Author: bradbirzer

By day, I'm a father of seven and husband of one. By night, I'm an author, a biographer, and a prog rocker. Interests: Rush, progressive rock, cultural criticisms, the Rocky Mountains, individual liberty, history, hiking, and science fiction.

All of 2014: Rush @ 40

On By bradbirzerIn progressive rock musicLeave a comment

 

rush at 40.001 - Version 2

Long to longish progarchist posts on Rush
Hold your Fire -Rush’s finest? by Tad Wert (*progarchy’s single most popular post ever)

https://progarchy.com/2014/04/24/rushs-finest-album-hold-your-fire-until-youve-read-my-analysis/

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Erik Heter on Moving Pictures as Synergy

https://progarchy.com/2014/04/27/synergistic-perfection-first-and-lasting-impressions-of-moving-pictures/

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Discovering Rush on their 40th anniversary by Eric Perry

https://progarchy.com/2014/04/25/discovering-rush-the-40-year-old-virgin/

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The first Rush album reviewed by Craig Breaden

https://progarchy.com/2014/02/22/rushs-first/

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A review of A Farewell to Kings by Kevin McCormick

https://progarchy.com/2013/01/21/rush-a-farewell-to-hemispheres-part-i/

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A review of Power Windows by Brad Birzer

https://progarchy.com/2013/12/14/power-windows-rush-and-excellence-against-conformity/

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Kevin Williams on Clockwork Angels Tour

https://progarchy.com/2013/11/24/rushs-clockwork-angels-tour-straddles-the-80s-and-the-now/

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Brad Birzer on Clockwork Angels Tour

https://progarchy.com/2013/11/27/rush-2-0-clockwork-angels-tour-2013-review/

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Erik Heter on Clockwork Angels Tour Concert in Texas

https://progarchy.com/2013/04/24/you-can-do-a-lot-in-a-lifetime-if-you-dont-burn-out-too-fast-rush-april-23-2013-at-the-frank-erwin-center-austin-texas/

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A review of Vapor Trails Remixed by Birzer

https://progarchy.com/2013/10/05/resignated-joy-rush-and-vapor-trails-2013/

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A review of Grace Under Pressure by Birzer

https://progarchy.com/2013/02/21/wind-blown-notes-rush-and-grace-under-pressure/

 

rush snakesAnd, our favorite Rush sites

(please support these incredible sites and the fine humans who run them!)

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Power Windows: http://www.2112.net/powerwindows/main/Home.htm

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Rush Vault: http://rushvault.com/

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Rush is a Band: http://www.rushisaband.com/

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Cygnus X-1: http://www.cygnus-x1.net/links/rush/index.php

Mark Judge on Camilla Paglia and Rock’s Poetry

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Cultural critic Mark Judge.
Cultural critic Mark Judge.

American cultural critic, Mark Judge, has a great piece on the poetry of current rock and pop music.  In particular, Judge is considering the arguments of another famous critic, Camilla Paglia, the bete noire of feminism in academia.  Enjoy.

It’s not that today’s female pop stars are not feminists. It’s that, like today’s young male pop stars, they’re illiterate. Songwriters are supposed to be poets. But we now have at least one generation of digital-revolution songwriters who know nothing about symbolism, metaphor, word play, and writing about unexpected and diverse topics.

That’s the point that Camille Paglia missed–or at least did not emphasize enough in a very popular recent post in the Hollywood Reporter. Paglia announced that “Taylor Swift, Katy Perry and Hollywood are Ruining Woman.” Paglia, who is not known for subtlety, wrote that when she sees today’s young female pop stars it’s like feminism never happened: “we’ve somehow been thrown back to the demure girly-girl days of the white-bread 1950s. It feels positively nightmarish to survivors like me of that rigidly conformist and man-pleasing era, when girls had to be simple, peppy, cheerful and modest.”

To keep reading (and you should!), go here: http://acculturated.com/has-rock-and-roll-lost-its-poetry/

Voyager-“V” Coming June 3 to North America

On By bradbirzerIn progressive rock music2 Comments

image013AUSTRALIA – Australian progressive metal quintet, Voyager, will release its fifth studio album, V, in North America on June 3 with distribution through Nightmare Records. The Kickstarter-funded, 13- track album was recorded at Templeman Audio with producer, Matt Templeman.

The band calls the release “heavy, groovy and super-catchy. This is going to be pure, polished Voyager with a modern feel; we are insanely excited about unleashing this.”

V can be pre-ordered now via Bandcamp at: http://voyager.bandcamp.com/.

1. Hyperventilating

2. Breaking Down

3. Beautiful Mistake

4. Fortune Favours the Blind

5. You, the Shallow

6. Embrace the Limitless

7. Orpheus

8. Domination Game

9. Peacekeeper

10. It’s a Wonder

11. The Morning Light

12. Summer Always Comes Again

13. Seasons of Age

With four full-length albums under its belt and shows throughout North America, Europe and Asia with the likes of Devin Townsend, Children of Bodom, Soilwork, Nightwish, Epica and Orphaned Land, the five-piece from Oceania is now firmly entrenched in its international repute as a band with heavy grooves, driving riffs and unforgettable melodies. The band’s fourth opus, The Meaning of I (2011), saw rave reviews and international acclaim of the highest caliber (including #8 in Metal Hammer Germany’s ‘Soundcheck’). The U.K.’s, Classic Rock Presents Prog, called the album a “polished collection of heavy, heavily polished anthems.”

Complimented by a fiery red keytar, a feisty female guitarist, and vocals Chino Moreno (Deftones, Crosses) recently likened to Duran Duran’s, Simon LeBon, Voyager is consistently a live force to be reckoned with. After breaking the record for the longest fan signing session in the 12 year history of America’s “Progpower Festival,” the band will return to “Progpower” Europe this year alongside Chimp Spanner, Agent Fresco, Pagan’s Mind and more.

image012Voyager is…

Scott Kay – guitar
Alex Canion – Bass/vocals
Daniel Estrin – vocals/keytar
Ashley Doodkorte – drums
Simone Dow – guitar

 

Voyager online…

www.facebook.com/Voyageraustralia

www.twitter.com/Voyagerau

Fresno Media
Fresno Media

Radiant Records for the Win!

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150px-Radiant_records-logo

Neal Morse’s company, Radiant Records, is offering some rather stunning prices on cds, DVDs, t-shirts, etc.  Well worth checking out.

http://www.radiantrecords.com/category/191735-clearance.aspx?pageindex=1

 

A Progarchist Happy Birthday to John Simms

On By bradbirzerIn progressive rock music1 Comment
Progarchist John Simms with three members of Big Big Train.
Progarchist John Simms with three members of Big Big Train.

Rick Wakeman Live, April 24, 2014: A Review

On By bradbirzerIn progressive rock music2 Comments
by Dave Smith
wakeman 40th
Rick Wakeman. Journey To The Centre Of The Earth.  Newcastle City Hall. 24th April 2014
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Journey To The Centre Of The Earth has been played live in the UK on three occasions. Once at Crystal Palace and twice at the Festival Hall London. It was here that the recording was made that went on to sell 15,000,000 copies. So tonight was the fourth time it had been played and the first time in it’s newly extended version due to Rick finding the old manuscript with the music that had been left off the original recording.

There was an air of expectancy from the mainly older looking crowd gathered to pay homage. The stage looked amazing with Ricks’ keyboard bank taking centre stage. The organ pipes at the back looked down on the seating for the orchestra and choir and a large chair was positioned for the narrator.

At 8.00pm prompt, Rick casually walked onto the stage dressed in a two piece suit. The audience responded and seemed to put him at ease. The was a Roland Piano set up at the front of stage and Rick went on to tell us who had influenced and encouraged him in the early days. These included Cat Stevens and David Bowie, so we got renditions of Morning Has Broken and Life on Mars. After forty minutes of humour and music, Rick left the stage and soon after the orchestra and choir started to filter on. Then the lights dimmed and on came Rick in white t shirt and trousers and the most magnificent silver sequin cape. Thus began our Journey.

The sound was crystal clear and the playing was impeccable. The strings and the brass shone through and the choir added an extra texture. They played the whole thing straight through. You could hear a pin drop during the quiet bits as the audience seemed transfixed. But as the build up to Hall of the Mountain King and the final closing notes approached the crowd were ready to jump to their feet to show their appreciation of such an outstanding piece of music.

Rick was overwhelmed by the support. I think he wasn’t too sure how the reaction was going to be, but he needn’t have been worried

For an encore they played some music from Return to the Centre of the Earth and then the final Hall section again, this time with rick out front duelling with the guitar player with Rick playing his over the shoulder synth guitar.

Another standing ovation then he was gone. A wonderful evening of nostalgia and superb music. If you are in two minds as to whether to get a ticket for the remaining shows… I say see it while you can. You won’t be disappointed.

 

[Dave is a great Englishman from Durham.  He’s also a member of the progressive rock band, Salander.  We’re very proud to have him write for progarchy–ed.]

BillyNews: Eric Clapton’s JOURNEYMAN

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Eric Clapton’s ‘Journeyman’ Album Feat. George Harrison, Chaka Khan, Daryl Hall, Robert Cray, Phil Collins and others Now Available On Hybrid SACD
 
“…one of the greatest rock/blues guitarists on the planet!”
 
Camarillo, CA – Much to the elation of Eric Clapton fans across the globe, Marshall Blonstein’s Audio Fidelity has released Clapton’s ‘Journeyman’ album as a limited numbered edition Hybrid SACD! Eric Clapton is a true legend. ‘Journeyman’ reached #16 on the Billboard album chart and became Clapton’s first solo studio album to go double platinum. Like any of his best albums, there is no grandstanding to be found on ‘Journeyman’…it’s simply a laid-back and thoroughly engaging display of his virtuosity. The album was heralded as a return to form for Clapton, much of it has an electronic sound, mostly influenced by the 1980s rock scene, but it also includes blues songs like “Before You Accuse Me,” “Running on Faith,” and “Hard Times.”
 
“At the center of it all is Clapton’s guitar work…stinging blues and soaring pop.”
 
There is an all-star assembly of guests: Dire Straits keyboardist Alan Clark, George Harrison, Chaka Khan, Daryl Hall, Robert Cray, Cecil and Linda Womack, Phil Collins and Gary Burton. Among the highlights are several cuts that feature slide-versus-slowhand guitar dueling with Cray. George Harrison is particularly impressive on his little masterpiece “Run So Far,” playing guitar and singing harmony vocals.
 
A couple of tracks rank among Clapton’s best from any decade.The strongest commercial single is “Bad Love,” which won the 1990 Best Male Rock Vocal Performance Grammy Award, and reached the No. 1 position on the Album Rock Chart. “Pretending” is a firm mid-tempo rocker that also reached the No. 1 position on the Album Rock Chart and and includes one of his most assured vocal performances ever.
 
Clapton sounds more convincing than he had since the early ’70s. Not only is his guitar playing muscular and forceful, his singing is soulful and gritty – he seems to have struck the perfect balance between the fiery blues of his youth with the pop flavorings of his later years.
 
TRACKS:
Pretending
Anything for Your Love
Bad Love
Running on Faith
Hard Times
Hound Dog
No Alibis
Run So Far
Old Love
Breaking Point
Lead Me On
Before You Accuse Me
 
Produced By Jill Dell’Abate & Russ Titelman
 
Mastered by Steve Hoffman
at Stephen Marsh Mastering
 
 
Press inquires: Glass Onyon PR, PH: 828-350-8158, glassonyonpr@gmail.com
<Eric Clapton Journeyman.jpg>

CLASSIC ROCK, Where Art Thou?

On By bradbirzerIn progressive rock music2 Comments

CLASSIC ROCK magazine has announced its move to “TeamRock” away from Future.

As a part of the move, CLASSIC ROCK has also released a new iPad app.  An email sent at 2:05 this afternoon even tried to detail exactly how the transition from the old to the new app should work.

I’ve now tried to transfer my subscription ten times.  Nothing has worked.  I’m about to give up.  Has any one in the progarchy readership world had better luck?  Needless to write, I’m a bit frustrated.

 

Classic Rock has now launched its all new iPad Edition – but that means you need to move to a new app.

It sounds like a hassle, but it will be worth it.  The new iPad Edition has all new features, including video content, photo galleries, animated images, music player and loads of exclusive extra content.  So you may need to download a new app, but you get more for it.

We know you have questions about this, so we’ve done our best to answer some of them below.

I’m a subscriber, what happens now?

We will obviously honour the rest of your subscription term within both the new app and the old app.  When we update the old app your auto-renew will be turned off.  We will still publish issues into the old app until April 2015, but these won’t be the new and improved editions.

To get the new and improved edition, you will need to:

  • Search for “Classic Rock Magazine” in the App Store;
  • Download the new app;
  • Sign into it using your Apple ID; 
  • Once you’ve done that, create a username and password – this will verify your subscription;
  • Now you be entitled to download the new issue and every new issue for the duration of your subscription. 

When your subscription comes to an end (we’ll send you an email to remind you), you will need to subscribe via the new app.

What about all of my back issues?

There will only be a year’s worth of back issues in the new app to start with and over time we may add in some more.  In the meantime, you will have to keep the old magazine app in order to continue being able to view your back issues.  However, if you delete the old app or update your device or operating system you will lose all issues in your library for good.

What if I have any other questions?

Our FAQs page has every question we could think that you might ask – just click here

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Neil Getting Those ‘Lyrical’ Ideas Again

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rvkeeper's avatarrush vault

Neil Rhythm Well, at least we know Neil is thinking about new lyrical ideas. He says in the first part of his two-part article on drum soloing for Rhythm magazine that last October, two months after the Clockwork Angels tour ended, he was driving up to the Drum Workshop outside Los Angeles to play around on some new shells the company had produced when some lyrics popped into his head. “I . . . laughed at myself for having a lyrical idea,” he says. “‘You’re not supposed to be doing that yet!’)”

Whatever the band ends up doing, it’ll have to wait until after its 41st anniversary your next year, which Alex has said will likely showcase some of Rush’s “rarer” songs.

In any case, Neil’s two-part article is a walk-through of how he composed his solos for the Clockwork Angels tour. Nick Raskulinecz wanted him to key his solo off the…

View original post 475 more words

Rush, Libertarianism, and Integrity

On By bradbirzerIn progressive rock music2 Comments

My good friend Steve Horwitz just sent me a link to this article from the American libertarian magazine, REASON.  Enjoy.

In 1977, I bought my first Rush album. I was 13. The title of the disc was 2112, and the foldout jacket had a very cool and ominous red star on the cover. As soon as I got it home from the store, I carefully placed that vinyl record onto the felt-padded turntable of my parents’ old Motorola console stereo.

The moment I dropped that stylus, and that needle caught the groove, I became obsessed with Rush like only thirteen-year-old boys can get obsessed. I turned up the volume as loud as I thought I could get away with, and I rocked.

To keep reading, please go here: http://reason.com/archives/2014/04/22/matt-kibbe-book-excerpt-rush-and-aynrand