Reassessing GTR

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Say It Right, Aug 19, 2013.

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  1. c-eling

    c-eling They're made of light,We never would have guessed

    Saw one of those at my local thrift, any good?
     
  2. zen

    zen Senior Member

    REMIX.
     
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  3. JustVinyl

    JustVinyl Forum Resident

    Location:
    Switzerland
    Underrated album in my view ... thanks for posting the links, not seen this documentary before.
     
  4. Say It Right

    Say It Right Not for the Hearing Impaired Thread Starter

    Location:
    Niagara Falls
    The resident board cynic act is growing kind of tired.
     
  5. Stone Turntable

    Stone Turntable Independent Head

    Location:
    New Mexico USA
    Cynical, but tirelessly informative and ever-contextualizing.

    Now playing: "When the Heart Rules the Mind." Sounds like the perfect soundtrack for the greatest Miami Vice episode ever made. Crazy 80's cool.
     
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  6. TSmithPage

    TSmithPage Ex Post Facto Member

    Location:
    Lexington, KY
    I'll be a dissenting viewpoint in this thread. I loved this album when it came out, and as I recall, Arista tended to use virgin vinyl on this and most of their releases back then so you could hold it to the light and see through it. I put it in the same category as the also maligned Emerson Lake and Powell record that came out in the same era. I liked them at the time and if I played them now would still have fond memories of the recordings. Sure, they weren't Cream or the Who but compared to the Motley Crews, Cinderellas and other heavy metal light drek that came out at the same time were pretty high quality.
     
  7. Sandinista

    Sandinista Forum Resident

    I bought this upon release because I liked the song The Hunter. Didn't like the album all that much but didnt' think it was as bad as some were saying. It was the 80s and that big, cold sound was big - just didn't mesh well with these guys.
     
  8. JustVinyl

    JustVinyl Forum Resident

    Location:
    Switzerland
    Interesting about the Arista vinyl, when this album first came out I had just switched to CD and only recently bought the vinyl but I have not listened to it yet ... I will clearly need to do this asap! Being a huge fan of Yes, this was virtually an automatic purchase but I thought it was a great release and perfect for the time.
     

  9. The review was actually

    TTL SHT

    The bleached blond hair is not a good look on Mr. Hackett.
     
  10. glenecho

    glenecho Forum Resident

    I really enjoy the songs as a whole, and REALLY like Max Bacon's vocals. But the reverb...sheesh. I'm a child of the 80s and can block out most reverb-ridden recordins of that era, but this one and Asia's Alpha album are just crazy over-the-top in the reverb department. I still pull it out once a year or so and give it a listen though. It's just a shame all the details are hidden in a fog of 'verb.
     
  11. tonewheeltom

    tonewheeltom Forum Resident

    Location:
    Vineland, NJ
    I'm surprised a member of this forum would not know that GTR is an abbreviation for guitar.

    True story - thanks to MTV, the adolescent yours truly loved 90125, Asia & Alpha (all on cassette), and the 45 of "When the Heart..." After watching 9012Live, I got all the Yes albums on vinyl, one a week with paper route money, and I wish someone had filmed my Keyser Soze moment when I opened Drama and realized they were all related.
     
  12. glenecho

    glenecho Forum Resident

    At one time, wasn't there a commercially available CD for the King Biscuit Flower Hour with GTR? Anyone have it?
     
  13. curbach

    curbach Some guy on the internet

    Location:
    The ATX
    No. The last time I reassessed this album it still stunk :)
     
  14. rstamberg

    rstamberg Senior Member

    Location:
    Riverside, CT
    The problem with the GTR album was its mediocrity. It was indistinguishable from anything else at the time. Boring, too. Sorry.
     
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  15. bRETT

    bRETT Senior Member

    Location:
    Boston MA
    No, the actual review was the shorter version.
     
  16. curbach

    curbach Some guy on the internet

    Location:
    The ATX
    Depends where you saw it. In the Rolling Stone Album Guide it is indeed "fleshed out" with TTL :)
     
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  17. johnny 99

    johnny 99 Down On Main Street

    Location:
    Toronto
    STL TTL SHT
     
  18. JustVinyl

    JustVinyl Forum Resident

    Location:
    Switzerland
    Yes, absolutely correct. I was very lucky to stumble across this brand new for 5 CHF ($5) in a local record store a few months ago.
     
  19. glenecho

    glenecho Forum Resident


    What are your impressions of it? Worth hunting down?
     
  20. bRETT

    bRETT Senior Member

    Location:
    Boston MA
    Mostly the album played live, not too different from the studio, but you do get some of the other stuff they were playing-- "Roundabout," "I Know What I Like," a couple guitar pieces. Worth five bucks.
     
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  21. JustVinyl

    JustVinyl Forum Resident

    Location:
    Switzerland
    I would agree with this, probably I would have paid more but it wasn't an album on my "must have" list, still pleased to find it though and it is certainly not as shrill as the studio mix. If you enjoyed the studio album then I would say it is worthwhile.

    The full track listing:

    01 Jekyll And Hyde
    02 Here I Wait
    03 Prizefighters
    04 Imagining
    05 Hackett To Bits
    06 Spectral Mornings
    07 I Know What I Like
    08 Sketches In The Sun
    09 Pennants
    10 Roundabout
    11 The Hunter
    12 You Can Still Get Through
    13 Reach Out (Never Say No)
    14 When The Heart Rules The Mind
     
  22. I have the issue of "Musician" that the review originally appeared in (kept it for that plus a good Paul McCartney article) and the original is indeed GTR:SHT.
     
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  23. Say It Right

    Say It Right Not for the Hearing Impaired Thread Starter

    Location:
    Niagara Falls
    Depends on if you like the studio album. They needed to fill out a set list. So, as was mentioned above, they did one each of Yes & Genesis hit. Steve Hackett did "Spectral Mornings" and there was song that would've been on a 2nd GTR album, "Prizefighters."

    The OP suggested a remix for the studio album. Hard to see this having mass enough appeal, at this juncture, to make it worth anybody's time. However, it's valid. The vocals were mixed too high. It was a disappointment, but what else were they supposed to do during the mid 80's? It's not like they could go back and do what they did 10 years before. That style of progressive rock was so far out of vogue. Having said all that, "Sketches in the Sun" and "Hackett to Bits" were as good as anything Howe & Hackett were doing on their solo albums.
     
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  24. Say It Right

    Say It Right Not for the Hearing Impaired Thread Starter

    Location:
    Niagara Falls
    It was only a matter of time before somebody had to name drop him.
     
  25. bRETT

    bRETT Senior Member

    Location:
    Boston MA
    "Sketches" was one of Howe's best solos (esp. since it really sounds like two guitars playing, but it's just one). "Hackett to Bits" to me is just an inferior rework of "Please Don't Touch"-- I was disappointed at the time that there wasn't even a new Hackett instrumental.

    GTR's shows began with an acoustic set that really was good and included a few duets-- sorry that isn't on the Biscuit disc.
     
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