This looks amazing. Our friends in 3RDegree sent us this. Very nice!
GrimspoundPaLooza: Big Big Train
As we approach the release of Big Big Train’s tenth album, GRIMSPOUND, don’t hesitate to catch up on all things Big Big Train. As far as I know, we have more articles about the band than any other site on the web, with the important exception of the band’s official website.
Enjoy and celebrate one of the greatest artistic acts over the past century. Greg, Rachel, Rikard, Dave, David, Danny, Nick, Andy, and Rob. Amazing humans, amazing collective.
Big Big Train–Interview, part I–2013
40th Anniversary of First Peter Gabriel Solo
This today from Peter Gabriel himself:
Today marks the 40th anniversary of the release of Peter’s first solo album.
“This record was my first step as a solo artist, the first step away from being a part of a band. I was uncertain of what I could or couldn’t do so went with some of Bob Ezrin’s choice of musicians (including Tony Levin) and invited Robert Fripp and Larry Fast to cover my more soundscape orientated / European ambitions. Although it was mainly recorded in a snowy couple of weeks in Toronto I remember the sessions as fast, exciting and hot. Many of the backing tracks were put down live, working to the limitations of the 16-track tape machine.
It was a fun, intense and scary session, with a great band – who later came out to tour with me.” Peter Gabriel, February 2017.
Following his departure from Genesis two years previously and his intervening, self-imposed, exile from the music business the album was the start of a new phase of Peter’s creative life, a chance to be the master of his own destiny and be respected as a songwriter and artist in his own right;
“It took me three albums to get the confidence and to find out what I could do that made me different from other people. And the first record really was a process of trying.“
To read the full release, go here: http://petergabriel.com/news/pg1-40th-anniversary/?utm_source=petergabriel.com&utm_campaign=8ae74ec46d-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2017_02_22&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_a92d0b9e66-8ae74ec46d-135531113&mc_cid=8ae74ec46d&mc_eid=46fc9f7e93
PROG Magazine Issue 74
I suppose it seems a bit silly for me to state the following. After all, who I am–a goofy, middle-aged American professor and historian?
Still, when PROG issue 74 showed up in my post box today, I was both thrilled and proud. Yes, the proud part is the silliness. Does Jerry Ewing need me to be proud of him? Well, I am.
After everything PROG has gone through over the past three months, how great is it that I get issue 74 only days after it’s released. Under the previous company, it took about a month for each issue to get here (in the states). In fact, issue 73 just showed up this past weekend. Now, 74 is already here.
Amazing.
And, it looks gorgeous. Jethro Tull, Tim Bowness, The Mute Gods, ARW, Dream Theater, and Blackfield are all covered. And, best of all, Greg Spawton shows up on page 10 and Andy Tillison and Matt Cohen on page 11. Call me a very happy fanboy.
Congratulations, Jerry! You are our leader. No question.
Big Big Train Release Tracklist and Artwork for New Album, Grimspound
Via, 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:
- Brave Captain
- On The Racing Line
- Experimental Gentlemen
- Meadowland
- Grimspound
- The Ivy Gate
- A Mead Hall In Winter
- As The Crow Flies
Aryeon: “Everybody Dies” Video
When Arjen Lucassen does some thing, he does that some thing perfectly.
The music of this brand new video is a cross between QUEEN and Lucassen’s own STAR ONE, but it’s still pure ARYEON.
As I’ve written before many times and will write again, I’m sure, Lucassen is a master story teller, a science fiction genius, building worlds as well as Frank Herbert and George Lucas.
Just look at the spectacular graphics of this video. Quite stunning.
Latest Single: Newspaperflyhunting’s “Hours Pass”
Our great Polish friends, the members of Newspaperflyhunting, have just released their latest single at Bandcamp.
In continuity with their past musical approach, but armed with excellent new ideas, the band progresses properly. Be prepared for a much proggier 1985 New Order mixed with some 1990 Cranberries mixed with the genius that alone belongs to NPFH!
From their forthcoming album.
https://newspaperflyhunting.bandcamp.com/album/hours-pass-single
Review: SynaptiK – Justify & Reason
To start, I’m not exactly a huge fan of Prog-Power metal. However, I’ve found a very soft spot for SynaptiK for one simple reason: their take on the genre’s hybrid isn’t as overly cheesy as most other bands. “Justify & Reason” is a perfect example of how SynaptiK shows a bit less of a theatrical performance.
Many of the songs have spectacular, catchy riffs to go along with the verses that vocalist John Knight provides. While he still has a voice for power metal, he’s also able to actually sing with his voice with strong amount of control and a variety of range, which makes the smokey tone of his voice less of a factor. Knight doesn’t just stay in one octave for his vocals which is very typical of power metal so it’s nice to hear a wide variety of vocal points. Sure, some of the choruses are a bit too similar with a few songs, but they’re still more enjoyable than most power metal choruses so I’d be more than happy to hear it overused for two or three songs on one album compared to sounding similar to an entire genre.
Ian Knight’s and Jack Murton’s guitar work is pretty solid here. They definitely have some strokes of brilliance in their many solos, particularly in the opening “The Incredible Machine”, surely one of the highlights of “Justify & Reason.” “White Circle” has an incredibly addicting opening that’s very different from the rest of the mid tempo songs. Along with this, comes the verse and bridge riffs from “Human Inhuman” and “A Man Dies” which are incredibly groovy in a sense that they can really get you into the songs with their back and forth, up and down gallop-y feel. All the more reason for the songs to get stuck in your head after a few listens.
For the most part, I think this album is great. The riffs, solos, and vocals are great, and make for an enjoyable and easy listen from start to finish. In the end I’d say this is a pretty original album given its genre. Well done, boys!
Pre-order “Justify & Reason” from SynaptiK’s official website.
Phil Collins at Face Value – “Not Dead Yet” Book Review
Phil Collins, Not Dead Yet The Memoir (Penguin Random House, LLC, 2016)
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.
Continue reading “Phil Collins at Face Value – “Not Dead Yet” Book Review”
Forthcoming: THE SHOW THAT NEVER ENDS by David Weigel
Look what showed up in the mail this weekend!
Eager to dive in.
Progarchy 