Tag: Steve Hackett

kruekutt’s 2025 Favorites

On By kruekuttIn art rock, avant-garde, classical, Discipline, folk music, Haken, hard rock, Insideout Music, jazz, jazz rock, Pink Floyd, pop, progressive metal, progressive rock, Rock and Roll, singer-songwriterLeave a comment

It’s been a good year for music! So good it demanded a slightly different format this time around. You can read my original reviews of my 40 or so favorites from 2025 at the article links that precede each listicle. Listings include the types of release as laid out below, with Top Favorite listings in bold italics (as well as pictured above)!

  • New Releases:
    • New Albums
    • Live Albums (audio and video)
    • Christmas Albums
  • Back Catalog:
    • Reissues
    • Box Sets (minimum of 3 CDs)
    • Discoveries (unheard until 2025)
    • Rediscoveries (heard before, forgotten, loved again in 2025)
  • New Music Books

Clean-Up on Aisle 24 (January)

  • Mike Campbell and the Dirty Knobs, Virgins, Vagabonds and Misfits – discovery from 2024
  • Wilco, Hot Sun Cool Shroud – discovery from 2024

Gotta Lotta Live If You Want It (February)

  • Steve Hackett, Metamorpheus – reissue from 2024
  • Soft Machine, Drop – reissue from 2024
  • Soft Machine, Floating World Live – reissue from 2024

Box Set Report, Q1 (March)

  • Sonic Elements, IT: A 50th Anniversary Celebration of The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway by Genesis – new album
  • Wilco, A Ghost Is Born Deluxe Edition – box set
  • Yes, Close to the Edge Super Deluxe Edition – box set

Phil Keaggy: The Progarchy Interview (April)

  • Phil Keaggy & Sunday’s Child – rediscovery from 1988 – Top Favorite Rediscovery!
  • Phil Keaggy & Malcolm Guite, Strings & Sonnets – discovery from 2024

Lightning Round Reviews (April)

  • Black Country New Road, Forever Howlong – new album
  • Andy Summers & Robert Fripp, The Complete Recordings 1981-1984 – box set
  • Imminent Sonic Destruction, Floodgate – new album
  • Sons of Ra, Standard Deviation – new album

May Quick Takes

  • Haken, Liveforms – live album & video
  • Ian Leslie, John & Paul: A Love Story in Songs – Top Favorite New Music Book!

June Quick Takes

  • Louise Patricia Crane, Netherworld – discovery from 2024
  • Markus Reuter with Fabio Trentini and Asaf Sirkis, Truce ❤ – new album

Summer’s End

  • Dave Bainbridge,
    • On the Edge (Of What Could Be) – Top Favorite New Album! (tie with Brad Mehldau below)
    • Veil of Gossamer – discovery from 2004
    • Celestial Fire – discovery from 2014
    • Celestial Fire Live in the UK – live album; discovery from 2017
  • Bioscope, Gento – new album
  • Discipline, Breadcrumbs – new album

Q4 Quick Takes

  • David Gilmour,
    • The Luck and Strange Tour – live album
    • Live at the Circus Maximus – live video – Top Favorite Live Album! (tie with Snarky Puppy below)
  • Pink Floyd, Wish You Were Here 50 – multiple formats – Top Favorite Reissue!
  • Ring Van Möbius, Firebrand – new album
  • Kate Rusby, Christmas Is Merry – live album – Top Favorite Christmas Album!
  • Sigur Ros, Takk – remastered reissue
  • The Zombies, Odessey and Oracle (Mono Remaster) – reissue

Classical & Jazz

  • Brad Mehldau, Ride into the Sun – Top Favorite New Album! (tie with Dave Bainbridge above)
    • Elliott Smith
      • Either/Or – discovery from 1997
      • XO – discovery from 1998 – Top Favorite Discovery!
  • Snarky Puppy
    • Sylva (with Metropole Orkest) – remastered reissued live album
    • We Like It Here – remastered reissue
    • Somni (with Metropole Orkest) – Top Favorite Live Album! (tie with David Gilmour above; audio & video)
  • Tenebrae, A Prayer for Deliverance – live album
  • Tortoise, Touch – new album

And Shockingly Unreviewed Until Now:

  • BEAT, Neon Heat Disease/Strange Spaghetti – live album. Read my concert review from 2024 here.
  • Nick Drake, The Making of Five Leaves Left – Top Favorite Box Set! An utter original who died far too young, Drake’s wistful, sturdy, thoroughly unique British folk-rock gradually rose from turn-of-the-1970s obscurity to be embraced by aficionados worldwide. While his three albums (and another disc of studio leftovers) speak for themselves, this lovely box traces his progress over two formative years, from impromptu dorm-room recordings through a breathtaking audition and simpatico sessions (especially those with double bass magician Danny Thompson and master orchestrator Robert Kirby) to the uncluttered, spacious beauty of his debut. If Drake needs any advocacy beyond the sheer communicative power of his songs, here’s all the evidence you need; and as a bonus, long-time fans will find treasures they may not have known they were missing.

— Rick Krueger

Rick’s Quick Takes for Q4!

On By kruekuttIn art rock, avant-garde, Big Big Train, hard rock, Insideout Music, Pink Floyd, pop, progressive metal, progressive rock, psychedelic rockLeave a comment

No haikus this time, I promise! However, I am going to try and make up for my recent radio silence by covering a lot of ground at a fast and furious pace. Listening links will be available in the title listings. Buckle up . . .

Completely new & noteworthy releases have seemed few and far between the last few months — although I’ve not yet heard the new Neal Morse album Time Lord has so fulsomely praised. My hands-down favorite (easily making my year-end shortlist) has to be Firebrand, the farewell album from Norwegian keyboard trio Ring Van Möbius. On three extended tracks, Thor Erik Helgesen delivers more frenzied organ riffs and howling modular synthesizer licks per minute than we’ve heard since the glory days of Emerson, Lake & Palmer — plus thoroughly unhinged singing of Dag Olav Husås’ trippy lyrics to boot! With Havard Rasmussen’s growling bass and Husås’ throbbing percussion driving the album to multiple shattering climaxes, Firebrand is a demented psychedlic journey to the outer limits of angular, aggressive prog — and all the more gripping on account of it! Meanwhile Tony Levin, Markus Reuter and Pat Mastoletto are back as Stick Men for a 5-track EP of new material, Brutal. This one packs a serious, King Crimson-adjacent punch; the title track, “Bash Machine” and “Pulp” all live up to their names, leaping out of the speakers with heady abandon, precision instrumental riffery, and dense blocks of hardcore sound. More, please! And whatever the debate over the merits of Paul Thomas Anderson’s latest film One Battle After Another, Jonny Greenwood provides yet another arresting soundtrack for the director; this time around, Greenwood foregrounds jagged piano over his exquisitely modernist orchestral textures (as well as the occasional gnarly reminder of his trademark guitar sounds in Radiohead and The Smile).

On the other hand, there’s a motherlode of excellent live albums out this quarter! Big Big Train score yet again with Are We Nearly There Yet?, as Alberto Bravin, Greg Spawton and their band of equals blitz through 2024’s fabulous The Likes of Us on disc 1, then gloriously reaffirm BBT back-catalog highlights and rarities on disc 2. District 97 has buffed up and expanded their stellar 2013 collaboration with John Wetton, One More Red Night: Live in Chicago, doubling the disc’s playing time with the Wetton/Leslie Hunt duet “The Perfect Young Man” and D97’s debut album epic “Mindscan”. Reunited with Mike Portnoy, Dream Theater’s 3-CD, 2-BluRay Quarantieme: Live a Paris is an unbeatable 40th-anniversary souvenir; from the crunchy, complex metal of “Metropolis” and Scenes from a Memory through phone-waving power ballads like “Hollow Years” and “The Spirit Carries On” to full-on prog suites “Stream of Consciousness” and “Octavarium”, the entire band operates at a new peak. And, while mashing up a new production of Hamlet with songs from Radiohead’s Hail to the Thief for the Royal Shakespeare Company, Thom Yorke decided the group’s concert takes on the material deserved their own release. Hail to the Thief (Live Recordings 2003-2009) is a banger well worth fans’ time; Radiohead is at their most feral here, squeezing fresh juice from the album’s fuzzed-up, squelchy snapshots of cultural unease with a tightened-up yet wilder sound.

Still, two live particular live releases stood out for me. David Gilmour’s 2024 tour set, available as audio from throughout (The Luck and Strange Concerts) or breathtaking video of a single show (Live at the Circus Maximus), is sleek and spectacular in equal measure, the subdued melancholy and sublimated anger of his solo albums and late Pink Floyd interlaced with the familiar flavors of selected Floyd classics. One of the best things about this set is that it isn’t all Gilmour’s baby: Greg Phillinganes ably fills the keyboard and vocal roles of Richard Wright on “Time”; daughter Romany visibly steals the Rome audience’s heart with her lead vocal on “Between Two Points”; backing vocalists Louise Campbell and The Webb Sisters light up a fresh take on “The Great Gig in the Sky” plus recent solo songs “The Piper’s Call” and “A Boat Lies Waiting”. But Gilmour is still the star, never disappointing on the standards, raising chills with his singing and solos every bit as much on “A Great Day for Freedom” and “High Hopes” as on “Wish You Were Here” and “Comfortably Numb”, his young backing band keeping up all the while. Unmissable, and a unquestioned 2025 Favorite, especially the video version.

Plus, just this past week I discovered my holiday album of the year! Yorkshire songstress Kate Rusby, “the nightingale of Barnsleydale”, has made eight Christmas albums in the last two decades; her latest, Christmas Is Merry, is a live compilation from recent December tours that celebrates the season with the joy and awe it deserves. From whimsical takes on Tin Pan alley chestnuts (“It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year”, “I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas”) to rumbustious traditional carols (“Hark Hark”, “Sunny Bank”) to off-center originals (“Glorious”), all backed by a trad folk band and brass, Rusby is guaranteed to raise a smile. And when she switches to her intimate croon for the foreboding “The Moon Shines Bright” and a hushed “O Little Town of Bethlehem”, I dare you not to be moved. An immediate 2025 Favorite; you really need to hear this.

There have been first-rate reissues aplenty as well. My Favorites have been: The Zombies’ long-neglected Summer of Love classic Odessey and Oracle remastered in mono, with Colin Blunstone’s sublime vocals and Rod Argent’s classically tinged organ propelling an impressively mature song suite; the 20th anniversary remaster of Sigur Ros’ Takk — a delightfully imaginative, massively symphonic highlight of the Icelandic post-rockers’ output; and Pink Floyd’s 50th anniversary edition of their elegiac masterpiece Wish You Were Here (especially the BluRay release, which includes a complete 1975 show suitably exhumed from its original bootleg by Steven Wilson).

And there are lots more reissues worth a listen: the 1983 debut from Detroit pop-proggers Art in America (they had a harp player — yes, a giant harp, one with all those strings) along with their unreleased second album Rise; Steve Hackett’s album-length acoustic collaboration with Shakespeare and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, A Midsummer Night’s Dream; fresh Steven Wilson remixes in stereo, surround and Atmos of King Crimson’s transitional albums In the Wake of Poseidon (Robert Fripp and Peter Sinfield carrying on from the innovative debut with a rotating cast of characters) and Lizard (free jazz meets post-Wagnerian romanticism; quite the magnificent mess); Nick d’Virgilio and Mark Hornby’s long-unavailable, polystylistic Rewiring Genesis: A Tribute to The Lamb Lies On Broadway (with full orchestra on “In the Cage” a Dixieland “Counting Out Time”, sneaky Jethro Tull quotes tucked in the fadeout of “The Waiting Room”, etc.)

Lastly, while the music industry’s annual fourth-quarter release glut means that my box set backlog is worse than ever, I can wholeheartedly recommend the super-deluxe version of the original The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway; while the set’s Atmos mix has been controversial, its straight-up stereo remaster gives the music an absorbing clarity that fills in the blanks of Peter Gabriel’s opaque storyline, and a live bootleg from Genesis’ contemporaneous tour (with vocals mostly overdubbed by Gabriel 20 years later) is equally, winningly surreal. Finally, the 20-disc Peter Hammill: The Charisma and Virgin Recordings, 1971-1986 isn’t for the faint of heart — but given Hammill’s track record with Van der Graaf Generator, hardcore enthusiasts like me knew that anyway. Boundless existential musings set to music of structural, timbral and histrionic extremes — nearly 200 tracks, with 1975’s proto-punk album Nadir’s Big Chance and 1977’s dark, devastating break-up song cycle Over standing out. Hammill (who opened for Genesis during parts of The Lamb tour) may be strong meat, but he never gives less than his all.

— Rick Krueger

Rick’s Quick Takes for Summer’s End

On By kruekuttIn Ambient, Atmospheric rock, Discipline, electronic, Insideout Music, krautrock, progressive rockLeave a comment

As usual, direct purchase links will follow each album review, along with video or audio streaming where available. Given the potential impact of new US tariffs and regulations on both overseas musicians and the vendors who sell their music, I especially encourage readers to support your favorite prog artists and retailers during this period of transition.

Dave Bainbridge, On the Edge (Of What Could Be): I glommed onto Bainbridge with his fabulous 2021 effort To the Far Away, but every one of his solo albums is crammed full of delights — rocking, rhapsodic and ravishing throughout. On the Edge is no exception: a double album with a self-contained suite on each disc, like Dave’s band Iona it takes listeners on a trip through the beauty of this world to the promise of a life to come. So many highights they can’t all fit here! Up-tempo elegy “Colour of Time” (with Randy McStine’s fierce vocal inspiring Bainbridge to heights of biting, frenzied jazz-fusion); the title track’s multi-sectioned build from triple-time acoustic folkiness to a thrilling electric climax; Simon Phillips’ fleet drum groove on “Farther Up and Farther In”, topped with mind-melting acrobatics from Bainbridge and piper Troy Donockley; Frank van Essen’s evocative violin and Bainbridge’s primal, Santana-meets-Mahavishnu cry on the orchestral “Beyond the Plains of Earth and Sky” are just a few of many great moments. Toss in vocals (in English and Gaelic) from a bevy of fine singers and virtuoso keyboards from Bainbridge, and you have an set that takes you on a genuinely amazing journey, gathering power as it builds to a spectacular culmination. Already a 2025 Favorite and a solid contender for the year-end top spot.

Bioscope, Gento: Steve Rothery’s keening, singing guitar has been one of Marillion’s prime calling cards for more than 40 years; as Edgar Froese’s appointed musical heir, Thorsten Quaeschning has recently propelled synth-rock trailblazers Tangerine Dream to fresh creative heights. Recorded during breaks in their bands’ work, the duo’s debut is a classic example of how two great tastes can taste great together. With the exception of psychedelic-Beatles closer “Kaleidoscope”, the musical elements on Gento repeatedly gather from thin air, coalesce, intensify, interact, react and dissipate — whether driven by Quaeschning (the wispy melodies, luxuriant textures and motorik rhythms of the three-part opener “Vanishing Point”), Rothery (the chiming rhythm guitar, slide/synth duets, fierce fuzz riffing and floating arabesques that shape another trilogy, “Bioscope”), or both in wonderfully organic call and response mode at multiple pieces’ climaxes. Add the rock solid drumming of Elbow’s Alex Reeves, and the results really are magical. Gento has gently, unobtrusively grown on me, all the way to making my 2025 Favorites list; it may take a few listens, but I think it will do something similar for you.

Discipline, Breadcrumbs: Eight years on from their last record, the Detroit proggers serve up another helping of their trademark, stately melancholia. Breadcrumbs proudly mines veins dug by King Crimson, Gabriel-era Genesis, Van der Graaf Generator — even a bit of keyboard-period Rush, with production by Terry Brown and art by Hugh Syme to boot — but as always, the results are a heady, hearty brew all its own. Throughout the intriguing title epic, the measured lament of “Keep the Change”, the relentless, stinging “When the Night Calls to Day/Aloft” and the thwarted, impressionistic “Aria”, Matthew Parmenter’s lyrical rhetoric and harmonically slippery keys take point, with Chris Herin providing pungent, tasty support and comment on guitar. While Breadcrumbs leans away from the slashing theatrics of vintage Discipline classics Unfolded Like Staircase and To Shatter All Accord, it still gives off a chilly intensity that showcases the band at their most spellbinding and cathartic. Through every challenging musical twist and verbal turn. this album is finely crafted and delivered with total conviction — another instant 2025 Favorite!

Steve Hackett, The Lamb Stands Up Live At The Royal Albert Hall: Yes, it’s Hackett’s tenth live album of the 21st century, but as usual, fans will find this a must for multiple reasons. Given recent personnel announcements, it’s probably Steve’s last live set with Roger King’s keyboards and Craig Blundell’s drums driving his talented band forward; the first half proves a spirited solo set, with lots of pleasingly vintage material and a thrusting trilogy of excerpts from 2024’s The Circus and The Nightwhale. And it’s hard to conceive of a better anniversary celebration for The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway! Nad Sylvan utterly inhabits protagonist Rael and Peter Gabriel’s other sundry characters; unjustly-forgotten Genesis vocalist Ray Wilson conjures an atmospheric, rumbling take of “Carpet Crawlers”; reflective moments like “Hairless Heart” shimmer, narratives like “The Lamia” and the title track subtly, potently grip your attention, and heavier moments like “Fly on a Windshield”, “Lilywhite Lilith” and “It” slam good and hard. With the super-deluxe box of The Lamb finally coming out at the end of September after multiple delays, sets like Dave Kerzner’s studio tribute and Hackett’s new concert set have nicely filled the gap while reminding both long-time and first-time listeners how ahead of its time the album was, and how vibrant this music still is.

Robert Reed, Sanctuary IV. One of the driving forces behind 1990s neo-proggers Magenta, Reed has branched out impressively in the following decades. Reed’s Sanctuary albums — episodic long-form pieces in the genre pioneered by Mike Oldfield’s Tubular Bells — have evolved far beyond pastiche or even tribute, and here he refines and re-energizes his approach to its peak. Compelling opener “The Eternal Search” races forward, climaxing with an utterly berserk Simon Phillips drum solo; “Truth” bounces vivid instrumental colors off of sampled male vocals, morphs into a nautical shuffle laced with Les Penning’s recorder tootles, then lunges for a grandiose, double-time finale; and the closing “Sanctuary” provides the perfect comedown with its gentle, compact, well-wrought theme. If you’re looking for a sweet spot between Bainbridge’s Celtic maximalism and Bioscope’s kinematic ambience, Sanctuary IV’s shimmering, tuneful instrumentals could be just your ticket.

— Rick Krueger

Rick’s Quick Takes: Gotta Lotta Live If You Want It

On By kruekuttIn art rock, hard rock, Insideout Music, jazz rock, progressive rock1 Comment

With apologies to The Rolling Stones and Neil Young (and of course, Nicolette Larson) . . .

A good chunk of early 2025’s prog action has been concentrated “in the arena”: new releases and reissues of concert recordings, whether of decades-old vintage or just yesteryear, unplugged or fully electrified. Purchase and streaming links are provided below where available. (One relatively new challenge: physical media is selling out faster than ever these days; some of what’s below ran out of stock even before the official release! Bookmark the appropriate page and hope for restocks, I guess?)

Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe, An Evening of Yes Music Plus: One of the odder detours in Yes history, as Jon Anderson left the more commercial mothership of the 1980s and gathered 3/5th of the band’s breakthrough line-up for an album/tour cycle that proved equal parts throwback and reboot. As on ABWH’s 1989 studio album, the freshest moments of this 2 CD/2 DVD concert set occur when Howe’s plangent guitar and Wakeman’s graceful piano vault over Bruford’s syndrum clatter on new tracks “Birthright”, “Brother of Mine” and “Order of the Universe”. (Meanwhile, Anderson’s melodic volleys of New Age word salad remain consistent. Never change, Jon!) Potent, precise takes on classics like “Close to the Edge” and “Heart of the Sunrise”, along with plenty of solo space, make for an enjoyable show that proved there was life in these middle-aged dogs yet — even if Trevor Rabin and Chris Squire wouldn’t share the original group’s name. Thanks to Action Records of Preston, UK for their prompt service when preorders sold out!

District 97, Live for the Ending: Chicago’s finest proggers play the entirety of their latest album live, at home and overseas. D97’s reading of the complete Stay for the Ending is a straight-up recital with few variations from the recording; what impresses here is the consistent commitment and energy on display. It’s evident how fiendishly difficult this stuff is, how the now-long-time lineup of Andrew Lawrence, Jim Tashjian, Tim Seisser and Jonathan Schang sink their teeth into the harmonic and melodic extremes of each track — and how consistently Leslie Hunt rises to the occasion, riding every chunky guitar/bass lick, synth blast and time-warping drum fill with her expressive, acrobatic singing. Given the constant hairpin turns and switchbacks of this music, the occasional rough edges slot right in; this is a band playing right up to the limits of their considerable skills, then going above and beyond! Longtime fans like me won’t be disappointed, and newbies will get a solid sense of how gutsy and thrilling District 97 are in concert.

Steve Hackett, Live Magic at Trading Boundaries: The ninth live album of Hackett’s Genesis Revisited era, this unplugged set compiled from multiple year-end performances at an art gallery/performance space/boutique hotel in the British countryside, is genuine surprise and a refreshing change of pace. With Hackett focusing on nylon-string acoustic guitar, there’s plenty of old-school Genesis (the medley of an excerpt from “Supper’s Ready” and “After the Ordeal” is a masterstroke), an eclectic range of solo material (with Hackett’s brother John and Rob Townsend on woodwinds), lovely original songs from sidekick Amanda Lehmann (with Steve on harmonica!) — even a blast of digital keys from Roger King, waking everyone up with a bit of Francis Poulenc’s organ concerto! Delicate, luscious and immediately appealing , Live Magic also proves a worthwhile appetizer for recently reissued “special editions” of Hackett’s acoustic back catalog (1983’s Bay of Kings, 1988’s Momentum, 2005’s Metamorpheus and 2008’s Tribute) — which seem to be selling out even as I type . . .

King Crimson at nugs.net: Partnering with the premiere online concert specialists (whose clientele range from superstars Bruce Springsteen and Jack White to up-and-coming jammers Billy Strings and Goose), Robert Fripp’s Discipline Global Mobile has already made 44 Crimson shows (26 from 1996’s Double Trio outings, 18 from the 2014 Elements of KC tour) available for streaming with paid subscription, or for purchase as downloads or CDs. I picked up the CD of the night I attended the 2014 tour in Chicago (September 25th at the Vic Theater); after six years away from the concert stage, this edition of The Mighty Crim blew away the audience with its triple-drummer frontline, Mel Collins’ visceral attack on multiple saxes, Jakko Jakszyk’s mellifluous vocals, and a wide-ranging setlist stretching from 1969 psychedelia to the wide-open soundscapes of 2011’s A Scarcity of Miracles. With more tour bundles from across the decades promised for the future, nugs.net now seems the go-to source for archival Crimson concertizing. Bring on the 2019 and 2021 tours, please!

Riverside, Live.ID: The Polish quartet comes out smoking hot for the final gig of their 2023 ID.Entity tour on this 2 CD/BluRay set. Michal Lapaj’s ebullient keyboards grab hold with sizzling synth and organ hooks; Maciej Miller’s gruff power chords and earthy leads anchor the driving hard-rock sound; Piotr Dozieradzki’s pounding drums push the music forward. And at center stage, Mariusz Duda holds down one busy bass groove after another, all the while launching compelling, dystopian narratives of isolation in an overconnected age. With a setlist split evenly between their last album and their back catalog, these guys prove looser, yet more ferocious than on their fine studio albums, never letting up on the intensity. And the audience respond in kind, matching Duda’s request for them to be “the fifth member of Riverside” with enthusiasm to spare. More than a concert, this feels like an event — a great intro for neophytes, a rewarding summary of Riverside’s career to date for longtime fans. (Note that the CD/BluRay version is already hard to find!)

Soft Machine, Drop & Floating World: Only four years separate these two sets from the pioneering British jazz-rockers, freshly remastered by guitarist Mark Wingfield — but what a difference those years make! Recorded live on a 1971 German tour, Drop unveiled a quartet speeding headlong for the outer limits of music itself; riding cascading waves of Phil Howard’s manic, loose-limbed drumming, saxophonist Elton Dean screams and howls into the ether, while bassist Hugh Hopper and keyboardist Mike Ratledge hang on for dear life. It’s a breathtaking whirlwind of sound, shaped more by free rhythm than discernible melody — exhilarating, but not for the squeamish.

By 1975, Dean, Hopper and Howard were out; in their place, Karl Jenkins (later to earn a knighthood for his classical crossover project Adiemus), Roy Babbington and John Marshall were laying down a more fusion-oriented, arguably more sedate vibe. Enter fledgling guitar hero Allan Holdsworth to fire things up on another German tour; his lightning-quick runs and ear-catching chord work energize Floating World Live, inspiring his bandmates to fresh heights of invention and interplay on pieces from the first-rate studio effort Bundles. Awash with echoes of Mahavishnu Orchestra and Return to Forever filtered through a genial, sardonic English sensibility, this is required listening for fans of the genre and Holdsworth heads. (A manufacturing error has held up the release of the Floating World Live CD, but MoonJune Records mainman Leonardo Pavkovic is on the case!)

— Rick Krueger

Bryan’s Best of 2024

On By Bryan MoreyIn progressive rock2 Comments

Well here we are in early 2025, and I’m just now getting to my Best Of list for 2024. I know I’ve been pretty much AWOL from Progarchy over the past year. That wasn’t initially intentional, but it was a busy year with a lot of change for me. I started 2024 unemployed before having to move from St. Louis to Kentucky for a new job at the end of February. I’ve also been reviewing albums for over ten years now without much of a break, so I ended up using 2024 as a break, apart from a concert review here and a couple albums reviewed for the DPRP. My plan is to get back into it this year, starting with some highlights from last year.

Perhaps representative of my lessened interest in writing reviews over 2024, I wasn’t quite as adventurous with my listening. My list, then, is shorter than past years, and I think it is a weaker list than past years. I don’t know if that reflects the year in music or just my year. Whatever.

Jon Anderson & The Band Geeks – True

A fun poppy yet progressive album from the man with the ageless voice. Anderson sounds just about as good today as he did 50 years ago, and I’m glad he’s still making music. I didn’t listen to the album all that much, but it is one I want to return to in the future.

Vanden Plas – The Empyrean Equation Of The Long Lost Things

Germany’s best prog metal outfit returned with another concept album. It isn’t particularly groundbreaking, as very few of their recent albums have been. If you like Vanden Plas, you’ll know what to expect – symphonic, progressive metal with excellent vocals and cryptic storytelling.

Wheel – Charismatic Leaders

A solid album from the Finnish band. Unfortunately it didn’t go in the direction I hoped it would after their stellar 2022 “Rumination” EP, which is included at the end of this album on CD. It isn’t as heavy, and plays it a little safe. Nevertheless, it still drew me back again and again.

Devin Townsend – Powernerd

I haven’t given this one much time as I haven’t purchased the CD yet, but it is a fun run through Devin’s heavier but still approachable side. He has been busy with multiple projects over the last few years, with Powernerd being the first of more to come.

The Tangent – To Follow Polaris

With band members busy with other projects and mastermind Andy Tillison feeling the urge to create, this record is a Tillison solo Tangent album. He plays and sings it all here. Not to worry, though, because he’s still the masterful lyric-writer. He’s also learned a lot from his bandmates, making this a fine addition to their discography until they all get the time to sit down and work on another record as a group.

Steve Hackett – The Circus and the Nightwhale

A proper concept album from my favorite guitarist. This record didn’t speak to me as much as his past solo records from the past decade, but it is still very good and worthy of inclusion on this list. I still wonder how much of my apathy towards it has to do with what was going on in my life when it was released.

Airbag – The Century of the Self

I’ve been familiar with Airbag for years now, but I never really listened to much of their music. Over the last several years, however, I have dug into guitarist Björn Riis’ solo output, which is criminally underrated. So good. So when his main band released a new album, I gave it several listens, and it is quite good. Atmospheric, gloomy, contemplative – definitely a record worth checking out.

Frost* – Life In The Wires

Nice to have Frost* back making albums on a more consistent basis. This one is heavy, bordering on metal at points, but retaining that sound this is so unique to them.

Big Big Train – A Flare On The Lens (Live in London)

A brilliant live record from my favorite band. After seeing them live for my first time in March, this record is a wonderful companion with a similar setlist. The live record is taken from two shows played back-to-back nights at Cadogan Hall in London, with a bonus set featuring seven tracks only played the first night. The result is three hours of music with a terrific light show and brass band. The audio and picture quality are both top notch.

2. Big Big Train – The Likes Of Us

The band’s first studio album without David Longdon, and their first with Alberto Brevin on lead vocals. It’s a masterpiece, nodding to the band’s past while embracing its future. I have returned to the album consistently throughout the year, and it never fails to disappoint. “Miramare” is my favorite track off the album – the guitar solo making it worth the price of admission by itself. So glad the band decided to keep going and growing.

1. Caligula’s Horse – Charcoal Grace

    The best album yet from Australia’s premier prog-metal outfit. Heavier than past efforts while retaining earworm melodies, crunchy riffs, and exceptional vocals. I’m bummed I only found out about their North America tour, including a stop in nearby Nashville, after the fact. This record has been the one I’ve returned to most consistently over the course of the year, and as such it receives my top billing for album of the year.

    My favorite concert of the year goes to Big Big Train. I’m so glad I was able to be there for the band’s historic first-ever American show at Sweetwater in Indiana, and I’ve already purchased my ticket for their upcoming show there in April. I’m not usually one to travel long distances for concerts, but this is one band for which I will make that exception. Here’s hoping it can be an annual event.

    Sorry again for being so absent this year, but I do hope to change that in 2025. Prog on.

    2024 In Review: kruekutt’s Final Favorites!

    On By kruekuttIn americana, art rock, Big Big Train, blues, classical, country, hard rock, jazz, Pink Floyd, progressive rock, Rock and RollLeave a comment

    No big hoo-hah this year: just a down and dirty list of my favorite releases and reissues of the year, covered in previous Quick Takes or elsewhere on the Web (links are to my original articles)!

    New Releases

    Reissues

    (Re)Discoveries

    Thanks for your ongoing attention and steadfast support. We at the Rockin’ Republic of Prog appreciate it! Best wishes as we all turn the corner and head into the New Year!

    — Rick Krueger

    In Concert: With Steve Hackett, It’s All Highlights

    On By kruekuttIn progressive rockLeave a comment

    Steve Hackett: Genesis Revisited – Foxtrot at Fifty + Hackett Highlights, The State Theatre, Kalamazoo Michigan, March 23, 2024.

    Yet again, another Progarchist beat me to reviewing Steve Hackett’s current tour — this time by three months! I can’t complain, though; Connor’s November review and last fall’s CD/BluRay release convinced me to catch Hackett in concert for the fifth time since he resumed stateside touring in 2013. And I’d say this most recent gig — played to over 1500 fans that packed a historic downtown theatre in Gibson Guitars’ original hometown — was the best of the five.

    As I mentioned the last time Hackett played West Michigan, his current band is both precision tooled and breathtakingly daring. Craig Blundell’s fleet, thundering drums propel the music forward at a thrilling pace (no click tracks here!); bassist Jonas Reingold anchors the low end with nimble melodic licks and a terrific sense of interplay; self-effacing keyboardist Roger King genuinely deserves the “one-man orchestra” label. The opening blast from Hackett’s brand-new album The Circus and the Nightwhale — dramatic overture “People of the Smoke”, giddy tarantella “Circo Inferno”, classically-tinged ballad “These Passing Clouds” — showed their remarkable range, while Rob Townsend’s woodwinds and Hackett’s lead guitar took off from that solid musical foundation with tasty, direct themes and hyperspeed unison lines.

    While the initial set of “Hackett Highlights” contained plenty of reliable crowd-pleasers, my favorite was the deep cut “Camino Royale”. A funky Reingold solo spot merged into a duet with Blundell, suddenly crashing into the bold opening riff; then an extended midsection gave Townsend space to develop his most compelling solo of the night, followed by Hackett’s wildest playing — squeezing out metallic sparks one moment, launching keening, heart-piercing sustains the next.

    Still, let’s face it: Hackett wouldn’t have his current touring career if he hadn’t been fervently waving the “Genesis Revisited” banner for the last eleven years. And it was the classic 1972 Genesis album Foxtrot that this audience had come to hear.

    Continue reading “In Concert: With Steve Hackett, It’s All Highlights” →

    Rick’s Quick Takes for February ( Levels, Likes, Loves, Leads – and Nightwhales?)

    On By kruekuttIn art rock, avant-garde, Big Big Train, Industrial, Insideout Music, Kscope, post punk, progressive metal, progressive rock, thrash metalLeave a comment

    2024 is out of the gate hot — three of the albums below are already on my Year-End Favorites list, and there are no duds in this bunch! As usual, purchase links are embedded in the artist/title listing, with a partial or complete streaming preview below the review.

    Anchor and Burden, Extinction Level: MoonJune Music mainman Leonardo Pavkovic has labelled this brutal beauty “uncompromising progressive avantgarde doom-jazz post-metal”. That pretty much covers it! Kicking off with opener “Fractured Self” and “Body Expansion”, touch guitarists Markus Reuter and Alexander Dowerk spend the next hour launching knife-edged slabs of sonic concrete into sub-orbit; drummer Asaf Sirkis pulverizes any semblance of a steady beat into terrifying quick marches (“Mutual Assured Destruction”), hyperactive polyrhythms (“Nine Gates to Dominion”), or just lethal, unanticipated deadfalls; and electronics wizard Bernhard Wöstheinrich provides both breathing space for a comedown, as on the closing “The Crust of This Earth”, and crash pads for droning, sludgy guitar plunges throughout the extended title track. Absolutely bonkers, already a favorite; you may have to be in the right mood for it, but Extinction Level’s free-for-all improv (not far removed from King Crimson’s outer limits) turns out to be a heady, head-banging good time.

    The Bardic Depths, What We Really Like in Stories (released March 7): both more direct and more varied than their previous releases, TBD’s third is a first-class album that delivers generously on its title’s promises. Brad Birzer’s graceful lyrics effortlessly transport us into the minds of creators as diverse as Ray Bradbury (“You’ve Written Poetry, My Boy”), Willa Cather (“Old Delights”) and Robert E. Howard (“The Feast Is Over”) — then into the creations themselves (the Orwellian dystopia of “Vendetta”, the postapocalyptic “Stillpoint”, the high adventure of “Whispers in Space”). In turn, Dave Bandana and Gareth Cole’s compositions are appealingly streamlined, giving Cole’s guitars, Bandana’s guitars & synths and Peter Jones’ keys & saxophones plenty of room to shine but never straying into aimless jams. Add a warm vocal blend from the quartet (with Jones and Bandana at the forefront) to Tim Gehrt’s steady, sparkling grooves, and you have a prog album that’s accessible without compromise, thought-provoking without pretension. This one’s charms might sneak up on you, but repeated listens will thoroughly repay your kind attention. (Check out our Bardic Depths roundtable here.)

    Big Big Train, The Likes of Us (released March 1): the wonder here isn’t that indefatigable founder Greg Spawton and his international crew have regrouped with such power and panache; it’s that they’ve tackled the struggles and sorrows of recent years head-on, forging them into the band’s most direct, integrated album since Grimspound. From mission statement/overture “Light Left in the Day” through epics “Between the Masts” and “Miramare” to killer ballad “Love’s Light” and finale “Last Eleven”, new singer Alberto Bravin fares forward into the unknown, summoning the essence of friendship and the pain of loss, calling on all in earshot to seize the day. There’s tons of musical variety, too, from the hard-rocking “Oblivion” to the playful “Skates On” and the 12-string weave of “Bookmarks”, with all seven players (five of whom sing) each getting their time to shine. And yes, that brass section pops in at just the right moments, to bring a tear to the eye or lift the spirit as required. Familiar yet fresh, and destined for that year-end faves list, BBT fans can be well satisfied with this latest excursion – and The Likes of Us is well turned out to welcome new Passengers onboard as well! (Check out our interview with Alberto Bravin here.)

    Steve Hackett, The Circus and the Nightwhale: Prepare to have your ears pinned back here: Hackett leaps out of the gate with freshly energized songwriting and ferocious guitar work and doesn’t let up throughout this compact, compellingly listenable concept album. The restless opening sprint of “People of the Smoke”, the “Squonk”-like stomp of “Taking You Down” (with standout lead vocal by Nad Sylvan and towering sax from Rob Townsend), the lush orchestral interlude “These Passing Clouds” are all full to bursting with devastatingly melodic, wildly spraying six-string excursions from Steve; even lighter tracks like the harmonious “Enter the Ring” and luxuriant 12-string centerpiece “Ghost Moon and Living Love” overflow with prime solo licks, mind-melting and heart-gripping in equal measure. Add Roger King’s richly scenic keyboards to a succession of marvelously eclectic tunes that waste no time and a coming-of-age narrative that climbs from the gutter to the stars (braced with a dose of the marvelous — there’s that Nightwhale, after all). And voila! You’ve got a Hackett opus that immediately goes to the 2024 favorites list, ranking right up there with Spectral Mornings, At the Edge of Light or whichever of his 30 solo efforts you prefer best.

    No-Man, Housekeeping – The OLI Years, 1990-1994: Ben Coleman, Tim Bowness and Steven Wilson’s earliest singles for One Little Indian (oops, Independent), “Days in the Trees” and Donovan’s “Colours”, are the perfect sneak peek/summation of this compilation’s garishly romantic delights. Just as you start thinking “ho hum, fey indie Nineties dance-pop”, the heavens – or are they the abysses? – open, accompanied by lush squalls of immaculately recorded dissonance. As if Roxy Music and ABC had somehow wound up co-headlining a vaudeville show, Bowness’ desperate vocals and Coleman’s slashing violin work match up swoon for swoon, while Wilson toughens the grooves and hoists ambitious synthesized backdrops, colorful splatters of guitar punctuating the aching pantomimes all the while. Containing the first two No-Man albums (the singles-oriented Loveblows and Lovecries and the ravishing, guest-heavy Flowermouth) plus the early EP Lovesighs, a singles disc and radio sessions, Housekeeping is a generously filled, beautifully designed boxset that points unerringly toward Bowness and Wilson’s more mature achievements (whether together or apart), but is also thoroughly listenable and intriguing in its own right.

    The Pineapple Thief, It Leads to This: more badass guitar loops and riffs (spaghetti westerns and surf music entwined in a Steve Reich soundscape); more bleak musings on our pervasive inability to connect, crooned with Bruce Soord’s trademark tenderness and fury; more moments of tasty, laterally-inflected drumming from Gavin Harrison. The current edition of the Thief’s fourth studio album is its own self-contained world, set in motion by the Soord/Harrison team’s moody interplay and rotating on Jon Sykes and Steve Kitch’s steady axis; undeniably of a piece with their recent catalog, and all the better for it. If none of the eight songs particularly stand out, they’re all honed to sleek perfection, building through seductive, bracing miasmas of dread and determined pursuits of flickering light to the knockout punch of the last two tracks. Whatever nightmare Soord is sleepwalking through, his eyes and heart are wide open as he edges forward, with Sykes, Kitch and Harrison urging him on all the while. (Soord’s recent “unplugged” solo CD/DVD, the already out-of-print Caught in the Hum, is an even more distilled example of this melancholy, coolly yearning aesthetic.)

    — Rick Krueger

    Steve Hackett Live at the Pabst Theater (11/03): A Brief Review

    On By Connor MullinIn progressive rockLeave a comment

    What else need be said about Steve Hackett on the pages of Progarchy? The man’s well deserved reputation as a stellar and innovative guitarist precedes him, and I do not believe I can add much to the praises already heaped upon him. But I did finally have the good fortune to see him perform last night in downtown Milwaukee’s historic Pabst Theater,* so I thought I would give a brief recap and share a few thoughts:

    The first half of the show featured several classic pieces from Hackett’s solo work, including “Ace of Wands,” “A Tower Struck Down,” “Camino Royale,” and (my personal favorite) the concluding instrumental section of the epic “Shadow of the Hierophant.” The veteran guitarist’s deft hands needed no warming up: he was electric from the first note. His supporting cast (the usual – Sylvan, King, Townsend, Reingold, and Blundell) was also superb, and I especially enjoyed Jonas Reingold’s funky bass solo in the middle of “Camino Royale.”

    Set Two was dedicated to Foxtrot. As soon as Roger King opened with the haunting Mellotron notes of “Watcher of the Skies,” the audience knew it was in for a brilliant second half. Nad Sylvan’s caped figure and glowing red eyes, hearkening back to the theatrical performances of Peter Gabriel, next appeared on a heightened platform in between the drums and keyboards. But Sylvan is far more than a quirky accessory: his vocals were on point the whole night. The following tracks, although arguably lesser known, were nonetheless played with as much gusto as all the others. And then came the beautiful “Horizons,” the classically-inspired piece I consider “the calm before the storm.”

    As soon as “Horizons” concluded, an excitable chap shouted, “I wonder what you’re going to play next!” And as we all laughed, he was answered with the opening words of “Supper’s Ready,” the twenty-three minute long epic concerning good and evil. The band, fittingly, delivered what was an epic performance. I am grateful to have been in attendance.

    Hackett is clearly still going strong at 73. His website features an extensive list of tour dates for 2024, so keep your eyes peeled and ears open for an opportunity to see him work his magic on stage. Here’s to many more years of Steve Hackett!

    *A brief and embarrassing disclaimer: I left at the end of “Supper’s Ready” and so failed to hear both “Firth of Fifth” and “Los Endos.” I am currently sick with a cold and I also hate crowds, but I am still kicking myself for leaving when I did. Mea culpa. Please forgive this hasty Progarchist!

    Rick’s Quick Takes: The (Belated) September Report

    On By kruekuttIn Ambient, art rock, avant-garde, electronic, Insideout Music, Kscope, progressive rockLeave a comment

    Unless otherwise noted, title links are typically to Spotify or Bandcamp for streaming, with a purchase link following the review.

    The Flower Kings, Look At You Now: The Stolt brothers — Michael on bass, Roine on almost everything else — vocalist Hasse Fröberg and drummer Mirko DeMaio crank up that progressive-psychedelic roundabout, and what comes out the chute is yet another spellbinding album-length suite. Snippets from the past and fresh in-studio invention lock together seamlessly; from the merry-go-round kickoff “Beginners Eyes” and the Beatleish “Hollow Men” through renaissance pastoral “The Queen” and blues-edged workout “Scars”, to the closing workout (cinema showoff vamp “Father Sky” into bolero build “Day for Peace” into the closing title epic), TFK don’t miss a trick, evoking vintage Yes and Genesis while always leaning into their own unique, up-to-the-minute spin. This is easily the equal of recent double-disc standouts 2020’s Waiting for America and last year’s By Royal Decree, on track to be one of my favorites at the end of the year. Order from Burning Shed here.

    Steve Hackett, Foxtrot at Fifty + Hackett Highlights – Live in Brighton: Yep, this is Hackett’s eighth live album since he made “Genesis Revisited” a regular feature of his live set and rejuvenated his international touring career. But doggone it if he doesn’t make this latest set make worth our while yet again! Leading off with a refreshed solo repertoire (blending in vintage throwbacks “A Tower Struck Down” and “Camino Royale”) that provides new showcases for his talented band (Rob Townsend and Roger King’s wind/keys duet on “Ace of Wands”, Jonas Reingold’s fleet-fingered solo spot “Basic Instincts”), Hackett proceeds to blow out Brighton’s doors with an inspired romp through Genesis’ 1972 breakout album. Especially noteworthy: singer Nad Sylvan, at his personal best on “The Devil’s Cathedral”, “Watcher of the Skies” and a taut, compelling “Supper’s Ready” — well, really all through the night. I thought I might have actually seen Hackett enough (four times!) in the last decade, but this release has me eager to catch this show when he returns to the States next spring. Order from Burning Shed here.

    Bruce Soord, Luminescence: Just a songwriter and his gear (plus the occasional electronica and orchestral seasonings); on break from The Pineapple Thief, Soord descends into the postmodern maelstrom, in search of an evasive inner tranquility. A placid, brooding first half of string swells (“Dear Life”), slinky acoustic funk (“Lie Flat”) and pensive melodic sketches (“So Simple”) gathers momentum, only to hit a stalled-out sense of desolation (“Instant Flash of Light”, “Stranded Here”) — which gives Soord’s concluding pleas for human connection (“Read to Me” and “Find Peace”) a vulnerability that chills to the bone, even as it cracks open all the feels. Spacious, shimmering and seductive (kudos to Soord and mastering engineer/TPT bandmate Steve Kitch), Luminescence’s stoic gaze into the heart of darkness packs a serious emotional depth charge. Order from Burning Shed here.

    The Who, Who’s Next / Life House (Super Deluxe Edition): Who’s Next is an album that changed my life, and over the decades, it’s developed a reputation as one of rock’s finest moments. But Pete Townshend remains haunted by his original, unrealized post-Tommy concept of The Life House — a gathering place for the outcasts of a nightmarish virtual reality, with rock music as the saving sacrament of a splintered counterculture. Thus, this behemoth box: two discs of impeccable Townshend demos; three discs of session outtakes and singles; two complete, ferocious live sets; and an immaculate spatial audio remix of the final product by (of course) Steven Wilson. Even with exhaustive liner notes and a graphic novel version included, the Life House storyline simply refuses to cohere. But listening to The Who as they wrestle with the throughline, then pitch it away and just slam into “Baba O’Riley”, “Behind Blue Eyes” and “Won’t Get Fooled Again”, you hear the fragments of one man’s overweening ambition transmuted into a furious, majestic rush of sheer hard rock glory. Order from The Who online store.

    Wilco, Cousin: 2022’s Cruel Country (my top favorite album of last year) interrupted Wilco’s work on this excursion back into art-pop, made with Welsh multi-instrumentalist/co-producer Cate Le Bon as sidekick. Here Jeff Tweedy’s elusive, folky reflections are splattered with spectral atmospherics and thick blobs of tonal texture; workouts like technicolor opener “Infinite Surprise”, the sunnily chaotic title track and the Wild West gallop of “Meant to Be” sit side by side with morose elegy “Ten Dead”, baroque/dance crosscut “A Bowl And A Pudding” and the compelling meander “Pittsburgh”. The proceedings here lean a bit to the downtempo side, but it’s great to hear Tweedy and his merry crew of cutting-edge players revisit the experimental approach of their Yankee Hotel Foxtrot/A Ghost Is Born era, with the gains of the decades since then thoroughly integrated. Few American bands offer such solid work on such a consistent basis. Order from Wilco’s online store.

    Steven Wilson, The Harmony Codex: On which Wilson decides not to pay homage to one particular musical style, bringing his magpie/studio boffin tendencies fully to the fore. Digging into the resources of vintage synthesizers, SW leans on mood more than movement, warming up the temperature from the glacial electronics of The Future Bites a bit, spinning trippy webs of sound braced with a percussive snap. As he flicks through a dizzying array of genres, there are plenty of hypnotic moments (the 1970s spiritual jazz/fusion of “Inclination” and “Invisible Tightrope”, pop nugget “What Life Brings”, imaginary Bond theme “Rock Bottom” with Ninet Tayeb, the langorous switched-on Bach/spoken-word melodrama of the title track), but it can also feel like Wilson is channel-surfing for its own sake; the focus of his best work is only intermittently there, and shorter tracks sometimes peter out instead of paying off. Still, as far and wide as The Harmony Codex wanders, there’s lots to catch the ear as it rambles, and it’s already rewarded repeated listens for me; Wilson remains an artist well worth checking out and reacting to. (So, yeah, Time Lord and I have very different opinions here. And, in line with de gustibus non est disputantum, I’m down with that.) Order from Burning Shed here. (BTW, thanks to the Burning Shed crew & the Royal Mail for getting my copy across the pond to my mailbox in 6 days!)

    — Rick Krueger