(31:46; Newdog Records) Eternal Return is a quintet which brings together various duos/trios that have previously recorded and toured together. Within this ensemble we have Dogon, the duo of Venezuelan Miguel Noya (synthesisers) and American Paul Godwin (vocals, piano) who first met at Berklee some 40 years ago. Alongside them is bassist Australian Colin Edwin (Porcupine Tree, no-man, O.R.k.) and his frequent collaborator, Estonian guitarist Robert Jürjendal (Toyah Wilcox, Fripp’s Crafty Guitar School). To complete the line-up, we have Venezuelan drummer Miguel Toro, while they have a guest trumpeter in Damascus-born Milad Khawam and the album was recorded in Berlin. In other words, this is a truly international band bringing together a great many influences and styles. The best way to describe this is probably progressive ambient, with links to the likes of David Sylvain (especially, one can really imagine him performing on some of these) and This Mortal Coil. It is an album which goe...

(130:24; Open Sky) I am finding it hard to believe that here I am in 2022 writing about an album which was released in 2013, yet there is not a single review for it on ProgArchives. Recorded at different venues in the UK and Holland, here we have a double CD set capturing one of our finest prog folk bands in their natural environment, live on stage. I first came across them nearly 30 years ago with their second album, ‘Book of Kells’, and by the time they got to this recording there had been some significant line-up changes, but multi-instrumentalist Dave Bainbridge is still there, along with singer Joanne Hogg (acoustic guitar, keyboards) and drummer Frank Van Essen (also on violin) who was a guest back then, with the current line-up completed by Phil Barker (bass, electric double bass, darbuka) and Martin Nolan (Uilleann pipes, low and tin whistles). Strange to think that both Nick Beggs and Troy Donockley were involved on that album all those years back, wonder whatever happened to ...

(60:00; Talking Elephant Records [2021 Edition] ) To any fan of British progressive rock, keyboard player Jan Schelhaas needs little introduction given that he has played with both Caravan (twice, and with whom he is still playing) and Camel, as well as numerous other sessions. Here we have a remastered reissue of his 2018 solo album with three additional tracks. There is not much information out there about the album, so while I know Doug Boyle (guitar) and Jimmy Hastings (sax) are both involved, I cannot find any other information, so it is quite possible that the rest is undertaken by Jan, including the vocals. It is hard to imagine that this is a recent album, as this has far more in common with the laid-back Seventies sound of sanitised rock which, although it does have some similarities with The Moody Blues at times, has little with which I would normally associate progressive rock. This is straightforward relaxing middle of the road soft rock which is gentle, never threatening, ...

(136:00; Cleopatra Records)   What I have here is a recording of Joe Jackson, Todd Rundgren, and NY-based string quartet Ethel. I really was not sure what to expect from this, and I am sure the people there that night did not either, as while I thought all acts would be playing together onstage, I wasn’t aware that each would have an individual set and they would only come together for a few songs at the end. This means we start with a series of classical pieces from Ethel, which is very clever but not what I would expect at a rock concert. I played this part once and then found myself skipping the first five numbers and I would expect many others to do the same. To be honest, I was not sure what to expect from Jackson either and thought I would probably listen to his songs and then skip smartly to the main attraction, so I was amazed at just how good this section was and how much I enjoyed it. It has made me totally rethink my opinion on Jackson, (I used to see him on Top of the P...

(41:50; Snapper Music) Many years ago, I reviewed an album by a famous rock star, and back then I said the only reason people were even talking about it was due to who was involved as opposed to the value of the music it contained, and now here I am saying exactly the same thing again. While much may be made of singer Maiah Wynne, or that famous producer and engineer Alf Annibalini (guitar, keyboards, programming) is involved, or Coney Hatch co-founder Andy Curran (bass guitar, synthesized bass, programming, guitar, backing vocals, Stylophone), but this will be on the top of many people’s “must hear” list due solely to the fourth member of the band, one Alex Lifeson. Many people were wondering if Alex or Geddy would get back into the studio at any point, given they have spent virtually their whole musical lives wrapped up in Rush, but I am sure most people expected that something would happen at some point, but I never expected this. Firstly, Alex trod the boards in front of someone wh...

(38:14; Apollon Records) Track list: 1. Angra Paa 6:27 2. Alt Blir Verre 6:18 3. 1992 7:31 4. Muknado 4:26 5. Röd Bil 5:27 6. Beksvart Gull 4:13 7. Se Paa Me 3:52 Line-up: Johannes Drabl¨s Maaseide - vocals, guitars Edvard Bröther - guitars, piano, vocals Hogne Aarflot - keyboards, Mellotron, organ, vocals Erlend Alm Lerstad - bass, guitars, keyboards, Mellotron Jon Bolstad - drums, percussion, keyboards Iver Sandöy - percussion with: Alexander von Mehren - vibraphone, xylophone Prolusion. Norwegian band Knekklectric has a history that goes back at least a decade, and have been releasing music at a steady pace since 2012. This spring they are set to launch their third full length album "Alt Blir Verre" through Norwegian label Apollon Records in the second half of April. Analysis. Knekklectric is one of those bands that may well be hard to categorize by many reviewers I suspect, and perhaps Norwegian reviewers in particular. This is due to the band singing in a Norwegian diale...

(59:59; Apollon Records) Track list: 1. Lover, Lower Me Down 5:22 2. Black River 4:22 3. The Wheelbarrow 7:13 4. Beaks of Benevola 3:55 5. Strawberry Suicide 3:32 6. Isabel: A Report to an Academy 6:54 7. Baseball 5:26 8. Night Hitcher 6:35 9. Before the Helmets 7:00 10. Jonah 7:26 11. Heart of Hickory 2:14 Line-up: Jon Ivar Kollbotn - vocals Claudia Cox - violin, vocals Lars Christian Björkenes - piano Sondre Veland - drums Prolusion. Norwegian progressive rock band Major Parkinson have been around for a couple of decades by now, with four studio albums and two live albums to their name so far. "A Night at the Library" is their most recent production, and this live album was released through Norwegian label Apollon Records in the spring of 2022. Analysis. Major Parkinson strikes me as a band that really enjoys doing the unexpected, changing central aspects of their overall sound from one album to the next and not at all adhering to what one might describe as what is expected...