The Syn best prog album of 2009
joe line
Music www.usaprogmusic.com
Top 2009 Albums
Saturday, 02 January 2010
Top 2009 Progressive Rock Albums*
1. The Syn - Big Sky
2. Knight Area – Realm of Shadows
3. Eureka - Shackleton's Voyage
4. Big Big Train - The Underfall Yard
5. Transatlantic – Whirlwind
6. Porcupine Tree - The Incident
7. The Tangent - Down and Out in Paris and London
8. IQ - Frequency
9. Touchstone - Wintercoast
10. (tie) Guilt Machine - On This Perfect Day; Izz – The Darkened
Room
Top 2009 Progressive Metal Albums*
1. Future’s End – Memoirs of a Broken Man
2. Edgend – A New Identity
3. Shadow Gallery – Digital Ghosts
4. Dream Theater - Black Clouds & Silver Linings
5. Redemption - Snowfall on Judgment Day
6. Pathosray – Sunless Skies
7. Katatonia – Night is the New Day
8. Indukti - Idmen
9. Sonata Arctica - The Days of Grays
10. Epica – Design Your Universe
*Based on readers' polls.
SynMusic
> The Syn voted best progressive rock album for 2009 at USA Progressive
> Music www.usaprogmusic.com
>
> Top 2009 Albums
> Saturday, 02 January 2010
>
> Top 2009 Progressive Rock Albums*
>
> 1. The Syn - Big Sky
>
>
> 3. Eureka - Shackleton's Voyage
>
> 4. Big Big Train - The Underfall Yard
>
>
> 6. Porcupine Tree - The Incident
>
> 7. The Tangent - Down and Out in Paris and London
>
> 8. IQ - Frequency
>
> 9. Touchstone - Wintercoast
>
> Room
>
To the people who really heard this cd knows it is not a PROG album.
Bodhranic
Agents of Mercy featuring Roine Stolt of Flower Kings and Nad Sylvan
of Unifaun. With The Syn at the top of this list I don't invest too
much credibility in it.
nc
progea
> To the people who really heard this cd knows it is not a PROG album
George, I was the one who reviewed it for usaprogmusic.com and I agree
with you here. Staff there were supposed to make 5 picks of the list
of albums that were reviewed there during the year and submit it to
the editor. To tell you the truth, it was only my 5th pick in the prog
category and this alternatively with Skin and Wire: PianoCircus
Featuring Bill Bruford and the Music of Colin Riley. I left that
option open depending on whether this was good for Tom Brislin or not.
To my surprise, "Big Sky" made it in the short list, which means staff
other than myself too viewed it high regardless of whether it's PROG
or not. The fact that, it finally made it even as Top 1 can only be
explained by the fact that, many fans found out about the poll via
MySpace, FaceBook, Twitter and what else not. By contrast, there might
be acts that deserved more but there were not too many people who
voted for them because maybe not many knew or cared about it. Nic
Caciappo above mentions Agents of Mercy. It didn't even make the short
list, which doesn't mean it's not a good album. Most of my prog picks
didn't make it either, which doesn't mean they weren't good albums
either. On the contrary, I was shocked to find out most of my prog
metal picks made the short list and I seldom if ever review metal
albums since I'm not so much into the genre, if at all. A fellow
reviewer from a rather unknown e-zine she owns over the pond was
shocked to see Katatonia only as no. 7 there. And in my turn I was
shocked to see my favo(u)rites in that category, Indukti, only right
after Katatonia. To this day, I still have no idea if in their "Idmen"
I reviewed a prog album or a prog metal album and I really don't care
about that categorization. It is a very good album, anyway. Boundaries
between genres/categories can become very thin sometimes, you know.
Again, there might have been not so many to vote for Katatonia or for
Indukti there for the aforementioned reasons.
Bottom line: it's all subjective and number games. Beauty lies in the
eyes of the beholder, which does not mean what the beholder can't see
for some reason is not beautiful.
Happy New Year!
Peter
Unfortunately, your description, which is detailed and appreciated,
doesn't add much credibility to the list. Somehow, the list doesn't
seem that far removed from a Raja list, except PF, LZ and Yes aren't
on it! ;-)
Given the rather large number of prog albums released this last year
and the very small exposure given each album and band, a list like
this seems rather pointless - it's bound to miss good releases and if
internet voting is allowed (especially is individuals can vote more
than once), then a band that has a small following but does a good job
of getting out the vote (which might only be, what, 50-100 people
voting two or three times?) can "win". I agree completely with your
last paragraph, so perhaps not calling it a "best of" list and instead
calling it the "editor's favorites" or "reader's choice" would be more
accurate.
I was surprised at a number of things in addition to Syn being at the
top - for example, Transatlantic being at number 5. Most reviews I've
read have said it was somewhat average at best. Yet Riverside is
completely missing from the list. And not a Billy Sherwood release on
the list? HIs work with Jim Ladd on Headsets 2 is a masterpiece, IMO.
Is it possible for you to find out the votes for the bands?
True
> Given the rather large number of prog albums released this last year
> and the very small exposure given each album and band, a list like
> this seems rather pointless - it's bound to miss good releases and if
> internet voting is allowed (especially is individuals can vote more
> than once), then a band that has a small following but does a good job
> of getting out the vote (which might only be, what, 50-100 people
> voting two or three times?) can "win". I agree completely with your
> last paragraph, so perhaps not calling it a "best of" list and instead
> calling it the "editor's favorites" or "reader's choice" would be more
> accurate.
I like to see these lists as there are a couple of records on there
I'd not heard of so I will check them out. I've never heard of that
web site so I think you are right in that it's a list put together by
a few people as opposed to some big "award" for the top listed
records. Still, a nice way to hear about some new music.
progea
> Unfortunately, your description, which is detailed and appreciated,
> doesn't add much credibility to the list. Somehow, the list doesn't
> seem that far removed from a Raja list, except PF, LZ and Yes aren't
> on it! ;-)
Thanks. Can you believe I was tempted at first to throw in a FOR (or
at least something like "Syn off, Raja!") to the list but at second
thought I decided to come up with an opinion? :)
> internet voting is allowed (especially is individuals can vote more
> than once),
Last year it was, indeed. This year, not. I tested it daily, both now
and then ;) This year even after clearing my cookies :)
> calling it the "editor's favorites" or "reader's choice" would be more
> accurate.
Yes, that's what it actually is, indeed.
> completely missing from the list. And not a Billy Sherwood release on
> the list? HIs work with Jim Ladd on Headsets 2 is a masterpiece, IMO.
Not even the CIRCA:HQ I put in as my no. 3 pick :)
> Is it possible for you to find out the votes for the bands?
Oops, sorry, I'm afraid it's too late for that now. Should have taken
a screenshot of the voting within the last minutes, Fri Jan1st before
midnight (going into Sat Jan 2nd). What now appears on the site is
only what one can see in the original posting in this thread. Too bad
I didn't make use of the "View Results" button before that deadline.
I'll see whether the editor still has the final figures and maybe get
back to this later if she still has them.
progea
> I like to see these lists as there are a couple of records on there
> I'd not heard of so I will check them out. I've never heard of that
> web site so I think you are right in that it's a list put together by
> a few people as opposed to some big "award" for the top listed
> records. Still, a nice way to hear about some new music.
I did some double duty this year, by also accepting to be part of the
jury for the Italian Prog Awards on behalf of usaprogmusic.com . Big
mistake to not be repeated again, and not that Italian Prog Awards
means anything either. As how Peter above already said, there was a
rather large number of albums released last year (which is good for
the genre, hoping it does not become mainstream, but not so good for
quality and selection) but as such there's a very small exposure for
an album and an artist. So I started this double duty like in May '09
and soon grew tired of making sure the criteria for each submission
were applied because the original submitter wouldn't even bother. I
saw them trespassing their very own rules, I noticed they didn't have
any quality standards for a pre-selection before submission, I got
tired of non-genre submissions and weak submissions. Basically that
jury acted as a promotional tool rather than a selection committee.
Anything they would find on ProgArchives or Progressor or what else
not they would throw in for the listening of the rest of the jury,
most of the times without the original submitters' listening to the
item first of all, as if I had all the time in the world only for
that. There were times when I couldn't cope with the pace of
uncontrolled submissions. I was able to catch up a few times, though,
and last time I was able to do that it was time for the first round of
voting already, and that was it for me, I considered myself done after
that. I couldn't allocate time for that anymore after the first round
of voting. They posted the results in Dec '09 already but they still
keep submitting stuff among them until late Jan ''10, I don't know why
they still do that but I can still see them in my spam folder in that
email account of mine. The basic functioning was fundamentally wrong
because it was based on downloads and file sharing and I, for one, am
against all that. But let's face it: who in the world has time to
spend hours for downloading an album and listening to it? So I just
sampled on MySpace for the rest of my duty. Some sensed there was
something fundamentally wrong there, so they asked to be spared the
trouble before even starting their duties, or left the boat along the
sail. Why was I there? I didn't know what I was getting myself into.
Why did I stay there until after the first voting? Because I felt like
I couldn't abruptly leave without a proper ending something I started,
as anything else I try to do, and because I felt like I deserved to
pay, by staying, for this big mistake I made, as I've done for any
other mistake I made in this life of mine. I hope I learned my lesson
this time too and won't get fooled again ;)
Bodhranic
and there couldn't possibly be very many unique or individual "votes".
It was odd to see The Syn at the top, when this whole ressurection of
a Yes-connection has been dodgy and spotty from the start, not to
mention that the vocals leave a lot to be desired. I have seen one of
the "top" bands on this list, without mentioning names, they were so
bad me and my friends looked at each other with horror how awful the
singer was. The vocals were flat, and the singer acted like they were
a star. That band is on this Best Album list. Go figure. There haven't
been many in "PROG" since the 70's to make me think they were great
stage-front entertainers like Peter Gabriel or Phil Collins, or even
Jon Anderson, other than two, Fish and Steve Hogarth of Marillion.
Only one comes to mind who has followed in that rare tradition of a
great front-man. I've already mentioned the band in the previous post
so I won't bang the drum in this reply like some advert, but he has
all the best qualities of my favorite singers rolled into one,
including those mentioned along with his own style. This e-list
didn't come close.
Dan McGrath
<nicb...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>Only one comes to mind who has followed in that rare tradition of a
>great front-man. I've already mentioned the band in the previous post
There is no such word as "rare".
- Dan
--
Daniel G. McGrath
Binghamton, New York
e-mail: dmcg6174[AT]gmail[DOT]com
rob...@aol.com
> On Sun, 3 Jan 2010 20:33:45 -0800 (PST), Bodhranic
>
> >Only one comes to mind who has followed in that rare tradition of a
> >great front-man. I've already mentioned the band in the previous post
>
> There is no such word as "rare".
oh goodness...now if I don't use that "no such word", my steaks will
come out over cooked and I won't be happy.
OTOH, I suspect you're wrong about this. Even though I rarely use the
word rare (other than for ordering certain cuts of beef), I do believe
there *is* such a word as "rare" and that word is indeed _rare_.
Rob Allen
NP: Rare Earth, "What'd I Say"
Peter Duncanson (BrE)
<inv...@invalid.invalid> wrote:
>On Sun, 3 Jan 2010 20:33:45 -0800 (PST), Bodhranic
><nicb...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
>>Only one comes to mind who has followed in that rare tradition of a
>>great front-man. I've already mentioned the band in the previous post
>
>There is no such word as "rare".
>
Maybe not, Dan. But many people think there is and use it, with more
than one meaning.
--
Peter Duncanson, UK
(in alt.usage.english)
Bodhranic
Peter
Thanks, it would be interesting to see how many people really check
the site, and I'm glad at least they prevent double voting, that adds
a little credibility to the results.
Peter
So you've seen Izz?
progea
> On Sun, 3 Jan 2010 20:33:45 -0800 (PST), Bodhranic
>
> <nicbe...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> >Only one comes to mind who has followed in that rare tradition of a
> >great front-man. I've already mentioned the band in the previous post
>
> There is no such word as "rare".
Then why did they call that band "Rare Earth"? Who was on drums? Mike
Urso?
Edi - in alt,music.yes
Skitt
> Dan McGrath wrote:
>> Bodhranic wrote:
>>> Only one comes to mind who has followed in that rare tradition of a
>>> great front-man. I've already mentioned the band in the previous
>>> post
>>
>> There is no such word as "rare".
>
> Then why did they call that band "Rare Earth"? Who was on drums? Mike
> Urso?
>
> Edi - in alt,music.yes
Read
http://alt-usage-english.org/McGrath.html
--
Skitt (in SF Bay Area)
http://home.comcast.net/~skitt99/main.html
Godolphin&fellow
>
> > To the people who really heard this cd knows it is not a PROG album
>
> George, I was the one who reviewed it for usaprogmusic.com and I agree
> with you here. Staff there were supposed to make 5 picks of the list
> of albums that were reviewed there during the year and submit it to
> the editor. To tell you the truth, it was only my 5th pick in the prog
> category and this alternatively with Skin and Wire: PianoCircus
> Featuring Bill Bruford and the Music of Colin Riley. I left that
> option open depending on whether this was good for Tom Brislin or not.
> To my surprise, "Big Sky" made it in the short list, which means staff
> other than myself too viewed it high regardless of whether it's PROG
> or not.
So the staff at usaprogmusic voted for it among the top prog albums
even though it's not prog? Did the staff included secretaries and web
designers? (I've not heard it, so can't comment. ...The only Yes side
project i've bought in recent years is one SH Trio recording.)
The fact that, it finally made it even as Top 1 can only be
> explained by the fact that, many fans found out about the poll via
> MySpace, FaceBook, Twitter and what else not. By contrast, there might
> be acts that deserved more but there were not too many people who
> voted for them because maybe not many knew or cared about it.
Sooo... looks like it became not a vote on prog albums but... maybe
who ever chose to stay, monkey-like inside a box, pushing a button got
their choice voted 'top prog album?'
Godolphin&fellow
> The Syn voted best progressive rock album for 2009 at USA Progressive
> Musicwww.usaprogmusic.com
>
> Top 2009 Albums
> Saturday, 02 January 2010
>
> Top 2009 Progressive Rock Albums*
>
> 1. The Syn - Big Sky
>
> 2. Knight Area – Realm of Shadows
>
> 3. Eureka - Shackleton's Voyage
>
> 4. Big Big Train - The Underfall Yard
about a year ago. While I like each of their last three releases I can
see on each a band that's getting more sure of itself, more
interesting and indeed 'progressive'. They make the kind of prog I
like best... melodic, often song-oriented... never chops for chops
sake... fairly adventurious within those parameters... I'm sure some
prog lovers would call them boring... but what do *they* know. ;-)
>
> 5. Transatlantic – Whirlwind
Guess this was big news in prog-world... Neal Morse returns from solo-
Christian land... I only happened to see this new album listed at
amazon or something. - I DO like their 2nd one a lot.
> 6. Porcupine Tree - The Incident
Got 2 albums... they're good...
>
> 7. The Tangent - Down and Out in Paris and London
Got one album... maybe they've gotten better since their first.
>
> 8. IQ - Frequency
Love these guys. Hard to believe they only get together a few months
each year, do maybe a dozen live dates per year.
progea
> So the staff at usaprogmusic voted for it among the top prog albums
> even though it's not prog?
It can happen to you, it can happen to me, it can happen to everyone
eventually.
Did the staff included secretaries and web
> designers?
Maybe SAP programmers.
> Sooo... looks like it became not a vote on prog albums but... maybe
> who ever chose to stay, monkey-like inside a box, pushing a button got
> their choice voted 'top prog album?'
Perhaps a copy should not have even been submitted for review to
usaprogmusic.com in the first place, Synce it's not prog.