(75:24; Pat Strawser) It is a long time since I have come across Pat’s work, some 24 years in fact as it was back in 1999 that I reviewed Volaré’s debut album, ‘The Uncertainty Principle’, which was sent to me by the label, so we had never been in direct contact until he emailed me earlier this year. It was certainly a shock to him that I not only knew who he was but had written about him back in the day. Pat says he is influenced by the  classic prog/fusion groups like Yes and Genesis, Happy the Man, Mahavishnu Orchestra, to Canterbury groups like National Health etc. and extends into jazzier areas like Pat Metheny. Certainly, having now heard his work on Bill Hart’s live album I know he is very much at home in the jazz field, yet this release is far more sedate than that. There is fusion, but he is coming at it from areas of synthwave, electronic, Canterbury and other classic forms of prog, with stylings which are more Vangelis than Jarre, with hints of Wakeman but little of the ...

(70:49; Moonjune Records) As one can tell from the title, Thelen is back with the third in his ‘Fractal Guitar’ series where he provides electric guitar, synthesizer, strings, programming, electric piano, organ, samples, keyboards and Mellotron across five tracks, and is joined by other musicians who play on a few each. At the time of the recording he was working on four different albums, all with different line-ups, and many of those involved are also on here in one way or another while some of the pieces themselves are influenced by tracks on some of the others. His long-time sparring partner Jon Durant, with whom he released ‘Crossings’ as well as working as ‘Fractal Sextet’ is on four of these, as is touch guitar maestro Markus Reuter, but it is only touch bassist Stefan Huth who is on all five. There is a wonderful wall of sound complexity about this album, with repeated loops and melodies, and the different guitars pushing the boundaries of what one would expect from the instrume...

(29:46; Moonjune Records) In an ideal world, Stick Men would be heralded as one of our greatest prog bands, but for some strange reason they appear to never quite gain the acclaim they surely deserve even though all those involved are renowned for being at the very top of their field. Tony Levin (Chapman Stick, Touch Guitars U10, vocoder), Pat Mastelotto (acoustic & electronic drums, percussion), and Markus Reuter (Touch Guitars AU8, soundscapes) are a band quite unlike any other, continuing to push the boundaries with every release. They are a band who truly come to life when playing in concert, sometimes having guests share the stage with them, taking ideas and moving in different directions so perhaps it is not a surprise they have not released more studio works, with their last full-length studio release being the wonderful ‘Prog Noir’ back in 2016, but now we have a new 30-minute collection of five songs. Outside of Robert Fripp, Levin was the longest-serving member of King Cr...

(57:50; Spirit of Unicorn Music) It has taken way too long for Cairo to return with their second studio album, in fact it has been 7 years since ‘Say’, although in between there was the excellent live album ‘Alive In Holland’ which introduced us to new lead singer Sarah Bayley, with the rest of the line-up the same as the debut with Rob Cottingham (lead and backing vocals, keyboards, programming) again joined by James Hards (acoustic and electric guitars), Paul Stocker (bass, acoustic guitar), and Graham Brown (drums, backing vocals) while it was produced by John Mitchell. As with the debut, what we have here again is a wonderfully melodic and thoroughly enjoyable album which is a step above so many others. It may only be their second album, but Rob has had a solo career as well as being in Touchstone, and I seem to recall John Mitchell guesting on 2007’s ‘Discordant Dreams’ so he and Rob have been involved for some time. This album combines the progressive sub genres of Neo and Crosso...

(187:51, Carl Weingarten) This three-hour-long, 41-track 3-CD collection covers Carl Weingarten's solo produced releases from the early 1980’s through to the ‘Ember Days’ album in 2020. It also includes previously unreleased, out of print, remixed and live recordings. The result is a fascinating set covering multiple different styles and genres which makes it something which can be really enjoyed. For much of the time it is relaxed and also most New Age with some nice acoustic guitar noodlings, but “Pandora’s Garage” sounds like Kraftwerk combined with Tangerine Dream in a synth-driven belter with electric guitar over the top which sounds as if surely should have been a massive hit in the clubs and could have damaged some charts in the process. I have heard some of Carl’s work before this, but I can honestly say this set has given me a much better appreciation of his output. To be faced with an album of this length is always something of a challenge, as unlike some reviewers I feel...

(58:26; Mystic Production) I am pretty sure that if you asked the average proghead who is the best band in Poland, even though there are a great many vying for attention, the answer would be Riverside. Now, that is understandable given the quality of their albums, especially the early ones, but what many will not know is that in 2003, the year Riverside released their debut, the band Collage called it a day. At that point they had not released an album since 1996, and one of their four releases had actually been a covers album (their take on songs by John Lennon), but the two either side of that, ‘Baśnie’ and ‘Moonshine’ are masterpieces. Fortunately for me I was/am close friends with Artur Chachlowski who furnished me with the albums, and I was blown away and was really upset when they broke up as they still had yet to be recognised for their true worth. Apparently Collage reformed in 2013, and now only nine years later they produced their fifth album, just 26 years on from the last o...

(41:52; Proximity Records) I first came across Steven McCabe in 1996 and have reviewed most (if not all) of his releases since then, so while not an expert on his music I have probably reviewed it more times than most. During that timeframe, Elegant Simplicity has all been about the multi-instrumentalist, although he has toyed with guests here and there, sometimes using singers, sometimes a real drummer, while at others it has just been Steven himself. Here, for the first time in 30 years, and on his 23rd album we have something new, Elegant Simplicity sounding like a full band. Steven provides guitars and keyboards, while we again have the rhythm section of drummer Maurizio Antonini and bassist Hector Ruano, here joined by backing singer  Iona MacQueen and lead singer Tomas Baptista, while there are also guests in Giulia Cacciavillani (flute), Jordan Mazza (saxophone) and Joy Lin (violin). I do like the fact that Steven has made this available on cassette as well as CD (for old ti...