(70:25 / 47:47; Giant Electric Pea) Track list Live 1: 1. Lay Your Hands on Me 5:56 2. I Don't Remember 3:59 3. No Self Control 4:07 4. The Family and the Fishing Net 7:12 5.  I Have the Touch 4:36 6. Intruder 4:23 7. The Rhythm of the Heat 4:45 8. San Jacinto Games 7:44 9. Without Frontiers / Of These, Hope 8:07 10. Here Comes the Flood 7:36 11. Back in N.Y.C. 5:47 12 Biko 6:13 Track list Live 2: 1. Family Snapshot 4:39 2. Moribund the Burgermeister 4:17 3. Humdrum 3:50 4. Mercy Street 4:34 5. Wallflower 6:06 6. White Shadow 4:52 7. Father, Son 3:50 8. The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway 5:34 9. Fly On a Windshield 4:42 10. On the Air 5:23 Line-up: Jerry Marotta - drums, vocals Trey Gunn - Touch guitar, vocals David Jameson - keyboards, Eigenharp Michael Cozzi - guitars, vocals Brian Cummins - vocals Prolusion. These respectable and experienced musicians gathered in 2012, in the year of the 30th anniversary of Peter Gabriel’s album Security, with the sole purpose of paying tribute to t...

(74:00; Talking Elephant) As far as the mass media are concerned, prog died in 1976 and by ignoring the current scene they can pretend that is indeed the case. However, for those of us in the know, we continue to be blessed by new bands coming up and releasing material which is simply incredible. Kaprekar’s Constant are a case in point, as their 2017 debut ‘Fate Outsmarts Desire’ just blew me away, and I felt an incredibly close affinity to the band due to the song “Hallsands”, which is about a village falling into the sea where I used to have family. When they followed it up with 2019’s ‘Depth of Field’ I knew here was a very special outfit indeed, and now they are back with their third. As soon as it arrived this was straight on my player, and I sat there with my headphones on, falling into yet another magical world. We have the same line-up as on the last release, namely David Jackson (VDGG, saxes, flutes, whistles), Mark Walker (drums, percussion), Bill Jefferson (vocals), Dorie Ja...

(39:50; Doone Records) Laura is of course best-known for being one of the singers in the wonderful progressive rock band Izz, and this album was written by Laura (vocals, keyboards) with her husband and fellow bandmate John Galgano (bass, additional keyboards, electric guitars). It was then recorded with the additional help of Brian Coralian (electronic drums, percussion) and Tom Galgano (keyboards, who also produced and engineered it). In others words it included four of the six Izz members who produced their incredible 2019 album, ‘Don’t Panic’. So, if it was written by two members of Izz, and recorded by four members of the band, why not release it as an Izz album? Because it isn’t, pure and simple. I have always found it strange when members of a band record an album and then don’t release it as being by that band, and Jethro Tull’s ‘A’ is famously known as being planned as an Anderson solo album, but he was convinced to change it to a Tull release and overnight got rid of half of ...

(49:02; Lords of Form) Niall Hone will always be associated with his tenure in Hawkwind, where he performed a couple of different roles over a 12-year period and given the way members often return (as he himself did in 2018), you cannot 100% say if his career has finished with them just yet. Lords of Form is his latest project, and the album ‘Flying Chromium Society’ was written, recorded, produced and performed by Niall Hone with a few guests. Given his multi-instrumental role with Hawkwind it is no surprise that he played most of this himself, while the musical style is also not unexpected as this is firmly based in space rock although there are plenty of times when it is far lighter than one might expect, with plenty of psychedelic and even New Age interludes. The album contains plenty of lengthy instrumentals as well as somewhat heavier moments, and it is this contrast which makes this such an interesting album to listen to. Whereas some ex-members of the band have created new enti...

(54:18; earMusic) 40 years ago, a “new” progressive rock band released their debut single, “Market Square Heroes” and I rushed out to buy it on 12” and was blown away by what I heard. I followed their career avidly but for one reason or another it wasn’t until the ‘Misplaced Childhood’ tour that I finally saw them play, by which time I was a huge fan. Then it all changed. I have seen them multiple times since Hogarth joined, and have all the albums, and when I came back to the UK in 2017, they played the festival I was attending but to be honest I was thoroughly bored. That they are very good at what they do is never in doubt, but they are a band who have left me behind and I still believe their best recorded works are the first four albums combined with material they were playing prior to their debut. But, they are a band I keep going back to, and while these days they do not perform music I really want to listen to for pleasure, there is no doubt there are still a great many fans who...

(30:48; Dur et Doux [2021 Edition] ) Although the second album from Bogota-based band Mula came out originally in 2017, it was reissued in 2021 by French label Dur et Doux which is why it has now come to my attention. This is a wonderfully distorted chaotic mess of RIO and free jazz, all coming together in a mess of sound which is wonderfully dynamic and full of contrast. That they have been thrown into a studio and been told to go mad is never in doubt, that they have been thrown into the same studio is more up for debate. They are killing their instruments (electric bass, tenor sax, alto and baritone the clarinet, guitar, drums and keyboards), doing far more than just sitting sedately and providing wonderful harmonies but instead are turning them against each other to create discord and “music” which can be used as a weapon. There is a freedom of expression here which is a million miles removed from the plasticity of so much artificially created “muzak”, as here we have people who ar...

(327:12; Unicorn Digital) In my mind French-Canadian band Mystery have had three separate periods to their career to date, defined by their different singers and while they probably came to many people’s attention when Benoît David was chosen to front Yes, it is with their last two albums that they have really made their presence felt. I do need to put a little disclaimer out at this point as I have known guitarist and songwriter Michel St-Père for more than 30 years and he asked me to write the introduction for the booklet which comes with this set, which was recorded in Holland on November 17th, 2018, but that has had no impact on my opinion of it. The gig nearly didn’t go ahead as although Michel had arrived a few days early, the rest of the band appeared to be trapped in Canada with their flight cancelled until Sylvain Moineau (guitar, keyboards) somehow managed to get them onto a flight to London. They arrived in time for the show, jetlagged and tired, but no-one would guess from ...

(51:04; Anesthetize Productions) This is the third album from Nice-based progressive rock band Nine Skies, but somehow, they have passed me by until now, even though I can see that quite a few musical friends of mine took part in their second release (Dave Foster, Pat Sanders, Clive Nolan, just to name a few). They also have some guests on this album, with Steve and John Hackett both involved as well as Damian Wilson singing on one song. The band itself is quite a large one, with Eric Bouillette (guitars, mandolin, violin, keyboards), Alexandre Lamia (guitars, keyboards), Anne-Claire Rallo (keyboards), David Darnaud (guitars), Achraf El Asraoui (vocals, guitars), Alexis Bietti (bass), Fabien Galia (drums, percussion), and Laurent Benhamou (saxophones) along with two more guests in Cath Lubatti (violin, viola) and Lilian Jaumotte (cello). There may be a lot of musicians, but what surprises the listener when getting into this is just how pastoral and acoustic it is. The arrangements are ...

(46:54; Paradise 9) Recorded towards the end of 2014 at The Amersham Arms SheepDog Bash2, the band has already changed since the album released the previous year with the core trio of Gregg McKella (vocals, guitar, glissando guitar, clarinet and space FX's), Neil Matthars (bass) and Tyrone Thomas (lead guitar, backing vocals) now joined by Jonas Golland (Tiger Lillies/I am Meat) on drums and backing vocals. The underground scene lives and breathes with gigs like these, and I certainly see way more bands perform in pubs than I have ever seen in arenas. I know the first time I ever saw Neil play was at The Red Lion in Brentford when he was in the Casuals, about 30 years ago! At the time of recording, they may have had a new drummer in the ranks, but the band were flying high after the success of ‘Take Me To The Future’ which had been released the previous year, and it is no surprise that the majority of tracks in this 7-song set are taken from that album. This is space rock with huge...

(54:32; Flicknife Records) Since the last Paradise 9 album there have been some changes in the camp with the departure of both drummer Carl Sampson and percussionist Jaki Windmill, who have been replaced by Wayne Collyer. This means the band have slimmed to a quartet, with the rest of the line-up still Gregg McKella (vocals, guitar, clarinet, Fx), Tyrone Thomas (lead guitar, backing vocals) and Neil Matthars (bass). Colyer was a member of the ban when McKella formed it originally back in 1988, which makes Neil the newbie as he has only been there 14 years, so here we have a band with a stable line-up and a long pedigree. Even though they have been going in one form or another for more than 30 years this is only their third album, released in 2021, eight years on from the excellent ‘Take Me To The Future’. As one has come to expect from Paradise 9 this is very much space rock, with the bass often providing the structure of the songs, even though there are two guitars. Take the title cut...

(34:49; Norske Albumklassikere [2022 Edition] ) Track list: 1. Lady Universe 3:33 2. There's a Light 2:49 3. Good Lovin' Tonight 3:26 4. Dead Man's World 3:12 5. Feelin' Lonely 3:05 6. Elin 1:58 7. (I Need To Get) A Hold on You 4:22 8. We Didn't Make It 3:56 9. Land of Love 3:19 10. When The Curtain (Of Night) Falls 2:28 11. Goodbye 2:41 Line-up: Tore Johansen - vocals Knut Solem - drums Stein Olsen - guitars, percussion Erling Mylius - bass, percussion, effects, vocals Ivar Gafseth - organ, piano, synthesizer, accordion, clavinet, vocals with: Roger Valstad - vocals Members from Trondheim Symphony Orchestra Prolusion. Norwegian band Difference was formed in the late 1960's, and was an active band until 1980 or thereabouts. During their active years the band released two studio albums. "Different Ways" was the second of these, and dates back to 1975. Analysis. What we get with this album is music that is rather typical of the time and the era in which ...

(31:31; Garden Records) Track list: 1. Intro BBC/Jo 0:36 2. The Pharmacist 4:46 3. Intro Jez 0:16 4. Fool Killer 3:59 5. Intro Jon 0:22 6. Crossing the Rubicon 4:23 7. Intro Andy 0:26 8. Riding the Great Fantastic 5:26 9. Elviras Garden 3:35 10. Blown Into Another Man`s Sky 7:42 Line-up: Jon Buxton - guitars, vocals Andy Cooke - bass, harmonica Colin Edwards - guitars Jez Nutbean - keyboards, vocals Ashley Buxton - drums with: Terry Boazman - drums Prolusion. UK band Heronimus Fin has a history that stretches back to the first half of the 1990's, but with a long spell where the band were inactive as a recording unit as a part of that history. The band returned as a more active unit on that front in 2016, and have released three albums since then. "Live in Session @ The BBC" is the most recent of these, and was released through the label Garden Records in the spring of 2022. Analysis. This live album obviously isn't the album that will shed any new light into the unive...

(51:40; Melodic Revolution Records) Formed back in 2004 by Juan Pablo Calvo (keyboards, guitars, vocals), Time’s Forgotten have long been seen as one of the top prog metal bands out of Costa Rica, but it has been ten long years since their third album, ‘The Book Of Lost Words’ was released. Back then they were a sextet with a male singer, but Francisco Longhi and guitarist Leonardo Rojas, have both since departed. Juan, along with Jorge Sobrado (drums), Ari Lotringer (lead guitar) and Gonzalo Trejos (bass) have now been joined by Priscilla Ruiz on lead vocals. I have not come across the previous releases, but when a singer is changed it is not unusual for a band sound to change considerably, especially if they move from male to female, so I must believe that this is a totally fresh start for them. Given that the band was formed by the keyboard player, I expected them to be musically coming from that area but instead they are coming into the genre much more from a melodic metal stance, ...

(40:21; Judge Smith) Judge Smith will probably always be best remembered for forming Van Der Graaf Generator with Peter Hammill in 1967, but since then he has been involved with many other musical projects including opera, musicals, various bands and collaborations and now he has returned with his sixteenth release. Before I get onto the review itself, I must say I wish all bands would take the care and time in sending out material that Judge did. Not only did I get a lovely hand-written (!) letter, but also a full biography, two pages of information on the album itself, as well as links to get more if I needed it (plus a heartfelt “please don’t hesitate to contact me if you need any further information”). Effort in equals effort out, and when people try to help a reviewer like that and make our lives easier, then there is a much higher possibility of getting a review. Of course, if I don’t like the album I will still say so, but when it is one as enjoyable as this then there is no lik...

(48:36; Greydisc) When I see there is a new album available from Kevin Kastning I know it is going to be fascinating and that it will take me into areas I would not have previously experienced as a listener. That is again the case here, as he has chosen as his partner for this album Soheil Peyghambari who provides both bass and Bᵇ clarinet while kevin is on both 36-string Double Contraguitar and 17-string Hybrid Extended Classical guitar. Every time I see a picture of him with the former, I have real issue understanding how he can even know where all the notes are as it is a massively complex-looking beast. Given that he has released more than 40 albums, many of which feature that instrument, he obviously knows his way around. The instruments played by Soheil are in the lower register, which provide a stark contrast to much of that being performed by Kevin, which sometimes has a harplike quality. In his introduction, Kevin makes much of the fact that Soheil does not appear to be constr...

(43:49; Greydisc) As one may guess from the title, this is the second album being released taken from recordings on 29th October 2015. Although Kevin (36-string Double Contraguitar, 30-string Contra-Alto guitar, 15-string Extended Classical guitar) had recorded, toured and improvised with both musicians independently, Carl (Tenor & Soprano saxophones, Alto flute) and Sándor (16-string Classical guitar) had not played with each other, and it was the first time the musicians were working as a trio. Three master musicians, and the only rule is there are no rules, as they work and bounce ides off each other to see where the music will lead them. At the beginning there is no idea where the journey will lead, how long it is going to be, or what marvels and mysteries they will encounter on the way, but they are all prepared for what happens as they explore. Each of the players are happy to take the lead, or to sit behind and wait for the correct moment to take over, when the time is right...

(37:30; Out-Sider Records) There are many times within music when an album has been released to no acclaim, only for it to become beloved of music aficionados and collectors in later years and then become highly prized. I’ve found in my experience that it is not unusual for those albums to not be worth what people ask for, as they are now more of a scarce commodity as opposed to having real musical value. Still, there are times when an album is reissued when the listener cannot help but wonder why it was not far more successful back in the day, and when I played this my initial reaction was this album fell into this category. Imagine my shock when I realised that what we have here is the first time this has ever been made available even though it was recorded all the way back in 1976! High school student Tom Salvatori teamed up with older brother Michael, Michael’s wife Gail, and Tom’s classmate Scott Magnesen to record this 5-song 38-minute demo which then laid dusty until this year w...

(59:38; Captain of the Lost Waves) When it comes to musicians, there are few who are guaranteed to be rushed to the player as soon as a new album arrives, trumping whatever state my review list is currently in, but Captain of the Lost Waves certainly sits within that small but perfectly defined group. His releases tend to have “review killer” status, as when I start listening to his music I don’t want to play anything else, which means I am just not getting to the others I should be spending time on. “Just once more all the way through” I justify to myself, and then sit back and spend the whole evening listening to one of the most vibrant and important musicians around. The Captain has no management, no label, and refuses to compromise one iota to his own musical ideas and vision. Even a pandemic could not stop him, even though he had to isolate more than most and did much of his recording at home, as did the other three core musicians, using just two guests to create a multi-layered m...

(58:42; Gryphon) If ever there were a band who typifies all that is good and right about 70’s progressive rock then it must be Gryphon, who managed to confuse the music establishment so much that they once had music played on Radio 1, 2, 3, and 4 all in the same week (which was when Radio 1 was mostly pop and some rock/indie, Radio 2 mostly easy listening and older music, Radio 3 was classical and Radio 4 was highbrow). Between 1973 and 1977 they released five incredibly important albums, and most music lovers were amazed when the band reformed for a new album in 2018, and now they are back with the next. Original members Graeme Taylor (acoustic & electric guitars), Brian Gulland (bassoon, bass crumhorn, baritone saxophone, recorders, piano) and Dave Oberlé (drums, percussion, vocals) have been joined again by Andy Findon (clarinets, saxophones, flutes) while there are two new members in Rob Levy (bass guitar) and Clare Taylor (violin, keyboards). Yes, you read that correctly, they...

(32:55; Jack Dupon) It has been some time since I last reviewed this French quartet, as this album was released just last year but previously, I had only come across 2013’s ‘Jesus L'aventurier’. There have been two more albums between that and this one, which is their seventh studio release, featuring the same quartet who have been there since their inception more than 15 years ago, Gregory Pozzoli (guitar, vocals), Thomas Larsen (drums, vocals), Arnaud M'Doihoma (bass, vocals), and Philippe Prebet (guitar, vocals). This is uncompromising RIO, and there is no doubt that this is a genre I have come to appreciate far more in recent years. Here we have four musicians who create complex sounds, never moving away from a challenge, often using vocals and indecipherable lyrics as yet another instrument. It is not music which can be played in the background and should only be played on headphones when the listener has the time to actively do just that, as although there are only four p...

(65:20; Melodic Revolution Records) One of the issues with being a fairly well-known reviewer is that even though I do my level best to stem the flood of material heading my way and challenge myself to try and write 20 album reviews a week (I generally fail), I am always way behind on my listening and therefore my reviewing. This album came out in April last year and every time I came across a mention of it on the web, I said to myself I really needed to get that one done, but here we are nearly a year on from the release and it is only now that I feel I understand it enough to be able to write about it. I first came across Mack for his work in the excellent band Scarlet Hollow, and it is of no surprise at all to see Gregg Olson helping on a track, with the only real surprise is that he didn’t do more. Mack did bring in a few guests, but he provides the core of the music with bass, bass pedals, synths and percussion, and the result is an album which is led by the bass as opposed to gui...

(46:41; Inside Out Music) I first saw Jethro Tull on the ‘Under Wraps’ tour, spent thousands of pounds on collecting rare releases, and my first ever piece of published writing was in the ‘A New Day’ fanzine some time in another life. The last time I saw them play was back in 2004, but even though I then left the country not long after and there has been no opportunity to see them play in NZ, I vowed never to go and see them again as it no longer felt like Tull and Ian had lost his voice. Tull kept going until 2012, and then went on hiatus, reforming in 2017. The current line-up features John O'Hara (keyboards, backing vocals) and David Goodier (bass, double bass) who both joined the band in 2007, plus new boys Scott Hammond (drums, percussion, joined 2017) and Joe Parrish (lead guitar, who joined in 2020). Tull have always had an issue with retaining members, but at one point Ian said that he could not imagine there being a Tull without Martin and Peggy, but here we are. Martin is...