Giona

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Here since 16 february 2008

Kim Poor - “The Hermit”, 1975

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"...all the preparatory disciplines that must precede dialectics must be taught from the earliest age, but without fixing them in a rigid scheme that is imposed mandatorily."

"And why ever not?"

"Because a free man must never learn a science as if he were a slave. In fact, if the hardships endured by force by the body do not make it worse, no teaching forced upon the soul can ever be stable."

"It's true."

"Dear friend, you must not educate the young with coercion, but with play, so that you too may be able to distinguish what the natural inclinations of each one are."

Plato - "Republic", Book VII

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As I prepare to write these lines, I can't help but recall the cheerful words of Bartleboom, which I happened to read some time ago among the site's pages. Do I take my role and the function of my suggestions "on an amateur review site whose symbol is a cow" too seriously? Maybe I should relax, put aside abacus, weights and scale, and leave to the dozens of specialized sites the burden of properly illustrating the complex works I presumptuously attempt to describe. Despite the magnitude of doubt, the comments and trust that I've noticed around some of my old suggestions have convinced me to update those ancient judgments, perhaps giving credit to the vague semblance of critical sense that OleEinar and Supersoul, in ancient times, tried unsuccessfully to instil in my enthusiastic vision of the progressive universe. It's not that I now possess total objectivity, nor the endless knowledge of Master Jargon, but I like to think I've gained a slightly wider view than in the past. Since this platform allows me to do so, I also take the opportunity to introduce intermediate ratings, in order to further clarify the value of the listed works.

Since this is a simple list of epigraphs, I thought of including (in addition, of course, to the name of the band and its album) the year, the new rating, the difference with the previous one, the group's nation ("N"), the style ("S") and the ease of listening ("D"), which may depend on the amount of commitment, concentration, patience or repeated attempts required to adequately understand the album in question.

The levels of adversity are indicative and simply suggest the spirit with which to approach the listening.

D: "Trivial" (Eg. Caravan - "Caravan", 1968)

D: "Contained" (Eg. Genesis - "Trespass", 1970)

D: "Reasonable" (Eg. Yes - "Close to the Edge", 1972)

D: "Wavering" (Eg. King Crimson - "Starless and Bible Black", 1974)

D: "Noticeable" (Eg. Henry Cow - "Leg End", 1973)

D: "Formidable" (Eg. Robert Wyatt - "The End of an Ear", 1970)

ALLEGORICAL INVENTORY

Considerations updated to Wednesday, 2 March 2011.

01. Anthony Phillips - “The Geese and the Ghost”, 1977 = {*****}

[N: England / S: Symphonic Folk / D: Contained]

(=): A velvety caress, messenger of distant times, romantically transposed into music. A one-of-a-kind serenade.

02. Steve Hackett - “Bay of Kings”, 1983 = {*****}

[N: England / S: Classical / D: Reasonable]

(=): The epic horizons of a lost universe emerge in the reflections of a purest diamond, extracted from the genius of the most measured and concrete classical composer to emerge from the Progressive Academy.

03. Steve Hackett - “Momentum”, 1988 = {*****}

[N: England / S: Classical / D: Reasonable]

(=): The precious stone becomes a finely crafted jewel. Perhaps less spontaneous than its predecessor, but made just as priceless by the astonishing skill of its exceptional goldsmith.

04. Greenslade - “Time and Tide”, 1975 = {***}

[N: England / S: Symphonic Rock / D: Trivial]

(-1): Frugal but dignified conclusion to a tortuous series, which started out strong but was never truly convincing to the end.

05. National Health - “National Health”, 1977 = {*****}