FOCUS: Masters From The Vaults CD
A collection of early seventies archive recordings, all previously unreleased, from TV and radio and all featuring Jan Akkerman on guitar. Starts with a stranger version of 'Hocus Pocus' before a sprightly run-through of 'House Of The King' and then it's a mighty live version of the classic and highly underrated title track to the 'Hamburger Concerto' album, always an epic track that allows Van Leer's keys and flute plus Akkkerman's fluid, biting guitar to come shining through for thirteen glorious minutes as a much more forceful performance of the tracks's coda 'Cathedral de Strasbourg" brings things the epic piece to a close, a total of over seventeen minutes and just superb. A couple of shorter pieces take us to the near ten minutes of 'Anonymous II' originally from the 'Focus 3' album and another more powerful rendition than we've been used to hearing as Akkerman lets loose some surging riffs and Van Leer's flute work leaps and dives all over the show, followed by some almost Soft Machine-esque electric piano work, then organ and finally some cutting guitar leads from Akkerman, as the rhythm section lays down a steady groove throughout. A four minute 'Focus II' is suitably sedate while the album ends on a version of the hit single 'Sylvia' that remains true to the addictive original. All in all, a recommended album even before the price decrease.
JADIS: Photoplay CD
New studio album - 11 songs - fifty eight minutes - all songs around the five-six minute mark - an album that stands or falls on its writing and singing more than any extended instrumental work. Unsurprisingly, with two members of IQ on keys/synths and bass, this remains a prog-rock album and not a million miles away from some of IQ's finer moment, for what makes it all work so well is the attention to detail that main man Gary Chandler has amply illustrated. Every song is arranged so perfectly that not a second is wasted and he manages to create a deceptively large amount of instrumental space in there too. You never get the feeling that any song is too short or too basic - the creativity that went into composing all these anthems, is song-writing and arranging at a definite peak. Vocally, we're talking perfectly suitable for the surroundings - nothing that's going to produce waves of ecstasy in you, but more than enough to keep you hooked, with anthemic harmonies to add to the pleasing effect. Occasionally they'll roam from neo-prog Arena-esque to nearer IQ-oriented, to add even more quality to the songs. With guitars taking the majority of the lead space throughout, it is the consistency of the arrangements that makes this a prog album rather than an AOR album with keyboards. As the album passes by you get the odd nod to the greats of the UK seventies prog scene, but by and large, it's an album of contemporary prog choc full of great songs.
MADISON DYKE: Zeitmaschine CD
Classic Krautrock rarity from 1977 from a German group singing in English with tracks between four and seventeen minutes long, the whole of their first album complete with 2 bonus tracks. With good songs and lengthy instrumental passages, there is a distinct feel of vintage Jane complete with touches of early seventies Camel, hints of early seventies Genesis and a feel that is more akin to the influences of earlier seventies Krautrock bands. With strong use of string synths, flute and guitar, the mood is similar to the aforementioned bands, particularly Jane, as a strong set of songs opens with the ten minute 'First Step', alternating between the strong song parts and the more symphonic instrumental passages. The six minute 'Next Conceptions' has the dramatic flair of early seventies Genesis while sounding more like a Krautrock band, all the same, but here the guitar work leads the way with some hot soloing and muscular riffing above a string synths backdrop and driving rhythms. The near seventeen minute title track is totally early seventies styled Krautrock-prog in its sound and construction, again alternating between song portions and instrumental passages where the guitar takes the lead with keyboard backdrops and occasional flute surrounds and string synth expanses. Two bonus tracks complete the reissue.
MANGROVE: Facing The Sunset CD
A new prog-rock band currently garnering a good deal of favourable press from the prog-rock fraternity, and on the evidence of this album, it's easy to see why. Unashamedly seventies influenced, the album features just four tracks between ten and twenty one minutes long, of which the latter twenty one minute epic called 'Hidden Dreams' features, not literally, practically every riff, rhythm, melody and harmony that you'll have heard on classic seventies albums from the likes of Yes, Genesis, Rick Wakeman and similar. Even by half way through the track, with all its intricacy yet ease of flow and almost organic arrangements, you're more than satisfied with what you've heard so far and if it ended now, you'd be more than happy - but, oh no, it doesn't end there - with more soaring melodies from mellotrons, guitars, organ, synths and airy harmonious vocals - not to mention the exquisite work from the rhythm section - this becomes one of the very best seventies-sounding epic tracks that you'll hear - using every seventies prog cliché in the book and coming out on top - just a brilliant track in every way and worth the price of the album on its own. But there are three other tracks and you'll not be surprised to hear that they, too, follow an unashamed seventies path with driving riffs, intricate yet cohesive rhythms and arrangements, plenty of wailing synths, classic organ work, and searing, soaring and seriously hot lead guitar work, not to mention added rhythm guitar accompaniment for extra strength. Every track is a gem - it's all one huge highlight - on one absolutely spellbinding prog-rock album, with simply tons and tons of instrumental space, that any fan of the seventies epics, can't fail to enjoy from start to finish.
RICOCHET: Zarah - A Teartown Story CD
A concept album from this prog-metal quintet with songs from just under six to just over eighteen minutes in length. With keys/synths as well as guitars, the prog-metal epic roars into life after the initial instrumental intro, with a gravel-voiced vocalist providing the songs with an edge, although softer vocals do lend an air of dynamics and drama. With one instrumental and few vocals on the near nineteen minute 'A New Day Rising' (which actually ends up being the most overtly "progressive" thing on here), this features plenty of smoking leads and solos from the synths and guitars, as they entwine, duel, spark and explode throughout a strong album of well-written and played prog-metal delight.
SCIENCE GROUP: Spoors CD
New instrumental quartet out of the USA playing an extremely amazing mix of prog and fusion which, wherever it can, strays from melodic through to avant-garde - and back - with intricacy and skill that defies belief. Across 15 tracks between one and eight minutes, this band demolishes any idea of traditional as tricky time signatures, off-kilter melodies, almost out-of tune ensemble work and some totally incredible timing on complex arrangements that never do anything as you'd expect. It's almost like a version of French TV stripped down to its roots then put through a "Rock In Opposition" blender. It's the sort of music that's going to appeal to anyone who wants their music to be challenging and defy convention.
TALISMA: Corpus CD
Apart from wordless heavenly female vocal on a couple of tracks, this is a monster of instrumental prog-rock. A staggering 15 tracks across just forty three minutes tells the story. What this band have done is go into the studio, jam, improvise, compose and create. They've then taken the best of what they had to offer, and distilled it into tracks whereby there's so much happening in the music that three or four minutes of this, is the equivalent of eight or nine in anyone else's hands. This band pack so much into any one track that it surprises you when you find you're enjoying it in exactly the same way as if it was one organic piece. It's like a collection of all your favourite prog-fusion instrumental between-song passages, gathered together on a single album. From just a minute to over four, this band make it so easy to enjoy - at no pint do you get frustrated because the tracks have been assembled to seem perfectly natural at whatever running time they exhibit. So, you have a trio of electric basses, electric guitars, guitars synths, synths and drums playing a generally smoking, melodic and powerful brew of solid prog, with so many layers and textures that you'd think there were 6 people playing here, never mind just three. It's grand but not overblown, powerful but only on the fringe of metallic thanks to some inspired riffing across several tracks. The sound and production is stunning and the playing from all members is just spot on. So, if you're a prog-fan who likes it instrumental, forceful, dynamic, busy, solid, accessible and downright explosive, this one's got your name written all over it.
VAN DER GRAAF GENERATOR: Masters From The Vaults
A game of two halves here. First you get twenty-seven minutes of vintage VDGG recorded from a rare television broadcast in 1970 (or '71), followed, if you've got Windows 2000, by the DVD film of the same performance, so you can't argue with that. Track-wise it opens with the instrumental 'Theme One' before going into their epic offering 'A Plague Of Lighthouse Keepers', a quite stunning twenty-four minute version that sees the band in general, and vocalist Peter Hammill in particular, turn in stunning live performance of this mighty and epic track, on eof the finest things they committed to vinyl and here a version that eclipses many I've heard for its raw, nerve-jangling dynamics and strength.
RICK WAKEMAN: Two Sides Of Yes CD
A tale of two stories here with three tracks ('Roundabout', 'Wondrous Stories', 'Don't Kill The Whale') giving three Yes classics the full treatment with synths, keys and electronic percussive rhythms, while the rest of the album consists of piano only interpretations of other Yes classics ('Your Move', 'Long Distance', 'Close To The Edge-edit', 'The Meeting'). The best has got to be the thirteen minute rendition of 'Roundabout' which is just like having a karaoke version, and if, as a Yes fan, you're not singing along to it, you're way more in control of yourself than you should be!
PSYCHEDELIC/SPACE-ROCK/STONER:
EGO PRIME: Ego Prime CD
A brand new quartet featuring ex-Hawkwind keyboardist Harvey Bainbridge as a full time member of the band, on all tracks on this massive 17 track, seventy nine minute album. Musically, we're in the territory known as "progessive-metal" with songs that last between three and even minutes, but average around the four or five minute mark, in the main. Lyrically, it's very clever and thought-provoking, delivered with everything from a dry sneer to a more passionate anger, as the wealth of songs generally roars into life. I say roars, because the vast majority of the lead work on this album revolves around the guitar and there are a lot of red hot guitar solos and dirty riffs along the way. The presence of synths fills out the sound as a prog-metal album should, with some equally fine solos also present as the songs progress. The production is clear and tight, bringing out the best in the driving rhythm section on tracks that are mostly quite powerful affairs, the odd ballad in evidence to bring a brief respite from the huge-sounding maelstrom of synths and guitars.
F/i: Blue Star/MergeParlour CD
It's funny how fate works sometimes. The first CD I reviewed by this lot was quite a "difficult" album while the second, although excellent, was still seriously "far-out" on disc one of two. Now, we finally get to what turned me onto this band in the first place and, arguably, the finest thing from their archives that you're ever likely to hear. For this is space-rock - good old, traditional, Hawkwind-inspired, seventies-influenced, guitar-bass-drums-electronics, instrumental and rock solid space-rock. The first couple of tracks and twenty minutes of music come from the 'Blue Star' album released back in 1990 and feature the quartet line-up of Wensing, Faiola, Frankovic & Richter on the aforementioned instrumentation., the near ten minute 'Threshold' is an absolutely blistering example of real space-rock as it always has been with some searing electric guitar leads and riffs, rock solid rhythm section and space-synth swoops all over the place. The near ten minute 'On Twenty-One' is more of an exercise in space-rock soundscaping, still slowly rhythmic, but owing more to a cross between 'Interstellar Overdrive' style Pink Floyd and instrumental between/mid-song, '71-era Hawkwind, the result being a stunning example of space-rock sonic construction, and you almost expect it to go hurtling into something like 'Brainstorm' at various points along the way. The third track - the twenty one minute 'Blue Star' is from the same album but here it's just the trio of Wensing on guitar, Faiola on drums and Richard Franecki (Vocokesh) on bass and electronics. It's one of those awesome tracks that starts off slowly with electronic space effects then adds drums to give it some drive as the textures are added and the whole thing begins to soar so that, by around the eight minute point, you have this solid, slowly driving sea of drums, bass, high-flying guitar and electronics that takes you right "out there" into a whole expanse of '70's inspired space-rock jamming that will just blow you away, While never actually erupting into anything faster, the intensity is piled on as the guitar takes over the musical horizons while synths swoop and soar all over the mix as the rhythm section slowly thunders and the effect is simply amazing, on a track that is simply faultless. The final three tracks and twenty minutes of music come from the clear vinyl only 'Merge Parlour' EP of which this lot had one side and Vocokesh, the other. Hailing from 1992, this was recorded by the trio of Richter on electronics, Wensing on guitars and Bill Stace on percussion. The first track is just a few minute of slowly hypnotic cosmic instrumental rock while the near ten minute 'Zombie In The Slave Trade' is a smoking example of ultra-intense space-rock with guitars that are just on-fire as layers are piled on and the thing goes nuclear. The final seven minute track, 'Pleasure Centres/The Beach' starts with a sea of samples before the drums fire up and this searing electric guitar flies in to electrifying effect as the electronic rhythms gather density and this huge mass of drums and electronics marches unstoppably along while the guitar flies above. Around the five minute mark, it all dissolves into this lurching monster of throbbing electronic rhythms, distant pounding drums and a sea of swirling electronic overlays. Around the six minute point, the rhythms and guitar fades to leave just the electronics to se the track out. Overall, a simply incredible album that would surely become the staple diet of anyone into early seventies jamming Floyd/Hawkwind.
F/I: Blanga CD
With six tracks in forty seven minutes, the quartet of Franecki, Richter, Wensing & Frankovic gather up drummer Rick Hake and reassemble in a studio in 2004 to record a brand new album of all-new tracks, and this is the result - an instrumental space-rock/psych album that is just awesome - there's no other word for it. The first track alone, eleven minutes of 'In The Garden Of Blanga' takes off like a rocket on a classic-sounding space-rock trip that you'll play and play and play. For the four minute 'The Garden Of Blanga In The Morning Dew' the pace slows as a chiming sea of electric guitars and upfront bass, weave some magical melodic spells above the solid, booming slow drum rhythm foundations and swirling space synth swoops, the effect and sound, utterly spellbinding. The eight minute 'Blanga's Transformation' starts with a set of swirling space synths and guitar textures, before the bass and drums kick in and the whole thing flies off on another steaming, solid and awesome sounding slice of genuine Hawkwind-inspired space-rock, the guitars fuzzed, riffing and electrifying, as the rhythms sound crunchy and powerful with the space synths swoops all around and this immense, seventies-sounding, mix of wall-to-wall space-rock heaven just flying through the ether to devastating effect. Then comes the ten minute 'An Extremely Lovely Girl Dreams Of Blanga' opening with sitars, bass, drums and synths as a mix of Moroccan ambience and cosmic Western space-rock are entwined to provide this solid, expansive ocean of rhythmic and soundscaping atmospherics to take you to the three minute point whereupon it all breaks out into another flying example of storming space-rock with tons of fuzz guitars and fuzz bass, crunching drums, synth swoops and electronic densities, above which this chiming guitar lead just goes into orbit above the massive sounding sea of space-rock that's thundering away underneath and an absolutely incredible ten minute track. The four minute 'Blanga's Love Song' is a more relaxed affair with shimmering guitars and sitars, throbbing guitar figures, echoed lead guitars and a distinctly mid-seventies 'Inventions For Electric Guitar'-meets-Popol Vuh' feel to it all. The final track is 'Grandfather Blanga And His Band Light It Up' and this one just roars slowly into life on a blistering sea of thunderous bass and guitars as drums crunch slowly forward, and a tungsten-strength space-rock beast just lumbers along in magnificent fashion as the guitars, bass, drums and space synths fill every part of the mix and produces a mighty and dense sounding slice of awesome space-rock bliss, never letting up for any of its driving near nine minutes, in fact when it accelerates to infinity towards the end of the track, you are left positively breathless at the end. Overall, this is an album you simply cannot fault - as an example of instrumental space-rock with Krautrock influences, this is almost unrivalled - essential and then some!!
HAWKWIND: Live In Cardiff CD (Never Issued - Reviewed from only promo copy in existence!!)
I may have been selling Hawkwind's music for 27 years (count them!!!) but I don't have tons of live tapes and bootlegs and that sort of thing - time never allowed for all that.
Which is probably why hearing this album left me jaw-dropped in amazement at just what a phenomenal performance the band put on. In short, this is absolutely 100%, bona-fide, no-word-of-a-lie grade A Hawkwind at their fiery best.
A line-up of Dave Brock, Bainbridge (on bass), Ginger Baker, Huw Lloyd-Langton and Keith Hale on keys and synth turn in a seventy three minute performance that is absolutely superb.
Everything about this album makes it essential listening - the line-up for a start. Then the sound quality - straight from the mixing desk - no smoothing out the edges in the studio - and clear as a bell so that you hear everything that every band member is playing to perfection. Then the performance itself - Hale had only been a band member for literally a week or two before this was recorded, didn't know the material and was essentially jamming along with the band. As a result, with Brock & Langton on guitars, this is a guitar album - the sort of thing that every Hawkwind fan is desperate to hear. That's said, the more the set goes on the more Hale makes his presence felt, including work on the Farfisa organ that gave the songs where it was featured a new dimension.
The songs? Jeezussss - on paper, this selection of songs looks inviting but familiar - in reality, this set just roars into life and never looks back, turning into a live Hawkwind album that just walks over the '79-era material with led boots and a grin on its face.
We start with all guns blazing as the sound of the band is faded up - no intro - and immediately we're plunged into the Hawkwind set - it's just like you arrived late and the band were already on stage!! For the first five minutes, you hear the sound of dual electric guitars riffing and soloing to great heights above this supercharged space-rock rhythm section that is driving forward with Schwarzenegger-muscle power, the whole band red hot and glowing. Just short of five minutes and the first vocal comes in as Brock sings the final verse to what turns out to be 'Levitation'. Then we're straight into a rousing version of 'Motorway City' with some incendiary fuzz guitar from Brock, the Farfisa work of Hale beginning to shine through, then a solo from Langton that just takes off and goes into orbit as Bainbridge's bass pounds away while Baker's drum work is nothing short of phenomenal, driving the band like few other drummers before him, a more complex set of drum rhythms you've rarely heard from this band before this point, but combined with the direct explosive playing, just amazing to hear. This mostly instrumental version take off like a rocket for four minutes before subsiding to leave a trademark slice of slowly forceful cosmic rock as the guitar chords and choppy organ provide the spacey outro. Then a church-like organ introduces a five minute 'Death Trap' as the guitar churns away around, before a drum roll fires the band up and we're off and running, the organ added to by the more familiar trademark Hawkwind space synths as the band deliver the song with rifle-power effectiveness, the huge sound just made to be turned up loud for maximum effect as another scorching guitar solo is unleashed. The urgent yet precise approach they take to this is nothing short of amazing. But, if you thought this was brilliant, wait till you hear the seven and a half minutes of 'Shot Down In The Night' - this has got to be the best live performance of this song I've heard to date - starts quietly with choppy keys chords, rolling drumming, distant bass undercurrents and then - blanga!!!!! - we're off - as the band take off on a song that is a Hawkwind anthem at the best of times, but here just rockets into life on high-octane performance, full of dynamics - it's almost like listening to the '73-era band doing it, so huge is the soundpool that rages out of the speakers, and when the guitar solo appear you are left wide-eyed and breathless that anything could sound this good. With a lengthy mid-song instrumental passage that makes it even more meaty, this is one incredible song.
How powerful this band is, can be heard when they turn 'World Of Tiers' into this thirteen minute cauldron of molten space-rock heaven, again, easily the best live performance I've heard on CD with some stunning ensemble and solo work from the band on what is, again, essentially a lengthy improv on the track, going from a "scream to a whisper and back again" with ease and ruthless efficiency, but with an atmosphere that makes it a joy to hear, long, loud and often. A couple of instrumental tracks follow that are prime Hakwkwind before we are taken into a positive maelstrom that is one of the most intense versions of 'Urban Guerilla' around - the song just kickin ass right from the start as the band provide this surging mass of space-rock firepower, the lead guitars eventually rising from the mix as Hale's organ work fills out the sound and that rhythm section continue to burn. Around two and half minutes, the intensity subsides while the band slow it down but not for long, as the huge sounding might proceeds to take off amid the multi-part vocals as the song recalls the '73-era band (you'll see) and then just takes off like a Saturn V, the guitar lighting up the skies with energy before it all falls back once again, but then the whole band achieve a density that lifts the roof off as it all roars back into life - one of THE most astounding versions of this track that you'll hear. 'Dangerous Visions' is a three minute respite from the maelstrom as a slowly moving space-rock song unfolds to gorgeous degree, then fades away as the intro to 'Psi Power' fades in and you're back aboard the rocketship on that incendiary ride to the distant galaxies for a shade under three minutes as the band comes to a halt and, before you can even catch breath, you hear the choppy drums, guitars shards and organ runs create a spacey environment before all of a sudden the band just erupt into a raging inferno that is a seven minute 'Brainstorm', so familiar, but in this context, sounding positively fresh and alive, and a great way to end the performance. But it's not the end, in reality, for the final track is a seven minute drum solo, not in keeping with where it was placed in concert, but for the purposes of making the CD album so perfect, a great place to put it, then you can make your own mind up if you want to hear it and where.
So, overall, and I know I've said it before, but this - THIS - really is an essential purchase for Hawkwind fans - OK, so it's got a few tracks that are "incomplete" - but, come on!! - this is one supercharged performance from a rarely heard line-up of a great band that is simply stunning from start to finish - get this and no doubt, more will follow - either way, this is one that's going to take a permanent place by that CD player - trust me!!
Oh yes - the artwork - the booklet contains loads of photos of the band and there's a most excellent 4000 word interview with Keith Hale in there too.
M.O.A.B.: Insect Brain CD
A quartet consisting of ex-Hawkwind vocalist and bassist Ron Tree, Inner City Unit guitarist Judge Trev, Space Ritual's Jim Hawkman on synths and Senser's drummer, John Morgan. What you have is a set of intense and powerful songs revolving around Ron Tree's adept and wide-ranging vocal performance, the musical feel suitably psychedelic as evidenced in the opening title track where Tree soars, growls and narrates his way through a song that has the backing not a million miles away from Iron Butterfy's 'Inna Gadda Da Vidda' and a steaming guitar lead and swirling soloing from Trev, but it's Ron's show, of that there is no doubt. 'Meat Eater' opens with more swirling psychedelic guitar and slowly crunching rhythm section as Tree's vocal takes on a more menacing tone as he half sings-half narrates his way through the song, becoming suitably a mix of intense and angst as the track progresses. 'War Machine' is where we hear the first signs of Hawkwind as this potent brew of space-rock riffery and driving rhythms is unleashed with a scorching Calvert-esque vocal from Tree, Hawkwind-styled harmonies and swirling waves of electric guitar - space-rock at its UK purest and another stunning track. 'Dolphins Uber Alles' is not too dissimilar from the previous track musically, slightly slower, but no les riveting, with yet a great vocal performance, this time from Judge Trev as the band fire up and take off in slightly slower but actually more sky-high space-rock fashion. The next three tracks continue in this driving space-rock style but assorted variations in pace and structure as they appear. The seven and a half minute 'Yassa' starts eerily but then the swirling guitar slowly riffs away as a red hot guitar solo in classic Paul Rudolph vein flies overhead, the rhythm section solid and slowly driving, on an instrumental that really lets the guitar work shine through and as classic and scorching a psychedelic rock instrumental as they come. The album ends with their rendition of Hawkwind's 'Spirit Of The Age' -now, before you moan "do we REALLY need another version of this?", all you've got to do is take one look at what Ron Tree and Co do with it, and you'll realise that, indeed, we do. It's awesome vocally as Tree takes Calvert into the twenty first century and Trev unleashes a wild guitar solo above a dependable rhythm backing, as the whole track twists and turns and roars along to the final synth-laden fade-out, just short of eight minutes.
Sadly, according to the label, you're unlikely to see this album as some bright spark who ought to know better seems to think that they're going to get a deal for it that's practically akin to EMI signing up Robbie - which just ain't gonna happen - so unless someone gets a well-deserved knock on the head, then this review as an appetiser, is all you're gonna get for now.
