Steve Vai - Real Illusions: Reflections Review by Gary Hill It seems Zappa alumni's make some of the most inspired and creative musicians. I suppose that makes sense consider the degree of talent necessary to get into that outfit. More
Van der Graaf Generator - Pawn Hearts Review by Bill Knispel Pawn Hearts, the fourth album by the first incarnation of the seminal British progressive band Van der Graaf Generator, is the fullest distillation of the band’s multiple talents. More
Van der Graaf Generator - 1 Prophesy Disaster Review by Bruce Stringer With a title taken from the epic “A Plague Of Lighthouse Keepers,” this compilation was obviously the product of some well researched members of Virgin Records back in the early 1990s. More
Van der Graaf Generator - Still Life Review by Steve Alspach "At the time it seemed a reasonable course to harness all the force of life without the threat of death, but soon we found that boredom and inertia are not negatives but all the law we know, and dead are will and words like survival."
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Van der Graaf Generator - Vital Live Review by Bruce Stringer With the recording of this live performance in the care of drummer extraordinaire, Guy Evans, this incarnation of Van der Graaf Generator, as always, speaks volumes in it's work. With his ear, that of a seasoned engineer, the mix is bass-end heavy and has the dynamic control of expansive tension rarely heard on live recordings. More
Vanden Plas - Far Off Grace Review by Gary Hill Although this band is heavily influenced by Dream Theater, they are definitely not a clone, as they do have their own sound.
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Vanilla Fudge - Then And Now Review by Gary Hill No one can fault the musical performances on this one. Vanilla Fudge has always been an incredible band capable of creating and producing incredibly complex and powerful arrangements, and this album is no exception to that rule. No, the real problem here comes in the form of repetition. More
Vanilla Fudge - Vanilla Fudge Review by Gary Hill The Fudge is back! I'm sure we can all sit around and debate for ever if they are truly prog or not, but the truth of the matter is, even if they weren't early prog, and I am not sure the answer to that, they influenced so much prog that they have earned an honorary mention. More
Vanilla Fudge - The Beat Goes On Review by Steve Alspach One criticism of progressive music is that it takes itself too seriously. This album is the poster child for that argument. More
Vanilla Fudge - Renaissance Review by Gary Hill Vanilla Fudge may not be progressive rock, or they might. Either way they have seriously influenced and impacted prog rock from the beginnings and I've always included them there. More
Vanishing Point - The Fourth Season Review by Gary Hill I’m not sure why, but I set this disc aside for a while. I remember thinking that it was fairly generic epic metal. More
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. More
Variant - Beyond Jargon Review by Gary Hill This disc isn’t for everyone. Certainly those who prefer their progressive rock in the traditional old-school format will not get this.
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Various Artists - Working Man Review by Gary Hill One of the early Magna Carta tribute CD's, this one is definitely not one of their finest. It does have some strong points, though, and the main area in which it is lacking is vocals. More
Various Artists - Subdivisions - A Tribute To Rush Review by Gary Hill Subdivisions is a new Tribute album devoted to the music of Rush from Magna Carta Records. Those paying close attention and with a good memory, may be saying now; "didn't they do one before?" More
Various Artists - Magna Carta Guitar Greats – Volume I Review by Gary Hill These Magna Carta sampler discs serve as a great way for people to sample a number of their releases without having to shell out the cash for each and every one of them. I'd have to say that as these things go, this is one of the better ones – and they are all quite good.
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Various Artists - CPR Volume 3 Review by Gary Hill “CPR” stands for Christian Progressive Rock and that’s precisely what we get here (well, I’d argue that one of the tracks is actually metal, but that’s just me). More
Various Artists - AMY-Cyberian Khatru Review by Gary Hill Out in cyberland there lives a news group called "alt.music.yes". It is one of the oldest of its kind, and one of the most lively. It is known to its members as "AMY". More
Various Artists - A Tribute To Captain Beyond - Thousand Days of Yesterday Review by Gary Hill These kinds of tribute albums are always mixed bags, with some material coming across very strong and others not working very well. This one is no exception, but in many ways it is one of the most consistent you'll find. More
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. More
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.
Various Artists - Kinections: The ProgDay Support CD Review by Josh Turner There are two great things about this release. First off, it's for a charitable cause. Second, it is truly great music. Lew Fisher (on behalf of the ProgDay foundation) is the mastermind behind this project. More
Various Artists - Leonardo The Absolute Man Review by Gary Hill This is a rock opera based on the life of Leonardo da Vinci. Although this album says "original cast recording" and I have (as does Magna Carta on their website) listed it here as by "Various Artists", it is probably closer to the truth to say that it is by Trent Gardner and friends. More
Various Artists - Modern Drummer Presents Drum Nation Volume One Review by Steve Alspach If you want to know what the state of drumming is circa 2004, you would do well to check this CD out. These drummers are all at the top of the game, and the CD explores a rather wide range of styles and moods. More
Various Artists - The Moon Revisited Review by Gary Hill Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon was more than likely not only the best selling prog album of all time, but definitely the album, of all albums (not just prog) to stay on the charts the longest. From that point of view this tribute disc makes sense. More
This album is a compilation of various progressive rock performances that were presented on the King Biscuit Flower Hour radio show. All of the outings are quite good, and the selection of artists is also.
Various Artists - Steinway To Heaven Review by Gary Hill It seems like a rather novel, but still somewhat obvious concept. Take various keyboardists, mostly from the world of progressive rock and have them record various classical piano pieces. More
Various Artists - Supper`s Ready Review by Gary Hill A tribute album devoted to the music of Genesis, Supper`s Ready is a strong work. The renditions here stay more true to the original performances than on some similar albums, but this does not take away from the relevance of the CD. More
Various Artists - Tales From Yesterday Review by Gary Hill A tribute to the music of Yes, Tales From Yesterday, features some very fine renditions of Yessongs performed by a variety of artists (including several past and present members of Yes). This is a mixed bag. Some of the tracks are quite faithful to the original, while others represent major reworkings. More
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. More
Various Artists - Got Prog? - Sampler 1 Review by Greg Olma Sampler compilations are always sketchy endeavors. I for one would not want to compile one myself. My tastes are far too wide and I would be thinking of what I like and not what I thought fits best. More
This is a split release from both Volcano the Bear and La STPO. Both groups create a seriously odd form of prog rock that fits well within the Rock In Opposition movement.
Dreampop and shoegaze might not be what people think of traditionally as progressive rock, but really, isn’t a lot of very close to what bands like Porcupine Tree do?
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.
Jaimie Vernon - Time Enough At Last Review by Gary Hill All right, I know right off the bat this disc really isn’t progressive rock. A few songs here are, though. And when you add in the fact that Vernon has been involved with Klaatu (who I consider prog) it’s a stretch, but I’ll take it.
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Viima - Ajatuksia Maailman Laidalta Review by Gary Hill I don't know what they put in the water in the Scandinavian countries, but the musicians in that region seem to have a way with classic progressive rock. In the case of Viima we get that sound with lots of Renaissance thrown into the mix. More
Villebråd - Alla är här utom jag Review by Gary Hill Another Swedish prog band, these guys seem less enamored with the older prog than some of their label-mates. Don’t get me wrong, they do lean on older sounds, but if I had to pick a group they sound most like it would be Radiohead, but that comparison only applies to parts of the disc.
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Vinyl Soup - Chasing Yesterday Review by Gary Hill Vinyl Soup is another of a growing list of bands that incorporate jam band stylings into their music, but the influences definitely don't stop there. While the overall texture is prog (leaning at various times of Pink Floyd, King Crimson and Frank Zappa), they also manage to show their interest in funk, jazz, The Grateful Dead and even Caribbean sounds. More
Visa - De Facto Review by Rick Damigella When a band combines elements of traditional world music in a modern music setting it can often produce magical results. Such is the case with the band Visa, a group of nine musicians from Los Angeles on their second album De Facto.
Mike Vissagio - Starship Universe Review by Gary Hill For those who like their music with Christian themes, you should definitely check this out. All too often it seems that “Christian” music is all about the “ministry” and they forget the music. Well, this album definitely does not suffer from that problem.
Von Garcia - I Think a Think Review by Gary Hill These guys are an intriguing outfit. There music seems to skirt the boundaries between space rock, Pink Floydian textures, jazz and jam band music. More
A compilation of live performances from 1983, this disc is a great prog jam type of album with definite King Crimson leanings. It is also very jazz oriented, and has some considerably strong material on it.
