The Prog 100
 

Ok, the first 90 will not be in order, that would just be pointless. Inventive title I know. Some reviews will be short, some will be long, depends on how much I care when I'm writing. I might go back and lengthen reviews upon whim or request. Let's get this started. NO ORDER FOR FIRST 90!
100: April-Sun Kil Moon
http://drewviews.files.wordpress.com...pril_cover.jpg
The opening track on April is one of the most beautifully autumnal songs I've ever heard. It's gentle but persistent beat, soft, slightly jangly melody and subtle lyrical references to the Bay Area make it a very special song to me. Mark Kozelek has said that the song is about the character from his Red House Painters song Katy. I got the impression that Katy is a ghost watching over her old loved ones from the fog.
The rest of the album doesn't quite reach such heights, but Moorestown is almost as good, just as deeply personal, again using very specific imagery of real places where Kozelek found love and lost it.
The only other song that really stands out from the pack is Heron Blue, which uses it's medieval atmosphere to describe the experience of watching a Heroin addict die in front of you.
As a whole many of the songs are connected, all in theme and some with specific stories. It seems like, as a whole, the album is a bit too musically safe, and the only times it really takes off the ground is when there is risk taking involved. That being said there isn't a song I don't like, and there are several I love. Recommended to anyone who doesn't hate music.
Favorite lyric: Her walls are Mediterranean blue
Her baby sister picked the hue
Saltwater taffy, Jersey shore
Blue like the fingernails she wore
Favorite song: Lost Verses

Special review, not a part of the 100:
A Thousand Kisses Deep-Leonard Cohen:
This one of my favorite poems of all time, it's deeply personal and philosophical at the same time. I don't think there's any specific theme to it, just Cohen recounting his experiences in his favorite manner. Can't really go wrong with one of the greatest lyricists of all time telling his life story can you?

1. You came to me this morning
And you handled me like meat.
You´d have to live alone to know
How good that feels, how sweet.
My mirror twin, my next of kin,
I´d know you in my sleep.
And who but you would take me in
A thousand kisses deep?

2. I loved you when you opened
Like a lily to the heat.
I´m just another snowman
Standing in the rain and sleet,
Who loved you with his frozen love
His second-hand physique -
With all he is, and all he was
A thousand kisses deep.

3. All soaked in sex, and pressed against
The limits of the sea:
I saw there were no oceans left
For scavengers like me.
We made it to the forward deck
I blessed our remnant fleet -
And then consented to be wrecked
A thousand kisses deep.

4. I know you had to lie to me,
I know you had to cheat.
But the Means no longer guarantee
The Virtue in Deceit.
That truth is bent, that beauty spent,
That style is obsolete -
Ever since the Holy Spirit went
A thousand kisses deep.

5. (So what about this Inner Light
That´s boundless and unique?
I´m slouching through another night
A thousand kisses deep.)

6. I´m turning tricks; I´m getting fixed,
I´m back on Boogie Street.
I tried to quit the business -
Hey, I´m lazy and I´m weak.
But sometimes when the night is slow,
The wretched and the meek,
We gather up our hearts and go
A thousand kisses deep.

7. (And fragrant is the thought of you,
The file on you complete -
Except what we forgot to do
A thousand kisses deep.)

8. The ponies run, the girls are young,
The odds are there to beat.
You win a while, and then it´s done -
Your little winning streak.
And summoned now to deal
With your invincible defeat,
You live your life as if it´s real
A thousand kisses deep.

9. (I jammed with Diz and Dante -
I did not have their sweep -
But once or twice, they let me play
A thousand kisses deep.)

10. And I´m still working with the wine,
Still dancing cheek to cheek.
The band is playing "Auld Lang Syne" -
The heart will not retreat.
And maybe I had miles to drive,
And promises to keep -
You ditch it all to stay alive
A thousand kisses deep.

11. And now you are the Angel Death
And now the Paraclete;
And now you are the Savior's Breath
And now the Belsen heap.
No turning from the threat of love,
No transcendental leap -
As witnessed here in time and blood
A thousand kisses deep.

^ Nice selection

My favorite part is the tenth stanza

"And I´m still working with the wine,
Still dancing cheek to cheek.
The band is playing "Auld Lang Syne" -
The heart will not retreat.
And maybe I had miles to drive,
And promises to keep -
You ditch it all to stay alive
A thousand kisses deep."

very elegant mental and physical landscape and imagery. I feel like I know that exac moment our feelings and experiences coincided.

Have you read Wordsworth?

Can't say I have. I saw Cohen perform A Thousand Kisses Deep (The poem I mean) live when he was on a tour a couple months ago, really stunning. Here's a video from his performance in Dublin:

99: Robot World-Bailter Space
http://i298.photobucket.com/albums/m...RobotWorld.jpg
The first thing you should know about this record is that it might take a while to tell apart the first two songs. The next one you can differentiate from the others on first listen. The next 8 songs all sound a bit similar at first, just like the the first two tracks. After a few weeks though it'll be worth the hours you spent (Wasted) trying to get to like this album to look smart. I suggest you listen every morning when you get up and right before you go to bed each night. I recommend this album to anyone with patience. Cheers.
Favorite lyric: who cares
Favorite song: Morning

I love these 100 list. I was when I saw The PRog 100 thinking it was going to be 100 Prog albums.

I have always loved New Zealand Rock (Except Crowed House), I think I will really enjoy this.
When I saw the prog 100 I thought it was going to be 100 prog albums.

Lol, there'll be plenty of Prog anyway.

Looked up Wordsworth, looks interesting. Recommendations? If not I'll just start with the Preclude.

98: Double Expresso-The Tony Levin Band
http://static.rateyourmusic.com/albu...9a1f/42157.jpg
This is easily the one of most underappreciated live albums ever, it's just about flawless. The setting is warm and intimate yet the band is bursting with energy while remaining incredibly tight. Tony Levin himself is as masterful as ever while his backing band is more than solid behind him. While every song is excellent and full of energy, the cover of Zeppelin's Black Dog really stands out, and makes this a must get for any Zeppelin fan (Lookin' at you JJJ). The album was recorded in Woodstock, New York, which, as most of you probably know, is 43 miles from where the real Woodstock took place.
Favorite lyrics: n/a
Favorite song: Black Dog