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Progressive Rock CD Reviews

Dewa Budjana

Tohpati, Adhitya Pratama, Demas Narawangsa - Janapati

Review by Gary Hill

I've reviewed works from a  couple of these guys in the past. Generally the music lands in the vein of fusion. This particular set has a lot more classical music built into it, but still has some of the other element. The one thing you can always count on with these guys, though, is quality. This has plenty of that particular commodity. One thing about Dewa Budjana is that he keeps doing these groupings and releasing them under the names of all the musicians. Well, the print edition of MSJ doesn't have to do artist listings from issue to issue, so it works fine for that. In the case of the online edition, it would get to be too cumbersome to have individual artist listings for each of these variants. So, online version is just under his name with the rest of them listed as part of the title. It's a necessary compromise for the internet version, and another reason that the print edition is the definitive one.

This review is available in book (paperback and hardcover) in Music Street Journal: 2020  Volume 1. More information and purchase links can be found at: garyhillauthor.com/Music-Street-Journal-2020.

Track by Track Review
Janapati
There is a killer soundtrack vibe to this cut. It has a lot of classical music in the mix along with that soundtrack thing. At least that's true of the introduction. After that works through, drums take control. Then the number shifts to a full on fusion jam. There is some powerful stuff built into this.
Rainy Days
A mellower cut, this has a real progressive rock ballad approach to it. In some ways it almost feels like a lost track from Yes' Magnification album. This is very intricate and involved. It's also particularly pretty.
Ratu Kanya
There is a lot of classical music built into this number. The intricate acoustic guitar work on this thing is so cool. This is a real piece of art and manages to convey a lot of feeling. It has a dynamic and growing arrangement, too.
Samudera Pasai
There is a bit more energy to this piece. It has a real folk music element along with a lot of classical texture. If anything, the guitar work on this is even more powerful and elegant than the stuff we've heard so far. That's really saying a lot.
D Romance
Symphonic prog is on the menu here. This is such a powerhouse piece of music.     It's a real highlight of the set.           
Bermain
Seeming to combine classical soundtrack music with prog and world music, this is another classy tune.
Duology
A big change, this fires in with a hard rocking sound and a lot of energy. There is a lot of rock and roll built into this thing, but turned toward prog and fusion zones. This piece has some smoking hot guitar work built into it.
Children Songs (Cicak Di Dinding Cipt. At Mahmud, Burung Kakatua & Kodok Ngorek: Indonesian Traditional Songs)
An energetic classical style of music brings this into being. The piece works through a number of variations and movements, as you would imagine of a medley.
Rahadi's
Another classy merging of progressive rock and soundtrack like classical music, this is a solid number.
Duology (Acoustic Version)
I really dig hearing this on acoustic guitar. The soloing shines like crazy in this more stripped back arrangement. It still has lots of energy and rocking groove. I think I might actually prefer this version.
 
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