Van Der Graaf Generator - Vital (1978)

Their first live album and released on the strength of some excellent studio albums and gigs.

I am not going to write many lines on this album as I have found it pretty much not representative for this band, one of my favorite bands.

That is why it is so difficult to understand why they released such a substandard live album. Peter Hammill's vocals sounds forced and not right up there. The instrumentation and the arrangements on the songs are pretty strange. Some of their best songs has been omitted here. This live album sounds more like an artistic experiment than a greatest hits live album which was meant to sell more studio albums. Frankly, this live album is more a turn off than a turn on.

There is some very good songs here though and this is a good album. It is their weakest live album though. A weak three pointer is awarded.

3 points

Yacobs - Clouds (2012)

The fifth album from this one man band run by Ulf Jacobs. He also plays drums in Argos. A band I have reviewed one or two albums from in this blog.

Ulf Jacobs plays all instruments here with the exception of bass and guitars. There is a lot of keyboards on this album too in addition to the bass, guitars and drums. That and vocals.

We are deep into art rock/neo prog land again. German art rock with English lyrics. A lot darker than Argos and a lot more Pink Floyd focused. A lot more art rock too.

The opening song Dawn is a great art rock song with some great vocals. The rest of the album tails off and it becomes a bit introvert and cinematic in the Pink Floyd vein. The end result is still a good to very good album which has a bit of the X factor which sets it apart from most other albums. Yacobs is a band well worth checking out.

3.5 points

Crazy World - The Return of the Clown (2012)

The second album from this Finnish band.

The cartoon art work and the album title, not to mention the band name, does indicate that we are not in for a gravely serious musical experience here. The realization that this is a concept album then come as a bit of a shock.

The music here is very much in the concept album tradition too. The tradition The Who initiated with Tommy. An album which is very much in the vein of this album. The music varies from rockabilly to more heavy rock and some more lighter symphonic prog. From Eddie Cochrane via The Who, The Doors and Deep Purple to Genesis. The music is delivered by traditional electric guitars, Hammond organs, bass, drums, keyboards and vocals. The sound is a mix of contemporary and the 1970s sound. More the latter, though.

The end result is a good album which fails to set me on fire though. The lack of any great songs is the reason for my lack of enthusiasm. But this is still a good album well worth checking out.

3 points

Ardo Dombec - Ardo Dombec (1971)

The only album from this German band who has been compared to Colosseum. In my views, that is not a recommendation.

And we get a lot of saxophone dominated jazzy blues here. Add funk to the mix too and you get this fifty minutes long album. The vocals are OK and so is the rest of the musicians. Saxophones and blues is not that goes down well in my household. The music is pretty funky though and has a lot going for it.

My main gripe is the lack of any great songs here. Or even good songs. This is a decent album though and that is all I can say after I have been listening to it for a while.

2 points

Runaway Totem - Manu Menes (2009)

The seventh album from this Italian zeuhl band.

The development of this band is an interesting one and their discography is mostly free downloads from their homepage. Highly recommended downloads. The quality is not always top notch. But their music is never really dull. Manu Menes is one of their best albums.

This album is divided into three twenty minutes long compositions. The first composition Alle Sorgenti di Kronos is a pretty ambient, featureless composition who nicely sets up the other two compositions. Aevum is a Magma like heavy, dark composition with a lot of brooding female and male vocals on the top of a dark keyboards and bass created landscape. A great composition.

The final composition Phi-Ur continues in the same vein with a lot of distorted guitars and piano added to the mix too. Another great composition who comes across as a mix of Shub Niggurath and Magma.

In short; this is a great album which I very much enjoys. My faith in this band has been rewarded.

4 points

Homepage

Sarastro Blake - New Progmantics (2013)

The prog rock world seems to be in the middle of a wave of upcoming guys projects which includes many of the good, old heroes. In this case; Paolo Pigni from Mogador has invited the likes of Richard Sinclair, David Paton, Billy Sherwood, Nick Magnus, Dave Lawson and Rick Wakeman to play on a couple of tracks on this, his solo debut project.

The result is fifty five minutes of melodic prog. Or to be more precise; melodic rock. The album starts promising enough with the song The Lady Of Shalott which is a great song. The first half of the album is great. A bit fragmented and a lot of emphasis on melody instead of complex prog. It soon dawns on me that this is not an album for those of us who are into complex melody structures. The inclusion of the folk hymn My Heart Is In The Highlands more than confirms this impression. A hymn brilliantly sung by Amanda Lehman and a sure winner among those who has not already heard this song hundreds of times as I have. Fair enough and still a great song in my ears.

My gripes is not so much the quality of the songs. My gripe is that this project sounds more like a family gathering where everyone from the two months old toddlers to the grand-grand-grand fathers needs to be catered for and is required to contribute. The result sounds a bit bland in my ears. Melodic rock is not my thing as I am more seeking musical challenges in zeuhl and jazz at the moment. When this is said; this is a great melodic rock album which includes many of our heroes. Richard Sinclair even does vocals on one song here and that is well worth checking out. A weak four points has been awarded with a wish that as many as possible checks out this album.

4 points

 

Montefeltro - Il Pesce Rosso......... (2001)

The second album from this Italian symph prog band.

I was not particular impressed by their first album. An album far better than this one, though. On Il Pesce Rosso...., they play a form of college indie rock with some Italian symph prog thrown in too. That and some Genesis too. The Italian vocals is not that good. A kind of a jarring light voice who sounds like a mix of female and male vocalist. Not good at all and very one dimensional. The instruments are pretty thin too with some guitars, keyboards, drums and bass. The result is an indie rock sound.

None of the pretty long songs are that good either. There are some good melody lines scattered around. But that is all. This is though a pretty decent album which is not living up to the great band name and album title.

2 points

Gentle Giant - The Missing Piece (1977)

The ninth album from these masters of prog rock. Their music fascinates me. This album though is the first of their final three albums. The beginning of a slippery slope to their end.

The album starts with the very good Two Weeks In Spain before it continues with the hymn like I'm Turning Around which is by far the best song on this album. The opening song, the above mentioned  Two Weeks In Spain is the second best song here. The rest of the album is not that really great though. The only really good other song is the seven minutes long Memories Of Old Days.

Gentle Giant never makes boring and/or dull music. They are always on the money. But their emphasis on more simpler song structures is not what I want to hear from them. There is not that much food for my brain on this album. It is still a good album from this great band.

3 points

Cooperativa Del Latte - Il Risveglio (1998)

A four piece Italian band with their one and only album. An album released before symphonic prog made it's comeback again. Which is a bit of a pity.

A pity because this album and band would had fitted well into the latest renaissance of this scene. We are talking classic, romantic symphonic Italian prog here with plenty of great Italian vocals, flute, guitars, keyboards, bass and drums. The keyboards has this 1970s sound and ditto for the other instruments too.

The result is a lush, very lush album with a lovely sound but no great songs. The lack of any great songs is my only gripe with this album. I still think it is a very good album though as I am a fan of the Italian scene. I love the sound on this album and the album art work. I would not mind at all if this band reformed again and made their second album.

3.5 points

Dynamo Bliss - Poplar Music (2013)

The second album from this Swedish band who has chosen to release their albums for free.

Dynamo Bliss have all the major labels signing qualities on this album. They have really gone down the Beatles, west coast, 10cc and ELO route on this album. Funky, happy pop music. Perhaps even rock music too. The music is light and very catchy. So much that it is difficult not to smile at this album.

There is plenty of small interesting details produced with Hammond organs and keyboards, guitars, bass, drums and vocals on this album. The vocals are great and very much fitting in with this surf sound. The sound is excellent too. This is by no means my type of music. But I am charmed enough by this album to consider it a very good album. Download link below.

3.5 points

The album

I.ab - Counting (2012)

The debut album from this cryptic name which is the US composer A Brown with hired hands.

We are deep into contemporary AOR here with college rock and Queensryche like metal thrown into the mix too. There are plenty of piano, keyboards, guitars, bass, drums and vocals in the mix. The sound is pretty dry and somewhat dark. The songs are pretty hard too without being progressive metal.
The songs are in the five minutes long mark and this album clocks in around the seventy minutes mark. Which unfortunate seems to be the norm  these days as a much punchier, shorter approach would had been a much better approach. The LP format has it's advantages.

The vocals is good. This album sometime explodes and comes to life. Those moments are more flashes in the pan though. As a debut album, A Brown is setting out the stall and I hope he get some returns from his efforts and financial investments. This album falls into the contemporary, slightly commercial market. I wish him all the best. For me, this is a decent album which I find too dull and uninteresting. My main gripe is simply the lack of good songs. The occasional flashes aside, the music is too generic and it does not really grips me. Hence my lack of enthusiasm.

2 points

Ponty. Jean Luc - King Kong: Jean Luc Ponty Plays the Music of Frank Zappa (1969)

My first ever encounter with a Jean Luc Ponty solo album although I know his violin from many of my favourite albums. So it is about time to check out his solo albums.

This is not a Jean Luc Ponty album per see. It is much more a Frank Zappa album as he is the conductor, the composer and the producer. The album is also pretty much in his spirit and very avant-garde at times. It starts promising with a lot of fusion and I am thinking that I am in for something like I have heard on his other albums. It soon takes a sudden left turn and goes into solid Frank Zappa territory.

Avant garde in other words with dense music which reminds me a lot about RIO bands like Aranis. Much of this music is modern classical music too. Not much fusion in other words and not much Jean Luc Ponty either. Instead, we get a lot of musicians (10+), instruments and noises.

The music is not too bad. But it is not exactly good either. Sometimes, avant garde music does not make much sense. This album is one of them. It is a decent album nevertheless which slightly disappoints me. Onwards to a more proper solo album in my quest to find the soul of this man.

2 points

Magma - Ëmëhntëhtt Ré (2009)

The kind of comeback album from Magma after some years in hiatus. It is their eleventh album in total too.

Magma finally went back to the more bombastic, darkened sound they had on their first albums. Although in a more stripped down version. They sounds a bit like Shub Niggurath on this album. That though with some funky and jazzy rhythms in the background. Ëmëhntëhtt-Ré is a pretty dark album with female soprano vocals and male vocals too.

I have to admit I have some reservations against this album. The music is simply not that great and it does not hit me in solar plexus as much as K.A and their earlier stuff. It is still a very good album though and I would recommend it.

3.5 points

Amon Düül II - Vortex (1981)

Their twelfth album if I am not much mistaken.

The band had dispersed with the krautrock many albums ago and went on a more traditional rock path. On Vortex, the band had gone halfway back to krautrock, sounding a lot like Jefferson Airplane. A lot of this due to Renate Knaup's vocals.

The result is a space rock tinged west coast rock album. Still not enough space rock to really interest me. But this album is an improvement on their previous albums. It is a decent album who still falls well short of my expectations from this band.

2 points

Trion - Funfair Fantasy (2013)

The third album from this band which is a cooperation between members from Flamborough Head and Odyssice. A Dutch band in other words.

Trion is an all instrumental band who drenches their music with mellotrons, flutes, keyboards, drums and bass. A lot like Camel, Greenslade and Genesis in other words. This band's reason to be is to honour those bands, according to themselves.

Funfair Fantasy is very much in this tradition. After a pretty strong opening with some good symphonic prog, this fifty-three minutes album tails of at the end with some pretty uninteresting tracks. Tracks in the shopping mall tradition. That is my gripe with this album. There is not much good music here to carry it through the whole album and the border between symphonic prog aka Camel and plain lounge and even shopping mall music is a bit blurred here. In short; I don't find much great music here.

When that is said, this is a good album in the Camel/Greenslade tradition. An album also fans of Anglagard will like a lot. If this is your type of music, this album should be purchased.

3 points

Pooh. I - Opera Seconda (2012)

Gosh, I did not know anyone would make music like this any longer !

I Pooh is an Italian pop band who released a couple of prog rock like albums back in the 1970s. That including their first rock opera back in 1971. I guess this album is a follow up to that album, 42 years later. Inbetween, the band has released around 20 other pop albums.

When I mean pop, I mean Italian pop. The likes of pop you get in the Melody Grand Prix. The kind of pop performed with a symphony orchestra and a male vocalist on the top of it. That and some electric guitars, bass, keyboards and drums discrete in the background. I Pooh is the prototype of this kind of music. Go to Youtube and check them out.

I should really, really hate Opera Seconda. I should had awarded this one point and told you how much I despise this album. And the symphony orchestra treatment is like watching dinosaurs in full flow. Somehow, I actually like this album. The overall quality of the music is good with a couple of great songs. And Roby Facchinetti's vocals is great. The opera has a good theme running through it. I really find myself liking this album at the same time as I am questioning my own sanity. Am I mad ?

I am perfectly sane and well. This is actually a good one hour long album well worth checking out. I award it three weak points. On a second thought, I am taking it down half a point because of the sugary sweet symphony orchestra sound which is too much for my sensitive tastebuds.

2.5 points

Kotebel - Omphalos (2006)

Oh dear. This band's music is so difficult to review.

To start with the cold facts first: This is the fourth album from this Spanish band. Their music is a mix of symphonic prog, classical music and symphonic Italian prog. The instruments used is cello, violins, guitars, keyboards, drums, bass and soprano vocals. The sound is very organic and a mix of classical music and rock.

Carolina Prieto's stunning soprano vocals gives the band it's focal point and trademark. The flutes is their other focal point. They also uses some prog metal like electric guitars with power chords and all. That as a contrast to the more classical music pieces here. There is also a very strong element of Italian progressive rock here.

The result is an album which flows and ebbs very nicely, thank you. There is no real great pieces of music here. But I really appreciate this highly original piece of music, this album. This is the best album so far from this band and I find it at times very fascinating and a very good album. One you should check out.

3.5 points

Zaum - Plus De Viande Dans Les Saucisses (2013)

The second album from this Italian band whose music I have never really understood.

Zaum has been compared a lot to Area. I agree with that comparison. The difference is that Zaum has a female vocalist with a thin voice which adds a lot to their sound and gives the band it's own identity. Their music is a mix of jazz, space and folk rock.

So far so good...... My problems is that I still don't think the songs are anywhere interesting on this album. Their mix of jazz, folk and space is incoherent and jars with my ears. They sounds like a nerdy college hall band in my ears. The sound is also not that good with the vocals far too much in the background in the mix.
But most of all; there are not any good songs here. I am afraid this is only a decent album in my estimations. Sorry.

2 points

Argos - Circles (2010)

The second album from this German neo prog band.

Neo prog is a slightly misleading label on this album. The keyboards-guitars-bass-drums-vocals setup is the typical neo prog and...... OK, this is neo prog. But with a twist. A dark one.

The vocalist tries to phrase his words and voice like if he was David Bowie. Then he switches over to Peter Hammill too. A mix of those too. The music automatic becomes a bit gloomy and dark because of his great vocals. His name is Robert Gozon btw. Praised be the one who deserve praise. Robert Gozon does that.

The rest of the music is a mix of Van Deer Graaf Generator and standard neo prog. The quality is good throughout. The only gripe I got with this album is the lack of any great songs. But I have to say I have really enjoyed this album on both buses, trains and at home. Get some more moog and melotrons and I would have loved this album even more. Check it out if you are a fan of Areknames and/or VDGG. Or if you like good neo prog.

3.5 points

Dalton - Riflessioni: Idea D'Infinito (1973)

The debut album from this Italian band. A band I thought was a beat band. But I got the wrong Dalton. The other Dalton was indeed a beat band.

Thankfully, I got the wrong band as Riflessioni: Idea D'Infinito is quite a delightful mix of Jethro Tull and PFM. The heavy flutes has clearly been adapted from Jethro Tull. The Italian symphonic prog comes from their heritage and hearts. A very potent mix of rural England and Italy. A mix that really works well.

The Italian pop stuff here serves as a contrast to the heavy flutes. The vocals is great. The sugar sweet sound not my thing. The sound is very Italian though and comes with the territory.

The end result is an album which is full of light and shades. Of good songs and character. Of life. Of the mixture of harder blues and folk rock songs and light Italian pop. It is a good album without any great songs, but who still works well.

3 points

Wally - Montpellier (2010)

The triumphant return of Wally from Harrogate, Yorkshire in England.

Wally released two highly original albums back in 1974 (Wally) and 1975 (Valley Gardens). They also did the Reading festival on the same bill as Soft Machine and the other greats from that time. Then they disbanded.

Wally very much had their own sound back then and I have yet to hear anyone copy them. Their two country & western influenced symphonic prog albums needs to be heard to be believed. They are two good albums too and I am a happy owner of both of them.

Wally has returned again and they got a huge welcome with BBC TV (Yorkshire regional news) interviews and packed out gigs. They still have a pretty considerable following. I guess they would be pleased with this album too. Rather, they probably have got a larger following with Montpellier than they ever had. Their packed out gigs tells it's own story.

It would be too much to ask for the repeat of their first two albums. Wally has indeed largely abandoned that sound and music. Montpellier is a foray into the landscape between Pink Floyd and Dire Strait. Add some blues and Americana to the mix too and you get this album. The vocals is very good. The vocals in the top of some tasty Hammond organs, steel guitars, violins, drums, keyboards, guitars and bass. The sound is great and the album has a great live feeling.

I am by no means a fan of this type of music. But Montpellier is actually an album I really like. Wally really tries very hard to release an album they and their families can be proud of. They have succeeded in this. It is not hitting it's target in my home. My usual gripe is the lack of any killer tracks. The positives is the good songs and the great sound. I am enjoying this album from one of England's hidden gems. Wally deserve a lot more respect than they have been given so far. Respect and love hereby given.

3.5 points 

King Crimson - Live in Central Park, NYC, 1974 (2000)

One of the 50+ fanclub live album released during the last thirteen years. All of them with a rather dubious sound quality. They are still very interesting.

What can I say about this band I have not said before ? I regard King Crimson as one of the best and most interesting bands of all time. I rate them just below Led Zeppelin and The Beatles.
The lineup on this gig is John Wetton, Robert Fripp, Bill Bruford and David Cross. The songs are some of my all time favourite KC songs. Larks Tongue and Starless is great on this album. The rest of the songs are good too.

There is no denying that the sound, the bad sound that is, quite severely limits my enjoyment of this album. I still like this album a lot and finds it a good album. The qualities of this band shines through despite of the sound. Check out this album.

3 points

Zenit - The Chandrasekhar Limit (2013)

The third album from this Swiss neo prog band.

Zenit is one of those bands who operate somewhere between straight pop/rock and the likes of Pink Floyd. Throw in some early Marillion and you get the picture. The songs are pretty long with a twenty-five minutes long suite closing this seventy minutes long album. The setup is the normal neo prog setup with tonnes of keyboards, guitars, bass and drums. That and some good vocals.

The problem with this album is the blandness. Nothing offensive and nothing that really makes me sit up and listen. The album meanders nicely to the end. A long and pretty dull instrumental part in the middle of this album makes it hard to keep awake too. This album is like being put on a spice and salt free diet by a doctor. No bite and not much taste either.

When that is said, this is not a bad album. It just does not cut the mustard in a market overflowing with new neo prog albums at the moment. This is an album for those who likes their neo prog more ambient than full of actions. It is a decent to good album.

2.5 points

Ontofield - Sleeping With Fractals (2013)

Ontofield is the artist name for the English musician John Graham. He also plays all instruments and does the vocals on this album, his debut album.

We are deep into the English prog rock landscape here. The green, green fields of neo prog to be more precise. This album sounds very much like 10cc, RPWL (yes, they are Germans), Frost, Fish, Marillion and Supertramp. The sound and music is not particular symphonic. It is much more verse-chorus-verse orientated. The music is performed by samples, keyboards, guitars, bass and drums. The vocals sounds forced and a bit of a job for both his doctor and the vocals coach. They are very good though on an album, but pretty useless on a long tour. The voice will run out on a long tour.

The end result is a pleasing neo prog album with some heavy guitars and Hammond organs adding textures to some pretty long songs. The album is over one hour long and offers good value for money. My usual gripe is the lack of any great songs. Pleasing as it is, I doubt I will remember much of this album in some weeks time. It is though a more than acceptable album and a bridgehead for further discoveries in the sonic landscape by John Graham. I wish him a good journey.

3 points

Adventure - Adventure (2000)

The debut album from this Norwegian symphonic prog band.

The band has been around since 1990 and is still very much alive. They have so far released two albums and is regarded as one of the first members of the new wave of Norwegian prog. A scene mainly consisting of symphonic prog bands.

Adventure is an album which bridges symphonic prog and the more progressive metal scene. The production is pretty weak and ditto for the sound. This album sounds a bit homemade. The music has it's roots in Yes and Genesis. Standard symphonic prog with lots of Hammond organs and guitars, in other words.

There are no real good songs here and the end result is a decent album which will perhaps please the die hard symphonic prog fans. This album is an enjoyable listen, but nothing more.

2 points

Flaud Logic - Flaud Logic (2013)

The debut album from this US band.

Flaud logic may mean flawed logic. Which may describe the music on this album. Music which is all over the place. From Dream Theater like riffs to female fronted prog to Caravan, Pink Floyd, AOR to Yes and Genesis. This album visits most bands and most genres.

Playful prog rock is probably the right label on this album which surely will give more reviewers than myself a lot of scratched heads......... and joy. The band has clearly set out to have fun and to explore their favourite music genres. That does not make great albums though. Or for that matter; good reviews. This album is a genre smashing album where all genres becomes one genre. Where Chick Corea like piano solos sits side by side with Dream Theater guitar riffs.

And yes, this album is also very cheesy in the typical American way. Self-restraints is not a trait the Americans is most known for. Flaud Logic has pushed the boat out and released a typical American prog album. It is as big as USA itself. It has as many diverse communities as USA itself. It is as impossible to describe as USA. It is still a good album which may require some years to fully digest.

3 points

Di Meola. Al - Elegant Gypsy (1977)

His second album and perhaps the album where he really established his sound and niche in the music world.

Enter the Spanish guitars. A considerable chunk of this album is Al Di Meola and his Spanish guitar. The rest is he playing his electric guitar. All of it with a Spanish twang and sound. Yes, and Django Reinhardt of course. The gypsy king who laid down the rules for guitar playing as we know it today.
In addition to Al Di Meola's guitars, we also get some excellent bass, drums and keyboards.

The result is a very good fusion album. A very Spanish album, yes. That adds class and style to this album. I am missing some killer tracks here as I find the material slightly underwhelming. It is still a recommended album.

3.5 points

Klaatu - Hope (1977)

The second album from this rather strange Canadian trio. A band who many people thought were The Beatles in disguise. They were wrong.

On Hope, Klaatu goes concept album and a kind of a rock opera. It is probably a rock opera too. There is a lot of classical music here. There is also a lot of The Beatles anno Sgt Peppers Heart Club too. Not to mention The Moody Blues, Van Der Graaf Generator, Supertramp and ELO.

Hope is a very complex album and a very big piece of meat to bite over. Too complex and fragmented, many will say. I am missing some great songs here and a bit more unity in the material here. The classical music orchestration effect is also wearing a bit thin here. A bit more tidying up on the album and getting rid of the things that does not work would had done this album a lot of good.

My displeasures aside; Hope is one of the more undervalued albums out there. Ditto for Klaatu as a band. A band I rate pretty highly. Hope is a very good album which deserves a lot more listeners. Check it out.

3.5 points

Jethro Tull - Stormwatch (1979)

Their twelfth album.

Jethro Tull is back again with a more rock orientated folk rock. More pop/rock than folk rock, it has to be said. I very much prefer their concept laden symph prog albums than their pure folk rock albums.

The sound is good and Ian Anderson sings as good as he has always done. A classical orchestra has been added to their sound and there are several instrumentals here. Most of them watered out. Watered out is the theme here. The real Jethro Tull has been watered out by more commercial accessible tunes.

The opening track is very good and there are some other very good songs here too. The lack of any great songs is my main gripe together with my grumbles listed above. This is by no means a bad album. But it is not among my favourite Jethro Tull albums.

3 points 

Agents Of Mercy - The Fading Ghosts of Twilight (2009)

The debut album from this The Flower Kings related band.

Roine Stolt and Ned Sylvan is the duo who hides behind this name. They get help from numerous other musicians too. Most of them associated with The Flower Kings. This explains why Agents Of Mercy sound so much like The Flower Kings on this album. I would put them somewhere between The Flower Kings and Genesis anno Duke. Those and Kaipa on their last three albums.

The music on The Fading Ghosts of Twilight is pretty familiar and I ask myself if we really need this band. When that is said, the music on this album is actually good. Familiar and good. There is nothing revolutionary here, music and sound wise. I still like this album despite of the music being a tad too sugary sweet for my musical tastebuds. Nevertheless......

3 points

Medina Azahara - Donde Esta la Luz (1993)

The seventh album from this Spanish rock combo. One of the biggest selling Spanish bands of all time and a band who started out as a prog rock band.

The band had long time ago cast off their prog rock credential and entered the rock sphere. On Donde Esta la Luz, we get forty five minutes with powerful and emotionally charged Spanish rock with great Spanish vocals. I shudder to think how the music had been with English vocals. It would had been like fish with feathers and totally out of place. The music actually works very well as it is.

The music is not particular good when truth is told. OK, it is good rock music and works well as an exotic experience for an Anglofied middle aged sad man like myself. The music is riddled with typical heavy metal cliches like for example football terraces chants and choruses. It makes me cringe. Besides of that, this is a decent album and well worth checking out if all above sounds tempting.

2 points

Return To Forever - Return To Forever (1972)

The debut album from this fabulous fusion/jazz band. Their Romantic Warrior band really opened my eyes for fusion and is on my top 5 list of my favourite albums.

They started out with this album though. I am a relative newbie in the jazz world and only recognize Stanley Clarke and the maestro himself; Chick Corea from this line up here. Both of them is pretty much leading lights on this album. An album which is far more Spanish and Latin America dominated than my only reference source when it comes to this band; my beloved Romantic Warrior album. There are even some vocals here on this rather laid back and relaxing album. Too laid back in my view. Some of the music could had been included in TV commercials too as they feel a bit banal and easy listening.

I don' t really get the great feeling for this album. It is a good album though and it is well worth checking out. I am not a fan of this album though.

3 points 

Forward Shapes - Legacy (2012)

The debut album from this internet band where the two song writers and main men Brian Andrews and Andrei Kryssov is based in USA and is getting help from the rest of the world in the form of female vocals, drums and bass on files sent forwards and backwards on the net. One of many other bands like this.

The end result is a female vocals fronted album in the same vein as Touchstones, Panic Room and other English bands in this genre. Alison Vance's vocals are pretty good. Her vocals reminds me about Annike in The Gathering. Not particular great and not particular bad. Not exactly in the standard bearer Annie Haslam's class either.

The music is pretty much in the English female fronted crossover prog vein. A mix of commercial ballads and some rather heavier stuff. Holding On is the power ballad here and the best song. Light up the lighters and sing along. Well, this band is not playing any gigs so forget that. Turn the lighter on in your living room while you are trying not to burn down the house and the village. Sugar sweet, this song is.
The rest of the album is pretty good too and this is a solid debut album. It is not a particular impressive album though. Better songs next time, guys.

3 points

Gramigna - Gran Disordine Sotto Il Cielo (1977)

One of the many one albums wonders Italian bands. A band nobody knows much about. They define the term "obscure".

We are still deep into Italian prog here. Though, this band from Northern Italy has taken a lot of their style and sound from the Canterbury, chamber rock, RIO and theater music scenes. What made me purchase this album was the references to one of my alltime favourite bands; Picchio Dal Pozzo. There are some references here to that band. They are rather faint, though. Henry Cow and Arti E Mestieri is much more relevant references.

The band uses female vocals, a lot of woodwinds, violin and acoustic guitars in their sound. This gives their sound a chamber rock feel. It also gives the band a bit folk pop sound. Their sound is light and flowery. It is also very elegant at times. I would not really lump them into this RIO genre as I see other blogs are doing. This band's sound and music is far too commercial and light to be compared to the likes of Univers Zero and Aranis.

The songs are on average good. There is no great songs here. The sound too is good. The problem with this album and the band is that they were not enough commercial to appeal to the mass market and too light to really appeal to the more avant-garde market. This album falls through the cracks and it will perhaps not get any significant audience. I will probably not remember it either in some weeks time. It is still a good album.

3 points

Who. The - Live At Leeds (1970)

One of the most revered live albums of all.

I am reviewing this album some days after I heard Pete Townsend confess that he cannot stand Led Zeppelin. Strange way to start a review, you may think. I have friends who are fans of The Who (= the reason for the recent spate of The Who reviews in this blog). They don't rate Led Zeppelin at all. I am a Led Zeppelin fan. They are in my view the best rock band ever, The Beatles being the best ever pop band and the best band ever. The Who.... ? I have to admit I don't rate them that much. I like Tommy which is a great album and rock opera. Probably the best ever rock opera.

Live At Leeds though is their hard rock stuff recorded live on a tour to Yorkshire. The other gig on that tour, the Hull one, has recently also been released.

Why don't I rate this album and The Who ? It comes down to philosophies. I am much more prog, folk and jazz orientated than rock orientated. Rock as in the folk hall and holiday parks tradition The Who comes from bores me stiff. I want art. The Who is not art in my view on the material here. I like the stuff from Tommy on this album. Most of their classics leaves me underwhelmed. My Generation, Substitute.... I don't rate them. I like Happy Jack a lot, though.

Live At Leeds is a good live album though where the band rumbles on. It is many ways an essential live album. But....... it still leaves me a bit underwhelmed. Give me Led Zeppelin any day, any year.

3 points

Arachnoid - Arachnoid (1979)

Another French one album only band. The album was re-released on CD together with some (pretty dire) bonus material by Musea some years ago.

We are in French theatrical symphonic prog land here. Ange springs to mind. So does the RIO band Univers Zero too. Not to mention Goblin too. The music on this album is keyboards driven cinematic symphonic prog. The vocals is in the Christian Deschamps mould. Most of the music is in the cinematic music mould. The music Goblin has made their own.

The music is keyboards dominated with some sparse use of guitars too in addition to flutes and (French) vocals. That and the usual bass and drums. The mood and sound is darkened and down-tuned. So much that this is a melancholic album.

The sound quality on the CD bonus material is pretty dire and has been disregarded in this review. The sound quality on the original album is not the best either. Just so I have said that.
The quality of the songs are decent to good. I have to admit the quality of the material here is far short of other albums in this genre. I did expect better from this album, based on it's good reputation. It is a decent to good album though. Hence my verdict below.

2.5 points 

Arcadelt - Enjoy (1996)

The first of two album from this Italian neo prog band. The second album, released in 2010, is an abridged version of this album for the Japanese market.

Enjoy is an unashamed neo prog album in the good old English neo prog tradition. Pendragon is a good reference. So is Haze and Pallas too. The music is slightly symphonic too. The music is performed with the typical keyboards, guitars, drums, bass and male vocals setup. The typical neo prog setup, in other words. Some very Peter Gabriel like theatrical vocals are also included on this album. Not that they makes this album any better.

There are some good ideas here. The opening track Flight On A Marzipan Throne makes me believe I am in for a good to great album. Hopes soon dashed. The rest of the album is decent enough. My main gripe is the lack of any great tracks here and that the music offered up here is generic neo prog without much personality or even own identity.

I am afraid this album will only appeal to the neo prog fans out there. It is a decent enough album though from a band still alive. See link below.

2 points

Arcadelt

Incredible String Band. The - The 5000 Spirits Or The Layers Of The Onion (1967)

The second album from this Scottish folk rock combo.

This band introduced two Indian instruments to their sound on this music; sitar and tabla drums. They even had an Indian musician playing them. The colourful cover art work promises a spaced out folk music experience.

That cover is grossly misleading. I was most certainly mislead. What we get here is traditional male vocals & acoustic guitars dominated folk music with the occasional Indian flavour added by sitar and tabla drums. The majority of  the songs is just male vocals and acoustic guitar. Occasionally helped with harmonica and some male and female vocals choir. That's it.

There are no good songs here. The only pleasure I get from this album is the colourful cover artwork and the sitar. The music is decent though and I am not complaining too much about this decent album. I am not converted into a fan of  this band from my local area though.

2 points

Cartoon - Estribo (2008)

The third album from this Brazil band. I think I got their second album somewhere in my collection too. But I am starting with this album.

The band states that they do not take themselves and the music too seriously. I would rather say that they are very playful in their creation of this album. An album who takes us from The Beatles via Triumvirat and various US arena rock bands to Faith No More. This is a very lively album who also has a lot of dept and soul too. In particular after several listening sessions.

Despite of not really having any great tracks, this is still a fun album which gives a lot. I think this band is also far better live than on record. Their music is though not my style though. This is still a good album though.

3 points

Fright Pig - Out Of The Barnyard (2013)

The debut album from this US band.

The band is using pork and pigs as a marketing ploy (but probably not in the Middle-East). That says something. The music too is as complicated as a pig, one of the  most intelligent animals around. It is also a very complex animal. Ditto for this album.

I think it is fair to start my attempts to describe their music with claiming that the band had great fun with coming up with this album. They will probably have great fun with reading the reviewers feeble attempts in reviewing this album too. My own review included. Here it goes.....

Out Of The Barnyard is a very playful album with a lot of changing moods and themes. From 1980s AOR and hair metal to long Emerson, Lake & Palmer like passages. That and a lot of power metal and baroque chamber classical music too. This album is in many ways like Yngwie Malmsteen with a quarter of his ego and five times his IQ.

In essence; this is an American album who boldly says we do whatever we likes. Out Of The Barnyard is genre crossing and barriers defining album where even bluegrass has found some space. An album which will be lapped up by the metalheads as well as the progheads. Both communities will scratch their heads.

There are no great songs here. But the band creates a lot of fun and noise with their guitars, keyboards, male vocals, bass and drums. This is a very good album though and should give the band enough interest for them to survive in a very tough market.

3.5 points

Artcane - Odyssee (1977)

A one album band from France.

Nothing is known about this band. They came, they released this album and they disappeared again without a trace. Listening to this album, I am not surprised. Commercially viable and accessible, it is not.

The sound is good on  this album which is performed by guitars, bass, drums, tonnes of keyboards and some vocals.

Obvious references on this forty minutes long album is King Crimson, Eloy and Magma. Very eclectic in other words. The whole philosophy seems to be taken from King Crimson at their most eclectic. Unfortunate, that does not include writing great songs. There is none on this album. The music is still at times very interesting and other times not that interesting.

This is by all means a good album which has it's good tracks like the title track. Unfortunate, the album tails of at the end and becomes pretty dull. It is streamed at Youtube so check it out there.

3 points

Alhma Mater - Nova Era (2011)

The second album from this Basque region in Spain progressive metal combo.

I very much liked their first album Heuristica which they spawned in 2009. Since then, my interest in progressive metal has vanished.

The main instrument on this album is guitars. Both electric, half acoustic, Spanish guitar and acoustic guitars. The guitars is being supported by keyboards, bass and drums. This is the traditional progressive metal setup. So much used and tried. So much I am fed up with. 

The band sings in Spanish and the sound is pretty dark on this album which contains pretty standard progressive metal. Progressive metal with a lot of Basque flavour. That sets this band apart from the numerous other Dream Theater clones around. That makes me more interested in them than in most other Dream Theater clones.

It is therefore a bit unfortunate that the songs are not that good. That is my main and overriding gripe about this album. A free download album from the link below (together with the debut album). It is a recommended download despite of my rather restrained use of positives.

2.5 points

Alhma Mater download page

Goblin - Suspiria (1977)

Their fourth album under the Goblin name (and fifth when the Cherry Five album is included).

Most of Goblin's music, if not all of it, was movie soundtracks. This album is no exception, I believe. The fusion on this album sounds very much like a movie theme. It is elegant and performed with lots of bass, drums and keyboards. The sound is machine like and is what we can expect from a movie soundtrack.

This makes Suspiria a decent album. My main gripes is the slickness and soulless production and music. My other gripe is the lack of any great tracks here. The music does not really resonates with me at all. Hence my lack of enthusiasm for this album.

2 points

Di Meola. Al - Land Of The Midnight Sun (1976)

Al Di Meola came to my knowledge thirty years ago, but I did not really hear a tone from him before I got Return To Forever's masterpiece Romantic Warrior where he was the guitarist. His guitars on that album is incredible. At the same year, he recorded and released this, his debut album too. I am not surprised that it more or less runs along the same line too.

We are in guitars dominated fusion here. Land Of The Midnight Sun is very much a showcase of this immense talents as a guitarist. That means long and intricate guitar solos. But it is also good fusion with a lot of Spanish flavours. As I understand it, this was to become his trademark.

There is no real great songs here. Nevertheless, I really like what I hear and have purchased more albums from him. This is a good album.

3 points

Tugs - Europa Minor (2013)

Another Italian band from the 1970/80s who never manage to release an album before the 2010s. This is their debut album and it is a concept album about the history of Europe, Napoleon and all that.

The music is performed by guitars, various keyboards and piano, drums, bass, mandolin and flutes. That gives this a very organic, folky sound.  The sound is the usual lush and symph folk rock dominated RPI sound, much helped by the lush male Italian vocals. The material for this album was written in the 1970s too so that is no surprise. Their sound reminds me a lot about Banco's sound. Which is a very good thing.

The quality of the material is very good throughout. Fans of the RPI should not for a second hesitate in getting this album. They may find one of their all times favourite post 1970s albums in Europa Minor. I would not really go that far. My main gripe is the lack of any really great songs here. By all means, this album is giving me a happy grin. But really nothing more than that. I really like this album and recommends it.

3.5 points

Sound Of Contact - Dimensionaut (2013)

So, this is the debut album from the singing and drums playing son of Phil Collins. I am almost tempted to quote the title of one of Phil's most known songs. But I believe he would be proud of what his son Simon Collins has done on this album. The parentage is pretty obvious on this album. I think it is a safe bet that this album has been going on pretty heavy rotation in Phil Collins home.

To get straight to the case; Dimensionaut sounds like the mid-era Genesis. Between the symph prog era and the final Tamla Motown era. The Duke and Acabab era. Add the 1990s Marillion era and some straight rock to the mix and you have this album. Something you would not believe when putting on this album for the first time. The album starts with a Rush riff. Not a riff they have stolen from Rush. But still a Rush sounding riff. And yes, Rush anno the 1990s should be added to the major influences of this album too.

The sound is excellent and contemporary anno 2013. Herein lays my problem with this album and why it has divided the prog rock community into to warring polar fractions. Between those who hates this album and those who loves this album. The sound and music is so full of cliches and soundbytes taken from other bands. The semi-acoustic guitars used as added texture dulls down the music. Ditto for the pling plong synths and the electric guitars. Simon Collins has a great voice and he largely sings like his father without having the Tamla Motown voice. But the generic rock sound is really annoying. Ditto for most of the songs which is a bit on the cheap and generic side of the spectrum. There is a lot of building up great moods here and then sing a long choruses. This album have a soul just like any surgically enhanced human being have a soul. But it is hard to see past the skin, the exterior of this album.

There are some great melody lines and songs here, though. The seventy-four minutes long album offers good value for money. It is such a pity that these seventy-four minutes is so full of overly used cliches and shallow generic material. I still think it is a good album though. But it is not living up to the hype it was sold to me on. It very much dissapoints in this respect and I guess the hype is the downfall of this album.

Nevertheless, this is a good debut album.

3 points

Elysium Theory - Event Horizon (2013)

The second album from this US band.

We are somewhere in the softer side of Dream Theater land here. A land who does not really have much appeal to me. We get tonnes of guitars, keyboards and vocals here. The sound is a bit sterile. Ditto for the music. The Dream Theater references comes thick and fast. Despite of this, I would not call them a copycat. This album is also leaning pretty heavy on the neo prog sound.

The end result is a very American crossover prog album. An album with no really good songs which really appeals to me. This is still a decent album who sounds like zillion other albums in this overcrowded scene. I am afraid this is not for me.

2 points

Bondage Fruit - Bondage Fruit IV (1999)

The fourth album from this Japanese zeuhl band.

Bondage Fruit started out as a zeuhl band and has evolved from there on from every album onwards. This is the case on this album too. On IV, they now comes across as a blend of King Crimson and Mahavishnu Orchestra. Add some Japanese jazz and you get this album. The main instruments is electric violin, organ, guitars, bass, vibraphone and drums. That and some vocals.

Very eclectic in other words and it would had been a favourite in my home if they had included some great compositions on this album too. The one and only problem with this album is the lack of any great compositions. When that is said, this is still a very good album which slowly creeps up on the listener. It is well worth checking out.

3.5 points

Lumerians - The High Frontier (2013)

The third album from this US krautrock band.

Lumerians and this album can be found  in the more ambient end of the krautrock rainbow. The songs, or compositions to be more precise, is built around a bass line with keyboards, drums, percussions and some vocals supporting the bass. The synths are spaced out and distorted.

This is by no means my cup of tea. The Hawkwind inspired opening track Dogon Genesis is a great track though and I also find the rest of this forty minutes long album quite agreeable to my ears. This despite of not being on any funny herbal cigarettes. I quite like this album and awards it a good status.

3 points 

Periferia Del Mondo - Nel Regno Dei Ciechi (2013)

Their fourth album.

Periferia Del Mondo is an Italian rock band who loosely can be regarded as a prog rock band. It is not a perfect label on this band though. I would call them rock.

It is not an album it is easy to review. The band is really spreading themselves very thin with deep forays into party rock, blues, fusion and some more art rock pieces. The blues stuff is pretty much run of the mill. The heavy guitars also gives this album a pretty heavy sound. Ditto for the Hammond organs. The vocals are both in English and in Italian.

There is not much good to say about this album though. The fusion stuff is good. Ditto for the six minutes long title track. The rest is not particular good. I am afraid this is nothing but a decent album who tries to please the casual rock fan. It does not please me.

2 points