PROG RELATED

"Heat of The Moment" is on Top 40 radio. Sounds like a hard rock version of "Video Killed The Radio Star" in terms of chord structure and such (ironically, Geoff Downes is a Buggle). Still sounds good nonetheless.

"Only Time Will Tell" One my favorites, it is very melodic and is littered with great synth work and great Howe shreds. The group brings it home with the nice sound of this song.

"Sole Survivor" Starts out with heavy guitar, and devolves back to an upbeat rocker. Guitar and synth duet here and there.

"One Step Closer" another of my favorites. Very upbeat, and not too heavy, the synth work here is almost New-Wave. Vocal work is not too harsh, and the chorus is very mellow.

"Time Again" starts out very proggish with Howe's ominous guitar before the song really starts revealing a song that (to me) sounds like a battle of some sorts. There are some odd pauses where the guitar and keys do some call/response avant stabs to each other.

"Wildest Dreams" is another melodic number. Funnily enough, this song is actually about war. A mix between the upbeat rocking energy of "Heat Of The Moment" and also melodic chords of "Only Time Will Tell". During the chorus, you can hear Howe feeding his guitar through either chorus or a leslie speaker. There is a really nice guitar/synth duet in the middle of the song. Really The songs ending is very nice and ends in a Gmaj7.

"Without You" is the most progressive offering for those who got this far. The song starts as a ballad, but turns into an upbeat song that changes quite a bit. Howe comes in on Acoustic guitar when the song goes back into ballad mode, and I thought it was very cool.

"Cutting Fine" speaking of acoustic guitar, this upbeat number starts with acoustic guitar before going full electric and the synth strings swell into place. This is one is kind of cheesy because of the vocoder that comes in near halfway. The ending of the song turns into a piano/synth/organ ballad and to me that was also quite progressive.

"Here Comes The Feeling" Is an upbeat finisher that starts symphonic, and has piano (both acoustic and electric) littered throughout. Howe comes in on acoustics again which is cool.

In all, this album is not going to please progressive purists, but for those who enjoy 80s rock music, this is a definite addition to your collection. It's arena AOR with some symphonic and progressive flavorings.

Erik Norlander and Lana Lane do most of the songwriting. The songs aren't terribly complex, but there are glimpses of various prog sub-genres. They're at times atmospheric, at times hard, and always enjoyable.

AOR-style rock with some prog influences. It's not something I'd listen to when I'm in the mood for complexity, but despite that it's very enjoyable, and deserving of 4 stars.

Play The Game If there's any band that knows how to start an album it's Queen. They know right when that needle drops you need to be transported elsewhere. Play The Game executes that in a clean fresh way that introduces the sound of the album and fits in snugly. The tone rising and quickly falling to bring forth the vocals rids any need for a more elaborate intro. It's like a swig of mouthwash for your eyes, resetting whatever mood you were in before and forcefully seating you in front of this album. I like the metaphor they went with here, it fits the whole vibe they were going for, it's not like it means too much, but it's fun and a great way to get in shape. The guitar solos also add the finishing rough edge to prevent this from being standard step-by-step pop-rock. But at the end of the day this track is best listened to how it is, there's nothing in here that's especially thought-provoking, or meaningful (which is a theme that I feel continues throughout the album). But a good song's a good song, and if I don't gain a third eye from it that's fine. I also [&*!#] myself during the synth solo, I thought they were above that ungodly instrument smh.

Dragon Attack Play The Game still might be a bit poppy for some people, and that's fine. Maybe the traces of hard rock didn't make it up to them, maybe they weren't paying attention, maybe they suck and are awful and I also hate them, and that's fine. But just in case anyone thought Queen lost their cool, Dragon Attack would prove overwise. It's funky, hard, the drum solo is especially cool, and the layered guitar solos jiggle a thousand keys in front of your face. The lyrics and vocals, while still meaningless, are very agreeable. They hit the nerve of "yeah man".

Another One Bites The Dust "Hey! I know this song!" Little Timmy said while I drove past blasting this album, his tiny head exploding from being in the way of my bass frequencies. I figure every man, woman, and child this side of the Atlantic has had this song stuck in their head at one point. One of (if not) the most recognizable bass lines ever written, matched with memorable lyrics sung by an anthemic singer, and a very well-crafted song structure creates what was bound to be a number-one hit. Another One Bites The Dust pulls itself back a little, it strategically holds itself back to keep you listening. You sit there and wonder "when's this [&*!#] gonna pop off?", it never does. It uses this to keep you listening closer for that moment it does go off, and when you get bored it ropes you back in when everything ramps up dramatically at the end of each verse. This ramp-up doesn't last, but it keeps you there. The bridge does much the same thing in the opposite direction, instead of keeping you there by ramping up, it slows down building tension. And if those strategies don't work there's still the amazing, insanely catchy bass line that strings this song together. Another One Bites The Dust doesn't hold you above water, it pushes you above water, and when you start sinking again it punches you back up. Sorta like how your dad would push you on the swing as a child.

Need Your Loving Tonight This is the brown spot on the record. Squeezed between two extremely recognizable tracks is a meaningless, in- your-face, nothing hot dog. The lyrics are uninspired, Freddie's vocals don't fit the nature of our protagonist, the aesthetic is off, and nothing hits me musically. The guitar solos are good, but when talking about Brain May "good" is an insult. The track's only saving grace is being in between two amazing number-one singles, and even then, the flow of Another One Bites The Dust into Need Your Loving Tonight feels so unnatural. The low bass and drums fading and echoing out would fit a lot better with the soft opening guitar of Crazy Little Thing Called Love than it does with Need Your Loving Tonight's "YEAH!", and subsequent rotten cheese guitar riff. This is bar none my least favorite Queen song (as of writing this). This sounds like Queen from an alternate universe where they never took off and were stabbed to death for being [&*!#].

Crazy Little Thing Called Love Another classic of the Queen catalog. Right after the greatest song of all time comes this Elvisy romp. I love the phrase "Crazy Little Thing Called Love", it's a very wholesome way of looking at love. The bass line to this one is my favorite off the album, everything about it is so fun and inclusive. The rockabilly electric guitar solo paired with the claps and doowoping (or whatever you would call it) build a solid atmosphere. Nothing in here feels wrong, or out of place, everything from the voice to the spastic guitar accents works great. This is one of those songs that will always, every time I put it on, make me happy; it's impossible to not be in (at least) brighter spirits listening to this.

Rock It (Prime Jive) Queen has always boasted about not using a synthesizer on their records. If you own a 70's Queen LP you'll see in the credits "No Synthesizers!". And it's great that they finally came around to using one, but isn't it kinda weird to have a song about "real rock 'n' roll" right after you went back on your thing about not using synthesizers in your real rock records? But the use of the synth here is pretty good, so I guess all is forgiven. I feel like the lyrics here should do more in the way of meaning anything at all. Dragon Attack had the excuse that the lyrics are cool, and the rest of the song didn't need them, but I feel like good lyrics are a little bit more needed here. Maybe tell a little story here, that would fit nicely with the progression the song goes through. But when you have a song with good progression and lyrics that don't go anywhere, or move anything, the lyrics play tug-a-war with the rest of the track, and make it all uncomfortable.

Don't Try Suicide I feel that the flexible and uncoordinated core of the instrumentation matched well with the borderline-offensive lyrics. But they shouldn't be offensive to people with suicidal thoughts, it's about attention whores who pretend to be suicidal for whatever reason (imo). The amount of cheesy backing ground vocals and odd inflections elevate the sarcasm to near-Zappa levels. The only time it's honest is on half of the bridge, until the line "You just can't be a prick teaser all of the time", which is [%*!#]ing hilarious. This song is the best time, one of their most plainly enjoyable tracks. And of course the bass line is funky as [&*!#]. I also think the outro blends in nicely with Sail Away Sweet Sister, getting more mellow lending up to the end.

Sail Away Sweet Sister This tugs on the heartstrings hard. The sheer amount of delivery that comes with the fluctuating dynamics of the last line of the verse and the bombastic choruses that follow. The lyrical content reminds me of Bridge Over Troubled Water, the always sticking by your side even when you've sailed on by, of course they do it better, but this also comes near something like that. What Simon & Garfunkel don't have is an aesthetic as [%*!#] guitar solo and brain-poking hard/pop rock. The outro ends it perfectly. All in all, this is an almost flawless track, they could do a bit better with the lyrics. I like how the lyrics reference back to Play The Game ("Ain't no use in pretending you don't wanna play no more"), but they aren't mind-blowing. And the song could be a bit longer, maybe extend the first guitar solo. And it could use more depth... On second thought this is very much not a flawless track, but it's still really good.

Coming Soon There's a lot of meaningless music (of course excluding instrumentals), the vast majority of it's pretty bad. But some songs, like Coming soon, hit the nail on the head when it comes to being good meaningless music. There's nothing fancy with the lyrics here, nothing means anything, "what exactly is coming soon?", doesn't matter it's entertaining. There's a solid beat to this track, there's a solid rhythm, and most of all there's a vibe. It's a fun vibe, it's a vibe you don't wanna leave. If only there was a five-minute guitar solo.

Save Me I get it's a greatest hit and stuff, don't I don't give a [&*!#], nothing is stimulating here. It's all the extreme, but none of the flavor of extreme that makes Queen Queen. If I wanted bombastic music with moving vocals, funky bass, great melody, and amazing guitar solos I'd listen to the huge mound of awesome stuff Queen put out, but not this. It is a solid album closer, but mainly it's Queen-flavored meaningless melodrama.

"Why did you write so little about each track" Ghost Little Timmy howled at me from beyond the grave. "Well there's not a whole lot to write about Little Timmy" I responded, "This album is shallower than anything from Queen's 70's output. It's not bad, but only truly good in the moment." At this point I realized I'm hearing and seeing [&*!#] that isn't there and should go to bed. Goodnight everyone

So when I heard there was a reissue boxed set coming out with remasters of both this and the album he later recorded with Gordon Giltrap, 'Ravens & Lullabies', I knew I was in for a treat and that was indeed the case. I know both those albums well, and have reviewed them previously, and they are quite different in their approach. The first is a true instrumental album where Oliver shows just how close he is to his father in many ways, with Tony Dixon (Uilleann Pipes, whistles, flute) probably having a bigger impact on the overall sound than Steve Howe who rarely makes his presence felt at all. There is a deftness of touch from all involved, and a strong use of space and knowing when not to play as well as when to make an entrance, as both elements are incredibly important. There is a Western Isles feel to this, and there are times when I am reminded quite strongly of Iona, and it is great to hear it here in its cleaned up form, although given that Rob Aubrey and Karl Groom were involved in the original it is not like it needed much work at all.

While Steve may have sat back a little on his collaboration, the same cannot be said of Gordon who opened the 'Ravens' albums by riffing his 12-string. This album has much more of a commercial feel than the former, with Paul Manzi (Arena) providing vocals, while Oliver also invited his ex-Yes bandmate Benoît David for one song. The drumming is also much more in your face with Johanne James (Threshold) joining in on the fun ? the line-up being completed by Steve Amadeo on bass. The album features pieces which originally started with Gordon, others with Oliver, and yet others are full band pieces. Some would have not sounded out of place on Gordon's classic 'Elegy' album, still one of my favourites some 40+ years after it was first released. The title of the album references the different styles included within, and the variety makes this an absolute delight.

Wakeman father and sons have a wonderful relationship with their live sound engineers over the years, with Rick performing one of his most enjoyable concerts ever then coming off the stage and moaning to the engineer he so wished they had arranged to record it only to be told it had been (later released as 'The Oscar Concert' ? superb). It was during lockdown that Oliver was approached by the sound engineer from one of the Giltrap/Wakeman concerts to say he had found a multitrack recording from a Christmas concert Oliver and Gordon had performed at with special guest Paul Manzi, where they played songs from these two albums (plus a few others) in a very different style, just the musicians bouncing off each other and Paul joining in for a few numbers. One of these is from the 'Baskervilles' album, originally sung by Bob Catley, here given a very different and delicate feel by the trio and is an absolute delight. The set ends with the one song everyone seems to know of Gordon's, "Heartsong", where he is joined by Oliver to create something quite special. It is this last album which I enjoyed most as here Oliver shows just how much like his father he really is, not only in his playing but also with his very dry sense of humour.

Whenever anyone hears the name Wakeman one always thinks of Rick, who casts an enormous shadow over all keyboard players, let alone his sons, but both Adam and Oliver need recognising in their own right and this is the place to start for the older brother.

"Mademoiselle" and the title track are the most recognizable songs here, both having been featured on various greatest hits compilations, and they're both good songs. "Jennifer" is a sketchy jailbait song which hasn't aged well. Everything else here as good. "This Old Man" is a gem I hadn't heard before, and "Clair De Lune/Ballerina" is fantastic-- at over seven minutes, one of their best songs.

This is an essential album for Styx fans, and for those who aren't Styx fans this album might change your mind. 4 stars.

Rediscovering my old OLIAS L.P. was a pleasant surprise. In contrast to FISH OUT OF WATER, which I find terribly overblown (not to mention the fact that I can't stand Chris Squire's bleating), and BEGINNINGS, half of which is completely unlistenable (mainly because of Steve Howe's vocals and execrable lyrics), good ole' Jon Anderson's solo debut sounded incredibly fresh and reinvigorating. I immediately bought the 2021 Cherry Red Records CD reissue to find out why this was so. (And no, I'm not in the pay of Cherry Red Records!) I found that our Jon wrote at least a couple of songs which are as catchy as anything Yes ever did - most notably 'Sound Out the Galleon' and 'The Flight of the Moorglade'. Even though he's anything but a virtuoso on drums, synths, guitars or harp, he also painstakingly created a number of instrumentals which are very pleasant to the ear. He came up with a number of chants ('canons' or 'rounds' I guess you could call them) which are similar in spirit to Yes's 'We Have Heaven' but far subtler in execution. And finally, he took great care to devise keyboards/harp/percussion/backing vocals arrangements for the entire album. As a result, OLIAS really is a rich and rewarding listening experience. I guess it helps that Anderson did the whole thing at home on his own (with only a sound technician to assist him), so there was no band he had to struggle with. He ended up singing most of the new songs fairly low in his register, which makes them easier to bear than GOING FOR THE ONE or TORMATO, both of which sound far too shrill to my taste.

Of course you'll need some suspension of disbelief to fully embrace a J.A. solo album. After all, this is a man who writes lines such as 'Total relating appointed close factors / of what we regard as the answer lies there' without any sense of embarrassment. One or two of his wordless vocals are perhaps a little soppy as well - New Age avant-la-lettre. Furthermore, the SF/fantasy/fairy-tale concept he devised seems half-baked at best. But the sheer loveliness of most of his tunes and - dare I say it - the majesty of his best instrumental movements make up for any deficiencies.

In my view, there was only one mid-seventies Yes member whose solo achievement came close to Anderson's: Patrick Moraz, with his highly eccentric THE STORY OF I. And for the sake of completeness it's only fair to add that both of them were solidly beaten just two years later, by the first solo effort from ex Yes member Bill Bruford: FEELS GOOD TO ME.

The Fire Theft is one of those interesting Prog-related tales, though not all that surprising. Membership of guitarist-vocalist-frontman Jeremy Enigk, bassist Nate Mendel, and drummer William Goldsmith is likewise rooted in Alt-Emo darlings ('darlings' for good reason) Sunny Day Real Estate. Adding to the interest is the membership of Mendel (long-term and to present) and Goldsmith (fairly briefly, though considered a founding member) to Foo Fighters. As a fan of Alt Rock at large and Emo specifically (which really started blending with Alternative music stylistically around the mid-90s), I highly recommend exploring Sunny Day's catalog; over the course of just 6 years, the impact that their four albums had is immeasurable. It's been quite a while, but learning this latterday band was on PA, I just had to give it another whirl! And to think The Fire Theft, their sole album released in '03, came out just in time for this site!

The album begins with "Uncle Mountain". Here a wash of sparse, echoing rim hits and spacy, reverb-soaked guitar is met with a lush string ensemble, which continues throughout. It crescendos naturally, and well-timed I might add. Enigk's vocal delivery is truly unique still. And his performance on guitar is absolutely inspiring. It's cool to think that this classical-flavoring can be traced back to George Martin with the Beatles and the early work of the Moody Blues. Delicious stuff. Fantastic opener. Jangling guitar coolly backs his shredded vocals as he finally states, 'I want love / If love wants me / I want God / If God wants me.' Up next is the very Post-Progressive "Interlude", a softly stilling piano instrumental. These keys are then replaced with what sounds like a far-off organ on "Oceans Apart", in which Jeremy self-harmonizes beautifully, answered by more strings, string-like effects and what sounded like French horn, perhaps. The single-chorded nature draws our mind to Raga and reveals itself to be pure psychedelic ecstasy! You get your reward in full if you just wait a little bit (just a minute here haha), amirite? Goldsmith's kit really brings it all together; it's hypnotism.

Psych-evocation continues on "Chain". And honestly I can't think of a time where Jeremy Enigk sounded quite like this; sort of a loosely Hard Rock affectation? Many of these tracks, honestly and suitably (given Jeremy's Christian faith), feel like we're being taken right to church. The mood shifts slightly, toward meditative, on "Backward Blues", the only way I like my Blues. Against a basic drone from the rhythm section and Mendel's arpeggiated bass, guitar is outputted backwards, as the title seeks to imply. It's a very provocative sound, despite its overall simplicity. Implying to me [a very sweet] Psych-Pop revivalism with a buzzing drone from synth apparently, "Summertime" is a surefire winner in many resorts [Two sides of the same coin: Any fans of The Left Banke out there? And of Apples in Stereo?]. It's one I definitely remember pretty well; solid melody and Jeremy's voice sounds good as ever. Times like these make it a bit harder to judge for the site. Sweeter still we then have "Houses". And in a whole other church-found way, the old-timey lilt reminds me of some of the hymns I grew up with. Either way, a track of romantic nostalgia; likelihood of Prog-fan appeal is limited.

Back on with a clearcut, straightaway Rock beat, "Waste Time" still brings out flavors from before, though it sounds modern in various ways. The loose drummin' is really putting in the work and simultaneously gives a vibe of the past; difficult for me to specify. To me, not one of the stronger tracks (and yet very tastefully produced, etc., etc.). On Spotify currently, "Heaven", a highly sentimental piano ballad turned Second-Wave Emo... ballad (haha), is by far the most popular track. It does have some melodic knack and interest that I just can't deny. Lovely stuff and once more we get some delicious harmonies. The explosions of guitar and cymbals, in what is broadly the outro, is very impactful. Not quite Prog, but certainly ambitious. Coming to the close is one of my all-time favorites from this album, "Rubber Bands", with a fantastic and memorable main riff. Still summoning Psychedelia, this is pretty representative of the best of what Second-Wave Emo, as it were, has to offer (I would say, yearwise, this was not even in that wave of the genre, to be clear). Really, everything is so good here. You'll never hear Nate Mendel sound like this, for instance. Simply put, this is just compositional satisfaction, after all that came before. I'll recommend here and now a band that certainly should be (and I forgot thankfully is) on ProgArchives, Polvo!!! Their exploration of dissonance, for instance, is fantastical. Similar in tone and likely aim, in my opinion, is the much more Post-Hardcore group Faraquet.

As we approach the end (of the album and this incredibly long review), next is "It's Over". I mean, they really figured out how to put some weight on the backend, hadn't they? Some of the best vocal melodies of the whole, and everyone is bringing their proverbial A game. This track reads to me, broadly, as Power Pop. Reaching into a very specific sound from Sunny Day before, "Carry You" has a forlorn feeling; dark, but not quite a dirge. Second time the thought has come to me throughout this listen, but Jeremy's occasioned raspy falsetto stands reminiscent to my ears of Jon Anderson (Yes) [Wow, combining multiple American idioms really muddies the meaning at some point, doesn't it? haha]. Despite the dark and moody, this track will offer your ears plenty. Awesome sound design, to put it one way, at the very end. Footsteps walk right-to-left and then back again as the string ensemble dies down. At first spin of the final track, "Sinatra" initially took me aback by its near-15-minute length. This doesn't sound much like anything else here to me at the start. We also get our first (clear) feature of acoustic guitar. And the wait is worth it, as it gets goin' right around minute 2. Who am I kidding? This song is huge. A swirl of different voices enters in around the fifth minute as we return to the spacious, sunlit sonics of "Sinatra"'s start. The mantra of the hour is 'I'm just me.' And all God's children said, 'Yeah, sure. Amen.' All then dies down at right about 8:00, as I patiently and ignorantly listen for more while sitting in this plenty busy, plenty loud cafe... We come back with more less than two minutes later. The remainder is effectively an ambient work. Not my favorite way to go out, but it's certainly a closing statement I can not deny significance.

Now there is a good song on this album. Or rather, two good songs: the short "Prelude 12," leading directly to "Suite Madame Blue." Almost eight minutes of great music. And "Prelude 12," essentially a prelude to "Suite Madame Blue," isn't on my Styx Greatest Hits album, so it's nice to have it here.

The rest of the album? Skippable. "Light Up" and "Lorelei" were songs I'd heard before, and they're not particularly awful songs, but I can't say I actually enjoy them. The other tracks here aren't any better. Hard pop, and that's not a compliment. So I'll listen to "Prelude 12" and "Suite Madame Blue" and I'll ignore the rest. Not one of Styx's better albums. 2.5 stars.

The highlight of the album is the almost 10-minute-long "Black in the Burn." But each song here is strong, with a musical style more like Avantasia than Helloween. Ultimately, this is quality melodic power metal, with some very light prog touches. Fans of Jorn Lande, and prog metal fans who don't mind venturing a little bit past the edges of the genre, will find a lot to like here. 4 stars.

The debut of this legendary Danish band is, according to the very brief All Music Guide review, "their lightest and most charming effort. Waltzing melodies give way to thunder-of-doom bass runs (...). With its oddly hollow sound, one is never really sure whether the tone is supposed to be playful or ominous." Yeah, that pretty much sums it up, but I'll try to give a deeper picture. There are eleven songs running a modest 34½ minutes in total. Released in July 1968, one naturally cannot expect notable progness of it, but it has lots of playful inspiration (at times reminiscent of for example WIGWAM's 1969 debut) that makes the posthumous label proto-prog well deserved. If I had to guess which bands had influenced them, I'd put my biggest bet on JEFFERSON AIRPLANE. Beatlesque this isn't per se, unless the term is referring to the musical versatility itself. And despite the dominance of keyboards, this music is in spirit also closer to THE WHO than to Procol Harum.

'Your Sign / My Sign' has a jazzy chanson feel except for the loud sounding chorus with a Jeffersonian psych rock touch. The vocalist Annisette hadn't yet found her truest girlish personality and she probably attempts to sound like Grace Slick and that sort. 'Open Air Shop' rocks hard. Tinkling piano, fierce organ, gritty electric guitar and a hectic rhythm section are supporting a Janis Joplin reminding roughness in Annissette's expression. The song ends with a lengthy and wild drum solo.

'You Be Free' (1:27) is weather-light, playful and, when it comes to the vocals, charmingly sensual. 'Oh Baby Where Have You Gone' is a lively, Who-spirited rock song with plenty of male harmony vocals. The drummer Alex Riel sounds to be the most gifted musician of the group at this point. Listen to his jazzy touch on 'A Girl I Knew' that rivals anything that John Denmore did in the Doors, or his elegant playfulness on 'Everybody Must Know'. This song is a good example of the way the album feels light but simultaneosly also very intense and explosive under the innocent surface.

'Savage Rose' has nice melodies and a flute solo (uncredited). 'Her Story' directs the spotlight to Annissette's powerful and soulful vocal delivery. 'White Swans' Marriage Clothes' is among the lightest tracks. Nice to hear again those male vocal harmonies reminiscent of the Moody Blues around 1967. 'Sleep' is the mellowest song, a relaxed duet of Annissette and the guitarist who elsewhere tends to get buried in the soundscape. 'You'll Be Alright' has orchestral grandiosity and closes the album in a spectacular way.

This is definitely among the best debut albums of the year 1968, but IMHO it's not a five-star masterpiece like the majority of the ratings suggest.