Author: Dr Nick

Nick’s Best of 2012 (Part 1)

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2012 has been a fantastic year for progressive music. I’ve listened to a huge pile of albums and still don’t feel like I have scratched the surface of all the great material that’s out there at the moment. I know of albums that would probably be on my ‘Best Of’ list if only I’d had the time (and money) to hear them in full before now – Katatonia’s Dead End Kings, Mörglbl’s Brutal Romance and The Void from Beardfish spring immediately to mind. But a list must be produced, so let’s activate the ERTEM and get on with it!

First, some restrictions. My list considers only original releases of full albums from 2012: no reissues or remixes and no EPs. (Hey, I’ve got to simplify things somehow, OK?)

I’ll also split my list into three parts: ‘Highly Commended’, ‘Top 5 Contenders’ and ‘Top 5’. To avoid the paralysis of indecision, only the last of these will actually be ranked; the other two will be listed alphabetically.

We’ll begin with my Highly Commended category: 10 albums that I have enjoyed hugely this year.

AstraAstra – The Black Chord

Follow-up to their 2009 debut The Weirding, boasting higher production values. Variously described as ‘retro’ or ‘classic’ in sound, I suppose because of the liberal use of Hammond organ and Mellotron. I don’t know what you’d call it, but it’s trippy, atmospheric and darned good! The epic title track is particularly splendid.

CrippledBlackPhoenixCrippled Black Phoenix – (Mankind) The Crafty Ape

A big brooding monster of an album from the stoner prog legends, probably their best yet – although I have yet to hear the follow-up that appeared recently, No Sadness Or Farewell. (Yes, you read that right: two albums in one year). Pretty much how I’d expect Pink Floyd to sound if they’d all been born 25 years later.

District97District 97 – Trouble With Machines

Yes, yes, “former American Idol finalist”, blah blah blah. Forget all that nonsense about vocalist Leslie Hunt and concentrate instead on the music – precise, technical and totally absorbing, all crunching guitars and shifting time signatures, with Hunt’s voice weaving intricate and unusual melodies throughout. Top-class prog metal. John Wetton guests on one track.

TheEnidThe Enid – Invicta

How do you even begin to categorise such a unique band? Some people simply don’t ‘get’ The Enid, but if your tastes encompass the classical or symphonic, there’s a good chance you will fall in love with them. This latest release features a wonderful new lead vocalist, Joe Payne. There is high drama here – think opera or musical theatre – but also moments of great beauty and delicacy.

FlyingColorsFlying Colors – Flying Colors

Given my innate scepticism regarding supergroups, I really wasn’t expecting this to be as good as it is. Album opener Blue Ocean starts off like a more upbeat version of a track by The Doors, and Kayla is a superbly catchy pop anthem. There’s even some real, honest-to-goodness prog in here, in the form of long-form album closer Infinite Fire. A thumbs-up to all concerned; on this evidence, the second album really will be something to relish.

SteveHackettSteve Hackett – Genesis Revisited II

What can I say? A set of well-crafted, tasteful reinterpretations of classic Genesis tracks spanning the entire Hackett era, plus new versions of a few songs from his solo career. Call me a heretic, but I think some of them improve upon the originals. There are things on here that will make you smile and probably one or two that will make you frown, but discovering which is part of the fun. See my review for more details!

NineStonesCloseNine Stones Close – One Eye On The Sunrise

The follow-up to 2010’s Traces. Powerful and atmospheric, achieving true Floydian grandeur in places, with plenty of long liquid guitar solos that would would make Dave Gilmour proud. The excellent vocals of Marc Atkinson – sadly now moving on to pastures new – are also worthy of note. Stand-out tracks are probably The Weight and Frozen Moment.

AlanReedAlan Reed – First In A Field Of One

The solo format allows this former Pallas front man’s vocal talents to really shine. Well-crafted songs with a varied mix of styles, successfully blending prog, pop, rock and even folk influences. The finger-clicking jazzy opening of final track The Usual Suspects is unexpected, to say the least!

TheReasoningThe Reasoning – Adventures In Neverland

Reviewed elsewhere in the hallowed pages of Progarchy. A real statement of intent from a band still mourning the disappearance of former guitarist Owain Roberts. I might quibble with the production, which needs to be more crisp and dynamic, but the songs are very good – particularly those on the second half of the album.

ShadowOfTheSunShadow Of The Sun – Monument

Debut album from ex-Reasoning guitarist/singer Dylan Thompson’s new band. More straight metal than prog, with only hints of The Reasoning here and there. A very enjoyable blend of heavy stuff with one or two quieter and more mellow pieces. Definitely worth a listen.

The Frost* “Speak & Spell” Duel

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As an addendum to Ian’s excellent review of last Sunday’s Frost* and It Bites gig in London, the following video, from Pete Waite, may prove illuminating. As Pete himself said on Twitter:

800 people shout “Arse!” for a man playing an ironing board, this can only be a Frost* gig.

Have Yourself a Proggy Little Christmas…

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Brad has already discussed A Proggy Christmas by The Prog World Orchestra (and very good it is, too!) but there are yet more musical treats out there to get you in the mood during the festive season.

Cover art for The Jethro Tull Christmas AlbumMy first recommendation is the 2009 two-disc edition of The Jethro Tull Christmas Album. Disc 1 of this set is a reissue of the original 2003 album. It contains some reinterpretations of seasonal Tull material such as Ring Out Solstice Bells and A Christmas Song plus some new songs and some new arrangements of traditional tunes.

Even more interesting is Disc 2, a recording of a 2008 concert at St Bride’s Church in London. The concert features live versions of half of the material from Disc 1, interspersed with readings and carols sung by choir and congregation.

Cover art for Chris Squire's Swiss ChoirMy second recommendation is Chris Squire’s Swiss Choir. This album appeared in 2007, over three decades after Squire’s first solo album, but it is quite unlike that earlier work. Twelve of the album’s thirteen tracks are traditional carols or Christmas songs. The album title is a Spoonerism rather than a clue as to the nationality of the singers, for it is The English Baroque Choir that plays a pivotal role here. Some of the tracks are largely choral in nature whilst others have a predominently pop/rock flavour. Squire is on bass throughout (of course), with Steve Hackett guesting on guitars.

The final track is a remix of the enjoyable 1981 Chris Squire-Alan White Christmas single Run With The Fox. You can listen to the original version here:

New Yes Tour Announced

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Yes will be undertaking a three-month US tour next spring.

“Big Deal!” I hear you cry.

Well yes, it is, as a matter of fact – because they will be playing The Yes Album, Close To The Edge and Going For The One, all three albums, in their entirety.

Changes to the lead vocalist role in recent years will have left many Yes fans uneasy, but this seems too good an opportunity to miss. I am praying that they bring this show to Europe soon!

Further details will no doubt appear soon at http://www.yesworld.com/

Genesis Revisited II

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Reinterpreting the much-loved classics of one of the seminal 70s prog bands is a sensitive business, even if you are one of those responsible for creating said classics in the first place. Tinker too much and you risk losing the essence of what made those classic songs so good; change too little and people will question the point of the exercise.

The former criticism was levelled at Steve Hackett in some quarters when he released the first of his Genesis retrospectives, back in 1998. Fourteen years on, he charts a safer and more successful course with this follow-up album, opting for a more subtle treatment of seventeen Genesis songs across the 2 hours 23 minutes of a double CD. He also find space to revisit four songs from his lengthy solo career.

Continue reading “Genesis Revisited II” →

Spock’s Beard: The 11th Album

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Preorders are now open at Indiegogo for the 11th studio album by Spock’s Beard, entitled Brief Nocturnes and Dreamless Sleep.

The album is available as a digital download or physical CD, with various optional perks such as band signatures, T-shirts, bandanas, photos, etc.

A March 2013 release is predicted.

Not So Jolly…

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Amongst the many victims of Hurricane Sandy were the band JOLLY. These guys had been deep into the recording of their next album and were looking forward to a European tour next spring with Riverside – then the storm destroyed the home of drummer/producer Louis Abramson, along with most of their gear.

They are running an Indiegogo campaign to raise funds for gear replacement.

A Look At The Lyrics: Ocean Cloud

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One of prog’s many attractions is its willingness to tackle unusual or obscure subject matter, and to do so via a lengthy piece of music if the subject is difficult or complex enough to demand it. Not that there’s anything wrong with 3-minute ballads, you understand. But an album consisting solely of short songs about love, lust and relationships can end up sounding a little… well… repetitive.

Marillion’s Ocean Cloud, an 18-minute piece from their acclaimed 2004 album Marbles, is an excellent example of the ‘long song on an unusual subject’ format. The subject in question is a man who is rowing single-handed across the Atlantic Ocean.

A song about rowing? Really?

It’s a testament to Steve Hogarth’s skill as a lyricist that he is able to tease something interesting from such an apparently unpromising starting point. In fact, there are many questions that can be explored here. What is the attraction of such a lonely and dangerous activity? What is the rower trying to prove, and to whom? What is he running away from?

The mournful first line, sung over the sound of waves and seagulls’ cries, immediately sets the tone:

He’s seen too much of life and there’s no going back.

Already, we are being asked to think of this as an escape, an act with a certain finality to it. Hogarth allows this line to stand alone; the first verse doesn’t begin properly until after a few bars of Steve Rothery’s haunting guitar, and it opens with

The loneliness calls him, and the edge which must be sharpened.

Hogarth wants us to recognise the seductive nature of being alone with one’s thoughts; moreover, he highlights the idea that danger can be attractive – the old cliché that you will never feel more alive than when you are putting yourself in harm’s way, ‘sharpening that edge’.

The second verse is, I think, my favourite:

The smell of the earth is his favourite smell
But he’s somehow compelled to the stinging salt hell,
To the place where he hurts and he’s scared,
And there’s no one to tell, and no one who doesn’t listen.

Despite the comforting familiarity of land, the call of the wild ocean is impossible to resist. He will face pain, fear and loneliness – but is being in the middle of that vast expanse of water any more lonely than being with someone “who doesn’t listen”?

Later, the mood changes and the tone becomes defiant:

Only me and the sea
We will do as we please

The defiance soon fades as the song enters its quieter middle section, the calm before the storm. Then the ‘black wall of water’ hits and a flashback reveals what the rower is trying to prove by his mad heroism:

He remembers the day he was marched to the front
By the physical knuckle-head teacher of Games.
“Look lads,” he declared, “this boy’s a cream puff,”
“No guts and no muscles, no spine and no stuffing!”
The whole schoolroom sniggered
And silently thanked God it wasn’t them…

Hogarth spins a positive outcome from this horrible memory, letting us know that the rower is the ultimate victor: that he has proven himself more successful – more of a man, even – than those who once belittled him so cruelly:

But time is revenge, all the bullies grow weak
And must live with faithless women who despise them.

The reminiscence becomes more wistful as the rower reflects on past loves before rejecting these thoughts, declaring

Don’t want to remember when I was alive

And what better way to banish painful memories than to immerse yourself in the physical demands of the challenge?

Watch me, watch me
Paint this picture,
Stretching, cursing, hurting,
Watch me taking it

Before a final chorus ends the song, the last verse captures the seductiveness of ‘perfect solitude’, achievable only by destroying that last means of contact with civilisation:

Between two planets
In the black daylight of space.
Between two heavenly bodies,
The invisible man.
Ripping out the radio; I want to be alone…

You can view a live performance of Ocean Cloud from 2009 here:

The Tangent: Le Sacre Du Travail

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A brief update on Brad’s post from yesterday, regarding Andy Tillison’s new project for The Tangent.

The new website is up and running at http://www.thetangent.org/ as of today and is taking ‘pre-pre-orders’ for the new album, entitled Le Sacre Du Travail. According to Tillison, the new work is The Tangent’s “deepest foray yet into the world of classical/orchestral music” and draws inspiration from Stravinsky’s The Rite Of Spring. Intriguing, to say the least – and when you consider that Andy is hoping to involve the likes of Theo Travis, Jakko Jakszyk and Big Big Train’s Dave Longdon, the prospect becomes positively mouthwatering!

The notion of pre-pre-orders is an interesting one and mirrors what Magenta did with their last release, Chameleon. Essentially, you pay more for the album up-front and, in return, get access to digital versions of the tracks as they develop. Andy is right to point out that this isn’t for everyone, but if you are a music nerd then what better way to get inside the head of a musician you admire?

Andy has posted an 8-minute clip of his initial demos for the new work:

I’ve pre-pre-ordered and have already received a link to a longer 22-minute demo. When I’ve had the chance to have a proper listen, I’ll post some thoughts here.

Beneath The Waves

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Cover art for Kompendium's "Beneath The Waves"Fellow Progarchists, may I commend to you the newly-released Beneath The Waves, by Kompendium? I’ve had this on pre-order for a while. The CD/DVD arrived this weekend and it’s truly wonderful.

Kompendium is a side-project of Magenta’s Rob Reed. Beneath The Waves has been under development for three years – which comes as little surprise when you consider the ‘cast of thousands’ involved in making it. Amongst the players, we have: Steve Hackett, Francis Dunnery, John Mitchell, Nick Barrett and Jakko Jakszyk on guitar; Gavin Harrison and Nick Beggs providing the rhythm section; Mel Collins, Troy Donockley and Barry Kerr on sax, pipes and whistles; and Dave Stewart providing string arrangements for the London Session Orchestra.

Vocal contributions are no less impressive: the English Chamber Choir; Synergy Voices; Magenta’s Tina Booth; soprano Shan Cothi and tenor Rhys Meirion; Angharad Brinn and Steve Balsamo filling the lead vocal roles.

So what’s it like?

If you are familiar with Magenta, you will recognise Rob Reed’s handiwork, but Magenta’s classic prog sound has been blended very successfully with symphonic and celtic/folk elements. At times, it feels almost as if Mr Reed has been channelling Mike Oldfield – not a bad thing if, like me, you are an Oldfield fan. There are big, dramatic soundscapes here, worthy of a film score. The vocal and choral work is very fine indeed. There are many layers to explore, and I’m going to enjoy peeling them back over the coming weeks!

There are several tracks up on Youtube that will give you a good feel for the music, but a good place to start is the EPK video: