Trevor Rabin’s first solo album (after leaving Rabbit and well before joining Yes), this is really (with one or two exceptions) not a progressive rock album.
Rag I Ryggen - Rag I Ryggen Review by Gary Hill If you like Vanilla Fudge, you will probably like this disc. It's the only album ever released by this Swedish band. More
Rama - Andy West With Rama-Rama 1 Review by Gary Hill For this album Andy West (Dregs) has compiled an intriguing bunch of musicians who join him at various points on the recording. Among those he has a cast of drummers composed of Rod Morgenstein (Dregs), Jonathan Mover (GTR) and Mike Portnoy (Dream Theater). More
Random Touch - Duologue Review by Gary Hill This is not my normal type of music. This freeform RIO type of stuff often turns me off. There are moments on this disc where I feel that way, but much of this works quite well. More
Rare Blend - Stops Along The Way Review by Gary Hill Fans of jam bands and fusion jazz stylings will find plenty to like on this album. I’ve included it in the progressive rock section because there is enough rock here amongst the jazz-like arrangements to quality it there, but it is quite close to the jazz genre.
More
Rare Blend - Sessions Review by Gary Hill I really liked Rare Blend’s last disc, Stops Along the Way a lot, so this one had a lot to live up to. More
The Red Masque - Feathers For Flesh Review by Bill Knispel The Red Masque is an avant progressive band from the Philadelphia PA area. The quartet lists bands such as Bauhaus, Van der Graaf Generator, Gong and King Crimson, among others, as influences, and those bands can certainly be heard in The Red Masque’s music as direct ancestors.
More
The past two years have been a real step into the unknown for former Pallas frontman Alan Reed who parted company from the band nearly three years ago in acrimonious fashion.
Refugee - Live in Concert: Newcastle City Hall 1974 Review by Gary Hill This was originally a bootleg. With the wizardry of modern recording the sound quality of this has been taken from poor to adequate – or perhaps a bit better.
More
Renaissance - Novella Review by Steve Alspach Renaissance was a unique band, blending a rare combination of acoustic rock and classical music into a never-duplicated result. Like many others, I was a Renaissance fan in the 70s.
More
Renaissance - Renaissance Review by Steve Alspach Funny outfit, the Yardbirds. In their early days they were a blues-based band, and their renditions of old standards as "I'm a Man" and "Smokestack Lightning" were something to reckon. But they also knew the zeitgeist of the 1960s, delving into such psychedelia as "Shapes of Things" and "Happenings Ten Years Time Ago" before finally packing it in around 1968. More
Renaissance - Scheherazade and Other Stories Review by Gary Hill Renaissance is a band that I never really followed closely, but always really enjoyed. In many ways I've always felt that they are a lot like Yes, but rather than focusing on the harder rocking styles, they were more interested in acoustic and organic sounds. More
The Residents - Present The Bunny Boy Review by Gary Hill I know a lot of people are probably going to quibble with my putting The Residents in under progressive rock. I have to say their form of weirdness really isn’t far from RIO (Rock In Opposition). More
Return To Forever - Returns Review by Gary Hill When you’ve got a bunch of musicians this talented, what can you really say?
More
Ritual - The Hemulic Voluntary Band Review by Gary Hill Wondering at the title to this disc, I did a search for the word “hemulic” and came up empty handed. So, while once can certainly imagine conceptual links to Sgt. Peppers, I can’t tell you what the meaning of the title is.
More
Riverside - Rapid Eye Movement Review by Bill Knispel Poland’s Riverside are slowly, but surely, growing a larger, more diverse fan base around them. Moving from indie label Laser’s Edge Records (home of their first release) to larger label InsideOut, the band has found success opening for bands such as Dream Theater in Europe, while headlining their own shows simultaneously. More
Riverside - Voices In My Head Review by Josh Turner When I first heard this album, many of the Progressive P's came to mind. This would include Porcupine Tree, Pineapple Thief, Paatos, Pain of Salvation, and of course, Pink Floyd. More
The Road - Drift Review by Gary Hill This road is a divided one. At times the vocal arrangements on this disc are top notch, but throughout a lot of the album either due to the performance or the production (and it varies from time to time) they are lacking.
More
The Road - Monomyth Review by Mark Johnson This New York/Boston based band has written an epic story set to music involving a protagonist, Virgil, and his journey to rediscover his purpose in life. More
Rocket Scientists - Oblivion Days Review by Gary Hill This is a very good album, no question about it. The disc covers a lot of musical territory and has a great prog sensibility. More
Rocket Scientists - Revolution Road Review by Lorraine Kay Revolution Road – a double CD – was released in September in Japan on the Avalon label and worldwide in November 2006 through Think Tank Media and ProgRock Records. It is the fourth studio album by American prog rock monsters Rocket Scientists. More
Rocket4357 Project - Flower Pot Hat Review by Gary Hill This disc is a strong debut entry from The Rocket4357 Project. In many ways it is a competent pop/rock album, but even in that mode, the prog influences show through.
More
Romislokus - Vinyl Spring Digital Autumn Review by Gary Hill Break out the Borsht and pour the vodka, Russian prog has come to the music scene. Romislokus is a project based in Moscow and their album was recently released. More
Anton Roolaart - Dreamer Review by Rick Damigella Connoisseurs of progressive rock have a debut disc from an amazing player to look forward to in April. Netherland’s born Anton Roolaart’s debut disc, Dreamer, should be occupying space on your iPod or in your CD tray for many months to come. More
Rosemary - The Fabulous Life Of... EP Review by Gary Hill I was going to review this CD a while ago and had it in the progressive rock section. After a more thoroughly listening I decided that it didn’t fit and I didn’t get a chance to review it that issue. More
Uli Jon Roth - Under A Dark Sky Review by Gary Hill I have always preferred the Uli Jon Roth period of Scorpions music to the stuff they put out afterwards. For those who don’t remember, Roth supplied the guitar (and a lot of the songwriting) to the early period of that band. More
Andrew Roussak - No Trespassing Review by Tim Jones Andrew Roussak's music is a mixture of many genres: progressive rock, pop, classical, jazz. His main influences are ELP and classical music.
More
Royal Hunt - Paradox Review by Gary Hill Although Royal Hunt are certainly no strangers to the international music scene (they are quite popular in many countries, and this is their 5th album), they are, thus far, fairly unheard of in the United States. More
RPWL - The RPWL Experience Review by Gary Hill The latest CD from RPWL is entitled, “The RPWL Experience.” The music on the disc seems to go a long way towards living up to that title. More
RPWL - Stock Review by Gary Hill RPWL have created quite an interesting beast with this one. They have found a way to combine early prog stylings of bands like Pink Floyd and Genesis with a modern Europop texture and come up with a highly listenable CD. More
RPWL - World Through My Eyes Review by Josh Turner The new album from RPWL arrived on my doorstep at the exact same time as a much anticipated copy of Spock's Beard's latest. I hadn't even realized RPWL was working on a new release. More
Jordan Rudess - Prime Cuts Review by Josh Turner Jordan Rudess is "technically" the best keyboardist in the business. When you limit this contest to progressive rock, it's a no-brainer. More
Jordan Rudess - Rhythm of Time Review by Josh Turner Jordan Rudess is a virtual virtuoso. His must be an android based on the way that he plays. More
This solo release by keyboard wizard Jordan Rudess covers a lot of musical territory, ranging from hard edged prog and neo-classical to classic era jazz and fusion. The result is quite an entertaining work.
Jordan Rudess - 4NYC Review by Gary Hill Jordan Rudess writes in the liner notes to this CD that the concert from which much of the material on this disc is from was set to raise money for the Red Cross in the wake of September 11th, 2001. More
Todd Rundgren - Todd Rundgren's Utopia Review by Steve Alspach Okay, so you're Todd Rundgren. You've just released the two-record "Something/Anything" album that included some classic pop songs like "Hello, It's Me" and "I Saw the Light." More
Rush - Snakes & Arrows Review by Rick Damigella Legendary Canadian prog rockers Rush are back with their first new album of original material in five years with the release of Snakes & Arrows. Let’s face it, hardcore Rush fans are some of the most loyal fans out there.
More
Rush - Rush Review by Greg Olma With the release of the new Rush studio album (reviewed in this issue also), I thought it would be a good time to revisit the past and give a listen to where it all began. 1974 saw the first output from Rush and no one could have predicted that 33 years later, they would not only be releasing new music but they would also be an international success.
More
Rush - Moving Pictures Review by Greg Olma This is where Rush became a household (albeit a rock household) name. At this point, the band were also leaving their prog fan base scratching their heads wondering if Rush had finally sold out to the American dollar.
More
Rush - Signals Review by Greg Olma If you want to set a “ground zero” for when Rush lost their prog sound, then 1982’s Signals was the album. The band had been slowly moving towards more concise and basic song structures starting with Permanent Waves but they still threw in a couple of tunes that would give a nod to their older prog fanbase.
More
Rush - Feedback EP Review by Gary Hill In the liner notes on this EP, Neil Peart explains "It was April of 2004, but Geddy, Alex, and I were channeling back to 1966 and 1967, when we were thirteen- and fourteen-year-old beginners. More
Rush - Fly By Night Review by Gary Hill To quote the disc’s closer, “I know, I know, I know” that many of you don’t consider Rush to be a progressive rock band. That said, we have always included them under that heading due to the strength of their more prog period (Caress of Steel, 2112, A Farewell To Kings and Hemispheres). More
Rush - Caress of Steel Review by Gary Hill Caress of Steel was sort of a crossroads for Rush, taking them from their more metal beginnings into the progressive directions that would characterize the next phase of their career. Much of this album is quite metallic, but with many strong prog leanings. More
Rush - 2112 Review by Gary Hill Where Rush's previous album, Caress of Steel first showed prog tendencies (arguably Fly By Night's Bytor and the Snow Dog was the first such hint) it leaned more to extremely progressive metal. This album is probably the one where they reversed that label to become metallic progressive rock. More
Rush - A Farewell To Kings Review by Mike Korn It was 23 years ago when I first heard this album in its entirety. And now, many years and many journeys (musical and otherwise) later, it is still one of my most prized possessions. More
Rush - Hemispheres Review by Gary Hill While Rush started almost as a Canadian Led Zeppelin, as they moved forward they became more and more of a progressive rock band with each album. While the brilliant A Farewell To Kings certainly cemented them into that title (arguably 2112 or Caress of Steel got them there) with Hemisphere's their prog rock explorations undoubtedly reached their pinacle. More
Rush - Permanent Waves Review by Greg Olma Back in 1980, Rush was at a crossroads. Having done the concept prog thing to the limit with Hemispheres, Alex, Geddy, and Neil needed to either stay the course or move in a different direction. More
Rush - Hold Your Fire Review by Greg Olma I am always afraid when I read quotes that say, "we are going back to our roots" and "it will be a back to basics record." More often then not, the artist will be wearing egg on their face once the album comes out. More
Rush - Roll The Bones Review by Gary Hill While I would consider almost any Rush album to be great for one reason or another, this one really showed off its best qualities in relation to the discs that came before it. I remember thinking that this one, with it’s harder edged texture, was a step back in the right direction for the guys. More
Rush - Different Stages Review by Gary Hill Due to several personal tragedies in drummer Neil Peart`s life, Rush is currently on hiatus, and their future is uncertain. This album, chronicling the Test For Echo tour (primarily), could well be the band`s last effort.
Rush - Vapor Trails Review by Steve Alspach After a five-year hiatus, the Grand ol' Men of power trios return with their nineteenth studio album. And if you think that the layoff made them rusty, rest assured that Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, and Neil Peart have not lost a bit of their chops. More
Rush - Test For Echo Review by Gary Hill I remember when this CD came out I, as one of the old-school Rush fans, was so hungry for a sign that they may be ready to re-enter the days of epics and such, thought that I heard elements of the proggier period of the band everywhere on this album. More
Rush - All The World’s A Stage Review by Gary Hill OK, so a lot of this CD isn’t really progressive rock. The truth is, though, we always put Rush under prog rock based on the strength of their decidedly prog rock period of several albums. More
Rush - Exit Stage Left Review by Gary Hill One occurrence can not be a trend, so this CD was the one that established Rush’ pattern of four studio albums followed by a live album. More
Rush - Grace Under Pressure Review by Gary Hill I make no excuses. I prefer the more progressive rock oriented period of Rush over the shorter songs that have made up most of the modern era of the band. More
Rush - Counterparts Review by Gary Hill My favorite period of Rush’ history has always been the section of studio albums ranging from Caress of Steel to Hemispheres. Beyond that set of discs their sound moved more towards accessible shorter tracks. More
This live release continued Rush’ trend of four studio sets followed by a live album. It features music that’s from a period that isn’t my favorite from the band.
Rush - Power Windows Review by Greg Olma I have always coupled Power Windows together with Hold Your Fire as the two records that defined the Rush ‘80s sound.
More
Rush - Rush In Rio Review by Greg Olma It was only a matter of time before Rush would make their way to South America, specifically Rio.
More
Rush - Snakes & Arrows Live Review by Greg Olma I knew this was going to happen and I could almost see the trend happening.
More
While progressive rock might not be the most obvious heading for this, I think it fits. The one central factor to this set is smoking hot bass guitar work.
Ruthless Orfanz - Examish Review by Gary Hill Let’s make this point perfectly clear – progressive rock purists will hate this. They will consider it to have nothing prog about it. More
