26 April 2022: My Five Essential Progressive Rock Songs featuring Yes, Camel, Porcupine Tree, Jethro Tull, Genesis, and Pink Floyd

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ALSO:Tonight at 7:15 pm I'll play a track from Lobate Scarp's upcoming album You Have It All.

 This week is KMXT's Spring Membership Drive and members are sharing their My Five essential songs they can't live without.   I'll be playing My Five essential progressive rock songs; actually I'm gong to try to squeeze six songs in:

 

Yes - Heart of the Sunrise from the album Fragile

 

 

Camel -  Lady Fantasy from the album Mirage

 

 

Porcupine Tree - Anesthetize from the album Fear of a Blank Planet

 

 

 

Jethro Tull - Thick as a Brick (Side One) 

 

 

 

Genesis  - Horizons/Supper's Ready from the album Foxtrot

 

 

Pink Floyd - Echoes from the album Meddle

 

19 April 2022: Wara; Czar; Mario Lino Stancati

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From ProgArchives.com

Review #78

Studio Album, released in 1973

WARA was one of the first Progressive Rock bands that I've ever heard and for many years I didn't understand why it wasn't registered in ProgArchives; two months ago I made the recommendation and finally WARA was added and now I feel that it is my responsibility to write the first review of "El Inca (música progresiva boliviana)". There is not a big music scene in Bolivia; when we talk about Latin-American rock the major countries are always Mexico, Argentina, and Chile, then maybe Peru, Colombia, and even Venezuela but not Bolivia (that is not exclusively to Progressive Rock but to all kinds of Rock), well, take a look of this.

Before changing their style to a very folky Andean one, WARA recorded "El Inca (música progresiva boliviana)" which had more elements of Progressive and Hard Rock with bluesy riffs and nice bass and drums lines than their following albums. The lyrics of the album are in Spanish, so to me, it was easy to learn them since it is my mother tongue and as I said before: I've been listening to this album for a very long time.

The line-up of the band was a basic rock quintet: bass, guitar, keyboards, drums, and vocals (all of them making great performances on the album) but the collaboration with musicians who played more orchestral instruments such as violins, cellos, oboes, bassoons, and flutes gave the album a very homogeneous sound; the album reminds me a lot to DEEP PURPLE's first albums (the ones before GILLAN and GLOVER). My favorite track of the album is definitely "Canción para una niña triste" ("Song for a sad girl") because I find really relaxing to listen to such a soft delicate song right in between the other four more rocky ones.

As I said before: in the following albums of WARA their music turned to a much more folky and Andean kind of music but that doesn't suggest this album doesn't have folk elements, maybe they are very subtle, but there are; however, the hard bluesy symphonic rock is the main plate on this table. I would highly recommend this album to fans of Latin-American Prog Rock bands such as LOS JAIVAS, MAGMA (Argentina), CHAC MOOL, OS MUTANTES or ARCO IRIS, but also to fans of Hard Rock (Progressive or not) rock bands such as DEEP PURPLE, ATOMIC ROOSTER, URIAH HEEP or WISHBONE ASH.

This is an album that everyone could enjoy.

Uruk_hai | 4/5 | 2020-12-24

 

 

Review by Psychedelic Paul

CZAR had an all-too-brief reign in the prog kingdom as they only existed long enough to record one self-titled album in 1970. The London-based group were originally formed as a Pop group back in 1966 when they were known as Tuesday's Children. The band changed their name to Czar for this one-off moody Mellotron album. A 2007 CD remastered edition more than doubled the original seven songs on the album by adding eight bonus tracks. The silly album cover pictures a bear wearing a crown (presumably a Russian Tsarist bear) tearing into a picture of a startled-looking man. You can't judge an album by its cover though, so let's hope the music contained within is better than the bizarre Czar album cover.

The album opens with the proggy-titled song "Tread Softly on My Dreams", but there's no chance of falling asleep and dreaming your way through this stormy album opener. There's a dreamy Mellotron to be heard in the background, but right at the forefront is a powerful horn section, so we're in for a good solid dose of some mean and moody blues with a bold and brassy Jazz-Rock attitude. The music of Czar has the same pounding intensity as those other kings of prog, King Crimson, and this tremendous opening song has obvious parallels with "21st Century Schizoid Man". Both songs represent a dramatic and unforgettable storm and thunder entry into the wonderful world of Progressive Rock. Just when you thought it can't get any better, it does!! The second sensational song "Cecelia" is a Mellotron-drenched classic. This Symphonic Prog epic is guaranteed to send any self-respecting prog fan into paroxysms of ecstasy and delight. If music be the food of love, then this is delicious manna from heaven sent down to Earth from the Prog Gods above in all of their infinite glory and wisdom. Heavens above! How on Earth did Czar not come to rule over the prog kingdom, forever and ever, amen, instead of disappearing without trace after just one awesome album!?? Such are the vagaries of the music business, where incredible talent doesn't always guarantee enduring success. Oh well, back to the music at hand after that minor digression. The third song on what's turning out to be a pretty amazing album is "Follow Me". This is another exhilarating artillery barrage of pounding percussive energy that Czar have unleashed from their impressive arsenal. It's a sonic boom of invigorating keyboard-driven prog that barrels along relentlessly for three and a half incredible minutes. It's also a very commercially appealing tune with "Hit Song" written all over it and would have no doubt gone storming up the charts if the song had ever been released as a single. The wonderfully uplifting harmonies on this album deserve a mention too, because they quite simply have to be heard to be believed, as no words can possibly do justice to how magnificent they are.

With the dawning of Side Two comes "Dawning of a New Day", and what a day it's turning out to be! The mighty Czar rules again over the prog empire with another terrific song! The stupendous songs on this album are so outstanding that almost every sentence deserves an exclamation mark!! This is one of those sensational Prog-Rock songs that opens deceptively gently, but gradually builds up in intensity, emerging into a rousing and anthemic, full-blown symphonic epic that will send you up into prog heaven on a soaring crescendo of sound! Space: the final frontier! It's time to boldly go where no man has gone before, because Czar are ascending up into the heavens now with "Beyond the Moon". The marvellous long-lost legends of prog are taking us on a wondrous journey far beyond the dark side of the Moon and out into the realms of deep space for some stellar Prog-Rock that's quite literally out of this world. This dazzling song shines as brilliantly as an exploding supernova for a few brief awesome minutes. It's not just the fabulous music that's awe-inspiring though, the stellar lyrics are gloriously cosmic too:- "Under the stars that we have traveled afar, Without song in our eyes and the rain and the wind in our hair, Starry-eyed faces from deep in the nigh, Without food without thought without even a glimpse of a life." ..... It's prog, Jim, but not as we know it. Drifting gently back down to Earth now, we arrive just in time for "Today", a gorgeous symphony of sound floating on topographic oceanic waves of Mellotron-drenched melodic prog. This truly beautiful Mellotronic epic has all of the magnificent Moody Blues majesty and symphonic splendour of "Nights in White Satin". Yes, it really IS that good! After "Today" it's mostly autumn now for "A Day in September", a radiant song which is positively abounding with joy and optimistic hope for the future, so one presumes it's an indian summer on this particular day in September. This glorious closing number is like a brilliant burst of sunshine on what is an altogether stellar album of fantastic songs.

The Czars were once the awesome rulers of the mighty Russian empire up until the Russian Revolution in 1917, and the band Czar were the rulers of the once mighty kingdom of prog for their one brief shining moment in the spotlight in 1970, or at least, they should have been..... The history of prog is littered with unique one-off album treasures that have become lost in the mists of time, and Czar were to suffer the same fate as many short-lived one-album bands of the late 60's and early 70's era. Thanks to the modern wonder of the Internet though, the band Czar are set to rise again and take the prog kingdom by storm, hopefully. Czar is an absolute must-have album that's worthy of a hallowed place in every Prog-Rock collector's treasure chest. 

FreeForm Radio thanks Raffaele Pezzella (Sonologyst) for providing a promotional copy of this release.

Mario Lino Stancati’s second album for the Unexplained Sounds Group. His first album, “Cross The Desert,” was released in 2020. An innovator of sound textures, Stancati is a multifaceted musician. Explore the dark minimalism of “Vairagya,” along with bright openings and rhythmic progressions. Like faces of a prism, the refraction of the musician's intimate universe slowly leads us into the artist's subconscious, the den of aesthetic isolation, a poetic expression through the electronic flow of his subliminal creations, and an introduction to a new era of experimentation.

credits

released April 1, 2022

REVIEWS

Avant Music News
avantmusicnews.com/2022/04/14/amn-reviews-new-dark-ambient-for-spring-metatron-omega-mario-lino-stancati-tenhornedbeast/


Mario Lino Stancati (Italy, 1981) graduated in "Disciplines of the Arts, Music and Theater". He is an actor, director, playwright, poet, musician and composer. In 2007 he founded the theatre company "Hotel de la Béance"; in 2009 he wrote the novel-poem "Lo Mal d'Umore", while in 2010 the philosophical anthology "The thought and the voice of philosophers. From Kant to Heidegger" and in 2014 the poetical outline "In equilibrium on nothing", among other writings. Those works highly influenced his approach to the music, an approach unchained to any musical genre. Stancati also composed the soundtrack for the Chiara Rigione’s 2020 short film “Orfani Del Sonno”, and the soundtrack for the poetry film "The Clapping Tree", written by Matt Dennison, starring Rebecca Page, directed, filmed and edited by Jutta Pryor (Australia). His first official album “Cross The Desert”, was published by Unexplained Sounds Group in 2020.

Music by Mario Lino Stancati
Video by Mario Lino Stancati
www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSeVwTonTfI&t=2s

Edited by ©Unexplained Sounds Group
Mastered by Raffaele Pezzella (Sonologyst)
sonologyst.com
unexplainedsoundsgroup.bandcamp.com
© 2022. All rights reserved

experimental avant-garde drone improvisation musique concrete sound art Italy

 

12 April 2022: Big Sleep; Out of Focus; Sound & Shape

 

KMXT is live broadcasting the Kodiak City Council work session which may run past 9 pm.  

The show will begin as soon as the work session ends.

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The music you hear on tonight's show is available on the artists' Bandcamp pages and websites (links below).    

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ALSO:Tonight at 7:15 pm I'll play a track from Lobate Scarp's upcoming album You Have It All.

Bluebell Wood Review

by Jo-Ann Greene

Neither their 1968 debut Crossroads of Time nor their proggier, Quincy Jones produced follow-up In Fields of Ardath brought the commercial success Eyes of Blue so sought. Although the Welsh quintet were losing hope, their label head and manager Lou Reizener wasn't throwing in the towel yet. In his view, only a new moniker stood in the way of stardom; thus Eyes were renamed Big Sleep and set to work on their third and final album, 1971's Bluebell Wood.

Even in a time of feverish experimentation, the group had an incredibly unique hybrid sound that seamlessly stitched together pop elements, classical, R&B and blues, psychedelia and rock with incredibly tight and egalitarian arrangements. That latter was important, as every bandmember was a virtuoso, and thus each deserved the space to shine. Unusually, the group boasted two keyboardists, but forget comparisons to the likes of ELP, as Big Sleep's numbers often counterpointed lavish organ passages with R&B styled piano or electric keyboard, underpinning their numbers with a jazzy or bluesy aura. Acoustic guitars further enhanced the rich atmospheres, and usually followed the organ's lead. The electric guitars arrived well into the pieces, a further musical counterpoint that accentuated psychedelic organ passages or pulled the numbers into rock. Although there's an improvisational feel to it all, the songs are, in fact, very tightly structured, including the fiery guitar solos that wind around the keyboards. The band's pop sensibilities are evident too, especially on the catchy chorus of "Aunty James," passages within "Death of a Hope," and particularly on the clap along R&B of "When the Sun Was Out."

However, it was the epic eleven-plus-minute title track that sent prog rock fans wild, a showcase of Big Sleep's many styles and talents. Filled with the kind of dynamics that any modern emo band would die for, quiet passages give way to grand up-tempo segments, downbeat blues shift into raging psychedelia, and strings pile onto ballads before the band breaks into rock and the splendid vocals fill the air: Bluebell Wood had it all. Yet the album still failed to excite the masses. The band never even took the stage under their Big Sleep name, and folded soon after the set's release. So much talent would eventually find homes elsewhere (notably with Gentle Giant and Man), but it's no wonder the album has been long sought after by collectors. Now remastered and sporting its original artwork, everyone can venture back into this stunning Wood. 

 

Out Of Focus is a German Krautrock rock fusion band, formed in late-1968 in Munich with Hennes Herring on keyboards (mainly the Hammond organ), Remigius Drechsler on guitars, Moran (his civil name is Hans-Georg Neumüller) on vocals and winds, Klaus Spöri on drums and Stefan Wisheu on bass.

Out of Focus took their name from a Blue Cheer track, but had also been influenced by Soft Machine and Xhol Caravan, and rapidly established a distinctive style blending rock, jazz and psychedelic overtones. The band's music was known for the socio-political commentary present in Moran Neumüller's songs. Although typically Munich styled (with Embryo and Sahara connections) they are often compared to Canterbury fusion and Scandinavian jazz-rock acts. After Out of Focus split up, bandleader Remigius Drechsler joined Embryo in the fall of 1979 for about one year before establishing his own project, Kontrast.

Not Too Late Review

by Rolf Semprebon

Recorded in early 1974, and finally released in 1999, Not Too Late finds Out of Focus moving even further from their progressive rock roots and into progressive jazz fusion, with mostly long instrumentals, fluid rhythms, and a greater reliance on the horns. The lineup is slightly different, with the addition of an extra guitarist and saxophonist and no organ, a distinct feature on earlier records by the group. The dueling saxophones get quite complex, especially on "X," even as the rhythm section pumps out complex jazz-funk grooves similar to previous works by the band. For a bit of diversity, there is the short track "The Way I Know Her," a pastoral folk piece with acoustic guitars and flute, that perhaps reflects the musicians' move from the city of Munich to the countryside. Otherwise, from the McLaughlin-styled guitar fusion of "Y" to the crunchy rhythm workout that ends "Spanish Lines" to the wild opener "That's Very Easy," Out of Focus is in top form. Not Too Late does not venture as far into experimentation as Four Letter Monday Afternoon, and the vocal tracks, "That's Very Easy" and "The Way I Know Her," are lighter and less biting than earlier Out of Focus songs, though Neumuller's singing does flow more with the music. However, this one is still an exceptional record, full of the creative Krautrock jamming for which Out of Focus is known, and the band neither falls back on the same old sound, nor do they compromise their sound for commercial appeal. 

 

SOUND & SHAPE – Disaster Medicine (self-released)

This Tennessee trio touches a lot of bases on their latest full length, from polyrhythmic post-punk to an aggressive chugging heaviness to romantic ballads and back again. At their core, though, singer/guitarist Ryan Caudle, bassist Pat Lawry, and drummer Ben Proctor seem most comfortable positioned just slightly left of the mainstream, playing melodic modern rock that wouldn’t leave listeners discomfited slotted between the Foo Fighters and Imagine Dragons.  That’s not to sully the group’s DIY credentials, just to suggest that on the next family road trip, you and mom might both enjoy a track like “Don’t Tell Momma I’m A Sinner.”

 The Disaster Medicine trailer is here.

Sound & Shape on Bandcamp.

 

 

05 April 2022: Agitation Free; Tarkus; Gnidrolog

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I'll also be hosting the Rural Electric show from 7-9 pm this evening.

 Agitation Free is a German experimental krautrock band, formed in 1967 by Michael "Fame" Günther (bass guitar), Lutz "Lüül" Ulbrich (guitar), Lutz Ludwig Kramer (guitar) and Christopher Franke (drums).  (Agitation Free website)

Agitation Free's music is psychedelic, experimental krautrock with elements of spaced-out ambient, experimental electronic and drone. The music for the most part consists of driving organ-patterned drone-like rock; seamless psychedelic cosmic musical textures with intricate musicianship and musical variety; hard, driving rock similar to Amon Düül II; and jamming that occasionally invokes the interplay and styles of Garcia, Weir and Lesh of The Grateful Dead and hints at a blues rock base not unlike The Allman Brothers Band. Many of their songs have a trance-inducing, psychedelic feel with sections of driving rock fueled by fiery and melodic moving guitar lines and solid, propelling and intricate drumming and a prominent bass line. All of Agitation Free's songs are instrumental apart from some recitation on "Haunted Island". 

Their first album Malesch is cosmic, aggressive, psychedelic, creative, ethnically flavored (mainly by short interludes of recordings from Egypt), mysterious and densely packed with ideas whereas their second, titled 2nd is more laid-back and upbeat, with longer structure, much more of an emphasis on traditional styled jamming à la the Grateful Dead and a warmer and more straightforward sound. On Malesch the songs blend together to make a seamlessly flowing, tangential and uninterrupted musical journey, whereas on 2nd songs are more predictably structured, more varied in their sound and stand more as independent works.

Their sound is similar to, but fairly distinguishable from, other contemporary Krautrock bands such as Ash Ra Tempel, Amon Düül II, Guru Guru, Brainticket, Yatha Sidhra and Kalacakra, as well as the mixed-influence blues-based jam rock of The Grateful Dead and The Allman Brothers noticeable on 2nd, and slightly later and more symphonic bands like Asia Minor and Anyone's Daughter. 

 

Review by evenless
PROG REVIEWER

The 2004 re-issue of this 2002 album "A Gaze Between The Past And The Future" contains the bonus track "Hold Me Now".

Since I'm really into progressive Rock music for a few years now and I have a Brazilian wife I though I should explore more Brazilian Prog-Rock bands and till now I'm not disappointed at all! Even though Progressive Rock is probably one of Brazil smallest musical genres, all instrumentation is great! Those guys really know how to play prog- rock like they invented it. Let me review this album track by track.

1. Exit from Calcutta (10:43)

Great instrumental opening containing many instruments like guitars, bass guitar, drums, mandolin and flutes! The flutes remind me of the Dutch band FOCUS a bit. Vocals are all sung in English and voice is easy to listen to. This is probably one of the best (and one of the longest) tracks of the album. 5 stars.

2. You Want The Real Me (6:32)

Again all instruments are represented on this track along with the flutes. After the first two verses there's a great drum section followed by the chorus and flutes. 4 stars.

3. Fragments from Dies Irae (5:30)

Soft piano intro followed by great electrical lead guitars accompanied by bass and drum. The guitar is played like it is "singing" the chorus already. Vocals are a bit more "rough" than on the previous tracks. Is this also Valdir Zamboni singing or is it one of his fellow band members who's normally one of the backing vocalists? If it is Valdir he really knows how to change his voice! Instrumentation on this track is all superb again! 5 star track.

4. Blue Light (5:42)

Soft acoustic guitar intro followed by flutes. Not a very long track, but probably track with the most lyrics of this album. Vocals are sung again "normal". This is a very soft track, almost a ballad. I must say I enjoy their somewhat heavier and complex tracks more. Nevertheless a nice track to take a breath. 3 stars.

5. The Raft of Medusa (12:36)

According to Greek Mythology Medusa used to be a beautiful girl, who lived in a country where the sun wasn't shining. She begged Athena to let her sail to a sunny continent. But when Athena refused, Medusa said this was only because the she would not be the most beautiful woman anymore when people would see her! Great instrumentation on this track capturing the dramatic mood of the story. 5 stars.

6. Hold Me Now* (6:32)

Starting out as a softer track in the same style of "Blue Light". Acoustic guitars, flutes accompanied by soft vocals. Later on the song gets more up-tempo ending and slipping away softly. 4 stars.

All instruments are played really well by TARKUS especially the flutes. The flutes are really nice on the entire album and almost a "Tarkus trademark" like they used to be a trademark of FOCUS. All and all a very nice album indeed.

My rating: 5 + 4 + 5 + 3 + 5 + 4 = 26/6 = 4,3 stars. 

 Gnosis is the fourth album by the British progressive rock band, Gnidrolog. The album's title, Gnosis, means divine or spiritual knowledge and understanding. It is their third studio album and the first to be recorded in 27 years. The album was mostly recorded at Select Sound Studios, Cairns, Australia, where it was engineered and produced by Nigel Pegrum. "Repent Harlequin", "Two Helens" and the title track were all recorded at Music City Studios, London, engineered by Joe Suarez and produced by Nessa Glen, in courtesy of Sarastro Music. The album was mostly published by Kempyre Music, except "Two Helens", which was published by Sarastro Music. Chris Copping of Procol Harum played his Hammond B3 Organ for a couple of tracks, which were recorded in Woodstock Studios, Melbourne and engineered by Tim Dudfield. Post production is credited to David J Burrows and Stewart Goldring. The album was mastered by David J Burrows at Disques rue Bis. The album is noted to be eclectic not only for its transcontinental recording but also for the use of traditional instruments such as the Australian aboriginal, didgeridoos. The album marks the band's comeback, which had also prompted the release of the Live 1972 album. In order to release some of the Goldring brothers' original material, the album was a renewed cooperation with the other 1970s Gnidrolog members, with the addition of Rick Kemp of Steeleye Span and Nessa Glen.