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Tag: Progressive rock
Do Not Disturb – I am listening to Van Der Graaf Generator
Van Der Graaf Generator: Do Not Disturb
Esoteric Antenna EANTCD1062
1 Aloft
2 Alfa Berlina
3 Room 2010
4 Forever Falling
5 Shikita Ga Nai
6 (Oh no! I must have said) Yes
7 Brought to Book
8 Almost the Words
9 Go
Revitalised as a trio of Hugh Banton, Guy Evans & Peter Hammill since 2008’s Trisector, this is the latest (and maybe last) album from one of the most innovative, exciting and original bands from progs first wave.
This was released back in September and it has taken me a while to get round to writing this review, due to as previously mentioned life getting in the way, and of course I needed time to live with and digest this album.
With the added shadow of this potentially being their last album, the mood of regret, or closure and a sense of finality hang over the record, which for my money is one of the finest they have produced in this latter period of their mighty career.
Continue reading “Do Not Disturb – I am listening to Van Der Graaf Generator”
Celebrate YES: Finally Inducted
In this world, the gods have lost their way.
A huge, ginormous progarchy congratulations to YES for *finally* making into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame!!!
Over our five years of existence, we’ve been huge YES fans. Here are just a few selections of the many thousands of words we’ve written on YES over nearly half a decade.
New Andy Tillison Diskdrive Solo Material
Gorgeous. Enjoy.
For more information on the project, please go here: http://wildearthfineart.com/harmony_for_elephants
Cryptic Andy Tillison
So, without much explanation at all, the master of mischief, Andy Tillison, has just posted on Facebook that he would be releasing new music tonight. Whether this is solo or The Tangent or something else is unclear. Regardless, we await it eagerly. And, we’ll let you know when we do.
Susie Bogdanowicz: Best Female Vocalist, 2016
Dear Progarchists,
Prog Magazine, led by the ever-amazing Jerry Ewing, has asked for a vote of the best of 2016 in a variety of categories. The Prog Readers Poll, as Ewing describes it:
Here’s your chance to vote in the Prog 2016 Readers’ Poll. 2016 might not be year many of us will remember too findlay, for a variety of reasons. But music is the great leveller, and in music we all seek the great escape. Having just compiled our Critics’ Choice album of the year list, and casting an eye back over the past 12 months, then maybe 2016 did have something going for it… There were great new albums from Marillion, Opeth,Big Big Train, iamthemorning, Radiohead and more. Vibrant gigs from Haken, Public Service Broadcasting, Dream Theater and others. And new arrivals on the scene like Kylver, The Anchoress, Teramaze. Oh, and some blokes called Anderson Rabin Wakeman… Maybe 2016 wasn’t too bad after all… So who made your 2016 a real prog rocker? Let us know – you can fill in the form on Page 25 of the current issue of Prog. or you can e-mail us your picks for the following categories. Use the subject Line ‘Readers’ Poll 2016′, and e-mail your choices to progpoll@teamrock.com.
We’ve never (and I’ve never) done anything like this before, but I ask that you consider voting for Susie Bogdanowicz of Glass Hammer as BEST FEMALE VOCALIST. I’ve been praising her vocals for well over a decade now, and I find that she simply gets better and better, though I did not think this possible when I first heard her voice. Her lead vocals on this year’s VALKYRIE by Glass Hammer are nothing less than astounding. Indeed, I consider her the single best voice in all of rock (in every form) today.
In case you’re in doubt, however, I’ll let you decide for yourself. Here she is, singing a prog classic.
Dare I note, she’s even better than the original vocalist! Heresy, I know. Still, proof as well that Bogdanowicz deserves best female prog vocalist of 2016.
Thanks! Yours, Brad
Ending at the Top: RUSH, TIME STAND STILL, Part I
A two-part review of Rush, TIME STAND STILL (2016).
Between May and August, 2015, Rush performed to jam-packed audiences in cities across the United States and Canada. Rush captured this tour with its own 2015 release, R40 LIVE, a three cd/1-bluray set. This tour attracted an immense and diverse crowd. Generations of men in the same family (grandfather, father, and sons) sat together, women attended in larger than usual numbers, and my two oldest kids (Nathaniel and Gretchen) drove with me nearly 10 hours to see the band perform R40 in Lincoln. That magical show will always remain one of the greatest of my life. Not just because I was seeing Rush for the umpteenth time, but because I got to share the band with my children for the first time. They’ve grown up with Rush—listening to the music and watching their concerts over and over again; indeed, all six of my kids can readily name the members of the band, the songs, and the albums—but they’d never experienced the joy of an actual concert. It was, to be sure, a glorious spectacle.
When I looked out the bedroom window the other day to see Nathaniel shoveling snow and head banging, I could tell he was head banging to 2112. Every few moments the shovel came up and served as an Alex Lifeson air guitar. Needless to write, it took a bit for him to complete the driveway. Regardless, I’m deeply proud that my children recognize the greatness of the three Canadian artists, even older than their dad!
Continue reading “Ending at the Top: RUSH, TIME STAND STILL, Part I”
ProgSphere’s Top 20 Prog Albums of 2016
A nice list from ProgSphere.
http://www.prog-sphere.com/specials/best-20-releases-of-2016-by-prog-sphere/
Best Live Release of 2016: Big Big Train’s STONE AND STEEL
Retro-re-review of Big Big Train, STONE AND STEEL (EERBR001; English Electric, 2016).
Way back on the first day of April, 2016, I posted this:
For the most part, the live studio versions performed on STONE AND STEEL are similar, but not identical to the original album versions. It’s clear that the band encourages spontaneity in each musician. Watching the band, I was happily surprised to see how many duties Manners and Poole (even Longdon plays keys briefly) share when it comes to the keyboards and just how much Gregory (my all-time favorite guitarist, along with Alex Lifeson) shares with Sjöblom. Such sharing, of course, is nothing if not a sign of wisdom and charity, yet another example of why so many of us love this band. Individual ego diminishes in proportion to the excellence manifested by the entire band.
Spawton, it must be noted, is clearly the sturdy pillar around which all revolves. Though he’s off to the side and not in the limelight, his bass is strong, innovative, and warm.
My review was glowing, and there’s nothing in it I would change, even 9 months later. When it comes to live releases in 2016, there have been a fair number of simply excellent ones. Steve Hackett’s TOTAL EXPERIENCE, Aryeon’s THE THEATER EQUATION, Morse’s ALIVE AGAIN, and even BBT’s second live release of the year, A STONE’S THROW FROM THE LINE, each captured something unique about the musicians and the time period.
Continue reading “Best Live Release of 2016: Big Big Train’s STONE AND STEEL”
Progarchy 