| Trace were a trio producing very keyboard rich music with embellishments of a classical genre added in for contrast. Birds would likely represent IMHO their defining moment offering some grand jazz/rock progressive themes. Trace were Rick van der Linden (Keyboards), Ian Mosley (Marillion) drums and Jaap van Eik (Bass and guitars). Birds combines shapes of Camel, ELP and Focus within a very tight and very original structure and wall of sound. This is truly a rich album with some awesome keyboards and amazing drumming. The album is made up of a number of shorter tunes and then an epic side long piece “King Bird” which gives them lots of room to unfold quite a piece . They also manage to cover two J.S. Bach tunes. The re-mastered CD also contains 2 excellent bonus songs taken from the same recording era and were apparently released separately as singles. Darryl Way makes a grand guest appearance on the violin on Trace’s rendition of Bach’s Opus 1065 which is one of the richest tracks you will hear. A great album. | |||
| Perhaps the hardest thing to believe is that these guys were from Switzerland and not Germany as they play a stoned cold sound replica fitting from the Krautrock 70’s era - collection. Krokodil managed to released a number of albums over their tenure with “Getting up in the morning” representing IMHO their most progressive album. Essentially Krokodil were a 4 piece band with guitar, sitar, bass, drums, klavino, harp, flutes and strong compelling vocals. My favorite track from the album is the psychedelic folk’sy “And I Know” which sounds like a Syd Barret influenced Pink Floyd song with a bit more of a rock touch. Overall album is quite spacey actually and highly psychedelic I think mostly due to the presence of sitar, but also in their approach. Krokodil were most a straight forward rock band but on this album stretched a bit more out delivering a pretty cool album. | |||
| For those who are familar Vavona Burr is another stunning album full of Nick Saloman's song-oriented acid rock. His distinct sound and voice continues to convey real emotion in both music and song. This collection of 18 varied songs offers up more of the Frond's raw garage style of crashing acoustic and electric guitars and the assorted molten acid solos. As you would expect we are treated here a wide range of musical influences from easy paced moments to heavy acidic stretchouts. On the lighter side, "Caught In The Headlight" a nice acoustic tune with a sort of sitar sounding solo and a great wailing organ. "One Leg Sand Dance" is a jamming bluesy, and quite soulful, psych rocker. He demonstrates his flare for good rockin' and catchy melodies on tracks like "Couldn't Care Less" and "Almost Like Being Alive". "Coming Down On You" is another great 'stick in your head' melody rocker that has a bit of a Beatles influence. And for all-out acid rock my favorites are "National Drag" and "Temple Falls". "National Drag" got my toes tappin' with its raw slide guitar and screaming echoed solos. And "Temple Falls" features Nick's cool wailing wah-wah licks. Vavona Burr is just what the doctor ordered kids and is a very cool album. | |||
| When I heard the news that Nektar were releasing a new album after all those years in hibernation I started to get itchy palms. Well it is true and here are the new Nektar .....Three of the original four members....Roye Albrighton (Guitars, vocals), Ray Hadwick (Drums) and James Allan Freeman (Taff) (Keyboards). As much as I would have loved to have heard another "Tab In The Ocean" or "Remember The Future", The Prodigal Son really embodies a very new sound, yet still carries a reflection on those older days atmospheres. Nektar have definitely "Recycled" their sound and have moved clearly into the 21st century as a more straight-ahead rock unit. Having said that the music on this album is far better than any crap you'd ever hear on the radio. The Prodigal Son is 9 engaged tracks with deep meaning and excellent instrumentation. This album is very well recorded and sounds excellent with great speaker separation. I have read both negative and positive things about this album , but IMHO this is a very good album and does not even try to compete with their 70's masterpieces. | |||
| Hello Out There ! Now here is a simply awesome mind melting experience that simply blew me away and will do the same for you. This 2 member Portuguese psychedelic progressive rock outfit play some of the best Avant-Garde music I think have ever heard. Saturnia are keyboardist/bassist/programmer Francisco Rebelo and singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Luis Simoes. Self-confessed vinyl junkie and Audiophile Luis Simões came up with the wonderful concept of making a CD sound like a piece of vinyl..... Complete throughout with hiss and vinyl ticks you would think you old turntable is spinning. “The Glitter Odd” is firmly in the psychedelic realm, though lots of fun spacey synths are prominent with Dubs. Tribal influenced percussion, freaky bleeping space synths, organ, sampled flute, sitar, Theremin, floating vocals, and other sound effects. Sonically this album is magical offering a pretty steady drone tempo throughout while blending a mix of classic Psychedelia, spacey ambient vibes and 70's prog flavoured organ. Kind of a mix of Pink Floyd , Tangerine Dream, Mogwai and This Spacious Mind. | |||
| "One Niter" is widely regarded as their best album and stands up IMHO as one tremendous pieces of symphonic progressive rock. This album was actually their second release and followed a 5 year delay after the release of their classic debut album. This album is essentially made up of two side-long conceptual tracks (Circles and One Niter Medley). The music of Eela Craing is very much keyboard centric featuring a wide host of keyboards with lots of mellotron. Eela Graig play serene yet majestic and hauntingly beautiful themes with lots of Mellotron, flute, symphonic string synths and killer guitar work. The vocals are also well done and float along with the music in a very similar vein to that of Camel. On “One Niter”, Eela Craig also blend in some slight funk-like themes into the symphonic fog and gives the listener something quite original to listen to. | |||
| Ankh’s latest album fittingly titled “Expect Unexpected” is a great mix of electronica, pop and progressive rock genres. Hard to peg this album in any one category as it offers such unique characteristics and musical forms. The opening track “The Trick” for example plays in the electronic pop space and is a very catchy tune reminding me for some reason of a modern day Kraftwerk. The following song ”love supreme” is a drawing from the work of King Crimson. Musically Ankh is exactly that….a combination of King Crimson and Kraftwerk. Throughout the album Ankh get into some great instrumental grooves and jams. The listener is never bored listening to this album as it offers so much variety in both mood, and tempo variation. The vocals are mostly sung in Polish and generally play a sub-servant role to the instrumentation. This album is a homerun for sure and for those looking to experiment into some new earth shattering territory should definitely check this album out…. | |||
| “You” is the third and final instalment of the Radio Gnome Invisible trilogy set and IMHO is Gong’s best work. Anyone out there who love space rock or fusionish jams will definitely love this album. Mostly gone from “You “ is the classic Gong silliness that embodies most of their albums and stands out as their characteristic watermark. Fans of England’s Ozric Tentacles should definitely check out this album as it obviously had an influence on their sound. One of the most intriguing aspects of this album is Gong’s ability to shift abruptly from harmless, sunny-day pop music a la The Beatles (the opening two tracks) to an ominous, mystical fury a la Mahavishnu Orchestra ("Master Builder," and the band's masterpiece, "A Sprinkling of Clouds"). “You” is for me the perfect mix of Tim Blake's sea of synthesizers, Didier Malherbe's sax offset by Steve Hillage's wild guitar frenzies, Gilli Smythe's 'space whispers and the thunderous rhythm section of Howlett and Pierre Moerlen. At the helm remains the zainy yet inspired Daevid Allen who continues to paint his convoluted musical story of Zero the Hero, Octave Doctors, and the Pot-Head Pixies. This is by far Gong's most instrumental album in their Daevid Allen days, as there is tons of absolutely killer jams. "A Sprinkling of Clouds" is simply one of the best Gong songs I have ever heard, with tons of great, spacy synths, lots of guitar jams, and at the end, killer bamboo flutes. Wow…what else could you ask for ? | |||
| Satellite are a fresh new “Neo-prog” band who for obvious reasons carry a very strong correlation to the music of Polish prog band Collage (aka 1994’s Moonshine). Satellite brings back and assembles the magic of Moonshine era-Collage (IMHO the best album Collage ever recorded) with the delicate vocals of Robert Amirian, Mirek Gil’s hackettesque guitars, krzystof Palczewski’s touch of Marillion/IQ and the percussive strokes of Wojtek Szadkowski. “A St. between Sunrise & Sunset” is a wonderful symphonic album full of great musical grandeur and excellent song writing and instrumental prowess. Fans of neo-prog like IQ will definitely love this album with their clean yet complex sound and moods created. The album also offers four long songs, over 10 min. each giving the band lots of room to work through some fine instrumentation. A Street Between Sunrise And Sunset is a symphonically full, richly textured, album, delivered with maturity and elegance and represents an excellent album all the way thru… | |||
| Brainstorm were a German Canterbury band …that’s right kids …a German Canterbury band offering very complex songs dripping with fusion flute and saxophones performances. I would not recommend this album to anyone who does not love fusion as this album is pretty heavy in its core fusion delivery. Brainstorm take dimensions of Soft Machine and whip in elements of Caravan, John Coltrane and National Health. “Smile A While” was their first release under the name of Brainstorm but they were originally know as “Fashion Pink” . This album is full of dynamic and inventive jazz influenced progressive rock and membership in the band includes the zainy Guru Guru band Member Roland Schaeffer. | |||
| This first 2 cd volume pays tribute to the band’s signature piece “Solar Music” which was performed and celebrated in many different versions during Grobschnitt’s 20 year’s of history from 1969 to 1989. The 2 CD 139 minutes set studies 3 different versions of the classic track ‘Solar Music’ which I would rank as one of my all time favourite epic tracks along with ‘Suppers Ready’ and ‘Close To The Edge’. Without a question when Grobschnitt played Solar Music live it was different each time. Over the years I was pretty use to hearing the original live album version which has remained a treasured album in my collection, but these volume sets bring new dimensions to the song. Solar Music is captured here from a live performance in 1978 Warburg, 1979 in Munster and 1974 in Studio. The sound is quite good considering the age of these recordings and are a fantastic way to spend your Friday evenings. For those who do not read German then the book will be fine for the photos only, but you can try to figure out the content as the music plays. Generally this is 2 CD’s full of music and contain very little Grobschnittian audience induced chit chat (aka Volle Molle)…..again a good thing for me as I unfortunately don’t speak a drop of German. Thanks Eroc for the collections……..amazing and highly recommended. | |||
| Volume 2 takes off exactly where volume 1 left us …and that was wanting more ! Eroc continues to share with us the various reincarnations of Solar Music as was performed live in its varying stages. This second 2 CD volume reveals to us 3 more great performances with the cd long appearing to be a bit of a phantom (no known date or location), Koln in ’79 and Osterholz in ’73. Again each version is different and offers 3 more appearances of Solar Music to play for your friends. | |||
| ‘Klossa Knapitat’ was Sweden’s eclectic group The Samla’s third album released. This is one very wild album incorporating elements of Scandinavian folk music, pop, fusion, as well as humour, and group improvisation. When the band gets going it will remind you very much of fusion induced Miles Davis (minus the trumpet). Generally speaking this album is upbeat, full of rollicking piano and guitar, melodic in a sing-song kinda way, and a rather zainy almost slap-stick humour tossed in. Instrumentally this album is a real stonker with guitar, piano, bass, and drums, with occasional accordion and voices, and other assorted noisemakers. The Samlas were a solid mix of musicians and fans of the FlowerKings will recognize the inclusion of Mr. Hasse Bruninsson on the drums and percussion. As far as originality goes this album stands all on its own with their “ever–shifting” musical prowess and deliver what I will coin “polka-prog” with heavy doses of Miles Davis and Frank Zappa thoughout. Overall an amazing recording sure to please all fans of fusion/prog. | |||
| As to their sound, on the strong and tight rhythm section an alluring high tone vocal is supported by the melody of flute and saxophone. And they seem to put more emphasis on whole band ensemble than each solo playing. Particularly the flute is played with enthusiastic intensity, and the saxophone is rather functioning to lead the ensemble, giving the strong proceeding vector. Guitar also takes some solo part but it is better utilized as an accompaniment with compare to the wind. The ensemble of vocal and saxophone may remind you of the sound of Van Der Graaf Generator but the voice is quite different. GNIDROLOG has very unique and brilliant voice. Another small resemblance to VDGG is the fact that saxophone is more pushed to the front line of the ensemble than guitar. The album has a real variety of musical styles. They are the very melodious masterpiece, the lyrical and acoustic song with good arrangement, and the very aggressive song with some taste of maniac feeling. Some of the songs hint at the sound of King Crimson in their mid era, the lyricism and insecurity that causes your uneasiness. In most of them we may say the color of the music is painted mainly by saxophone ensemble. And in some songs guitar successfully pinpoints it with very good phrasing. Consequently the album is one of the masterpieces of the 70’s that give you the feeling of the beauty of destruction. Although there is little amount of playing keyboard (just piano), the sound of ensemble is really colorful thanks to cello, flute and other wind instruments. You must be really impressed with this fact because you may be soaked in the synthesizer sound of the 90’s." | |||
| Wow …without a question this fusion prog album is a mandatory purchase kiddies. In the tradition of Brand X , Mahavishnu Orchestra and Return To Forever; "Progressivity" is another key top gem. This is Tunnel’s 3rd album but very much stands out as their defining moment with the addition of Brand X membership. Guitarist Van Manakas has left and has been replaced by Brand X’s guitarist John Goodsall and also by an extraordinary violinist by the name of Mark Feldman! Tunnels is very much retro while very much forward sounding……modern fusion at its finest. Having been a big fusion fan (as you will have seen many fusion albums reviewed on my site), Progressivity is equally fitting. On this album the lineup is Percy Jones (fretless bass), Frank Katz (drums), Marc Wagnon (midi vibes), with John Goodsall (guitars), Mark Feldman (violin) and Sarah Pillow (prepared voice). Sound on this CD is unbelievable with some pretty incredible bass tones and nice range and pitch separation. One of the key aspects of this album is that although it is pure fusion prog they never get too far off the ‘beat and track’ and stay within complex yet controlled boundaries. Truly an incredible album and one that I post for all to know about….go buy it ! | |||
| NIACIN features John Novello on Hammond B3 organ & keyboards, Billy Sheehan on bass and Dennis Chambers on drums. All are seriously accomplished musicians and play everything from rock, funk, jazz, fusion, progressive and beyond. They are an instrumental group, so the focus is obviously on interesting composition and inspired improvisation. And they do get into some pretty unbelievable improvisations throughout..without a question their playing will surely blow your mind. John Novello plays a mean B-3 organ a la Keith Emerson, etc. while Dennis Chambers provides a steady groove on the drums. Add bassist virtuoso Billy Sheehan (ex Mr Big) and you have the band Niacin. CD also includes a few guest appearances (Chick Corea, Pat Torpey, Kenwood Dennard, Alex Acuna). This CD will take you through a variety of adventurous mood, tempo and style shifts. No real time on the album for deep relaxation as this album continuously moves throughout. Highly recommended album | |||
| Guitar legend John McLaughlin has made a career of traversing musical styles while consistently creating original and highly innovative music. The Heart of Things (Live in Paris) captures one of McLaughlin’s most dynamic bands bringing heavy fusion and jazz elements together. As you would expect this live album captures some amazing musicianship with Matthew Garrison on bass, Dennis Chambers on drums, Otmaro Ruiz on Keyboards and Gary Thomas on Soprano Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone. CD contains 6 long songs in which each song is given the necessary space to really move in some interesting directions. And move is just the case with some incredible musicanship....Chambers complex drumming, mcLaughlin's solar guitar strokes, Thomas' arsenal of sax's, Garrison's inventive bass lines and Ruiz's board skills. For anyone who thought McLaughlin had lost any of his skill or passion for creating original music must buy this CD.....an essential buy for fans of Canterbury prog styles. | |||
| Styled in the vintage tradition of Kraftwerk and Klaus Schulze, Canada’s Miles MacMillan has taken my ears back to the classic 70’s electronica with a flare of the modern stuff tossed in for good measure. Song by song we are transported deeper into MacMillan’s electronic conceptual musical nightmare of a rather interesting visitation from an alien race. “Alienated” is a remarkable mix of vintage electronica with pure rich sounds resonating with deep conviction..something not always easy to do with electronic music. Fans of modern day electronic music will also heavily groove to this album and I am sure will be taken back by the presence and atmospheres MacMillan has created. This album is perfect for those clear summer evenings as you gaze out into universe breathing in the warm evening air. “Alienated” can be ordered at www.milesmacmillan.com. Highly recommended album for those who love a little electronic music in their lives. | |||
| I have always been a fan of Brand X with their jazz prog tendencies and thanks to the fine folks at Buckyball they have released an archived live recording from 1979. The line up includes the classic Brand X personas of Phil Collins (drums, voice), John Goodsall (guitars) and Percy Jones (fretless bass) with Robin Lumely (keyboards) and Peter Robinson (piano). The recording is from the last of four shows they performed in NYC , Sept 1979. The between song commentary has been included as well which makes this CD run like a real live concert. Musically these guys were definitely on that evening (as they were most) and we are treated to some incredible bass, guitar and drum interplay. Most of the songs performed live is from their “Product” album and IMHO is one of Brand X’s best albums. It is truly great to hear these songs live as they get a new light shed on them. Goodsall and company toss in an extended version of Malaga Virgen (Morrocan Roll) which will blow you away. This CD is available in an essential 3 CD package from Buckyball Music which also contains the albums X-Communication and Manifest Destiny. | |||
| 2 years after Eela Craig’s “One Niter” masterpiece they released “Hats Of Glass” an album I am also quite fond on. In sharp contrast to their 2 earlier album, “Hats Of Glass” takes on more of a pop influenced symphonic aura which is quite fine with me. The album actually opens up with a cover of Chris De Burgh's "A Spaceman Came Travelling" which is actually a great version. Another tune which really grabs me is “Grover’s Mill” which is a perfect cross of Tai Phong and Pink Floyd. The rest of the album plays in the symphonic rock space quite handily with a solid mix of colours and themes. Overall although the album carries a less robust aroma as “One Niter” it is still a great little album and a definite contribution in the symphonic rock genre. | |||
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