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All time shows: Madison Scouts


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11 hours ago, BigW said:

2011, 1997,1996, 1995...1993, 1992, 1991... 1980.

That 1980 show... definitely underrated, IMO.

Great horn line... a ton of energy... and an absolutely stellar French horn soloist in "Ice Castles."

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Not much love from anyone for 1976 which given the turmoil of the season and change of show, was much better than 1975. Gotta give a shout for 1992 and 1997.

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On 1/10/2018 at 2:11 PM, mingusmonk said:

Least

1990 - Undiscovered Madison (should have stayed that way)

Ironically, they would revisit one of those tunes to greater effect a few years later: Paul Hart's "Remembrance".

I wish Madison or another corps would tackle "I Can Cook Too" again. A real catchy number.

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On 1/10/2018 at 6:40 PM, mbviking said:

2014-Just didn't feel the quiet ending

Huh. I thought that was the highlight of the show.

(And 1989 is awesome.)

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3 hours ago, freakyswotboy said:

Not much love from anyone for 1976 which given the turmoil of the season and change of show, was much better than 1975. Gotta give a shout for 1992 and 1997.

What they pulled off in 1976 was nothing short of amazing.  Basically scrapping/revamping their entire show during the season, and still managing to finish 2nd. 

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Favorites in no particular order:

1975

2012

1980

1999

1988

HM's

1989

1985

1979

1990

1984

And a big thumbs down to

2017

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1 hour ago, Fran Haring said:

What they pulled off in 1976 was nothing short of amazing.  Basically scrapping/revamping their entire show during the season, and still managing to finish 2nd. 

 1st half of the show musically was changed if I recall correctly, Fran. Still a monumental undertaking in season though, and  yet despite the 1st half music overhaul, they incredibly almost pulled off a repeat of their '75 DCI Title,  just as you said.

Edited by BRASSO
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So many great shows to choose from!

Favorites

The Pirates of Lake Mendota (1997) - this was the year that Madison took their scorching musical books and added it to a surprisingly sophisticated visual design.  Not to mention the pirates.  They kind of plateaued in the middle of the season, but for a while there it looked like they might challenge for a title - their brass was scoring really well early on.  No matter.  Still my all time favorite from them.  The drum rack / sword battle is still incredible, and would bring the house down even today.

City of Angels (1992) - City of Angels is just a great jazz book to begin with, but give the mad scientists at Madison an extra year to perfect it, and the result was masterful.  The brass nailed the entire show with a laser-like sound, and the new sFz snares (yes, they debuted in DCI in 1992 - we're all so old now) softened the drum sound a bit and actually improved the ensemble sound.  Reimagining Funny a la Malaguena, even down to the mello runs and drum accents, was a stroke of genius!  It gave the finale an urgency that the 1991 show didn't have.  Excuse me - I have to go listen to this one again.

A Drum Corps Fan's Dream, Part Dos (1996) - the more time goes on, the more I appreciate this show even more than the '95 version.  It might have lacked a bit of that oomph that energized the crowd in '95, but honestly - the charts in '96 are just better.  Still one I listen to on my playlist these days.  My only gripe - those were the quietest 8 tenors you've ever heard.  They never really used them to full effect.

Honorable Mention - 1995 (of course!), La Noche de la Iguana (2008), Power, Pizzaz and all that Jazz (1998)

 

Not so favorites

New York Morning (2011) - I'll grant that Empire State of Mind is a all-time pantheon great closer.  However, and I'll only put this here once, I find tragedy reinactments in the worst taste imaginable.  No thank you.

Corps of Brothers (2013) - another swing and a miss from me.  Felt simultaneously like too much navel gazing, *and* way too much current events.  (I have to say, I get why Jim Mason changed back to the 70's uniforms as a way to connect with classic Scouts fans, but I thought they were awful.  Much preferred the redesigned 90's uniforms that they rolled out in 2015-16.  I hope they bring them back this year.)

MadiSonic (2004) - it was very clearly designed as an homage to the full 1988 show, but never clicked like I'm sure it did on paper.  The charts felt more like imitations than innovations, and that "bring the thunder" moment everyone was waiting for never arrived.  Especially after the so-promising 2003 Benoit Jutras show, this felt like a step backwards.

Mike

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So many years mentioned. Demonstrates how popular Scouts have been through the decades.  78 and 81 - shows that could have won -are faves along with so many of the others already noted. It would be much easier to list off the duds. There haven't been many. Relampago however ..... gets a place of its own on that other side of the ledger. Yikes. 

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1988

1975

1999

1995

2006

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