While knocking one of these lists out seems easy for the first 70-80 or so albums, there are hard choices to make once you near the 100 mark.

Do you include or exclude something based on it merely being one of the first albums that turned you on to music, whether or not you listen to it anymore?  Does the inclusion of a live album or compilation constitute cheating in some way?

With regard to the latter: To you, if a live album represents the definitive work of the artist, then why not?  Also, if your introduction to a band came via a compilation, I think that counts as it’s your “go to” album by them.  So, I’ve unapologetically added a few of those here.

With my list, it’s clear that my formative music-listening years were from around 1978 to 1988, but as a friend once told me, your years from 10 to 20 are when the bulk of your musical tastes are formed (might be up for debate, but not by me!).

The fun thing about these lists is that it’s not always about what’s on them, but what’s NOT on them. So, you’ll see that I wasn’t at all influenced by many of prog and/or hard rock bands that so many hold dear, such as Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd or Genesis. On the flip side, my love for some bands is such that numerous albums of theirs are represented here.

No matter what, these 100 – and others beyond – are the soundtrack to my life, 1968-present:

1. AC/DC, Back In Black
2. Alcatrazz, Disturbing The Peace
3. Animal Logic, II
4. Asia, Asia
5. Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe, An Evening Of Yes Music
6. The Beatles, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
7. The Beatles, Abbey Road
8. Big Big Train, The Underfall Yard
9. Big Big Train, English Electric
10. Bourgeois Tagg, s/t
11. Bourgeois Tagg, Yoyo
12. Crowded House, Recurring Dream
13. Dada, Puzzle
14. Dada, s/t
15. Dave Matthews Band, Remember Two Things
16. Dave Matthews Band, Under The Table And Dreaming
17. Dave Matthews Band, Before These Crowded Streets
18. The Doors, Best of The Doors
19. Dream Theater, Images And Words
20. Dream Theater, Awake
21. Dream Theater, Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence
22. Dream Theater, A Dramatic Turn of Events
23. Dream Theater, s/t
24. Emerson, Lake & Powell, s/t
25. Frost*, Milliontown
26. Halloween, Alaska – Champagne Downtown
27. Peter Gabriel, Security
28. Peter Gabriel, Us
29. Iron Maiden, The Number Of The Beast
30. Iron Maiden, Piece Of Mind
31. It Bites, Once Around The World
32. It Bites, The Tall Ships
33. Jane’s Addiction, Nothing’s Shocking
34. Jane’s Addiction, Ritual de lo Habitual
35. Billy Joel, The Stranger
36. King Crimson, Discipline
37. King Crimson, Beat
38. King’s X, Gretchen Goes To Nebraska
39. King’s X, Ear Candy
40. Kino, Picture
41. Luce, Never Ending
42. KISS, Alive
43. KISS, Alive II
44. Barry Manilow, Live (you heard right)
45. Marillion, Clutching At Straws
46. Bob Marley, Legend
47. Wynton Marsalis, Hot House Flowers
48. Mr. Mister, Welcome To The Real World
49. Mr. Mister, Go On…
50. Mr. Mister, Pull
51. Trevor Rabin, Can’t Look Away
52. Roxy Music, Avalon
53. Rush, A Farewell to Kings
54. Rush, Hemispheres
55. Rush, Permanent Waves
56. Rush, Moving Pictures
57. Rush, Power Windows
58. Rush, Roll The Bones
59. Saga, Worlds Apart
60. Saga, Heads Or Tales
61. Saga, Behaviour
62. Saga, The Security Of Illusion
63. Seal, s/t (second album)
64. Simple Minds, Street Fighting Years
65. Frank Sinatra, Classic Sinatra
66. Spock’s Beard, Beware Of Darkness
67. Spock’s Beard, Day For Night
68. Spock’s Beard, V
69. Spymob, Sitting Around Keeping Score
70. Steely Dan, A Decade of Steely Dan
71. Steely Dan, Everything Must Go
72. Sting, Bring On The Night
73. Sting, The Soul Cages
74. Sting, Ten Summoner’s Tales
75. Swing Out Sister, It’s Better To Travel
76. Swing Out Sister, Live At The Jazz Café’
77. Talk Talk, Sprit Of Eden
78. Tears For Fears, The Seeds Of Love
79. Tears For Fears, Raoul And The Kings Of Spain
80. Tears For Fears, Everybody Loves A Happy Ending
81. Threshold, Critical Mass
82. Toto, XIV
83. Toy Matinee, s/t
84. Transatlantic, Bridge Across Forever
85. U2, The Unforgettable Fire
86. UK, Danger Money
87. UK, Night After Night
88. Van Halen, Fair Warning
89. Whitesnake, s/t
90. Winger, s/t
91. XTC, Skylarking
92. XTC, Oranges And Lemons
93. XTC, Nonsuch
94. Yes, The Yes Album
95. Yes, Close To The Edge
96. Yes, Drama
97. Yes, 90125
98. Yes, Big Generator
99. Frank Zappa, Sheik Yerbouti
100. 3, To The Power Of Three

By the way, I reserve the right to sneak in here and swap out an album here and there – hey, like I said, it’s really hard to decide on those last few. 🙂

New York based composer Pontus Gunve has just put out his new release, an EP titled “IV.” This excellent, five track EP is available from Bandcamp. We talked with Pontus about the new music.

How do you usually describe your music?

Progressive Instrumental Rock – or Cinematic Rock.

What is your writing process like?

Sporadic and intense. I go through moments of 5 pieces in a week – and then nothing for a month. I have to be inspired at the right moment – or sometimes go through themes in my head and try to develop those in to full pieces.

Who or what is your inspiration, if you have any?

As a guitar player : I like Steve Vai for fluidity, Dave Gilmour for extra dimensional soul, Zappa for head expansion, Marty Friedman for interesting shred, Yngwie Malmsteen for outrageous shred and 16 notes runs, Angus Young for pure guitar tone and Fripp for brainy stuff.

Continue reading “Interview: Pontus Gunve” →

Swiss progressive rock group The Crazy Juggler’s Prog Orchestra, besides having a great name, also makes great music what is probably best documented on their latest opus, a studio album titled “Planet Euphoria – Part I.”

The band is already working on the follow-up to the mentioned album, and here is what they had to tell us about their work.

Define the mission of The Crazy Juggler’s Prog Orchestra.

Our mission is to combine the two generations of progressive rock music (70’s prog and the modern one) in a very various and experimental way. The Crazy Juggler, a character from our story behind, conducts the Prog Orchestra – ourselves, the band – to tell the story of Utopia from album to album.

Tell me about the creative process that informed your album “Planet Euphoria – Part I” and the themes it captures.

It was clear for us very early to create a story about a paradise-like Planet, the first album our characters find together and experience adventures on the search of paradise. It was an interesting challenge to find the suitable melodies and themes to this beautiful landscapes. As the music itself the fantasy of the lyrics don’t have any limitations, and that’s the best motivation for us to write music.

What is the message you are trying to give with “Planet Euphoria”?

It’s the message of an amazing planet, a paradise-like place called Euphoria, on which people and other creatures can live together in peace and freedom and in harmony with the nature and its beautiful landscapes: The classical utopian story.

Continue reading “Interview with The Crazy Juggler’s Prog Orchestra” →