Why no uptick in interest for lps by Chicago , Moodies , Yes

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by radickeyfan, Dec 21, 2014.

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  1. ian christopher

    ian christopher Argentina (in Spirit)

    Location:
    El Centro
    King Crimson became liked by Hipsters when they rode Tool's coattails in the late 90's/early 00's -- but I don't see their recordings selling like they used to.
     
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  2. pbuzby

    pbuzby Senior Member

    Location:
    Chicago, IL, US
    Not my experience, I see the first ten albums all the time while the later ones are less common. (Granted, I live in Chicago.)
     
  3. nbakid2000

    nbakid2000 On Indie's Cutting Edge

    Location:
    Springfield, MO
    These bands aren't very iconic. That's a major reason why.
     
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  4. walrus

    walrus Staring into nothing

    Location:
    Nashville
    They didn't sell as many of those. I think they sold a lot of singles of Diane Warren songs in the mid/late 80's, but fewer albums. And the pre-comeback late 70's/early 80's LP's didn't sell much at the time of their release. I guess I've never paid too much attention, I have nice LP copies of the first three, and eventually I'd like to get a nice pressing of Chicago VII which is probably their last great LP.
     
  5. rene smalldridge

    rene smalldridge Senior Member

    Location:
    manhattan,kansas
    Time marches on and very,very few artifacts from the past keep marching with it.
     
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  6. pbuzby

    pbuzby Senior Member

    Location:
    Chicago, IL, US
    A few weeks ago I had a lucky day at Goodwill and found Robert Lamm's Skinny Boy. Perhaps the only rare early Chicago-related album (aside from the quad albums as someone else mentioned).
     
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  7. SimplyOrange

    SimplyOrange Forum Resident

    Can't say I'm a big fan or know much about the Moody Blues. But, as for Chicago and Yes, their music never really evolved that much. With Yes I would say "Close to the Edge" was (coincidentally) their last excellent album, which might be why that along with "Fragile" and "The Yes Album" are considered to be their "trilogy." But after that I find their music to be pretty banal, maybe with the slight exception of "Going for the One."

    Similar story with Chicago. Their first 3 or so albums are fantastic, even with their minor issues ("Free Form Guitar" *cough*) But after that, their style seemed to become very cheesy and pop driven.

    I think what happened is that these bands fell off the radar because they didn't have consistency, which is very important for any artist. Chicago I've found in the used bins for a buck in great condition. Yes generally goes for around $9 an album where I am, so not too bad. But I can't complain. More for me :)

    And at 20, you could say I'm speaking from the perspective of a youngster, heh.
     
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  8. Driver 8

    Driver 8 Senior Member

    I have all of the core Moody Blues albums, two copies of most of them, because you can buy them all for $2 to $5, so why not? But, although I like individual tracks such as "Ride My See-Saw," I almost never listen to their full albums. For me personally, their music has not aged so well overall.
     
  9. malco49

    malco49 Forum Resident

    you know i might just go record shopping today! i can use a nice copy of "john barleycorn"
     
  10. Rigsby

    Rigsby Forum Resident

    Location:
    London, UK
    I'm surprised to see Yes in that list - in the UK their albums are selling well in the second hand bins and going for decent money now, particularly anything pre Tales, but even decent copies of Relayer and Going For The One will tick out. As for the Moody's and Chicago I think they have a more ageing fan base - they were never really 'hip', certainly not in the UK and they're not getting name checked whereas Yes have been a little. If you want Moody's albums you've probably already got them, even the early ones tend to sit in the used bins for a while now. I was a teenager in the 80s/90s and lots of mates were checking out Yes, but even then nobody younger than my father was listening to the Moody's stuff.
     
  11. somebodywhocares

    somebodywhocares Forum Resident

    Location:
    Maine, USA
    I recently picked up every Moody Blues studio lp from Days of Future Passed through Long Distance Voyager (excluding In Search of the Lost Chord) for $1 or $2 apiece in one day between a local record store and a flea market. The records were all in great condition, some of the sleeves not so much. It is a bit of a mystery to me why they are so plentiful and unwanted. Do the youngsters think of them as the band that did those 2 big 80s ballads?

    As for Chicago, I see copies of everything from CTA through XI all the time for $1....EXCEPT for VIII. I've never seen it at a Goodwill, flea market or dollar bin. Did it sell a lot less than the others? I would like to find it for $1 with the iron-on cardinal and poster. :) Also, I find something to love on every album up through Hot Streets. VI and X are probably my least favorites. I'm not sure how people who like the first three albums could dislike V, VII, VIII and XI so much.
     
  12. Driver 8

    Driver 8 Senior Member


    That the albums are named V, VI, VIII, etc. probably doesn't help Chicago's cause, although I guess that didn't hurt Led Zeppelin so much. But, for the casual fan, it's probably difficult to differentiate between Chicago VIII and Chicago IX, or whatever their albums are called.
     
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  13. Cheepnik

    Cheepnik Overfed long-haired leaping gnome

    Neither the Moody Blues nor Chicago carry any currency with non-baby boomers. They just haven't transcended the generations the way many of their contemporaries have. One factor might be that their LPs sold so well in their time that neither band can really be seen as someone to be "discovered" by younger listeners: If a group's LPs litter the dollar bin year after year, how good can they be? Also, the music in both cases sounds pretty dated by this point. A rock band with a brass section sounded corny 40 years ago. I can't imagine how silly it would sound to a young listener in 2014.
     
    Last edited: Dec 22, 2014
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  14. kwadguy

    kwadguy Senior Member

    Location:
    Cambridge, MA
    Going for the One is a great Yes album, and Awaken from that album may be the best thing they ever did.
    90125 showed massive evolution towards an 80s sound and was massively popular. (Not my favorite thing, but definitely evolution).
     
  15. pbuzby

    pbuzby Senior Member

    Location:
    Chicago, IL, US
    VIII reached #1, although over the long haul I think it hasn't been one of their most popular records. I see it from time to time.
     
  16. jgkojak

    jgkojak Mull of Kansas

    Location:
    Lawrence, KS
    Had Chicago disbanded when Kath passed, they would be seen as a truly great band - they just recorded too much dreck (I like some post-Kath Chicago, Alive Again has always been a favorite, as well as Hard Habit To Break) - Cetera leaving kind of severed a connection as well.
     
  17. Jim B.

    Jim B. Senior Member

    Location:
    UK
    Because they are not very good?

    I tend to think quality wins out in the end.
     
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  18. guidedbyvoices

    guidedbyvoices Old Dan's Records

    Location:
    Alpine, TX
    prog and busy horn arrangements in rock haven't aged well. especially as pop music since their era has moved away from rock, what's left in rock is a turn more towards 4-5 guys rocking out, not having an arranger creating tight busy flashy horn parts. even a band like arcade fire that incorporates a wider palette of instruments like strings and horns tends to use them more and additional color, and not so tightly wound.

    I think the artists OP mentions in his post that tend to still sell well - elton, Hall and oates, 80s pop, it's song based more than arrangement based. though the curiosity would be then, why does pet benatar not sell well like a hall and oates. well, something's aren't as easy to see why I guess. I can tell you my own personal retro playlists include hall and oates over 25 or 6 to 4. And I made my own "mono" version of vehicle using the side without the horns. I just find that type of horn part annoying as hell.
     
  19. progrocker71

    progrocker71 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Los Angeles
    Oh yeah, that has to be it, Yes and The Moody Blues just weren't very good. :laugh: I needed a good laugh this morning.
     
  20. pbuzby

    pbuzby Senior Member

    Location:
    Chicago, IL, US
    I still see 70's Elton John LPs for $1 or less.
     
  21. George Blair

    George Blair Senior Member

    Location:
    Portland, OR
    Moody Blues I think are especially dated at this point. Heavy use of Mellotron, flute and echo-drenched choruses don't age well.
     
  22. jon9091

    jon9091 Master Of Reality

    Location:
    Midwest
    Dang...those are the three qualities I'm looking for today.
     
  23. mooseman

    mooseman Forum Resident

    I just played the cd, Every Good Boy Deserves Favour. It really sounds dated and it put me to sleep. I use to like them in the early 70's, my teenage years but never told my friends. That was short lived until I heard the New York Dolls in 73.
     
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  24. From what I can tell, Yes still gets some love from the under-40 set - sure, nobody cares about what the band using that name is doing now, but their early '70s trifecta occasionally gets acknowledged by various online music sites and cited by modern progressive-oriented (as opposed to prog) bands. And of course, those hipsters at Pitchfork were on the case when the Rhino reissues came out a decade ago, and their assessment of the catalogue was more or less in line what one sees around these parts.

    As for the Moodies and Chicago - well, one generation's pretension doesn't tend to carry forward well, nor does music that many of those who were there report seemed dated even at the time. And we won't even discuss the crap '80s material from both bands...
     
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  25. Jose Jones

    Jose Jones Outstanding Forum Member

    Location:
    Detroit, Michigan
    Have you ever heard Sides 1 and 2 of the Chicago VII dbl album (1974)? Try it...



    AFAIK, this has never been played on the radio, in a hotel lobby, or a dentist's office.
     
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