This compilation disc is quite strong. There is really a lot of great music here. No, not everything here fits under progressive rock, but a lot of it does. Besides that, a number of prog musicians guest on this set. That makes it a solid enough fit under the prog rock heading. I have reviewed quite a few of these songs previously on the original albums on which they appear. So, for the sake of consistency, the track reviews of those songs have been copied or adapted from the original reviews. Let's just say that Robby Krieger is a great guitar player. This album shows that he's capable of a lot of versatility. As a bonus, it does so with a disc that tracks nicely and entertains well.
This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2017 Volume 3 at lulu.com/strangesound.
Track by Track Review
Across the Universe feat. Jackson Browne
Originally released on Abbey Road - A Tribute to the Beatles, this song is a mellow, acoustic guitar based piece. It's a pretty rendition that's fairly true to the original. It gets psychedelic and proggy later as more layers of sounds and vocals are added to the mix.
Hypernova (Inner Space Mix) feat. Nik Turner Coming from Nik Turner's Space Fusion Odyssey,this starts like dramatic and powerful space rock. An instrumental, this gets some shifts and changes. It works toward more fusion like territory later. It also has some pretty inspired jamming, but the groove seems to be the most important factor here.
Empty Spaces feat. Billy Sherwood Sherwood is joined here only by Robby Krieger on guitar. They play it pretty true to form.This comes from Back Against the Wall - A Tribute to Pink Floyd.
Where We Belong (Prism Mix) feat. Tony Kaye
Originally released on Return to the Dark Side of the Moon, organ brings this in with style.
Don't Leave Me Now feat. Tommy Shaw Another from Back Against the Wall - A Tribute to Pink Floyd, Tommy Shaw carries the vocal. His vocals and Krieger's guitar are joined by Geoff Downes' keys. Jay Schellen and Billy Sherwood provide the rhythm section. This psychotic number is pretty faithful and well delivered. The later hard-edged segment is particularly powerful and even more prog oriented than the original.
Brain Damage feat. Geoff Downes There is almost a playful feeling to this rendition of the classic Pink Floyd song in some ways. On the one hand, it's fairly faithful. At the same time it brings some new flavors to the mix. This is another that originally came from Return to the Dark Side of the Moon.
School feat. Rod Argent First off, just the fact that this includes both Robby Krieger and Rod Argent makes this interesting. When you add in the fact that this is one of the cooler tunes from Supertramp anyway, expectations are high. This more than lives up to those expectations. It’s got a lot of class in the mix and manages to bring some additional progressive rock to the table while still capturing all the original magic of the piece. The song was originally released on Songs of the Century - An All Star Tribute to Supertramp.
Deep Down feat. William Shatner This song was originally released on Shatner's Ponder the Mystery album. I really love the groove on this one. It’s got a cool sound and is rocking, but also suitably mellow. Krieger handles both sitar and guitar on this.
Little Drummer Boy
This holiday tune comes from An All-Star Salute to Christmas and features Billy Sherwood and Lou Molino along with Krieger. This starts fairly traditional, but works out to some trippy psychedelic prog territory. I really like this a lot. It's a nice way to bring some freshness to a very old song.
All You Need Is Love feat. John Wetton
Another from Abbey Road - A Tribute to the Beatles, I really love this song. It feels like the Beatles' version in a lot of ways. Yet, it brings new flavors to the piece at the same time. I love the late, great John Wetton's vocals on this, too.
Back Door Man (Live)
This recording is not of the best quality. The performance is screaming hot, though. Sure, I prefer the Doors version in some ways, but this is rawer and more fierce.
