| Bellaphon play a melodic instrumental prog combining elements of CAMEL with their own unique lush yet slightly daring atmospheres. Bellaphon combine all the right elements for me with great atmospheric keyboards, excellent percussion, wicked guitar which although highly technical never gets too loud. Bellaphon also features Masahiro Torigaki from Ain Soph who plays some luscious bass guitar. Songs are exceptionally well crafted and played with superb musicianship. Without a question Firefly is one of the pinnacle albums from Japan's golden age of Progressive Rock and is an essential album for your collection. A wonderful listen
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| Every Good Boy Deserves Favour marks the 6th album by the Mood'sters and also represents a shift from the mellotron to the moog drenched atmospheres. EGBDF is a wonderfully balanced album with some progressive moments, some higher energy pieces and even some softer ballads. What I have always found amazing is their discreet use of scales throughout the album which are built into the songs (EGBDF- piano and guitar tuning notes). Highly inspirational album full of grandeur and beauty. | |||
| I believe Tago Mago was Can's 4th official album released, which was originally a double album set and I am told was actually a soundtrack written for some cheesie 70's B - movie. Fans of BrainTicket and Amon Duul II will love this album to death, as it combines experimental gadgetry with space and psychedelic imagery and soundscapes. Led by the creative mind of Holger Czukay, Tago Mago would certainly rank as one of most original "headmusic" albums of all time. This album ranges from droned-out minimalistic moments to the most wonderful exploratory interludes. Lead Vocalist Damo Suzuki must suffer from schizophrenia as he too sings in many styles from soft controlled almost meditative in nature to screeching psychedlia. To many I suppose this album will sound a wee bit dated, but for me it is a wonderful and highly experimental avant garde piece of German progressive rock. | |||
| Superbly crafted underground German symphonic prog rock band in the vein of mid period ELOY. Produced once again by Conny Plank who was responsible for so many great bands/albums (Grobschnitt, Jane, Agitation Free....). This is really a nice deal as 2 albums have been put on 1 CD and both are great: La Layla (1976) and Eternity Rise (1978). Filled with loads of warm analog keyboards which Ramses use to help sustain their heavy spaced out jams. Vocals are sung in english and a very well done and suited to the music (Herbert Natho). Songs are well written and performed with great instrumental dexterity. These albums have been wonderfully transfered onto CD and sound actually quite fresh & clear. I do not understand why these albums have not received more attention in the prog circles to be honest but still in my opinion this is an essential bit of Germany's Progressive Rock discography.
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| Second studio release from Spock's Beard which is in my opinion is another superb album. I remember listening to this album when it was first released and being so amazed...even after being so pleasantly shell shocked by the previous release "The Light". Once again the lads here kick up some wonderful and highly energetic songs played with high precision and passion. On this album new member Ryo Okumoto adds his hammond and mellorton skills to this already so talented band. Once again Neal Morse has written most of the material and therefore carries all of the classic "Beard'isms" you would expect. Title song is a George Harrison number which Spock's Beard has done a magnificient job in re-structuring. On the Beard "Official Live Bootleg" they first introduced us to a fantastic number "Thoughts" (an ode to Gentle Giant) which appears on "Beware Of Darkenss" and is a highlight for me. Vocals are excellent with loads of syncopation and harmony. Songs vary in length from the 5 minute format to a 16 minute number "Time Has Come". Sensational music for your mind and absolutely essential music
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| Brilliant new instrumental Brazilian progressive rock which is simply to die for. Vesania are a four piece classic electric quartet (Guitars, bass, drums and keyboards) who play a controlled yet quite aggressive form of progressive rock. Songs are exceptionally well constructed with some tremendous tempo and atmospheric temperature changes. Vesania play a deeply energetic and complex prog with simply breathtaking musical moments. Their music is highly original making this one of those albums where you just simply can not put down. This could easily be my pick for one of the best album of the year! An essential swing | |||
| Pulled this gem off the shelf to re-discover is grandeur and realized that this should have been put on the website with a review long ago….. Jadis then were a four piece electric quartet with Martin Orford (IQ) on keyboards, Steve Christey on the drums, John Jowitt on the bass and the amazing Gary Chandler on guitars and vocals. I remember giving a copy of this album to my brother several years ago (long time guitar player himself) and hearing his unbelievably positive comments after hearing this album. "More Than Meets The Eye" is one of those albums where everything clicked and in my opinion stands out above all the rest. Songs are incredibly delicious and offer great tempo and energy shifts with some high progressive rock twists and curls. Steve Christey's drumming is simply killer and has a extremely high level of competency…I would rank him as one of the best drummers about these days…Gary Chandler's guitar playing is stunning really! He plays with extreme dexterity and high emotion…Martin Orford adds his symphonic and lush keyboard atmospheres…and finally, my friend ,John Jowitt's and his precise bass jabbing (as he does so well). Another highlight for me is Chandler's use of harmony and this guy really has a nice voice……Fans of IQ and RUSH take note this is simply stellar progressive rock with a twinge of each aforementioned bands and a nice injection of originality throughout. For those who may be a bit jittery about them sounding too Neo-Proggish for your liking, let me dispel of your anxiety….Jadis play a wonderful and warm style of contemporary progressive rock without the plastic shrink wrap…..Get it | |||
| Without a question, Locanda delle Fate were one of Italy's richest sounding progressive rock bands of all time. Apparently this recording which has been released by Mellow Records was taken originally from a radio broadcast during their "Phonogram....Mania" tour. Sound reproduction is not pure digital and does show its age a bit, but regardless this is just simply a magical recording. Featured here are many of the tracks from their stellar debut album "Forse Le Lucciole Non Si Amani Piu" and one unreleased track. If you are a big fan than this recording is essential. | |||
| Excellent atmospheric German space rock with some pretty trippy interludes. A very young and talent Michael Hoenig (Later with Tangerine Dream) plays a wonderful array of keyboards which when combined with the acid washed guitar solos takes your mind into another world. This music is not for the novice and should not be taken on an empty stomach! Agitation Free a very similar to Ash Ra Temple in many ways bringing perhaps a more cultural feel forward in their music. I love the insturmental excursions on this album and find it a great recording to lay back and listen to. "2nd" never gets too loud or frenzied and always seems to maintain a dark, but warm atmosphere. Lutz Ulbrich also joins on guitar better known for his later work in ASHRA. On the back sleeve we are told that THIS RECORD SHOULD BE PLAYED LOUD and I would 2nd that notion. Spacey but absolutely brilliant recording....essential
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| 4 CD Box set from Mellow records devoted to recounting the wonderful 1970's Italian progressive rock scene….my personal favorite of all time…. For those who turn your nose up at tribute albums in general may want to not read on…for the remainder you let me just say that this is a truly amazing and very comprehensive box set with some great musical allusion and colorful packaging. Bands covered include PFM, Pierrot Lunaire, New Trolls, Le Orme, Museo Rosenbach, Nomadi, Balletto di Bronzo, Banco, Osanna, Locanda delle Fate, Celeste, Acqua Fragile, Area, New Trolls, Quella Vecchia Locanda, Goblin and many more. Although several key 70's Ital-Prog band are disappointingly not referenced here (ie. Rovescio della Medaglia, Il Volo, Semiramis & Latte e Miele) it remains still in my eyes a thorough representation of this influential and highly creative era. Highlights are honestly far too vast to cover here but some tasty contributions I need to mention are made by : Mad Crayon's symphonic cover of Pierrot Lunaire's "Sotto I Ponti", Finisterre's unbelievable live version of PFM's "Alta Loma Five Till Nine", Fonya (USA) and his powerful medley, A Piedi Nudi's eye opening cover of Le Orme's "Era Inverno", 3Vel's jazz interpretation of Il Baricentro's "Trusciant", Beggar's Farm's rich vocal acapella-like cover of PFM's "Dove…Quando" and even Ars Nova's (Japan) Crimson-like interpretation of Il Balletto Di Bronzo's "Epilogo". Some bands have really had some creative fun with the music presented here and have manipulated and have actually re-presented the material with variations on the original themes and ideas. After all I think this is a much more progressive way to approach tribute albums! As mentioned above the packaging is quite exceptional with all 4 CD's bound in a hard cover with a lovely 40 page book covering the contents and philosophy of the box set. Of course the original versions are always the authentic gems, but if you are a true lover of 70's era Italian prog rock then this collaboration in tribute is a wonderful prized and welcome possession. In a world where so called "Prog-Experts" write book recounting the progressive rock genre and erroneously fail to make mention of the Italian scene, then it is a true relief and a testimonial to remind us all of how significant and rich the 70's Italian Progressive Rock scene really was.
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| Jason Pierce and Spiritualized have always been a breed on their own: notorious studio perfectionists with a contradictory reputation for the love of space travel. With this two-disc souvenir, their live concert abilities are finally documented for posterity. Performing with an extended family including horns, strings, and a full choir, Spiritualized churns through 15 tracks in 95 minutes, sweeping from intimate whispers to startling firestorms of distorted noise. The album draws material from their repetoire emphasizing "Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space", 2 songs each from "Pure Phase" and "Lazer Guided Melodies", the traditional "Oh Happy Day" and a highly adrenalized version of Pierce's signature tune, "Walking with Jesus" (originally recorded by The Spacemen 3). A great album full of strangeness and progressive tendencies. | |||
| Evoking memories of Polish band "Collage", Annalist play a symphonic prog with some tasty melodies and instrumentation. This album is really split in two with 50% of the lyrics being sung in English and the remainder in Polish. Aside from the rather uninspiring lyrics the singing is very well done (Robert Srzednicki) who actually reminds me at times of the voices of Barclay James Harvest. Musically Annalist play a lighter neo prog style of music with great keyboard runs and excellent guitar, bass and drum interplay. Highlight clearly for me is the song "Eclipse" which has a wonderful and dark bite to it exposing some grand instrumental work.
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| Wonderful acoustic folkie-psychedlia which I still find hard to believe was a product of the late '90's. "Tune In. Turn On, Free Tibet" can be best described as mixing the acoustically psychy elements of early Pink Floyd with the illumination of CAN delivering truly a mind bending journey. Although the acoustic guitar is the dominant instrument featured on this album, Ghost also compliment it with a wonderful array of other instrumentation including the cello, kaval, mellotron, hurdy gurdy, tambura, recorder, timpani, vibes, and concert bass drum. Overall this is a highly psychedelic experience and a quirky little album which has a overall warmth and charm.
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| Manuel Gottsching's second incarnation with a heavier emphasis on electronics than that of Ash Ra Temple. Overall more processed sounding than Ash Ra Temple and more melodic while still maintaining his patented hypnotic trance-like atmospheres. Combined with the percussive talents of Harold Grosskopf, the keyboard touch of Lutz Ulbrich Gottsching's guitar riffs will keep you knee deep into this album. I love some of the space grooves they get into on this album and think this is an excellent and highly original yet accessible instrumental album. | |||
| Finnish progsters bringing shades of Marillion, Iluvatar and Rush to life with excellent musicianship. After reading so many mediocre reviews regarding their debut album I had very low expectations going into this one, but it always pays to have an open mind. Imageness is a neoprog album with swirling keyboards and excellent guitar, bass and drum interplay. At times they get out of the Prog musical formula and tend towards a more straight forward rock 'n roll sound which still seems to work quite well. Songs are well written and are played with great energy and feeling. "Sequels" is an epic track (26 Mins) and is a fine listen offering a multitude of theme and mood changes throughout. Lead vocalist Tommy Eriksson sings in a similar style to that of Geddy Lee (Rush) or Glenn McLaughlin (Iluvatar) maintaining a fairly high pitch in his delivery. Many folks have criticized Eriksson's vocals but to be honest I kind of like them …..seems to fit the music. Overall I think Imageness is a grand album full of progressive roots | |||
| Recorded live from within the Hippie Drome back in 1973, this album documents one of Germany's most obscure and progressive bands. Lead by the warped and psychy vocals of Renate Knaup and double guitar inteplay of Chris Karrer and John Weinzierl, "Live in London" will certainly change your current disposition. Highly experimental music with a certain flare and charm that could only be pulled off by Amon Düül. "Live in London" explores some pretty dark and psychy corners of your mind with sound effects, loads of warbled and distorted guitars, keyboards and bass and drum interplay. Chris Karrer also lends some sax and violin to help aid the psychy live infestations. Although absolutely trippy mind numbing stuff, I love it to death and just wish I was there to have seen this live. A great live album with some lovely improvisation and a definite trip into the depths of your mind.
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| Although "Epsilon" is still one of my personal alltime favorites and in my opinion one of the pinnacle electronic albums of our time, Aqua carries its own depths and is anything but wet! One of the unique aspects of Aqua is the unusual recording technology used (Artificial Head System) making this really an ultimate Headphone experience. Froese creates the most surreal and lush electronics atmospheres you could imagine. Aqua is filled with some tasty sound effects and I have always been amazed at the real warmth Froese creates on this album. A great album for those evenings when your only friend is your cat and multi-purpose lava lamp. Essential space journey | |||
| In sharp contrast to their later free form jazz-prog influenced music, it is this quirky little psychy debut album which has been a household favourite here. Rich in the psychedelic tradition, JPP is centered around Mike Ratledge's acid washed organ sounds which is ornately wrapped in a wall of wonderful psychy guitar and drum interplay. Vocals are sung by Kevin Ayers who accents this album quite well with his raspy yet emotional style. Songs are generally of a shorter length and in fact the whole album also ends far too quickly. A tasty little progressive rock gem with heavy psychedelic tendencies ....A pick of mine | |||
| If you have seen these guys live then you know exactly what to expect here. Recorded live in concert from the magical Progfest May '99 show in San Francisco at the Palace Of Fine Arts. With all considerations of technical problems they had, these guys were on this evening! Songs covered are mostly from the album "Stupid Dream" with even a few surprises tossed in including a 12 minute version of Voyage 34 (sorry not the full version) and The Sky Moves Sideways. Sound reproduction is actually quite good considering the source and would rank as one of the most clear and full sounding boots I have heard from a "non-soundboard" recording. This tour was truely magical and this recording tries very hard to let me re-live those moments. | |||
| Magical album with some real personality and fantastic musicianship featuring guests, Jode Leigh (Ex-England) on the drums, Par Lindh on the keyboards (Mellotron, Hammond, church organ…) and Roine Stolt on the acoustic and electric guitars. Songs featured on this album date back to 1984 when both Ingemar Hjertqvist and Per Sundbom they originally crafted these tunes which have now been re-recorded with this new band. Lead vocals are handled by lead singer Ingemar Hjertqvist who sings effortlessly in English with great conviction and control. Fool's Journey is a wild contrast of styles and influences ranging from dark symphonic moments to lighter and almost animated melodies. Try to almost imagine a cross of the Talking Heads and The FlowerKings and your starting to get the idea. Along the way we are treated to some great lead guitar solos and massive keyboard passages with great bass and drum interplay. This album was recorded in Par Lindh's Crimsonic Studio and offers great sound reproduction with solid speaker distinction. Warning this is highly clever music and once you hear this record you likely will need to buy it! Now you have been warned! | |||
| Rousseau's debut album is an absolute stunning piece of classic progressive rock. Without a question, Rousseau's music draws heavily on the work of CAMEL but is not simply an imitation. Rousseau blends intoxicating symphonic keyboard & flute passages with gentle melodies and some highly crafted musicianship. Rousseau were formed back in 1978 and "Flower In Asphalt" represents their debut release which was totally instrumental (vocals were pursued in their later music). "Flower In Asphalt" evokes images of romanticism and nostalgia throughout and creates some simply beautiful musical moments. A pure instrumental album with great charm and soft emotion.
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| Go-Un is a product of the new and reincarnated Bi Kyo Ran and is nothing short of Brilliant from my perspective. This time around although the King Crimson jam parallels are definitely present (aka the Fripp-like guitar playing of Junio Suma), "Go-Un" is wildly contrasted with Jazz trumpets and alto / baritone saxes, piano and loads of percussive / timpanic instrumentation, clearly creating a wonderful and unique sound experience. "Go-Un" unfolds with many different themes and moods and although is mostly instrumental, does spotlight some vocals which are performed with great delivery. On previous Bi Kyo Ran albums I think it is harder to pick out the Japanese musical influences which are brought out slightly more on "Go-Un". Overall a tasty and highly original album with a nice variety of soundcapes which I would highly recommend as a great discovery. | |||
