11/28/12 Shine On

11/28/12 Shine On

Intro:  So I'm starting the day with "Wish You Were Here" by Pink Floyd.  It's out of sequence and thus not in the lists for the day, but something that I wanted to play.  So here's what happened:

My alarm clock turned on this morning at 5:40 to the local rock station.  The timing was perfect such that the first thing I heard were the iconic four notes at the beginning of (the radio version) of "Shine On You Crazy Diamond".  What an amazing way to start the day.

The Albums:

• City Delirious - Lionrock
• City of Angels - Various
• Classics Regrooved - Various
• Clear Creek Road - The Nixon Clocks
• Clockwork Angels - Rush
• Close-Up - David Sanborn
• Close to the Edge - Yes
• Clutching at Straws - Marillion

The Wrap Up:  

Bring on the grief machine, yes I only rated "Close to the Edge" as a Wibbler. . . wait til I get to some of the other Yes albums and give them a 'Bleh' rating.  So yes, despite "Close to the Edge" being one ot the quintessential Prog Rock CD's, I just don't get it quite as much as the rest of the prog community thinks I should.  I will say this, after repeated listens, I finally appreciate it enough to rise it above the 'bleh' ranking.

Regarding "City of Angels" even fifteen years later, I still cringe every time I hear Iris.

Today's winner was "Clutching at Straws" which is my favorite Marillion album.  Much like Yes, Marillion is a band that I should like according to my other tastes, but at the same time, fails to connect with me on a day in day out basis.  "Clutching at Straws" though is easily my favorite album by them.  Fish is at his finest singing about the effects of a lifestyle rife with drugs and booze.

The Nixon Clocks were a local band that didn't make it far out of Pittsburgh.  Back in the 90's, they were a regular at Nick's Fat City and were a typical nineties rock band.  Good guys to talk to, and back in the day, they were a fun band to go see.  This CD always reminds me of Thursday Nights at Nick's, good beer, rather attractive waitresses (that wouldn't give me their number despite my best efforts) and also Jason Yaklich and Mike Marcus.  Ahh yes, now I'm waxing nostalgic, it's times like this that I really miss my hair.

Clockwork Angels is another album that I'm not feeling, I've given it a few listens and I don't know, I think the music is great, but Geddy Lee's voice is showing the ravages of time.  I'm certainly not one to suggest that he do anything other than what he loves, I don't know, maybe they should consider a different mix or effect set on his voice.  I just have trouble listening to it the whole way through.  I accept that there's a lot of great stuff on it, I just prefer not to listen to it.

The Final Tally:

• Winner
• Clutching at Straws - Marillion
• Growers
• City Delirious - Lionrock
• Keepers
• Clear Creek Road - The Nixon Clocks
• Wibblers (no opinion one way or another)
• Clockwork Angels - Rush
• Close to the Edge - Yes
• Moodies (Albums for a certain mood)
• Close-Up - David Sanborn
• Bleh
• City of Angels - Various
• Classics Regrooved - Various