Spock’s Beard SNOW LIVE Deluxe Edition

On By bradbirzerIn Progressive rockLeave a comment

Snow LIVEAfter what seemed like an eternity (yes, even at age 50, patience is not one of my virtues), my copy of the deluxe edition of SNOW LIVE by Spock’s Beard arrived this afternoon.  And, the wait was more than worth it.  This thing is just loaded to the max with goodness and beauty.  Lots of truth as well.  2 CDs, 2 DVDs, and 2 Blu-ray disks.  Additionally, the set comes with a certificate of authenticity.  My authentic number is 1,887 out of 2,000, in case you were wondering.  And, you were wondering, right?  There are also a number of elongated postcards of the band members and a poster.

The best part of it all, though, is the book.  The size of a traditional album, the SNOW LIVE book is a thing of glory at 50 pages.  Full of liner notes and photos, I found myself quite taken with what Radiant Records has produced.  I’ve only begun to explore this all, but I’m thrilled to have it.  This is some of the best packaging I’ve seen, and I hope other bands take notice.

I really like, for example, the Rush boxset of 2112, but I think I like this open book format the best.  As sturdy as the Rush 2112 box is, I’m always a bit afraid it will get crushed.  Not so with the SNOW LIVE deluxe packaging.  It just feels solid.  As solid as it is beautiful.

Thank you, Radiant!  And, thank you, Amy Pippin at Radiant Records for doing the hard work of processing all of the orders and getting these shipped out.

Rick’s Retroarchy: Favorite 2017 Reissues

On By kruekuttIn Progressive rock, Rock and Roll2 Comments

by Rick Krueger

I still have a few more albums to listen to before finalizing my favorite new releases of 2017.  To warm up, here are the reissues from this past year that:

  1. I absolutely had to buy, and
  2. That grabbed me on first listen (whether I’d previously owned a copy or not) and didn’t let go through repeated plays.  Except for my “top favorite” at the end of the post, I haven’t ranked ’em — in my opinion, they’re all equally worth your time.

Continue reading “Rick’s Retroarchy: Favorite 2017 Reissues” →

BBT’s Merry Christmas @bigbigtrain

On By Time LordIn Progressive rock1 Comment

Philosophical thoughts (an excerpt) on the excellent new Christmas single from Big Big Train, which is available today:

Christmas can be a time of loneliness and suffering for many people. I think that’s why I am so very fond of the new Christmas song from the English progressive rock band Big Big Train.

Their single is called “Merry Christmas” and, like its refreshingly direct name, it goes straight to the heart of the holiday. The song’s chorus exhorts us to “give a little peace, joy, love, and light to the world.”

Not sure what that means? Check out the band’s video for it on YouTube, which tells a story about a lonely guy and the daily grind.

Unlike most new Christmas music, the song is an instant classic, destined for my permanent playlist. The trenchant lyrics ask: “When did the ringing of tills drown the pealing of bells? Who cares as long as the products sell?”

The dramatic turning point in the video happens when the sad bloke, wandering away from his office job, goes into a church, where a choir of children sings.

Bass player Greg Spawton explained, “We wanted ‘Merry Christmas’ to be a proper Christmas song, so it features the Big Big Train brass band, The Chapel Choir Choristers of Jesus College, Cambridge, and, of course, sleigh bells.”

For me, it illustrates how the spirit of Christmas can turn despair into hope. The magic of Christmas arrives when we glimpse how suffering can be redeemed. Surprisingly, goodness can transform the darkness.

Because justice demands the addition of this superb single, my Top Ten (Prog) Albums of 2017 list now gets the BBT Merry Christmas EP added to it, which of course rounds the year’s list out to a delicious baker’s dozen!

What an amazing year it has been for Big Big Train…

Watson’s Best Prog Albums of 2017: Part 2 — TOP TWENTY # # 20 — 11

On By Jay WatsonIn Progressive rock5 Comments

Every album on this Top Twenty list is a standout. They are all worthy of your purchase (in hard-copy, not just streaming service).  The discs in the bottom half of the TOP 20 are not any less worthy than # # 10 through 1, rather, they just did not move me with as much excitement and passion as the ones I will be posting later.  Many of these albums were at one time in my TOP TEN but gradually slipped to this lower tier as the year wore on and as I continued to listen and pour over these works of art.  Enough blather. Here are my TOP TWENTY bottom half (in descending order):

20)  MONARCH TRAIL/Sand

MonarchTRAIL

This is the second effort under the moniker “Monarch Trail” for Canadian keys wizard and composer Ken Baird. As much as I enjoyed 2014’s “Skye” this second album surpasses it on all counts.  This has a pleasant “British pastoral sound” that hearkens back, for me, to the joys of first hearing Barclay James Harvest (with Woolly on the keys). This is beautiful and relaxing without being twee or saccharine. My favorite tracks are ‘Back to the Start’ and the 25 minute closer–the self-titled ‘Sand.’

Continue reading “Watson’s Best Prog Albums of 2017: Part 2 — TOP TWENTY # # 20 — 11” →

Birzer’s Best of 2017, Part II

On By bradbirzerIn Progressive rockLeave a comment

Continued from Part I: https://progarchy.com/2017/12/05/birzers-best-of-2017-part-i/

Hay ManNo. 5.  Cosmograf, HAY MAN DREAMS.  I’m pretty much a shoo-in for purchasing every thing Robin Armstrong—master of all things chronometry—does.  I love the angst and the seriousness he brings to each and every note and lyric.  Spirited without being gushy, and thoughtful without being pedantic.  I also love how entrepreneurial he is in his approach to music—finding the best musician to fit each part he’s written.  Whatever Armstrong does, he always achieves something serious and meaningful.  The HAY-MAN DREAMS is no different.  As with everything Armstrong does, there is gravitas.

Continue reading “Birzer’s Best of 2017, Part II” →

Watson’s Best Prog Albums of 2017: Part 1 — The “Honorable Mentions”

On By Jay WatsonIn Progressive rock1 Comment

This year has seen a bonanza of quality progressive music. I have probably listened to more great albums this calendar go-round then in any recent year. This list is, of course, totally subjective and based on my own predispositions towards symphonic, orchestral, and melody-hooked prog.  There was such a plethora of wonderfully creative work in 2017 that I am increasing the list from the usual Top Ten or Top Twenty to a whopping 40 best.

And though ## 40 – – 21 are being categorized as only “honorable mentions” they still deserve your attention.  All of the following releases are so good that on any given day (just not today) they might well “crack the ceiling” and wind up on my official TOP TWENTY (coming later this week).   And now, in descending order from number 40 to number 21 are this years:

“Honorable Mentions”

40) SACRED APE/Sacred Ape

sacredape

Continue reading “Watson’s Best Prog Albums of 2017: Part 1 — The “Honorable Mentions”” →

Birzer’s Best of 2017, Part I

On By bradbirzerIn Progressive rock1 Comment

As you all happily know, Timelord has announced his top albums of 2017 already.  When he did, I was a bit surprised.  Wait, is it that time of year already?  What about albums that come out in December?  The more I thought about it, the more I thought Timelord was absolutely right to announce his top picks.  Not much is going to happen this month, and, even if something does come out, it will be hard to measure against what already exists.  Should something come out and shake up my list, I will, of course, be happy.  For any thing that could possibly shake up this list would have to be really, really good.

And, as you also happily know, Tad Wert took a unique perspective on his top picks, focusing on the live releases of the year rather than on the studio releases.  Bravo!

Unlike 2012-2016, this is the first year that I found actually easy when ranking.  That is, picking and ranking has been relatively easy.  As some of the other progarchists have said over the past half decade, so much prog had come out in any previous years that it felt like “taking a sip from the fire hose.”

This year, 2017, just feels different.  The quality definitely outdid the quantity.

Before starting rankings, though, I would be dead wrong not to mention two critical things.

Jerry Ewing
Our Fearless Leader, Jerry Ewing.

First, God bless, Jerry Ewing, and his glorious PROG magazine.  For a time there, we all thought the ship was gone, our captain lost at sea in a corporate hurricane of insanity and avarice.  Then, Ewing emerged—and stronger than ever.  Congratulations, Jerry.  Long may you lead our little platoon of prog-loving weirdos.

Second, may God bless, Tim Hall (Kaylr).  I never actually met Tim, but I really appreciated his views on everything.  He was always intelligent and prudent, and our loss is heaven’s gain.  Tim, if you can, please say hello to Hendrix, Morrison, Emerson, Lake, Squire, and all of the other greats of the last half century.  And, say hi to my dad, my grandparents, and my daughter, Cecilia Rose, as well.  Someday, brother, someday. . .

On to the show!

Continue reading “Birzer’s Best of 2017, Part I” →

Tad’s Favorites of 2017

On By Thaddeus WertIn Progressive rock9 Comments

10. KXM- Scatterbrain

If you’re missing King’s X, then this one will satisfy your craving. Ray Luzier (KoRn) is on drums, George Lynch (Dokken & Lynch Mob) is on guitar, and Doug Pinnock (King’s X) is on bass and vocals. This is their second album, and it is much more varied in its music styles than their debut. I never was into Dokken, but George Lynch’s guitar work is killer -especially on “Breakout”.

 

9. Big Big Train – Grimspound

I give Grimspound the edge over its sister album, The Second Brightest Star. What a great collection of tributes and vignettes of everything that is good about Great Britain. Using small details to convey big ideas is really difficult, but BBT are masters and make it look easy.

 

Continue reading “Tad’s Favorites of 2017” →

Rick Ouellette’s Must Own!

On By bradbirzerIn Progressive rock1 Comment

via “Rock Docs” Holiday Sale! — Reel and Rock

The Albums that Changed My Life: #7, O Come All Ye Faithful by The Choir of King’s College Cambridge

On By kruekuttIn classical5 Comments

by Rick Krueger

Hearing this album was what really confirmed me — a fourth-generation American of German ancestry and Lutheran upbringing — as a lifelong, diehard Anglophile.  As a unlooked-for bonus, it reopened a vocational path I had taken for granted, if not outright abandoned, as I trained to become a musician.

“Wait a minute,” I hear you say to the first point, “every single album you’ve written about so far is by a British artist or composer!”  Point taken.  Throw in my love for the work of Charles Dickens, J.R.R. Tolkien and Shakespeare (as well as the adventures of Sherlock Holmes), and you might consider my opening sentence an overstatement.  But hear me out.

Continue reading “The Albums that Changed My Life: #7, O Come All Ye Faithful by The Choir of King’s College Cambridge” →