This album was such a relief following the sheer rubbish that preceded it - a Yes album we could all love and empathise with, a volume of work which at least felt like a Yes LP, even if you still couldn't compare it with essential seventies works.
Bruce Fairburn produced the album and died shortly afterwards. Some cruel people suggested that it was simply the strain of producing a band that had in the previous ten years nearly torn itself apart. He apparently told them to simply go out and make the best Yes album you can. You can tell from listening to it that they tried their best to take him at his word. It is a sunny and fresh work, a joy to listen to.
Homeworld starts proceedings off very nicely, this is a soundtrack to a PC game of the same name. Howe especially shines with some exceptional guitar work on this.
It Will be a Good Day is a commercial piece that, crucially, does not try to replicate the old Yes West feel, the biggest mistake on Open Your Eyes. Lightning Strikes attempts the same trick, with Khuroshev adding some nice brass effects. On Can I, we are even treated to a modern version of We Have Heaven, and it works very well, with great vocal harmonies to a backdrop of percussion, bass, and low-lying keyboards.
Face to Face is too frenetic for me, and a misguided attempt at commerciality which fails on the basis that it is a weak track. However, If Only You Knew more than makes up for this, This, to me, is one of the finest love songs ever written and performed by the band. Clearly inspired by Anderson's second wife Jane, it tells a simple story of how love for your partner can change your life for ever and certainly for the better. I had just met my future wife when this was released, and she took the Eurostar train to France (rather reticent about this), and she said that this track kept her going throughout the journey. Anderson, therefore, at his best, able to inspire love and devotion in the most unlikely suspects.
To be Alive (Hep Yadda) starts nicely, with nice keyboards backing Anderson, but degenerates into a slightly messy poppy track with not much direction.
Finally announces itself with a Howe rush, with Squire then coming in with a pulsating bassline. Khuroshev plays a lovely keyboard solo halfway in, after which Anderson reminds us all why we love his voice and lyrics so much with a soaring lyric, with Howe accompanying magnificently. When Jon sings, I can feel the earth coming, you are lifted, in the best tradition of Yes from days past.
The Messenger features Squire with a hard bass and Howe playing subtle acoustic guitar. The track then rocks as it moves forward with a cohesion that was simply missing from certainly the previous two studio efforts, and Howe especially plays marvellously with Sherwood backing well.
New Language is the second epic on the album at just over 9 minutes. Apparently, a tribute to Bob Marley, this feels like a very old style Yes track, especially with Howe's playing. It could almost be 1971 at the start! The whole piece feels so Yes, with coherent vocal harmonies, strong bass and drum rhythm sections, Howe playing the frets as if he really means it, and a good keyboard backdrop.
Nine Voices is a great way to finish off the album, a piece inspired by American Indians in the same manner as Anderson's Toltec album, it features Anderson and Howe playing together in a manner not heard since Going for the One - indeed the flowing vocals and playing reminds one of that album.
This was a refreshing return to greatness from a band who we thought had completely lost it. Essential listening for all Yes fans and prog fans generally.
Dotcom is a Marillion album which even this long-term nut would admit is not their finest moment, but there is some very good stuff on here. As a historical curiosity, this was the cd presented to airport staff by the band when they were filmed for a TV reality show for (I believe) Luton Airport. What said staff made of it is not, unfortunately, recorded by history.
“Dot Com” followed on the back of the excellent, but criminally underperforming, Radiation, and was a distinct, and deliberate, move by the band to once and for all get rid of the neo prog rock tag and push themselves into a fusion of progressive rock and more indie rock orientated music. This trend was continued on the successor, Anoracknophobia, and had mixed results.
The first track, A Legacy, is a bit of a dirge, and rather forgettable, whilst Deserve takes us straight into the type of Radiohead inspired rock music that Hogarth, especially, was keen to emulate and take the band forward to.
It isn't until Go that the band finally find their feet with the approach, and what a special track it is. Progressive at its core, but infused with post indie sensibilities, the closing vocal segment is amongst the best that Hogarth has ever recorded with the band.
Rich is a social commentary song, but also a very pop orientated one, and one got the feeling listening to this at the time that the band had slightly lost its way when writing and recording more commercially orientated tracks. It stands up far better in retrospect, and the huge bass lead by Trewavas amongst the shrill vocal and chaotic Rothery riff do gel together nicely. Not their best pop song by any stretch of the imagination, but still interesting, nonetheless.
Enlightened is a natural follow on from much of what featured on Radiation, a very mellow track, almost meandering in its clear thoughtfulness, featuring some lovely singing from Hogarth and a very dark mid-section solo by Steven Rothery.
Built in Bastard Radar has the finest title ever written for any rock song in my opinion, and sees the band almost branch out into a grunge garage band. It's as far removed from Seasons End or Brave, let alone Misplaced Childhood, as it is possible to get. Fun, but as near to throwaway as the band got.
The mood, and quality, changes utterly with Tumble Down The Years, which remains, to these ears, one of the finest songs the band recorded and also performed live. A beautiful melody, wonderfully performed by the collective, is set against a cheery Hogarth vocal. This track undoubtedly lifts the mood of the album, and it was rather needed.
The album closes with two epics, Interior Lulu and House. The former has remained a favourite of fans for many years now. It features Mark Kelly at his very best, has some incredible signature changes, moments of utter frenetic madness, and mellow lushness. This is a great track, but I am one of those few who prefers the acoustic reworking on Less Is More, because I believe the stripped-down version allowed the dark beauty of the original to shine through more by taking away the frenetic moments. This, though, is still very good, dark, and foreboding.
House was designed to be performed and listened to in an extremely smoky jazz club, and, indeed, invokes memories of that type of establishment. Mellow and oozing class, this is a particularly overlooked track by the band.
As I have said before, this band do not do bad albums. Even their more controversial amongst the fan base (and this one definitely qualifies as such) still deliver exceptional music, and it is clear looking back that with Radiation, this album, and it's successor, Marillion were searching for a formula that would fuse the best of the new with the traditional. They achieved this, in spades, with Marbles.
A good album, and one which I would recommend to those who do not have it.
This is the second album from the Steve Rothery side project, and it is exceptionally enjoyable. It would have been the easiest thing in the world for Rothery to treat this as a purely solo project and entirely dominate proceedings, but that is not the case with this album. All songs were co-written with Hannah Stobart, who is a very talented vocalist and lyricist. The album also features Paul Craddick on drums, backing vocals by Jo Rothery, and keyboards by Mike Hunter (in addition to those recorded by Rothery). This feels like a band and is all the better for it.
Stobart has a lovely ethereal quality to her voice, which first becomes very evident on Easy, which features some delicate and ghostly vocal harmonies.
Some tracks, inevitably, have that Marillion feel, especially the beginning of Fly, but Stobart is as far away from Fish and Hogarth as it is possible to get, and this is by no means meant as a criticism. It is difficult to make comparisons with other artists with her voice, but a young Stevie Nicks does come to mind somewhat when listening to her.
When Rothery does let go with one of his trademark solos, he, as ever, makes the instrument sing. The middle of Fly has a gorgeous solo, before it settles in to Rothery being content to play a lovely backdrop to the vocals. Seventh Sign has a great bluesy feel to it, both with the earthy guitar and the vocals. You would also swear that Trewavas supplied the bass, it's that good.
Hollow Hills is the longest track at 6.21 minutes, and is a lovely melodic track, featuring mandolin and understated guitars again providing an understated backdrop to the vocals which are layered perfectly.
You really get into the feel of the duo listening to the final track, Soldier, which features the acoustic guitar, played wonderfully, backing Stobart's story. An incredible ballad.
Kingfisher is very Celtic in its outlook, and the melody is fantastic, with a fine, albeit short, Rothery solo midway through.
This is a hugely enjoyable album. I downloaded it from the Marillion website for the mere sum of £5.99, and it is worth every penny.
It's very difficult to say who would enjoy this. Certainly fans, like myself, of Rothery's work with Marillion will lap this up, whilst also enjoying the distinct contrast between his band input and this, and I also believe that fans of bands such as Mostly Autumn (in their calmer moments), Karnataka, and the like, and Fleetwood Mac will gain a lot of satisfaction from this LP. Really, all visitors to the site who appreciate the more melodic brand of prog will find this very worthwhile.
There are better live Crimson albums available. In fact, there are a myriad of them available from Discipline direct, but Cirkus is an interesting listen, which features everything from the sublime to the ridiculous, so pretty much a very decent summation of a band nobody really fully understands, in my opinion.
This is a compilation of live Crimson recordings, ranging from across the band's lengthy but fractured career, released in 1999. It follows the same sort of line as the much-revered studio "Young Person's Guide", in that it is a "taster", albeit a detailed one of the band's wares and an invitation to explore further.
The first CD deals with the Adrian Belew era, and many might be surprised to learn that it is, to these ears, far better, certainly in terms of the lush production and musicianship. There are some absolute gems here, right from the pounding and energetic opener Dinosaur (one of the best tracks they ever put out) to the weird and wonderful Elephant Talk which closes proceedings. Thela Hun Ginjeet is awesome, but the absolute highlight for me is the exceptionally heavy and tightly played Red. The studio album itself is my favourite Crimson release, and this gem proves that the title track was always going to be the one that translated best into a new era. I also love the Coda: Marine 475 which shows an outfit as comfortable with experimentation live as it is possible to get. Three Of A Perfect Pair is, again, hugely enjoyable, and there are only rare moments when it all gets too much on this CD, for me these being the more "out there" tracks such as Neurotica, VROOM VROOM, and Heavy ConstruKction. They are not bad, but somehow very sameish and forgettable.
There. If I were to end the review at this stage, it is verging on the excellent. The live sound of a venerated band moving majestically and loudly into a new era, and justifying, in the main, Bruford's famous quote that one day, all music will sound like this (I paraphrase).
Regrettably, the first part of the second CD absolutely drags proceedings down. Firstly, let me state that I purchased the debut Crimson LP in 1978, and fell in love with the band. I have everything the "classic" era band have, and still thoroughly enjoy their music. Without doubt, Crimson, and Fripp at their head, were one of the major art rock, prog rock, call it what you will, outfits the world has seen.
But my, oh my, when the 1972 version of 21st Century Schizoid Man hits the speakers, all you hear is an undiluted mess, a cacophony of sound that is as majestic as a lorry smashing against a wall. The studio original, when it announced itself to the world, was unlike anything heard before. This live version is the same, but in a completely negative way. Things don't get any better with Ladies Of The Road, the studio version of which is incredible, but this live one sounding as if the band were performing from a deep cast coal mine. Very forgettable and painful to listen to.
The 1969 and original version of the band get two outings. A Man And A City is okay without being remarkable, but I do enjoy tremendously this live version of In The Court..., especially with the adept use of the remarkable sounding mellotron and Greg Lake sounding as if he is enjoying every second.
The following four tracks are taken from the much loved The Great Deceiver boxset and were recorded in 1973/74 with my personal favourite incarnation of Crimson - Fripp, Cross, Wetton, and Bruford. The CD reasserts itself here in spades. Fracture is incredibly well played, with moments of sheer beauty amongst the more improvised sections. Wetton sounds especially imperious on bass guitar, and Fripp seems to be enjoying himself tremendously, which is surprising really given that he halted the career of the band not long afterwards.
Easy Money is perhaps the highlight of the entire two CD's. When you listen to this magnificent performance, with Wetton at its absolute heart, you realise that when he said the band could have been as big as Floyd, he wasn't far wrong. Stunning and vital, a lesson in how bass guitar can lead a live performance. The improvisational piece, Besancon, is one and a half minutes of throwaway stuff, which leads into The Talking Drum. It's undeniably eccentric and eclectic but is played very well and still stands up after so many years as being relevant, if epitomising everything which music writers less than three years later would hate about the genre.
Larks Tongues...Part II returns us to a Belew incarnation performance from 1996 - the same as that which performed Red on CD one. Again, the difference in production is hugely noticeable, and the band carry off a complicated piece of music with aplomb. A brilliant performance.
The final track returns us to the heady days of 1974, and my favourite Crimson track, Starless. Listen to the wonder of David Cross on violin, the incredible percussive performance of Bill Bruford, Wetton's slightly understated bass guitar and lovely vocals, together with the magnificent guitar of Robert Fripp, all rounded off with perhaps, no definitely, THE signature performance of mellotron of all time by both Cross & Fripp. A staggeringly good version of a staggeringly essential composition. You are left breathless at the close.
So, how to rate this? Well, as a taster it works, by and large, very well. Listeners should absolutely move onwards to purchasing The Great Deceiver and might wish to buy one of the many newer live sets by Crimson or The ProjekCt, although I actually think that the representation on this CD is enough in itself.
There are many highlights here, but the low moments are, I am afraid, enough to move me to rate this album as good, but non-essential. When I say good, I mean that, because the highlights are more than enough to justify the legendary status of this great band. Just try your best to ignore, or skip, those passages which so let it down as a definitive compilation.
1999 sees a resurrection of the great big man's career, with this excellent release. By his own admission, Fish's career was in danger of complete meltdown after a series of relatively poor albums and worse record deals.
However, it is a testament to his staying power as an artist and his own dogged determination that he was able to come back so strongly and set in train a nice run of very good LPs and increased success, both in the studio and live, health problems permitting.
Tumbledown is a fantastic way to set the album off, with a delicate and marvellously played piano solo settling the listener into a false sense of serenity before the track explodes into the type of pop prog epic for which Fish is famous. Very enjoyable, without necessarily being a classic.
Mission Statement is another catchy track, with some enjoyable female backing vocals. It's very upbeat, with a touch of boogie woogie included.
Things take a darker turn lyrically with a very brooding ballad, Incomplete. Fish undertakes a vocal duet, with acoustic backing, and very satisfying it is too. The female vocal lead is excellent, and Fish very wisely steps back and gives an understated performance to support this. A nice track which ponders on love and society lost.
Tilted Cross is a brighter affair. A nice vocal, with, again, some exquisite female vocals, accompanied by some very nice drum and acoustic guitar work gives us a very pleasant and thoughtful ballad. It is clear listening to this that Fish had made a determined effort to vastly improve the quality of both composition and delivery, and for that the fan and casual listener alike are grateful. Tinged with Celtic influences, this love song is a highlight of the album without doubt.
Faith Healer toughens matters up for us. This is a good, old fashioned, rocker delivering five minutes of toe tapping enjoyment. It is written by the late, great, Alex Harvey and is a cover.
Rites Of Passage commences in quite the most beautiful manner, with Fish delivering a thoughtful and delicate ballad against some underplayed keyboards and bass. It is the sort of song writing and delivery for which he rightly gained praise when with Marillion, the ability to make intelligent and accessible ballads. The track runs to a little short of eight minutes and never loses interest at all, and the instrumental solos are brilliant.
The whole album, though, leads up to, and is defined by, the epic six-parter, Plague Of Ghosts. It is brilliant, and probably the finest piece of pure prog that Fish has committed to disc in his entire solo career. There are so many mood changes here, it is difficult to keep up sometimes.
Old Haunts provides a quiet, melancholic, opening, before the epic explodes into life with Digging Deep, with a thudding rhythm section accompanying a Fish vocal, monotone at times, and fantastic lead guitar. Good enough as a beat to be played in a high-class disco or club, and a damn sight better than most so called dance music you will hear commercially. The lead guitar and keyboard towards the close of this part is the main instrumental theme of the whole epic and is played with great skill by Steve Wilson and Tony Turrell. Utterly incredible to listen to, a pure prog delight.
Chocolate Frogs commences with Fish Poetry Corner for well over a minute and does, in truth, deflect us from the huge momentum created by what preceded it. However, when this passes, and a thoughtful vocal, and haunting backdrop take over, things are restored to their normal order.
Waving At Stars features a crunching rhythm which sets the tone for what is to follow and has at its heart some intricate keyboard work by Turrell. His magnificent piano work leads into the delightful main course that is Raingod's Dancing. As much as I love Marillion, I think that this section is the finest piece of work that Fish has ever recorded. A beautifully performed vocal, and a symphonic background, lead us into a massive lead guitar solo and the main lyrical centre of the epic.
This takes us into the denouement, Wake Up Call (Make It Happen), which commences with more excellent piano work backing a thoughtful lyric. The track then runs out in a dream sequence with the entire ensemble excelling themselves.
Raingod's With Zippos is a tremendous album which restored Fish's artistic and commercial credentials. It is very highly recommended for all those who, especially, lost track of him after Marillion or rather ordinary solo fare.
An excellent addition to any prog rock collection.
A band that people either love or hate, there really is no middle ground for this lot at all, at least if the comments they attract on numerous sites are to be believed. I take a far more pragmatic view. I like Dream Theater, I acknowledge their importance in terms of attracting many new fans to the prog field, and, say what you like about them, nobody could possibly doubt their musical prowess technically.
This is, of course, their highest rated album, and the one generally acknowledged as their masterpiece. I can see why. My only other DT review was for Systematic Chaos, which I felt was far too much of a "metal by numbers" album to qualify as an excellent prog album. More than one person wrote to me afterwards suggesting that, to redress the balance, I should really review an album that did not attract such a statement.
Well, this one certainly passes the test. It is, of course, very heavy and metal in places. After all, this band were at the forefront of this particular movement. It does, however, in parts, bring to the fore, in a very welcome way, the band's obvious progressive symphonic influences and loves.
The one thing I will say is that I cannot, for the life of me, understand the criticism brought against James LaBrie's vocals. I think his performance here is superb, and, indeed, I enjoy listening to him on the relatively rare occasions I revisit this band's music. Equally comfortable with the "traditional" metal vocals as he is on the gentler tracks, this is a strong, accomplished performance. For no better example of the way he manages to combine both, listen to Beyond This Life, and his performance on Strange Deja Vu is staggeringly good.
New boy is Jordan Rudess on keyboards, and the stability and quality he brings to the band as compared to predecessor albums is instant and clear.
Elsewhere, the rhythm section is particularly strong, pounding the album along, and Petrucci is his usual efficient self on guitar.
There are many highlights on this album. I especially love Through Her Eyes, a gentle delicate ballad, with exceptional vocal and musical performances, alongside a very solid female vocal. The longest of the epics, Home, completely changes the mood after a deceptively quiet start, and fairly thunders along. It is, by the way, metal of a quality that equals the best of any of the classic acts. Having said that, there are more than enough symphonic nods to the likes of Yes included in this track to keep the prog purists very happy.
This is, however, an album to be listened to and enjoyed as a whole, as with all the best concept albums. taking one or two tracks out of the sequence destroys its effect.
The concept itself is an interesting story of a man living a previous life through the still popular method of regression therapy. I like it, mainly because it’s a subject I have always been fascinated with, but I would also make the point to those who state it as being a bit silly that you could apply this to almost any concept album really.
This is an excellent album, of that there is no question. Having been a long-standing fan of classic metal, I am reticent to place it within the masterpiece category, but it really isn't that far off. If you are reading this and have tended to stay away from the band for whatever reason, I would recommend that you get this. There is certainly more than enough here for fans of classic heavy rock, heavy and symphonic prog to thoroughly enjoy.
After the heady excitement, Ibiza grooves and all, of Tubular Bells III, Oldfield decided to indulge himself, and absolutely nobody else, for this, his follow up album.
That is such a misleading description. This is a follow up to nothing except, perhaps, a need by him to simply pit down some licks and ideas on the instrument which, quite clearly, he is most adept at.
Thus, we have a veritable smorgasbord of ideas here, ranging from identifiable prog to virtuoso acoustic, misplaced metal chords, to even country and western, via Celtic folk and easily recognisable Bells sequences.
There is virtually no structure to this album at all, but, as those of us who love and appreciate Anthony Phillips' noodlings will appreciate, that is not necessarily a bad thing. There are occasions when you wish to sit down, with a good set of headphones, and simply lie back and let the sound of a class musician, playing his instrument of choice, wash over you. It is worth buying for Muse alone which is an exceptionally beautiful composition, and one of his finest.
This is a very good and satisfying work, without being remotely essential or crucially important. It was, though, somewhat brave after the commercial success that Bells III brought.