I hope this isn’t obnoxious. . . but I want to let every progarchist (writer and reader) know that I’m very, very happy to return to the actual day-to-day editing of progarchy, along with Chris and Carl. I’m sorry I had to fade out of the scene for past few months, but I was really overwhelmed with work and family matters. Nothing is wrong–in fact, everything is going extremely well at work and with family. But, there was just too much to do for a bit there, and I let events overwhelm me. All has passed, and my life has calmed down.
And, now that all has returned to normal, I realize just how much progarchy means to me.
A huge thanks to Carl and Chris, my co-founders, for being patient with me, and for welcoming me back as an equal. So, as of December 27, we’re back to mutual editorial duties, though Chris said I can keep the title “Founding Father.” Granted, I’m no George Washington. . . but, I’m more than happy to have the accolade.
But, seriously, I hope you all (all y’all in Texas) realize how much I love this website and what it stands for. And, I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve accomplished in just a little over two years.
As I see it, sites like progarchy match the current music scene very well. Just as record labels are failing as the market continues to decentralize through the web, so I hope those establishment rags–such as Rolling Stone and NME–fall big time. This is the time of the entrepreneur and artist, not the time of the corporatized and tapioca-addled propagandist.
For all intents and purposes, WE ARE THE NEIL PEART generation, and we offer whatever nasty gesture we can at the establishment that has done so much to promote conformity rather than excellence.
I love this album and I think it is totally brilliant. It’s a rare thing for me to want to return again and again to listening to an album out of pure passionate craving. Usually, programming my playlists is more of a daily routine and chore: today I will listen to…. etc., etc. But lately, I had the happy experience where the first thing I wanted to listen to every day was Coalesce! And then, later in the day, I wanted to hear it again! I tell you, it has been awhile since I have so thoroughly enjoyed and craved an album with such intensity.
I know my desire comes from the intense musical intelligence that is built in to every song. This album has so many nice little touches and details to enjoy. The first track to instantly appeal to me was “Integral,” no doubt because it has a tastefully virtuoso guitar solo. But that track only came fourth on the album; it took me longer to appreciate the genius of the first three tracks because there was no flashy guitar solo to immediately leap out at me. Instead, there is a careful layering of sonic elements that appears quite dense in its ambient tone at first, but then slowly unfolds its beautiful structures with repeated listens. The band describes their ambient prog metal sound thus:
Pummeling riffs and soaring ambient lines are complemented by clean melodies and harmonic backings, defining our signature sound.
“All in Now” (4:10) kicks off the album and it is really quite an interesting song. As here, the vocals on the whole album seem deliberately mixed lower in volume in order to make the vocals an integral part of the total band sound, rather than to place the vocalist up front and to relegate the other musicians to “back up” status. Yet Marlain Angelides is such a powerful singer that the listener’s first reaction is to want to hear her a bit more up front in the mix. For example, at 1:37 into the first track she belts out a dazzling melisma that makes you want to hear her highlighted more up front as the superstar vocalist that she obviously is. But, over time, a more profound appreciation for the band’s intricate craft grows, as you begin to understand how she is carefully woven into the musical panorama of the band’s signature sound for greater purposes. The “All in Now” track deceptively seems to end at 2:25, but it then mounts a comeback with some very satisfying musical surprises. It builds and builds with fabulous riffing and killer drums and siren-like vocals to announce as its implied conclusion: Watch out, world! Ascending Dawn has arrived!
“Miscommunication” (4:11) is the second track and it has a supercool riff with sharp contrasts of alternating timbre that is very unusual and extraordinarily fascinating. The whole track unfolds with Ascending Dawn’s characteristic tastefulness for building musical drama and interest. Particularly notable on this entire album is the way that drums and guitars are so tightly synchronized in ways you do not usually hear with other bands. Chalk that up to the fact that the band’s main composer, drummer Mark Weatherley, also plays guitars on the album. Constanze Hart on bass and Owen Rees on guitars also contribute to the solid arrangement of it all, and their musical talent is manifest in the unusually and impressively tight band sound of the coherent whole. Marlain Angelides co-writes all the songs with lyrics, and I suspect she must be thus responsible for the poetic side of musical images. These are some really great songs! What a band. They work together perfectly on this album.
“Cannonball” (4:40) regularly lays down an impressive enfilading fire of drum fills, yet the whole track is further proof of the band’s dedication of individual virtuosity to a greater group sound in service of the whole song. It’s the putative single off the album, but any of the first four tracks could serve that role, since they are each individual, self-contained wholes that introduce the band’s unique sound with carefully embedded musical touches that repay repeated listenings.
In fact, I would argue that the fourth track, “Integral” (4:40), is the more natural single off the album, since its instantly accessible guitar solo performs the invaluable service of getting prog metal heads like me interested in the band and willing to give them further listens, to unlock further access to deeper levels of musical virtuosity. “Integral” has some of my favorite lyrics on the album, and I really love it as the band rocks out at the end and Marlain’s soaring vocals exhort the listener to “become a truth addict.”
Beginning with track 5, “Opposites” (4:09), we have next a four-song sequence that is cross-faded together, so that unless you are paying attention you almost won’t be able to tell when one song turns into another. Thus, the album opens up into my favorite territory: a nineteen-minute prog epic that is comprised of “Opposites” (4:09), “Simplify” (4:11), “Inside the Silence” (6:19), and finally the dazzling ambient instrumental, “Opaque” (3:57). It is this coherent musical epic that had me returning again and again to listen to this brilliant album.
In fact, in my mind I consider album track 4, “Integral”, to be a kind of prelude to the whole sequence of the album tracks 5, 6, 7, and 8, and then I further consider track 9, “Indiscretion” (5:21), to be the epic coda to it that ties it all together. So, in effect, Ascending Dawn serves up a prog epic in six movements: tracks 4 through 9 — an epic 29 minutes in total.
I love the way the album pacing is constructed: tracks 1 through 3 get you warmed up, and then the epic goods are delivered for the remainder of the album. The instrumental track “Opaque” lets you experience the band in its full-on musical intensity of ambient intelligence, and then the whole experience concludes with Marlain’s epic wailing over the pummeling guitars that conclude “Indiscretion” (track 9). There is an uplifting and transcendent feel to the album’s conclusion that lives up to the band’s name. In the end, we ascend with Ascending Dawn.
Don’t miss this album. On it, you will discover all your own favorite moments with nice little touches, such as the musical burst at 2:47 in “Simplify” that is so perfectly timed you can never fail to revel in its satisfying sonic seductions. If you’re like me, you can’t get enough of top-quality music like this! This album rightly occupies its prominent place in my Top Ten Prog Albums of 2014.
One of my pet peeves with much space-based science fiction has to do with setting. In particular, so many sci-fi novels, short stories, TV shows, and movies of the space-based variety are set in some far off galaxies on imimaginary planets. This doesn’t necessarily make those stories bad, and in fact some are very good (for example, the best sci-fi TV series ever in this reviewer’s opinion, Babylon 5). The reason it’s a pet peeve with me is that it gives a short shrift to our own cosmic backyard, the Solar System, which is chock full of some of the most fascinating wonders imaginable (to be fair, some action of Babylon 5 does take place on Earth, Mars, and near Jupiter).
In the music world, thankfully, there has been an acknowledgement that we live in a most interesting cosmic neighborhood. Gustav Holst was the first to do this with his suite, The Planets, which premiered in 1918. Between then and now, our knowledge of our own Solar System has grown exponentially. This is in no small part due to the Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 probes. These probes were launched in the mid-1970’s and made their way through the Solar System in the 1980’s. Thus, Cailyn has now stepped in to build on both Holst and our expanded knowledge with her musical interpretation, Voyager.
Voyager is an album of 14 tracks, most of which address various celestial bodies encountered in the 1980’s by the Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 probes. Four of the tracks – Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune – are Cailyn’s re-interpretation of Holst’s original compositions from The Planets. While these are quite good in their own right, the best tracks on the album are Cailyn’s own original compositions. Seven of these tracks are directed to various moons of the outer gas giants. The track Voyager refers to the probes themselves, while Pale Blue Dot refers to our own planet as seen from Voyager at the outer rim of the Solar System. Heliopause refers to the outer boundary of the Solar System, which both Voyager probes have now passed beyond.
All of the tracks are worthy of mention, but I’ll just mention a few here. Io has some interesting contrast, including one musically volcanic eruption that is representative of that world. Titan is a study in dynamic contrasts shrouded in mystery, much like its namesake, which includes some nylon string guitar on top of heavier rock underneath and an atmospheric ending befitting of the only moon that has an atmosphere. Miranda at times feels like it’s alternating between a rock song and a Beethoven piano concerto, and can be dark and moody. Pale Blue Dot is a mellow and reflective piano-driven piece that hits home perfectly for its subject matter – the photograph of Earth, from one of the Voyager probes, as it was leaving the Solar System. But they are all good.
Although this is primarily a review of music, the packaging of Voyager definitely deserves mention here. In particular, there are notes in the booklet for every track that provide a description of its subject matter. For the celestial bodies themselves, this includes information about the origin of their respective names and physical composition. Reading these track descriptions is a must to get their full impact. They provide food for thought that is not typical for instrumental works. Better yet, they makes this album educational, as well as an enjoyable listen.
This album is best listened to in the dark, and if you want to really get your geek on, pulling up a desktop planetarium or space simulator in an otherwise darkened room and looking at the various planets and moons as their respective tracks play is a good way to go. Or perhaps if you live in an area away from the city lights, it would be a good listen while looking through a telescope. No matter what environment you choose, this album is a very satisfying musical and cosmic voyage that should not be missed.
The song features the first reunion of my fellow “Thud” bandmates Nick D’Virgilio and Russ Parrish since we last played together with Kevin in the mid 90s. On the Deluxe Edition of “New World” there is a trippy intro piece called “Theta” that also features Durga McBroom (of Pink Floyd fame who knew Kevin back in the Toy Matinee days and he produced her first demo… btw Guy Pratt, also from Pink Floyd, played on that Toy Matinee album as well) and Satnam Ramgotra on tabla who played with Thud on the Kashmir single as well as on songs like “Joytown” and “Waiting” which can be heard/seen on the “Kevin Gilbert – Live At The Troubadour” DVD. Also joining us on the track are Fernando Perdomo on bass + backwards guitar and Maryem Tollar with an exotic Egyptian vocal solo. I sing, play keys and acoustic guitar on this one.
The story of the song is about the main character of “New World” meeting up with a mysterious Shamen-like apparition in the desert where a grand perspective and vital wisdom is shared. I purposely wrote the words a bit more toward Kevin’s style. The music has hints of our old “Thud” live band sound, particularly with the creative contributions of Nick, Russ and Satnam. However, the Doors, Nick Drake and Peter Gabriel are as much of an influence in this piece. Hope you like it. Here’s the Standard album version to listen to off of my Sonic Elements bandcamp page.
The lyrics:
“My Old Friend”
Hello, my old friend
From the other side of the end
You’ve come to visit me again
Poetic license to pretend
Hello, to the shape unknown
Waiting dauntless on my own
Bare and fragile flesh and bone
I am eager to be shown
Give me reason, give me art
Unearthly wisdom you impart
Crossing over, shaking hands
With someone who understands
Hello, my old friend
From the other side of the end
We both took that drive
To an unexpected curve
With hollow people
Who’ve got a lot of nerve
Restrained what we deserve
In a cloud you observe
Give me reason, give me art
Unearthly wisdom you impart
Crossing over, shaking hands
With someone who understands
Give me courage, give me grace
Spin the dogma that I face
I am tuning to the signs
Etching truth in cosmic lines
So long, my old friend
One day we shall meet again
I also can’t help thinking of Pink Floyd when Dave sings, “Hello…”!
Dave adds:
I’ll tell you something I like about this song (and especially the version on the Deluxe Edition that has the intro piece I mentioned). Because it reunites me with Nick, Russ and Satnam and we’ve only improved as musicians over the years since (not that these guys weren’t ALWAYS amazing but they certainly haven’t lost it that’s for sure) it has the feel of something NEW with that band. It’s impossible to do any new songs with Kevin unfortunately (I wonder what music he’d be making if he were still around today). But, the other players in that band have a distinct character and artistry to their playing and it’s nice for that chemistry we have to shine again, even if just for this moment. It’s deep. I’m very honored they came on board for this. It means so much to me.
Actually it seems like just a year ago when I was thinking ‘here we are again.’ And you’re probably thinking the same thing at this point.
‘Best of’ posts seem to be a tradition at this point in time, when we also celebrate our planet returning to the same point (galactic orbit notwithstanding, naturally…) as it was 365-and-a-bit days ago. Hurrah! We’re back! Now, where did we leave our keys?
Johannes Kepler – the only man this year to publish a positive review of ‘Heaven and Earth’.
Of course if Johannes Kepler (pictured to the left, apparently pre-empting a delicious Chinese main course by snaffling a Tunnock’s Caramel Wafer) was to try to build a predictive model of the prog releases even a year into the future he would probably end up a bit stumped, and would look stupid for even trying. So that’s why we don’t try to model prog – most of us look stupid enough without the ignominy of a failed ‘Theory Of Everything™’ on our CVs too.
Anyway, I digress, as is my wont.
Musically 2014 has been an interesting year. Mostly because it has been quite different from 2013.
“Well, colour me surprised, Mr. Clarke, that’s generally how the space-time continuum works!” I hear you shriek. But please set your Interweb keyboard warrior fury aside for a moment or two, and let me finish my epistle before you judge me too harshly.
My 2014 has felt pretty lacking when it comes to stand-out, arse-kicking, blindingly-brilliant music. Maybe we peaked in 2013. I mean, 2013 was pretty amazing for a number of reasons, not least:
Big Big Train released their insta-classic ‘English Electric:Full Power’ double album, making me homesick once again.
Haken’s ‘The Mountain’ rocked my world.
Thieves’ Kitchen’s ‘Of Sparks and Spires’ didn’t help with the homesickness thing, thanks very much indeed.
Spock’s Beard finally returned to form with the absolutely stonking ‘Brief Nocturnes and Dreamless Sleep.’
Scott and I made a trip back to the mother country (that’s England – keep up, everyone) for The Big Big Weekend (Saturday and Sunday are here in glorious TechniPanaColourVision,) where we forged new friendships, ate curry and drank beer.
Now the above may be a small list, numerically-speaking, but each of those items was a Very Very Big Deal to me. In comparison 2014 really hasn’t lived up to the standards of 2013. How could it possibly?
There have been a few albums by artists whose back catalogues I have a lot of time for, but that this year have failed to set me on fire:
Gazacho’s “Demon” didn’t have the longevity I thought it would, which is a shame – it’s a nice enough album, but not something to draw me back time and again. If I am honest, I think my trajectory and theirs have diverging somewhat since Night.
Cosmograf’s “Capacitor” worked well for the first few spins in rapid succession, but then I think I over-listened to it. It takes (me at least) a lot of work to get the most out of it so I have to ration my exposure now. I go back once a month for a fix, but because of that, it hasn’t been entwined with my life this year. Perhaps that’s for the best – caviar gets boring when you eat it for every meal.
North Atlantic Oscillation’s “The Third Day” left me pretty cold. I loved 2012’s “Fog Electric”, and Sam Healy’s 2013 “Sand” was a damn fine album too. But TTD now sound like they have been re-treading the same ground over, and over, and over again. And again. And over again.
Anathema’s Distant Satellites started well but then fell apart. For my ears, the music certainly lived up to the band’s name.
I chose to completely bypass Yes’ “Heaven and Earth” for a number of reasons, not least of which is my refusal to continue to be serially disappointed by a band’s output for three entire decades. So I have finally given up watching that particular slow motion car crash.
Combine all of the above with a very busy and sometimes fraught year at work and home, and it adds up to make me feel that things just aren’t what they used to be.
But like Climate Change there are peaks and troughs. Are we in a trough in 2014? Was I just looking the other way while all the cool stuff happened? Maybe I was at the shops.
Looking forward my personal highlights for 2015 will be Big Big Train releasing the Real World DVD and playing live at King’s Place in August (and yep, we will be there!)
We have new material from Phideaux, Spock’s Beard and Haken among others, which I am also very excited about. The list is not endless, but it’s promising. Fingers crossed…
Anyway, back to the year in question. 2014. What has floated my boat?
IQ – The Road Of Bones
This album is absolutely the best thing to come out of 2014.
It’s still as fresh as it was when I first heard it, and it’s still a firm favourite on my car media player. In fact, it’s rarely not being played. I have played it to death, and yet it still lives! It is absolutely the pinnacle of IQ’s output. You may recall I quite liked it and said as much a while back. If you haven’t heard it, you should really, really hear it. And of course, buy the bonus CD.
Uphill Work – Missing Opportunities
This album was a real surprise find for me. A very late arrival to my ears, once again the Progstreaming site came up trumps while I was browsing during a quiet moment earlier this month.
Uphill Work are a Moscow-based group formed in 2002. I’d never heard of them – it’s discoveries like this that make me very happy The Interwebs, and sites like Progstreaming, exist.
This album’s an absolute bloody gem – quirky, interesting, humourous, very droll lyrically, and a great vocal approach.
Listen to it (and buy it!) on Uphill Work’s Bandcamp page.
Dave Kerzner – New World
Another December find, this is a musical feast. I don’t identify as a Pink Floyd fan at all, and a lot of parallels have been drawn between this release and the Pink Floyd sound, and yes, they’re definitely there. The big difference for me is that I like this album and I haven’t liked any PF albums. So I guess I win!
This album keeps pumping from start to finish – every track delivers something different, and it’s all good, every last bit of it. Recommended!
Three keepers in a year, the first of which was released in May, and the other two which I was introduced to in December. That’s a big gap! I would have despaired if IQ had been the only transcendent release in the year. So for that number to treble in the space of a week or two, well I consider that excellent luck! Thanks goodness for happy accidents.
All that aside I actually don’t really believe in the good musical year/bad musical year thing.
You make your own good year/bad year.
What floats your boat sinks others’, and vice versa.
You get out what you put into it.
OK, I will stop sounding like your grandmother now.
I’m sure I missed a bunch of other good musical stuff while I was doing other non-musical stuff. Such is life, and I’m also sure that if it’s that good I’ll discover it next year.
A review of Kevin J. Anderson, CLOCKWORK ANGELS: THE COMIC SCRIPTS (Monument, CO: Wordfire Press, 2014); from a story and lyrics by Neil Peart.
Birzer rating: 10/10.
From WordFire Press (December 2014).
Two things need to be stated before I even get into the heart of this review. Well, ok, let me put this in active form, before my students yell “foul!” I, Brad, need to state two things before getting into this review.
First, one could write a long and interesting article just about the convoluted and circuitous publishing history of CLOCKWORK ANGELS. And, why not? What a fascinating history. In the beginning, CLOCKWORK ANGELS was an album by Rush (remember, though, the first two songs came out almost two full years before the album itself).
Then, it was a best-selling novel by Kevin J. Anderson and Neil Peart.
Then, it was a huge worldwide rock concert tour, a live album, and a live concert DVD.
Then, it came out from BOOM! Studios in comic book form, illustrated by the extremely talented Nick Robles, over six issues. These six issues, of course, will be released in graphic-novel form in the spring (April 2015) with, I’m guessing, an intro or conclusion by Peart.
Now, however, CLOCKWORK ANGELS has come out from Anderson’s WordFire Press as THE COMIC SCRIPTS.
Soon, there will be a sequel, CLOCKWORK LIVES, which Anderson has only recently happily finished with the equally happy blessing of Neil Peart.
It’s possible the whole cycle might start over with the sequel.
And, if Rob Freedman is correct, CLOCKWORK ANGELS will probably grab the fancy of some Hollywood producer, direct, and acting talent, and it will be made into a major motion picture. If so—and, let’s pray this happens—the script is completely written, the scenes already storyboarded by Anderson, a true master of the art.
Second caveat. It’s no secret—at least to readers of progarchy—that I’ve been following the career of Neil Peart very closely since the spring of 1981. Since the age of 13, Peart has been as much a part of my life as has Ray Bradbury, J.R.R. Tolkien, Mark Twain, T.S. Eliot, and the list could go on.
Sci-fi demigod, Kevin J. Anderson.
Since some time in the early 1990s, however, I can also state the same about Kevin J. Anderson. Among modern science-fiction writers, the only other person I’ve followed as closely is J. Michael Straczynski. I’m absolutely fascinated by their writings as well as the trajectory of their careers. Each is a expert of his craft and an imaginative perfectionist. Each is also very much in-tune with his audience and the possibilities the internet presents. And, as probably well known, each has advanced the cause of progressive rock in a variety of ways. Straczynski had done so by promoting the career of Christopher Franke and Anderson by writing with Peart, producing the story and lyrics (along with his wife) for Roswell Six, and through a myriad of other ways. Each, also, fully embraces the comic and graphic novel worlds. Straczynski tends toward horror and the gnostic, and Anderson tends toward science fiction and the mythic, but, otherwise, the two have a great deal in common.
So, these two caveats stated, let’s get back to Anderson’s latest, THE COMIC SCRIPTS.
Even from a cursory examination of Peart’s song lyrics, the story of CLOCKWORK ANGELS seems a nicely updated version of 1978’s HEMISPHERES. There’s the side of order, and there’s the side of chaos. The hero, choosing not to embrace either extreme, finds a via media, making his own path and his own choices. He finds, in reality, that his choices are limited, however, but choice does exist. So, free will exists, but it does so only within certain bounds.
Anderson’s novel offers a wondrous exploration of Peart’s universe. Employing the literary devices of utopia and dystopia, Anderson, a sci-fi demigod, gives the story a much needed and beautifully executed Tolkien-esque and Chestertonian fairy-tale ethos and atmosphere. We discover why the Clockmaker craves surety and the Anarchist disorder. We also discover why Owen must reject both and become, for all intents and purposes, the everyman version of Cygnus.
Not limited to lyrics for twelve songs merely, Anderson explores, lulls, mulls, and lingers. With his deft hand, the world of Owen and the CLOCKWORK ANGELS becomes rich, full, and tangible. Though many have labeled this world as Steampunk—a label neither Anderson nor Peart would deny—it is much more than Steampunk as well. The pastoral quality of parts is truly pastoral and adds the Tolkienian fantastic to it all. Indeed, Anderson’s best writing—while always superb—truly shines when he is detailing the cultures that arise in distant and rural landscapes.
Equally important, though, is that Anderson is not only a great friend of Peart’s, he’s also a huge fan of Rush (and Hugh Syme). These loves show in almost every word and on every page of CLOCKWORK ANGELS. For those of us obsessed with Rush, Anderson ably rewards the reader, throwing into his novel (and the comics, and, thus, THE COMIC SCRIPTS) Easter eggs galore.
What surprises me most about THE COMIC SCRIPTS, however, is how utterly and brilliantly visual Anderson’s imagination is. Frankly, after having read much of his science fiction and some of his detective fiction, I really have no right to be surprised by any of this! Anderson is a genius at nearly every level, but he is especially excellent in and at creating a MYTHOS around, behind, and near every one of his novels. There’s a reason major international serials praised his own renditions of the XFILES as some of the best sci-fi of the 1990s. Sure, the XFILES was a great TV show. But, Anderson’s skill made the characters and the MYTHOS a thousand times better. I suppose my surprise at Anderson’s ability to visualize and imagine is, if anything, an indication of my own lack of imagination.
Looking at THE COMIC SCRIPTS, one readily sees that Anderson anticipated and then directed every single panel of the comics. He describes the emotions on the faces as well as the technology that will (certainly) jolt the reader into a sort of glee. Anderson presents every aspect of the CLOCKWORK world in all of its alchemical madness and glory.
By describing every thing visually, Anderson paints an interesting portrait of this world that could tease the Rush fan and the sci-fi/fantasy reader without end. Some day, lit crit folks will have a field day deconstructing all of this. For example, per both Peart’s and Anderson’s desires, the reader never actually sees the faces of the angels. This must be left to the individual mystery and imagination. Or, one sees that the symbol of the order-loving Clockmaker is a beehive and honeybee. The beehive looks suspiciously like the symbol of Utah, the Mormons, and the former State/Empire of Deseret. Is this intentional? I don’t know.
Or, how about the description of our hero, Owen? He is truly everyman—“He is non-ethnically specific,” Anderson explains. He “should have darker/olive skin, dark eyes, dark hair.” Anderson describes the cities of his world as Manhattan with a twist of old Berlin with a huge touch of the art deco. Could this be Gotham? Metropolis? Dark City? Of course.
Ok, but what surprises me most? That Hollywood hasn’t snatched up Anderson in a major way. Holy Moses, this guy can think, he can write, and he can imagine.
So, should you buy this latest offering from Anderson?
Do you like Rush? Yes.
Do you like science fiction? Yes.
Do you like intelligence and imagination in your fiction? Yes.
Do you like the visual arts? Yes.
For me, THE COMIC SCRIPTS is another brilliant exploration of the CLOCKWORK world. But, even if you’d never heard of Rush or even if you’ve never read the novel or the comics, this is still well worth owning. Anderson’s writing is so good, and his visual imagination is so fascinating, that THE COMIC SCRIPTS could easily (and does) stand on its own as a screenplay or as an actual stage play.
Apologies from the band for a recent lack of email updates. Over the summer, the mailing list grew too large to manage using our Outlook email client and we were no longer able to send updates. We have now moved the mailing list onto purpose-built software and will be able to provide more regular updates.
Unfortunately, the failure of our mailing list coincided with the announcement of three Big Big Train gigs at Kings Place in London next year. All the tickets for these shows have sold out but we will be playing further gigs in future years and will ensure early warning via the mailing list and social media.
Big Big Train filmed live performances of a number of songs at Real World studios in August 2014. These performances will be released on Blu-Ray and DVD in the autumn of 2015. At Real World, the band were joined by Rachel Hall on violin and vocals and Rikard Sjöblom on guitars, keyboards and vocals. We are pleased to announce that Rachel and Rikard have now joined both the live and recording line-up of the band.
The band has written around two hours of new songs. Recording of these will be completed for album releases in 2016 and 2017. An EP, featuring three new songs, will be released in April 2015.
We would like to take this opportunity to wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Andy, Danny, Dave, David, Greg, Nick, Rachel and Rikard
Big Big Train
Progarchy’s Kevin McCormick’s latest CD, In Dulci Jubilo, is an album dedicated to Advent and Christmas. I also had the grand privilege of interviewing him at The Imaginative Conservative:
Christmas music turned out to be a perfect fit for our collaboration as father and daughter, guitarist and vocalist. It had the personal aspect that I was looking for and a collaborative component that was intriguing. I really was not sure how it would work out, but I had great confidence in Rachel’s abilities. We have a similar musical sense, so I knew we could work well together. By the time we began the recording Rachel was fifteen and really starting to blossom as a singer, but not with the heaviness that can sometimes be the soprano sound. She was at a unique moment between childhood and womanhood and I thought it would be a great time to capture that. At that point the time just seemed right for us to make the recording and I knew that my other projects could wait, whereas this one could not.
Progarchy 