| Have you ever looked at someone elses little baby and said "wow! it looks just like you !" .....this is how I felt the first time I listened to Neal Morse's 1st self titled album...it was like Spock's Beard but then again maybe not.......Let me say that this is a highly energetic and entertaining recording from one of today's most talented musicians. Neal plays all the instruments except for Drums which good friend Nick D'Vigilio (aka Spock's Beard & Genesis) handles with ease and sophistication. Fans of Spock's Beard will need to own this recording as Neal brings many of those nifty little "Beardie" elements into the music with Jazz and contemporary rock like structures moving as you would expect in all directions. This album is exceptionally well done and although I love all of the tracks to death it is the nice long last epic track "A Whole Nother Trip" which I can't seem to get out of my mind........just simply hyptnotic | |||
| On the outside of this CD is printed the following wonderful summation " Volare is an instrumental quartet who blend classic prog and fusion with a distinctive Canterbury flavor. Essential for fans of National Health , Hatfield & The North & Happy The Man." Let me build on this brief outline but suggesting that this quartet combine lovely guitar and bass expressions with keyboard and drum interplay in a highly "avante-garde"-like way. At times , I even hear the ol' mellotron adding some symphonia. It has taken me some time to get to the review of this progressive gem, but "just for the record...I'm going to put down" as a real winner and one of those recordings which will keep you amazed.
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| Hauntingly beautiful mellotron laden progressive rock with soft instrumental accompaniment throughout. In sharp contrast to their first masterpiece, Second Plus carries a much more "jazz-like" (loads of jazzy sax) approach and at times has a more random feel. Songs are generally shorter in length with 3 epic tracks (10, 13 and 15 minutes long). Although Second Plus is not as "Picture perfect" as their first release, it is still quite overly inspiring music with some delicious melodies and mellotron passages. I will admit that this album did take a little bit of time for me to warm up to , but without hesitation I recommend this album to all lovers of Italian prog. | |||
| Spanish Progressive Rock in the most delicious way you could possibly imagine.. Mezquita blend complex structures with cascading symphonia , juxtaposed with Spanish acoustic guitar accents and delicate melodies. I think I do owe a very big thanks to my Turkish friend Tugyan who without a shred of hesitation insistently recommended this album. Vocals are shared from within the group and are well suited to this music with excellent harmonies and larynx contrasts throughout. Standout for me has to be Mezquita's awesome and highly sophisticated guitar player (Jose Rafa) who seems to move eloquently from acoustic to electric throughout. This album carries a wonderful Spanish influence (cha-cha's and all!) throughout and is actually a wild mix of traditional, eastern and progressive musical elements. The music on "Recuerdos de mi Tierra" is ever flowing and moves with great energy and complexity. This album is really a prog lovers delight and I too would pass along the warm endorsements on this album as a real winner. | |||
| Mr. E Jones was Nuova Era's 2nd release and in my opinion is another superb 70's Italian Prog release. With major mood and atmosphere swings, Nuova Era take us from hard edged acid-like keyboard driven progressive jams to soft caressing mellotron led tranquil moments. Vocals are excellent and well suited to the music. In many ways "Mr E Jones" is my favorite of Nuova Era's first 3 excpetional releases. Mr E Jones carries a real heavy 70's feel with loads of dark keyboards and expressive vocals and guitars. The lighter sections of the album kind of reminds me of early Camel at times actually. A wonderful recording which Italprog heads will love. | |||
| Raising The Stones represents, Citizen Cain's 3 official release this time with a slightly reduced band membership (Cyrus and Stewart Bell only!). But let me confirm with you my fellow prog lovers that these 2 guys sound like a full band. As in the past "Raising The Stones" is classic Citizen Cain with dramatic interludes and highly memorable songs. Stand out track for me is Corcyra which could have been lifted off their first album and been the instant fan favorite. This is a nice long recording pushg the 70 min mark. "Raising" offers wonderful bass and keyboard interplay which when layered over with Xyrus's foreboding and emotive lyrics makes you wonder why these guys are not touring extensively. | |||
| Buckethead's Monsters & Robots requires that you are all well seated and all "bucketed" up. This guy never ceases to amaze me in his aggressive musically conceptual endeavors. This time we are transported into a dark and scary world where both Monsters & Robots attack our young and talented guitar wizard who callls himself Buckethead. With assistance from his trusty comrades Brain (Drums), Bootsy Collins (Vox), Les Claypool (Bass) and chief produced Bill Laswell we are treated to a complete psycho-fair. This album is full of wicked grooves and technically wild guitar soloing with heavy and I mean heavy bass lines. A per normal protocol Buckethead's music is full of humor and highly thought provoking musical moments. I have always loved this guys approach to music and think he is truly one of the leading-edge performers today. Buckthead's music is hard to peg down but does combine the finer elements of Post-Industrial, Alternative and Progressive in one vicious rock anthem. | |||
| As you would expect a classically Eastern influenced album highlighting Ravi Shankar's sitar playing. This is Ravi Shankar at the height of his career and this album is really a tribute in memory to a trip he had to Japan. What makes this such a great album for me is the unorthodox combination of instrumentation and musical form (obviously heavily Indian influenced); Koto (traditional Japanese harp), Tabla, Sitar, Shakuhachi (traditional Japanese flute) and bass and treble tampura's. Sound quality is top drawer and this album resonates with a simple beauty and is really full of emotion and amazing musicianship. Each musician featured on this album were hand selected by Ravi and were considered world class musicians on their instrument. If you like the old sitar/tabla jam thing then this album is an essential…even a 5 minute tabla solo. | |||
| Excellent 90's English progressive rock band with some real sweet musical touches. In many ways this band has a character not unlike Arena & Pendragon. Final Conflict are a tight band with some great musicianship and great vocals (kind of reminds me of Geoff Mann). Songs are nicely crafted and offers some great musical passages, without ever sounding light, cheesie or fluffy. Keyboard playing is well done and are quite symphonic throuhgout. This is truely clever music and is a great listen all the way through. | |||
| A simply super fried-out acid experimental album from these German psych -space merchants. Fool Moon is full of acid-like psychedelia with loads of guitar, bass, keyboard and percussion. This is pure madness really but is a wonderful little recording with some very psychy tunes......a German Ozric Tentacles... | |||
| Take off your shoes, socks, turn off the lights, shut all windows and blinds and turn up your amplifier to 11...here comes some pure progressive psychedelia. Arzachel were in and out of the world of music for only a short period and have left behind this one and only little treasure of wonderful wierdness. Arzachel was really the young genius of Steve Hillage (Guitars) and Dave Stewart (Keyboards) and although never really intended for wide distribution has become one of the most collectible and trasured gems of this era. Arzachel contains classic Hillage acid guitar windouts and Dave Stewart's psychedelic keyboard drones and solos. Arzachel contains 2 longer length tracks (11 & 17 Mins) and 4 shorter numbers. The sound repro is as you might expect not in full digital, but does not detract from your listening enjoyment. The fine folks at Drop Out Records have included a nice little history and package about this band as well... | |||
| If you were going to buy only 1 cd this year you should make it Bacamarte's "Depois Do Fim". Brazillian progressive rock masterpiece with incredible musicianship and the gorgeous voice of Jane Duboc, who adds an Annie Haslam influence to the music. Bacamarte delivers killer guitar with amazing keyboards around some superb melodies. Songs change themes, tempo and moods frequently with epic delivery. "Depois Do Fim" was well recorded and has been masterfully transferred to cd offering excellent sound quality, instrument distinction and speaker separation. An exceptionally intoxicating album I endorse with the greatest of convictions…wonderful music | |||
| Magnificent Symphonic piece of early progressive rock with some of the most enduring melodies of all time. BJH's first album can be categorized somewhere in the Procol Harum - Moody Blues school of musical thought with still carrying their own personality. In many ways this debut album gives off a rather "Beatles'ish" feel as well with sound repro not unlike that which typifies much of the Beatles music. Vocals are like velvet with superb musical harmonies and excellent lyrics which seems to fit the music with perfection. Recorded in '69 and '70 using only 2 eight track machines with the assistance of Robert Godfrey (The Enid) , the Barclay James Harvest Orchestra and a mellotron. For those who are trivia buffs then you might it interesting to note that Jim Litherland (Colosseum) added some guitar brilliance to the opening number "Taking Some Time On". Although sounding a little dated at times , this is still a tremendous recording which I fondly treasure. | |||
| Djam Karet have been producing some of the most progressively instrumental albums right under our ears for some time. "Still No Commercial Value" certainly lives up to its title with their patented spaced-out guitar/keyboard driven jams. "Still No Commercial Value" is without a question , one of Djam's most impactful musical expressions so far. Highlight for we is their 29 minute epic track titled "Strange Wine From A Twisted Fruit" which builds to a wonderful musical climax revealing aspects of classic era Pink Floyd and . Songs are bold and dynamic with loads of great guitar playing and keyboard symphonia. I love when the bands gets going bringing the listener in and out of many different moods and grooves. CD is hand autographed by the band members and are individually numbered…this should be a highly collectible CD so get yours now... | |||
| Blonde On Blonde were a magnificent band with Rebirth representing their 2nd release. Blonde On Blonde play a classic rock/prog style and in many ways have a semi "Moody Blues" influence. Rebirth is hard to peg down as it carries influences from the psychedelia era, progressive rock and symphonic genre. Lead vocalist David Thomas has one very wicked voice (kind of folkish) which makes Blonde On Blonde really stand out as a unique band. Guitars are generally heavy with complex bass and drum interplay giving a very rich sound. This is one of those recordings which is very easy to get into and has a superb lasting quality. Great musicianship with a great 70's feel throughout. | |||
| Without a question, BJH's "Once Again" would also be nominated as one of my most beloved albums. "Once again" marked BJH's second release under the careful direction of Robert Godfrey (The Enid). With hints of the genius of The Beatles, BJH wrote one of the most enduring albums of all time. Classic English early progressive rock in a style very much influenced by works of The Moody Blues with orchestral and heavy symphonic passages and landscapes. John Lee's classic Mocking Bird is featured on this album which to this day still fills my heart with wonder. | |||
| Ladies & gentlemen put your hands together for Spock's Beard. Yes it is a 2 CD live album covering many of the Beards greatest tunes of all time. The songs are slightly varied and offer some real live energy. This album covers the musical highlights from 2 seperate concerts but actually runs like one fluid show and without any overdubs or unnecessary after mix touchups. Highlight for me is "The Doorway" which dips and dives into many new regions and even stars a percussion solo from Nick. Another big surprise is a very nifty version of Genesis' "Squonk" which was played at Nearfest '99. Overall this is a superb collection and the only bummer is the lack of liner notes and photos (oh well I guess you can't always have everything). | |||
| Now here is one of those albums which took me totally by surprise and although not categorized under that nasty label "Progressive" has definitive leanings. Wellwater Conspiracy combine the illusionary tendencies of early Pink Floyd with an uncanny ability to mix up emotions and themes while delivering quite a psychy mood throughout. Wellwater's musical schizophrenia includes allusions to the likes of Adrian Belew, King Crimson, Porcupine Tree, Pink Floyd and Anekdoten. Guitar is exceptionally well done with loads of "acidie- like fuzzy playing" and harder edged moments. Music lovers who may be like me "Grunge-A-Phobics" , may have reservations when I mention that the guitarist originally played with Soundgarden. Complete with even a few hippie moments...a solid recording for those nights when you wanna rock. | |||
| Italian symphonic progressive band who released one of the most wonderful and yet obscure recordings of the 70's. This "PFM"-like band create symphonic atmospheres which are filled with gorgeous analog pastoral keyboard and flute expressions. Vocals are excellent with great harmony and full of expression. Songs are well composed and recorded with masterful musicanship throughout. A great little recording to show all your co-workers. | |||
| In the early 70's a number of Jazz/Prog rock outfits signed and recorded with Vertigo Records with Affinity being one of the stellar acts. Affinity were a 4 piece band led by lead singer Linda Hoyle (who has a gorgeous and powerful epic style voice) and keyboardist Lynton Naiff who plays some scrumptious 70's analog keys. Songs are nice and varied with the overall album posing a highly 70's styled music. Of instant attraction for me here was the fine bass, guitar and drum interplay which along with Hoyle vocals will make you drool. At times Affinity carries a "psychy" feel to their music and when combined with the orchestration gives the listener a wild connection. Affinity were a highly original band who wrote and recorded 1 fantastic album with great virtuosity and color. One of the finest examples of their musical competence is found on 12 minute version of "All Along The Watchtower". The fine folks at Repertoire have included a couple of bonus tracks from Affinity which nicely closes the chapter in this superb charming bands history. A great discovery.... | |||
| 3rd concept-like album from the Moody Blues marking another mega wonderful album which I am sure many of you like me, own and treasure already. I would suggest that "On The Threshold Of A Dream" captures the Moody Blues at their most complex, characterized here by their inclusion of lengthly instrumental passages. This album contains many of their most enduring tunes and is a wonderful mix of classical rock and progressive elements. As you would expect vocals and harmonies are emphasized which suits the orchestral music to perfection.
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| Citizen Cain's first official album release and an absolute intoxicating one at that. At the time this was released, I felt Citizen Cain were one of the best prog acts all around. Citizen Cain blend the triumphs of Genesis with the progressive roots of the 70's. Cyrus' lead vocals are simply amazing and brings a Peter Gabriel-like approach to the music without sounding like an imitation in any way. Musicianship is extremely high with loads of complex instrument interplay and vocals expressions. Songs are highly memorable and are generally long in duration (10 mins). Citizen Cain deliver a highly profesional and emotional music with some absolutely stunning progressive rock moments. I believe Malcolm Parker (GFT / Cyclops - see my link section for contact details) has re-released this gem for those unlucky enough to swing a copy during the short existence of Dutch prog label SI Music. | |||
| English neo-prog act in the vein of IQ, Pallas, Arena and Marillion. I have several of their recordings and love each of their albums to death with perhaps "Forces" standing out as arguably their best release. Martin Wilson's vocals are truely wonderful and is one of the most striking features of this band. Grey Lady Down blend complex multi-layered music with synthesizer driven passages emphasizing their Neo-Prog leanings. "Forces" has some truely sweet guitar playing as well handled by the multi-talented Julian Hunt. Their music is highy energetic and professional throughout and is a "Crime" that they ever split up. | |||
| First time I saw this guy playing live was simply amazing. Michael Brook blends elements of New Age, Progressive, Eastern Influences, Space, Minimalism and contemporary all centered around the guitar. In many ways Michael Brook borrows the animated guitar trickery of Robert Fripp. Michael Brook's "Fripper-like" tronics are simply amazing and he is clearly one of todays finest guitar innovators. Imagine African and Eastern influenced percussion with deep multi layered guitar expressions (no vocals) and keyboard landscapes (via Roger & Brian Eno). Michael Brook has a massive portfolio having worked with many of todays top musicians and producers. Standout track for me is "Andean" which just seems like the perfect embryionic jam.....a great Sunday morning CD... | |||
| Osanna - From the first few moments of this gem you know you are in for a real treat. "Palepoli" is often cited by many prog fans as the pinnacle Osanna album to own, but L'Uomo is also wonderfully delicious and in many ways may be my first choice. L'Uomo is a complete album , full of great operatic backing vocal parts, wicked flute, loads of acoustic & electric guitar, great lead vocals, complex drumming and delicate song writing. Not unlike many of the 70's Italian bands, atmospheres are symphonic with some very memorable musical moments with L'Uomo being perhaps more aggressive sounding (Ie. not as pastoral as PFM). I actually find this album very "trippy" at times helped by the fuzz guitar (Hendrix - like at times) and searing flute playing. A superb Italian release and an often overlooked gem. | |||
| Guitar centric prog rock with some great flute . De De Lind released one beauty of an album in 1973 and then disappeared…. This album offers a beautiful selection of soft and harder edged prog rock songs with loads of classic rock themes tossed in as well throuhgout. Vocals although not overly emphasized are quite well done and carry that classic 70's Ital-Prog influence. For those who love the flute in rock will most definitely love this album with some great musical passages.
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