Album Review: Southern Empire, “Civilisation”

On By Time LordIn progressive rockLeave a comment

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AMG gives a stellar rating to Southern Empire, Civilisation:

Southern Empire happily abuse a smorgasbord of progressive influences: the epic structure of Transatlantic, the lithe complexity of Yes, the grandiosity of Rush, and the catchy modern sheen of Haken. As such, the art of Civilisation is not so much in its unique sound, but rather its composition and execution. The bulk and heart of the album are in its two centerpieces, “Cries for the Lonely” and “The Crossroads.” Adventurous, bold songwriting drives these dynamically written tracks of progressive rock that freshens up the sounds of the 70’s with a bright layer of vigor and spirit. Their length is used expertly to showcase a variety of styles and moods that reflect the flow of a soundtrack. An audacious keyboard-driven instrumental section naturally progresses into a bombastic call-and-response of choral and main vocals before moving onto a touching violin and guitar solo, none of it sounding forced or unnatural.

The strength of the compositions is boldened by spirited performances. Vocalist Danny Lopresto is gifted with a strong baritone full of appropriate drama and grandiloquence. He’s joined by the rest of the band, all of whom join in the various styles and layers, such as the canon employed in “Goliath’s Moon” and the choral arrangements on “Cries for the Lonely.” The guitars regularly erupt in excellent solos and keep the attention with deft plucking and the liberal application of hooks . Furthermore, the album is filled with a variety of less common instruments and effect, applied as befitting the flow of the music. Just listen to the hand percussion used to a salsa-like effect on “Crossroads,” the funky wah-wah on “Goliath’s Moon” and the sporadic but effective use of flutes to evoke melancholy.

The bookends to the album don’t reach the middle tracks’ quality, though they are never less than enjoyable. Opener “Goliath’s Moon” has an odd start as its initial verse is played twice, which is like reading the same story twice considering the sci-fi narrative of a lost diamond, but the track soon picks up steam with a compelling vitality and dynamic use of the vocal range. Closer “Innocence & Fortune” comes on the heels of a tiring hour of strong music and initially suffers from languidity, but finishes strong with a very Yes-like Mellotron ditty and a triumphant burst of choir and symphony. The great flow across the album doesn’t suffer from these shortcomings, which are minor in the grand scheme of things. And as if these words of praise have not been enough, Civilisation sports an excellent production from the hand of keyboard player and band creator Sean Timms (ex-Unitopia). The sound is bright, clean, and crystal clear, with each instrument audible separately even when the compositions become crowded (frequently on “Goliath’s Moon”). The bass pulses genially, the drums are clear and natural, and the various extra instruments are mixed in perfectly and dynamically, to the point where you no longer notice just how natural it sounds.

 

Tom Woods, Roie Avin, Prog. People. . . what more do you want!!!

On By bradbirzerIn progressive rock1 Comment

tom logo

This week, I had the great and grand pleasure of speaking with Tom Woods and Roie Avin about the state of progressive rock music.  As you all should know, Tom Woods is an absolute genius–especially on all matters political, cultural, and economic.  That’s his razor-sharp logic side.  But, he’s also a romantic and a huge prog fan.

avin book
A must own.  It belongs on the shelf of every progger.

Roie Avin, as you all should know as well, is the founder of one of the best prog sites on the web, Prog Report, and the author of one of the best books ever written about rock or prog, Essential Modern Progressive Rock.  

If you don’t own it, you must.

Ok, so a bit of bias here.  Tom is one of my three or four closest friends, and, though, Roie and I have never met, I have been following him rather closely for the past five years.  The three of us, I think, had a blast.  So, here’s hoping you do as well.

https://tomwoods.com/bonus-ep-1204-without-this-music-your-life-is-worse/

 

With Apologies to Arjen!

On By bradbirzerIn progressive rockLeave a comment

Yesterday, I posted an editorial about 2018 being a moment of prog “selah”–as we all take a collective breath.  If anything, 2018 thus far has been defined not by its studio albums, but by its live albums.  I listed three: Glass Hammer’s Mostly Live in Italy; Marillion’s All One Tonight, and Big Big Train’s Merchants of Light.  Very stupidly–and quite by oversight–I forgot to mention a critical fourth live release, Ayreon Universe.

Here’s my review of Ayreon Universe: https://progarchy.com/2018/07/01/ayreon-opera-prog-totally-and-utterly-over-the-top/

With all of my apologies, Arjen!  As I noted in the previous review, you are THE MASTER!

Tom Timely VIDEO #2: Chronomonaut

On By bradbirzerIn progressive rockLeave a comment

He’s back.  Video no. 2, this one from August 1, 1983.  Again, I can only suspect that Tom lives very, very close to Hawkins, Indiana.

2018: Selah?

On By bradbirzerIn progressive rock5 Comments

2018 is now a month past its halfway mark, and the year is somewhere in its middle age, and it will only continue to age until that fateful day, December 31, inevitably comes.

From the perspective of progressive rock, it’s been a solid year, but not an outstanding year–at least in terms of studio releases.  Certainly, those released–from The Fierce and the Dead to Gazpacho to the Kalman Filter to Galahad to 3RDegree–have been excellent, to be sure.  But, they’ve been few, especially compared to the re-releases and re-mastered and re-packaged.

Perhaps, 2018, in the end, will prove to be a moment of all of us catching our collective breath.  Maybe what the Old Testament called “Selah,” pause.

Continue reading “2018: Selah?” →

Soft Machine: The Psychedelic Years

On By kruekuttIn progressive rock, psychedelic rockLeave a comment

The seminal British collective Soft Machine were many things in their history — psychedelic pioneers, proto-progressive rockers, avant-garde explorers, always bobbing and weaving in the borderlands between jazz and rock.  One thing they were not was stable; by biographer Graham Bennett’s reckoning, the Softs had 24 separate line-ups during their original run of 1966-1984!  As the band’s current incarnation embarks on a 50th anniversary world tour and releases the new Hidden Details album, I’m listening to their studio catalog along with selected live recordings, tracing the long, strange road they’ve traveled from then to now.

Per the band’s new website,

Soft Machine were formed in mid-1966 by Robert Wyatt (drums, vocals), Kevin Ayers (bass, guitar, vocals), Daevid Allen (guitar) and Mike Ratledge (organ) …

This first Soft Machine line-up became involved in the early UK underground, featuring prominently at the UFO Club, and subsequently other London clubs like the Speakeasy Club and Middle Earth. .. They also played in the Netherlands, Germany and on the French Riviera.  … Upon their return from their sojourn in France, Allen (an Australian) was denied re-entry to the United Kingdom, so the group continued as a trio, while he returned to Paris to form Gong.

The archival recording Middle Earth Masters, one of a fine series from Washington DC’s Cuneiform Records, captures the remaining trio a month after Allen’s departure.  Easing in with relatively conventional (though absurdist) pop tunes like “Clarence in Wonderland” by Ayers, the Softs quickly slip the reins.  Wyatt repetitively chews on the words of “Hope for Happiness” like they’re an Indian raga, the trio kicks into a high-energy riff — and Ratledge takes off.  With his Lowrey organ run through a fuzzbox and a Marshall stack, he bashes out speedy pyrotechnics, grinding harmony pads, and distorted pitch-bent chords; underneath him, Ayers and Wyatt slip and slide from sparse grooves through splattery swing to bludgeoning stop time.  Ratledge’s solo “Disorganization” is even wilder, a tornado of phenomenal technique, overdriven amplification, and rhythmic attack echoing free-jazz pianist Cecil Taylor.  Then the Softs slam into another extended medley, kicked off by the goofy, minimalist “We Did It Again” (four words, one riff, six minutes), climaxing with a clattering drum solo and feedback all around before Wyatt winds down with a hushed falsetto benediction.  Cliche though it might be by now,  in 1967 sets like this were a serious trip.

Sharing management with the Jimi Hendrix Experience, the Softs gained a support slot on that band’s 1968 North American tour.  Between tour legs, they piggybacked on studio time for Hendrix’s Electric Ladyland to record an album for ABC/Probe, with Tom Wilson (Simon and Garfunkel, Bob Dylan, The Velvet Underground) producing.  While the record sat in the can, lots happened: Andy Summers (yeah, the future Police guitarist) joined, only to be summarily fired at Ayers’ insistence; then Ayers himself quit after another US tour, feeling the Softs were heading towards playing (shudder) jazz. Wyatt remained in the States, Ratledge returned to England, and the band seemed finished — the perfect moment for ABC/Probe to release the first album!

Continue reading “Soft Machine: The Psychedelic Years” →

How Do You Solve a Problem Like Spawton?

On By bradbirzerIn progressive rock7 Comments

How do you solve a problem like Spawton?

Yes, that Spawton.

Gregory Marcus Aurelius Spawton.

The guy just doesn’t give an inch.  He doesn’t compromise.  He doesn’t meet anyone half way.  He wants nothing but excellence in a world defined by shoddiness.  So, again, how do you solve a problem like Spawton?

What would Harrison Bergeron do?

Big Big Train live by Simon Hogg
Photo by Simon Hogg.

Continue reading “How Do You Solve a Problem Like Spawton?” →

2.0 In a Row: Progarchy Reviews 3rDegree’s Fantastic Ones and Zeros, Vol. 0

On By Erik HeterIn progressive rockLeave a comment

A few years back, 3rDegree’s Ones and Zeros, Vol. 1 took the prog world by storm, being 3rDegree Ones and Zeros Vol 0one of the highest rated and reviewed albums of that year.  For good reason too.  Combining excellent music with contemporaneous subject matter of very high relevance, it did – extremely well – what prog does better than any other genre.  Namely, it provided music and lyrics that, in addition to being entertaining, made the engaged listener think.  But Vol. 1 was not the whole story – there was another one to come.  And here, in 2018, Ones and Zeros, Vol. 0 has now arrived.  And we can happily say that 3rDegree has done it again, providing another album that builds upon and maintains the excellence of its predecessor.

Both this album and its predecessor combine excellent prog rock music with timely subject matter.  Musically, the album both pays homage to the classic prog movement while still providing a modern, unique sound.  Topically, the lyrics explore our modern, digital, technological world, with a particular focus on its dark underbelly.  For these reasons, Vol. 0 – along with its predecessor – pull off perfectly what exemplifies one of the best aspects of the current prog scene, namely complex, engaging music combined with a biting but (very) necessary cultural critique.

The songs on this album flow together nicely, with the instrumental track Re1nstall_Overture providing a charging-out-of-the-gate musical opening.  Connecting follows, with some biting lyrics regarding social media, trolling, and addiction to the same.  Olympia follows with some great melodies and lyrics about android love … cue Rachel from Blade Runner.

Most of the next song, The Future Doesn’t Need You, as an easy, breezy feel, while lyrically hammering home the theme of technology addiction and its effects on the wider culture.  I’m wondering if they drew inspiration from this essay, which is similarly titled.  Unintended Consequence musically has an early-to-mid 80’s feel, while lyrically mocking the hubris of those who believe tech is all that is needed to make the world a better place.

Perfect Babies is chock full of excellent lyrics that explore the understandable desire of every parent to give their kids as many advantages in life as possible, juxtaposed with a subtle warning against the temptation of taking biotech shortcuts.  Logical Conclusion meanwhile explores one of the drivers of human need for technological master – the uncontrolled whims of nature – extending into the conceit that we might be able to pull it off (hint: we can’t).

The epic Click Away! comes up next, and it’s a doozy, divided into multiple movements. There are so many different musical moods and styles throughout it would be more efficient to simply listen to the track than to try and list them here.  This one is best listened to at your computer, as the lyrics are found on the Valhalla Biotech website.  It’s great to sit back, read the lyrics off the website while listening to a clever critique of social media and its attendant addictions.

The title track, , closes the album, with the question “are you a one or are you a zero.”

Making a concept album hold together is tough enough.  Doing it over multiple albums is even harder.  In the wake of the standard set by Ones and Zeros, Vol. 1, the pressure to deliver a worthy follow-up could have weighed heavily on 3rDegree.  And yet, as 3rDegreeevidenced by Vol. 0, the band seemed impervious, delivering exactly the sequel that a fan of its predecessor would have hoped for.  In what is shaping up to be a very good year in the prog scene, 3rDegee has delivered one of the best albums of the year, combining interesting music and topical lyrics.  Well done, guys.

Tom Timely Revealed! Glass Hammer being Mischievous.

On By bradbirzerIn progressive rockLeave a comment

The Elf KingSo, after several months of curious postings and even a rather great music video, it seems that Tom Timely, aka “The Elf King,” is the Tom of Glass Hammer’s 2000 masterpiece, CHRONOMETREE.

Here’s Tom, himself, from 1983.

Notice the date!  Just about three months before season 1 of Stranger Things begins.  Tom never admits it, but I’m guessing that he lived in Hawkins, Indiana.

Enjoy the mystery!

The Definitive Case for Stryper: Archetypal Power Metal

On By Time LordIn progressive rock3 Comments

This awesome video retrospective by Razörfist makes the definitive profane case for Stryper, one of the all-time greatest — but most criminally underrated — metal bands.

The history of the band is covered his video all the way up to 2015’s Fallen. In light of 2018’s equally superb release, God Damn Evil (banned at Walmart), it is a history very much worth revisiting.

Stryper have now remained at the top of their game ever since 2013 saw them kick off their contemporary trilogy of greatness (2013, 2015, 2018) with the excellence that is No More Hell to Pay.

Hell, even Mike Portnoy sat up and paid attention and recognized the achievement.

In the beginning, the band’s classic trilogy of killer metal from the early days of the 80s consisted of The Yellow and Black Attack (1984), Soldiers Under Command (1985), and To Hell with the Devil (1986).

In God We Trust (1988) and Against the Law (1990) were then the two albums of searching for the way forward, after having achieved platinum status and MTV fame with To Hell with the Devil. And, in the changing musical landscape of the 90s, the path wasn’t clear, so they broke up.

But with the metal renaissance of the new century, Stryper came back with two bold steps forward that reasserted their capacity for rocking hard: Reborn (2005) and Murder by Pride (2009).

Yet who would know that these two efforts were only the beginning of a new era, one about to give birth to their most consistently great music? But first, the way into their latter day trilogy of greatness (2013, 2015, 2018) was carefully prepared for, by a back-to-metal-roots album of excellent covers, The Covering (2011), and also by a sonic updating of their glory days, with the re-recording of classic Stryper songs on Second Coming (2013) .

If you’re a skeptic or an agnostic about Stryper’s preeminence, then watch the video below. Spin the albums, and mark my words: if you have an ounce of taste, you will find yourself turning into a believer — because Stryper has more than earned their place in the pantheon of metal greats.