| Here is another one of those albums that I suppose you could say I grew up with and in fact was really thru this album that I discovered the beauty of the music of Yes. I recently snagged the Japanese remastered version in the CD gatefold sleeve (which is an exact replica of my vinyl version) but with very much enriched sound. This was Wakeman with his band and the London Symphony Orchestra with English Chamber Choir which melts together to create one of the most fascinating listens. In fact for all “Journey” enthusiasts like me have to get this version. This I consider to be Wakeman’s greatest musical achievement and remains to this day one of Unger’s most beloved recordings. | |||
| So now they have gone and done it.......In Absentia took PT in a slight new direction with a noticeable metal-like vein running thru it which continues here with Deadwing. The opening 2 tracks clearly will have your eyes fully dilated which move into some pretty heavy territory. Following this the album settles into more of classic Porc Tree with psuedo psychy vibes and spatial vocals and harmonies. Deadwind is an exceptionally well recorded album and will sound great on any mid-high range stereo system ! Fans of early PT (once getting past the harsher side) will love tracks like "Arriving somewhere but not here" and the ballad "Lazarus". As you would expect there is also a ton of creativity abounding this album. No question this incarnation of PT have settled down and found their niche. The album is actually a pseudo movie soundtrack for an independent movie aptly titled “Deadwing”. Guitar legend Adrian Belew joins as a guest and provides his signature fret work on a couple of tracks as well. Overall a fantatsic album and a nice addition to the PT discography. | |||
| Like so many other bands, Popol Vuh had their eras in creative output and in sharp contrast to their electronic–centric start, “Einsjager & Siebenjager” shows us a more melodic side. This was their 5th album and represents a brilliant symphonic album with a great balance of keyboards (Florian Fricke), guitar , percussion (Daniel Fichelscher) and infrequent vocals (Djung Yun). Popol Vuh were rally known for their movie soundtrack work (aka Italy’s Goblin) and this album although not a soundtrack certainly plays not unlike sonically. The fine folks at SPV have added 2 shorter but excellent bonus tracks to the re-mastered version which I would certainly recommend to all lovers of Popol Vuh. | |||
| Recorded back in 1973-75 and although did appear previously in the market as an Italian bootleg titled "Famous Rock Dreams" has been cleaned up and kindly re-mastered. This live snippet from the early days of Camel perfectly showcases the strengths and talents of this band. All 5 tracks on this recording are killer Camel with the Snow Goose clicking in over 27 minutes and having been lifted from a BBC Radio One recording, In Concert 1975. The cool thing about this is that there is no orchestra and you get a live in studio rendition of this prog masterpiece by the 4 members. Without a question the combo of Andy Latimer and Peter Bardens were something special and you can hear this musically in their approach and tight interplay. These early tracks also reveal a slightly rawer more instrumental based sound and a slightly more playful side. I would say that this CD is a great addition to any Camel fan from today and yesterday. | |||
| Back in 1974 Canada’s Québec government contacted and persuaded percussionist Michel Séguin and vocalist Lise Cousineau to perform at Les Francofetes (a large outdoor festival) with “Le Blé et le Mil” being the historical output from this show. To assist in this commissioning effort, Michel Séguin contacted fellow African nation musicians he had played with previously and who had baptized Séguin with the moniker “Toubabou”. The end result is an amazing and highly original live mix of folk, prog and world music…I have always considered Toubabou Canada’s answer to Osibisa. A true musical smelting pot of modern rock and African rhythms. Musically this album is full of hand percussion, authentic African instrumentation, guitar, drums, bass and keyboards with Lise Cousineau’s rich voice. The overall sound is very spacey at times and is just a wonderful mix of genres. The only slightly negative aspect here may be the overall tone quality of the live recording which does sound at times a tad bit muddy but is still in stereo and does not distract from the live performance. The “ProgQuebec” CD release also includes a few vintage video clips of Toubabou making it quite a little package. Highly recommended …especially for lovers (like me) of Osibisa. | |||
| “In den Gärten Pharoas” was Popol Vuh’s 2nd album and represents one great example of 70’s German underground space electronica albums. Fans of early Klaus Schulze, Ash Ra Tempel, Tangerine Dream and even the Cosmic Jokers will need to have this in their collection. As far as I know Popol Vuh unfortunately only released 2 electronic albums but went on as well to record some fantastic albums later on. Florian Fricke (Moog synthesizer, organ, Fender electric piano), Betina (cymbals, production), Frank Fiedler (Moog synthesizer) Holger Trülzsch (African & Turkish percussion). | |||
| “Attente” was Canadian prog legends “Toubabou’s” first and only studio album and represents a pure work of creativity. Under the leadership of Michel Seguin (Percussion), this tight band recorded an astonishing album with a pure mix of fusion, funk, jazz , African moods and rhythms and that certain experimental rock'n'roll vibe I often refer to as progressive rock. Without a question Quebec was in the 70’s the epicentre of prog rock in Canada and here is the proof as Toubabou provided the foundations of the world Québécois beat. Hard to exactly nail this one down but try to imagine a tripped out Annie Haslam singing with early Osibisa and you are not too far off. Lead vocalist Lise Cousineau has a pure and strong voice (very reminiscent of Annie Haslam) and fits the electric sounds and percussive vibes of Toubabou . Also appearing on this album is Denis Farmer and Robert Stanley who would of course later in their career join Harmonium. This album is really for anyone who love Miles Davis Jam based era and amazing hand percussion workout. | |||
| ..Buckle your seat belts……………“A Piedi Nudi” are definitely an acquired taste, but once you have got their music in your soul they might just stick. That was certainly the case for me in that it took a few good listens before I fully caught the full appreciation for their music. Without a question this band like to get into the harder edged side of prog but never get caught into that nasty prog metal genre !. A Piedi Nudi are a King Crimson influenced band who like to create aggressive keyboard and guitar driven melodies. Not much room for negotiation on this one. After you get past the shock factor this band create some great grooves and write some pretty interesting songs along the way. | |||
| Pudding En Gisteren (Music for ballet) was Supersister’s third album and a clear continuation of their trademark mix of Canterbury and Symphonic genres. As with all Supersister albums, there is also that omnipresent sense of humour within their music. This well balanced album is composed of a pair of pop songs and pair of lengthy prog jams. One thing you can not criticize this band on is their innate creativity. Musically they move for a humorous attack a pop music to a parody of doo wop music. Of course surrounding all this musical creaitivity is a strong polarization towards a jazz-like-fusion progressive rock which takes at times a slight Gentle Giant flavour. Sonically the Polydor re-masters are excellent and the sound has been quite cleaned up. | |||
| The early albums of the Steve Miller Band were gems with "Sailor" representing their landmark progressive/psychedelic rock masterpiece. Miller was always a forward thinking musician and this is clearly evident in that although this album carries that '60s West Coast psychedelic blues feel it also forshadows the vibe of the yet to happen British invasion. This songs on "Sailor" are definitely trippy but also very much song based as the same time. The musicanship on this album is also very solid with Jim Peterman's deep B-3 tones and Scaggs and Miller's great rhythms. The overall sound is quite dreamy really with some fantastic songs and harmonies. Miller also covers a lot of ground here from the soft psychedelic wierdness of "Quicksiler Girl" to the Floyd-like track "Song For Our Ancestors". Overall a fantastic album from start to finish and one that I would definitely recommend. | |||
| Here is a great little album showing us 2 different sides of Stills....acoustic and electric. Both sides of this live album are killer and features some amazing guitar based blues and rock. What makes this live recording so enduring is not only the standout musicanship, but also clearly the tracks selected for the performance. I think for example the live rendition of "Wooden Ships" is a hugely powerful version and is a great introduction to the album (in many ways I like this version better than the original!). He also does a great re-interpretation of Buffalo Springfield's "Four Days Gone" which sounds much more expanded live. He also does a great version of Joe Walsh's "Rocky Mountain Way". Stills sings with a real passion in his voice and sounds great on this recording. The acoustic side is just as artistically rendered and eclectic as the powered side! Instrumentally this album is also excellent with organ, bass, drums and guitar work. If you can find this album it is well worth swinging. | |||
| Second album for Rare Bird marking a wonderful contribution to the progressive rock genre. Without a question fans of organ and keyboard driven prog rock will love the music of Rare Bird. Their arrangements although centred around the keyboard work of David Kaffinetti offers some great drumming and bass interplay. Steve Gould’s melodramatic vocals are a tad bit raw but I think fit the music perfectly and give it a nice degree of grit. Prog heads will love the side long 20 min long track "Flight" an ambitious four-movement track which surprisingly does not overshadow side 1 which is littered as well with 4 fantastic tracks. For me the sound of Rare Bird is a scientific cross of Uriah Heep, T2 and ELP. “As You Mind Flies By” is pretty much a masterpiece and is an essential recording ! | |||
| Wow ! Another fantastic album by these US stargazing musicians who have added another poignant chapter to their discography. Not unlike their gently ensuring early recordings, “Secret Migration” transcends pop music and takes the listener clearly into their dream-like world…… The Secret Migration is a astral rock fairytale which offers timeless, inventive arrangements with a unique blend of Beatles, Beach Boys and Pink Floyd along with their unique Mercury Rev ingredient. The end result is an original album full of deep melancholy and haunting themes put to some simply beautiful music. As always Mercury Rev play within many genres so this is as much “Progressive” as it is Avant Garde as much as it is Alternative……your pick but no mistake this is a work of creativity and progressive ambition. | |||
| Rare Bird were a fantastic early British prog rock band who uniquely sported dual keyboardists (David Kaffinetti on electric piano and Graham Field on organ). Their music was powerful and creative and apparently also somewhat catchy as this album circa 1969 actually posted to the European billboard charts thanks to the hit “SYMPATHY”. Marillion fans will note that this track was re-done by them in their Holiday In Eden days. The surprisingly thing here is that there is no guitarist on the album with Bass and lead vocals being handled by Steve Gould and drumming by Mark Ashton. The album has some fantastic numbers like "Beautiful Scarlet", "Iceberg", and the haunting "God of War". Their self titled debut album is clearly an impressive display of keyboard dominated jazz-like playing and in many ways actually reminds me of the work of Caravan with the darkness of ELP. Steve Gould’s vocals may take a bit to get used to but I love his almost raw sound and think it fits the music stylistically. | |||
| After Graham Field (Organ and assorted keys) left the band, Rare Bird went thru a bit of a metamorphosis and released an album of “American-funk-prog rock”. Although in a new direction this album still works exceptionally well with some incredible musicianship and song writing. Rare Bird always had a slight pop funk jazz vibe going on in their music (or I can hear this tendency anyway…) but it is clearly accentuated here. The music is rich and full of excellent musicianship with John Wetton making a guest appearance on this album sporting his bass guitar talents. Overall a solid album with some great tunes but cleary a departure from their 70's heavy organ drenched progressive rock. | |||
| In 2004, Porcupine Tree leader Steve Wilson released a side project with Belgian Composer and ambient music artist Vidna Obmana called Continuum. This collaboration joins the progressive space thoughts of Wilson with the isolationist and organic music of Obmana. The end result is very slow and very hypnotic journey into a rare world where wave upon wave of space voids reaches the listener. Obmana and Wilson’s work might actually make a wonderful space or horror movie soundtrack. | |||
| Somewhere in the musical cavern sandwiched between perhaps Amon Düül II and Miles Davis lies a very underrated band from Germany called Embryo. “Father Son & Holy Ghosts” is the third album released by Embryo and marks for this music lover one of the finest pieces of work to have come out of Germany in 1972. Interesting note is that Miles Davis too was right into this band at the time so I guess I am in good company ! This is not prototypical German underground prog but very much eastern world influenced raga psych prog rock (best way I can describe). Embryo utilize a fantastic range of instruments with marimba, Vibraphone, flutes, Sax, violin, a very versatile Percussion arsenal on hand. The guitar work of Sigi Schwab is also quite stellar without every really getting in your face and or overpowering the band. Overall an amazing album and one of Unger’s favs from the vaults. | |||
| Spring’s only album has reached almost cult status amongst English progressive rock lovers and for good reason. Spring play a heavy organ keyboard centric music with a ton of luscious mellotron. Their music is smooth and flows relatively effortless from track to track each song creating their classic wall of symphonia. Spring’s music is very melodic and all the songs are creative and make the album it is. Spring also features the young talents of future Dire Straits member Pique Withers (Drums). Fans of bands of Cressida and Fantasy will surely dig this album big time. If you are able to snag the Laser’s Edge release of this album you will definitely be getting the best mastering of this album I have heard. A great album all the way thru. | |||
| One Fine Morning was Canadian artist Lighthouse's fourth album and represents a great fusion of jazz, blues and hard rock genres. Everything crystalized on this album with Lighthouse blending less rushed song lengths and much more overall progressive influences with more complex yet colourful arrangements. On this album Lighhouse also brought into fray a number of guest musicians adding some deep brass and interesting string dimensions. Interesting side note is that not so long ago I sat beside Paul Hoffert in a conference and we talked about this album which remains also one of his favs as his song writing and compositional skills were maturing in 1971. The album actually reminds me of early Chicago with perhaps a more progressive twist. | |||
| There is something truly memorizing in the earlier works of Amon Duul II who managed to release some fantastic early 70’s albums. Literally wedged somewhere between the darker psychedelic 60’s and the progressive underground German 70’s Amon Duul II emerged as the genre pioneers. “Carnival In Babylon” is a very trippy and evocative album full of allusions to Pink Floyd and Hawkwind and a ton of originality. I flip this album personally interchangeably with “Wolf City” and really find this to be the musical companion. As you would expect this album is full of creativity and progressive originality and if you listen real carefully you will hear things you have not ever before. I always said that Amon Duul II is a band you have to acquire a taste for. I guess I have…………….a fantastic album | |||
| One thing you can never accuse Jane of and that is of having a different lineup on many of their albums. Jane III , IMHO is a horribly overlooked album that takes the rawness of their debut album “Together” and mixes it with a slightly more guitar rock aura creating a great album full of psych acid guitar and dark melodies. I personally love this album from start to finish and like its rawness and deep driving progressive jams. Without a question this album will equally appeal to lovers of 70’s guitar rock as it does those slightly more progressively inclined. This is a great album to turn up loud and let the speakers do the talking and represents another great album having been produced by no one other than Conny Plank. | |||
| So let me acknowledge right away that “Darkness To Light” is not as complete an album as “Just a Poke” , but on its own merit is for me a great little album. I will try not to spend this review in sharp comparison to “Poke” but will offer that the magic of Conny Plank is likely the element that made the difference here. “Darkness To Light” finds its creativity is blending their jazz-rock elements with folk and Eastern tinges. The end result is a raga-like structured album based on 6 songs of which 2 are over 10 mins. The longer songs get into the “classic” Sweet Smoke form with improvisations and extended passages. | |||
| Steamhammer’s second release “Mountains” is just plain and simply one of those “full bodied brews” that the commercials always promised. This was Steamhammer’s strongest album (although the debut album is also quite amazing) and represents a great journey into a rather interesting world where progressive, blues and psychedelic genres meet. This five piece band play somewhere in the Cream, Golden Earring, Peter Green school of music. One of the interesting aspects of this album is that fact that basically half the album was recorded live yet sounds dynamically like the studio album and goes on almost undetected. Perhaps though the aspect I appreciate the most in this recording is the standout instrument interplay with some fantastic guitar solos (aka Santana) and bass guitar that just wont stop. | |||
| So I suppose by now you have noticed that I kind of like PT eh ! Well this is due to the fact that they continue to fascinate me musically with their great song writing and ability to hold onto that progressive / psychedelic ideal. “Warszawa” captures PT live on their Lightbulb Sun tour in Poland of which this was most captured for a live radio broadcast. This 80 mins live album includes a great version of Voyage 34 and Russia on Ice along with a number of other tracks mostly from Stupid Dream and Lighbulb Sun. For those who prefer the atmospheric side of PT will love this live album. A richly recorded little gem. | |||
| Canadian Neo prog 4 piece band with mild hints of Genesis, Camel and Van Der Graaf Generator. This 4 piece band blend highly symphonic keyboards with clean drumming and excellent guitar and bass interplay. Quaarn also has the addition of Dagmar’s Mathieu Lessard on vocals and this is likely where I get Van Der Graaf. feel. Instrumentally these guys are solid with some interesting and varied songs on this album. Cover art is also by Paul Whitehead who was responsible for a number of early Genesis albums. Overall a very good album which also boasts some nice clearn production capabilities. | |||
| Vita Nova’s one and only recording is a fantastic album full of high quality progressive tendencies and originality. The original and interesting feature of this band was the original use of the Hohner Clavinet (pre moog synth) and considering the country of origin sing in Latin. The band was trio of Eddy Marron (vocals, bass and Turkish zaz), Sylvester Levay (keys, perc) and Christian von Hoffmann (drums, percussion). Musically these guys were fantastic with some killer guitar, bass, keyboard and drum work. Their music is full of energy and full of progressive time signature changes and instrumental prowess. Overall a great album and one of the true treasures of the 70's German underground. Highly recommended. | |||
| I have a few No-Man albums in my collection and still wonder why these guys have not been talked about a whole lot more. “Together We’re Stranger” is another fantastic slow paced dream-like symphonic beauty. No-Man is the collaboration of Porcupine Tree’s Steven Wilson and life long pal Tim Bowness who seem to have some sort of a unique musical chemistry when working together. Gone from this album is even a trace of the early dance beat tendencies with all energy on this album spent in the depth and mood creations. I must tell you that this album is one of my albums from 2004 that “blew me away” and I have played this CD to death. Hard to exactly peg this album but I would say is somewhat reminiscent of the slow instrumental transcendental aspects of Porcupine Tree. As usual there are a host of other guest musicians who help shape this rather delicate album including Roger Eno on Harmonium. Essentially a great album to mellow out to and a perfect album for the cottage life. | |||
| Mojave 3 caught my ear a few years back and since then I have managed to hunt down their albums with “Excuses For Travellers” really representing for me their strongest effort. This album is dripping in Nick Drake – like phases and really crystalises the genius of Neil Halstead who is the principal singer and songwriter of Mojave 3. I suppose you can not listen to this music and not hear the genius as it is simply all over the album and blends country and rock into something new. Comparisons can be drawn certainly to the Cowboy Junkies, Nick Drake, Bob Dylan , Pink Floyd and even Gram Parsons but the truth is that this is very original music that is not rushed in anyway. | |||
| Years ago I became very excited about the music of Van Der Graaf Generator and can clearly remember the magic of this discovery to which this day still remains a favourite of mine. Pawn Hearts is IMHO a pure masterpiece of progressive art rock from start to finish. Pawn Hearts is characterized by the side long epic “A Plague Of Lighthouse Keepers” which is made up of 10 parts and clearly showcases the creative genius of Hammill and the lads. The mix of Hugh Banton’s homemade organ sounds with David Jackson’s syncopated sax and flute jabs makes this album a great listen. Of course Peter Hammill’s light guitar touches and dark lyrics only adds some wonderful depth to this music. Van Der Graaf’s music always sounds great when heard thru a fine stereo system that can pronounce the deep bass troughs these guys were able to create. A pure essential recording. | |||
| Annexus Quam were one of the great German 70’s underground experimental, psychedelic progressive rock acts. Musically and sonically Annexus Quam play an interpretation of cosmic prog rock with heavy allusions to fellow acts Embryo, Cosmic Jokers, Atom Hearted Mother era Pink Floyd and Klaus Schulze. No question this music is quite psychedelic with mesmerizing passages, space imaging and even sound effects. This album actually reminds me very much of the Pink Floyd Album “Atom Hearted Mother” with its sinister vocal choruses, psych song structures and guitar phasing. Without a question this album ranks for me as one of the true essential German 70’s space prog rock albums. | |||
| Supersister were a wildly creative band who managed to record a number of fantastic albums one of which is in review here. "Superstarshine" is a pure musical adventure offering everything from a Camel’esque 12 min epic live track "WOW" to “Gonna Take Easy” a pure out and out Elvis-like tribute. Absolutely 100% quirky, like all their albums but still maintains a huge sound and clever abstract approach to music. | |||
| Not to be mistaken by either the metal band or the 90’s Neo prog act both with same name, this was an American original and one not to be missed. Stained Glass Stories unfortunately was their only release and to only have had one album released is pure criminal as this album is fantastic. Cathedral blend fat bass riffs (aka Chris Squire) with some heavy mellotron use creating a progressive yet slightly aggressive sound reminiscent of a cross of Anglagard, Fireballet, and Yes. With lead vocals by a rather theatrically plain sounding Paul Seal (nothing bad…just sounds plain) the members surrounding manage to create a huge wall of delicate sounds. The album was re-released by Greg Walker in the 90’s by Syn-Phonic and I must say that the sound quality is for me quite awesome in contrast with nice heavy Taurus bass pedal work and acoustic guitar separation. The album is loaded with both lush Mellotron sweeps and deep bass Rickenbacker work which makes this album rank for me as one of Unger’s favourites from the 70’s USA scene. | |||
| Here is one of those album that you find in the 70’s record bin for a buck and bring it home and go wow ! ARA were a rather obscure 4 piece Canadian prog band who featured 2 keyboardists, a bass player and a lead vocalist. Their overall sound is very symphonic with a nice contrast of piano and synths which work together to create some pretty lush soundscapes. For the most part this is some pretty accessible symphonic music but does offer at the same time some great progressive phrasing and time changes. The lead vocalist has a great voice and is actually quite powerful and fitting to the music (Paul Saunders). Musically this one is tricky to peg down but I might suggest somewhere in the camp of bands like England, Druid and FM (Canada’s version of course) . Overall a strong song-based album with some excellent keyboard work and a nice little obscure collectible from 70’s Can-Prog. | |||
| Floh De Cologne were one of the most original bands to have emerged from the 70’s German underground scene. Geyer Symphonie is as much an album of music as it is an album of story telling…warning to all prog heads that this album has a lot of talking in it (spoken if German) but does also have equally some interesting music within. Geyer Symphonie is a concept album which concerns the life of a corporate magnate Friedrich Flick & his exploits. Musically this album is an intoxicating concoction of rock, blues, jazz and experimental theatre, taking in diverse elements from a death march, octoberfest oooom pah-pah’s to good old straight forward rock 'n' roll. Musically this is very Zappa’esque with some zany musical and downright silly moments. | |||
