Thank you for listening! So so few people have really even bothered to give this band a chance unfortunately. I've been a fan since, like, 2009. I don't think they've ever been able to find their audience despite working so hard and coming out with huge albums like Blomljud right out of the gate (an album I do think is some of the best music ever made). Too pop for prog fans, too prog for pop fans. Comments in other reaction channels are all typically the same - "not cool enough" "sugary sweet" "***". And of course, pop channels don't react to them at all, since they're still in the "prog ghetto". This is definitely not their best album, and sometimes does feel too bland tbh. After 10 years in the pot and 1-2 band breakups and hiatuses, I think it went through production hell (better than Vol1, though), so maybe they just thought "just get it out there" even if it was uneven. I think them doing some heavier things this album was a way to try and placate the modern prog fan - but I wonder, does the modern prog fan exist? Or are they prog metal fans? The prog fan will tout Yes as undisputed masterpiece kings of the genre, yet if any other band makes some songs like I've Seen All Good People (or even just the average song off of Yes Album) they'd get crucified - where's the Animal as Leaders Polyrhythms? Where's the double bass drum beats? Where's the dark cool edgy style? Prog is supposed to be for smart and mature people! Everyone wants to be Wagner or Stravinsky and nobody wants to be Mozart or even Bach. Hell, if Mozart did write modern progressive, he'd be lambasted as quaint and cheesy happy crap. As popular as Dream Theater is, I still think their best album is Images & Words - soaring clean melodies, bright riffs and tones, and very poppy. The heart of all their best material is always something catchy. And I think many bands and fans are afraid of sounding too 'delicate' etc for some reason. Everyone wants to be cool. So when I discovered Moon Safari it's like my brain exploded. To me, MS showed me that you could make anything as long as you had some clean, infectious, smart melodies at the core of it, and build everything around that. You can have 10-15-20-30- minute songs, full of changes and time signature shifts and leitmotifs and all the prog stuff people like, and it'll still be held together like glue by the 'pop' sensibility of melodious writing, so much so that the complexity is hidden behind the tight writing. Yes started out as a pop cover band extending their Beatles covers into bigger jams - how is this not the heart of Prog as concept? There's so many shifts going on in MS music that many listeners can't even tell, unlike most prog bands which try to make the "awkwardness" as obnoxious as possible. Many do bash their 60s-70s pop sensibilities or lush instrumentation, but who else is writing like that, even in mass music? It's almost completely barren, even Taylor Swift isn't about melody-focused writing at all - and MS are not just doing "retro" marketing pastiches like some other 'modern prog' bands, they fully understand composition, Simon Akesson himself is a composer for choir, Peurling-esque jazz harmony vocal arranger, etc, which is extremely rare to get any in rock-band music, and definitely not prog. While some prog bands try to do simplistic vocal harmony stuff, they mostly suck at singing and are old untrained baritones which doesn't really lend itself to the sweet tenor tones that lots of classic prog was famous for. Singing, I think, is the most underdeveloped skill for 90% of prog bands. The most successful prog outfits have always had great singing at the heart of it (again...Yes, early DT, etc...). If you can't sing, maybe just make Jazz fusion? Lol. And yet, as much as I love them, they've never really gained much acclaim or attention. But I guess that's normal for the prog ghetto anyways - most bands either die or retire there (why Mars Volta tried their best to avoid the label). All my favorite contemporary bands from the 2010~ era has basically dissolved, so it's nice to see MS come out with at least one more album. Even with their ups and downs, it's still some of the most beautiful music I've ever heard.
Totally agree with you on I&W by DReam Theater,guy.. Easily their best and then they went total metal most times..Yuck! Patchy stuff ever since. BTW-- hope you have immersered yourself in all things Neal Morse (Spocks Beard,NMB,Transatlantic,Flying Colors). If not--you owe it to yourself to hear this music! Cheers, T
One thing to note about these two tracks: There is a lot of reprisals from Vol. 1. Epilog itself is almost an entire reprisal of the opening track, Kids. I'm not sure if the lyrics are as they are in Swedish here, but the melody is for sure.
Jim, thanks for giving this record a listen! Sounds like the channel is most panning this thing. I am a bit surprised to be honest. Your channel has had a lot of variety on it over the years and even last year! Not all things good have to be heavy and dark! Anyway, maybe whatever I share next will be to your liking and the channel’s liking. Then again maybe it wont! And that is ok. Take care Jim! Thanks again🤟🏻
Hey hey hey! Don't worry about what other people think, and be cool. This has some amazing moments, and some weaker points, but there's very few records that are great consistently. Really glad to have heard it buddy!
@@JimNewsteadthanks Jim! It is not that I care what others say. It is some people in the comments get pretty negative and say some out there things. It is just music. And not all things appeal to everyone right!?😀
Hey Jim! Really enjoyed this one and it led me down a bit of a rabbit hole to find similar artists that have this contemporary stadium rock sound, but more on the proggy side. Highly recommend that you check out the group Kyros and their album Mannequin when you have a chance! The first song is a bit odd and (frankly) feels out of place to the rest of the album, but my goodness they take this sound some truly interesting places. Would love your thoughts, but giving them a spin is quite worth it regardless!
I'm actually flabbergasted that you specifically remembered that you didn't enjoy "A Lifetime to Learn How To Love" 😆 To me it is the greatest song of the album, just ahead of "Teen Angel". It reminds me a lot of some of their other greatest hits. I feel like you need to listen to it again in a vacuum, Jim. If you do, please let me know what you thought of it ^^ The 80s vibe that is present in this album does not appear on their other albums, apart from maybe vol 1. I'm not as fond of that style of music as much, and is probably why I think Affinity is easily Haken's weakest album for example. Though, I think Moon safari pulled it off quite well, since I already love beautiful melodies + their vocal arrangements. Anyhow, Moon Safari is my 4th favorite band, ( Haken, Dream Theater and Leprous occupying the top 3) and I have wanted to suggest albums of them today, but haven't gotten to it. I'm really glad someone else suggested Himlabacken vol 2. It's my 2nd favorite album of last year, (Nospun managed to get top 1) and it's certainly a return to former glory for them. Vol 1 was their least good album by far, while "Lover's End" lacked a bit of consistency. However, I would consider their first 2 albums to be titans in the Prog Rock genre, easily comparable to some of the greatest albums of Genesis, Yes, etc. I would very much love for you to listen to them as well, especially "A Doorway to Summer" as that is currently my 4th favorite album of all time. I know you said you prefer darker and moody music, but I think you should give those albums a shot, you will certainly have some songs that you will love.
final judgement and I have to repeat my words to other newer releases : the CD problem ... it's simply too long and contains parts I don't need ... it probably would have been a great 45 -50 minutes LP 😆
Jim- I totally get what you're saying,bro. I happen to love this one,but as you say..more edge? Get back to The Neal Morse band/Spock's Beard,matey! ;-) T
[blomljud] record by them is a masterpiece of prog rock. Maybe better than this one. Its far more progressive and varied for sure. Dont give up on them.
I really must go back and listen to Scot Lade's review of this again to see what he saw in it. The first track is awful - the basic track sounds like something The Osmonds might have done in the 70s (but it's way way short of Crazy Horses) The guitar almost saves it but the saxophone holds it underwater until I thought it had breathed its last. Luckily the last 2 or3 minutes show some signs of life still exist. Then we're in church. Not the cool magnificant cathedral sound as in Close to the Edge, the really dull church where the roof is leaking and there's only ten 90 year olds sleeping while a toothy vicar talks about the Ephesians. I'm hard on this record because I was told it was one of the best prog releases of the year. Nowhere near it.
In your opinion this is not one of the greatest prog releases! Everyone has their own likes and dislikes! Nobody is telling you to love this record! If it is not your type of music, that is fine! It does not make everyone else wrong for loving it and rating it high!! Have a good day bud!!
@Eric.... thanks for bringing the band to the channel, it was important that we checked it out. I saw that Pete from SOT reviewed this as well and gave it a HUGE thumbs up. It really is down to the individual eh?
@@ericmeredith8754 And a good day to you also. Of course a lot of people like this a lot and good luck to them. What I'm intrigued about is that many people whose opinions often chime closely with mine have highly rated this record, yet I can't find more than about 30% of the record as a whole to enjoy. Scot Lade and Pete Pardo did indeed give it glowing reviews. I had promised Jim a rant next time something didn't reach high standards so it's unfortunate that this one came up when it did. Variety (including of opinions) is the spice of life and nothing wrong with some chilli now and then!
![เป็นไปได้ไหม - WanMai [Official MV]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/_6lZ6b3_7Vo/mqdefault.jpg)
Thank you for listening! So so few people have really even bothered to give this band a chance unfortunately. I've been a fan since, like, 2009. I don't think they've ever been able to find their audience despite working so hard and coming out with huge albums like Blomljud right out of the gate (an album I do think is some of the best music ever made). Too pop for prog fans, too prog for pop fans. Comments in other reaction channels are all typically the same - "not cool enough" "sugary sweet" "***". And of course, pop channels don't react to them at all, since they're still in the "prog ghetto".
This is definitely not their best album, and sometimes does feel too bland tbh. After 10 years in the pot and 1-2 band breakups and hiatuses, I think it went through production hell (better than Vol1, though), so maybe they just thought "just get it out there" even if it was uneven. I think them doing some heavier things this album was a way to try and placate the modern prog fan - but I wonder, does the modern prog fan exist? Or are they prog metal fans? The prog fan will tout Yes as undisputed masterpiece kings of the genre, yet if any other band makes some songs like I've Seen All Good People (or even just the average song off of Yes Album) they'd get crucified - where's the Animal as Leaders Polyrhythms? Where's the double bass drum beats? Where's the dark cool edgy style? Prog is supposed to be for smart and mature people! Everyone wants to be Wagner or Stravinsky and nobody wants to be Mozart or even Bach. Hell, if Mozart did write modern progressive, he'd be lambasted as quaint and cheesy happy crap. As popular as Dream Theater is, I still think their best album is Images & Words - soaring clean melodies, bright riffs and tones, and very poppy. The heart of all their best material is always something catchy. And I think many bands and fans are afraid of sounding too 'delicate' etc for some reason. Everyone wants to be cool.
So when I discovered Moon Safari it's like my brain exploded. To me, MS showed me that you could make anything as long as you had some clean, infectious, smart melodies at the core of it, and build everything around that. You can have 10-15-20-30- minute songs, full of changes and time signature shifts and leitmotifs and all the prog stuff people like, and it'll still be held together like glue by the 'pop' sensibility of melodious writing, so much so that the complexity is hidden behind the tight writing. Yes started out as a pop cover band extending their Beatles covers into bigger jams - how is this not the heart of Prog as concept? There's so many shifts going on in MS music that many listeners can't even tell, unlike most prog bands which try to make the "awkwardness" as obnoxious as possible. Many do bash their 60s-70s pop sensibilities or lush instrumentation, but who else is writing like that, even in mass music? It's almost completely barren, even Taylor Swift isn't about melody-focused writing at all - and MS are not just doing "retro" marketing pastiches like some other 'modern prog' bands, they fully understand composition, Simon Akesson himself is a composer for choir, Peurling-esque jazz harmony vocal arranger, etc, which is extremely rare to get any in rock-band music, and definitely not prog. While some prog bands try to do simplistic vocal harmony stuff, they mostly suck at singing and are old untrained baritones which doesn't really lend itself to the sweet tenor tones that lots of classic prog was famous for. Singing, I think, is the most underdeveloped skill for 90% of prog bands. The most successful prog outfits have always had great singing at the heart of it (again...Yes, early DT, etc...). If you can't sing, maybe just make Jazz fusion? Lol.
And yet, as much as I love them, they've never really gained much acclaim or attention. But I guess that's normal for the prog ghetto anyways - most bands either die or retire there (why Mars Volta tried their best to avoid the label). All my favorite contemporary bands from the 2010~ era has basically dissolved, so it's nice to see MS come out with at least one more album. Even with their ups and downs, it's still some of the most beautiful music I've ever heard.
Totally agree with you on I&W by DReam Theater,guy.. Easily their best and then they went total metal most times..Yuck! Patchy stuff ever since. BTW-- hope you have immersered yourself in all things Neal Morse (Spocks Beard,NMB,Transatlantic,Flying Colors). If not--you owe it to yourself to hear this music! Cheers, T
One thing to note about these two tracks:
There is a lot of reprisals from Vol. 1. Epilog itself is almost an entire reprisal of the opening track, Kids. I'm not sure if the lyrics are as they are in Swedish here, but the melody is for sure.
Jim, thanks for giving this record a listen! Sounds like the channel is most panning this thing. I am a bit surprised to be honest. Your channel has had a lot of variety on it over the years and even last year! Not all things good have to be heavy and dark! Anyway, maybe whatever I share next will be to your liking and the channel’s liking. Then again maybe it wont! And that is ok. Take care Jim! Thanks again🤟🏻
Hey hey hey! Don't worry about what other people think, and be cool. This has some amazing moments, and some weaker points, but there's very few records that are great consistently. Really glad to have heard it buddy!
@@JimNewsteadthanks Jim! It is not that I care what others say. It is some people in the comments get pretty negative and say some out there things. It is just music. And not all things appeal to everyone right!?😀
Truth!
How boring would it be if we all liked the same music.I think it has quite a few interesting moments.
@@davidlane2737 Very boring! Thanks for the comment! Cheers bud!!
Hey Jim! Really enjoyed this one and it led me down a bit of a rabbit hole to find similar artists that have this contemporary stadium rock sound, but more on the proggy side. Highly recommend that you check out the group Kyros and their album Mannequin when you have a chance! The first song is a bit odd and (frankly) feels out of place to the rest of the album, but my goodness they take this sound some truly interesting places. Would love your thoughts, but giving them a spin is quite worth it regardless!
Big fan of Moon Safari and this album, but checking out Kyros after your recommendation. Very good so far (halfway through)!
I'm actually flabbergasted that you specifically remembered that you didn't enjoy "A Lifetime to Learn How To Love" 😆
To me it is the greatest song of the album, just ahead of "Teen Angel". It reminds me a lot of some of their other greatest hits.
I feel like you need to listen to it again in a vacuum, Jim. If you do, please let me know what you thought of it ^^
The 80s vibe that is present in this album does not appear on their other albums, apart from maybe vol 1. I'm not as fond of that style of music as much, and is probably why I think Affinity is easily Haken's weakest album for example. Though, I think Moon safari pulled it off quite well, since I already love beautiful melodies + their vocal arrangements.
Anyhow, Moon Safari is my 4th favorite band, ( Haken, Dream Theater and Leprous occupying the top 3) and I have wanted to suggest albums of them today, but haven't gotten to it. I'm really glad someone else suggested Himlabacken vol 2. It's my 2nd favorite album of last year, (Nospun managed to get top 1) and it's certainly a return to former glory for them. Vol 1 was their least good album by far, while "Lover's End" lacked a bit of consistency.
However, I would consider their first 2 albums to be titans in the Prog Rock genre, easily comparable to some of the greatest albums of Genesis, Yes, etc. I would very much love for you to listen to them as well, especially "A Doorway to Summer" as that is currently my 4th favorite album of all time.
I know you said you prefer darker and moody music, but I think you should give those albums a shot, you will certainly have some songs that you will love.
final judgement and I have to repeat my words to other newer releases : the CD problem ... it's simply too long and contains parts I don't need ... it probably would have been a great 45 -50 minutes LP 😆
Jim- I totally get what you're saying,bro. I happen to love this one,but as you say..more edge? Get back to The Neal Morse band/Spock's Beard,matey! ;-) T
[blomljud] record by them is a masterpiece of prog rock. Maybe better than this one. Its far more progressive and varied for sure. Dont give up on them.
I really must go back and listen to Scot Lade's review of this again to see what he saw in it. The first track is awful - the basic track sounds like something The Osmonds might have done in the 70s (but it's way way short of Crazy Horses) The guitar almost saves it but the saxophone holds it underwater until I thought it had breathed its last. Luckily the last 2 or3 minutes show some signs of life still exist. Then we're in church. Not the cool magnificant cathedral sound as in Close to the Edge, the really dull church where the roof is leaking and there's only ten 90 year olds sleeping while a toothy vicar talks about the Ephesians. I'm hard on this record because I was told it was one of the best prog releases of the year. Nowhere near it.
In your opinion this is not one of the greatest prog releases! Everyone has their own likes and dislikes! Nobody is telling you to love this record! If it is not your type of music, that is fine! It does not make everyone else wrong for loving it and rating it high!! Have a good day bud!!
@Ken.... thanks for your honesty and for sticking with it! At least you'll know not to listen to more by them in the future.
@Eric.... thanks for bringing the band to the channel, it was important that we checked it out. I saw that Pete from SOT reviewed this as well and gave it a HUGE thumbs up. It really is down to the individual eh?
@@ericmeredith8754 And a good day to you also. Of course a lot of people like this a lot and good luck to them. What I'm intrigued about is that many people whose opinions often chime closely with mine have highly rated this record, yet I can't find more than about 30% of the record as a whole to enjoy. Scot Lade and Pete Pardo did indeed give it glowing reviews. I had promised Jim a rant next time something didn't reach high standards so it's unfortunate that this one came up when it did. Variety (including of opinions) is the spice of life and nothing wrong with some chilli now and then!
Haha.... chili.... I see what you did there!