So guys, here goes:
It's a pleasure (for me iac) to introduce one of my favorite groups. At the same time, I know now that it's a hard sell, not only here in the Room, but also with my friends, and that really perplexes me, as I find Ten leader Gary Hughes unequalled in his sense of melody (as reflected in my list of stuck-on songs, "stuck-on" meaning that your finger is stuck on the repeat button, and the song is stuck on your mind), equalled only by few in his lyrical abilities (Clive, John Petrucci, and a few others), and in his singing (Roy Khan, Gary Belin). So either I'm crazy, or you are - you decide ;D
OK, as to musical genre, I'd say that Ten are melodic heavy rock with prog elements, up to The Twilight Chronicles, which to my mind is genuine prog.
As to lyrics, Gary is one of the great philosopher-musicians of rock (in league with Clive), mainly concerned with love, but also very knowledgeable of the loss and deviations of love: loneliness, anger, sorrow, hate. On Twilight, he extends this personal domain to deal with the rise, glory, and fall of the great civilisations, specifically the Greek and Roman, and he becomes explicit in extending love beyond death into the incorporeal and into rebirth. Far out - you decide which sense.
Also the other musicians are first-rate, particularly the two lead guitarists Vinny Burns (1996-2000) and Chris Francis (2001 onwards), and Gary really lets his musicians flourish.
Ten are Manchester based and have been active from 1996 onwards
I have four official studio albums by Ten: (Babylon, 2000), Return To Evermore (2004), The Essential Collection 1995-2005 (2005), and The Twilight Chronicles (2006).
Babylon is a concept album about a bleak future. As with all good sci-fi, Gary stretches contemporary themes to their extremes. Civilisation has been destroyed by lack of love, and "the earth's remaining human population is crammed inside vast ecologically controlled domes." Not unexpectedly, Gary's faith in the strength of love is so strong that he lets true love grow between a man and a woman in this cold world.
Return isnt a concept album. As I wrote in an earlier post, I've had to strain myself to figure out the underlying motifs, and it seems to me that they're love and the deviations of love.
Essential is a collection of some of their best songs from 1995-2005 (ten again (let's just say)), in a new recording. The main differences are that Gary has matured in his singing and is more upfront, and Chris does all the superb soloing.
Twilight is in my mind their currently best album in their rising musical trajectory (look above).
As I've mentioned several times now, Ten are very slow growers. Although they struck home with me right away (with the wonderful This Heart Goes On), I've noted that everybody else I know needs several listens, and tellya, I've really had to kindle that flame.
So just promise me, guys, that you dont comment on Ten in this thread until you've listened to them at least ten times - or else I'll f.u. your LP and drink all your beers :o
Nicky.
Ahh, finally.
The infamous Ten gets his own topic. ;D
If such honour is granted to this band than it must be worth checking out. :P *horns* ;D ;)
Quote from: maddox on Thu, 2008-06-26, 19:29:02
The infamous Ten gets his own topic. ;D
OK, Mad, you asked for it .....
Nicky.
From Melodic Rock, a review of Babylon (I can't figure the name of the reviewer or the date) : "Due to the nature of this business, Ten are always going to have their detractors. They are also a somewhat acquired taste, but for me, I am sold on the band. Their last album [Babylon, at that time, nb] assured that and the fact the intense production and style of that album have been mixed with the more favored melodic influence of their debut, ...." - http://www.melodicrock.com/reviews/ten-babylon.p3
Nicky.
Ten?
Oooooh now I know! That's that band you keep talking about! ;)
I've heard The Twilight Chronicles and to me it's not really a grower, since it is easy-listening from the beginning (to me).
Nice melodies indeed. Very catchy too. And the singer knows what he's doing.
But after a while I got bored with it. Not very much progressive. As you said: more of a melodic hardrock band with progressive influences.
But alright, I'll put it on my playlist again! :)
-Paco
Looks like I'm in for a lot more beer, as I take it that you only played Twilight once and commented unprovisionally on it. This is a cervesian sin in my Bible, Paco :o
;D
Nicky.
Nicky, sorry to say this: but it does little for me. :-\
Sure it's good music and the singer has a good voice but it is just not my cup of prog.
Ah, Ten...
Their albums, my views:
X: (or indeed, Ten)
First album. I bought it unheard as it was the only melodic rock release I'd registered in months, and I can't say I regretted my £11 setback!! It's a bit Whitesnake, but not too bluesy. There are aor gems on here, and also some of the best rockers you'll hear on any album from the hateful 90's. My favourites are "The torch" and "The loneliest place in the world".
:) :) :) :) :)
(I'll make one post per album. Easing the quote facility for you if you want to comment on a specific album, and also I'm on a very unstable line here... I have lost this post twice already!! >:( )
"The name of the rose":
A bit harder edged, and again there are some songs that are not perfectly in my vein (not a big Whitesnake fan, come to think of it), but "The name of the rose", the übersuperb "The rainbow" and "Goodnight Saigon" would alone be worth the album, even if the rest downright sucked. It doesn't. 77 minutes plus of great song writing and superb lyrics. Recommended.
:) :) :) :) :)+
"The robe":
Again, the album opener is the title track, and again it's the same chorus. I laughed when I heard it the first time. How on earth can you do such a thing? Then I saw an interview with Gary, and he said people with knowledge about music theory would recognize it wasn't all that similar. Fine, but I know one thing: If it sounds similar, it probably is, what ever key it's in, or what ever key changes might be different from one to the other. While I'm at what's not appreciated, I would have loved to be in the studio when they recorded the drums. I would immediately go and move the drum microphones into the same room the drums were in...
All that said, "Battlelines", "Fly like an eagle", and the majestic "Ten fathoms deep" are all worth having, even if you don't like anything else on the album, included the production. Quality song writing.
:) :) :) :)-
"Spellbound":
On this album, I noticed for the first time something that would eventually taket he shine away from Gary Hughes as a song writer: He steals. Not just from himself (that's all right – I mean, wrong of sorts, but more unwise than bad) but from other artists. Sure, we all do, most often unconsciously, but he seems to be in a different league altogether. The song "Eclipse" off this album, for instance. The verses are, down to details in the vocal performance itself, identical to the verses of Yngwie Malmsteen's "Crystal ball" off "Odyssey". Check it out if you can, or trust my word. It is beyond similar. Somewhere in the lyrics of this Ten song, "Crystal ball" is mentioned, and both start the verse lines with the word "We..." and so on. It is close to spectacular. The rest of the song makes a clean break, and all of it is very good, but as an old Malmsteen fan, it is weird in a bad way. That also means I know that Malmsteen's next album was called "Eclipse"... (If I were to meet Gary one day, I'd ask him if it is a conscious nod towards the big swede.) And it's not like it's a very obscure song or anything. It was his biggest selling album in the US and the UK, and Joe Lynn Turner sang on it. Gary's heard the original, alright.
That aside, looking at the tracklist of this album, I realise "Eclipse" might be the best song on here. I haven't got a firm grip on the album, and that's not a very good sign, is it? I can't seem to remember any song truly sticking out. "Fear the force" is good, and perhaps the title track was a bit special... "We rule the night" is very good. "Red" isn't bad... I can't remember the rest properly. But a fairly good album, I think. A bit hard and noisy, something that might explain why I haven't felt like listening to it a lot.
:) :) :)
"Babylon":
Concept album, and not a bad story. However, I can't, again, seem to remember what the songs sound like, just from looking at the tracklist, and I usually can. What is completely unforgettable:The verses of "Timeless". Listen to it, and remember the song "Wild world" by the Islam artist formerly known as Little Cat Shakin Stevens or something. It is the exact same melody, except the very last note. The chords are also the same for most of the verse, only the two last chords are different. And this is an even less obscure song. In both these cases, I wonder if there was NO ONE in the entire operation from the song was first presented to the guys until it was finally recorded for release, that ventured to tell Gary this? -Provided he didn't know, of course... I can't understand it, and I can't just believe he doesn't know. Weird. And as is the case with "Eclipse", this too is the best song on the album, which is even more annoying.
I believe the last song, "Valentine" is a bit special, and I remember "Love became the law" as a truly enjoyable piece. But by the time this album had gotten a few spins in my home, I started wondering, when ever I heard a truly great song from Ten, what song the melodies were stolen from. Not good.
(I like the production on this album a lot more than any other since the first album, which was very good.)
:) :) :)
"Return to evermore:"
Well, to be honest, I haven't heard a not of this one. Maybe a clip that I've forgotten about. But by now I'd lost the Ten feeling, and when Vinny Burns (that I'd followed from his glory days in DARE) quit, it made for a good opportunity to let Ten sail it's course without me.
I could also mention that Gary's two first solo albums are in my possession, and on the second one, it sounds like he has ripped a whole Bad English song, and changed the chords and thereby the melody a little, masking a clever theft. Every part of it is similar. The way it starts out, the beat, the sequence of parts and the type and style of each part... I noticed this when the song started to remind me of something, and when I found out what, I had to compare. Again, not a very obscure artist to get "inspiration" from. It works the same way Metallica's "The unforgiven II" works: It's the same song, but with a new melody. I think they sing some sort of third voice instead of the original melody.
But to end this on a more positive note: The song "I won't break your heart", from his first solo album, is a fantastic song. A true six out of six masterpiece. Poetic lyrics like nobody else can write them. I hope I never come to hear a song that strikes me as the source of this beautiful melody. :-\ (See? The Gary/Deen relationship has got trust issues...)
Now there's a new definition of multi-posting. :D
What
do
...and so on...
Quote from: Deenfan on Tue, 2008-07-08, 22:12:12
... He steals ...
I never thought much about that, Deenie. The song It's You I Adore on Return To Evermore struck me as a rip-off from Andrew Lloyd Webber's Phantom Of The Opera, but as it's a bonus track and very different from all the other songs, I didnt see this as a problem.
I havent yet listened much to Malmsteen (what he
does have in common with Ten is that both merit a lot more attention), so I can't argue with you on that point.
Also, I think it's more difficult to sound original with melodic rock than with e.g. DT and SyX stuff.
Iac I find The Twilight Chronicles very original, prog, poetic and visionary, and I'd like Ten to be judged mainly on the basis of this album, as it's their latest and a major leap upwards for them.
Quote from: Deenfan on Tue, 2008-07-08, 22:26:43
... Vinny Burns (that I'd followed from his glory days in DARE) ...
Agree, he's one of the best guitarists *horns*
Is there anything by DARE that you can recommend for contemporary roomie ears ?
Nicky.
Quote from: Nicky007 on Tue, 2008-07-08, 23:41:20and I'd like Ten to be judged mainly on the basis of this album, as it's their latest and a major leap upwards for them.
You can't judge a band, only by it's last album :o
Quote from: Deenfan on Tue, 2008-07-08, 22:07:51
Ah, Ten...
(I'll make one post per album. Easing the quote facility for you if you want to comment on a specific album, and also I'm on a very unstable line here... I have lost this post twice already!! >:( )
Very nice and interesting, Deenie ! I would really appreciate if you do the same for other bands.
Coming back to Ten, I have not really changed my mind so far : it's rather unspectacular middle of the road AOR (which is not a bad thing for me), struck somewhere between Asia and Def Leppard which are the two bands they remind me the most. Gary Hugues has a great voice, though.
But I only have a compilation -which has received many bad critics on the web- and I don't trust compilations. So I will try their last album one day.
You know what? I could treat you to a taster of their less middle-of-the-road material. I know what you're saying. Some songs are just too bland or pale, even for an aor fan like myself.
I don't feel comfortable, accusing anyone of stealing, but no smoke without a fire... I even had one of the main men in Ten's record company to admit the Malmsteen song was very similar. Anyone interested could get both tracks through their email for a fun little comparison.
Thanks for that, Bupie, and yeah.... I'll look into it. I've promised to do one on the Dream Theater thread, haven't I...?
Quote from: Bupie on Wed, 2008-07-09, 10:44:43
... stuck somewhere between Asia and Def Leppard which are the two bands they remind me the most.
Good Lord, Bupie !!! You can't compare Ten with Asia and Def Leppard. Asia's and Leppard's lyrics are banal, Gary's are some of the best around. How many times do I have to remind you guys that lyrics are an essential part of prog ::)
Further, Gary sings much better than any of the singers of Asia and Leppard, and excepting Steve Howe, who's of course one of the best, Vinny Burns and Chris Francis are significantly better guitarists than anything the other two bands have seen.
Bupie, you're giving me grey hairs, good grief :'( :'( :'(
;D
Quote from: Bupie on Wed, 2008-07-09, 10:44:43
So I will try their last album one day.
Yeah, do that ! (I might have said that before.) ;)
Quote from: Appelmoes?? on Wed, 2008-07-09, 07:25:01
You can't judge a band, only by it's last album :o
Appy, you're drivin me crazy too :o
I said
mainly !
Nicky.
Ah, I thought it said manly ;D
Interesting what you say about the lyrics.
I love Therion but don't understand the language. I also grew up listening to opera which of course I couldn't understand either.
I agree lyrics can finish a song off beautifully. I also agree that banal lyrics are worse than no lyrics at all.
Quote from: Nicky007 on Tue, 2008-07-08, 18:52:44Looks like I'm in for a lot more beer, as I take it that you only played Twilight once and commented unprovisionally on it. This is a cervesian sin in my Bible, Paco :o
;D
No, my dear Nicky, I have listened to it several times.
But the first time I listened was the best. The second was still good, but the third time I thought it was too boring... I'm sorry... :-\
I just think it's melodic AOR (with a heavy edge). It's nice. But to me it seems as if nothing is happening.
I bet my dad would like it. :D
-Paco
Quote from: Nicky007 on Wed, 2008-07-09, 18:12:36
Good Lord, Bupie !!! You can't compare Ten with Asia and Def Leppard. Asia's and Leppard's lyrics are banal, Gary's are some of the best around. How many times do I have to remind you guys that lyrics are an essential part of prog ::)
I won't defend the Lepp's lyrics which are obviously not very interesting, to say the least ...
QuoteFurther, Gary sings much better than any of the singers of Asia and Leppard
I wouldn't be so affirmative, at least for John Wetton, and Joe Elliot has a rough but expressive voice that I like a lot.
Quoteexcepting Steve Howe, who's of course one of the best, Vinny Burns and Chris Francis are significantly better guitarists than anything the other two bands have seen.
I won't argue on the technical side of things since I am not a musician but on my Ten compilation, I find the guitar solos rather uninspired. For instance, on
Remembrance for the Dead, there is a noisy and unmelodic solo that almost ruins the song when it could help it to become really stunning. But each to his own, I guess ...
QuoteBupie, you're giving me grey hairs, good grief :'( :'( :'(
I have a lot myself. Is it a big issue for a prog fan ?
Paco, this is absurd: You don't even have any of the Ten studio albums (I just checked your PL). How can you make any judgements on the basis of the short spread samples ? Particularly Rome, which is a long epic song with several different moods, simply can't be judged on a ½ minute sample. And Twilight is a conceptual album which has to be heard in its entireness.
I know, it's silly to go on like this, and as I wrote earlier, I wouldnt give a damn in any other community, but since you roomies
do value good rock with intelligent lyrics (eh, Bups?) and expressive singing, I wanna make it clear to you that Ten is up there :)
So guys, enough bull. Let's now stick to the formula ten ten Ten 8)
Quote from: Bupie on Thu, 2008-07-10, 10:41:57
I wouldn't be so affirmative, at least for John Wetton, and Joe Elliot has a rough but expressive voice that I like a lot.
ACK Bups :)
Nicky.
Quote from: Bupie on Thu, 2008-07-10, 10:41:57
... on Remembrance For The Brave, there is a noisy and unmelodic solo that almost ruins the song when it could help it to become really stunning ...
I just listened a couple of times to Remembrance, and I agree, Bupie, it's a rather poor solo by Chris Francis. But then again, I also find the song one of Ten's poorer. I usually skip Remembrance and Spellbound nowadays to get to The Robe.
Nicky.
Quote from: Nicky007 on Fri, 2008-07-11, 12:14:12
I just listened a couple of times to Remembrance, and I agree, Bupie, it's a rather poor solo by Chris Francis. But then again, I also find the song one of Ten's poorer.
I like its sort of celtic dance-along melody. Dunno, maybe the original version (if there is one) had a better solo ?
Hey, was lucky this time: Found some nices videos/audios with Ten music on YouTube, maybe not official, but I don't think Gary would mind, as they'r very genuine and respectful of Ten.
So guys, if your hearts don't melt ... then I guess you'v been out at sea too long ;D
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-MJRwtaPGs (from The Twilight Chronicles)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAQCxmkG_qw&feature=related (from Twilight)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCt8bCXugwM&feature=related (from Babylon)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5PMCLJOFe4&feature=related (from Babylon)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZdAbFnEQaQ (from Once And Future King, with Irene Jansen)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyENHupbjv8&feature=related (from King)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7aK-IIk0flk&feature=related (from Babylon)
Enjoy :)
Nicky.
I saw Ten 3 times as they supported Asia in 20002. I was quite impressed. Very good live band!
Quote from: bellanova on Sun, 2009-11-08, 15:00:41
I saw Ten 3 times as they supported Asia in 20002. I was quite impressed. Very good live band!
Bella, the time-traveller. ;)
Thanks for the linkies, Nicky.
I promise i'll get into this.
We'l just take things step by step, Mad. Now you'r beginning to promise ... ;D
Nicky.
Despite the "Warning : this topic has not been posted in for at least 120 days", I dig out this topic to let Nicky know that Ten is releasing a new album that is reviewed here : http://www.musicwaves.fr/frmChronique.aspx?pro_id=9022&url_ref=Ten_Heresy_And_Creed
Ok, to be honest, I don't intend to buy it but I thought that this was a good opportunity for Nicky to work on his French ;D
Thanx, Bupie :)
I was a bit disappointed with Stormwarning, good, but not exhilarating like Chronicles, beautiful and deep like Essential, or epic like Babylon.
The title Heresy and Creed, and the song titles sound exciting, so I'l get it at some point, but at the moment there are other groups I'd like to spend time with.
But definitely still a pantheon group *horns*
And French has been on the shelf for a while. Doin some translations to German instead ;)
- Nicky