Are You Sitting Comfortably

1. War Heroes

2. Drive On

3. Nostalgia

4. Falling Apart At The Seams

5. Sold On You

6. Through My Fingers

7. Wurensh

8. Nothing At All

9. Nothing At All (live bonus track)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
With a career that spans nearly 25 years, IQ remains one of the biggest names in the world of Progressive Rock. Getting their start in Southhampton England back in 1981, IQ was often compared to two other great Prog bands from the UK, Marillion and Genesis. For years the band struggled to create their own identity. And they did so by outlasting the glory days of Fish’s Marillion and Gabriel’s Genesis. Here again is IQ with their classic line-up of Peter Nicholls, Martin Orford, Mike Holmes, John Jowitt and Paul Cook.

Originally released in 1989, Are You Sitting Comfortably? features Paul Menel on vocals, coalescing in Britain's foremost prog rock groups since the '80s. There is not a bad track on this album; lush soundscapes, thought provoking lyrics, brilliant musicianship, it's all here. Take a chance on this one, it is a classic and well worth investing in!

Are You Sitting Comfortably,Iq,Inside Out U.S.,Pop,Rock,Rock/Pop

Are You Sitting Comfortably

Average customer rating:

IQ - Major Label Album One Of Their Weakest
Excellent
Eventhough it's poppy, it's still great PROG
Blimey Kirk
Excellent 80s Progressive Rock

Are You Sitting Comfortably?
IQ
Manufacturer: Inside Out U.S.
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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The Seventh House
Nomzamo
Ever
Subterranea
The Wake

ASIN: B0008G2ITM
Release Date: 2005-04-26

Tracks:

War Heroes
Drive On
Nostalgia
Falling Apart At The Seams
Sold On You
Through My Fingers
Wurensh
Nothing At All
Nothing At All (live bonus track)

Album Description

With a career that spans nearly 25 years, IQ remains one of the biggest names in the world of Progressive Rock. Getting their start in Southhampton England back in 1981, IQ was often compared to two other great Prog bands from the UK, Marillion and Genesis. For years the band struggled to create their own identity. And they did so by outlasting the glory days of Fish's Marillion and Gabriel's Genesis. Here again is IQ with their classic line-up of Peter Nicholls, Martin Orford, Mike Holmes, John Jowitt and Paul Cook.

Customer Reviews:

IQ - Major Label Album One Of Their Weakest.......2007-05-25

The IQ story is a strange one. One would have thought that if the band was going to be picked up by a major label that it would have happened after "The Wake". Instead the band changes lead singers, put out the moderately received "Nomzamo" album, and then get picked up by a major. However it happened, apparently IQ had made enough of a splash for PolyGram to take a shot at them for this album. Unfortunately record company pressure to have a "hit" would plague much of the material on this disc. The album is an obvious attempt at a more commercial sound and radio airplay. The album was produced by Terry Brown, best known for his work with Rush. Paul Menel is still on the vocal mike for this one along with the rest of the original band. To my ears this is IQ's weakest album. That being said I don't think IQ has ever made what I would consider a bad album, and there is some good stuff to be found here. The two long proggy tracks are both good ones with "Nostalgia / Falling Apart At the Seams" being the highlight. The other one "Wunensh" is good, but pales in comparison to some of the epics on other IQ discs. Of the shorter songs the opener "War Heroes" is great, and although it may be the most commercial song IQ has ever done, whenever I listen to "Sold On You' I can't get the chorus out of my head for days. The rest of the album is pretty weak. It is my least favorite IQ disc, but about half of it is worth a listen. Of the two Paul Menel albums I think that "Nomzamo" is by far the best.

Excellent.......2007-01-05

This CD is an excellent sample of the high quality music IQ makes. It has all, excellent lyrics and the instrumentals are phenomenal. I recommend it very much.

Eventhough it's poppy, it's still great PROG.......2006-11-02

Starting with War Heroes and Drive On , this is classic 80's prog when prog wasn't in fashion. Terry Brown of the Rush fame does a great job capturing IQ at their finest. Nostalgia and Falling apart at the Seams are classic prog as is Wurensh. There are some poppy tunes but these songs are way better than the mess on the radio at the time. I really like Sold on You and Nothing at All. All hail IQ. All hail IQ!!

Blimey Kirk.......2005-07-31

Everyone is entitled to an opinion, but AYSC is not in the same league as Seventh House. AYSC is an OK album. It does have two excellent long tracks, a couple of turkeys, and some in between. Polished production. This was a treading water album really. I suspect they might have split up, had Menel not left to allow Nichols to rejoin.

Excellent 80s Progressive Rock.......2005-07-16

IQ is one of the best post-70s progressive rock bands; if you like Genesis and Yes, you'll like IQ.

And "Are You Sitting Comfortably?" is a worthy addition to their catalogue. For starters, it's got 2 extended, kick-*ss prog tracks: the brooding, then exhilarating Nostalgia/Falling Apart at the Seams (clocking in at over 10 minutes) and the driving, multi-part suite Wurensh (9:37). War Heroes (6:26) is another atmospheric track similar to mid-period Genesis.

Then it's got the fun prog pop of Drive On and the romantic Through My Fingers. The only two weak tracks are the overly simplistic Sold On You and the forgettable Nothing At All.

Add in great production from Terry Brown of Rush fame, and you've got an excellent IQ album.

The album is usually underrated by IQ fans, but I feel it's better than Nomzamo (too commercial), Tales From the Lush Attic (poorly produced) and even The Seventh House (poorly written - I swear I can't remember a melody from that album!)

If you like post-70s prog, in particular mid-period Genesis and 80s Yes, you'll enjoy this album.

Average customer rating:

Very good, though not their best
4 stars to the production, something less to the composition
Progressive Rock With A Dose Of Pop
Complex songwriting coupled with amazing arrangements!

Are You Sitting Comfortably?
IQ
Manufacturer: Inside Out Germany
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Progressive Rock | Progressive | Rock | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

Rock | Imports | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Nomzamo
Ever
J'ai Pollette D'Arnu
The Wake
Dark Matter

ASIN: B00000713D
Release Date: 1998-06-30

Tracks:

War Heroes - IQ
Drive On - IQ
Nostalgia - IQ, IQ
Falling Apart at the Seams - IQ, IQ
Sold on You - IQ
Through My Fingers - IQ
Wurensh - IQ
Nothing at All - IQ, IQ
Nothing at All [Live][*] - IQ

Album Description

1989 album by one of Britain's foremost prog rock groups since the '80s. Nine tracks including 'Nothing At All' (Live) added as a bonus track.

Customer Reviews:

Very good, though not their best.......2004-02-23

IQ has been an interesting band for the longest time. They date back from the early eighties, at a time when other "similar" prog-rock bands like Marillion were beginning to shape their music. I was introduced to them by a hardcore fan of Rush, which should give you an idea of their approximate composition, however this album (as some other reviewer has mentioned) does have some pop accents in it.

In the very aptly titled 'Are You Sitting Comfortably?' (don't miss out the cover work) IQ does quite an attempt at balancing a somewhat dark and obscure prog sound with moments of light (or lightness, should I say?), and the results can get to be quite brilliant, such as the case with 9+ minute-long piece "Wurensh" that brought them to the front of my prog-rock-centered attention back in 1989 when this album first came out. Besides this work, I'd also recommend a couple of their other albums, 'Nomzamo' and 1994's 'Ever' which is the best album I've heard by them, hands down.

4 stars to the production, something less to the composition.......2003-03-08

This album is equal to their previous issue "Nomzamo", from the point of view of its production,instead the compositions are more solid and some tracks such as "Nostalgia" and "Falling apart at the seams", have been included into a lot of official live recordings (with and without the singer Paul Menel)for some years consecutively (1989-1994).Besides the track "Wurensh" resembles a bit the 70's progressive era, even though with a modern touch and a quite simple music structure too: here the strong rhytmical section introduces the vocals,just followed by the keyboards overlap and the following aggressive guitar solo by M.Holmes;afterwards Menel starts to sing and honestly his vocal section here is a bit tepid in comparison to his best intepretations of the past(listen for example to "Common Ground" from "Nomzamo" and you understand the reason of such gap),but for sure the focus is more on the instrumental passages and the output is anyway convincing ...instead the presence of the same song, re-proposed both from studio and in the live format as well,"Nothing at all", in my opinion is not very useful, but it doesn't affect the final result of this very good album. If you appreciated their previous issue, a well produced modern new-prog with poppy elements, this one is an important step closer a definitive improvement of such modern style... you can choose this issue or refuse it if you are strictly a 70's prog fan, neverthless to me this lp is worth checking out (otherwise the song "Wurensh", the solid track within the present album, was chosen for their best collection of the decade, entitled "J'ai Pollette D'arnu", and this means a lot to their fans!!)...well actually the other songs are quite tepid and less convincing-except on the already mentioned tracks "Nostalgia"and "Falling apart...": for this reason the right rate should be 3 stars and 1/2;however the production is excellent once again and it cuts a fine figure among the best and must-have new prog albums (honestly a very few ones!!)

Progressive Rock With A Dose Of Pop.......2001-12-23

On IQ's second release with vocalist Paul Menel, the blend of pop with their standard progressive rock is obvious. For some fans of the band, the change probably wasn't welcome, but the music and lyrics make this one of IQ's best releases. Standout tracks include War Heroes, Wurensh, and two songs that actually make you want to sing along, Drive On and Sold On You. If you're a progressive rock fan that doesn't mind a little pop influence, this is the CD for you.

Complex songwriting coupled with amazing arrangements!.......1999-02-07

This album takes the listener on a road of different musical experiences. From the pop styled "Drive On" and "Sold On You" to the Zeppelin-esque "Wurensh", IQ also utilizes programming of certain ethnic instruments to add texture to its arrangements. (e.g. the tabla sounds in the beginning of "War Heroes"). This album is a must for any collector of the progressive rock genre.

Average customer rating:

IT'S ONLY ANOTHER AUDIO INTERVIEW
WHOO HOO

Are You Sitting Comfortably?

ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B00005RY8W
Release Date: 2003-12-02

Album Description

This exclusive interview by respected rock journalist Jason Arnopp was recorded on their 2000 American tour. Presented in a beautiful fold out digipak.

Customer Reviews:

IT'S ONLY ANOTHER AUDIO INTERVIEW.......2004-11-18

It's an audio interview, It the back of the CD case is writed:
"This is a spoken word product and contains no original music by the artist. It is not authorised by the artist, their record company or management. Incidental music by Myopia."

The case is well designed with photos of slipknot and lair messages like "It's just gonna be insane!"

If you are fan of Slipknot, this product will disapoint you and you will not consider part of your collection.

WHOO HOO.......2004-03-10

You need this CD. I mean, it's a beautiful fold out digipak for fug's sake!