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Progressive Rock CD Reviews

Brian Auger & Julie Tippetts Encore Review by Gary Hill This album, from 1978, found former collaborators Brian Auger and Julie Tippets (formerly Driscoll) working together again. They are both associated with progressive rock, so this would have landed under that heading pretty much either way. However, there is enough fusion here, that I would have made the argument to put it there. Whatever you call this, though, it's a compelling and powerful album. This new edition sounds great and has a nice booklet included with the digipack. This review is available in book (paperback and hardcover) form in Music Street Journal: 2023 Volume 4 More information and purchase links can be found at: garyhillauthor.com/Music-Street-Journal-2023.

Track by Track Review

Spirit A song written by Al Jarreau, this has plenty of funk, soul, classic rock and more in the mix. I really dig the instrumental break mid-track. This whole song just oozes cool.

Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood This classic tune gets a killer rendition here. This has blues, jazz and more in the mix.

Git Up Much funkier and more pure jazz-oriented, as good as the first two songs were, this ups the ante.

Freedom Highway I dig the funky, soulful groove on this a lot. It's energized and so classy.

Future Pilot The organ soloing on this thing is so cool. The track is another fusion-styled number.

Rope Ladder To The Moon While heavily jazz-based, there are more prog vibes on this. I really love some of the artsier aspects of this song.

No Time To Live Here we get a cover of a Traffic tune. This is on the mellower side. It has both rock and jazz at its core. There is a killer keyboard-dominated instrumental section late in the track that lands it closer to the prog part of the pool.

Nothing Will Be As It Was Auger handles the lead vocals on this track. It has a bouncy rock sound to it. This makes me think of Steely Dan to some degree, but it also has plenty of early progressive rock in the mix. The instrumental break really brings that home to roost. This classy piece has some intriguing twists and turns.

Lock All The Gates This is more of a ballad. It's a powerful and bluesy number. It gets intensified later along the road.

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