Author: Bryan Morey

Public historian and museum professional working with historical artifacts. Music reviewer at Progarchy and Dutch Progressive Rock Page.

The Night Siren: The Peaceful Resistance of Steve Hackett

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Steve Hackett, The Night Siren (InsideOut, 2017)

Tracks: Behind the Smoke (6:58), Martian Sea (4:41), Fifty Miles From the North Pole (7:08), El Nino (3:52), Other Side of the Wall (4:01), Anything But Love (5:56), Inca Terra (5:54), In Another Life (6:07), In the Skeleton Gallery (5:09), West to East (5:14), The Gift (2:45)

I think we all know by now that Steve Hackett is a genius. Over the last several years of this current wave of progressive rock, it seems that everything Mr. Hackett has touched has turned to gold. Indeed, he recently told the fine folks over at Prog magazine that he is currently in one of the most creative phases of his life (Prog 73). Considering his remarkable musical catalog, that is saying a lot. It rings true, however, when The Night Siren and his previous album Wolflight are concerned. They are some of the best albums of his solo career.

Both of these albums include a lot of what some might call “world music.” He features instruments and musicians from all over the world, including Azerbaijan, Scotland, Iceland, and Israel. He even includes both Jewish and Palestinian singers from Israel on the same song. Throughout all of this mix, Hackett’s message is clear: if we can have peace through musical collaboration, why can’t we have world political peace? This is certainly an excellent question to which it seems world leaders have no answer.

One might think that this conglomeration of disparate instruments and styles would create an off-putting wall of noise, but nothing could be further from the truth. Hackett masterfully blends these different influences with his signature guitar licks. The result is truly breathtaking.

Continue reading “The Night Siren: The Peaceful Resistance of Steve Hackett” →

DPRP Reviews the New Steve Hackett Album

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The Dutch Progressive Rock Page has just published a great issue focused solely on Steve Hackett’s new album, The Night Siren, due out on March 24. The issue includes a short interview and three separate album reviews, including one by yours truly. Yes, shameless self-promotion. The Night Siren is a fantastic album, and this DPRP reviews issue shouldn’t be missed.

http://www.dprp.net/reviews/2017-022/

Rock Icon Chuck Berry Passes Away at 90

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Chuck Berry, 1926-2017

I was sad to learn of this a second ago while surfing the web. Chuck Berry was a groundbreaking performer who influenced many across the widely varied subgenres of rock and metal. Where do you think ACDC’s Angus Young got his idea for the duckwalk? A new album from Berry is set to be released sometime this year, his first album of new material in forty years.

Rest in peace, Mr. Berry.

More information here: https://www.yahoo.com/music/legendary-musician-rock-roll-pioneer-221503211.html

LEAH Working on Next Album

On By Bryan MoreyIn progressive rockLeave a comment

Got this email in my inbox this morning:

Well, hello, hello! I hope all is well in your neck of the woods 🙂

I wanted to give a quick update on all things music, including a surprise coming up!
OK, it might not be that quick, but I promise it’ll be good!

Image

NEW ALBUM:

It’s very funny…  I started out last year, thinking I was going to write a non-metal album. The idea was to keep it in the Celtic and Fantasy vein, similar to some of my non-metal tracks I’ve already put out. That was my intention.
Let’s just say I’ve strayed from that idea quite a bit!

You might know I’ve been working with producer Oliver Philipps (Phantasma, Everon, and he does a lot of work with Delain, and many, many bands).
The cool part about working with him is he’s really encouraged me to just let the music come out however it needs to, and to not try and force it into a certain box. This has been very good for me.
And you know what came out?

A lot of metal! 😆

I guess you can take the girl out of metal, but you can’t take metal out of the girl.

Well, I’m looking at the 8 songs we have completed pre-production for, and so far there’s a really nice balance of more ambient, mellow or mid-tempo tracks, and higher-energy metal songs.

Also, I didn’t mean to, but a lot of my little prog tendencies have come forth from the depths of Leah-land, haha!

Oliver is just now finishing the orchestration for what, at the moment, is an 11-minute beast of a track! And the interesting part is, neither he or I ever get bored of this song. He told me — “It’s the good side of prog without the evil” (or annoying parts)! 😉

My goal is to have 10 tracks for this album and keep it shorter (though I’m not helping the situation with 11-minute tracks!), so I have a couple more songs to go. I have at least two that are contenders, which I need to finish writing, so that is my objective in the coming week.
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Stupidity Will Inherit the Earth: The Regressive Arrogance of Nick Beggs

On By Bryan MoreyIn progressive rock13 Comments

The Mute Gods, Tardigrades Will Inherit the Earth (InsideOut, 2017)

Tracks: Saltatio Mortis (1:57), Animal Army (5:00), We Can’t Carry On (5:11), The Dumbing of the Stupid (7:08), Early Warning (3:57), Tardigrades Will Inherit the Earth (5:02), Window Onto the Sun (6:00), Lament (2:01), The Singing Fish of Batticaloa (8:25), The Andromeda Strain (2:57), Stranger than Fiction (4:23)

press_cover_01I’m going to catch hell for that title. I really don’t want to get political, but it seems that the regressive leftists are taking over this beloved genre we like to call prog. (I am, after all, the one who just last year wrote an article entitled, “Keep Your Politics Out of My Prog.”) Anyways, the first part of this article will be a subjective rant. The second half will be a relatively objective review. Both are neatly titled, in case you want to skip the rant part.

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Big Big Train Release Tracklist and Artwork for New Album, Grimspound

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eb650ad8-d14e-4346-9ecb-72a2973822f3Via, Prog mag, the mighty Big Big Train have released the artwork and tracklist for their upcoming album, Grimspound. The album is set for release on April 28, 2017, with pre-orders beginning in March.

The band has a few surprises up their sleeve, including guest vocals from Judy Dyble and even lead vocals from Nick d’Virgilio and Rachel Hall. The medley of voices should pair nicely with David Longdon’s golden voice.

With three live shows scheduled for late September/October, BBT have a busy year ahead.

Grimspound tracklist:

  1. Brave Captain
  2. On The Racing Line
  3. Experimental Gentlemen
  4. Meadowland
  5. Grimspound
  6. The Ivy Gate
  7. A Mead Hall In Winter
  8. As The Crow Flies

Phil Collins at Face Value – “Not Dead Yet” Book Review

On By Bryan MoreyIn progressive rock3 Comments

Phil Collins, Not Dead Yet The Memoir (Penguin Random House, LLC, 2016)

51rbrtjqxel-_sx332_bo1204203200_Few people in the music industry have reached the same pinnacle of success that Phil Collins has achieved. Even fewer have sold over 100 million albums as both a member of a band and as a solo artist. This is a man who “fought in the prog wars,” hobnobbed with Queen Elizabeth and Nelson Mandela, and who wrote and sang hit tunes for a best-selling Disney movie, for which he happened to also win an Oscar. Seemingly, the man has everything, yet this is merely the public “Phil Collins.” Philip Collins is a much more complicated man, and life isn’t as easy as he made it look over his long career.

If I were to describe this excellent memoir in one word, it would be “honest.” Two words – “brutally honest.” Collins holds little back. He invites us to come in and look at his struggles, hopefully understanding more about him and his music as we do. What stands out the most, however, is how down-to-earth he is. Unlike Genesis bandmates Peter Gabriel, Tony Banks, and Mike Rutherford, Collins was not raised in a ritzy upper middle-class British school. Instead, he was raised in a sturdy working-class family at the “end of the line” outside of London. Indeed, as a child he lived just far enough away from anything exciting as to make it a big effort to get anywhere. This didn’t stop young master Collins, however. Many of his formative teenage years were spent milling about in music clubs in Soho, where he saw bands such as Cream, the Yardbirds, The Who, and Yes (who would later offer him a job as drummer). He was even present the first night Led Zeppelin ever played a live show. Did I mention he was in the crowd for the Beatles A Hard Day’s Night? Yeah, he got around.

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Radiant Records Announces Live Morsefest 2015 Set

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Radiant Records has announced a live release of Morsefest 2015, featuring two concerts covering Sola Scriptura, ?, and selections from the catalogs of Transatlantic and Spock’s Beard. One of the concerts even finds Mike Portnoy and Nick D’Virgilio on the same stage together.

You can pre-order the set now over at Radiant’s website. My only beef with the variety of sets on offer (besides the high price) is the fact that they aren’t offering a 2 Blu-Ray/4CD set. All they have is the 2DVD/4CD set or the 2 Blu-Ray set. Why they aren’t offering a DVD/Blu-Ray/CD set (much like the excellent Transatlantic KaLiveoscope box set from a couple years ago) is anyone’s guess.

Check out the trailer:

Big Big Train Release Trailer for New Album, “Grimspound”

On By Bryan MoreyIn progressive rock5 Comments

Yesterday, Progarchy’s favorite band, Big Big Train, released a brief trailer for their upcoming album, Grimspound. The album is set for release on April 27, 2017. There is some fantastic piano-work in this short trailer. Enjoy!

The Prog Gap – Millennials and the Dilemma of Live Music

On By Bryan MoreyIn progressive rock10 Comments

prog-share-logoBoth the November and December issues of Prog magazine had interesting articles dealing with the lack of young people at progressive rock concerts. Polly Glass argued that this happens for a few reasons:

  • Millennials think of prog as an old man’s genre.
  • Prog doesn’t get support from big labels.
  • Tickets are expensive.

Polly also noted that younger prog fans tend to like heavier bands such as Haken or Opeth. In the December issue, the great Jerry Ewing shared a recent experience he had at a live show. He said that on the same night, at the same venue, two different prog shows were going on at the same time in different rooms. Essentially, he blamed the promoters for booking two prog shows at the same time, with the younger crowd choosing to go to the heavier of the shows. He said the difference in age between the two groups was staggering.

Polly and Jerry make excellent points, and they have shed some light on a topic I believe deserves more attention. As a millennial myself (although I am radically different than probably 99% of people in my generation) I’d like to talk about some of my reasons for not going to as many live shows as I would like.

Continue reading “The Prog Gap – Millennials and the Dilemma of Live Music” →