The albums presented below represent a group of albums that each came highly recommended to me but failed to capture my sustained attention. Knowing that I no longer have the patience, time, or interest in forcing myself to review every album that comes my way, I offer these up as a reminder to you of music you may wish to check out for yourselves. This has been a difficult decision for me in that my initial intentions on becoming a music reviewer were to try to offer fair and impartial, somewhat "objective" reviews of as many of the hundreds of new album releases I hear about from each and every year of this 21st Century. I apologize to all of the wonderful music professionals who had hoped that I might review their musics.
NEEDLEPOINT Remnants of Light
Line-up / Musicians:
- Bjørn Klakegg / Lead Vocals, electric guitars, acoustic guitars (on #7 and #9), flute, fiddle, hurdy gurdy
- Erlend Slettevoll / Electric Piano, hammond organ, clavinet, acoustic piano, prophet-5, arp odyssey, minimoog, backing vocals on #5
- Nikolai Hængsle / electric bass, backing vocals, lead vocals (on #6), acoustic guitars (on #3, #5, #6 and #8), electric guitars (on #2, #5 and #6), glockenspiel, moog taurus, percussion
- Ola Øverby / Drums, congas, percussion, backing vocals on #5
With:
- Solveig Wang : clarinet on #7, backing vocals on #5
- Ingrid Støylen Runde : backing vocals on #5
- Camilla Brun : backing vocals on #5 and #6
1. "On Remnants of Light" (4:26) (/10)
2. "Head in the Sand" (4:15) (/10)
3. "While Our World Is Still Revolving" (4:38) (/10)
4. "Muse on the Hook" (4:08) (/10)
5. "Another Inch Towards You" (4:04) (/10)
6. "Where You Two Once Held Hands" (6:40) easily the best song on the album--maybe the only one. (9.5/10)
7. "Large as Lakes" (4:10) (/10)
8. "Back to Nowhere" (4:51) (/10)
9. "Blank Sheet" (4:28) (/10)
Total time: 41:40
Bruce Soord is back with another TPT release, the Porcupine Tree/Steven Wilson-inspired band's 15th 21st Century offering--and they've even picked up a former PT band member in drummer Gavin Harrison.
Line-up / Musicians:
- Bruce Soord / guitars, vocals
- Jon Sykes / bass, backing vocals
- Steve Kitch / keyboards
- Gavin Harrison / drums & percussion
With:
- Beren Matthews / guitar, backing vocals
1. "Put It Right" (5:30) (/10)
2. "Rubicon" (4:37) (/10)
3. "It Leads to This" (4:43) (/10)
4. "The Frost" (5:40) (/10)
5. "All That's Left" (4:26) (/10)
6. "Now It's Yours" (5:59) (/10)
7. "Every Trace of Us" (4:30) (/10)
8. "To Forget" (5:20) (/10)
Total Time 40:45
Line-up / Musicians:
- Rick Miller / performer, composer & producer
With:
- Sarah Young / flute
- Giulia Cacciavillian / flute
- Mateusz Swoboda / cello
- Artem Litovchenko / cello
- Barry Haggarty / guitars
- Kane Miller / acoustic guitar, violin
- Will / drums & percussion
1. "Atrophy" (8:21) (/20)
2. "Time Goes On" (3:52) (/10)
3. "The Lost Years" (8:29) (/20)
4. "She of the Darkness" (3:57) (/10)
5. "One of the Many" (4:54) (/10)
6. "Perchance to Dream" (13:10) atmospheric, melody-drenched NeoProg with keyboard-sounding guitars and sappy lyrics sounding largely borrowed from ALAN PARSONS PROJECT and PINK FLOYD. (21.75/25)
7. "Wonderlust" (6:15) (/10)
8. "Another Time" (4:36) (/10)
Total Time 53:34
2. "Time Goes On" (3:52) (/10)
3. "The Lost Years" (8:29) (/20)
4. "She of the Darkness" (3:57) (/10)
5. "One of the Many" (4:54) (/10)
6. "Perchance to Dream" (13:10) atmospheric, melody-drenched NeoProg with keyboard-sounding guitars and sappy lyrics sounding largely borrowed from ALAN PARSONS PROJECT and PINK FLOYD. (21.75/25)
7. "Wonderlust" (6:15) (/10)
8. "Another Time" (4:36) (/10)
Total Time 53:34
Band founder Roger Trigaux's last album--one that he was working on when he died in 2021--is finally realized and released by his band mates. Too bad the music is so difficult to acquire.
Line-up / Musicians:
- Roger Trigaux / keyboard, vocal, composition
- François Mignot / guitar
- Pierre Chevalier / piano, keyboards, vocal
- Dave Kerman / percussion
- Keith Macksoud / bass
- Kurt Budé / sax, clarinet, bass clarinet
- Liesbeth Lambrecht / violin
- Udi Koomran / sound
1. Contre (7:58) (/15)
2. This Is Not the End, Part 2 (12:15) (/25)
3. This Is Not the End, Part 1 (26:30) (/50)
Total Time 46:43
PARAPHON Infinity (2024)
A second release of Progressive Electronic music from the Belgian creative force behind BATTLESTATIONS.
1. "Orbit / Departure / Out there" (7:26) I like the beautiful final movement far more than the first two. (13/15)
2. "270.45 Negative" (12:16) sounds like some of the great soundtrack music to Carl Sagan's famous Cosmos television series. The second/middle movement treads more into the territory of the Berlin School artists with its rhythmic sequenced track propelling from behind the Vangelis synths. The third movement moves back to more pure Vangelis but is surprisingly positive and uplifting in its melodic choices. One of my three favorite songs from the album. (22.3333/25)
3. "KBC Void" (10:07) this one starts out having the distinct feel and palette of the music of Joseph Bernardot's IASOS project from the late 1970s, but then moves at the halfway point into what sounds and feels more like VANGELIS again (though I also hear a little Jean-Michel JARRE in there as well). (17.5/20)
4. "Caldwell 101" (9:26) this song opens up fully VANGELIS but then adds some KITARO in the second minute, eventually morphing more completely into Kitaro-sama's world. In the second half of the fifth minute there is a full transition into sequencer music but there are lots of thick synth wash chords and clouds embracing and enveloping the core, creating a music that is (to my ears) fresh and organic (though "etheric" or "plasmotic" might have been better choices of words). I love the way the banks of synth washes climb and build one upon the next over the final three minutes. I also like PRFN's more frequent use of major and major seventh chords in this section (at least until the end). A top three song for me. (18/20)
5. "Serpens" (7:16) after a foghorn-like opening, the music moves into a kind of delicate, subtle world similar to a lot of Stefan MUSSO's less-zither-driven songs. A chord change introduced at 3:40 eventually takes over and lightens the mood a bit though PRFN continues to inject low bass-pedal like bursts and quick four-note arpeggio electric keyboard trills over the top. It's good but feels incomplete, underdeveloped--like a sampler or an étude. (13.25/15)
6. "Known Edge" (5:28) this one is all VANGELIS, the darkest most-obstacle-opposed version of the Greek master's moody music. My final top three song. (8.875/10)
86.62 on the Fishscales = B/four stars; a very nice album contribution to the lexicon of Progressive Electronic music but not on the level of other Paraphon or Battlestations albums.
Before the appearance of and active attention garnered by this album on ProgArchives, I'd never heard of Hungary's László "Leslie" Mandoki, Dschinghis Khan, or the Mandoki Soulmates--this despite over 19 studio albums since the late 1970s! I do like his vision of collaborating with and eclectic array of world musicians.
Line-up / Musicians:
- Leslie Mandoki / vocals, drums & percussion, udu
- Ian Anderson / vocals, flute
- Al Di Meola / guitars
- Mike Stern / guitars
- Randy Brecker / trumpet, flugelhorn
- Bill Evans / tenor & soprano saxophones
- Till Brönner / trumpet
- Tony Carey / vocals, Hammond, piano
- Cory Henry / Hammond, piano, Rhodes
- Nick Van Eede / vocals
- Simon Phillips / drums
- Jesse Siebenberg / vocals
- John Helliwell / saxophones, clarinet
- Mark Hart / guitars, keyboards, vocals
- Julia Mandoki / vocals
- Steve Bailey / bass
- Richard Bona / bass, vocals
1. Blood in the Water (6:54) Ian Anderson flute with a Jethro Tull-like motif with a UNITOPIA-like vocal and plenty of guest appearances on Hammond organ, piano, Motown rhythm guitar, supporting vocals, and uncredited violin all expertly pieced together like a BIG BIG TRAIN song. Great earworm of a lyric. I love the flute play throughout as well as the piano and Motown wah-wah guitar but the udu play is really the highlight. (13.5/15)
2. "Enigma of Reason" (10:06) opens like a Gospel spiritual set to some Caribbean-influenced World music. The multi-voice vocals that soon ensue sound like Peter Gabriel is in there. Matter of fact, this sounds very much like a Peter Gabriel world-consciousness song (or perhaps Robbie Robertson or Sting). The performances are all clean and gentle, I like them, but nothing here is earth-shatteringly impressive or worth writing home about despite the presence of Al Di Meola and Randy Brecker. My guess is that band leader Leslie Mandoki highly reveres the man his music emulates (Gabriel). (17.66667/20)
3. "The Wanderer" (5:04) the UNITOPIA/UNITED PROGRESSIVE FRATERNITY, BIG BIG TRAIN, PETER GABRIEL, ROBBIE ROBERTSON mélange of world music instruments continues--this one sounding the most like it comes straight off of Robbie's classic self-tiitled album from 1987. Gutsy mix for a proggy Americana song. (8.75/10)
4. "The Big Quit" (8:35) a scathing social commentary of the evils of modern times delivered over a UNITED PROGRESSIVE FRATERNITY array of instruments and sounds. Al Di Meola's flamboyant acoustic guitar shows the master still has it, but the vocal delivery and straightforward beat-it-in-your-face melody and structure just gets old fast. Every time I listen to this I find my attention wandering, brought back by Al's guitar or the occasional familiar/meaningful phrase. (17.3333/20)
5. "Devil's Encyclopedia" (5:48) more in-your-face group chant-singing and eclectic world instrumentation used to pound some music for the expression of some indictment of modern society. (17.3333/10)
6. "A Memory of My Future" (6:26) at this point in the album, the odu-driven world music rock palette is growing a little stale. Here we have Berklee College of Music bass department chair Steve Bailey's fretless bass, Bill Evans' and/or Suptertramp's John Helliwell's saxhophone, Randy Brecker's trumpets, Al Di Meola's mellifluous acoustic guitar runs, and Ian Anderson's matter-of-fact vocal adding spice to Leslie's hand percussives. It's all very impressive and impeccably well pieced together, just a little too monochromatic and mundane (which both feel like oxymorons for this kind of music). (8.75/10)
7. "I Am Because You Are" (4:32) Leslie singing in his Robbie Robertson-like voice over another world-infused Smooth Jazz instrumental palette. (8.75/10)
8. "My Share of Your Life" (7:48)
9. "Age of Thought" (4:38)
9. "Age of Thought" (4:38)
10. "Matchbox Racing" (6:56)
11. "We Stay Loud" (5:25)
12. "Melting Pot" (5:52)
Total Time 78:04
As much as I admire this kind of music (the stuff artists like Peter Gabriel, Mark Trueack, Marco Bernard, Galahad, Big Big Train, and many others seem compelled to make), I find it all quite homogenous and interchangeable, and, thus, rather boring. It is virtually impossible for me to listen to an album of this type of music straight through cuz I get so antsy and ready to move on to something different (something I like)--the music just drives me away! Plus, these artists are the type that like to put out these monstrously long albums. I've found that I can get into a 40 to 45 minute long album much more easily than I can anything longer than that. (Is my nervous system conditioned from the thousands of vinyl albums I owned in the 1970s--albums whose hand-held liner notes were as valuable to the listening experience as the expensive needle and speakers I had to deliver it?) It seems that my deep dive into the music of the 1960s and 1970s (Prog Folk, Jazz and Jazz-Rock Fusion) has left me even more allergic to these bombastic, manifesto-delivering world NeoProg artists and their preachy albums. I am VERY much of their globally-empathetic mindset and greatly admire their fortitude to carry on their missions, but I just don't find the music or messages necessary for me. This makes me sad for I know that these artists are working very hard, that they are very serious in their compositional discipline and artful expression of the conscience-raising messages that compel them to create, I'm just not there anymore. (I see Collapse as inevitable, the consume-and-throw-away mentality too inextricably ingrained within our species' deepest consciousness.) So I apologize. Perhaps these are the artists and albums that I should simply stay away from; I should just let others be, give them the freedom to travel their own path without having to face the negativity of a nay-sayer like me. Hmm. Something to seriously ponder.
As for the album rating for this review (which is going to remain, I fear, incomplete): I feel that this is good--very well- crafted, engineered, and performed--but it is not anything essential to anyone's progressive rock music collection, yet I feel it deserves high recommendations so that others can feel duly encouraged to try it out and decide for themselves. Kudos to Leslie and his gang of All-Stars; sorry it just doesn't click for me.
More solid instrumental prog from these Minneapolites--the band's fifth release since their debut in 2014.
Line-up / Musicians:
- Mark Ilaug / electric & acoustic guitars
- Chris Malmgren / keyboards
- Kyle Lund / bass
- Richard Davenport / drums & percussion
1. "Red Blanket" (8:13) heavy drum and bass play, two chords, alternating back and forth, while "flute," "trumpet," and electric guitars take turns front-lining as soloists. It's okay if you're into long jams, but the lack of change (their is one key change around the three-minute mark and a dynamic dim around 4:00 as well as a turn into heavy metal rock territory at 5:26) and development is a bit disappointing. The trumpet sounds almost real, but, since it is uncredited, it must be assumed that it's keyboard generated. The multiple tracks dedicated to multiple guitars works well. (13.125/15)
2. "Eagle Plains" (7:58) opens like a still summer's day standing on a bluff looking out over the sea. Piano and heavily-chorused slide guitar join in, slowly establishing a sound palette, before heavy guitar power chords and deep pulsing bass and drum enter to provide the full sonic field. Something in the drum sound sounds off (muted recording of the snare and toms?) while Chris Malmgren's piano sounds too "in house" alongside his Mellotron chords, Arp-strings solo lines and Mark Ilaug's raunchy guitar shredding. Melodically, I'd say this song is a step above the previous one for intrigue and allure, it's just so jumbled and messy/murky. (13.25/15)
3. "The Virtue of..." (5:52) (/10)
4. "Flatlander" (3:14) (/10)
4. "Flatlander" (3:14) (/10)
5. "Tramp Hollow" (5:28) (/10)
6. "Notes of the Concubine" (8:20) Chris Malmgren's piano and Hammond give this heavy, rather plodding song a little much-needed spice and variety. Mark Ilaug's lead guitar work is impressive and refined but has too much polish and not enough soul. (17.5/20)
7. "Eyota" (12:39) this song is opened by some solo classical lounge piano before the rest of the band join in around the 30-second mark. Their reunion is notable for the John Coltrane/Mahavishnu Orcehstra way they seem to feel around each other without quite going anywhere for over three minutes before settling into a forward-moving motif--which is also piano-led. I've always liked the experimental nature of these musicians' career, and this just perpetuates this feeling. Experimenting and growing. My only wish for them (one that I've expressed before) is that they somehow figure out how to let a vocalist into their fold--maybe not even until the music is finished--just to add that further dimension and variable to their wonderful weaves. At 6:10 a heartrending blues-jazzy melody is presented by the piano and lead guitar and further developed, also in tandem, as the bass and drums support the drama. At the end of the ninth minute the motif is taken into the domain of more sophisticated prog bombast for about a minute before every one backs off to let the "classical" piano again have sole possession of the spotlight. In the eleventh minute the other band members rally around Chris's piano playing with the warm layering of an Eskimo out in the cold. Lead guitar gets another go at a bit of a solo just before it's time to draw to a close. Not what you'd expect from a prog band--or jazz-rock fusion. Not even the Italians are usually as maudlin and extravagant as this one. (21.75/25)
8. "Chateau La Barre" (2:12) (/5)
9. "Serpentine" (6:54) (/15)
10. "The Way" (7:30) (/15)
Total Time 68:20
An album of pleasant, rather innocuous and perhaps standard fare that I just don't care to finish reviewing.
3.5 stars; a good but non-essential album.
LEVIATHAN Heartquake / Redux
Line-up / Musicians:
- Alex Brunori / vocals, backing vocals
- Andrea Monetta / drums & percussion
- Andrea Amici / keyboards
- Andrea Castelli / bass
- Fabio Serra / guitars
1. The Waterproof Grave (4:03)
2. Hellishade of Heavenue (8:40)
3. Only Visiting This Planet (6:58)
4. Up We Go! (7:02)
5. The Dream of the Cocoon (5:30)
6. Heartquake (8:47)
Total Time 41:00
- Andrea Monetta / drums & percussion
- Andrea Amici / keyboards
- Andrea Castelli / bass
- Fabio Serra / guitars
1. The Waterproof Grave (4:03)
2. Hellishade of Heavenue (8:40)
3. Only Visiting This Planet (6:58)
4. Up We Go! (7:02)
5. The Dream of the Cocoon (5:30)
6. Heartquake (8:47)
Total Time 41:00
While the new album's sound and production benefit from 21st Century technological advances and the songs benefit from the wisdom and maturity of 35 years of retrospection, and I certainly can support and condone the re-releasing of old albums--maybe even re-mixing or re-mastering--I cannot say that I can condone the treatment an album of all remakes as a new studio release; perhaps it should be entered under the "Boxset/Compilation" pages or even the "Fan Club and Promo" page. (It's the same issue I have with Mike Oldfield's constant remakes of old albums. I mean, do we really have the time and desire to hear what the older Hermann Hesse would do with Siddhartha in his 70s? or 80-year old Picasso's version of "Harlequin's Family with a Monkey"? or how Wright would have designed Taliesin East when he was living in Arizona in his 80s?) At the same time, some of you will argue that the before-and-later items will be two completely different things. This is not the case with Heartquake / Redux.
3.5 stars; good but only essential if you want to play it next to the original.
3.5 stars; good but only essential if you want to play it next to the original.
THE SAMURAI OF PROG (featuring Marco Grieco) A Quiet Town
Sorry, Marco. I just can't convince myself to give it a try. Too long and too much of the sterile modern NeoProg that I no longer tolerate well.
Line-up / Musicians:
- Marco Bernard / Shuker basses
- Marco Grieco / keyboards, acoustic & electric guitars, harmonica, backing vocals
- Kimmo Pörsti / drums & percussion
With:
- Ron Alonso / vocals
- Peakfiddler / fiddle
- Luke Shingler / flute
- Juhani Nisula / electric guitars
- Steve Unruh / vocals, violin, flute
- Olli Jaakkola / flute
- Ben Craven / vocals, lead electric guitar
- Tony Riveryman (aka Toni Jokinen) / electric guitars
- Ivan Santovito / lead & backing vocals
- Marco Vincini / vocals
- Michael Trew / lead & backing vocals
- Andy Nixon / lead & backing vocals
- Linus Kåse / alto saxophone
1. "Smile Forever" (7:45) (/15)
2. "The Crime" (5:41)
3. "The Priest" (6:56)
4. "The Businessman" (7:47)
5. "The Mayor" (6:08)
6. "The Doctor" (7:17)
7. "Dance of Clues" (3:04)
8. "The Solution (Part I)" (11:56)
9. "The Solution (Part II)" (7:12)
10. "The Report" (4:48)
Total Time 68:34
2. "The Crime" (5:41)
3. "The Priest" (6:56)
4. "The Businessman" (7:47)
5. "The Mayor" (6:08)
6. "The Doctor" (7:17)
7. "Dance of Clues" (3:04)
8. "The Solution (Part I)" (11:56)
9. "The Solution (Part II)" (7:12)
10. "The Report" (4:48)
Total Time 68:34
After an eleven-year absence Claudio Bonvecchio and Stefano Gasperetti revive their RPI NeoProg project, Phaedra.
Line-up / Musicians:
- Claudio Bonvecchio / bass, 12-string guitar
- Stefano Gasperetti / keyboards, acoustic & classical guitars, cello
- Matteo Lorenzi / lead vocals
- Gabriele Girardi / electric guitar
- Cristiano Conte / drums & percussion
- Catia Borgogno / lead vocals, opera singing
1. "La Selva degli Ombrosi Faggi" (10:00) (/20)
2. "Canto per Lucy" (9:07) (/20)
3. "L'Empio Simulacro" (11:24) (/20)
4. "Prigioniero di Prisca Doglianza" (23:08) (/45)
5. "La Radiante Foresta" (7:03) (/15)
Total Time 60:42
LUZ DE RIADA Rizoma
Despite high praise from my peers, I cannot seem to get into this music. It's just too dense and abrasive.
Line-up / Musicians:
- Ramses Luna / saxophone, flute, vocals
- Edgar Arrellin / sound
- Sergio Aldama / drums & percussion
- Luis Nasser / bass
1. "Auromboros" (5:54)
2. "Entropía" (5:19)
3. "Raices" (4:31)
4. "Atipica" (7:03)
5. "Matanza de Chivos" (4:35)
6. "Todos por la Banqueta" (4:54)
7. "La Bestia" (5:45)
8. "La Danza del Tlacololero" (5:35)
9. "Ñuñoa" (6:09)
10. "1915" (5:47)
Total Time 55:32
2. "Entropía" (5:19)
3. "Raices" (4:31)
4. "Atipica" (7:03)
5. "Matanza de Chivos" (4:35)
6. "Todos por la Banqueta" (4:54)
7. "La Bestia" (5:45)
8. "La Danza del Tlacololero" (5:35)
9. "Ñuñoa" (6:09)
10. "1915" (5:47)
Total Time 55:32
BAROCK PROJECT Time Voyager
Another modern computer-RPI album of sprawling and bombastic NeoProg for which I cannot muster up the motivation to review.
Line-up / Musicians:
- Alex Mari / lead vocals, acoustic guitars
- Luca Zabinni / keyboards, backing vocals, acoustic guitars
- Eric Ombelli / drums
- Marco Mazzuoccolo / electric guitars
- Francesco Caliendo / bass
1. Carry On (6:35)
2. Summer Set You Free (4:44)
3. An Ordinary Day's Odyssey (6:03)
4. The Lost Ship Tavern (4:40)
5. Voyager (8:08)
6. Morning Train (6:08)
7. Propaganda (6:33)
8. Shibuya 3 A.M. (4:30)
9. Lonely Girl (5:09)
10. Mediterranean (5:17)
11. Kyanite Jewel (5:35)
12. Voyager's Homecoming (7:36)
Total Time 70:58
HAVEN OF ECHOES Memeto Vivere
Line-up / Musicians:
- Paul Sadler / vocals, guitars
- Nerissa Schwarz / electric harp, keyboards
- Wolfgang Ostermann / drums
- Andreas Hack / all other instruments
1. Non Sum - Non Curo (17:02)
2. Ad Infinitum (8:44)
3. It Walks Among Us (14:02)
4. Assimilation (8:14)
Total Time 48:02
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