesting show. Thank you for sharing the history of this band
I like your ranking videos. I’ve been going through my vinyl collection and recording them into my computer via a usb turntable my son got me for Christmas a couple of years ago. I’m surprised that most of them are in good shape after all these years. I’ve had to replace a few of the most played albums with cd’s or digital. Most are in good condition due to recording them onto cassettes when they were new to listen to them in the car. The tapes have disintegrated since then.
Thanks for reminding us of all the great music that is out there. I totally agree with the ranking on this band as well as Triumvirat. Spartacus has been played quite a bit this week.
Spent the day at rosfest with Matt one of the coolest guys around im in uk and never thought id see starcastle,lot of memories from that day
I agree with you Pete: the self titled album and Fountains of Light are the absolute cream of the crop from this band.
My fave is Fountains of Light.The synth work of the keyboard player is awesome!
Fountains of Light is Yes meets Space Rock!
Great band.
Very late to this chat but I wanted to thank you for discussing Starcastle...I actually found the Citadel album while DJing up at St. Lawrence University in Canton NY back in the late 80s. I dare say it's a "living in oblivion" band...but great music heads like Pete know about these folks. I fear prog rock is going away like the laserdisc...but fortunately we have your site. We picked up Long Island/New Haven/Hartford radio growing up...never heard these guys.
This is why I love Pardo. Before this video I was only familiar with Hardcastle and McCormick.
Thanks Pete, for introducing me to this band's existence! Yes, they do emulate Yes, but I actually don't mind that at all. I also get some Styx vibes as well. So far, I've picked up the first two albums and Citadel. Loving all of it!
That was an interesting review of Starcastle, not one of my favourite bands but they did produce some very listenable material (when you can take your mind away from it all sounding like YES). Think you rated the albums exactly as I would have. So nice to hear one of the lesser known bands (in the UK) having their material reviewed. Perhaps one day you will do a review of The Mystery, I find it almost impossible to rank their albums as I constantly change my mind on the order.
They also had a ELP sound to them too. I saw this band open for Laroux. New Orleans Ladies. Me and my gang were up against the stage. We were shouting out song. I don't think anyone else there knew who they were. I didn't go for Laroux, I went for Starcastle.
Congrats on 40. Keep em coming
I seen them at the capitol theater Passaic NJ.they opened for ??thanks Pete....
For who?
Exactly.dontrecall. Strawbs?
Looks like they opened fur journey.thats about right.journey with anydley Dunbar drums wheel in the sky was a big song.journey was a ferocious live band Perry on vocals Neil schon guitar was amazing.he blew the roof off the capitol...
Michael Marino 💯 %. Dead on. JOURNEY/ Starcastle. 6-10-78. I live in NJ/ but was not at that show. I do remember from prior comments you saw a ton of shows at CAPITOL. Lol. Tremendous venue/ but long gone !
I’m especially glad to see this one. I saw Starcastle on a bill with original Journey lineup and Atlanta Rhythm Section. I really like them! Bought Citidel,Fountains and debut back in the day. I keep hoping Prog mag does an article on them. Fun stuff. Not much out there on them. I love these guys in a cultish way. Glad I got to see them in there prime
I love them!!!
I know a lot of music, and I'm sure I could name some bands Pete's never heard of, but he got me on this one. First time I've ever heard of Starcastle.
I'm sure you've heard REO Speedwagon's debut. Doesn't sound like the same singer. He had a lower tone on that.
They are a great band! If you're a Yes fan, you'll love them!
First time I ever got high in our college dorm, Starcastle's debut album was playing on a really good system and I loved it.
Hey, I stumbled across this, great review.
I rank the albums the same, 'Fountains' had more masterpieces than the First Album, but 'To The Fire Wind' is my favourite Starcastle track, also one of my favourite tracks ever written.
I say Chronos 1 is definately worth it, it has a longer version of 'To The Fire Wind' and 'Forces' is recorded in a different key.
Great band that never got their due! I agree though, Fountains of Light, my favorite! Their first a close second! Thanks for pulling them out of the archives!
I'm going to have to check this band out. I love the covers, so colorful. They remind me of the album "Quiet World" by Native Construct.
Great band takes me back
I had never heard of them until I saw them open up for Boston at Nassau Coliseum on LI. Went and picked up Fountains that week.
This is my first time listening to them,and I picked Lady of the lake.First and foremost I heard Chris Squires Rick,lol.I really liked what I've heard,thxs for this🤘
Very excited for this video. While I feel that only their first couple albums hold up, it's well worth sort of tracking the fast rise and fast fall of the group.
1. Fountain of Lights
2. Starcastle
3. Citadel
4. Reel to Reel
Gonna have to check out the newer album
william white - this mirrors my list, but I confess never hearing Reel to Reel. That cover makes it look like their version of Love Beach. I have never heard Song of Times either ....
By the late '70's prog bands had to have hit singles or albums to stay on labels, the early to mid 70's artistic indulgences were over. Same thing happened in Hollywood as detailed in the book "Easy Riders Raging Bulls" Early/mid 70's was unparalleled for American artistic expression.
Re: your Kansas shirt, a dear old friend of mine, Denise de la Cerda, is the artist who did the cover art for their last two albums.
Nice!!!
I bought Starcastle and Fountains Of Light when they came out on 8 track, still have them, I really like the band, I bought the two again along with Citadel a few years ago on CD. infortunatly I never saw them live.
Just ordered their debut together with a bunch of other prog albums from the 70's.
I agree with your list though I would definitely put Citadel in 3rd place and, while I think their second album is actually better and probably deserves first place, I have to put the first in that slot. The year it came out a friend and I went on a road trip to Glacier Park and only had a handful of cassettes (remember those?) we played Starcastle over and over. And I can tell you now Starcastle 1 is made for road trips in mountain country. It holds a special place in my heart.
"Citadel" was the first album by them, so it's still my fave. "Evening Wind" has always been my fave track!
What a coincidence! Just a few days ago I found a copy of their first LP and I bought it. Good stuff indeed.
Luckily saw them in '76 backing up Trower!
Third band was Lake! Apparently their first US gig.
Starcastle bass player was quite the Chris Squire fan
I love Starcastle :)
We were kids getting into complex music... Yes, Rush, Styx, Kansas, Journey, etc. These guys should have been bigger than they were... much more accessible and melodic than Yes... epic composition with super cool production... still sound great today... Turn 'em up.
I’m with you Pete - those first 2 albums were excellent, Fountains of Light my pick also
Only heard the first two albums a year or two ago. Listened to them again recently. Not bad.
Nice. Only recently got into this band. Pretty cool 👍
For American prog I highly recommend Crack the Sky. First album is probably the best. All access DVD is a great place to start.
cool video....always thought their debut cover reminded me of rainbow's debut cover...(and the debut album itself would be at the top of my listbut certainly rocky your list as well....)....peace...rocky
Atmospheric spacey rock with good production all around!
Great to see Starcastle get some credit. Those first two albums blew me away in the mid 70's! My ranking:
1. Starcastle
2. Fountains Of Light
3. Song Of Times
4. Citadel
5. Real To Real
Nice appreciation for this little known but excellent progressive rock band. I really did believe it was Yes when I heard them, but that's a mistake most other Yes fans make! My personal favorite LP is their debut album, and I have been following them for many years, although I never got to see them live.
Kind of funny, I used to freak out my friends who liked Yes, and tell them the Starcastle album I was playing was an unreleased Yes album! What a great band! Very unknown by the general public it seems. Tragedy honestly.
Ditto, too funny.
@@toddstevens13 Ha 😂 you could maybe do the same thing with ELP fans and play them something in the Triumvirant catalogue!
I really didn't know this band until i saw your Best Debut Albums show; so i gotta thank you for it; because they're an excelent quirky prog band in the mold of Yes. Anyway here's my ranking:
4-Real To Reel
3-Self Titled
2-Citadel
1-Fountains Of Light
I always considered Star Castle as a poor man's Yes but I really liked their music. I talked to people older than me, they say in 1976 they saw Star Castle open for Boston, who opened for Rush on their 2112 tour. Sometimes I wish I was 5 years older!
Gonna check em out. A guy from Vicious Rumors was in Starcastle at some point.
I really like Fountains of Light. Diamond Song (Deep Is The Light) is one of my favorite songs by them or anyone. Love the bass line. Definitely get a Yes/Styx/Rush vibe but still sounds original to me.
Seen them live many times in the bars of eastern Iowa. First as Mad John Fever. Big fan. Chronos 1 is is a must have for hearing as they sounded in the bars. As good as the debut album is, some of cuts failed to capture their energy. Too bad they never recorded an official live album.
Id change the top 2 around and Ive never heard the reunion release (yet) but I wholeheartedly agree with Petes pics on this one. Look for their live album as well, its pretty good.
Hey Pete, You said you saw them live. When and where? Wasn't your 1st concert in the early 80's? They would of split up by then.
I luckily saw them (My 8th concert) also. They opened up a show at Tucson Community Center Arena in Mar.1977. After them was Nils Logren and the headliner was Boston. They had big banks of keyboards and the sound reverberated. A strange lineup though; pure Prog, Gritty Song writing and flashy Guitar Pop.
That was a good segment Pete; I will listen to a Starcastle album tomorrow on my day off. (Although I never got Real to Reel or the new one.)
when they reunited in the early 2000s
If Yes was an American band, they would sound like Starcastle. I think that the accessibility in their songs make them different enough from Yes to be taken seriously, the material is excellent and is, to me, closer to Styx and Kansas. I only know the first three that I like in chronological order.
Just listening to Fountains of Light, Fountains is so Tormato ish - not a bad thing as that is one of my favourite Yes albums. Not forgetting there was a live concert classics cd from presumably a radio broadcast in 1978 I think - marvellous stuff and I agree that Real to Reel isnt that bad as long as you dont listen to it after listening to the first three!
My grandson gets crazy when i play lady of the lake me to saw them in78 with leslie west and black oak Arkansas had this hot 70s girl with me even got a starcastle sticker at that show that was a good show
I enjoy your channel. You should cover Slaughter.
Not a fan, sorry.
I really like Fountains Of Light. Diamond Song (Deep Is The Light) is one of my favorite songs by them or anyone for that matter. It reminds me of Styx but it still sounds original to me.
I own The first 3 and Love them, Last night after watching this I Looked up Real to Reel on YT.....glad I did not waste the money on that one!!!
Need to give The J. Geils Band some love! Deep Cut Dive, Top 10 songs, Ranking the Studio Albums, something, please!
This band was a lot of fun when Yes were in a bit of a drought period in the late 70’s. The arrangements and instrumentation were really good but the Jon inspired nonsense lyrics were ridiculous. According to guitarist Steve Hagler, there was only one hardcore Yes fan in the whole band - bassist Gary Strater.
I agree. Jon Anderson's lyrics were chosen for tonal quality and elements. His approach to lyrics was a collage of words whose tones created images and themes rather than content. They weren't meant to mean much lyrically and that took me quite a while to get adjusted to. In comparison Starcastle's lyrics might be positive (following the general trend of Yes), but made far more sense as songs. The charm of Starcastle was the hybrid of Yes orchestration and instrumentation surrounding lyrical themes that have a more positive vibe but function as songs with content and context. This band has a fond place in my recollection.
Music Nerd - yeah, I remember back in high school, I was beating myself silly trying to wrench literal meaning out of Tales from Topographic Ocean lyrics 😂 At his best though, Jon’s abstract word patterns did what any abstract painting is supposed to do - create a certain mood and emotion rather than literal meaning. Starcastle really imitated that style, but I think the difference is that Jon actually talked that way 😂
@@JosephFrancisBurton ROLF. Me, too! I bought that album while enrolled in a philosophy course--and tried to apply philosophical techniques to the lyrics. It took me a few minutes to realize there's no accounting for logic anywhere in those lyrics. Tales is a brilliant album sonically--but lyrically it's a mess if you expect a traditional song.
Music Nerd - I remember seeing a copy of Autobiography of a Yogi at the local Waldenbooks. I was so excited to finally discover the key to those mysterious lyrics! I bought the book, ran to my bedroom, and went straight to that lengthy footnote on page 83..!! Alas, that just made everything even more confusing. 😂 I gave up on finding hidden meanings in lyrics pretty soon after that. 😂
@@musicnerd8969 I agree with you guys. Lyrics didn't make sense!!
Probably a good thing you didn't have Real to Reel. The label turned them into a boy band. That cover gave me nightmares for weeks... : p
I love StarCastle... in my opinion, I thought SC was like Yes with better, Queen-level vocal harmonies. I know Alan White is on record as absolutely hating the band, but yet who played keyboards for them at their final performance at ROSfest? Oliver Wakeman.
Cool story I learned from Gary Strater's widow: SC was playing a show with Rush and Geddy was playing Gary's brand new Alembic bass. Geddy stood up with it quickly and hit the headstock, denting it quite badly. And Gary wasn't even mad about it.
Haven’t hear the fifth, but agree with the ranking of the other 4. I have a bootleg Starcastle live recording from the Citadel tour. Real-to-Reel was an attempt to popularize them more - amazing failure.
How about ranking the albums of Arena? Great band!
Many years ago I bought the LP Citadel just on a chance having heard nothing by or about the band (we used to have a great used vinyl shop near us which I spent many hours in). I was generally unimpressed, immediately got the "Yes" thing (albeit not so good) but really liked the track Change In Time and still do to this day. *Music for Disney princesses to get high to* 🐸
if you love Yes (who doesn't) then a lot of Starcastles songs are in the direction of yes very good energizing stuff.what you should listen to on acid for a good trip.
Only one I have is Fountains. Might pick up the rest.
"Real To Reel" was also a album by The Climax Blues Band in 1979!!!
Yep
And a live album by Marillion!
I only have the four 70s albums:
4. Real to Reel
3. Citadel
2. Fountains of Light
1. Starcastle
If that 4th album had just developed the accessible Prog of Citadel, it would have been just as good. "When the Sun Shines at Midnight" is a good example of that. A slightly Proggy tune, more in the Pomp camp.
nice!
Pete I know you love prog rock. This group only released one l.p.
"Touch" by Touch. A great album singing and munchie guitar playing 1969. Give it a try. You will be impressed. I guarantee. The tune "Seventy five" is worth the money. Let me know. Maybe you already know about them. Doug D.
I think the whole Yes comparison is an internet thing Started listening to Starcastle when their first album dropped. I don't think I ever heard someone saying....hey, these guys sound a lot like Yes.
Yep have that LP. What about Lone Star- Bells Of Berlin!!
Pete, I know you are pretty adept in musical knowledge. I'd even say somewhat of an expert. So could you settle an argument? Is or were Rush a heavy metal band or a hard rock/progressive rock band who may have some metal elements in some of their songs?
Not a metal band in my view, but a prog rock band who went through their heavy phase, their more commercial/experimental phase, and back to heavy prog/hard rock to close out their career.
@@seaoftranquilityprog I agree.
Got to admit, for being a teenager in the 70's, I never heard of this band, so I went and checked out a couple albums on youtube, wow, they sound ALOT like Yes! Granted they sound great, (and I'm not the biggest progressive rock fan), they are very good musicians, but to much like Yes for my tastes. But, everyone has their taste.
Real to reel its not that bad..I actually like it