Filling another request for Pedro here, my apologies for the bitrate, as this was the only rip I was able to track down. Enjoy!!

Cyclone is the band’s most “commercial” effort to date, including songs with vocals that suggest a Teutonic Pink Floyd. The change in direction stemmed in part from the band’s first lineup change since 1972’s Zeit: with Peter Baumann off to pursue a solo career, the band re-enlisted multi-instrumentalist/vocalist Steve Jolliffe and added drummer Klaus Krieger. Jolliffe is clearly influenced by Roger Waters, going so far as to double his own vocals to achieve the same half mad/half sane stance that marked Waters’ style, but the Pink Floyd fascination extends to the whole band, who appropriate the ending of “Dogs” to form the basis of “Bent Cold Sidewalk.” The second vocal track, “Rising Runner Missed By Endless Sender,” is twitchy electronic rock similar to Polyrock, although the ambitious lyrics are delivered in more of a defiant whisper than actual singing. While the group’s willingness to tamper with their formula is praiseworthy, most would agree that the album’s return to that formula on the side-long “Madrigal Meridian” is the real highlight here. On this piece, Christopher Franke’s sequencers have an urgency heretofore only hinted at, while Krieger’s drums serve to pull the rug out from the under the rhythm in a delightful way. The result is space music that runs like a well-oiled machine, more fluid and engaging than past experiments with sequencer-based epics. Although it has a reputation as an agitated exception in a very mellow catalog, Cyclone belongs with TD’s better albums from the ‘70s. Despite his considerable contributions, Jolliffe left after only one album with the band, and began a prolific (though less visible) solo career.

Keep Listening!!!!

Track 2 - Rising Runner Missed By Endless Sender....

Link in comments....

Just great i can tell you - I was there.
A bootleg in superb quality. Starts with Easy to slip away, ends with Refugees.
Nearly two hours PJAH supported by Stuart Gordon.

No sample - this is not my world. Take it or leave it.

http://rapidshare.de/files/24596865/20010110fabrik.part1.rar
http://rapidshare.de/files/24601807/20010110fabrik.part2.rar
http://rapidshare.de/files/24627270/20010110fabrik.part3.rar

Have Fun!

The second album by the band best known for being guitarist Roine Stolt's first professional band. This was originally released in 1976 by Decca, and this fine Musea reissue features six bonus tracks. "Kaipa were Sweden's best known symphonic rock band. They formed in Uppsala in 1973. Originally a keyboard-fronted trio, Kaipa added the young guitar player Roine Stolt in 1974. Kaipa showcased a technically very competent group fronted by Hans Lundin's impressive range of keyboards, often favoring lush string ensembles, organ and electric piano. Inget Nytt Under Solen was a more complex & pompous album including possibly their finest moment 'Skenet Bedrar' - a large scale suite lasting for 22 minutes...their style was now closer to what Genesis, Camel, Greenslade and Yes had done in recent years..." (Scented Gardens of the Mind: A Comprehensive Guide to the Golden Era of Progressive Rock)

On Inget Nytt Under Solen the band refined their influences and bought or hired in some new gear, including a Mellotron M400. They go straight for the jugular with their only side-long piece, the multi-part Skenet Bedrar ('It's Not What it Seems'), which works well, doing all the usual prog things, which I suppose makes them the most successful purveyors of 'mainstream' symphonic prog from Sweden at the time (they were actually on Swedish Decca). Plenty of other good material, too, including Korståg ('Crusade') and the title track ('Nothing New Under the Sun'). Hans Lundin doesn't actually use the 'Tron that much, but there's some gorgeous choir work on both Hoppfullheten and particularly Korståg, plus some rarely-heard M400 brass on Bitterheten and the title track. Incidentally, the CD adds a live version of Skenet Bedrar, an outtake from their debut, and four English-language mixes of Inget Nytt tracks, which repeat the Mellotron parts from the originals, of course.

-- http://www.planetmellotron.com

Highly Recommended!

Track 6 - Ignet Nytt Under Solen.........

Keep Listening!!!!

Links in comments....

It was Kinda hard to find info about this album, so I had to take what I could get. This review came from a translation of a German website: http://tinyurl.com/m64w9

Jukka Tolonen took up this first solo plate already 1971, at hardly 20 years old. The exclamation mark behind the name is absolutely justified: Here the Finnish exception guitarist put the foundation-stone for his large career, which he already began few years before with Tasavallan a Presidentti and also Wigwam. And it made an important contribution with this album to set Finland on the musical map of the world.

The pieces work remarkably matured; ” Element: Earth, Fire, Water, air “about convinces as Suite with four different topics and tendencies. Beautifully also the lyric” Mountains “, only with Pekka Pöyry (ss). Besides still Pekka Pohjola and Heikki Virtanen (B), Reino Laine and/or Ronnie Österberg (dr) and Jukka Gustavsson (org) for Groove and tension ensure. Tolonen plays idea-rich and flinkfingrig; its technology, particularly the left hand makes its sound already here absolutely unmistakable. One of the completely important year 70's from Finland. (tjk)

Highly Recommended!

Track 1 - Elements: Earth, Fire, Water, Air......

Performers:
All Tracks : Jukka Tolonen (g, p, spinet)
Tracks 1, 4, 5: Pekka Pohjola (b)
Tracks 1, 2: Reino Laine (dr)
Tracks 1, 2, 3: Pekka Pöyry (ss, as)
Tracks 2: Heikki Virtanen
Tracks 4, 5: Ronni Österberg (dr)
Tracks 5: Jukka Gustavson (org)

Keep Listening!!!!

Link in comments....

I saw there was a request for some Tangerine Dream, so here it is!

In 1980, at the dawn of a new decade, and with a new lineup, Tangerine Dream pumped out more freaky fuel for intrepid inner-space explorers, in the form of TANGRAM. The title track takes its name from a Chinese puzzle that requires a square to be divided into five triangles, a smaller square and a rhomboid, which are then shifted to create different shapes. Long-term member Peter Baumann had departed, and been replaced by Johannes Schmoelling, who fit in well with Edgar Froese and Chris Franke, and made the transition painless and almost undetectable for this longstanding fan.

This is one of the trio's better 80s efforts, beyond a doubt. As befitted the new era, the band's sound was somewhat updated, clear, and fresh, but retained more than enough of the old mystic magic to please their devoted followers. All of the essential TD elements, from gently drifting spacey parts, to more rhythmic sequences and almost frightening sections, can be found here, along with an increased focus on melody (which would only grow in the years to come). This manifest desire to augment the beauty of the music may not have met with universal approval, but -- for me, at least -- it contributed to the group's overall depth, and breadth of appeal.

The shorter, upbeat, almost danceable numbers that were to come, had yet to surface at this stage -- the disc is composed of two "side long" suites. "Tangram Set 1," in classic TD fashion, draws upon a rich and varied palette of tones and emotions, and the diverse sections of this musical "mind puzzle" flow and meld smoothly together in a unified whole. "Tangram Set 2," despite its similar title, is thematically independent, yet, for my money, every bit as interesting and good as its forerunner.

This engaging electronica, as with all of TD's extensive oeuvre, is not suited to all tastes. Still, for those who occasionally enjoy music that soothes, and invites flights of fancy (rather than bludgeoning the listener into submission with rapid-fire, grandstanding riffage), TANGRAM can provide an ideal aural ambiance for pleasurable pursuits from reading to reverie, romancing and reposing. A must for the committed Tangerine Dreamer!

Think 'electronic tubular bells' and you won't be far from a good description of the music on this album.

--- http://www.progarchives.com

Highly Recommended!

Seeing as how this album is just 2 long suites, there won't be any samples, they would be too big. Sorry!

Keep Listening!!!!

Link in comments....

This is another release on the Nemperor label (see Jerry Goodman & Jan Hammer in the May archive) and is a far cry from fast and heavy Mahavishnu Orchestra for whom Hammer provided his considerable keyboard skills.

This is a concept album, the subject matter being obvious and is instrumental. I'm pleased to say that Hammer is not being a creationist here, he refers to the concept as being valid whether a day is 24 hours or a hundred million years, I go for the latter!

Almost all the instruments are played by Hammer, with exception of violin from another ex-Mahavishnu, Steve Kindler and congas. It is evokative and beautiful, full of lovely melodies.

Even though the abum had a major label backing, it sank, from memory, without a trace. pity as it deserves recognition. Just listen to the sample, a good guide to the album as a whole.

Hammer went on to write music for crap TV programmes before dropping out of the music industry completely some years ago.

I recommend this album as a forgotten jewel.

Darkness-Earth In Search Of A Sun


Link in comments

Keep listening !!!

Many think that the mighty "Stanley Clarke" on Nemperor records was the great bassists first album, not so, this is in fact the first and what a different beast it is!

It comes from a time when Clarke was a member of the first Return To Forever, the band that fearured Joe Farrell, Aitro, Flora Purim, not to mention Chick Corea. Note that he is referred to as "Stan" on the cover.

Thus the music does have similiarities with that fantastic band, after all Chick Corea plays on this album as well. However the most startling difference is the use of vocalists Dee Dee Bridgewater and the wonderful Andy Bey. I'm not sure it all works as well as Clarke had hoped. It is good, nonetheless. the standout track is the last one, a 16 minute opus, "Sea Journey", featuring drummer Lenny white and guitarist Pat Martino.

I must say that this is vastly better than some of his later fusion work, the stuff that gave fusion a bad name!

In commenting on this album, it would be an oversight not to mention that Clarke is one of the few musicians who can honestly say that they have transformed the role of the electric bass.

Enjoy!

Bass Folk Song

Keep listening !!!

A complete change of pace. nothing like a change! Abdel Aziz El Mubarak is Sudanese and plays a popular music like no other.

I will not comment much about this album as I am not sure what to say, sufffice I first heard it on a cover CD for Songlines and was smitten. After months I tracked down the CD and was not disappointed, intense, joyful, danceable all at once.

This album was voted by the world music magazine, Songlines, a few years ago as one of the greatest world music albums ever released.

Who am I to argue?

Just listen to the sample to be convinced.

Ya A'Asaal


Keep listening !!!

Excellent 70's Italian progressive trio (still around today) with classical stylings, featuring keyboards to the fore and a unique dreamy/powerful style. Le Orme was one of the three major Italian groups, the other two being PFM and Banco. This band is usually considered as the Italian ELP and even Banco Del Mutuo Soccorso by the Italian singing. Its music is based upon organ developments and soli reminding Seventies groups which works are essentially built upon keyboards parts.

Verità Nascoste is an excellent album recorded in London and released by Le Orme in 1976, after the previous and more commercial Smogmagica, which has its interesting moments, yet. Now Tolo Marton is gone, replaced by other guitarist Germano Serafin who stayed with the group until 1982. He sadly passed on in 1992. Electric guitar takes now its own place, a more appropriate and right equilibrium with the mythic keyboards of Toni Pagliuca. Verità Nascoste signed the most high point of glory for Le Orme in Italy.

The opener is the strong 6 mns piece titled Insieme al Concerto (Together at the Concert). It starts with the usual soft acoustic guitar and is well conducted and played to a more strong melodic-prog way from the 2nd minute. ”People has already gone away…what a marvellous full-moon evening…”. In Ottobre is a 6:43 long track, another favourite of mine, speaking about the time the group spent in London to work on this good release. They commenced October the first and finished October the 31th. Great rhythm session here, one of the best tunes of the album. Verità Nascoste is a soft and acoustic gem within very nice strings, presage of what would have appeared later, with the excellent 1979 album Florian.

Vedi Amsterdam… is the true highlight, in my honest opinion! “Mothers don’t know why their sons go to Amsterdam…Never-crying-Venice…”. Great keyboards parts, very good drums and bass, it reminds me of Contrappunti album! Regina al Troubadour is another good 6:44 long piece with soft opening vocals: “Queen of the Snow, we’re sitting besides you, why you cannot say no? You give to each one the Most Near Good…easy, so easy!”. Radiofelicità is an interesting song, not at the level of the previous tracks, though. Radio frequencies acting during the song…some more commercial keyboards. Salmoni is an awesome arranged track with funny lyrics telling all the risks and the dangerous life of these fishes during their river-climbing. Il Gradino Più Stretto del Cielo is another excellent track in a very similar Contrappunti vein!

-- http://www.progarchives.com

Highly Recommended!

Track 2 - In Ottobre.............

Keep Listening!!!!

Link in comments....

There was a request for Oregon, following the Larry Coryell post, so here they are.

Oregon have an original sound, totally their own. The band evolved from the Paul Winter Consort and in particular, "Icarus" and the live album, "Road". Soon after leaving Winter, the core members formed Oregon, which still plays today, with a few forced personnel changes.

This album features all original members:

Ralph Towner - guitars, piano
Colin Walcott - percussion
Glen Moore - bass
Paul McCandless - wind

They are more of an ensemble than a group with a soloist, they perform very much as one. Towner, as you can here on the sample and the Coryell album, adds colour and rhythm on 6 and twelve string guitars, solos are sparse and often finish before you realize they have started, Walcott seems to have in infinite range ot rhythms, Moore just has a beautiful tone, whilst McCandless is ever inventive and as he does not play the usual jazz instruments, his sound is totally orignal. The whole sound is more important than individual musicians.

Throughly recommended


June Bug

Link in comments

Keep Listening !!!

Yes, England, the band that released that marvellous album Garden Shed in 1977. The tapes for the first, Japanese re-issue of that very rare LP, was taken from a heavily worn vinyl version, thus with a lot of irritating clicks. I think Robert Webb, keyboard player, got hold of a copy, realised there was still a lot of interest in the music, and thought it was time to get the master tapes out of his files and re-issue the disc properly. I still thank him for that.

Another result of this, probably, was that some time ago, Last Of The Jubblies was released, a collection of unreleased tracks, including some demo recordings. The CD is under forty minutes, which is a shame, but of course, it could be all of the recordings the band ever made.

England are known for their very Genesis-influenced style. However, there are some differences. England, for example, paid more attention to the music than the lyrics. But when it comes to singing, I think England are more diverse in lead vocals as well as harmony vocals. Well, I am not talking about charisma, of course...

Most of the music is not as good as the songs on Garden Shed (so, a good choice what to put on that album, then...). A bit more song-structured tunes and less of the good bits with many things going on at once. For example, A One-Day Legged Tale (nine minutes) is not as interesting as thirteen-minute Three-Piece Suite from Garden Shed.

But there's still some really good stuff here. Tooting Bec Rape Case contains a great gutar riff, and would have been great on Garden Shed. Mister Meener lacks the genius that marks Garden Shed, but still is a good, and original song. The middle section contains strange keyboard sounds that can be heard on Paraphernalia as well. The last track, Nanogram, contains something that reminds me of a track on Garden Shed, and is closest to that LP than any of the other songs on this CD. This is actually the best track. Er, wasn't this the B-side of the one and only single the band released?

I know, I compared a lot of this CD to England's original LP. But let's face it, there's nothing else to compare it to. If there are any, I would love to hear some live recordings. This CD is not as essential as Garden Shed, but if you really like that album, you should get this one as well. It is available from Vinyl Tap Records, 1 Whitecloth Hall, Leeds LS1 7BR, United Kingdom.

--- reviewed by Jerry van Kooten @ http://www.dprp.net

Track 1 - Creepin' Instrumental.......
Track 6 - Nanogram........................

Keep Listening!!!!

Link in comments....

Having posted Coryell's "Spaces" recently, it seemed wise to add this excellent example of Coryell's craft. On this occasion, he is joined by most of the acoustic group, Oregon. Ralph Towner on guitar, Glen Moore on bass and Colin Walcott on tablas and congas.

Towner maybe be familiar as the 12-string guitarist on Weather Report's "I Sing The Body Electric" and, in additional to Oregon, has many releases on ECM.


This is an intense album, full of invention and powerful soloing from Coryell. Just listen to the sample below, you'll get the idea.
In contrast is Ravel's "Pavane For A Dead Princess", played for solo acoustic guitar, forshadows the series of albums containing classical interptetations that he would put out much later. Wonderful.

For me, the success of this album rests with the choice of the Oregon members for a backing band. They are never less than magnificant and they appear to inspire Coryell to new heights. One of the best albums in his large body of work.

Improvisation On Robert De Visee's Menuet II


Link in comments

Keep listening !!!

I'll again start by listing the personnel:

Joe Farrell - saxes
John McLaughlin - guitar
Chick Corea - piano
Dave Holland - bass
Jack DeJohnette - drums

This is not an all out blowing session by a bunch of greats, just great modern jazz at its best. Also note that most of the the tracks feature combinations of the musicians, rather than the full band.

If you thought the the leader, Farrell, is the weak link in this star band, then you'd be wrong. He is, however, the only member of the band who was not at some stage in one of Miles Davis's electric bands. Just listen to his playing on the first two Return To Forever albums. He would be better known if it had not been for the fact that he died at the age of 49 in 1986.

This is an odd CTI release in many ways, it does not have any of Creed Taylor's CTI overproduction nor the addition of brass or strings, just unadorned tracks brilliantly performed, thankfully!

The sample track says it all.

Follow Your Heart


Links in comments

Keep listening !!!

Jukka Tolonen is not only Finland's national guitar hero but also one of the world's most respected guitarists. For the past 4 decades, he has captivated audiences through Scandinavia and Europe with his powerful and passionate works. He remains of the the most diverse guitarists of today, being equally proficient in a blues, rock, or fusion jazz environment.

Born in Helsinki in 1952, Tolonen first came to center stage in 1969 when a group of young Finnish musicians merged their collective talents to form the widely popular rock/jazz fusion band Tasavallan Presidentti, who were to record four critically acclaimed albums. During this time, Tolonen also recorded two albums with another well know band Wigwam. These recordings would establish Tolonen as a powerfully explosive and technically spectacular guitarist.

However, it would be his soon coming solo recordings that would really turn the music world upon its collective ear. His self titled debut recording, followed by "Summer Games", "The Hook", and "Hysterica" would set new standards for jazz fusion recordings and remain popular world wide even unto today.

-- http://www.jukkatolonen.com/

Highly Recommended!

Jukka Tolonen - "The Hook" - 04 - The Hook....
Jukka Tolonen - "Hysterica" - 03 - Hysterica.....

Keep Listening!!!!

Links in comments....

The best place to start in discussing this album is to list the personnel:

Larry Coryell - guitar
John McLaughlin - guitar
Chick Corea - keyboards
Miroslav Vitous - bass
Billy Cobham - drums

Enough said!

Also, read the article posted on the back cover, a review of the album in Rolling Stone.

There are many similiarities between Coryell and Mclaughlin, they have spent their careers constantly changing and searching for new ways to musically express themselves and they both possess lightening fingers. But this is not just an example of how fast they can play, these are, as you would expect from this collection of creme de la creme musicians, stunning examples of fusion, from the jazz perspective.

Note that McLaughlin, Cobham and Corea all played with Miles Davis and Vitous was the first bassist with Weather Report. His contributions to that band are much overlooked. His "Mountains In The Clouds" is a must have.

I'm not saying anymore, listen and be impressed.

Wrong Is Right


Links in comments

Keep listening !!!

Following on from the Barry Goldberg post, this album again showcases the guitar of Michael Bloomfield. In this case, however, it is a genuine Gravenities album.

Gravenities is an unsung force in the development of US white blues. His biggest claim to fame is being brains behind Janis Joplin's masterpiece, "Pearl" It was Gravenities who organized the band, arranged the tunes and, I think, produced. He also worked for the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Quicksilver Messenger Service and the Electric Flag.

Of his solo work, such as it is, this is the most impressive. Possessor of a soulful voice, he also is a excellent musician and often played with Bloomfield.

This version of the album has additional tracks from "Live From Bill Graham's Fillmore West" The reason for this is simply that half of the original album is live from the same show, this merely brings more of this material together. Just why they did that and not simply re-release the whole album as a second disc is, of course, an example of the mysteries of record company logic.
Nonetheless, these tracks come from a classic album and whilst providing filler, merely make you want the remainder of the album, which features an all star cast including a guest spot on a few tracks from Taj Mahal.

It is the live tracks that stand out here, as they are a good vehicle for Bloomfield to stretch out.

Throughly recommended.

Killing My Love


Link in comments

Keep Listening !!!

First off, my apologies for the bitrate. This seems to be quite an obscure album and this was the only version I was able to track down. Very nice sound for 160 kbps regardless!

As far as my knowledge goes this is the only Dutch-Belgian progressive outfit that ever existed. After winning the much acclaimed contest for amateur bands in 1976 at the well known Bilzen festival in Belgium, Flyte were able to open the festival comprising the Steve Miller Band, Steeleye Span and Rick Wakeman. Originally called Grace, they changed their name to Flyte when they found out there already was a Grace in Britain (not the boys from Pulling Strings... ). At the time they played covers by King Crimson, Wishbone Ash and Camel. Especially the sound of the latter is to be heard throughout the fairly melodic album Dawn Dancer.

"You're Free, I Guess" is almost an outtake of Camel's own Mirage album. In opener "Woman" the band goes on to copy The Who's "Pinball Wizard" whilst in "Aim At The Head" (and also some of the other tracks) they come very close to what Kayak was doing. If they are using so many well known themes, is the band's music original enough, I hear you ask. Rest assured it does, as the band's singer has a very unique voice which carries half of the band's sound. He's helped out by two keyboard players who combine a fair use of mellotron and Fender Rhodes piano. On the other hand there's guitarist Ruud Wortman who doesn't try to imitate the bigger names in progland. However his style comes close to that of Kayak member Johan Slager! The main result is that you don't get the typical symphonic album here with long tracks and neverending solos. Each of the eight tracks clocks in at around five minutes and most of them have a nice rock structure which was fairly new when the album was recorded in 1979.

Flyte unfortunately didn't have the chance to sign with a major company. They signed to a label which went bust after they only had pressed 2000 copies of the album. Without any promotion and distribution, the release of the album went unnoticed even if most of the album's tracks got some airplay. This is probably the main reason why Dawn Dancer remained the band's only album. It is however one of the best melodic, symphonic albums to emerge this side of the water!

-- review by John "Bo Bo" Bollenberg @ http://www.progressiveworld.net

Musicians:
Lu Rousseau - lead vocals, percussion
Ruud Worthman - acoustic and electric guitars
Jack van Liesdonck - acoustic and electric piano, clavinet, synthesizer
Leo Cornelissens - electric organ, mellotron, string ensemble, vocals
Hans Boeye - drums, percussion
Hans Marynissen - percussion
Peter Dekeersmaeker - bass, vocals

Track 1 - Woman..................................
Track 6 - Your Breath Enjoyer...........

Keep Listening!!!!

Link in comments....

The only problem with England's magnificent Garden Shed is that it was released about five years too late. Granted, England's style is not particularly original, being not much more than supremely enjoyable amalgamation of Yes and Genesis, except that Garden Shed truly lives up to some of the strongest works by those two bands. This is phenomenal English symphonic prog, truly inspired and immaculately performed.

"Midnight Madness" opens the album in fine form, with some bright rhythmic work and vocals that sound, fittingly, like a mix of Peter Gabriel and Jon Anderson. Occasionally, the rest of the band will jump in will complementary vocal harmonies that further remind one of Yes. "All Alone" is a fairly short ballad that actually sounds extremely reminiscent of Queen. "Three Piece Suite" is a prog mini-epic running at about thirteen minutes, an extremely enjoyable track with some phenomenal sections. "Paraffinalea" has a great vocal melody and has a whimsical English feel that would not have sounded particularly out of place on Selling England by the Pound. The real gem however is the phenomenal "Poisoned Youth", the album's centerpiece as well as the most unique track on the album. The song is much darker in tone than the rest and includes utterly amazing moments scattered throughout its sixteen minutes.

Basically, if you're familiar with Yes and Genesis you know what this sounds like. It's an extremely good album, not particularly original but also not overly derivative either. Make no mistake, this does not approach the more hard-edged cloning tendencies of the neo-progressive movement, and there is none of the cheesy AOR pomp that dominates many of the modern so-called "retro" bands. Rather Garden Shed is a firmly 70s symphonic with beautifully textured arrangements. Due to the relative obscurity of this album, it's not surprising that this gem has been dubbed a true "lost classic" by many. Personally, I wouldn't go so far as to call it a classic, but it's definitely a superb late 70s release that must have gotten lost in the shuffle as progressive rock as a commercially viable entity.

-- reviewed by Greg Northrup @ http://www.progweed.net

Track 1 - Midnight Madness...........

Keep Listening!!!!

Link In Comments....

I've been thinking about doing a few experiments in podcasting. So this is the result of the first one.
Although I have had some experience in radio, I have never done a show in english, so forgive my pronuntiation or any grammar mistake I might have done.

I am not sure if I am going to do this regularly. I wish I had the time. We'll see. I also wish I could get paid for this.

Podacst should be kept light, so don't expect the sound quality you're used to when you get any recommendation from ProgNotFrog. Anyway I am sure it reaches an enjoyable level.

I kept information about the music at a minimal level. A radio show is not a lesson on the history of a songor a band . The star is the music itself, not the DJ, even if he/she is a walking music encyclopedia.

I had a lot of fun doing the sound effects , intro, teasers and outro. Music selection was entirely a quasi-random process. If I keep doing this you should expect in eclectcism, in big quantities. I've never liked be constrained or imprisoned in any genre. Not even rock or prog. Not even western or modern music for that matters. I wish I had albums recorded in Pluto. I am sure they are great. (Unless the RIAA has an office there).


Please leave some comments (or I'll never do another podcast)


Keep Listening...!!!

You can reach The Voice Of The Moon here

Filling another request for Pedro. Enjoy!

My first foray into folky Spanish prog (Fusioon and Canarios are Spanish, but don't exactly fall into the "folky" category). Some great flamenco guitar here; the first track especially is a fantastic meshing of flamenco and prog - lots of that aforementioned guitar, very effective singing and lyrics, and a lengthy instrumental closing section. The keyboards take a fairly strong presence on some tracks; they usually remain tasteful but at times get a little obtrusive. The acoustic guitar work more than makes up for it, though. Overall the melodies, carried mostly by guitar and vocals, are attractive and fairly memorable (though "Todo es de Color" is an unfortunate exception). One problem I had with this album is the voice of singer Jesus de la Rosa: although he's great for a few minutes, over the course of the album his straining voice begins to grate. Also, some of the compositions really aren't quite up to par with many other prog groups, and some of the songs stretch for longer than necessary. I only really enjoy two songs - the opener and "En el Lago". That said, this is an enjoyable if not particularly mind-blowing introduction into Spanish prog, and I'll definitely be delving deeper into the genre.

-- review by Brandon Wu (unknown source)

Musicians:
Jesus de la Rosa.....vocals, keyboards
Juan Jose Palacios.....drums and percussion
Eduardo Rodriguez.....flamenco guitar
Antonio Perez.....electric guitar
Manolo Rosa.....bass

See, sometimes it pays off to leave comments, keep them coming!

Link in comments....

Keep Listening!!!!

This post is filling a request for Pedro.

Listening to Trace's first album, it's like a war. Notes sprawling and tearing up your inner ear like bullets fired straight out of a smoking machine gun. Lightning Bach style, super tight bass/drum interplay. It's Emerson Lake & Palmer...but without the gigantic ego, the lyrical bullcorn and the awful by-product filler that every album's filled with.

Some bands are just TOO COMPETENT to write a page of history (and therefore, being understood) and Trace is one of the leaders in this sad but mind-boggling category maybe with Echolyn or Par Lindh Project. In fact, the product is purely an exercise, so it's not accessible and therefore, dispensable. In no way these guys thought they would carry on or reform one day on the sake of making a few dollars. This band probably made some money by doing marathon concerts. Hard working, not physically attractive (Rick van der Linden looks like an anorexic Leif Ericksson) and ridiculously perfectionist... dude, this record is tough to swallow and needs time to digest to full appreciation.

This is a major kick in Rachmaninov's...er, piano I guess.

Highly Recommended!

There is still a problem with the site that hosts the mini-players, hopefully we can straighten that out very soon and have the samples back!

Links in comments....

Jade Warrior were, in many ways, ahead of their time. 1971 was a time of heavy rock, prog and the last of the psycheledic bands.

Jade warrior went against all this and produced a series of what can only be described as ambient albums, notably "Waves" and "Way Of The Sun" The duo of Jon Field and Tony Duhig played most of the instruments themselves with extensive overdubbing and relied heavily on acoustic instruments. That is not say that they did not look forward, they engaged the cream of the British musicians to assist and dabbled in electronics, such as it was then.


This album is their first excursion into this world and while their blueprint is not fully formed on this album, it gives a clear indication as to what was to come. As the album is a Vertigo release, the cover art is excellent.

Well worth a listen. If there is sufficient interest (and there should be) I will post other morsels from their canon.

Sundial Song

Keep Listening !!!

Link in comments

This was the first official release of perhaps America's greatest symphonic act, and the best known behind Kansas, namely Happy the Man. This band took some cues from other similar bands of the time, but were essentially an entity unto themselves. They were predominantly instrumental, and tended to alternate between two kinds of pieces. "Starborne" is an example of their slower, reflective and beautiful pieces. On the other hand, "Stumpy Meets the Firecracker in Stencil Forest" is one of their faster pieces, an intricate display of odd time sigs featuring ripping guitar parts woven into the tight ensemble playing of the band. The band whips through whimsical, serious, reflective, aggressive moods with the greatest of ease.

There are two vocals tracks here, but in general I find these somewhat less compelling. It is in the instrumental domain that Happy the Man truly shines, a fact that perhaps hurt their marketability back in the day. Had Arista not criminally underpromoted them, who knows how far Happy the Man might have gone? It's hard to say, but what is definite is that this a superior musical product that deserves all the accolades it has received.

review by Sean McFee @ http://www.progreviews.com

Highly Recommended!

Musicians:
Stanley Whitaker - six and twelve string guitars, lead vocals
Kit Watkins - synthesizers, acoustic and electric pianos, organ, clavinet, flute, marimba
Frank Wyatt - saxophones, flute, piano, keyboards, vocals
Rick Kennell - electric bass
Mike Beck - percussion

Link in comments.....

There seems to be a problem with the site that hosts the mini-players that we use for the sample songs, as soon as the situation is remedied, the samples will be back!

Keep Listening!!!!

This is a Spanish quartet from Barcelona featuring Manuel Camp (piano and keyboards), Jordi Camp (bass), Santi Arisa (drums) and Marti Brunet (electric guitars and synthesizers). In the first half of the Seventies Fusioon released three albums entitled "Fusioon I" (1972), "Fusioon II" (1974) and "Minorisa" (1975).

The first album "Fusioon" contains arrangements from ‘traditionals’. It sounds like a tasteful stew with classical, folk, jazz and symphonic elements. The songs have echoes from King Crimson (Fripperian guitar), Focus (flute) and Le Orme/Ekseption/ELP (Hammond organ) but the musical ideas are great and the musicians play strong with many surprising breaks and exciting solos and interplay. The highlight is “Danza del molinero” (Manual de Falla) with sparkling piano, a tight rhythm-section, an Andalusian sounding violin, fiery electric guitar and powerful Hammond waves, culminating in a grand finale.

This record is a mostly instrumental one (a few scatting one the opening track), but this does not hamper the enjoyment of the music: they have a fairly unique sound and the music has some very subtle Spanish overtones but not in the Flamenco realm. Their sound oscillates between Isotope, Wigwam (the Gustavson and Pohjola compositions), Focus or Finch, Sloche (or fellow Quebecois Maneige) and countrymen Iceberg. If the jazz colours are the main characteristics of the album, the classical influences peak here and there, most notably in Negra Sombra (Dark Black). All of the tracks are covers of traditional songs (6 of 8 tracks) all adapted/arranged by Manel Camp and the other two being penned by other writers. The odd flute, sax and clarinet (actually un-credited) but drummer Arisa is the one playing them (says D-E Asbjornsen) and bring touches of brilliance. The superb piano may even ring reminiscence of Chilean Los Jaivas in their more symphonic moments and with the organs, ELP comes to mind.

Certainly worth the investigation, especially if you enjoyed the better-known two later albums.

--- http://www.progarchives.com

Highly Recommended!

Keep Listening!!!!

Link in comments....

Abercrombie is one of the elite electric guitarist in jazz, along with McLaughlin, Bill Frisell and John Schofield. He has had a long association with ECM records making a many beautifully recorded landmark albums. If you don't have "Timeless", get it.

This is an odd release in 2 respects. Firstly, you only need to look at the cover (I wish albums still cost $5.98!) to see that it's a world away from the crafted artwork of ECM. Secondly, he plays a standards in a mainstream trio setting, assisted by George Mraz on bass and Peter Donald on drums.

I would assume that is why it is on this obscure label, it just would not fit the ECM image. In many ways it is a precurser to the albums he would make with pianist Andy LaVerne in the late '80's and '90's.

The point about musicians such as Abercrombie is that not only can he change stlye from the modern to mainstream , but can do it better than most seasoned practitioners. As such, it is is an excellent example of the guitarist craft, supported noteably by Marz, who played with Bill Evans on so many classic recordings.

Nardis (Miles Davis) 6:44.

Links in comments

Keep listening !!!

One of the groups of the Italian Cramps label, Arti & Mestieri of Turin were form you around to the 1974 from the former drummer of Trip Furio Chirico (who had previously also played with the Boys of Sole and Martò and the Judas) with other musicians with various musical experiences. Gigi Venegoni (guitar, synth), Giovanni Vigliar (violin, voice, percussions) and Arthur Vitale (sax, clarinet, vibraphone) played with the Dream of Archimedes, a progressive rock/jazz fusion group. Often playing with Area, they shared their interest towards a fusion of jazz-rock with elements of progressive music, and the first album, Tilt, is an optimal result, even if the limited vocal parts were their weak point. The album comprised of only two vocal tracks, the rest were instrumentals.

In 1975, their second album, Giro di Valzer per Domani, saw the income of a singer, Gianfranco Gaza from Procession, and the album has a much better sound and production than the first one, of which it resumes the style but with some jazzy elements. Two of the better songs of the album, the instrumental Valzer in order tomorrow and the sung brano To know to feel exited also like 45 turns. After some years of interruption, in 1979 they released a third album, Quinto Stato, with the always guided group from Chirico but with a various formation and in a more traditional style jazz-rock, while the album seemed to be headed more and more clearly towards a kind fusion.

---taken from a review @ www.italianprog.com

Highly Recommended!

Lineup:

Gianfranco Gaza (voice)
Gigi Venegoni (guitar, synth)
Beppe Crovella (keyboards)
Giovanni Vigliar (violin, voice, percussions)
Arthur Vitale (sax, clarinet, vibraphone)
Mark Welsh (bass)
Furio Chirico (battery, percussions)

Track 6 - D'essy

Track 7 - Arti

Keep Listening!!!!

Link in comments...

This is a Michael Bloomfield album in all but name. Released on the obscure Record Man label sometime in, I think, the first half of the '70's, in Goldberg's name so as to avoid contractual problems, this is electric Bloomfield in a rough & ready live blues jam.

But its Bloomfield that commands attention. A true gunius and the most powerful guitarist around at the time.

Don't forget that it was Bloomfield who provided the guitar to Dylan's "Like A Rolling Stone" and to the Butterfield Blues Band ( if you don't have "East-West", get it)

As I said this is a jam, so much soloing from Bloomfield and Goldberg and that's fine by me. When the musicians are this good, why not let them go for it? Somewhere in the mix is Harvey Mandel (I'm not convinced that he really is there) and I think a bass player, but really this is the Bloomfield Show warts and all.

Do yourself a favour and get this obscure little gem.

Mess "A Da" Blues

Link in comments

Keep listening !!!

Not many artists get requests from established musicians to appear on their first album. So why did George Harrison (you can hear his slide guitar on "The Holdup"), Bob Dylan and bluegrass legend Norman Blake offer their services to this unknown? Because of the fact that he'd already been on dozens of albums as a session player and shown extraordinary talent.

This is, quite simply, one of the best and most confident first albums ever made, and that's saying something.

Lots a humor, great musicians having a ball with terrific songs is probably a good description. I add the ryder that the last song "Sammy's Song" is none of these, explicit and tragic and "Last Song From Selby Jean" isn't all beer and skittles either, just class.

The live version of "Delhia" is, in my view, the definitive one while the aforementioned "The Holdup" co-written with Harrison is brilliant, an unknown gem from the former Beatle.

Truly essential, so do yourself a favour.

The Holdup


Keep listening !!!

Firstly, apologies for the bit rate, but this is the only copy of this that I know of. If anyone has a better one, I'd love to hear from you. It is, to say the least, rather rare.

My comments on this one are brief, for one very simple reason, I know very little about it.

It is basically the brainchild of Peter Dawkins, drummer of New Zealand origin and later an Aussie producer, including for Spectrum (see Millesago, May archive in this blog)

Dawkins conceived, co-wrote and produced the whole thing, a concept album based on, rather obviously, astrological themes.

The band is made up mainly of Ariel personnel, this band being Spectrum in pop diguise, guitarist and fine singer - songwriter, Mike McClellan and others. It is not hard to pick out Spectrum / Ariel's Mike Rudd's guitar in the mix.

The music is entirely instrumental and is prog at its best. Despite being made up of only 4 tracks and being over 40 minutes long, it is by no means boring. It has an ethereal, dreamy feel, building to great climaxes, all rather good, really. The music, by the way, is rather better than the awful cover.

I can recommend this wholeheartedly, so do yourself a favour!

Air

Keep listening !!!

http://rapidshare.de/files/23571191/P_ss__1973.rar

The comments that I made in the Danny O'Keefe post apply here also. Again, Goodman did have some success at the beginning of his career with "City Of New Orleans", a hit for Arlo Guthrie in the late 60's. Also, he had major label support (Asylum Records) that enabled him to record with the best musicians the label could muster.

That's where the similiarities with O'Keefe end. Goodman was a fine songwriter, frankly, one of the best. His albums contain a mixture of the serious and the flippant, with perhaps an emphasis on more lighthearted material, with a few covers tossed in, for example, "It's A Sin To Tell A Lie" and reference to old time music, here represented by "Jessie's Jig", with Vasaar Clements and Jethro Burns.

As far as I am aware, he made only half a dozen or so albums before he was cruely struck down with luekemia when still young. He continued to released his own material through Red Pajamas Records after he became seriously ill, mostly cobbled together from what he had recorded and live shows, although his last album "Santa Ana Winds" was made up of unreleased songs.

He died in September 1984, just 36 years old.

A fine songwriter and one that should not be forgotten.

This Hotel Room

Keep Listening !!!

http://rapidshare.de/files/23457914/sg.rar

comming soon!

this movieclip was taken from "Crossing the Bridge - The Sound of İstanbul"

This disc contains two vintage Danish prog gems. The music features ripping organ with a burning rhythm section. De Homine Urbano is an early prog opera featuring two compositions almost 20 minutes long. This is great early prog.

Ache was one of the first progressive rock bands to come from Denmark. "De Homine Urbano" was their debut, and probably their best release. The album consisted of just two side-long suites. The title-track was, according to the band themselves, the world's first "rock ballet". The swirling organ of Peter Mellin and the smooth, melodic tone of guitarist Finn Olafsson dominated the sound. The track itself featured many fine melodies, and the suite was well constructed, with no unnecessary or redundant parts. The instrumental "Little Things" took up the second side of the album. This was an intense and impressive jam with lots of good themes and tight solo passages. Funnily enough, it goes into the riff of Led Zeppelin's "How Many More Times" for a few seconds at the end! This is not an album overflowing with originality, and the band's overall sound was similar to very many other bands of the same time, but the overall good songwriting makes "De Homine Urbano" a worthwhile album from the early 70's scene of Scandinavian progressive rock.

--review by Tommy Schönenberg @ http://www.vintageprog.com

Keep Listening!!!!

http://tinyurl.com/lhb4c

The music business is littered with exceptional talent that never achieves due reconition. Years of graft just never pay off. Danny O'Keefe is one of these artists.

To be fair, he did have some success at the beginning of his career with"Goodtime Charlie's Got The Blues", a song covered by many at the turn of the '70's and had other songs covered by more mainstream artists. But it was fleeting and he became relegated to the ranks of those who put out constant flow of great albums to an ever diminishing level of interest.

However, he did have an advantage over many others in that he had major label support with Atco, Atlantic and Warner Bros. This reflects that those in the know did appreciate his talent.

In addition to being an excellent tunesmith, he also added his own incisive lyrics to the themes of love and relationships. In "Junkman" he directs his venom at the drug dealer, but for me the highpoint of this album is "Mad Ruth-The Babe". A song of love set againt the ball game and in particular, Babe Ruth. A truly great song.

On all his albums, O'Keefe lightens the mood with a few fun songs, usually to a rock 'n' roll beat or a bit of boogie. Here, "Steppin' Out Tonight" and"If Ya Can't Boogie, Woogie (You Sure Can't Rock And Roll)" fulfill this role. Great fun and titles the tell you exactly what the song is about.

One advantage of recording for a major is that you get to make well produced albums with top shelf musicians. No exception here, with a band that includes Donny Hathaway, drummer Burnard Purdie, percussionist Airto, jazz bassist Richard Davis, Dr John, the great guitarist David Bromberg and even the producer Arif Mardin.

This really is a terrific album showcasing O'Keefe's own idiosyncratic songwriting. Great tunes with meaningful lyrics make this a must get album. Its a pity that his career stalled after the wonderful"Global Blues" in 1979 and that he did not make another album until 1999's "Runnin' From The Devil". There is now a new album, "Don't Ask" about to be released.

Mad Ruth-The Babe

Keep listening !!!

Link in comments

In progressive rock's glory days English and Italian, even American groups, garnered international attention for their contributions to the genre. Meanwhile, continental Europe boasted a number of fine bands, a very few well known, many who labored without the world's eye, and some who did not even make their mark on the scene until the very late 70s and into the early 1980s.

Neuschwanstein was such a band, the embryonic form of the band originally making their mark in a musical competition in Saarbrucken, Germany. The band won the competition with a progressive rock adaptation of Lewis Carroll's Alice In Wonderland in 1974. That same year Neuschwanstein took on two guitarist/singers from the French band Lykorn, and with that addition, the band that would record Battlement was in place. From 1974 to 1978 the band would make a name for themselves in the Saarland region of Germany and France, opening many shows for the likes of Novalis and Lucifer's Friend. By 1978 the band booked themselves into Scorpions producer Dieter Dierks studio, one of the finest in Germany. With the help of Scorpions drummer Hermann Rarebell, who played drums for the band on the track "Loafer Jack," the band recorded the material that would be released on Battlement. It was released in 1979 and sold a respectable 6000 copies, quite an accomplishment for an unsigned band on an independent label before the heyday of the internet.

Re-released on Musea in 1992, Battlement is a beautiful, lush work, and one of the best produced and sounding independently recorded releases I have heard in some time. The musicianship displayed on Battlement is absolutely top notch and vocalist/acoustic guitarist Frederic Joos will have many listeners swearing that Peter Gabriel himself provided the lead vocals for Neuschwanstien. The band's material is all stunning and well polished, reminiscent of Genesis during the time of Trick Of The Tail and Wind And Wuthering. Their music is well conceived and very well executed, with rich and melodious keyboards and guitar, beautiful flute breaks and very, very finely delivered vocals.

Every track on this re-issue is of good quality and a couple are almost good enough to qualify as what I call could call "masterpieces." "Intruders And The Punishment" is the highpoint of the album for me, with odd meter, rippling keyboards and lyrics that will perhaps remind the listener of the ordeals of Odysseus. Another wonderful moment is the track "Battlement," an almost unsettling number that features great vocals by bassist Rainer Zimmer. The final song on Battlement, "Zartlicher Abschied" is the only holdover from the band's original 1974 adaptation of Alice In Wonderand. It is a lovely instrumental track that lifts a well known theme from Genesis, and is, by the way, the only direct appropriation from the Charterhouse legends.

This is a true classic of continental progressive rock and is well deserving of the title.

Rating: 5/5

-- review by Tom Karr @ http://www.progressiveworld.net

Highly Recommended!

Track Listing:
1. Loafer Jack (4:42)
2. Ice With Dwale (7:34)
3. Intruders And The Punishment (7:34)
4. Beyond The Bugle (7:31)
5. Battlement (7:05)
6. Midsummer Day (7:42)
7. Zartlicher Abschied (5:52)

Musicians:
Thomas Neuroth (Keyboards)
Klaus Mayer (Flute, Synthesizer)
Roger Weiler (Guitars)
Frederic Joos (Lead Vocals, Acoustic Guitar)
Rainer Zimmer (Bass; Vocal on track 5)
Hans-Peter Schwarz (Drums on tracks 2-7)
Hermann Rarebell (Drums on track 1)

Keep Listening!!!!

http://rapidshare.de/files/23109965/Neuschwanstein.zip.html

Firstly, a confession. This band comes from Adelaide, South Australia, my home city.

That out the way, what we have here is a brilliant slab of rock and Hammond driven blues topped off by the brilliant vocalist, Barrie McAskill, the only constant in the group's ever changing lineup. In trying to describe his vocal style, think of Chris Farlowe, circa Colosseum.

Many such bands of this era fell victim to making an album of 10 variations of the one tune, topped
with some drivel, known as filler, all rather wearing on the listener. No such problem here. All members of the and are excellent musicians, having honed their skills on the then thriving pub circuit.

Before this album was made the band had moved to Australia's biggest city, Sydney and had performed constantly at the notorious Whisky A Go Go club.

Its fair to say that live, Levi Smith's Clefs were awesome and not surprisingly, had a very strong live following. This observation, however, maybe affected by the years and my love of the band! (another disclaimer)

After opening with a truly excellent instrumental, the band gets into full swing with the original "Shotgun" before getting to the album's centrepiece, a rather surprising version of the Beatles "You Can Do That". I can assure you that at over 11 minutes, the Lennon McCartney tune is only recognizable at the beginning and end, when McAskill adds his raspy vocals, the middle is full of great solos and invention, no dull bits. Stunning.

More stabs at blues-rock follow before the album concludes with the rather jazzy, instrumental title track.

I'm sure virtually no-one out there knows of this band, which is a pity, but as they used to say here, "do yourself a favour" and get this album. Maybe due recognition starts here.

McAskill, Inez Amaya - vocals
Michael Carlos - organ
John Blake - drums
Mick Jurd - guitar
Richard Lockwood - flute sax
Robert Taylor - drums

Who Is That Shall Come

Keep listening!!!

http://rapidshare.de/files/23087326/Levi_Smith_s_Clefs_-_Empty_Monkey__1970.rar.html

I thought I would try this idea out and give people a glimpse into some of the stuff I like to listen to. As with nahavanda's playlist, most of the albums these tracks are from are quite recent and therefore not going to be posted for download in the future. If you happen to hear something you like, I encourage you to buy the album or else track them down yourself. Enjoy!


Progressive Rock

Chroma Key - You Go Now - Lunar..............................

Kevin Moore - Ghost Book - Cowbloke.........................


Progressive Metal

Ayreon - The Human Equation - Mystery.....................


Instrumental & Virtuoso

Mattias IA Eklundh - Freak Guitar: The Road Less Traveled - Ketchup Is A Vegetable....................................................................

Mattias IA Eklundh - Freak Guitar: The Road Less Traveled - Print This!...........................................................................

Mattias IA Eklundh - Freak Guitar - Midsummer Night in Hell.............................................................................

Talisma - Chromium - Inversion...................................

Brett Garsed - Uncle Moe's Space Ranch - SighBorg......


RIO/Avantgarde

Sleepytime Gorilla Museum - Grand Opening & Closing - Sleep Is Wrong..........................................................................

5uu's - Regarding Purgatories - Meteroa........................



Goa Trance

Infected Mushroom - Converting Vegetarians - Elation Station...........................................................................

Infected Mushroom - B.P. Empire - Dancing With Kadafi..


Ambient & Electronic

Eivind Aarset - Connected - Connectic..............................

Orbital - In Sides (CD 2) - The Box (Untitled Version 1).....

Orbital - In Sides (CD 2) - The Box (Untitled Version 2).....

Steven Wilson - Unreleased Electronic Music Vol.1 - Dub Zero................................................................................

While in countries like England, Italy and the United States, the outlook for progressive rock by the late seventies was practically at its bleakest; Spain's scene was at its most prolific stage. While the rest of the world has really had little contact with progressive rock from this country - Spain's media also had little kindness for musicians - there really was an abundance of great music coming from Spain, and Crack was no exception. Probably one of Spain's finest examples of majestic and powerful symphonic progressive, Crack was maybe one of the most Anglo styled of the Spanish bands, although there are obvious cultural references that must not be ignored. With male and female vocals, flute; excellent use of guitars and synthesizers; and a warm and dreamy atmosphere; Crack show that they are an instant winner for symphonic rock fans.

Upon hearing Si Todo Hiciera Crack, it is clear that Crack was a classic symphonic progressive band of the highest order, probably heavily influenced by Italian greats like PFM or Locanda delle Fate. It is grandiose, orchestral, sweeping music with heavy classical flourishes, varied instrumentation and a dramatic flair. Although Si Todo Hiciera lacks the regional and ethnic influences of say, Mezquita, the band does mix what seems to be a Spanish folk feel from time to time. For the most part though, this is just phenomenal symphonic with a heavy emphasis on beautiful, romantic melodies and dramatic development of themes into mammoth climaxes. The band isn't afraid to rock out from time to time either, allowing electric guitar to fire away beneath the shimmering pianos and cascading keyboard and flute themes during the emotional peak of any given track.

Highlighted throughout is a generous helping of classic keys like mellotron and moog, along with some synthesizer and piano. Flute and guitar are both prominently emphasized throughout the album as well. The tracks are generally based around the vocals, which don't stand out in particular, but are at least acceptable as they have some gorgeous melodies to work with. The first two tracks here are monsters, pretty much as good as semi-pastoral, heavily melodic progressive gets. "Descenso en el Mahellstrong" is an instrumental of blistering power when it hits its stride, while "Amantes de le Irrealidad" is a powerful number that stands with the finest work from Quella Vecchia Locanda or PFM. The album doesn't retain the same level for its duration however, as the middle tracks are slightly more ballad-esque and based around the vocals. "Buenos Deseos" features some female vocals in duet with the male lead which are particularly cheesy. Still, these tracks don't significantly drag things down, they're just not at the same extremely high level as the first two.

The album kicks back into gear for the final three songs. Most impressive is the superb title track, which features heart wrenching keyboard and flute interplay. All in all, Crack plays symphonic progressive with a heavy emotional weight, and gorgeously complex melodic feel. Like an amalgamation of Yes and Locanda delle Fate, with a very slight ethnic feel.

Highly Recommended!

-- Taken from a review by Greg Northrup @ http://www.progweed.net

Tracklisting:
1. Descenso en el Mahellstrong
2. Amantes de le Irrealidad
3. Cobarde O Desertor
4. Buenos Deseos
5. Marchanda Una del Cid (Pt. 1, 2)
6. Si Todo Hiciera Crack
7. Epillogo

Line-Up:
Alex Cabral (bass)
Alberto Fontaneda (guitar, flute and vocals)
Mento Hevia (keys and vocals)
Manolo Jiménez (drums)
Rafael Rodríguez (guitar)

Keep Listening!!!!

http://rapidshare.de/files/22834436/Crack.zip.html

BlackwatchPlaid - The Pusher (Forced Stereo)


powered by ODEO

The first half of this writeup was taken from a bio on http://www.nndb.com/ . The second half was included on a text file that came along with the album when I found it on a p2p program, and alas, not being able to find a decent review, I have chosen to use that as a description of the album.

Michael Giles had his first professional gig in 1964 with Trendsetters, Ltd., later moving on with his brother Peter Giles to become Robert Fripp's partner in obscurity as a member of Giles, Giles and Fripp in 1967. This of course led to the first incarnation of the mighty King Crimson, but almost as soon as the band was underway it was falling apart, with Giles and Crimson multi-instrumentalist Ian McDonald turning in their notice and recording the much less aggressive McDonald and Giles in 1970.

In the 1970s Giles worked as a session player for artists ranging from Steve Winwood and Kevin Ayers to Leo Sayer and Neil Sedaka. His own musical output in subsequent years has been almost nonexistent, the few exceptions being the soundtrack piece Ghost Dance (a collaboration with Jamie Muir and David Cunningham, recorded in 1983 but not released intil 1996), and his only solo album Progress (recorded in 1978 but not released until 2002). In 2002 Giles joined with McDonald and his brother Peter, as well as former Crimson wind player Mel Collins, to form 21st Century Schizoid Band, a band primarily focused on rehashing songs from the early stages of King Crimson; he was replaced in 2003 by fellow KC ex-drummer Ian Wallace.

Progress was recorded in 1978 and is a previously unreleased album written and performed by Michael Giles aided by an amazing collection of classic progressive rock & jazz 'names' including Geoffrey Richardson (Penguin Café Orchestra, Caravan), Jimmy Hastings (Caravan) and John G. Perry (Caravan, Quantum Jump), Dave McRae (Matching Mole), Peter Giles (King Crimson/Giles, Giles and Fripp) and Ray Warleigh.

Following his days with the original King Crimson and the release of his LP with Ian McDonald, drummer Michael Giles focused on studio work. After building his own recording facility, he began work on 'Progress', completed it around 1978, mixed it and then put it on a shelf, waiting for the right moment to put it out as prog rock was experiencing an abrupt decline in popular favour. It came out only in 2002 and thus will appeal mostly to nostalgic fans.

A loosely conceptual album built around a trip by train, 'Progress' is a very nice album of prog-rock with hints of jazz fusion and Canterbury-style writing. Michael Giles is not a great singer. His voice recalls Chris Squire's on the latter's solo LP 'Fish Out of Water', i.e. it lacks strength and character to assume a leading role. Then again, only five of the 12 tracks have lyrics. The other tunes range from delicate atmospheres to full-on prog-rock anthems and feature established UK musicians like Geoffrey Richardson, John Perry and Jimmy Hastings, plus brother and also ex-Crimson Peter Giles. Highlights include 'Departure' where the drummer reminds us that he has the finesse of a free improviser, the quiet 'Midsummer Day', 'Progress' and the jazzier 'Arrival'. Most of all, 'Progress' shows how good a session player and studio arranger Giles could be. It will be of more interest to fans of Cunning Stunts-era Caravan and Hatfield & the North although the music adopts a friendlier mood reminiscent of Anthony Phillips' pop albums from the same period than to King Crimson completists.

Highly Recommended for King Crimson aficionados.

TRACKLIST:

1. Sunrise
2. Departure
3. Rolling
4. Daydream
5. Moving
6. Midsummer Day
7. Progress
8. Sunset
9. Shunter
10. Rocking
11. Nightdream
12. Arrival

Keep Listening!!!!

http://www.f-forge.com?d=YE5Z8VnwFBCy6j1PliNr

As this album is referred to in the comments to the Pork Pie album below, so it's only fair that it be made available as well.

This is a very hard to find album from British composer, arranger Michael Gibbs. Recently some of his seventies output, originally out on Deram, was re-released. This one missed out as it was on the Bronze label, more famous for Uriah Heep, Colosseum and the like. Just how Gibbs ended up on this label is hard to fathom.

Nonetheless, it is a brilliant album and shows not only the talent of Gibbs, but also that a large ensemble can sound very modern. Despite the fact that the album is 31 years old, it still sounds absolutely fresh.

This is due in part to the vision of Gibbs and his choice of musicians. The band features Philip Catherine on guitar and Charlie Mariano on reeds, flute and nadhaswarwm (see the comments to the Pork Pie). In addition, he chose Steve Swallow for bass duties.

It is in Nairam, composed by Philip Catherine, that this totally modern appoach is best seen, a beautiful tune, with solos fom Catherine and Swallow. The electric bass solo is a prime example of how this instrument can play lead, as opposed to the bass solo designed to keep the bassist quiet. In the wonderfully rhythmic Undergrowth opening, Swallow and Catherine pump out the theme in tandum to real effect, again an imaginative and successful use of Swallow's considerable talent.

Aside from the abovementioned, Bob Moses and Jumma Santos (I think he was the percussionist at Woodstock with Hendrix) add percussive colours. As an aside, Moses has made many fine albums as leader and all are well worth seeking out.

The cream of British musicians make up the brass section including Kenny Wheeler, Henry Lowther, Chris Pyne, Ray Warleigh Alan Skidmore.

Michael Gibbs remains an unsung force in the development of modern British jazz. Aside from a clutch of innovative and enjoyable albums, he also worked with ECM Records on various projects, including Gary Burton's Seven Songs.

His cv is very broad, and includes, Mahavishnu Orchestra on Apocalypse; Uriah Heep; Joni Mitchell; Roy Harper's Valentine; Jaco Pastorius and even Back Door's Another Fine Mess. Really that about covers every musical genre! But I won't mention Whitney Houston's Whitney.

Nairam

Keep Listening!!!



http://rapidshare.de/files/22502848/Mike_Gibbs_-_Only_Chrome_Waterfall_Orchestra__1975.rar.html

Uakti occupies a very special place in the celebrated brazilian musical scene. They make their own instruments. (See the scanning of the booklet and be amazed by the Glass Marimba, The Planetarium or the incredible Trilobite, a weird and futuristic multidrum designed to be struck with the fingers.)

Beyond the obvious attraction that people feel to alien instrumentation, Uakti members have really made deep contributions to the future of music. Among their admirers we could count the Blue Man Group, also builders of extreme percussion objects and Phillip Glass, with whom they published the internationally acclaimed Aguas do Amazonia, a tribute to the rivers of the biggest Tropical jungle of the planet.

Uakti is a quartet: the percussionists Decio Ramos and Paulo Sergio dos Santos and the multi instrumentalist Artur Andres, the fourth member Marco Antonio Guimaraes, brain of the group, creator of the instruments and musical director, no longer plays in the band concerts. He prefers to stay in the shadow, composing and creating new and more complex forms of music.
Actually Uakti is an experimental band in more than one sense. Guimaraes have also created a parallel musical notation, that uses mathematical and geometrical symbols to simplify patterns, durations and percutive scales. This experimental notation that they use along with the traditional one has been used by Physicist Maurice Brazin, to teach aboriginal Amazonians Music and Arithmetics with surprising results. Her says that this is a very practical and visual method that immediately connects with logic and intuition. For example a repetition of three patterns is represented by a triangle, and so on.

As we can see Uakti is an ambitious project that goes way beyond the content of this CD, which is actually their first published work. Nowadays, after more than 70 new instruments invented, a dozen of albums and several world tours, Uakti emerges as one of the most interesting, consistent and advanced experimental contemporary ensembles.
Nevertheless I must agree that the word experimental scares some people, and can actually be used to label a lot of inaudible and horrible cacophonic and chaotic noise collections.

This is not the case with Uakti. What the do is certainly nice music. It has the flavor of the old and the new. The indigenous and the urbane. Deep Future and Deep Past.
Uakti sounds like nothing else, and yet, it touches something arcane, deeply hidden in us.

I am a very lucky person. Five years ago I saw them in concert at Aula Magna, Venezuelan Central University. First row. Did I say lucky? Incredibly Lucky I would say.. because the very next day while walking near the Caracas Fine Arts Museum, I happened to come across Decio Ramos. I Identify myself as a radio producer,(yes I was that at the time) and we had a brief conversation that versed on Afro Venezuelan music, the actual Pop Scene, Einstruzende Neubauten, southamerican politics and brazilian garotas, more or less in that order.

If you think that as a south American I am not being too objective about this band, you better listen for yourself.

Be prepared to enter the depths of the tropical jungle of some other planet, which is Earth actually, but Earth as you have never heard it before.

Keep listening!!!

http://rapidshare.de/files/22497189/uakti_-_uakti.rar.html


PS: This is their website. Do not miss the instruments page!

www.uakti.com.br

Alvarez - Delight, Prayer for imaginary Piano

It was long ago that a usually reliable written source made me aware of the past existence of a "left-of-center" Spanish rock group called Musica Urbana: a quartet, active in the second half of the 70s, whose musical language could maybe be defined as being contiguous to jazz-rock and whose best album was said to be the one bearing the same name, recorded and released in 1976. But I got there too late for vinyl, and I never heard about a CD re-release.

I'll immediately say that Musica Urbana is a very nice album for which it's extremely doubtful that a tag like "in the jazz-rock idiom" could be appropriate (besides its being counterproductive). I'd say there are more than a few similarities to Frank Zappa's "jazz-rock", when he was in his "funky" period (say, on albums like Roxy & Elsewhere or The Helsinki Concert: it's the line-up featuring George Duke and Ruth Underwood) - just listen to the jumpy theme of the first track here, "Agost", where keyboards are doubled by castanets (!) whose timbre immediately brings to mind Zappa's use of marimba. But there are also traces of Hatfield And The North - in their jazz mode, and in their more intricate moments penned by Dave Stewart (here refer to tracks Font and Caramels De Mel). Funny to notice how a group so obviously influenced by Hatfield And The North appears in some moments to predate National Health.

(If I emphasize those similarities it's not in order to diminish Musica Urbana's achievements, but to avoid those exaggerated expectations originated by announcements such as "Here for you is the (re)discovery of a revolutionary idiom that had sadly been forgotten!", those kinds of expectations leading inevitably to a let-down. This is a very good record that doesn't need any hard sell.) Complex music, yes, but never "difficult". Intricate development and orchestrations = we welcome the limpid recording. Most compositions are by Joan Albert Amargós, who's also at center stage instrumentally: many keyboards (Steinway acoustic piano, Fender electric piano, Hohner Clavinet, Mini-Moog) and wind instruments (soprano sax, clarinet, flute, trombone). (What's a "xoulet i violins Logan"? Maybe the "violin keyboard" once made by Logan?) We also have inventive and precise drummer and percussionist Salvador Font making a nice team with bass player Carles Benavent. Not too easy to notice at first, guitarist Lluís Cabanach's work is very good. We also have those castanets by Aurora Amargós and various keyboards by Lucky Guri.

Complex music, yes, the compositions being the fruit of a long work; intricate but extremely logical developments, many themes. All qualities that match very well with a kind of "simplicity" that sounds folk-related.

I really hope that, besides being a welcome addition to the record collections of those already aware, this album is a first step to the (re)discovery of a big slice of European Rock Music that today is totally forgotten (say, from ZNR's Barricade 3 to Face Aux Elements Dechaines by Etron Fou Leloublan).

Highly Recommended!

-- review by Beppe Colli @ http://www.cloudsandclocks.net

Keep Listening!!!!


http://tinyurl.com/s5ojz

Well… I refuse to post only prog so… here I go with this one.

Hector Zazou was born in Algeria, land of Rai and crossroads of Europe and Islam. At this point we must make very clear that his musical influences are vast and incredibly diverse. Opera, Techno pop, dark wave, Chamber Rock, Robert Wyatt, pop... He even had had a brief Rock In Opposition link. His first duo, ZNR, has two albums of Satie-esque moog/rhodes/drum machine pop

Later he worked with la crème of his generation: Dead Can Dance, Jon Hassell, David Sylvian, John Cale, Anneli Drecker, Bjork and many others. Zazou is well known for his ambitious projects. His album Songs from the Cold Seas is an essential masterpiece, an album not to be missed by anyone who might think himself as a modern music connoisseur and collector.

Other important experiments done by Mr Zazou are Geologies and Geographies, or Les Nouvelles Polyphonies Corses, three quasi academic works that helped to consolidate him as one of the kings of that nebulous limbo between the classical and the popular, the modern and the very antique, the brain and the heart

For some Hector Zazou is what Eno would have been if Eno have had had a formal musical learning. This conclusion doesn’t try to say anything bad about Eno. It just states that Zazou is obviously influencde by the former, plus year academic learning.

As a matter of fact, the influence of Eno is easily noted in Guilty! The album he released with the Zairian singer Bony Bikaye. An album that draws many similarities to My Life in the Bush of Ghosts the seminal work that Eno and Byrne published in 1980.
Guilty! can also be framed in the World Music picture, only that this time the electronic arrangements make things rather unclear. They did not pretend to recreate or twist african or middle eastern music, they just played it as they felt it. Bikaye sang with his heart, not trying to fool us with fake African chanting or pseudo ritual outbursts. Zazou put here great music, Bikaye gave us a ton of honesty. And they were not afraid to the fact that people could actually dance to the music they did.

The result however, danceable or not is eerie and somewhat alien. It is true that songs like Kinshasa translates Africa to the West, but it is also true that their version of It’s a man’s man’s man’s world (original by James Brown a soul classic and surely one of the best songs ever) brings american soul back to a future Africa.

They surely knew how to give a surprisingly turn of the screw.
Do not expect guitar riffs or solos here.
Mellotron? What is that?

Keep Listening!!!

http://rapidshare.de/files/22384525/Hector_Zazou_-_Bony_Bikaye___Guilty_.rar.html

Pork Pie was the fusion band of keyboardist Jasper van't Hof during the 70's with this being the best of their output. This brand of fusion comes with a jazz bent, with the band featuring Charlie Mariano on reeds, J. F. Jenny Clarke on bass and the recently departed Aldo Romano on drums.

The rock element comes from the guitar of Philip Catherine, he of Focus fame.

You cannot review this band without a comment about Mariano. A true innovator, he played with amoung others, Charles Mingus before moving to Europe, where he has lived for several decades. His music has encompassed straight jazz, fusion, oriental and he has experimented with a large range of alternative instruments. Here he displays complete command of the nagaswaram, the instrument you can see him playing on the back cover. Most of all he is a lyrical and attractive player.

Not much needs to be said about Catherine, a brilliant guitarist, but I think more at home here in a jazz setting than in a true rock band. Let's face it, Focus were not very "rock". To amplify my point, listen also to Michael Gibb's "The Only Chrome Waterfall Orchestra"

I have great respect for Romano, more than a percussionist, a fine composer and band leader in his own right. He went on to make many good, but totally overlooked albums, including "Alma Latina", 1983, with Catherine. With the ever present Jenny-Clark on bass, they make a formidible rhythm section.

It must be said that of all the fusion bands that plied their trade in the 70's this is one of the very best and this is one excellent album, with its mix of ambient, jazz with some eastern influences, courtesy of Mariano.


Charlie Mariano - Reeds, flutes
Philip Catherine - Guitars
Jasper van't Hof - Keyboards
J.F. Jenny-Clarke - Bass
Aldo Romano - Drums
Ivanir Do Nascimento - Percussion

Keep Listening!!!


http://rapidshare.de/files/22423009/Pork_Pie_-_Transitory__1974.rar.html

I gotta say, the opening to this album is one of the most exciting I've ever heard. I mean, its just an explosion of keyboards and locked-in, thundering drum patterns, with some killer electronic sample cycling over the riff, driving home the groove. Phenomenal. Townscream is the project of former After Crying keyboardist Csaba Vedres, and there is an expectedly significant carry over from his former band, Vedres being the main composer during his stay. Considering that After Crying's period with Vedres at the helm was their most arguably their most successful, fans of their early work would probably want to follow him to Townscream before exploring the more inconsistent later After Crying albums. Nagyvárosi Ikonok received a ton of hype upon its release, and as usual there's been backlash, but I think now that the dust has settled, it still stands as a great album. For those familiar with After Crying's work, Townscream is slightly heavier and more aggressive, but also manages to work in that lush, classically inspired After Crying feel at points. In some ways they are even more varied, which may contribute to complaints concerning the discontinuity of the album. Even those unfamiliar with early After Crying should make an effort to pursue Townscream, as I think the album stands up very well on its own, and would possibly halt the unconscious desire to compare the two groups.

As is usually the case with Csaba Vedres, his biggest inspirations seem to be King Crimson and Emerson, Lake & Palmer, as well as his incorporation of a dark classical feel. The album moves through a number of different phases, which sort of caused me to lose interest at various points at first, focusing on one chunk of pieces and then sort of zoning out. However, repeated listenings have allowed the whole thing to sink in and make sense. The title suite is an unequivocal masterpiece. The aforementioned opening is utterly fantastic, but the piece doesn't really let down as far as quality goes, though certainly the intensity is varied throughout. It incorporates a number of beautiful piano solos, as well as a drum solo that uses sampled rhythms to great effect before exploding into the suite's shuddering climax. "Minden Nap" is the first track that really evokes early After Crying, an extremely beautiful and melodic piece featuring vocals, acoustic guitar and flute.

The next section of the album was originally what sort of lost me. "A Lazarus-Ból" through "Koldus" are extremely ELP-ish, and very bombastic. However, the aggressive cello and horn parts that overlay the keyboard pyrotechnics really sunk in over time, and I've gotten to thoroughly enjoy this section of the album as well, reminding me that there's really nothing wrong with ELP bombast, as long as its done well. The final section of the album starts out very slow, as both the 9th and 10th tracks occupy around 10 minutes of near dead air, consisting of minimalistic chanting and sound effects. However, patience pays off as the closing set of tunes proves utterly fantastic, rivalling the best work of After Crying, and in very much the same style. Stunning symphonic progressive with an overt classical air and with all the flourish and grand instrumentation that we've come to expect from such large scale Vedres compositions. Nagyvárosi Ikonok requires some persistent listening for it to all fall together. It does drag at points, and the project could have used some tightening up, but the album still holds up with any of the After Crying albums. A great example of original and inspired symphonic progressive for the 90s. Here's to hoping we'll see some more out of Townscream in the future, though Vedres has been apparently concentrating on solo piano work as of late. Ah well, the next album could have been a real classic.

Highly Recommended!

-- reviewed by Greg Northrup @ http://www.progweed.net

Track Listing:
1. Nagyvárosi Ikonok I.
2. Nagyvárosi Ikonok II.
3. Nagyvárosi Ikonok III.
4. Nagyvárosi Ikonok IV.
5. Minden Nap
6. A Lazarus-Ból
7. Fekete Hangulat
8. Koldus
9. Íme, Hát Megleltem Hazámat
10. Így Szólt a Madár
11. Hajnali Enek
12. Alászálla a Poklokra
13. Az Utolsó Ikon

Personnel:
Vedres Csaba - Keyboards, Synthesizers
Ács Péter - Bass
Baross Gábor - Drums
Gál Béla - Cello, Synthesizers

Keep Listening!!!!

http://rapidshare.de/files/22333383/Nagyvarosi_Ikonok_1.zip.html

There was a request for Soft Machine - Seven a little while back, and I had found a link for it from the Kukopolis blog (kukopolis.blogspot.com). Unfortunately, that rip was @ 128 kbps, so I tracked down a better rip @ 192 kbps, so here it is... enjoy!

By this album Soft Machine had mutated from a psychedelic acid rock/jazz combo into a disciplined British jazz fusion combo, with only keyboard player Mike Ratledge being an original member. But they're damn good: sax/piano player Karl Jenkins is bursting with melodic ideas, writing more than half the record and tossing off elaborate riffs ("Block"); drummer John Marshall (an associate of Jack Bruce) is extraordinarily dextrous, inviting comparisons with Bill Bruford; and bassist Roy Babbington holds down some really demanding lines and gets in a startling bowed standup bass solo ("Down The Road"). Meanwhile, Ratledge delivers refined, tasteful synthesizer voicings, and he orchestrates a thunderous suite that let's everyone show off impressively ("Day's Eye/Bone Fire/Tarabos") - although Jenkins' sophisticated tunes almost steal the show (the stately, uplifting "Penny Hitch"). The group had long since abandoned vocals. But complex overdubs and frequent stylistic shifts keep it interesting, from Marshall's spacey Eastern percussion piece "D.I.S." to Jenkins' romantic keyboard solo "Carol Ann." With key compositions like "Nettle Bed" and "Block" scattered everywhere, the only expendable tracks are the watery interludes "Snodland" and "The German Lesson/The French Lesson." Virtuosic and staggeringly intelligent, this is a classic example of the genre. Guitar phenom Alan Holdsworth would join the band for Bundles (1975).

reviewed by John Alroy @ http://www.warr.org

Line-Up:

-- Roy Babbington - acoustic & electric basses
-- Karl Jenkins - oboe, baritone & soprano saxes, recorder, electric piano
-- John Marshall - drums, percussion
-- Mike Ratledge - electric piano, organ, synthesizer

Keep Listening!!!!

http://rapidshare.de/files/22017376/Soft_Machine_-_Seven__1974_.zip.html

There was a request for this one and who am I to argue.
This is truely a legendary album. Three great musicians with there own take on the Blues, Ron Aspery on saxes, Tony Hicks on drums and a bass player. And what a bass player. Colin Hodgkinson is a revelation, a true original and it is safe to say that he is up there with Jaco Pastorious as one of the great electric bass players. Just listen to this and the follow-up "8th Street Nites " [1973] to be convinced.
It was because the band had no keyboard or rhythm guitar that Hodgkinson felt the need to take on the role of both bass and rhythm. He uses chords and fast lead lines to fill out these short, gritty tunes and he does it perfectly.
That's not the only reason this is such a good album. Aspery is a tough saxophonist with real jazz credentials and Hicks is a free and inventive drummer. All in all, the complete package.
The album was roughly recorded and independently released. It soon generated a real buzz and picked major label backing. The reviews were universally glowing focusing on the lead and rhythm bass of Hodgkinson and the supburb musicianship of Aspery and Hicks and this mix of blues with a rock feel, but jazzy overtones.
You should do yourself a favour and get this masterpiece.

32 / 20 Blues

Keep Listening!

http://rapidshare.de/files/21997195/Back_Door_-_Back_Door__1972.rar.html

Dr Pat Gleeson was the brains behind the electronics in the Herbie Hancock's Mwandishi bands, the pioneering electronic / fusion band of the mid 1970's. See Eddie Henderson elsewhere in this blog.

It was his contributions that gave these albums there spacy feel and made them all classics.

This as a solo album of electronic instruments only. It was not until listening to it again that I realized that it really is a fine album in its own right. I can't really say much more about this album, as I know very little myself. A search of the the reveals little as well, just 3 albums released in 30 odd years and an album with fellow Mwandish, Bennie Maupin.

An interesting footnote to the great Hancock fusion band of the mid 1970's

Keep Listening!

http://rapidshare.de/files/21988674/Pat_Gleeson_-_Rainbow_Delta__1980.zip.htm