In the run-up to the March release of Big Big Train’s hotly-anticipated English Electric Pt 2, Greg Spawton is delighting us once more with insights into the origins of each track on the album.
Check out the BBT blog for more on opening track East Coast Racer – the story of Mallard, legendary holder of the world speed record for steam trains.
[This was originally posted in September at TIC. A huge thanks to my friend, Winston Elliott, for his constant support of my loves–even when he doesn’t “get” them.]
It’s been more than a bit of a Rush extravaganza for the last several months even in the mainstream media.
The band is on tour right now, playing in venues as massive as they have for over thirty-five years. Drummer Neil Peart turned 60 last week. Relatively rare in progressive rock history, a novel has appeared this month that intentionally complements and further explores the world introduced in an album. That album, “Clockwork Angels,” has justly received rave reviews, and the most prestigious magazine in the business, PROG, awarded Rush with “album of the year” earlier this month. Last May, the Canadian Council of the Arts awarded the three members of Rush with its highest honors, including a medal and $25,000 a piece.
Never shy about technological advances, Rush released an app with exclusive content on it this week.
By any measure, Rush is at the top of the profession, having created more “gold records” than only two other rock acts in the history of rock music, despite being mocked or ignored by Rolling Stone (until recently) and the “Rock and Roll Hall of Fame” in Cleveland as “terminally unhip.” They have sold over 40 million albums, and their fans are some of the most loyal in existence.
Rush is made up of three confident artists, having played together for a little under four decades, the closest of comrades, the most spirited of adventurers. Continue reading “In Concert: Rush, Clockwork Angels. A masterpiece.”
British Columbia band Paper House has released a preview of their forthcoming second EP, Whistles and Missiles (Feb 1, 2013): namely, track #2, “Urban Jungle.”
It’s nice retro rock that you may find refreshing. Their prog rock-flavoured first EP is available over at Bandcamp.
But if you are interested in the theological reasoning behind the statement “all dogs go to heaven,” you’ll want to download Paper House’s hilarious country rock track, “Lucky (In Memoriam).”
And you can also download their track “Movie B.S. Theme,” which makes for a nice one-minute palate cleanser between the lengthier hyper-epic prog tracks on your playlists.
On 29 January Thieves’ Kitchen release their new album, “One for Sorrow, Two for Joy.”
It’s now available for pre-order. More information at the link below.
On “One for Sorrow, Two for Joy”, the band are joined by Paul Mallyon (Drums – Sanguine Hum), Brad Waissman (Bass – Sanguine Hum), and Anna Holmgren (Flute – Anglagard) to provide a thrilling journey into a musical landscape rooted in a progressive heritage, but not limited by it. Fans of The Water Road will hear a continuity of their instantly recognisable sound, but from a band still moving forward, still exploring.
Recorded and mixed by Rob Aubrey at Aubitt studios (IQ, Big Big Train, Spock’s Beard), “One for Sorrow, Two for Joy” is a crystalline document of a band surfing the extremes of dynamics across a mosaic of shifting themes to provide an organic and engaging listening experience.
http://us6.campaign-archive2.com/?u=9765a966a943631101e12f74b&id=7b6c2dc271
Some wonderful photos appeared on Big Big Train’s FB page today. All taken by Willem Klopper.
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.452175891514753.106940.203751903023821&type=1
Great news just arrived from Chris Thompson, one of Progarchy’s favorite guys in the prog world. Chris, as probably all readers of Progarchy know, is Neal Morse’s manager. The video he posted is especially worth previewing. Richard Schwartz was at this concert, but Mark Widhalm and I attended the next night in Chicago. Brilliant.
So, without more Birzer bloviating, the good news. . .
| Radiant Records Announces“LIVE Momentum”
Pre-Sales begin on February 1, 2013 at 12:00 noon (CST) AND Neal will autograph the first 200 sold from Radiant Records.com Available Worldwide on February 19, 2013 Nashville, TN-When progressive rock icon Neal Morse was preparing to tour his highly acclaimed 2012 studio release, “Momentum,” he turned to YouTube to audition touring players to support his faithful duo of Mike Portnoy (drums) and Randy George (bass). He had high hopes, but the final players selected from more than 70 applicants dramatically surpassed his expectations. They hit the road for an 8-stop North American tour. And now that band’s epic New York performance is captured on the new “Live Momentum” 2DVD/3CD Box Set. Fortified by the energetic live contributions of Eric Gillette (keyboards, guitars, vocals), Bill Hubauer (key-boards, violin, sax, vocals) and Adson Sodré (guitar and vocals), Morse, Portnoy and George blazed through two lengthy sets that spanned Morse’s entire, highly-heralded catalog, with the exception of material from “Testimony 2,” which was previously captured in 2011’s “Testimony 2: Live in Los Angeles” box set. The setlist is mammoth. The players are virtuosic. Their performances are jaw-dropping. And this dynamic box set documents it all-including a special one-hour behind the scenes look at the tour. It’s a Morse tradition to go big, and this new release unquestionably extends his powerful legacy of merging musical madness with addictive melodies in epic compositions that showcase the masterful musicianship of every member on stage. “Live Momentum” reveals the exceptionally inspired nature of this unique band and leaves listeners and viewers mimicking those in the audience on this tour-shaking their heads and wondering, “How could they possibly top that?” This ENORMOUS 2 DVD / 3CD set includes over 4 hours of video, including and exclusive Tour Documentary and over 3 hours of audio. Get ALL the details at |
An invitation just appeared on my Facebook wall to “like” Foxbat, a band only recently formed around bassist extraordinaire Matt Cohen (The Reasoning). There’s still a lot of mystery surrounding this, but here’s what’s appeared at the official Foxbat FB page:
| Founded | 2012 |
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| Genre | Rock |
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| Members | Simon Hobson – Lead Vocals Keith Hawkins – Guitars and BVs Matthew Cohen – Bass and BVs Ian Harris – Drums and BVs ? – Hammond and BVs |
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| Hometown | UK |
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| Record Label | Comet Music |
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| Influences | Deep Purple Rainbow Whitesnake Led Zeppelin Black Country Communion Iron Maiden Bad Company Styx Queen Captain Beyond Black Sabbath Def Leppard Yngwie J Malmsteen The Who Boston The Eagles Journey RUSH TOTO Thin Lizzy Uriah Heep |
Steve Howe has quit Asia to concentrate on Yes and other projects.
Prog magazine has more on this story.
A couple of years ago I was talking music with two good friends. One of them, apparently moved in some way by my relentless (and surely annoying) blathering about my music library, my favorite artists, ad nauseum, said, “Carl, you have such discriminating taste!” The other, a devotee of Bach, chant, and other great tried-and-true music, dryly responded, “On the contrary, Carl, you seem to have no discrimination at all!” Touché! How true. And yet I keep on foisting my picks upon anyone who dares to listen or read.
My choices here are emphatically “favorite”, not “best”, as I am all too aware of the rather subjective nature of such an enterprise. I’ve tried to have some fun with it, but I’ve also worked over my lists more than a few times. I’ve made my choices from roughly 4,000 songs, give or take a couple, all of them (with a few noted exceptions) released in the past year. With that, here 
goes, beginning with my “12 Favorite Albums of 2012”, regardless of genre:
12. I Like To Keep Myself In Pain by Kelly Hogan. A toe-tapping, head-shaking, “yeah”-inducing combination of soul, R&B, Southern, country, jazz, and a few more flavors for good measure, with legendary Booker T. Jones on organ. Hogan’s voice can do it all, without a needless or self-indulgent note.
11. Blue Moon by Ahmad Jamal. One of the true legends of jazz piano, whose dynamic use of space had a huge influence on Miles Dave—in the 1950s! Jamal is now in his eighties, but his playing is not only lively and crisp, it continues to develop. Check out his fabulous cover of “Blue Moon”.
10. 3 Pears by Dwight Yoakam. Here’s what I wrote on this site a few months ago: His music has always been lean and his lyrics dry, but the new twist is subtle: a warmth in both content and sound. An example of the first is “Waterfall”, which is playful, with a wry and wistful sense of joy. The second comes through in Yoakam’s superb vocals, set in arrangements that are fat-free and feature just the right amount of twang and reverb, with tasty touches of organ and piano. The man is a superior songwriter and this set is further proof that country music can be twangy and contemporary without being shallow and trendy.
9. Bear Creek by Brandi Carlile. I saw her live this past August (our third Carlile show) and she and her band were stunning. That such power and presence comes from such a petite woman is amazing; think of her as Johnny Cash channeled through Janis Joplin. She is also a very good songwriter. And she is from the Northwest (Seattle), just up the I-5. If you’ve never heard her live, watch her singing, “Raise Hell”.
8. Corner of the World by SOLUS3. This is the first of my more proggy picks; it was released in late 2011, but I didn’t discover it until early last year. SOLUS3 is a sextet that has been described as “prog dubtronica”, which is an apt description for music that is ethereal, intense, beautiful, jazzy, and very, very distinct, capped by the often searing vocals of Krupa. A keeper.
7. Where Do You Start? by Brad Mehldau. Mehldau makes my list nearly every year, which speaks to his production and quality, which never waver. He is one of the finest jazz pianists in the world, and this past year he released two albums: Where Do You Start?, consisting of covers, and Ode, with all original tunes. Both are outstanding, but I went with this one because no one covers a tune like Mehldau and Company (his 2006 “Live” album has a version of Soundgarden’s “Black Hole Sun” that is almost 24 minutes long!).
6. The 2nd Law by Muse. This one took a while to get into, in part because I think it is a bit disjointed. In fact, I don’t even listen to the final two (mostly instrumental) cuts that often. The irony, it seems, is that while this is supposed to be a concept album, its strength is in the individual songs, especially “Madness”, “Panic Station”, and “Follow Me”. But the pinnacle here is the snarling anti-Wall Street tune, “Animal”, which starts out with a Radiohead-ish bass line and electric piano and then builds into what singer/guitarist Matthew Bellamy has described as “face melting metal flamenco cowboy psychedelia”, featuring some mighty tasty fretwork. Whatever you call it, I think it is one of the best rock songs of 2012.
5. Albatross by Big Wreck. From my earlier review: I was oblivious to this fine group (a “neo-prog hard-rock outfit” according to AllMusic.com) until I stumbled upon this new release on emusic.com. Singer Ian Thornley brings Chris Cornell to mind with his powerful, expressive vocals, but is hardly a clone, nor does he try to be. Three successive songs—”Wolves”, “Albatross”, and “Glass Room”—are worth the price of admission. “Wolves” (see YouTube video), especially, is a dynamite track, a perfect four-minute modern rock song, with top-notch playing and subtle melody.
4. I Am Anonymous by Headspace. My top pick of what can rightly be called prog. This captured me immediately and repeated listens have only deepened my appreciation for it. The combination of Damian Wilson’s emotive, powerful vocals and Pete Rinaldi’s guitar work is winning, and even more so because the compositions and production are top of the line, with much credit going to Rick Wakeman’s son, Adam, who formed the band and handled keyboard and production duties.
3. The Calling by Romain Collin. My favorite jazz album of the year is a gorgeous, mature, and evocative set by a talented French pianist that combines traditional jazz piano and a variety of classical influences (Collin is classically trained) with tasteful, dynamic electronic flourishes. This is what I imagine Radiohead might sound like if they were a keyboard-based jazz band.
2. Flying Colors by Flying Colors. Okay, this is certainly proggy in places, but I see it as more of a rock album featuring fabulous musicians with rich prog backgrounds. I’m been in awe of Steve Morse for years, and the combination of he and Neal Morse, Mike Portnoy, and Dave LaRue not only works, it works spendidly. And vocalist Casey McPherson was an inspired choice. This one will not soon gather dust.
1. Was there really any doubt?
And now, the best of the rest, by categories both usual and custom-made.
Continue reading “My Favorite Music of 2012: 60 albums (give or take a few)”
Progarchy 