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I almost forgot "Breakfast at Tubular Bells," sorry. Among the very few external contributions, there's the female voice in the choruses provided by his sister Sally, some male choruses, and a couple of other musicians besides him, finally Vivian Stanshall as the master of ceremonies in the beautiful final section of part I. And there's something I love about this album: it comes across as a serious and ambitious work, with beautiful and ecstatic melodies, but it has a component of youthful playfulness (from a 19-year-old who was also a child of Canterbury, that must mean something) with "not-so-serious" moments that I really enjoy, because it shows a desire to have fun amidst such an elaborate creative process. Like when he goesof in the “Piltdown Man” section, grunting, yelling, howling – the laughs he must have had – or in the very end of the album, which comes out of nowhere while it seems the piece is heading toward a "sacred" and peaceful conclusion. And instead... No. The first time I burst out laughing. And then it remains a wonderfully "Pop" album in a certain sense. Many of the beautiful melodies are very simple and straightforward, and, well, its “Pop” universality was certified the same year it was released by the use of the opening theme in “that movie” that marked its success and a truckload of ringing tubular bells in pounds for the young and already skyrocketing Campovecchio. In short, a universal work rightly considered his most representative (though not necessarily the most beautiful overall. Maybe.)

Let’s make it 10, come on...

The 5 is even too little!!

What do you recommend to me by Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and Charles Mingus? Besides the "historic" ones.

I’m not exactly the best person to give advice on Jazz, you see. But at least I’ve listened to a lot of stuff from these three. So, from Miles Davis: "Kind of Blue" (why not mention the classics, right?) "Milestones" and "Miles Ahead" for the '50s. For the '60s, with the incredible second quintet, I’d say "Miles Smiles," "Filles de Kilimanjaro," and "Nefertiti" are essential, then the electric albums like "Miles in the Sky" and "In a Silent Way." And finally, the electro-psych-Jazz-Rock turning point, the big revolution. Here’s "Bitches Brew" (and also "The Complete Bitches Brew Sessions" if you really want to be blown away) and "Live-Evil." And then all the rest of the '70s, for an endless electric orgasm.

Besides the obvious "Giant Steps" and "A Love Supreme," there are more classic albums like "Blue Train" or those from the '60s that lean towards Free Jazz, such as "Ascension." I recommend a masterpiece like "Om" (1965), but be careful—these are not light listens to get through in one go.

I already know A Love Supreme...what a fucking masterpiece...by "historical" I mean those that everyone now knows...like A Love Supreme, Kind Of Blue, etc...

Absolutely Mingus stuff like "Pithecanthropous Erectus" or "Mingus Ah Uhm" and of course "The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady."

The Black Saint And The Sinner Lady...immense...I’m listening to it now...

excluding the historical ones because I already know about these three...

The Black Saint is one of the most beautiful records of all time. Mingus, a sublime composer worthy of the classics.

"A Love Supreme"...that one too...what an album...that one alongside "Rock Bottom," "Astral Weeks," and the ninth symphony (which, however, is something superior, for me), represent the square of perfection...

Then of course, there's also The Black Saint, but "A Love Supreme" represents for me (even though I know little about jazz) a sort of mystical experience that resonates with the soul of the listener...

If you're starting out, I recommend finding something by Duke Ellington, like 'Such Sweet Thunder', a jazz piece that's almost Shakespearean, 'Masterpieces By Ellington', and the famous 'Ellington at Newport', to me one of the most brilliant composers of the 20th century.

Well, damn, Thelonious Monk full blast

The most beautiful movie of all time.

Holy shit! I love this EP. There was a time when it was almost my favorite by the Minutemen, ahahahah!

I need to get around to buying a compilation with their EPs, if it exists. I’ve had their LPs for ages, but so far I've only listened to the EPs sporadically on YouTube and I need a bit more structure to fully absorb them.

I have them in the "Post-Mersh" compilations volumes 2 and 3, which indeed contain their EPs.

four the fuck!! Awesome disco... like, totally!! :D

Absolutely right. And this is by far the most raw and immature (excluding "Paranoid Time") — what they did after is a notch above for me. This actually gives a vague idea of the abilities of these three. Come on, listen to Watt's bass line in "Straight Jacket" and you wonder: what the hell does hardcore have to do with this? They were going two hundred miles per hour because they did everything with the instruments, damn it; add the lyrics and also that they are incredibly enjoyable. You barely have time to finish it before it's over, and you put it back on again. Immense.

Yeah... in their 40-second track there’s more stuff than in any random prog ramble :)

There's more stuff and with much more class and taste, much to my chagrin (:D) I have to admit it; at least compared to certain prog ;)

ahahah, damn, I always forget that you're a prog-lover ;) But you know, usually they’re really close-minded, you're not, so I often forget... anyway, it was referring to some prog crap (from ELP to Dream Theater, with everything in between), not the good prog that I love too (from Van Der Graaf to High Tide to Crimson, etc.)

"Yeah... in their 40-second track there’s more substance than in any random prog rambling :)" Bah... I love the Minutemen and I love prog (even the early DT, by the way).

My condolences, ahahahah! Just kidding (not really... regarding the DTs)

Well, yes, also because they are very different things; the VDGG themselves are much less acrobatic than the three Californian Funk/Hardcore (one of the countless possible definitions). When I agreed with you, I was thinking about stuff like ELP but also Yes (who I do like quite a bit), for example. I don't even consider the Drim Fiatar because, in the end, with all their ramblings (one of their pieces could contain this entire album :D), they are also technically inferior to Watt and company. Great circus artists, that’s true. But we’re getting heavy with the mental gymnastics; I’ll just reiterate that the Minutemen are absurd, for all the reasons mentioned above :)

No, I don’t like DT :) If I were to listen to the early albums again, I think I would reject them too. I love prog overall, but I prefer these to many prog bands (let’s just say that the Minutemen are among my all-time favorites, eh) while still placing them below the usual names in my life that I believe you know.

It's just gymnastics... HJ... gymnastics! If I have to listen to sophisticated stuff, I'll put on Liszt, Mozart; from Rn'R I want something else!

ps. I have listened to an album as sterile and aseptic as Images & Words very few times.

"But you know, they are usually really narrow-minded." Of course, as long as you go on sites like rockprogressive, etc. -_-

"It's just gymnastics...HJ...gymnastics!" Circus, gymnastics, both things are fine :D In rock, I also look for virtuosity and long pieces with well-exposed technique, but only if the composition makes sense. The drim fiatar mostly just do random stuff. At this point, people like Tool, Pain of Salvation, or Anglagard for life.

I’ll stick to the Tool :D anyway, yeah, I agree... Pain Of Salvation, there was a friend who was drooling over them, but I don't know, it seemed like the same old stuff as Dream Theater up and down! PUNK ROCK!!!! :D

Well, different views. For me, I&W is not sterile at all. If we're talking about the DTs post-Metropolis, I can see your point, but the albums before that are fantastic in my opinion. And, well, I like prog metal, what can I say? When an album is well made, I couldn't care less if it's prog or punk, whether there are excesses or not.

What can you do, it's just a matter of taste :) If you like it, you like it! I'm speaking for myself. What I say isn't a rule (God forbid, ahahah)

Don't mess with my PoS or I'll get really angry!!!! XD

noo, and who would touch them (how disgusting...) ahahahah! This morning I'm in a playful mood, don't worry :D

Sure, no worries! (where do you live?? XD).

Sure, I like "Prog-metal" too. For example, POS (which I knew Silas wouldn't like) are great. Obviously, if an album is cool, it's cool regardless of the genre (when it has a genre). The "problem" is that Fiatar often suck in many cases. I can also vouch for the first ones, but I haven't listened to them in a long time, and I don't know if I would still save them upon re-listening. Who knows...
Anyway, we're in the realm of de-gustibus, and since I'm stepping out to respond to Silas's call (PUNKROCK), I wanted to say that yesterday I listened to "Condannati a morte nel vostro quieto vivere" by Negazione, which is a mini (because it ends quickly :D) insane masterpiece. Italian Hardcore may have arrived with a 4-5 years delay (as always...), but it totally rocks. Hi everyone.