Malignant Narcissist

Haven't really heard much Triumph but I get the feeling it's guitarist Rik Emmett's baby primarily. If so, comparing with Rush being a collective creative force for the most part, does that suggest where the main difference is? Seen the odd youtube thing where Rik Em duets with other guitarists like Steve Morse on classical or other things. He's obviously a talented player. But just wondering if Triumph is one-step away from a solo-ish thing. Maybe the other band members would disagree!

I seem to have the Aussie Let there be rock. Not with gatefold sleeve though :-( Crabsody's a fun tune. I can't imagine it with Problem Child - one of fave songs off Dirty Deeds. I love it when they crank it out on the live 'If you've want blood'. To be honest, I can't really choose between the run from Let there be rock to Back in Black. Obviously BIB is the smooth/well-oiled-machine-production version of ACDC but the previous ones are the dirty, sweaty rockers that got them there. Love the 1st 2 and For those too but just a tad behind the rest for me.

Well I love em but only have Making Contact, Strangers in the night and Covenant. Can't really be trusted to vote on that basis. Must listen to more of their albums. Well the early, Schenker period, at least.

Anthrax - Antisocial (Trust)

Difficult now but I'd plump for Dirty Deeds being the weakest of the Bon era. Fun album though. Powerage is the connoisseurs choice I'm guessing - needs a few listens to let it 'breathe' for some but it's Keith Richards fave I hear so who can argue with that!

That’s their worst? It’s one of the only Opeth albums I have and I think it’s fantastic! Got to say that if you've not heard death metal growling singing or you don't like it then you might find some of the early albums a shock. I'm not an expert on death metal but of all the samples I've heard, Opeth seem to be the only band which has the most tasteful 'growl's' (IMO) interspersed by moments of beautiful (if that's the right word), 'normal' singing. All done by Mikeal A. How he changes from one to the other baffles me. Check out The Drapery Falls for a more accessible version of the variations in singing in one song

That’s their worst? It’s one of the only Opeth albums I have and I think it’s fantastic! To be honest, I'm not sure what their worst is! I've only got a couple of their full-on prog ones like this and they're great but a departure from the Death Metal/Camel/<Porcupine Tree?> mash-up that Mikeal's was developing over the years. I only put PC because an online ranking listed this as the worst which I found surprising. Went with it because I love all their albums. The early albums like Orchid etc are obviously them developing but are still pretty assured. Mikeal A's has a dry sense of humour and usually downplays some of the early songs as embarrassing black metal lyrics but they're still fun songs to listen to. He has a wide set of influences it seems ranging from Black Metal (not my fave genre), Old school NWOBHM, prog rock and then all the way through to delicate folk albums by female singer-songwriters. Has obviously influenced the way the band's music has slid into full on prog rock.

Opeth - Pale Communion

Kind of stole Stromtron's idea in the end but in reality it was great minds think alike! Had my draft list on the go for a while and posted before seeing Stromtron's. Does mine match your 420blazeit Longboi Playlist in any way Stromtron?

I thought Thunderstruck had something to do with The Razor's Edge still hanging around but I've revisited it and it's not a bad album. Can't get into Fly on the Wall as much so I can't join the argument for that one. Reading the wiki on Flick of the Switch, it seems like a lot of cr*p was going on - they were run down, Malc and Angus were firing eveybody, Phil Rudd was having drug problems and the reviews say it sounded tired. Still think it's got some good moments which for the most part are more enjoyable than the following albums. My older cousin was visiting from Vancouver (which is where my Aunt migrated to) when I was a teen and he bought me this on cassette (remember those?). It was my 1st AC/DC album proper so maybe I've got a soft spot for it.

How about a collection of all the epics? I've put the following together as possibly a set of 5 CDs or groupings or order depending on what medium you're used to (i.e. how old you are!). Seemed a reasonable order as a starter-for-10. Thought about putting Cygnus and Hemispheres together - could be done. But I thought one could go from Disk 1 to Disk 2 with a nod to having A Farewell To Kings and then having to put Hemispheres on separately as most of us would have experienced it. Last disk was a bit of an afterthought but there may be a few other tracks out there that are knocking on the door. # Disk 1 // Coleridge, Strange Dreams and Black Holes Xanadu La Villa Strangiato Cygnus X-1 # Disk 2 //The Big Ones Hemispheres 2112 # Disk 3 // The Last of the epics Natural Science The Camera Eye # Disk 4 // The Beginnings By-Tor and the SnowDog The Necromancer Fountain Of Lamenth # Disk 5 // The shorter ones and a nod to the past Headlong Flight Jacob's Ladder The Garden

Each to his own and all that. But for my money, I only find Breaking the Rules a bit pedestrian. Some like Snowballed, Inject the Venom, COD and Night of the long knives are right up there for me as ACDC faves. And that's not mentioning Let's get it up and I put the finger which I suspect others may cite as worthy tracks. Only a tad behind BIB for my money.

Surprised no smarty pants has mentioned any piece of Flamenco music (that's not just a straight guitar piece)! In concert, Nick Cave gets the audience to do a kind-of 6/8 clap along to the The Weeping Song. So I've associated that hand clap with that song. Even though I never really heard that when I've listened to the studio song. Although the studio version has Nick's old German mate Blixa Bargeld trying to sing along (his singing voice is akin to being slightly drunk) so it detracts from the song a bit whereas the live, Nick-only one is better.

Surely this is going to be a HTH/BIB shoot out at the end! I also love Powerage and Let there be Rock from the Bon-era and FTATR and FOAS from the Johnson-era, in particular, but I can't see them being there right at the end.

Love the well known stuff, and I got my 5 year old son into Doctor Doctor which is a win, but it's another band where I've not kept up with the later stuff. I've got a Covenant CD somewhere which I remember being ok but nothing more. When I was first staring to listen to them they were bringing out Making Contact which I really loved at the time. I had a listen to it a few months ago and whilst is was still ok, my rose-tinted glasses were definitely cracked a little. I'll reconnect with it shortly again to check. EDITING THE FOLLOWING - (Sorry, obviously getting senile here - was getting Lights Out mixed up with Strangers in the Night - oops!) But isn't having Lights Out on here a bit of a cheat? I know 'live' albums are not always 100% live per se in many cases but isn't that their greatest hits and magnum opus all in one? For the other albums to compete with what is essentially a best-of of that, and maybe, all their eras seems a bit of a tough call for the other albums. But maybe the good people on the forum will not view it in such exulted light?

Didn't like it after Grace Under Pressure because I was hoping for something heavier. But I've grown to love it. I've always preferred Grand Designs, Middletown Project and Manhattan Project which, apart from The Big Money, are probably the more rock-type songs compared to the rest. So I think it suggests that those who prefer all the other synth-heavy, lush songs really do like the synth aspect of this album. And conversely, shows it's not really my favourite aspect of Rush. Having said that, I'll listen to one of the others from, say, a live album where they crop up and I really enjoy it and think, hey, that's pretty damn good actually. So generally speaking, I really like the fact that they created albums that were a little different from each other from Signals until Hold Your Fire because they all kind of stand out for me. Whereas Presto to Test for Echo (excepting Counterparts) were all a bit 'samey' and a bit boring, for me, ultimately, even though they did have their moments. Summary is that it stands out as their most synth-heavy album which was really well crafted allowing for long term enjoyment.

Wow - were some reviewers actually like this? Having started with Kerrang in the 80s and never having read Rolling Stone or any other non-British magazines, I can't remember reading any reviews or articles like this. You did get some negative reviews of albums but usually the magazines I read were still reasonably supportive of bands. However, I think reviewers should have or should now review music on a) is it well played e.g. in time, sloppily played etc and b) if you like X then you will like this, rather than "This is pretentious, outdated, <whatever> music". It is probably difficult though for some, shock-jock-tactics aside, to distinguish between what they like and what others may like in music they don't.

A little ashamedly (?) I've only really listened to Bad Animals, the arena-rock era style that Zepphead mentions, because of hearing Alone on the radio/mtv etc. Had a bit of a crush on Ann from the videos even though she was probably starting to pile on the pounds a bit even though it was probably artfully disguised by camera angles etc. Have heard Barracuda but nothing else. Obviously can't contribute to this but I think I still have a thing for Ann...whatever her size :wub: :wacko: :P

Personally think some people are biased by '1st songs they hear on the album' syndrome but maybe I'm wrong. Romeo and Rhyme are the 2 best on this album for me. I love the fact that the 1st 3 add some variety to the VH canon - keyboard driven on Cradle (ancestor to Jump/I'll Wait/Dancin' in the Street/Why can't this be love-type tracks..) and Fools is one of a kind. But I'm not persuaded that they are better than Whiskey or even Magic for that matter (and I still love Loss of Control as well!). It's just a good, varied album. Romeo and Rhyme (there's a title for you!) for me!

Thinking of artists who have produced umpteen artists how about Frank Zappa? Or even Buckethead who I think has produced many, many albums if I'm not mistaken. Don't know much of his stuff though :facepalm: :D :P

Wow - this sent me down a nice rabbit hole of YT vids. Hadn't heard of Govan but he reminded of a British Neal P in interviews - eloquent, well read and with amazing chops. And some of the things he's done are interesting - transcribed Shawn Lane music, recorded music fragments for samplers to use, played in the Dizzee Rascal band (a Grime rapper from the UK), played with Asia and played in Steven Wilson's band. And he namechecked Van Halen's Fair Warning at one point so that's all right with me!

All 3 are good and I can't easily pick between them. Different phases of U2 or am I swayed by the artwork when I say that? New Years Day, Sunday BS and maybe Two Hearts are obviously the well known on War and I don't remember the other tracks too much without having a listen. Bit like that with Achtung too. But the deep cuts (?) like Bullet the blue sky, Red Hill Mining Town, In God's Country and One Tree Hill on Joshua are a joy to listen to before I even get to the hits. Maybe that tips Joshua for me...slightly.

Once around the world is a fantastic album. Brilliant. The best of their 1st 3 albums imo. One of my favourite albums of all time actually. Early posts talk about their band name being very 80s - well they did have that look about them even though they were playing prog rock albeit with a dash of 80s pop. Bit like a certain band beginning with R.... They had a hit, Caling all the heroes, on their 1st album which was a bit more pop-rock-like if I remember rightly. And they went a bit more prog on Once.. I must check out the John Mitchell albums. I thought they stopped at the follow-up Eat me in St Louis which I didn't think was as good as Once. Ok but not as good. I've seen some live YT with the later guitarist John Mitchell, who replaced Francis Dunnery (great guitarist who reputably was trying to be the main man of the band over the cause of their 1st 3 albums which caused them to split...) playing the long song Once around the World live and he and the band were (still) great.

Booo. You guys can't take your liquor.

Flying Colours, Haken and Porcupine Tree. Great musicianship from them all.