A Quest for Prog 24: Hawkwind – Warrior On The End Of Time

"A Quest for Prog" is a series of 50 Progressive Rock reviews to be written over a year.  The band selection is taken from the book in the first post on this blog.  And the albums I am reviewing is based on the highest user ratings for each band on Progarchives.com.

Hawkwind – Warrior On The End Of Time (1975)

Produced by Hawkwind

Michael Moorcock – Vocals

Dave Brock – Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals & Bass Guitar

Nik Turner – Saxophone, Flute & Vocals

Lemmy (Ian Kilmister) – Bass Guitar

Simon House – Violin & Keyboards

Simon King – Drums

Alan Powell – Drums

Track listing:

Side One:

01. Assault and Battery (Part 1) (5:36)

02. The Golden Void (Part 2) (4:33)

03. The Wizard Blew His Horn (2:00)

04. Opa-Loka (5:40)

05. The Demented Man (4:20)

Side 2

01. Magnu (8:40)

02. Standing at the Edge (2:45)

03. Spiral Galaxy 28948 (3:55)

04. Warriors (2:05)

05. Dying Seas (3:05)

06. Kings of Speed (3:25)

Released in 1975 “Warrior On The Edge Of Time” is the fifth album by English band Hawkwind.  The band were formed in 1969 by Dave Brock and are one of the originators of the Space Rock genre.  The band has released 26 studio albums over its 40 year existence with Dave Brock being the only constant member of the band.

The album begins with the almost dancey “Assault and Battery (Part 1)”.  The song opens with keyboards and a bass and drum groove.  The melody has a 60’s pop feel but with a sinister edge to it.  The song is dense with guitars and features some nice flute.  It is quite sloppy in places and reminded me of a mix between Syd Barrett and Flying Nun records Bands.  Cool tune.

“The Golden Void (Part 2)” follows straight on and is a dreamy keyboard lead track similar to Eloy.  The song builds and get’s heavier as it goes along and the Saxophone gives a song a night time feel.  The vocals are really strong on this track as well. 

The first of three spoken word passages “The Wizard Blew His Horn” is next.  The vocals are heavily delayed and delivered in an almost Beat Poetry style.  Lyrically it’s pretty silly but it enjoyed it because of that.

The groovy “Opa-Loka” follows.  This track has a great Space Rock feel with a really nice groove from the drums and the bass.  The track has allot of movement and really drives along.  It reminded me of Evil Heat era Primal Scream.  Awesome tune.

“The Demented Man” starts with a nice guitar picked passage with feedback and seagull sounds overlayed.  Again this tune has a similar feel to Eloy and Pink Floyd.  The melody really drives the track with is Bass and Drum free.  The keyboards are quite atmospheric and feature some interesting Coral sounds.  Really nice way to finish the side.

Side two starts with “Magnu” a 70’s rocker with a cool eastern feel.  The track is quite schizophrenic and manic with an interesting mix of instruments.  The vocals on this track are really heavily processed with lots of delay and reverse delay.  The mix is the real let down off this track with back really low and the vocals, strings and Saxophone really high in the mix.  This is none the less a great tune that be better served by a more balanced mix.

“Standing at the Edge” is the second spoken word track and is similar to “The Wizard Blew His Horn” but with more of a Sci-Fi feel to it.  Again the lyrics are silly with some great lines like “We are the soldiers at the edge of time, were tired of making love”.  Strange little tune.

The almost baggy “Spiral Galaxy 28948” follow’s on.  The track is spacey with groovy drums and wah way guitars.  The song takes some interesting directions folky flutes and squealing keyboards.  Baggy and Space Rock is a cool mix.

The third and final Spoken Word passage “Warriors” is the most aggressive of the three.  With Dalek vocals and timpani banging in the background.  Awesome track.

“Dying Seas” is next.  This track is quite strange and sounds like a warped records or worn cassette.  Kind of like a Syd Barrett tune with a grinding backing track.  Didn’t think much of this track.

The album ends with “Kings of Speed”.  This is the most conventional track on the record and it reminded me of The Who.  With a driving piano and what would become an American Indie feel this has the feeling of an attempt at a single.  Fun tune but not as exciting as other on this record.

I really enjoyed this record and bar a few weaker moments there is allot of get from it.  Especially highlights “Assault and Battery”, “Opa-Loka” and “Magnu”.  If you like the Space territories of Prog definitely give this album a listen.

7/10 

Future of The Left w/ Dead Farmers & Yes, I'm Leaving – Annandale Hotel, Sydney 08th December 2011

I have seen Future Of The Left every time they have come to Sydney and this was show number 4 at the mighty Annandale Hotel.  This is the second time that this 4 piece line up of the band has toured and since that time we have only seen the “Polymers Are Forever” ep.  So expectations were high for some new tunes.  The band entered the stage to the sounds of an unreleased FOTL tune “Cosmos Ladder” and rapturous applause from the crowd. 

The band was an assault on the ears from “Arming Eritrea” to the final strains of “Lapsed Catholics” partially due to a very aggressive mix by the sound engineer and Guitarist and Bassist Jimmy and Julia being fully integrated into the band.  A number of “established” tracks were knocked out with great energy before were treated to our first new song “Beneath The Waves An Ocean”.  The song is based on a grinding bass almost industrial bass line.  Is it slower than previous material and has a great chorus.  It worked great live and here’s hoping that it sound this good on new record.  “I Am The Least Of Your Problems” which posted in demo form a year ago was next and what a fun punky number.  Probably one of the weaker of the new tunes but still fun.  The lead track of the recently released ep “Polymers Are Forever” was great live and was the first track in the Keyboard section that included live favourite “Manchasm”.  
The set featured three Mclusky covers in the form of “To Hell With Good Intentions”, “Without MSG I’m Nothing” & “Lightsabre Cocksucking Blues”.  All were great and lead up to the 10 minute finale of “Lapsed Catholics” which was fun but a little long.  But at least I wasn’t the long haired dude who had a beer bottle taped to his head so that guitarist Jimmy could have beer poured into his mouth.  It was a crazy night and good to visit with our friends for the forth song in four days and I hope they come back soon.

Future Of The Left Setlist:

Arming Eritrea

Chin Music

Small Bones Small Bodies

Adeadenemyalwayssmellsgood

Beneath The Waves An Ocean

I Am The Least Of Your Problems

Polymers Are Forever

Manchasm

Failed Olympic Bid

You Need Satan More Than He Needs You

New Adventures

To Hell With Good Intentions

Sheena Is A T-Shirt Salesman

Without MSG I Am Nothing

Robocop 4 : Fuck Off Robocop

Plague of Onces

Lightsabre Cocksucking Blues

Lapsed Catholics

Unknown Mortal Orchestra w/ DZ Deathrays & Kill City Creeps – Oxford Art Factory, Sydney 07th December 2011

We arrived on a very wet Oxford Street and found a pre-gig venue for beers and burgers.  This meant that we missed first opener “Kill City Creeps” but turned up in time to catch “DZ Deathrays”.  This two piece from Brisbane are a confused bunch.  Not quite Garage, not quite Metal, not quite there yet.  The song for the most part sounded very similar bar a few exceptions.  Guitarist Shane Parsons' seems to have spent allot more time playing with effects pedals than coming up with interesting guitar lines.  A fairly dull and one note kind of set from the band but here’s hoping that they play more and come up with some interesting.

I have been a fan of Ruban’s Nielson’s previous band “The Mint Chicks” for a long time and had seen them a number of times over the years and their “Crazy? Yes! Dumb? No!” is one of my favourite albums of all time.  Unknown Mortal Orchestra is quite a departure from the Punk sound of the Mint Chicks and one that has divided people I know.

A full OAF greeted Unknown Mortal Orchestra.  Bassist Jake Portrait and drummer Julien Ehrich are firstly a great rhythm section but also give Ruban room to take these songs to different places to the album.  The songs are very different in a live setting and have a driving psychedelic rock feel that creates version of the songs that in my opinion surpass the album versions.  The highlights of the set were “Thought Ballune” which had a strut and the melody was much stronger in a live setting, the evil rock n roll of “Boy Witch” and the encore a cover of Cans “Vitamin C”.  The song starts off with just drums and then bass and the band really seemed to be having fun jamming this song out.  Cool ending to a great set on a Wednesday night.  I am certainly keen to see what comes next from the band as I think an album with this band will be a very different prospect.

Unknown Mortal Orchestra Setlist:

Little Blu House

Thought Ballune

Strangers Are Strange

Nerve Damage!

Jello And Juggernauts

How Can You Luv Me

Boy Witch

Ffunny Ffriends

Encore:

Vitamin C

A Quest for Prog 23: Happy The Man - Crafty Hands

"A Quest for Prog" is a series of 50 Progressive Rock reviews to be written over a year.  The band selection is taken from the book in the first post on this blog.  And the albums I am reviewing is based on the highest user ratings for each band on Progarchives.com.

Happy The Man - Crafty Hands (1978)

Produced by Ken Scott

Stanley Whitaker – Guitars & Vocals

Frank Wyatt – Pianos, Harpsichord, Saxes & Flute

Kit Watkins – Pianos, Harpsichord, Moog, Clavinet & Recorder

Rick Kennell – Bass

Ron Riddle – Drums & Percussion

Track listing:

Side One:

01. Service with a Smile (2:44)

02. Morning Sun (4:05)

03. Ibby It Is (7:50)

04. Steaming Pipes (5:30)

Side Two:

01. Wind Up Doll Day Wind (7:06)

02. Open Book (4:53)

03. I Forgot to Push It (3:08)

04. The Moon, I Sing (Nossuri) (6:16)

Released in 1978 “Crafty Hands” is the second album by American band Happy The Man.  The band formed in Harrisonburg, Virginia in 1973 but it was early 1974 when the line-up completed.  The bands early repertoire included Genesis, King Crimson and Van Der Graaf Generator covers as the band wrote original songs.  The band rehearsed with Peter Gabriel in 1976 with the possibility of backing him on solo material but even though didn’t hire the band they were offered a record detail with Arista as a result of it.  The band released a self titled album in 1977 before Crafty Hands was released in 1978 at which time their contract with Arista was dissolved.  The band carried on but could not secure another record deal so disbanded not long after.

The album begins with the upbeat “Service with a Smile”.  This track has a really nice drum groove and really great guitar playing.  The track has the feel of a film theme mixed with King Crimson.  I really liked this tune and it's a great start to the album.

“Morning Sun” begins with a nice keyboard intro which reminded me of stadium era Pink Floyd.  The Floyd feel continues when the verses arrive sound in particular like “Wish You Were Here”.  As the song continues it reminded of Super Mario Sunshine and the music played at Delfino Plaza.  The track is a little too much like wallpaper for me though.

Next up is “Ibby It Is” which picks up the pace a bit.  Musically it sounds like the kind of music guitar players like Joe Satriani or Steve Vai would shred over.  The track has some nice keyboards but seems to lack a pulse and I didn’t really connect with this tune.

Following on is “Steaming Pipes”, which is almost a Progressive Oompah Band tune.  The tune is upbeat and has a nice groove to it.  Unfortunately the track doesn't really go anywhere and would have been better served with a vocal melody over top.  Interesting playing but ultimately a fairly boring tune.

Side two begins with “Wind Up Doll Day Wind”.  The backing track is quite playful and goes from quite stark passages to being quite lush in other places.  The vocals a bit much on this track but the track would likely be worse for from not having them.  The track reminded me of early Genesis.  Again a bit long and the track doesn’t flow that well so it is hard to keep interest over 7 minutes.

Next is “Open Book” and almost Ambient tune crossed Midevil and Rock.  The guitars and Flute work really well together on this track.  Unlike other tunes this track you get a feeling from the music.  Nice tune. 

“I Forgot To Push It” is next and is quite an interesting tune.  A nice mix of guitars with what sounds like a Saxophone.  The playing intricate and thankfully the track is short so it doesn't overstay it’s welcome.  Nice tune but slightly frivolous.

The album ends with “The Moon, I Sing (Nossuri)”.  This tune is quite atmospheric and has some really nice guitar picking.  The does plod along and doesn’t seem to really have a path.  Some nice playing but it doesn’t really go anywhere. 

There are parts of this album that I really liked but it suffer greatly by songs being extended to far.  The song for the most part lack direction but there are certainly a few track to take away from this album like “Service with a Smile” and “Open Book”.

3/10

Harvest Festival, Parramatta Park, Sydney 15 November 2011

The one thing I realized upon entering the Harvest Festival gates was that this wasn't going to be your normal Australian Music Festival.  Firstly I didn't see males brandishing Southern Cross tattoos parading around topless or alternatively the fairer sex in nothing more than a bikini.

We headed to the "Secret Garden" and had a look at what it had to offer.  There were oversized Birds Nests, Rocking Chairs & A Miniature Theatre.  Then we waltzed into the tent that proclaimed “Turn Back Now” above the door and were greeted by a young lass wearing a teddy bear head and a miniature plastic face to cover most of her dignity.  Not my cup of tea but she drew a good crowd and it certainly added to the feeling that there was more to this festival than a list of bands and truck loads of piss.

We arrived at the “The Great Lawn” to see a few tunes by the Hypnotic Brass Ensemble.  The group is a made up of a drummer and seven or so Brass players from Tubas to Trumpets.  It was kind of odd seeing a really gangsta looking fella sporting a tuba but they had a great sound.  A mixture of hip Hop and Funk and they created a serious groove.  I wasn’t a big fan of the rap sections but they put on a good show and certainly got the crowd moving early on in the day. 

Off to “The Windmill Stage” to check out The Walkmen.  I was really interested to see this band after being turned onto them many years ago via their single “The Rat”.  A surprisingly large crowd turned out to see the band.  Their set was quite slow and didn’t quite make it over the conversation in the crowd.  I was pretty disappointing and the music just didn't connect but maybe this music would be better in a club or inside.

The Walkmen Setlist:

While I Shovel Snow

Woe Is Me

On The Water

In The New Year

New Song

Juveniles

New Song

Blue as Your Blood

The Rat

All Hands and the Cook

We dashed back to the “The Great Lawn” to catch the last three songs from The Family Stones set.  The band showed what veteran players can do and did these songs (M’Lady, I Want To Take You Higher & Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)) complete justice.  While watching them I thought “Sly who?”.  Wish I could have seen their whole.  Great choice to for a sunny Sunday afternoon.

It was back to the “The Windmill Stage” to check out Mercury Rev.  It’s an odd proposition to see Mercury Rev on a sunny afternoon but the band pulled a good crowd and put on a Deserters Songs heavy set.  Frontman Jonathan Donahue is totally committed to this music and really seem to be feeling it even seeming oblivious to the constant feedback coming from the stage.  The band is quite subtle and textured in their approach and never over do it.  Highlights were the lush “Endlessly” and “Opus 40”, “Goddess On A Hiway” and a great cover of Peter Gabriel’s “Solsbury Hill”.

Mercury Rev Setlist:

Snowflake In A Hot World

Holes

Endlessly

Butterfly’s Wing

Opus 40

Solsbury Hill

Goddess On A Hiway

The Dark Is Rising

Made a dash back to “The Great Lawn” to catch the remainder of the TV On The Radio set.  This is a band that I love at times but I’m quite perplexed by at others.  This is certainly the case in a live setting and with the songs fighting against themselves with Soul and Funk up against Indie and Rock.  It's a great sight to behold and gave me a new appreciation of the band’s music.  Again because of the strong line-up another bands set I missed seeing the whole thing.  “Staring At The Sun” and “Wolf Like Me” were the highlights. 

TV On The Radio Setlist:

Halfway Home

Second Song

Caffeinated Consciousness

A Method

Golden Age

Will Do

Staring at the Sun

Repetition

Wolf Like Me

The break between bands of “The Great Lawn” gave time for a fuel up of food and beer before Bright Eyes hit the stage.  Conor was in fine voice and the band were on the mark with their delivery of tracks from different points in the history. The set went from Lifted’s “Lover I Don’t Have To Love” through “Digital ash...” tracks “Take It Easy (Love Nothing)” and “I Believe In Symmetry” to more recent tracks “Jejune Stars” and “Shell Games”.  Highlights was opener “Four Winds”, the formerly electronic “Take It Easy (Love Nothing)”, the vitriolic “Lover I Don't Have to Love” and closer “Road To Joy”.

Bright Eyes Setlist:

Four Winds

Jejune Stars

Take It Easy (Love Nothing)

Lover I Don't Have to Love

Shell Games

Landlocked Blues

Cartoon Blues

Poison Oak

I Believe In Symmetry

Road to Joy

Another stage detour was taken to “The Windmill Stage” to check out 25 minutes of Scots Mogwai.  Smoke was the first thing I noticed making my way to the stage.  The band is quite an experience with a mix of build post rock music mixed with visuals of cars on streets of digital imagery and a fuck load of smoke.  This is the kind of set you could really lose yourself in.  Awesome stuff and another unfortunate clash.

Mogwai Setlist:

White Noise

Friend of the Night

Mexican Grand Prix

2 Rights Make 1 Wrong

Back again to “The Great Lawn” for personal favourite The National.  The band gets bigger and bigger everytime I see them and always put on a great show.  The set was heavily weighted to most recent effort “High Violet” with a few Boxer and Alligator track through into the mix.  It moved from slower paced tracks “Slow Show” and “Anyone’s Ghost” to upbeat tracks “Mr November” and “Mistaken For Strangers”.  The band sounded great and delivered a set with allot of energy and conviction.  Highlights were “Slow Show”, “Squalor Victoria”, “Conversation 16 “ & “Mr November”

The National Setlist:

Anyones Ghost

Mistaken For Strangers

Bloodbuzz Ohio

Slow Show

Squalor Victoria

Afraid of Everyone

Conversation 16

Apartment Story

Sorrow

England

Fake Empire

Mr November

Terrible Love

Back to the “The Windmill Stage” to see what we thought would be the remainder of The Flaming Lips set to find they hadn't even started and end up starting 20 minutes after we arrived.  Unfortunately this put the band and the audience on the back foot from the get go.  At their best “The Flaming Lips” are one of the best live acts around but on the night they were anything but.  The set started with their customary intro video and balloon frenzy which was greeted with a strong response from those who got to play.  But from this point on the band and the audience struggled to give each other what they needed.  Apart from the hits in the set the rest was made up of a very average cover of Black Sabbath’s “Sweet Leaf” to some pretty boring psychedelic tunes.  This is the third time I have seen the Lips and it could very well be the last. 

The Flaming Lips Setlist:

The Fear

Sweet Leaf

Worm Mountain

She Don't Use Jelly

The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song (With All Your Power)

Is David Bowie Dying?

Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, Pt. 1

See the Leaves

Do You Realize??

The last band of the night was of course was Portishead on “The Great Lawn”.  The sound and visuals were amazing but the band lacked the spark that a live band should have.  The sound was so perfect that it almost seemed like it was the album playing through the PA.  I’m sure that if I had more love for the band I would have been singing their praises.  A really amazing live sound just not my cup of tea so I took any early mark and headed for the train.

Portishead Setlist:

Silence

Mysterons

The Rip

Sour Times

Magic Doors

Wandering Star

Machine Gun

Over

Glory Box

Chase the Tear

Cowboys

Threads

Encore:

Roads

We Carry On

As far as festivals go this was an absolute success.  The vibe, the space, the line up and the attitude were all right and if they keep the numbers down this festival will easily become the festival I look forward to each year.  Thanks a bunch for a great day. 

A Quest for Prog 22: Gryphon – Red Queen to Gryphon Three

"A Quest for Prog" is a series of 50 Progressive Rock reviews to be written over a year.  The band selection is taken from the book in the first post on this blog.  And the albums I am reviewing is based on the highest user ratings for each band on Progarchives.com.

Gryphon – Red Queen to Gryphon Three (1974)

Produced by Gryphon & Dave Grinsted

Richard Harvey – Keyboards, Recorders & Krumhorn

Brian Gulland – Bassoon & Krumhorns

Dave Oberlé – Drums, Percussion & tympani

Graeme Taylor – Guitar

Philip Nestor – Bass Guitar

Track listing:

Side One:

01. Opening Move (9:42)

02. Second Spasm (8:15)

Side Two:

01. Lament (10:45)

02. Checkmate (9:50)

Released in 1974 “Red Queen to Gryphon Three” is the third album by English band Gryphon.  The band formed in the early 70’s by Richard Harvey and Brian Gulland.  They began as a Traditional English Folk group and expanded their sound with the addition of Graeme Taylor, Dave Oberlé & Philip Nestor joining the band by the time this record was recorded.  The toured as support act for Yes after this album was released but subsequent releases featured more conventional folk music.

The album begins with “Opening Move” a upbeat tune with an Progressive Classical feel to it.  The song is quite dynamic but also at time quite jarring with changes not flowing into each other.  The track seems like a lot of different pieces of music tried together but not creating one piece of music.  This track reminded me of early Split Enz without the structure and song writing.

Following on is “Second Spasm” which is a kind of coy Medieval track.  Again this track suffers from a lack of flow and in places it sounds like the band are playing different pieces of music at the same time.  The guitar is nice on this tune but fairly traditional.

The second side begins with “Lament”.  The track begins with a quite long Acoustic Guitar and Flute passage that doesn’t really go anywhere.  When the band comes in the track becomes quite bubbly some strong playing.  The track is dense and has quite a few layers but like the previous track the band seems to be playing parts from different tracks at the same time. 

The album ends with “Checkmate”.  The song begins with a nice Keyboard intro.  The Guitars come in with some nice interlocking signatures between Keyboards and Guitars.  The playing is quite restrained which means the song does drag quite a bit.  At the half way mark I was waiting for this song to end and the last 4 minutes really didn’t add much to the track.

 “Red Queen to Gryphon Three” is a fairly uninteresting album that I found quite hard to get through.  The songs are far longer than they really should be and don’t really have any focus even though the playing in places is really strong.

2/10

A Quest for Prog 21: Grobschnitt – Ballermann

"A Quest for Prog" is a series of 50 Progressive Rock reviews to be written over a year.  The band selection is taken from the book in the first post on this blog.  And the albums I am reviewing is based on the highest user ratings for each band on Progarchives.com.

Grobschnitt – Ballermann (1974)

Produced by Frank Mille

Stefan Danielak (Wildschwein) – Lead vocals & Guitar

Joachim Ehrig (Eroc) – Drums, Percussion, Vocals & Electronic f/x

Volker Kahrs (Mist) – Keyboards  

Gerd-Otto Kühn (Lupo) – Lead Guitar

Bernhard Uhlemann (Bär) – Bass

Track listing:

Side One:

01.  Sahara (5:33)  

02.  Nickel-Odeon (9:14)  

03.  Drummer's Dream (6:11)  

Side Two:

01.  Morning Song (5:42)

02.  Magic Train (13:20)  

Side Three:

01.  Solar-Music, Part 1 (17:28)  

Side Four:

01.  Solar-Music, Part 2 (15:58)

Released in 1974 “Ballermann” is the second album by German band Grobschnitt.  The band formed from the ashes of psychedelic rock band The Crew.  Originally formed as an eight piece the band slimming down to a five piece after the band’s debut album.  The band like many German bands of the time they sang in English.  The band are known for mixing comedy and music in concert and on record.

The album begins with the bizarre “Sahara”.  The song begins with what I can only describe as a silly comedy sketch in the vein of the Goons that moves into Egyptian vocal riffing.  When the band comes in musically and vocally the song reminded me of 70’s rock version of Rammstein.  I’m not a big fan of the vocals on this one and musically it is a little boring but the guitars were really good. 

The jazzy “Nickel-Odeon” follows and is reminiscent of The Doors jazzier tunes.  The song has really nice movement and features some really strong keyboards but does drag a bit.  The Vocals on this song reminded me of David Gilmour and are heavily affected.  The gets stronger as it goes and near the end reminded me Yes with nice summery guitars.

“Drummer's Dream” begins with really pretty piano.  This tune reminds me of the kind of music that progressive bands were making in the 90's.  It sounds bright and the band is playing really great on this tune but I’m not a big fan of this kind of sound.

“Morning Song” has an acoustic feel and is kind of folky.  The playing is very precise and is quite pleasant with some dirty keyboards that sound like Van Der Graaf Generator.  The song ends with some silly grunting which is a bit weird.

The intro to “Magic Train” features some really strong piano by Volker Kahrs.  Strangely this piano intro just suddenly stops and a bass drum starts pulsing.  The main part of the song is a mix of Jethro Tull and Hotel California.  The energy in the song is really good and the band is playing really well but the song does drag on a bit.  

Record two is dedicated to the Solar Music pieces.  Side one includes “Solar-Music, Part 1” a cinematic tune that features some guitar like “Eye Of The Tiger”.  The tune is loose with some quiet and airy passages.  The song is ambient but builds with great tension.  Think a dreamier “Set Controls For The Heart Of The Sun” with a massive groove.  This song is a journey that builds and builds.  This songs is really fantastic at doesn’t lets up.  This is a really strong tune.

Flipping the record over we go “Solar-Music, Part 2” which picks the pace up from the first part.  This part is really groovy.  A mix of psychedelic jazz and electronic.  The track uses allot vintage synths and to create a cool Sci-Fi feel.  The playing is really great and band seems free to do what they please.  Another really strong tune.

This album feel like two records two albums.  The first is a bit silly and in places frivolous but with some really strong moments.  But the second album is the absolute star of this album.  If this album has just been the second record it would have been a 10/10 but the first album brings it down a little.  Amazing stuff.

9/10

A Quest for Prog 20: Gong - Radio Gnome Invisible Vol. 3 - You

"A Quest for Prog" is a series of 50 Progressive Rock reviews to be written over a year.  The band selection is taken from the book in the first post on this blog.  And the albums I am reviewing is based on the highest user ratings for each band on Progarchives.com.

Gong - Radio Gnome Invisible Vol. 3 - You (1974)

Produced by Simon Heyworth

Mike Howlett – Bass guitar

Pierre Moerlen – Drums & Percussion

Mireille Bauer – Percussion

Benoit Moerlen – Percussion

Steve Hillage – Lead Guitar

Didier Malherbe – Wind Instruments & Vocals

Tim Blake – Moog, EMS Synthesisers & Mellowdrone

Daevid Allen – Vocal Locust & Glissandoz Guitar

Gilli Smyth – Poems & Space Whisper

Miquette Giraudy – Wee Voices & Chourousings

Track listing:

Side one:

01. Thoughts for Naught (1:32)

02. A P.H.P.'s Advice (1:47)

03. Magick Mother Invocation (2:06)

04. Master Builder (6:07)

05. A Sprinkling of Clouds (8:55)

Side two:

01. Perfect Mystery (2:29)

02. The Isle of Everywhere (10:20)

03. You Never Blow Yr Trip Forever (11:22)

Released in 1974 “Radio Gnome Invisible Vol. 3 - You” is the seventh album by English band Gong.  The band formed in 1967 after Daevid Allen at the time a member for the Soft Machine was denied access back into the UK.  In France the first line up of the Gong was formed and since then the band have released 14 album in the last 30 years.

The album begins with the theatrical “Thoughts for Naught”.  This is quite a strange tune with Waltzy keyboards and some really strange vocals.  The vocals sound French and move around the stereo space from which is always fun with headphones.  Fun tune.

“A P.H.P.'s Advice” follows and is another short and strange number.  It sounds very English and zany kind of like early Pink Floyd mixed with Madness.  Very minimal and childlike.

The space rock “Magick Mother Invocation” follows.  There are layers of vocals in this one which are kind of like monks but these are Space monks.  It’s a very spacey tune.

“Master Builder” follows a song that sounds like a Space Rock version of The Stooges Funhouse record.  There’s Tribal drumming and percussion mixed with chanting and eastern flavoured keyboards.  There is some cool sax on this track.  The second half is really chopped up and disjointed.  This is a seriously good tune.

The side closer is “A Sprinkling of Clouds” which continues the Space Rock feel of the previous track.  The song has a Kraftwerk feel to it but bigger and less mechanical.  The song builds and builds and get’s more chaotic as it goes along.  There is also some great flute on the track.  Another great song.

The flipside begins with the odd rock n roll song “Perfect Mystery”.  It’s like of like a mashed up Kinks with some very strange lyrics and vocals. 

The first of the 10 minutes plus tracks “The Isle of Everywhere” is a kind of soul tune with funk bass and guitar through a wah wah pedal.  But over the top is some strange ethereal female vocals.  The best way to describe the mix would be Space Soul.  A strange but very interesting song that probably could have been shorter but doesn’t drag.

We finish on “You Never Blow Yr Trip Forever”.  Another kind of strange funk work out which vocals that are pretty much gibberish.  That said the melodies are really cool and have a Syd Barrett feel to them.  Musically the track points to Cans “Futures Days” album.  This track really does go on far too long and does get fairly boring later in the track.  My least favourite track.

This album was pretty exciting a listen the first time through.  It really goes to places other bands I have listen to have gone.  One subsequent listen some songs don’t stand up but overall this is a really interesting listen an Gong are a band I would definitely be interested in listen to more of.

7/10

A Quest for Prog 19: Gentle Giant - In a Glass House

"A Quest for Prog" is a series of 50 Progressive Rock reviews to be written over a year.  The band selection is taken from the book in the first post on this blog.  And the albums I am reviewing is based on the highest user ratings for each band on Progarchives.com.

Gentle Giant - In a Glass House (1973)

Produced by Gentle Giant & Gary Martin

Derek Shulman – Lead vocals, Alto/Soprano Sax & Recorder

Gary Green – 6 & 12 String Guitars, Mandolin, Percussion & Alto Recorder

Kerry Minnear – Keyboards, Tuned Percussion, Recorder & Vocals

Ray Shulman – Bass & Acoustic Guitars, Violin, Trumpet, Percussion & Backing Vocals

John Weathers – Drums & Percussion

Track listing:

Side one:

01. The Runaway (7:16)

02. An Inmate's Lullaby (4:40)

03. Way of Life (8:04)

Side two:

01. Experience (7:50)

02. A Reunion (2:12)

03. In a Glass House (8:09)

Released in 1973 “In a Glass House” is the fifth album by English band Gentle Giant.  The band was formed in 1970 when the Shulman brothers teamed up with Gary Green, Kerry Minnear & drummer Martin Smith.  All members apart from Martin could play multiple instruments which along with a varied influences and backgrounds created a unique mix of Classical, Jazz & Rock.  Although the band only achieved Cult success they released an impressive eleven studio albums between 1970 and 1980 before splitting.

Breaking glass opens the album and is drawn into a kind of loop which build before the band comes into the track “The Runaway”.  The song is quite playful but at the same time intricate and energetic.  The song treads the same territory as Yes and features some really cool keyboards from Kerry Minnear.  There are Zappa moments with a great Xylophone solo.  This song is really interesting but is let down by weak vocals.  The melodies in the song are really good but Derek Shulman’s vocals seem to lack any conviction. 

“An Inmate's Lullaby” is next and this is a really innocent almost childlike track.  The song starts with a keyboard loop that sounds like an unusual Music Box.  It reminded me allot of Hitchcock by The Phoenix Foundation.  The song moves from being slightly sinister to very childish. 

The side ends with “Way of Life”.  This track is very funky with Ray Shulman playing some really great bass here.  The song has quite discordant passages that give it a strong Zappa feel.  The keyboards are the real star of the show here and helps it stay interesting over it’s 8 minutes.

“Experience” kicks of side two with an almost Celtic Prog feel.  The playing is intricate and folky with an almost silly sense of grandeur.  At 3 minutes in the band explodes in into the song and unfortunately it becomes far less interesting.  The remaining 4 minutes are pretty pedestrian 70’s rock but Derek Shulman delivers his best vocals on the album.  Disappointing after such a good start.

The stripped back “A Reunion” follows and is a change for the album.  Basically just a short folky song with some nice guitar and violin work.  Nice tune.

The final track “In A Glass House” which starts off as a fiddle lead acoustic track.  The fiddle playing is really good and are a highlight of the album.  As with “Experience” the track starts of great but looses track in the second half with some boring rock parts.  It ends by quickly recapping the album before reprising the breaking glass that were used in the intro to the album.

Quite enjoyable album but an album that seems to loose it way on the longer tracks.  The first two tracks on the album are great and worth checking out.  The live album “Playing the Fool” from 1977 for me was a much more enjoyable album.

6/10

A Quest for Prog 18: Genesis - Selling England by the Pound

"A Quest for Prog" is a series of 50 Progressive Rock reviews to be written over a year.  The band selection is taken from the book in the first post on this blog.  And the albums I am reviewing is based on the highest user ratings for each band on Progarchives.com.

Genesis - Selling England by the Pound (1973)

Produced by Genesis & John Burns

Peter Gabriel – Lead Vocals, Flute, Oboe & Percussion

Phil Collins – Drums, Percussion, Backing Vocals & Lead Vocals ("More Fool Me")

Tony Banks – Backing Vocals, Piano, Keyboards & Acoustic Guitar ("The Cinema Show")

Steve Hackett – Guitar & Backing Vocals ("I Know What I Like")

Mike Rutherford – Bass Guitar, Bass Pedals, Rhythm Guitar, Cello ("Dancing With The Moonlight Knight") & Electric Sitar

Track listing:

Side one:

01. Dancing with the Moonlit Knight (8:04)

02. I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe) (4:07)

03. Firth of Fifth (9:35)

04. More Fool Me (3:10)

Side two:

01. The Battle of Epping Forest (11:49)

02. After the Ordeal (4:13)

03. The Cinema Show (11:06)

04. Aisle of Plenty (1:32)

Released in 1973 “Selling England by the Pound” is the fifth album by English band Genesis.  They were one of the originators of English progressive music.  The band released 6 albums with Peter Gabriel before he left to pursue a successful solo career at which time drummer Phil Collins become the singer for the band.  The Phil Collins period of the band was hugely successful and saw the band move away from their Prog roots to a commercial radio sound.

The album begins with the epic “Dancing with the Moonlit Knight”.  The song begins with a Medieval sound with Guitars and keyboards before rest of the band comes in.  The playing is intricate and with the guitars and the keyboards both having impressive solo sections.  The song is based around a strong Guitar Riff from Steve Hackett.  Peter Gabriel vocals are really strong and he delivers some great lyrics with variations of the “Selling England By The Pound” theme.  Great tune.

“I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)” follows and is quite a coy and English sounding track.  The backing is lush and quite commercial.  Lyrically this song is quite silly in places but I think that is meant to be the point.  Quite a fun song but at the same a bit frivolous.

“Firth of Fifth” is next.  A mid paced track with some subtle playing.  The band is really strong on this track and they sway and move through this track which in some respects reminded me of Pink Floyd.  The keyboard signature in the tune is strong with a nice section that is just keyboards and drums.  A real showcase for Phil Collins who surprisingly doesn’t shine allot on this album.  This is a really interesting track that goes to some pretty places over its course.

The last song on side one is “More Fool Me”.  This track is quite different to the other songs on the album in that it is quite stripped back with just Guitar and Vocals.  The song reminds me of Cat Stevens with Phil Collins being a dead ringer for him.  It’s a really nice and well written song that finished the side off on a good note.

Side two begins with “The Battle of Epping Forest”.  The song begins with marching drum and a penny whistle.  The song has interesting time signatures and with some nice guitar and funky bass.  The song has great movement with some cool Honky Tonk keyboards.  Peter Gabriel plays a number of characters in this song which he does very well.  Lyrically the song is quite clever with a number of plays on words.  This is a really fun tune that reminds me of early Split Enz.

The Instrumental “After the Ordeal” which has a classical feel to it.  The song is layered and gives the band some room to show off but does miss Peter’s vocals.

The longest track on the album “The Cinema Show” is next.  This track for the most part is a space Rock number that is quite weird in places.  The keyboards a really prominent on this track so much so at time the track reminded me of Emerson, Lake and Palmer.  Phil Collins drumming is quite high in the mix which is a welcome change from most of the album where is buried in the mix.  The guitar in the quiet section of the song reminded me of the intro to Rock Bottom by Kiss.  Cool song.

The album ends with the coda “Aisle of Plenty” which reprises themes from earlier in album most notably from opener “Dancing with the Moonlit Knight”.

I really liked this album and have owned it but not really given it a good listen.  The band is at the top of their game with the Guitars of Steve Hackett and Keyboards of Tony Banks being the stars of the album.  A great place to start when dipping your toes in the Prog Pool.

8/10