| Romantically charmed symphonic instrumental progressive masterpiece from the land of the Aztecs. Galie's debut album is a pure dose of unbelievable musicanship and creative songwriting with a beautiful mix of flute, bass, dual acoustic guitars, keyboards and drums. The music of Galie carries a strong classical feel with some scrumptious piano work throughout. Their Music is rich and pure and the magic for me rests in this albums elegant simplicity. For me probably one of the top progressive rock albums to ever come out Mexico. This album finally has found the light of day on CD and a highly collectible first pressing has been issued in a wonderful black denim package with signed copies (1000 pressed only!). | |||
| Post David Greenslade-era Colosseum II were a reincarnated version of Colosseum Mark I but with less blues influences and perhaps more prog leanings. Colosseum II was for many the first introduction of Gary Moore's fine guitar craftsmanship. I will always love the opening of this album which pays a humorous tribute to Pink Floyd with their well crafted "Dark Side Of The Moog" unveiling this bands musical prowess and instrumental sophistication. "Strange New Flesh" reaches musically quite a vast range of possibilities including a re-make of Joni Mitchell's "Down To You" which features a killer middle keyboard improvisational section by Don Airey. The last 25 mins of this album is also quite memorable for this music lover with some great blues based prog rock featuring the standout guitar and keyboard interplay of Moore and Airey. | |||
| Superbly crafted 70's mellotron/moog laden progressive rock gem with great artistic expressionism and full instrumental interplay. Night On Bald Mountain was produced by King Crimson's Ian McDonald who also contributes some sax on the album. Musicianship on this album is simply awesome with some of the most scrumptious interplay you have ever heard. Opening number 'Les Cathedrales' is absolutely in the same brilliance as early Genesis with the most captivating and delicate of melodies. This five member band incorporate some wonderful musical instrumentation including xylophone, glockenspiel, chineese bell tree, gong, finger cymbals, tubular bells, triangle, hammond organ, pipe organ, celeste, mellotron, moog , Taurus pedals, and everyone's favourite…..electronic devices. Vocals are quite well done with some great lyrics as well. Night On Bald Mountain contains 2 epic tracks and a couple of shorter but well pieced tracks. For those lucky enough to have snagged a copy of Setticlavio Record's (Italy) re-released CD pressing can also enjoy their second album as well....7 extra bonus tracks from the album titled "Two Too" (1976)....although it is always nice to have this bonus material is ranks much lower IMHO than Night On Bald Mountain which is a great album and in my opinion an essential piece of Prog Land history ! | |||
| As a young man when I first heard Ummagumma I remember being totally freaked out and completely addicted to this double album. Years later it still represents one of my personal favourites from the discography of the Pink Floyd. Ummagumma is a sort of fractured double album with the first album representing the studio work and 2nd taking on 4 great live tracks. I personally love the two extremes of this album (live & studio) some times prefering the live album and other times the studio. Ummagumma is representative of classic psychedlic-era Pink Floyd. Atmospheres are dark and foreboding with ravishing psychedelic squawls, sonic distortion and guitar frenzies. Moods change from still quiet to heavy droned out psych. Ummagumma explores on both albums a wide range of tympanic beats and sounds and is truely an album of exploration. Live material on this album is simply stunning with excellent versions of Floyd Classics...Astronomy Domine, Careful With That Axe..Eugene ,Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun and A Saucerful Of Secrets. (recorded in Birmingham & Mancdhester College - 1969). | |||
| Manuel Gottsching and Lutz Ulbrich combined talents in 1989 writing and performing live most of the music contained on this CD for Berlin's E-88 World Cultural Festival. On June 4th, 1988 this music was performed live at Berlin's Planetarium and finally we are able to hear the studio output created for this show. Ashra combine multilayered guitars, keyboards, and sampled sounds producing a rich yet mesmerizing soundscapes. In the progressive tradition, Walkin The Desert experiments with a numerical mix of instrumentation used….ie. 1st Movement uses only 2 keyboards, 2nd Movement 6 voices, 3rd movement 4 guitars, 4th movement 12 samples and finally the last track "Dessert" employing 8 tracks. The powerful result is a startling, yet faintly familiar sound made up of arid keyboards, charming crystalline sequences and finally, the resounding bent-sustain guitar notes that Ashra fans have grown to worship. Incredibly since the rise in popularity of today's "Electronica", the music of Ashra is being currently re-discovered by the youngsters. More than simply satisfying, "Walkin' The Desert" is a stunning example of Ashra's creativity and represents another breathtaking chapter in the expanding music output for this band. | |||
| After “A Foot In Coldwater” broke up members Hugh Leggat and Danny Taylor joined with a few old friends to record Illuminations – a double vinyl album. Stylistically this album is quite varied and offers a nice range of musical possibilities and tones. Leggat actually remind me a bit of UK’s Twelfth Night with memorable melodies, heavy keyboard, bass and drum interplay and clever lyrics. The guitar work on this album is also quite tasty and sounds great against the instrumental backdrop Leggat create. Songs are nice and varied with quite a range of moods and tempo changes. Illuminations also features “Nightwinds” keyboardist Gerald O’Brien who manages to join for a tune. Overall Illuminations is a wonderful musical mix of pop, rock and progressive elements with some fantastic instrumentation and memorable song writing….too darn bad that we only have been left with this one album….Leggat where are you these days? | |||
| For those who love the music of "Samurai" or "The Web" will likely go crazy for Brainchild. This album juxtaposes trumpets, trombone, saxes and flutes over an organ fertilized field with great drum, guitar and bass pollination. Vocals are quite good and shared between Harvey Coles (Bass) and Bill Edwards (Guitars). Musically The Healing Of The Lunatic Owl combines 60's psych, blues, lounge, jazz and prog elements into their songs creating a highly original form of rock. Bass drum develop some very cool rhythm sections while the guitar and brass instruments convincingly carry the lead. | |||
| Of all the live albums in my personal collection I would have to rank Grobschnitt's Solar Music Live as one of the all time classics. I have adored this album for years and was happy to hear that Eroc of the band had re-mastered the original recording adding an extra 13 mins void off of the earlier CD pressings. Solar Music rests on its own as yet another one of Grobschnitt's greatest moments and is a fantastic voyage into the heart of the sun . The concert essentially runs as 1 long piece of music offering great guitar , bass and keyboard interplay. Although Solar Music does appear on the studio album "Ballermann" it is live where we get to hear the theatrics and the pure energy Grobschnitt were able to muster up. Keyboard work is highly atmospheric and paves a great path for the magical electrical guitar work present on this album. This is another essential album that one must have in their collection… | |||
| Nathan Mahl have been producing some of Canada's most refined progressive rock over the past few years. Heretik Volume 1 - Body Of Accusations as it is fully titled marks the first in what appears to be a bit of a conceptual story to be unveiled over time by the magic of Nathan Mahl. Heretik blends all the complexities exuded in their earlier work with some new grand progressive rock influences. Band leader Guy Leblanc's keyboard work is simply fabulous with some simply mesmerizing musical moments. Fresh from his experience in playing keyboards for Camel, Canada's Guy Leblanc has written and composed a real gem here with Heretik. Highly thoughtful and highly professional complex prog rock with some great keyboard, guitar, bass and drum interplay. Vocals are handled by Leblanc himself which are quite acceptable, but it is the instrumental work where Nathan Mahl really shine and one takes note. Nathan Mahl play a highly complex symphonic neo - prog rock which always sounds fresh and never flat. Heretik marks another huge installment in Nathan Mahl's growing discography. Get this album ! Inquiries can be made by contacting Nathan Mahl at Nathan Mahl Homepage | |||
| After writing "Subterranea" I think IQ had their work cut out for themselves, but they did it again kids! "The Seventh House" musically picks off of both "Ever" and "Subterranea" masterpieces adding some nice new twists. "The Seventh House" is 6 new long songs emphasizing the creative and memorable lyrics of Peter Nicholls put to the best music you could ever imagine. As with all IQ releases musicanship is simply breathtaking with Jowitt's bass lines, Orford's delicate and intelligent keyboard playing, Holmes' excellent guitar runs and accents and Cook's highly expressive percussive talents. What has attracted me to IQ over the years is thier ability to write and execute such compelling music with out ever sounding worn or borrowed. Lead singer Peter Nicholls adds his solid voice in the mix and sounds just simple incredible. This album has not left my CD player since it arrived in my mailbox.
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| Status Quo's "Picturesque Matchstickable..." may very well rank as one of my all time early psych/rock recordings from the late 60's. 12 thoughtful songs somewhere in the Beatles /Kinks/ Beach Boys (aka Pet Sounds) school of rock. The only bummer is of course the pre-historic sound dynamics which always has made this album sound as if it was being played on a very cheap stereo....but regardless it is the music which makes this album so memorable for this music lover. Although this album carries that unmistakeable 60's rock vibe , Status Quo also introduced "spoken parts" and some nice and crafty musical interludes. Although this album features 2 guitarists the bass and organ are given lots of lead roles to compliment the force of the album.
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| Arborescence is yet another 50 mins of wonderful mind numbing hyper-psych/prog with tons of great musical caverns and paths. Like all Ozric albums we are treated to a nice range of songs from the high adrenaline opening moments of "Astro Cortex" to the serene musical spirit of the title track "Arborescence". Overall this album is dripping in heavy grooves with loads of synth soundscapes , flute , driving bass and drum interplay and of course that unmistakeable flirtaceous wierdness associated with the Ozric Tentacles. Overall Arborescence is an excellent album with some pretty trippy grooves and mind altering musicanship...best understood with a warm lava lamp. | |||
| Classical prog in a similar fashion to Triade, Banco and Le Orme featuring Roberto Balocco (Ex Panna Fredda) on drums and Red Canzian (Guitars, vocals) who later would go on to play with both Osage Tribe and Pooh. Side 1 of this album is simply a prog masterpiece with their entire side long suite....a rearrangement of Beethoven's "Patetica". The remaining 5 songs explore a wide host of themes and moods with rich piano, organ and moog etched landscapes. Acoustic and electric guitar work is choice as is the bass and percussive contributions. Capsicum Red fuse delicate romantic passages with more aggressive classic 70's Ital-Prog influences. For those who are lucky enough to have Vinyl Magic's remastered version will find a cleaned up sound reporduction and additional songs from their early days where it all began. Fans of classic 70's Italian Progressive can not do without this album.
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| The Trip were a three man classical prog rock band who fused strong jazz and classical influences with those of rock creating a thought provoking album full of twists and turns. Because of the leading keyboard focus, The Trip have been long associated with ELP and although I do hear Emersonian-like keyboard inspirations, I hear a character completely on its own. Everytime I listen to this album I always marvel at the excellent musicanship and instrumental execution they were able to convey on this album. Centrepiece of the album revolves around the varied keyboard work of Vescovi (Piano and moog)who is able to lead from so many different musical styles....jazz, classical and rock. Vocals are convincingly sung in English without any heavy accent residue. This album is also graced with some simply incredible drumming via Furio Chirico who joined for this album and then left to lend his talents to the act "Arti+Mestieri". Bass work is crisp and punchy with some excellent contributions throughout. Overall a great album full of grand progressive character and fantastic musicanship.
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| Strangely spaced out rockers combining a wild mix of sound samples creating one of the most unpredictable yet addictive mental musical turbulence I have ever heard. Songs on Census Of Hallucination work at a number of different levels…. From Folk to sonic space travel all interwoven in an amazing little album full of space delights. Songs are given lot of space to explore without ever getting repetitive or too mesmerizing. Generally Census Of Hallucination suspends acoustic folk guitar with electronic atmospheric space particles overlayed with vocals, bass and drum interplay. When these folks finally let their hair down we get into some pretty groovy space valleys and some wicked electronic keyboard and electric guitar interplay. Although sort of musically inconsistent throughout, the songs are all well linked and manage to flow with an original charm and magnetism. Definitely for those who love cerebral space rock
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| Fusion Jazz or Progressive Rock ? When music is this fantastic it does not matter what the classification my friends...in either camp this is essential music! For many years "Heavy Weather" was an essential companion in my record collection but in the stream of recent Columbia CD re-masters I was able to re-discover my conviction for this grand album. "Heavy Weather" was re-mastered with great love as the sounds is simply incredible, sounding totally sweet on the ol' speakers. For those who are not that familiar with this masterpiece can expect some wonderful warm jazz fusion with wonderful tenor sax, fretless bass, keyboard and percussion performances. However I have always been taken back by the lovely analog keyboard work on this album with some breathtaking Arp 2600, Rhodes Piano and Oberheim polyphonic to boot. The deep analog sounds with the jazz interplay works like clock work for this music lover and is simply one of the most comprehensive Jazz/Prog albums I own. | |||
| Dazzling chamber space rock from the USA mixing a fair blend of Hawkwind, Ozric Tentacles and perhaps even Tangerine Dream. Songs carry a certain improvisational feel to them and are generally wrapped in reverb and space effects giving the listener an alternative planet to wonder about. Deb Young (Lead Vocals) has a very psychedelic sounding voice oft sustaining a pseudo-monotone delivery. Instrumentally this band are great….lots of space atmospheres and solid guitar solos and overlays to keep the listener happy. Best parts are when the band get into the instrumental space jam thing with some heavy exploratory vibes and madness. A groovy little album when you need that all important space music in your lives. This is definitely an album which you definitely need to keep newborns away from. | |||
| Alpha Stone's "Soulweed" carries many similarities to the music explored on their brilliant album "Stereophonic Pop Art Music" but delivers perhaps a deeper space rock element throughout. IMHO Alpha Stone are one of today's greats with each album reaching a different level of grandeur. Essentially "Soulweed" delivers deep electronic space caverns from which guitar and assorted instruments fill in any holes. Overall Soulweed is more electronic sounding that "Stereophonic.." and really reaches deep into space. The genius behind Alpha Stone is of course Spacemen 3's Pete Bassman who contributes guitars, analog keyboards, theremin and hypnotic vocals. Alpha Stone's music is very hard to peg down but might be marriage of the more experimental aspects of Porcupine Tree and Kraftwerk. Go get this album my little space travelers and turn up your amplifiers to "11". | |||
| A Foot In Coldwater were another great Canadian rock band who crossed over consistently from rock into the progressive rock genre. I suppose they are most remembered in Canada for their rock ballads but their more rock oriented tracks are also quite exceptional. Unidisc Music have re-released the early classic “Foot” albums with “The Best Of” representing on 2 CD’s their greatest moments. “Foot” blend folk, rock and melodic progressive elements into their music. Instrumentally this band were drop dead stellar with great guitar (acoustic and electric), symphonic lush keyboards, clever bass and drum interplay. Vocals are excellent and fully expressive with some great lyrics. “Foot” will be most definitely remembered for their great illustrative symphonic sounds and great melodies. A great piece of Canada progressive roots…..
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| Here is another prog, jazz, fusion, world music album full of zest , color and character. Cusson's "The Wild Unit" simply defies categorization although I guess technically is more Jazz influenced than any other genre. Having said that though this album will surely appeal to those who like a strong jazz influence. Cusson unites saxes, flugelhorns, trumpets trombones and an ethnic mix of hand percussion with of course a heavy dose of his own highly technical electric guitar accents and solos. Drumming is managed by Paul Brochu who he worked with lots in his days with Canadian fusion Jazz outfit UZEB. Together this band explore some great grooves and perform instrumentally with the highest of calibre. | |||
| Caravan perhaps best exemplified the early 70s British musical movement known as the Canterbury Scene - a scene which gave rise to the careers of, among others, Robert Wyatt, Soft Machine, Steve Hillage, National Health and Hatfield and the North. Caravan’s live at the BBC displays their live capabilities which IMHO greatly outshines their studio work. This album highlights their ability in combining their proficient jazz-rock improvisation with both large symphonic structures and charming, somehow very English songwriting. This performance was recorded at London's Paris Theatre in March 1975, at essentially the midpoint of their decade-long career. The band's line-up at this point was: Mike Wedgewood (bass); Richard Coughlan (drums); Geoff Richardson (violin and guitar); Pye Hastings (guitar and vocals); and David Sinclair. With virtuosic bravura they perform a set of songs from throughout their career, including the epic, sprawling "Dab Song Concerto". | |||
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Ever since I first heard KROM LEK’s debut album I have been a big fan…..these guys play progressive psychedelic with a wild blend of ska and space rock influences. They blend guitar- length shag carpet sounds with flute, saxophone and sometimes even some space samples. The vocals are average but it is really the instrumentation which shines IMHO. Musically I would say this album really touches the feel of a blend of The Ozric Tentacles and Gong with a trace of The Spacious Mind. Songs delve into trippy raga rhythms with Ozrics-like guitar leads and include some Eastern rhythm allusions….even loads of tablas. The rhythms (bass and drums) are addictive and when mixed with the guitar and keyboard space samples will simply put you into your own orbit. …...classic festie style raga psychedelia kids!.
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| Now here is an album full of body….. This band carries a sub name of “The Rhythm Methodists” and rightfully deserves this handle! Essentially this album is a fusion of prog and funk genres with the band exploring some pretty heavy duty grooves. Bass riffs are punchy and work well with the positive fresh percussion work on this album. Guitar work on this album is also quite tasty as is the plentiful keyboard work throughout. Songs are all quite strangely wonderful and all roll into each other giving the listener quite a quirky little album. Sometimes I almost draw some small similarities in approach to the Talking Heads. | |||
| I have always followed the career of Saga and have always carried a soft spot for these guys over the years. Full Circle marks another great album form these Canadian lads offering creative songs, powerful delivery and that special unique charm, characteristic of Saga. I actually find this album very reminiscent of the atmospheres and moods captured of “Generation 13”. Musically Saga draw some parallels to Rush and Marillion while never losing their own characteristics and personalities. For those who love classic Saga will need to hunt this album down as it contains many great melodies and tunes. One of my all time favourite Saga tracks “Time Bomb” is on this album blending just the right mix of prog rock and symphonic rock. The final 10 mins of this album is simply breathtaking with perhaps Saga’s most emotional conclusion yet….final track Goodbye is just simply stunning with Michael Sadler’s emotive rendition. Sound reproduction is quite spectacular as well with great wide speaker fulfillment and separation. Full Circle is a real charmer and for this music lover a great album. Welcome back Saga!
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| Census Of Hallucinations' second release comes hot on the trail of their mind altering debut album (reviewed above). Unlike their first album, "Opus 2" carries the listener through in a less disjointed fashion and plays more like a cohesive and continuous concept album. Right from the opening track we are introduced to a more relaxed album with even more space travel. "Opus 2" is another great headphone experience and listening to this late at night will most certainly give you nightmares! Census Of Hallucinations combine space sounds with trippy effects creating a wall of thought provoking keyboard and guitar laden music. The music on Opus 2 has a powerful drifting quality and could be categorized somewhere in the prog / psych category I suppose, but carries a heavy overriding ethereal nature. For those who like to experiment with different forms of prog and psych will likely love this little album to death……. | |||
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Shortly after Uriah Heep's released their "Live" album in 1973, Ken Hensley recorded his first solo album with Ken writing and performing most of the instruments except bass and drums on this classic album. "Proud Words…" is truly a great album with some magical analog keyboard sounds and a nice mix of folk/melodic rock and progressive elements. Songs are highly melodic and carry a highly nostalgic quality throughout. This album is highlighted by Hensley's pattented keyboard skills and excellent guitar work. Overall this album carries a great 70's feel to it with lots of analog sounds and excellent music.
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Best known for her long tenure as the vocalist for prog-rockers Renaissance, Annie Haslam's "Annie In Wonderland is a beautiful album full of her majestic voice and some wonderfully melodic songs. In many ways this album actually runs a bit like a Disney soundtrack at times with some child-like allusions . Annie also get instrumentation help noted musicians Roy Wood (of Wizzard fame) and Jon Camp (Renaisance). This was in fact Annie's first solo album and was also produced by Roy Wood and features her wonderful rendition of "If I Loved You" from the musical Carousel. For those who love a pure voice with some great songs will likely go crazy for this album. …Brilliant music
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