- Out of the Body
- Wolflight
- Love Song to a Vampire
- The Wheel’s Turning
- Corycian Fire
- Earthshine
- Loving Sea
- Black Thunder
- Dust and Dreams
- Heart Song
Big Big Train – 1st June 2015
A recent Facebook post from Big Big Train’s own Greg Spawton – “1st June” with this rather marvellous illustration of The Green Man suggests that something amazing’s on its way…
Tillison/Tangent News
Andy Tillison just posted this to Facebook, about 26 minutes ago.
A Bunch of info for a Saturday Evening……
1. – Pre-orders are now open from the Tangent Website www.thetangent.org– on BOTH editions of “A Spark In The Aether” – the CD and the DOUBLE LP which has THREE and a HALF Sides!!!. For those of you across the Atlantic, the CD we sell is the European 6 panel Digipack version…. We are not selling either of these cheaply as we are no longer really wanting to be an online record store, we fully expect people to buy from cheaper sources unless they wish to have a signed copy through the post and pay a bit more to help the group function…. and buying these from us IS a major help.
2. We will only be stocking 50 copies of the Vinyl Edition. We will number these 50 and I will sign and write a short personal greeting on them to everyone who buys one. Although the price is at a premium, this is because importing these very heavy double LPs, buying them from IO stock and reposting them abroad is a pretty costly affair. We made a LOSS on COMM vinyl editions and we don’t wish to repeat that exercise! So the Fifty are for sale, right now and when they have gone, they will have gone. Other suppliers will of course be selling these at a better price without signatures, messages etc…
3. I am happy to announce that an official promotional Video filmed “on Tour” with The Tangent will be released by Insideout this coming Tuesday. We’ll link to it from this page of course. The video is for the title track of the album and is – just good vibes man!
4. I’m going to be presenting a monthly radio show on Cliff’s Progzilla radio station, the first episode of “Dance On A Volcano” will be on SUNDAY March 22 – more details to follow. The show will (as it used to do when I presented it on Radio Caroline in the late 90s) feature prog old, new, obscure, forgotten and dishonoured, also Jazz Fusion, Jazz Rock, Zeuhl and Canterbury a-plenty. The show will not be a long advert for any bands I might be in!
5. OK. I’ll ring Jonas about doing some gigs….
What is Prog? er……
And what do I want to review and write about on this blog? The one word answer is Prog; to be more specific, prog rock music.
And just what is prog? You can ask the experts, the bands themselves, or just Wikipedia the answer I suppose. I’m not a musician, musicologist, or professional music reviewer (cue Frank Zappa’s infamous quote about “rock journalists”) so my opinion is just mine, extending to this blog and no further.
But I won’t take a “pass” at the answer or give a Potter Stewart quip (“I can’t define obscenity but I know it when I see it”). I’ll take a swing.
I think prog music is a very inclusive pool—a large tent, and not at all a constricting and narrow “club.” I think it can, and maybe should, try to actually “progress” music and take it into new and different…
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My Top 10 Tracks of 2014
What started as a throw-away remark on Twitter has suddenly turned into the content of another blog post on the Blog Of Much Metal. Having explored in great detail my favourite 20 albums of 2014, I happened to wonder aloud about my favourite ten individual songs from last year. The response to my musings was incredible – at least two people replied feigning interest. That’s enough for me; in spite of the rather late timing, it had to be turned into a full blog post immediately!
So, here, in no particular order, are my favourite 10 compositions of 2014…
Evergrey – Archaic Rage
A powerful call to arms that bravely confronts and lays bare one of society’s most stigmatized, feared and misunderstood issues from a very personal perspective. And all this, wrapped up in a sonic tour-de-force; an anthem of epic proportion, capable of sending shivers down my spine…
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Swinging On the Porcupine Tree
Well, this is certainly a surprise! Gavin Harrison, drummer par excellence of Porcupine Tree, has recorded an album of reworked PT songs, and it is not what you would expect. Rather than stick to a rock format, Harrison has entirely re-imagined these songs as big band jazz performances. And you know what? It works!
The key to Cheating the Polygraph’s success is that these are not note-for-note reproductions of the originals, but rather soaring flights of swing that use the original melodies as jumping off points. Freeing Steven Wilson’s melodies (and very few can write a melody as seductive as he can) from the strictures of rock, Harrison and his band really stretch out and explore the implications of Wilson’s chords through the harmonies and rhythms of jazz. And this is jazz that goes way, way out there. If Duke Ellington were alive today, he would probably be making music like this.
According to Harrison, the songs he selected are his personal PT favorites, which is fascinating. They aren’t the obvious choices, and most come from relatively obscure sources: “What Happens Now?” and “Cheating the Polygraph” are from the Nil Recurring EP, “So Called Friend” and “Futile” are from Recordings II, “Mother and Child Divided” is off the Arriving Somewhere soundtrack, and “The Pills I’m Taking” is a section from “Anesthetize” that I have from a BBC Radio One Rock Show Session (it may be available elsewhere; I’m not an obsessive PT collector!). So for many casual PT fans, Cheating the Polygraph may be the first time to hear these tunes.
A standout performance is “Heart Attack In A Layby”, where the somber mood of Wilson’s original performance is preserved, but marimbas and bass clarinet add an exotic element that is simply beautiful. Another highlight is “The Pills I”m Taking” which Harrison transforms into a suspenseful brass blast that would be right at home as the theme song for a 1950s TV crime drama. “Hatesong/Halo” begins with a marimba workout that soon morphs into an edgy flute-led arrangement; it sounds like a long-lost Stravinksy composition. The transition from “Hatesong” to “Halo” is masterful; pairing those two songs into a suite brings out the best in both.
What about Harrison’s own performance? Well, when I first saw the DVD of Porcupine Tree’s Anesthetize concert, I posted a review on Amazon, stating, “For me, this production highlights how indispensable Gavin Harrison is to Porcupine Tree. His drumming is simply phenomenal. Despite PT being Steven Wilson’s baby, Gavin is the true star of this DVD.” On Cheating the Polygraph, he has not lost one bit of his drive and grace. Every song is built on the foundation of his propulsive percussion. Harrison remains a master of energetic cross-rhythmic drumming while never sounding “busy”. He is to rock what Tony Williams was to jazz – always pushing the boundaries of what percussionists can do.
Cheating the Polygraph may not be “rock”, but it is challenging and very satisfying music. In my book, that makes it prog, and excellent prog at that!
Here is a preview of the album; Kscope Music plans to release it on April 13th:
Update: I should have mentioned Gavin’s collaborator, Laurence Cottle, is responsible for the marvelous arrangements of these songs. Let’s hope their partnership is not a one-shot deal!
Clockwork Lives Cover
Kevin J. Anderson, co-author with Neil Peart, of Clockwork Angels, the novel, has just revealed publicly the cover of the sequel, Clockwork Lives. It looks quite stunning.
Robin Armstrong Tells It Like It Is
Robin Armstrong’s (Cosmograf) latest post on his website is a must-read defense of Steven Wilson’s hard-won popularity. Here’s an excerpt:
Well here’s the rub, you, like me and thousands upon thousands of people making music in the world today are entitled to precisely nothing. We have no right to be heard, no right to earn a living from our art and certainly no right to success. For the mere mortals, these things have to be earned, slogged at, and when some little successes arrive, appreciate them.
The truth is, that making a record now has never been easier. Making a record that people will listen to got harder, much harder. When someone makes a record that people are falling over themselves to listen to, in a genre of music that’s similar to yours, be bloody inspired, I know I am…
Read the whole thing here.
Hand. Cannot. Erase. Perfect.
Ok, I was a bit hasty a few weeks ago in an initial review of the new Steven Wilson album. My actual, physical, honest-to-goodness copy of the CD arrived yesterday. And, what a thing of excellence it is. With apologies to Brian Watson, I must gush a bit. The “flow” is especially strong. Listening to the album is akin to watching the intricate and unpredictable patterns in nature–perhaps the cracks that develop on a frozen body of water. There is a hidden symmetry in its revelations. Indeed, this album shows a real maturity, a sort of combining of the best of the first and second solo albums. And, as always, Wilson is an audiophilic genius. This I’ve never questioned, and his talent manifests itself galore on this album. Ok, enough gushing. If you’ve not bought this album yet, do so! It’s probably even worth paying the $3.99 for expedited delivery.
Eric Gillette: The Best A Prog Fan Can Get
As Brad Birzer mentioned in another post, Eric Gillette is the lead guitarist for The Neal Morse Band, having contributed to their album The Grand Experiment and currently touring with them. Before he hooked up with Neal, Eric released a self-produced album, Afterthought, which certainly deserves to be recognized in its own right for the excellent slab of prog it is.
It begins with three very heavy guitar-based instrumentals, “Afterthought”, “Change”, and “You’re Full Of It”. Fans of Joe Satriani and Eric Johnson will eat these up, as they showcase Eric’s phenomenal guitar skills. Eric’s gift is his ever-present melodicism, regardless of how crunching the riffs are underneath.
The fourth track, “Lost” (featuring long-time Neal Morse collaborator Randy George on bass), is something very special. A 22 minute epic that begins with a fast Crimson-like guitar intro soon settles into a keyboard section reminiscent of classic Todd Rundgren while Eric sings, “Can you hear me? Is there anyone out there? I could use a helping hand…I will find my way; I won’t be afraid. I can feel you next to me.” After three blistering instrumentals, it is a startling and inspiring moment to hear his pure and strong vocals. “Lost” is a tremendous track, with not a note wasted during its entire length.
“Rising” is another instrumental, this time featuring fellow NMB member Bill Hubauer on keyboards. “Bring You Down” is another heavy track with excellent vocals. It brings to mind Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor at his best. Unlike NIN, though, Gillete’s lyrics are more positive: “You don’t have to face it alone/Don’t let it bring you down.”
“Out Of Control” is another guitar showcase that would give Jeff Beck a run for his money. As a matter of fact, if you miss those classic Jeff Beck/Jan Hammer jams, then “Stagger”, “Blue Sky” and “Miles Away” will satisfy. The latter song, in particular, is simply gorgeous, and I am sure it was no accident that the title suggests Miles Davis’ balladry.
The album closes on a gentle note with a piano-based acoustic tour de force, “Above The Sky”. Eric’s multitracked harmonies sing a song of hope and redemption: “Darkness turns to light/Now you can finally see what this all meant/ No more questions why/The answer’s right in front of you, so open your eyes/Above the sky”.
It is an extraordinary achievement for a young musician to produce a debut album of such high quality. It’s no surprise Neal Morse included him in his new band – Eric Gillette is the real deal, and we will be hearing a lot more from him in the years to come.
Progarchy 