Magenta – the stuff of legends

On By alisonscolumnIn Progressive rockLeave a comment

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Very few prog bands have sailed through nearly two decades of music-making with flying colours quite like the Welsh Magenta.

With prog’s Captain Prolific, Rob Reed, still holding a strong and steady course at the helm, Magenta’s band of sister and brothers are united in their overwhelming desire to create some of the most mellifluous, melodic prog around.

Never afraid to steer into previously uncharted waters, Magenta’s canon of work now includes seven studio albums, the newest being We Are Legend, which is released on 27 April.

Again, this is completely new territory for a band that is now so adept at giving us memorable figures and concepts within their specific landscape, but more about that later.

I truly believed they had reached the zenith of their considerable powers when they released The Twenty Seven Club in 2013, an album depicting six musical legends- Morrison, Joplin, Hendrix, Jones, Cobain and Johnson, all of whose lives came to tragic ends at that Bermuda Triangle age of 27.

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soundstreamsunday: “Emerald” by Thin Lizzy

On By Craig BreadenIn Rock and RollLeave a comment

Thin-Lizzy-Phil-Lynot-resize-2Phil Lynott’s destiny — reimagining rock and roll as heavy Irish metal — meant that his band Thin Lizzy, like Motörhead and maybe AC/DC, had a claim to authenticity that punk couldn’t ignore.  Lizzy’s music was lean, written with a razor, and Lynott wrung from his blackness and his Irishness every possible note of rock and roll victory in a landscape that generally counted him out.  Lynott’s conversational style in song could echo Van Morrison (if with a brash sexuality Morrison could never pull off), and like the great Van could conjure specific visions of Irish traditional culture while turning them on their ear.  I can only imagine that the Clancy Brothers blanched, and Planxty swooned, at his treatment of “Whiskey in the Jar.”

“Emerald” closes Thin Lizzy’s blockbuster Jailbreak (1976), and while not the hit every metalhead thinks it should have been — that honor went to the catchy hard rock of “The Boys Are Back in Town” — as the closing track of a great set (“Jailbreak”!, “Cowboy Song”!), it templated the double-guitar attack metal was moving toward.  It’s hard to imagine K.K. Downing and Glen Tipton shrugging off “Emerald’s” twining riffs and solos, as Scott Goreham and Brian Robertson mapped a terrain in this performance where Judas Priest would go on to flourish.  Lynott’s lyric has all the Celtic warrior mysticism necessary to make fists shake and heads bang, whether your sporting a safety pin or a mullet, and as ever his impassioned singing and playing cannot be denied.  This is the metal mountain.

soundstreamsunday presents one song or live set by an artist each week, and in theory wants to be an infinite linear mix tape where the songs relate and progress as a whole. For the complete playlist, go here: soundstreamsunday archive and playlist, or check related articles by clicking on”soundstreamsunday” in the tags section above.

“We Come Together”: An excellent review of a Marillion Weekend

On By Gianna EIn Progressive rock1 Comment

I came across this wonderful review of what attending a Marillion Weekend is like, when the band plays 3 nights in a row, each with a different setlist and theme.  It perfectly captures what it means to be a fan, and what a privilege it is to be at a Marillion live show (or three, if you’re lucky).  I wish I had written it myself.

“We Come Together”: Marillion Weekend in Łódż a Complete Triumph

Wishing Tim Hall (Kaylr) the Best

On By bradbirzerIn Progressive rock1 Comment

Some of you might know that our great friend and prog ally, Tim Hall (aka Kaylr), is experiencing some serious health issues.  I’m sure he would very much appreciate our good thoughts and prayers.

On facebook, Jane Armstrong wrote that he is in Lister Ward at Royal Berks Hospital, Reading.

Our absolute best to you, Tim!

For those of you interested, please be sure to check out Tim’s website: http://www.kalyr.com/weblog/

Birzer Bandana’s First Album Reviewed

On By bradbirzerIn Progressive rockLeave a comment

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Mark Naida of Hillsdale College has written a beautiful review of Birzer Bandana’s first album, BECOMING ONE.  Thank you,  Mark!

Theology, intellectual rock, and the liberal arts — these are three main elements of the debut album by Birzer Bandana, a collaboration between progressive rock musician Dave Smith and Hillsdale College Professor of History Bradley Birzer.

Birzer provided the concept and lyrics, and Smith wrote the music for the seven-song progressive rock album “Becoming One,” which was released on Spotify, Bandcamp, and iTunes March 18.

Progressive rock seeks to combine the formal elements of classical music while also embracing the eclectic side of rock and roll music, according to music critic Lucas Biela of progarchives.com.

“Rock bands like the Rolling Stones wanted to show pure emotion in their music. Prog is a more intellectual genre that shares ideas,” Birzer said.

To read the full review, please go here: http://hillsdalecollegian.com/2017/04/birzer-bandana-ties-together-science-fiction-apocalyptic-poetry-british-prog-rock/

Two from the Elephant

On By James R TurnerIn Progressive rockLeave a comment

Bad Elephant Music are picking up where they left off last year, releasing amazing music from a diverse range of artists, and with new releases coming from bands like Syncage, The Fierce and the Dead and Schnauser their schedule looks really exciting for the rest of the year. Here I have a look at two wonderfully off beat and eclectic albums that recently arrived from Elephant HQ

topessphere

Topes Sphere 2 by Orange Clocks

Bad Elephant Music BEM039

https://orangeclocks.bandcamp.com/

  1. Tope’s Sphere Intro (Original Recording) 00:342.
  2. Just Kickin’ Back 02:01
  3. Fun In The Stars 01:00
  4. 4.SOS 01:30
  5. Unknown Planet 00:55
  6.  Ambush 01:53
  7.  Sphere Malfunction 00:53
  8.  Trouble With Chode 02:12
  9. Tope’s Hope 00:30
  10.  Darkside 03:03
  11.  Magical Fields 03:45
  12.  Cogs, Brackets and Chains 00:42
  13.  Big Track 02:49
  14.  A Father’s Return 00:59
  15.  Stromp’s Stomp 00:50
  16.  Chode’s Down 00:43
  17.  March of the Psilicybins 01:37
  18.  Out of the Aether 01:05
  19.  Utopean Dream 00:55
  20.  Theme from Tope’s Sphere 02:28

running time 30:33

Is Rushdenbeat now a thing?

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Forthcoming Bjorn Riis

On By bradbirzerIn Progressive rockLeave a comment

I had no idea (until a few moments ago) that Airbag’s Bjorn Riis had a forthcoming solo album.  The teaser sounds gorgeous.

Ayreon THE SOURCE Earbooks Available for Preorder

On By bradbirzerIn Progressive rockLeave a comment
Dear Ayreonauts,

Good news! After your many requests for more limited edition Earbooks, I begged the record company to print more because they sold out really fast. After my endless nagging they decided to print more! So here’s your chance to get one after all 🙂

As always, I’ll sign every copy that is sold through the MLG webstore. They will be shipping from May 12.

Arjen
To order, click here.

A Really Nice ARW Lego

On By bradbirzerIn Progressive rock1 Comment
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By Eric Valencia (for fun!)

Or, perhaps, I meant logo!

Beyond Prog: GRIMSPOUND by Big Big Train

On By bradbirzerIn Progressive rock8 Comments
Grimspound
Artwork by Sarah Ewing.

Big Big Train, GRIMSPOUND (Giant Electric Pea, 2017).  Tracks: Brave Captain; On the Racing Line; Experimental Gentleman; Meadowland; Grimspound; The Ivy Gate; A Mead Hall in Winter; and As the Crow Flies.

The band: Greg Spawton; Andy Poole; David Longdon; Nick D’Virgilio; Rachel Hall; Danny Manners; Dave Gregory; and Rikard Sjöblom.

The Rating: Perfect.  Beyond prog.

Go, go, go said the bird: human kind

Cannot bear very much reality.

Time past and time future

What might have been and what has been

Point to one end, which is always present.

–T.S. Eliot, “Burnt Norton.”

There can be no doubt that Big Big Train is not just one of the best bands of third-wave prog, but also one of the best bands of the rock era.  I suspected this when I first heard THE UNDERFALL YARD back in 2009 and was moved at every good level of my being.  Subsequent releases from the band have only confirmed this for me.  Every note, every lyric, and every brushstroke matter for the band.  They take their music seriously, and they take us—their followers—seriously.  Aside from the music (if there is, in any reality, such an “aside”), it’s clear that the two founders and mainstays of the band, Greg Spawton and Andy Poole, know how to form and leaven communities.

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