Rediscovering The Visitor...

[keyboardistmatt]

I have been listening to The Visitor lately - as an album, I mean. In light of what Clive said on the Contagion Max packaging that it was special to hear the album again, I feel similar about hearing The Visitor again.
It's been a few years since I last played that album, and it kind of felt like a privilege to hear it again.

Does anybody else feel like this when you play something that you haven't heard for a while?

[Draco chimera]

Interesting thread. I get this kind of feeling when listening to Foxtrot by Genesis. Discovered it as a kid and I did not listen to music much back then, so for me it will always be the reminder of a certain era. It was on a tape, we would play it when we took the car. The album is quite complex in the way it is written, but to me it still sounds simple and reassuring in a way, perhaps because things as a whole seemed simpler. Weird.

Back to The Visitor; I discovered it much later than you guys, so I guess our experience differs a lot regarding its 're-discovery'. The thing that amazes me the most about it is how much of a continuity it is. Even though it is made of distinct songs, it's like one big masterpiece. Along with Contagion, this is probably the most accomplished concept album I know, and it keeps on fascinating me everytime.

[Nicky007]

Visitor was my first love with Arena, so it holds a special place for me

Then came Contagion, which in many ways upped Visitor.

Many years later my eyes were opened to Lions Cage - thanx to Paxi's discussion parlor here - which particularly lyricswise is intriguing.

All Arena albums have a lot of depth, they merit many revisits

- Nicky

[Bupie]

Does anybody else feel like this when you play something that you haven't heard for a while?

Yes, very often. There are albums that you don't play that often but each time you play them, it strikes you how good they are, you start singing along, you remember every little twist, every lyrics. So you ask yourself why you don't play them on a more regular basis ... and you get no answer 

[keyboardistmatt]

...you remember every little twist...

That's very true, although I found myself picking out little nuances little sounds and effects buried within the music of The Visitor that I hadn't heard before! Which for me holds a little joy of it's own.

That's the sign of a great album; hearing new things with each listen.

[erik]

Nice interview with Clive about The Visitor 20 years on and a revisit review by JJII

http://dprp.net/progarchives/2018-011