Danger Money Review by Bruce Stringer This being the only studio album from the scaled down, three-piece lineup of Eddie Jobson, John Wetton and Zappa alumni Terry Bozzio, there is so much to live up to and the obvious question is: does it? More...
Live In Boston Review by Bruce Stringer As one of the hardest working live acts in its day, it comes as no surprise that there were a number of radio show broadcasts made during UK’s short-lived existence. Besides featuring a stellar line-up of some of the best progressive rock musicians of the day (including ex-King Crimson and Yes members), the dominance of multitasking musical prodigy Eddie Jobson advanced the group into creative areas that pushed the envelope years ahead of its late ‘70s contemporaries.
Night After Night Review by Gary Hill The third, and final album by what was probably the first prog rock super-group (OK, other than ELP), this is a live album. Although Bill Bruford had left the band after the first album, his presence is still felt in the composition of a few of these tracks, but Terry Bozzio brings in his own style as the replacement. More...
Jethro Tull - A Review by Scott Prinzing When Jethro Tull’s iconic singer/songwriter/flutist, et al, Ian Anderson set out to record this album, it was intended to be his first solo project.
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Explorer's Club - Age of Impact Review by Gary Hill This album could well be the most important progressive disc of the decade for two reasons. Firstly, by the sheer magnitude of performers on this CD.
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A live album, this is some killer fusion. Since fusion includes both jazz and rock and since Allan Holdsworth has been in several prog outfits, I consider this progressive rock.
Asia - Asia Review by Gary Hill When this group rose from the ashes of a dying Yes it seemed like a dream come true for progressive rock fans. Take two parts Yes (OK – one and a half maybe since Geoff Downes was only on one Yes album) in the persons of Geoff Downes and Steve Howe, one third of Emerson Lake and Palmer (Carl Palmer) and add in John Wetton (King Crimson, UK) and make a band.
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Asia - Astra Review by Gary Hill This album has all of the original lineup of Asia except Steve Howe. The music, however, is much different than what we heard on their debut disc.
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Various Artists - Back Against the Wall Review by Gary Hill There are few people who haven't at least heard of Pink Floyd's The Wall. I would hazard to say that those who have never heard the album are in the minority as well.
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King Crimson - Beat Review by Gary Hill Of the trio of studio albums originally released by this version of King Crimson, this was the middle child. It was also a little less adventurous than either of the other two.
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Bill Bruford's Earthworks - Bill Bruford's Earthworks Review by Gary Hill The first disc by Bill Bruford's Earthworks project, this one might be a bit different for fans of his prog rock works, but it is also very solid. Bruford had always had strong jazz leanings, and made that quite clear over the years.
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Bozzio, Levin, Stevens - Black Light Syndrome Review by Gary Hill This album by Terry Bozzio, Tony Levin and Steve Stevens is a very wonderful work. Combining elements of Red era King Crimson, jazz, and other sources,the musicianship is impeccable.
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K2 - Book of the Dead Review by Josh Turner With an Egyptian on the cover, you'd expect something from The Bangles. However, this is much more progressive in nature.
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Billy Sheehan - Compression Review by Gary Hill Billy Sheehan is a bass legend, and, of course the bass work on this disc is very very good. Interestingly enough, so is the guitar, drums and vocal work. Even more interesting about that is the fact that Sheehan is responsible for the majority of that as well.
King Crimson - Discipline Review by Steve Alspach These were interesting times for Robert Fripp, ye olde scholastic of the progressive rock scene. In 1978 he had released Exposure, an album that he described as "A Day in the Life" for that period.
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Various Artists - Drum Nation Vol. 2 Review by Gary Hill The concept is simple but unique: put together a number of tracks from various artists showcasing influential and potent drummers. This was the concept for Magna Carta's first drum nation CD, and they continue it here - why mess up a good thing?
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Various Artists - Encores, Legends and Paradoxes Review by Gary Hill With a cast of players that reads like a prog "who`s who", this ELP tribute takes the classics and makes them fresh and new again. The result is an incredibly listenable piece of music that really entertains.
King Crimson - Eyes Wide Open DVD Review by Bill Knispel Following two plus years as a “double trio,” and nearly two years of fractionalization through a series of ProjeKCts, King Crimson returned to active duty in 2000 as a streamlined quartet with the album TheConstruKCtion of Light. A second album in this newer “double duo” format titled The Power to Believe, followed in 2003.
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Asia - Fantasia – Live In Tokyo Review by Gary Hill Yes fanatic and general prog head that I’ve always been, when Asia released their debut disc, I was all over it. They were the progressive rock supergroup of the time and they delivered with a killer disc.
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Asia - Fantasia - Live in Tokyo DVD Review by Gary Hill Asia fans rejoice, the reunion tour is now presented in DVD. I covered the CD release in detail, so you might want to check that out for the specifics about the music. Let’s just say that we get treated to a killer performance of Asia classics, King Crimson, ELP and Yes songs.
King Crimson - In the Court of King Crimson written by Sid Smith Review by Steve Alspach Few bands in progressive rock have a more colorful past than King Crimson. As Sid Smith says in the preface, the history of King Crimson is the "triumph of spirit over adversity. And sometimes the triumph of adversity."
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Moraz / Bruford - In Tokyo Review by Gary Hill This live recording of Moraz and Bruford dates to 1985 and it finds both musicians in top form. More...
Bruford and Borstlap - In Two Minds Review by Gary Hill This collaboration between drum and percussion legend Bill Bruford (Yes, King Crimson) and piano player Michiel Borstlap presents some intriguing jazz that seems to strive to exist without borders or preconceptions.
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The Lonely Bears - Injustice Review by Gary Hill The personnel on this album are Tony Hymas (Jeff Beck, Jack Bruce, Ian Anderson), Terry Bozzio (Bozzio, Levin, Stevens; Frank Zappa; UK), Hugh Burns (Gerry Rafferty, Steelers Wheel), and Tony Coe (Spencer Davis, Henry Mancini, Caravan).
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King Crimson - Neal and Jack and Me DVD Review by Bill Knispel King Crimson’s ‘return to the throne’ in the 1980’s must have been viewed with a degree of skepticism. The band made a name for themselves in the 1970’s with their dark blend of symphonic grandeur and intense heaviness, mixed with an improvisational spirit that would drive them to push every song and performance into parts unknown.
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Terry Bozzio & Billy Sheehan - Nine Short Films Review by Gary Hill Terry Bozzio wrote the lyrics to this and provides all the percussion and keyboard textures. The majority of the guitar sounds on this CD are not truly guitar but keys that sound like guitar provided by Bozzio.
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Originally released in 1996, I’m putting this under progressive rock because Holdsworth has been in prog bands (most notably UK) and because we often land fusion under that heading.
Now this is more like it!I enjoyed the Payne fronted version of Asia also but if you are a purist, then Omega will certainly satisfy those cravings for original Asia material.
Wetton Manzanera - One World Review by Gary Hill In the late 1980’s two prog rock greats in the personage of John Wetton and Phil Manzanera recorded this disc. Let’s make one point clear here. This is included in the prog section based on who these guys are (and what the rest of their catalog is like).
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Asia - Phoenix Review by Gary Hill Unless you’ve been living in the proverbial cave for the last few years you probably know that the original lineup of Asia (Geoff Downes, Steve Howe, Carl Palmer and John Wetton has reunited). This is their first studio CD of the 21st Century.
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Terry Bozzio - Prime Cuts Review by Gary Hill This disc by drum great Terry Bozzio is by definition a compilation album. Still it does include two previously unreleased numbers, one of which was recorded specifically for this CD.
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Billy Sheehan - Prime Cuts Review by Steve Alspach Ever play a bass guitar? "Strings" are a misnomer - they use great big, fat, wires. You have to work up some muscle in your fingers to aptly play a bass.
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Explorer's Club - Raising the Mammoth Review by Gary Hill Explorer's Club is in session once again. This time Trent Gardner has assembled a different group of musicians that includes drummer Terry Bozzio (UK, Frank Zappa, Bozzio Levin Stevens), bassist John Myung (Liquid Tension Experiment, Platypus, Dream Theater), Kerry Livgren (guitarist for Kansas), Gary Wehrkamp (Shadow Gallery) and keyboardist Mark Robertson (Cairo).
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Yes - Re (Union) Review by Gary Hill When Yes released Union it was a hodgepodge sort of album. More...
King Crimson - Red Review by Gary Hill For my money, Red is King Crimson's most consistent and powerful album. The disc combines the hard edged sound that I think works the best for Crimson with both highly accessible and very creative song writing to produce an album that holds up exceptionally well.
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For me Red has always been King Crimson’s ultimate album. I know, there are those who will point to Larks’ Tongues…, but personally I think this one is more cohesive and to the point.
Bruford - Rock Goes To College Review by Gary Hill Bruford’s original lineup only played two shows, both television appearances. The second of those is the recording released here. Bill Bruford is joined here, as on the two studio albums that original presented the material they perform, by keyboardist Dave Steward, guitar god Allan Holdsworth and bassist Jeff Berlin.
Frank Zappa - Sheik Yerbouti Review by Gary Hill Outside of Zappa fandom the big claim to fame of this CD (other than the controversy which we’ll get to shortly) was the song “Dancing Fool.”
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Bozzio, Levin, Stevens - Situation Dangerous Review by Steve Alspach Red-era King Crimson's may claim to being the best guitar-bass-drums setup in progressive rock, but Terry Bozzio, Tony Levin, and Steve Stevens are more than willing to challenge that assumption with their latest work, "Situation Dangerous". The album shows three musicians at the top of their games.
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I am a big fan of pretty much anything Billy Sherwood is involved with and I love Supertramp, so when I heard Sherwood was in charge of assembling an all star tribute to Supertramp, I was excited.
I am a big fan of pretty much anything Billy Sherwood is involved with and I love Supertramp, so when I heard Sherwood was in charge of assembling an all star tribute to Supertramp, I was excited.
Vapourspace - Sonic Residue from Vapourspace Review by Steve Alspach Here's an interesting concept - take songs from various releases from a progressive rock record label and let the music be transformed by a techno mix until it's nearly unrecognizable from the original source.
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December People - Sounds Like Christmas Review by Gary Hill To get you in the spirit of the holiday, The December People have released a fresh collection of progressive rock takes on Christmas music. Feeling out of sorts for not knowing who the December People are?
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King Crimson - Starless and Bible Black Review by Gary Hill King Crimson have always been one of the most creative and innovative bands out there. When you expect them to jab they dodge and when you think they are going to dodge you’d better duck.
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The Lonely Bears - The Bears are Running Review by Gary Hill A new release in that it is only now being released in the US, this album has been available in Europe for quite some time. The Lonely Bears catalog is just now being released in America on the Magna Carta label.
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The Lonely Bears - The Best of the Lonely Bears Review by Gary Hill The personnel on this album are Tony Hymas (Jeff Beck, Jack Bruce, Ian Anderson), Terry Bozzio (Bozzio, Levin, Stevens; Frank Zappa; UK), Hugh Burns (Gerry Rafferty, Steelers Wheel), and Tony Coe (Spencer Davis, Henry Mancini, Caravan). T
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Various Artists - The Drum Pad's 20th Anniversary Show Review by Gary Hill Drummers and drum fans unite and purchase this DVD! It features a number of world class drummers and you just don't get any better than this if your musical passion is geared towards percussion.
The Lonely Bears - The Lonely Bears Review by Gary Hill Featuring modes that are both prog and traditional jazz, this is a strong CD by a talented bunch of musicians. The melody seems to be a very important part of the music on this album.
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King Crimson - Three Of A Perfect Pair Review by Gary Hill When King Crimson reformed in the 1980’s to create the Discipline album the sound they presented was quite different from the classic Crimson of the 1970’s. While I liked all of the discs from this Belew, Bruford, Fripp and Levin lineup, I still preferred the “old school” stuff.
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Various Artists - To Cry You A Song: A Collection of Tull Tales Review by Gary Hill One of the first tribute albums ever done by Magna Carta, this one includes some intriguing arrangements of Jethro Tull songs. There are some definite winners here (witness Aqualung, To Cry You a Song, and Locomotive Breath) and no real losers.
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Steve Hackett - Tokyo Tapes Review by Steve Alspach 1999 was a busy year for Steve Hackett. He saw the Original Masters releases of "Guitar Noir," "There Are Many Sides to the Night," and this CD, a 2 disc set recorded from a 1996 concert in Tokyo.
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Peter Banks - Two Sides of Peter Banks Review by Steve Alspach The initial string-slinger in Yes, Peter Banks appears to have been overlooked in progressive rock annals in favor of his successor, but his work in Flash has stood up quite well to the years. On this album, Peter assembles an extremely strong group of progressive rock musicians, and the CD explores a wide range of musical styles.
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King Crimson - USA Review by Steve Alspach Robert Fripp's decision to knock King Crimson on the head may have been a shock to some, but it seemed like the right thing to do at that time.
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Bill Bruford's Earthworks - Video Anthology 2 - 1990's DVD Review by Gary Hill Those expecting to find Yes or King Crimson amidst this DVD will come away with out completing their quest. On the other hand, those looking for some stellar jazz performed by an incredible group of musicians will be rewarded with a great piece of music and video entertainment.
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Steve Hackett - Watcher of the Skies Review by Gary Hill Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett has assembled a wide variety of musicians to rework many classic Genesis songs. The end result is quite interesting.
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Tony Levin - World Diary Review by Gary Hill Featuring a large number of diverse musicians, this album is a considerably varied work. Released in 1995, jazz, art rock, and world textures dominate in this unique and intriguing CD, Tony Levin`s first solo album and the first release on his Papa Bear label.
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Yes - Yes (Expanded and Remastered) Review by Gary Hill One of the releases in the series of discs that showcase remastered Yes albums with additional material added, this one focuses on the first album.
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Frank Zappa - Zappa In New York Review by Bill Knispel The separation between live album and studio album has always been a fuzzy one when it comes to Frank Zappa. As so many of his “studio” albums were created through the use of individual instrumental tracks (or wholesale lifting of full band tracks) from live performance, it’s often difficult to tell on LP what was recorded in thew studio and what was recorded live.
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