Doctor Of Prog Rock

Classic Rock Presents Prog Issue 2

2009-05-13T16:53:00.002+01:00

The second issue of Classic Rocks Prog mag is out next week. Here's the cover. Interesting to note that the cover mounted CD will contain a track from the new Dream Theater album.

Esoteric Label Re-Releases Canterbury Classics

2009-05-05T16:34:00.003+01:00

In the next couple of weeks the excellent re-issue label releases four classic recordings from the so-called Canterbury Scene. The important ones for me are the two National Health albums. These were in effect Dave Stewart’s swansong recordings from this type of music and were a culmination of what had gone before with Egg and Hatfield and the North.

The debut album featured the duel keyboards of Stewart and the late great Alan Gowen, who also features on the other two releases by Gilgamesh and Soft Heap and the characteristic “valvey” guitar of Phil Miller. Though the music of National Health was considered complex and it is, it’s never less than hugely melodic. Just listen to the beautiful “Tenemos Roads” with the gorgeous vocals of Amanda Parsons. By “Of Queues and Cures” the band had become a much tighter unit with Henry Cow’s John Greaves on bass and vocals, taking over from Neil Murray who left to join Whitesnake! The material on this second album was more “rocky” if that is the right phrase and for me is one of my favourite Canterbury albums. Highlights are undoubtedly the epic “Squarer for Maud” and “The Bryden 2-Step”.

The band only recorded one more studio album made up of material written by Alan Gowen and released in tribute to him after his death in 1981. Shame Pip Pyle insisted on using an electronic drum kit for the sessions.

Knowing the quality of Esoteric releases in the past these re-releases should sound and look very good indeed. These recordings have long been hard to find on CD so its about time they were made more readily available. I believe Esoteric are also readying the two Hatfield and the North studio albums for re-release later in the year.

2009-04-16T13:45:00.002+01:00

Rewiring Genesis ~ A Tribute To The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway
Unifaun ~ Unifaun
Two takes on doing a Genesis. The first is a project partly instigated by Spock’s Beard Nick D’Virgilio. Completely re-recording Genesis’s epic double album concept might seem a tad pointless, but D’Virglio and cohort Mark Hornsby have made enough of a difference in the arrangements to warrant this recording. Using brass, strings and even an accordian this is a fresh and inspired re-working. Vocals and drums are by Virgilio who is excellent throughout. If anything I would have gone even further in making the arrangements even more radical, but this is a highly enjoyable treatment.

Unifaun take there name from a lyric on “Selling England by the Pound”. This band are Nad Sylvan (from the recent excellent Agents of Mercy album) and someone called Bonamici. They basically set out to write the Genesis songs, Genesis never did! It actually works. This sounds to me the album the band should have made after “Wind and Wuthering” if Hackett had stayed in the band. The songwriting is very much in the Genesis style, but it’s very strong and doesn’t feel like just mere copying. There is something very much the bands own working throughout. I like this a lot!

Hawkwind ~ Quark, Strangeness and Charm/PXR5 (remasters)
These two for me constitute the highlight of Hawkwinds time on the Charisma label. Robert Calvert is the star here. His vocals and lyrics are excellent and really should have secured Calvert’s status as a true rock visionary on a par with say Peter Gabriel or even Roger Waters. Outstanding re-releases by Esoteric.

Patrick Moraz ~ Change Of Space
Amazingly, almost back to the standard of “Story Of I”. Lots and lots and lots of wild frentetic synths. But that’s how we like it.

Camel ~ Moonmadness (Deluxe Edition)
Considered by many as Camel’s finest, this was actually remastered a number of years back. But the original analogue masters have been newly digitally transferred by Ben Wiseman, remastered by Pascal Byrne and sound sensational. Now extended with lots of live material into a 2CD affair, this is the ultimate version of this recording. A very nice digipack layout only slightly let down by the oversight of not printing the musician credits. Why do Mark Powell projects tend to do this! Apart from that highly recommended.

Also released and remastered for the first time is “Raindance” the album that featured Richard Sinclair. This has a more mellow almost AOR feel about it. But still lots to enjoy. They have also released “The Snow Goose” as a 2CD deluxe edition.

By the way, just read that Transatlantic (Roine Stolt, Pete Trewavas, Mike Portnoy and Neal Morse) are back together to record a third album!!

Prognosis ~ Free CD with 1st issue of “Prog”

2009-03-26T15:51:00.000+01:00

The CD that comes with the first issue of Classic Rock presents Prog Magazine is one of the best freebies I have come across. Quite a few bands I have never heard of and the samples presented are on the whole highly impressive. Here’s a rundown.

Panic Room ~ Elektra City
An edited version of the opening track from the bands excellently varied debut album.

Whimwise ~ Scurry Flurries
Very much in the vein of The Enid which is no surprise as Nick May from that band is on this. Also reminded me of Zappa’s synclavier excursions like “Jazz from Hell”.

Godsticks ~ Only When Provoked
This is a bit fusionesque. Think of Finneus Gauge or early Thieves Kitchen.

Mystery ~ Beneath the Veil of Winter’s Face
Fronted by new Yes man Benoit David. This is excellent stuff in a retro 70’s prog way. Very colourful and highly melodic.

The Reasoning ~ Dark Angel
From the bands second album. I like it, but this band hasn’t quite completely gelled with me yet.

Blood Ceremony ~ Hop Toad
This was a big surprise. Somehow I was expecting something death metal. The blurb says a mix of Sabbath and Tull. I see that, but I am also reminded of 70’s Swedish prog and these guys are not a million miles away from Anekdoten either. Very enjoyable.

The Treat ~ Citizen of the World
A good acoustic intro which gives way into a heavy section that is a bit in the Kashmir, eastern style. Very good indeed.

Diagonal ~ Semi Permeable Men-Brain
I am very familiar with this. It’s quite sensational. An amazing 10 minutes of out there prog. This Brighton band are going to be big.

Of The I ~ Cathexis
This starts off deceptively pedestrian in a typical prog metal way, but moves into a great instrumental workout. Another very promising band.

Spaced Out ~ Biomechanic II
Heavy fusion stuff a la Planet X. Great musicianship.

So for me the standouts are Diagonal, Mystery, Blood Ceremony and Of The I. But there is nothing here that is really less than interesting across the 61 minutes of this CD.

Classic Rock Presents Prog - Out!!

2009-03-25T16:52:00.002+01:00

I just picked up the first issue of Classic Rock's Prog magazine. First impressions are extremely good. There is lots to enjoy here. Not just about the usual suspects, but more importantly the new talent that is out there. The included CD reflects that. I haven't heard a lot of these acts so there will be much to explore.

More on this when I properly explore the contents. It also looks like its going to be a bi-monthy publication.

Playlist ~ 23rd March 2009

2009-03-23T14:50:00.000+01:00

Satellite ~ Nostalgia
Fourth album from one of Poland’s finest. Maybe working within the more neo-prog arena, the contemporary production makes this a class above most other releases in this genre. The songwriting is strong and memorable, highly melodic. This is really drummers Wojtek Szadkowski’s project and his work here is highly impressive. This is infectious stuff!

Agents Of Mercy ~ The Fading Ghosts of Twilight
That man Stolt is back with another new project which he fits in between those epic Flower King masterworks. The album is centred around Unifaun’s Nad Sylvan who has one of those voices you love or hate. It is very much in the theatrical Fish/Gabriel vein and works here very well. This album is much stronger than I expected and is one for those liking mid-period Genesis, but actually offers a whole lot more.

King Crimson ~ Lizard
With the news that Steven Wilson’s surround mixes of Crimson’s back catalogue is nearing fruition, starting with the release of “Lizard” and “Red”, I took the opportunity to give the last remastering release a spin. I have always considered “Lizard” to be very unfairly maligned, even by Fripp himself. Even now the odd jazz arrangements make this the one of the most distinctive albums in the Crimson canon. In particular the trio of songs which start the album are some of the best stuff that Fripp and Sinfield penned together. This is skewed, surrealist fantasy songwriting like no other. I don’t think an album cover has so perfectly represented the music therein as has Gini Barris’s strikingly ornate artwork for “Lizard”.

Steven Wilson ~ Insurgentes
The retail release for Steven Wilson (yes, him again) after last years limited edition deluxe hardback edition shows the album to be even better second time round. I have to say the attention to detail in the arrangements and production is exquisite. This is the perfect culmination of what Wilson has been striving for within Porcupine Tree, No-Man and Blackfield. The man’s unstoppable!

Wetton & Downes ~ Icon 3
The songwriting team of John Wetton and Geoff Downes are on a bit of a high at the moment as evidenced by last years return to form for Asia with “Phoenix”. This third instalment in the Icon trilogy of albums is as strong as the others. This is melodic rock at its very best. Wetton is in wonderful voice and it’s so good to see him coming away from his period of health problems with such a positive and strong statement as this album is.

Prog Magazine Cover

2009-03-11T13:57:00.001+01:00

Here's the cover shot for the first issue of Classic Rock's Prog magazine, due to hit the streets on March 25th.

Wobbler ~ Afterglow

2009-03-11T11:43:00.002+01:00

For those who were looking for a replacement for the legendary Swedish band Anglagard, Wobbler fitted the bill to a tee. Although Norwegian, they were geographically and sonically close enough to carry on the template set out by Anglagard over their two classic albums. Their debut “Hinterland” was released back in 2005. Since then silence. Now we have a new album. Well sort of! This shortish album (around 35 minutes) is actually made up of material written in 1999 and recorded during 2007/2008. The bulk of the album is centred around re-recordings of two demos “Imperial Winter White Dwarf” and “Leprechaun Behind the Door” which were only available for a short while on their web site. For many these demos were better than the album itself! These tracks are now titled more sensibly “Imperial Winter White” and “In Taberna”. Well worth getting for these excellent compositions, now sounding better than ever. Recommended for those into their analogue keyboards and basses of a Rickenbacker variety. That will be me then! The CD can be ordered directly via the bands own label, Termo Records.

"Classic Rock Presents Prog" Magazine

2009-03-05T11:38:00.000+01:00

Unbelievably, Classic Rock magazine are publishing a new quarterly magazine devoted exclusively to prog rock! Has prog rock become popular and no one told me about it!! I wonder what prompted the decision that this was a viable proposition. It does seem that prog is no longer the dirty word it once used to be. In fact it does seem to be hip to have your music described as “prog”.

With the success of bands like Muse, Radiohead and The Mars Volta maybe there is a market for a publication devoted to more risk taking rock music. The tide does seem to have turned and rock music is becoming more progressive. Both looking to the future and the past. Take the Brighton band Diagonal for example. They look and sound old school prog. Lots of Crimsonising going on, but they add their own slant and take things off in different directions. Pure Reason Revolution are about to release a new album which by all accounts is as much electronic/dance orientated as it is prog.

I think this is an exciting time for rock music at the moment. Bands do seem to be taking risks again and that a mainstream music publication reflects that in producing a new magazine is timely indeed. It looks like they are going to cover the traditional prog bands like Yes, Genesis and ELP as well as newer acts like The Reasoning, Demians and Frost*. I really hope this is a success as the music I love deserves this type of coverage. Out of the closet at last!!

Playlist ~ 2nd March 2009

2009-03-02T17:16:00.001+01:00

Magma ~ Studio Zund
Magma along with Henry Cow and Univers Zero produced some of the most uncompromising rock music to come out of the 70’s. This 12 disc box set comprises all of the bands studio albums plus a 2 CD set which includes various archive recordings. No remastering has been carried out, but the sound is pretty good anyway. Each digipacked album comes with its own booklet which includes archival photographs and notes, some of which is actually in English of a kind! You can get this box for around £50 which is a real bargain for anyone wanting a quick way into the world of Zeuhl.

Richard Pinhas and Merzbow ~ Keio Line
Pinhas seems to be going through quite a fertile period at the moment. His last 2 CD set “Metatron” included some of his best work since the golden days of Heldon. This time around he has teamed up with noise pioneer Merzbow to produce something more sedate. It may be termed dark ambient and utilises Pinhas’s own variant of Frippertronics but the results are taught and electrically tense.

Ultravox ~ Quartet
The second batch of EMI remasters includes this, the third Midge Ure fronted album with the band. I think a lot of people will be surprised how non-poppy this album is and how good a guitarist Midge is.

Dr Strangely Strange ~ Kip of the Senses
I new about this strange, obscure band via Mark Powells Island box set which was named after a song from this album. They seem to be mentioned in the same breadth as the Incredible String Band and do travel a similar acid folk path. I recently read an account of the release of this album in the latest Record Collector mag and was intrigued to search out this excellent re-issue on Hux records. This is another superb example of how to properly re-issue long out of print recordings. The amount of love and attention given to the remastering and packaging is highly impressive. Hux have also levelled the same attention to detail on recently released archival collections by Dr Strangely Strange and the Incredible String Band. The latter got me on to a recent acid folk kick. But that’s another story!

Playlist – 11th February 2009

2009-02-11T15:12:00.003+01:00

Various Artists ~ Factory Records: Communications 1978 – 92
This is an excellent 4CD overview of the legendary Factory label. They will always be linked to the likes of Joy Division, New Order and Happy Mondays. But it’s the other bands, especially A Certain Ratio and The Durutti Column who were the labels shining stars. Just listen to ACR’s “Flight”. This has to be one of producer Martin Hannetts best works and is a classic song. Of course Vini Reilly can do no wrong in my book and Durutti Column are still going strong, with another album due in April. The booklet which accompanies the box has a very good essay by Paul Morley and track by track annotations by James Nice of LTM (who re-release a lot of Factory related stuff).

John Martyn ~ Solid Air
This and others like “Grace and Danger” have been getting heavy rotation. I really forgot how good the man was. Not just me but a lot of people I know, even at work have been giving the old grizzler some ear time.

SBB ~ Iron Curtain
The latest from Poland’s finest band. They may be getting long in the tooth, but they still deliver the goods. As expected lots of great playing by keyboardist Jozef Skrzek and in particular guitarist Apostolis Anthimos.

Omar Rodriguez-Lopez ~ Se Dice Bisonte, No Búfalo
Been listening to some solo stuff by The Mars Volta’s maverick guitarist. Just as crazy as his main band, this has lots of great freak-out guitar playing.

Secret Machines ~ Secret Machines
Still loving this new album. Heavier than previous efforts, but it really gels after repeated listens.

Henry Cow ~ The Roads Vol 1 and 2
Still to work through this massive 10 disc box set. The booklets are amazing and the picture quality of the DVD is much better than expected. Seeing Chris Cutler flailing around his drum kit is worth the price of the set alone!

The Only Ones ~ The Only Ones
The sensational debut album by Peter Perrett and company has now been beautifully remastered by Ray Staff. Best known for their classic single “Another Girl, Another Planet”, this debut album and follow up “Even Serpents Shine” were near perfect collections. The sophistacation of songs like “Breaking Down” and the epic “The Beast” belie their post-punk classification.

John Martyn (1948 – 2009)

2009-01-29T17:58:00.002+01:00

The passing today of John Martyn will strike a chord with many who have come into contact with the man’s songs. His best music hits deep into the subconscious and leaves its mark there forever.

His best work was done when signed to Island Records in the 70’s where he joined a formidable roster of acts that included Fairport Convention and his friend Nick Drake. He made a slew of albums that are deemed classics now. For me the run of albums from 1971’s “Bless The Weather” up to 1977’s “One World” are faultless in their quality, Martyn experimenting with form and style.

My one memory of him which will linger forever is seeing him on TV (not sure which programme), where he was sat on a stool simply playing a song just accompanied by his guitar. All of a sudden he switches in his echoplex delay unit and his guitar suddenly takes off into weird flights of musical delight. This is not what singer/ songwriters do. But Martyn was a restless spirit, always wanting to push the boundaries and not just musical ones!

John Martyn was one of a kind and his position as one of our greatest musical artists is safely secured by the legacy he leaves us. He is gone, but his music lives with us forever.

Playlist - January 29th 2009

2009-01-29T12:00:00.002+01:00

Hawkwind ~ Astounding Sounds, Amazing Music
This album always seems to pale when comparisons are made with the follow up “Quark, Strangeness and Charm” and the previous “Warriors on the Edge of Time”. I think the fans found the change from the sprawling space rock epics of yore to a more sharper song based style disconcerting. But I think the Charisma years where Robert Calvert was at his most prominent within the band were the bands most rewarding.

Manning ~ Number 10
Still listening to this and it gets better and better with repeated listens. This is really a triumph!

Secret Machines ~ Secret Machines
The follow up to the very excellent “Ten Silver Drops”. Since then the band has gone through some upheavals, losing guitarist Benjamin Curtis and changing record label. Now with new guitarist Phil Karnats on board the results can be heard on this self titled third album. Much heavier than the more poppier “Ten Silver Drops”, though there are still plenty of great hooks and layers of treated guitars.

Umphrey’s McGee ~ Mantis
Considered a US jam band?! Whatever, anyone familiar with their web site knows this eclectic band are at the forefront of internet available music. That is you can just about download all their live concerts. As a live act they play about with their music, re-arranging standards and adding improvised pieces. This new studio album is more progressive and song based than previous albums and is beautifully arranged and produced.

Henry Cow ~ 40th Anniversary Box Set
At last I have this monumental release in my grubby little paws. A long time coming but worth the wait. More on this later, but suffice to say this is an important release!

Henry Cow Box Set - Arrived

2009-01-28T10:47:00.000+01:00

The whole thing arrived this morning. Wow!!!!!!!

Henry Cow Box Set - Last Update

2009-01-27T11:45:00.004+01:00

Above is the latest picture of the box set just published on the rermegacorp web site. It looks like three boxes as two are the live stuff being released with a third which will house the existing studio CD's This makes for a complete Henry Cow set. Not sure if there will be room for the "Concerts" CD. Shame if that has to sit on its own!

Looks like it will be a 9CD set, but there is to be a 10th CD which only subscribers to the box set will receive. There is a fantastic review of the set by John Kelman over at All About Jazz.

The feeling is these are shipping this week. I will let you know when I get it!

Manning ~ Number 10

2009-01-21T12:16:00.002+01:00

Unbelievably, this is Guy Manning’s tenth studio album in as many years, hence the title. Producing an album a year would be a task for most artists, but the consistency of the quality of his songwriting throughout each album is nothing short of staggering. Strangely, with this latest offering Guy just missed the album a year mark by just a few weeks.

“Number 10” is the second release on the UK Festival Music Label, following on from the exceptional “Songs from the Bilston House”. This is also the second to be co-produced by Andy Tillison of The Tangent, which Guy is also a member of. Both have worked together for many years and having Andy on board has added an extra musical punch to both albums.

This latest collection starts off in fine fashion with the storming rocker “Ships” about a relationship that is all at sea! The opening has some scorching Hammond playing, very ELP! Great guitar work by David Million on this too. Next up is “The Final Chapter” which is another great uptempo number with a very nice synth solo in the middle. “An Ordinary Day”, one of Guy’s most observational songs and also one of his most beautiful. There is a delicacy and airiness about this song that is quite breathtaking. There is nothing delicate about “Bloody Holiday! ”, a wry observational piece and with a catchy chorus that will be ringing in your ears for days! Possibly this is the finest prog song about holidays since Gentle Giants “Two Weeks In Spain”. It may actually be the only one! “A Valentines Night” is an excellent duet between Guy and Mrs Manning, Julie King who did a wonderful vocal on The Tangents “Four Egos, One War” from their last album. “A Road Less Travelled” is the first of two extended pieces, which allow the musicians to stretch out. Quite a Celtic feel to this, with some fantastic fiddle playing by Ian Fairbairn. Guy has really surrounded himself with a host of fantastic musicians on this album, all who work in complete empathy with Guys music. “Another Lazy Sunday” is another accurately observed song with Laura Fowles sax very much to the fore on this.

The whole album ends in spectacular fashion with the 15 minute “A House on the Hill”. This for me is one of Guys best compositions ever. Lyrically this seems to be a tale of love across time and reminds me of the 1980 film “Somewhere In Time” which starred Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour. There is an excellent musical build up from the simple piano led opening (which to my ears has echo’s of Peter Hammill at his most reflective) and which peaks with the muscualr instrumental mid-section penned by Guy and Andy Tillison. The songs finale offers a pleasing emotional climax to the story and clearly shows what a great lyricist Guy is.

There are very few artists today who apply the craft of the classic singer/songwriter within the prog genre. The only other that comes to mind is Steve Thorne. Guy over the course of ten years has refined his style, built up a group of excellent supporting musicians and has consistently produced work of such a high standard. “Number 10” is up there with his best, which is most of his output and is a very fitting celebration of ten years worth of superb music. Here’s to another ten.

Playlist – January 19th 2009

2009-01-19T15:55:00.002+01:00

Hawkwind – 25 Years on (Hawklords), Astounding Sounds Amazing Music, Live Chronicles, Electric Tepee (2009 Remasters)
First batch of re-releases of Hawkwinds back catalogue, dating from 1976. The Esoteric team have done a remarkable job on all fronts; sound, packaging and bonus tracks.

SBB – Anthology 1974 – 2004
SBB – The Rock
Mammoth 22CD box set of all studio/live releases from Poland’s premier prog band. New studio album due very soon, the follow up to “The Rock”. Metal Mind really support this band as they have also released 2 box sets of archival material, each containing 9 CD’s!!

Manning – Number 10
Another fantastic album from the ever productive Guy Manning. Celebrating ten albums in ten years, this latest collection is as strong as ever.

Atomic Rooster – Death Walks Behind You
On the back of seeing the band playing “Tomorrow Night” from the recently aired “Prog at the BBC” BBC4 show, I sought the album out. This is an excellent slice of heavy proto-prog. Great playing by Vincent Crane.

Henry Cow Box Set Update

2009-01-06T14:21:00.004+01:00

Looks like the upcoming box set of live Henry Cow recordings is released around 16th January and is now a 10 CD plus DVD affair. Seems some new recordings came to light at the last minute.

Bob Drake who remastered the whole thing has a web site dedicated to his reminiscences about the project. Nothing on there yet but keep your eye on http://www.bordebasse.fr/henrycow/remastering.htm

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

2008-12-23T11:17:00.002+01:00

Merry Christmas and a happy, prosperous New Year to all readers of this blog. Are there many? Who knows!

The above are my three favourite prog based Christmas singles. For me they are the essence of Christmas in the 70’s as a teenager. Great days!

Anyway, enjoy the holiday and remember pop pickers to tune into BBC4 at 10pm on Friday 2nd January for Prog Rock Brittania: An Observation in Three Movements which promises to be the first thorough and non-pisstaking overview of the genre we all know and love. We shall see!

Very best wishes to everyone.

Some Other New Stuff I Liked In 2008

2008-12-17T16:33:00.002+01:00

Finishing off my lists of the year here are some other newly released stuff I liked in the last 12 months. In no particular order this time, because I can't be bothered.

Wire ~ Object 47
Back to what they do best. Tricksy, arty, angular pop.

Mothlite ~ The Flax Of Reverie
Off kilter songs from Guapo mainman.

Earth ~ The Bees Made Honey In The Lions Skull
The addition of Bill Frisell really makes this recording stand out.

Guapo ~ Elixirs
Far away from their Zeuhl roots, but still intoxicating.

Black Mountain ~ In The Future
Almost in the prog section as the use of synths and mellotron takes this excellent slab of heavy rock very near to that territory.

Keane ~ Perfect Symmetry
I like this a lot. Lots of nice 80’s styled synths and great songs,

Bill Nelson ~ Clocks And Dials
Another bumper year for Bill. Having released five, yes five new albums including this 2 CD set which was so chock-a-block that the last track just didn’t fit!

Elbow ~ The Seldom Seen Kid
Deserved the Mercury prize without a doubt. Sometimes there is justice in the world!

Byrne & Eno ~ Everything That Happens Will Happen Today
This was never was going to be the next “My Life In the Bush Of Ghosts”. Nevertheless this is hugely enjoyable.

Howlin Rain ~ Magnificent Fiend
Great earthy, American songwriting. Beautifully arranged and played.

Steven Wilson ~ Insurgentes
Obvious nods to Porcupine Tree, No-Man and Blackfield, but this is his darkest outing yet. Sumptuous packaging.

Portishead ~ Third
Surpisingly more edgier and experimental than previous albums. Satisfyingly so.

Sigur Ros ~ With A Buzz In Our Ears We Play Endlessly
Maybe treading water a bit, but they always push the right buttons. As always haunting and beautiful.

TV On The Radio ~ Dear Science
This is what Brian Eno or Talking Heads might sound like if they were producing their key works now!

Darkroom ~ Some Of These Numbers Mean Something
Fantastic atmospheric instrumental music with the wonderful Michael Bearpark.

The Verve ~ Forth
They could have gone safe with this comeback release, but they have admirably experimented with their sound.

Coldplay ~ Viva La Vida
Working with Brian Eno was always going to be a winning combination. And it is!

Richard Barbieri ~ Stranger Inside
A brilliant follow up to the incredible “Things Buried”. Great instrumentals and wonderfully textured keyboards.

Dungen - 4
More Swedish psychedelic sonic wonders. This may be Gustav Ejstes project, but it’s the guitar of Reine Fiske that stands out for me.

Re-Issues/Compilations of The Year 2008

2008-12-17T12:13:00.003+01:00

40. Dave Greenslade ~ The Pantateuch Of The Cosmogony
A straight re-issue of the 1994 SBM remaster. BGO have done as good as job as possible in reproducing Patrick Woodroffe’s lavish book in the CD size format. The music may not be the equal of the book, but its not as bad as I remember.

39. Various Artists ~ Spirit Of Joy – Tales From The Polydor Underground 1967 - 1974
Another Mark Powell label based box set. Polydor were never as esoteric as the likes of Decca, but there is plenty to admire here.

38. Trees ~ The Garden of Jane Delawney
After the success of Sony/BMG’s “On The Shore” re-issue they have done the same with this, the bands debut album.

37. John G. Perry ~ Sunset Wading
Re-issued on the excellent Esoteric label, this is a minor gem from the ex-Caravan bassist.

36. Various Artists ~ The Recommended Sampler
At last released on CD for the first time. This sampler of artists who recorded for the ReR label is to sya the least eclectic. Beautifully remastered by Bob Drake.

35. Supersister ~ Remasters
Esoteric released four of this Dutch bands albums who are held in high esteem. The best is probably “Present from Nancy”.

34. The Gathering ~ Sand And Mercury – The Complete Century Media Years
Excellently packaged box set containing all the material recorded for the Century Media label.

33. Stomu Yamashta ~ Go
Another winning release from Esoteric. This is Yamashta’s best known album, athough it’s also worth checking out “Floating Music”

32. Chicago ~ Stone Of Sisyphus
Long lost recording released at last. Though recorded during the bands more commercial period, there is much to enjoy here.

31. England ~ Garden Shed
The origin of this re-issue is a bit unknown, but it’s the best way to get this excellent prog album from the back end of progs golden period.

30. Various Artists ~ Strange Pleasures - Further Sounds Of The Decca Underground
Yes, its another of those Mark Powell box sets. More from the Decca labels.

29. Robert Wyatt ~ Rock Bottom
A straight re-issue really of the Hannibal release from the late 90’s. Although the original cover artwork has been re-instated.

28. Various Artists ~ The All New Electric Muse
Breathtaking collection of folk into rock from the 60’s through to the 70’s.

27. ELP ~ Deluxe Editions
These remasters of “Pictures at an Exhibition” and “Brain Salad Surgery” sound fantastic. Very poorly let down by the unbelievable inaccuracies and errors throughout the packaging.

26. Porcupine Tree ~ Lightbulb Sun
Steven Wilson gives this 2000 album the full 5.1 surround sound treatment. A pity the bonus tracks only appear on the DVD disc.

25. Fripp & Eno ~ Remasters
“No Pussyfooting” and “Evening Star” remastered by Simon Heyworth supervised by Robert Fripp. Amusing “alternative” versions of “The Heavenly Music Corporation” and “Sawastika Girls”!

24. Alan Parsons Project ~ Remasters
The last batch of remasters of APP recordings. This has been a wonderful series of re-issues. Great sound and informative booklets with interesting bonus cuts.

23. Renaissance ~ Renaissance
Re-issued by Repertoire in mini-LP format. This is a great recording, somewhat overshadowed by the later version of the band.

22. Dream Theater ~ Greatest Hit (& 21 Other Pretty Cool Songs)
Nice 2CD compilation covering material recorded for Atlantic.

21. Man ~ Back Into The Future
Lavish box set of live Man. Well done Esoteric.

20. Univers Zero ~ 1313
Beautifully remastered debut album from the darkest of prog bands, released on the Cuneiform label.

19. Blancmange ~ Remasters
Edsel Records are at the forefront for re-releasing 80’s synth pop. These remasters of Blancmange’s three albums remind us of how good this duo were.

18. Ultravox ~ Remasters
Very nice remasters of “Vienna” and “Rage In Eden”, extended to 2CD sets to include lost of bonus tracks.

17. 808 State ~ Remasters
ZTT have re-issued the complete 808 State catalogue as 2 CD sets to includes lots of extra material.

16. Gentle Giant ~ Three Friends
Remasterd by Eroc who has done a sterling job on the other Vertigo label Gentle Giant re-issues for Repertoire. Given the mini-LP treatment as well.

15. Penguin Café Orchestra ~ Broadcasting From Home
This is my favourite album from the PCO catalogue. Nicely reproduced in minimalist digipacks

14. Abel Ganz ~ The Dangers Of Strangers (20th Anniversary Edition)
Beautifully remastered and packaged re-issue of Scottish proggers best album from the 80’s.

13. John Foxx ~ Remasters
Having re-issued “Metamatic” as a deluxe 2CD edition a few years back, Edsel give the rest of the back catalogue the same treatmets. Lost of great bonus material included here and “The Garden” booklet now re-produced for the first time.

12. Return To Forever ~ Anthology
Phenomenal sounding remastered best of from this astounding jazz rock group from the 70’s.

11. Lana Lane ~ Best of Lana Lane 2000 - 2008
Japan only best of from the recent output of America’s finest female rock singer. All tracks nicely remastered by hubby Erik Norlander.

10. Dead Can Dance ~ Remasters
Beautifully remastered by Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs and John Rivers and all packaged in mini-LP sleeves. A gorgeous collection.

9. Anthony Philips ~ Wise after The Event
This is my choice of his back catalogue re-released this year. A brilliant 2 CD collection stuffed with great bonus tracks, excellent thorough annotated booklet and great remastering by Simon Hetworth.

8. Ayreon ~ Timeline
Sumptuous 3 CD and DVD box set bringing together the Ayreon story in one satisfying package.

7. Big Big Train ~ English Boy Wonders
Not just remastered but this early recording has been completely revisited with new bits added. Now sounds like new!

6. Parallel Or 90 Degrees ~ A Can Of Worms
Long overdue retrospective for Andy Tillisons pre-Tangent band. On the evidence of material like “Afterlifecycle” and “Promises of Life” this band is hugely overlooked.

5. Barndomens Stigar ~ Kultivator
Excellent re-release for this Swedish prog classic. Well done to Mellotronen in making this available, especially with added disc of newly recorded material.

4. Hawkwind ~ Box Sets
New label Atomhenge has been set-up to re-release Hawkwinds post 1976 albums next year. As a precursor they have released two 3CD box sets showcasing some of the best material from those albums. Surprisingly lots of great stuff here.

3. The Skids ~ The Absolute Game
I forgot how great this album was. Captain Oi have done a great job in re-releasing this together with the free album that came with the original LP release plus three bonus tracks. This album should be considered as one of the great post-punk albums, placed alongside the likes of Magazine, Wire etc.

2. T2 ~ It'll All Work Out In Broomland
Well done to Acme for making this readily available again. An absolute proto-prog classic. Keith Cross should have been a huge rock star.

1. Genesis ~ Box Set 1970-1975
EMI get it right with the third instalment of their remixing/remastering of the bands back catalogue. The sound is a revelation and the extras as good as could be expected considering what little there is around. They saved the best to last and proves that though latter Genesis may have been more commercially successful, it’s the earlier period which was musically more fulfilling.

Favourite Prog Albums of 2008

2008-12-16T15:45:00.002+01:00

40. Tiles ~ Fly Paper
Getting further away the obvious Rush influences of their past releases, even though Alex Lifeson guests on one track.

39. Demians ~ Building An Empire
Excellent debut from this French outfit. Given the SW seal of approval.

38. Osada Vida ~ The Body Parts
Technical prog metal. This should have been received more widely than it was.

37. Presto Ballet ~ The Lost Art Of Time Travel
Second outing for this retro offshoot project. Highly enjoyable never the less.

36. Deus Ex Machina ~ Imparis
More wild fusionesque prog from one of Italy’s best bands.

35. Uriah Heep ~ Wake The Sleeper
A big surprise this. These guys should not be making music this good, but they did!

34. Edensong ~ The Fruit Fallen
Another great debut, this time from the US. A nice blend of instruments and styles.

33. Rhys Marsh And The Autumn Ghost ~ The Fragile State Of Inbetween
Pastoral prog, in a pop vein from Norway and first release on new label Better Place Recordings. Keep an eye on this label!

32. VdGG ~ Trisector
Back again, as a trio this time. Edgier than “Present” actually sounding quite refreshed.

31. Pineapple Thief ~ Tightly Unwound
Now signed to K Scope, this is their heaviest effort yet.

30. Karmakanic ~ Whose The Boss In the Factory
Superb solo outing from Flower Kings master bassist.

29. Beardfish ~ Sleeping In Traffic Part 2
Great follow up to the very excellent Part 1. Though I wish they would ditch the Zappaesque humour.

28. Sensitive To Light ~ From The Ancient World
Beautiful second album from Saen’s Vince Leff.

27. Mostly Autumn ~ Glass Shadows
Their most fully realised album in a few years. But always left feeling they can do more.

26. Lunatic Soul ~ Lunatic Soul
Atmospheric and beautifully textured first solo outing from Riverside mainman.

25. It Bites ~ Tall Ships
John Mitchell is on board, so its bound to be good. And it is.

24. The Reasoning ~ Dark Angel
Heavier than their debut, but this band is lining up to be one of the UK’s most promising outfits.

23. Marillion ~ Happiness Is The Road
Excellent double album and beautifully packaged. Nearly as good as “Marbles”.

22. Diagonal ~ Diagonal
Fantastic debut from this Brighton band. Mixing, jazz, prog, ambient they come across as a British Mars Volta. Very promising indeed.

21. Nosund ~ Lightdark
The best atmospheric rock album of the year. The No-Man influences are there, but this is a beautiful album

20. Moon Safari ~ Blomljud
A sprawling double album. A bit hippy for some, but gorgeous Swedish prog.

19. No-Man ~ Schoolyard Ghosts
The ever busy Steven Wilson and Tim Bowness serve up some more out there songs.

18. Asia ~ Phoenix
Much, much better than we should have expected. John Wetton is on fine form.

17. Opeth ~ Watershed
Can these guys get any better!

16. Neal Morse ~ Lifeline
Not much progress, but still some fantastic prog on show here.

15. Abel Ganz ~ Shooting Albatross
Great to have these Scottish proggers back with this excellent effort.

14. Frost* ~ Experiments In Mass Appeal
Second album from pop maestro Jem Godfrey’s side project. A more band project this time with Darwin’s Radio Declan Burke to the fore.

13. Panic Room ~ Visionary Position
Another excellent debut. Sophisticated and mixing lots of styles. Very promising

12. RPWL ~ The RPWL Experience
Very solid release from one Germany’s best bands.

11. Ephrat ~ No One’s Word
Love this album from Israel’s Omer Ephrat. Mixed and mastered by Steven Wilson.

10. Believe ~ Yesterday Is A Friend
Great second album from Satellite offshoot. Contains one of my favourite songs of the year in “You & Me”.

9. Ayreon ~ 1011001
Another epic concept prog opera. Lucassen is the master at this sort of thing.

8. The Mars Volta ~ The Bedlam In Goliath
More mental madness from Omar and Cedric. For me, this is their most structured release.

7. Magenta ~ Metamorphosis
Their most complex and darkest work yet.

6. Brighteye Brison ~ Believers & Deceivers
Beautiful and colourful prog from this Swedish band. The double keyboard line-up is a winner.

5. Unitopia ~ The Garden
Absolutely stunning double album from this Australian band. Unknown to many, this release should rectify that.

4. Pendragon ~ Pure
A really bold and audacious album. Their most powerful achievement.

3. Thieves Kitchen ~ The Water Road
Bringing in Anglagard’s Thomas Johnson on keyboards was a masterstroke. The combination of TK’s National Health/Bruford fusion style and the pastoral prog of Anglagard works perfectly here. The arrangements and production are wonderful. This is a dream recording.

2. Martin Orford ~ The Old Road
His last contribution to the world of prog. And what a way to go out. Everyone involved is on top form and Orford’s writing and playing are perfect. This album combines a great sense of nostalgia and an ever present love for progressive rock.

1. The Tangent ~ Not As Good As The Book
Andy Tillison’s most ambitious work yet. Spread over 2 CD’s this sees the band going even further towards the PO90 sound, including a re-working of that bands epic “Four Egos, One War”. Bringing Jakko M Jakszyk in on vocals and guitar added a further dimension to the bands sound. More of him next time please. The packaging is great too as the book is a hoot. This will do nicely to the next Manning album.

Favourite Live Albums 2008

2008-12-08T14:49:00.004+01:00

The first overview of the past year starts with a look at some of my favourite live recordings. This may have been headed by the Henry Cow box set, but that looks like it won’t be out till beginning of January.

10. Porcupine Tree ~ We Lost the Skyline
Basically an in-store duo performance with Steven Wilson and John Wesley, re-working some PT material. Pity its only 30-odd minutes long, but nice to hear these songs in a non-standard almost acoustic setting.

9. UK ~ Live In Boston
A Japan only release for this long available bootleg recording. Though the sound here knocks the socks off anything that came before.

8. Spock’s Beard ~Live
Strangely, released barely two years since their last live set, this nevertheless emphatically shows the band at their exciting best. A nice mixture of older and newer material on show.

7. Kansas ~ Two for the Show
Remastered and expanded, this shows the band at their live best. Sony have done a great job here, right down to the packaging.

6. Rush ~ Snakes and Arrows Live
On the back of their best studio album for years, Rush rip through lots of their best material. Soundwise this is much, much better than the noise that was “Rush in Rio”.

5. Magenta ~ Live at the Point
A superbly recorded live album from the brilliant Magenta. Been a really good year for the band.

4. Trettioraga Kriget ~ War Years
This is a fantastic 2CD anthology of live TK through the years. The sound is first class and the performances from this legendary Swedish outfit top notch.

3. Henry Cow ~ Stockholm & Göteberg
A taster for the 9 disc box set which is soon to be with us. This disc shows HC at their formidable best, mixing composed and improvised material. If this is just a small example of what to expect, the full set will be monumental.

2. Pure Reason Revolution ~ Live at Nearfest 2007
With a new studio album at last being released next March, this live recording is a suitable stop gap. “The Dark Third” sounded a bit thin, but on this excellent live recording, the band sound emphatically powerful.

1. David Gilmour ~ Live In Gdansk
Beautifully recorded performance of the “On an Island” album (which is better here than the studio version) plus some great Pink Floyd covers, especially the mighty ‘Echoes’. A more than fitting epitaph for the sadly missed Richard Wright.

Hawkwind ~ Spirit of the Age (Anthology 1976 – 1984)

2008-12-03T17:30:00.000+01:00

New Esoteric subsidiary label Atomhenge has been set up to re-release all of Hawkwinds post 1976 albums up to 1997, fully remastered with bonus tracks and restored artwork. Those will start to be re-issued early in 2009, but prior to that the label has compiled two 3CD box sets. The first covers the period 1976 to 1984 and the second, titled “The Dream Goes On” covers 1985 to 1997. The “Spirit of the Age” anthology is noteworthy as it covers the successful period when the band were signed to the Charisma label, after being with United Artists since their inception. My favourite albums from the Charisma years were “Quark, Strangeness and Charm” and the excellent “PXR5”. The latter contains some of my favourite post-UA Hawkwind tracks like “Jack of Shadows” and the wonderful ”High Rise”. Listening to this stuff again I had forgotten what an excellent lyricist and vocalist Robert Calvert was. The band at this time sounded on occasion like a post-LSD Roxy Music but there is still no mistaking Dave Brocks riffing and the bubbling synths are trademark Hawkwind.

The remastering on all tracks is by Ben Wiseman from the Audio Archiving Company who has kept things very much at low volume, which is the antithesis to a lot of mastering these days. The 48 page booklet has lots of archival photographs and detailed text by Ian Abrahams who has written a book about the band. This is a superb compilation and suitably illustrates how surprisingly varied Hawkind sounded during the period covered here.

Current Listening ~ 2/12/08

2008-12-02T14:00:00.001+01:00

Frost* ~ Experiments in Mass Appeal
Second offering from progs Mr Pop, Jem Godfrey. For me this is even better than the debut. More of a band feel prevails with Declan Burke from the very promising Darwin’s Radio on lead vocals a smart move!

Phil Manzanera ~ Firebird V11
Phil back with his old Quiet Sun mucker, Charles Hayward. This has a very Quiet Sun/Diamond Head feel to it and even a bit of This Heat avant gardness! A great instrumental album with Phil’s guitar suitably treated.

Edensong ~ The Fruit Fallen
A very promising US outfit producing deceptively heavily pastoral type prog. One to watch out for.

Steven Wilson ~ Insurgentes
The mans a genius. No more to be said!

Unitopia ~ The Garden
This is unputdownable. A fantastically rich tapestry of sounds. One of the best of the year!

Big Big Train ~ English Boy Wonders
This early album has been completely re-done and sounds superb as a result. BBG are one of our best bands and more people should know about them.

Hawkwind ~ Spirit Of The Age
This 3 CD box set is the first release on Atomhenge and is a precursor to all of Hawkwinds post 1976 albums being re-released. Given the full Mark Powell treatment this looks and sounds terrific.

Coming soon will be my favourite prog releases of the year. Looks like it may be a Top40 this year! There will also be a re-releases best of and favourite live albums/compilations as well as some other favourite new releases, which fall outside the prog category!

Steven Wilson ~ Insurgentes

2008-11-27T17:33:00.003+01:00

At last this has been released. With all the tantalising snippets and trailers on the web site, the anticipation for this, Wilson’s first solo album has been very high. As the frontman for Porcupine Tree, No-Man and Blackfield this has a lot to live up to. He does seem to have the midas touch, not only with his own material but when working with others like Opeth.

But typically for a man who takes care about his recordings and how they are released this is no simple album. Initially released as a 2CD and DVD set in a limited edition of 3000 all housed in a large, lavishly illustrated hardbound book, this is a thing of beauty. Long time visual collaborator Lasse Hoile supplies the bulk of the photographic material in the book, with layout done by Carl Glover. Wilson is making a point here. Furthering his concerns touched on in the last Porcupine Tree album “Fear of a Blank Planet”, he wants to show that music is not just a downloadable commodity. Wilson is seen smashing IPods to bits in the film which Lasse Hoile is making about the album, fragments of which are shown within the book. Also what is it about Wilson and dolls? With this album Wilson wants to remind us that music is something to cherish and is an art form. Those of us brought up in the 70’s remember that the album artwork and packaging were part of the listening experience and were integral to the overall experience. The importance of Roger Dean and Hipgnosis to Yes and Pink Floyd respectively cannot be over-emphasised. Ok, the packaging is great, but what of the music. I am actually surprised by the cohesiveness of the album. Recorded in many locations over a lengthy period of time I was expecting a more sketchbook feel to the album. But there is a consistent feel to the tracks. This contains some of Wilson’s darkest songs to date. There is a Porcupine Tree feel to some of the pieces, for instance in the opening “Harmony Korine”, but the textures employed don’t really suit the band format, here instead utilising a number of musical colleagues, like Theo Travis, Tony Levin, Jordan Rudess and many others with Gavin Harrison on drums throughout.

On the limited plays I have made of the album, this is superb stuff. I love the use of drones, noise and an almost shoe-gazing feel to the use of the guitars. I think being freed from the constraints of writing within the band format of Porcupine Tree or No-Man has enabled Wilson to stretch out sonically. There is a lot to explore here.

Luckily there will be a retail version, released on K Scope next February. But Wilson has made it clear that this deluxe version is the ultimate “Insurgentes” and to really get an all round picture of Steven Wilson you need the music and the book to fully understand and appreciate this unique musician.

Robert Wyatt ~ Rock Bottom

2008-11-24T15:02:00.002+01:00

Simply this is one of my favourite records of all time. For me the first three tracks (the original LP side 1) are perfect. After his fall which left him paralysed, Wyatt recorded this solo album, though the material was written prior to his accident. The music is beautiful, oceanic and dreamlike as no other recording before or since has matched. Full of Wyatts otherworldly voice, bubbling synths, home made percussion and the great, late Ivor Cutler whose participation was inspired. Lyrically it’s personal, anguished, surreal and heartbreaking. The production by Floyd’s Nick Mason is so subtle and empathic as is the playing by everyone else, including Mike Oldfield, Richard Sinclair and Hugh Hopper. The highlight will always be “Sea Song”. This is sublime, fluid, emotive songwriting at its very best.

This re-issue is part of Domino’s complete release of Wyatt’s back catalogue. I believe it hasn’t been remastered, but does re-instate the original pencil drawing by Wyatt’s wife Alfreda Benge who also did the colour painting for the 1998 re-issue. The packaging is very nice. These are digipack releases with booklet including full credits and lyrics. Domino do very good re-issues and this doesn’t disappoint.

November's Listening ~ 18th November

2008-11-19T16:38:00.008+01:00

Here is some current listening things

Trettioarga Kriget ~ War Years
This is a 2CD live set containing performances from the early years of the band through to their recent reformed performances. It’s all glorious stuff. This is the genesis of Landberk, Anekdoten and Anglagard. I managed to get the free limited edition CDR (only 100 copies) which came with the set containing more live stuff! One of Swedens finest bands.

Unitopia ~ The Garden
A double CD album from this Australian outfit, released on the Inside Out label. This is very good symphonic prog, almost poppy in places. The vocals by Mark Trueack are exceptionally good. A sort of Antipodean Peter Gabriel! The end section of the title track made me smile sounding more than a bit like the end of Genesis’s “Suppers Ready”, even including lyrical references (“To be back home”). Great sleeve by Ed Unitsky

Lana Lane ~ Best Of Lana Lane 2000-2008
2 CD compilation of some of Lana Lanes best stuff from recent years. Includes some remixes and one new track, all remastered. As always excellent stuff. Great booklet. Only available in Japan though can be bought from Think Tank Media at http://www.thetank.com/

The Skids ~ The Absolute Game
Great to see this re-released again. Messrs Jobson and Adamson’s finest moment. A masterpiece of an album from the heady days of post punk. This issue includes 4 bonus tracks and the complete “Strength Thru Joy” album which came with the original vinyl release. Stuart Adamson was a fine musician and he is sadly missed.

Manning ~ Ten

2008-11-19T11:45:00.003+01:00

Shockingly Guy Manning isn't releasing an album this year. We have to wait till February next year for his next opus. What a slacker! It will be worth the wait I am sure as his last album "Songs from the Bilston House" was my favourite of last year. Here are the details as posted on his forum.

The Audio MASTER and Artwork MASTER discs are now with FESTIVAL MUSIC(F2).

The releases schedule is FEBRUARY 2009.

Catalogue No: F2200902

TRACKS:

1. SHIPS

2. THE FINAL CHAPTER

3. AN ORDINARY DAY

4. BLOODY HOLIDAY!

5. VALENTINE'S NIGHT

6. A ROAD LESS TRAVELLED

7. ANOTHER LAZY SUNDAY

8. THE HOUSE ON THE HILL

PLAYERS:

Guy (Manning) - Vocals, Keyboards, Acoustic 6, 12 & ClassicalGuitars, Electric Guitar, Bass, Mandolins, Bouzouki, Percussion

Dave (Million) - Electric Guitars

Phil (Wilkes) - Keyboards

Kris (Hudson-Lee) - Bass

Julie (King) - Vocals (including the duet on VALENTINE'S NIGHT)

Kev (Currie) - Bkg. Vocals

Danny (Rhodes) - Additional Drums

SPECIAL GUESTS:Andy (Tillison) - Drums, Keyboards *

Laura (Fowles) - Alto Sax, Vocals

Ian ('Walter' Fairbairn) - Fiddle

Steve (Dundon) - Flute, Tenor Sax +

Pav (Chana) - Percussion

Ed (Neidhardt) - Soprano Sax, Bass Clarinet

Hannah (Hudson-Lee) - Bkg. Vocals

* Courtesy of The TANGENT and PO90

+ Courtesy of MOLLY BLOOM

All songs written and assembled by Guy Manning

Except the 'Tangible Expression' section of THE HOUSE ON THE HILL{Manning/Tillison}

Produced by Andy Tillison & Guy Manning - BURNSIDE STUDIOS 2008

Artwork by Guy Manning & Phil Wilkes

RegardsTHE BURNSIDE TEAM

Genesis Box Set 1970 - 1975 Released

2008-11-14T14:52:00.002+01:00

At last this set has been released. It must be around 4 years or so since the first surround mixes of the Genesis catalogue were being talked about. The first to be re-mixed was actually “The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway”, which Peter Gabriel didn’t think was radical enough. Hence the start of delay after delay after delay. But here is the third box set and although it represents the bands least commercially successful period in terms of record sales it is for many their creative peak. In saying that it appears from pre-order sales this box set is outselling the other two box sets added together.

I haven’t heard the surround mixes or watched the DVD material yet, but as regards the stereo mixes and the mastering the results are nothing short of astonishing. There were some criticisms over the sound of the first box set, which I can sort of understand. It did sound a bit harsh and not the sonic wonder which it should have been. No problems here, which is a bit strange as the recordings are much older and it’s the same team who were involved in the mixing and remastering. So I am not sure why these sound so much better. I will actually go as far to say these remasters are a revelation. The new mixes have subtly yet profoundly brought out nuances in the recordings I have never heard before. The details that can be heard are breathtaking, especially in Gabriel’s voice which sounds much earthier and extremely present.

I am pleased to see that all the original artwork has been re-instated in the booklets. The Definitive Editions were highly lacking in that regard. So you now have Paul Whiteheads painting from the inner gatefold of Foxtrot and the full George Hardie graphics for “The Lamb”. In fact “The Lamb” is presented in a very nice hardback book which houses the 2 CD’s and DVD inside inner sleeves.
This is a truly excellent box set. They have got it right at last. The very favourable reviews I have read so far seem to support this. For me some of the best remastering I have heard in many years can be heard on these discs. A triumph!

Roger Dean ~ Dragons Dream

2008-11-11T17:02:00.001+01:00

One of my most treasured possessions while growing up in the mid-70’s was the book “Views” by Roger Dean. An LP sized book packed with Deans fantastical paintings. Leafing through the pages and pages of alien landscapes and visions this was the ideal way for a young boy to immerse himself into alternative worlds. These were the days well before computer games of course! In fact I still have that original copy, even though at over 30 years old it has seen better days!

Of course Dean’s work was well known to many for his elaborate album and logo designs for Yes, who he also designed stage sets for. Such was his importance to the visual experience of Yes and how that reflected and enhanced the music, he effectively was another member of the band. Now after all these years the third volume of his works (the second was “Magnetic Storm”) has just been published. I believe “Views” is being re-published next year.

For a generation like myself Roger Dean defined the beginnings of multimedia experience and why vinyl LP’s were objects to be cherished!

New Listening for October

2008-10-24T16:12:00.002+01:00

Been a while since the last blog, again. Been listening to lots of stuff, some of it new! The last few months have been very quiet on the prog front, new music wise. But there’s lots just been released or about to. Getting ready for the Christmas market!! More on those later.

One of the major releases has been the deluxe edition of Emerson, Lake and Palmers “Brain Salad Surgery”. The remastered sound of the album is actually very good. This, for me is the best BSS yet available on CD. The bonus tracks on disc 2 are made up of early mixes and material recorded at the same sessions. Some interesting stuff, but nothing too exciting. The third disc is a hybrid SACD, with a 5.1 mix which may be taken from the DVD-A mix which was released back in 2000. The notes state that this is the first time this has been released in the UK and as the DVD-A was a US based release then we can assume the mix is from that. Not sure the origin of the CD portion of this disc. To me is sounded the same as that on disc 1, but someone at Steve Hoffmans forum has done a comparison and it looks like a different mastering. The problem with this edition is there are so many typo mistakes everywhere and the notes are confusing on what is actually on the discs. It’s a shame as the sound is really good and with some proof reading and details on the contents this edition would be considered deluxe.

Here’s some recent stuff I have been liking.

Abel Ganz ~ Shooting Albatross
Some excellent Scottish prog. A bit like early Genesis but darker. The four lengthy tracks showcase some excellent synth and guitar playing.

It Bites ~ The Tall Ships
With John Mitchell on board this should be a winner and it is. Refreshingly poppish in some ways, but thoroughly enjoyable

Pendragon ~ Pure
I wasn’t 100% enamoured by their last “Believe”, but with the ever busy Clive Nolan fully back on board, this is such a strong and powerful set. The big surprise of the last few months.

Neal Morse ~ Lifeline
Neal doing what Neal does best. His sound is unmistakeable and he never disappoints. Lyrically maybe not my cup of tea, but I admire his convictions. I particularly liked the Crimson like “Leviathan”.

Lunatic Soul ~ Lunatic Soul
Evocative and atmospheric solo set from Riverside frontman Mariusz Duda.

To come: Marillion, Martin Orford, Keith Emerson Band, Frost*, Karmakanic, Steven Wilson and Unitopia. Hopefully a new one by Manning before the year is out. As for re-releases, how about the classic Pavlov’s Dog and the re-done “English Boy Wonders” by Big Big Train. Oh and that box set by Genesis!

Henry Cow ~ Stockholm & Goteborg (arrived)

2008-09-25T10:38:00.002+01:00

Its here. Arrived yesterday. This is volume 6 of the 9 CD box set and on the evidence here this is going to be something very special. The sound quality is exceptionally good considering the source of these recordings. Chris Cutler and especially Bob Drake have done a magnificent job in making these recordings sound as good as they do. Highlights so far are the wonderful improv "Goteborg 1", th ecover of Phil Ochs "No More Songs" with Dagmar in excellent voice and the ambitious Tim Hodgkinson piece "Erk Gah". Full track listing as follows:

1. Stockholm 1
2-6. Erk Gah (aka Hold to the Zero Burn)
7. A Bridge to Ruins
8. Ottawa Song
9-11. Goteborg 1
12. No More Songs
13. Stockholm 2
14. The March

Henry Cow ~ Stockholm & Goteburg

2008-09-24T16:03:00.001+01:00

It’s on its way! The first part of the mammoth Henry Cow live archival box set is just about to be released. This hugely important project is at last coming to fruition. I for one consider Henry Cow to be the most radical of all rock bands that existed in the 70’s. The studio albums told only one side of the story and the “Concerts” 2 disc set only hinted at what they achieved in a live setting. Now this 9 CD box set plus DVD will truly showcase HC as a hugely formidable improvisational outfit.

Playlist ~ 24th September

2008-09-24T14:20:00.002+01:00

David Gilmour ~ Live In Gdansk
Superb live document of Gilmour’s live outing of his “On An Island “ album. Good to see him do some less obvious material like “Fat Old Sun” and “Astronomy Domine”. The highlight is a complete workout of “Echoes”. It would have been safer to just do the song bits, but to tackle the whole piece is highly impressive. The sound quality of this recording is nothing short of astounding. In these days of master-to-the-maximum volume, it’s refreshing to hear a disc from a major label where all the dynamics of the recording are left intact.

Of course this live recording is made all the more poignant as its released just a week after the death of Richard Wright, who makes such a strong contribution to this album. The response to the announcement of his passing has been overwhelming, such is the huge esteem which Pink Floyd are still held in. Even within the confines of the most anonymously famous of rock bands, Wright was the quiet one. Yet, his contribution as a songwriter, keyboardist or vocalist was a key element to the success of a huge amount of Pink Floyd’s best work.

Richard Barbieri ~ Stranger Inside
Second solo album from Porcupine Tree keyboardist. Again, like its predecessor this is bold, structured instrumental music, with key contributions from P. Tree Gavin Harrison on drums on two tracks and with Japan colleague Steve Jansen contributing throughout. This is superbly sophisticated.

Mothlite ~ The Flax Of Reverie
More oddness from Guapo’s Daniel O’Sullivan, but this is song based. Highly atmospheric and like Guapo defies easy categorisation.

Roxy Music ~ Viva Roxy Music
After viewing the recent BBC4 documentary on the band, this live document showcases some of their best material which the band rip through at breakneck speed. Eddie Jobson’s solo on “Out Of The Blue” is still a thing of wonder.

Man ~ Be Good To Yourself At Least Once A Day
Esoteric have been gradually re-releasing Man’s back catalogue and for me this is one of their best studio efforts. “C’mon” and “Keep On Crinting” see the band really stretching out some outstanding musical ideas. The remastering by Paschal Byrne is lively, warm and highly detailed.

Magenta ~ Live At The Point
A great 2CD live document of Magenta, recorded at Cardiff’s The Point back in November 2007. This is a seriously wonderful sounding recording and for me so glad to hear a live rendition of favourite “Envy” from their “Seven” album.

Playlist ~ 11th September 2008

2008-09-11T13:17:00.007+01:00

Bill Nelson ~ Mazda Kaleidoscope
The latest album by the legendary musician. This is his 3rd this year and there is another two on their way!! I love Bill and all he does. He can do no wrong in my book. His cottage industry of musical production is always inspired and the music on this disc is beautifully executed.

Blancmange ~ 2008 Remasters
I have a thing for 80’s synth pop and Blancmange were one of the better duos of the period. They had a funky edge to them helped in no small way by Random Hold and Peter Gabriel guitarist David Rhodes. Edsel are doing a remarkable job in remastering and re-issuing some great stuff from the 80’s. The recent Thompson Twin 2CD packages were a real treat (I remember having those cassette mixes back when super ferro was king). I am looking forward to the John Foxx releases later this month. Again these will be 2CD packages.

Black Bonzo ~ Sound Of The Apocalypse
This was recommended to me by a reader of this blog (hi Rob) and is incredible 70’s retro prog from another wonderful Swedish band. If it wasn’t for the internet I would never have come across this band as I had never heard of them at all! Thanks again Rob.

Elbow ~ The Seldom Seen Kid
A thoroughly well deserved Mercury prize winner. Good to see a well established band get this rather than the usual flavour of the month no hoper. It is an excellent album by the way!

Deus Ex Machina ~ Cinque
Missed this when first released. I love this Italian band. Mixing 70’s prog, fusion and the operatic vocal pyrotechnics of the remarkable Alberto Piras.

Guapo ~ Elixirs
This is weird. Their earlier albums were of the definite Magma/Zheul persuasion, but this latest sees Daniel O’Sullivan going off in an even stranger direction.

Richard Barbieri ~ Things Buried
Strange to believe but this is the first solo album by Porcupine Trees keyboardist. Though he has made many albums with his ex-Japan mates. Anyone expecting some kind of ambient, atmospheric knob-twiddling stuff will be surprised. These instrumentals are tightly arranged and extremely tuneful. Percy Jones on bass on a few tracks is beguiling as ever. Richard has a new solo album out later in the month.

Genesis ~ 1970 – 1975 Box Set

2008-09-11T13:13:00.003+01:00

At last a final release date has been given for the 3rd box set of Genesis’s studio recordings, available in CD and 5.1 mixes on SACD. It’s going to be 10th November (UK). Though the last to be released it was these 5.1 mixes which were done first, many, many years ago. But the huge delay was started when Peter Gabriel wanted the surround mixes to be more radical than presented. Of course its these recordings which will excite prog fans the most, though the remastering on the previous box sets have met with a mixed reception to say the least. I have only heard the 1976 to 1982 box and I must admit to not being totally thrilled with the sound. I am not sure why. Nick Davis knows what he is doing and Tony Cousins has done some great remastering in the past. So I am not sure why these discs don’t knock my socks off as they should.

It will be interesting to hear what these older recordings sound like, especially “The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway” which suffered so much hiss, which was even audible on vinyl. Interesting to note that the album is being presented in a digi-book style packaging, whereas the others are standard jewel cases. That may be due to trying to package 2CD’s/SACD and a DVD in one package.

I have to laugh at who has written liner notes for each release. David Baddiel, Jeremy Clarkson and Tony Robinson amongst others. These names won’t mean much outside the UK, but the prog credentials of dear old Clarky has been well known for ages and David Baddiel was compere at the recent tour press launch. Didn’t know Tony Robinson, who has written notes for “The Lamb” was into prog.

I hope they have done these classic recordings proud. Won’t be long now!

Emerson, Lake & Palmer ~ Brain Salad Surgery (Deluxe Edition)

2008-08-07T12:03:00.002+01:00

Just announced is this 3 CD deluxe edition of ELP’s signature album, “Brain Salad Surgery” to be released at the end of September. But what could they put on 3 CD’s!! Well, looking at the track list on Amazon, seems we are being treated to no less than 5 versions, that’s right, 5 versions of the album. Three are on the 3rd disc. Not sure how they can fit 3 versions of the album on one disc. Maybe a mistake on the posting of the track listing. The second disc at least includes bonus tracks in the form of “Brain Salad Surgery” and “When the Apple Blossoms Bloom In the Windmill Of Your Heart I’ll Be Your Valentine” which were recorded at the same sessions but appeared on the “Works Vol.2” album.

According to the highly informative “Brain Salad Surgery – See The Show “ web site (completely dedicated to just this album) other tracks were recorded at the same sessions. These were “Tiger In the Spotlight” and “Hallowed Be Thy Name” (recorded by the band, but appeared on “Works Vol.1” as part of Greg Lakes solo side). Also, the song “So Far to Fall” was recorded slightly later than the album and also appeared on “Works vol.2”. So there is a case to have included these or at least the first two tracks on this edition to make up a complete “Brain Salad Surgery” sessions package.

Time will tell what will be on this edition. My feeling is that it is a Mark Powell project as he has done a lot of archival work for Universal and also oversaw the “From the Beginning” box set of a year or so ago. That was mastered by Paschal Byrne and the results for me were the best sounding ELP on CD yet. So if he is involved it should sound pretty good.

England ~ Garden Shed

2008-08-01T13:54:00.001+01:00

England are one of those long lost prog bands who only lasted for one studio album. “Garden Shed” was released in 1977 which was not the best year for releasing a prog album. However, the album has gained much attention over the years and was released on CD by the band back in 2005. For that issue, they used Tony Arnolds 1997 master and packaged it in a 7-inch sleeve with a 20 page booklet containing newly restored artwork not included in the original LP release. That has since sold out and is very hard to obtain.

Now I have come across a new version, released this year on Piper Records who seem to be based in Estonia! So not sure on the legitimacy of the release, but it is available on a few on-line shops. There is a web address on the packaging but that doesn’t seem to work. This version is packaged in a nice digipack with 8 page booklet which includes the lyrics but very little else. The sound though is pretty good, so not sure if it has been remastered or is taken from another source. There are two bonus tracks in the shape of the 1976 Olympic Studio recording of “Three Piece Suite”, which was included in the 2005 release and an excellent instrumental “Nanagram” which I believe was the b-side to the single "Paraffinalea". I have also seen some references to the track being called "Nanogram".

This is a very good slice of late period prog rock. Quite pastoral, with lots of excellent synth and mellotron work. I always regretted not getting the 2005 issue when it came out, but for now this edition will suffice until hopefully the band decide to re-release the special edition again.

England Web Site: http://www.gardenshedmusic.com/

Kultivator ~ Barndomens Stigar (2008 Remaster)

2008-07-29T14:04:00.002+01:00

Reissue of the year so far. Kultivator only recorded one album which was released back in 1981. They soon disbanded after, the musical climate not just in Sweden but everywhere else had changed dramatically and bands like Kultivator, producing technically complex music were out of fashion. Shame, as this album is brimming with energy and fantastic music. Many have cited their mixture of Zeuhl and Canterbury style, which is true but this kind of music somehow could only have been made in Sweden, like Trettioåriga Kriget or Kaipa.

The CD of their album has been unavailable for many years now. Thankfully the excellent Mellotronen label has made it available again and what a stunning job they have done. The original album has been beautifully remastered, with 3 very worthy bonus tracks. There is also a 2nd CD, an ep of newly recorded material. Like Trettioåriga Kriget the new material shows they are even better now than first time round. Kultivator should do a full albums worth of new stuff.

The discs are presented in a lavish, glossy digipack together with a 20 page booklet featuring an informative essay, full credits, archival photographs and lyrics to the new material. I cannot fault this re-issue in anyway. Fantastic!

Pregnant Rainbows For Colourblind Dreamers ~ The Essence Of Swedish Progressive Music 1967 – 1979

2008-07-28T15:05:00.003+01:00

Over the last few years there has been a plethora of exceptional progressive rock artists emanating from Sweden. Just take the following list as examples of some of the best I have come across: Carptree, Paatos, Magic Pie, Sinkadus, Beardfish, Ritual, Moon Safari, Liquid Scarlet, Brighteye Brison, Par Lindh Project. The seed which allowed these bands to proliferate was generated in the 90’s by the likes of The Flower Kings, Anglagard, Anekdoten and Landberk. But it seems the Swedish progressive rock scene has its roots much farther back than that, as evidenced by this fantastic box set. This set has been produced as a listening companion to the equally impressive book; The Encyclopedia of Swedish Progressive Music 1967 – 1979. That book is a gloriously colourful and exhaustive overview of the Swedish progressive rock movement. A hardback volume of some 230 pages all in full colour. Over 400 artists are overviewed, with album covers re-produced together with photographs of the period. This is a highly informative and sumptuous read without a doubt.

The music scene in Sweden was obviously highly productive and inventive as the 70 artists represented in the 4 CD box set indicate. It’s quite extraordinary the majority of artists on show here are completely unknown, except to those few who are true connoisseurs of early 70’s Swedish prog rock. It’s also beguiling that those artist’s music has never been made generally available on CD before.

So this box set is the only place to really appreciate what gems have been long forgotten. Some names will be familiar like Kaipa, Bo Hansson, Samla Mammas Manna and Trettioåriga Kriget but its coming across the likes of Solar Plexus, Baby Grandmothers and Life that’s the real joy of this compilation. There is also a 48 page booklet, presented in a similar fashion to the book which gives overviews of each of the artists presented.

The book and box set are obviously labours of love by the authors and the attention to detail has to be admired. Both have to be purchased together and really highlight what a fantastic music scene existed in Sweden in a time when all eyes were looking at Britain’s burgeoning progressive rock scene. It seems there was a lot going on up North. Now, if only someone would do something similarly comprehensive for the Italian progressive rock scene of the 70’s!

Pure Reason Revolution ~ Live At NEARfest 2007

2008-07-28T12:12:00.001+01:00

Its been a good few years since Pure Reason Revolution released their full length debut album “The Dark Third” to much praise. Since then, a combination of personnel changes and being dropped by Sony have delayed further recordings. But its seems the band is now just about to release a new studio album at last. Before that, NEARfest records have just released this live document from the groups appearance at last years NEARfest prog festival in Philadelphia.

This CD impressively showcases the bands powerful live performance. The familiar studio tracks are given a punchy workout with some new additions, particularly there are lots of guitar effects used throughout in a thoughtful manner. As well as tracks from their debut album, there are a couple of new pieces which are from the new album. These tasters bode very well for that indicate the band has certainly matured their songwriting and arrangements. I was particularly impressed by Chloe Alper’s powerful bass playing and how the band expertly recreate those delicious harmonies which are such a strong feature of the studio recordings.

The production on this live album is superb and is for me the best sounding Pure Reason Revolution yet captured on disc. Much of the credit must go to Echolyn’s Brett Kull who recorded and mastered the album. For those longing for something new by the band, this live album is a must. But roll on that second studio album.

Classic Rock Magazine ~ Prog Spawn

2008-07-24T11:08:00.002+01:00

The latest issue of Classic Rock Magazine has a cover mounted CD devoted to new prog acts. The title and cover illustration of the disc is awful, but the music is uniformly excellent. A lot of it I have heard before, but it is gratifying to see this stuff get a wider exposure. It is just and right that acts like Big Big Train, Touchstone and Manning in particular have a forum like this to reach a much wider audience. They all deserve to be heard and hopefully pick up some converst on the way.

I was particularly impressed by the opening track by Mystery who appear to be a Canadian band. Haven’t heard them, but their “Travel To The Night” from their latest album was very tasty indeed. So need to check them out. I am not sure on the inclusion of Odin Dragonfly, the duo of Mostly Autumn’s Heather Findlay and Angela Gordon. This is nicely acoustic, but prog? Also, the very excellent No-Man have a track from their latest album here, but I wouldn’t class them as prog and I am surprised Steven Wilson approved the inclusion as he has in the past vocally distanced himself from the prog tag for his band Porcupine Tree. Maybe he is mellowing a bit.

A great little taster/compilation this and does indicate how strong prog rock is in the UK at the moment. But that title!!!

Penguin Cafe Orchestra ~ 2008 Remasters

2008-07-22T16:07:00.001+01:00

Just released are remastered versions of the first five albums by the Penguin Café Orchestra. The brainchild of the late Simon Jeffes, PCO released a series of wonderfully eclectic music, all of which defied description. This was not difficult music, but the mix of unusual instrumentation and Jeffe’s deft handling of highly memorable tunes was a winner. PCO pieces constantly turn up in TV commercials and movies, the most famous being “Music For A Found Harmonium” from the “Broadcasting From Home” album.

These new issues have been remastered by Tony Cousins, overseen by Jeffe’s son Arthur. According to the PCO web site they have been remastered using 1-bit technology which I take as meaning DSD mastered. The sound is crystal clear and dynamically rich in any case. The packaging is very nice. All discs are packaged in glossy digipaks, with the artwork reproducing very clearly the original album artwork. There are no sleeve notes or bonus tracks, simply the recording presented as originally intended. This is a real classy job.

Dead Can Dance ~ SACD Remasters Released

2008-07-14T15:40:00.007+01:00

Ok they are out now, so what’s the consensus. Well, I don’t have a SACD player, so I can only comment on the CD portion of these discs. On that I must say the sound I very good indeed. The original CD’s sounded pretty good, but these are definitely a step up on those. Very full, detailed sound.

The question I have who remastered them? Now that may on the surface be a silly question as much has been made about the involvement of audiophile outfit Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab (MFSL). But it seems to me that they only were involved in mastering the SACD layer of the disc. On the albums “Spleen and Ideal” and “Within The Realm Of A Dying Sun”, they booklets state the CD’ were remastered by John A. Rivers in 2007, who was the original engineer/producer on those recordings. Nothing is stated in the booklets for the other albums on who mastered the CD layers. Maybe it was MFSL, but its not clear. I emailed both 4AD and MFSL for an answer to that but haven’t received an answer.

As these have been only released in the mini-LP format, what’s the packaging like? On the whole very nice. The outer sleeves are manufactured in hard cardboard with the discs housed in protective plastic sleeves placed inside reproductions of the original inner sleeves. The booklets also reproduce the original LP labels and include credits and lyrics, though not complete. For some reason the lyrics to “Indoctrination (A Design For living)” from “Spleen and Ideal” and “Fortune Presents Gifts Not According To The Book” from “Aion” are not reproduced.

No bonus tracks included, though “Bird” and “Spirit” are included in “Toward The Within” and it’s nice to have the EP “Garden of Arcane Delights” available separately so that you get the original artwork.

4AD have done a really excellent job in giving the Dead Can Dance back catalogue the quality re-release it truly deserves.

addendum 16th July 2008: Just had an email from MFSL. Apart from the two titles mastered by John Rivers they mastered the CD portion of all the other titles.

Henry Cow ~ 40th Anniversary Box Sets

2008-07-14T15:11:00.001+01:00

News of the year is the recently reported 2 box sets of 9 CD’s in total of unreleased Henry Cow live material together with a live performance DVD. This project has been on the go for many years (15 years to be precise) overseen by Henry Cow drummer and head of ReR records Chris Cutler. Now at last the whole thing is seeing the light of day. Though I am sure nobody expected 9 CD’s!

The whole thing is being mastered by Bob Drake who did such a wonderful job of the Art Bears box set of a few years back. Even now he is still tweeking the sonics of the 1st Cd to be released in September ahead of the actual box sets later in the year.

Without doubt this will be an important musical document. Henry Cow are still regarded as one of the most original and extreme forces in rock music that emerged in the 70’s. They are best known for their studio albums, but its their live work where the band really cut loose on some of the most radical, improvisationary material which is only hinted at on the “Concerts” recordings. These live CD’s should show the band in a completely new spotlight in a similar way which “The Great Deceiver” recordings did for mid 70’s King Crimson.

We wait on the release of these with baited breath!!

A bit of the Avant Garde

2008-05-27T15:05:00.003+01:00

Just out is the remixed/remastered debut album by Belgiums Univers Zero. The band are best known as being part of the RIO movement of the late 70’s, which they co-founded along with Henry Cow. Inhabiting a similar sound environment to Henry Cow, but much more based in the European classical music tradition. This is dark and unrelenting stuff. Mostly acoustic, but with great electric flourishes by guitarist Roger Trigaux, who works with the excellent Present.

The new remix/remaster sounds wonderfully detailed and dynamic, with an excellent bonus track in the shape of the live “Faulx”. The liner notes, partly compiled by the estimable Aymeric Leroy are exhaustive. Another great archive release by Cuneiform.

Staying with the Avant Garde, Fred Frith is just about to re-release his “Technology Of Tears” album. I have never heard this, but its early use of the synclavier sampler was highly thought of at the time, around 1987. I love a lot of Frith’s work. It can be a bit forebiding sometimes, but it is never boring and there is always a strong emotional element to his music, even the more extremely improvisational material. He is a true original and has produced some breathtaking work.

Progged Out!

2008-05-01T12:26:00.004+01:00

Every so often I need a break from listening to prog. It’s a bit like eating too much chocolate. It’s sweet and tastes great, but too much and you kinda feel a bit sick! I just need another flavour for a while. To cleanse the palate.

So I have been listening to some other stuff, which seems to be taking the shape of more psychedelic rock, for want of a better term. I latched on to a Canadian band called Black Mountain who have just released their second album, “In The Future”. This is a cracking album. It’s a bit bluesy, a bit late 60’s/ early 70’s retro heavy rock. Lots of fuzzy guitars, you know the kind of thing. But then they go and add some mellotron and wobbly synths just to throw you off kilter a bit. The keyboard player, Jeremy Schmidt made a comment recently in an interview about the days when the mellotron was heavily used in rock music: “That period is a touchstone for all of us,” Schmidt says. “We all went through our dire goth phase in junior high school, and we listened to a lot of punk and alternative. But as we got older we came to appreciate the music that all that stuff was supposedly rebelling against.” That’s a very interesting comment by a young musician. Are musicians who are interested in doing something more adventurous seeing beyond what punk and journalists were supposedly trying to irradicate. Anyway, the album is not prog as such (I said I am having a break), but the song structures, arrangements and use of those keyboards does bring proto-prog to mind. They even have a 16 minute plus song on the album. I think this is a band with great promise.

Here is a list of some other stuff I have been listening to. But I will soon be back to prog as there is a new album from Beardfish coming up. Their last was one of my favourites from last year. There is also a new band called Demians who have received the Steven Wilson stamp of approval (which is good enough for me) and received an excellent review in the latest Classic Rock Magazine.

Howlin Rain ~ Magnificent Fiend

Six Organs Of Admittance ~ Shelter From The Ash

Battles ~ Mirrored

Earth ~ The Bees Made Honey In The Lions Skull

Comets On Fire ~ Avatar

nosound ~ lightdark

2008-04-02T11:14:00.002+01:00

This is the second album by Italian band nosound. Signed to Tim Bowness’s Burning Shed label which is appropriate as the band do inhabit a similar sonic arena as No-man and the reflective side of Porcupine Tree. Infact Tim Bowness is featured on one track . Not that the band are mere copyists as leader Giancarlo Erra, whose project this really is, adds enough other elements (a bit of Harold Budd, Brian Eno etc) to keep it sounding varied and challenging.

This is classy, stylish stuff right down to the beautiful artwork, again by Erra. As a new No-man album doesn’t come along too often (ok, there is a new one next month) anything that fills in the gaps is very welcome. There actually aren’t many artists playing this type of post-rock, dreamy reflective art-pop stuff (apart from No-man and David Sylvian sometimes) and Erra and do it very well. I don’t think they have completely got their own voice yet but they are getting there. Their first album “so29” has also just been re-released in remastered and expanded form and is also worth a look. There is also plenty of downloadable stuff on their web site, including a live version of Pink Floyd’s “Echoes”.

Thieves Kitchen ~ The Water Road

2008-03-27T17:48:00.002+01:00

The last few weeks have been very good for British prog. First we had the sensational new album by The Tangent and then just this week I received the new one by Magenta. This is another very strong release. Rob Reed is back to writing long form pieces and these are the best he has done. This is a very powerful album. Christina Booth’s vocals are as impressive as ever and guitarist Chris Fry is excellent.

Now, we have the first new album in over 4 years by Thieves’ Kitchen. This band may not be as well known within prog circles as The Tangent and Magenta, but their new album is just as impressive. Their previous “Shibboleth” was the first to feature new vocalist Amy Darby and was a nice mixture of symphonic prog with a Bruford/National Health fusion feel. This new one has that same NH groove, but with the added bonus of keyboardist Thomas Johnson. Now, he was keyboardist with the legendary Swedish band Anglagard, so this album sees some of those same pastoral textures introduced into the sound with lots of mellotron throughout. In fact the mellotron parts were recorded in Sweden by ex-Anglagard drummer Mattias Olsson. If that wasn’t enough there are some flute parts on the album played by Anna Holmgren who was also a member of…. yes you guessed it Anglagard.

“The Water Road” is a very good album. Mixed and mastered by Rob Aubrey of IQ fame the sound on this is exceptional. Highly recommended. Another great British prog album!

Dead Can Dance Remasters

2008-03-17T15:06:00.003+01:00

It has been a while. Again! But the usual delaying tactics of illness, personal stuff, work etc. has put this blog in the bottom of priorities.

Anyway, the first bit of stuff is not really prog. Well, actually it’s not prog at all! One my favourite 90’s bands was Dead Can Dance. On of 4AD’s most commercially successful acts, even more than the Cocteau Twins I believe. Seems like their back catalogue has been remastered as one of those hybrid CD/SACD thingies. Due sometime June here, though I haven’t seen any official word on it and info is scarce. Seems like they are being released in Japan in April as mini-LP sleeves (they like those) and then here later. Not sure if they will be the Japanese versions or not. But DCD always sounded good so these should sound great.

On to prog. Well, I have just listened to the new VdGG album “Trisector” and that sounds pretty good. More relaxed than “Presence” and with Banton well to the fore, filling in the space once occupied by David Jaxon. Other recent stuff has been the newby by RPWL, “The RPWL Experience”. Now this is very good. Not too proggy, but modern, edgy rock with prog undercurrents. The opening track “Silenced” is particularly good. Took a few listens as did their previous, but I do like this. Another heartily recommended release is the second outing for Sensitive To Light “From The Ancient World”. This is the project by Vynce Leff, who was a member of the excellent Saens. This keep sup the standards of the previous album, mixing complex, off-kilter melodies with some beautiful singing by Jenny Lewis. I hope to do a fuller review once I have listened to this a bit more. But the highlight of the past few weeks is easily The Tangents fourth album, “Not As Good As The Book”. This is simply a stunning double album. Andy Tillison and band are on absolutely top form. Just listen to the epic “Four Egos, One War”, this is what prog is all about; thoughtful lyrics, great melodies, beautiful arrangements. Simply wonderful!!

Coming up is the new one by Magenta “Metamorphosis” and by the little known Thieves Kitchen “The Water Road”. I hope this one will push TK into the limelight a bit more. They have been away for far too long!
Lastly just got the next batch of Alan Parsons remasters. If anything like the first lot these should be quite impressive.

Gentle Giant ~ Three Friends

2008-01-17T16:41:00.000+01:00

Repertoire continue in re-releasing Gentle Giant’s Vertigo label catalogue with “Three Friends”. This like the others in the series has been expertly remastered by Eroc and will be available end of January in their distinctive mini-LP reproduction digi-sleeve. I believe they are re-releasing “Octopus” at the same time, this time as a digi-pack, but I don’t think this will be the corrected master. There were some “clicks” on the original release of the remaster (which to me were hardly noticeable), which were reported to Repertoire leading to a new glass master being required. According to reports on the Steve Hoffman site this is still sitting on Eroc’s desk!

Crooked Mouth ~ Hold In The Sun

2008-01-17T15:00:00.000+01:00

I recently read a review about this group in the latest Classic Rock magazine. Sounded good so thought I would give it a go. Glad I did. This band is the brainchild of Edinburgh based musician Ken Campbell. This, their second album is a sharp, sophisticated, modern sounding prog rock. Plenty of clean synth lines, drum programming and especially nice to hear e-bow guitar. This is wonderfully featured on the excellent track “David & Goliath”.

Listening to this made me realise that there seems to be a highly active prog rock scene in Britain at the moment, where a lot of the bands are producing and releasing recordings themselves via the web or through small independent labels. Some of the bands I have heard or come across indicate that there is a strong burgeoning scene of young bands taking their inspiration from prog, not in a retro fashion, but trying to be fresh and contemporary. That is no mellotrons! Here are some other recommendations.

Tinyfish ~ Tinyfish

Touchstone ~ Discordant Dreams

Big Big Train ~ The Difference Machine

Breathing Space ~ Coming Up For air

The Reasoning ~ Awakening

Darwin’s Radio ~ Eyes Of The World

The Gift ~Awake and Dreaming

Pineapple Thief ~ What We Have Sown

Anyone have any other recommendations?

Radiohead ~ In Rainbows

2008-01-08T15:36:00.000+01:00

I got around to listening to this recently, preferring to wait for the physical CD issue rather than go for the download. I prefer to handle my music and to link a visual aspect to the aural experience. Anyway, it is a very good album and as good as anything they have produced in the past. The multiple rave reviews that have appeared in its wake would support this. However, when I listen to it and I had the same feeling with Arcade Fires “Neon Bible”, which also got huge positive reviews and I liked, I am left thinking that, yes it is good but I have heard so much more that is so much better. Over the last year, albums by the likes of Carptree, Porcupine Tree, Riverside and Phideaux have mined similar seams of modern rock, but with more flair, imagination and to be honest songwriting ability. But the likes of Radiohead and Arcade Fire are set as being at the forefront of modern rock music, while the others I have listed are at best ignored. Why is that?

Radiohead have long been termed prog revivalists, which I have never understood. I don’t hear much that is prog in their music. I think they owe more to the Bowie/Eno/Sylvian school of art rock and maybe even U2 in their more experimental mode.

I know music is such a subjective, personal thing, but I seem to be getting more exasperated that there is so much good music out there, as good if not better than Radiohead, yet they don’t get anywhere near the recognition they deserve. Yes, I admit I am a probably a grumpy old prog head who should stick to their dreary old muso stuff! Whatever!

Maybe I should be thankful that a group like Radiohead, in these days of contrived, manufactured talent can have a number 1 album. It’s a funny old world!

A New Year

2008-01-07T15:10:00.000+01:00

So the new year starts and what will it bring? Well, already on the radar for later this month are new titles by Tiles and Ayreon. The latest Ayreon concept piece, obscurely called 01011001 is another rmassive 2 disc affair and the first since 2004’s “The Human Equation”. Tiles are considered Rush copyists, not only sounding like the trio, but using their old producer, Terry Brown and cover artist, Hugh Syme and actually have Alex Lifeson appearing on one track of the new album, “Fly Paper”. But there is more to this band than the Rush tag may imply and previous albums such as “Window Dressing” and “Presents of Mind” deserve much attaention.

Also for this month sees the long expected “The Bedlam of Goliath” by The Mars Volta. More frazzled, skewed, obscure sonic shenanigans can be expected.

But for me the one to look out for is the latest by Andy Tillison’s The Tangent. “Not As Good As The Book” is a 2 CD album, which comes with a 100 page storybook/comic strip. This huge, lavish project should see the band at the peak of their game. I have heard a demo of one track “A Crisis In Midlife” which is excellent. The album also sees the debut of Jakko M. Jakszyk on guitar and vocals who from the evidence of his work with the 21st Century Schizoid Band and on the wonderful solo album “The Bruised Romantic Glee Club” will clearly be a huge bonus to the bands sound. Due sometime March this album is not to be missed!!

Rocket Scientists ~ Looking Backward

2008-01-03T12:46:00.000+01:00

This nifty box set landed on my doorstep a few days after Christmas. Containing remastered CD’s of RS’s earlier albums together with a disc of newly recorded versions of choice tracks and a DVD of those recording sessions, this is a wonderfully put together set.

RS’s “Earthbound” and “Brutal Architecture” albums have long been unavailable, so when keyboardist Erik Norlander planned to remaster them, the project eventually took on a life of its own. We now have those albums together with a remastered “Oblivion Days” and a full CD’s worth of beautifully recorded new versions of some favourite RS tracks. Over these 4 CD’s this is prime American prog rock, showcasing what wonderful musicians, Erik Norlander, guitarist/vocalist Mark McCrite and Stick player Don Schiff really are, ably supported by amongst others Greg Ellis on drums.

The whole package is rounded out by a fantastic 64 page booklet which includes complete lyrics, credits, notes and photographs. Erik and his label Think Tank Media are known for the quality of their releases, from the recording, producing, musicianship, down to the artwork and packaging. On this box set they have outdone themselves. And with the exchange rate the way it is, the whole thing can be bought for around £25 so it is an absolute bargain!

Best Re-Releases of 2007

2007-12-19T12:02:00.000+01:00

Here are my list of what have been my favourite re-releases of the year. Not in any order, but if I was to pick a top spot it would probably go to Chris Squire’s “Fish Out Of Water”. Mainly for the packaging and the excellent interview on the DVD disc.

Steve Hillage ~ Fish Rising
A very welcome complete catalogue re-issue, though his debut still remains a highly regarded classic of the Canterbury genre.

ELO ~ Out Of The Blue
The mini book type packaging is very well done. You can even build a cardboard spaceship! At their pop best on this double album.

Alan Parsons Project ~ I Robot
This is a text book example of how to re-issue your back catalogue. Good remastered sound, lots of sleeve notes and worthy bonus tracks. Shame the second batch is taking so long to sort out.

The Moody Blues ~ Seventh Sojourn
My personal favourite Moody Blues album and the last form their classic period. A nice digipack with an excellent bonus track.

Hugh Hopper ~ Hoppertunity Box
Well done to Cuneiform for re-releasing this classic album form the ex Soft Machine bassist. Excellent sound and nice packaging.

Genesis ~ Box Set 1976 – 1982
Of course the real treasure will be the next box set documenting the years up to 1975, but the music on these was when Genesis became very popular and still doing prog! I am not completely convinced by the remastering and the packaging though better than the definitive editions could still have done better justice to the original album artwork.

Chris Squire ~ Fish Out Of Water
An all round excellent package. The interview on the DVD disc is informal, informative and humorously anecdotal. I wish more artists would do this sort of thing!

Steve Hackett ~ Highly Strung
The best from the last batch of remasters of his Charisma solo albums.

Peter Hammill ~ Sitting Targets
This, along with “Skin” are long forgotten classic Hammill works.

Laurie Anderson ~ Big Science
A classic of the New York art rock scene of the 80’s. Though I think “Mister Heartbreak” is better.

Egg ~ The Civil Surface
From the new Esoteric label and the final studio work by Dave Stewart and mates. Another great example of the eccentric Canterbury style.

Led Zeppelin ~ The Song Remains The Same
Expanded version with great sound and a very nice gatefold sleeve package.

Joy Division ~ Closer
Beautifully packaged and remastered. Martin Hannett’s gorgeously glacial production has never sounded better.

U2 ~ The Joshua Tree
This is a box set of such an impressively high standard and how re-issues should be done. The album sounds fresh and invigorating. The bonus tracks are a must and the DVD is packed full with a full concert, documentary and videos. There are even prints and a hard back book!!!

Here are some other bits and pieces from throughout the year.

Odds & Sods (live albums, compilations etc.)

Fripp & Eno ~ Beyond Even
A nice collection of odds and sods. Look out for remastered versions of “No Pussyfooting” and “Evening Star” next year!

Miles Davis ~ The Complete On The Corner Sessions
The pinnacle of Miles’s electric period captured in all its glory in this lavish box set.

Pentangle ~ The Time Has Come: 1967 – 1973
Excellent 4Cd box set with a highly informative and well presented booklet.

The Flower Kings ~ The Road Back Home
A wonderful 2CD compilation of the shorter songs from Swedish prog band.

Jonesy ~ Masquerade
Another Esoteric label release. This 2 CD set includes everything recorded by this unfairly ignored prog outfit.

Trio Of Doom ~ Trio Of Doom
A lost jazz/rock gem. McLaughlin, Pastorius and Williams deliver the goods.

The Tangent ~ Going Of On One
Shows that the band can admirably reproduce their complex pieces in a live setting with lots of loose jamming.

Various Artists ~ Cyclops 6
Another excellent low price 2 CD compilation from GFT. Not just a taster for the label but a wonderful collection in its own right.

Jordan Rudess ~ The Road Home
Dream Theater keyboard maestro brings some classic prog tracks bang up to date with some juicy arrangements.

Emerson, Lake & Palmer ~ From the Beginning
Excellent 6 disc box set produced by Mark Powell and his team. This has some of the best remastered versions from their catalogue and lots of unreleased live stuff. The booklet is fairly nifty too!!

Egg ~ The Metronomical Society
Like the Hatfield and the North compilations, these are a treasure trove of brilliant early Canterbury style prog. Worth it just for the sleeve notes alone, which along with the “Copious Notes” booklet make up for a fascinating glimpse into a long gone time when music was pioneering.

Uriel ~ Arzachel Collectors Edition
Ditto above.

2007 Prog Albums of the Year ~ Part 6 (5 - 1)

2007-12-17T12:12:00.000+01:00

Ok, so here it is the Top 5.

5. Saga ~ 10,000 Days
A more than fitting finale to Michael Sadler’s career with Saga. The band are all playing to their max and it all sounds so fresh.

4. Riverside ~ Rapid Eye Movement
The third album from this ever impressive Polish band. On a par with the previous instalments in this trilogy, it will be interesting to see where they go from here.

3. Porcupine Tree ~ Fear Of A Blank Planet
It always surprises me how Steven Wilson outdoes himself on each new release. This, along with the “Nil Recurring” EP are the work of one of the best British rock bands full stop! They should be massive!

2. Caprtree ~ Insekt
This takes the haunting, otherworldly feel of “Man Made Machine” to new levels! This is an incredibly affecting album, each song arranged, performed and produced to their absolute peak of perfection. I cannot recommend this album highly enough.

1. Manning ~ Songs From The Bilston House
Guy Manning is without doubt one our best songwriters and that is within any genre. His storytelling abilities are second to none and he sets his lyrics within some beautifully realised music. This time around he co-produced the album with old mate Andy Tillison and you can tell they really had some fun on this. The arrangements are meticulously thought out and all involved play their part wonderfully, with some really inspired solos weaving in and out of Guy’s words. Simply, this is the best!

2007 Prog Albums of the Year ~ Part 5 (10 - 6)

2007-12-13T11:52:00.000+01:00

10. Lana Lane ~ Red Planet Boulevard
The first woman of American symphonic rock has returned with a real winner here. Back to a more stripped down heavy rock style, with guitarist Peer Verschuren shining throughout.

9. Dream Theater ~ Systematic Chaos
Maybe not as prog as “Octavarium”, but the band are as technically impressive as ever and still stretching themselves.

8. Ritual ~ The Hemulic Voluntary Band
Another Swedish band (been a good year for them) brings this unusual album. Quite acoustic and quite Gentle Giant, but this is one of the more individual albums of the year.

7. Beardfish ~ Sleeping In Traffic: Part One
More structured and focussed than their earlier two albums, this band have a rough and ready sound which is quite retro in a proto prog sort of way! The overall result is a very exciting album.

6. Big Big Train ~ The Difference Machine
This is simply magnificent. Beautifully structured and arranged, the attention to detail in all aspects of this recording is very impressive making for a highly individual and thoroughly modern prog album. Can’t wait for the next, to be called “English Electric”.

2007 Prog Albums of the Year ~ Part 4 (15 - 11)

2007-12-12T11:14:00.000+01:00

15. Satellite ~ Into The Night
Third outing for this excellent Polish band. A bit heavier than their last, “Evening Games”, but the ever impressive guitar work and drumming are as scintillating as ever.

14. Anekdoten ~ A Time Of Day
Beautifully melancholic Swedish prog. The usual glacial mellotron sound is this time augmented with some synth lines. Achingly nostalgic and sad and I love it!

13. The Flower Kings ~ The Sum Of No Evil
Their most fully consistent album in many years. No filler at all, just the band on top form and Stolt’s writing controlled and flamboyant.

12. Magic Pie ~ Circus Of Life
Second album from this Swedish band. Not sure why this band is so good. The instrumentation is fairly standard, but the writing and arrangements are really strong.

11. Phideaux ~ Doomsday Afternoon
An unusual one this. Phideaux’s past albums haven’t really been prog at all, more US alt rock. But this one has plenty of great instrumental passages throughout.

2007 Prog Albums of the Year ~ Part 3 (20 - 16)

2007-12-11T10:58:00.000+01:00

20. La Torre Dell Alchemista ~ Neo
Classical symphonic prog as only the Italians know how to do. Lots of tasty keyboard work, especially Hammond and piano.

19. Threshold ~ Dead Reckoning
On a new label, but the same high quality prog metal. Maybe more harder edged than on recent albums, but the epic “Pilot In The Sky Of Dream” is a career highlight.

18. Cathedral ~ The Bridge
A return after a 30 year absence! This US band were highly influential on Anglagard and you can hear why as “The Bridge” takes off where the classic “Stained Glass Stories” left off. Maybe more contemporary with some new twists, but the same angular style is intact!

17. Glass Hammer ~ Culture Of Ascent
A fitting follow up to the mighty double album, “The Inconsolable Secret”. Beautifully realised symphonic prog sees a leaner Fred Schendel with Steve Babb keeping up the quality of their previous efforts. Always a joy to hear the voice of Susie Bogdanowicz.

16. Rush ~ Snakes and Arrows
A very welcome return to form. To me their best since “Moving Pictures”. After the disaster production and mastering job on “Vapor Trails”, this one thankfully sounds good!

2007 Prog Albums of the Year ~ Part 2 (25 - 21)

2007-12-07T11:42:00.000+01:00

25. Trion ~ Pilgrim
Second album from this instrumental outfit which includes members of Flamborough Head and Odyssice. Lots of great mellotron playing as was evident on “Tortoise”. This time the sleeve is in the tradition of Hipgnosis.

24. Kaipa ~ Angling Feelings
No Roine Stolt this time, but the sound is still very much Kaipa. The keyboard work of Hans Lundin is expressive and has now plenty of room to breath. Another consistent effort.

23. Alan Morse ~ 4 O’Clock Hysteria
Solo effort from Spock’s Beard keyboardist really showcases what an exceptional player he really is. Some very nice fusion style playing, with guest musicians including ex Mahavishnu’s Jerry Goodman . Melodically very strong throughout!

22. Thought Chamber ~ Angular Perceptions
Complex, technical prog metal of the highest order on this impressive debut album. Beautifully played and produced and features the excellent vocals of Enchant’s Ted Leonard.

21. Therion ~ Gothic Kabbalah
Epic, 2 disc symphonic metal. This shouldn’t work but it does. Bold and huge sounding and beautifully produced.

2007 Prog Albums of the Year ~ Part 1 (30 – 26)

2007-12-05T16:35:00.000+01:00

I am presenting my favourite prog albums of the year in 6 parts, in the best countdown style. This is because it has been a very strong year for new music and could only pick a top 30 and nothing here is really below par. The difficulty has been putting them in order!!! And there are a few I still haven’t heard yet (Satellite and Lana Lane) which I know will be somewhere in the lower reaches. So here goes part one.

30. The Reasoning ~ Awakening
Includes the wonderful voice of Rachel Jones (ex Karantaka). Somewhere between Mostly Autumn and Magenta.

29. Neal Morse ~ Sola Scriptura
Another sprawling, ambitious album from ex Spock’s Beard leader. This may be his darkest effort yet!

28. Mostly Autumn ~ Heart Full Of Sky
Now on their own label, this new album sees the band getting back to their prog-folk roots with some of their most ambitious songs for quite a while!!

27. Pineapple Thief ~ What We Have Sown
Not so much a full-blown new album as more of a stop gap. But still, no filler on this set!

26. Oceansize ~ Frames
Maybe a bit indie-prog for some tastes, but this third album is their strongest yet. The songs are focussed and the arrangements are ambitious. They do sound as if they want to stretch themselves as far as possible. This is big, bold rock in the tradition of The God Machine and Ultrasound!

In Canterbury Heaven!!!

2007-11-20T14:18:00.000+01:00

News just in that there are to be two archival releases for afficionado’s of the Canterbury scene. Dave Stewart has been rummaging around and come up with a compilation of Egg material, “The Metronomical Society” and a re-release of pre-Egg band Uriel’s only album complete with bonus tracks. Both albums come as digi-packs with 20 page booklets, in a similar fashion to the two Hatfield and the North CD’s of a few years back. Dave has also compiled a companion booklet detailing the life and times around the bands. Go to the Egg Archive for details on the releases.
Also just released is Egg’s last album, “The Civil Surface”. Released by Esoteric, the new label set up by Mark Powell and co, this album has been lovingly remastered and packaged in the usual manner we have come to expect from Eclectic in the past.

Miles Davis ~ The Complete On The Corner Sessions

2007-11-20T14:08:00.000+01:00

Everyone should have a favourite Miles Davis period. Mine is the electric music of around the late 60’s to the mid 70’s. Miles Davis seems to have produced a huge amount of material during that period. For him it was a period of frenetic experimentation, which peaked with “On the Corner”. With this box set of 6 CD’s we get a superb overview of the music from that period, not just around the “On The Corner” sessions. At this juncture, Davis was more a composer and bandleader than trumpeter. With so many top notch players, he was right to let them do their stuff. Even listening to this material now, it sounds like nothing else in existence. A lot has been made about the mix of Hendrix, Stockhausen and Sly Stone, but that is only a part of the magical brew being conjured up here. This is Miles Davis through and through. Always reaching out and trying anything that sounds and felt right.

This is the last box set in Sony Legacy’s series of compiling Miles Davis sessions. Like the others, this is beautifully presented in a metal embossed slip case with 120 page booklet, featuring lots of pictures and notes about the sessions. This may be completist stuff, but for anyone remotely interested in Miles Davis’s electric period it’s a must have. Along with the issue of the Trio Of Doom CD earlier in the year, this box set is an important archival release for what electric jazz could achieve in the 70’s.

For more information about Miles’s electric period, Paul Tingen’s web site is a must see. Author of the excellent book, Miles Beyond, the site is full of in depth articles and info about that prolific period.

Glass Hammer ~ Culture Of Ascent

2007-11-14T16:35:00.000+01:00

I have been listening to the new one by Glass Hammer recently. This US band have been making excellent symphonic prog for many years now. Their last “The Incosolable Secret” was a bit of a high watermark. It was an ambitious 2 CD affair, with a very nice sleeve designed by Roger Dean. The band continue their Yes connection this time on “Culture Of Ascent” with Jon Anderson guesting on a couple of tracks and they also cover “South Side Of The Sky” which does fit in with the general concept of the album. I think this album is their most complex musically and I like the way they mix contemporary production ideas into the symphonic arrangements. Though Yes is an obvious influence, they are never derivative. They have taken Yes’s “Close to the Edge” and “Awaken” as prototypes and developed their own particular sound.

Another album that I have really enjoyed recently is “Doomsday Afternoon” by Phideaux. This is an unusual album. It is prog, with bits of folk and other ideas thrown in, but it’s not much like anything else in the genre. Very individual, theatrical maybe I need to check out their other albums.

I was recently on Big Big Train’s Gregory Spawtons blog, where he mentions Thieves Kitchen. I remember thier “Shibboleth” album of many years back, so it’s good to see they are planning a new album for sometime next year. Their keyboard player is Thomas Johnson who used to be with the mighty Anglagard! Now there was a band!!!

Manning ~ Songs From The Bilston House

2007-11-05T16:57:00.000+01:00

Slightly delayed by the postal strike, the new album by Manning has been spinning for the last week or so. Guy Manning is one of my favourite artists, through the simple fact he writes wonderfully evocative, literate and highly musical songs. This new album is up to his usual high standards. If anything I think he has set the bar much higher than ever before. The intricacies and layers of instrumentation on this album are quite overwhelming. One minute a flute solo, then sax, then synth all effortlessly weaving in and out of the mix. This is intoxicating stuff and wonderfully played by all involved. Guy has let each song breath to allow room for some beautifully inspired soloing. I don’t think I have heard a Guy Manning album sound so full on and this might be his proggiest album too!

I always expect to enjoy a Manning album, but I was really taken aback by how especially good this album really is. Even with the limited number of plays I have been able to give this, it will definitely be in my top 5 best albums of the year. Maybe even the top spot!

Hammill, Joy Division and Big Big Train

2007-09-18T15:59:00.000+01:00

New albums starting to be released. Though the month began with the last batch of Hammill remasters. These are albums I didn’t care for too much on initial release, but have found these new releases to be quite enjoyable. With “Sitting Targets” and “Skin” this was Hammill in transitionary mode between his 70’ style and what he would do during the 80’s. Some of the keyboard sounds are very much if the times!

The new album by Big Big Train “Difference Machine” is very impressive. Made up of mainly three long form pieces, this is highly involving prog. Took a few listens to really get into, but this is beautifully produced and executed and can be placed alongside The Tangent albums and “Milliontown” by Frost*

Just released is the "Nil Recurring" ep/mini-album by Porcupine Tree. Containing a couple of left over tracks from the “Fear Of A Blank Planet” sessions and a couple of recent tracks recorded in July. These latter show where Porcupine Tree may head in the future! As good as the main album.

Also just out are new remasters of Joy Division,s two studio albums, plus the "Still" compilation These are deluxe packaged 2 CD sets, each containing a CD of live material. The clarity of the remastered studio tracks is very good, showcasing what an original and inspired producer Martin Hannett really was.

Autumn New Releases

2007-08-22T16:08:00.000+01:00

With the summer almost at an end (what summer!), the move into Autumn brings with it an upsurge in new releases. Below is what I have personally got pencilled in.

The Flower Kings ~ Sum Of No Evil
Riverside ~ Rapid Eye Movement
Oceansize ~ Frames
Big Big Train ~ Difference Machine
The Mars Volta ~ The Bedlam In Goliath
Porcupine Tree ~ Nil Recurring EP
Glass Hammer ~ Culture Of Ascent
Saga ~ 10,000 Days

Not a bad collection! On the re-release front there is the last batch Of Peter Hammill Remasters, which covers his Virgin period. There is also talk of the UK albums being remastered, but there seems to be some confusion on this. Also on the newly revamped Eclectic label, now called Esoteric we should at last see the remastered Hatfield and the North studio albums before the end of the year.

Current Playlist

2007-07-06T10:39:00.000+01:00

Current listening:-

Symphony X ~ Paradise Lost

Symphony X ~ Twilight In Olympus

La Torre del' Alchemita ~ Neo

Carptree ~ Insekt

The Flower Kings ~ The Road Back Home

Really getting into Symphony X at the moment. I really love their heavy symphonic prog metal. The current album is more darker than previous efforts and the production is wonderful.

The Flower Kings compilation is one of the most thoughtful I have seen in a long time. Most of the tracks have been remixed with extra musical and vocal parts added. Roine Stolt's notes on each track are very insightful too.

Half Yearly Best Of

2007-07-05T15:38:00.000+01:00

Another long gap between updates. Well, never mind. On the prog release front it has been an excellent year so far. So I have posted below my favourite albums for the first six months of the year. For me, the Carptree album wins hands down. I was impressed by their last album “Man Made Machine”, but “Insekt” is even better. Vocalist Niclas Finck is most effective, sounding somewhere between Peter Gabriel and Robert Wyatt.

Carptree ~ Insekt
Porcupine Tree ~ Fear Of A Blank Planet
Anekdoten ~ A Time Of Day
Magic Pie ~ Circus Of Life
Therion ~ Gothic Kabbalah
Blackfield ~ Blackfield II
Threshold ~ Dead Reckoning
Kaipa ~ Angling Feelings
Beardfish ~ Sleeping In Traffic: Part One
Dream Theater ~ Systematic Chaos
Thought Chamber ~ Angular Perceptions
Rush ~ Snakes And Arrows
Mostly Autumn ~ A Heart Full Of Sky
Alan Morse ~ 4 O’Clock Hysteria
Symphony X ~ Paradise Lost
La Torre dell’ Alchemista ~ Neo
The Reasoning ~ Awakening
Steve Thorne~ Part Two: Emotional Creatures

As well as the above other notable releases this year have been:

Steve Hillage ~ Back Catalogue Remasters
The Moody Blues ~ Seventh Sojourn Remaster
Hugh Hopper ~ Hoppertunity Box Remaster
Alan Parsons Project ~ 1st Batch of Back Catalogue Remasters
The Flower Kings ~ The Road Back Home Compilation
The Tangent ~ Going Off On One Live
Laurie Anderson ~ Big Science Remaster
Holger Czukay ~ Movies Re-release

So a pretty good year so far.

Something else I would recommend is the recently published Classic Rock Magazine Prog Rock special. This 132 page special is an excellent overview of all the usual suspects as well as looking at prog now. Lots of articles with very few adverts of which are all prog related. Anything that promotes the genre must be good!

Genesis ~ The new releases

2007-03-28T17:33:00.000+01:00

Genesis had their back catalogue remastered back around 1994 as “Definitive Editions”. These were remastered by Nick Davis, Genesis’s resident engineer. The general consensus was that he had done a good job, replacing the original CD’s which were poor transfers and badly packaged. The packaging for the 90’s remasters was better, but some of the original album artwork wasn’t reproduced. For instance, the “Foxtrot” CD didn’t contain Paul Whitehead’s original inside gatefold artwork at all. All the CD’s in the series had two pages basic of the booklet dedicated to basically advertising all the albums. Waste of space really.

So here we are in 2007 and the whole series is being re-issued again. Well, strictly that’s not true. As what is being released are remixes of all the albums. Nick Davis, who is in charge of these new issues, has stated that the original mixes end with the “Definitive Editions”. The new mixes from the original multitracks don’t replicate the original recordings as such, have been mixed to make them sound what he and the band consider to be the best that the latest technology can offer. The validity of producing different mixes can be argued.

Each album comes as a stereo CD with SACD layer and another disc which is a DVD with 5.1 mix of the album plus video content. The first batch is released next week and covers the period of “Trick of the Tail” through to “Abacab”. Each album is priced at around £16, compared to around £6.99 which the “DE” versions have been going for. As the new issues are to eventually replace the “DE” versions, that’s a whopping price differential for anyone wanting to buy a version of the album. That price is because it is a 2 disc set, but how many people will want the DVD part of the package?

Along with the separate albums, there is to be a 6CD box set also released. This will contain all albums, plus book and 2 discs (CD/SACD and DVD) of non-album tracks, exclusive to the box. So if you want the rare stuff you will need to shell out around £90.

For me, because of the prices involved I will keep my “DE” versions. I would like to hear the new mixes, which will hopefully have better packaging, have the box set book and extra CD but not at that price. I am still not convinced of the logic of releasing CD/DVD packages. For me the DVD disc is redundant. How many people have a DVD set-up that reproduces the surround sound in good quality? I think most people still prefer to hear things in stereo. Formats such as SACD and DVD Dolby Digital 5.1/DTS are still for audiophiles in my opinion. At least SACD can be layered with CD on one disc. It will be interesting to see the reaction to these releases in the coming weeks and months.

Late Start

2007-03-28T16:44:00.000+01:00

This blog hasn’t been updated for a long time. A combination of other things to do, illness and lack of enthusiasm. But I would like to keep it going, even though I am not sure if anyone actually reads it.

Musically, the last few months have been a bit quiet. Not many major releases, though I think that is about to change with stuff by Porcupine Tree, Rush, Dream Theater all on the horizon. Re-issues are still being pumped out at a steady, heady pace. We have had Steve Hillage’s and Magazines back catalogue recently. Hillage’s has been co-ordinated by Mark Powell with his usual partner Paschal Byrne at the mastering controls. I think they have done a great job, apart from a few errors and omissions in the sleeve notes. With Steve’s input, enabling interesting bonus tracks to be included well done to all concerned.

Magazine’s re-issue series on the other hand has been a bit lacklustre. The remastering by Abbey Roads Sean Magee is pretty good, but the re-packaging is a bit lacking in inspiration to say the least. Good essays, but the quality of the printing and layout isn’t too good. All done by EMI’s in-house design team. Shame!

In contrast, Sony/Legacy’s re-issue of ELO’s “Out of the Blue” and “Balance of Power” is exceptional. The former in a gorgeous hardback book format, with lots of great artwork, notes and full credits and excellent remastering by Joseph Palmaccio. Similarly upcoming are the last two re-issues by The Moody Blues from their classic period. If they are anything like last years series of remasters they should be pretty good. It is good to see major labels taking care and showing dedication in taking care of their back catalogue.

Albums of 2006

2006-12-13T14:04:00.000+01:00

New Stuff
The following is a list of my favourite albums of the year, in no particular order. Though the stand outs were; The Tangent, Magenta, Manning, The Mars Volta, Rocket Scientists, White Willow, Pure Reason Revolution and Frost*

Some good stuff, though my feeling is that there are a lot of new bands producing prog-inspired music like Pure Reason Revolution, Secret Machines, Amplifier, Mars Volta, Circulus and prog seems to be talked about a lot more, the level of actual “pure” prog albums is getting less and less. Maybe it’s a sign of bands moving more across genres, but if you look at what traditional prog labels like InsideOut, Cyclops and their ilk are releasing, the output seems much less this year. In saying that, it is clear that musicians such as Andy Tillison, Rob Reed, Guy Manning, Vynce Leff, Jacob Holm-Lupo, Erik Norlander are truly taking the essence of what prog is forward into new territories and producing truly inspired work.

The Tangent ~ A Place In The Queue
Pure Reason Revolution ~ The Dark Third
Magenta ~ Home
Secret Machines ~ Ten Silver Drops
Tool ~ 10,000 Days
Proto-Kaw ~ The Wait Of Glory
Jadis ~ Photoplay
Paatos ~ Silence Of Another Kind
The Flower Kings ~ Paradox Hotel
OSI ~ Free
Rocket Scientists ~ Revolution Road
The Mars Volta ~ Amputechture
Manning ~ Anser’s Tree
Iona ~ The Circling Hour
White Willow ~ Signal To Noise
Frost* ~ Milliontown
Steve Hackett ~ Wild Orchids
Sensitive To Light ~ Almost Human
The Gift ~ Awake And Dreaming
Jakko M Jakscyk ~ The Bruised Romantic Glee Club
The Pineapple Thief ~ Little Man
Circulus ~ Clocks Are Like People
Muse ~ Black Holes And Revelations
Amplifier ~ Insider
Bill Nelson ~ Return To Jazz Of Lights
Espers ~ Espers II
Spocks Beard ~ Spocks Beard
Loreena McKennitt ~ An Ancient Muse
GPS ~ Window to the Soul
Philip Glass ~ The Voyage
Erik Norlander ~ Hommage Symphonique
Lana Lane ~ Gemini
ProjeKct 6 ~ East Coast Live

Re-releases/remasters/compilations/live etc.
The following is a list of my favourite re-releases/compilations/live albums from 2006. The pace of labels remastering their catalogue show no sign of diminishing. This year we had major re-releases of the Moody Blues, Talking Heads, Patrick Moraz and Peter Hammill back catalogues. For me the highlights were Moraz’s “Story of i”, Eno/Byrnes “My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts” and Fripp’s “Exposure”. All showed an exemplary care in producing something special, rather than just a simple remastering/re-packaging job. Other standouts were Bill Nelson’s “Getting the Holy Ghost Across”, available on CD for the first time ever and the second volume in Hatfield and The North’s archive compilation series, “Hattitude”.

Next year already is looking exciting. Starting with Steve Hillage’s back catalogue being re-released in January/February. It also looks likely that Eclectic Discs will be remastering the two Hatfield and the North studio albums for spring release. Two personal favourites are Joni Mitchell’s “Hissing Of Summer Lawns” and “Hejira”, which I believe are to be 2CD deluxe editions due in January. Of course next year sees the Genesis catalogue getting a re-vamping. Though the early, classic albums won’t be released until end of next year, beginning of 2008!! I also believe ELP’s albums are being re-released again. Not sure the logic in that as they seem to have been remastered/re-released about 3 times now! So it will be interesting to see what this batch has to offer.

Patrick Moraz ~ Story of i
Refugee ~ Refugee
Eno/Byrne ~ My Life In The Bush of Ghosts
Robert Fripp ~ Exposure
Ultravox ~ Systems of Romance
Peter Hammill ~ The Future Now
Henry Cow ~ Concerts
No-Man ~ All The Blue Changes
Dream Theater~ Score
Stream Of Passion ~ Live in the Real World
ELO ~ Face The Music
The Moody Blues ~ On The Threshold Of A Dream
Talking Heads ~ Remain In Light
Boston ~ Boston
Hatfield And The North ~ Hatitude
Bill Nelson ~ Getting The Holy Ghost Across (On A Blue Wing)
Can ~ Flow Motion
Porcupine Tree ~ Stupid Dream
Skeleton Crew ~ Country Of Blinds/Learn To Talk
Family ~ Bandstand
Gentle Giant ~ Acquiring The Taste

William Neal

2006-11-16T11:12:00.000+01:00

I was recently emailed the latest ELP Digest. Within was a link to Martyn Hansons web site, author of books on ELP and The Nice. On there I then found a link to artist William Neal . He was responsible for the covers for both “Tarkus” and “Pictures At An Exhibition”. For me “Pictures At An Exhibition” is very important. That was the first LP I ever “listened” too and the sleeve was the first I actually “looked” at. The experience of hearing the music and seeing the sleeve design set me on a musical journey which has lasted 35 years up to the present day. Good the see that the man is still working, now based in the south of Scotland.

Gong

2006-11-15T14:12:00.000+01:00

I never ever thought I would see this picture! The classic line-up of Gong - Daevid Allen, Gilli Smyth, Didier Malherbe and Steve Hillage! Forget Pink Floyd at Live8, this is what any self respecting progger would wish to see. The band recently performed at the Gong UnConventional Gathering in Holland on the 5th November. And by all accounts they were storming! Prior to the full band playing, The Steve Hillage Band did a set playing some of the afvs like "Solar Musick Suite" and "Fish Rising". So good to see Steve embracing his legacy once again! Won't be long now to those remasters!

Manning ~ Anser's Tree

2006-11-03T16:29:00.000+01:00

I have posted this to Amazon, but as it may take a while to get put on there I wanted to include it here as I think it is so good it warrants as much exposure as possible.

One thing I did forget to mention was Ed Unitsky's gorgeous artwork. Always a joy to see Ed's artwork as it really adds another dimension to the listening experience. The work he has done for Guy and The Tangent is quite exceptional!

Barely a year since his last opus, Guy brings us another first class collection to revel in. Amazingly he has upped the ante yet again. “Anser’s Tree” is surely his most complex work yet, both musically and thematically. Seven songs linked genealogically, each concerning characters inhabiting certain periods of time over a 500 year period. Though the songs easily work in isolation, Guy’s ability to weave vivid tales has always been a trademark of his writing. Here he expands on simple storytelling by linking each character to portray how elements of the person we are can be traced back to our antecedents. The premise that there is a genetic flow through our family tree is a powerful concept, especially as I am presently looking at my own family tree. But Guy deals with even more than this as the track “Professor Adam Logan (2001-2094)” looks at the potential consequences of global warming. This is taken to a speculative conclusion on the final track “Dr. Jonathan Anser (2089-????)”, where the character strikes a solitary figure in the aftermath of the planets destruction, trying to find his roots to not only understand himself, but mankind.

Musically, Guy has dressed his powerful and engrossing narrative in some of his lushest and compulsive settings and arrangements yet. The opening “Margaret Montgomery (1581-????)” has a gorgeous folk tinged feel to it, with Stephen Dundon’s earthy flute really to the fore. Things get a bit more proggy on the next track, “Jack Roberts (1699-1734)” with lots of excellent Moog courtesy of Andy Tillison. The sax break by the ever excellent Laura Fowles really brings this piece to a fantastic conclusion. This may be my favourite piece on the album. “Joshua Logan (1990-2048)” is wonderfully exuberant with some nice mellotron washes and scintillating electric guitar playing from David Million. More mellotron strings are featured on the concluding track “Dr. Jonathan Anser (2089-????)” adding to the melancholy air of the protagonist’s final journey. Everything before has led to this moment and the album ends with a militaristic build up, the saxes squalling into the foreground before fading out into nothing! A powerful and emotive finale to what for me is an exceptionally thought provoking and highly distinctive album.

Over the course of eight studio albums, Guy Manning has developed a growing reputation for producing quality songwriting. He is also a more than able multi-instrumentalist. For me the last few albums have clearly shown someone at the top their game, producing work of a standard that is rarely equalled by most not just working in the prog genre but in rock music in general. “Anser’s Tree” may be his most significant musical statement yet. In fact I know it is!

Been Some Good Listening!

2006-11-01T15:14:00.000+01:00

There have been some very good new releases over the last few weeks or so. Also the last batch of Peter Hammill remasters have just been released. I forgot how good those albums are!

Bill Nelson ~ Return To Jazz Of Lights
Almost as good as last years very wonderful “The Alchemical Adventures of Sailor Bill”. On the strength of his current work he is definitely hitting a bit of a peak. This is original and beautifully played stuff. “Getting The Holy Ghost Across” gets a CD release very soon, at last!

Manning ~ Anser’s Tree
I need to do a full review of this. Guys most ambitious album yet, both musically and thematically. Barely a year since his last, how he maintains this quality is astonishing. I even get a name check! Ta.

Jakko M. Jakscyck ~ The Bruised Romantic Glee Club
I have been waiting for this for a while and just got it. So not had a chance to fully digest the 2CD’s of material on offer. The first CD is original stuff, the 2nd covers by some of his favourite artists, i.e. Henry Cow, King Crimson and Soft Machine. The version of “Islands” is beautiful and may be the definitive version. Good to hear Dave Stewart back on keyboards too!

Rocket Scientists ~ Revolution Road
Erik Norlander, who I am a fan of, features here on this 2CD gem. Very melodic,
wonderful playing and production. Stuffed with gorgeous prog and absolutely no filler at all!

Iona ~ The Circling Hour
For me, their best without a doubt. Surprised by how punchy this is.

Coming up, newbies by Spocks Beard, Pineapple Thief and Loreena McKennitt.

Dead Can Dance ~ Selections From North America

2006-10-30T12:08:00.000+01:00

Last year Dead Can Dance reformed for tours of Europe and North America. All shows were recorded by The Show, set up to produce high quality CD recordings. They also recorded the recent Pixies tours too. Just received is a 2CD compilation of the best from the US leg of the tour. Produced as a sumptuous digipack, this looks and sounds as good as anything a major label could produce. The sound quality is as good as I have heard from any recent live recording and this set also includes many new compositions which don’t feature on any DCD album. I wish more artists would endeavour to do this sort thing for their fans.

Henry Cow ~ Concerts (Remastered)

2006-10-11T14:24:00.000+01:00

The following is a slightly expanded version of my submitted review to Amazon. I thought worth repeating here as it is an extraordinary album, including some of the best work which the band recorded. The BBC session is perfect and the live stuff like “Ruins” and “Groningen” impeccable. Read Bob Drakes account (4th April entry) on how remastering this was a near disaster.

This is probably the most representative recording of what Henry Cow were about. Part composition, part improvisation. The recordings presented here are for me the band shown at their very best. The performances are exhilarating, especially Fred Frith whose guitar manipulations are extraordinary. The first 5 pieces are taken from a BBC session and is a truly wonderful medley, each track seamlessly flowing into the next. A beautifully recorded session, with Bob Drakes wonderfully detailed and sympathetic mastering bringing out all the nuances in the performance, especially Chris Cutlers dynamic cymbal work. Included is a brilliant reading of Bill McCormick’s “Gloria Gloom”, originally recorded by Matching Mole. Also noteworthy are the tracks with Robert Wyatt, especially the band version of “Little Red Riding Hood Hit the Road” which originally appeared on his seminal “Rock Bottom” album.

For me the highlight of the album has always been the live version of Fred Friths “Ruins”. Not only brilliantly played by the band, this version knocks spots off the studio version from “Unrest”, but Frith plays one of the most extraordinary non-rock based guitar “solos” you will ever hear. His command and control of his guitar to produce something of its own, yet fitting in with the dynamics of the piece is still after all these years sensational! He performed a similar miracle during the piece “Groningen”. Some of this stuff is “difficult”, especially the almost 30 minute improvisational piece “Oslo”. Thankfully, here it has been broken down into 8 sections to make it more digestible, though the official line is that it’s for “navigation purposes”.

The original double LP has been expanded here to a 2 CD set with tracks taken from studio sessions after Henry Cow’s aborted appearance at the Greasy Truckers concert. Although a CD version was available a number of years back on the US label East Side Digital, this newly remastered version is on ReR and is hence easier to obtain and is the definitive version. Full marks to Bob Drake, whose mastering work is always subtle and exquisite. Considering the only master available was a DAT tape, which fell apart during the mastering process, the results he has achieved on this are nothing short of “heroic”! Nice booklet too with notes by Chris Cutler and even a splash of colour added to Maggie Thomas’s startlingly austere pen and ink cover. “Concerts” is the definitive document of one of the most ruthlessly original and uncompromisingly single minded rock groups to have emerged during the 70’s. They don’t make’em like this anymore!

Playlist

2006-09-26T13:01:00.000+01:00

Below is some of what I have been listening to recently.

White Willows new album is their best yet. After the very heavy “Storm Season”, “Signal To Noise” is much lusher and more symphonic and even poppy in some areas. If released as a single “Joyride” might even be a hit! Well, maybe not.

The new Mars Volta is also their best yet. No ambient interludes to detract from the music. This album is electric from beginning to end. Their most assured and mature recording yet without a doubt!

The first batch of Hammill remasters has just been released (25th September). Most welcome indeed. Some interesting bonus tracks too. The second batch is slated mid October. Also, The first batch of Steve Hillage remasters (Fish Rising/L/Motivation Radio/Green) are slated for the end of October with the second batch mid January next year. No details of bonus tracks yet.

I have, surprisingly, been enjoying the ELO remasters. Having always known them for their pop hits I was surprised at the “prog” aspects to their stuff, particularly the album “On The Third Day”. No doubting Jeff Lynne’s knack for writing memorable pop songs, but the production techniques applied and the arrangements are even by today’s standards breathtaking.

The PLP album was re-released a couple of years ago to mark the 10th Anniversary of Pars debut prog album. It is a classic of keyboard driven prog. Pars use of instruments like Hammond organ, church organ, harpsichord, mellotron and synths is equal to that of Emerson and Wakeman in their heyday. As the title suggests the music is Gothic, cathedral like and now, not just remastered but with certain musical elements re-recorded, this sounds absolutely gorgeous.

White Willow ~ Signal To Noise
The Mars Volta ~ Amputechture
Peter Hammill ~ Chameleon/Silent Corner/In Camera/Nadir Remasters
ELO ~ Third Day/Face The Music/World Record (Remasters)
Par Lindh Project ~ Gothic Impressions (10th Anniversary Re-edition)

Cyclops Label

2006-09-06T13:14:00.000+01:00

I have just received the latest catalogue from GFT (Mail Order). This and the Cyclops label are run by Malcolm Parker. How he manages to do both is beyond me. You can even phone up GFT for placing an order and are likely to get Malcolm taking orders on the other end!

Cyclops is an excellent progressive rock label and have signed many, many excellent bands over the years. Probably the most well known are Mostly Autumn and Pineapple Thief. They are not a huge label and seem to struggle to keep things going. Malcolm’s philosophy for signing acts seems to be based on what he likes to listen to, rather than any consideration of commercial potential. I know if Malcolm recommends something, even though it is on his own label, it will be worth hearing. For instance, he is making a big thing for a new signing called The Gift, who have just released an album called “Awake and Dreaming”. I know nothing about this band but will get it just based on Malcolm’s glowing praise. Based on past experience I know I will not be disappointed.

There are so many releases to recommend from the label and I heartily endorse anyone to try them out. Order from GFT to, which stocks an impressive array of prog titles, which are usually hard to get from the likes of Amazon and Play.com. If you are in any way a fan of prog rock then support GFT and Cyclops. They are a rare thing in today’s marketplace and we need them.

Here are my favs from the Cyclops label. Looking at it I am surprised by the diversity of sounds and styles on show. Check 'em out!

Grey Lady Down ~ Fear
Lands End ~ The Lower Depths
Manning ~ The Ragged Curtain
Mostly Autumn ~ The Spirit Of Autumn Past
Nautlilus ~ What Colours The Sky In Your World?
Parallel Or 90 Degrees ~ Afterlifecycle
The Pineapple Thief ~ 12 Stories Down
Saens ~ Escaping The Hands Of God
Sensitive To Light ~ Almost Human
Sinkadus ~ Cirkus
Sphere3 ~ Comeuppance
Tr3nity ~ Precious Seconds
Trion ~ Tortoise

Dream Theater ~ Score

2006-09-05T14:51:00.000+01:00

Rightfully regarded as the premier progressive metal band, this is the third triple CD live album by the band in 5 years! For this latest one, part of the concert was augmented by a full orchestra to enhance the more symphonic pieces like “Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence” and “Octavarium”. On the evidence of this live album the band are surely one of the most accomplished rock bands around. The energy and technical ability on show is nothing short of breathtaking. How the band work together at each twist and turn is staggering. At around 3 hours, the band never let up for one minute. All band members are masters of their instruments. Keyboardist Jordan Rudess is particularly impessive throughout, especially using the Continuum keyboard on the opening of “Octavarium”. Nice pic of his gigantic synth rig on the inside of the CD cover! The sound quality is absolutely top notch too. These guys do know how to do live albums! The other sets, “Live Scenes From New York” and “Live At Budokan” are in their own way as equally impressive live documents of this very impressive band.

Pip Pyle

2006-09-01T15:29:00.000+01:00

This week has been overshadowed by the sudden death of Pip Pyle. Anyone knowing anything about prog rock will have heard his name. He played on classic 70’s albums such as Gong’s “Camembert Electrique”, Hatfield and the North’s and National Health’s studio albums. Not only was he a master drummer but his compositions, like “Fitter Stoke Has A Bath”, from Hatfields “The Rotters Club” are complex and witty. His “Phlakaton” from National Health’s “Of Queues and Cures” is his answer to all those interminable drum solos we endured during that period of excess! Very funny and very Pip Pyle. By all accounts he was an affable guy, full of joie de vivre and will be sadly missed by those who knew him personally and those who just know him by his music.

Playlist ~ 10th August

2006-08-10T13:08:00.000+01:00

Best new album of the last few weeks has been the second album from American acidfolk revivalists Espers. A beautiful and wonderfully engaging album. I think this is as much prog as folk!

Really loved hearing the remastered Heaven 17 albums. I remember these from the days when the likes of Heaven 17, Simple Minds and Propaganda were high on the agenda. Glorious days!

Heaven 17 – Penthouse and Pavement (2006 Remaster)
Heaven 17 ~ The Luxury Gap (2005 Remaster)
Patrick Moraz ~ Out In The Sun (2006 Remaster)
Patrick Moraz ~ III (2006 Remaster)
Porcupine Tree ~ Stupid Dream (2006 Remaster)
Frost* ~ Milliontown
Stream Of Passion ~ Live In The Real World
Ultravox ~ Systems Of Romance (2006 Remaster)
Riverside ~ Voices In My Head
Espers ~ II
Muse ~ Black Holes And Revelations

Fred Frith and Skeleton Crew

2006-07-19T11:09:00.000+01:00

I have just recently picked up the remastered 2CD set of Skeleton Crew’s two studio albums. Skeleton Crew were a multi-instrumental duo of Fred Frith and the late Tom Cora, augmented by Zeena Parkins for their second album. The music is typically Frith at the time, a bit of composition here, a bit of avant noise there in a rock/folk/jazz style, but all held together by great playing and arrangements. Everything including the kitchen sink were used by these guys, making for very complex arrangements. But the skills of all concerned were such that it all sounds so effortless.

This is a really nice package. Both CD’s, like all of Frith’s recently re-released back catalogue, housed in a digi-pack with new artwork. Shame there are no detailed notes or lyrics, which were included in the previous RecDec release. However, that is more than made up with the sound. The remastering on this is very, very good. A really nice full sound, detailing all the instruments employed. The extra tracks are worth the money as well.

I also recommend the 2CD album of his other major live outfit, Keep the Dog. Excellent live sound and the performances are wild and fun!

The Art of King Crimson

2006-07-18T14:48:00.000+01:00

I have just posted a review of “Pictures Of A City” by 21st Schizoid Band on Amazon.co.uk. This has been a very surprising and hugely enjoyable listen. What a band. I am hence looking forward to Jakko’s solo album, “The Bruised Romantic Glee Club” which should be out end of August. A 2 CD affair, with the second CD covers of tracks by the likes of Crimson and Henry Cow. He has produced a version of “Islands” which has the legendary Dave Stewart (Hatfield and the North, National Health) playing on it.

Thinking about early Crimson brings me to a recurring idea I have had. Why hasn’t anyone produced a book around Crimson’s album cover artwork? Their albums have always featured stunning artwork, some by well renowned artists. The stories of these sleeves, how they came about and the artists involved would be something worth telling. We are talking about the likes of Barry Godber, Tom Phillips, Fergus Hall, P J Crook, Gini Barris. My personal favourite Crimson covers have been “Larks Tongues In Aspic” and “Lizard”.

Coincidently in a recent entry on Sid Smiths blog (sidsmith.blogspot.com), he mentions that Fergus Hall is now at the same Tibetan monastery in Scotland in which Jamie Muir fled to after leaving Crimson. What is it about that band?

Sensitive To Light ~ Almost Human

2006-07-14T15:40:00.000+01:00

Sensitive To Light is the latest project from French musician and composer Vynce Leff whose other band was Saens. I said was as it looks like Saens are, for the present anyway, inactive. Though on the evidence of this album, the sound lives on in Sensitive To Light. What I enjoyed about Saens two albums for Cyclops; “Escaping from the Hands of God” and “Prophet in a Statistical World” was their complex musical themes and arrangements all developed within a very symphonic, prog setting. The same approach has been adopted for this latest band project. This time though the lead vocal duties are handled by excellent Scottish female vocalist Jenny Lewis which adds a completely new dimension to Leff’s compositions in comparison to what he did in Saens, though the same complex arrangements are present. That can make for a difficult few listens as it did with the Saens albums, but the effort is very worthwhile.

Predominant is Leff’s excellent guitar playing which is reminiscent of Mike Oldfield in places. Comparions to similar female fronted, symphonic prog acts like Glass Hammer and Magenta could easily be made, but I think Leff’s knack for weaving complex, yet melodically rich musical patterns is very much his own. As with Saens there is a feeling of pushing everything; the concept, compositions, arrangements, playing to their absolute limits without anything overreaching itself. This is really bold, audacious prog. Very well done Cyclops for bringing us this.

www.sensitivetolight.net

Henry Cow ~ Concerts (remastered)

2006-07-12T10:50:00.000+01:00

ReR http://www.rermegacorp.com/ are planning to re-issue Henry Cow’s “Concerts” album in September. This has been remastered by Bob Drake and is effectively the first domestic (UK) release for this on CD. The only other version I am aware of was on the US East Side Digital label a number of years back.

“Concerts” was the first Henry Cow album I had heard and is possibly the best showcase for what the band were about. Combining structured and improvisional material, this was uncompromising stuff. Originally a double album, the first side was a BBC session and is some of the best studio performances the bad ever did. A superb medley of material from their earlier albums plus an excellent cover of Bill McCormick’s “Gloria Gloom”.

For me the highlight of the album will always be the live version of “Ruins”. This knocks spots off the studio version and the guitar solo by Fred Frith is absolutely incredible. This is not what is expected from a rock guitar solo, no flashy technique or super fast playing. Instead Frith delivers a solo which is brilliantly intuitive, controlled and thoroughly original, inventive and thrilling. Never been bettered.

There are also some very good live tracks with Robert Wyatt including “Bad Alchemy” (originally from “Desperate Straights” another great recent Bob Drake remaster) and “Little Red Riding Hood Hits the Road from Wyatt’s classic “Rock Bottom”.

The other pieces on the album are very good improvisational pieces, though the side long piece “Oslo” does require “patience” or is that tests ones “patience”!

Check out Bob Drake’s diary entry for 4th April (www.bdrak.com/news/news.htm) for the low down on how 30 seconds of the only master tape in existence got skrunched! Ouch!!

Best Of Year ~ So Far!

2006-07-07T13:11:00.000+01:00

Half way through the year. So here are my pick of the best of the new and re-releases/compilations of the year so far.

New Albums
The Tangent ~ A Place In The Queue
Pure Reason Revolution ~ The Dark Third
Magenta ~ Home
Secret Machines ~ Ten Silver Drops
Tool ~ 10,000 Days
Proto-Kaw ~ The Wait Of Glory
Jadis ~ Photoplay
Paatos ~ Silence Of Another Kind
The Flower Kings ~ Paradox Hotel
OSI ~ Free

Re-releases/Compilations/Live
Brian Eno and David Byrne ~ My Life in the Bush of Ghosts
No-Man ~ All The Blue Changes
Refugee ~ Refugee
Gentle Giant ~ Acquiring The Taste
Robert Fripp ~ Exposure
21st Century Schizoid Band ~ Pictures Of A City

On reflection, it has been a very quiet year so far on the prog front with not that many outstanding new releases. The best from the established artists are by The Tangent and Magenta which are major achievements. But it is good to see young bands like Pure Reason Revolution and Secret Machines producing adventurous and fresh sounding albums.

On the re-release front, labels are still heavily into remastering and re-packaging their back catalogues. The best as been the just released “Exposure” by Robert Fripp. This is an outstanding re-release. Not only an excellent musical statement in its own right, but a pertinent document of the place and times in which it was recorded. Superbly remastered by Simon Heyworth and 2 CD’s chock full of material form the era. The booklet is as usual from Fripp, stuffed full of detailed notes and photos. Thoroughly recommended indeed. Lets hope he does the same for the other albums from that period before he reactivated Crimson in the 80’s.

Gentle Giant ~ Acquiring The Taste

2006-06-23T10:43:00.000+01:00

I have recently picked up a few re-issued CD’s from Repertoire, http://www.repertoire.de/. This is a German re-issue company who license classic rock albums from different labels. Recently they have been producing some very nicely packaged CD’s, reproducing the original LP packaging. This is usually the domain of the Japanese who have a real knack for producing replica LP versions of classic albums.

Recently, Gentle Giants “Acquiring the Taste” has been re-mastered by Repertoire. The remastering was done by EROC, who was drummer with German band Grobschnitt and is now a top mastering engineer. The sound on this re-issue is really good. Very warm and detailed. The packaging is a nice glossy gatefold with fold-out insert containing lyrics and credits in larger type than that printed on the sleeve. There are also notes by renowned journalist Chris Welch.

The label also re-released the 1st album by Gentle Giant a few years back in replica LP form. That was also remastered by EROC. There were also plans for him to do “Three Friends” and “Octopus” but I think there are still some licensing problems with those, though they can be had as expensive Japanese versions. From their web site it looks like Repertoire have done quite a few artists from the Vertigo label. Repertoire must be applauded for the detail that has gone into these releases. If only other companies did the same.

Mainhorse ~ Mainhorse

2006-06-22T15:53:00.000+01:00

Amongst those in the know, Patrick Moraz’s album with the band Refugee is regarded as a lost gem of 70’s progressive rock. I think there is a strong case to be made for the album he made before that with his previous band Mainhorse. Mainhorse were more of a proto-prog band, quite bluesy in places, maybe more akin to the likes of Atomic Rooster, Deep Purple and The Nice. The band members were half Swiss and half English. Guitarist and vocalist Peter Lockett sounding a bit like Roye Albrighton from Nektar. Drummer Bryson Graham is pretty good here, lots of nice complex flourishes befitting the music on show. Then there is bassist Jean Ristori who would later work with Yes as sound engineer during Moraz’s stint with the band. But the star is Moraz of course. He writes the majority of the material and his keyboard work is the dominant factor. On this early work, it’s mostly Hammond organ and electric piano, though on the lengthy “God” he uses a ‘klavio-synthesiser” to produce a very eastern flavoured synth solo.

The opening song, “Introduction” has some very meaty organ work, which I think Keith Emerson would have been impressed with. I particularly like “Pale Sky” with it’s very laid back, jazzy instrumental section with some very good electric piano work from Moraz. That the band could produce something as restrained as this is quite refreshing and indicates what thoughtful players these people were. The highlight here is maybe “Basia”, very catchy with superb harmony vocals. There is a lot to enjoy on this album. A little rough round the edges maybe, but there was such huge potential here. Because the album failed to receive much attention, the band soon disbanded. A shame really, though Moraz of course would go onto greater things.

This remaster sounds pretty good, considering when it was recorded and is worth searching out by anyone interested in early 70’s prog rock. I was quite surprised by how good this was and hence I would place it alongside “Refugee”, “Relayer” and “Story of i” as prime examples of how an important figure Patrick Moraz was in the 70’s as both a keyboard virtuoso and composer.

____________________

The next batch of Moraz remasters should see "The Story of i". For me this is a very impressive example of 70's keyboard based prog rock. It is also Moraz at a creative peak of sorts.

What previous CD issues have lacked is reproducing the luxurious gatefold sleeve of the original LP with it's massive list of credits, including all the keyboards used by Moraz and the hand written insert with Moraz's notes, scribbles and doodles on each track. If this release does not try and match the original LP, then it will be a tragic missed opportunity. We shall see!

Bill Nelson – Getting The Holy Ghost Across

2006-06-15T15:37:00.000+01:00

According to Bill’s latest diary entry from his web site, he is at last able to release on CD for the first time his classic album from 1986, Getting the Holy Ghost Across. This was the only album he released on CBS Records, now Sony and they have been reluctant to release this on CD over the years. Now Bill has sorted out a licensing deal which hopefully means that all the material he recorded during the sessions will be available.

This has always been one of my favourite albums by Bill. More mainstream maybe than some of his other projects, but certainly some of his strongest songwriting is represented here. For fans of Bill, having this on CD is actually the Holy Grail.

http://www.billnelsonmusic.com/

Steve Hillage Remastered

2006-04-25T15:28:00.000+01:00

Taken from www.planetgong.co.uk

“Steve's solo albums from the 70's are scheduled for release in remastered, bonus-tracked and expanded booklet form this Autumn. They are to be released in chronological order, 4 in September and 4 in October. And the best news is that it's all being done with his blessing and hands-on input. As soon as I have any info on the bonus tracks I will let you know.”

This is most welcome news indeed. Hillage was one of the perennial guitarists of the 70’s, initially as part of Gong but then through a series of successful solo albums. The first “Fish Rising” included members of Gong, Hatfield and the North and other Canterbury styled outfits. His second “L” was produced by Todd Rundgren and really broke Hillage into the mainstream. His style became more fluid and funky which was represented on albums like “Motivation Radio” and “Green”. These releases will be most welcome and and it is good seeing Hillage involved in this music again, something he has shunned for many years.

Early Ultravox Remastered

2006-04-21T16:15:00.000+01:00

Ultravox’s first 3 albums with John Foxx are to be re-released on 8th May. Remastered with extra tracks, lyrics and sleeve notes, I am particularly looking forward to the very excellent “Systems of Romance”. This is a classic of late 70’s synth pop, when Bowie and Eno’s “Low” opened the way for cool Euro pop chic. Co-produced by the legendary Conny Plank, this was the peak of creativity for the band in my opinion. Foxx left the band after this and made some great albums including “Metamatic” and “The Garden” and is still active today.

Pure Reason Revolution ~ The Dark Third

2006-04-20T14:47:00.000+01:00

There does seem to be a definite upsurge in interest in prog rock. Not the usual smug battering the genre usually gets, but something more positive and acceptable is abound. With the likes of The Mars Volta, Porcupine Tree, Coheed and Cambria and Oceansize all getting attention in the mainstream rock press, bands are clearly embracing the likes of Rush, Yes, King Crimson and Pink Floyd with relish. Latest new kids on the block are Pure Reason Revolution from London. This, their debut full length album is full of youthful energy and clearly a band for the future. These guys love harmonies and they are in abundance all over this album. “Bullitts Dominae” is a perfect example. Gorgeous melody and ecstatic chorus propel this song into the stratosphere. The lengthy, “The Bright Ambassadors Of Morning” also has some beautifully arranged vocals spread out over its 12 minutes with most of the vocal duties carried out by guitarist John Courtney and bassist Chloe Alper throughout. Both work wonderfully together. Opener “Aeropause” is a spacey instrumental in the best Floyd tradition with lots of typical Gilmour slide guitar. It’s a slight pity that a few of the tracks here date from their previous mini-album “Cautionary Tales From The Brave”, but as a finished work this album gels nicely as a cohesive whole.

This is a very assured debut from a very promising young band, whether you embrace prog rock or not. This is fresh and exciting rock music and this band should gain the recognition which “The Dark Third” indicates they truly deserve.

No-Man ~ All The Blue Changes

2006-03-10T14:31:00.000+01:00

A collection of hearfelt beauty

Simply put, this is an essential compilation by one of our great songwriting partnerships. Featuring the breathy vocals of Tim Bowness and the instrumental prowess of Porcupine Tree mainman Steven Wilson, the duo have been making achingly beautiful songs since the early 90’s. Originally a trio with violinist Ben Coleman their debut was a Donovan cover “Colours”. They followed this in 1991 with the absolutely gorgeous “Days In The Trees”. This is simply one of the best songs from the early 90’s without a doubt. This is included here together with its Steve Reich version, which is astonishingly set against a sample from Twin Peaks. Heartbreakingly good!

Those not familiar with the No-Man sonic palette would do well to forthwith. They have traversed everything from beat led dream pop to late nite ambient jazz. References to late period Talk Talk and David Sylvian have been made, but there is so much more to No-Man’s work than these influences might lead you. The key thing every piece of No-Man music has is a deep heartfelt belief in emotion and communicating that emotion. Bowness sings of lost love and you know he has experienced that loss and makes you feel it too!

There is so much to recommend here, each song has its own distinctiveness and is lovingly crafted. Particular favourites are “Pretty Genius” with exquisite contributions from Mel Collins, the dreamy piano of Nick Drake’s “Pink Moon” and the exceptional “Returning Jesus” with its odd squelchy synth opening reminding me of something from Robert Wyatt’s “Rock Bottom”.

This 2CD set is stuffed with key songs. But there is enough here for both the casual listener and the avid fan as some rare material is included. But this is only the tip of the iceberg. There is so much more that could have been included here. Like the adrenalin rush of “Kiss Me Stupid” or the ambient epic “Close Your Eyes” to name just a couple. But this collection will more than suffice and is nicely packaged in a fold-out digipack sleeve with a typically gorgeous design by Carl Glover.

Hopefully this collection will make you avidly search out more as you fall in love with these songs, as you will most certainly do.

Re-mastering: Is it worth it?

2006-03-03T14:13:00.000+01:00

The thing today is to remaster and be damned! A whole roster of back catalogues have been dusted off, re-mastered, re-packageded and re-sold. Some have been worth the trouble, others have not. Yes, digital technology has come on leaps and bounds since albums were mastered onto CD for the first time. Then, very little thought was given to how the CD’s should sound or how they should look. The belief was that the CD was a miracle, sounded perfect and would last forever. The push was to just get those old ,tired back catalogues onto the those shiny little discs as quickly as possible. It was a huge boost to the market as people replaced their LP’s with CD’s.
Over the last few years people are now replacing their original CD’s with even better sounding ones. So there was no such thing as perfect sounding CD’s then!! The lure of extra tracks, enhanced packaging and 24-bit, SBM, DDD, dogs-bollocks mastering is re-generating money to be made in back-catalogues. Again!

I mostly applaud some of the back catalogue remastering that has gone on. What people like Mark Powell and his team have done for the likes of Caravan, Camel, VDGG, Jack Bruce and others has taken the genre from purely a repackaging/remastering exercise to something more to do with lovingly archiving these recordings for posterity. The attention to detail is quite impressive. However, there have been a few instances that have had me scratching my head a bit! First example is Brian Eno’s back catalogue. This lengthy program of re-releasing Eno’s Virgin back catalogue has been undertaken by the excellent engineer Simon Heyworth. Not so much remastered but re-transferred as he has taken the original masters and re-transferred them to the CD format. The sound is good, no doubt about it. But the back catalogue has now gone from being available as reasonably good sounding, mid-price CD’s with ok packaging to fully priced CD’s, with no extra tracks, no enhanced packaging, just in digipack format which is not to everyone’s liking. So for me I don’t think upgrading in this case is of much benefit.

Second example is the imminent re-release of Wire’s first three albums. Like Eno’s back catalogue these are to be in digipack format. These were originally remastered in 1994 with each album having extra tracks and booklets including lyrics. These new 2006 releases according to the blurb have been “all returned to the original vinyl release running order (no inappropriate extra “bonus” tracks) therefore honouring the conceptual clarity of the original statements – and are presented as digipack replicas of the original vinyl sleeves with a 12 page booklet”. Fair enough. But I am also led to believe that the enclosed booklets will not include lyrics which the original albums did. So how is this “replicating the original vinyl sleeves” then or “honouring the conceptual clarity of the original statements”. And all at full price too!! I’ll stick with my mid-priced issues with extra tracks and lyrics and which sound pretty good to these ears, jaded they may be.

There does seem to be a tendency of late to re-release for the sake of it. Does the cost of replacement outweigh the benefits to be had? That is the question I ask. There are some glaring examples out there of artist’s work that definitely needs dusting off and sprucing up. Off the top of my head some that have been mooted but nothing concrete as yet are Steve Hillage and Peter Hammill.

Moraz albums remastered

2006-02-20T13:34:00.000+01:00

I have just posted my review of the new Tangent album on amazon.co.uk. This is indeed a very special progressive rock album. Everything that I personally love of prog rock is represented in this album. I can recommend it completely without any reservations.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/tg/cm/member-glance/-/A29ICMNLMF9MT2/202-6993783-4167865

I heard that all of Patrick Moraz’s albums are to be re-issued on Voiceprint soon. This is very god news indeed as his first solo album, The Story of I is a classic. Recorded when he was still a member of Yes and during their lay-off when all members of the band recorded solo albums. Recorded for Charisma records, this was a lavish affair. Money no object on the recording of this even down to the gorgeous gatefold sleeve, Charisma knew they were on to a money winner especially with Moraz’s connections to Yes. The results were for me one of the best keyboard dominated prog rock albums of that period. Moraz’s arsenal of keyboards used, as listed on the album sleeve were mind-boggling! Hopefully, the remastering will bring the big production sound of this alive as the existing CD is lacking in dynamics to say the least.

The album he recorded with ex-members of The Nice as Refugee is also to be part of the re-issue campaign and is also well worth a listen.

http://www.patrickmoraz.com/news_02_06.html

A New Year and new stuff already

2006-01-13T15:42:00.000+01:00

A New Year and new recordings to be listened to and looked forward to.

The first up is the new one by Proto-Kaw. This is to be the follow up to “Before Became After” and called “The Wait of Glory” This band is led by Kansas’s Kerry Livgren. Kansas were one of the premier US prog bands of the 70’s and produced a number of excellent albums of the period like “Leftoverture”, “Song for America” and “Point of Know Return”. Proto-Kaw were actually Kerry’s band prior to Kansas which he has recently put back together. Their first album “Before Became after” was very, very good and showed that Kerry had lost known of his compositional prowess. Mixing typical Kansas classical/symphonic writing with more mainstream American rock. Very well done and it sounded very fresh and energetic. Looking forward to this follow up very much.

www.protokaw.com

Next on the horizon is the third album by The Tangent. Andy Tillison’s band has quickly established itself as being one of the most exciting outfits on the prog scene today. What started out as a projected solo venture quickly took on a more band feel when Flower King, Roine Stolt came on board. Their first two albums, “The Music that Died Alone” and “The World We Drive Through” wonderfully mix classic prog rock with Andy’s more contemporary sounds which he explored in his band Parallel Or 90 Degrees. That band in itself is worth checking out. This new album and the first without Stolt should see more of the PO90 influence and some interesting contributions from sax/flute player Theo Travis. I expect this to be one of my albums of the year. Their previous two were!

www.thetangent.org