Category: Reviews

Reviews – Procol Harum Reissues – Grand Hotel, Exotic Birds and Fruit & The Prodigal Stranger – by James R. Turner

Following on from the epic Procol Harum boxed set released earlier this year, and an announcement of the re-issue of ‘Live in Edmonton’ on both CD and vinyl in October, Esoteric continue their excellent reissue series of Procol Harum albums with the deluxe editions of 1973’s ‘Grand Hotel’, 1974’s ‘Exotic Birds and Fruit’ and 1991’s reunion album ‘The Prodigal Stranger’.

Starting with ‘Grand Hotel’, the album is released complete with bonus tracks and a DVD live in Belgium from November that year.

By this point band had coalesced around the stellar line up of Gary Brooker, Alan Cartwright (bass), BJ Wilson (drums) Mick Grabham (electric guitar) and Chris Copping (organ), with Keith Reid as ever providing the lyrics to Brooker’s music. The lavishly designed album is in keeping with the music contained within, from the orchestral title track segueing into Toujours L’amour, the caustic TV Ceasar, to the wonderful For Liquorice John, this album helped define Procol’s identity for the latter days of their existence throughout the 1970’s as the line-up stabilised.

With Brooker’s vocals and Reid’s lyrics working in harmony, and the taut band that had been touring well together, ‘Grand Hotel’ is a deserved high point in the Harum catalogue, and with a superb live concert on DVD it captures a band at the peak of their powers. The mixture of new material with older classic like Conquistador, A Rum Tale and Power Failure showcases their skill and versatility.

With superb sound and packaging that reproduces the elaborate lyric booklet, this is an excellent album from a band at their peak.

Released 29th June 2018

Order from Cherry Red:

https://www.cherryred.co.uk/product/procol-harum-grand-hotel-2-disc-expanded-edition/

This momentum was carried forward into 1974’s ‘Exotic Birds and Fruit’, here a triple disc set including the album plus bonus tracks, a live at the BBC concert from March 1974, and a live concert from Dallas in July 1974.

With these additional live tracks, as Harum fans we are well and truly spoilt.

Claiming in contemporary interviews that this was a back to basics album, the line-up remained unchanged and all the compositions again were Brooker and Reid’s and while the packaging again was lavish, the music inside was more direct and Reid’s lyrics were darker, referencing the Three Day Week, conditions not ideal to recording an album. However, they soldiered on, creating a masterpiece as strong as ‘Grand Hotel’, and as different from its predecessor.

With the opening Nothing But The Truth and tracks like New Lamps For Old and Butterfly Boys, providing scathing commentary about the band’s management Chris Wright & Terry Ellis (Chrysalis Records), given its strength, it is amazing that they allowed it to be released.

With material from this and ‘Grand Hotel’ dominating the sets on both extra concerts, it’s interesting to hear how songs developed and grew from recording to touring and the subtle tweaks that bring the best out of them.

In these two years Harum produced a couple of fantastic albums, better than their debut some might say, and proving that this line-up was for many the definitive line up of their first wave.

Released 1st September 2017

Order from Cherry Red:

https://www.cherryred.co.uk/product/procol-harum-exotic-birds-fruit-3cd-digipak-edition/

Jump forward to 1991, and a break of more than 14 years from their last gigs in 1977, after the death of BJ Wilson in 1990, and working together with Keith Reid in 1989, Brooker caught up with Matthew Fisher and Robin Trower and, working with additional musicians like Dave Bronze (bass), Mark Brzezicki (drums) and Jerry Stevenson on mandolin and guitar, ‘The Prodigal Stranger’ was composed and released in 1991. With co-writes from studio engineer Matt Noble, this was the first new Harum music since the 70’s and, as the musical style had evolved, so had the sound.

Listening now the production is very much of its time, and yet, despite that, it still has the element of Harum about it.

Driven by the vocals and piano of Brooker, the organ of Matthew Fisher and Robin Trowers guitar, tracks like the emotive The King of Hearts, Holding On and One More Time flow in the best Procol Harum tradition and, yes, they are shorter songs and have a slightly more polished radio friendly sheen but the band is still in there, with Trower in fine form on All Our Dreams are Sold.

A lot of bands reunite for a variety of different reasons, and for Harum and Brooker it was the death of Wilson that spurred him on, that makes this album as much a Harum album as any other. This is no Yes ‘Union’ record, it’s a very different beast to what went before but it was the springboard to the band resuming full time touring, which they haven’t stopped, as well as two more studio albums since then, so it’s place in Harum’s legacy is as vital to the band as any of the classic 70’s albums, and is really worth revisiting and enjoying.

Release Date 29th June 2018

Order from Cherry Red:

https://www.cherryred.co.uk/product/procol-harum-the-prodigal-stranger-re-mastered-expanded-edition/

Review – Procol Harum – Still There’ll Be More – An Anthology – 1967-2017 – by James R Turner

Celebrating their 50th anniversary in style, and still very much active as a highly entertaining and popular live band, Procol Harum’s catalogue is in the process of being remastered and reissued in definitive editions by those nice folks over at Esoteric. So far, they have released the band’s first four albums (‘Procol Harum’, ‘Shine on Brightly’, ‘A Salty Dog’ & ‘Home’), also released imminently are 1973’s ‘Grand Hotel’, 1974’s ‘Exotic Birds and Fruits’ and 1991’s ‘The Prodigal Stranger’.

Here to celebrate the band in all their musical glory and evolving sound is a mammoth 8-disc boxed set, or if the budget doesn’t quite stretch, a nicely packaged double disc ‘best of’.

Famous for that song A Whiter Shade of Pale, there was (and is) always much more than just that single, the ever present voice and keyboard work of Gary Brooker, for instance, probably one of the most recognisable voices in contemporary rock and someone whose voice just manages to get so much better with age like a fine wine Gary has fronted Harum on and off (the band had a ‘brief’ hiatus between 1977 and 1991) with a revolving line-up that has included such stellar musicians as Matthew Fisher, BJ Wilson, Mick Grabham, Robin Trower and Chris Copping. The band currently includes Matt Pegg (son of Fairport’s Dave on bass) and Geoff Whitehorn on guitar.

Procol Harum were riginally formed as the showcase for the song writing partnership of Gary Brooker (music) and Keith Reid (lyrics), although Reid never actually played with the band but, until 2012, provided the lyrics to every Procul original.

Across these 8 discs, the compilation goes far beyond the predictable, of course it opens with Whiter Shade, still hauntingly magnificent despite the familiarity. Disc one covers the first 4 albums, mixing the well known with album cuts and B-sides. Astonishingly these 4 albums covered a 4-year period and show how the song writing of Gary Brooker and Keith Reid matured, as did the guitar work of Robin Trower.

Discs 2 & 3 mop up the remaining studio albums, with cuts from ‘Broken Barricades’ like Simple Sister and many others, showing how the bands sound had evolved and matured. The extracts of “Live In Concert with the
Edmonton Symphony Orchestra”, in where the orchestra really adds so much to the music, makes the announcement of an October re-release of the full album a welcome one. Sometimes reunions can be unfulfilling and happen for the wrong reasons, however this was not in Procol Harum’s case, as tracks from the latest albums ‘The Prodigal Stranger’, ‘Wells on Fire’ and ‘Novum’ all highlight how the song-writing has matured and show that Gary Brooker still has one of the finest voices in rock.

That provides a superb introduction to the studio history of an much underrated band who made a big mark on the rock scene, audio discs 4 & 5 are two complete concerts, the first one is ‘Live at the Hollywood Bowl with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra & the Roger Wagner Chorale’. Recorded 21st September 1973, it showcases the line up of Brooker, Cartwright, Grabham, Wilson and Copping  along with the Los Angeles Symphony Orchestra, and treats us to an aural delight of classic Harum like Conquistador, TV Caesar, Grand Hotel and A Salty Dog, all performed by a band who at this point were at the peak of their powers which, along with the Orchestration and the Roger Wagner Chorale, makes this one of the reasons to invest in this box.

The concert on Disc 5 is ‘Live at Bournemouth Winter Gardens’ in 1976 with the same line-up, who had honed their skills and were performing with power and style, something which only comes from 5 musicians working in total harmony. BJ Wilson shows the powerhouse drummer he was while Brooker is a perfect frontman. They rattle through a set that includes old favourites (Whiter Shade, A Salty Dog, Beyond the Pale), newer material and covers like I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch), all performed with the intricacy of a band at full pelt.

With three more discs covering live performances, including 3 complete concerts (2 from Germany and one from the BBC’s Sight and Sound), the evolution of the bands live performances is a delight to see and it’s nice to see the set lists being mixed up.

If you’re a massive fan, or someone who wants to know more about Procol Harum, this boxed set is an excellent anthology of one of the more interesting bands who appeared during the prog period, and whose blend of rock and classical sensibilities made for many interesting albums.

Released 23rd March 2018

Order from Cherry Red:

https://www.cherryred.co.uk/product/procol-harum-still-therell-anthology-1967-2017-8cd-box-set/

Review – Esoteric Antenna Reissue Round-Up by James R Turner – Keith Emerson, Colosseum & Nirvana.

Keith Emerson: Off the Shelf

This is a remastered edition of an eclectic collection of more than just ‘odds and sods’ originally released back in 2006 and reissued last year after Keith’s death.

Never one to do anything by halves there’s nearly 70 minutes of music here, which runs the gamut from Keith’s classical inspired compositional work, his TV and film work and the contributions he made to progressive music via both The Nice and ELP.

The earliest recording on this alternative ‘best of’ is a BBC Radio session from the early days of The Nice, where their psychedelia meets proto-prog image belies the fact that they had a diverse inspiration, and here (complete with Davy O’List on guitar) is their unique cover of Frank Zappa’s Lumpy Gravy.

For ELP fans there is a rousing version of Abaddon’s Bolero performed by Keith with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, which is as grand and OTT as anything they ever did, I mean if you get an orchestra to go nuts with you, why the hell not? There’s also a 1980’s excerpt from a solo rendition of Pictures at an Exhibition, showcasing Keith’s unique style.

His solo work is well represented on the smoky blues room piano piece And Then January, with its late-night vibe and plaintive mood shows the more reflective side of Keith’s musical personality. Straight Between The Eyes (featuring Levon Helm and Garth Hudson) is the first from the soundtrack to the film Best Revenge and, while being a bit 80’s in its style and execution, has a wonderful drawled vocal by co-writer John Doukas. Also from the sessions but which didn’t make it to the soundtrack, is an interesting version of the old Elvis classic Don’t Be Cruel, where they slow it right down and funk it up, complete with fat bass and slabs of chunky 80’s synths, all of which turns it into an MTV big hair ballad.

Mixing his influences and genres, the interpretation of Walter L (featuring the London Jazz Orchestra) and some moog soloing shows how proficient and comfortable Keith was across all genres and is a testament to how easy he fitted into big orchestral pieces or solo piano work. With solo synth pieces like Motor Bikin’, a reworked version of America featuring Pat Travers on guitar and then the theme tune to Jim Davidson’s sit-com Up the Elephant and Round the Castle finishing off on a cover of Sex & Drugs & Rock n’ Roll, this is no ordinary compilation album. More a snapshot of a career, and one that was always deeper and more musically diverse than the work he was famous for with ELP.

Released 28th April 2017

Order from Cherry Red:

https://www.cherryred.co.uk/product/off-the-shelf-remastered-edition/

Colosseum II: Wardance

This, the third album from the late Jon Hiseman’s revitalised Colosseum, was originally released back in 1977 and see’s Hiseman joined by some of the greatest musical talents of that era. Gary Moore on guitar, John Mole on bass and Don Airey on keyboards.

When you get 4 superb musicians in one band then creative sparks will fly and, as is mentioned in the liner notes, the band didn’t have the luxury of rehearsal times. Instead, the taut and driving fusion of jazz and rock that is on display here was honed to perfection on the road and then recorded as live in the studio due to the limited time available.

From the opening title track, Hiseman proves how effective he is as a band leader, choosing some superb band members to bounce of and work with. His death recently was a massive loss to the musical world as he is as powerful a drummer as anyone around and the way he propels the groove, allowing both Airey and Moore to spar, is exemplary.

Throughout this album it’s hard to pull out a star player, as all 4 work the groove and play round each other with deftness and skill, and, while Moore and Airey moved on to other things, they sound so hungry here. It is a shame that the hard work they put in seemed to be forgotten as band/label decisions ultimately scuppered this line up.

Hiseman returned with the original Colosseum line up later but this line up and era shouldn’t be overshadowed and should be recognised as important to the fusion sound as the original band.

Released 27th April 2018

Order from Cherry Red:

https://www.cherryred.co.uk/product/colosseum-ii-war-dance-re-mastered-edition/

Nirvana: Black Flower

Originally released in 1970, the third album from Nirvana duo Patrick Campbell-Lyons and Alex Spyropolous was arranged and produced by Tony Visconti and Mike Hurst (who was previously a member of the Springfield’s). Unfortunately, as is always the way, when the tapes were delivered to Island Records Chris Blackwell turned it out, feeling it wasn’t suitable for the label, not to mention the fact he was concerned the title was too similar to the phrase Black Power.

The lush orchestration and sublime production enhance the duo’s compositional skills which were maturing nicely. From the wonderfully uplifting The World is Cold Without You, where the orchestration and the chorus genuinely swells, to tracks like Excerpt From “The Blindand The Beautiful”, where the orchestration drives the music, takes this beyond mere pop psych and into new rock classical crossover sounds.

This cross fertilises elements of singer-songwriter work, the reinterpretations of Brecht by Scott Walker, and the dramatic Gothic rock of singers like David McWilliams, all filtered through the Anglo-Greek pairing of Campbell-Lyons & Spyropolous, whose disparate influences weave together an intense musical experience.

Chock full of catchy tunes, well observed lyrics, a whole spree of bonus tracks, this is recognition at last for an album that slipped under the radar on release and led to the demise of the original Nirvana line-up. Which was a shame, as on tracks like Black Flower or Love Suite, the duo were really pushing themselves forward together, it would have been interesting to see where they went next.

Released 27th April 2018

Order from Cherry Red:

https://www.cherryred.co.uk/product/nirvana-black-flower-re-mastered-expanded-edition/

Not a Review of Shineback – Dial – by Tom Slatter

People don’t  know how to talk about genre. There are prog rock related online forums that sensible people avoid because their denizens have endless, idiot arguments about whether certain artists are ‘prog’ or not.  That isn’t how it works. Genre is not a box in which a band is placed, distinct and separate from other styles, especially not prog, which has always fused different ideas together.

Instead, think of each genre as having an imagined perfect ideal that no real world act ever quite matches up to  – the most punk of punk bands, the most metal of metal bands. The real acts you can actually listen to exist slightly outside these, nearer or further from the other genres. Maybe it’s mostly punk, but with 10% of a reggae influence. Maybe it’s mostly prog, but shading into pop.  

‘Is it prog?’ is boring. ‘Where is it on the prog spectrum?’ is a much more sensible question.

Where on the prog spectrum is ‘Dial’, the new Shineback album? It’s on there, but this is no 70s throwback. It’s much more interesting. I first met Simon Godfrey in a pub somewhere in London. It was a small gathering of acoustic prog adjacent artists (Alan Reed and the ubiquitous Matt Stevens were also present) to explore the possibility of doing a tour together. The tour never happened, but it did lead to me sharing a small stage with Simon on one of his farewell gigs before he left for the good ol’ US of A. I acquired a copy of his acoustic album ‘Motherland’ at the same gig.

Most people would probably have first come across Simon’s songwriting on his other projects like Tinyfish or Shineback but ‘Motherland’ was the first time I’d properly listened to his stuff. With its synths, pulsing kick drums, virtuosic solos and sheer noise, you might think ‘Dial’, the new Shineback album, would be a million miles away from that stripped down acoustic sound, but it really isn’t. Whatever else it is – rock, prog(?), EDM – this is a songwriters album. Simon would be perfectly capable of recreating many of these songs with just an acoustic guitar and his voice. It has choruses and hooks and bits you can sing along with. I’m glad he didn’t do that though, because then we would have missed out on everything else there is on the album.

Now, this isn’t a review (could have fooled me Tom – Ed.), Simon is a mate and I played a little bit of guitar on this album so there’s no way I can provide an objective view of the album. But it is good and I do think you should get yourself a copy. Where does it fit on the prog spectrum? Imagine if you will a graph. On one axis is progressive rock, on another pop music, on a third is electronic dance music, on a fourth is acoustic singer-songwriter music, on a fifth…

Okay, that graph isn’t going to work, forget that analogy.

Maybe a list? What are the things you definitely expect from prog? Rock band instrumentation? ‘Dial’ has those. Long songs? Virtuoso solos? Lyrics about something more than simple pop love songs? All of those are present. What does it have that you might not expect from a progressive rock album? The Electronic Dance Music (EDM) influence is an obvious one. Prog has often used new technology, especially the synth (and there area tasty synth solos on I Love You From Memory and Kill Devil Hills) but so has EDM.

‘Dial’ doesn’t use the structures of EDM – there are no dance style break-downs or drum machine style beats. Instead it uses much of the timbral palette. So we get electronic drum sounds but with a more organic drummer-like touch rather than a more computerised drum machine approach. There are synth swells and pulses, but too much stop and start between sections for much of the album to work on a dance floor.

In fact the combination of chord choices, synth hooks and verse-chorus structures in places puts me in mind of 80s pop, or even 80s Genesis. You know, the period where they did heinous things like writing good pop-songs. I asked Simon if that was a conscious decision, but he said it wasn’t but couldn’t deny how much he liked tracks like Driving the Last Spike from that period of Genesis. I can certainly hear that influence in Simon’s chord choices and some of the song structures on ‘Dial’, though I’d happily declare several songs from ‘Dial’ much stronger than that particular Genesis number.

There’s a variety of harmony you wouldn’t expect from an EDM album either. From the introspective piano chords of the title track, through the whole-tone noodling I inflicted on one track to the open, accessible major keys of songs like Consider Her Ways, there’s a range here you’d expect of prog or more complex pop songwriting but not EDM. Simon does mention Stevie Wonder as an influence and while the album doesn’t sound at all like a soul record, Wonder was certainly a songwriter who new his way around a set of chord changes.

The track I contributed to is Here I Am, an obvious mixture of spoken word, booming chords and my own guitar playing that Simon has processed and twisted into something much better than I could have come up with on my own.

The other guest artist contributions are great as well. There are several fantastic solos that will keep any proper prog-head happy, and the guest vocals from Ray Weston on the almost heavy metal track Let her Sleep are a fantastic addition.

With ‘Dial’ Shineback is Godfrey at the height of his powers – a mature songwriter who really knows how to put together a good record. If you want rocky guitars, it’s here. If you want extended prog rock structures, you get them too. If you want synths and electronic drums you get those. Above all you get songs that really pay you back for multiple close listens. I’ve heard the album about five times and am still discovering new details.

Is it good? I’m biased of course, but yes I think it’s fantastic.

Is it prog?

That’s a boring question. Did you not read the beginning of this blog post?  

Released 14th September

Order Dial from Bad Elephant Music here

 

Reviews Esoteric Antenna – Steve Hackett and Djabe – Summer Storms and Rocking Rivers & Life is a Journey – The Sardinia Tapes – by James R. Turner

Summer Storms & Rocking Rivers

Hungary’s world-renowned Jazz Fusion/world music ensemble Djabe have been working with one of England’s finest guitarists, Steve Hackett, since 2003 when he guested on their album ‘Sharks are Dancing’, since then they have recorded and toured across the world together, improvising and freewheeling.

These two CD/DVD packages are taken from two different tours, with the first ‘Summer Storms and Rocking Rivers’ recorded in Hungary in 2011, the CD is the live document, while the DVD is a fleshed-out release with more songs than there was space for on the CD. This, with an additional documentary and a couple of bonus tracks, showcases what this whole tour was about.

This is all about 6 musicians, incredibly talented and versatile, getting into the groove and proving that music can cross borders, languages and transcend styles.

The concert is a case in point, as Djabe (Ferenc Kovacs – trumpet, violin, vocals, Zoltan Kovacs – keyboards, Attila Egerhazi – guitar, percussion, Tamas Barabas – bass & Szilard Banai – drums), along with Steve, play a wildly diverse musical mix of Steve Hackett songs (Ace of Wands, The Steppes, Horizons – all reinterpreted and improvised around) and Djabe material (City of Habi, Butterfly, Scenes – Above Poland, Scenes- Sunset at the Seaside), all mixed up and interpreted wonderfully here.

Djabe’s fluid and taut playing allows room within the songs for Steve to improvise and you get the impression that all 6 musicians are having a ball, there’s even room for radical interpretations of a few classic Genesis numbers (Firth of Fifth, Los Endos, In the Quiet Earth) all played around with, built upon and incredibly different from the source, making this fun and exciting. It captures what was a very special evening of music and of the joys of making music without boundaries, genres or people asking whether or not it’s ‘prog’.

You don’t need to pigeonhole it, just enjoy it.

Released 24th February 2017

Order from Cherry Red:

https://www.cherryred.co.uk/product/summer-storms-rocking-rivers/

Life Is A Journey – The Sardinia Tapes

‘Life is a Journey – The Sardinia Tapes’ was recorded and improvised in Sardinia in 2016 by Steve and the Djabe line-up of Tamas Barabas, Attila Egerhazi, Guli Briem (drums, percussion) and Aron Koos-Hutas (trumpet) and was the first time the musicians had simply spent time in a room, improvising, jamming and writing new material, rather than just playing live on stage.

The double set here has the album on CD, and a bonus DVD of the album in stereo and surround mixes, 5 tracks recorded live in the Budapest Jazz Club in 2017 and a short documentary.

The album itself is one of those rare beasts, an album you know nothing about, and have no pre-conceptions about. Knowing how Steve Hackett mixes his music making up, flitting from classical, to progressive rock to revisiting his past, you’re never sure where he’s going next. Djabe are an impressive improvisational group and, working with Steve, you can tell from listening to this album, they have built up a brilliant working relationship and revel in each other’s musical company. This comes across the 72 plus minutes of this album.

It is a complete revelation, and whilst I can completely understand why Steve preforms and releases the ‘Genesis Revisite’ concerts, I much prefer this side of his musical coin. The improvisations here are fluid and free forming and come from the same musical space, a shared appreciation and mutual admiration of each other’s talents. The way that Aron Koos-Hutas’ trumpet weaves its way through tracks like Golden Sands or Wake Up is revelatory, while the work they put in to songs like Life is a Journey or Beams Over the Nulvi Mountains are sublime.

This mixes, matches and blends genres and styles seamlessly. The reason why the songs work so well is because each musician knows intimately what would work where, and why, and this freedom makes this album immersive and rewarding. With every listen something new is teased out, a motif here, a drum roll there. This is an album that rewards repeat listens, and with the way it ebbs, flows and builds, it doesn’t feel like it’s over an hour of music. It feels like it’s as long as it needs to be.

It’s albums like this that prove to me why Steve Hackett is still the most innovative and creative former member of Genesis out there, not content to rest on his laurels and still following his muse and, in Djabe, he has found fellow travellers more than happy to join him on his journey.

Released 6th October 2017

Order from Cherry Red:

https://www.cherryred.co.uk/product/life-is-a-journey-the-sardinia-tapes-cddvd-set/

 

 

 

Review – 3RDegree – Ones & Zeros: Vol.0 – by James R Turner

Follow up to 2015’s album ‘Ones & Zeros Vol.1’, this is American band 3RDegree’s 6th album and see’s the band revisiting the concept of the rapid advances of technology, transhumanism and futurism that was the core to this albums predecessor. Following on from their triumphant world tour, the 6 piece of George Dobbs (vocals, keyboards, violin) Robert James Pashman (bass, keys, backing vocals) Patrick Kliesch (acoustic & electric guitars, keys, backing vocals) Robert Durham (drums & percussion) Eric Pseja (electric guitar backing vocals) and Bryan Zeigler (electric guitar, backing vocals) are on fine form here.

From the opening where re1nstall_Overture, which revisits themes from the previous album, leads into Connecting, 3RDegree’s strengths are their ability to mix complex musicianship and well observed lyrics into shorter punchier songs, and with lead single Olympia they blend this to perfection. The Future Doesn’t Need You blends some sublime harmony vocals, great 70’s synth sounds and punchy riffs to create a blend of contemporary rock and Queenesque harmonies.

The album flows sublimely and, as such, means that this is an immersive listen and one you can’t just dip into and out of, and that is great to hear, showing the album as art. Unintended Consequence has a powerful driving percussive sound, some great vocals again from Dobbs (whose unique vocals are an integral part to the 3rd Degree sound) and the band are as tight here as I’ve ever heard them. Perfect Babies is a fantastic piece about genetics and ethics, once again, with some great lyrics.

This album also see’s the band going all out on their longest epic ever, the sublime and powerful Click Away! that clocks in at over 15 minutes, it’s true progressive music at its finest. The keyboard work is superb, as the track grows and builds, delving into the world of social media and algorithms. It has some sublime vocal work, brilliant guitar riffs and guitar and keyboard interplay throughout. The vocal harmonies are one of the bands many strengths, and they add so much depth to this album, particularly on Click Away!

The finale of the album, the wonderful Ones & Zeros, has more of that sublime synth work and an amazing spine-tingling solo, as it rounds off this extraordinary concept in style.

This album has been out for a few months, and I am not sure how something this wonderful, this complete and chock full of great songs and performances slipped under my radar. I am glad this has been rectified as it is one of the most complete progressive albums I have heard this year and is yet another fantastic album by this incredibly talented band. If you haven’t heard it yet, I strongly recommend you get a copy and lose yourself in the world of 3RDegree.

Released 30th April 2018

Order the album from bandcamp here

Review – The Paperweight Array – Greek Theatre Show – by James R Turner

Proponents of Rushdenbeat, and psychedelic power trio, The Paperweight Array have been building a name for themselves over the course of the past 18 months, and this is their third EP release following up the highly acclaimed ‘Transmissions from a Distant Star’ and ‘Kaleidoscope of Antiquities’.

Opening with the powerful Mountain, the band’s trademark vocals and guitar work are in evidence as they blend psychedelic rock with some driving riffs and some brilliant soloing from Aaron, while Dunc and Just on drums and bass and keyboards really drive the song forward.

Their confidence is coming on in leaps and bounds, and you can tell that as a band they are really pushing themselves and building on their early EP’s.

The title track has some fantastic lyrics, and some more of their superb guitar work, with a brilliant summer of love vibe running through the whole track and some great sitar sounding soloing going on.

Final track Reflections (on a Western Trail) rounds off an excellent EP of new material with real style and a great psych out vibe, and a great way to finish this collection.

The Paperweight Array are a fantastic band, and one who go from strength to strength on each EP. I can’t wait to hear a full-length album from them.

Released 9th June 2018

Order the EP from bandcamp here

 

Review – Hillward – System – by Progradar

Since the release of their debut album ‘Flies in Amber Stones’ in 2015, Hillward, the heavy progressive rock quintet from Quebec, has been fine-tuning its craft playing local shows including the well known Festival d’Été de Québec in 2016, as well as various opening sets for major bands such as Symphony X and Uriah Heep.

David Lizotte – Vocals & Guitars, Alexandre Lapierre – Guitars & Vocals, André-Philippe Pouliot – Keys & Vocals, Jean-François Boudreault – Bass and Antoine Guertin – Drums & Vocals deliver a brand of progressive rock that is at times brooding and intense and at others, cerebral and thoughtful. 2018 sees the release of their sophomore album ‘System’, which takes those attributes and really expands on them.

The slow building suspense of opener Foster the River is followed by the bombastic riffs and defiant drumming of Long Way Down to give a highly charged opening to the album. The pensive ambience of Haven gives way to the thunderous grandiloquence and musings of Hollow (a personal fave of mine). This is a well wrought collection of intelligent songs given life by the high octane conflagration of the music.

There’s intellect and perception in the violent guitar riffs of both Life in Serigraph and Flat Light, the wistful Fragile is a winsome delight and circle of calmness in the musical storm and everything culminates in the elemental, primeval forces of Behind the Silence.

‘System’ is a high quality release full of original and perceptive songs that come from a band whose minds are brilliantly creative. The music feels like it was spawned from the raging fires of the core of the Earth and gives vibrancy and a primal fervor to this impressive album.

Released 31st July 2018

Order the album on mp3 from bandcamp here

 

Review – Redemption – Long Night’s Journey Into Day – by Progradar

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it! L.A. based prog metallers Redemption return with a supremely impressive example of the genre – ‘Long Night’s Journey Into Day’.

Taking the title of Eugene O’Neill’s play Long Day’s Journey Into Night, which focuses on the decay of a family that’s plagued by addiction, Redemption have turned it inside out, and made it their own.

“Inverting the phrasing of the title is really what Redemption’s message is about.”, says founder guitarist/keyboardist Nick van Dyk, “It’s a long night. It’s a journey, and at times it’s a struggle. But there is daybreak.”

He goes on to say, “If there’s a consistent message to Redemption’s music, it’s that life is a struggle and there is pain and fear and doubt, but, ultimately, it is a thing of beauty and wonderment. If you push through the struggle, the rewards of that process itself, along with what you find on the other side, are joyous and a fantastic gift.”

With the band – rounded out by bassist Sean Andrews and drummer Chris Quirarte – parting company with vocalist Ray Adler (ex Fates Warning), they had to bring someone in who could fit some very large shoes and Tom Englund of Evergrey certainly fits that bill!

Absent from the band’s lineup is lead guitarist Bernie Versailles, who suffered an aneurysm in 2014, and has since been focusing on his recovery. ‘Long Night’s Journey Into Day’ does however see the quartet collaborating with guitarists Simone Mularoni (DGM/Empyrios), and the legendary Chris Poland, both of whom also supplied astounding leads on ‘The Art Of Loss’. Alongside these longtime collaborators they also recruited keyboardist Vikram Shankar, who van Dyk asserts “may be the most talented musician I have ever met.”

Legendary prog metal contempories Dream Theater are due to return with a new album in 2018 and after the general disappointment of ‘The Awakening’, they are really going to have to come up with something to upstage this sixty-five minute behemoth of twin guitar brilliance, thunderous rhythm section and astounding vocal performance from Englund.

It’s easy to say that there isn’t a duff track on an album but, for fans of the band (and prog-metal in general), it’s most certainly true of ‘Long Night’s Journey Into Day’. It’s a well thought out collection of tracks dealing with themes of recovering from failure, dealing with the end of a chapter in our lives, coming to terms with one’s mortality or experiencing a betrayal and struggling through its impact.

The mountain crushing riffing and energetic rhythm section are aided and abetted by fantastic keyboards and Englund relates tales of adaptation (Impermanent), doubts that fill the void when one’s integrity is lacking (Eyes You Dare Not face In Dreams), living life to the fullest, no matter how hard it can be (Indulge in Colour) and the superb title track of which van Dyk says, “We see a lot of dreams and hoped-for-outcomes dashed by our own failings or by factors outside our control, but dreaming is essential to realizing the beauty of life. Life is amazing and depressing and carefree and terrifying and full of hope and love and full of fear and doubt…But it is, in the final calculus, beautiful and an incredible gift. And we must keep on dreaming.“

The consummate skill of the musicians shines though on every track, the twin virtuoso guitar skills of Mularoni and Poland have to be heard to be believed and the rhythm section of Andrews and Quirarte really do move mountains. However, it’s not all about power and energy, the expertise and passion flows throughout.

There’s nothing new here but what you do get is progressive metal created and delivered at its absolute best, a band surely at the top of its game and looking like they are there to stay for a very long time. Bring on the challengers!

Released 27th July 2018

Order the album in all formats at Metalblade here

 

 

Review – Letitia VanSant – Gut It To The Studs – by Progradar

There are very few writers these days who are bold enough to bridge the gap between being both creatively and politically relevant. In her music as in her life, Letitia VanSant has always sought to wrestle with worth questions.

This is someone who has earned a degree in Human Rights & Humanitarian Issues, worked for the Obama campaign in Detroit, and then engaged in important environmental organising in Baltimore. Five years of work with a progressive advocacy group landed her in Washington D.C. where, on weekends, she reflected on the state of society through her songs, earning a regional following in coffee shops and clubs.

Upon weighing up the power of music to move and motivate, she ultimately left her nine-to-five job to become a full time musician.

Her debut album ‘Gut It To The Studs’ blends seamlessly with her life as an artist and the songs reflect this with the title track being an ode to her effort to feel comfortable in her new skin and literally having to look at her emerging life and ‘gut it to the studs’.

There’s a story behind every song but it’s the beauty inherent in the frailty of her vocals and the gracefully refined music that touches your heart. VanSant is a rare talent and her songwriting is testimony to not only an intense personal journey but also the changing political climate of a nation at a national and also more local level.

Taking Back The Reins is a charming track that reflects the notion that insecurities will follow you wherever you roam. Where I’m Bound shows the importance of persevering through a ‘land of broken promises and streets of fool’s gold.’ The wistful Dandelion echoes our generation’s keen interest in building communities that are nourishing and real and the only cover on the album, a haunting version of For What It’s Worth, stands the test of time as a protest anthem. Letitia churns out a powerful interpretation inspired by recent protests against police brutality.

The pared back sparsity of Sundown Town closes out the album and leaves the question, Do we need more straight talking right now? Listening to this wistful and wonderful collection of songs leaves me thinking that, perhaps we do, probably more now than ever…

Released 27th August 2018

Order the CD/LP or download direct from the artists website here