OFF: sappy prog

[Tom Clark]

I saw IQ several years ago while passing through London upon the
recommendation of a Hawkfan
who was browsing the Hawkwind section of an local record store.  I had never
heard of them at the time. It was the Subterranea tour.  Nothing else was
happening that evening, so I ventured to the show.

Overly melodramatic, and yep...whiney, sappy vocals, which made Phil Collins
actually sound good in comparison.
Musically, I felt that it was a rip off of Genesis, Crimson, Marillion,
Eloy, etc.   Stayed for about three or four songs, and couldn't help but
feel that I heard it before somewhere else already. Quite honestly, I got
bored and left.

So I went to the venue next door (an Aussie pub) , that happened to have
quite a large line going around the block.  The line was a party in itself.
I  wondered what the fuss was about and it turned out to be Australian
Independence day.    I can't recall the name of the band that played at the
time, but it was a blast, and a heck of a lot more energetic than IQ.!  Hung
out with the "painted faced" soccer fans, which made for an interesting
evening to say the least.

Well, since this is a discussion forum, I thought I'd throw my two cents
in....you may stone me now.

Rgds...

Tom








DK said...

Quoting Henderson Keith <keith.henderson at PSI.CH>:

>>And then
>>the prog band iQ plays at the Mean Fiddler on Dec. 11th, so I would
>>plan to catch that show (OK, so I like sappy progrock, sue me) before
>>heading home.

>Whoh!  I have heard many terms used to describe IQ, but sappy is not
>one of them (the occasional sappy song notwithstanding :-)  They are
>one of the darkest neo-prog bands ever

"Dark neo-prog" is an oxymoron IMHO.  :)

No, I don't think iQ is dark.  They're "fake" dark, maybe.  I find them very
warm, in fact.  Dreamy textures, the types of keyboards, the production?  I
don't know what it is, but something takes true 'darkness' out of my mind
when listening to them.  The only dark thing is Nicholls brooding voice
perhaps.  Some of the Scandinavian bands are "true" dark IMHO.  Some
Anekdoten, Circle, Landberk...those are much darker than iQ I think.  Maybe
'sappy' wasn't the right word, as I wasn't thinking of 'love-song' sappy
(though iQ has done these occasionally too) but instead 'pretty' and
'non-edgy' sort of prog.  And that they are, whether it's due to production
or the instrumentation.  Same as Marillion in that aspect (though Fugazi was
produced vastly differently for some odd reason, and not at all very well
IMHO...though in that way it had more edge, which for Marillion maybe wasn't
the best thing, as it was thereby a bit 'forced').

>(though I seem to be the only one who thinks their latest, Dark Matter,
>is not really all that dark)!

I see no difference whatsoever between Dark Matter and Subterranea
stylistically/soundwise, and indeed I like both albums quite a lot.  I don't
have the one in the middle...I assume it was similar?

>Now they can definitely be sappy.  :-)  But I think Marbles is the best
>thing they've done in years (but only the 2CD version with Ocean
>Cloud!)

I got the 1CD version, which was my first taste since the awful "Radiation."
But whereas some of the songs on Marbles (particularly Track 1) were rather
nice (in studio), their live show was as boring as anything I've ever seen.
They don't seem to have a clue about what works on stage and what doesn't. I
won't ever go again I don't think.

>When Caravan had to cancel the gig in Arlington, MA (two blocks away
>from my house!) due to visa problems, I asked for a refund...

Hmmm...Nektar are really (still) very good.  Their live performances have
*twice* the energy as their discs, the exact opposite of Marillion, Marbles
vintage.  (My first Marillion show, Cleveland-Seasons End tour, was
*outstanding*...everything that they are *not* these days.)

Grakkl (FFA)