Chris Isaak had a #1 hit on my soundtrack for high school senior year. It was a song that cut right to the heart for me and I am sure many other adolescents. And if the kids today actually listened to music, they’d understand too. Naturally, I wanted to see him and this song played […]
via Concert Review: Chris Isaak Works Out in Bend — Drew’s Reviews
The term “Kalman Filter” refers to a process of observing and measuring something over long periods of time, rather than simply making a single observation of a single moment at a specific time. The process never claims to be perfect, but it does claim to be a more accurate of understanding over the long term.
Why Andy Tillison chose to name his new band and new project Kalman Filter is beyond my knowledge. Whether he just liked the name or whether he has some intent in comparing his approach to the music to the Kalman Filter process is, again, unknown to me. Still, if it’s the latter, it seems to fit. The music does seem to me to be a way of thinking about a process, seen over moments of great lengths of time, reaching toward perfection.
To complicate matters, Tillison has written an extremely detailed if rather psychedelic story about his encounters with some black-op security forces here: https://www.thetangent.org/index.php/read/the-kalman-filter
Tillison is best known—especially to Americans—as the fountainhead and touchstone of all thing The Tangent related. But, he’s responsible for a number of other groups and projects as well: including, most recently, Tangekanic, as well as Parallel or 90 Degrees and a number of solo albums (Fog, Murk, Electric Sinfonia, and Durch).
Continue reading “The Mischievous Red-Headed One is Back (Tillison’s KALMAN FILTER)”
A companion to the 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017 Tour Boxes, the 2018 Elements Tour Box presents the full variety of King Crimson’s music over 2 CDs with extracts from rehearsals, new live recordings, elements from studio recordings, full tracks, alternate takes and finished recordings from 1969-2017, many of which make their first appearance on CD (including the Jakko Jakszyk/Gavin Harrison demo recording of Discipline).
Packaged in a DVD-sized fold out digipak book case with a 24 page booklet including sleeve notes by co-compiler Sid Smith, photos of memorabilia, and more.
The 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018 Tour Box releases are in stock and shipping now.
Mark Hollis, MARK HOLLIS (Polydor, 1998). Tracks: The Colour of Spring; Watershed, Inside Looking Out, The Gift; A Life; Westward Bound; The Daily Planet; and A New Jerusalem.
If Mark Hollis wanted to show that he was no longer a member of Talk Talk, nothing could be quite so revealing as the album design of his first and only solo album, MARK HOLLIS. Gone was anything resembling James Marsh’s lush psychedelic landscapes, aching with sacramental if surreal beauty. Gone, too, were the hand written lyrics. Instead, if you find it attractive, the minimalist cover looks like something Apple might design as a part of its product line. If, however, you find it not so attractive, it looks like the label of some kind of generic grocery store product from the late 1970s: “Beer.” The white background supports a bizarre black and white photo. I’ve stared at this photo many times, and I still don’t have a clue what it is. Frankly, it looks a bit like roadkill on display in a museum. The label on the cd booklet merely states “Mark Hollis” in a plain font. On the actual jewel case, there are two stickers. One states “Made in the U.K.” The other states “Formerly of Talk Talk. 537 688-2.” I presume the latter stick refers to Hollis, not to the U.K.
As with LAUGHING STOCK, MARK HOLLIS came out on Polydor. When Hollis had originally signed to the label, the agreement was for four albums total. Considering that MARK HOLLIS came out in 1998, twenty years ago exactly, the chance of Polydor getting two more out of him seems more and more remote. As to what Polydor thinks of Hollis, it’s impossible to state. Clearly, the label knew what it was getting after SPIRIT OF EDEN. If they didn’t, they were fools, and I’m guessing they’re not fools.
It was my ubercool English friend, Steve Dalton of the Black Vines, who originally introduced me to Black Stone Cherry–a band that makes me realize that rock is not only not dead, but it’s breathing like mad! And, I’m quite partial to Mascot, too!
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Even for those die-hard Talk Talk fans among us, the band’s final album, LAUGHING STOCK, gets only a rating as “SPIRIT OF EDEN II.” It’s not that folks don’t absolutely love it. They do. But, when it comes to the history of Talk Talk and the history of rock, 1988’s SPIRIT OF EDEN is better remembered as the innovating album, the heroic but not so polite one in and on which Hollis told EMI and the commercial world where to go and what to do when they got there.
Begin obsessed with Talk Talk since 1986’s THE COLOUR OF SPRING, I, too, am guilty of ranking LAUGHING STOCK somewhere in the band’s top three, but never number one. Of course, I’ve always loved LAUGHING STOCK. No question there. What’s not to love? Yet, it’s always been—at least in my mind—a kind of final moment, a release, an innovative remake of SPIRIT OF EDEN, featuring the core that made the 1988 album so successful: Hollis; Friese-Green; and Brown.
I first purchased the CD of LAUGHING STOCK (even before I owned a CD player) at Waterloo records in Austin on the day it came out. Craig Breaden (also of Progarchist infamy) and I were attending a history conference there, and Waterloo was across the river from our hotel. Stunningly, when it came to the band, I actually knew far more than Craig. Believe me, this is important, as no one knows the history of rock from the early 60s to the early 90s better than does Craig.
Continue reading “Seven Sacraments to Song: Talk Talk’s LAUGHING STOCK (1991)”
My apologies for being several days late with this. I’ve been out of town and without any serious access to the internet. Now, though, I’m back! And, with always great news from Burning Shed.
The classic Drama line-up reunited on a 2018 version of 2011’s Fly From Here, featuring all new vocals from Trevor Horn, alongside a more organic mix highlighting Chris Squire‘s unique voice and bass contributions plus additional parts from Steve Howe and Geoff Downes.
Includes the six part title track, the full version of Hour Of Need, and album outtake Don’t Take No For An Answer.
CD in Media Book with new artwork by Roger Dean. One of the best Yes albums of the last three decades just got better!
Pre-order for 6th July shipping.
Wow, this is absolutely huge news. Congratulations to all involved, but especially to David Elliott! One of the finest labels in prog snags one of the finest bands in prog!
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Yesterday, I had the grand fortune of spending a serious amount of time listening to and writing about Talk Talk. There are few subjects in the world that give me so much pleasure as does TT. For years, one of my closest friends (and a friend since the fall of 1986), Kevin McCormick (a fellow progarchist and progarchy editor) and I have talked about writing a full-length book on Talk Talk. We even have a rather strong and detailed outline. The publishing venues, sadly, are not as easy to find as one might imagine. While Talk Talk has a loyal following, it is a small one. A few years ago, we submitted a proposal—which, from my biased perspective was really good—to 33 1/3 Books (Bloomsbury). Sadly, they not only felt no enthuasiam for our project, they deemed it unworthy, even of comment. Just a simple “no thanks.” But, Kevin and I are nothing if nothing if not persistent and enthusiastic. Indeed, some might even say “obnoxious!”
So, if there’s anyone in the reading audience who would like to publish a roughly 60,000 word manuscript on the significance and influence of Talk Talk, please let us know! We could have a completed book to you within a year or less.
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Progarchy 