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. The other negative is that you could wind up getting a lot of the same thing. So, imagine my fear in listening to a sampler of prog music. Most songs are so long, I couldn’t imagine how you could fits more than 5 songs on one CD unless you made K-Tel versions of them. Luckily, I have not heard any of the artists on this sampler. I have heard of a few of them but never heard any of their music. Aside from one radio edit and a few live tracks, all the songs are full versions. While I did not like every track on offer here, it was a great introduction for artists like Erik Norlander and Orphan Project. This is a cheap way of getting some insight to what some of these lesser known bands are all about. If you’re like me, and you don’t follow these lesser know prog bands, this is the perfect way to get introduced to some great music without having to fork out $15 for a CD you don’t like. You can get the CD here.

This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2006 Volume 5 at lulu.com/strangesound.