Ave, Greg Spawton! Greg has just revealed the cover art for the forthcoming English Electric Part Two. Out March 4, 2013.
Tag: Progressive rock
Songs from the Hedgerow: Preliminary Awards, 2012
by Brad Birzer, Progarchist Editor
Though Progarchy is only two months old, I’m absolutely thrilled with its successes. A thanks, first, to all of you out in the world (it’s a blast to look at the google map of who checks us out daily) who read us. I hope you keep coming back to us.
Second, though, an immense thanks to all of the Progarchist writers. Everything written here is purely voluntary. We each have full-time jobs and families, but we do this because we love it.
We’re certainly not the biggest music website, but I believe that–in terms of sheer literary quality–no other website matches us. I would hold any one of our writers (individually or collectively) against any other group of writers in the blogosphere. If this sounds cocky, I apologize. But, as editor, I find it quite humbling. We really like each other, but we also believe that the importance of the music demands that we write and try to match with our utmost abilities. On this, I think we’ve succeeded.
Additionally, though the site is based in the western Great Lakes of North America, we also have writers from the U.K., Brazil, and New Zealand. We’re hoping to have someone from Antarctica soon—Penguin Prog?—but, it’s been more difficult than one might first imagine.
As 2012 comes to its necessary and inescapable end, each of the Progarchists has been asked—as time permits—to rank her or his favorite albums of the past year.
I’ll be ranking my top fifteen albums as well, and I’m sure my number one pick of the year, which I think is the best album of the last twenty-four years, will probably come as no surprise to anyone.
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Kompendium now available for download
I received this via email this morning. Glad to see it. I ordered my physical CD quite a while ago, but I’ve still not received it. It seems to be quite the rage in British and European prog circles. Now, North and South Americans can download it as well. Amen.
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Firstly we would like to thank everybody for purchasing the album and for all their kind words and compliments. The album is really doing well and getting a great reaction across the board.
We would really appreciate any way that you can spread the word about Kompendium; Forums, Facebook, Radio Stations and TV.
For us it’s all about getting the word out that this special album is available. So all help is warmly appreciated.
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Matt Stevens’s Silent Night.
Two things I never hide: my love of Christmas Music and my love of the music of guitarist Matt Stevens. Matt is one of our single best living guitarists. Here, he puts his own very reverent and tasteful twist on a holiday classic. You can listen to it for free. If you like it, please purchase a download copy. It’s very much worth supporting Matt–as an artist and an entrepreneur.
The Lyrics of “Perilous”
If any of you are looking for profundity in rock, look no further than the new Glass Hammer album, PERILOUS. I finally had the chance to read through the entire story and lyrics last night. What a moment. Indeed, I really doubt that I’ll ever forget that reading.
From the opening line, I fully entered into the story, an immersion that only T.S. Eliot and Big Big Train (Greg Spawton!) have offered me before.
Steve Babb has explained that the lyrics are an allegory, meant to be discovered by each listener. I must admit, I’m still not sure I’ve figured out the allegory despite having this CD in rotation almost constantly since it arrived in late October. But, the imagery of the lyrics–or, more properly, the “Imagism”–is more than a bit boggling to the mind.
The best way to describe the obvious meaning of the text is of a man (whether alive or dead; or perhaps on a journey through the purgatory in a Dantesque or Bradburyesque fashion) is of a man crossing through a grave yard, meeting many souls (redeemed, damned, and otherwise) and being offered distractions and temptations the entire way.
Babb is somewhat famous in the prog community for being a master storyteller as well as for being a satirist. But, these lyrics are even something special for the already brilliant Babb. This is the kind of album that reminds me progressive rock is not just “rock plus” but true art.
Even if you’re not a prog fan, you will almost certainly find the lyrics stunning. I’ll offer a full review of the album very soon, but I had to post this now–such is my state of euphoria regarding this album.
Our Progarchist Week
Just in case you missed any of this, we had yet another brilliant week at Progarchy. Dr. Nick and Alison Henderson reviewed the new Steve Hackett album, Genesis Revisited II (Insideout). Tad Wert posted about guitarist Michael Hedges. Chris Morrissey reviewed (briefly) one of his favorite albums of the year, the debut album from Flying Colors, and he posted about the excellence of Mike Portnoy. I had the great privilege of interviewing Blake McQueen of Coralspin. Ian Greatorex (doesn’t everyone want an ubercool last name such as Greatorex?) looked at the past of Beardfish. Roger O’Donnell remembered his time recording Disintegration with The Cure. Jazz legend, Dave Brubeck, passed away, the day before turning 92. Carl Olson offered a nice review of his career. Finally, our Englishman, turned-Kiwi, Russell Clarke, explained why Big Big Train allows him to remember, fondly, his homeland.
Forthcoming, more reviews of Steve Hackett (at least one more, maybe two) as well as a review of the forthcoming King Bathmat. Several (if not all!) Progarchists will also be explaining our “best of 2012.” Lots and lots to come before 2012 is done.
On a personal note, I’ve spent much of my free time this week, going back through the myriad interviews with the various members of American prog demi-gods, Glass Hammer. There’s plenty of quotable material from these guys. My favorite, though, comes from a 2002 interview with one of my oldest friends, Amy Sturgis. In response to one of her questions, Steve Babb stated: “We were attempting to repackage progressive rock (which we though had long since vanished) as fantasy rock.”
Coralspin Interview
One of my favorite CDs to make an appearance this year comes from a band with a big Trevor Rabin or Trevor Horn kind of feel to it: Coralspin’s Honey and Lava. Very graciously, band leader Blake McQueen allowed me to take up his valuable time to interview him. This is the first of what I hope will be many such interviews at Progarchy. Here’s my review of Honey and Lava.
On to the interview.
Progarchy: Blake, thanks so much for taking the time to talk to us. I’m sure you’re incredibly busy. So, again, thank you. As you know, I’m a huge fan of your first CD, and I think while you guys have already gotten a lot of notice, there’s much, much more to come. Would you mind telling our readers a bit about yourself–especially our North and Latin American readers who aren’t as familiar with the U.K. prog scene.
Blake: We come from the melodic, more song-orientated end of the prog spectrum. Ellie, the singer and keyboardist and myself, also a keyboard player, are classically trained. Ellie is also a classically-trained oboeist, although we haven’t yet put that to use! Jake had a Dad who liked to play jazz piano, and as a result Jake can play jazz piano pretty well himself, but he taught himself guitar as his main instrument. Both the guys in our new rhythm section can play piano as well, so we are an all-piano-playing band!
Speaking of the new rhythm section, this is something we want to announce, we’re very excited about it. We’ve got Mick Wilson on bass, and Ed Gorrod on drums, they’ve both joined us on a ‘session’ basis for gigging next year and for the recording of the second album. They are absolutely awesome players and the band sounds phenomenal. Mick comes from an instrumental prog band who are friends of ours called Red Bazar, we have gigged with them previously. Ed’s also in a prog band called Stuntmen.
Prog magazine recently described as like ‘Brian May and Rick Wakeman’s prog child’, which is not a bad description, although on Honey and Lava I perhaps sound more like Tony Banks than Rick Wakeman as I don’t do many whizzy keyboard bits (more of that on the next album, though).
Flying Colors (Best of 2012 — Part 4)
Another one of the albums in my Top Ten for 2012 is Flying Colors.
The sad fact is that so many “supergroup” collaborations end up being less than the sum of their parts.
But this collaboration is a glorious exception. Everything has gone right here.
Neal Morse (and Mike Portnoy) teaming up with Steve Morse (and Dave LaRue)?
Genesis Revisited II/Kompendium: Looking Forwards and Backwards
By Alison Henderson
Two albums have been released in the past month, which have presented an interesting fork in the prog road, so far as I am concerned. They have a great deal in common in terms of where their roots lie and the musicians which appear collectively on both. And both may succeed in their own ways in bringing more listeners into the proverbial prog fold.
Genesis Revisited II
Genesis Revisited II is Steve Hackett’s continuing project to rearrange and revitalise some of the vast Genesis canon, a task he started 16 years ago with the first volume, Watcher of the Skies. As currently one of the busiest and most sought after prog artists in the business, this has been a huge undertaking for him. The cast of musicians he has picked this time reflects the crème de la crème of prog with his trusty inner circle of Nick Beggs, Lee Pomeroy, Roger King, Gary O’Toole, Amanda Lehmann, Rob Townsend, Phil Mulford along with special guests that include Steven Wilson, Francis Dunnery, Nik Kershaw, Mikael Åkerfeldt, Steve Rothery, Nad Sylvan, Jakko Jakszyk, Neal Morse and Roine Stolt plus John Wetton, Nick Magnus and his brother John Hackett who appeared on volume one.
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Progarchy 