Freedom is Coming: MorseFest 2015

On By bradbirzerIn progressive rock music17 Comments

A review of MorseFest, 2015 (Friday night only)

With apologies--photos taken from an older iPhone. Not great quality.
With apologies–photos taken from an older iPhone. Not great quality.

Last Friday, September 4, as soon as I’d finished teaching my freshmen courses on Western Civilization, my wife, Dedra, and I got into the car and drove 8 hours south to Cross Plains, Tennessee, site of MorseFest 2015.  We had originally hoped to attend the entire weekend, but family necessities prevented this.  We were only going to be able to attend Friday night.

We made it by 7 (aided by a time change, gaining an hour), and found ourselves at a rather nice, contemporary Protestant church, just south of the Kentucky border.  Even walking across the parking lot, my wife and I realized this would not be the normal prog crowd.  Indeed, a huge variety of peoples was walking into the church—including lots of elderly women, immaculately dressed.  We had seen the Neal Morse Band play live in Denver in February to the usual prog crowd of mostly middle aged men.

As we walked into the lobby in Tennesse, we found fellow progarchist, Tad Wert, waiting for us.  He’s always a delight, and we thoroughly enjoyed our short time with him.

Ticketed, we took our seats toward the back of the church.  The church itself, as mentioned above, was quite nice, and quite comfortable.  By the time we sat, it was already mostly full with only the random open chair.  The three of us caught up with one another, and I even had a moment to introduce myself to Morse’s manager, Chris Thompson, president of Radiant.  I’ve corresponded and talked with Chris for over three years now, but we’d never met in actual person.  Lots of folks wanted to meet him, so I just got a quick hello in.

Chris was, frankly, everything I’d expected.  As warm and kind as he is proficient.  THIS is the man you want by your side, through thick and thin.  I already loved the guy, but actually meeting him and getting a rather spontaneous bear hug was one of many highlights of the weekend.  I’m truly sorry I didn’t get to spend more time with him.  He, of course, had a job to do, and he did it brilliantly.  He’s actually fun to watch work, as they guy so expertly takes charge and as a meter for excellence that runs higher than one rarely sees.  Thompson is the embodiment of joyful, purposeful intensity.

At 7:30, guitarist Phil Keaggy opened, playing for roughly 45 minutes.  I knew of Keaggy by name only, but I found his playing quite good and captivating.  He played roughly six songs, including two covers.  One cover was of the Beatles and another of Bob Dylan.  Keaggy was also quite funny and self-depreciating.  Certainly, the audience appreciated his humor and talents.  His guitar work, it must be noted, is rich and full bodied.  My favorite of his pieces was one called “Salvation Army Band.”

MorseFest, New Life Fellowship Church, Cross Plains, Tennessee.
MorseFest, New Life Fellowship Church, Cross Plains, Tennessee.

After a fifteen minute break, the Neal Morse Band took the stage, opening with the first two tracks off of THE GRAND EXPERIMENT (Radiant, 2015), “The Call”  and “The Grand Experiment.”  I had no idea Morse would play these.  The bill had advertised the full “?” album (Radiant, 2005), and I’d assumed this would be it.  No, I was very wrong.  The band’s third track was “Go the Way You Go” by Spock’s Beard.  Eric Gillette, an extraordinary talent by any measure, even walked into the audience and played a blistering solo.

As this point, I should note the crowd again.  Here, we were.  In a contemporary and comfortable Protestant Church.  The crowd adored Neal Morse and every member on the stage.  This was family, not an audience.  Elderly women and men—impeccably dressed—sat throughout the crowd, some in wheel chairs.  Kids listened for a while and then slept on the floor.  About 1/3 of the crowd raised their hands throughout the concert in what I assume is typical Pentecostal fashion, while another 1/3 head banged.  It was incredible.  Absolutely incredible.  The energy in that room was astounding for the entirety of the concert.  Absolutely incredible and astounding! Head-banging Pentecostals.

Our common denominator: we all consider Neal Morse one of the most gifted and charismatic artists on this earth.  His talent and his life are, to put it simply, nothing short of infectious. 

The next three tracks were “MacArthur Park,” “Whole Nother Trip,” and “New Jerusalem.”  The first and third are from the b-side disk of THE GRAND EXPERIMENT, and the middle track was from Morse’s second solo album, way back in the late 1990s.

For me, the highlight of the entire concert was “New Jerusalem.”  This is not only my favorite song on THE GRAND EXPERIMENT, it might very well be the finest thing Neal has ever written.  I was sorely disappointed the band didn’t play it in Denver, though I’d expected as much.  When it began in Cross Plains, I looked to my wife—in utter disbelief—and muttered, “no way.”  In fact, it probably took me a full minute to accept the band was playing it.

After these six tracks, the band played the entirety of the 2005 “?” album.

A few thoughts, in no particular order.

  • First, as many times as I’ve seen Morse and Portnoy play live, I’ve never seen them play this well.  There was nothing but love between the two men, and they so ably led the rest of the band as well as the audience.
  • Second, this setting was so intimate, that it was as though Morse had invited five hundred of his closest friends to his living room.
  • Third, and equally astounding to the music, was the film and light show.  Granted, good Protestant churches know how to do media well.  This church was no exception.  But, what made it so memorably good was the quality of the film made just for this concert (a one-off, it should be remembered).  The visuals were top-notch, Hollywood A-list quality.  The overall theme of the accompanying film was neo-psychedelia but carrying with it an intense Christian aura.  Imagine Franco Zeffirelli directing Charleton Heston but with Matrix-like special effects and you can somewhat imagine how good the accompanying film and light show were.  Kudos to whoever produced this.  Chris, was it you?
  • Fourth, staging.  One of the most interesting things Morse did was add new people to the concert as the music continued.  At first, it was just the five members of the Neal Morse Band.  Then, slowly, extra guitarists, string players, horn players, a flautist, percussionists, and a choir joined.  All of this built up in the first set to the climax with the playing of New Jerusalem.  By the end of that song, I couldn’t even count how many people were playing on stage.  Overwhelming and wonderfully so.
  • Fifth, I loved every moment of “?”  I’ve owned and listened to the album since the day it came out.  I’m not sure I’d understood it or its immense beauty, however, until seeing it played live.  I felt as though I was living for 58 minutes in the heart of a profound mystery with all existential questions being properly answered by love.  As with the album, Pastor Steve Farmer (this was in his church) came out and gave a brief homily.  It was appropriate and quite moving.

So, in sum: possibly the best prog experience of forty years of prog experiences.  I’m so sorry I wasn’t able to attend the rest of the weekend.  I won’t make this mistake again.  If I could, I’d already order my tickets for the next decade of MorseFests.

Interview with ADVENT HORIZON

On By NickIn progressive rock musicLeave a comment

Advent Horizon

Advent Horizon from Salt Lake City released their second album titled “Stagehound” in May this year. Guitarist and singer Rylee McDonald talks in an interview for Progarchy about the album, prog rock today, Rush and more. Read on!

Let’s talk about your newly released studio offering “Stagehound.” My opinion about the album is that it’s a tribute to the sound that’s been forgotten. How much of a challenge it was for you to create this work?

Every member of Advent Horizon developed a love for the classics years before we discovered new music. Therefore, our roots lie in music that was written much before our time. Because of this, our writing style automatically has a bit of a vintage flare to it. Stagehound is a product of our roots, combined with the modern influences that we have picked up along the way.

Is there a certain concept that “Stagehound” follows?

Stagehound is not a concept album, but there are pieces of it that follow a storyline. Tracks 8,9 and 10 tell a story based on the Greek Myth of Orpheus and Eurdice, which we have called “The Stagehound and Serpentine Suite”. As for the rest of the album, there do seem to be common themes that pop up. One that comes to mind is how easily the course of our lives are altered by seemingly insignificant events. It’s always been very interesting to me to think about how easily my life could have taken a totally different path.

Describe how the album art for “Stagehound” fits the story of the album?

The album artwork for Stagehound was designed to go along with the “Stagehound and Serpentine suite”. The character in the picture is “Sally”, a main character, whose beauty is overshadowed by the unfortunate events that ultimately lead to her demise.

Where does “Stagehound” stand comparing with “Immured”?

There are many key factors that set Stagehound and Immured apart. Immured was written by Mike and Rylee between the age of 15 and 19. At the time that the album was recorded, Advent did not have a bass player, so all of the bass parts, guitar parts and Vocal parts were played by Rylee. For Stagehound, we made a big effort towards collaboration. While the framework for the songs was created by Rylee, the rest of the band had a large influence on the direction that each song took.

Because of this, Stagehound explores many genres, and sounds, while Immured keeps to one style throughout. One other key difference is the use of Keys. For Immured, we used lots of Synthesizers, Pianos, Organs, and string sounds to create an atmosphere for the album. With Stagehound, we set out from the beginning with a goal to write an entire album without using a single keyboard. Instead, we relied upon guitars to fill in all those extra spaces. The album ended up using an almost Devin Townsend-esque “Wall of guitars” sound. This makes it much more intense, energetic, and loud.

Stagehound

What does the new album’s name represent?

“Stagehound” is the main character in the “Stagehound and Serpentine suite”. He was a musician during the great depression in New Orleans. He is known as being “The one who speaks for the masses”. The poor and underprivileged related to him, and word spread like wildfire of his talents.

When you describe your music you mention that your sound is a mixture of classic and modern progressive rock. Would you be able to draw a line that separates the classic from contemporary progressive music in your sound?

This is a thought provoking question. I guess the vocals are a big part of what give our music a classic sound. Some of my biggest influences in writing vocal lines are Yes, Styx, Boston, Tears for Fears, and Early U2. I have always loved how good those bands were at creating vocal parts that were very rhythmically involved, and interacted with the drums a lot. I think that Mike’s drumming is a big part of what gives the modern edge to our music. Mike has been Heavily influenced by Danny Carey of Tool, Martin Axenrot of Opeth, Mike Portnoy of Dream Theater, and Gavin Harrison of Porcupine Tree. All of these influences work together to craft his very unique style. Some of the songs on Stagehound are obviously more classic rock leaning than others. “Dying Blue”, “Magic Chef” and “Oceans” to name a few. While “Invasion Theorem” and “Midweek Maniac” are much more modern by design. Those songs were influenced by my love of what I call “Modern Pop Prog”. Bands like “Coheed and Cambria”, “Mutemath” and “Devin Townsend” fall into that category.

You showed your admiration towards Rush on quite a few occasions. Which era of the band in particular inspired Advent Horizon mostly?

I am a total Rush Nerd in every way. Everything they have ever released has been a huge influence on me. Mike and I spent the first 2 years of our musical lives learning every Rush song that we could wrap our heads around. Because of that, it’s very difficult to put a finger on any particular era of their music that inspired me more than any other. But If I had to pick one, I would probably say their “Classic Prog” Era, which is my term for the albums 2112, Farewell to Kings, Hemishpheres and Permanent Waves. To me, Permanent Waves was the album that had the best proportions of Proggy music to Catchy, accessible music. Plus, Geddy’s voice on that album is Incredible!

How do you look at the prog rock scene today?

The Prog Rock Scene today is very exciting to me. The last 10 years has really seen a huge increase in the worlds interest in Prog. So many great bands have been popping up all over the place! Haken, Riverside, Pain of Salvation, Jolly, Spocks Beard just to name a few. There are a few small Prog record labels that I think have done wonders for the genre lately. Namely ‘Inside Out’ and ‘KScope’. Both have been doing a great job of bringing our overlooked genre back to the world!

Advent Horizon

As a band that cherish vintage over modern, do you think that Internet, software and technology in general are hurting the real music/art?

Well, this is a double edged sword. I think that the digital age has done wonders for the music world. 30 years ago, without a record label, Advent Horizon would have never been able to get our music heard by people around the world. But now thanks to social media and online music stores, we have been heard by people thousands of miles away. It really is incredible to think that people in places I have never even heard of are listening to my music!

However, in my opinion, the biggest problem with the digital age is The Devaluation of music. Most people no longer think of music as a product, or even an art form. Services like Spotify, Pandora, Google Play and Apple music have turned music into a method of generating ad revenue. They have given free access to anything anyone could ever want to hear, so music no longer has any worth to the general public. When you tell someone you’ve just released a new album, their first response is usually “Oh cool! I’ll check it out on Spotify”. If they think theyre “supporting your music” by doing that, they’re cheating themselves. My general rule of thumb is: If you’re ever offered anything for free online, YOU are the product. I could go on and on about this, but I won’t. The reality of it is that this is the future. Now that people have been given unlimited music for free, they’re never going to go back to purchasing albums. This is a fact that we as musicians have to be able to cope with. Luckily, in our little world of Prog Rock, many people still value music enough to purchase CD’s. Long live prog!

On August 20 you played a show together with The Mercury Tree. What does an Advent Horizon concert look like?

Our music appeals to many different demographics of people. It’s always a blast to look out at our audiences and see Older couples, college kids, parents taking their youngsters to their first rock show, and other Musicians. This mixture of people makes for a very friendly environment. A place where people who normally wouldn’t meet to come together through music. There’s something really cool about that. As for our stage show, our music goes from high energy Rock, to soft acoustic, to jazz, to funk. And with all these changes, our interaction with the music also changes. We will go from headbanging, to skipping across the stage, to sitting still staring intently at our fretboards. We also have a lot of fun messing with each other on stage. Theres a constant playful banter between band members as we’re playing that gives the audience something to chuckle at. We try to make our live shows a fun experience for all.

Get “Stagehound” from Bandcamp, and follow the band on Facebook.

Teamrock.com Reviews Birzer(me!)’s NEIL PEART: CULTURAL REPERCUSSIONS

On By bradbirzerIn progressive rock music2 Comments

Screen Shot 2015-09-05 at 6.18.47 PM

A huge thanks to Johnny Sharp, Jerry Ewing, and all of our friends and allies at teamrock.com.  A perceptive review (very perceptive!) of my forthcoming intellectual biography of Neil Peart.  Out September 15, 2015, NEIL PEART: CULTURAL REPERCUSSIONS will be available as an ebook and paperback.

While Birzer doesn’t include any first-hand original interviews with his subject or his bandmates, his research is extensive, seeking out insightful quotes and stories from the band’s four-decade existence as he successfully divides their work into distinct eras (Rush 2.0, 2.1, 3.0, etc). No doubt Peart himself would initially scoff at the idea of such an in-depth analysis of his work. But secretly, I think he’ll feel Birzer has done him proud here.

And, best of all, Sharp labels my thesis “over the top.”  And, he’s absolutely right.  To finish Sharp’s interview, please go here.  Link requires free registration to read the full review.

To pre-order the e-book, please go here.

Concert Review: Psychedelic Furs and The Church Reignite Themselves and the 80s at the Crystal Ballroom

On By bradbirzerIn progressive rock musicLeave a comment

Drew's avatarDrew's Reviews

It took 30 years but Psychedelic Furs and the Church are finally touring together.

Sure it was a much smaller venue than what the two 1980s stalwarts would likely have co-headlined back in 1985 had the plans then not fallen through but they didn’t sound any worse for the wear, in fact, sounded practically flawless and really not dated at all.

Despite tickets remaining available the day of the show on Wednesday at the Crystal Ballroom in Portland, OR and what initially appeared to be a somewhat embarrassing low turnout, indeed the crowd filled out much of the Crystal’s famous bouncing dance floor but didn’t use it much.

The Church took the stage first, five minutes early to be precise (imagine that!) kicking things off with the pensive “Block” and then “Reptile” off the hit record Starfish from 1988. “Toy Head” felt a bit rambling but included a solid rock…

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More RochaNews! Jane Getter Premonition

On By bradbirzerIn progressive rock musicLeave a comment
PROGRESSIVE SUPERGROUP JANE GETTER PREMONITION LAUNCHES NEW TRACK “SURPRISED” ON POPMATTERS.COM
New album “On” feat. Adam Holzman, Chad Wackerman, Alex Skolnick, Bryan Beller, Corey Glover out October 2 on Madfish

NEW YORK, N.Y. – Progressive supergroup, Jane Getter Premonition, has teamed up with PopMatters.com to launch a new track, “Surprised,” taken from the band’s Madfish debut, On, out October 2. Stream album opener, “Surprised,” online at: http://www.popmatters.com/post/196804-jane-getter-premonition-surprised-audio-premiere/.
“‘Surprised’ is based on the opening picking riff,” Getter told PopMatters. “I came up with it one day when I was practicing and the song took off from there. Being a long-time fan of Living Colour, it was a real treat to have Corey Glover sing on this song (and the album!). His voice is the perfect combination of rock, R&B and gospel, and he brings the intensity and soulfulness to the song that I was hoping for.
“The lyrics came from my frustration and astonishment at how toxic the political arena is right now. I continue to be ‘surprised’ and amazed at how hypocritical and self-serving some politicians are.”
Recorded at Avatar Studios in New York, On features a stellar line up of progressive and rock musicians – keyboardist Adam Holzman (Miles Davis, Steven Wilson), bass player Bryan Beller (Joe Satriani, The Aristocrats), jazz/rock drummer Chad Wackerman (Frank Zappa, Allan Holdsworth, Steven Wilson) and special guests including vocalist Corey Glover (Living Colour), jazz/metal guitarist Alex Skolnick (Testament) and British saxophonist, flautist and clarinettist Theo Travis (Steven Wilson, Robert Fripp). The album was co-produced by Jane Getter and Adam Holzman. Mixing duties were handled by Adam Holzman and Anthony Ruotolo at Spin Studios in Long Island City, N.Y.
Pre-order On via the Madfish web-store on CD and LP at: https://www.burningshed.com/store/madfish/ and on iTunes at: http://smarturl.it/JGP_ON_iTunes.

An On album trailer can be seen on YouTube at: http://youtu.be/82wkKr642wY and Vimeo at: https://vimeo.com/134325658.

1. Surprised
2. Where Somewhere
3. Pressure Point
4. Train Man
5. Diversion
6. Falling
7. Logan (would’ve sounded great on this)
8. Transparent
Guitarist and composer Jane Getter has played with many jazz and rock greats while garnering increasing recognition as a bandleader, gifted writer and instrumentalist. Early in her career she toured with legendary jazz/blues organist Brother Jack McDuff. Her composing talents received attention when she won the ASCAP Gershwin Award for Music for Dance or Theatre in the mid 90’s. Her debut CD, Jane, in 1998 received worldwide critical acclaim and the 2006 follow up, See Jane Run, was released on Alternity Records (home of Allan Holdsworth). In 2012 she released the progressive jazz/rock album, Three. Getter also received widespread exposure playing in the Saturday Night Live Band.
Her band has played and toured internationally and live dates for fall 2015 will be announced shortly.
Stay tuned for more information on Jane Getter Premonition and On, out this October on Madfish.
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Jane Getter online…
Jane Getter live…
9/12 – New York, NY @ Best Bar

RochaNews! Anathema’s SORT OF HOMECOMING

On By bradbirzerIn progressive rock musicLeave a comment
KSCOPE PRESENTS: ANATHEMA’S “A SORT OF HOMECOMING,” A CONCERT FILM BY LASSE HOILE FROM ANATHEMA’S LIVERPOOL CATHEDRAL SHOW
“A Sort of Homecoming” to be released on Blu-ray, 2CD + DVD-V, LP and digital download on October 30
ENGLAND – Anathema, one of the U.K.’s most cherished and critically acclaimed rock bands, will release a live Blu-ray/audio collection entitled A Sort of Homecoming on October 30 via Kscope. Directed by Lasse Hoile (Steven Wilson, Katatonia, Opeth),  A Sort  of  Homecoming is a stunning concert film of Anathema’s homecoming show on March 7, 2015 in the spectacular setting of the Liverpool Cathedral. The concert was described by Prog Magazine as “a once in a lifetime experience that words can barely do justice.”
“I’m really happy that this night in particular has been preserved,” commented Anathema guitarist/vocalist, Vincent Cavanagh. “As anyone from Liverpool will tell you, to be given the chance to play the Anglican Cathedral is monumental and a huge honor. The place is absolutely huge. Just look at the cover, it was like doing a gig in Erebor!”
Having previously worked with Anathema on the acclaimed Universal concert film, Lasse Hoile captured the 100 minute acoustic set in high definition against the sensational backdrop of Liverpool Cathedral. Featuring 15 songs selected from the albums Distant Satellites, Weather Systems, We’re Here Because We’re Here, A Natural Disaster and Alternative 4, the ‘Anathema Acoustic’ trio of Daniel Cavanagh, Vincent Cavanagh and Lee Douglas were joined by rhythm section John Douglas and Jamie Cavanagh, alongside their very talented close friend David Wesling on cello who also played on Hindsight (2009) and A Moment In Time (2006). For this exclusive performance the band was also joined by the renowned violinist, Anna Phoebe, on a haunting rendition of “Anathema.” The audio has been produced and mixed by Christer-André Cederberg who worked on Distant Satellites, Universal and Weather Systems, with the cover and booklet artwork featuring the stunning photography from the show and behind the scenes by long time collaborator Caroline Traitler. This is the first Anathema live release to feature a 5.1 audio mix, engineered by Bruce Soord.
Watch the concert trailer on YouTube at: http://youtu.be/C_6vNJcaPEc and Vimeo at: https://vimeo.com/137395636.
Kscope will release A Sort of  Homecoming as:
– 4 disc box set: 2 CD concert audio (100 mins), DVD with full concert plus an additional behind the scenes film “A Temporary Peace” and concert on Blu-ray disc. In a deluxe rigid media book with 36 page booklet, presented in a slipcase
– 2CD + DVD-V: The set features the full 100 minute audio and DVD-V of the concert with 5.1 audio mixed by The Pineapple Thief’s Bruce Soord
– Blu-ray disc: The full 100 minute concert plus an additional behind the scenes film “A Temporary Peace” with 5.1 audio mixed by The Pineapple Thief’s Bruce Soord
LP: A gatefold triple 180g black vinyl LP including MP3 download code
Digital: Concert audio only
All formats, excluding digital download, are available to pre-order via the Kscope web-store at: www.kscopemusic.com/store.
Anathema will continue to tour throughout the remainder of 2015. A full list of dates can be seen below.
1. The Lost Song Part 2
2. Untouchable Part 1
3. Untouchable Part 2
4. Thin Air
5. Dreaming Light
6. Anathema
7. Ariel
8. Electricity
9. Temporary Peace
10. The Beginning And The End
11. Distant Satellites
12. Take Shelter
13. Internal Landscapes
14. A Natural Disaster
15. Fragile Dreams
Forming in the mid-90s, Anathema has spent the vast majority of its career making music that defies description.With its star rising ever higher, Anathema returned in 2014 with Distant Satellites. The new studio album showcased another imperious forward step into the realm of miraculous song writing. It has proved to be the band’s most widely acclaimed and celebrated record reaching #32 in the U.K. charts with the likes of The Guardian (UK), Metal Hammer (UK /DE), Kerrang (UK), Classic Rock (UK/DE), Prog Magazine (UK), Aardschok (NL), Rock Hard (DE), Rolling Stone (Aus) heaping praise on the album.
Anathema has been at the forefront of the U.K. rock/metal movement since its inception, influencing a myriad of bands to follow. What began as a pioneering journey of melodic heavy music has outgrown all genres and limitations, fearlessly exploring new territory and new ways to express feeling through sound.
Stay tuned for more information on Anathema and A Sort of Homecoming, out this fall on Kscope.
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Anathema live…
8/31 – Tokyo, Japan @ Liquid Room
9/01 – Tokyo, Japan @ Liquid Room
9/05 – Sao Paulo, Brazil @ Overload Music Festival
9/07 – Porto Alegre, Brazil @ Opiniao (w/ Paradise Lost)
9/08 – Rio, Brazil @ Circo Voador (w/ Paradise Lost)
9/11 – Atlanta, GA, USA @ Prog Power Festival
10/01 – Moscow, Russia @ Volta
10/02 – Minsk, Russia @ Re:Public
10/03 – St Petersburg, Russia @ Avrora
10/23 – Christchurch, NZ @ Dux Live
10/24 – Auckland, NZ @ Kings Arms
10/27 – Adelaide, AUS @ The Gov
10/29 – Brisbane, AUS @ Triffid
10/30 – Sydney, AUS @ Metro Theatre
10/31 – Melbourne, AUS @ Corner Hotel
11/01 – Perth, AUS @ Rosemount Hotel
11/04 – Manchester, UK @ Manchester Cathedral
11/05 – Paris, France @ Église Saint-Eustache (acoustic)
11/06 – Bochum, Germany (acoustic)
11/07 – Leipzig, Germany @ Täubchenthal (acoustic)
11/09 – Utrecht, Netherlands @ TivoliVredenburg
11/10 – Mannheim, Germany @ Capitol (acoustic)
11/11 – Sofia, Bulgaria @ Royal Bulgaria Hall (acoustic)
11/15 – 11/19 – Miami, FL, USA @ Cruise To The Edge (http://cruisetotheedge.com)
Anathema online…

http://www.kscopemusic.com/artists/anathema/

As “My Wayward Son” approaches 40, it carries on its commercial ways

On By carleolsonIn progressive rock music3 Comments

Kansas’ “Carry On My Wayward Son”, from the 1976 album Leftoverture, was the band’s breakthrough hit, reaching #11 on Billboard and ushering in the Golden Age of Classic Kansas (c. 1976-1980). As Kerry Livgren noted in the excellent documentary “Miracles Out of Nowhere” (see my Progarchy review), the song came to him rather suddenly and it is loaded with hooks, bursting forth like ears of corn in a Kansas cornfield (as, yes, that’s a rather corny but apt metaphor). If, by chance, you’ve never heard the song (yeah, right), here it is performed live circa 1976:

(Is Steve Walsh a madman, or what!?) The original 7″ single of the song was an edited 3:26 version; the entire song is two minutes longer. Thus, the single has more of a classic/hard rock feel, while the album version–especially in the context of the entire, brilliant Leftoverture–is much more proggy. Regardless, what is surprising, nearly four decades later, is how this hard rock/prog song continues to make appearances in somewhat unexpected places. Such as beer commercials (full disclosure: I drink only micro brews):

Apparently the song has been played several times in the drama “Supernatural” (which I’ve never watched), including in some rather striking forms:

Not surprisingly, the song has been covered a number of times. But the Wikipedia (boo! hiss) entry on such covers missed one of the more interesting renditions, performed by the all female Christian rock band Rachel Rachel back in 1991, on the debut album “Way To My Heart”. In the video for the song, Kerry Livgren joins the band to play guitar; however, much of the guitar on the studio album was actually played by producer/guitarist/vocalist Dan Huff–who fronted the group Giant (“Last of the Runaways” is a scorching album), has played guitar on Madonna albums, and produced Megadeth, Keith Urban, Faith Hill, and a bazillion other artists:

Finally, what is perhaps most refreshing about the success of “Carry On…” (as well as “Dust in the Wind”) is the lyrical content. The song isn’t about sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll, but peace, searching, and ultimate rest: “Nothing equals the splendor/Now your life’s no longer empty/Surely heaven waits for you.”