Prognet reviews
Airey, Don: K2: Tales of Triumph and Tragedy - Rating: ****
"The music portrays both the savage mystery of the mountain and the tragic events of the 1986 expedition that overtook climbers Alan Rouse, Julie Tullis and Dorbroslawa Wolf (Mrufka), all of whom were obsessed with conquering K2." (cover notes) More of a rock concept album (somewhat in the style of The Alan Parsons Project) than a strictly progressive album, but a fine work just the same. The music is keyboard (Airey himself) and guitar (Gary Moore, Keith Airey)dominated (with Laurence Cottle on bass, Cozy Powell and Niki Alan on drums), and features various vocalists: I assume that Chris Thompson and Mel Galley must sound very similar, but Colin Blunstone is readily identifiable on "Julie (If You Leave Me" and Genki Hitomi (I think) on "Death Zone/White Out." The restrained use of a narrator is notably, and unusually successful, the narration being done in the style of news broadcasts interwoven into the music, detailing the group's exploits. The heavy opening keyboard refrain successfully conjures up visions of the mountain (there is a photo on the cover of the CD and a diagram/map is also included in the artwork). There are a number of fairly straight but well arranged rock songs, with lush keyboard sequencing in places and instrumental interludes of various lengths, featuring guitar or piano. The shift from unusual parts, such as the vocal wailing that opens "Balti Lament," to more conventional passages, is always successfully managed. However, some of the emotions attributed to the characters are a bit of a leap and the lyrics vary from pedestrian to inspired. Still, this is overall a polished and successful rock tribute to the adventurers of an ill-fated expedition.
Animal Logic – Animal Logic **1/2 (1989) Sent to Prognet 14/2/2001
A trio comprised of drummer/percussionist Stewart Copeland, bassist Stanley Clarke and singer/songwriter Deborah Holland. They are all fine talents in their own rights, but somehow the sound of this album never really takes off, working up a lot of tension instead. Part of the problem seems to be the studio constraints of the sound, with its perfect 4/4 rhythms and mechanical feel: although played largely on real instruments, these are dubbed over sequencers, often having the odd, slightly delayed percussive effect this used to cause, and generally lending a disconcertingly sterile feel. It's when the closing song, "I'm Sorry Baby (I Want You In My Life)," comes on that what is missing becomes evident: the gentle piano accompanying Holland's voice (played by her, I figure) seems to free up her melodic vocals, allowing far more range and expression. More experimentation is needed: Shankar's violin appears and disappears too quickly and Michael Thompson, playing guitar (and some banjo) throughout, seems unable to contribute fully, being tied into a session role. It's not bad, but the commercial direction seems to have inhibited the band from melding itself into something unique. Holland's vocals are pleasant (comparable in range to Anne Wilson or Christine McVie) and her songwriting is strong, with many tracks sounding promising, but just feeling wrong in production: her own keyboards might have brought more balance and freed up the fantastic rhythm section at this project's core. Stewart Copeland's own characteristic vocals (even as backing) are missing entirely. The cover was apparently once considered for a Police "best of," but suits this album perfectly": accessible yet surreal, very stylised and formal. Apparently, their next album is better (not according to The All Music Guide, but their reviewers are generally working the opposite agenda to those here), but I haven't heard this. An album by a band where the total is unfortunately unequal to the sum of the parts.
Ken Baird – August **** (1997) Sent to Prognet, 10/1/2001, appeared on 14/1/2001
Ken Baird’s first album has a primarily instrumental focus, with the emphasis on classical guitar, analogue synthesiser or piano led pieces, some tempo diversity and hence a more symphonic/progressive approach than his later two albums. The flavour is generally akin to the more pastoral early Mike Oldfield albums. Some passages are Medieval-like with Baird’s use of recorders, and the one short vocal piece, “Song of Summer,” with a shared Baird/Susan Fraser lead vocal, is comparable to some White Willow in terms of feel and style. The use of acoustic guitar as a foundation instrument to many of the pieces lends a similar mood in places to the work of another fine independent artist, Stephen Caudel (particularly his “Wine Dark Sea”). Baird’s albums take repeated listenings to reach their full effect, and there is beauty in his subtle melodic approach that stays on afterwards (particularly in this case, the main synthesiser line of the 20 minute title track). Much less song-oriented than Baird’s later albums, this debut is also moodier and darker overall. Most significantly, this is really a solo effort with Baird playing all the instruments (keyboards & synthesisers, classical & steel string acoustic guitars, whistles & recorders, vocals, trumpet and real drums & percussion), almost entirely without any sequencing or drum machines (one short bass sequence only). A fine beginning from an emerging artist. See Ken Baird’s page at: http://www.kenbaird.org
Ken Baird – Fields **** (1998) Sent to Prognet, 16/1/2001, appeared on 19/1/2001
Ken Baird is an independent artist quietly producing consistently beautiful albums. It’s difficult to pick a favourite from his albums so far, as they’re all excellent, but also different from each other. While “Fields” is more song-oriented than Baird’s debut, the sound here opens out further, often during the expansive instrumental stretches (such as on the first track, “New Universe,” with Susan Fraser’s wordless vocals as the featured instrument). There is a subdued feeling to the mostly mid-tempo material, successfully conjuring up the feeling of open spaces that the perfectly selected cover art reflects. While the songs strike me as akin to those of Mike Oldfield (such as on “Discovery”), for me this album most recalls Greg Sneddon’s like-minded “Mindstroll,” with piano often central to the compositions. Baird has a nice voice (particularly his upper register) and performs all lead vocals, often embellished and backed by Susan Fraser, with the exception of their joint vocal on “Into Night.” Baird’s voice usually defines its own space against his instrumentation , though he has chosen to follow the instrumental melody on the completely Baird recorded, “There’s a Place,” an often edgy trick that here works perfectly. While he often still plays all the instruments himself, on this album Baird has also employed guests on drums and additional guitars, such as the welcome electric guitars on “Into Night” (which continue the Oldfield feel). His own musicianship remains impressive, as in the excellent classical piano centrepiece to “No Easy Path.” Unlike many independent progressive artists, Baird doesn’t overreach, sticking with fairly conventional rock structures, but he works brilliantly within his chosen fields, creating a wistful, gentle, moody style of textured folk/symphonic prog. of great warmth and originality. See Ken Baird’s website at: http://www.kenbaird.org
Browne, Duncan: The Wild Places - Rating: ****
A good pop/rock album that includes a progressive piece. Duncan Browne resumed his solo career after parting from the art rock band, Metro (Godwin still has some co-writing credits on this album), and re-emerged with this substantial solo work. While the art rock elements are still present, there are many progressive aspects to this fine album, including the musicians (Phillips, Giblin and Hymas are all of unquestionable excellence, as is Browne) culminating in the ten minute instrumental epic, "Camino Real" (the Tennessee Williams reference in this outing), a textured, moody, mature progressive piece. The title track was a hit in some European countries: it begins with strummy acoustic guitar and nearly inaudible vocals, building to a huge rock climax, with a nice stop and start additional piece on the end. The rest is mostly refined pop/rock ballads and songs, performed by the four piece, including several moving, poetic ballads. Browne’s guitar-work has always been a cut above most pop singer/ songwriters, with its classical and flamenco stylings. The cover is laughably dated, as well as sexist (Browne in a white suit with leopard-skin clad '70s female pawing him, in front of yellow beach-scape) but this was 1978! The late Duncan Browne's music stands up well now and deserves to be remembered. Released on CD by Line in Germany and MSI in Japan.
Camel: The Snow Goose - Rating: ****1/2
"The Snow Goose" is Camel's second album: the early line-up, a four piece consisting of Andy Latimer (guitar/flute/vocal noises), Pete Bardens(keyboards), Andy Ward (drums/percussion) and Doug Ferguson (bass/duffle coat, for Snow Goose's wings flapping). There are no lyrics. It is a true concept album based on Paul Gallico's wonderful novella, "The Snow Goose." Filled with great melodies and individual character-based musical pieces (a little like Prokofiev's "Peter and the Wolf" in places, four-piece progressive rock in others), TSG includes a full orchestra in the background and occasionally the orchestral instruments are featured up front as well. This is considered by some to be early Camel's finest album (up against the progressive rock masterpiece "Mirage") and, although not so polished as the later Latimer driven albums, it still sounds fantastic. It is an utterly unique listening experience (and very pleasant as well).
Camel: Stationary Traveller - Rating: ****
Not Camel's most progressive album (being more prog./pop by some definitions) this album is, as some have noted, fairly Alan Parsonsesque (minus the orchestration). Possibly this is Camel's darkest hour - the feel overall is quite oppressive and claustrophic (which works well for the Berlin Wall concept), though always accessible due to the conventional nature of the rhythms and song-lengths. The music is very textured with lots of good guitar parts, clean production and two tracks featuring the wonderful Chris Rainbow on vocals (sounding a lot like Jon Anderson on "Cloak & Dagger Man"). Andy Latimer's voice is strong with a sort of light baritone range, here exploring territory that he continues to explore on his later (and more progressive) studio albums. Mel Collins plays a fair bit of sax on one track and David Paton plays lots of bass (but doesn't sing a note). The flute/pan-flute pieces add colour to two tracks. Repetitive bass notes are used in an APP manner, but Camel have been doing this since the early days too. "Long Goodbyes" (an accomplished rock ballad) and the instrumental title track are standouts, although the whole album is strong (even if dark). Susan Hoover's lyrics are consistently good and hold together logically and conceptually throughout and Ton Scherpenzeel (of Kayak fame) is a real asset as keyboard player (though very different to Peter Bardens). This fine album marked a turning point for the now Andy Latimer driven Camel, opening up the future for more musical exploration, though not until many years later.
Caravan: In the Land of Grey and Pink - Rating: ****1/2
This album, probably Caravan's finest, features the classic line-up of Richard Sinclair, Pye Hastings, David Sinclair and Richard Coughlan, along with Jimmy Hastings and David Grinsted. The first side consists of catchy pop-songs, opening with the striking, almost white reggae, "Golf Girl," with its bizarre, but appropriate sounding, trombone parts. The sound overall is clear and the musicianship deft, although there is a lack of significant lead guitar (this is normal in Caravan), and the silly, often smutty lyrics are sometimes a letdown (the exception being the album's beautiful closing vocal piece). The second side is a long, fabulous instrumental progressive piece featuring seemingly endless keyboard solos (organ, sounding sometimes like guitar, mellotron or even moog). Overall, Richard Sinclair's singing is wonderful (his bass-playing's great too) and the only individual song featuring Pye on vocals sits nicely towards the middle of the album (he also sings the first vocal part of "Nine Feet Underground"): Richard Sinclair singing most of the major lead vocals is a departure from the dreamy vocal interplay on their previous album, "If I Could..." but seems equally successful. The title meaning is obscure (but might have something to do with drugs) and the cover shows a nice rendering of a Tolkienesque village. A classic.
Caravan: Cunning Stunts - Rating: ****
Dominated in many ways by excellent new singer/bass-player, Mike Wedgwood, "Cunning Stunts" still features fine performances from the Caravan regulars. Wedgwood and Pye Hastings alternate lead vocals on the first five songs and on into the side-long Dave Sinclair suite, "The Dabsong Conshirtoe" (this piece begins with a song medley akin to the second side of "Abbey Road," which segues into a jazzy instrumental, Wedgwood's bass working dynamically against Richardson's spiralling flute melody). Orchestral ballads feature throughout, with Sinclair's wistful writing plaintively delivered by Wedgwood, as well as Wedgwood's own fine "Lover" (featuring nice string arrangement) and Hastings' dreamy "Backstage Pass." "Stuck in a Hole" rocks in a similar style to the material on "For Girls ..." while "Welcome the Day" is disco-progressive! The fading in at the beginning of "The Show of Our Lives" successfully sets the scene (this also closes the 2CD "Canterbury Tales" compilation). I hate the title (originally intended to be "Toys in the Attic," unfortunately used by Aerosmith) and dislike the cover, but it is worth looking beyond these. Caravan are mostly an album band and this is a great album!
Alan Case – Dark Matter ****1/2 (1999?) Sent to Prognet 18/1/2001, appeared on 22/1/2001
A generously large (75:15 mins.), but consistently excellent selection of Alan Case’s wide-ranging material, much of which was previously released in a different form in Japan on “Wide Awake,” though Case lives and works in The Netherlands. Case is an absolutely extraordinary musician, virtuosic on keyboards, guitars, bass and drums, as well as lead vocals (when he chooses to perform them himself). While the material is mostly in song format (with the exception of the 11:11 min. centrepiece, “Fast Asleep”), the music shifts and changes with great imagination and dexterity. The dynamics of the album are very bright and immediate. The style is often symphonic pop-prog., but at the absolute top of that genre! It’s hard to think of comparable material but Ambrosia, Toy Matinee and APP spring to mind as having some similarities. There are a variety of well-chosen lead vocalists performing on the songs. My only regret is the lack of any female lead vocals (but that’s a criticism I have of many artists, including APP and Kayak, so hardly a major issue here), though there are plenty in the backing vocals. Case’s own vocals are warm and expressive and one of my personal favourite tracks, “All About You,” is entirely Alan Case. Overall, I am continually astounded by the tightness and flexibility of a “band” that is largely multi-tracked Cases, along with some fine accompanying musicians (most importantly, Eddy Bopp, on guitar), including such diverse instruments as harp and violin. An impressive tour-de-force from a major talent! Available from Bee & Bee Records: http://www.distribee.com See “Alan Case World Wide Awake” at: http://www.oocities.org/alan-case
Stephen Caudel – Wine Dark Sea **** (1986) Sent to Prognet 22/1/2001, appeared on 24/1/2001
From a time when electronics were dominating music, came this unexpected gem with its textured, layered sound, for the most part built around acoustic and electric guitar arpeggios. This fully instrumental album consists of two long suites which flow together as a whole, “Part 1 (The Outward Journey)” and “Part 2 (The Return Journey)” (21:20 & 23:33 mins., each comprised of six and seven pieces respectively, in the Art of Landscape version). The essentially four-piece sound, consisting of guitars, bass, keyboards and drum machine, all by Caudel, is sometimes similar to Sky, Mike Oldfield or early instrumental Camel’s gentler passages. With the acoustic or electric guitars leading most passages, the keyboards/bass/drum backup arrives and disappears as needed, though often the guitars are backed by keyboards alone. While the construction is generally fairly straightforward, working in 4/4 and 6/8, the music shifts and changes often, beautifully conjuring up its nautical imagery. While the title seems to be a reference to Homer’s “Odyssey,” why the cover shows a fjord under an orange sky is a mystery, but is probably to do with the album being initially issued on Coda as part of its “New Age Landscape Series.” Unfortunately, the “New Age” label can deter progressive listeners from some fine artists that are often actually working outside that genre. “Wine Dark Sea” is a very pleasant listening experience of shifting, changing music, but with a rock, rather than strictly New Age approach. Best of all, Caudel continues to produce fine albums, such as his recent Arthurian epic, “The Earth in Turquoise.” For Stephen Caudel’s Home Page see: http://www.darksea.demon.co.uk
Heather Dale – The Trial of Lancelot ****1/2 (2000) Sent to Prognet on 31/1/2001
This is a wonderful CD, one of those where just everything is perfect! “The Trial of Lancelot” is stunningly beautiful Celtic (folk progressive) rock, so not the usual fare here, but an important album for the right people to hear about! Dale’s voice is somewhere between the lilting beauty of Loreena McKennitt and the warmth and body of Mary Fahl (October Project): that’s high praise from me, and this artist warrants it! The songs revolve around Dale’s voice and pianos, being beautifully produced by her as textured full band pieces (with diverse instrumentation including keyboards, fiddle & cello, drums, guitars, bass, flutes & whistles, bodhran & other percussion). The productions range from this general approach to completely different ones, ie: by structuring primarily around voice (“Mordred’s Lullaby”), pure guitars (“Hawthorn Tree” about Merlin’s folly) or fully Celtic (“Culwch and Olwen”). The substance of this intuitive, romantically pensive song cycle is the doomed love of Guinevere and Lancelot, often a cliché in other hands, but here splendidly and convincingly realized. What is remarkable is just how movingly effective Dale’s mining of the Celtic rock vein is, her album easily surpassing the recent work of many masters in this field. Her poignant lyrics are written from various narrative perspectives, with first person soliloquys (such as Guinevere and Morgana La Fay) and third person omniscience equally successful. It’s a tribute to Dale how easily her writing sits alongside the traditional balladry of “Cullwch and Olwen,” but her perceptive understanding and insight into her protagonist’s motivations have a lot to do with it. Heather Dale has a fabulous voice, potent intuition and evocative lyrical musical abilities, along with complete mastery over composition and the diverse production approaches needed to best bring her songs out. Brilliant, just brilliant, and as timeless as its themes. See: http://www.heatherdale.com
Evans, Chris and Hanselmann, David: Stonehenge - Rating: ****
Released toward the end of the first great era of progressive concept albums this one is a consistently engaging and interesting package. While there is no real orchestration the use of extensive keyboards, acoustic guitars (and some electric solos), bass, drums and percussion, still create a magnificent, textured sound, with David Hanselmann's amazingly versatile voice managing to sound like many different vocalists (if the additional guest Hebrew bible reading and vocoder part were not variety enough). The project is written by Chris Evans-Ironside, with commendably literate and erudite use of the works of different writers pertinent to its theme (such as Blake), which sound less pretentious than you might anticipate (don't think of "This is Spinal Tap"). Hanselmann's range is quite stunning as he effortly sails up to extremely high notes (he sounds sometimes like Jon Anderson), but the sensible direction of the album has him singing some songs in his warm lower register as well. Overall, it's comparable in many ways to the first few Alan Parsons Project albums, albeit a smaller production in execution. The sound also totally avoids falling into any heavy metal or Celtic sounds (which might seem appropriate today), instead using its own unique sounds, strongly composed and arranged by Evans-Ironside. Symphonic prog. (with some pop elements, but less so than it's successor, the also excellent "Symbols of the Seven Sacred Sounds") this album has powerful resonance.
Glass Hammer - On To Evermore **** (1998) (unsent)
Undoubtedly Glass Hammer’s most accomplished work yet, “On To Evermore” is elegantly constructed progressive rock, as well as a model of sonic clarity. It does suffer from many of the usual proglems in terms of being overlong and having a convoluted narrative, but the indulgences of the earliest albums are largely under control (though there are several “meows” too many on one piece). Vocals have never been Glass Hammer’s strongest feature, but sharing them with new primary lead vocalist (and musician, Walter Moore, has strengthened this area a good deal. The guitars are generally more upfront, largely due to the other new permanent member, David Carter, though the dual keyboards (plus bass) of Steven D’Arque (nee Babb) and Fred Schendel are still the basis, defining the structure of the compositions. One thing that disturbs me about Glass Hammer is that, while choosing to have female characters central to the story, they don’t use female lead vocals. This means that the female characters end up being externalised and seen from a male viewpoint (Arianna in particular is viewed through the eyes of the central male character). Overall, a tight, modern slice of progressive rock in the concept/story style. For the Glass Hammer website see: http://www.glasshammer.com
Gryphon: Red Queen to Gryphon Three - Rating: ****1/2
With their chamber music affinities, Gryphon have much in common with some of the best Italian bands (ie: Premiata Forneri Marconi, Maxophone), though "RQ2G3" is totally instrumental. Acoustic instruments (recorders, bassoon, harpischord, acoustic guitar, krumhorn)work tightly complex arrangements, creating positively medieval sounding introductions to the four movements, and these passages then segue into suddenly electric passages, no less melodic or intricate, if sometimes becoming dissonant. There is a joyful quirkiness to the music as a whole and, while it is very accomplished and virtuosic, this never overshadows the expressive character of the music itself. The four parts have titles suggesting a chess game and the cover art has many similiarities to Kansas' "Leftoverture." An excellent piece of music from a very together band. As previously mentioned, this is available on CD both individually and as a 2 for 1 with the follow-up, "Raindance," which includes vocals.
Steve Hackett: Please Don't Touch! - Rating: ****1/2
A wonderful album: quite accessible but showing the breadth of Steve Hackett's skills. The sounds range from the almost pop of "Narnia" (sung by Steve Walsh of Kansas), through the classical guitar and flute of "Kim," to vast soundscapes (the title track), and includes a few beautiful ballads, sung by Randy Crawford and Richie Havens. There are odd, indulgent moments such as the distorted vocals on "Carry On Up The Vicarage," but even these parts of the album are enjoyable. The songs all blend together well, with links for following tracks often set up in the second- halves of the ones preceding them. This technique makes the album compelling to listen to. There are many literary allusions, although if there is a thematic sub-text running throughout the whole thing, it's probably to do with the illusion/ hope of new relationships (bookended cleverly by the first and last tracks, but also important to "How Can I?"), the disillusion of tired relationships and the idealism of new ones (suggested even by the title track?). "Icarus Ascending," as a closing masterpiece (akin to the closing ballads on APP albums), sums it all up nicely, with a rich, warm vocal from Richie Havens and some wandering off on musical tangents in the middle. Not as progressive (or Genesis-like) as "Voyage of the Acolyte" but moving and successful in quite different ways.
Hackett, Steve: Darktown - Rating: ****1/2
An amazing album including a wide variety of material and production styles. The opening two tracks could easily distance some people on first listening, with their techno elements and general harshness, but these are some of the treasures that just get better and better on repeated listenings. Replete with loops, samples and some amazing guitar experimentation, the instrumental opener, "Omega Metallicus" kicks things off, suddenly melodic and dissonant by turns. Next comes the title track featuring Steve Hackett's laconic vocal against Ian McDonald's caterwauling saxophone, the perfect foil. From here we continue into a couple of symphonic ballads, with (very convincing) orchestral sounds, setting the thoughtful, imaginative lyrics against nicely structured instrumental interludes. Following the odd historical outlook of "The Golden Age of Steam," Jim Diamond's vocal on "Days of Long Ago" is another surprising contrast, on an album of many: while primarily a soppy love song it works well in this context. The second of three instrumental highlights is "Twice Around the Sun" with Hackett's always welcome, soaring melodic guitar. All the remaining songs are strong, introspective pieces, with their musings on travel, reincarnation, literature and the significance of the individual in both life and death. Beautiful classical guitar parts are included throughout many of the songs and guests' diverse contributions are seamlessly integrated. One minor criticism is that the rhythm on "Jane Austen's Door" is repetitive, but this really is nit-picking. Some have accused Hackett's albums of being "patchy," probably indicative of much narrower tastes than the artist's, or a lack of sympathy with his need to work with a large musical vocabulary. This album is consistently strong, inventive and engaging all the way through.
Kayak: Merlin - Rating: ****
The first half of this album is comprised of a fine suite of five songs that run together and tell the story of Merlin, based, I would say, on the Mary Stewart trilogy told from that character's point of view. The sound ranges between piano-based ballads and symphonic rock, with sinuous guitar solos and lots of keyboard hooks from Ton Scherpenzeel, who soon after joined Camel. Edward Reekers voice is similar in range and tone to Chris Rainbow (of APP), although he sometimes verges on qualities that recall Jon Anderson, or even Fish. I have heard this album described as "disappointing" but have to disagree with this statement, unless they were meaning the almost totally banal second side, rather than the assured, slick first side: first side (*****), second side (*1/2), except "Love's Aglow" sung by Ton, which is a nice closer. Evidently, the band felt real inspiration with the material on side one: this suite of songs flows seamlessly together, with some string, horn and vocal supplementation to further fill out the sound. It movingly relates the myth of Merlin without ever getting sidetracked into the lives of other characters and, if Merlin singing in such a high voice seems unusual, then imagining the Stewart realisation of this archetypal figure helps. The cover artwork is inexcusably boring, featuring just the name of the band and album and it's a shame that they didn't make a whole progressive album, but overall it's still well worth consideration for fans of Arthurian stuff.
Lindh, Par and Johansson, Bjorn: Bilbo - Rating: *****
This fabulous progressive rock album cruises along nicely, with lots of neat electric guitar hooks, soaring lines punctuated by keyboard and drum stabs, lush mellotron pieces, gentle classical guitar, flute and oboe passages, sound effects (such as wolves howling) and some Maggie Reilly like vocals (the guitar sounds are Mike Oldfield-like too). The few imperfections are hidden within a wealth of brilliant progressive/folk/symphonic rock. My one small regret is the absence of the Trolls, but I can see that this would have disrupted the perfect flow of the music, as it carefully follows the narrative thread of J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Hobbit." The catchy (yes, catchy!) instrumental melodies continuously build on what has gone before, with enormous variety from an excellent quartet of musicians (Par Lindh: Keyboards, Synthesisers, Drums and Percussion. Bjorn Johansson: Acoustic and Electric Guitars, Bass, Bassoon, Zither, Mandolins, Samples and Sound Effects. Anna Schmidtz: Flute & Oboe. Magdalena Hagberg: Vocals) A gem and a favourite of mine.
Lunar Chateau: Lunar Chateau – Rating: ***1/2
The trio who comprise Lunar Chateau are all accomplished musicians, three brothers, Novak, Paul and Milo Sekulovich. The tight progressive/symphonic rock interplays between their keyboards, bass/vocals and drums/percussion (respectively) produce full-sounding, diverse, but very accessible music. While they take a song-oriented approach, this is very much a progressive rock album, featuring lush arrangements and numerous timing changes. The emphasis is on tight rhythms, with textured keyboard work and wistful Eric Woolfsonesque (Alan Parsons Project) vocals. Other points of reference include ELP (particularly on the instrumental, “Metropolis”), some Camel and Kayak, and the piano arpeggios of David Lanz. The lyrics are consistently thoughtful, sometimes sublime, but also occasionally awkward. Included are several instrumentals, such as the insistent opening track, “The Thrust.” Followed by the excellent eponymous title track (with an estoric sentiment convincingly delivered) this gets the album off to a compelling start. Many of the songs are great, but even my least favourite track, the somewhat pretentious sounding “Brothers in Blood,” has fine, moody verses. I expected to miss guitars, but generally didn’t, though a few guitar solos might have broken up the keyboard-based arrangements in places. While there are many signature LC sounds, the album isn’t repetitive, especially considering it being the work of a trio. All three members contribute substantially to the sound and are impressive in their abilities. Comparisons can be drawn to some other bands, such as APP, but these are merely points of reference as Lunar Chateau’s sound is clearly their own. I look forward to hearing the upcoming second album, which I certainly intend to purchase.
Madder Lake: Stillpoint - Rating: ****
An Australian progressive rock classic! "Stillpoint" (1975) is a dreamy blend of blues and progressive rock (in the Australian style of the time), complete with totally appropriate fantasy landscape cover. It drifts along through extended, sometimes repetitive, predominantly instrumental pieces, comprised of keyboards (most often treated electric piano) and melodic guitars (often working in harmony), along with tight bass and drums. This mix is punctuated for stretches by the confronting Joe Cockeresque vocals of Mick Fettes, whose fascinatingly ambiguous and often nonsensical lyrics are a big asset on this album, with his extraordinarily catchy nonverbal utterances being even better, ie: absurd "shoop bop a doowops" and "naaa naa na naa naa naas." That Madder Lake conduct their business in 4/4 (though with tempo modulations) should deter no-one: this compelling evocation of a wide land has a fantastic sense of time and place and is an essential first stop for anyone wanting to include something from the Antipodes in their progressive collections. "12lb. Toothbrush" can also be found on the extensive compilation, "Golden Miles: Australian Progressive Rock, 1969-1974" (along with many of its all too forgotten contemporaries) and the "Best of Madder Lake." Both "Stillpoint" and "Best Of" are readily available as inexpensive Mushroom Mid-Price Masters (the follow-up "Butterfly Farm" appears to have been deleted already), but my recommendation is to start with this solid first album.
Nick Magnus – Inhaling Green **** (1999) Sent to Prognet on 9/2/2001, appeared on 12/2/2001
From the opening 7/8 of “Velociraptor” it’s apparent that this is no ordinary keyboard album, but then Magnus is an extraordinary keyboard player. Probably best known for his work with Steve Hackett, Magnus is an imaginative musician of considerable technical skill. The tracks here range widely in terms of styles (moreso than his previous album, “Straight On Till Morning”) but Magnus is master of them all, his sound at once cinematic, majestic, layered, melodic and eccentric. This is the model of what studio-based symphonic keyboard albums can be: lush, wildly diverse, sweet one minute and harsh the next, but always fascinating. Much of the approach is similar to the work of the best epic New Age/progressive keyboardists, such as Gandalf and David Arkenstone, but each track is produced in a very individual manner, with different instrumentation and styles, usually featuring one particular instrument. John Hackett guests on flute on “Free the Spirit” and “Veil of Sighs,” Clare Brigstocke on the Enigmatic “Cantus” (cowritten by the late Duncan Browne) and Geoff Whitehorn on guitar on the 16 minute title epic. “The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea” is a beautiful keyboard and guitar piece, similar to some of the instrumental work of Alan Parsons and Steve Hackett. “Conquistador” has a 6/8 “Bolero” type beginning, then opens out into a piano/orchestral/choral piece similar to some of David Lanz’s work. Trekkies should comprehend “Dixon Hill,” which sounds like the saxophone-drenched theme to a detective show. “Theme One” is a funky, symphonic reworking of the Van Der Graph Generator piece, opening with a grandiose organ sound. After these more conventional length pieces comes the completely off-the-wall title epic, with affinities in places to “Spectral Mornings” era Hackett, featuring lashings of guitar, operatic vocal melodies, choral voices and start/stop drums in a William Orbit manner. Overall this long piece is dominated by an absurdly strange synthesised voice, taking various incarnations and voicing the weirdest of philosophical musings (if you don’t understand, then your brain may have turned into a walnut!). I’m not sure how the phrenology diagram on the cover relates, but it makes a strange sort of sense. A strange, compelling keyboard phantasmagoria. Available from: http://www.cd-services.com and for Nick’s Website see: http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/nick.magnus/
Maxophone: Maxophone (English version) - Rating: ****1/2
Among the finest Italian progressive bands, Maxophone's one album displays a thoroughly inventive, diverse sound, ever shifting and changing: one minute rock, the next jazz and the next classical. They utilise many different instruments, acoustic and electric, with guitars, keyboards, flute, saxophone, strings, French horn and male vocals. The lyrics are sometimes less than brilliant (on this English version), but it's tightly produced, progressive without being heavy for the most part, and has lots of different moods. My only complaint is that they could have repeated some of the melodic musical passages, rather than always rushing on to new ones, but I don't want to criticise them for being too creative! The sound has similarities to Gabriel-era Genesis, particularly the vocals (but at other times these remind me of Kayak). Many listeners prefer the version with Italian lyrics and the vocals less promiment in the mix: I haven't heard this, but am well satisfied with the English version anyway.
McKenna, Mae: Nightfallers - Rating: ***1/2
This album is of the folky/celtic type, but with rock rhythms on many songs. Mae McKenna sounds a bit like Loreena McKennitt, with touches of Enya thrown in (only better than the latter, IMO). Her voice is strong and so are the songs, mostly written or co-written by McKenna herself (her acoustic guitar-work on one >track is nice too). The instrumentation ranges from none (an acapella track), to minimalist (just harp and voice) to full band with drums, piano and double bass (a few tracks with great, full production). She uses just her voice, harmonising without lyrics over slide guitar on "Blue." Overall, there's a nice, dark edge to the material. It's a short album at 39 mins. but an impressive piece of work from someone who briefly cameos on Camel's excellent "Dust & Dreams" and "Harbour of Tears." It appears to have been deleted but shows up used occasionally.
Midwinter: The Waters of Sweet Sorrow - Rating: ****
A folk album with some progressive elements, "Waters" features ethereal female, and some male, vocals over gentle acoustic guitar, along with electric bass, violin, flute, etc. Overall, the sound is thin and without drums or any sort of rock rhythm but, in places, it is beautiful. Someone once said that it sounded like it was recorded in 1650, and there's some truth in that! The opening song, "Sanctuary Stone" is a classic. Fans of folk/prog., Steeleye Span or the band this turned into, Stone Angel, are most likely to enjoy this. It has recently been released on CD by both Kissing Spell in the U.K. and Si-Wan in Korea (and also on vinyl by the former, I believe, as the original commands silly prices now).
Millenia – Thinking Rock *** (1997) Sent to Prognet, 14/1/2001, appeared on 17/1/2001
This now obscure and hard-to-find CD has been largely remade recently, under a new band name. Millenia was comprised of Paul D’Acia (vocals), Richard Dews (guitars, vocals) and Russell Dawson-Butterworth (keyboards, backing vocals). The album opens promisingly enough, though with an annoying fade in and, unfortunately, the interesting music here turns instantly banal as soon as the song itself starts, not recurring until the bridge. The opening pair of straight rock tracks, with a West Coast power pop feel and slightly religious (if secular) lyrics, set the tone for most of the songs that follow. The music hits its stride with the third track, “Steady Life,” a masterfully produced piece, that could be seen as a microcosm revealing the social/political/spiritual concerns reflected over the rest of the album. The lyrics, like the music, are immediate, returning almost invariably to the first person perspective, but they’re also often diluted by a curious blandness. What are far more compelling are the instrumental pieces (very much in the style of later Alan Parsons productions). The songs generally have an anthemic stadium rock feel and, as befits the style, the songs are all in straight fours, with a fairly consistent sound throughout. While the songs take a very direct approach, there is a studio-based feel to the sound: the music is often nicely textured and the musicianship always assured and competent, but a real drummer would have been preferable to a mechanical one, however convincing. The orchestrated-sounding closer (featuring Dawson-Butterworth’s New Millenium Light Orchestra), “Shade of Man,” provides an impressive APPesque finish and, with the other more highly produced pieces, reveal Millenia at their best. The band has regrouped (minus Dews), renamed briefly as Arc, now as Iconic Phare. Millenia’s “Thinking Rock” serves as a good introduction to a potentially great band. Iconic Phare’s upcoming “Turning the Tide” sounds promising indeed, as the sound samples, such as of the ambient 7/8 opener, “The Lara Chant,” indicate, on the band’s website at: http://www.carrera-records.com
Newman, Tom: Faerie Symphony - Rating: ****
Tom Newman, probably best known for his Mike Oldfield production work, created his own projects during studio offtime, late at night or whenever the time was available. This album (recently re-released on CD only by Korean label Si-Wan) is based on traditional Celtic faerie lore, including Irish and Scottish, with stories from various cycles of the former. The musical cycle is successful in its moody meandering from dusk to dawn (probably something to do with the times that it was recorded), beginning with haunting flutes, acoustic guitars and mellotron, working up to the very Celtic partying of "The Seelie Court" and "Dance of the Daoine Sidhe" (featuring an unbilled appearance by Mike Oldfield on characteristic guitar), then to the spooky unearthly "The Unseelie Court," with its bass hook, gibbering and booming vocal distortions (the Unseelie Court abduct travellers just before dawn, in an ancient variation of the modern alien abduction myth), returning to the opening theme as dawn arrives. The night and day cover, by Jim Fitzpatrick, is among the most beautiful album artwork I've ever seen. The music, while often repetitive due to the techniques involved, becomes fairly compelling on repeated listenings and is full of inventiveness, with flutes (Jon Field of Jade Warrior) and mellotrons featuring prominently, among a variety of guests. Proto-new age emerging from progressive rock in a unique and idiosyncratic way. Mostly very gentle, but moody and fascinating also.
Clive Nolan & Oliver Wakeman: Jabberwocky - Rating: ****
This one is a rather bombastic sounding, keyboard drenched, neo-progressive adventure. The music thunders along, metamorphosing quickly between entertaining pieces and with a good groove, though the mood is often sombre. It is very enjoyable, compelling and well structured, but rather dark overall, and in that sense at least it fails to capture the ironic essence of Lewis Carroll (probably more stage-musical oriented works such as Mike Batt's splendid "The Hunting of the Snark" do this far better, retaining much of Carroll's intrinsic humour). Along with the keyboards (sometimes featuring piano), are the usual guitars, bass and drums, all performing tightly. Rick Wakeman, reading the parts of the pseudo-epic poem, has a perfectly chosen voice, but he makes several crucial mistakes, at least once ruining the rhyming: this should have been picked up in production! Tracy Hitchings does some of her best vocals ever, though she has been given a totally thankless role as the stereotypical, reflective, hero's girlfriend. The four lead vocalists are all fantastic, in the roles of Boy, Girl, Jabberwocky (perfectly cast!) and Tum-Tum Tree. Often the differing textures of the characters' vocals are contrasted against each other in the same song, a great way to maintain interest and one that more bands should explore! The end is fairly abrupt, though the pacing throughout is musically strong. My reservations aside, it's a good album, taking "Jabberwocky" and working it into something new. That extending the story to an album length piece has worked so well is a tribute to all concerned. As for the artwork, if it wasn't a good choice anyway, the cover alone would make it essential!
Novalis: Sommerabend - Rating: ***1/2
Predominantly consisting of long instrumental suites, this album in places includes some nice, fairly succinct, alternating lead vocals (in German) from the guitarist and bassist. Overall, the sound reminds me most strongly of "Wish You Were Here" (and sometimes "Animals") era Pink Floyd. The four on the floor (keyboards/guitars/bass/drums) approach is very direct, with musical interplay kept fairly simple, though the music segues quickly into new pieces, so there's not time to get tired of any one musical section. The bass in particular is often very basic, persisting on root notes which, while disconcerting on first listening, actually lends a nice accessibility to the whole on repeated listenings (akin to early Camel).
Oldfield, Mike: Islands - Rating: ***1/2
A lot of my reviews tend to start with: "a lot of proggers hate this one" and that's probably true of "Islands." However, it's good album with a very full sound. It takes a while to get into, particularly the instrumental half, but is well worth a listen for fans of both Oldfield's instrumental and pop work. There is great colour and richness in "The Wind Chimes" (particularly pt. I): the sampled voices are cute and Simon Phillips provides extra focus and bounce. The six vocal songs are good, though often drum heavy: the title track featuring Bonnie Tyler and a couple of saxophonists, the excellent "Flying Start" biopic sung by Kevin Ayers, the commercial "Magic Touch" with Jim Price and three songs featuring the wonderful voice of Anita Hegerland, Oldfield's one-time spouse ("North Point" is his best song ever). Hegerland's elocution is sometimes a little idiosyncratic but I suspect that this is to do with the way Mike has written the lyrical pentameter ("I believe every word") as much as the lyrics being in English. The treatment (use of effects) of the vocal on "The Time Has Come" (probably the weakest song unless you're a Christian), is a bit cruel. Musical themes recur throughout the entire album, including vocal melodies. Lyrical themes ("when the night's on fire") also reappear, making the whole a cohesive and rewarding listening experience.
Parsons Project, The Alan: Tales of Mystery and Imagination - Rating: *****
An object lesson in how to make a fantastic concept album! "Tales" comes in two versions: the 1976 version (with extra "nevermores" and blood-curdling screams) and the 1987 retread (with additional guitar, synth. and drum parts and Orson Welles' previously unheard narration). The original is available as a Mobile Fidelity Ultradisc, but both versions have great merit (although I find the mixing back of the strings on "The Cask of Amontillado" and the string bass on "Pavane" slightly annoying on the remix): something will depend on which you hear first. Most proggers don't have much time for The Alan Parsons Project, but do make allowances for this album. APP was never intended as progressive rock anyway but, in this album, produced the finest symphonic rock ever (along with its contemporary Rigoni & Schoenherz's "Victor"). It moves between precise, wildly moody rock songs and sweeping real orchestration on the "The Fall of House of Usher" suite. Parsons sings "The Raven" himself through the Vocoder, Arthur Brown turns in an amazing performance on "The Tell-tale Heart," John Miles performs two, quite different leads and Leonard Whiting (with help from AP) sings the gorgeous closer. The music comes primarily from members of Ambrosia and Pilot, but with many other guest musicians and, of course, master wordsmith/composer/keyboardist, Eric Woolfson, who first conceived the concept, closely based on Edgar Allen Poe's short stories. From beginning to end, a total masterpiece!
The Alan Parsons Project: The Turn of a Friendly Card - Rating: *****
Sometimes there are albums that I enjoy so much that I procrastinate about reviewing them. As an album (not necessarily progressive), this one rates as one of my all time favourites. The whole thing holds together perfectly, musically, lyrically and thematically. While the concept here is gambling, the subtext often seems to be exploration, nicely tied together with the nautical feel of "Time" (a piano/strings ballad sung by songwriter/keyboardist, Eric Woolfson, making his debut on trademark APP breathy vocals) and the wonderfully catchy instrumental,"The Gold Bug" (based on the Edgar Allen Poe story and featuring Phil Kenzie on haunting lyricon and precise alto saxophone). The opener, "May Be A Price To Pay," with its densely textured strings, blaring French horns and mighty lead vocal from the infamous Elmer Gantry, kicks the gambling/destiny themes off nicely, with its references to "The Sorceror's Apprentice." The succession of fine (if incredibly slick) po! p/rock songs that follow feature most of APP's best vocalists: Lenny Zakatek sings the other two on the first side; Woolfson, Chris Rainbow and bass-player, David (Davie) Paton, sing the songs comprising the title suite of the second side. Bairnson gets in several masterful guitar solos and everyone adds to the general atmosphere (notably Rainbow on backing vocals). Recently many of the songs have been adapted by Woolfson for his stage musical, "Gambler," and theatrical execution of them isn't hard to imagine on hearing this. There is an epic sweep to the combination of orchestral/electronic textures, but accessibly packaged in pop/rock rhythms and stylings. It's not exactly progressive, but succeeds brilliantly on its own terms. Also, nicely packaged with concept artwork from Godley & Creme.
The Alan Parsons Project: Gaudi - Rating: ****1/2
Well, I love prog. and I love The Alan Parsons Project, and I make no apology for that! This is the swan-song for APP, seen by many as a return to form. Lead vocals are back to being handled by the superb John Miles, the distinctive Lenny Zakatek and wistful sounding master songsmith, Eric Woolfson (The Project's "architect"), along with one-timer Geoff Barradale (of Vitamin Z). Here the songs are generally given more room to breathe, being longer and more intricately produced than anything on the middle period APP albums. Parsons' brilliant production is to the fore, building the beautiful, inspired Woolfson pieces into extended, complex arrangements, fitted to the ever accessible trademark rock rhythms of APP (4/4 and 3/4) along with substantial contributions from guitarist Bairnson (nice Spanish guitar!) and orchestrator Powell (wonderful French horns as usual!). Even Parsons' Vocoder (unheard since "I Robot") gets a cameo, closing the Robert Palmer clone, "Money Talks." Overall, the texture of the soundscapes and the message, of the frustrations of true artistic commitment (as seen in the life and works of incredible Catalan architect, Antonio Gaudi), suggest a near masterpiece. However, it's slightly marred by the over-commercialism of the two shorter songs (which would be fine in a different context) and the repetitive spoken voices towards the end. Later successfully developed into a full-fledged musical by Woolfson, this was the last album for The Alan Parsons Project, with "Freudiana," their final collaboration, eventually emerging under its own name.
Parsons, Alan: Try Anything Once - Rating: ***1/2
Following the departure of Eric Woolfson (to continue a career as composer of stage musicals), the Alan Parsons band returned with this eclectic, inconsistent work and started performing live, something not attempted with The Project. The primary songwriter here is David Pack of Ambrosia, who also sings (and sometimes plays guitar) on his three contributions, opening and closing the album strongly. Chris Thompson (Manfred Mann, etc.) sings lead on two of the more commercial, guitar-based, Ian Bairnson songs. The themes are often strange, concerning delusions, being trapped and sleight of hand. My personal favourites are the songs which Parsons himself cowrote, "Wine From the Water" and "Siren Song" (which recalls "To One in Paradise" from "Tales"), both sung by Eric Stewart (10cc), these being very consistent with the feel of the earlier APP material. Another standout is the one female vocal spot, by Jacqui Copeland, "Mr. Time," cowritten by Stuart Elliott, who is proving to be an excellent, if infrequent, songwriter, as well as drummer/percussionist. While the balance of the different writers/vocalists is well organised, along with long, bridging instrumental passages and lush orchestration from Powell, the overall feel is rambling and disorienting, though this seems fitting in a way. Perhaps the very lack of a clear concept is the intention, with the diversity of styles being closer to some of the Steve Hackett albums. However, there is the self-referential title to consider, which is akin in its statement to Camel's "The Single Factor," along with the cover art, possibly representing the Hanged Man of the Tarot, an appropriate metaphor, given the nature of this album in the Parsons chronology. It's definitely at the more progressive end of Parsons' catalogue, produced with the usual epic, orchestral grandeur familiar to APP listeners.
Alan Parsons: The Time Machine - Rating: ****1/2
The new album from Alan Parsons, Ian Bairnson, Stuart Elliott and Co. is a treasure for longtime AP/P fans! The production is typically immaculate, with a modern, clean sound, embracing elements of dance, techno, New Age, World music, Celtic and blues, though with the traditional symphonic elements present in the background (Andrew Powell's orchestrations are built into the distant soundscape for the most part, but blend seamlessly into the ambience). This is very much Ian Bairnson's album and the songs here are his finest ever, being wistful, sublime, ambiguous and witty. On lead vocals are Neil Lockwood (Bardens), Tony Hadley (Spandau Ballet), Maire Brennan (Clannad), Beverley Craven and Graham Dye, along with returning heroes, Colin Blunstone and Chris Rainbow (a late addition, singing only four lead lines but contributing distinctive backing vocals). Of course, the album isn't one for strict progressive fans, with its mostly radio friendly songs, but fans of middle period Project albums should find this one very rewarding! Different production approaches are taken, alongside the more familiar ones: "Press Rewind" is a keyboardless guitar band song, recalling Crowded House, followed by Craven singing "The Very Last Time," accompanied only by piano and string quartet. My favourite passage is tracks 5-7, which, while being separate, run together in a lush and compelling way. Bookended by light technoesque instrumentals (occasionally recalling Arkenstone), overall there are 17 minutes of instrumentals on the album proper. However, my advice is to buy the current Japanese release on Horipro: this gives you an added instrumental bonus track, featuring some nifty sequencer timing shifts before ploughing into familiar AP territory. The biggest surprise is that Alan Parsons himself here performs the narration, connecting many of the themes of the album (in a similar way to Professor Frank Close, earlier on). Conceptually, "The Time Machine" may have been inspired by H.G. Wells, but is in no way a literal concept piece (like Chambosse's excellent '80s album), rather musing on time and space, from an intimate, human perspective. The cover artwork is a cultist's delight, including references to many "time machines," including those from Star Trek, Dr. Who, Alice in Wonderland and Back to the Future. I've only had this album for a few days (it only just came out), but it does reward repeated listenings in the typical AP/P way. Released in Japan on 16 July 1999, it's slated for Europe (and possibly the U.S.) in September, but get it now for the bonus track! A great, modern album for the Parsons fans!
Pink Floyd: Obscured by Clouds - Rating: ****
Music from the film "The Valley." If it's possible for a band as huge as PF to have a forgotten classic, this is it, obscured in between "Meddle" and the masterpiece, "The Dark Side of the Moon." It contains all the elements of DSoTM, which followed it, but not in quite the same proportions. Water's songwriting, the sounds effects, the organized instrumental passages are all here. What's nice is how democratic the singing/songwriting is: this sounds like a band that is mature and balanced. Among the great songs are "The Gold it's in The...," "Wots...uh the Deal," "Childhood's End," "Free Four" and "Stay." There's a nice run of tracks fronted by Gilmour, Waters and Wright (my particular favourite) and their slightly divergent styles complement each other nicely. Happier days for the Floyd! It's a pity the movie was so insignificant, but this album is a great legacy for it to leave.
Porcupine Tree: Up the Downstair - Rating: ****
Like all Porcupine Tree albums, this one (from 1993) captures you with the first tracks pretty quickly, but requires more time to be appreciated in its entirety. All the Steve Wilson trademarks are here: the pulsating repetive analog synthesiser sequences, the whispered vocals (sometimes he lets loose and shows that he really does have a great set of pipes), the abstract lyrics, the strange spoken vocals from various sources, the occasional quiet acoustic guitar, the insistent drumming, ambient keyboard effects and, most of all, his signature, searing guitar, that blasts in without warning. Wilson's lead guitar sound recalls Gilmour (not the only Floyd element) in that it gets loud and overpowering, but never loses its sense of melody and is never gratuitous. Half the tracks are vocal and half instrumental, which is a nice balance. Really it's a Wilson solo album and it's a complete and consistent, if fairly trippy, vision, that he produces. While his influences are sometimes evident he has worked them totally into his personal musical vocabulary and created something new and diverting.
Rapp, Michael/Neeley, Ted/Iverson, Yvonne & A-440: Ulysses: the Greek Suite - Rating: ****
I tend to like concept/project things that feature various collected talents, particularly if they have a literary base. This one, from 1978, is a great success, with its strong alternating male (Ted Neeley) and female (Yvonne Iverson) lead vocals, over rock musical style songs, and its clean discoesque progressive instrumental passages. Along with dexterous, polished keyboards (by composer Rapp himself) and guitar, bass and drums (by Rapp's band A-440), many guests (horns, harmonica, female choruses) are featured. The musicianship is accomplished, without distracting from the central direction of the album, and the music conjures up images of Mediterannean sailing beautifully. The textures created are considerable (although of their time): there is no feeling that further instrumentation is required. The narrative focuses on the central concerns of Ulysses and Penelope, singing their own thoughts, in rock musical style (though this was a studio project) with some minimal, nicely produced and non-instrusive narration to establish and conclude the story. Polyphemus, the Cyclops, is sung about by Ulysses, but the use of guests for Circe and the Sirens is an effective contrast to the two main leads. The end feels a little too sudden (it doesn't deal with what happens in Ithaca) and I would have preferred Odysseus as the protagonist's name, as in Homer, rather than the Roman alteration (the album title also seems odd). Still, these are minor criticisms of something that works so well. The music has many progressive tendencies although the vocal parts are generally in a rock song format (a bit like some APP in places) and there is a definite disco tinge to the sound in places. Overall, a very nice combination for those who like musicals, as well as progressive rock. The CD version was released by Lazeria Music, U.S.A. in 1996 (70 mins. on one CD).
Renaissance: Scheherazade and Other Stories - Rating: ****
A fine album: quite probably Renaissance's best. The first half is three songs performed by the band, without the orchestra, featuring John Tout's superb neo-classical piano playing and Annie Haslam's beautiful vocal work. There are long piano passages on these songs, but with the rest of the band all contributing, in a more restrained manner than on later albums, which is all to the good. The second, concept half quotes Rimsky-Korsakov's "Scheherazade," blending Renaissance's songs around this piece, complete with a full orchestra. The introductory male lead vocal on this piece contributes to the variety and texture of the whole. The arrangements of both band and orchestra are superb, even if the piano seems a long way down in the mix after the first side (although that style may have been unsustainable for a whole album). There are many wonderful passages here and the coda, with Haslam's vocals reaching up ever higher, is impressive. Overall, a great album that never flags, even through the extended instrumental parts: strong songs well produced. Remastering would improve the sound quality, but this version is fine. A very satisfying listening experience for those of us whose tastes embrace classical, folk and rock music.
Rigoni, Manuel & Schoenherz, Richard: Victor: A Symphonic Poem - Rating: ****1/2
This has to be the ultimate, over the top, symphonic album, featuring a full orchestra and choir along with guitars, keyboards (Schoenherz), drums (Rigoni) and bass (Hauenstein), with three different lead vocalists (Schoenherz, Buchstab & Hauenstein). All lyrics, music and arrangements are by Rigoni and Schoenherz. The story of Victor, who wants to be a flying man in the Circus, but whose "father said to him seriously, "you'll become a clown like me,"" is actually quite moving, in spite of its sometimes bizarre situations. The music has to be heard to be believed: there are rock songs and rock instrumental pieces, alternating with long, fully orchestrated passages of, what I can only describe as, classical music. The vocals range somewhere between Eric Stewart (10CC) and the gruffness of Rick Davies (Supertramp). Surely, here is a legitimate successor to Genesis' "The Lamb ..." and precursor to Pink Floyd's "The Wall" and the many similar biographical (and some autobiographical) musical epics that followed and continue to follow. The digital mastering helps (it was partly recorded at Abbey Road) but there are patches where the sound quality has aged on the tape somewhat. Still, this is a minor gripe for having the opportunity to enjoy this amazing piece on CD. The first three sections all move along strongly and it only begins to flag in the last section, with Victor's wanderings hither and thither across the face of the world (it's 75 mins. on one CD). The CD booklet (Bellaphon release) contains complete lyrics and the beautiful paintings of Karl Strnad. Overall, a must for fans of huge sounding symphonic rock! A unique piece in many ways.
Saga: Generation 13 - Rating: **1/2
There are lots of fans of this album, so I feel it's fair to write this. To me, G13 has plenty of style and not a lot of substance: it made a big initial impression then, in many ways, failed to reward repeated listenings. Mostly, it just seems to be too broad and overproduced. Though the level of musical and conceptual aspiration is admirable, the execution is often indulgent, irritating and sometimes, just downright nasty. Attempting to draw us into the analogous Generation X lead character, the writing at the same time maintains its distance, preventing any real connection, and ultimately proving merciless. There are grand themes to be explored here, but too much distraction. Of course, Saga are great musicians and there are passages that show what they are capable of: it's great to see them moving forward, while at the same time being willing to utilise a full-on symphonic approach (including full orchestra in places). However, it's a pity that it falls so far short of its aims. The additional character voices might have been a good idea, though again they fail to connect with the material, often impede the flow of the music and, particularly in the case of Sam, just get annoying. The music does shift often enough and is well arranged, though I could do without that chunka-chunka, no thirds, metal guitar phrase that crops up too often. There are some clever conceptual ideas (the Gen. X/Cross symbolism) but in general the lyrics aren't strong. For an example of a comparable project that works better, see Tale Music Group's recent "Elysium Fields."
Sneddon, Greg: Mind Stroll - Rating: ****
From 1975 comes this short (30 minute) Australian work, an interesting art/symphonic rock suite, built around keyboard (predominantly piano) based songs and instrumental pieces. Sneddon has had the good sense to balance his own vocals with those of Dayle Alison (particularly on the fine single "Take It Slow and Easy," and also by featuring long instrumental interludes, including some lead guitar. In places it gets a bit indulgent, but there is a pleasant, gentle, late night feeling to the whole thing, with plenty of style and timing changes, ranging from classical to jazz to rock. The drummer is the excellent Jerry Speiser (later of Men at Work fame, where he worked alongside fellow former progger, John Rees, bassist of Chetarca). The Japanese bootleg label, "Poor House," has issued a strange CD version, that sounds as if taken from the LP, with some harshness in the top end, featuring an odd shiny photographed slip-case cover (missing the back cover photograph): this is a sure sign that Mushroom should be issuing it on CD now! With their "Mid-Price Masters" series (which started around 1996, I think) they have already issued such Australian progressivish classics as Madder Lake's "Stillpoint," so there's some hope. There were quite a number of other Sneddon compositions recorded and some of these would make good bonus tracks for a proper CD release.
Tale Music Group: Elysium Fields - Rating: ****
While not a concept that I find particularly attractive (the dreams of a dying man), this album is pleasant and interesting listening, with lots to recommend it. The songs ultimately stand strongly on their own, but connect nicely, giving us a compelling musical journey that sticks to its direction (thankfully with no narration!) and is just the right length. Both Michael Stodart, the keyboard player, and Rob Granville, the guitarist, are competent lead vocalists, bringing to life various characters, and there is one nicely featured, appropriate, female lead vocal. Some songs do contain a full orchestra, integrated into the overall sound, with some elements that recall The Alan Parsons Project (is that a musical reference to "Tales" that I hear on the opening track?) and Supertramp (particularly the vocal style), though this is kept fairly subtle. The music is most often piano based, but there are plenty of excellent lead guitar passages, as well as several perfectly suited saxophone solos. A commendable project and I hope there will be plenty more from Tale.
Tamam Shud: Permanent Culture - Rating: ****
Early this year (1999), Colin Hay (of Men at Work) jokingly remarked that other Australian bands, such as Tamam Shud and Kahvas Jute, should reform. Well, Tamam Shud already had, powering back in 1994 (consisting of four original members) with this hefty guitar rock gem. Tamam Shud earned their reputation (and a place here) in the early seventies with two progressive classics (as yet unreleased on CD), "Evolution" and the ecologically themed "Goolutionites and the Real People." "Permanent Culture" is different to these, rather representing the finest Australian, straight-ahead, hard pub rock . The openers are a trio of excellent, commercial rockers, "Why Do I Love You?" (featuring dreamy girl backing vocals that recall their surfing youth), "Stay" with its brilliant slide guitar (akin to Pink Floyd's "One of These Days" but contained in a song) and one of Tim Gaze's two feature spots on lead vocals, the moving "Shakin' Out the Stones" (built around a nifty 6/8 hook). Lindsey Bjerre's always engaging, gruff lead vocals are otherwise upfront and the rest of the songs work similar guitar rock territory. The two CDsingles ("Stay" and "Shakin'") released around the same time contain other non-album songs for completists (though TS completists are on a difficult quest). A little of The Shud's early style can be found on the soundtrack to the surf movie, "Morning of the Earth" (three tracks) and "Golden Miles: Australian Progressive Rock, 1969-1974" (one track, the single "Lady Sunshine"): both are readily available on CD. Time that the early masterpieces were released on CD!
Toy Matinee: Toy Matinee - Rating: ****
As the review of Kevin Gilbert's recent solo album, "thud," mentioned Toy Matinee, it seemed appropriate to review them here. Toy Matinee are not progressive in any traditional sense, though Gilbert himself definitely was a modern crusader for the cause, most recognisably in his fronting of live performances of Genesis "The Lamb..." and his Magna Carta contributions. However, the Toy Matinee album is a wonderful display of the fertile potential of pop/rock at the beginning of the 90s, one that sadly didn't seem to find the wider audience it so richly deserved. Kevin Gilbert, formerly of Giraffe, teamed up here with Pat Leonard, most famous for his collaborations with Madonna, and the results are dynamic, witty and beautifully produced. The expression in Gilbert's vocals is often moving, accompanied by keyboard and guitar-based rock music, with definitive contributions from all the musicians: Brian MacLeod (drums), Guy Pratt (bass) and Tim Pierce (guitar), and producer Brian Bottrell. The subject matter is diverse and interesting, never dealing with the issues it addresses in a single way, and often full of irony. Musically, these songs are densely textured and well produced studio rock. Some nice touches are the flourishes of acoustic guitar ("Last Plane Out"), drawn out introductions (ie: "The Ballad of Jenny Ledge") and even a clarinet section ("Turn It On Salvador"). Gilbert's artistic development progressed steadily, through his Giraffe albums, TM and "thud." The latter is his most progressive solo project to date (though still very much a rock album), but there is apparently at least one more work, his rock musical, "The Shaming of the True," to be released posthumously. Pat Leonard continued the Toy Matinee concept with Richard Page (Pages, Mr. Mister), producing 3rd Matinee's "Meanwhile." Apparently, Gilbert subsequently performed many of the songs live with a band that also featured Mike Keneally. He also made invaluable contributions to the work of other artists, arguably at some cost to his solo career. The Toy Matinee album stands as a diverting and clever album that deserves to be remembered. Currently, it's out of print as a normal CD, but a DTS (Surround Sound) version is now available.
Wayne, Jeff: Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of Spartacus - Rating: *
A new, long concept piece from Jeff Wayne sounded promising. So much wasted talent! Including great and diverse artists, such as actors Anthony Hopkins and Catherine Zeta Jones, vocalists Fish, Alan King and Chris Thompson (to name but a few) it's hard to make excuses, but the blame for the awfulness of this album as a whole must lie with Jeff Wayne himself. Wayne seems to have capitalised on all the (fairly minor) weaknesses of his previous epic, The War of the Worlds, whilst utterly eliminating any of its strengths. The music is generally thin and repetitive, the lyrics, by Osborne and Cassidy, uninspired (anything rhyming "together" and "forever" is pretty pedestrian) and the vast majority of the narrative is given to the two, very overworked spoken parts. The choice of this merciless story for such a musical rendering, with its one way plod into ultimate doom, seems questionable anyway, but all the synthesised music (and the absence of real orchestration) is both anachronistic and inappropriate to a repellent degree. There are promising moments here and there, but the long (110 mins.), laboured whole of this work is so relentlessly awful as to discourage any but the most resilient from repeated listenings. A pity that this had to come from the creator of the marvellous War of the Worlds. It's terrible, horrible and not very good. Avoid!
Werwolf: Creation - Rating: ***1/2
Musically strong and well recorded, Werwolf have plenty of variety in their sound, often including classical acoustic guitar and folkish vocal harmonies, along with the usual progressive rock lineup (keyboard washes and analog solos, prominent electric guitars, bass and drums). The themes are generally ecological, in keeping with the time (1984), including the odd Biblical metaphor (Paradise and Creation). Unfortunately, the lyrics range from fine to downright laughable ("Journey to the Land of Flying Pigs"), with some ideas that just don't work in execution. However, the best songs do work well (this is English as a second language, after all) and both the female and male lead vocals are assured, working nicely with the instrumentation. There are also a couple of strong instrumental tracks, combining progressive elements with a musical directness that is admirable. The cover artwork is pretty, showing a typical fantasy progscape. Somewhere between early Camel and late Renaissance, though really a different beast again.
Wyatt, Robert: Shleep - Rating: ****
A jazzy, wistful, rambling treat of an album, built around the keyboards (primarily pianos), percussion, trumpets, bass and distinctively personable, fragile, English vocals of Robert Wyatt. This song-oriented album flows together naturally, conjuring up dreamy visions of birds, sleep/insomnia and the British seaside. Alfrede Benge's excellent lyrics and artwork complete the concept, with the beautiful cover paintings connected directly to the songs themselves. Recorded in Phil Manzanera's studio, other guests include Brian Eno, saxophonist Evan Parker and Paul Weller. The lyrics are of a consistently personal nature, with an amusing outlook. Many of the songs are wonderfully evocative (ie: "Maryan" and "A Sunday in Madrid"), with the sweetly melodic "Free Will And Testament" being perfectly realized. The quirkiness mostly works (exactly right on the jaunty opener, "Heaps of Sheep"), though not always: a few songs have individually strong elements that don't click (ie: "The Duchness"). Still, the roughness is part of the charm (though the overall sound is lush and well produced). Weller is most prominent on the Dylan inspired ("Subterranean Homesick Blues") "Blues in Bob Minor." An unexpected contemporary gift from the Canterbury master.
Note: All reviews are © Copyright Ian C. Thomas, 1999-2001.
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