Nice review of the PT album. I must admit I have never paid a huge amount of attention to the lyrics. This is one of my major faults with most bands.

Another good review Boo Boo, I have all of their studio work but haven't had the time to listen to them yet. When I do I'll start with this album, hopefully I'll get some more free time during the winter I've got a bookcase full of new music to go through.

Count yourself lucky, they're horrendous.

I feel I have a beef to pick with classic prog.
Surely, the music is no longer progressive when bands release similar albums over and over again.
Great technique and high concepts, doesn't mean the musics progressive.
But then again, it probably more a tag for the style rather than the nature....oh well

This thread is awesome, I loved your Porcupine Tree review - it's one of my favourite albums; I too love how it's both dark and beautiful. Look forward to more posts and can't wait to see what albums will be next :)

Howsabout some Prog Metal-Dark Suns etc More reviews you lazy sod :)

I'm bumping this thread because, although this is my first post in it, I carefully read through every review quite some time ago and I think they're great! It was one of the first threads I read after I joined up. I especially like your review of Genesis' selling England album ..

But there's plenty more prog out there, so what's keeping you? ;)

Exactly, I want more! ^^

So I'm gonna kick this back into gear.

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For Girls Who Grow Plump in the Night - Caravan - 1973

Personell:
Pye Hastings - Lead vocals, Guitar.
Geoff Richardson - Viola.
David Sinclair - Organ, Piano, Synthesizers.
John G. Perry - Bass, Backing vocals.
Richard Coughlan - Drums, Percussion.

Guest musicians:
Rupert Hine – A.R.P. synthesizer. (1, 2 & 6)
Frank Ricotti – Congas. (2, 3, 5, 7)
Jimmy Hastings – Western concert flute, Flute. (1)
Paul Buckmaster – Electric cello. (7)
Tony Coe – Clarinet, Tenor sax. (1)
Pete King – Flute, Alto sax. (1)
Harry Klein – Clarinet, Baritone sax. (1)
Henry Lowther – Trumpet. (1)
Jill Pryor – Voice. (5)
Chris Pyne – Trombone. (1)
Barry Robinson – Piccolo. (1)
Tom Whittle – Clarinet, Tenor sax. (1)
Martyn Ford - Orchestration. (8)

For those of you who loved In the Land of Grey and Pink and have yet to hear this album, this is an entirely different beast. Before this album was made, the group's original bassist Richard Sinclair left to form Hatfield and the North, John G. Perry was his replacement for the time being. Sinclair's absence and the addition of a viola player allowed for the band to evolve into a very different direction.

Hammond organ no longer dominates the music and Hastings is using more electric guitar than acoustic, and he doesn't hold back on this one, his rootsy guitar style combined with Richardson's fiddle playing gives the album a very country flavor. This is more keen to southern rock and Wishbone Ash than the jolly whimiscal folk of Grey and Pink.

This is still very much a prog album of course, in it's structure, freeform jams, time signatures and lengthy solos. This is basically what The Allman Brothers would sound like if they went prog.

One thing that has remained intact is Hastings quirky sense of humor. The lyrics are, well, lets say they're not very politically correct.

Memory Lain, Hugh: First track starts off with a rather bluesy riff (actually a lot of the songs here do) but don't expect anything too predictable here, what starts out sounding like a southern rocker quickly evolves into a proggy jam, complete with a brass section, just when thinks seem to be gettng rowdy, you're caught off gaurd with a rather sooting flute solo, which then builds up to a pretty satisfying climax. A fantastic opener.

Headloss: In some versions this is melded together with the frst track, but either way it's still it's own song. This is more of a straightforward rock song with a very poppy melody, it kinda reminds me of the Partrich Family theme, lol. It's a rather lubby dubby song, and yes, it's about pot.

Hoedown: This one has a very southern rock feel to it and I mean that in a good way, it's a fast paced little rocker, with a mean fiddle solo. A short straightforward song and not really "prog" but it's one of the best songs on the album.

Surprise, Surpise: Opens up beautifully with just vocals, guitar and viola, then the drums, bass and organ kicks in. I always love those kinda build ups in songs. A very mellow rock song, I really dig Hastings as a vocalist, I love the bass in this song, and another great viola solo.

C'thlu Thlu: NOW things are getting proggy. It starts with a slow repetitive instrumental build up, then the vocals and psychedelic synthesizers come it, it builds up into a hard rocker with a soft/hard verse/chorus dynamic, and finishes off with a psychedelic jam with hard driving guitar riffs and fiddle and hammond organ solos. A great kick off into the proggier second half of the album.

The Dog, The Dog, He's at It Again: Possibly the best song on the album, gorgeous melody, great chorus, awesome synthesizer solo. Though you should probably know that this song is about blowjobs.

Yeah, prog bands can write songs about sex too, take that AC/DC fans.

Be Alright/Chance of a Lifetime: Starts out as a fast paced rocker, but this one has a proggy twist. The Chance of a Lifetime segment brings things to a halt, a mellow bossanova rhythm with some great vocals and jazzy instrumentals. Another high point.

L'Auberge Du Sanglier - A Hunting We Shall Go - Pengola - Backwards - A
Hunting We Shall Go (Reprise): As you can tell by the title this is basically a medley. It starts out with some beautiful accoustic guitar and viola. Then the drums come in and kicks things off into an intense jam that lasts for 3 minutes or so. The next segment starts with some quiet piano, later joined by the rest of the band and a symphony orchestra (the idea of a prog band using orchestration may seem bloated but it's very wonderfully done here), ending the album on a beautifully pompous note, fantastic.

This is a must have album for canterbury fans. Caravan had a gift for combining folk, pop, psychedelic and jazz influences in a very unique and satisfying way.

They had one more good album after this, but it's been very downhill from there. This was their last great album and it adds something quite different to the bands catalog than their previous efforts.

This is a great mellow album to listen to in your backyard on a quiet night and just get completely lost in, also makes great background music for a barbeque. A classic.

I think Caravan are one of a select few prog bands on my to try-out-sometime-preferably-soonish list, as I've heard one of their songs somewhere and remember quite digging it (can't remember which one though). Cracking write-up :thumb:

http://dic.academic.ru/pictures/enwi...mel-Mirage.jpg

Mirage - Camel - 1974

Personell:
Andrew Latimer - Guitar, Flute, Lead vocals, Oboe.
Peter Bardens - Keyboards.
Doug Ferguson - Bass, Backing vocals.
Andy Ward - Drums.

I admit Camel weren't exactly the most original prog band, while a canterbury scene band that formed in 71, their most memorable work, starting with this album, came out at a time when prog was already on the way out in terms of mainstream acceptence, and this album sounds like it could have been made in 1969, and their influences were quite obvious. You can hear the Hendrix, The Doors, Santana, Floyd, Crimson and Deep Purple in here for sure.

They were one of the more "rock" sounding prog bands in their day and despite being a little late in the prog parade, Camel are still considered one of the finest bands in the genre that most people haven't heard, and rightfully so.

Like most prog bands they couldn't really keep a consistant lineup, the leader that has held the band together at all times was Andy Latimer, an extraordinary guitar wizard who is on par with Fripp, Howe and Hackett. A pretty bitchin flautist too.

Camel were one of the few successful prog bands in the late 70s who didn't conform to 70s arena rock, as Kansas and Styx did. They would become more ambitious with laters albums, specifically Snow Goose and Moonmadness, unlike those albums, Mirage is much more rooted in psychedelic rock, but this should be considered the first in their trilogy of excellent albums.

Freefall: Starts off with the sound of blowing wind and synths, which leads to a repetitive drum beat that is joined in by crashing guitars, I just can't get enough of that intro, proof that simplicity can work wonders for prog. It starts off sounding like a Deep Purplish acid rock song with some catchy vocals before kicking off into a big jam, Latimer and Bardens really duel if off on this one, greasy hammond organ combined with Latimer's guitar layers, which is very much all over the place, it sounds very Santana-esque at times but he also manages to pull some neat surprises and gorgeous flourishes.

Supertwister: A short little track but it's by no means filler, one of the big highlights of the album. It's a hypnotic instrumental with no guitar at all, instead it's dominated by some gorgeous flute work by Latimer. Not a note is wasted in this composition, it's melodic brilliance through and through and a great use of the loud/fast dynamic. One of my favorite pieces of prog, ever.

Nimrodel/The Procession/The White Rider: Yep, a prog epic made up of multiple parts, this is a really weird one. The intro with aquatic sounding guitar effects and synthesizer is very beautiful and haunting, but just when you think it's gonna build up into something, it fades out. The next segment begins to fade in with the sounds of a parade, followed by millitary drums, brass and flutes, this segues into a gorgeous guitar melody with mellotron and oboe, then the vocals and acoustic come in and this whole segment sounds a LOT like old school King Crimson, and in a good way, this is followed with.... Well sh*t, it's really tidious just to write down everything that happens isn't it? Well f*ck it, no point in walking you through the whole damn thing, just believe me when I tell you the climax is awesome. Fantastic stuff, amazing showcase for the whole ensemble.

This also hints at the more symphonic rock direction the band would follow with their later albums.

Earthwise: Another instrumental, yet another great melodic piece that makes a great showcase for the musicianship of every band member, mostly it's a big face off of guitar and synths, like the whole album there's a lot of mood change so describing it is pointless. Just because I'm being lazy with the description doesn't mean this is not on par with the rest of the album though.

Lady Fantasy: Ah yeah, this was the first track I heard from Camel. It's also my favorite song on the album and an excellent closer. It starts off with scrambled synths combined with crushing guitar riffs. Despite being the longest track it's also the most poppy sounding, the organ playing and Latimer's gloomy baritone gives this one a very Doors vibe. But just when you expect this song to head towards a certain direction, it doesn't, about a third way in it unexpectedly kicks off into a funky organ/bass ryhthm and IMO the most face meltingly awesome guitar solo you'll ever f*cking hear in your life. And then it leads to a very mellow Santana-ish guitar solo with acoustic guitar backing, then comes in another vocal section where Latimer sings about walking on moonclouds and sitting on sunbeams (hey, it's prog man). Then things get intense again, another kickass guitar solo, then an organ solo and the outro brings things back to right where it started, this is when you realise you've just heard the most awesome f*cking song ever.

Yeah sure, the lyrics are corny, but like most prog albums the vocals just function like another instrument, it's the overall music that does all the talking, and as you can tell with this clumsy review, I had a difficult time trying to describe the music, but that's true for most prog, it's not something you can describe very easly. And I just wanted to give you a general idea of what to expect, still, you have to hear this and judge for yourself.

The key to great prog is being able to surprise the listener, to build up suspense and to provide a lot of great hooks, and especially within the context of stellar musicianship. This album certainly applies. I love all 5 of the tracks on this album so I'd say it's very consistant. If you're a canterbury fan this is one you can't miss.

And yet you went ahead and made a blog for it.

Well my hats off. While I fully intend to listen to it, the idea that its 60's-inspired is a little off-putting.

As a man of single, is there a song you might suggest?

Supertwister.

impression from a mad man:

1. I youtubed it up and thought "a prog song that 3 and a half minutes? Who knew!!!!!

2. I started listening to the song, thinking it was an intro, turns out the intro is 3:24 long.

3. This song is what happens when Greensleeves has sex with Incense and Peppermints by the Strawberry Alarm Clock. Its kid clearly got moms genes...and more is gross looking. Thank god Greensleeves got drunk off mead, no?

4. in the right mood I'm sure it would be fine, but honestly its way too 60's for me, and not the cool kind. I didn't hear any of the influences you suggested in there. Give me another one????????

Heh, I just don't think this is an album for you, if you didn't like that you probably won't like the rest of it.

Different strokes.

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Tormato - Yes - 1978

Personell:
Jon Anderson - Lead vocals.
Chris Squire - Bass, Backing vocals.
Steve Howe - Guitar, Mandolin, Backing vocals.
Rick Wakeman - Keyboards, Piano, Organ, Synthesizers, Harpischord.
Alan White - Drums, Percussion, Backing vocals, Vibraphone.

I thought it would be interesting to review a not so great album for once, and yeah, pretty odd that the first Yes album I'm gonna review is one that I don't think very highly of.

Well, to be honest, I don't think this is a HORRIBLE album like most people say, but for Yes it's a huge disappointment, this one is very much a mixed bag, of course there are still some of those moments of pure brilliance that for years have made Yes my favorite band, but there are also a lot of moments that that are just embarassing and a clear sign of a band struggling to stay relevant during the age of punk and new wave and not doing a very good job of it.

This album came out in 1978, when prog was already considered dead. After their 8th album, 1974's Relayer, Yes went AWOL for 3 years, then made a comeback in 77 with Going for the One, which marked the return of Rick Wakeman on keyboards, it was a modest success and overall a very solid and underrated album. It also saw the band heading into a more mainstream, arena rock direction.

Tormato expands on this, but unfortunately not very successfully. This was a band clearly at career crossroads, they were trying to please critics and mainstream musicgoers with more commercial sounds, hi fi production, less ambiguous lyrical subject matter and less of the over the top jams and elaborate epics that defined their previous efforts, while at the same time trying to cater to their own fanbase. In the end not very many people were pleased, listening to this record, you can really tell that Yes had no idea what they wanted to do, they threw in a lot more effects than usual, Squire uses reverb effects, synths and wah pedals that gives his bass playing a rather unique sound on this record, Howe and Wakeman also sound more polished than they usually do, but they seem to lack the power and energy they once had, Anderson's vocals sound rather weak and robotic on this record and it's as if he isn't really trying. They clearly didn't have much fun making this record and it shows.

Still, while this marked the first real lowpoint in their career, there are a few gems hidden within this clumsy, overproduced mess of an album. And since it's virtually impossible for progarchives to give cohesive, helpful reviews, especially for albums like this. I'll try my best to give you a fair, non fanboish perspective.

Future Times/Rejoice: While nothing mindblowing, this is a promising start. It starts off with a quite cheesy guitar/synth riff, which is thn joined with Squire's wah wah heavy bass and a millitary style drum beat from White. Anderson just does a lot of chanting here rather than singing. Nothing deep here but not bad, there's some nice jamming and of course some great (if overly glossy sounding) guitar and synth work by Howe and Wakeman. Not much else to say, a decent opener, moving on.

Don't Kill the Whale: Heh, when critics talk about how bloated and ridiculous Yes are, this is a song that always gets name dropped. This is a mind blowingly cheesy song, but no my lastfm isn't lying, it's one of my most played songs, it's a guilty pleasure, a song so horrible that it's actually kinda awesome.

It starts off with an unusually groovy guitar riff and funky bassline, and some sugary synths in the background. You heard Jon right, he is indeed singing about the sins of the whaling industry, pretty rare to have a Yes song where the lyrics actually make sense, but that's not really a good thing. Howe and Squire's great guitar and bass work really do their best to pull this one out of the sh*tter. But this song's most defining moment comes in at 2 minutes in when you're greeted with the cheesiest synthesizer solo in music history. But just when you think it couldn't get cheesier, it does, the song ends with Anderson chanting "Dig it, Dig it".

Yeah, that's my description but you still have to hear it to beleive it, and I dare you to try and listen to the whole song without chuckling once, it's impossible. It's a pretty bad song, yet I can't help but like it anyway.

Madrigal: You hear right, this song is a showcase for Wakeman's mad Harpischord skillz, along with some acoustic neo classical guitar by Howe, and Anderson singing "Sacred ships do sail the seventh age", yeah don't ask me what it means. Proggies seem to consider this to be one of the better tracks on the album, but that's just because they have a hard on for cheesy neo classical wank, avoid at all costs.

Release Release: FINALLY things are getting interesting, this is the first real high point on the album. This is a very fast paced song by Yes standards, complete with rockabilly guitars from Howe and some of the fastest basswork Squire has ever done, it sounds like they actually had fun making this one, even Anderson manages to show some passion. It still has that cheesy 70s arena rock sound (Wakeman being the main culprit) but overall this is a great track, if only the whole album had as much energy and power as this song. This is a rare example of Yes actually doing a "rock" song, they even throw in a Bo Diddley beat at one point, and the results are a lot better than you'd expect.

Arriving UFO: But eh, just when they made it out of the muck, they fall right back in, and yeah, it's about UFOs. Yes have done the space themed songs before, and a hell of a lot better I might add. Mostly it's pretty boring though there is some weird guitar effects from Howe. The only real point of interest is Howe's crazy wah wah guitar solo, but man, Wakeman should have stuck to his moog, I don't know what kind of synths he uses here but it's getting really damn irritating at this point.

Circus of Heaven: Wow, they have finally made it to the bottom with this one. I couldn't even make it all the way through this song, it seems like they tried to capture a caribbean/reggae vibe here, but yeah, it's more Ob La Di Ob La Da than Bob Marley, this is followed with a lot of guitar and synth noodling that doesn't go anywhere. And then for whatever reason they thought a great way to close the song would be to have a little kid (Jon's son Damion) whine "But there was no clowns, or lions, or tigers". Yeah guys, where were they?

This is a good candidate for worst f*cking Yes song ever.

Onward: Get your cigarette lighters out for this one. That's right, a ballad. Now sure that sounds like the ultimate icing on the sh*tcake but surprise surprise, I really love this song, it's my favorite track on the album in fact, no prog at all, just a very simple, beautiful baroque pop ballad. Anderson's vocals are in great form here, he really works best with softer, melodic songs. This is excellent.

On the Silent Wings of Freedom: Despite all the rough moments on this album, this is a great closer and another great track. Once again this is a song where everybody seems to be giving it their all, why in the hell couldn't the whole album be like this? The beginning, middle and end is mostly jamming, and Squire and Howe really give it everything they got, even Wakeman's synth solo at the end is pretty cool.

So, in the end, this album is NOT as bad as people say, yes, there's some real sh*t in this album, but at least it would have made a great EP. So in the end, it's not a bad album, not a good one mind you, it's somewhere in the middle. What really hurt it was the lack of consistancy, it's like they were trying to do an album that showed they could be really diverse, they try a lot of styles here but add their own twist on it, this applies to the really bad songs just as much as it does to the really good ones, so you can't say they weren't ambitious, it's just that in the end, Yes came off as sounding tired and unmotivated, and they were. But with their declining popularity, growing tension between band members and the increasing media pressure to try and reinvent themselves, you can't really blame them for that.

Howe and Squire are in good form here, Wakeman and Anderson not so much, except for a few brief moments. Overall there are only a few songs where the contributions of every band member meshed together nicely, and it's no wonder it took 2 decades for Yes to return to this lineup.

So I recommend you download Release Release, Onward, On the Silent Wings of Freedom and just for the lulz Don't Kill the Whale and skip the rest.

I wouldn't recommend getting the whole album even for the diehard Yes fan, unless you're a completionist or just want to have some historical perspective. And yeah, if you want to know why Yes gave up on prog or what REALLY did prog in during the late 70s, download this album.

Good review, still dislike album.

The only Yes albums I've got are Fragile and 90125, both of which I definitely like but I've never really managed to get into properly (if that makes sense). I'll probably give them a go again soon enough. I'm guessing this isn't the best album to get next then.

Close To The Edge???

Yeah, that one's been in my to-do pile for a ridiculous amount of time now. Should probably see to it. Recommendation noted!

Ok now back to the good stuff.

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Hero and Heroine - The Strawbs - 1974

Personell:
Dave Cousins - Lead vocals, Rhythm Guitar, Backing vocals.
Dave Lambert - Lead Guitar, Backing vocals, Lead vocals.
John Hawken - Organ, Piano, Electric Piano, Mellotron, Synthesizer.
Chas Cronk - Bass, Backing vocals, Synthesizer.
Rod Coombies - Drums, Percussion, Backing vocals.

with

Claire Deniz - Cello on "Midnight Sun".

Now within the world of prog, these guys stuck out in a weird way, they're often put into the prog folk category but unlike groups like Jethro Tull, Comus and Renaissance, they had a distinctive country based sound, though they still implemented a lot of british folk and classical influences as well. They're also known for their very Birds-ish vocal harmonies.

The Strawbs started out as a bluegrass/folk group, and eventually evolved into a progressve folk group which briefly included Rick Wakeman before he joined Yes, in 72 Lambert joined the group, from here they began to embrace more rock, pop and country influences while still maintaining their british folk roots. After their successul and very country-ish Bursting at the Seams album, longtime members Blue Weaver, John Ford and Richard Hudson left the group, with a new lineup they turned out this more ambitious album.

This is one of those albums that british folk purists loved to hate. But yeah, purists are stupid. Evolution is natural for any band and this was The Strawbs at their most ambitious and yet most accessible as well. English gothic folk, synth heavy prog, baroque pop, power chord rock and country, there's a little something for everyone here.

I just hope you don't mind too much that band frontman Cousins kinda sounds like Phil Collins. :)

Autumn: This one is seperated into 3 segments. The intro is excellent, it starts with a repetitive synth bass beat followed by some psychedelic guitar and mellotron, the 2nd segment is an acoustic guitar/mellotron based ballad and a very good one, has a very Moody Blues-ish vibe to it. The final segment is almost like a church hymn. A great opening track with that murky opening/uplifting ending dynamic that is very common in prog.

Sad Young Man: A lovely little somber ballad, with some great jangly guitar from Lambert and Procal Harum-ish organ flourishes.

Just Love: This is Lamberts sole songwriting contribution to the album, which breaks from the more somber mood of this album by just being a straight up rocker, and a pretty good one at that, I quite like it even though it doesn't really sound like The Strawbs at all.

Shine On Silver Sun: This one has a very Birds vibe to it, with some nice piano, pretty good but there's not much to say about it beyond that.

Hero & Heroine: The title track is undoubtably the best moment on the album as well, pure country prog with Tolkenish lyrics and vocals, gothic mellotron and guitar that almost makes you want to square dance, it's like King Crimson meets Charlie Daniels. Awesome.

Midnight Sun: Another real highpoint. Beautiful acoustic guitar work here with some bongo work, I also love the woodwind sounding mellotron and Cousins lovely tenor vocals, a really beautiful song.

Out in the Cold: Another lovely country/folksy song, this one has some mouth harp and pedal steel guitar work, I really love the folksy atmosphere here, though there's this one obvious sexual lyric that leaves very little to the imagination and is at the very least a little unsettling.

"Sucked on your breasts, your legs opened wide
I could scarcely believe all the pleasures inside"

No comment. o_O

Round and Round: Here things are much more close to the prog sound, it opens with a really catchy synth line and some Fripp-ish guitars, it's a rather upbeat sounding song even though it's about suicide. Once againt they decided to rawk out a little more with this one. Another great track.

Lay a Little Light on Me: I really think Cousins is a brilliant songwriter when it comes to ballads and this is one of his best, the kind that is a bit depressing but also something to get the cigarette lighters out for, my second favorite song after the title track. There's a one part of the song which introduces a musical motif which then becomes the basis for the closing track.

Heroe's Theme: A pretty great way to close the album, it's based around a repetitive guitar riff and has an almost proto-doom metal vibe to it dare I say, which then segues into an a capella of Bird-ish vocal harmonies drowned in delay effects, a very strange closer indeed.

For fans of british folk rock like Traffic, Tull and Fairport, this is a band totally worth checking out and a great album to start with, though some Strawbs fans prefer earlier material and they're not a bad start either.

One reason I dislike indie folk so much is because I always like my folk to have a little mysticism to it, and The Strawbs certainly provide it, though with a more commercial sound than guys like Comus. They have a sound that I like to describe as being moth angelic and gloomy at the same time, one of the most underrated bands of the 70s for sure.

This is certainly not a band for everybody, but I quite dig em and you might too.

Been meaning to get into The Strawbs for quite some time, as they've been around nearly forever and did some wonderful albums. Glad you reviewed one such work here; I'll be looking into them more seriously now! :)

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Space Shanty - Khan - 1972

Personell:
Steve Hillage - Guitar, Lead vocals, Backing vocals.
Dave Stewart - Organ, Piano, Celesta, Marimbas.
Nick Greenwood - Bass, Lead vocals, Backing vocals.
Eric Peachy - Drums.

This is not a hard band to get the entire discography of, because this is their only album, seriously, no live albums, comps, singles or bootlegs, this is it. A band whose entire discography is only 7 songs, one being an unreleased track that appeared in the 2005 reissue.

Khan was a Canterbury supergroup consisting of former Uriel and future Gong guitarist Hillage, former Egg and future Hatfield & The North and National Health keyboardist Stewart, former Arthur Brown bassist Greenwood and former Dr K's Blues Band drummer Peachy.

While being a canterbury band, much like Camel their music has a more symphonic rock based sound, thus Khan have more in common with Yes, ELP and Uriah Heep than with Caravan or Soft Machine.

It's very symphonic rock but there are space rock elements (as the album title clearly suggests) and jazz fusion elements as well, thanks in part to the diverse, psychedelic guitar style of Hillage which would later become a contributing factor in the success of Gong. Hillage and Stewart are two of the most talented and prolific musicians in prog and this is some of their finest work. Though props should also be given to the rhythm section, Greenwood can still provide the kinda psychedelic R&B grooves that he did with Arthur Brown, and he also shows himself to be a quite capable singer, as does Hillage, who was pretty much the dominant songwriter for this album.

I do have to say, like a lot of prog it is an aqquired taste, the converted proggie is more likely to appreciate this than casual listeners trying to get into prog. I have to say that this is one of the most stereotypically "prog" sounding albums ever. Operatic vocals? Check. Long and flashy guitar/organ jamfests? Check. Crazy time signatures? Check. Whimsical sci fi themed lyrics? Check.

This is by no means anything truly innovative for prog even back in the day, but this is a fantastic album nonetheless and if you're a big fan of bands like Camel, Egg and late 70s Gong, this is something to add to your Canterbury collection.

Space Shanty: What a great opener, god it's getting tiresome to say that over and over again, but you get my drift, the first minute and a half of this song starts out like a Uriah Heep-ish hard rock number, a very addictive one, so they got something to reel you in, and that's when they start proggin your ass off with a long and drawn out medley of guitar and organ harmonizing and solos, and it couldn't be sweeter. Stewart's jazzy organ work and Hillage's bluesy psychedelic guitar really comes out at full force on this one. The outro brings things back to the tagline melody. Fantastic stuff.

Stranded/Effervescant Psychonovelty N0.5: This one opens beautifully with some acoustic guitar and organ in the background, then some more organ and electric piano join in as well as some lovely falsetto vocals from Hillage. This has a very mellow and spacey sound to it which of course works perfectly with the obvious sci fi theme of this album. This starts out as a lovely ballad, but of course being prog, things can't stay calm forever, 3 minutes in a crashing guitar riff comes out of nowhere and things once again descend into delicious proggy chaos, if only for a brief moment before we are greeted with a jazzy organ solo, followed by a psychedelic harmony of guitars, and once again Khan bring things back to where they began and closing with a wonderful aquatic cadence of celesta glissandos and acoustic guitar arpeggios. Bombastic? Very.

Mixed Up Man Of The Mountains: Some nice acoustic guitar arpeggios and calming organ work to start things off, Greenwood gives a nice vocal performance though he could have toned down the vocal gymnastics a little, still pretty solid if not as good as the first two tracks, once again things turn into a hyper guitar freak out, followed by some funky organ work, then a few more guitar solos. Ok sure, the whole "intro/verse/chorus/verse/chorus/super long instrumental medley/verse/chorus/outro" dynamic is turning into a formula at this point, so what?

Driving to Amsterdam: This is a very jazzy, fanciful track. This song starts out with a Mahavishnu-ish fusion freakout, with some especially wonderful work from Hillage and Stewart, and some very melodic basslines by Greenwood. The traditional vocal segments here really showcases Hillage's talent as a melodist and songwriter. This is followed by Hillage and Stewart trading some solos, Hillage really shows his range here, going from harmonized blues freakouts to jazz fusion. Another one of the album's highlights.

Stargazers: This one opens with some jolly marimba, which combined with Hillage's trippy guitar squeals really brings to mind the kinda stuff Hillage would go on to do with Gong. This one has quite a Yes vibe to it, with a lot of trippy fusion stuff going on. Stay tuned for the awesome guitar outro.

Hollow Stone/Escape Of The Space Pirates: The song starts off with just some acoustic guitar and vocals, the "Hollow Stone" segment is very dreamy and folky, some great acoustic work by Hillage. Eventually we get a groovy Hammond solo, the kind that very much defines the canterbury sound. The final segment starts off with dirty hammond and bluesy guitar and the song closes with a 21st Century Schizoid Man style atonal freakout. Overall a great closing track.

Even though Hillage and Stewart went on to produce a lot more great music with other bands, it's still a shame that this ensemble only lasted for one album. This is like a fusion of all the different prog styles of the time, symphonic rock, space rock and of course the usual jazzy Canterbury sound, all mixed together. Hillage really shows his diversity here, as a singer, songwriter and guitarist, some like to say that this is just a Hillage solo album, but the overall musicianship here is not to be overlooked. Like many prog bands that can make the transition between a variety of moods, from composure to chaos, and vice versa, as with any great work of prog, expect the unexpected.

So hope on aboard the space shanty. This is an overlooked gem without a doubt.





EDIT: That's right, I've added video uploads to all my previous reviews, enjoy. :D

I'm not sure why I haven't participated in this thread before (maybe I have, maybe I keep putting it off), but I just noticed this post and gotta back boo boo up, this is a FANTASTIC album. :clap:

I also really like Van der Graaf Generator's H to He, Who Am The Only One. The Genesis, Gentle Giant, albums are Camel albums are good too, but Khan and VdGG are gems fewer people seem to know about.

I should start my own prog stash thread one of these days. I suck at reviews though, so it probably won't be in this sub-forum. It'll be more like a recommendation thread with a brief description and a few videos or something. Been meaning to do it for other genres as well.