Dead Earnest
ASSOLO DI BONGO: Primetime CD
Fiery prog-fusion instrumental quartet from Italy consisting of the "classic" line-up of keys/synths, electric guitars, electric bass and drums, and, boy, can these guys play!! Across forty minutes and 8 tracks, they whip up a storm that sound absolutely huge, courtesy of some of the best production around. There's a distinct feel and, in many places sound to the powerful passages that can't help but conjure visions of early ELP but with added electric guitar sparkle, and it is probably the influence of ELP that most pervades the music on here, although it's a whole lot more substantial and original than that implies. That said, there is a definite fusion element also, but all done within the confines of melody and structure - no aimless noodling, no flashy soloing - although the solo and dual work from the guitar and keys and synths are absolutely stunning throughout. There are plenty of places where dynamics comes into play but even on the more reflective moments the production is literally loud and clear, resulting in such a strong sound as you hear the soaring electric guitar flying high above lilting piano chords before the band powers in, the synths emerge and a some scorching guitar-synths duelling ensues. Overall, this is superb - as strong an instrumental prog album as you'll find and featuring some seriously smoking playing all round from a right powerful band that can really play and compose, keeping you hooked from the opening chords to the final notes - sensational stuff.
BRASSE: Inferno CD
Based around the concept of the classic novel 'Inferno' by Dante, this is a 17 track, sixty-three minute concept album from the trio that is this band. There are two lead vocalists - both male - one with a sort of sneering, slightly lower pitched Geddy Lee approach, while the other guy is altogether smoother and richer, sounding for all the world that he might have been in some '80's band such as Human League or Ultravox. Musically the arrangements flow along neatly enough, with a decent enough production. Song-wise, the concept obviously dominates, and you do get the feel that they almost become bogged down in it as the whole things starts to take on a life of its own, each track showing more variety within the album than is probably healthy for a decent prog-rock album. Along the way they show some influences such as later period Floyd but by and large it's fairly uniquely performed stuff, and that's the problem - this is so much an acquired taste that you really should try to hear some of it before you buy - like one, like all, I guess. I liked none so that lets me out.
CLIFFHANGER: Hope & Despair CD
Despite being recorded in 1998, it has all the hallmarks of the second wave of prog groups from the early-mid eighties, complete with appropriate ELP/Genesis-style influences. The vocalist isn't exactly going to set the world on fire but more than competent, only a short league away from the likes of Pallas/Jadis, while the arrangements feature synths, organ, guitars with crisply produced rhythms and the sort of tracks that prog fans after something familiar.
DREAMCARNATION: S/T CD
Easy one this - anyone into a more souped-up modern sounding version of Earth & Fire will have a field day with this album, featuring 16 tracks and whose vocalist sounds so like the woman out of the aforementioned band, it's untrue. However, far from any meandering prog band, this lot inject killer guitars amid a wall of synths and some outstanding electric fuzz bass to produce an album that is equally similar to The Gathering and would give the latter a run for their money although unlike the Gathering mob, this band prefers the shorter song approach so that you don't get the same degree of instrumental ensemble work or soloing that you get with Gathering tracks. That said, this is a riveting listen as you move from rock-outs to atmospheric prog-power ballads, and all points in between, on an album that works as a wall-of-sound approach, is powerful rather than heavy (in the rock sense) and whose lyrical subject matter is inspired by the works of Clive Barker. A good, solid album.
ENCOUNTER: Strings Arguments CD
Instrumental quintet consisting of dual lead guitars, violin and rhythm section and throughout the album, the feel, sound and style of the classic 'Larks'-era King Crimson is in abundance as this is one band that can whip out a plethora of breathtaking instrumentals. They know when to rock out and when to use the dynamics of the music to drop things down a notch or two, only in classic Crimso style, only to rebuild it and start again. The album as a whole is excellent, but the thirteen minute track that ends the album is just on fire and unstoppable as the guitars and violin….. well, you'll have to find out.
FRAMESHIFT: An Absence Of Empathy CD
It's the second album, it's on the Progrock label and the first one featured lead vocals by Dream Theater's James Labrie. If the first one was Prog-metal with a capital "P", then this one is Prog-metal with a capital "M" for the metal influences have well and truly taken over, albeit in the context of some seriously huge-sounding, expansive and soul-stirring arrangements. The vocals have been handed over to ex-Skid Row vocalist Sebastian Bach who does a fantastic job throughout, way better than Labrie, although, to be fair, the compositions this time around are way harder, way louder, way more muscular and way too good to be confined to the annals of mere "prog". The instrumentation is on fire and nuclear as this arsenal of synths, bass, guitars and keys, in the capable hands of main man Henning Pauly are joined by the powerhouse drumming of Eddie Marvin and together with Bach's hollering, at times almost Alice Cooper-ish, vocals, take song after immense song to new and previously uncharted heights, getting your adrenaline rushing right from the start and never looking back. Truly, a brilliant album and showing that, in the right hands, a good prog-metal album can walk over the best prog-rock album anyday.
HELMET OF GNATS: S/T CD
Wow - what a band!! This is a hybrid SACD which means it plays on any CD player but the quality of recording is just outstanding - which is useful, because the quality of playing and composing is even higher. This is instrumental prog-rock, heavily seventies influenced, from a quartet of guitar, bass, keys/synths and drums that is just out of this world - in a good way. Full of melodies from start to finish, it's definitely prog not fusion because it concentrates as much on the ensemble work as any particular soloing and puts the melodic content firmly at the heart of things yet still managing to come up with compositions that are intricate and yet possess a magical drive that could only belong to solid prog-rock. Throughout the album, the lead work from the guitars and synths/keys is outstanding, with some trademark Hammond organ well in evidence, but what makes it even more special is that the sound is uncommonly huge, again largely thanks to the tremendous production that makes you think the band are actually playing right next to you. In short, this is an unqualified stunner of an album, one of THE finest instrumental prog albums around and unhesitatingly recommended.
I AM ONE: The Gates Of Industry CD
Oh good! A band with a decent vocalist. So many of the bands that come out of Europe tend to be great instrumentally but the vocals let things down a tad, but this new (to me) band don't fall into that mire, and the result is a stunning album of corking prog-rock that should delight most of you with an ear for the more muscular and dynamic variety of this genre. Opening with a nine minute 'Arena Of Time', this is a magnificent track with storming guitar work, some exquisite synths work, strong and strident rhythms, harmony vocals by the score, excellent lead vocals and this huge-sounding production that really brings out the best of the band in every respect, as yet another soaring electric guitar solo fires up over expansive synths and driving rhythms - superb. If you thought this last track was good, just wait until you hear the incendiary epic that is the twenty-two minute title track - this is a prog-rock epic that can't fail to blow you away, with all the right ingredients that make up the sort of classic prog album you'll want to play time and time again, choc full of soaring solos, keyboard-synth-guitar duels and runs, the ever dependable crisp-sounding rhythms, tight and flowing, strong and streaming, while the occasional vocals really put the icing on an exceedingly tasty cake, so strong it takes your breath away. The four songs that follow are all around the 4-5 minute mark and all are just as strong as what has gone before, biting, incisive, perfectly arranged, produced and delivered - simply stunning. All in all, a prog-rock triumph of quite immense proportions - you really should own this one - you won't regret it for a second.
LANA LANE: Lady Macbeth CD
I'll save the preamble for the end, this time (!!) - let's get into the album for now:
It's a new studio album with the core band of Norlander, McRite, Verschuren, Citron, Schiff & Keeling, plus Ernst Van EEE & Kristoffer Gildenlow, all of whom drive the incredible vocals of Lana Lane to new and uncharted heights, a feat not easy when you consider the wealth of amazing albums she's put out to now. Now my father used to be so into his Shakespeare and used to put on and produce Shakespeare plays for Rugby theatre Company back in the sixties, so I think, up there on his cloud, he'd have approved of this - a concept album based around Lady Macbeth - and I have to say that hearing the album with that thought in mind, makes it even more special. But, away from personal asides, this is possibly THE finest album I've heard from Lana Lane to date. Why? Well, just about everything, really. First off the way the subject matter's been adapted by Norlander to relate a tale, is nothing short of perfection, so that, at no time, do you feel any of it should exist in any other form than you're hearing here. It all sounds so natural a subject matter for the music and vocals, and practically squashes most other concept albums into the dust in one fell swoop. Then there are the arrangements themselves - musically, it's the strongest, most fiery, most consistent, tightest playing that you've witnessed on a Lana Lane album so far, where not a note is out of place, where the music roars into life, where even the slower passages sound menacing, anthemic and spine-tingling. The huge-sounding array of synths, keyboards, guitars, bass and drums would put most rock bands to shame and positively transcends the realms of mere prog-rock. The lyrics are brilliant - they come from a master, after all, but the way they have been written to fit with the music - or vice versa - is nothing short of jaw-dropping to hear it all sound so "natural" and flowing, almost like the great bard wrote it for Lana herself. Then we come to Lana Lane's vocal - well, what can I say - calling her the best female voice in rock today would be an understatement - on this album she turns in a sizzling, soaring, raging, menacing, tender, anguished, and on-fire set of vocal performances that make grown men go weak on hearing, that make the blood flow and the adrenaline rush, that make the hairs stand up on the back of your neck for every one of its fifty-four minute running time. From the headlong rush that is the incendiary, near eight minute opening track 'The Dream That Never Ends' to the tender yet strong, almost tear-jerking, finale of 'Dunsinane Walls' this is an album to die for - appropriate really - and you'll be hard pushed to find a better album - across any musical genre - in 2005. Genius and then some all round - fantastic!!!
LANVALL: Melolydian Garden CD
Now if you like your prog positively filled with melody, tunes and fluid playing that comes from the heart, then look no further than this multi-instrumentalist's album from 1994, reviewed here for the first time and proof that you can overlook a great album for ten years and get away with it. Complete with accompanying rhythm section, the main musician plays all the keys, synths, guitars and flutes and has come up with a wonderful album that lovers of a good prog melody will call pure bliss. The thing that makes it work so well is that it's in no way twee or insipid. There are guitar leads and solos in here that would befit the more restrained end of the metal guitar market, while the keys and synths work are horizon-expanding in their scale, as a huge backdrop and massive production fills out the sound effortlessly, while on most tracks, the electric bass and drums drive it all forward, whether anthemic or just plain powerful. Some of the lead guitar work is pretty potent stuff and it has to be said that this guy doesn't hold back on his soloing, but the sound is both sizzling and fluid at the same time. If you like consistent prog delivered with melody and muscle, then this smoking cauldron of music should be easily digested and prove to be ultimately satisfying.
TONY LEVIN: Prime Cuts CD
Not a "best of" his compositions, but definitely a "best of " his playing, as you hear King Crimson's and one of prog-rock's greatest ever bassist, exhibit his considerable talents on bass and Chapman Stick, across almost all instrumental tracks from the two supergroups Bozzio, Levin, Stevens and Liquid Tension Experiment, plus a nine minute track from Magellan. Throughout the album, the bass is always there but never too upfront or intrusive, yet you really notice the amazingly powerful work that is put in, all the same. The first two tracks from B, L, T & LTE are incredibly powerful instrumentals with all guitars blazing while the last B,L,T tracks starts more serenely and then, over its ten minute running time, builds slowly but deliberately to dazzling heights so that, by the time it finally erupts at the end, you are putty in its hands. The short, previously unreleased BLT track is a near three minute vehicle for introspective bass and percussion cosmic effects, while the nine minute Magellan track, the only song on the album, cruises and powers along on the most upfront electric bass work on the whole album so that, despite the upfront drums and vocals, it's the electric bass work that carries the whole thing along and makes it such a phenomenal number. Finally, the ten minute remix of the B, L, T track 'Dark Corners' has a distinctly King Crimson-esque approach to it, with rumbling, upfront electric bass thundering along under a sea of soaring Fripp-like guitars, electro-percussive rhythms and phased electronic effects and beats, the whole thing like some instrumental King Crimson jamming in a parallel universe. Overall, as forty-nine minutes of music go, this is superb, with nothing wasted, no fillers, nothing less than on-fire, and a superb album of class and consistent instrumental prog-rock fusion from some of the greatest players around today.
LIKE WENDY: The Storm Inside/Rainchild/Summer In Eden/Homeland Each CD
Going from right to left we start in '98 and carry on to 2003. The project began as a duo but is now a single guy. Oddly enough, I suppose down to the fact that the whole thing has advanced in terms of musical maturity, breadth of vision, depth of composition and pure recording techniques, the later the album, the more "rounded" it sounds, the more like a group it sounds but consequently the more commercial it sounds too, so that, musically in terms of genre, the distinctly proggy early works become much more "Phil Collins" by the time the last one arrives, although that's possibly overdoing the description a bit much, but you get my drift. The whole idea never was to have any particularly extended instrumental work anyway - this is a guy who loves his songs and his lyrics - so that even on the ten minute tracks, you come to an instrumental section that, in many other bands hands would normally have lasted four or five minutes, and here lasts two or three before another section of the song comes in, not my favourite style or sound when it comes to prog, but for those that like it song-based, then you'll get more out of this lot than I did. The last album here, 'Homeland', is probably the best by virtue of the fact that, at last, ther vocals sound really heartfelt and emotive, uplifting even, on a track such as 'Back To Earth', with a distinctly IQ-esque sound and style to both vocals and instruments, although it has to be said that the synths do dominate throughout, although there is enough good guitar work to give itt hat vital edge and extra sense of drive.
LIKE WENDY: Tales From Moonlit Bay CD
Nothing quite like opening your album with a twenty-one minute epic - no half measures - just go for it. To the sound of high-flying anthemic pseudo-classical prog instrumental grandeur, thus begins 'Falcon Suite'. Slowly it changes into solid prog, as the vocalist begins the journey and the band produce all the hallmarks of seventies rock heaven - as the bass thunders, the drums crunch along, and swathes of electric guitars and synths/strings/keys provide the central core of the piece as the vocals roll along with conviction, the passion of the performance all round, quite emotional. There are hints of things like Genesis, Camel & Hackett but the whole thing is a more individual statement than that implies. Like any classic prog-rock epic track, it's arranged so that it goes through a number of twists and turns, and the result is something akin to the epics of the past with great dynamics and stunning instrumental sections along the way as the track unfolds. Those that like their prog to sound firmly seventies derived and plenty of it, will find a lot to please out of this track. Elsewhere, they deliver songs from five to over twelve minutes long, again, firmly solid prog-rock in the grand traditions of the genre, with strong songs and lyrics forming the centrepiece of the compositions, while the arrangements still allow the band to stretch out and shine. Overall, it's good solid prog as you'd like it.
LITTLE ATLAS: Wanderlust CD
They actually turned in a rather excellent debut album. But there's something about this album that I can't readily put my finger on, that didn't quite grab me as much as it should have done. I think it's the vocalist, although I'm not so sure - he sings in a decent enough mid-register style, genuinely sings too, with `occasional early Yes-derived harmonies - then maybe it could be the arranging - although really, that's well enough done with the overtly prog-rock songs taking up a largely anthemic, mid-paced way of things, as the strong instrumental work sizzles and soars, synths and guitars performing together well enough, while the rhythm section carries it all forward. Perhaps it's the songs - maybe; they are quite intricate - a sort of mix of Yes and Gentle Giant, with particularly fans of the latter and some of Wakeman's proggier works, deriving much comfort from this album. It sounds strong enough, is certainly well played and sung, produced superbly and really quite strong sounding. I'm not sure - maybe it needs more than one listen - daresay we'll find out in due course - well, I will, anyway.
LITTLE KING: Virus Dance CD
The opening track on this CD is a pure meeting of classic 'Rumours'-era Fleetwood Mac and sparkling prog-rock - the whole structure of the song and the rhythms, the male vocal, the harmonies - all highly remindful of the Mac, while it's all wrapped up in a decidedly prog-rock coat of many colours, more guitar-led than anything, but with a sumptuous and rich sound to the arrangements. Either way, it's addictive and absolutely magnificent as the songs sound strong and really take off, while the singing is perfect with a smooth male lead vocal and wondrous harmonies, all allied to some quite fiery playing from the guitars and soaring arrangements that tower over the songs to perfection. This influence hangs over the album to a lessening degree as it all moves on from the third track onwards, and the songs become more their own, without ever leaving behind the infectious nature of what the band have created, and by the time 'Second Wind' comes along, you get the distinct feel that you've stepped a touch closer to Peter Gabriel than anything, but still wrapped up in these strong, flowing prog-rock, guitar-led arrangements, as things now start to take off with a vengeance. But, however you call it, this is a superb album of seriously strong songs, well delivered, full of feeling, strength, passion and musically inhabiting everything from "soft rock" to strident, all-guns blazing prog. It's a tad unique, highly engaging, rewarding to hear and easy to enjoy and a quite welcome take on things - to be approached with enthusiasm.
LU7: L'esprit De L'exil CD
Now one presumes that the reason that this instrumental prog album carries a French title is because the band is Japanese and the French label thought a Japanese title would be way off the mark. So, rather than what it's called, let's deal with what it is - and that's a solid album of highly melodic prog-fusion compositions with tracks that, for all their deceptively complex arrangements, are actually so easily digestible, they're almost edible. For some reason, the band seem to have a soft spot for a Celtic spirit as several of the compositions revolve around a spiralling sea of almost jig-like melodies, only then to break out into chugging fusion as the bass comes upfront and the whole mood changes. But, for the most part, you're hearing a highly tune-laden brew of exoticism, with the synths, keys, chiming guitars, fusion-esque electric bass and solid yet tasty drum work, providing a soaring, high-flying but never self-indulgent set of instrumental fusion with all the melodic hallmarks of the brightest of prog-rock settings. For the fusion fan who likes it easy or the prog-rock fan who likes it a bit more jazz-rock, this is just a thoroughly consistent set of tunes where the band as a whole, and the soloists on guitars and synths, just shine. It won't tax you, it won't bore you, it won't break new ground and it won't be lauded as the best thing since sliced bread, but it is the all-purpose, all-mood instrumental album that you put on when you want something solid but not demanding.
MAGELLAN: Symphony For A Misanthrope CD
Well, at least there's no disguising that this is a highly charged brew of epic symphonic prog proportions, and you can't help get the feeling that everyone wants to be a prog-rock Prokofiev these days. Anyway, onto the album - this band have produced consistently powerful albums of metalli-prog for a while now, and this one's no exception, only here they've taken the genre to whole new heights, producing the kind of prog equivalent of "Ben Hur" or "Lawrence Of Arabia", a work so huge and dramatic in scope that you can't help but be absolutely spellbound by its immensity, its intensity and its density. The rhythms, the guitar, the synths, the vocals, the harmonies - all are produced, played and arranged to sound so expansive that the Grand Canyon pales into insignificance alongside it. There's a dramatic uplifting effect to it all as the musicians and composers go all-out and up the stakes to produce a mighty epic of Prog-Rock magic that will not only have you hooked for the duration, but hailing this album as one of the best things you've heard in years. It has the spine tingling, the adrenaline racing, the emotions flowing with head and heart in perfect harmony as you achieve proggy nirvana - and then rise above even that. In shirt, it's monumental stuff that any fan of every band from Dream Theater & Threshold through Spocks Beard & RPWL to Ayreon & Shadow Gallery should cop an ear to - you won't regret it for one single solitary second.
METAMORPHOSIS: Then All Was Silent CD
With tracks from four to over ten minutes in length, lyrics that tell stories and convey lots of imagery, very much in the vintage prog way of doing things, a vocalist who sings in English with a faint trace of accent, and a band that can really power it out one minute or play it gently the next, this is what you would call a solid, consistent, well-written, well produced, huge-sounding slice of genuinely good European prog-rock. Comparisons with a less heavy, more "proggy", fuller-sounding Eloy would not be out of place and, like that band, there's plenty of space within tracks for the synths, mellotrons, keyboards and guitars to duel, flow and solo, while the dependable and exceedingly crunchy sounding rhythm section, hold it all together and drive it all forward. Essentially, if you want a good, solid, dependable, traditional sounding, genuinely prog-rock album, then this does not put a foot wrong.
MOSTLY AUTUMN: Pink Floyd Revisited 2DVD Set
Bearing in mind that they postponed the release of the audio CD, this is the only way of enjoying the tracks, whether audio or video. Now, in the past, we've praised the previous Pink Floyd tribute album triumvirat - 'Signs Of Life', 'More Relics', 'Pigs and Pyrammids' - exceedingly highly as something that you WOULD play as well as and, indeed, in preference to, the real thing. So, I viewed this on the same basis and the plain fact is that it's absolutely superb. For a start, the songs have a lead female vocal - but not just any lead female vocal - we're talking the soaring and glorious voice of Heather Findlay - and to hear a full-length 'Echoes' played by a band that is not only caring for what they're doing but breathing a new prog life into the old classic, topped with a female vocal that opens up the track in a whole new dimension, is simply stunning. Not only that, but you get 'Fat Old Sun', 'Sheep', Comfortably Numb' and more. Perfectly recorded, the songs are perfectly executed and whether you enjoy this as an audio or visual feast, or both, this is essential listening from start to finish. But you don't only get that - for the incredibly low price, you also get a bonus DVD that features the best of the band's live concerts over the past couple of years, and here you get to appreciate the band's original material, nearly all of which is absolutely top notch, with the full-on, seventies - inspired prog-rock topped with a slight touch of folk and sounding quite brilliant as band and vocalist fail to put a foot wrong, the whole thing ending with a blinding performance of the Genesis classic 'Afterglow'. An essential purchase for sure.
OMNI: Tras El Puente CD
Instrumental prog band from Mexico playing a brand of prog that covers a hybrid of styles and moods yet stays within the confines of what you'd call prog, only occasionally straying into a more fusion-esque footing. By and large it remains in the realms of a more modern symphonic prog approach rather than anything particularly seventies-based, and the flavour tends to err on the side of relaxed and strong rather than anything to which your head might be removed. Because of the fluidity of playing, thoughts of Focus occasionally came to mind, while at other times the spirit of Bardens was around in the ether, but overall there's not a single influence that you can pin down. In many ways, it's melodic and relaxed and, even though the production is not the sharpest in the world, it's the sort of prog instrumental music that you'd put on when you want something that's got depth without necessarily demanding your full attention - bad day at the office? Then try this for relaxation.
PARALLEL MIND: Colossus Adea CD
Instrumental prog trio including the bassist of Kopecky and here we have a synths/keys-dominated (no guitar) set of tracks that inhabits a world as complexly structured as something like a fusion-esque ELP, although you wouldn't say that this lot actually "sounded like" ELP - I mean, the influences are there, for sure, but there's more than a touch of originality and contemporary to their brand of seventies-influenced music. If anything they owe more to Italian and Japanese instrumental prog than anything, although their well crafted arrangements do carry a good deal of strength and feel. There's plenty of use of the trademark Emerson/Wakeman-esque organ, synth and piano work, and I would imagine we have a situation where the compositions are as much rooted over the decades as they are in the seventies, which probably accounts for the more fusion-y feel of several passages. With tracks ranging from seven to the four-part, eighteen minute title track, they come across as a more varied, more flowing, less bombastic and less copyist answer to Japan's Ars Nova as anything, and if your preference is for keys/synths-led instrumental prog, then this will more than satisfy you.
PINK FLOYD: In London '66-'67 CD
JEEEEZUS!!!!!!!! If you've got a copy of the previous version of this gem that came out asa three tracker on See For Miles (Cat No SEACD 4), you need to get hold of this - and fast - becauase they have remastered it on SBM system - and it sounds just amazing, now. You only have to compare the opening bars of a storming near seventeen minute, previously unreleased (when
this first came out) studio version of 'Interstellar Overdrive' to hear the difference - the bass is really upfront, the hiss has gone, the distortion has gone and the whole thing sounds like a real studio track and not some forgotten demo. Louder, too, this can now be regarded as a killer rendition of the legendary sci-fi-rock instrumental, with the original Barrett-Waters-Mason-Wright line-up delivering a most potent outing. The same is true for the instrumental 'Nick's Boogie' which has now got equally amazing sound and is just superb at still nearly twelve minutes long. In addition, you get the video footage of the performance of ' Interstellar' on the CD-ROM portion of the disc, completing what is an absolutely essential addition to any Floyd collection, and what would make a superb addition to anyone's space-rock or '70's prog collection for those who maybe weren't into Floyd because of the songs but REALLY fancy the idea of the band doing just instrumentals - and long ones at that. Superb.
SPIRAL DREAM: Kalo CD
Japanese, mostly instrumental (a few rather languid female vocals on three of the album's twelve tracks) trio, with a rhythm section and a lead guy who doubles up on guitars, keys and synths. The album is, once again for the Japanese people, highly melodic and full of mood and atmosphere, this time going more towards a meeting of prog-rock, synth and melody, rather than the more fusion-style territories that so many of the Japanese outfits tend to err towards. Throughout the album there's a richness of sound that's created by the string synths and lush keys/synths, standing next to arrangements of organ and electric guitar that could so easily be out of some lost seventies Camel album, and it is with the classic works of Camel that a lot of this album's moods and styles share, with flowing compositions that have such a warmth of spirit that you can't help but be carried along by them. There are also hints of third album-era Focus in there too, and, as an instrumental album of that side of the prog-rock fence, it's a consistent winner from start to finish.
TEMPANO: The Agony And The Ecstasy CD
There's a great delight when you discover that the new album from a band whose previous albums have all been good but just the wrong side of great, turns out to be the one you knew all along that they could produce - yes, for Tempano, the predominantly instrumental prog-band from South America, their time has finally come. Essentially a grand concept album in fifteen parts, this is a virtual prog-rock symphony - just the band plus guests and the effect is phenomenal. The breadth of styles and range of feelings that they put into their music is a wonder to behold as the arrangements roll from lyrical segments of lilting guitars, soaring keys, slowly rolling rhythms and heart-felt vocals to full-on prog-rock melody as synths, electric guitars, mellotrons and rhythm section rock out in classic prog-rock fashion. With a decidedly orchestral feel to some of the passages, a maturity of playing and composition worthy of the likes of a mix of ELP, Enid & Hackett, the music is constantly flowing and yet wandering down avenues of sumptuous prog-classical delights that will have you spellbound at the beauty of it all. Occasionally, for dramatic effect, the whole band rocks out and comes close to a more later-period Yes-like quality, with pounding Squire-esque bass, but, overall, they keep things on a more overtly "musical" level, producing a body of music that could well be a prog-rock classic(al) of the future. Full of warmth, heart, mood, depth, variation, consistency of playing and maturity of composition, for anyone into the more "serious music" side of prog-rock, this is a delight from start to finish.