Artist: Novembre Album Title: Ursa Label: Peaceville Records Date Of Release: 1 April 2016 This album has proved to be one of the most difficult to write during 2016 so far. And the reason for this is the simple fact that this album has had me torn in two for such a long time. However, […]
https://manofmuchmetal.wordpress.com/2016/03/31/novembre-ursa-album-review/
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Rolling Stone says:
Today marks the 40th anniversary of the release of Rush‘s prog-epic masterpiece 2112. To celebrate, the band is releasing a digital comic book telling the story of the LP’s titular rock opera. It begins with the “Overture,” which Rolling Stone is hosting exclusively. The entire 20-plus-minute suite, will then be available on Rush.com 21 hours and 12 minutes from the time of this post (Saturday at approximately 6 a.m. PST) and will be available for fans to watch for free until Monday at 6 a.m. PST.
Big Big Train, STONE AND STEEL (GEP, 2016), blu-ray; and Big Big Train, FROM STONE AND STEEL (GEP, 2016), download.
Twelve stones from the water. . . .
Yesterday, thanks to the fine folks at Burning Shed, the first blu-ray release from Big Big Train, STONE AND STEEL, arrived safely on American soil. Then, today, thanks to the crazy miracle of the internet, Bandcamp allowed me to download FROM STONE AND STEEL.
In a span of twenty-four hours, my musical world has been thrown into a bit of majestic ecstasy.
2016 might yet be the best year yet to be a fan/devotee/admirer/fanatic (oh, yeah: fan) of the band, Big Big Train. I’ve proudly been a Passenger since Carl Olson first introduced me to the band’s music around 2009. And, admittedly, not just A fan, but, here’s hoping, THE American fan. At least that’s what I wanted to be moments after hearing THE UNDERFALL YARD for the first time.
Continue reading “The Incomparable Gift of Excellence: Big Big Train’s STONE AND STEEL”
Prog fans should note that Hélène Grimaud has collaborated again with German electronic artist and composer Schiller.
Schiller has done a remix of Debussy’s Préludes, L117 from Hélène’s new album Water.
The transmogrified classical track is released today and available right now at https://DG.lnk.to/WaterRemix
David Longdon writes about the first track on Folklore:
Folkore [the album and the track] starts off where most of our ancestral stories most likely began. Around the cracking flames of the campfire. Stories told after sunset, with no daylight reassurances or distractions. The cold dark night forcing us to huddle closer together, among the security of the ‘pack’, beside the warm glow of the flames. The night focusses us in. Our minds become much more open to suggestion. Our imaginations are susceptible, impressionable and pliant. It is at these very moments, when the unbelievable can all too easily be believed.
The moment is right and the stage is set. Firelight makes the shadows dance. Flickering light contorts the animated features of the storyteller – transforming them into something other than they are.
Women and men, young and old – rapt listeners all. Although the older listeners have heard these stories many times before and they know what is to unfold. They too delight in the engrossed faces of the youngsters. Open mouthed and spellbound as they listen to wondrous tales. Or recoiling in fright to the comforting arms of their mothers. Caught up in the drama of the moment. Hanging on each word and every plot twist.
These tales Ignite and fan the flames of our fertile imaginations. These are our stories of love, words of wisdom, cautionary tales. Heroic adventurers featuring fantastical creatures and conniving villains. Supernatural tales, stories involving the incredible luck of particular individuals. Stories that reveal the fate of their many characters and the consequences of their actions. It is an integral part of who we are and who we think we are. Forming the bedrock of our cultures.
Passed down by word of mouth from generation to generation – the fine details and factual information sometimes abandoned and exaggerated in favour of the drama within the story as these tales are reinterpreted from storyteller to storyteller. Country to country, each adding something of themselves to embellish the tale.
“The pen is mightier than the sword, the music of the word is scored”
Each development further enhancing the power of the word. The emergence of the written word, the development of the ink press, the incredible technological advancements of the 21st century – all fuel to our fire and grist to the mill. We are still making out own cultural folklore to this day – the addition of the press and social media allows our stories to be told at a terrific rate.
Folklore is a deliberate companion/bookend piece to Wassail. It shares the same chord sequence and it uses the same mandolin/violin/flute riff. The instrumental play out at the end of the piece features members of the band taking a short solo section then passing it on to the next player and so on until the piece concludes.
In addition to Folklore being the first track on the album and the title track of the album, it will also be the first ‘single’ taken from the album. A short film (music video ) has been shot to accompany it, featuring a cast of extras drawn from our fantastic ‘passengers’ on the BBT Facebook forum.
My friend and fellow band mate Greg Spawton will post a blog next week in which he writes about the next track on Folklore.
Boston’s mega public broadcasting treasure trove, WGBH, has added to its Open Vault the interviews that went into the making of its epic 1995 documentary, Rock and Roll. Those of us who remember this 10-hour landmark from those foggy, hoar-bitten pre-Wikipedia days may think fondly of it as the only long-form documentary to take on the genre as a whole, from a reasonable distance from Rock’s genesis but while many of its prophets were still alive and interview-able. While the finished programs are not as yet available (no doubt due to copyright on the songs used in the film), video and transcripts of the interviews are here:
http://openvault.wgbh.org/collections/rock_roll/interviews
Of particular interest to progarchists (but who’s to say, since this is all gold), Derek Taylor’s interview: http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_5477939234A04D638139ECAD0FD8CC5B
Inspired by fellow Progarchist Erik Heter to post a “Top Ten” list, here are what I believe to be the ten best Yes albums. Whether you agree or disagree with my choices, feel free to add your two cents’ worth in the comments!
10. Talk
An album by the Rabin/Anderson/Squire/Kaye/White configuration that never got the respect it deserved. I’ve always had a soft spot for it, particularly “The Calling” and “Endless Dream”. It strikes a nice balance between the full-on pop of 90125 and the prog of the band’s glory days. Check out Time Lord’s essay on this album here.
9. 90125
Speaking of 90125, the charm and attractiveness of its songs cannot be denied. It won Yes a new generation of fans, and when I need a dose of classic ’80s rock, it’s the album I go to.
8. Progeny
Before this recent release of seven concerts from 1972, I would have placed Yessongs here. But the raw sound of these recordings makes them a really fun listen. Hear Rick Wakeman’s keyboards channel a local jazz DJ! Hear Jon Anderson tout a local vegetarian restaurant! And hear a young band at the peak of their powers playing the entire Close to the Edge album.
7. Tales From Topographic Oceans
In the rock world at large, this was considered the epitome of self-indulgence. I think Yes were ahead of their time. Nowadays, it’s normal for a prog band to record a 30-minute epic. In this album, there are some truly beautiful passages of music.
6. Drama
Probably a controversial choice for this slot, but I love this album. It’s notorious for having Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes instead of Jon and Rick, but “Machine Messiah” and “Run Through The Light” are excellent songs. Chris Squire’s playing on this album is some of his best, as well.
5. Fragile
“Roundabout”, “Long Distance Runaround”, “Heart of the Sunrise”, no self-respecting fan of prog music can be without this classic.
4. The Yes Album
This is the one where all the disparate elements of Yes first gelled. “Starship Trooper” and “I’ve Seen All Good People” defined early-70s FM radio in America. I still get chills listening to it.
3. Relayer
The harsh sound of the original mix of this album turned me off, but Steven Wilson’s new one is a revelation. It’s a shame the Patrick Moraz edition of Yes didn’t record more. They made some wonderfully challenging and exciting music.
2. Close To The Edge
The pinnacle of the classic lineup (and Bill Bruford’s finest hour). A contemporary symphony that will endure for a very long time.
1. Going For The One
The punk explosion of the mid-70s lit a fire under Yes, and the opening title track features some of Steve Howe’s most aggressive guitar. “Parallels” rocks unbelievably hard, while “Awaken” is my favorite long-form Yes song. For a much better and comprehensive appreciation of this album, read Erik Heter’s review here.
Agree with the list or disagree? Was I wrong to leave out Tormato or Magnification? Let us know in the comments!
It’s hard to believe that it’s been a decade (!) since the release of “Milliontown” by Frost*. It was an album that seemingly came out of nowhere and didn’t sound quite like anything in the genre – a dense, dynamic, keyboard-heavy, and at times industrial-sounding album full of killer playing and plenty of memorable melodies.
The brainchild of singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Jem Godfrey, “Milliontown” remains one of my all-time favorite albums. I’m not sure a week has gone by in those 10 years without my giving at least one or more tracks from it a listen. Since then, the band released a follow-up album, “Experiments In Mass Appeal,” played quite a few gigs, went through some lineup changes over the years in the rhythm section department, released a couple live albums and bonus tracks, and has been an on-again, off-again unit since “Experiments.”
Well, the band is very much on again as Godfrey, John Mitchell (It Bites, Arena, Kino), bassist Nathan King (Level 42) and drummer Craig Blundell (Steven Wilson of late) have recorded “Falling Satellites,” their third full-length album and first in nearly eight years.
Never a group to do the obvious thing – a look at their many “Frost* Reports” and live videos kicking around YouTube will more than prove that point – the Frosties gathered at Rockfield Studios several years back to record some of their tunes live off the floor. One of those tracks,”Heartstrings,” is well known in the Frostiverse, but will see its studio debut on “Falling Satellites,” which will be released May 27th.
(By the way, it’s not like you need me to connect any prog dots for you, but if Rockfield Studios sounds somewhat familiar, it could be because Rush recorded “A Farewell To Kings” and “Hemispheres”at the Wales-based studio)
Taken from “The Rockfield Files” DVD, Godfrey excerpted and posted this beautifully-shot and edited video for “Heartstrings” earlier this week. Enjoy!
I’ve been super busy this spring break writing my senior thesis, and as such I have listened to a boatload of music. I finally got the chance to listen to Steven Wilson’s album of covers from 2014 (released throughout his solo career), Cover Version. To be honest, I’m unfamiliar with all of these songs, but the first track, “Thank You,” originally by Alanis Morissette, really stood out to me. The music is so simple, but Wilson’s delivery of the lyrics is amazing… emotional… beautiful. It is simultaneously melancholic and hopeful.
Thank you, Mr. Wilson.
Progarchy 