Archive for July, 2008

This concert was recorded at 328 Performance Hall, Nashville, USA, November 9-10, 2001.

Line-up:
* Adrian Belew – Guitar and Vocals
* Robert Fripp – Guitar
* Trey Gunn – Warr Guitar
* Pat Mastelotto – Drums

Track List:
01. Dangerous Curves – 4:52
02. Level Five – 7:50
03. The ConstruKction Of Light – 8:49
04. ProzaKc Blues – 5:58
05. EleKtriK – 8:13
06. Thela Hun Ginjeet – 5:46
07. Virtuous Circle – 7:04
08. Elephant Talk – 4:16
09. Larks’ Tongues In Aspic: Part IV – 10:30
10. The Deception Of The Thrush – 8:09
11. Red – 5:42

Links in comments.

Adrian Belew, King Crimson, Live, Pat Mastelotto, Robert Fripp, Trey Gunn

Black Cat Bones – Barbed Sandwich (1970) (@256)

30 Jul 2008

(Review from progarchives.com)

Black Cat Bones were a typical British blues rock band playing late 60s raw progressive blues. Two of its original members, guitarist Paul Kossoff and drummer Simon Kirke, would later form their own band (Free). When they felt they had taken Black Cat Bones as far as it could go, they both left before the band even cut their sole album in 1969, entitled “Barbed Wire Sandwich”. Future-Foghat Rod Price joined in to fill the shoes of Paul Kossoff.

The music reminds of early Foghat and Free for obvious reasons. Many of these tracks are heavy, stripped down blues numbers, but it’s a winning formula with soulful lyrics and nice musicanship. It is an excellent testimony to some of the best heavy blues rock of its time, a hidden gem full of soul and raw energy.

Line-up:
- Rod Price / lead guitar & vocals
- Phil Lenoir / drums
- Stu Brooks / bass guitar
- Derek Brooks / rhythm guitar
- Brian Short / vocals

Track List:
01. Chauffeur 5:19
02. Death Valley Blues 3:56
03. Feelin’ Good 4:51
04. Please Tell Me Baby 3:15
05. Coming Back 2:34
06. Save My Love 4:54
07. Four Women 5:07
08. Sylvester’s Blues 3:44
09. Good Lookin’ Woman – 7:18

Link in comments.

King Crimson – KCCC18 Live in Detroit (1971) (@256)

30 Jul 2008

“Live in Detroit” was recorded at East Town Theatre, November 13, 1971.

Line-up:
- Boz Burrell / bass, lead vocals
- Mel Collins / flute, saxophone, mellotron
- Robert Fripp / guitar, mellotron
- Ian Wallace / drums, vocals
- Peter Sinfield / words, sound & visions

Track List:
CD1
01. Pictures of A City – 9:02
02. Formentera Lady – 9:08
03. Sailor’s Tale – 5:59
04. Cirkus – 9:14
05. Ladies of the Road – 7:54
06. Groon – 17:49
CD2
01. 21st Century Schizoid Man – 13:21
02. Mars – 13:22
03. In the Court of the Crimson King – 3:31
04. Lady of the Dancing Water – 2:25

Links in comments.

Boz Burrell, Ian Wallace, King Crimson, Live, Mel Collins, Peter Sinfield, Robert Fripp

Marillion – Somewhere Else (2007) (@256)

29 Jul 2008

(Review from progarchives.com, dprp.net, blogcritics.org)

“Somewhere Else” sees Marillion still managing to survive and flourish in a music industry that is less than supportive. Three years have passed by since Marbles was released, and Somewhere Else comes with the huge responsibility of trying to be more successful than its predecessors. Somewhere Else is a mix between progressive rock, with psychedelic and some rock’n’roll-esque elements, that immediately reminds of marillion.com and Anoraknophobia.

Songs like “The Other Half” and “Most Toys” are rocking pieces that really show how the band can write faster numbers, while the middle pieces like “Somewhere Else” and “Voice From the Past” take the listener through more atmospheric and gentle atmospheres. The album also takes a political stance with songs like “The Last Century For Man”, which has an oblique lyrical theme and a chorus that has sarcasm and sincerity all in one fell swoop. The concluding piece to the album, “Faith”, has been played by the band for many years prior to the release of this album, and it’s gentle acoustics and fragile vocal performance from Hogarth really act as a fitting conclusion to the album.

“Somewhere Else” makes a transition out of the emotional, intense, and dense Marbles.

Line-up:
- Steve Hogarth / vocals
- Steve Rothery / guitars
- Mark Kelly / keyboards
- Peter Trewavas / bass
- Ian Mosley / drums & percussion

Track List:
01. The Other Half – 4:23
02. See It Like A Baby – 4:32
03. Thankyou Whoever You Are – 4:51
04. Most Toys – 2:47
05. Somewhere Else – 7:51
06. A Voice From The Past – 6:21
07. No Such Thing – 3:58
08. The Wound – 7:18
09. The Last Century For Man – 5:51
10. Faith – 4:11

Link in comments.

Planetarium – Infinity (1971) (@256)

29 Jul 2008

(Review from progarchives.com)

Planetarium was one of those 70s Italian progressive groups that made only one album and then disappeared. It is also a real mystery group in the Italian scene. Their line-up has remained unknown till this day. The only name that is mentioned is the composer A. Ferrari to whom all the tracks are credited.

According to the liner notes, in their sole album the musicians devoted their attention to the birth and to the flow of life from its origin to its end in infinity, lingering a while upon some stages of this journey — the first rains, the first man on earth, love, war, the moon.

The music is almost completely instrumental. There are some vocals but there are not any lyrics. The first half is mellow with lots of acoustic guitar, piano and mellotron and the second half is a bit more frantic and experimental. Only some biting electric guitar parts interrupt the album’s generally mellow atmosphere.

Track List:
01. The Beginning – 3:13
02. Life – 7:05
03. Man (Part One) – 1:52
04. Man (Part Two) – 3:57
05. Love – 2:46
06. War – 2:42
07. The Moon – 4:03
08. Infinity (a) – 4:21
09. Infinity (b) – 6:41

Link in comments.

King Crimson – KCCC17 ProjeKct Two Northampton (1998) (@256)

29 Jul 2008

This is a live album from ProjeKct Two, a fraKctal of King Crimson. It was recorded on July 1, 1998 in Northampton, USA.

Line-up:
- Adrian Belew / V-drums
- Robert Fripp / guitar
- Trey Gunn / touch guitar, talker

Track List:
01. Vector Shift – 10:45
02. X-chayn-jiZ – 5:54
03. Vector Shift – 2:04
04. Vector Shift to Planet Belewbeloid – 0:28
05. Light ConstruKction – 5:29
06. Heavy ConstruKction – 6:02
07. The Deception of the Thrush – 8:31
08. Sus-tayn-Z – 6:41
09. Vector Shift – 7:39
10. Contrary ConstruKction – 7:22

Links in comments.

Adrian Belew, King Crimson, Live, Robert Fripp, Trey Gunn

Steel Mill – Green Eyed God (1972) (@256)

28 Jul 2008

(Review from progarchives.com)

One of the most obscure releases from England (the history of the band and whereabouts of the musicians are still unknown). Released in 1972 in Germany, this album got its UK release three years later, by which time the group had disbanded. This quintet is your standard quartet plus wind player and develop a heavy progressive so typical of the first years of the 70s and is a pure delight for the progheads searching for lost gems. Sound-wise Steel Mill is a mix of “Raw Material”, some hard-riffing from Heep or Sabbath. All of the tracks are penned by wind player John Challenger and keysman and singer Dave Morris.

The heavy-riffed opener “Blood Runs Deep” is a rather fitting intro, as soon as the first break leads us to a sax/guitar crescendo and quick time changes. “Summer Child” is one of the highlights of this very even album, where no weaker track exists. Its deep and dark climate underlined by a low-timbre flute works wonder on your imagination. Hard riffs open the longer track of the first side of the wax slide, but its multiple changes allows plenty of ambiances, some of them not far away from Black Sabbath and Atomic Rooster. The closer, Treadmill, is probably their hardest/heaviest track and the Sabbath influences are loud and clear in this song.

The second side opens on the superb 9-min title track with a haunting (and eastern-sounding) flute over a steady tom-drumming and psalm-like vocals, before the heavy guitar takes the song to a higher and harder climate. Clearly this song is the one that gives the album its weight in progressive content, with its slight ethnic influences. Production-wise the album uses the fade-outs and the fade-ins a bit too systematically, but the only time this is slightly bothersome is in the middle of this great track. “Turn The Page Over” is yet another superb moments and it clearly invites in their next tale of paradise. “Black Jewel Of The Forest” is the apex of the album, with its slow flute and toms intro (already heard earlier in the album) before a tense guitar enters to modify the drumming and the ambiances switching gradually into a haunting, almost satanic mood: grandiose. The closing interlude is a fitting outro for an almost flawless album.

This edition of the album also includes the two non-album track as bonus. Obscurity. Obviously not recorded during the same sessions and mixed differently, the two tracks differ a bit from the rest of the album, without sticking out like a sore thumb. “Get On The Line” was a clear attempt at breaking the market with its basic repeated chorus and songs structures. The same can be said of “Zang Will”, but the second offers more to the proghead’s ears because of more interplay and clear cut solos.

Line-up:
- John Challenger / woodwinds
- Chris Martin / drums
- Dave Morris / keyboards, vocals
- Jeff Watts / bass
- Terry Williams / guitar

Track List:
01. Blood Runs Deep – 5:18
02. Summers Child – 4:24
03. Mijo and the Laying of the Which – 7:51
04. Treadmill – 3:59
05. Green Eyed God – 9:44
06. Turn the Page Over – 3:51
07. Black Jewel of the Forest – 6:04
08. Har Fleur – 0:48
09. Get on the Line (Bonus) – 4:14
10. Zang Will (Bonus) – 3:43

Link in comments.

King Crimson – KCCC16 Live in Berkeley (1982) (@256)

28 Jul 2008

(Review from progreviews.com)

The 80s line-up of King Crimson wasn’t as much an improvising band. However, they rarely resist the opportunity to rework their stuff live, which can be interesting too. This concert was recorded at the Greek Theatre, Berkeley, USA, August 13, 1982.

The material from Discipline is so well developed and still short of over-treated, its like getting the whole album redone. We have an especially manic and actually just plain crazy rendition of “Indiscipline” (where on the studio album it sounds like a suitably tense but light-hearted expression of what it feels like to be obsessive compulsive). At the end of the song the entire band applies such a force and energy toward the main theme. Its really a tangle between Fripp and Belew, with Levin keeping time and Bruford battering away, buried by the hectic sound of angels descending from heaven on silver lightning bolts playing electric trumpets. At least at that moment, it all came together. The song (and set) ends with the announcement that “I like it!” — I did.

There also is a rare live performance of the “Sheltering Sky” which is louder and more chaotic than its studio counterpart; the drums are louder, the bass fatter and more dominant, and the original organized, upward spiraling lead lines are replaced with some fiery and erratic improvisation (still using the strange “pipe” guitar synth sound though). The live versions of “The Howler” and “Neurotica” are great to hear; it is especially fun hearing Adrian Belew making all those crazy noises that sound like sirens and traffic and other assorted city-like noises.

Line-up:
* Adrian Belew – Guitar, Vocal
* Robert Fripp – Guitar
* Tony Levin – Stick, Bass Guitar
* Bill Bruford – Drums, Percussion

Track List:
CD1
01. Waiting Man – 9:49
02. Thela Hun Ginjeet – 8:00
03. Red – 6:33
04. The Howler – 5:10
05. Frame By Frame – 5:10
06. Matte Kudasai – 3:39
CD2
01. The Sheltering Sky – 9:36
02. Discipline – 5:42
03. Neal and Jack and Me – 6:03
04. Neurotica – 5:48
05. Elephant Talk – 5:36
06. Indiscipline – 11:10

Links in comments.

Adrian Belew, Bill Bruford, King Crimson, Live, Robert Fripp, Tony Levin

Marillion – Marbles (2004) (@256)

27 Jul 2008

(Review from progarchives.com)

Marillion’s 2004 album has the familiar feel of their Hogarth era output. Yet It’s more “Seasons End” / “Brave” than “Radiation” / “Anoraknophobia”.

It is both a telling and courageous move, especially after their apparent distaste in recent time for being labelled progressive, that the album opens with a thirteen minute track, “The Invisible Man”. This is indeed pure progressive which passes through various emotions and time changes. There’s a bit of “Seasons End” (track) cascading guitar, and a lovely choral keyboards backed section which finds Hogarth at his emotive best, as the band rocks out behind him. A wonderful opening track.

“Fantastic place” once again feels very “Seasons End”, with some lovely guitar and “orchestration”, building to a fine crescendo ending. The final track, “Neverland” is the other feature track, running to 12 minutes. The highlight of the track is the excellent guitar work, with it’s echoes of Dave Gilmour. The track is more reminiscent of the “Afraid of Sunlight” album, especially “Out of this world”.

The single “You’re Gone” which Marillion fans managed through excellent collusion to get into the top 10 of the UK singles chart is also included here, and in truth makes for a better album track than single. This double CD edition also includes an excellent 18 minute track, “Ocean Cloud”.

Line-up:
- Steve Hogarth / vocals, hammered dulcimer
- Steve Rothery / guitar, bass
- Pete Trewavas / bass, acoustic guitar
- Ian Mosley / drums
- Mark Kelley / keyboards
with
- Carrie Tree / additional vocals (3)

Track List:
CD1
01. The Invisible Man – 13:37
02. Marbles I – 1:42
03. Genie – 4:54
04. Fantastic Place – 6:12
05. The Only Unforgivable Thing – 7:13
06. Marbles II – 2:02
07. Ocean Cloud – 17:58
CD2
01. Marbles III – 1:51
02. The Damage – 4:35
03. Don’t Hurt Yourself – 5:48
04. You’re Gone – 6:25
05. Angelina – 7:42
06. Drilling Holes – 5:11
07. Marbles IV – 1:26
08. Neverland – 12:10

Links in comments.

Svanfridur – What's Hidden There (1972) (@256)

27 Jul 2008

(Review from progarchives.com)

When anyone comes across Svanfridur, I think the person may wonder how will sound a progressive rock from Iceland. The answer is a bit surprising because Svanfridur music sounds like British heavy progressive acts.

The opener “The Woman Of Our Day” is mainly guitar-based art rock, neither symphonic nor harsh, certainly the least progressive one on here, but nevertheless a good one. All the other compositions are definitely more progressive. “The Mug” is a rather quiet song with guitar, bass, piano and some synthesizer sounds, very well-done and a rewarding listen. “Please Bend” is more in a hardrock vein but with an awesome electric violin added on, again they’re using here some synthetic keyboard effects and finish the song with some weird vocal tunes, quite original and absolutely another highlight. The title song is an acoustic one with guitar, flute and violin, very pleasant one as well!

“What Now You People Standing By”, longest track of the album is a bit harsher and more up-tempo song containing a short but excellent percussion solo and great guitar / bass play. “Give Me Some Gas”, again an up-tempo one exhibits a brilliant virtuosity of all musicians on their instruments, especially the bass play is very intense. “My Dummy” is basically a hard rock song with the add-up of some synths keyboards and here like as well in the last track once again Gunnar Hermannsson shines with his bass play.

So what’s hidden here? A gem of early heavy progressive rock.

Line-up:
- Birgit Hrafnsson / electric & acoustic guitars, back vocals (2 & 4)
- Gunnar Hermannsson / bass guitar, back vocals (2)
- Sigurdur Karlsson / drums & percussion
- Petur Kristjansson / lead vocals
with:
- Sigurdur Johnsson / piano & Moog, violin, flute, vocals (2 & 6)

Track List:
01. The Woman Of Our Day – 3:12
02. The Mug – 4:49
03. Please Bend – 4:47
04. What’s Hidden There? – 4:05
05. Did You Find It? – 2:08
06. What Now You Pepole Standing By – 7:57
07. Give Me Some Gas – 5:12
08. My Dummy – 4:14
09. Finido – 3:43

Link in comments.

Group Poll

27 Jul 2008

Marillion and after that the If series will be over soon.

So I’ve setup a new poll for all of you to vote in the right sidebar of the blog (if you can’t see it, just rolldown the scrollbar a bit). There you can vote for the group you want to be up next.

King Crimson – KCCC15 Live at Mainz (1974) (@256)

27 Jul 2008

(Review from wikipedia, progarchives.com)

This show took place at Elzer Hof, Mainz, Germany, March 30, 1974. Like other concerts from the European tour of early 1974, it was recorded directly from the soundboard. “Live at Mainz” is actually a very good supplement for any serious collection of King Crimson’s 1972-1974 era albums. There is a heavy does of instrumental improvised material here, and also many special versions of their basic tracks.

The first three of the songs are pleasantly extended with impressionistic free form sound wall openings, from where the composed songs then emerge. The starter “Improv: The Savage” / “Dr Diamond” is an excellent performance, clearly the best version of this song so far I have heard. This composition didn’t do it on any of the band’s studio albums, but it’s present on many of their live recordings of years 1973- 1974. “Improv: Arabica” opens “Exiles” with nice layers of percussions, and the performance is a a very good, lasting 10 minutes. “Improv: Atria” has some good parts, but there seems to be some problems to find a common direction in some moments too.

Upcoming “Night Watch” is perfect with no edits or switches from one performance to other. “Starless” is a good song, and this is a decent version, featuring those a bit clumsy early lyrics which may be interesting to spot if they not yet familiar. “Lament” is a good track too, and the next song “Improv: Trio” is an interesting track, as it isn’t technically a complete improvisation anymore, it’s more like a reprise of an earlier improvisation from the Amsterdam concert 1973. It has maybe evolved as a jam pattern, and a small embryo of composition growing up from it. Some themes of the songs “Lament”, “Dr. Diamond” and “Fallen Angel” can be witnessed in the live recordings of the Muir-era line-up at 1972 in similar manner. And it’s a pretty tune, a relieving contrast for the aggressive material done by this band. The final tune “Easy Money” is a good version too, and it also has a bit different lyrics on stage as it had on the studio album.

Line-up:
- Robert Fripp / guitar, mellotron, electric piano
- David Cross / violin, mellotron, electric piano
- John Wetton / bass guitar, vocals
- Bill Bruford / drums, percussion

Track List:
01. Improv: The Savage – 2:12
02. Dr Diamond – 5:48
03. Improv: Arabica – 2:29
04. Exiles – 7:01
05. Improv: Atria – 6:14
06. The Night Watch – 5:07
07. Starless – 12:27
08. Lament – 4:20
09. Improv: Trio – 4:36
10. Easy Money – 7:51

Links in comments.

Bill Bruford, David Cross, John Wetton, King Crimson, Live, Robert Fripp

Marillion – Anorak in the UK (Live 2001) (@320)

26 Jul 2008

(Review from marillion.com, progarchives.com)

This live album was recorded in the UK over 3 days during the May leg of the 2001 Anoraknophobia tour. 2 additional tracks, When I Meet God and This is the 21st Century were recorded live at Marillion’s Racket Club Studio in front of a small private audience after the October leg of the 2001 Anoraknophobia tour.

The usual suspects of “The Great Escape”, “Waiting To Happen”, and “Afraid Of Sunlight” are included, but it’s always great to receive a visit from these old friends. “Afraid Of Sunlight” leads right into the always emotional “Mad” from the Brave album, which is a classic case of how a band such as Marillion can produce something so unearthly beautiful, and something so crazed and hyper like “Mad”.

“Seperated Out” and “Between You & Me” have brilliant moments, extremely wild and passionate. “If My Heart… ” has been converted into a hard-rock piece of music. The surprises are the inclusion of “Go!” from Marillion.com, “Out Of This World” from Afraid Of Sunlight, and “Man Of A Thousand Faces” from This Strange Engine.

So just how good can a live recording really sound? Apparently this concert was mic’d using a very new and unusual method which sounds incredible and rich.

Line-up:
- Steve “H” Hogarth / vocals
- Steve Rothery / guitars
- Mark Kelly / keyboards
- Pete Trewavas / bass

Track List:
CD1
01. Intro
02. Separated Out
03. Rich
04. Man of a Thousand Faces
05. Quartz
06. Go!
07. Map of the Worlds
08. Out of This World
09. Afraid of Sunlight
10. Mad
CD2
01. Between You and Me
02. The Great Escape
03. If My Heart Were a Ball it Would Roll Uphill
04. Waiting to Happen
05. The Answering Machine
06. King
07. This is the 21st Century
08. When I Meet God

Links in comments.

Semiramis – Dedicato A Frazz (1973) (@256)

26 Jul 2008

(Review from progarchives.com)

Semiramis is one of the most bizarre and talented one-album Italian acts from the 70s. Their progressive offer is astonishingly “schizophrenic”, since it is founded upon a trategy of brutal contrast between the very heavy (delirious guitar solos and riffs, red hot rhythm patterns) and the realms of acoustic sensibility (acoustic and classical guitars interludes, gentle drops on vibes, string synth layers).

The musicianship is top-notch, flawlessly responding to the demands of the complex compositions and fast paced rocky sections: sometimes it feels like this is the background music for a demented circus of sorts! Semiramis has got a peculiar musical “insanity” of their own, an “insanity” that allows them to push the boundaries of symph progressive to extravagant levels of tension, contrast and dissonance.

Michele Zarrillo’s vocal range helps to enhance the band’s heavy side. But then again, Gianpiero Artegiani makes good use of nylon and steel string acoustic guitars to keep the pastoral flame alight, all in the sake of contrast. He also doubles on some synth parts, which complement effectively the baroque inspired playing of Michele’s brother, Maurizio. The rhythm section is solid and precise – a special mention goes to drummer Paolo Faenza, whose various interventions on vibraphone are really exquisite, capable of hitting the plates with both fast paced accuracy and relaxed solemnity.

The repertoire is full of spectacular surprises – well, it feels like some of the varied musical ideas could have been explored more thoroughly, but the management of contrasts is definitely a very high point of this album and the main asset of Semiramis’ music.

Line-up:
- Paolo Faenza / drums, vibraphone
- Marcello Reddovide / bass
- Gianpiero Artegiani / synthesizer
- Michele Zarrillo / guitar
- Maurizio Zarrillo / piano, synthesizer

Track List:
01. La Bottega Del Rigattiere – 6:01
02. Luna Park – 4:29
03. Uno Zoo Di Vetro – 5:57
04. Per Una Strada Affollata – 5:01
05. Dietro Una Porta Di Carta – 5:42
06. Frazz – 5:09
07. Clown – 4:34

Link in comments.

King Crimson – KCCC14 Live at Plymouth GuildHall (1971) (@256)

26 Jul 2008

Thanks to Bragi Taliesin for the contribution.

(Review from wikipedia)

Live at Plymouth Guildhall is a double live album, recorded at the Guildhall in Plymouth, UK on May 11, 1971. This concert was the fifth ever live performance by the Islands version of King Crimson. The CD release was adapted from the original soundboard tape, mixed by Peter Sinfield. An audience bootleg was added to repair the missing introduction to “Get Thy Bearings”.

“21st Century Schizoid Man” is sung by Boz with this line-up and his distorted voice sounds really demonic. It is surprising that a song like “Cirkus” (from Lizard) is performed on stage — it’s really tremendous that they would manage to re-create it on-stage, not losing it’s power, mystery and all the rest… Biggest surprise here is an early (pre-”Islands”) 15-minutes long version of “Sailor’s tale”, very different from the later one. We also have “Lady of the dancing water” and “Get thy bearings” (which is in fact rather an improvisation, with a slight hint to “get thy bearings”). Later on they delated “Get Thy Bearings” and played “Groon” instead. But in fact both are very free-form improves.

Line-up:
* Boz Burrell – Bass, Lead Vocals
* Mel Collins – Flute, Sax, Mellotron
* Robert Fripp – Guitar, Mellotron
* Ian Wallace – Drums, Vocals
* Peter Sinfield – Words, Sounds & Visions

Track List:
CD1
01. Cirkus – 10:08
02. Pictures of a City – 8:53
03. Sailor’s Tale – 15:32
04. The Letters – 4:48
05. Lady of the Dancing Water – 2:52
06. Cadence and Cascade – 4:24
CD2
01. Get Thy Bearings – 13:24
02. The Court of the Crimson King – 8:09
03. Ladies of the Road – 9:05
04. 21st Century Schizoid Man – 8:58
05. Mars – 9:12

Links in comments.

Boz Burrell, Ian Wallace, King Crimson, Live, Mel Collins, Peter Sinfield, Robert Fripp

Marillion – Anoraknophobia (2001) (@256)

25 Jul 2008

(Review from wikipedia, progarchives.com)

The band, still unhappy with their record label situation, decided that it would be trying a radical experiment by asking their fans if they would help fund the recording of the next album by pre-ordering it before recording even started. They result was over 12,000 pre-orders which raised enough money to record and release Anoraknophobia in 2001. The band was able to strike a deal with EMI to also help distribute the album. This allowed Marillion to retain all the rights to their music while enjoying commercial distribution.

The title appears to have been Marillion’s attempt to demonstrate that they do after all have a sense of humour, and are not as serious as they appear to be. At the time of this release, the band were becoming increasing conscious of their “progressive rock” tag, and the associated dinosaur references which came with it. This resulted in them attempting to, as they saw it, turn their back on progressive and seek to be acclaimed by the media with making “current” music.

“Anoraknophobia” is certainly different to their previous releases, but it’s not as different as the band perhaps liked to think. Seen in retrospect, and in the context of both previous and subsequent releases, it is a natural progression (oops, nearly used the progressive word there!).

The opening track, “Between you and me” is a straight forward piece of pop rock, with some U2 like guitar. Later, “Separated out” continues in a similar vein, with something of a wall of sound driving the beat. That track is dedicated to the band’s fans, and the fact that they are prepared to stand up and be counted, despite “ridicule for their dedication to the cause”. “Map of the world” is the most commercial track on the album, with an almost Beach Boys feel to the high vocals on the very catchy chorus. That’s really about it though in terms of up tempo songs, the remainder being ballad based. “When I meet God” typifies much of the Hogarth era Marillion output, with its delicate vocals and dreamy atmosphere. The punch-line here is the reference to “God” as she. “This is the 21st century” works remarkably well — this 11 minute track has an extended instrumental section.

Though not one of the best albums of the era; “Anoraknophobia” is enjoyable, with some strong melodies and fine performances.

Line-up:
- Mark Kelly / keyboards
- Steve Rothery / guitars
- Steve Hogarth / vocals
- Ian Mosley / drums
- Pete Trewavas / bass

Track List:
01. Between You and Me – 6:26
02. Quartz – 9:07
03. Map of the World – 5:01
04. When I Meet God – 9:15
05. The Fruit of the Wild Rose – 6:57
06. Separated Out – 6:15
07. This Is the 21st Century – 11:05
08. If My Heart Were a Ball, It Would Roll Uphill – 9:30

Links in comments.

Vinegar – Vinegar (1971) (@256)

25 Jul 2008

(Review from progarchives.com)

Vinegar is a psychedelic rock band from Germany formed by Wolfgang Grahn, Bernhard Liesegang and Jochen Biemann. The three men attended school together, but it wasn’t until they were in the university that the idea of forming a band had becomed more concrete. After some time playing together, they added a new member, Dagmar Dormagen (who was a very close friend of Wolfgang and lived just around the corner from his house) to sing in the band. By the end of 1969 Rolf Zwirner and Ralf Modrow joined the group and the line-up was established. They named their band Vinegar because they wanted to make music that was “hard to digest” as opposed to the “sweet stuff” others played.

Vinegar belongs to the dark chapter of krautrock, next to esoteric stoned rock bands. This self title album sounds amteurish but we can find something incredible in the way the musicians want to project rock ‘n roll into a heavy-psych-spaced out trip… and it works perfectly despite a certain dose of indulgence in the performance .The general atmosphere is seriously melancholic, desperate, moody; mixed with and intense acid bluesy rock.

“Missi Solis” is a fantastic, beatific rockin’ ballad with sad harmonies, lugubrious heavy guitars sequences, intimate organs and acoustic-folk mystery. A very seductive acid / semi improvisational piece. “Saw Mills” is a strange druggy excentricity with horrible female vocals,fuzzy guitar tones… The second part of the composition is much better with its freaky-energic-kraut-rocking dementia, punctuated by various excellent / crazy instrumental solos.

“Der Kaiser” starts with a calmer acoustic introduction for a violin / guitar duet then it goes on an efficiant, groovy / heavy rock trip. “Fleisch” represents the most amazing part of the album with the introduction theme. This composition delivers a haunted / ritual / creepy atmosphere directed by fuzz rockin guitar, pre-gothic keyboards , spectral melancholic voices. A funereal krautrock hymn with a wonderfully spacey vibe.

The band split after the recording of their only album because of musical differences.

Line-up:
- Bernhard Liesengang / bass, vocals
- Rolf Zwirner / guitar, violin
- Wolfgang Grahn / drums
- Ralf Modrow / organ, vocals
- Ambrosius Gulbatscher / gulbratsche
- Dagmar Dormagen / vocals, flute
- Jochen Biemann / guitar

Track List:
01. Missi Solis – 12:27
02. Sawmill – Teil 1 – 5:24
03. Sawmill – Teil 2 – 5:10
04. Der Kaiser Auf Der Erbse – 7:07
05. Fleisch – 7:08

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King Crimson – KCCC13 Nashville Rehearsals (1997) (@256)

25 Jul 2008

(Review from progarchives.com)

After the studio album Thrak, which was released in 1995, and a series of concerts, King Crimson was back in a recording studio to work out some ideas for the next release. They went to SIR studios in Nashville in May 1997. As we all know another release of the double trio would never be released. Some ideas that were rehearsed in Nashville would however resurface in some sort of form in the ProjeKcts and on the first release by the double duo (“The ConstruKction of Light”).

The overall sound of these tracks has more in common with the sound of the ProjeKcts than with THRAK. The problem with this release is that it is very fragmented. You mainly hear bits and pieces that could have ended up in a song. Most of the tracks lack any form of structure. Exceptions are the groovy “Presidents”, the heavy “Snugel”, the eerie “Jimmy Bond” and the melodic “Sad Woman Jam”. Another interesting track is the closer “Tony’s Jam”. This is a long jam with a rhythm that changes faster than you notice.

This release is of interest for the KC aficionado who is interested in the working process of the band and who is curious how some of the tunes were born. If you like the ProjeKcts than this album will also not be a disappointment.

Line-up:
* Robert Fripp – Guitar, Soundscapes
* Adrian Belew – Guitar
* Trey Gunn – Warr Guitar
* Tony Levin – Basses, Stick
* Pat Mastelotto – Acoustic & Electronic Drums & Percussion
* Bill Bruford – Acoustic & Electronic Drums & Percussion

Track List:
01. Presidents – 7:04
02. Scapeplay – 3:37
03. Snugel – 5:45
04. Off Sets – 4:23
05. Big Funk – 3:29
06. Jimmy Bond – 7:06
07. Have U Got? – 1:05
08. Mulundrum – 0:38
09. Too many eeee’s – 1:11
10. Nice To Start – 0:12
11. Pat’s Meckanical Fives – 3:03
12. Seizure – 0:51
13. Circulation – 1:03
14. KCF – 0:31
15. Ragin’ Drone – 3:40
16. JB in 7 – 2:41
17. Split Hands – 4:36
18. Sad Woman Jam – 2:35
19. Tony’s Jam – 12:57
20. Trey, Pat & Bill – 0:47

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Adrian Belew, Bill Bruford, King Crimson, Pat Mastelotto, Robert Fripp, Tony Levin, Trey Gunn

Marillion – Marillion.com (1999) (@320)

24 Jul 2008

(Review from progarchives.com)

Believe it or not, at times the band actually sound happy. It’s not immediately apparent, “A legacy” is a bit of a plodder for a starter, but by track two, “Deserve”, they’re starting to rock out. There’s even a screaming sax solo. After pausing for breath on the lovely soft “Go!”, they’re at it again, partying on with “Rich”. There’s a nice lyric on this track to the effect “Failure isn’t about falling down, failure is staying down”. Things drift a bit thereafter, until the west coast, almost county twang of “Tumble down the years”.

The album closes with the two longest, most progressive tracks. “Interior Lulu” is a bit of a hotchpotch with Hogarth rather over doing the vocals, but there are some nice guitars and keyboards. “House” is opened by a muted trumpet, which solo’s again later. It has something of a lazy lounge jazz feel, very soft and relaxed, with only the pained vocals belying the fact that it really is Marillion.

Marrilion.com certainly sees the band exploring different directions, something which many of their fans found difficult to stomach, and led to Marillion insisting they were not progressive. Sometimes the testing of the boundaries works, sometimes it doesn’t.

Line-up:
- Steve Hogarth / vocals, keyboards, percussion
- Mark Kelly / keyboards
- Ian Mosley / drums
- Steve Rothery / guitars
- Pete Trewavas / basses

Track List:
01. A Legacy (6:16)
02. Deserve (4:23)
03. Go! (6:11)
04. Rich (5:42)
05. Enlightened (4:59)
06. Built-in Bastard Radar (4:52)
07. Tumble Down the Years (4:33)
08. Interior Lulu (15:14)
09. House (10:15)

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Terpandre – Terpandre (1978) (@256)

24 Jul 2008

(Review from progarchives.com)

Terpandre, hailing from France, took their name from a poet/musician in Greek mythology. They play a classical influenced melodic progressive, underlined by the heavy use of violin and mellotron. Their self-titled album, released in 1981, is the only one album by the band. This album was actually recorded already in 1978. Due to the bad timing of the album it was originally self-released three years after it was recorded.

The album is rich and layered with dual keyboards (synth, acoustic, e-piano and of course mellotron). Violinist Patrick Tilleman (ex-Zao) is all over this album with great talent and clearly makes this album a standout. Their music is quite romantic and emotional with great beauty. Songs are well written tending to stay more on the gentle delicate side with a few great big break outs.

This edition of the album also features two bonus live tracks from 1977.

Terpandre offer a tasteful, and mature style of progressive that should appeal to most listeners. Don’t expect anything complex, but if you are into melody then this band has plenty to offer.

Line-up:
- Bernard Monerri / guitars, percussion
- Jacques Pina / acoustic piano, electric piano, clavinet, Mellotron
- Michel Tardieu / keyboards
- Patrick Tilleman / violin
- Paul Fargier / bass
- Michel Torelli / drums, percussion

Track List:
01. Le Temps – 7:01
02. Conte En Vert – 4:56
03. Anne-Michaele – 5:24
04. Histoire D’Un Pecheur – 5:55
05. Carrousel – 13:21
06. Conte En Vert (Bonus Live) – 4:47
07. Musique Pour Clair Obscur (Bonus Live) – 8:20

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King Crimson – KCCC12 Live in London (1969) (@256)

24 Jul 2008

(Review from progarchives.com)

On this album we can hear the famous Hyde Park concert, where King Crimson played in front of some 500,000 people as opening act for the Rolling Stones. It all happened on July 5, 1969.

The concert opens with two tracks from their debut album, which at the time of this concert had yet to be released. First “21st Century Schizoid man” and then the mellotron drenched “In the Court of the Crimson King”. The next track, “Get thy bearings” was written by Donovan. It’s a jazzy track with great soloing by McDonald and a bluesy, guitar led ending. Next is a short and beautiful version of “Epitaph”. This is followed by “Mantra”, also a short tune. It sounds spooky and has a beautiful flute sound. Without noticing this track turns into the next track, “Travel Weary Capricorn”. This is also a very jazzy tune. The concert ends with “Mars” (written by Holst). This music would be used for the track “The Devils Triangle” on the album “In the Wake of Poseidon”.

As bonus tracks there is an interview with the members of the first King Crimson incarnation at the time the live album Epitaph was released (March 15, 1997). But even more interesting there is an instrumental version of “21st Century Schizoid Man”, recorded at Morgan Studio on June 12, 1969.

The sonic quality of this release is acceptable and comparable to the mainstream Epitaph live set.

Line-up:
* Robert Fripp – Guitar
* Ian McDonald – Flute, Saxophone, Mellotron, Vocal
* Greg Lake – Bass Guitar, Lead Vocal
* Michael Giles – Drums, Percussion, Vocal
* Peter Sinfield – Words and Illumination

Track List:
01. 21st Century Schizoid Man – 6:37
02. In The Court Of The Crimson King – 6:31
03. Get Thy Bearings – 9:41
04. Epitaph – 4:28
05. Mantra – 3:04
06. Travel Weary Capricorn – 5:37
07. Mars – 3:59
08. Band Reunion Meeting (Bonus 1997) – 15:20
09. 21st Century Schizoid Man (Bonus Instrumental 1969) – 6:48

Links in comments.

Greg Lake, Ian McDonald, King Crimson, Live, Michael Giles, Peter Sinfield, Robert Fripp

Marillion – Zodiac (Live 1999) (@320)

23 Jul 2008

(Review from dprp.net)

Zodiac is the name of the venue in Oxford, where Marillion played four consecutive sold-out shows in July 1999. The four shows have been recorded and a compilation is now featured on this live album.

Each night featured a short acoustic set in which some of the song-arrangements from the Oswestry shows were played. The songs in this short set varied each night. The songs picked for this album are a beautiful Sugar Mice (with a piano solo replacing the guitar solo) and The Answering Machine, to which Ben Castle’s saxophone is a great addition.

An interesting track is part of “Goodbye to All That” (sections Wave, Mad, The Opium Den and The Slide) off the Brave album. They previously had played this song live, tied in between the songs Man of a Thousand Faces and Three Minute Boy, here it’s standalone.

Castle joins the band once again for an excellent rendition of “Berlin”. With “Cathedral Wall” the band shows that they are still capable of writing songs that are impressive in concerts. The heavily played Waiting to Happen is another one that makes you musing of days gone by.

Despite questionable song choices and sound quality, this is quite an enjoyable album. The band shows to be still in top-shape and especially Pete Trewavas has to be commented on his playing, as this was his first live performance after his accident seven months ago back then.

Line-up:
- Steve Hogarth / vocals
- Mark Kelly / keyboards
- Ian Mosley / drums
- Steve Rothery / guitars
- Pete Trewavas / bass

Track List:
01. Rich (5:42)
02. The uninvited guest (4:38)
03. Goodbye to all that (9:19)
04. Afraid of sunlight (8:00)
05. Deserve (5:03)
06. Sugar mice (5:49)
07. The answering machine (4:11)
08. Berlin (8:33)
09. Cathedral walls (7:20)
10. Waiting to happen (5:54)
11. Garden party (7:37)

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Triade – 1998 : La Storia Di Sabazio (1973) (@256)

23 Jul 2008

(Review from progarchives.com)

To say the Emerson Lake & Palmer were highly influential in Italy would be the under- statement of the decade during the 70s. Amongst these countless bands is one Triade (named after the Chinese mafia), a keyboard-dominated trio (from Florence) whose sole album was released in 1973.

Apart from ELP, Triade do not focus on strong interplay between keyboards and rythmic section, being more interested in more melodic interludes with very inspired and mellow bass lines, wonderful cello. Acoustic guitar a la Greg Lake is also an important part in the album’s construction but less in the ballad-mood as he did.

The album opens with the instrumental mini-suite “Sabazio”, builded up on four sections strongly inspired by classic music like they were a true piano-cello-guitar classic trio. Hammond organ and moog carefully alternating with the more acoustic and intimate interludes.

Side A close with “Il Circo” which is another instrumental (short) gem with an interesting alternation between a joyful keyboard ride and a more dramatic and pompous ending.

Side B features “Espressione” (wonderful interplay between piano and acoustic guitar, beautiful), “Caro Fratello” (strong interplay between keyboards and rythmic section, exciting!) and “1998”.

Wonderful melodic italian symphonic progressive with warm vocals and inspired lyrics.

Line-up:
- Vincenzo Coccimiglio / keyboards
- Agostino Nobile / bass, acoustic guitar, vocals
- Giorgio Sorano / drums

Track List:
01. Sabazio a) Nascita – 2:59
02. Sabazio b) Il Viaggio – 2:39
03. Sabazio c) Il Sogno – 3:19
04. Sabazio d) Vita Nuova – 3:06
05. Il Circo – 2:50
06. Espressione – 5:06
07. Caro Fratello – 5:06
08. 1998 (millenovecentonovantotto) – 6:16

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King Crimson – KCCC11 Live at Bath (1981) (@256)

23 Jul 2008

(Review from progreviews.com)

On April 30, 1981, the Moles Club in Bath did not host a band named King Crimson. At that point, the precocious four-piece band was still known as Discipline – but for all intents and purposes, of course, this is King Crimson. One can only wonder what the lucky folks in the audience were thinking as they were regaled with “Red”, “Larks’ Tongues in Aspic Part 2″, and a whole slew of new waveish dual-guitar stuff with Adrian Belew on vocals (the album Discipline was, at this point, still unfinished, of course). Did they recognize history in the making?

Oddly, despite this being Crimson’s first 80s live appearance, most of the new songs are largely in their final form. “Discipline”, “Indiscipline”, and “The Sheltering Sky” are all basically finished products, and are all performed with the blazing intensity typical of this incarnation of the band (“Discipline” in particular sounds great). Some quirks pop up in “Thela Hun Ginjeet” – Belew’s vocals are markedly different from the album version – and “Frame By Frame” sounds pretty rough, but for the most part the songs here sound much like we expect them to, if a little less polished. The two songs from the previous Crimson era are well-represented with solid, if not particularly notable, performances.

As a true live album, King Crimson has countless better ones than this (the definitive from this incarnation of the band being Absent Lovers); but as a historical document, Live at Moles Club is a valuable curiosity for die-hard KC fans. It’s certainly neat to hear the band in its embryonic stages. The band was only three weeks old at the time of this show, which is utterly remarkable given the state of the compositions and the tightness of the group interplay.

The sound quality of the show is about on the level of a good bootleg.

Line-up:
* Robert Fripp – Guitar
* Adrian Belew – Guitar & Vocal
* Tony Levin – Stick, Bass Guitar
* Bill Bruford – Drums & Percussion

Track List:
01. Discipline – 5:57
02. Thela Hun Ginjeet – 5:42
03. Red – 6:11
04. Elephant Talk – 4:45
05. Matte Kudasai – 3:43
06. The Sheltering Sky – 8:48
07. Indiscipline – 7:02
08. Frame By Frame – 4:58
09. Larks’ Tongues In Aspic (Part II) – 6:37

Link in comments.

Adrian Belew, Bill Bruford, King Crimson, Live, Robert Fripp, Tony Levin

Marillion – Radiation (1998) (@256)

22 Jul 2008

(Review from progarchives.com)

After the overly acoustic “This Strange Engine” album, Marillion decided to come back with a more rock-orientated album: “Radiation”. The influences for the songs presented here are obvious: Beatles and Radiohead.

Especially the raw production, which is really a contradiction compared to the previous “This Strange Engine” album, is interesting. The sound perfectly fits the songs, but sometimes it is a bit difficult to notice individual instruments in the overall mix, mainly the drumming.

The album consists of three different ‘movements’. The first four songs are all uplifting rock songs, whereas Now she’ll never know , These Chains and Born to run are slightly more emotional songs than the first set of songs. These songs are also ‘darker’ and more moody.

The final set of songs are for the most part progressive. “Cathedral Wall” is a metal progressive song which includes some ethereal keyboard playing and heavy guitar work. Hogarth’s vocals also sound very eerie and he even screams during some parts of the song. The title of the track fits the song perfectly, it sounds as if you indeed are inside a cathedral and there’s a wall of noise coming at you.

Closing the album is the 10+ minute beauty that is “A Few Words for the Dead”. Basically discussing the poetic significance of good and evil, the song’s lyrics work as a clear division between the two parts of the songs. The first half of the song is very ambient and atmospheric and makes the listener wonder if (s)he is in the middle of the jungle. The lyrics are a bit ‘disturbing’ and portrait the role of ‘evil’, but they surely fit the dark mood of the music. Halfway through, the song changes into something joyful and uplifting. Hogarth’s voice certainly sounds more beautiful now and he really shines. The music switches to a higher pitch of sound, which accompanies the positive lyrics superbly.

“Radiation” is despised by half of their fanbase, loved by the others. This is certainly understandable because the album is indeed one of a kind.

Line-up:
- Steve Hogarth / vocals, keyboards, percussion
- Mark Kelly / keyboards
- Ian Mosley / drums
- Steve Rothery / guitars
- Pete Trewavas / basses
with
- Viki Price / backing vocals (4)
- Jo Rothery / backing vocals (4)

Track List:
01. Costa Del Slough – 1:27
02. Under The Sun – 4:10
03. The Answering Machine – 3:47
04. Three Minute Boy – 5:59
05. Now She’ll Never Know – 4:59
06. These Chains – 4:49
07. Born To Run – 5:12
08. Cathedral Wall – 7:20
09. A Few Words For The Dead – 10:32

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Symphonic Slam – Symphonic Slam (1976) (@256)

22 Jul 2008

(Review from progarchives.com)

Timo Laine and his family emigrated from Finland to America in the 50′s. He began playing guitar at the age of 12 and became a guitar teacher at a local music store during his late high school years. He worked with new guitar synthesised technology and was therefore a pioneer in this genre. After quitting college he began performing in the club scene. It wasn’t until he re-located to Canada where his band was discovered by A&M Records. What set them apart was the 360 systems guitar synthesizer prototype. This led to the release of their 1976 self-titled album.

The album contains 10 magnificent and diverse songs, ranging from jazz-rock to symphonic & progressive rock. You can hear some influences of Styx, Kansas, Wakeman, Emerson, a bit of ELO and even some funk. Some of those classic 70s progressive sound qualities are woven in, and there are some lovely moments. Make no mistake, this is mid 70s rock and roll at the core.

Line-up:
- Timo Laine / guitar synthesizers, guitar, vocals
- John Lowery / drums, backing vocals
- David Stone / keyboards, backing vocals

Track List:
01. Universe – 6:38
02. Everytime – 4:21
03. Fold Back – 2:50
04. I Won’t Cry – 2:55
05. Let It Grow – 3:56
06. Modane Train – 4:19
07. Times Run Short – 2:48
08. Days (Instrumental) – 5:00
09. Summer Rain – 3:53
10. How Do You Stand (Before The Lord) – 5:01

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King Crimson – KCCC10 Live at NYC (1974) (@256)

22 Jul 2008

(Review from progreviews.com progarchives.com)

This concert was recorded at Central Park, New York, USA, July 1, 1974.

The show begins with a tape playing then recent Fripp & Eno collaboration “No Pussyfooting”, and then the band kicks in with a fine version of “21st Century Schizoid Man” featuring a Fripp on fire. The following “Lament” is also a good version of the song, there’s a furious interplay going on between Bruford and Wetton especially! The tuning before “Exiles” morphs into a very oppressive and chaotic improvisation, which then transmutes to the mantra and then as the main song. The contrasts are exceptionally fine here, the beautiful minor ballad rises from the maelstorm of a violent nightmare. Then comes the full-improvised number, named as “Cerberus”, which is an OK number. The quarrels within the band had escalated, and it can be heard in these “blows”, the rhythm section dominates the playing, and Fripp and Cross try to punch in their melodic passages desperately.

On “Fracture”, Wetton’s bass performance is stunningly virtuosic (or maybe just really, really loud), and gives the piece an almost funky flavor here that I’ve never heard on any other recording. Definitely one of my favorite renditions of this piece. The performance of “Starless” is blazing, and pretty close to the version that ended up on Red, although unfortunately the volume level seems to peter out a bit just as the climax hits. David Cross’ performance on “The Talking Drum” is definitely notable, and this piece in general is quite brutal here. “Larks’ Tongues Part 2″ is almost anticlimactic as a closer, but still has sections that burn.

Robert Fripp claimed that this concert, the last concert King Crimson played in the 1970s, was the only one that matched the fury and intensity of the 1969 live band. Unfortunately the sound quality of this release is average, but still pleasurable.

Line-up:
- Robert Fripp / guitar, mellotron, electric piano
- David Cross / violin, mellotron, electric piano
- John Wetton / bass guitar, vocals
- Bill Bruford / drums, percussion

Track List:
01. Walk On ,,, No Pussyfooting – 2:11
02. 21st Century Schizoid Man – 7:58
03. Lament – 4:49
04. Exiles – 7:53
05. Improve: Cerberus – 8:27
06. Easy Money – 6:26
07. Fracture – 11:20
08. Starless – 12:31
09. The Talking Drum – 5:30
10. Larks’ Tongues In Aspic: Part 2 – 6:57

Links in comments.

Bill Bruford, David Cross, John Wetton, King Crimson, Live, Robert Fripp

Marillion – This Strange Engine (1997) (@256)

21 Jul 2008

(Review from progarchives.com)

“This Strange Engine” proved to be more progressive than most of the previous Hogarth era Marillion albums, while retaining all the best qualities from those albums. The band themselves came to resent their progressive tag, and tried hard later to disown it, but when they can produce music such as this, it’s hard to see what their problem was.

The tracks are generally longer, peaking with the title track clocking in at almost 16 minutes. This track is an excellent piece of progressive, with superb guitar work, and plenty of space for the band to stretch themselves beyond their previous self imposed boundaries. This is especially true of the albums which immediately preceded this one.

The first track “A man of a thousand faces” starts in fairly typical Marillion fashion, but slows towards the end to an almost tribal recital, very effective too. There are a number of mellower tracks to follow, such as “One fine day”, “Estonia”, and “Memory of water”. They sit well together, creating a relaxed and pleasant mood for the album. There are some livelier numbers, such as “Hope for the future”, and “An accidental man”, but the general feel is smooth and melodic.

Yet another undervalued album deserving of greater appreciation.

Line-up:
- Steve Hogarth / vocals, keyboards
- Mark Kelly / keyboards, backing vocals
- Ian Mosley / drums
- Steve Rothery / guitars, backing vocals
- Pete Trewavas / basses, backing vocals
with
- Charlton & New Bottle School Choir / chorus (1)
- Tim Perkins / Balalaika (4)
- Paula Savages / trumpet (7)
- Phil Todd / saxophone (8)

Track List:
01. Man of a Thousand Faces
02. One Fine Day
03. 80 Days
04. Estonia
05. Memory of Water
06. An Accidental Man
07. Hope for the Future
08. This Strange Engine

Links in comments.

Tibet – Tibet (1978) (@256)

21 Jul 2008

(Review from progarchives.com)

Jurgen Grutszch formed Tibet in 1972, having been inspired by the Eastern experimentation of groups such as the Beatles and Third Ear Band. Krutszch had spent the latter part of the 60s in cover bands and was interested in putting together a group that played native Tibetan instruments such as the tabla, violin, zither, and flute. He quickly abandoned this idea after recruiting the other group members, but the band did retain a certain pseudo-mystic feel to their music during their nine year existence.

The band toured extensively throughout the 70s, opening occasionally for fellow countrymen but managed to release only a single album, their self-titled 1979 studio release. The tracks for the album were recorded in three separate sessions dating from December 1976 to September 1978.

The band’s sound is a complex fusion of astral rock, jazz, classical music and Tibetan sounds, heavily keyboard-driven (hammond, mellotron) and compared to the likes of Eloy, Amenophis and even Uriah Heep, although most of their studio release consists of tracks that are similar in style but more reserved than any of those bands. Lyrics (when present) are primarily in sung English, but the band is known to play longer instrumentals in concert, and three such tracks appear on their studio release.

Having failed to make a commercial impression with their one record, Tibet decided to call it quits and disbanded following their final concert appearance in 1980.

Line-up:
- Kalus Werthmann / lead vocals
- Deff Ballin / keyboards, percussion
- Dieter Kumpakischkis / keyboards
- Karl Heinz Hamann / bass, percussion
- Fred Teske / drums
- Jurgen Grutzsch / guitars, percussion

Track List:
01. Fight Back – 5:02
02. City by the Sea – 4:26
03. White Ships and Icebergs – 6:18
04. Seaside Evening – 4:16
05. Take what’s yours – 7:26
06. Eagles – 6:08
07. No more time – 5:30

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King Crimson – KCCC09 Denver Live at Summit Studios (1972) (@256)

21 Jul 2008

(Review from progarchives.com)

You can always rely on King Crimson to challenge your expectations, even in a 30-year old archive recording from arguably the least popular line-up of the band. If you only know this Crimson from their somewhat austere 1971 album “Islands”, prepare to have your eyes and ears belatedly opened, and better late than never.

At this point in the band’s history the signature King Crimson spirit of “energy, intensity, and eclecticism” had been all but reduced to just the eclecticism. But this live-in-the-station radio broadcast, recorded in Colorado during their final U.S. tour, offers a candid and surprisingly playful portrait of a group supposedly in disarray, and as a welcome bonus it sounds a heck of a lot better than the sub-bootleg concert tapes on the posthumous “Earthbound” album.

Forget everything you might have read about this being an unhappy quartet of mismatched talents, split by creative frictions: this set captures them in peak form and high spirits. Evidence of the informal nature of the gig can be heard in some of the goofy but affectionate banter between songs, including (in “My Hobby”) Ian Wallace doing his best Mr. Gumby impersonation, for an audience not yet acquainted with Monty Python (this from a drummer, keep in mind, who according to band biographer Sid Smith once performed for the goggle-eyed comedian Marty Feldman, while dressed as a duck).

Elsewhere the band’s enthusiasm (yes, even from the normally taciturn Fripp) must have been contagious, as more than half of their performance here was clearly unscheduled. The original four-song set opens with a tight, swinging variation of “Pictures of a City” (miles removed from the “21st Century Schizoid Man” similarity on the “Wake of Poseidon” album), and was meant to conclude with “Schizoid Man” itself, here in a more circumspect version played at a somewhat lachrymose pace, no doubt to accommodate the rookie bass guitarist.

But just as the studio host begins his closing acknowledgements and thanks, an irrepressible Ian Wallace starts a spontaneous drumbeat and the band kicks into another impromptu jam. “…Looks like we’re gonna get an encore”, drawls the DJ, and not for the last time that evening. There are at least two more false endings before the true final number: a long freeform arrangement of the Leon Thomas / Pharaoh Sanders composition “The Creator Has a Master Plan”.

The variable mix of this track suggests it might have actually been a pre-show microphone check. After 15 minutes the whole thing finally unravels (with unaccountable tape splices spoiling the continuity), but not before another surprise, when the upbeat melody suddenly breaks into a filthy blues riff, inspiring even Fripp to throw his guitar (all too briefly) into some unlikely sonic contortions.

The unexpected and wholly American blues-funk flavor of this line-up still doesn’t sit well with doctrinaire Crimheads, and was never quite to Fripp’s own taste either. The guitarist himself is often the odd man out here, but it’s fascinating to hear him beginning to move away from the jazzier sound of earlier King Crimson albums toward the harder, more aggressive style soon to reach fruition only a few short months later with the “Larks Tongues” crew.

Some tantalizing hints of that uncompromising musical future are already evident. At the end of the “Summit Going On” improv you’ll recognize what would become the opening motif to “Night Watch” and the guitarist can later be heard test-driving some of the white-lightning riffs of “Larks Tongues In Aspic, Part One”, almost daring the rest of the band to follow him.

Some of this show would later appear on the haphazard “Ladies of the Road” collection, but the entire set, warts and all, might go a long way toward rehabilitating the undervalued reputation of this Crimson. For diehard fans in particular, this album fills in the blanks of an only half-sketched and long neglected chapter in the ongoing King Crimson biography.

Line-up:
* Robert Fripp – Guitar, Mellotron
* Mel Collins – Sax, Flute, Mellotron
* Boz Burrell – Bass Guitar, Lead Vocal
* Ian Wallace – Drums, Backing Vocal

Track List:
01. Pictures of a City – 9:38
02. Cadence and Cascade – 4:46
03. Groon – 13:49
04. 21st Century Schizoid Man – 10:10
05. Improv: Summit Going On – 11:39
06. My Hobby – 1:31
07. Sailor’s Tale – 6:52
08. The Creator Has a Master Plan – 15:26

Links in comments.

Boz Burrell, Ian Wallace, King Crimson, Live, Mel Collins, Robert Fripp

Marillion – Afraid of Sunlight (1995) (@256)

21 Jul 2008

(Review from progarchives.com)

Marillion’s 1995 release came out in the wake of their modern masterpiece “Brave”. “Afraid of Sunlight” feels more like a loose concept based around discarded pieces from “Brave” than anything else, but the quality of these “throwaways” and the craft put into each individual song is fantastic.

All the tracks here are melodic, well written, and beautifully produced. The sound is much softer than the Fish era, and even that of the early Hogarth era albums. The title track is the best of the lot being a soft verse, loud chorus song with an awesome keyboards section, including bass notes to shiver your timbers . The song finds the band back on their ecological bandwagon, along the lines of “Season’s end”, with which the track has a fair bit in common.

“Cannibal surf babe” is a Beach Boys inspired (almost) song, which endeavours to show that Marillion do in fact have a sense of humour. It’s certainly a well constructed parody, complete with subtle vocal harmonies. “Beautiful” is descriptive both of itself and of the following “Afraid of sunrise”. The latter is a fragile piece with a similar theme and structure to the title track, for which it is virtually a guide vocal.

Two of the tracks are about people who died before they should have. “Out of this world” pays tribute to Donald Campbell who died attempting to beat the world water speed record, while “King” is (obviously) about Elvis. Both are sympathetically written, and musically superb, with Hogarth in particular contributing heartfelt vocals.

An inspired album which deserved a far greater audience than it ultimately gained.

Line-up:
- Steve Hogarth / vocals, keyboards, percussion
- Mark Kelly / keyboards
- Ian Mosley / drums
- Steve Rothery / guitars
- Pete Trewavas / basses

Track List:
01. Gazpacho – 7:28
02. Cannibal Surf Babe – 5:45
03. Beautiful – 5:12
04. Afraid of Sunrise – 5:01
05. Out of This World – 7:54
06. Afraid of Sunlight – 6:49
07. Beyond You – 6:10
08. King – 7:03

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Samuel Prody – Samuel Prody (1972) (@256)

20 Jul 2008

(Review from wikipedia, Tapestry of Delights, amazon)

Samuel Prody is a British band that only recorded one selftitled album in 1970. Like many great bands of the period, they had a fantastic live act and their self-titled debut was a heavy mix of psych and blues that still sounds fresh.
The music reminds of the psychedelic Groundhogs stuff, but Samuel Prody tended to extend their melody lines out in odd directions and weren’t afraid of harmony vocals. Zeppelin influence is felt in the band’s tendency to pound the living hell out of a riff when necessary.

Line-up:
* Tony Savva – Lead Vocals, Guitar & Bass
* Derek Smallcombe – Lead Guitar & Vocals
* John Boswell – Percussion and Vocals
* Stephen Day – Bass & Lead Guitar

Track List:
01. Who Will Buy – 4:27
02. Woman – 4:20
03. Time Is All Mine – 6:14
04. Scat Shuffle – 2:20
05. She’s Mine – 3:19
06. Mr. Make Believe – 3:19
07. Hallucination – 8:42

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King Crimson – KCCC08 VROOOM Sessions (1994) (@256)

20 Jul 2008

(Review from progreviews.com)

The eighth edition in the King Crimson Collector’s Club presents outtakes from the first series of rehearsals of the ‘double trio’ of the band in 1994.

The sessions heard here are largely an exhibit of six musicians just beginning to oil their joints as a unit with no firm material yet established. So, one can’t fault Fripp and company too much for stretching out in what is clearly a rehearsal setting not recorded with an eye towards release.

Still, even in these simple jams, there’s a slightly detectable forced ‘descent into busywork’ that seemed to dog this lineup at the expense of a more focused simplicity. Eventually this led to the oversaturation and the band moved towards partitioning into ‘fraKctals’.

That’s not to say there aren’t some interesting moments to be found here. The aptly titled “Monster Jam”, with Fripp’s sinister soundscapes and Bruford’s thundering drumwork, shows the tremendous force that this band could summon with little difficulty. Among the other tracks, “Bill & Tony” recalls “Waiting Man” from Beat, and there are instrumental run-throughs of “One Time” and an embryonic version of “Sex Sleep Eat Drink Dream” (here entitled “No Questions Asked”). Also, “Krim 3″ would eventually see light as a track on Adrian Belew’s solo album under a different name.

Obviously one wouldn’t expect to hear anything inspiring, though it provides insight into this particular time slot in Crimson’s history for the interested.

Line-up:
* Robert Fripp – Guitar, Soundscapes
* Adrian Belew – Guitar
* Trey Gunn – Stick
* Tony Levin – Basses, Stick
* Pat Mastelotto – Acoustic & Electronic Drums & Percussion
* Bill Bruford – Acoustic & Electronic Drums & Percussion

Track List:
01. Bass Groove – 4:34
02. Fashionable – 4:59
03. Monster Jam – 8:38
04. Slow Mellow – 2:57
05. Krim 3 – 3:20
06. Funky Jam – 4:57
07. Bill & Tony – 1:36
08. No Questions Asked – 3:24
09. Adrian’s Clouds – 1:39
10. Calliope – 5:58
11. One Time – 5:24
12. Booga Looga – 3:46

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Adrian Belew, Bill Bruford, King Crimson, Pat Mastelotto, Robert Fripp, Tony Levin, Trey Gunn

Marillion – Brave (1994) (@256)

19 Jul 2008

(Review from progarchives.com)

“Brave” is probably the most challenging, dense album in their whole discography that is known to cause bafflement on the first play but if the listener is prepared to stick with it, it will repay untold rewards. It continues to reveal new layers even many years after the first listen. Although not always a comfortable listen, it’s always a compelling one.

The concept is based around a girl’s thoughts of suicide on a bridge and what brought her to that decision. The beginning of the album appropriately called ‘Bridge’ sets the scene superbly, with the foghorn cries and Mark Kelly’s subtle, underplayed synthesiser motif that is genuinely affecting. This gives way to ‘Living With The Big Lie’ that rises in intensity to become a full-on assault with aggressive guitar work from Steve Rothery and manic vocals from Steve Hogarth.

The section of the album which runs from the epic, multi-sectioned ‘Goodbye To All That’ to ‘Hard As Love’ is perhaps the band’s most uncompromising work. The former is a multi-layered beast, ranging from gentle, near-ambient textures with pulsing bass from Pete Trevawas to a ‘King Of Sunset Town’- flavoured guitar break to the full-on heavy rock of ‘Hard As Love’, complete with aggressive Hammond organ runs from Mark Kelly. Meanwhile, the cathartic ‘Now Wash Your Hands’ and ‘Brave’ edge towards Peter Gabriel at his most soulful. It all still sounds fresh now, and shows the band are far from the anachronistic dullards they are unfairly painted as being by some of the British music press.

There are a few moments here that hint slightly at the band’s earlier and future sound; certainly ‘Runaway’, with that trademark Steve Rothery guitar sound and a brilliant yet not over- technical guitar solo, harks back to earlier classics like ‘Easter’. ‘The Hollow Man’ arguably edges towards their later classic ‘Fantastic Place’, having a similar piano/vocal ebb and flow, and the yearning strains of the Mellotron really add to this track too. ‘Alone Again In The Lap Of Luxury’ was released as a single, but should have been a bigger hit, possessing a moving chorus with some of Steve Hogarth’s finest vocals and a rippling guitar motif from Steve Rothery.

The climax of the album is some of the most genuinely moving music they have produced, however. The reprise of ‘The Great Escape’ section, with even more pathos from both Hogarth and Rothery in their respective roles, packs a real punch, and ‘Made Again’ is a beautifully sparse climax featuring some delicate acoustic guitar and, for once, uplifting vocals and lyrics that at least send the listener out on a high after the emotional rollercoaster ride of some of the other tracks.

“Brave” was a remarkable achievement during an era where this type of music was often frowned upon.

Line-up:
- Steve Hogarth / vocals, keyboards, percussion
- Mark Kelly / keyboards
- Ian Mosley / drums
- Steve Rothery / guitars
- Pete Trewavas / basses
with
- Tony Halligan / Uillean pipes
- The Liverpool Philharmonic / cellos and flutes
- Darryl Way / Orchestral arrangements

Track List:
01. Bridge – 2:55
02. Living With the Big Lie – 6:46
03. Runaway – 4:40
04. Goodbye To All That – 12:26
05. Hard As Love – 6:41
06. The Hollow Man – 4:08
07. The Lap of Luxury – 8:13
08. Paper Lies – 5:47
09. Brave – 7:56
10. The Great Escape – 6:30
11. Made Again – 5:02

Links in comments.

Writing On The Wall – Power of the Picts (1969) (@256)

19 Jul 2008

(Review from progarchives.com)

The band that became “Writing On the Wall” began as Scottish soul band the “Jury” in the mid-60s, but transforming themselves like so many of their contemporaries into a psychedelic-tinged group along with their renaming in 1968. The band issued but one official studio album, the 1969 release “The Power of the Picts”.

“Writing on the Wall” retained much of the blues influence of the music they came of age with by mixing heavy and sometimes uneven blend of psych, blues with idealistic and often abstract lyrics to form a distinctly late 60s sound reminiscent of groups like Cactus and Babe Ruth. Their music tended toward a more somber tone than most of their peers. There is plenty of aggressive and energetic organ with heavy guitar. The lyrical themes range from earthy to vague fantasy to weirdly poetic. A few spoken-word passages add some variety.

This edition has two bonus tracks, the two sides of the band’s first single released before this album was originally recorded. Both are more psych-leaning than most of the rest of the album and may represent the transitional state of the band as it moved from that to a more progressive sound as they worked on the tracks for this album.

Line-up:
- Willy Finlayson / guitar, vocals
- Alby Greenhalg / wind instruments
- Jimmy Hush / drums
- Billy T. Scott / keyboards
- Jake Scott / bass, vocals
- Linnie Patterson / vocals

Track List:
01. Bogeyman – 3:45
02. Shadow of Man – 5:57
03. Taskers Successor – 3:42
04. Hill of Dreams – 3:08
05. Virginia Water – 5:56
06. It Came On A Sunday – 4:18
07. Mrs. Coopers Pie – 3:21
08. Ladybird – 3:46
09. Aries – 8:08
10. Child On A Crossing (Bonus) – 3:32
11. Lucifer Corpus (Bonus) – 5:43

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King Crimson – KCCC07 ProjeKct Four San Francisco (1998) (@256)

19 Jul 2008

(Review from progarchives.com)

This release is subtitled “The roar of P4” and that’s just what it is. It was recorded on November 1, 1998 at the 7th Note in San Francisco. It is a heavy and dark album.

The album opens with “Ghost”. It starts with a spacy sound, but this is soon supported by a fast beat and extensive soloing by Fripp. An energetic track. This followed by “Heavy” and “Light ConstruKction”. These two tracks were previously performed by ProjeKct Two (they can be found on the album “Live Groove”) and were later performed by ProjeKct Three (on the album “Live in Austin”). The track “Deception of the Thrush” was later adopted by King Crimson. “Seizure” can also be found on the improve disc of the triple album “Heavy ConstruKction”. Again a very dynamic track, not much melody but mainly rhythm. The album closes with “Ghost 3”, which is a slow and heavy track and “ProjeKction” that resembles the space sound of ProjeKct Two.

Line-up:
- Robert Fripp / Guitar
- Tony Levin / Basses, Stick
- Trey Gunn / Touch Guitar, Talker
- Pat Mastelotto / Electronic Traps And Buttons

Track List:
01. Ghost – 8:50
02. Heavy ConstruKction – 9:14
03. Light ConstruKction – 8:32
04. Deception Of The Thrush – 9:04
05. Seizure – 13:36
06. Ghost 3 – 12:13
07. ProjeKction – 10:10

Links in comments.

King Crimson, Live, Pat Mastelotto, Robert Fripp, Tony Levin, Trey Gunn

Marillion – Seasons End (1989) (@256)

18 Jul 2008

(Review from progarchives.com)

‘Season’s End’ may well rank as the best comeback album in progressive since at least 1980, with Yes’ ‘Drama’, and maybe even Genesis’ ‘A Trick Of The Tail’ in 1976. The comparison would no doubt infuriate the Marillion of today, but the links are obvious- both of those acts lost their immensely talented and charismatic frontmen, meaning the outcome of what followed was always going to be under close scrutiny. Like those albums, ‘Season’s End’ is a success and ultimately closes the chapter on one stage in Marillion’s career whilst starting another.

The new vocalist, Steve Hogarth’s voice and vocal style is somewhat different to his predecessor, and any remaining links with the Genesis sound were roundly eliminated with Fish’s departure.

The album finds the band moving towards a slightly softer overall sound, with the title track in particular being virtually a ballad. The song, a message about global warming, starts softly then moves through powerful choruses, and a great keyboard section. Having appeared to finish, it is then moves in to a coda with a long acoustic section, which slowly builds again before the final fade. A wonderfully structure song which clearly demonstrated that this version of Marillion came with new and fresh ideas.

There is a consistency to the remaining tracks which means that you’ll either enjoy the whole thing, or you won’t enjoy much of it at all. “The uninvited guest” is lyrically a slightly humorous dig at the departed Fish.

“Seasons End” is a confident venture into the brave new world without the “fifteen stone first footer”, which, while it may have caused a few of the band’s fans to jump ship, reassured the vast majority that the band had plenty of life left in it yet.

Line-up:
- Steve Hogarth / vocals
- Mark Kelly / keyboards
- Ian Mosley / drums
- Steve Rothery / guitars
- Pete Trewavas / basses
with
- Jean-Pierre Rasle / pipes (2)
- Phil Todd / saxophone (6)

Track List:
01. The King Of Sunset Town – 8:04
02. Easter – 5:58
03. The Uninvited Guest – 3:52
04. Seasons End – 8:10
05. Holloway Girl – 4:30
06. Berlin – 7:47
07. After Me – 3:20
08. Hooks In You – 2:57
09. The Space… – 6:14

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Ripaille – La Vieille Que L'on Brula (1977) (@256)

18 Jul 2008

(Review from progarchives.com)

Ripaille were a Breton band formed by Gérard Duchemann in order to create a show based around the story of alchemist Nicholas Flamel. “La Vieille que l’On Brűla” was the only album to be released during the band’s short lifetime, it is one of the progressive masterpieces of France.

Ripaille’s music is rich and full bodied with some wonderful songwriting and heavy use of analog synths. It is centered around concepts and full of theatrical moods perfect for their lavish stage shows. Vocals are sung in French and are quite well done with great expressionism. Instrumentation used throughout is exceptional and nicely varied and contrasted.

In many ways their sound is reminiscent of 70s Canadian progressive band Harmonium with their slight electronic folk influences and quirky little moods. Songs are greatly landscaped with analog keyboard sounds while the guitar bass and drum carry the melody.

The bonus tracks are from an album to be that never came and although slightly unfinished they hint at another real masterpiece in the making.

Line-up:
- Patrick Audouin / Grand piano, Fender Rhodes, synthesizers, spinet, acoustic guitar, tubular bells, rattle, cymbals, vocals
- Patrick Droguet / acoustic & electric guitars, triangle
- Michel Munoz / drums, rototoms, cymbals, crotales
- Gérard Duchemann / lead vocals, synthesizers, string-ensemble, spinet
- Jacquy Thomas / bass, string-ensemble, vibes, tambourine, vocals
- Michel Santangelli / drums (10-12)
- Hugues De Courson / rototoms, crumhorn
- Robert Le Gall / violin
- Alain Hergouarch / tambourine
- Emmanuelle Parrenin / triangle, vocals
- Jo Courtin / accordion
- Pierre Holassian / Alto saxophone
- Bruno Menny / sound effects

Track List:
01. Fils De La Lune – 4:29
02. Le Jardin Des Plaisirs – 5:38
03. Il N’y A Plus Rein – 3:29
04. Satane Jardin – 2:41
05. La Veuve De Nicolas Kremer – 5:08
06. Le Sabbat Des Sorcieres – 3:55
07. Les Loups – 2:40
08. La Vieille Que L’on Brula – 3:52
09. Epilogue – 4:18
10. Ah, Faut Profiter (N.N.C.O.) (Bonus) – 5:10
11. Gratis Et En Plein Air (Bonus) – 4:13
12. Les Chameaux (Bonus) – 5:20

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King Crimson – KCCC05-06 Broadway (1995) (@256)

18 Jul 2008

(Info from wikipedia)

The tracks on the album were recorded at the Longacre Theater in New York City, USA, on November 20, 21, 22, 24 and 25, 1995, as the band was touring to promote the album Thrak.

“Vrooom Vrooom” live album features one disc with recordings from the Broadway concerts. The final track, “Fearless and Highly THRaKked”, is also featured on the live album THRaKaTTaK. An alternative version of this track, entitled “Biker Babes of the Rio Grande”, is featured on the “Vrooom Vrooom” live album.

Lead singer and guitarist Adrian Belew performed John Lennon’s “Free As A Bird” as a solo piece throughout the Broadway engagement. This was not included on King Crimson On Broadway, but was released on Belew’s solo album Belewprints and on the “Vrooom Vrooom” live album.

Line-up:
* Robert Fripp – guitar
* Adrian Belew – guitar, vocals
* Tony Levin – bass guitar, Chapman stick
* Trey Gunn – Warr guitar
* Bill Bruford – drums, percussion
* Pat Mastelotto – drums, percussion

Track List:
CD1
01. Conundrum – 1:57
02. Thela Hun Ginjeet – 6:43
03. Red – 6:29
04. Dinosaur – 7:16
05. Vrooom Vrooom – 4:48
06. Frame By Frame – 5:10
07. Walking On Air – 5:28
08. B’Boom – 5:35
09. Thrak – 6:31
10. Neurotica – 4:34
11. Sex,Sleep,Eat,Drink.Dream – 4:58
CD2
01. People – 6:14
02. One Time – 5:55
03. Indiscipline – 7:16
04. Improv: Two Sticks – 2:02
05. Elephant Talk – 4:17
06. Prism – 3:56
07. Talking Drum – 2:59
08. Larks’ Tongues In Aspic (Part II) – 7:27
09. Three Of A Perfect Pair – 4:22
10. Vrooom – 3:54
11. Coda: Marine 475 – 2:41
12. Fearless And Highly THRaKked – 2:31

Links in comments.

Adrian Belew, Bill Bruford, King Crimson, Pat Mastelotto, Robert Fripp, Tony Levin, Trey Gunn

Marillion – B Sides Themselves (@256)

17 Jul 2008

(Review from progarchives.com)

With many collections of B sides, outtakes, non-album singles, live and alternative versions, etc., you can often be distracted by the sound of the barrel being scraped. With this collection from Marillion however there is good reason to gather these tracks together to form an album. Indeed, the title rather belittles what is on offer here, as it may imply a collection of sub-standard tracks.

While that connotation may indeed be applicable to some of the content, others such as the three tracks from the “Market Square heroes“ EP would be worthy of inclusion on any Fish era album. The opening track, “Grendel” is an excellent piece of music, despite the fact that has been the subject of repeated debate, due to the strong similarities on one part of it, with the “Apocalypse in 9/8″ section of “Supper’s ready” by Genesis.

Inevitably, being a collection of on the whole pretty good B sides, there is a lack of cohesion and continuity to the album. This is especially apparent with the live “Margaret” which ends the album. While this may well be an enjoyable climax to a live concert, it is a rather tedious indulgence when taken out of context.

A worthwhile collection of rare tracks, which offers a simple and effective way of obtaining them.

Line-up:
- Fish / vocals
- Mark Kelly / keyboards
- Ian Mosley / drums
- Mick Pointer / drums, percussion (1-2)
- Steve Rothery / guitars
- Pete Trewavas / basses

Track List:
01. Grendel – 17:15
02. Charting The Single – 4:48
03. Market Square Heroes – 3:56
04. Three Boats Down From The Candy – 4:01
05. Cinderella Search – 4:21
06. Lady Nina – 3:43
07. Freaks – 4:04
08. Tux On – 5:12
09. Margaret (Live) – 12:17

Links in comments.

Fish, Ian Mosley, Marillion

Salamander – Ten Commandments (1971) (@256)

17 Jul 2008

(Review from progarchives.com)

This four piece British act created a grand symphonic concept album based on the topic of God and the “Ten Commandments”.

Centred around the organ laden swirls of Alister Benson who at times very much remind of Deep Purple’s Jon Lord. Conceptually on this album each of the ten songs focuses on one commandment. Salamander combine orchestra with rock not unlike in many ways the Moody Blues achieved on their early albums. Lead vocalist Dave Titley sounds very similar in style to Dave Lambert of the Strawbs and the vocal harmonies work to perfection. Instrumentally Salamander are tight and crisp with guitar, bass, drums and organ augmented with orchestration throughout.

Line-up:
- Alister Benson / organ, vocals
- Dave Chriss / bass
- John Cook / drums
- Dave Titley / lead vocals, guitar

Track List:
01. Prelude (incorporating He’s My God) – 7:11
02. Images – 3:22
03. People – 2:49
04. God’s Day – 2:25
05. Honour Thy Father And Thy Mother – 1:37
06. Kill – 3:27
07. Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery – 3:05
08. Steal – 4:17
09. False Witness – 3:53
10. Possessions – 3:12

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King Crimson – KCCC04 Live at Cap D'Agde (1982) (@256)

17 Jul 2008

9 comments

Tracks 1-6 recorded at the Arena, Cap D’Agde, France, August 26, 1982. Tracks 7-9 recorded at the Arena, Frejus, France, August 27, 1982.

The quality of the recording is astounding, rivaling the ‘mainstream” release of “Absent Lovers”.

Line-up:
* Robert Fripp / guitar
* Adrian Belew / guitar, vocals
* Tony Levin / bass guitar, Chapman stick
* Bill Bruford / drums, percussion

Track List:
01. Waiting Man – 7:09
02. Thela Hun Ginjeet – 4:30
03. Matte Kudasai – 3:58
04. The Sheltering Sky – 9:48
05. Neil And Jack And Me – 5:38
06. Elephant Talk – 4:57
07. Indiscipline – 12:31
08. Heartbeat – 4:05
09. Larks’ Tongues In Aspic II – 7:50

Links in comments.

Adrian Belew, Bill Bruford, King Crimson, Live, Robert Fripp, Tony Levin

Marillion – Clutching at Straws (1987) (@256)

16 Jul 2008

(Review from progarchives.com)

‘Clutching At Straws’ is very much a transitional album for Marillion. Their previous album, ‘Misplaced Childhood’ was a huge success. However, instead of going down the ‘Passion Play’ route of doing a more of the same, albeit bigger and more bombastic, concept album, the band streamlined their sound. Although there are no big epics, this is the point where the band completely shunned any accusations of cloning and had a clear identity of their own.

From the very front cover of the record to the last song performed in here, you can perceive a sensation of sorrow, of darkness and that irremediable impact of confusion the album’s got for you.

Most of the songs written and composed for “Clutching at Straws” are intended to be breathed and lived intensively by the listener, and the album achieves that important commitment: it drives you through your inner fears, your captivated feelings and brings out the sensitivity locked away in you.

The “concept” of this album is about a “tormented artist” who is having problems with substances and who is in a personal crisis about what he is going to do in the future. In the case of Fish, he was tired of touring, he wanted to have a more “quiet” life, he had some problems with substance abuse, and he wanted to spend more time with his new wife, as he didn’t want to spoil his love relationship as he did in the past because he was so concentrated in his musical career. Also, he started to have some political ideas and these were not shared by the band.

So out went the larger-than-life Fish on a high note, leaving a hole that would be difficult to fill.

Line-up:
- Fish / vocals
- Mark Kelly / keyboards
- Ian Mosley / drums, percussion
- Steve Rothery / guitars
- Pete Trewavas / basses
with
- John Cavanagh / Dr. Finley (8)
- Christopher Robbin Kimsey / backing vocals (7)
- Tessa Niles / backing vocals (2-11)

Track List:
01. Hotel Hobbies – 3:36
02. Warm Wet Circles – 4:25
03. That Time of the Night (The Short Straw) – 5:57
04. Going Under – 2:49
05. Just for the Record – 3:10
06. White Russian – 6:26
07. Incommunicado – 5:17
08. Torch Song – 4:05
09. Slrinte Mhath – 4:42
10. Sugar Mice – 5:48
11. The Last Straw ~ Happy Ending – 5:59

Link in comments.

Fish, Ian Mosley, Marillion

Ricordi d'Infanzia – Io Uomo (1973) (@256)

16 Jul 2008

(Review from progarchives.com)

Yet another lost gem from that place and time of progressive nirvana — 1973 Italy. Almost nothing is known about this band from Brianza. They were established 60s session men who played under various names before getting to open for Le Orme in 1972. They recorded this concept album about the evolution of man, released a single afterwards, and had a line-up change before disbanding in 1976.

“Io Uomo” is a memorable album. It is an energetic mix of Deep Purple like hard-rock with lots of organ and ballsy guitar, softer pastoral moments of a sentimental nature and some of the typical Italian strangeness for good measure. At times the sound does meld somewhere in the Rare Bird / Atomic Rooster world of progressive rock.

Beneath the covers on this one is a real progressive classic with thoughtful song writing and instrumental performances. Some of the more pastoral moments are absolutely stunning and the more you listen to this album the more you will treasure its grandeur. At 32 minutes it’s simply all over far too soon.

Like many others of the period it received no promotion and sunk into obscurity until being unearthed by the Italian progressive fan renaissance years later. There’s nothing exactly groundbreaking here but the album is easily recommended to any fan of heavy guitar/organ based rock.

Line-up:
- Emilio Mondelli / vocals
- Franco Cassina / guitar, vocals
- Maurizio Vergani / keyboards, vocals
- Tino Fontanella / bass
- Antonio Sartori / drums, percussion

Track List:
01. Caos – 3:06
02. Creazione – 2:58
03. L’eden – 2:56
04. 2000 Anni Prima – 4:12
05. Preghiera – 4:03
06. Morire O Non Morire – 4:59
07. 2000 Anni Dopo – 4:05
08. Uomo Mangia Uomo – 6:17

Link in comments.

King Crimson – KCCC03 Live at Bremen (1972) (@256)

16 Jul 2008

9 comments

(Review from progarchives.com)

This concert was recorded on the German programme Beat Club, in Bremen, Germany, on October 17, 1972.

The first track is named as “The Rich Tapestry Of Life”, which I recall is Fripp’s quotation from a letter he got from Jamie Muir. So this one begins with few minutes of anxious waiting, there’s some muffled speaking, tuning and such going on, and strangely it works as a nice contrast to the chaotic improvisation, which suddenly begins after two and a half minutes. The chaotic one minute blast clams down to beautiful tones of the mellotron, violin and bass guitar. Wetton begins to form a funky rhythm which the others join, and the famous King Crimson musical improvisation begins to blow, creating long layers of both calm and aggressive musical sequences. There also a funny anecdote here, as Cross plays some real flute in some parts of this track. If you are in to free jazz and old heavy rock of the 70′s, this is a must material for you, as it combines both of these elements. The players are very bold, and they are not afraid of small “mistakes” or “misjudgments” which shall most surely occur in this kind of collective musical adventuring. Considering this, one can also find a nice metaphoric idea in Fripp’s name selection for this piece! The half hour long jam most surely contains the full scale of life’s all emotions!

After the final waves of the massive improvisation begins to fade, the beautiful forms of sounds emerge from the sea of chaotic turbulence, and the music changes straight as the song “Exiles”. The version of “Exiles” it self is a bit clumsy, but if you are interested how these numbers evolved during time, this is an essential document of that process. Cross also does some singing on this one. The final number on this concert is “Larks’ Tongues in Aspic – part one”, which is a decent version but not essential. It’s a bit shorter version, as it ends in the part where the violin solo begins.

The sound quality is not remarkable, but good. There’s also some tuning problems with mellotrons, singers and the violin… More matured versions of “Exiles” and “Larks’” are also available in other releases, but they have historical values, and the big improvisation (taking up two-thirds of the album) is great.

Line-up:
* Robert Fripp – guitar, mellotron
* John Wetton – bass guitar, vocals
* David Cross – violin, mellotron
* Bill Bruford – drums
* Jamie Muir – percussion

Track List:
01. Improv: The Rich Tapestry Of Life – 29:49
02. Exiles – 7:53
03. Larks’ Tongues In Aspic (Part I) – 6:53

Link in comments.

Bill Bruford, David Cross, Jamie Muir, John Wetton, King Crimson, Live, Robert Fripp

Marillion – Brief Encounter (EP 1986) (@256)

16 Jul 2008

Thanks to Bragi Taliesin for the contribution.

(Review from progarchives.com)

In 1986, on the back of the hugely successful album Misplaced Childhood, Marillion began a tour as the special guests of Rush and the Brief Encounter mini-album was released to commemorate the tour, primarily as a thank you to the bands then existing fans and as a helping hand in initiation for the new fans.

“Lady Nina” and “Freaks” were recorded during the “Misplaced Childhood” recordings at Hansa studio in Berlin, but didn’t make it to the final album.

There is a live track from each Marillion album so far. They were recorded at The Hammersmith Odeon in London on January 9th and 10th, 1986. Despite the sound of those 3 tracks is not crystal clear, like on the studio albums, Fish’s theatrical lead vocals are very palpable, especially on “Fugazi” and “Script From a Jester’s Tear”. The last live track, “Kayleigh”, has a pleasant live atmosphere, as reveals the responding crowd shouting “Kayleigh”.

This EP is a good companion to “Real To Reel” live album, released in 1985. In later pressings, both were regrouped on a double album.

Line-up:
- Fish / vocals
- Mark Kelly / keyboards
- Ian Mosley / drums
- Steve Rothery / guitars
- Pete Trewavas / basses

Track List:
01. Lady Nina (Extended) (5:47)
02. Freaks (Single) (4:09)
03. Kayleigh (Live) (4:11)
04. Fugazi (Live) (8:32)
05. Script for a Jester’s tears (Live) (8:52)

Link in comments.

Fish, Ian Mosley, Marillion

Rod Stewart – An Old Rain Coat Won't Ever Let You Down (1969) (@256)

15 Jul 2008

(Review from allmusic)

Rod Stewart’s climb to stardom started when he joined Jeff Beck Group at the end of 1966. He and Jeff Beck pioneered the heavy blues-rock team of a virtuoso guitarist and a dynamic, sexy lead vocalist that became the standard blueprint for heavy metal. After rejecting an offer to join the American rock group Cactus, Stewart and Jeff Beck Group bassist Ron Wood joined the (Small) Faces. During this time, Stewart had also signed a solo contract, releasing his first album, “An Old Raincoat Won’t Let You Down”.

On his debut album, Rod Stewart essays a startlingly original blend of folk, blues, and rock & roll. The opening cover of the Stones’ “Street Fighting Man” encapsulates his approach. Turning the driving acoustic guitars of the original inside out, the song works a laid-back, acoustic groove, bringing a whole new meaning to the song before escalating into a full-on rock & roll attack — without any distorted guitars, just bashing acoustics and thundering drums. Through this approach, Stewart establishes that rock can sound as rich and timeless as folk, and that folk can be as vigorous as rock. And he does this not only as an interpreter, breathing new life into Ewan MacColl’s “Dirty Old Town” and defining Mike d’Abo’s “Handbags & Gladrags”, but also as a songwriter, writing songs as remarkable as “Blind Prayer”, “An Old Raincoat Won’t Ever Let You Down” and “Cindy’s Lament”.

The music and the songs are so vivid and rich with detail that they reflect a whole way of life, and while Stewart would later flesh out this blueprint, it remains a stunningly original vision.

Line-up:
* Rod Stewart – vocals, guitar (2)
with
* Ron Wood – guitar, bottleneck, bass
* Martin Pugh – guitar
* Mick Waller – drums
* Ian “Mac” McLagan – piano, organ
* Keith Emerson – organ (6)
* Mike D’Abo – piano (4)

Track List:
01. Street Fighting Man – 5:08
02. Man Of Constant Sorrow – 2:33
03. Blind Prayer – 4:39
04. Handbags And Gladrags – 4:25
05. An Old Raincoat Won’t Ever Let You Down – 3:06
06. I Wouldn’t Ever Change A Thing – 4:46
07. Cindy’s Lament – 4:28
08. Dirty Old Town – 3:37

Link in comments.

Keith Emerson, Martin Pugh, Rod Stewart

King Crimson – KCCC02 Live at Jacksonville (1972) (@256)

15 Jul 2008

This concert was recorded at the Baseball Park, Jacksonville, Florida, USA, February 26, 1972.

Line-up:
* Robert Fripp / guitar, mellotron
* Boz Burrell / bass guitar, vocals
* Mel Collins / saxophone, flute, mellotron
* Ian Wallace / drums, vocals

Track List:
01. Pictures Of A City – 9:46
02. Cirkus – 9:08
03. Ladies Of The Road – 6:39
04. Formentera Lady – 10:21
05. The Sailor’s Tale – 14:05
06. 21st Century Schizoid Man – 10:28

Links in comments.

Boz Burrell, Ian Wallace, King Crimson, Live, Mel Collins, Robert Fripp

Marillion – Real to Reel (Live 1984) (@256)

14 Jul 2008

(Review from progarchives.com)

This is an early retrospective live album featuring seven tracks by the Fish era version of the band. Of these, two are from their first album, three from their second, one non-album B-side, plus the final track, the non-album single “Market Square Heroes”.

The airy, atmospheric intro to Assassing was always going to make this the perfect song to open up a live show and the band dutifully perform it to perfection setting a strong tone for the rest of the album. This followed by a really emotional performances of Incubus, complete with a stunning solo from Rothery, and Cinderella Search. The first half of the album is closed out with the paranoid Emerald Lies, a song that has had its character strengthened in this live performance.

The remaining three songs are all from either the debut album Script for a Jester’s Tear or from the EP Market Square Heroes. The first of these is the powerful anti-war song Forgotten Sons. For the most part this song is performed pretty faithfully to the studio version with only a different guitar part before the prayer section and drawn out, poignant silence after it. However, the end of this song is vastly superior to the end of the studio version, which was pretty good already, with Fish adding extra lyrics and singing the “Ring-a-ring-a-roses” lines himself. This is followed by Marillion’s break through song in the mainstream market, Garden Party, which segues into Market Square Heroes, two songs that are both performed excellently.

“Real to Reel” feels like an integral concert recording, offering a great live experience.

Line-up:
- Fish / vocals
- Mark Kelly / keyboards
- Ian Mosley / drums
- Steve Rothery / guitars
- Pete Trewavas / basses

Track List:
01. Assassing – 7:30
02. Incubus – 8:41
03. Cinderella Search – 5:47
04. Emerald Lies – 5:25
05. Forgotten Sons – 10:35
06. Garden Party – 6:31
07. Market Square Heroes – 7:30

Link in comments.

Fish, Ian Mosley, Live, Marillion

Spock's Beard – Light (1994) (@256)

14 Jul 2008

(Review from seaoftranquility.org, progarchives.com)

Neil Morse composed most of “The Light”, with the exception of the more traditional closing track “On the Edge”, within a week or so. He asked his brother to play on the demos and at first he didn’t seem very into it. Then he called a few weeks later and said, ‘Oh yeah, this stuff is killer…Let’s put a band together!’ — and Spock’s Beard was born. Enter drummer Nick D’Virgilio and bassist Dave Meros. The Morse brothers handle hammond organ, mellotron and other keyboard duties and out comes their debut album “The Light”.

The album introduces listeners to many of the musical elements that would become Spock’s Beard trademarks. Consisting of just four songs (only one shorter than seven minutes), The Light demonstrates the Beard’s desire to bridge its tight grasp of 70s progressive with contemporary charm, chops and wit – all characteristics in short supply from American bands at the time.

The title track is a 15+ minute suite with varied sections and themes that are in turn sensitive and pretty, powerful, and humourous. A tasty, generous and satisfying helping of pure progressive!

“Go the Way You Go” is while somewhat more pop/accessible than the other material here, it is still heavyweight progressive rock. The speaker-shaking ending has a majestic feel that would be especially effective live.

At over 23 minutes, “The Water” is the longest piece on the album. This suite contains some of the album’s heaviest moments, and the crunchy hammond riffs at the beginning are particularly welcome to old rockers’ ears. A very varied piece, it holds interest despite its length.

The final number, “On the Edge,” at only six minutes, is, perforce, not as “epic” as the tracks that precede it, but is still a terrific, hard-rocking song that brings this excellent album to a strong finish.

As debut albums go this one’s a blue-ribbon winner and an exemplary place to start for the Spock’s Beard neophyte.

Line-up:
- Neal Morse / lead vocals, mellotron, hammond organ, keyboards, acoustic and electric guitar
- Alan Morse / lead electric guitar, cello, mellotron & vocals
- Dave Meros / bass, French horn
- Nick D’Virgilio / drums, percussions, vocals

Track List:
01. The Light – 15:33
02. Go the Way You Go – 12:07
03. The Water – 23:10
04. On the Edge – 6:14
05. Hidden Track – 2:27

Links in comments.

Nick D’Virgilio

King Crimson – KCCC01 Live at Marquee (1969) (@256)

14 Jul 2008

(Review from wikipedia, progarchives.com)

In 1998, King Crimson Collectors’ Club (KCCC) were founded, a service that regularly releases live recordings from concerts, studio sessions and radio sessions throughout the band’s career.

Live at The Marquee is the first of many KCCC albums. Tracks 1-7 believed to be recorded at the Marquee Club, London, UK, July 6, 1969. Track 8 was recorded at the Fairfield Halls, Croydon, UK, October 17, 1969.

Fripp is absolutely marvelous on this record, and his harmonizations and arpeggios are flawlessly executed, as well as the occasional shreds. Greg Lake’s vocals here are awfully forced and there’s hardly any modulation in his voice, often just shouting. Giles is Giles as always, a very underrated drummer, although this album is probably not the best way to be introduced to his talents; studio albums will do much better. Ian McDonald’s flute sounds flowing as always, especially on “Travel Weary Capricorn”: a very jazz-flavoured piece, in which he pulls out a “Ian Anderson”.

This album has the worst bootleg quality you could find anywhere, but if you’re not an audiophile or a sound quality freak, then this will present no problem. Proceed with caution though… this albums has as much flaws as virtues.

Line-up:
* Robert Fripp / guitar
* Greg Lake / bass guitar, vocals
* Ian McDonald / woodwinds, keyboards, mellotron, vocals
* Michael Giles / drums, percussion, vocals
* Peter Sinfield / illumination

Track List:
01. 21st Century Schizoid Man – 6:21
02. Drop In – 5:41
03. I Talk to the Wind – 5:17
04. Epitaph – 3:20
05. Travel Weary Capricorn – 11:06
06. Improv (including Nola and Etude no. 7) – 12:29
07. Mars – 8:29
08. Trees – 18:44

Links in comments.

Greg Lake, Ian McDonald, King Crimson, Live, Michael Giles, Peter Sinfield, Robert Fripp

Marillion – Fugazi (1984) (@256)

14 Jul 2008

(Review from progarchives.com)

After the somewhat unexpectedly big commercial success and critical acclaim obtained by the “Script for a Jester’s Tear” album, Marillion had to cope with the pressures of coming up with something, at least, as fresh and impressive for both fans and music press.

The band fired Mick Pointer, the drummer on the first few singles and their debut album ‘Script For A Jester’s Tear’, and went through a few rather unsuitable, possibly even unstable, replacements, most famously Camel’s Andy Ward. They eventually settled on Ian Mosley, something of a veteran in progressive circles having played with Pye Hastings, Steve Hackett and Darryl Way’s Wolf. The troubles didn’t end there, however, with the album’s production being something of a nightmare- rumour has it the band went through some ten (!) different studios during the album’s recording process. The band named their second album, “Fugazi”, referring to a slang term from the Vietnam War.

With new drummer Ian Mosley in the fold, Marillion’s rhythm section gained precision, swing and strength, a factor that notably allowed Trewavas move more freely in his bass playing role. Meanwhile, Rothery’s solos and riffs tend to be very aggressive in many places and Kelly’s labour complements their partners’ inputs properly with the use of absorbent multi-layers, dense orchestrations (which at times sound a bit “gothic”), and some powerful solos occasionally alternated with those by Rothery. Many of Mark Kelly’s parts are really delicate, particularly some of his flute-like solos, string layers, and piano arpeggios – his softer side is the link between the massive prog revival of “Script” and the harsher new attitude incarnated in “Fugazi”. Fish delivers his lyrical labyrinths with the usual sense of drama, but accordingly, his way of spitting out his singing has also acquired a harder edge. The highlights of this harder album include fan favorites “Assassing”, “Incubus” and the title track “Fugazi”.

The album’s opening salvo ‘Assassing’ emerged after no less a person than Peter Hammill gave Fish a tape of Arabian music that inspired the melody of the track, and it’s an astoundingly confident track with aggressive, almost heavy metal-like guitar work from Steve Rothery, swirling keyboard lines from Mark Kelly and Fish barking out the vocals with real aplomb.

‘Incubus’ is an astonishing track that is one of the best things the band ever recorded. The closest comparison here is not Genesis but arguably Van Der Graaf Generator, as seen in Fish’s barbed, acidic vocals and the aggressive lyrical content with Fish playing the part of a jilted lover with a lasting grudge on his former lover. Mark Kelly’s weaving keys and the muscular percussion of Ian Mosley are as integral to this track’s success.

The title track builds and weaves towards the marching beat finale, with echoes of Genesis “Knife” much in evidence. Fish is at his menacing best here, as he delivers the spiteful lyrics, “this world is totally Fugazi”.

The Fugazi album may not be the strongest point of Marillion, but there is a very respectable amount of classic material contained in its 46 minutes. What may be more important than Fugazi actually being a classic album is that the band challenged itself with new ideas and techniques that would certainly come into play later on their career. Though Marillion were still inexperienced in these new techniques and explorations, they would hone their skills and create some of the best music ever to be found in the neo progressive genre.

This edition of Fugazi features a bonus CD full of oddities and demos.

Line-up:
- Fish / vocals
- Mark Kelly / keyboards
- Ian Mosley / drums
- Steve Rothery / guitars
- Pete Trewavas / basses

Track List:
CD1
01. Assassing – 7:02
02. Punch & Judy – 3:21
03. Jigsaw – 6:49
04. Emerald Lies – 5:08
05. She Chameleon – 6:52
06. Incubus – 8:30
07. Fugazi – 8:12
CD2
01. Cinderella Search (12” Version) – 5:31
02. Assassing (Alternate Mix) – 7:40
03. Three Boats Down From The Candy – 4:00
04. Punch & Judy (Demo) – 3:50
05. She Chameleon (Demo) – 6:34
06. Emerald Lies (Demo) – 5:32
07. Incubus (Demo) – 8:09

Links in comments.

Fish, Ian Mosley, Marillion

Marillion – Script for a Jester's Tear (1983) (@256)

13 Jul 2008

8 comments

(Review from progreviews.com)

The year is 1983. Synth-pop and new wave have won the war against punk. The dinosaurs of the progressive rock movement are shells of their former selves. What was a self respecting progressive fan to do? There was about to be a revival, of sorts (and not for long), which thrust all things “prog” back into the limelight. The genesis, so to speak, of that revival was Marillion’s debut album “Script for a Jester’s Tear”.

Heavily influenced by classic Genesis, the album set the template for the neo-progressive movement that has stayed with us to this day (for better or worse, depending on your point of view). Longish songs, twiddliy keyboard bits (using cutting edge digital equipment) and soaring guitar solos are all in play here. Not as complex as the classics, but daunting enough to scare away the riff raff.

The greatest distinction from what came before was Fish, the band’s charismatic Scottish frontman. While he certainly sounds a bit more like Peter Gabriel in spots, Fish’s lyrics went to places that the more abstract verse of Genesis and Yes dared to tread. From lost love (“Script for a Jester’s Tear”) to drug addiction (“He Knows You Know”) and suicide (“Chelsea Monday”) to the troubles in Ireland (“Forgotten Sons”), these songs are much more personal than most of 70s progressive. Which is not to say there isn’t some clever social skewering around, too (“Garden Party”). While in the wrong hands these conceits lead to perhaps the most tired neo-progressive cliché, Fish is master, both of the words and the delivery, and isn’t in the same league as most modern melodramatic hacks.

Almost every song is imperfect in some way, but all have redeeming features to make up for it.

“Script For a Jester’s Tear” is in the true spirit of early 70s era progressive rock containing all the main ingredients, emotive and thought provoking lyrics, keyboard and guitar interplay utilizing various effects and above average musicianship.

This edition comes with a bonus CD. There are 3 tracks from Marillion’s EP prior to this debut album with a couple of alternate and demo versions.

Line-up:
- Fish (Derek Dick) / vocals
- Mark Kelly / keyboards
- Mik Pointer / drums, percussion
- Steve Rothery / acoustic & electric guitars
- Pete Trewavas / basses

Track List:
CD1
01. Script For A Jester’s Tear – 8:42
02. He Knows You Know – 5:23
03. The Web – 8:52
04. Garden Party – 7:19
05. Chelsea Monday – 8:17
06. Forgotten Sons – 8:23
CD2
01. Market Square Heroes (Battle Priest Version) – 4:18
02. Three Boats Down From The Candy – 4:31
03. Grendel (Fair Deal Studios Version) – 19:10
04. Chelsea Monday (Manchester Square Demo) – 6:54
05. He Knows You Know (Manchester Square Demo) – 4:29
06. Charting The Single – 4:51
07. Market Square Heroes (Alternative Version) – 4:48

Links in comments.

Fish, Marillion, Sakalli's Pick

Saga De Ragnar Lodbrock – Saga De Ragnar Lodbrock (1979) (@256)

12 Jul 2008

(Review from progarchives.com)

This is a sole album from an unlikely team of theatre and music circles that were unknown back then. Their project is a giant-opera-like rendition of poems describing the Viking invasions of France at the turn of the first millennium. Graced with a drawn epic Drakkar artwork, it actually resumes fairly well the progressive-arranged medieval folk laying on the slice of wax. While the vinyl contained two distinct parts (five short songs making a whole on the first side and the epic title track on the other side), this CD reissue gives as bonus another series of similar songs that fit the artistic canvas of the album quite well, even if the different recording session is audibly noticeable. If the progressive folk developed is very accessible, it is recommended to have a correct mastery of the French language, but overall it is not mandatory either.

The first five tracks are very impressive progressive folk that is medieval as well as very contemporary as well, with some excellent drumming (Hellequin), fascinating vocals (from operatic to almost kobaian- type choirs), but the narration linking some tracks together is sometimes a bit too present (Loup Fendri).

The “sidelong” title track epic is a bit more of the same, but here, the narration bring the music to cheesy levels that are sometimes bordering on the ridiculous. Normally this was written for a stage show, which would lessen the overly dramatic tone (which gives it an unwanted comic spin to it), especially in the opening macabre movement Empire Des Morts. Olivier Proust’s narration itself is a bit overdone as well: he had gotten us used to lesser dramatic on the previous tracks. Musically outside the obligatory cheesiness of the theme, the music is not far from Prokofiev’s Peter & The Wolf, later to evolve in a brassy heavy progressive, marrying the very professional multi-vocals quite well.

The bonus tracks give us a sort of third period into the match, adapting some François Villon poetry to music. This third “bonus” tome is more in the Malicorne tradition, all of the instruments played by François Proust and the recording session (in 1982) did not receive a final production, so they might seem raw compared to the rest of the album. Rondo A La Mort sounds like Jacques Brel’s Je Suis Un Soir D’Eté, managing the same kind of solemnity, as does Ballade Des Pendus.

While a good grasp of French is useful for full enjoyment of this album, the whole project is strong enough musically that even if you don’t get the vocals and narrative, you can only be impressed by the grandiose and flawless execution of the project.

Line-up:
- Patrick Alliard / guitar, backing vocals
- Francois Proust / flute (6), bombarde, vocals, guitar (1), guitar, bouzouki, backing vocals, flutes, drums, synthesizer, keyboards (7-13)
- Armand Frydman / synthesizer, keyboards, backing vocals
- Daniel Lysensoon / bass, backing vocals
- Patrick van der Kempen / trombone, bass (1-6), backing vocals
- Jean Cohen-Solal / flute (1-5)
- Kirt Rust / drums (1-5)
- Jean-Louis Mechali / drums (6)
with
- Olivier Proust / narrator, backing vocals
- Monique Cannone / backing vocals
- Alain Combes / backing vocals
- Mitia de Gialluli / backing vocals
- Dominique Guiot / backing vocals
- Antoine Hennion / backing vocals
- Daniel Proust / backing vocals

Track List:
01. Les North Mendiants – 4:22
02. Le Temps Des Geants – 4:13
03. La Chasse Hellequin – 4:26
04. Le Loup Fendri – 4:27
05. Chant De La Lance – 2:42
06. Chants Funčbres De Ragnar Lodbrock – 18:05
a) Du Fond De L’Empire Des Morts
b) La Route Longue Des Combats
c) Alors Qu’Approche La Mort
d) Chant Final
07. Reveillez Vous Picards (Bonus) – 1:58
08. En Regardant Vers Le Pays De France (Bonus) – 2:27
09. Ballade Des Menus Propos (Bonus) – 1:48
10. Lai Ou Rondo A La Mort (Bonus) – 1:35
11. Ballade Pour Prier Not (Bonus) – 3:00
12. Ballade Des Pendus (Bonus) – 2:50
13. Ballade Finale (Bonus) – 2:51

Links in comments.

Budgie – Budgie (1971) (@256)

12 Jul 2008

Request of Penny Cillin.

(Review from allmusic, amazon)

The British power trio, formed in 1968, was influenced by Cream in the beginning, but by the time this self-titled debut album was released in 1971, Budgie was obviously paying close attention to Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin.

This debut album has it all; fantastic hooks and melodies, driving guitars and riffs. It features relentless riffing and soloing, shrill (yet always melodic) vocals and sheer drum mayhem. It’s loud, it’s heavy and it packs one hell of a wallop…

Line-up:
* Tony Bourge – guitar, vocals
* Ray Phillips – percussion, drums
* Burke Shelley – bass, vocals, mellotron

Track List:
01. Guts – 4:20
02. Everything In My Heart – 0:52
03. The Author – 6:28
04. Nude Disintegrating Parachutist Woman – 8:41
05. Crash Course In Brain Surgery – 2:37
06. Rape Of The Locks – 6:13
07. All Night Petrol – 5:57
08. You And I – 1:41
09. Homicidal Suicidal – 6:41

Link in comments.

Budgie, Tony Bourge

Album Index

12 Jul 2008

99 comments

Album index has been moved. Click here.

King Crimson – ProjeKct Six East Coast (Live 2006) (@256)

11 Jul 2008

8 comments

Thanks to Bilek for the contribution.

(Review from king-crimson.com)

The latest projeKct of King Crimson, ProjeKct Six consists of only Robert Fripp and Adrian Belew. Compiled from three different gigs while opening for the band Porcupine Tree, this album is an amazing journey into the world of new sounds from both Fripp and Belew. The end result sounds like a cross between ProjeKct Two (as Belew is reprising his role on the electronic V-drum kit) and the more recent activity of King Crimson themselves.

Despite all the technology involved this is a pared-back sound compared to previous projeKcts, and there’s a tentative, exploratory quality about much of the music; two players in search of that often elusive moment, an intriguing aspect which provides much of the tension and appeal.

As well as the big set pieces there are some little jewels to be found in small places; the Frippertronics-like ending of Berklee Strut and the beginning of End Time Boston. With Belew pounding on an electronic drum kit, Fripp tore into a set of improvised sound sketches, mixing in hints of electronic programming under his searing guitar explorations.

Both Robert Fripp and Adrian Belew have played effortlessly together for many years as guitarists. Even here, with Belew away from his guitar and beating the drums instead, they still play off each other like as if they were one.

Line-up:
- Robert Fripp / Guitar
- Adrian Belew / V-drumming

Track List:
01. Threshold Knock Knock Who’s There Boston
02. Time Groove Boston
03. Queer Jazz Boston
04. Threshold P6 Boston
05. Berklee Strut Boston
06. End Time Boston
07. Threshold Knock Knock Who’s There NYC
08. Time Groove NYC
09. Mission Possible NYC
10. Space Threshold NYC
11. Queer Jazz NYC
12. Threshold Knock Knock Who’s There Keswick
13. Persian E Keswick
14. Time Groove Keswick

Link in comments.

Adrian Belew, King Crimson, Live, Robert Fripp

Walter Wegmuller – Tarot (1973) (@256)

11 Jul 2008

7 comments

(Review from progarchives.com)

In 1972, Rolf Ulrich Kaiser of Ohr records and a group of musicians from the Berlin Underground scene (Ashra Tempel) seriously started to think about cosmic rock music to satisfy their adventurous life with appropriate sounds. The idea of “Cosmic music” was also born as a protest against UK and US obvious influences on rock music worldwide. The aim was to create typical German “acid” rock music.

To put in practice his project, Rolf Kaiser founded his own label and called it “Cosmic Couriers”. The name of “Cosmic Couriers” is an attitude of mind that emerged during the 60’s. It was an idealistic movement which conceptually tries to look for ways to stay in high states of consciousness thanks to mescaline, LSD trips. The first album released under Rolf Kaiser’s drug inspired philosophy was “seven up” with the guru of “acid test” Tim Leary and Ashra Tempel musicians. Soon after, the Kaiser produced an album with the Swiss gypsy folk artist Walter Wegmuller for the project around the symbolism of “Tarot” cards.

In 1972 will be released the “Tarot’ album with the help of many krautrock musicians, notably Manuel Gottsching (for many guitars parts), Klaus Schulze (for electronic & effects), a few members of Wallenstein as Harald Grosskopf (on drums), Jurgen Dollase (on keyboards) and Walter Westrupp (on acoustic parts). Musically “Tarot” consists of numerous short tracks that we can describe as a great synthesis of everything that emerged during the first krautrock years. Consequently the stress is put on hallucinatory, psych effects, bluesy/ trance guitar sounds, free form rock augmented with sophisticated synth sounds, acoustic folk passages with flute and guitar, piano pseudo romantic arrangements, odd recitations. Each track represents an idea developed by a “tarot” card. A fascinating travel through the subconsciousness and cosmic energies.

Here are a few lines which sum up Walter Wegmuller’s Tarot mystical universe:

The travel starts with the madman. He is the beginning and the end at the same time. So you can hear how he goes through his own world. He stumbles over earthy things and material obstacles and doesn’t know that it can give. The wizard opens the door himself. In triumph, he appears on the scene. Then he lets himself play during an endless eternity. In his scenic railway, he plays his own life into a brand eternal one. He opens the door which leads to all secrets.

Line-up:
- Manuel Gottsching / guitar
- Hartmut Enke / guitar
- Jerry Berkers / bass
- Jurgen Dollase / keyboard
- Walter Westrupp / drums
- Klaus Schulze / drums
- Harald Grobkopf / drums

Track List:
CD1
01. Der Narr – 3:55
02. Der Magier – 4:39
03. Die Hohepriesterin – 4:17
04. Der Herrscherin – 4:15
05. Der Herrscher – 2:58
06. Der Hohepriester – 3:10
07. Die Entscheidung – 3:51
08. Der Wagen – 5:15
09. Die Gerechtigkeit – 3:01
10. Der Weise – 4:01
11. Das Glucksrad – 3:36
12. Die Kraft – 3:27
CD2
01. Die Prufung – 4:56
02. Der Tod – 1:19
03. Der Massigkeit – 4:47
04. Der Teufel – 3:38
05. Die Zerstorung – 4:00
06. Die Sterne – 6:14
07. Der Mond – 2:50
08. Die Sonne – 3:03
09. Das Gericht – 2:06
10. Die Welt – 8:41

Links in comments.

Deep Purple – Nobody's Perfect (Live 1987-88) (@256)

11 Jul 2008

6 comments

(Review from progarchives.com, wikipedia)

Deep Purple’s 80s live album was recorded on their “House of Blue Light” tour during 1987/88. Recorded live on 6th September 1987 in Verona Italy, 22nd August 1987 in Oslo Norway, 23rd May 1987 in Irvine Meadows, 30th May 1987 in Phoenix and 26th February 1988 at Hook End Manor in England.

“Nobody’s Perfect” features the classic line-up with all the energy and virtuosity, not to mention personality clashes, all back in full form.

The track list borrows heavily from the legendary “Made in Japan”. “Strange kind of woman” here is adapted to include a call and response duet between Gillan and Blackmore, which leads to a burst of “Superstar” from Rice/Lloyd-Webber’s “Jesus Christ Superstar”. The performances of the other tracks are faithful, perhaps with hints that this line up has played them so often that they do not now require any real effort, “Lazy” being a little too close to the truth. For some reason, Blackmore’s guitar solo on “Child in time” lacks the impact of the original, sounding rather ordinary here.

The new songs are introduced by a spirited rendition of the title track from “Perfect strangers”. This wonderful Zeppelinesque song which transfers well to a live environment, concludes with a blink and you’ll miss it coda of “Gethsemene” from the aforementioned “Jesus Christ Superstar”. “Knocking At Your Back Door” had made the “Perfect Strangers” album such a pleasing return to form. The extended intro to the song here, includes some classical and ragtime piano.

It’s good to hear “Woman from Tokyo”, getting an airing, although it does end with a rather strange Buddy Holly interlude. The album concludes with a “live jam” in the studio of Joe South’s Hush, a cover of which appeared on Deep Purple’s first album. The rendition of the verses here sounds surprisingly like Aerosmith’s “Walk this way” until the familiar “Na na na” chorus cuts in.

Unfortunately the track transitions in this live album are marked by fades, much to the annoyance of many fans. Nevertheless this is an accurate live album reflecting the 80s Deep Purple. It may have its shortcomings in terms of both the tracks performed and sometimes in the performances themselves, but hey, “nobody’s perfect”.

Line-up:
- Ritchie Blackmore / Guitars
- Jon Lord / Keyboards
- Ian Paice / Drums
- Roger Glover / Bass
- Ian Gillan / Vocals, Congas, Harmonica

Track List:
01. Highway Star – 6:10
02. Strange Kind Of Woman – 7:35
03. Perfect Strangers – 6:25
04. Hard Lovin’ Woman – 5:04
05. Knocking At Your Back Door – 11:24
06. Child In Time – 10:36
07. Lazy – 5:15
08. Black Night – 6:07
09. Woman From Tokyo – 4:00
10. Smoke On The Water – 7:46
11. Hush – 3:32

Links in comments.

Deep Purple, Ian Gillan, Ian Paice, Jon Lord, Live, Ritchie Blackmore, Roger Glover

King Crimson – Happy with What You Have to be Happy With (EP 2003) (@256)

11 Jul 2008

6 comments

(Review from progreviews.com, progarchives.com)

As Vrooom was to Thrak, so too is Happy With What You Have to Be Happy With to The Power to Believe. This 32-minute mini-album was only meant as a teaser for the upcoming King Crimson album “Power to Believe”, so it might not rate more than a passing mention in retrospect.

There are four substantive tracks which are surrounded by brief interludes. A majority of the interludes (“Bude”, “She Shudders”, “I Ran”, “Clouds”) are synthesized-vocal poetry segments by Belew, an idea that would be passed on to the upcoming “Power to Believe”. Other interludes include a soundscape passage from Fripp (“Mie Gakure”) and a jimble-jamble of tuned percussion (“Shoganai”) that is in the vein of the opening of “Larks’ Tongues I”.

And the four substantive tracks? “Happy With What You Have to Be Happy With” was written ostensibly as a parody, but practically ends up as self-parody in the process. The meta-lyrics, singing about the process of writing the verses within the actual verses and the chorus within the actual chorus, etc., are intended to be a joke poking fun at the vacuity of the nu metal of the time.

While the title track is certainly nothing new coming for the band, in its favor it at least crunches along with some degree of energy and attitude. Pat Mastelotto, who is a kind of Alan White counterpoint to Bill Bruford in King Crimson, provides some of the more interesting contributions here, walloping the drum kit and inserting some fresh fills.

The EP contains an acoustic version of “Eyes Wide Open”, which also later appeared on “Power to Believe”. This is a gentle song merging the mellow vibe of “One Time” with the desert caravan percussion of “Walking on Air” from Thrak. “Potato Pie” is another Crimson-warps-the-blues piece as was “ProzaKc Blues” for “ConstruKction of Light”. There is a version of “Larks’ Tongues in Aspic IV” sounds a diluted, hybridized rehash of “Larks’ Tongues II”, “Red” and “THRAK”. The EP finally fizzles out with the hidden track “Einstein’s Relatives”, an amalgamation of studio banter and outtakes.

Line-up:
- Robert Fripp / guitar
- Adrian Belew / guitar, vocals
- Trey Gunn / warr guitar, rubber bass, fretless warr
- Pat Mastelotto / drums

Track List:
01. Bude – 0:26
02. Happy With What You Have To Be Happy With – 4:12
03. Mie Gakure – 2:00
04. She Shudders – 0:35
05. Eyes Wide Open – 4:08
06. Shoganai – 2:53
07. I Ran – 0:40
08. Potato Pie – 5:03
09. Larks’ Tongues In Aspic (Part IV) – 10:26
10. Clouds – 4:10

Link in comments.

Adrian Belew, King Crimson, Pat Mastelotto, Robert Fripp, Trey Gunn

Rag I Ryggen – Rag I Ryggen (1975) (@256)

10 Jul 2008

(Review from seaoftranquility.org, progreviews.com)

Rag i Ryggen play a heavy psych/symphonic hybrid. The band was sure enough influenced by Uriah Heep — the high pitched vocals, raging Hammond organ, and blistering guitar work are very Heep like. You can also hear some Deep Purple, Kaipa, as well as Italian progressive influences. The dual guitars of contain plenty of fuzz, and the keyboard arsenal delivers plenty of vintage sounds.

Vocals on a few tunes are in English, but most are sung in Swedish by vocalist Jonas Warnerbring, who sounds remarkably like David Byron. All the songs are constructed with melody as a first priority, and the result is a solid, remarkably accessible effort.

Well, the intricate instrumental “Spangaforsens brus” allows for the two guitar players to weave complex lines with Sjoborg’s organ & synth, while drummer Peter Sandberg lays down some acrobatic rhythms. “You Know It Ain’t Easy” is a Heep influenced heavy rocker, right down to the “Gypsy” sounding power chords, and the opening number “Det kan val inte vara farligt” is a great mix of Swedish and Italian styled progressive with heavy rock. On “Naked Man” the band really gets into a groove and churns out some crunchy riffs, wah-wah guitars, strutting vocals, and stabbing flute, while “Jan Banan” is a psychedelic heavy rocker with great organ & synth work, as well as dual harmony guitar leads. Sjorborg’s hammond is the star of “Queen of Darkness”, a somber and moody number that sees the keyboard player digging deep and doing his best Ken Hensley impression. The closing track “Sanningsserum” is a mind-numbing hard rocker again reminiscent of Uriah Heep, punctuated by powerhouse guitar work, kick ass Hammond, and speedy Moog.

The band did a fair amount of touring in their native country before ultimately calling it quits in 1977. The bonus live cuts are of pretty poor quality, but are included here so you can check out what a powerful live unit Rag I Ryggen were.

Line-up:
- Jonas Warnerbring / vocals, flute
- Christer Sjoborg / organ, synthesizer, string thing
- Bjorn Aggemyr / bass
- Bjorn Nystrom / guitar
- Jan Aggemyr / guitar
- Peter Sandberg / drums

Track List:
01. Det Kan Val Inte Vara Farligt – 5:38
02. You Know It Ain’t Easy – 7:22
03. Spangaforsens Brus – 5:52
04. Jan Banan – 5:12
05. Naked Man – 6:12
06. Queen Of Darkness – 4:34
07. Sanningsserum – 6:35
08. Sanningsserum (Live 1975) – 7:17
09. Jan Banan (Live 1975) – 5:28
10. Land Over The Rainbow (Live 1975) – 5:05

Links in comments.

John Mayall – Wake Up Call (1993) (@256)

10 Jul 2008

(Review from amazon, allmusic, tower.com)

Fuelled by Coco Montoya’s searing but economical string-slashing, drummer Joe Yuele, and bassist Rick Cortes, John Mayall has managed to keep a stable core of Bluesbreakers together in recent years. Mayall rarely does the same album twice, and Wake Up Call finds him returning to a basic, physical sound after more progressive albums.

While not actually a ‘blues’ album, the roots are not far away. It contains some highly charged boogies, swinging blues-rock shuffles, a couple of lyrical, mid-tempo soul gems.

The stand out tracks include ‘Nature Disappearing’ a rework of an earlier Mayall track which features the magical playing of Coco Montoya and ‘Not at home’ a great song featuring Mick Taylor. Not to forget a nice Tony Joe White cover ‘Undercover Agent’ and the show-stopping slow-blues crawl through Junior Wells’ ‘I Could Cry’.

Line-up:
* John Mayall – vocals/keyboards/harmonica/guitar
* Joe Yuele – drums
* Coco Montoya – guitar
* Rick Cortes – bass
with
* Mick Taylor / Guitar
* Michael Bruno / Percussion
* Tom Canning / Hammond Organ, Wurlitzer
* Albert Collins / Guitar
* David Grissom / Guitar
* Buddy Guy / Guitar, Vocals
* Darrell Leonard / Trumpet
* Maggie Mayall / Back Vocals
* Dave McNair / Percussion
* Mavis Staples / Vocals
* Joe Sublett / Saxophone

Track List:
01. Mail Order Mystics – 4:41
02. Maydell – 3:58
03. I Could Cry – 5:08
04. Wake Up Call – 4:14
05. Loaded Dice – 4:27
06. Undercover Agent For The Blues – 5:21
07. Light The Fuse – 4:15
08. Anything I Can Say – 3:43
09. Nature’s Disappearing – 4:52
10. I’m A Sucker For Love – 4:07
11. Not At Home – 4:08
12. Ain’t That Lovin’ You Baby – 4:13

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John Mayall

King Crimson – Level Five (Live EP 2001) (@256)

09 Jul 2008

10 comments

(Review from progarchives.com)

The new period (with its amazingly various flashes) of King Crimson isn’t just about “THRaK”, “ConstruKction Of Light” and “Power To Believe” (pivotal, but sole-blistering role), it’s yet about many other sides, recordings, influences, powers, gown states and purified energies, eclectic touches and dark permanent transitions (etc). Albums and side loops merely contemplate the great fusion of taste, passion, dark, drought, rock, math, cycle, groon or dim-stem elements have an equal share of treat, vituperance and fun-based Crimson energy. Well… here is “Level Five”.

This is a live recording from 2001 when King Crimson toured with Tool. As the band often does, they allow the audience to hear some new material that will be released on their next album (“Power To Believe”).

Like Tool’s music,this is dark and very heavy. “Dangerous Curves” features synths-like sounds and drums. “Level Five” is another “Power To Believe” song at at over 8 minutes in length. It opens with screaming guitar,and check out the outbreaks of bass that comes and goes several times. “Virtuous Circle” was changed a bit to become “Power To Believe II” on that record. Lots of percussion as the guitar joins in. The sound does lighten as percussion continues. The waves of synths-like sounds are majestic.

“The ConstruKction Of Light” from the album of the same name is over 13 minutes long. Drums open the song as relentless angular guitar melodies play throughout. Great bass lines again,and vocals 6 minutes in. “The Deception of Thrush” from various ProjeKcts starts with a monologue of processed vocals for 2 minutes. Then a dark,heavy soundscape rises from the depths. It does lighten up as synths-like waves come in with guitar melodies.

Un-critical and un-measurable, yet as a secondary kind of release and stage act, “Level Five” is almost beyond the normal drought of such albums.

Line-up:
* Adrian Belew – Guitar, Vocals
* Robert Fripp – Guitar
* Trey Gunn – Warr Guitar
* Pat Mastelotto – Drums

Track List:
01. Dangerous Curves
02. Level Five
03. Virtuous Circle
04. The ConstruKction Of Light
05. The Deception Of The Thrush

Link in comments.

Adrian Belew, King Crimson, Live, Pat Mastelotto, Robert Fripp, Trey Gunn

Bonfire – Bonfire Goes Bananas (1975) (@256)

09 Jul 2008

(Review from progarchives.com)

A nice and unfairly underrated album by this Dutch band. Not to be confused with 90s German metal band, the Dutch Bonfire are an all-instrumental jazzy quartet. They play a very dynamic blend of jazzy prog, completely instrumental, with strong fusion elements and echoes from other Dutch prog bands, like Focus, for the flute presence, or Finch for the rhytmical energy. It is complex, varied and melodic and it sounds fresh. More than keyboards, bass and drum player stands out here, but the guitarist Eugene Den Hoed is probably the real attraction of the band.

Their sole album, “Bonfire Goes Bananas” is an album that never bore you, because every track develops an intricate theme full of contrasts and changing times. In this sense, “Contrast” is the typical Bonfire track, with its large variety of moods, like the long suite “The sage of the running nose”, offering some exciting piano/guitar interplay.

This edition includes four bonus tracks. Two single edits from album tracks and two demos that were recorded by a complete new band (except for original member Witte) in 1980.

Line-up:
- Frank Witte / Fender Rhodes, vibes, grand piano, recorders
- Kees Den Hoed / bass, gong (1-8)
- Eugene Den Hoed / guitars, flute (1-8)
- Cees Meerman / drums, windchimes (1-8)
- Harald Heynen / guitar (9-10)
- Michel Van Schie / bass (9-10)
- Jaap De Weyer / drums (9-10)

Track List:
01. Delirium – 3:15
02. Contrast – 5:11
03. Vuurstaal (Part II) – 3:10
04. Chinese in Europe (Part I) – 3:19
05. Circle – 6:31
06. The Sage of the Running Nose – 18:54
07. Contrast (Bonus Single) – 3:41
08. Circle (Bonus Single) – 2:50
09. There’s Always a Reason (Bonus Demo) – 5:19
10. Ohne Worte (Bonus Demo) – 5:14

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Warhorse – Red Sea (1972) (@256)

09 Jul 2008

(Review from progarchives.com)

Warhorse’s second album is pretty like the debut although they are slightly rougher sounding.

Their sound oscillate between Deep Purple, some excellent Vanilla Fudge and a few other bands of the times. The hammond-driven hard rock (sometimes hinting at The Nice with a guitar) is an immediate pleaser, and there are times when they show the willingness to experiment a bit but always back off when things are ready as if they were afraid to cross the line. Ashley Holt is really in excellent shape and there are some real fine tracks on the album.

Although the band will survive until 1974, no new album will come out since by that time recording contracts were becoming scarce for low-selling acts.

Line-up:
- Ashley Holt / vocals
- Ged Peck / guitar
- Mac Poole / drums
- Nick Simper / bass
- Frank Wilson / keyboards, piano
- Peter Parker / guitar

Track List:
01. Red Sea 4:20
02. Back In Time 7:49
03. Confident But Wrong 4:46
04. Feeling Better 5:33
05. Sybilla 5:33
06. Mouthpiece 8:43
07. I (Who Have Nothing) 5:16
08. Ritual (Bonus Live) 4:19
09. Bad Time (Bonus Demo) 4:40
10. She Was My Friend (Bonus Demo) 4:55
11. Gypsy Dancer (Bonus Demo) 4:08
12. House Of The Dolls (Bonus Demo) 4:19
13. Standing Right Behind You (Bonus Demo) 4:35

Links in comments.

Nick Simper, Warhorse

King Crimson – ProjeKct X : Heaven and Earth (2000) (@256)

08 Jul 2008

14 comments

Thanks to Bragi Taliesin for the contribution.

(Review from progreviews.com, progarchives.com)

Heaven and Earth was taken from the rehearsals and recording of King Crimson’s “ConstruKction of Light” album. Basically, this is a hodgepodge of improvisations, jams, studio conversations and robotic whispers by Belew, all whirled around and thrown together with techno hyper-beat programming of Mastelotto.

You may have already heard the sultry title track, added as an epilogue to the “ConstruKction of Light” album. But by itself it doesn’t give an altogether accurate impression of the adrenalin-driven, hyperspace grooves on display here. Crimson’s 2003 studio album, “Power To Believe”, may have better integrated the ProjeKct X ethos into an actual song-based format, but this is Mastelotto’s Crimson King in all its unexpurgated glory, at last fulfilling the promise of the post-Double Trio research and development fraKctals in brilliant, no-holds-barred fashion.

Exactly how state-of-the-art is it? Consider that the running time of each track, as listed in the CD booklet, is broken down to a ridiculous 1/100th of a second, something only a true music nerd could appreciate.

Line-up:
* Adrian Belew – Guitar, additional ‘V Drumming’ (3)
* Robert Fripp – Guitar, Soundscapes
* Trey Gunn – Bass Touch Guitar, Baritone Guitar
* Pat Mastelotto – Traps, Buttons

Track List:
01. The Business of Pleasure
02. Hat in The Middle
03. Side Window
04. MaximIzer
05. Strange Ears (aging rapidly)
06. Overhead Floor Mats Under Toe Real Audio
07. Six O’Clock
08. Superbottomfeeder
09. One E And Real Audio
10. Two Awkward Moments
11. Demolition
12. Conversation Pit
13. Cin AlayI
14. Heaven And Earth
15. Belew Jay Way

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Adrian Belew, King Crimson, Pat Mastelotto, Robert Fripp, Trey Gunn

Warhorse – Warhorse (1970) (@256)

08 Jul 2008

(Review from progarchives.com)

Warhorse is the band that Nick Simper, the bass player of Deep Purple Mark I, formed after being ejected to make way for Roger Glover. Ashley Holt, who will go on as the singer on Wakeman 80s albums, provides solid vocals is the main asset for the band.

Their debut features an excellent hammond-driven hard rock sometimes reminiscent of Vanilla Fudge, but never far away from Purple either.

The opening track ‘Vulture Blood’ starts out pensively, with a restrained organ intro courtesy of Frank Wilson that sets the tone, prior to the band roaring in (a la ‘Speed King’) and a heavy riff courtesy of Ged Peck on guitar. Ashley Holt’s superb, powerful echo laden vocals show he could have been one of the great rock vocalists- up there with Gillan and David Byron. He exercises those tonsils in a way he never did in Rick Wakeman’s band. There is some superb instrumental work here, particularly some furious yet swirling interplay between the drums, guitar and organ in a climactic instrumental duel that’s early prog at its finest.

‘No Chance’ is yet another class track, albeit a slower paced one, with its stop start rhythm section intro and some moody organ work that introduces the track slowly but surely until the guitar charges in. Some complex and speedy organs and powerful guitar soloing keep things driving along before Holt’s operatic vocals take to the fore, with some seriously heavy instrumental workouts amidst the vocal acrobatics, and a more uptempo climax with furious drumming, tremolo-heavy guitar work akin to Ritchie Blackmore and bombastic harmonies that comes off like Uriah Heep at their best.

‘Burning’ is a more upbeat track, with an intro straight from Deep Purple’s rendition of ‘I’m So Glad’, with a military drum beat, heavy organ work and driving yet intricate bass and guitar workouts, prior to the funkier rock riffing courtesy of Peck’s guitar. The main melody as delivered by vocal harmonies provides a suitable springboard for the brilliant, echo swamped vocal performance by Ashley Holt, who excels on this brilliant track. The band drive on furiously throughout, albeit some proggy intricacies creep in from the organ and guitar workouts to keep things musically stimulating. There’s even a fiddly organ solo to match Jon Lord’s very best, and a furiously fast guitar workout.

‘St Louis’ seems to me to be the only track that stops this album from matching some of Heep or Purple’s best albums. It’s as if they were pressurised into putting a commercial track on by the record label, and it’s a cover version at that. The chorus is corny and the backing vocals a bit cringeworthy, though some neat organ and wah wah guitar work throughout stop this from being a total duffer.

‘Ritual’ starts out with an intro that’s pure ‘Wring That Neck’ (from DP’s ‘Book Of Tailesyn), with its fiddly guitar and stop start drums, before the main melody is thunderously delivered by Ashley Holt, non stop bludgeoning on the drumkit, some great complex organ work and some technically excellent guitar work make for another excellent and heavy listen.

‘Solitude’ is the most progressive track here, and probably the best song in Warhorse’s armoury, with its haunting piano, guitar and backing vocals intro, prior to a very powerful section with shifting organ chords and relentless drumming. The acoustic guitar gives a otuch of light and shade, amongst Ashley Holt’s most powerful and dramatic vocal performance ever. He steals the show with a bravura howl near the climax of the track, yet the superb instrumental work as seen in an emotive electric guitar solo, complex bass playing and strident piano chords make for what is one of the best yet most underrated tracks of the era. A progressive climax with some fast and furious time changes amidst the dizzying interplay from the guitar and organ create a superb musical palette.

‘Woman Of The Devil’ starts out with an intro that’s pure Black Widow via Uriah Heep, with its ‘Rainbow Demon’ style organ riff, albeit accompanied by some sludgy and very heavy guitar and drum interplay. After this furious intro speeds up into hyperspace, the main song driven by a huge bass motif and funky wah wah guitar riff kicks into first gear. Again, Ashley Holt’s vocal is tremendously powerful and evocative, and the production effects on his vocals actually add power to yet another first class track, particularly in a shrieking mid section.

Warhorse sits proudly next to Uriah Heep, Spooky Tooth, Atomic Rooster and Quatermass as much as Deep Purple on the record shelves.

Line-up:
- Ashley Holt / vocals
- Ged Peck / guitar
- Mac Poole / drums
- Nick Simper / bass
- Frank Wilson / organ, piano

Track List:
01. Vulture Blood 6:13
02. No Chance 6:22
03. Burning 6:17
04. St. Louis 3:50
05. Ritual 4:54
06. Solitude 8:48
07. Woman Of The Devil 7:16
08. Ritual (Bonus Live) 5:06
09. Miss Jane (Bonus Demo) 3:37
10. Solitude (Bonus Live) 4:52
11. Woman Of The Devil (Bonus Live) 6:45
12. Burning (Bonus Live) 6:09

Links in comments.

Nick Simper, Warhorse

Kyrie Eleison – Fountain Beyond the Sunrise (1976) (@256)

08 Jul 2008

(Review from vintageprog.com)

The band’s last album, “Fountain Beyond the Sunrise” takes absolutely everything that is great about the classic Genesis-sound at its peak and used it over four long, complex and marvellously strong and well-composed tracks.

Kyrie Eleison’s instrumental abilities were great and their sound is powerful with lots of depth and punch, despite a somewhat murky production. Their singer Michael Schubert manages to pull off Peter Gabriel’s voice very convincingly, but keyboardist Gerald Krampl is the most impressive one here. His organ, Mellotron and synths had the same delightful feel as Tony Banks’ best arrangements.

The opener “Out of the Dimension” sets the tone very well for the rest of the album: strong melodies, lengthy and complex song-structures, lots of tasteful keyboard work from our man Krampl in addition to powerful playing from the rest of the band. In the 14-minute multi-part title-track, Schubert also shows that he very well could do the theatrical vocal twists that were so typical for Gabriel (e.g.: like in “Get ‘Em Out by Friday”). “Forgotten Words” is with its eight minutes and forty seconds the shortest track, but yet another great showcase of the band’s sense for melodies and dynamic structures. The nearly 17-minute “Lenny” is packed to the rim with excellent ideas and great hooks. It’s actually surprising how such a complex and long piece can be so immediately catchy.

“Fountain Beyond the Sunrise” is a swansong worthy of the band that single-handedly craps most other Genesis-clones altogether.

Line-up:
- Gerald Krampl / keyboards
- Karl Novotny / drums
- Manfred Drapela / guitars
- Norbert Morin / bass
- Michael Schubert / vocals

Track List:
01. Out of Dimension – 10:07
02. The Fountain Beyond the Sunrise – 14:04
03. Forgotten Words – 8:40
04. Lenny – 16:37
05. Mounting the Eternal Spiral – 11:11

Links in comments.

Kyrie Eleison

King Crimson – ProjeKct Four West Coast (Live) (1998) (@256)

08 Jul 2008

(Review from progreviews.com, progarchives.com)

West Coast Live, is very ambiguous and quite the opposite of conserved state. Just like ProjeKct Two, it’s chaotic, a heavy surplus, and a very dynamic explosion. It sounds like “Ozric Tentacles meets Soundscapes”. The Ozric feeling comes from electronic “twiddly bits” that help to propel the rhythm section.

Like ProjeKct Two, this one seems more composed than other parts of the set. “West Coast Live” opens with a song in four sections (with the sections sounding like four different performances spliced together) called “Ghost (part 1)”. The album also includes a version of “Deception of the Thrush”, this time with a booming, pounding rhythm section. “Hindu Fizz” and “ProjeKction” follow, and finally the album ends with the five-track song, “Ghost (part 2)”. This last song begins with Fripp and Levin trading scratchy low notes and getting some laughs from the audience.

Perhaps ProjeKct Four has too much power that isn’t perfectly handled, but that goes well in the context of sheer wild insanity.

Line-up:
- Robert Fripp / guitar
- Trey Gunn / touch guitar, talker
- Tony Levin / basses, Stick
- Pat Mastelotto / electronic traps and buttons

Track List:
01. Ghost (part 1) 1 – 9:14
02. Ghost (part 1) 2 – 4:07
03. Ghost (part 1) 3 – 5:55
04. Ghost (part 1) 4 – 5:06
05. Deception of the Thrush – 7:12
06. Hindu Fizz – 4:46
07. ProjeKction – 5:29
08. Ghost (part 2) 1 – 1:39
09. Ghost (part 2) 2 – 2:43
10. Ghost (part 2) 3 – 3:53
11. Ghost (part 2) 4 – 1:48
12. Ghost (part 2) 5 – 4:57

Links in comments.

King Crimson, Live, Pat Mastelotto, Robert Fripp, Tony Levin, Trey Gunn

Baumstam – On Tour (1976) (@256)

07 Jul 2008

(Review from progarchives.com)

Baumstam is a propulsive krautrock band formed in 1972. They play fuzzed out and spacey rock ‘n roll with heavy guitars and nervous (sometimes melodic) vocals. “On tour” is the unique testimony of a band which totally disappeared.

The album oscillates between conventional garage, power rocking chords and warmer, floating spacey rock tunes. The dominant are the fuzzy guitars, constantly built around rockin riffs and buzzing solos. Their musical approach can be compared with stoner rock classics, British heavy rock standards and the bluesy rock of Rory Gallagher.

Some of the highlights include the opening track, a fuzzed riffed heavy “trip” with vocals. “Lucky strike” is in the same mood. “Hold me” is a more melodic, refined song, including emotional fuzzing solos parts and shining vocals. “Jazz Break” is an urgent, wild freak’n roll excursion.

The band doesn’t sound amateurish at all and their songs could written by the most notorious bands of the genre. A decent addition for fans of progressive heavy rock bands.

Line-up:
- Ulrich Klawitter / Guitar, Vocals
- Michael Lobbe / Guitar
- Volker Wobbe / Bass
- Gerhardt Meyer / Drums

Track List:
01. On Tour – 3:22
02. Lucky Strike – 3:32
03. Hold Me – 6:10
04. Jazz Break – 3:47
05. Dusty Roads – 3:53
06. Girl I Want To Stay Into Your Fire – 4:03
07. Last Letter – 4:59
08. Fifteen Years Old Mary – 5:26
09. He‘s A Liar – 5:52
10. Roots One – 7:44
11. Arbeit – 9:22
12. Leben – 4:01
13. Roots Two – 5:42

Links in comments.

Kyrie Eleison – Live (1975) (@256)

07 Jul 2008

(Review from seaoftranquility.org, progarchives.com)

Recorded on May 29th, 1975; this album is a peek at the live performance of Kyrie Eleison.

The concert kicks off with the epic 30-minute track “A Pane of Glass”, a symphonic gem of progressive bliss, featuring jangly guitars, organ, mellotron, and an overall Yes vibe. “Glass People” has some ominous Mellotron and ripping guitar leads, sounding like a cross between Wishbone Ash and early Moody Blues. There’s also an early working of “Out of Dimension” , later to appear on their next album, a neat keyboard solo piece, and the bouncy rocker “Get Ready Eddy”.

While the sound quality is not the greatest, the performances are top notch. The five compositions deliver some beautiful symphonic rock with strong echoes from early Earth & Fire (but in a more raw version), Genesis and Finch (on the fiery electric guitar parts).

Line-up:
- Wolfgang Wessely / vocals
- Gerald Krampl / keyboards
- Karl Novotny / drums
- Manfred Drapela / guitars
- Norbert Morin / bass

Track List:
01. A Pane of Glass – 30:48
02. Glass People – 12:08
03. Keyboards Improvisiation – 5:45
04. Out of Dimension – 10:07
05. Get Ready Eddy – 5:21

Links in comments.

Kyrie Eleison

King Crimson – ProjeKct Three Masque (Live) (1999) (@256)

06 Jul 2008

(Review from progreviews.com, progarchives.com)

ProjeKct Three’s Masques, is generally considered the projeKct masterpiece, containing delightful King Crimson moments.

The source material for it came mainly from live improv performances, but then the music was edited with bits and pieces moved here and there to “make a better flow and cover a few, but not all, brown spots”. The result is an album that sounds more “studio” than the others, but still retains the energy and experimentation of the live shows.

In the band we have Mastellotto as drummer, which is perfect for charismatic percussion. Correlation can be made with ProjeKct One, in the sense that it’s very educated standard of music, abstract and intelligent without growing too much chaos or music extreme. Very refined, somber and introspective in prevalent shapes, subtle and well-outlined. Thirteen movements of improvisatorial educated wonder.

The linear notes suggest you play the album in random mode to continue the improvisation.

Line-up:
- Robert Fripp / guitar
- Trey Gunn / touch guitar, talker
- Pat Mastelotto / electronic traps and buttons

Track List:
01. Masque 1 – 5:40
02. Masque 2 – 3:13
03. Masque 3 – 6:17
04. Masque 4 – 3:10
05. Masque 5 – 3:19
06. Masque 6 – 0:45
07. Masque 7 – 3:21
08. Masque 8 – 4:26
09. Masque 9 – 2:40
10. Masque 10 – 6:11
11. Masque 11 – 6:23
12. Masque 12 – 3:51
13. Masque 13 – 5:08

Link in comments.

King Crimson, Live, Pat Mastelotto, Robert Fripp, Trey Gunn

Kyrie Eleison – Blind Window Suite (1974-75) (@256)

06 Jul 2008

(Review from progarchives.com)

Kyrie Eleison is an Austrian symphonic rock band, founded 1974 by Gerald Krampl (keyboards) together with two school friends, Karl Novotny (drums) and Felix Rausch (guitar). The music is symphonic, progressive rock at its finest, with Mellotrons and keyboard leads, and moods ranging from quiet piano passages to walls of sound. They blend the symphonic mastery of Genesis with the thematic aspects of Van Der Graaf Generator.

Their debut album, “Blind Windows Suite” is a rousing mix of progressive, fusion, and classical themes. Gerald Krampi churned out some symphonic keyboards underneath the distorted guitar leads of Felix Rausch on the opening instrumental “Ouverture”. Singer Wolfgang Wessely comes in on the next number, the haunting “Autumn Evening”. Wessely’s voice is very indicative of many of the German progressive singers from the same era.

On the rocking “Thoughts on a Gloomy Day”, the band churns out a more complex piece, much like a supercharged Van Der Graaf Generator, with Wessely’s voice sounding very much like Peter Hammill and Krampi’s organ reigning supreme. They continue on in this direction with “Man is a Wanderer”, a 7-minute, dark piece of violent imagery, with ripping guitars and lyrics dealing with man’s inability to change the course of the world.

“A Friend” hints at vintage Genesis, with muscular bass, piano, organ, and powerful arrangements that recall the intensity of “The Knife”. The band mixes in their fusion chops on the rollicking “June”, with guitars dueling with the organ, while Novotny flails away on the drums. “Daydream” is more in a hard rock mode, ala Deep Purple, Bloodrock, or Uriah Heep, featuring muscular guitar riffs and rampaging organ.

Another great epic, “Get Me Out (Part I & II)” is up next with aggressive guitar work, cynical vocals, and symphonic keys. At 16-minutes, this one keeps building and changing with drama and tempo changes. The last two pieces, “Climbing” and “Winter Train” are dark, moody numbers featuring tons of haunting organ and tortured vocals, and each clock in at over 7-minutes.

Line-up:
- Wolfgang Wessely / vocals
- Gerald Krampl / keyboards
- Felix Rausch / guitars, vocals
- Gerhard Frank / bass
- Karl Novotny / drums

Track List:
01. Ouverture – 4:09
02. Autumn Evening – 3:03
03. Thoughts On A Gloomy Day – 4:10
04. Man Is A Wanderer – 7:43
05. A Friend – 10:07
06. June – 7:12
07. Daydream – 3:58
08. Get Me Out (Pt I+II) – 16:24
09. Climbing – 7:30
10. Winter Train – 10:31

Links in comments.

Kyrie Eleison

Who – View From A Backstage Pass (Live 1969-76) (@256)

06 Jul 2008

8 comments

(Review from retrolowfi.com)

For years, Who fans have been clamouring for Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend to raid the vaults and release rare concert recordings of The Who at their performing peak. So here it is — a twenty-six track set of rare or previously unreleased live material.

The first CD kicks off with a slow and sludgy version of “Fortune Teller” recorded in Michigan way back in 1969, and while it’s a nice trudging attack on the classic number, the following tracks culled from the fabled Hull ’70 gig are where it really kicks into high gear. For the uninitiated, Who played in Hull two nights after the well-known Leeds show, and were it not for a few faulty wires rendering John Entwistle’s bass nearly inaudible for much of the tape, we might all be raving about the classic Live At Hull record instead. Solid run-throughs of “Happy Jack” and “I’m a Boy” are highlighted from this concert, but it’s a nearly ten-minute reading of “A Quick One (While He’s Away)” that is the absolute hightlight.

Keith Moon is well showcased in all of his explosive glory during a fourteen-minute version of “Magic Bus” recorded at a Denver show in 1970. You’ll hear him clicking along on his little woodblocks for the first ten or so minutes while Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend go through the motions of the songs well known call-and-response portion until he simply can’t hold back any longer. Moon bursts forth with a drum roll that lasts for almost six measures before pushing the tune into a stratospheric jam that would make even the most well-oiled jam band jealous.

In 1971, Who were arguably at the peak of their live prowess, so the collection of a six-song run from their San Francisco stop on the “Who’s Next” tour is a real treat. You get to hear explosive versions of “Bargain” and “My Wife” that easily best their studio counterparts, and an extended performance of “Baby Don’t You Do It” that showcases Townshend’s ability to effortlessly lead the band through any number of variations on even the simplest of themes, framed by the trademark cutthroat guitar tone of his Gibson SG and caterwauling runs and drones that allow Entwistle to noodle about. On even the cloest inspections of the track, it’s nearly impossible to figure out exactly who is really leading who, and it’s a great showcase of the quartets legendary near-telepathic improvisation abilities.

CD 2 kicks off with a few tracks from the legendarily problematic 1973 Quadrophenia tour. The highlight is a rendition of “The Punk And The Godfather”, complete with great harmonies courtesy of Townshend and Entwistle in the bridge and a miffed last verse that threatens to derail the song completely. Of course, the band pulls through and brings the tune to a gentle climax with a nod to “My Generation”, and it’s this sort of “bead of sweat and a bum note” mentaility that ultimately makes this album so rewarding: the best rock and roll is the type that sounds like it’s about to either explode or fall apart at any given second. While each Who show is utterly unpredictable, it is always a fascinating wobble between pure danger and ecstasy.

Elsewhere there’s a stunning jam that melds together “Naked Eye”, “Let’s See Action” and a slow, bluesy version of “My Generation” from a heavily bootlegged 1974 show in Charlton. Don’t miss out on the last half of the disc, though… not only do you get a great reading of the rarely performed “Dreaming From The Waist” that will have you wondering why the track isn’t considered part of the upper echelon of Who classics, but the album closes out with a mini-set from Tommy in 1976 that will absolutely floor even the most jaded fan of rock music. It’s the offbeat “I’m Free” that steals the show during this portion, but the swooping prayer at the end of “See Me, Feel Me” brings the album to an ultimately satisfying end.

Line-up:
* Pete Townshend – guitar, vocals
* Roger Daltrey – lead vocals, harmonica
* John Entwistle – bass, vocals
* Keith Moon – drums

Track List:
CD1
01. Fortune Teller – 2:54
02. Happy Jack – 2:12
03. I’m A Boy – 2:46
04. A Quick One – 8:53
05. Magic Bus – 13:50
06. I Can’t Explain – 2:38
07. Substitute – 2:18
08. My Wife – 7:06
09. Behind Blue Eyes – 4:36
10. Bargain – 6:42
11. Baby Don’t You Do It – 6:18
CD2
01. The Punk And The Godfather – 4:54
02. 5-15 – 6:02
03. Won’t Get Fooled Again – 8:54
04. Young Man Blues – 5:57
05. Tattoo – 3:21
06. Boris The Spider – 3:14
07. Naked Eye ) Let’s See Action ) My Generation Blues – 14:40
08. Squeeze Box – 3:17
09. Dreaming From The Waist – 4:54
10. Fiddle About – 1:45
11. Pinball Wizard – 2:48
12. I’m Free – 2:17
13. Tommy’s Holiday Camp – 0:51
14. We’re Not Gonna Take It – 3:32
15. See Me, Feel Me – 4:41

Links in comments.

John Entwistle, Keith Moon, Live, Pete Townshend, Roger Daltrey, Who

King Crimson – ProjeKct Two Live Groove (1998) (@256)

05 Jul 2008

(Review from progarchives.com)

Live Groove, is a reference to the double album Space Groove, released one year before this, and it’s actually a prevalent interpretation of Space Groove’s repertoire or, least of all, essence.

It’s a guitar sense, as only Fripp, Belew and Gunn form this frakctal of King Crimson. That means slight soundscapism, chords refinement and the casual construction of such an imposing feature. The play is virulent, in a chaos of sensations, in several senses. Perhaps not intact as speech, but a pill of shock therapy. Energic, yet perhaps too close in its sharp form.

Line-up:
- Robert Fripp / guitar
- Adrian Belew / V-drums
- Trey Gunn / touch guitar, talker

Track List:
01. Sus-tayn-Z – 8:05
02. Heavy ConstruKction – 5:11
03. The Deception Of The Thrush – 7:33
04. X-chayn-jiZ – 6:01
05. Light ConstruKction – 5:17
06. Vector Shift To Planet Detroit – 3:41
07. Contrary ConstruKction – 4:55
08. Live Groove – 10:50
09. Vector Shift To Planet Belewbeloid – 1:24
10. 21st Century Schizoid Man – 11:50

Links in comments.

Adrian Belew, King Crimson, Live, Robert Fripp, Trey Gunn

Gong-heads :)

05 Jul 2008

I’m looking to close some gaps in my Gong collection. People who have Gong CDs and would like to help me out, please contact me via e-mail.

Ayreon – Final Experiment (1995) (@256)

05 Jul 2008

(Review from wikipedia, progarchives.com)

In the early 90s, Arjen Lucassen had to visit many record labels to get his music on an album: again and again he was rejected. In the end the new Dutch label Transmission gave him a chance, in 1995 he released his debut album entitled Final Experiment, naming the band Ayreon.

Ayreon’s musical style derives mostly from heavy metal and progressive rock, but combines them with genres like folk, classical and electronica to form what some call a completely new style of music. The majority of Ayreon’s albums are dubbed “rock operas” because the albums contain complex storylines featuring a host of characters, each represented by a unique vocalist.

Ayreon’s music is characterized by the use of traditional instruments in rock music (guitars, bass guitar, drums, synthesizers, electric organs) mixed with instruments more native to folk and classical music (i.e. mandolins, violins, violas, celli, flutes, sitars and didgeridoo).

The story of this concept albums starts in the year 2084 AD when scientists try to avoid total destruction of the Earth. With a new computer programm called Time Telepathy they succeeded in contacting a blind minstrel from the sixth century called Ayreon. He has to warn people for the impending downfall by singing his vision. He even meets Merlin but the famous magician vows that Ayreon’s word will be spread in the twentieth century. And so the moralistic epilogue says “The outcome of the final experiment has now been placed in your hands”.

The album shows a tight band, scouting the borders between hardrock and symphonic rock. Most of the 15 tracks are strong and varied. Especially the use of many different singers (an Ayreon trademark) adds an extra dimension to the music. Arjen Lucassen delivers many biting soli with hints from Satriani (and also with echoes from his hero Ritchie Blackmore) but there is no overkill. Cleem Determeijer has a remarkable part in the music: sumptuous sounding synthesizers (juno/oberheim/moog), a beautiful flute and harpsichord duet (“Ye Courtyard Minstrel Boy”), nice interplay between mellotron and acoustic guitar (“Listen To The Waves”) and piano and mellotron (“Swan Song”) and delicate harmony between different keyboards, flute and biting guitar, like a desperate cry of the future in “Charm Of The Seer”. There is chemistry between the musicians and between the music and lyrics, making “Final Experiment” one of the best Dutch progressive rock debut albums!

This edition also comes with a bonus CD with semi-acoustic versions of many songs from the album. These songs have been re-arranged extensively from the originals, and in many cases the vocalists approach their songs with entirely different techniques. Sometimes female vocalists sing in the place of males. Fans of Marcela Bovio from “Human Equation” album and Lucassen’s side project, “Streams of Passion”, will be pleased to note that she appears on “Waracle”. Irene Jansen, also from “Human Equation”, sings on “Merlin’s Will”. Finally, some progressive fans will recognize Peter Daltrey, the singer who did the spoken-word parts on “Into the Electric Castle”, singing on “Nature’s Dance”.

“Final Experiment” can be a difficult, emotionally-draining listen, with its oppressively brooding atmosphere of tragedy helped along by the synths. The acoustic songs on this bonus CD have a somewhat warmer, brighter atmosphere, and it’s easier to ignore the lyrics if you so choose and just concentrate on the melodies.

Line-up:
- Arjen Lucassen / guitars, bass, keyboards, vocals
- Cleem Determeijer (Finch) / on all kinds of keys including mellotron
- Ernst van Ee (Helloise) / drums
- Jolanda Verduijn / bass
- Peter Vink (Finch, Q’65) / bass
- Jan Bijlsma / bass
- Barry Hay / alto flute, vocals
with
- Edward Reekers (Kayak) / vocals
- Lenny Wolf (Kingdom Come) / vocals
- Robert Soeterbroek / vocals
- Jan-Chris De Koeijer / vocals
- Ian Parry (Vengeance) / vocals
- Jan van Feggelen / vocals
- Leon Goewie / vocals
- Ruud Houweling / vocals
- Lucie Hillen / vocals
- Mirjam van Doorn / vocals
- Debby Schreuder / vocals

Track List:
CD1
01. Prologue – 3:16
Act I : The Dawning
02. The Awareness – 6:36
03. Eyes Of Time – 5:05
04. The Banishment – 11:08
Act II : King Arthur’s Court
05. Ye Courtyard Minstrel Boy – 2:45
06. Sail Away To Avalon – 4:02
07. Nature’s Dance – 2:27
Act III : Visual Echoes
08. Computer-Reign (Game Over) – 3:24
09. Waracle – 6:44
10. Listen To The Waves – 4:58
11. Magic Ride – 3:35
Act IV : Merlin’s Will and Ayreon’s Fate
12. Merlin’s Will – 3:20
13. The Charm Of The Seer – 4:11
14. Swan Song – 2:44
15. Ayreon’s Fate – 6:55
CD2 (Semi-acoustic Bonus)
01. Dreamtime – 4:19
02. Eyes Of Time – 3:25
03. The Accusation – 3:49
04. Ye Courtyard Minstrel Boy – 2:50
05. Sail Away To Avalon – 3:26
06. Nature’s Dance – 2:03
07. Waracle – 5:16
08. Merlin’s Will – 3:29
09. The Charm Of The Seer – 9:01

Links in comments.

Arjen Lucassen, Ayreon, Edward Reekers, Lori Linstruth, Marcela Bovio

King Crimson – ProjeKct Two Space Groove (1997) (@256)

04 Jul 2008

Thanks to Bragi Taliesin for the contribution.

(Review from progreviews.com, progarchives.com)

Considering that many bands that tackle the double disc format spend a long time writing and recording only to turn out a mediocre product, ProjeKct Two’s attempt to produce a double album in three days seems foolhardy. Space Groove, written and performed by half of King Crimson (Adrian Belew, Trey Gunn and Robert Fripp) is surprisingly decent, then, and even good considering the time constraint and amount of material.

The pieces have a jazzy space feel to them; the choice of futuristic-sounding instruments and sounds no doubt plays a major part in this. Overall, the music is very subtle; enjoyable. The pieces don’t seem to be in any particular order, and could just as easily be rearranged with the same effect.

Fripp is the sole lead guitarist, and it is refreshing to hear him leading from the front for once. Gunn’s WARR guitar has a huge range of notes, enabling him to function as either bass or second guitar as rquired, and the V drums can trigger bass lines and samples, so at times it sounds like a lot more than 3 musicians.

CD1 features 2 lengthy, jazz inflected improvs and one much shorter piece. The shorter pieces on CD2 are often excellent, with a much sharper focus — probably because it uses the better excerpts of long jams instead of the long jams themselves.

Adrian Belew wrote an accompanying short science fiction story (included in the packaging) that tries to make some sense out of the improvisational chaos. The second disc, “Vector Patrol”, seems to follow this narrative, as it consists of fourteen smaller pieces of music whose titles indicatic thematic flow.

Space Groove are for those who enjoy improvisational, low-key space music.

Line-up:
- Robert Fripp / guitar
- Adrian Belew / V-drums
- Trey Gunn / touch guitar, guitar synth

Track List:
CD1
01. Space Groove II
02. Space Groove III
03. Space Groove I
CD2
01. Happy Hour on Planet Zarg
02. Is There Life on Zarg
03. Low Life in Sector Q-3
04. Sector Shift
05. Laura in Space
06. Sector Drift
07. Sector Patrol
08. In Space There Is No North, In Space There Is No South, In Space There Is No East, In Space There Is No West
09. Vector Patrol
10. Deserts of Arcadia (North)
11. Deserts of Arcadia (South)
12. Snake Drummers of Sector Q-3
13. Escape from Sagittarius A
14. Return to Station B

Links in comments.

Adrian Belew, King Crimson, Live, Robert Fripp, Trey Gunn

Joe Cocker – With A Little Help From My Friends (1969) (@256)

04 Jul 2008

(Review from allmusic)

Joe Cocker’s debut album holds up extraordinarily well across four decades, the singer’s performance bolstered by some very sharp playing, not only by his established sideman/collaborator Chris Stainton, but also some top-notch session musicians, among them drummer Clem Cattini, Steve Winwood and Matthew Fisher on organ, guitarists Jimmy Page and Albert Lee, all sitting in.

It’s Cocker’s voice, a soulful rasp of an instrument backed up by Madeline Bell, Sunny Weetman and Rossetta Hightower that carries this album and makes “Change in Louise”, “Feeling Alright”, “Just Like a Woman”, “I Shall Be Released” and even “Bye Bye Blackbird” into profound listening experiences.

But the surprises in the arrangements, tempo, and approaches taken help make this an exceptional album. Tracks like “Just Like a Woman,” with its soaring gospel organ above a lean textured acoustic and light electric accompaniment, and the guitar-dominated rendition of “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood” — the formal debut of the Grease Band on record — all help make this an exceptional listening experience.

The edition also includes a pair of bonus tracks, the previously unanthologized B-sides “The New Age of Lily” and “Something Coming On”, deserved better than the obscurity in which they previously dwelt.

Track List:
01. Feeling Alright – 4:13
02. Bye Bye Blackbird – 3:30
03. Change In Louise – 3:25
04. Marjorine – 2:40
05. Just Like A Woman – 5:19
06. Do I Still Figure In Your Life – 4:01
07. Sandpaper Cadillac – 3:19
08. Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood – 4:44
09. With A Little Help From My Friends – 5:14
10. I Shall Be Released – 4:41
11. The New Age Of Lily (Bonus) – 2:19
12. Something’s Coming On (Bonus) – 2:15

Link in comments.

Jimmy Page, Matthew Fisher, Steve Winwood

Ufo – In Session and Live In Concert (1974-77) (@256)

04 Jul 2008

This is an archival live album of the British hard rock outfit’s recordings for the Beeb in 1974, 1975 and 1977.

Tracks 1-3 In session with Bob Harris 10/28/74
Tracks 4-6 In session with John Peel 6/27/77
Tracks 7-10 Live at the Hippodrome 6/6/74
Tracks 11-14 Live at the Paris Theatre 12/11/75

Line-up:
* Phil Mogg – Vocals
* Pete Way – Bass
* Micheal Schenker – Guitar
* Andy Parker – Drums
* Paul Chapman – Guitar (7-10)

Track List:
01. Rock Bottom – 7:09
02. Time On My Hands – 3:14
03. Give Her The Gun – 4:11
04. Too Hot To Handle – 3:50
05. Lights Out – 4:57
06. Try Me – 4:45
07. Oh My – 4:21
08. Built For Comfort – 4:13
09. Space Child – 4:19
10. Doctor Doctor – 4:25
11. Let It Roll – 5:08
12. Mother Mary – 4:44
13. Out In The Street – 5:12
14. Shoot Shoot – 3:48

Links in comments.

Live, Michael Schenker, Pete Way, Phil Mogg, Ufo

King Crimson – ProjeKct One Live at the Jazz Cafe (1997) (@256)

03 Jul 2008

(Review from progarchives.com)

Improvisatorial, non-conformist, heavy experimental, sound chaser King Crimson has become by the end of the millennium more than a fact, an affinity or a special side of them. It has become a genuine character, a strong brand and an always intriguing viewpoint of their music.

King Crimson delved into more research and development, exploring the capabilities of the six member line-up by forking into four subsets (frakctals). What they did to do some experimental, mostly live, mostly improvisational music in pairs.

ProjeKct One’s “Live At The Jazz Cafe”, is impressive through clear scales, rigorous composition, keen adaptation. Less abstract, more melodic; less wild, more pragmatic; stable in a convenient form. Music goes enchanting (though this word can seem out of King Crimson definition, if you think about it), being a complete of a speech done to perfect value and minute form. Serves as a good reference. Does a great impression. Speaks a veridical language. Good, simple, clean, pure, light in the meaning of fluency, nonetheless of the right mood and the right approach. A titled hint of style, a conserved and understandable crimsonian movement.

Line-up:
- Robert Fripp / guitar
- Bill Bruford / drums, percussion
- Trey Gunn / touch guitar
- Tony Levin / basses, Stick, synth

Track List:
01. 4 i 1 – 6:11
02. 4 ii 1 – 3:29
03. 1 ii 2 – 4:27
04. 4 ii 4 – 7:58
05. 2 ii 3 – 4:27
06. 3 i 2 – 8:14
07. 3 ii 2 – 6:32
08. 2 ii 4 – 4:27
09. 4 i 3 – 4:32

Link in comments.

Bill Bruford, King Crimson, Live, Robert Fripp, Tony Levin, Trey Gunn

Banzai – Hora Nata (1974) (@256)

03 Jul 2008

(Review from vintageprog.com, progreviews.com progarchives.com)

Banzai were a Belgian quintet from the mid 1970s who disbanded after only one album. This reissue contains not only their original album, but also six bonus tracks.

Their only album consisted of complex 70′s symphonic progressive rock as typical and traditional as it possibly can get. It is mainly instrumental, with only two tracks containing any vocals. The instrumental sections are equally divided between jams and more thoroughly composed pieces, sometimes with strings added.

After a jazzy opening instrumental track; the musical introduction of “Try” is rather complex, the complete opposite of the vocal part which is rather simple and Yes’ Jon Anderson-like. If Yes is one source of inspiration while vocals are concerned, Camel is the other one for most of the instrumental parts. “Obelisk” is probably the closest Camel-like song here. Beautiful symphonic music almost all the way through (there will be a minute of improv though). A sweet moment, except during the finale which is quite hard actually. Solid guitar solo and great rhytmic section to back it up.

“Hat Trick” is jazzier. Sax and drumming reminds more King Crimson than anything else but great guitar breaks and soft keyboards will revert the mood to a less aggressive style. Very nice and fully Camel although the keys during the finale seriously remind of the ones from Jon Lord. The longest song features great melodies (guitar and keys) and is truely grandiose. Very intense piece of music. Symphonic progressive fans will be transported to heaven while listening to it. The second half offers more diversity (violins, percussions) and more personal vocals.

As for the bonus tracks , they are the singles the band released in those years, the first being the title track of the album redone with a string section. Most of the singles are of good quality but they are somewhat different than the album itself. On those singles Banzai manages to sound more like Caravan (circa New Symphonia era) and is rather pleasant.

“Hora Nata” is derivative and not very original in any way, but it’s still quite solid stuff if you can’t get enough of that classic 70′s symphonic progressive rock sound.

Line-up:
- Peter Torfs / keyboards, vocals
- John MC O / guitars
- Ludwig Kemat / percussion, alto saxophone
- Evert Verhees / bass, vocals
- Erry Foix / drums, percussion

Track List:
01. You always like an Entree – 2:12
02. Try – 7:45
03. Obelisk – 11:08
04. Hattrick – 7:33
05. Three Magicians – 12:14
06. Hora Nata (Bonus) – 2:59
07. Good Morning Life (Bonus) – 3:45
08. We’re Sorry (Bonus) – 3:07
09. Be Careful Now (Bonus) – 3:27
10. Talking About My Love (Bonus) – 3:08
11. On The Rocks (Bonus) – 3:00

Links in comments.

King Crimson – Vrooom Vrooom (Live 1995-96) (@256)

02 Jul 2008

(Review from progarchives.com)

For a line-up which released only one studio album (Thrak) , there’s an awful lot of material by the double trio available, especially if you count in the ProjeKcts. This double set gives a good selection of live versions of 90s material, updated versions of older material, some improv and a cover version thrown in for good measure. King Crimson has always come alive on stage, and these double album show just how powerful they can be when they’re firing on all cylinders.

The two discs were recorded during different concerts, in Mexico City (disc 1, and New York (disc 2). Somewhat confusingly disc 1 was recorded 9 months after disc 2, which means that the band sounds slightly less polished on disc 2 if you listen to them in order. Although they were drawing on the same repertoire for these shows, only one piece (Thrak) crops up twice.

Disc 1 sees the mighty Crim beast launch a non stop, no holds barred assault on their audience, 60 minutes of the kind of high intensity few other bands can deliver. The first five selections come from Thrak, including a storming version of Dinosaur with Belew in fine voice. This is followed by a blast from the past as they give us The Talking Drum and LTIA II, with Bruford and Mastelotto almost matching the Muir/Bruford partnership for manic interplay. Neurotica is another bravura vocal from Belew, a white knuckle ride on a piledriving rhythm that constantly threatens to fall apart but somehow holds together. Two other oldies get the double trio makeover; Red, which sounds a bit messy compared to the version on “Absent Lovers”, and a nu-metal reworking of 21st Century Schizoid Man which works surprisingly well once you get over the initial shock.

Disc 2 is a slightly looser affair which draws mainly on Thrak and the 80s albums. The 80s material is reworked by the expanded line up to great effect, especially Elephant Talk which gives Gunn and Levin an opportunity to trade licks at lightning speed. Indiscipline shows the bands mastery of wildly fluctuating dynamics and stop/start rhythms, while the gentler songs show that the double trio was also capable of great subtlety and restraint, particularly the the closer, Walking on Air. An unexpected surprise is a cover version of the Beatles’ “Free as a Bird”, which was released at the time of these concerts. Belew does a remarkably fine job as a Lennon impersonator, and you can hear the band and audience audibly cracking smiles during this performance.

Vrooom Vrooom is a great Crimson live album, it gives a good overview of a remarkable line-up in full flight.

Line-up:
- Robert Fripp / guitar, soundscapes
- Adrian Belew / guitar, voice
- Trey Gunn / Warr touch guitar
- Tony Levin / basses, Stick
- Pat Mastelotto / acoustic drums, electronic drums, percussion
- Bill Bruford / acoustic drums, electronic drums, percussion

Track List:
CD1
01. Vrooom Vrooom – 5:01
02. Coda: Marine 475 – 2:44
03. Dinosaur – 5:05
04. B’Boom – 4:51
05. Thrak – 6:39
06. The Talking Drum – 4:03
07. Larks’ Tongues In Aspic [Part II] – 6:13
08. Neurotica – 3:40
09. Prism – 4:24
10. Red – 7:03
11. Biker Babes of the Rio Grande – 2:27
12. 21st Century Schizoid Man – 7:37
CD2
01. Conundrum – 1:57
02. Thela Hun Ginjeet – 6:44
03. Frame By Frame – 5:12
04. People – 6:12
05. One Time – 5:52
06. Sex Sleep Eat Drink Dream – 4:55
07. Indiscipline – 7:16
08. Two Sticks – 1:50
09. Elephant Talk – 5:14
10. Three Of A Perfect Pair – 4:16
11. B’Boom – 3:47
12. Thrak – 6:43
13. Free As A Bird – 3:03
14. Walking On Air – 5:35

Links in comments.

Adrian Belew, Bill Bruford, King Crimson, Live, Pat Mastelotto, Robert Fripp, Tony Levin, Trey Gunn

Aufklarung – De La Tempesta (1995) (@256)

02 Jul 2008

(Review from progarchives.com)

The name translates almost literally as enlightenment. It also specifically refers to a philosophical/social/political movement that swept through Europe in the eighteenth century. Generally it is referred to as the Age of Reason. The band says that this movement was a cultural break, and they are making a similar break by revisiting a musical movement from the past.

What can we find in an Italian band with a German name and English lyrics? The answer is excellent music, very nice melodies in an obscure neo prog style. Four long tracks showing some Genesis and Marillion (era Fish) influences and some classic Italian flavour, plenty of variations, and always emphasized the melodic line.

“Red Shift” is the first theme, with lots of rythmical changes and beautiful atmospheres, including a little chaotic part a la Banco, finishing with a solemn organ. “Jethro Van Hall” is an obscure song, very interesting, but “Il Funerale Della Luna” is the highlight: despite some Marillion touches, we find again continuous changes into a wonderful melody. The last track (two in one), “Eclipse/Echoes Wave” is a very calm and soft piece, a wonderful way to close the stuff.

Line-up:
- Fabio Guadalupi / acoustic, classic & electric guitar
- Marco Mancarella / keyboards
- Michele Martello / acoustic, classic & electric guitar
- Massimo Mignini / drums
- Luciano Rubini / bass
with
- Chicco Grosso / vocals
- Edoardo Lecci / flute

Track List:
01. Red Shift – 13:03
02. Jetho Van Hall – 10:09
03. Il Funeralle Della Luna – 10:38
04. Eclipse – Echo’s Wave – 10:50

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Back Street Crawler – Band Plays On (1975) (@256)

02 Jul 2008

Thanks to ldicker1 for the contribution.

(Review from allmusic)

Just as Ritchie Blackmore replaced the guitar player of Elf with himself and became Blackmore’s Rainbow. Paul Kossoff replaces the guitar player from the band Bloontz, and renames the band Back Street Crawler, naming it after his solo album. Their debut album hit the shelves in 1975.

The song “Jason Blue” is a powerful potion, one that would fit perfectly on a classic hits station, arguably one of the best tracks here. It is one of six compositions by Mike Montgomery, the major force on this album. Montgomery co-writes two additional tunes and sings lead on “All the Girls Are Crazy” and “Survivor”, dueting with Terry Wilson-Slesser on “New York, New York”.

The more you play “Band Plays On”, the more it grows on you. Sounding so much like Bad Company was no doubt a drawback — the records showing up in the same section alphabetically at retail bins, their names so closely aligned, the unfortunate big difference for Back Street Crawler was no hit single emerging from this set. “It’s a Long Way Down to the Top” could be Bad Company performing “Ready for Love”, down to the riff and the mood.

Nevertheless, so many references to that band don’t take away from the fact that this is a solid ’70s blues-rock disc with hooks, top-notch production, and lots to offer. This material is terrific sleeper stuff for the ’70s hard rock genre, before Foreigner made that whole world much slicker. Back Street Crawler creates real hard rock art.

Line-up:
- Paul Kossoff / Guitar
- Mike Montgomery / Keyboards, Vocals
- Terry Wilson / bass
- Terry Wilson-Slesser / vocals
- Tony Braunagel / Drums, Vocals
with
- George Larnyoh / Wind
- George Lee / Flute, Soprano Sax, Tenor Sax
- Eddie Quansah / Trumpet, Flugelhorn, Horn
- Peter VanDer Puije / Baritone Sax

Track List:
01. Who Do Women
02. New York, New York
03. Stealing My Way
04. Survivor
05. It’s A Long Way Down To The Top
06. All The Girls Are Crazy
07. Jason Blue
08. Train Song
09. Rock & Roll Junkie
10. The Band Plays On

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Back Street Crawler, Paul Kossoff

King Crimson – B'Boom Live in Argentina (1994) (@256)

01 Jul 2008

(Review from progreviews.com, progarchives.com)

B’Boom is exactly what it says it is, an “official bootleg”. Fripp apparently isn’t that fond of people bootlegging shows, because it allows bad shows to be heard by more people (so he says). So, in an effort to let the band tap into bootlegging for the band, B’Boom came to be. As one of the first shows of the Thrak tour, it was recorded live at the Broadway, Buenos Aires, Argentina in October 1994

The concert was digitally recorded from the mainboard. Because of this, the recorded sounds are exactly how the microphones heard the performance, not how the audience heard it. This produces a very detailed live record due to the sound engineer’s unique talent.

There is a good helping of Thrak material but the real fun is listening to what this double-trio lineup does with the older material. “Indiscipline” is downright scary it’s so good: just the right mix of anger and whimsy. “The Talking Drum” and “Larks’ . . .” are really something. Some of the other Discipline-era material sounds a bit congested with the six piece group but it doesn’t detract significantly from the performance. Of course there is some improv here, notably around “B’Boom” and “Thrak”, but it doesn’t go on too long or go off on too many tangents.

This is the triumphant return of King Crimson to the live stage in the 90s.

Line-up:
- Adrian Belew / vocals, guitar
- Bill Brudord / drums, percussion
- Robert Fripp / guitar, soundscapes
- Trey Gunn / Warr guitar
- Tony Levin / Stick, basses, vocals
- Pat Mastelotto / drums, percussion

Track List:
CD1
01. VROOOM – 7:06
02. Frame By Frame – 5:24
03. Sex, Sleep, Eat, Drink, Dream – 4:48
04. Red – 6:08
05. One Time – 5:35
06. B’Boom – 6:48
07. THRAK – 6:28
08. Improv – Two Sticks – 1:25
09. Elephant Talk – 4:25
10. Indiscipline – 7:20
CD2
01. VROOOM VROOOM – 6:18
02. Matte Kudasai – 3:36
03. The Talking Drum – 5:44
04. Lark’s Tongues In Aspic Part II – 7:31
05. Heartbeat – 3:51
06. Sleepless – 6:05
07. People – 5:22
08. B’Boom (Reprise) – 4:16
09. THRAK – 5:33

Links in comments.

Adrian Belew, Bill Bruford, King Crimson, Live, Pat Mastelotto, Robert Fripp, Tony Levin, Trey Gunn

Alamo – Alamo (1971) (@256)

01 Jul 2008

(Review from rateyourmusic.com, hippy.com)

The roots of Alamo go back to guitarist Larry Raspberry who played with the Gentrys in 1965 when they charted with “Keep On Dancing”. The strength of Alamo was largely due to the mountainous vox and grinding hammond of ex-Cosmos Ken Woodley coupled with the gritty guitar breaks of Raspberry.

Ever wonder what early ZZ Top might sound like with an organ added to the mix? Well, released in 1971 in Memphis, Alamo’s selftitled sole album has the answer. They make nice, solid mainstream hard rock with a slight Southern edge. There are some nice extended instrumental jams in the style of Allman Brothers (on acid), Homer and “Nantucket” era-Mountain.

The album powers forth with the massive opener “Got To Find Another Way” in the same energized spirit as Scotland’s “Writing On The Wall” or Germany’s “Karthago”. This thunderous opener has Raspberry ripping the hell out of his axe with no prisoners taken. “Soft And Gentle” is a determined effort from the band to slow down with the guitar sliding in a heavy toned Bloodrock manner. Ken Woodley reaps some great riffs on his hammond through “The World We Seek” with Raspberry not far behind on his gator growling axe. “Been Some Changes” also allows the guitar to spit out some riveting leadbreaks that would have suited the likes of Grand Funk or Rare Earth while “Get The Feelin’” is a vibrant supercharge of percussion and bass where each member has his slice of solo.

If you like organ driven hard rock in the vein of Bloodrock or Atomic Rooster, don’t miss this one.

Line-up:
- Ken Woodley / vocals, organ
- Larry Raspberry / guitar
- Larry Davis / bass
- Richard Rosebrough / drums

Track List:
01. Got To Find Another Way – 4:36
02. Soft And Gentle – 6:59
03. The World We Seek – 3:36
04. Question Raised – 4:43
05. Bensome Changes – 3:34
06. All New People – 4:49
07. Get The Feelin’ – 6:01
08. Happiness Is Free – 4:18

Link in comments.

Azahar – Azahar (1979) (@256)

01 Jul 2008

(Review from progarchives.com)

Soon after the release of Azahar’s debut album, a series of extra-musical events that eventually led to the lead vocalist’s deportation out of Spain, forced the disintegration of the band.

Fortunately, a couple of years later, the band resumed their career with the former lead singer back in Spain, but by then, the line-up had changed substantially: the Uruguayan keyboardist and bass player that had been part of the original formation were gone, and now the band had a new keyboardist and a drummer (plus a couple of guest bassists for the recording sessions).

Since in their debut album there was no drummer in the band, you can easily notice that the inclusion of one served as a source of tightness for the performances and arrangements of the new album’s repertoire, making the ensemble sound more solid; on the other hand, a portion of the eerie magic of the debut is lost, since now the music is more constructed and less free in its form.

Ricardo Zappala’s timbre and vocal style are an acquired taste, since he is an overtly exaggerated performer, but he certainly can evocate the passion and emotion of Flamenco with a wicked rocking twist, making his singing a fundamental element of the band’s overall sound. But we must consider that half of the material is instrumental (Zappala plays some keyboard and percussion, as well), so it’s obvious that Azahar is more focused on the music itself than in Zappala’s voice.

The band clearly goes for a rough approach to Flamenco-oriented symphonic progressive. Keyboardist Manrique’s work on his layers and occasional solos is the only source of finesse, while Zappala’s frontal chanting, Valls’ enhanced electric and Spanish guitar playing, and Trujillo’s potent drumming create a powerful wall of sound mostly erected by basic exotic lines and chord progressions. Trujillo’s labour (in conjunction with the alternating guest bass players) adds some energetic touches of funky and jazz fusion.

Both the opening and closing instrumental numbers are catchy and evocative, and so are the heavily flamenco ‘Zahira’ and the psychedelic ‘Bulerías de Lujo’, which includes an almost tribal drum solo.

Among the sung numbers, ‘La Naranja y el Limón’ and ‘Aire y Fuego’ are the most impressive, since they are fluidly articulated and show off that special South Spanish magic so well. ‘Noche de Primavera’ is an emotional rock ballad that could have gone to more places had it been developed more thoroughly.

This is quite an excellent recording, full of appealing musical ideas, solid performances, and a genuine sense of passion.

Line-up:
- Ricardo Dick Zappala / vocals, keyboards
- Manolo Manrique / keyboards
- Antonio Valls / guitar
- Willy Trujillo / drums and percussion
with:
- Julio Blasco / bass
- Enrique Carmona / bass
- Isabel y Esperanza / vocals

Track List:
01. Expreso A Ketama – 4:41
02. La Naranja V El Kimon – 5:12
03. Noche De Primavera – 3:46
04. Zahira – 3:40
05. Bulerias De Lujo – 2:44
06. El Mago Acidote – 9:33
07. Aire Y Fuego – 5:08
08. Expreso De Ketama – 4:02

Link in comments.

Azahar

King Crimson – Vrooom (EP 1994) (@256)

01 Jul 2008