Here we are again, folks. We find ourselves at the end of another great year for prog. Sadly, we’ve had to say goodbye to some amazing artists this year, including John Wetton, but we at least have their music by which to remember them.
I know I’ve been a bit quiet here at Progarchy lately due to beginning graduate school this fall. Hopefully things settle down going forward, and I’ll be able to contribute more. For now, here are my favorite albums from 2017 in vaguely ascending order.
Continued from Part I: https://progarchy.com/2017/12/05/birzers-best-of-2017-part-i/
No. 5. Cosmograf, HAY MAN DREAMS. I’m pretty much a shoo-in for purchasing every thing Robin Armstrong—master of all things chronometry—does. I love the angst and the seriousness he brings to each and every note and lyric. Spirited without being gushy, and thoughtful without being pedantic. I also love how entrepreneurial he is in his approach to music—finding the best musician to fit each part he’s written. Whatever Armstrong does, he always achieves something serious and meaningful. The HAY-MAN DREAMS is no different. As with everything Armstrong does, there is gravitas.
This year has seen a bonanza of quality progressive music. I have probably listened to more great albums this calendar go-round then in any recent year. This list is, of course, totally subjective and based on my own predispositions towards symphonic, orchestral, and melody-hooked prog. There was such a plethora of wonderfully creative work in 2017 that I am increasing the list from the usual Top Ten or Top Twenty to a whopping 40 best.
And though ## 40 – – 21 are being categorized as only “honorable mentions” they still deserve your attention. All of the following releases are so good that on any given day (just not today) they might well “crack the ceiling” and wind up on my official TOP TWENTY (coming later this week). And now, in descending order from number 40 to number 21 are this years:
“Honorable Mentions”
40) SACRED APE/Sacred Ape
Continue reading “Watson’s Best Prog Albums of 2017: Part 1 — The “Honorable Mentions””
10. KXM- Scatterbrain
If you’re missing King’s X, then this one will satisfy your craving. Ray Luzier (KoRn) is on drums, George Lynch (Dokken & Lynch Mob) is on guitar, and Doug Pinnock (King’s X) is on bass and vocals. This is their second album, and it is much more varied in its music styles than their debut. I never was into Dokken, but George Lynch’s guitar work is killer -especially on “Breakout”.
9. Big Big Train – Grimspound
I give Grimspound the edge over its sister album, The Second Brightest Star. What a great collection of tributes and vignettes of everything that is good about Great Britain. Using small details to convey big ideas is really difficult, but BBT are masters and make it look easy.
Let me just state from the outset that I love that Chris had the gumption to post his favorites albums of the year already. We’re not even in December, Chris! Love it.
So, just as an experiment, I checked my player’s settings and calculated the albums I listened to the most. While I can’t claim this to be a fair statement of what I think the best of the year was–after all, some albums, such as Glass Hammer’s UNTOLD TALES. It’s only had a month to compete against some albums that have had 11 months. Still, it’s a marker.
Additionally, because my player calculates the number of plays for the year total, it registers all albums in my collections, not just those that came out in 2017. So, by the number, folks, by the numbers—the ten most played albums in the Birzer house for the last 11 months.
No. 10 most played of 2017:
by Rick Krueger
The sun shone warmly again on the south side of Chicago as Progtoberfest III kicked off its second day. Taking in the view as I exited the ‘L’, it was amusing and welcoming to see a familiar screaming face painted on the exterior of Reggie’s:
Hoping to get Alphonso Johnson’s and Chester Thompson’s autographs in the VIP Lounge the night before, I’d struck up a delightful conversation with members of the North Carolina Genesis tribute band ABACAB. In 2016, festival organizer Kevin Pollack had given them “homework” for this year: to play all of Genesis’ live album Seconds Out on the 40th anniversary of its release. You could tell the band was nervous (they focus on 1980s Genesis to get bookings, so they had to learn half the album in the past year) but also absolutely thrilled to bring it to the Rock Club stage. And on Saturday afternoon, they nailed it, to the joy of an enthusiastic, supportive crowd and rave reviews from other acts. They’re already planning to return to Reggie’s in April as a headliner, and for Progtoberfest IV next October. Check out why below:
by Rick Krueger
On Friday, October 20, hundreds of dedicated proggers converged on Chicago from around the country — and even from across the globe. The location: Reggie’s Rock Club & Music Joint on the Near South Side, only two blocks away from the former Chess Records, the birthplace of great discs by Muddy Waters, Chuck Berry, The Rolling Stones and countless others.
Reggie’s has two main rooms, both dedicated to Progtoberfest this weekend. The Rock Club is designed for concerts, with a raised stage, a main floor, an upper level mezzanine —and a wire fence decor motif throughout. The Music Joint has a tinier stage tucked into the back of a narrow bar and grill. This weekend, merch tables were crammed into every inch remaining on the main floor, and patrons less interested in the music (or needing a break from the density of the sound) took advantage of Friday and Saturday’s warm weather to eat and drink at sidewalk tables. An upstairs space that held a record store until recently was turned into the VIP/Meet and Greet lounge for the duration.
Due to the usual complications of traveling to and around Chicago as the weekend starts, I got to my spot in the Rock Club just as Schooltree was taking the stage. With only an hour on the schedule, they powered through highlights of their Heterotopia album, condensing the narrative to zoom in on its main character Suzi. The set left no doubt that Lainey Schooltree is a major talent; her songwriting chops, keyboard skills and vocal versatility all came through loud and clear, grabbing and holding the audience’s attention. The rest of the band bopped along brilliantly too, with the ebullient energy of Peter Danilchuk on organ and synth leading the way.
The crowd for Schooltree was solid, but hometown heroes District 97 were the first group to pack the place, filling both seats and standing room on the main floor. The band took no prisoners, blasting right into riff-heavy highlights from their three albums that showed off every player’s monster chops. Soaring above the din, Leslie Hunt pulled in the crowd with her astonishing vocal power and range. New songs were mixed in that sent the audience head-banging and prog-pogoing with abandon.
Dave Kerzner is back! Static is his second full-length solo album. New World established his prog bona fides, with its sprawling sci-fi concept album deployment of Pink Floyd-esque music. On Static, Dave again deploys his uncanny ability to sound like David Gilmour, and there are even moments when he sounds like Roger Waters shrieking away.
But even though it’s easy to imagine if Pink Floyd were still making great albums today they would sound exactly like this, the amazing thing is that Dave is not a copycat. Although he has mastered vintage sounds — not just our favorite vocal stylings, but also the coolest keyboard sounds you will ever hear — he is not a purveyor of prog nostalgia.
The most remarkable thing about Kerzner’s impressive new album, Static, is Dave’s songwriting abilities. He has every detail perfected: melody, harmony, orchestration, developmental dynamics, and emotional impact. His excellent songs are truly a cut above the competition and they unmistakably show how true musical talent, shaped by all the best musical influences, can be put in the service of stunning original compositions. Above all, the song is the thing of note here.
Every track is outstanding, although the album really should be considered to be a ten-track opus. “Prelude” is nothing but a wispy introduction to the magnificent album-opening progfest, “Hypocrites,” which introduces a theme that will return at the end of the disc on the epic 16:52 finale, “The Carnival of Modern Life.” And “Quiet Storm” blends nicely into the rip-roaring “Dirty Soap Box,” where Steve Hackett and Nick D’Virgilio show up to set things ablaze. I also think that “Right Back to the Start” and “Statistic” are brief enough that they may be taken as two preludes joined to set up the superfunky “Millennium Man.” But however you do the math, whether ten or fourteen, the result is the same: the album is perfect prog pleasure, with incredible variety and richness.
Dave’s quieter piano ballads (like “Static” or “Trust”) best display the subtle charms of his sophisticated songwriting skills. And they don’t really deserve to be called “piano ballads,” because they never stay still in one genre for long, but rather slowly soar into another musical dimension. So much surprise and delight is offered by this album, I can’t recommend it highly enough. Trust me, you have many, many hours of listening pleasure ahead.
It’s hard to pick any track as a favorite, because they are all so good. But early loves of mine (in addition to the epic bookends of the album opener and closer) include “Reckless,” which has a jaw-dropping instrumental section that sounds like 1980s King Crimson, and “Chain Reaction,” which sounds to my ears like 100% Fun-era Matthew Sweet.
Dave Kerzner, Static
Progarchist Rating: A+ 10/10 ★★★★★
Dave Kerzner – Lead & Backing Vocals, Keyboards, Guitar, Drums, Bass
Fernando Perdomo – Guitar, Bass, Drums, Backing Vocals
Derek Cintron – Drums
Randy McStine – Guitar & FX
Durga McBroom – Vocals
Lorelei McBroom – Vocals
Ruti Celli – Cello
Steve Hackett – Guitar on “Dirty Soap Box”
Nick D’Virgilio – Drums on “Dirty Soap Box”
Matt Dorsey – Bass on “Reckless”
Colin Edwin – Bass on “Static”
Ewa Karolina Lewowska – Vocals on “Static”
Alex Cromarty – Drums on “Chain Reaction”
Stuart Fletcher – Bass on “Chain Reaction”
Chris Johnson – Guitar on “Chain Reaction”
Produced by Dave Kerzner
Mixed by Dave Kerzner and Rob Aubrey
Mastered by Dave Kerzner
CD Cover and Booklet Artwork by Ed Unitsky
Artwork Concept by Dave Kerzner and Ed Unitsky
Graphic Design and Layout by Ed Unitsky
I couldn’t agree more with my fellow Progarchy editor, Brad Birzer, who has recently been singing the praises of Pink Floyd’s Meddle album and Live at Pompeii film. Back in the day, that was one of my most frequently played VHS tapes, as I watched “Echoes” over and over again. When the Floyd gets their groove on in that track, there is simply nothing better. It has set the standard for my aesthetic judgment of great prog in so many ways. No wonder Brad and I are brothers in prog!
Recently I have belatedly discovered one of the very best albums of 2016: Vision and Ageless Light by Eye. I must say that, if you like Pink Floyd’s “Echoes” and other such perfectly psychedelic prog, you will love this album. Eye has truly assumed the mantle of classic Pink Floyd for the present day. No one is making better music than this when it comes to groovy tunes laced with spacey synth sounds. Only Dave Kerzner’s mastery of vintage keyboard sounds is in the same league.
Listening to Eye, I am reminded of the excitement generated upon first hearing those classic sounds on Dark Side of the Moon. We forget how innovative and thrilling those sounds are, but Live at Pompeii can serve to remind us whenever we overhear the Floyd crafting that epochal album in some of the documentary stretches of the film. They are sounds both familiar (from the subsequent album) and unfamiliar (from the nascent album, in progress but not yet finished) that tantalize us with the brilliant experimental studio genius of the Floyd. Well, just like the Floyd, Eye has the uncanny knack for such innovation.
“Book of the Dead” starts things off with a slowly building instrumental that highlights Eye’s penchant for classic keyboard sounds. It crossfades into the next track, as does every track on the album, a feature which ends up shaping this album into an integrally perfect progtastic whole.
“Kill the Slavemaster” shifts things into higher gear as the band shows off their full psychedelic capabilities when it comes to rocking out. The aural delights in this song will seal the deal, if you have any doubts. If you like it old school, this is the album for you. The instruments all have a classic sound, but the music is truly fresh and exciting. It’s like entering a time machine and experiencing what it was like to hear a classic for the first time.
“Searching” is my favorite track on the album. It’s perfectly placed in third position here. By the time it arrives, the listener has been slowly primed for this maximally groovy experience. Seriously, I have not heard a song in years that more justly deserves the epithet of “groovy” than this one. The singing and the lyrics are so cool, especially with that perfectly timed echo at the end of the phrases. The back half of the track slips into such awesome grooving and then it even surprises with some exciting Jimi Hendrix Experience-like drum fills and guitar breaks to keep things going even longer.
“Dweller of the Twilight Void” is an appropriately mysterious pause between my favorite track and the extended psychedelic rock opera about to follow. Again, Eye shows off incredible instrumental mastery here, creating the sort of Floyd-like mood that no one else is able to generate these days.
“As Sure as the Sun” is the 27-minute track that the entire album culminates in. It will take a few listens for you to wrap your mind around it but, once you do, it becomes seriously addictive and wholly enjoyable, much like that all-time favorite track of mine by the Floyd, i.e., “Echoes.”
The sprawling grand finale track contains many highlights, but perhaps my favorite point arrives at 21:44, when the band suddenly morphs into sounding exactly like classic early Rush, right up until 23:14.
In short, if you have any good taste at all, you will delight in the magnificent aural feast served up by Eye on their latest album. It’s truly the uppermost upper-echelon prog that you should not be missing out on.
Kerzner is seeking Kickstarter pledges:
Here’s a brand new 75+ minute album (the length of a double album) of Progressive Rock you can get for as low as $10 (or $20 with an exclusive bonus only available on Kickstarter). If you like bands such as Pink Floyd, Genesis, Porcupine Tree, Marillion, Rush, Led Zeppelin, Queen, Radiohead and Sound of Contact (my band with Simon Collins) then just watch the video where I talk about and play music from my new album “Static” here: https://www.kickstarter.com/…/static-a-progressive-rock-alb…
Less than 9 days to join to get the exclusive extras and a glimpse behind the scenes during the making of the album all the way up through our performance on Yes’s Cruise To The Edge (including updates from CTTE itself with Steve Hackett, Nick D’Virgilio, Billy Sherwood and more!)
Progarchy 