Most Helpful Customer Reviews
|
|
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
IQ's Subterrenea is sheer brilliant !, March 19, 2005
Unbelievable that i'm the first to write a review about this brillaint piece of work.
IQ is one of the most underrated bands in the world (Along with Camel)
Symphonic rockband IQ doesn't make many albums, but when they do it's always a good piece of work. And Subterrenea (2 CD concept album) is no exception.
The music is brilliant in it's moods, and Pete Nichols voice is more sensitive and beautiful then ever.
The Ballad Speak My Name is very moving. And the last 20 minute piece The Narrow Margin is a sheer brilliance.
Note that there is NOT ONE weak song on Subterrenea, and that for a double cd..
If you like bands like Genesis, Marillion, Porcupine Tree, then this CD is a MUST!
Give it a listen (or 100) you will LOVE it. ;)
|
|
|
14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A lesson in Neo Progressive greatness, April 16, 2006
I don't use "greatness" to describe many bands or albums but IQ, who are still playing music 20+ years from their inception, create a dark and somewhat pessimistic double CD concept album.
The comparisons between IQ and Genesis are to a degree reverential and functional. Lead vocalist, Peter Nicholls sings with great emotion and on this album, sings his heart out. His voice has an occasional 80s style series of inflections that, for me, took a bit of getting used to. It was well worth it, as Nicholls is a showman, wearing makeup and costumes, at least he did in the IQ 20th Anneversery concert. More importantly he fits into character where necessary and has several styles of singing, not unlike Peter Gabriel, although by this point in time, around 2000, any serious attempt to snag PG riffs would be tacky. Instead, it's fairer to say Peter Nichols grew into his vocal style.
The rest of the band, the well traveled John Jowitt and Martin Orford, respectively bass and keyboardist have been part of IQ for most of it's history and have been part of the touring line-up of Jadis along with Jowitt playing a stint in the neo-prog pedigreed The Arena. Both are excellent musicians with Jowitt using the under-utilized string pops on bass. He does so in a way that is not dated like so many other bassists from the late 70s thru early 80s. The drumming of Paul Cook is steady and assured. His sound is tight, with tasteful beats and fills.
Guitarist, Mike Holmes, has made a career of learning every riff Steve Hackett played. To his credit, for the most part, Holmes has taken this style and moved on with it making it something that truly is his, and this man can play some incredible guitar. Both lyrical and technical, he is a consumate professional that chooses to play whatever is right for the song, even in spots he could let loose with a killer solo that would be inappropriate but acceptable in most post-1970s bands.
Working and knowing one another for so many years makes for a band that has a good feel of what one another ware doing, which brings us to Subterranea.
Tracks to give a good listen to include the trio of songs near the albums beginning, "Subterrenea, Sleepless Incidental and Failsafe" all three which travel in a stately way, yet find substantial ground and different, yet well developed stylistic changes. The literal feeling of progression is all over Subterranea, with the title track being almost anthemic in it's unsettling and moody way.
Many of the tracks seque, so you'll be doing some editing as you make mp3, etc. copies for your portable unit.
Another thing I don't say often but it applies here, I am stuck on Subterranea and find myself listening to both CDs worth of material, looking forward to the epic conclusion, The Narrow Margin.
Obvious comparisons are "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway", Genesis, prog-rock in general and a bunch of labels that may fit to some degree, but in the end, Subterrenia is very much an IQ album with themes that have been established over their history.
Why should you take time to hear this? If like me, you got sick of prog rock and some of it's less than good features, like seeing who could record the longest, most complex song or indulge in 20 minute solos, and worst of all, attempting to fit in with commercial music and the so called New Wave and Punk which was every bit as idiotic as any other music form.
Basically it went like this. Bands come up with interesting ideas in reaction to areas of music that became absurd and didn't reflect the social or economic times of most listeners. That just about killed bands that had heavy concert draws, including Yes and Genesis. Suddenly it was as if there were rules for how 'revolutionary' you were. The hippie sensibilities and talk of love found in music like progressive were replaced by glib songs asking what love was and discussing the sexual revolution 2.0, this time including gay relationships and a seemingly endless discussions that lead to one person's perversity being another's hobby. Worse, the music that was going to save rock became as jaded and formulaic the instant the music industry adapted to this new musical standard, which would be repeated almost a decade later with 'alternative' music, which to this day is an endless morass of alternative to what?
And then there were bands like Marillion and IQ who held on to their anti-market and just made music. Lo and behold, they found audiences and still have fans. I didn't know of IQ 20 or so years a go unfortunately, but I do now and honestly, find them to be one of the more exciting bands in the neo-progressive field. Subterrenea was my first taste of IQ and I instantly felt like I found new friends! Their sound is classic for the kind of music they do, and besides being wonderful performers, if a bit kitchy, they sound the role, play the music with near perfection and are so sincere and happy doing what they do it is difficult not to root for them.
And it's worth rooting for IQ because they write catchy songs in the 4 - 9 minute range with one or two epic tracks per album. There is a big debt of musical gratitude to Genesis although IQ help to truly define the neo-prog genre. Their music, while complex and played as if the band's life depended on it, is also simpler in composition, lacking some of the near insanely complex writing and performance of bands like Yes, Genesis and Gentle Giant who exemplify the original progressive scene. If you listen to Genesis, even post Gabriel recordings like Wind and Wuthering, have structures that are worthy of orchestral arrangements and complexities rarely seen anymore. The same was true for Gentle Giant and particularly Yes who added the frenetic compositional style to an equally muscular performing style.
IQ, while wonderful performers don't work at this level of complexity. Still, to think they are watered down is a serious mistake. Every person in IQ is at the top of their form musically and in particular Subterranea demonstrates this.
So, putting everything together:
IQ are an institution in their own right and Subterrenea demonstrates why
The album's themes are somewhat obscured, most likely intentionally, but like old-school progressive, the lyrics raise interesting concepts and most likely are supposed to be a bit obtuse.
The energy and control the band plays with is wonderful. When listening to them, I don't feel like I'm being hit over the head with devotional riffs that are intended to remind me that the band can do the hard stuff.
I like the Flower Kings and like Paradox Hotel, their latest of this writing. They share many qualities with IQ, but they are the kind of band that likes to refer to their heros, which was fun on their first couple releases but is a distraction when it happens, which it sometimes still does. On the other hand, IQ own what the do. They may have influences and know how to play like the bands they were influenced by. They simply don't bother because they've become the sum of their influences and their own skills.
Subterranea is somewhat ghost-like with lingering sadness. Some of this may be from personal experiences and much of it, simply IQ's exceptional musical vocabulary.
It may take a couiple listens but it becomes evident that Subterranea is a masterwork, not only for IQ, but in general. It's a great introduction to the band and in my opinion is probably slightly lesser to their current album, Dark Matter which has a bit more in the progressive department and is even better produced and played.
The nice thing about IQ is their consistancy and their actual impact on the world of music, something bands like to hope for but in fact rarely happens. Between Marillion an IQ we kept progressive rock from disappearing. At 20+ years of making excelent music, it is time they were recognised by a larger audience. Unlike Marillion, IQ stayed the course on progressive music, another reason I admire them. If I were to nominate two neo-progressive bands it would be IQ and The Flower Kings, both at different polls of the progressive scale, with the Kings being a bit more explosive and IQ more composed within the song so that despite Mike Holmes' considerable guitar talents, they are similar to Genesis in that they are heavily ensemble based compared to the stunning chops displayed by TFK and it's band members that are in a dozen or so extra-carricular bands and side projects. And while I still enjoy Marillion, I'd say they are one of the better rock outfits that h ave strong ties to progressive music.
If you somehow missed IQ as I did, take the risk on Subterrania. It is a wonderful album that asks many questions and deals with the human condition while doing so over a crop of wonderfully written songs.
|
|
|
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great ProgRock, February 25, 2006
As a long time fan of Genesis early years music, it was a total revelation to discover IQ. The Subterranea album is very good, with the best tacks being Subterranea, Capricorn and the Narrow Margin. My favorite is Sleepless Incidental, this is truly a 'classic' prog piece, with lush soundscapes, chord and tempo changes and everything a piece needs to be enjoyable.
Highly recommended.
|
|
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews
|
Interact With Your Music: Discover, listen to, and buy new music, all from the pages of SPIN's digital edition, free to Amazon customers.
See all 11 tracks on this disc
by IQ 
