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.
So far, 2015 has been absolutely huge in terms of the sheer amount of great music that has been released. In fact, the first six months have been ridiculously strong. As such, it is very difficult to bring you my half-way round-up in the normal way – there’s just too much to fit in. And also, I have reviewed a fair number of the albums as well, so I didn’t want to repeat myself too much.
Therefore, I thought I’d celebrate by creating a more punchy couple of posts that offer a whistle-stop overview of my favourite music released between January and June 2015. In no particular order, here goes:
Audioplastik – ‘In The Head Of A Maniac’
Bad Elephant Music
From the minds of members of Frost*, Threshold and Darkwater, this was never going to be anything other than brilliant and so it has proved. ‘In The Head Of…
As I mentioned before, this year has seen some extraordinarily strong albums hit the shelves and so it has been extremely difficult to truncate my list of artists that deserve a place in this round-up. To be honest, if the year stopped here, I’d still have difficulty picking a full-year Top 20 because of the quality on offer. But that’s a headache to be faced at a later date. In the meantime, here’s the next batch of albums that have made a big impression on me so far in 2015:
Lael has travelled and met up with the Travel Fan Team for several shows. This year she headed off to the Wild Horse Pass Resort and Casino with SnapHappy Pam, another long time travel fan, for the Arizona stop on the tour. Here’s here experience…
Lael and Pam… long time travel fans… 🙂
I connected up with SnapHappy Pam, who takes great pictures and videos of bands, for the TFF show in Chandler, Arizona. She was gracious enough to pick me up at Sky Harbor International Airport. I was highly concerned about the heat that day, as it was expected to get up to 115 degrees Fahrenheit!!
Pam and I also had our work cut out for us, as we needed to find a birthday card for Curt Smith, and gifts for both Curt and Roland Orzabal. We found some nice gifts at the Arizona Mills Shopping Center, but we…
Here’s a quick round-up of news ahead of the BBT London shows next month:
* Wassail (the song) has been nominated in the Anthem category of the 2015 Progressive Music Awards. Listeners can vote for their favourites here: http://awards.prog.teamrock.com/
* Wassail (the EP) has been flying high in Amazon’s folk(!) charts for over a month. The CD version of the EP is available at Burning Shed: http://www.burningshed.com/store/progressive/collection/506/ and the download and streaming versions are available from the usual sources.
* An interview with David and Greg appears in the July issue of Prog magazine which is on sale now.
* David performed Spectral Mornings with Magenta at two gigs in June.
* For those coming to the BBT gigs at Kings Place, London, next month, please be aware of the gig timings:
Fri 14th & Sat 15th Aug:
Band on stage: 7.30pm
Finish: 10.25pm
Sun 16th Aug:
Band on stage: 2.00pm
Finish: 5.00pm
* The “Stone & Steel” DVD, featuring “live in the the studio” performances recorded last year at Real World Studios, is due for release in time for Christmas this year.
* After the gigs in August, we will be returning to the studio to finish work on the next album which will be called “Folklore” and is due for release early in 2016.
Best wishes
Andy, Danny, Dave, David, Greg, Nick, Rachel and Rikard
Seeing as the very excellent Evergrey were making the effort to travel to the UK in support of the magnificent new album, ‘Hymns For The Broken’, I felt it would be rude not to make an appearance to support my favourite band and hopefully say ‘hi’ to my Swedish buddies.
I arrive in Camden and, within a few minutes, I’m spotted by vocalist/guitarist Tom Englund and greeted with hugs from the big man as well as keyboardist Rikard Zander and bassist Johan Niemann. ‘What are you doing here?’ Tom smirks, ‘come with us, we’re going to soundcheck’. Almost immediately, my decision to make the 150 mile round trip is thoroughly vindicated.
A little later, once the band are happy with their sound in the underground den of iniquity that’s The Underworld, I’m running through the pouring rain towards the tour bus upon which I sit with Johan…
“I’m reminded once again that it’s not enough to be brilliant. You need that lucky break that crosses you over to the mainstream punters. And a shed load of marketing money. . . It happened to Marillion before I met them and we’ve managed to maintain a hard-core big enough to make it possible for us to function at a certain level. It’s like getting an enormous rock to roll. Once it’s rolling you can keep it going easier than the effort it took to get it started. So rockn’rolls’s not such a bad name for it. But it could have been called ‘momentum’ instead. Doesn’t have the same ring about it though. . . (and anything derived from Latin is very unrock n’roll.)”
–Steve Hogarth, THE INVISIBLE MAN DIARIES, vol. II, pg. 129
I am terribly sad to see that Chris Squire (1948-2015) has passed away.
Drama Yes: 1980.
And, yet, it’s hard not to think: what an incredible life. The man brought so much art and humor and personality to every single thing he did. Certainly one of the greatest bassists of our time, Squire also possessed a beautiful voice. And, though often overshadowed by the song writing due of Anderson/Howe, Squire’s compositions within and for Yes were just heavenly.
Back in the era of mix tapes, I made a mix tape for the ages—all of the Yes songs by Chris Squire, with On the Silent Wings of Freedom being my absolute favorite.
His one solo album, 1975’s FISH OUT OF WATER is a prog classic. Some have called it a missing Yes album, and yet it highlights just how much Squire did contribute to Yes. His distinctive bass, his distinctive vocal lines, and his distinctive personality make FISH OUT OF WATER a wonder to behold.
Squire’s only solo album: FISH OUT OF WATER (1975).
Squire has been the heart of Yes from its founding, even as countless numbers of others have swirled around him.
No more. Our loss, but Heaven’s gain. Godspeed, Chris Squire. As a man and as an artist, you changed the world. What more could we ask of anyone? We have all benefitted from you and your life’s witness to beauty.
I would guess he has already had some good chats with Hendrix, Davis, Coltrane, Wagner, Beethoven. . .
Yesterday, prog queen Gianna Englert (and liberal arts demi-goddess) reminded us that today is the twentieth anniversary of Marillion’s album, AFRAID OF SUNLIGHT. For what it’s worth, it’s my favorite Marillion album, rivaled only by MARBLES.
Every time I bring the band up, someone tells me they love Fish or Hogarth more. I have no problem with either Fish-era Marillion or Hogarth-era Marillion. I love both. Marillion is Marillion. I actually buy into their own understanding that they represent a better way of a life. Perhaps I’ve just been taken in by great PR and marketing. The band seems the true inheritors of those who once cried for peace, love, and happiness.
What convinces me? Marillion understands better than almost any one in the musical world that it’s ok to promote what is beautiful and not do it tongue-in-check or with irony or with cynicism or with a wink. They actually mean it. When I listen to Marillion, I feel as though I’m with Sam, somewhere in Mordor, seeing a white star beyond the reach of all evil.
Another important—well, perhaps, critical—point. It’s arguable that AFRAID OF SUNLIGHT is the very first album of third-wave prog. But. . . .
Let me get personal for the rest of this post. If you’re not interested in reading, I totally understand. . . this is NOT a proper review or a retrospective. Merely a reflection and an appreciation.
Day-Glo Jesus
***
Here’s the hard part. On August 8, 2007, my wife and I lost a daughter. My wife had come full term in her pregnancy, and Cecilia Rose was due on August 6. Rather than induce labor on that day, we decided to go all natural and wait for the baby to arrive when she was ready.
Sometime early on the morning of August 8, Cecilia Rose became entangled in her own umbilical cord. She suffocated on the very thing that had given her life. We didn’t know until later that day that Cecilia had passed away. Just before midnight, my wife (the strongest person I’ve ever met) gave “birth” to our deceased daughter. Long story, short—the following week was the absolute worst of my life. Every minute seemed like a month, and every hour a year. It was horrible.
The first week was the worst, but nothing really improved over the next year. In fact, life was pretty miserable. I was on sabbatical and working on my biography of American founding father Charles Carroll of Carrollton. Thank God. I needed something.
As it turns out, we live across the street from the main cemetery in Hillsdale, and we buried Cecilia Rose across the street. I visited her grave every day, miserable and confused. Frankly, I felt like an absolute failure as a father—after all, I have one real duty in this world: to protect my children. I realize how irrational I was—but the feelings were sincere, nonetheless.
A lot of things got me through that year—my wife, my kids, my friends, my writing. I would sit at Cecilia’s grave, wondering why her death had to happen? Almost daily, I listened to AFRAID OF SUNLIGHT. It brought me immense comfort.
I know the album is actually about surviving fame. . . but for me it was just about surviving.
From the minds of members of Frost*, Threshold and Darkwater, this was never going to be anything other than brilliant and so it has proved. ‘In The Head Of…
Progarchy 