Various Artists
Schizoid Dimension: A Tribute to King Crimson
Purple Pyramid
1997
Manifest Discs and Tapes, Charleston, SC

     Tribute albums seem to almost always be a disappointment. Whether one wants to hear faithful renditions or total reworkings of their favorite songs, tribute albums by nature are unlikely to really please anyone. The recent batch of tribute albums honoring Yes, Genesis, Rush and Pink Floyd on the Magna Carta label seem to have left an especially bad taste in almost everyone's mouth, so this album may have entered the market with several strikes against it. Let me assure you, however, this album is a little more respectable. After all, it is King Crimson we're talking about here.
     As can be expected, there are some really good tracks on here and some real stinkers. The best seem come from the more well-known bands. There are two tracks by Brand X. The "west" incarnation of the band (whatever that means) does a nice, but relatively similar rendition of "Red." The "east" incarnation gets a little more daring in their song choice and performance with "Neal and Jack and Me," replacing the intricate guitar parts with percussive keyboard sounds. Controlled Bleeding does a rocking rendition of "Talking Drum," complete with a searing guitar solo. David Cross, ex-Crimson violinist, joins up with his old bandmate John Wetton to create a splendid remake of "Exiles." This is my favorite track on the album. It's quite a bit different from the original in its inclusion of modern keyboards and several blistering, emotional electronic violin solos. This has always been a beautiful song, but Cross' interpretation shows it in a whole new symphonic light which I really enjoy. This track alone is worth the price of the album. The most original interperetation is Astralasia's bizzare techno reworking of "I Talk to the Wind." I can't say I really like this style of music very well, but Astralasia comes up with some of the weirdest and most complicated electronic percussion I have ever heard, thus taking this style to a whole new level.
     Unfortunately there are several tracks which suffer badly from muddy, distorted mixes and rather unimaginative interpretation. Among these casualties are Spirits Burning's "Red," and Pressurehaed's "21st Century Schizoid Man," which leaves out the challenging, jazzy section in the middle, leaving nothing but a hard rock guitar riff to which Beavis and Butthead would be perfectly comfortable head-banging.
     Somewhere in between are the fairly safe, but well-played "A Sailor's Tale" by Alien Planetscapes and the ultra faithful, lovingly recreated "In the Wake of Poseidon" by Solid Space, complete with Mellotrons and a Greg Lake sound-alike.
     If you're a pretty big fan of King Crimson you'll probably get some mileage out of this disc. You won't wear it out, but it won't collect as much dust as Tales from Yesterday either.
     

Premiata Forneria Marconi
The World Became the World
BMG Ricordi
1974 (Reissued 1997)
Manifest Discs and Tapes, Wilmington, NC

     Fans of Premiata Forneria Marconi (PFM), Italy's most famous progressive rock export, have had much to be happy about in the last year or so. The band has reformed, released a new album called Ulisse (of marginal interest to proggers), released a live box set, and several web sites and even an active internet mailing list (see links page) have popped up out of nowhere recently. In my opinion, however, the most exciting news was the CD reissue of my favorite PFM album, The World Became the World.
     This is the 1974 English-language version of L'Isola di Niente. It was my first introduction to what was then the vast, unknown world of continental European prog when I bought a tattered copy of the LP a few years ago. That well-worn and often played record gradually became one of my favorite albums of all time. Finally having it on CD is certainly worthy of "celebration".
     There is much debate on whether the English or Italian versions of PFM's albums are better. There are merits to both sides of the argument, but I must confess I like the English ones better, not because the lyrics are in English (Franco Mussida's thickly accented vocals are unintelligible either way), but for Pete Sinfield's (of King Crimson) wonderful remixing job. Both The World Became the World and Photos of Ghosts have fuller, richer sound characterized by an extra layer of Mellotron and more up-front vocals. The difference between The World. . . and L'Isola. . . is not as great as that of Photos of Ghosts and Per Un Amico, but the difference is there.
     My favorite PFM song by far is "Four Holes in the Ground." It is a simultaneously fast, complex, yet uhdeniably happy song filled with melodic lyricism which is unmistakably Italian. The song strikes what is perhaps the perfect balance between instrumental virtuosity and fun, memorable melodies. It is loaded with changes and the band, especially guitarist Mussida and keyboardist Flavio Premoli, get to show off their chops quite a bit without seeming like they are needlessly showing off. The title track is a great, melodramatic piece which is quite evocative of King Crimson's "Epitaph." It's rich Mellotron backdrop and Moog solos should prove irresistible to any analog synth freak. "Have Your Cake and Beat It" is an instrumental which starts out softly with a bass solo, but quickly becomes a rocker with a rather demented violin solo. Then it shifts to a jazzy mode, rocks out again and finishes off with a big, melodramatic organ and vocal melody.
     Throughout the entire album PFM shows the obvious influence of their English progressive rock counterparts, but they mix in a uniquely italian way of doing things (Where else will you hear an accordian solo in a rock song?) which set the pace for literally hundreds of great Italian progressive bands.
     If you haven't yet delved into the huge selection of great Italian progressive rock albums, start here.

Asia Minor
Crossing The Line
Musea
1979
Manifest Discs and Tapes, Columbia, SC

     One of the many fantastic, obscure European progressive bands to be unearthed and made available to the prog-buying public by the French label Musea is Asia Minor, who only released two very small-time albums in the late '70s. This Turkish/French band created some great symphonic progressive rock tinged vith a subtle, unique middle-eastern twist which helps guarantee their singular niche in the world of progressive rock.
     This is the first of Asia Minor's two albums and from what I have heard of the second one, this one is a little simpler but maybe more original. Crossing the Line is characterized by its clever displays of different textures and tonalities. Genesis-like guitar arpeggios and light, melodic, yet fuzzy solos combined with rough, breathy flute playing create a melancholy, dreamy atmosphere which is also achieved throught the use of chorus, phasing and other effects. The instrumentation is usually quite sparse, but cleverly arranged. There is a little keyboard now and then, but it is never takes the center stage. Seven of the nine tracks contain very, very thickly accented English or Turkish vocals, but they are usually short, unobtrusive and embedded in several minutes of instrumental passages.
     Occasionally the band breaks from the dreamy, melodic land scape and employs some heavier, faster group phrasing in asymmetrical time signatures, allowing most of the tracks to be quite composionally episodic and dynamic. Overall this adds up to quite a pleasant listen, but it does seem to suffer slightly from the same ailment as Änglagård's Epilog in that it is excellent, original music, but it can be very difficult to pay close attention to throughout the length of the whole album. Maybe this is more a fault of the listener than the muisc, however.
     It's very hard to think of any band Asia Minor resembles. Aside from some very slight Genesisisms and the Ian Andersonish flute technique (probably coincidental and coupled with a completely different melodic sensibility), Asia Minor are pretty much in a class by themselves. Adventurous proggers know that's a good sign and that it's reason enough to check them out.

Absolute Zero
A Live in the Basement
1990
Promo From the Band

     If anybody out there actually bought Darling at my recommendation, you might also want to check out Absolute Zero. Like Darling, this band is another example of American progressive musicians making their best efforts to persevere despite an unwelcome musical climate. Absolute Zero have actually been around in some form or another since 1975, yet it was 1990 before they released A Live in the Basement, this two-song "single." I say "single" because it is almost 20 minutes long!
     Aside form Absolute Zero's history of perseverence, there are other similarities to Darling. This is some pretty unusual and complicated stuff on this disc. It's loaded with changes in time, and tempo and features a largely electronic-sounding atmosphere. Unlike Darling, however, there is quite an emphasis on vocals. They are provided by keyboardist Aislinn Quinn, whose vocal style is quite similar to that of many female R.I.O. vocalists. She sings and plays some pretty odd melodies and to make things even harder to swallow, her voice is usually drenched in some bizarre effects a la Frank Zappa.
     Enrique Jardines and Paul Roger provide some great bass and drum work respectively. These guys are experienced and talented musicians who know their way around odd times and wacked-out rhythms.
     When I first heard this CD I was afraid I'd never be able to get into it due to its extremely avant garde nature, but as I've found many times, the hardest music to get into at first is often the most rewarding in the long run. I'm starting to genuinely like this stuff now and I hope to like it even more in the future.
     If you like your music really progressive and with a dose of social commentary, along the lines of Henry Cow, 5UUs and Frank Zappa, you'll probably love this CD and you'll want to keep your eye open for their next release, which is in the works. Give Absolute Zero a chance and send them your five bucks.

The cost of the CD is $5.00 plus shipping. (Usually about $2.00 in the US)

Contact information:
Absolute Zero
P.O. Box 144737
Coral Gables, Florida 33114
Tel. (305)626-3865
E-mail. absozero@netrunner.net
Visit Absolute Zero's web site.

Bi Kyo Ran
Fairy Tale: Early Live, Volume 1
Belle Antique
1987
The Record Collection of Jason Ellerbee (Wayside Music)

     Writing this review may not really be fair since this album is long out of print. I have the pleasure of being able to review it only because a friend of mine bought it from Wayside Music recently when they uncovered a batch of these 10-year-old LPs and put them up for sale. For those of you who are curious or gluttons for punishment, read on.      For a while now, I have been hearing about Bi Kyo Ran and how similar their music is to that of King Crimson. I have heard some of their more recent music and, while it is very good, the King Crimson connnection did not seem that strong to me.Fairy Tale, however, recorded live in the late 1970s, proves that this Japanese band was once frighteningly similar to The Mighty KC.
     Fairy Tale opens with "Chaos," a creepy instrumental which easily sounds like one of the many improvs found on the Great Deceiver box set. (Of course if it really was, it would have been given a name like "Carless & High on Crack" or something like that.) Everything is here -- nasty fuzz-wah bass, rim shots, wood blocks and other Brufordisms, dense, ominous and dissonant Mellotron, and above all else, the most impressive imitation Fripp guitar ever. This guy has all of Fripp's '72-'74 guitar sounds and techniques down from the laser beam solo made famous in "Prince Rupert's Lament" to the angular, mind-bogglingly complex crosspicking of "Fracture."
     While much of the album evokes the dark, improvisational landscape of 1972-'74 Crimson, a couple of the tracks exhibit a more symphonic, pretty approach. Both "Fairy Tale" and "Unfinished Quartet" show a bit of a Gentle Giant influence in the use of recorders and complex, multi-part vocal harmonies.
     Anyone who is strongly opposed to one band being very derivative of another would not care for this album. Audiophile types would also balk at this album's bootleg sound quality, but if you're an incurable Crimhead or a die-hard Bi Kyo Ran fan, you would surely get a kick out of this -- if you could find it.

Present
Triskaidekaphobie/Le Poison Qui Rend Fou
1979/1985
Cuneiform
Roots Records, Carboro, NC

     I bought a lot of CDs in 1997. One of the best was this amazing two-on-one package by Present. There is so much complicated, intricate music on here that I still haven't managed to completely digest it all in the four months since I bought the CD on one particularly fruitful Saturday record shopping spree. (If you're ever in the Carboro/Chapel Hill area of North Carolina you simply must visit Roots Records. They had an actual prog rock section which was packed with Cuneiform CDs among other seldom-seen-in-stores treasures!)
     Present was formed by Univers Zero guitarist Roger Trigaux after helping to record the band's first two, definitive albums, 1313 and Heresie. From Present's music it appears he left UZ because he wanted to play more of a lead role in a band which had room for more rock-oriented guitar playing. That is not to say Present is a commercial sounding band, however. Present is just about as avant garde as Univers Zero, but the band operates in less acoustic, less classical-sounding realm.
     Present's music is still very much like Univers Zero, which makes sense because Daniel Denis and Christian Genet lend their fantastic drum and bass playing abilities to this recording. Like UZ, Present makes use of some very intricate and complicated interlocking rhythms and eastern European melodies probably gleaned from 20th century composers like Bartok and Stravinksy. The biggest difference here is that Trigaux gets to step out and show off his wailing guitar solos which sound like Jimi Hendrix playing Robert Fripp's music on Steve Howe's guitar! Indeed, the four-minute guitar solo which finishes off the brilliant 19-minute-long disc opener, "Promenade Au Fond D'un Canal" is full of passion and violence, yet features some pretty weird, angular melodies which could have only come from someone familiar with some pretty high music theory -- or someone who just loves Robert Fripp. I have a feeling Trigaux is a little of both.
     As the disc progresses the music takes on a more mature and varied feel, especially on the second album. The rock platform Trigaux seemd to be after disolves into a pastiche of various musical styles. Pianist Alain Rochette gets to show off some rather jazzy keyboard skills and there is even a smattering of vocals provided by Marie-Anne Polaris on one track (the only vocals on the CD) which are quite operatic. For the most part, however, the music remains true to the episodic, intricatly written rock roots from which it came. Fans of Larks' Tongues in Aspic-era King Crimson, Univers Zero and possibly even Änglagård would love this stuff. I do.
       

Gong
You
1973
Virgin
Slipped Disc, Jacksonville, FL

     Without a doubt, one of the most unusual classic progressive bands of the '70s is Gong. This band's history is at least as convoluted as that of Yes and its members are some of the most enigmatic musicians and personalities in the business. What's important however is the band's music.
     Gong has evolved through several formations and musical styles over the years but the best music to ever come from the band is generally considered to have come from the Radio Gnome Invisible trilogy, a series of concept albums released in 1973 and 1974. The trilogy includes Flying Teapot , Angel's Egg and the band's crowning achievement, You. All three of the trilogy albums feature some great music, but You is the only album of the three which every prog fan absolutely must have. It is as much a standard issue as Yes' Close to the Edgeor Genesis' Foxtrot.
     You completes the Radio Gnome Invisible trilogy as well as the band's involvement in space rock. It is the absolute pinnacle of Gong's space rock era as well as that of space rock itself. You shows the band in its best and most advanced musical form before it slipped into very technical, yet comparatively boring jazz fusion in the late '70s. Unlike fellow explorers of inner space, Hawkwind, Gong featured top-notch musicians like Steve Hillage and Pierre Moerlin who could do more than just apply effects and weird synth noises to a four-chord rock and roll song. Indeed, You finds the band already delving into jazz, but simultaneously at its most spacy and mind-altering.
     The album starts slowly with the short, goofy tunes "Thoughts for Naught" and "A P.H.P.'s Advice." By track three, however, the ride to Planet Gong, begins with a synth whoosh and a low, spacy, Buddhist monk-like droning vocal. The highlight of the album is the instrumental "A Sprinkling of Clouds," which starts with a repetitive Terry Riley-meets-Tangerine Dream synth sequence which slowly evolves into a heavy, Eastern-tinged jam featuring some excellent drumming and culminating in a great saxophone solo. It should be noted here that Gong is one of the few bands I have heard who use horns as well as vibraphone, marimba and other mallet instruments in a fashion I can really enjoy.
     You also features all the infamous Planet Gong characters like the Pot Head Pixies, Zero the Hero and the Octave Doctor, as well as all the other silliness which is used to veil the band's mystical utopian vision. Fortunately this vision is pretty hazy and easy to ignore on this album due to the increased emphasis on instrumental passages. This also allows for much less of Daevid Allen's nasal vocal presence than previous albums. These factors certainly have a hand in making this Gong's best album.
     You is one of the most listenable and listened-to albums in my collection and it will probably find a similar place in your collection if you give it a chance.

Heldon
Interface (Heldon 6)
Cuneiform
1977
Wayside Music

     After a couple of disappointing Heldon purchases I finally found an album I can say I really like out of them with Interface. This album features all the Moogalicious electronic wizardry and Robert Fripp-styled guitar solos Heldon is famous for in a package that's cohesive and relatively easy to digest.
     This album features Francois Auger, Patrick Gauthier (of Magma and Weidorje fame) on keyboards and Mr. Heldon himself, Richard Pinhas on guitar. These three excellent musicians create some very ahead-of-its time music with this 1977 recording. Fast, repetitive Moog sequences, calling to mind (but predating) modern dance/rave music, and weird electronic noises create most of the background on which Pinhas excecutes his anguished guitar solos which virtually scream his apprciation of King Crimson's Robert Fripp.
     Along with Fripp, Magma's and possibly Tangerine Dream's influences may be present, but Heldon brings all these disparate elements together into a completely unique whole.
     The music is intense, heavy and at times extremely repetitive in the good way of which Magma and Univers Zero are good examples. The approximately 20-minute title track is probably the masterpiece on this album, building slowly from a percussive moog and drum riff into an avant-garde frenzy of noisy guitar soloing. The last few seconds of this track finishes off the album on a comical note - a cheesy standard blues /rock & roll riff, a tongue-in-cheek musical throwback to an earlier Heldon album title, It's Always Rock & Roll.
     Nothing sounds quite like Heldon, and this album seems like a good disc with which to start for those not familiar with them.