Grateful for my beloved wife, son, daughter-in-law, grandchildren and siblings. Also a lover of theology, music, history, philosophy, classic novels, science fiction, fantasy and Looney Tunes.
With new releases from the first third of 2025 piling up, a desperate attempt to answer the question “Can album reviews convey the essential info listeners need in haiku form?” For example, about the format used below:
Streams linked in titles; Brief poetic impressions; Shopping links follow.
Spawton’s young heartache Sparked this grandiose concept – Well-wrought remaster. (CDs sold out; vinyl available at Burning Shed and The Band Wagon USA)
For more than 50 years, guitarist/singer/songwriter Phil Keaggy has pursued his singular muse. Cruising under the radar of the general public and fashionable tastemakers, Keaggy’s reputation among fellow musicians and knowledgeable fans is deservedly stellar; his formidable skills in acoustic fingerpicking, stinging electric solo work, and free-flowing improv are complemented by a tasty melodic sense, a impressively broad spectrum of influences, and a singing voice that can’t help but remind you of Paul McCartney at his most yearning and wistful. His lengthly discography of first-rate albums under his own name speaks for itself.
But Phil Keaggy truly loves nothing more than collaborations – with other singers, full bands, duets, trios, ambient players, jazzers, jammers, proggers and even poets, well-known and unknown – and his latest project testifies to that. Recruited by the ever-prolific Neal Morse to join forces with ace bassist Byron House and live Genesis drummer Chester Thompson, Keaggy’s playing and singing is all over Deep Water, Cosmic Cathedral’s “prog meets yacht rock” debut on Inside Out. In advance of that album’s release this week, I had the privilege of connecting with Phil in his Nashville studio to talk about both this latest project and his eclectic career. A transcript of our interview follows the video.
So congratulations on Cosmic Cathedral’s first album!
Yeah, maybe there’ll be another album after this, yeah.
That would be really great.
So have you had a chance to listen to it, Rick?
I have, and I really did enjoy it. And we will certainly have some conversations about that as we go on. But the first question I kind of wanted to set up, because as I mentioned, I’ve known your work for a number of years, and you’ve had this amazingly prolific and varied career. But just on the off chance that there’s someone who picks up this album and someone says, who’s this Phil Keaggy guy? How would you describe your life in music to somebody who hasn’t necessarily heard much of what you’ve done?
Well, I started out making records when I was just in eighth, ninth grade. And then I formed a band eventually, called Glass Harp, in 1968. And we recorded for Decca Records. We did three records and one live album. None of them did that well, but we were popular in the northeastern Ohio area – Cleveland, Akron, Columbus, Pittsburgh, especially. We did a West Coast tour in ‘71. We used to go up to Detroit a lot and play. We opened up for a lot of big bands like Humble Pie and Yes, Chicago, Grand Funk, etc.
But then I left the band and I started making albums that centered upon my faith and communicating my faith in Jesus. And so to the world, I became kind of lost to the world of music. And then when I got signed to Christian record labels, they really didn’t know exactly what to do with me because I wasn’t in the center of what CCM music was, contemporary Christian music. I was a bit more adventurous. I was a bit more guitar oriented and not so much songwriting oriented, even though I wrote songs. And so I was too religious for the world and too worldly for the religious.
So that’s why 99 percent of the world has no idea who I am. And so, it doesn’t offend me, doesn’t bother me. It’s just the path that I’ve been on all my life. But I’ve met up with some great players. I’ve had a chance to play with giants like Neal Morse, Tony Levin, Jerry Marotta, Byron House, Chester Thompson, and even jammed with Paul McCartney one time. So, I’ve had great highlights in my life.
But the greatest highlight is knowing God through his Son, Jesus, and also being married to a wonderful woman for almost 52 years. And we’ve got kids that have grown up and who love us. Yeah, I don’t think I feel like I suffer from any lack of anything, especially because of the love that I’ve known in my life, love of family, friends, and the love of music.
I hear that testimony, and that’s a wonderful thing to hear. In your life in music, as you’ve noted, you seem to be kind of a musician’s musician. You collaborate with a lot of people who maybe have a higher profile. And as you say, Neal Morse is one of those talents. How did the two of you hook up originally? And what’s your history together been like?
Well, our history has been very sparse, in fact. But we did meet back at the time he did this album called One. And he invited me because he knew of my albums, like Sunday’s Child, which is a very British rock kind of sounding album, Crimson and Blue, which was a real fun jam album with really good players on it. In fact, John Sferra from Glass Harp played drums on that album. And also I’ve had a life of acoustic music with Beyond Nature and various albums like that.
But I think he liked the idea of the two of us singing on something together. And so I sang a little bit, “Cradle to the Grave”, “What is Life”, that George Harrison song with him. I played guitar solo on the tune called “Creation”. And then we kind of got out of touch for many a year.
And then all of a sudden about a year and a half ago, he contacts me about the possibility of getting together with Chester Thompson and Byron House, who I’ve been in the studio with. Chester played on my All at Once album. And I did an album with Byron House and another friend of ours, Kyle Jones, who’s a percussionist/drummer on an album called Catz’n’Jammuz; it’s basically an improv album. So in the past, I’ve worked with all three of these good men, these good musicians, great musicians.
And so when he invited us all to join him at his studio in White House, I’d say it was about January 2024. We just jammed and his co-producer/engineer Jerry [Guidroz], recorded everything. And some of those songs that ended up on Deep Water, the album [by] Cosmic Cathedral, were inspired by some of those jams. And then they further developed, Neal primarily arranging and developing the songs.
I helped out with the lyrics of “Walking in Daylight”, and I sang it. Actually, I proposed a vocal to it as an idea. But I was surprised he left my vocal on the album, as a lead vocal. And that was pretty cool.
But they gave me a lot of space to play on the album. I had ample opportunity to express myself on my electric guitar. At that time, last fall, I did a lot of the guitar work in my own studio, because when they tracked this album in July last summer, I had just been through hand surgery. I had trigger thumb and finger, and they cut open my hand, and I was in a cast for three weeks. And so there was just no way.
But by the end of September and early October, I started getting on the guitar. And they sent me the files. They said, “hey, want to try playing on something?” And I played on a section of the “Deep Water Suite” I played a little bit of acoustic on it, and I sang. He asked me to sing on that.
That’s the first thing Neal invited me to do. I did it in my studio here. And then at the end, [sings the line] And then I did this electric thing, and that was the very first time I played on a recording for Neal.
And then they sent me “The Heart of Life”, the opening track. I spent a lot of time just learning the licks and the riffs and the changes, and then they had these beautiful open spaces for me to solo. There are two major solos in that song, and that was when I thought, even though it’s painful to play, I really dug in. And the second solo, which is after the part when he sings about, “I thought of God as Captain Bligh”.
That’s my favorite line on that album.
I know, it stands out, doesn’t it, Rick?
It’s just so off the wall, and yet it fits perfectly.
And it’s so ominous. It’s so ominous in this section. And then when I heard that, and then there’s this big space, and I opened up my solo with this note that I reversed. So it kind of creaks in, and then all of a sudden, I go into this Allan Holdsworth kind of mode on the tone, even though I can’t play all those licks that Allan does. But I’ve always honored his guitar playing, always thought he was a genius and a great inspiration to that feeling you get when it doesn’t sound like a typical guitar solo, and that’s what I wanted to do.
And I love also the different modes, because I’ve been influenced by various music from other cultures. It doesn’t matter, anywhere on the earth, if it’s good, I love it. Bulgarian, Indian, Chinese, Middle Eastern, South American, Irish. I love the gifts that God gives to people all around the world musically.
So that kind of comes out here and there. And so when I did the five albums with Jeff Johnson, we’ve got one called Ravenna, which is inspired by the art in Italy, and Cappadocia, which is inspired by perhaps the region of Turkey; the Frio Suitealbum, which was inspired by the Frio River in Texas, and so on and so forth.
This newest one called Spinning on a Cosmic Dime, I mentioned to Neal, I said, you know, my last album out with Jeff Johnson has the word “cosmic” in it. He never mentioned anything about it. So everybody’s getting into a cosmic kind of mood, aren’t they? Cosmic dime, Cosmic cathedral. Maybe somebody ought to come up with an album called Cosmic Capers. That would be kind of interesting.
Who knows, that one might be next. So I’m hearing you say that you get a lot of your vocabulary on guitar from folk, from modal cultures. What are some of the other sources of your style? It’s very unique, and yet you can tell there’s a lot behind it.
Yeah, a lot of years, a lot of playing, a lot of listening, a lot of appreciation. And of course, with the level of artistic giftings that Neal Morse has and the other fellas, Chester and Byron, elevates my desire to play well, really something that must really fit and belong to the essence of this creativity.
So yeah, I just feel that because of all the years we’ve all listened to music, we just want it to be done really, really well. Not just a quick building that was erected, but as beautiful as a cathedral. And it’s ominous, you know what I’m saying?
Yes, yes, that sort of over-towering feel. It’s like when Jacob wakes up from the dream at Bethel, and he says, how awesome or how terrible is this place, depending on what translation you use.
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. You know, it’s interesting because I was not sure I was even going to be on the album because of my hand situation. I didn’t know how long it was going to set me back. I always look at those three guys as they are the cathedral, and I’m this little chapel over to the right.
Oh, okay.
You know, a little chap. Yes. “Hello, you’re just a little chap, aren’t you?” I’m a chapel.
But because they are the foundation, you know, they are truly the foundation of this, all three of them in sync, you know, as strong as Cream was or as strong as Emerson Lake and Palmer, a threesome. And I feel like I’m on this album by invitation, for sure.
Okay. Chester and Byron’s groove. It’s very different than most people would think of when they think of prog rock.
Exactly.
It does seem like there’s so much, like you say, not just space for solos, but there’s space in the beat they generate. What’s it like playing over that groove?
Well, that’s what got me excited. I didn’t know what to expect when they first sent me the files, you know. The first file was “Fires of the Sunrise” and then “The Heart of Life”. And I was able to just sit back and listen to it. And first of all, I was blown away by the fidelity, blown away by the expertise of these guys on their instruments. And I thought, man, this is a dream to be able to play on something like this.
Yeah, the intensity, the quality, like you mentioned, there’s a different groove going on from what people would consider prog rock, which I oftentimes think of prog rock as kind of mechanical sometimes. It’s just kind of intellectual, cerebral, you know, right brain to the nth. But the thing is, what Chester brings into with Byron is this sense of soul.
So I think they influenced Neal and how Neal played himself. I mean, on “Time to Fly”, for instance, it just sounds like a Steely Dan thing, Great horn. He knew what he was going for and he got it with the horn player, the sax player, the BGVs [background vocals], which has that what Donald Fagen would do.
And just the fact that there’s a nice amount of space. It’s not just constant noise; it’s not just music that just kind of like can get irritating after a while. I mean, there’s a couple of places where it does sound a little bit like a video game to me. But that’s tongue in cheek almost, isn’t it? Yeah.
It’s deliberately over the top.
Yes. But then it gets into some fantastic grooves, you know, the kind of stuff you want to play over. You just have to play over, you know. And so they gave me a lot of nice space to play. In fact, one of the sections, “New Revelation”, I think it was, I played a solo and then Jerry said, “we’re going to extend the solo a number of measures longer. Would you mind playing some more?” [Both laugh] I go, “Yeah, yeah, yeah. Twist my arm. You know, sure. I’d be happy to.” And then we went back and forth and they actually, toward the end of it — because I liked one solo and Jerry liked this other one. So what he ended up doing was he put toward the end of the solo, both of my guitar solos going on. OK. And you know what I’m talking about?
Yeah, I do. That was like “And now, in stereo!”
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, that’s right. And that was that was great. It’s like, why not? You know, it’s like — what was that McCartney song? “Rockshow”.
Yeah. You know, it’s kind of like let everybody join in, you know, but it was just primarily the four of us, you know. They had tasty percussion on it, too. And as I mentioned, the BGVs and the horns well, added a really nice touch to everything.
Neal has so many ideas. He is so prolific. You and he are a really good match instrumentally, certainly. Are there any other moments we’ve talked about like “Time to Fly”? We’ve talked about the opening track. We’ve talked about those two spots in the “Deep Water” suite. Is there anything else that you recollect as being a special favorite of yours from the process?
I love the closing. “Heaven is opened.”
Yeah.
Opening “The Door to Heaven”. What is it called?
I do not recollect. But yes, that’s the gist of it.
You know, the piece starts beautifully. And I was influenced by Anthony Phillips.
Oh, OK. The Genesis guy.
The Genesis guy. And when I did my album, The Master and the Musician in 1978, he was, [his] album was on my turntable a lot, you know.
Oh, OK.
He and [British guitarist] John Renbourn were real influences to me. [That part of the suite is] just so pretty.
And the way it develops, you know. “You’re the water, the deepest place I know”. Neal has me singing that latter part of it because he said, “I can’t reach those notes. I thought you could”. And it pushed me. It modulates to another higher key before the very ending.
And then you got that “big life” which sounds like a chorus of voices. That’s the payoff. That whole ending is just so powerful to the the epic piece. I think the ending is epic and powerful. It’s spiritual. It’s musical. It’s fulfilling. But but I love every song. I mean, every song holds its own, even the ballad. “I Won’t Make It” that Neal wrote with the strings in it. And yeah, it’s just an honest — it’s like Emerson Lake and Palmer’s “Oh, what a lucky man he was”. For a prog guy into to create such an honest and beautiful melodic piece like that. That’s a really sweet place where it sits in the album, too. So, yeah, what a great album.
[After the jump: Phil Keaggy tells how his wildest dream came true, muses on Cosmic Cathedral playing live, and reflects on his power trio improv album with Tony Levin & Jerry Marotta.]
Big Big Train, The Token Lounge, Westland, Michigan, April 11th, 2025.
A well-weathered 400-capacity club seemingly dropped at random in the middle of Detroit’s western suburbs might not be where you’d expect Big Big Train to wind up for a Friday night gig. Yet, given the path of BBT’s 2025 tour (en route from Chicago to Buffalo) and the Motor City’s long-standing love affair with vintage rock of all types, the Token Lounge made sense as the setting for an evening of 21st-century prog. And, as it turned out, I had what was potentially the loudest seat in the house!
Kudos to engineer extraordinaire Rob Aubrey, though; with everything else onstage running through the PA (no amps!) and judicious use of floor speakers, even the front row heard well-balanced, full-spectrum sound (at least with earplugs in). But I’m getting ahead of myself . . .
With no opening band sharing the bill, it was BBT violinist/vocalist/guitarist Clare Lindley’s turn to warm up the crowd. Commanding the stage with confident presence and plenty of snappy platter, Lindley kicked off with original “Voice from the Outside,” then moved into a rootsy, drily humorous set of covers from Steve Earle, Karine Polwart, Michelle Shocked and Levon Helm that soon had us singing – and even clapping – along. Guest turns from trumpeter Paul Mitchell, keyboardist Oskar Holldorff, and multi-instrumentalist Rikard Sjöblom built up the intensity and variety, until Clare & Rikard ripped through a pair of Scottish reels for a enthusiastically received finish.
And then, the moment we’d been waiting for: Big Big Train hit the stage at full strength, diving straight into a generous helping of 2024’s The Likes of Us. Album overture “Light Left in the Day” swelled and ebbed; lead singer Alberto Bravin, Sjöblom and drummer Nick D’Virgilio charged headlong into the odd-time bash “Oblivion”, revving up us Michiganders as only hard-rock riffing can. Then founding father Gregory Spawton left his upstage fortress of bass guitar and pedals for center stage to launch “Behind the Masts”. From the luxuriant 12-string guitar/double keyboard intro through a midsection of diabolic, twisting organ licks to its titanic final resolution, the 17-minute epic held the audience spellbound – until they erupted at the end with the first standing ovation of the night! A lean, surprisingly groovy reworking of “The Last English King” from the recently re-constituted lost album Bard lowered the intensity a bit, but the pitch-perfect a cappella intro to “Miramare” fired up the crowd again, as BBT hit their sweet spot of forgotten history, creamy vocal harmony, virtuoso instrumental counterpoint and unabashed lyrical sentiment.
One side note: Big Big Train has to be the most versatile rock band I’ve ever seen onstage, switching stations and covering every conceivable part with aplomb and precision. Six of the seven sing; five play guitars; a different five play keyboards. But the kicker came when D’Virgilio moved up front for the now-expected acoustic take on Folklore’s “Telling the Bees”. Gaining life and freshness in its role of onstage tribute to the late David Longdon, the song’s bridge captures the once and future heart of the band’s mission:
The joy is in the telling The sorrow in the soul Tears of happiness and sadness Let them flow…
And to cap off the song with a full-band coda featuring Bravin on drums . . . well, that’s just not fair! What else could you do but melt into a puddle as grown men in Cruise to the Edge t-shirts cried around you?
As it turned out, quite a lot; we bopped along with Common Ground’s “Black with Ink”, returned wholeheartedly to The Likes of Us with Spawton’s valedictory “Last Eleven” and Bravin’s unstoppable power ballad “Love Is the Light”, then stayed on our feet as the band whipped through the hairpin turns of closing instrumental “Apollo”. Even with a set shortened from this year’s opening night (as reviewed by Bryan), Big Big Train delivered a high-energy, immensely satisfying evening that gained an extra edge from the Token Lounge’s down to earth, sweaty vibe. As a live band, BBT just keep getting better; their exponentially growing chemistry and precise teamwork enables them to tackle daunting compositional challenges and hit peak moments in the bullseye, with chops and emotion to spare. And to be able to move forward from the welcome set of classics they shared with us in 2024 to focus on their current creative peak? Priceless; as wonderful as last year’s debut US gig was, this outstripped it by miles. (Don’t take my word for it; the high-school friend I dragged along said it was the best show he’d seen in a long time — and this is the guy who re-introduced me to Rush!) With a new album planned for 2026 release and speculation already rampant about next year’s Cruise line-up, could the Train be returning to North American stations sooner than we might think?
— Rick Krueger (front row, left — behind Rikard’s Gibson in the silly buffalo-check shirt, with my friend jumping up directly behind me)
By January 31st of this year, I had already ordered a ridiculous number of multiple-CD box sets since Christmas. With three delayed in the production process, five have already landed on my doorstep (OK, one was small enough to fit in the mailbox). Reviews follow in the order that I tripped over them on the porch coming home from work. As usual, order links are embedded in the Artist/Title listing and streaming options follow whenever available.
Wilco, A Ghost Is Born Deluxe Edition: springing from entangled hardcore and Americana roots, Jeff Tweedy had steered Wilco through band tumult and record company rejection to plant a left-field cultural marker with 2001’s freak-folk classic Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. The band’s 2004 follow-up A Ghost Is Born went to further extremes, a sputtering tornado of punky guitar thrash, electronic noise, avant-garde improvisational systems and lyrical grapplings with personal vulnerability, mental dysfunction and substance abuse. Heavy? Yep. But never offputting or boring; Glenn Kotche and John Stirratt lay down lateral yet accessible beats that float (“Muzzle of Bees”, “Wishful Thinking”) crackle (the hypnotic “Spiders (Kidsmoke)”) shuffle (“Handshake Drugs”, “Theologians”, “I’m A Wheel”) and stomp (“At Least That’s What You Said”, “The Late Greats”) while Leroy Bach and Mikael Jorgenson add spicy, soulful accents and colors. All the while Tweedy waxes deadpan yet primal, ripping holes in the fabric of his personal time and space, searching out both tender and torturous byways to catharsis and healing. If that kind of quest sounds up your alley, this reissue gives it up in excelsis: the finished album plus 4 discs of jammed “Fundamentals”, 2 discs of outtakes and alternates, and a double-disc live show with then-new members Pat Sansone and Nels Cline fleshing out Tweedy’s unique, unlikely Hero’s Journey. Great, extensive liner notes by Replacements biographer Bob Mehr as well. Already on my Favorites list for the year.
Yes, Close to the Edge Super Deluxe Edition:Well, I did ask for this — and Rhino delivered! The third in the series of SD Yes reissues, this captures what might be the quintessential prog band’s quintessential album in pristine, high-impact sound (both the original mix remastered and Steven Wilson’s latest remixes). It all comes down to the three original tunes from 1972 — the side-long title track, the majestic “And You and I” and the remarkably funky “Siberian Khatru” — with Jon Anderson’s wailing word games, Steve Howe’s lacerating guitar licks, Rick Wakeman’s extravagantly classical keys, and the simmering, bubbling rhythm work of Chris Squire and Bill Bruford all battling for space yet somehow fusing into a triumphant whole. Bonuses include plenty of rarities and alternates (including both versions of Yes’ classic take on Paul Simon’s “America”) and a complete live show from the tour that followed, with Alan White’s beefy thwack on drums replacing Bruford’s loose, limber dance. Well worth hearing and picking up, even if you have previous reissues; another instant Favorite.
Steven Wilson, The Overview:If Wilson has never realized his dream of broad pop stardom, he’s entranced the mainstream rock press this time around — both usual (Prog Magazine) and unusual (MOJO named it album of the month) suspects have hailed The Overview as a return to prog that doubles as a conceptual tour de force. For once, though, I’m underwhelmed; while intermittently galvanizing, the two-track album stubbornly refuses to coalesce in my ears. Is Wilson’s musical material stretched too thin? (Side One’s 23-minute suite “Objects Outlive Us” is ultimately a set of variations on one six-chord sequence.) Are his influences, for once, undigested? (The Dark Side of the Moon, Tangerine Dream and “Space Oddity” are practically italicized and bracketed on Side Two’s title suite.) Or is it more likely that I’m bouncing off Wilson’s main conceit (admittedly snarky paraphrase: “the universe is big, cold, and dead, so loosen up in your petty day-to-day lives and find your own existential purpose in the face of meaninglessness”)? As stunning as its high points can be, for me The Overview feels like Wilson’s chilliest, least empathetic effort since his 2008 solo debut Insurgentes. Still, I wouldn’t be surprised if hearing SW live this fall, backed by the players responsible for the instrumental highlights here (Randy McStine and Adam Holzman absolutely bring the goods) shifts my perspective. After all, I wound up advocating for The Future Bites . . . Bonuses of the sold-out deluxe edition include an orchestrated version of Side One and the complete take of album closer “Permanence”, with saxophonist Theo Travis lighting up Wilson’s ambient aural nebulas.
Sonic Elements, IT – A 50th Anniversary Celebration of The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway by Genesis:Genesis’ first entry into the superdeluxe marketplace, a 50th-anniversary remaster of their 1974 rock opera, wound up being delayed until June. In meantime, we have to content ourselves with this remake, masterminded by keyboardist/conceptualist extraordinaire Dave Kerzner. But never fear; there’s contentment — indeed, satisfaction — aplenty to be found! An all-star team of contemporary American giants (Kerzner, Fernando Perdomo on guitar, Billy Sherwood on bass) have the time of their lives rewiring The Lamb as a lushly upholstered, dynamic film score, complete with Nick D’Virgilio’s drums and orchestrations repurposed from a similar 2009 project. But the secret sauce here is vocalist Francis Dunnery (whose credits range from original lead singer for Brit neo-proggers It Bites to guitarist for Robert Plant); his magnificent, dramatic singing echoes Peter Gabriel’s originals while avoiding the safety of imitation. Dunnery absolutely inhabits Genesis’ Puerto Rican punk pilgrim Rael on his journey from the streets of New York through realms of embodied myth to absorption into Jung’s collective unconscious (I think). It’s all done with love, gusto and plenty of polish, and it’s absolutely thrilling. Available as a basic double-disc set, a Deluxe triple set with alternate versions of multiple tracks, or a hi-res download with even more alternate takes. Well worth every penny, whichever version you opt for, and in the running for the Favorites list.
Rush 50, Deluxe Edition: So how do you put together yet another Rush anniversary compilation — especially the first since the passing of Neil Peart? Rush 50 turns out to be a pretty ingenious solution to the problem — not just one of marketing, but of producing genuine value. Yes, it’s organized around the career arc of everyone’s favorite Canadian hard-prog power trio as usual; yes, there’s at least one song from every album, with career high points from Fly By Night to Clockwork Angels given extra representation. But more than half the 50 tracks are live versions — spanning the decades from an early TV appearance recorded at an Ontario secondary school to the encore from the final gig of the R40 tour, taken from the canonical All the World’s A Stage, the bonus concerts on recent 40th-anniversary reissues, later live video/audio packages, and the vaults. If some of the fledgling band’s material seems woefully unfashionable now — the Beatles’ “Bad Boy” spun into a psychedelic workout a la Cream, for example — we still get the privilege of eavesdropping as Alex Lifeson, Geddy Lee and Peart grow in muscularity, depth and confidence, building an audience with their audacity and prowess, while time stands still before our ears. The mouthwatering physical package, with sympathetic, well-reported overviews of the band’s first and final decades plus mouthwatering new art by the stalwart Hugh Syme, is the icing on the cake here. Even if most of this material is familiar to longtime fans, having it all in one box turns out to be a genuine pleasure.
A good chunk of early 2025’s prog action has been concentrated “in the arena”: new releases and reissues of concert recordings, whether of decades-old vintage or just yesteryear, unplugged or fully electrified. Purchase and streaming links are provided below where available. (One relatively new challenge: physical media is selling out faster than ever these days; some of what’s below ran out of stock even before the official release! Bookmark the appropriate page and hope for restocks, I guess?)
Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe, An Evening of Yes Music Plus:One of the odder detours in Yes history, as Jon Anderson left the more commercial mothership of the 1980s and gathered 3/5th of the band’s breakthrough line-up for an album/tour cycle that proved equal parts throwback and reboot. As on ABWH’s 1989 studio album, the freshest moments of this 2 CD/2 DVD concert set occur when Howe’s plangent guitar and Wakeman’s graceful piano vault over Bruford’s syndrum clatter on new tracks “Birthright”, “Brother of Mine” and “Order of the Universe”. (Meanwhile, Anderson’s melodic volleys of New Age word salad remain consistent. Never change, Jon!) Potent, precise takes on classics like “Close to the Edge” and “Heart of the Sunrise”, along with plenty of solo space, make for an enjoyable show that proved there was life in these middle-aged dogs yet — even if Trevor Rabin and Chris Squire wouldn’t share the original group’s name. Thanks to Action Records of Preston, UK for their prompt service when preorders sold out!
District 97, Live for the Ending: Chicago’s finest proggers play the entirety of their latest album live, at home and overseas. D97’s reading of the complete Stay for the Ending is a straight-up recital with few variations from the recording; what impresses here is the consistent commitment and energy on display. It’s evident how fiendishly difficult this stuff is, how the now-long-time lineup of Andrew Lawrence, Jim Tashjian, Tim Seisser and Jonathan Schang sink their teeth into the harmonic and melodic extremes of each track — and how consistently Leslie Hunt rises to the occasion, riding every chunky guitar/bass lick, synth blast and time-warping drum fill with her expressive, acrobatic singing. Given the constant hairpin turns and switchbacks of this music, the occasional rough edges slot right in; this is a band playing right up to the limits of their considerable skills, then going above and beyond! Longtime fans like me won’t be disappointed, and newbies will get a solid sense of how gutsy and thrilling District 97 are in concert.
Steve Hackett, Live Magic at Trading Boundaries: The ninth live album of Hackett’s Genesis Revisited era, this unplugged set compiled from multiple year-end performances at an art gallery/performance space/boutique hotel in the British countryside, is genuine surprise and a refreshing change of pace. With Hackett focusing on nylon-string acoustic guitar, there’s plenty of old-school Genesis (the medley of an excerpt from “Supper’s Ready” and “After the Ordeal” is a masterstroke), an eclectic range of solo material (with Hackett’s brother John and Rob Townsend on woodwinds), lovely original songs from sidekick Amanda Lehmann (with Steve on harmonica!) — even a blast of digital keys from Roger King, waking everyone up with a bit of Francis Poulenc’s organ concerto! Delicate, luscious and immediately appealing , Live Magic also proves a worthwhile appetizer for recently reissued “special editions” of Hackett’s acoustic back catalog (1983’s Bay of Kings, 1988’s Momentum, 2005’s Metamorpheus and 2008’s Tribute) — which seem to be selling out even as I type . . .
King Crimson at nugs.net: Partnering with the premiere online concert specialists (whose clientele range from superstars Bruce Springsteen and Jack White to up-and-coming jammers Billy Strings and Goose), Robert Fripp’s Discipline Global Mobile has already made 44 Crimson shows (26 from 1996’s Double Trio outings, 18 from the 2014 Elements of KC tour) available for streaming with paid subscription, or for purchase as downloads or CDs. I picked up the CD of the night I attended the 2014 tour in Chicago (September 25th at the Vic Theater); after six years away from the concert stage, this edition of The Mighty Crim blew away the audience with its triple-drummer frontline, Mel Collins’ visceral attack on multiple saxes, Jakko Jakszyk’s mellifluous vocals, and a wide-ranging setlist stretching from 1969 psychedelia to the wide-open soundscapes of 2011’s A Scarcity of Miracles. With more tour bundles from across the decades promised for the future, nugs.net now seems the go-to source for archival Crimson concertizing. Bring on the 2019 and 2021 tours, please!
Riverside, Live.ID:The Polish quartet comes out smoking hot for the final gig of their 2023 ID.Entity tour on this 2 CD/BluRay set. Michal Lapaj’s ebullient keyboards grab hold with sizzling synth and organ hooks; Maciej Miller’s gruff power chords and earthy leads anchor the driving hard-rock sound; Piotr Dozieradzki’s pounding drums push the music forward. And at center stage, Mariusz Duda holds down one busy bass groove after another, all the while launching compelling, dystopian narratives of isolation in an overconnected age. With a setlist split evenly between their last album and their back catalog, these guys prove looser, yet more ferocious than on their fine studio albums, never letting up on the intensity. And the audience respond in kind, matching Duda’s request for them to be “the fifth member of Riverside” with enthusiasm to spare. More than a concert, this feels like an event — a great intro for neophytes, a rewarding summary of Riverside’s career to date for longtime fans. (Note that the CD/BluRay version is already hard to find!)
Soft Machine, Drop & Floating World: Only four years separate these two sets from the pioneering British jazz-rockers, freshly remastered by guitarist Mark Wingfield — but what a difference those years make! Recorded live on a 1971 German tour, Drop unveiled a quartet speeding headlong for the outer limits of music itself; riding cascading waves of Phil Howard’s manic, loose-limbed drumming, saxophonist Elton Dean screams and howls into the ether, while bassist Hugh Hopper and keyboardist Mike Ratledge hang on for dear life. It’s a breathtaking whirlwind of sound, shaped more by free rhythm than discernible melody — exhilarating, but not for the squeamish.
By 1975, Dean, Hopper and Howard were out; in their place, Karl Jenkins (later to earn a knighthood for his classical crossover project Adiemus), Roy Babbington and John Marshall were laying down a more fusion-oriented, arguably more sedate vibe. Enter fledgling guitar hero Allan Holdsworth to fire things up on another German tour; his lightning-quick runs and ear-catching chord work energize Floating World Live, inspiring his bandmates to fresh heights of invention and interplay on pieces from the first-rate studio effort Bundles. Awash with echoes of Mahavishnu Orchestra and Return to Forever filtered through a genial, sardonic English sensibility, this is required listening for fans of the genre and Holdsworth heads. (A manufacturing error has held up the release of the Floating World Live CD, but MoonJune Records mainman Leonardo Pavkovic is on the case!)
Steven Wilson has announced dates and other details for a fall North American tour, focusing on his upcoming concept record The Overviewand his 2023 album The Harmony Codex.
Beginning September 9th and running through October 11th, the tour will include 15 shows at large theaters (2,000+ seats), covering the USA’s West Coast, Midwest, East Coast and South, as well as 3 Canadian shows in Toronto and Quebec. On his first full-band tour in 7 years, Wilson will be backed by longtime stalwarts Adam Holzman on keyboards, Nick Beggs on bass/Stick & vocals, and Craig Blundell on drums, along with Porcupine Tree sideman Randy McStine on guitar & vocals.
Tickets go on public sale Friday, January 31st at 10 am local time through Ticketmaster/Live Nation. In addition, there will be a fan presale TODAY beginning at 10 am local time. Tour dates (and yes, the fan presale password) follow the jump!
File under “unfinished business”, I guess. Below, albums from last year I hadn’t gotten around to reviewing, or hadn’t heard yet, or didn’t even know existed until I stumbled across them. (That last category, by the way, turned up a couple of real winners!) Purchase links are included in each artist/title listing; streaming options follow each review.
Mike Campbell and The Dirty Knobs, Vagabonds, Virgins & Misfits:On their third album as a band, the late Tom Petty’s right-hand man Campbell and compadres hit the motherlode. It takes a few tracks for the Dirty Knobs to loosen up, but once the desperate slowburn “Hands Are Tied” achieves rave-up velocity, it’s all gold — Byrdsy stomp “Shake These Bones”, harrowing border narrative “An Innocent Man”, honky-tonk single “Don’t Wait Up” (with country-soul heavyweight/summer tour partner Chris Stapleton kicking in a verse) and trashy addiction kiss-off “My Old Friends” are just the highlights! Guest stars galore, including former Heartbreakers, prove worthy foils for Campbell’s tales of big trouble and occasional triumph, spun out by his sinewy baritone and tasty, twangy guitar. If you’re looking for an album that puts the classic back in classic rock, look no further! I’m calling this a Delayed Favorite.
George Harrison, Living in the Material World (50th Anniversary Edition): While Harrison’s 1973 sophomore solo effort did chart-topping business and garnered positive reviews back in the day, it never quite lodged in public consciousness like his monumental debut All Things Must Pass. Songs that ricocheted between rapt religious devotion (“Give Me Love”, “Don’t Let Me Wait Too Long”), pressurized street-corner sermons (the title track, “The Lord Loves the One”) and sour reflections on post-Fab Four wrangling (“Sue Me, Sue You Blues”, “Try Some, Buy Some”) had a part in this, along with muddy production obscuring inspired, rootsy playing by George, Gary Wright & Nicky Hopkins on keyboards, and – rock solid as ever – Ringo as primary drummer. Paul Hicks’ fresh mix opens up things considerably: George’s breathy vocals are now more passionate than harsh, his acoustic playing shimmers, his slide work bites hard and sweet, and the band chugs along in high style. Now much more approachable, this vivid new version is well worth hearing (available in single, double and super-deluxe configurations).
Herin, Hiding in Plain Sight: Detroit guitarist/songwriter Chris Herin is best known as the mainspring of hard-proggers Tiles (rooted in the music of Rush, with producer Terry Brown and artist Hugh Syme frequently on hand to play up the similarities) for 25 years. Here he goes solo with a deeply personal concept record, chronicling his beloved father’s 10-year struggle with Alzheimer’s disease. Grounding the music in accessible yet expansive AOR, Herin constantly shifts lyrical perspective — now observing dementia’s progress from the outside, now imagining how it played out inside his dad’s head. With Herin’s unswerving rhythm guitar at the center, an starry cast of players and vocalists bring his song cycle to life: highlights include subtle guitar textures from Jethro Tull’s Martin Barre (“The Darkest Hour”) and Alex Lifeson (“Second Ending”), a searing lead playout by Peter Frampton (“The Heart of You”), heart-piercing vocal turns from Porcupine Tree/Steven Wilson sideman Randy McStine (especially “Secret Adversary”) and a trio of dramatic soliloquies by Discipline’s Matthew Parmenter set to chamber music backdrops. Somber yet uplifting in its evocation of loss, pain and undying love, this is a special album.
King Crimson, Red (50th Anniversary Edition): Limping home from the endless highways of America in 1974, Robert Fripp had had it with everything about King Crimson — even the unbeatable rhythm section of John Wetton (who wanted to go for mass appeal a la Dark Side of the Moon) and Bill Bruford (who wanted to hit as many things as possible loud, hard and often). Recorded in a last gasp before Fripp declared the band finished forever (oops), Red somehow gave all three players, plus guests from throughout Crimson’s first run, a unparalleled chance to shine. The uber-heavy title track, the wistful elegy “Fallen Angel”, the stinging clatter of “One More Red Nightmare” unleashed a power trio equally apt at dark romanticism and modernist brutality. And then there was “Starless” – a 13-minute swansong kicked off by Wetton’s most funereal vocal, collapsing in on itself, mounting to peak tension as Bruford slowly rebuilt the beat over a bass/guitar duel worthy of a Shostakovich string quartet, finally exploding into a double-time frenzy of wailing saxes and Fripp’s frantic, fuzzed-up speed-strums. This new 2 CD/2 BluRay version includes multiple fresh and original mixes, six complete concerts from the era, and all the surviving session reels. Overkill at its finest, capturing one of prog’s most ambitious bands going over the top just before Fripp called retreat and abandoned the genre label for good. (As mentioned last month, a Favorite for 45 years.)
The War On Drugs, Live Drugs Again: A second sampling of Adam Granduciel and his live septet making super-sized music to wallow in. Leaning heavily on 2021’s first-rate I Don’t Live Here Anymore, the WoD set one towering, hypnotic groove after another in motion; meanwhile Granduciel’s vocals skip atop the glistering surfaces, burrow between the chiming, interweaving riffs, howl burning desires above his choruses’ climactic maelstroms (pushed even farther by chewy, white-hot guitar tags). Part of the fun for rock history buffs like me is the kaleidoscope of callbacks that flit by, then fade into the aural soup: a Who-like synth cycle, high-impact four-on-the-floor drumming, distortion ramped up to touch the sublime, vocal yelps that channel Dylan, Springsteen, Bono. But the elation, the emotional release of these performances prove Granduciel and The War on Drugs are more than the sum of their wide-eyed, eclectic influences; this album is the closest thing to Elton John’s “solid walls of sound” that I’ve encountered in a long time. (Note that the CD version includes two extra tracks.)
Wilco, Hot Sun Cool Shroud: A EP I missed from the Kings of Indie Dad-Rock, with the impact of an album twice its length; Jeff Tweedy and his long-time partners in chaos hit quick and dirty on six short, sharp tracks. Opener “Hot Sun” is driving yet ambiguous thrash underpinned with regally queasy synth/string pads; “Ice Cream” is a loose soul ballad with distant angel choirs and percussive rumbles; “Annihilation” goes from mumbly to lucid to arrhythmic, while closer “Say You Love Me” is a trademark Wilco eulogy, harnessing stately Beatleisms to preach connection and community. Stir in two instrumentals (the jabbering “Livid” and the bitonal acoustic gallop “Inside the Bell Bones”) and you have another Delayed Favorite. (One, I might add, very reminiscent of the band’s 2004 tour de force A Ghost Is Born, which is reissued in multiple deluxe formats next month.)
I’m thrilled to be able to officially share with you that my new album, The Overview will be released on 14th March. The album is based on the recognised phenomenon of the “overview effect’’, whereby astronauts seeing the Earth from space undergo a transformative cognitive shift; some experience an overwhelming appreciation and perception of the planet’s beauty, but others see the Earth truly for what it is – insignificant and lost in the vastness of space.
Prior to the album’s release date, The Overview will have its world exclusive premiere at the BFI IMAX in London on Tuesday 25th February. The music will be played back in immersive audio accompanied by a specially commissioned film by Miles Skarin that presents a constantly evolving series of visually stunning animated sequences documenting the vastness of space and the almost imperceptibly tiny part of it that the human race occupies. Screened on what is the UK’s largest cinema screen I’m confident this is going to be a pretty mind blowing experience.
The Overview will be released on Fiction Records in standard CD, blu-ray, half speed mastered (at Abbey Road) gatefold vinyl editions and limited deluxe art book. The blu-ray features high res stereo, 5.1 and Dolby Atmos mixes, all in both vocal and instrumental versions, for a total of 6 different audio streams. The deluxe art-book edition (in the same style and dimensions as previous SW deluxe books) features an additional 60 minute CD of music not included on the final album and an especially commissioned orchestral version of the 23 minute long Objects Outlive Us. The third disc is a blu-ray which expands on the standalone version by also including all of the bonus material in high res stereo, and 5.1 / Dolby Atmos mixes of the orchestral Objects Outlive Us.
The artwork for The Overview was illustrated/photographed by Hajo Muller and designed by Carl Glover, their combined efforts creating a visually stunning companion to the music, perfectly encapsulating the album’s themes of space and perspective. Notably in the art-book edition there are several fold out multi-panel illustrations. In the past these deluxe editions have sold out very fast, so if you’d like a copy (and you won’t be disappointed, it’s pretty stunning), I would recommend not hanging around!
Preorders for The Overview are now live at Steven Wilson’s official store and Burning Shed (the latter of which is – no surprise! – less expensive in the case of the deluxe editions).
HAPPY NEW YEAR! HAPPY NEW ALBUM! This is ‘Waves’- the beginning of my Waves 1-12 series which is the successor of my critically acclaimed ‘Out to Sea’ 1-4 series.
I will be doing something unheard of … 12 Waves albums in 2025! One out on the first of every month. Each with a gorgeous cover by Former Crosby Stills and Nash, Robert Palmer, and Foxy drummer Joe Galdo.
Each album will be available digital or a limited to 50 copies cd autographed by me.
Collect em all … This is the best instrumental prog music I have made since Out to Sea.
All records will be 10 songs long and mastered by Zach Ziskin.
Happy New Year and let’s make Waves in 2025.
On first hearing, Waves 1 is a beautiful, subtly thrilling album, great fun to listen to whether you actively enjoy it or bliss out in its delectable aural atmosphere! Order it from Bandcamp here, or sample it below first:
No big hoo-hah this year: just a down and dirty list of my favorite releases and reissues of the year, covered in previous Quick Takes or elsewhere on the Web (links are to my original articles)!
Bruce Hornsby, The Way It Is; Scenes from the Southside; Harbor Lights; Here Come the Noisemakers (live); Intersections 1985-2005 (box set); Solo Concerts (live). See my appreciation of Bruce’s career here!
Thanks for your ongoing attention and steadfast support. We at the Rockin’ Republic of Prog appreciate it! Best wishes as we all turn the corner and head into the New Year!
Progarchy 