26 May 2026: An Evening with Andrew Latimer

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This evening we dedicate our show to Andrew Latimer, the guitar virtuoso best known for his work with Camel, the well know progressive rock group that incorporated jazz and a bit of pop into later releases.  You've heard Mirage and Harbor of Tears here on FreeForm in the past; tonight we spotlight his recent Bandcamp releases on which he plays all of the instruments except where noted.

Andrew Latimer (born 17 May 1949^[1][2]) is an English musician and composer. He is a founding member of the progressive rock band Camel and the only member who has been with them since their formation in 1971. Although he is best known as a guitarist and singer, Latimer is also a flautist and keyboardist.^[3 

Progressive rock guitarists such as Steve Rothery (Marillion),^[7] Mikael Åkerfeldt (Opeth),^[8] Bryan Josh (Mostly Autumn)^[9] and Bruce Soord (The Pineapple Thief)^[10] cite Latimer as one of their primary influences. Musician and producer Steven Wilson of Porcupine Tree is a known fan of Camel and has stated, "Andy Latimer means very much for me."^[11]

Latimer received a Lifetime Achievement award at the 2014 Progressive Music Awards.^[12]

 

We encourage you to visit Andrew's Bandcamp page to learn more about the releases and to purchase copies for yourself. 

Tonight's Playlist is:

Hour One:

War Stories, Lady Fantasy (Acoustic)

Track Titles :
Home
The Beating Heart
Winds of Change
Before the storm
In the Dark
A Prayer
We are One
Belief
Waiting
Lost for words
The Cellist
The Phoenix
Long Road Ahead
Going Home.   

Andrew Latimer : Music & All instruments
Pete Jones : Lyrics, vocals and sax on "In the Dark" and "Going Home"
Guy Leblanc : Piano, bass and drums on "Going Home"
Colin Bass : Artwork
 

Andrew Latimer : Acoustic Guitar and Vocals
Guy Leblanc : Piano and harmony vocals.
Colin Bass : Design
Drawing: Henri Matisse

Hour Two:

Mood Indigo, White Rider, Watching the Bobbins, Journey's End Suite 

Music and all instruments : Andrew Latimer
Artwork : Colin Bass
Photo: Campbell Skinner

 

White Rider & Bobbins:
Guy LeBlanc: All keyboards
Andrew Latimer : Acoustic Guitar and vocals

 

Running Towards the light
The Living Forest
Return to the Stars

Music and instruments : Andrew Latimer
Artwork and Inspiration : Colin Bass
 

 

24 March 2026: Black Widow - "Demons of the Night Gather to See Black Widow Live"; Celtic Pink Floyd

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I am also hosting Rural Electric (Mostly Country Music) from 7-9 pm this week.

Review by ZowieZiggy
PROG REVIEWER

An unknown release of a little known band that I quite enjoy. A good old band I should say. The Sacrifice show live from Black Widow released in 2007. It comes as a dual work: one CD and one DVD. The CD for the car and the DVD for each home playing of course.

Before I talk about the content, let's have some historical facts about this very good band which hasn't been very fortunate in their career to say the least. The liner notes that go along with this release is of important historical matter. They are written by Clive Jones (sax & flute) and the information below mostly come out of it (but not only).

It speaks about the genesis of the band which is well known from the devoted fans: the Pesky Gee story, the pre-release of Sacrifice in 69 with Kay Garret on the vocals and the split of the band.

What is less known is that the band thought of a full show about the Sacrifice album and wanted it very much to be as satanic as the lyrics. They asked the guidance of Alex Sanders (who was incidentally voted king of the witches in '65) to construct the show and make sure that it was as authentic as possible.

After a few shows, the press was quite shocked and titled don't let your kids see this show. This led to a huge publicity for the band who were playing full house concerts. Still, the confusion came to the minds of the people. Two bands with the word black in their names, both managed by the same person (Pat Meehan). It was the start of the problems for Black Widow.

The second (and probably the most important one) is that Sacrifice was released the same week as Bridge Over Troubled Water (Simon & Garfunkel). The latter one sold so much, that the record company (CBS) only pressed BOTW for three weeks to supply the demand and so was the Sacrifice album lamentably . sacrificed. It had climbed to the 32nd spot of the chart.

Their supporting US tour was cancelled because of the murdering of Sharon Tate. To have a band promoting some black magic on stage was not really to the liking of the American authorities. And guess which band replaced them? Sabbath!

 

 

 

In 2010, Damon and Brian Stout combined their love of Celtic music with their passion for Pink Floyd to create a sonic offspring, the aptly named Celtic Pink Floyd.

Growing up in Jackson, Michigan – which is, interestingly, a sister city to Carrickfergus, Ireland – the duo were immersed both in their Scottish-Irish ancestry, and in various forms of musical study.

The brothers began their journey as pre-schoolers, learning violin and by the age of 7, and taking piano lessons with a Julliard-trained neighbour. Later, they picked up the French horn and trombone, performing with a German-based touring band as teenagers.

“A few years later came jazz, rock and other concert bands,” notes Damon via email. “Additionally, with more influences around, we put together a few garage bands playing for parties, talent shows or whoever would have us. A life in music – with no backup plan, of course – ensued.”

 

The idea for Celtic Pink Floyd, he explains, arose by chance.

“It was while hearing ‘On the Turning Away’ (from Pink Floyd’s 1987 album, A Momentary Lapse of Reason) one morning that the light bulb first went on. It is essentially a folk song, and arranging it to Celtic instruments sounded like an interesting idea.”

That led the Stouts to a closer examination of Floyd’s music, unveiling more Celtic influences.

Within a year, the band of brothers had released their debut, eponymous recording, which included classic Floyd tunes ‘Another Brick in the Wall’, ‘Wish You Were Here’, and ‘Comfortably Numb.’

“We thought it might be interesting to take those existing Celtic undertones and expand them to create a 12-track album,” says Damon.

“It is hard to go wrong with an iconic band like Floyd and their huge catalogue of songs…adding Celtic instruments and arrangements seemed like a fun musical challenge that could prove rewarding.”

With a nine member band, however, taking the show on the road was out of the question.

“The logistics and financial backing for touring would have been prohibitive, especially since it was a first album and we had no idea how the music would be received.”

While interest in the group grew, band members took on other commitments that kept them busy over the next few years. When they finally rallied to take a shot at a second album, the Stouts were now living thousands of miles apart.

“I am in Los Angeles and my brother is in Chicago,” says Damon, “so there are some frequent flyer miles being racked up. The other five members – Mary Morales (keyboards), Bryan Dobbs (guitar, mandolin), Rachel Grace (fiddle), Patrick D’Arcy (pipes) and Forrest Robinson (percussion) – are in LA, which is where we are currently rehearsing.”

Recommitted to the project, the group started working on a new album last year – titled ‘You Owe it to the People’ – which is scheduled for release in 2018.

“During those recording sessions we decided to put out our ‘Live, In Studio’ album first,’ says Damon. “It was originally only going to be a rehearsal tool for upcoming live shows, and was put together in about a week, but it came out better than we expected.”

In fact, the band was so pleased with the way the recording session turned out, they resisted the urge to overdub any of the tracks, which include ‘Have a Cigar’, ‘Shine On You Crazy Diamond’, and ‘Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun.’

“We are fairly confident Celtic music fans will like it, and we are really stoked by how many Pink Floyd fans have embraced us. It is a great feeling to strike a chord with both fan bases.

“It is also quite rewarding when Celtic music fans tell us they aren’t very familiar with Pink Floyd but, after hearing what we do, are going to explore their music further. Equally exciting is when a Floyd fan says they aren’t familiar with Celtic music and never suspected a Celtic arrangement would do their music justice.”

The true test, says Stout, is when the band takes the stage.

“We recently opened for The Young Dubliners and that show helped to solidify all our expectations that not only can we pull this off, but the crowd really responded to our arrangements and overall take on Pink Floyd.”

www.celticpinkfloyd.com

 

 

23 December 2025: Jethro Tull "Christmas at St. Bride's 2008" & The Jethro Tull Christmas Album

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We urge you to support the musicians you hear on FreeForm Radio

I am also hosting Rural Electric (Mostly) Country Music from 7-9 pm right after the Island Messenger.  

                   This week's theme is traditional holiday songs performed by country artists

The Jethro Tull Christmas Album is the 21st studio album released by Jethro Tull, on 30 September 2003 (see 2003 in music). The songs are a mix of new material, re-recordings of Tull's own suitably themed material and arrangements of traditional Christmas music. In 2009, the live album Christmas at St Bride's 2008 was included with the original album on CD.

Ian Anderson about the song Birthday Card at Christmas: "My daughter Gael, like millions of other unfortunates, celebrates her birthday within a gnat’s whisker of Christmas. Overshadowed by the Great Occasion, such birthdays can be flat, perfunctory and fleetingly token in their uneventful passing. The daunting party and festive celebration of the Christian calendar overshadows too, some might argue, the humble birthday of one Mr. J. Christ. Funny old 25ths, Decembers…" 

05 August 2025: Asia Minor "Between Flesh and Divine", "Points of Libration"; Milkbone "Milkbone"

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You can now listen to the livestream of the show through the KMXT app; it's available through the Mac App Store or Google Play. The stream is also available at www.kmxt.org

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

We urge you to support the musicians you hear on FreeForm Radio. 

 I'll also be hosting Rural Electric right after the Island Messenger at  7 pm until 9 pm

Review by Cesar Inca
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator

As some fellow reviewers have stated before me, 'Between Flesh and Divine' is a masterpiece of the prog genre, as well as Asia Minor's top achievement. This album is one of the best things that came out of France (though 3 quarters of the band were actually Turkish) in the symphonic prog area. As quartet now, the fourth member Robert Kempler handled the duties of bass player and keyboardist, which gave the band the opportunity to expand their sonic potential with a more prominent addition of synthesizers, organ, pianos, and even occasional layers of mellotron - all this in 1980! Of course, the electric lead guitar and the flute are still the major features in the instrumental passages, being in charge of the solos and the main melodic lines. Beltrami's drumming is still as polished and energetic as on the band's debut album, displaying his jazzy vein under the guise of a rock- oriented attitude. The sound production is more refined, which makes every instrument show itself clearly amidst the band's overall sound. The contrast between the strong passages and the soft ones is handled more naturally, which allows the band to go deeper into their Camel-esque explorations, without letting go of their penchant for Asian-based exotic textures. The repertoire has a somewhat accentuated tendecy towards the creation of serene ambiences, locating the rockier passages in the shape of gently incerpted interludes or preambles. Tracks 1, 2 and 4 are the best examples of this clever arrangement strategy, and may I add that I consider them their best tracks ever, specially 'Dedicace', which is catchy, yet keeping a typically progressive sophistication. 'Nightwind' kicks off on a vibrant ethnic mood, ultimately leading to a main body set on the standard of spacey-driven symphonic rock, not unlike Pulsar or "Moon Madness"-era Camel. 'Northern Lights' states a more pronunced atmosphere of introspection, generally speaking, while the aforementioned 'Dedicace' brings a solid dynamics that fuses the heritages of Pulsar, Focus and Pink Floyd in a sort of way that only teh guys from Asia Minor can. 'Boundless' is a beautiful ballad, a not too long passage of melancholy. That same melancholy resurfaces in a more eerie context during the almost 8 minutes of 'Lost in a Dream Yell': the intensity incarnated in the extended flute solo is like an evocative dream made of musical matter. You have hear it to believe it... It is long but never tiring, it bears a free-flight attitude yet it never gets meandering; the eerie keyboard layers sustain the overall mood quite effectively, with the guitar arpeggios and moderately energetic drumming filling the source of tightness. Finally, 'Dreadful Memories' is nothing but a jam construed from a simple chord progression on guitar, with the bass and drums following, and an increasing number of keyboard layers subtly being summoned in: its abrupt ending makes it the perfect coda for a perfect album. I just wish it wasn't so short, or at least, that the album as a whole would last a bit longer thatn it actually does. It wouldn't take long before the bloody blade of 'musical differences' beheaded Asia Minor's career, while they were preparing material for a following album that was never to be. 

 

 Points of Libration - Asia Minor

   

Review by kenethlevine
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Prog-Folk Team

By the late 1970s and early 1980s, even prog groups that had attained some level of success - ie made a living from their releases and live performances - were leaving the industry, dispatched in a fit of expletives by the arena rock, punk and new wave movements while reflexive critics hailed the long overdue demise of the genre. Well, history has been lenient in the intervening decades and many of those artists have reformed for at least an album or two if not a more extended run. Even more miraculous is the return of groups who, by combination of poor timing and lack of promotion, never even managed cult status at the time. Such is the case with ASIA MINOR, a France based Turkish act, who issued two albums around the turn of the 1980s, and sadly had to leave this dream behind in favor of a proper career.

Their 1981 production, "Between Flesh and Divine", has gained well deserved minor classic status with its artful blend of CAMEL, JADE WARRIOR, KING CRIMSON and middle eastern influences, and probably sold far more as a CD reissue than it ever did in its initial run. Still, after nearly 40 years of recorded silence, reformation in 2014 notwithstanding, only the most optimistic could have even uttered hope of anything new, but love of music is still love, and this devotion has gifted us "Points of Libration" in 2021. Setrak Bakirel and Eril Tekeli are back, with their distinctive voices, guitars and flute still defining the ASIA MINOR sound and yet updating it in meaningful ways. This is apparent from the opening segment of the thoughtful "Deadline of a Lifetime" with its heavenly fretless bass and only gathers pace from there.

Incorporating aspects of both of their prior productions, "Points of Libration" is shaded towards ASIA MINOR's mellower side, conveying a dreamy ambiance to many of the pieces, directed by melodic lead guitar and flute soloing but filled out with keys including mellotron strings, at their best on the self referential "Crossing in Between". Tunes like "Urban Silk" and "Oriental Game" are bathed in a jazzy arrangement, while others like "Twister" and "Melancholia's Kingdom" manage to generate a suave swing which drives the diversity, fully compensating for the complete lack of hard rock interludes. The vocals may not be in perfectly accented English or supporting a wide technical range but they do consummate the arrangements and vice versa. The final number is the breathlessly accomplished "Radio Hatirasi", which is the only one sung in Turkish and accentuates the group's roots musically as well.

I cannot over emphasize how impossibly good this sounds, as triumphant a reunion as can be hoped for let alone imagined, and proof of the irrepressible spirit of prog. Take that, critics. 

 Milkbone - Milkbone

Short feature written by Sid Smith:
Having previously worked together in Matt Berry and The Maypoles, the seeds of the idea of a group coming together on the band’s tour bus where they shared their mutual admiration for 1970s-era progressive and electronic music. “We decided to make an instrumental album that channeled/referenced our shared love of Canterbury era prog mixed with European electronica, Electric period Miles Davis as well as a love of the instruments, both acoustic and electronic, associated with those genres,” explains James Sedge.
“We were aspiring to get some of the atmosphere and ‘wonkiness’ of the recordings of that era rather than the sterile precision you occasionally encounter in contemporary production. We all enjoy the sound of real instruments playing with sequenced synths - the perfection of the sequencer with the imperfections of live drums and bass. We left in all the quirky feel things, so it wouldn’t sound overproduced and polished.”

credits

released January 4, 2022

Phil Scragg: Keyboards, Bass, Guitar
Matt Berry : Keyboards, Guitar
James Sedge: Drums
Graham Mann: Trombone (Tracks 1,2,5 and 11), Percussion (Tracks 2,8 and 9)
Cecilia Fage: Vocal samples (Track 10)
Music conceived and produced by Milkbone.
Recorded at:
RedLodge studios
Peach House
Musicstation
Original artwork: Matt Berry

 

alternative canterbury electronic fusion progressive London

 

 

02 May 2023: Jethro Tull; Daniel Biro; jarguna

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From Hugh Fielder:

From Christianity to paganism - the Jethro Tull revival continues. Just as it seemed that Tull were fizzling out amid a welter of live albums, orchestral albums and anniversary reissues, not to mention lan Anderson solo albums (confusingly using the same musicians) that picked at the bones of Tull's past, the band have been reborn as a viable contemporary outfit.

Their 2022 album The Zealot Gene, themed around verses from the Bible, restored Jethro Tull to the UK Top 10 album chart for the first time since Thick As A Brick back in '72. Now, just over a year later, Tull are back with RökFlöte which has forsaken the Bible in favour of the paganism of Norse mythology, a more popular rock'n'roll inspiration that has given rise to a whole musical genre.

But anyone expecting a death metal album from Jethro Tull is going to be disappointed. Ian Anderson is more interested in the characters and the cruelty that proliferate amid the myths and sagas of the Norse lands than in the comic-book manifestations that the subtlety-free death metal bands suck up so eagerly.

What's surprising is that Anderson can kick up more menace with his flute than any number of hoarse roaring voices and thrashing guitars. Rökflöte opens – and closes –with some metal-sounding flute feedback that makes for a chilling atmosphere. On the opening Voluspo, that's followed by a ponderous theme to underscore the portentous implications of the prophecy that lies at the heart of Norse mythology.

Anderson introduces the family of Nordic gods-including the one-eyed Odin and his son Thor whose murderous exploits make up the various sagas-with a seemingly inexhaustible supply of themes and melodies that are every bit as descriptive as his lyrics. And his flute playing has reached a maturity that enables him to capture the complexity he uncovers in Thor's character, on Hammer On Hammer, while also making a lyrical allusion to Putin. Likewise the howl he produces on his flute at the beginning of Wolf Unchained is more effective than the real thing, hinting at the carnal power that makes the image of the wolf so disturbing,

The music lightens up when Anderson moves on to the sagas themselves, but the intricacies remain. As do the idiosyncratic allusions - such as the Mae West flotation jackets worn by the pilots who protected Britain during World War Two that crop up in Guardian's Watch, a song about those who protect the gods.

Daniel Biro (born 1963 in Johannesburg, South Africa) is a London-based keyboard composer, keyboard player, improvisor, and producer. Stylistically, Biro's music is a combination of his early influences (70s jazz-rock, Berlin-style cosmic synths, ECM label-style jazz, Motown soul and West-coast rock) with more experimental ambient electronic minimalism. As an improvisor, Biro specializes in exploring the sonic depths of the Rhodes piano and vintage analog synthesizers, with which he performs regularly.

 Daniel Biro:    Synthrospections are improvised solo keyboard performances. No music is prepared in advance and nothing is pre-programmed apart from the initial sound of each keyboard. It’s all about capturing ‘in the moment’ ideas, warts and all, and retaining the original structural flow of the event.

Once recorded, I slightly edit some of the too obvious ‘warts’ and give the ensemble a decent mix. No other instrument layers are added, even though that would sometimes enhance the music, and every idea is kept in the chronological order in which it appeared during the improvisation.

My aim is to play. Not press ‘Play’. To play my keyboards in real time without any constraints. To allow myself to find, as opposed to look for, musical ‘objects’ and explore them for a while until the next idea comes along. An instant composition creating itself.

I have no pre-conceived idea of which musical genre to inhabit. Categories are irrelevant. Things can go from very melodic tunes to experimental atonality, from groove-based jazziness to ambient soundscapes. All the music that is inside me is given an equal opportunity to emerge.

My keyboards are an eclectic mix of vintage and new. Each instrument has its strengths and character (which sometimes includes not working properly…). The unpredictability of tweaking synths in real time is part of the fun. For these recordings I don’t use any computer-based instruments or plug-ins. No mouse-clicking. Pedal loopers are used to ‘freeze’ some ideas into spur-of-moment backdrops on which I can build.

Improvising is a fine balance between being in control and giving up that control. Being a composer and being an interpreter. Trying and not trying. Thinking and not thinking. Obviously this can be risky as one can get stuck in a place where nothing very interesting is happening. Or have playing mistakes ruin a good bit (that’s where the editing comes in…). But using mistakes as sparks for new ideas is inherent in the quick-thinking improvisational process. It’s a dangerous path. But that’s the challenge: to jump off the cliff and hope you’ll levitate. 

credits

released May 25, 2021; complimentary copy provided by Daniel Biro
All music written, recorded and produced by Daniel Biro

Recorded live for Soundcellar livestream concert on May 6th 2021 at the DB Studio, London.

alternative jazz fusion progressive rock ambient electronic electronic experimental electronic synth synthesisers London

 

In the words of jarguna

I’ve been wanting to make an album like this for some time. The sound searches for pure drones, introspective textures, absent from time and space, recall when I was looking for these sounds with my first synthesizer (Korg M1), around 1993. The biggest evolution has certainly been the experience during many productions, this is the 48th, but over the years I have also enriched my instrumentation, and since 2014 I have started assembling my modular synthesizer. These sounds come above all from this instrument, research but also spontaneity, a free flow of introspective energy, textures that try to make me enter a cathartic, meditative mood, at times light, suspended, floating, at other times, abysmal, material, dark and restless.

Some tracks of the album make a clear reference to some psycho-active substances, more romantically called entheogens. It is a story almost as old as man, to the point that some cultures have developed behind some of these substances, even becoming sacred for some cults, transforming the perception of reality and hypothesizing structures or entity of other dimensions. The deception of the senses has always been one of my favourite themes, an impudent art that seeks by all means to make people understand that man interfaces with the world only and thanks to his sense organs, but what if these organs were altered, like a radio picking up other frequencies?

Explorations of the Unconscious on Bandcamp.

credits

released April 13, 2023
Our thanks to Raffaele Pezzella for the complimentary copy of this release.

REVIEWS

Avant Music News
avantmusicnews.com/2023/04/16/amn-reviews-jarguna-explorations-of-the-unconscious-2023-reverse-alignment/



Marco Billi, aka jarguna, born in Florence (1973), is a constant traveller. He visited Nepal, China, India, Indonesia, and in 2001, took a trip of research along the Amazon. He meets the local people and engages in a study of their music-symbolic rituals and shamanic medicine, studies the characteristics and performs direct and indirect experiences through rituals and meditations. Going through all these experiences, he understands how the simplest sounds as well as complex music structures, may play a beneficial and therapeutic role. Agreements and frequencies, may intervene by acting on the entire body, involving mind and body, and also acting on the subtler planes. The relationship between music and the environment remains focused in the soul of jarguna.



Published by Reverse Alignment
Music by jarguna
Mastering by Raffaele Pezzella
Cover Design by jarguna
© 2023. All rights reserved

ambient dark dark ambient drone ambient industrial post-industrial Sweden

13 December 2022: Holiday Special #2: A Jethro Tull Christmas

 

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

We urge you to support the musicians you hear on FreeForm Radio.

 Tuesday, December 13, we continue our series of three very special FreeForm Holiday Shows.

The Jethro Tull Christmas Album is the 21st studio album released by Jethro Tull, on 30 September 2003 (see 2003 in music). The songs are a mix of new material, re-recordings of Tull's own suitably themed material and arrangements of traditional Christmas music. In 2009, the live album Christmas at St Bride's 2008 was included with the original album on CD.
Ian Anderson about the song Birthday Card at Christmas: "My daughter Gael, like millions of other unfortunates, celebrates her birthday within a gnat’s whisker of Christmas. Overshadowed by the Great Occasion, such birthdays can be flat, perfunctory and fleetingly token in their uneventful passing. The daunting party and festive celebration of the Christian calendar overshadows too, some might argue, the humble birthday of one Mr. J. Christ. Funny old 25ths, Decembers…"

Track listing

1. "Birthday Card at Christmas" (Ian Anderson) – 3:37
2. "Holly Herald" (Instrumental medley arranged by Anderson) – 4:16
3. "A Christmas Song" (Anderson) – 2:47
4. "Another Christmas Song" (Anderson) – 3:31
5. "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen" (Trad. instrumental arranged by Anderson) – 4:35
6. "Jack Frost and the Hooded Crow" (Anderson) – 3:37
7. "Last Man at the Party" (Anderson) – 4:48
8. "Weathercock" (Anderson) – 4:17
9. "Pavane" (Instrumental, Gabriel Fauré, arranged by Anderson) – 4:19
10. "First Snow on Brooklyn" (Anderson) – 4:57
11. "Greensleeved" (Trad. instrumental based on "Greensleeves". Arranged by Anderson) – 2:39
12. "Fire at Midnight" (Anderson) – 2:26
13. "We Five Kings" (Instrumental) (Instrumental "We Three Kings", Rev. J. Hopkins, arranged by Anderson) – 3:16
14. "Ring Out Solstice Bells" (Anderson) – 4:04
15. "Bourée" (Instrumental J. S. Bach, arranged by Anderson) – 4:25
16. "A Winter Snowscape" (Instrumental, Martin Barre) – 4:57

Tracks 3, 4, 6, 8, 12, 14, and 15 are all re-recordings of previously released pieces. 'Bourée', however, has significant alterations to the musical arrangement.

Christmas at St Bride's 2008

Recorded Live at St Bride's Church

1. "Weathercock" (Ian Anderson) – 4:41
2. "Introduction: Rev. George Pitcher / Choir: What Cheer" (William Walton) – 3:32
3. "A Christmas Song" (Anderson) – 3:19
4. "Living in These Hard Times" (Anderson) – 3:44
5. "Choir: Silent Night" (Traditional) – 3:06
6. "Reading: Ian Anderson, Marmion" (Sir Walter Scott) – 2:17
7. "Jack in the Green" (Anderson) – 2:33
8. "Another Christmas Song" (Anderson) – 3:56
9. "Reading: Gavin Esler, God's Grandeur" (Gerard Manley Hopkins) – 1:50
10. "Choir: Oh, Come All Ye Faithful" (Traditional) – 3:50
11. "Reading: Mark Billingham, The Ballad of The Breadman" (Charles Causley) – 3:33
12. "A Winter Snowscape" (Martin Barre) – 3:39
13. "Reading: Andrew Lincoln, Christmas" (Sir John Betjeman) – 3:12
14. "Fires at Midnight" (Anderson) – 3:38
15. "We Five Kings" (Instrumental "We Three Kings", Rev. J. Hopkins, arranged by Anderson) – 3:19
16. "Choir: Gaudete" (Trad. arranged by Anderson) – 3:39
17. "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen / Thick as a Brick" (Trad. arranged by Anderson / Anderson) – 10:25

Personnel

Jethro Tull

• Ian Anderson – flute, vocals, acoustic guitars, mandolin, piccolo, percussion
• Martin Barre – electric and acoustic guitars
• Andrew Giddings – keyboards, accordion and keyboard bass
• Jonathan Noyce – bass guitar
• Doane Perry – drums and percussion

Additional personnel

• James Duncan – drums and percussion
• Dave Pegg – bass, mandolin
• The Sturcz String Quartet:

• Gábor Csonka – 1st violin
• Péter Szilágyi – 2nd violin
• Gyula Benkő – viola
• András Sturcz – cello (leader)

 

30 August 2022: Hoelderlin; Ikarus; After Crying

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 Hoelderlin were a German progressive rock band that was formed in 1970 as Hölderlin by brothers Joachim and Christian von Grumbkow with Nanny de Ruig, whom Christian was married to. They were influenced by rock, jazz, and folk music.

The debut album of the German band named after a German romantic writer, this does not fall into the Krautrock category of most bands of that era from that country. They can be categorized as folk prog with female lead vocals and mainly acoustic instrumentation:
- Nanny DeRuig / vocals
- Christian Grumbkow / guitars
- Joachim Grumbkow / cello, acoustic guitar, transverse flute, piano, organ, mellotron
- Christoph Noppeney / violin, viola, flute, piano
- Peter Käseberg / bass, acoustic guitar, vocals
- Michael Bruchmann / drums, percussion

The vocals are in German and are describing dreams (Traum is the German word for dream) but understanding the lyrics is not important since they are mostly illuminating what the music expresses anyway.
The band had a unique sound at that time (Renaissance as of Ashes Are Burning are the closest to compare) but they changed a lot until their next album three years later. The musicianship of all members with the variety of instruments is remarkable, especially on the longer tunes. 

---Roxanne Walsh

 

IKARUS played progressive rock that sometimes was in the vein of VAN DER GRAAF GENERATOR. The sound is dominated by emphasis on guitar and organ interplay, but the use of flute, saxophone and clarinet add more color to their compositions. Far from perfect, but listenable enough for fans of 70's prog. A solid, but not essential album.   

Review by Sean Trane
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Prog Folk Sole album from an early 70's German (from Hamburg I think) sextet Ikarus, whose reputation as a pioneer of jazz-rock is a bit over-done. Let's just say that they're a typical prog group with symphonic and jazz influences, a bit ala Crimson. Lead by multi-instrumentalist Jochen Petersen (guitars & winds), the group develops a wide soundscape in just four tracks (the shortest being well over 6 mins) that goes as far as electronic twiddling and string arrangements.

The 15-mins Eclipse starts out blues-like with a big guitar riff, but soon evolves into excellent phases of instrumental interplay, while Kohler's voice and accent being rather convincing, but the lyrics (not necessarily his when reading the credits) are not quite so. The opening track is quite interesting with its multiple movements including the organ-filled Scyscraper over symphonic layers (incl mellotrons) and ending in electronic birdsongs and other bruitist stuff. The following Mesentery is the weakest track of the album and disappears in a kosmic and spacey interlude before returning via string layers. The flipside opens on TV or Radio jingle ?like riff, which is the start of the other epic, the 11-mins Raven where Petersen's wind instruments soar, then suddenly (abruptly) morphing into a psych/space improv in its middle section before climbing back gradually via a an heard-elsewhere riff (Heep's Gypsy Woman) and ending in footsteps. The closing track (sung by guitarist Schulz) Early Bell's Voice is a strange trip through ether-modified soundscapes where the organ dominates until disappearing into a knell tolling its madness. Strange ending.

This was to be their only album (now very rare and expensive as a vinyl), most of the members continuing their musical foray, but not necessarily in prog circles, with leader Petersen becoming a record producer later in the decade after passing through Cornucopia. While I wouldn't call Ikarus essential to your collection, it is surely good enough to earn a spot in it and therefore deserving its fourth star. 

 

 

After Crying is a Hungarian musical ensemble, established in 1986, which composes and performs contemporary classical music or symphonic rock. They use instruments ranging from classical acoustical instruments like cello, trumpet, piano, flute to the instruments of a modern rock band. They sometimes perform with traditional chamber or symphony orchestras. Their studio albums contain numerous variations in instruments and composition.^[1][2]

^{After Crying released a unique retrospective as their fifth album, a 2-CD set which combines alternates and out-takes with a live album. Included are Hungarian versions of songs from Overground Music, and the concert disc includes a telling King Crimson cover.}  

 

 

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.

 

 

 

15 February 2022: Ian McDonald Tribute (In the Court of the Crimson King); Ian Boddy et al DiN Sampler iNDEX07 (DiN70)

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In tribute to Ian McDonald who passed away recently, we'll feature an album which highlights his many talents, an album that is arguably the best progressive rock album ever. Read more about Ian here.

In the Court of the Crimson King (subtitled An Observation by King Crimson) is the debut studio album by English rock band King Crimson, released on 10 October 1969 by Island Records. The album is one of the earliest and most influential of the progressive rock genre, where the band combined the musical influences that rock music was founded upon with elements of jazz, classical, and symphonic music.

The album reached number five on the UK Albums Chart and number 28 on the US Billboard 200, where it was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America. It was reissued several times in the 1980s and 1990s using inferior copies of the master tapes. After the original masters were discovered in the Virgin archives in 2002, the album was remastered again by Simon Heyworth and reissued in 2004. A 40th anniversary edition of the album was released in 2009 with new stereo and 5.1 surround sound mixes by Steven Wilson. In 2019 there was a 50th Anniversary 3CD/1BD box set, which contained remasters, remixes, instrumentals and expansions of the original album. 

 

iNDEX07 is the seventh DiN compilation album and includes two tracks each from the titles DiN61 - 69. The artists on show this time are Ian Boddy, Nigel Mullaney, Dave Bessell, Scanner, Lyonel Bauchet and collaborations between Dave Bessell & Parallel Worlds and Ian Boddy & Markus Reuter.

As with the previous six DiN samplers label boss Ian Boddy has mixed and cross-faded the 18 tracks into a continuous ambient mix that not only showcases the albums featured on the release but presents an exciting and varied title in its own right. It also highlights the varied and intriguing music that the DiN label offers on its releases from deep analogue synth grooves through vibrantly melodic instrumentals to powerful, epic ambient atmospheres. An intoxicating mix of the old and new beautifully presented in a slimline cardboard wallet with an extra flap which just adds to the value and collectibility of this release.

Since the previous sampler album, iNDEX06 (DiN60) released in July 2019, DiN has not only celebrated its 20th anniversary but has also released its 100th album with “Nevermore” from label boss Ian Boddy. These are significant milestones for a niche independent electronica label with DiN finally getting some of the recognition it so justly deserves.

Our thanks to Ian Boddy for providing a promo copy of this release for airplay tonight.

credits

releases February 18, 2022

This compilation edited from the original tracks by Ian Boddy September 2021.

all rights reserved

ambient dave bessell em electronic electronic music electronica lyonel bauchet markus reuter nigel mullaney parallel worlds scanner downtempo modular synth Sunderlan