A fascinating opinion piece by the editor of PROG, our friend and ally, Jerry Ewing.
The whole scenario raises one or two interesting points which – the most obvious of which is does Robert John Godfrey have a point? And if he does, were his points of reference correct in relation to that. And ultimately, does it really matter? On this latter point my personal feeling is not really. The history of rock music is littered with verbal spats between artists, most adding a soupçon of enjoyment to the crazy world of rock’n’roll for a short while, but few, if any, leaving any lasting effects on the careers of the protagonists or remaining embedded in the memory of all but the most zealous fan.
To celebrate the band’s 30th anniversary Galahad will be releasing a historical double CD retrospective with a twist, the twist being that ten of the tracks included are brand new re-recorded versions of old Galahad songs, some dating back to 1985, the year the band formed, including one thirty year old track (City of Freedom) which has never been recorded properly before!
In some cases the new versions are similar to the originals but in other cases the songs have been re-worked and re-arranged considerably, either way we have tried our best to be sympathetic to the spirit of the originals whilst trying to bring them up to date in terms of their sonic quality and also so that they compare favourably, hopefully, with the Galahad sound of 2015!
As this is a rather special as well as an epic album, clocking in at approximately 2 hours and 36 minutes, we have also included a few strategically placed ‘tributes’ to a few of our original influences within some of the newly recorded ‘old’ tracks, so it’ll be interesting to see if they’ll get spotted!
Hopefully, this collection is a fair representation of the Galahad cannon and will appeal to existing fans of the band and will also, perhaps, act as a taster to those yet to dip their toes in the world of Galahad music.
When Worlds Collide Track listing:
CD1
1. Lady Messiah (1985/2015)
2. The Chase (1988/2015)
3. City of Freedom (1986/2015)
4. Chamber of Horrors (1990/2015)
5. Dreaming From the Inside (1985/2015)
6. Room 801 (1990/2015)
7. Ocean Blue (1996/2015)
8. Don’t Lose Control (1990/015)
9. Exorcising Demons ( 1992/2015)
10. Karma For One (1997/2015)
CD2
11. Empires Never Last (2006/2014)
12. Sleepers (1992/2012)
13. Richelieu’s Prayer (1990/2012)
14. Painted Lady (1985/2014)
15. Bug Eye (1997/2014)
16. Singularity (2012)
17. Guardian Angel (2012)
18. Seize the Day (Single mix) (2012)
19. This Life Could Be My Last (2006/2014)
My September 2015 issue of PROG arrived today in Michigan. Wow, do I love this magazine. The iPad app/version is wonderful, but it’s so very nice to hold a tangible issue in my hands. Even the distinctive magazine smell is nice.
Much to my delight, PROG also included a copy of the PROGRESSIVE MUSIC AWARDS PROGRAMME 2015 with the issue. Definitely thoughtful and well done.
Excellence is . . . well . . . excellent in whatever form it takes.
As any Neil Peart fan well knows, the great man just celebrated his 63rd birthday and his sequel to his co-authored novel, CLOCKWORK LIVES, comes out tomorrow. We all eagerly await with intense and immense anticipation this new work by Peart and Hugo-nominated science-fiction author, Kevin J. Anderson.
Out September 15, 2015.
I must also proudly note that my intellectual biography of the world’s greatest drummer comes out tomorrow as well. NEIL PEART: CULTURAL (RE)PERCUSSIONS (WordFire Press). It will be available in paperback ($14.99) and ebook ($5.99) but is now available for pre-order.
I have to thank a lot of folks for their encouragement with this book project, and I hope I give everyone due credit in the book. When I read the works of Steve Horwitz and Rob Freedman, I just knew that I had to write a book on Peart. I’ve loved Neil Peart’s words and musicianship since first encountering MOVING PICTURES in March 1981. I was in seventh grade, and I’ve never been the same. To me, Peart fits in the same category as J.R.R. Tolkien, Ursula LeGuin, Ray Bradbury, and Milton Friedman as influences on my young life. As Peart has grown, so have I. And, so, I presume have most of us.
This book also turns out to be my fifth published biography. The other biographies, however, have been almost completely academic. When I first started to write this book, I’d wanted to write an autobiography with the emphasis on how Peart shaped my own life and thoughts on a variety of things. Even during the first draft, I started deviating from this plan. By the final product, I’d left in only a few personal experiences. There are two reasons for this.
First, almost everyone who reads the book wants to know about Peart, not me. Second, some of the experiences are still too painful to make public fully. I can only state that Peart’s art and example has meant as much to me and my life as any figure outside of my family.
In the book, I focus on Peart as a man of letters, one of our greatest in the English language. I was pretty thrilled when PROG’s Johnny Sharp wrote:
But author Bradley Birzer does go a little over the top in his gushing praise of his subject. When an intro mentions Peart in the same sentence as Socrates and Cicero. . .
He’s completely correct, of course. But, you should’ve seen earlier drafts! Ha. Anyway, if you like what we do at progarchy, you’ll like the bio.
Actually, I was just thrilled that my favorite magazine reviewed my book! Even if Sharp had hated it, I’d still be pretty honored that Jerry Ewing and Grant Moon took it seriously enough to review. Still, I’m so glad Sharp actually enjoyed it!
My issue of PROG 57 just arrived. It’s beautiful. But, especially great is the Bad Elephant sampler CD that came with it. If possible, make sure you grab the issue while it’s available.
As many of you probably know–and, if you live in the United States, you definitely know–when PROG hits the newsstands in the U.S., it is always two full issues behind what is being released in PROG’s home, the U.K. Barnes and Nobles carries them as does Hastings. Booksamillion might, too. I’m not sure. Hastings, I’ve noticed, gets them a little faster than does B&N.
Regardless, they’re slow in crossing the Atlantic and appearing on our magazine shelves. In large part, this is simply because the U.S. does not possess the magazine reading culture that the U.K. does. Not a great comment on the U.S., but true, nonetheless. Things such as Soap Opera Digest and Us that one finds at grocery store checkouts sell very well, while magazines and journals dealing with news, foreign policy, science fiction, music (except for Rolling Stone), or anything else that is basically not too ephemeral sell poorly. Such is life.
Editor Jerry Ewing has worked extremely hard–as he does on all things–to make PROG more accessible here in the States. And, the iPad app created by Jerry and Teamrock is truly a thing of beauty. I eagerly download my new copy of PROG the moment it hits the newsstands in the U.K.
Just this week, however, a Facebook friend very kindly–though, he’s probably sick of me whining about not getting PROG quickly enough in the U.S.–sent me a copy of PROG 52. It features Rush, so this was a double blessing and gift for me. Indeed, I’m thrilled. On FB, my generous English friend uses the the latinized version of his name, and I don’t want to take advantage of his privacy. Still, it was a wonderful gift on his part. Mark, I thank you profoundly.
Within a half hour of receiving and delving into the actual tangible issue, PROG hooked me. The iPad app is a beautiful thing, and I do read it fully. But, there is nothing akin to holding the actual issue in my hand. The size, the quality of paper, the always excellent writing, and rather eye popping graphics of the real, tangible deal are just so much better than anything the iPad can show.
Even more than than the joy of a book being actually held, the magazine–with its spectacular mix of image and word–is a very, very (very!) nice thing. So, I splurged–purchased a print subscription within a half hour of Mark’s gift arriving in the mail.
Who wouldn’t love this cover? Holy schnikees, it’s gorgeous. Admittedly, I’m a rather huge fan of Jerry Ewing. But, he’s outdone himself with this one. I’m drooling. . . .
I just found out that Chicago’s master of all things Prog, Zee Baig, became an American citizen today. Getting to know Zee–even if only virtually–over the last year has been one of the great joys of editing progarchy.
Sound of Majestic Colors (2014) by Fire Garden. A masterful work of prog metal.
His success today is the kind of thing that makes me say: good for Zee and incredibly good for America!
Our second album, Garden of Ghosts is being co-produced by Brett Kull and Fractal Mirror. We expect to release it in October/November 2014. Early buzz from friends and other musicians around the studio has been great!
We will start a pre-order campaign in early September with an immediate download of one of the album’s tracks available at the time of the order.
We also have been filming some of the recordings and we will be posting clips on our Facebook page.
The album is also being mixed by Brett, who has graciously added acoustic and electric guitars and is responsible for many of the background/harmony vocals. We can tell you that with Brett’s assistance the music sounds great (to us at least!) and we are excited to get to the finish line. There will also be special guest appearances by Larry Fast, Don Fast on guitar and sitar, Jacque Varsalona, and Charlotte Koperdraat on background vocals, with a special appearance by the Echolyn choir.
A brief history:
The origins of Fractal Mirror can be traced back to the mid-eighties when three friends from Amsterdam started to make music together influenced by bands from the famous 4AD label and artists like David Sylvian and Japan. At the same time a new wave of progressive rock was expanding its listening audience with bands like IQ, Pendragon, Twelfth Night, Marillion and Pallas but especially the virtually unknown Canadian band Terraced Garden having an influence on their writing.
Ed and Leo continued making music together into the 21st century, focusing on the Alternative or Progressive audience. They met their drummer and lyricist via the Big Big Train site and met the challenge of transatlantic recording and communications with the release of Strange Attractors to very positive reviews. Their music is song based and there are no long instrumental passages or difficult time signatures. The music has a dark, raw edge and they often use the Mellotron. In March 2014 Fractal Mirror signed a deal with Third Contact, a record label owned by Larry Fast (Synergy/Peter Gabriel). They released the physical album in US and Canada and digitally worldwide on March 18 2014.
For Garden of Ghosts, Frank wrote most of the lyrics while traveling and sent them over to Leo/Ed, who then write the music. Our ability to work together remotely has evolved, as has our music and recording skills. Garden of Ghosts will contain a full lyrics booklet and an explanation of the songs, which focus on how our memories evolve over time, how we connect and relate to each other in this new digital world.
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“Fractal Mirror have made a strong opening statement with a fine combination of upbeat, crafted pop rock songs nicely offset by the darker, melancholic and somber pieces. An album to return to often…” Bob Mulvey of The Progressive Aspect, UK
“One might call it New Wave/prog or alt rock/prog. I can, however, state unequivocally, it’s gorgeous, stunning, moody, intense, brooding, uplifting, inspiring.” Brad Birzer, Progarchy
“How do these guys manage to sounds so accessible yet so critically hypnotizing? “ Lady Obscure,
“Fractal Mirror gives the mid-tempo rock bittersweet without instrumental showboating , recalling much REM and Bowie, sometimes with touches of the Kinks. MusicSphere (France)
Progarchy 