Trollheart

Album title: Pawn Hearts
Artist: Van der Graaf Generator
Nationality: English
Label: Charisma
Chronology: Fourth
Grade: A
Factsheet: Not only one containing one of the longest-ever prog tracks, this album also has close to the fewest (three) and seems to have been something of a major influence too on the later RPI (Rock Progresivo Italiano).
Tracklisting: Lemmings (including Cog)/ Man-erg/ A Plague of Lighthouse Keepers (a) Eyewitness (b) Pictures/Lighthouse © Eyewitness (d) S.H.M. (e) Presence of the Night (f) Kosmo’s Tours (g) (Custard’s) Last Stand (h)The Clot Thickens (i) Land’s End (Sineline) (j) We Go Now
Comments: If you didn’t know Peter Hammill you would swear when the vocal begins that it was female, though it quickly changes as he turns to his more dark, manic side and it’s a fast, punchy opening with “Lemmings” - which apparently includes “Cog” - plenty of deep organ and squealing sax. Some strange experimental stuff as it goes along, with odd little passages of almost gentle vocal dropped in among the madness just to skew it even further. This is an album with three - count ‘em: three - tracks, two of which exceed the ten-minute mark, and then there’s that epic at the end. In terms of tracks then it’s poor value, but the whole thing adds up to about three quarters of an hour, so that’s not bad.

“Man-erg” opens on a beautiful soft piano piece with the rather incongruous lyric “A killer lives inside me” and Hammill in his best angelic voice, sliding momentarily into the darker, more angry side. One of my favourite VDGG songs, I love the way it changes and transforms throughout its ten-minute length. The organ accompaniment is lovely too, then it really explodes into life as Hammill goes completely manic and the hard guitars burst in, attended by frenetic horns. A nice jaunty instrumental section in the sixth minute carries it through to a reprise of the opening section. And that then leaves the epic.

Before Genesis had written “Supper’s Ready” or Rush’s “2112” had seen the light, “A Plague of Lighthouse Keepers” stood as one of the longest prog suites, running as it does for just over twenty-three minutes. It beat Caravan’s “Nine Feet Underground” by a minute and kicked the arse, lengthwise, of ELP’s “Tarkus.” It gets going on a similar kind of theme to “Man-erg” but is more driven by organ and Hammill uses some sort of effect on his voice; I feel the use of brass as sort of foghorns, given that this is about a lighthouse keeper (in case you hadn’t figured that out) is quite clever and indicative of the innovation VDGG would practice throughout their frequently-interrupted career.

There’s a nice buildup section in the eleventh minute which leads into a pretty frantic, climbing vocal with Hammill followed by the instruments until it all comes to a crescendo and comes to a juddering halt in the thirteenth, picked up then by solo piano and vocal, everything slowing down again as organ and guitar joins the tune, then without any warning in the seventeenth it all explodes again until in the twentieth everything settles down on acoustic piano as the piece moves towards its conclusion.

Favourite track(s): Man-Erg/ A Plague of Lighthouse Keepers
Least favourite track(s):
Musings: The cover for this was created by Paul Whitehead, who links VDGG and Genesis, as he also did the cover for the latter’s Trespass and, as we will see, this year’s Nursery Cryme as well as the following year’s Foxtrot. Whether this implies any personal relationship between Hammill and his acolyte is unclear, but given that Gabriel was a lot younger than the VDGG singer I doubt it, but it is intriguing.

Also of note: though this album did poorly in the UK, it found favour with the Italians, as did Genesis’s albums, making it clear that prog rock was at least as appreciated in Italy as in the UK, and in the case of some bands, much more so.
Personal Rating: 4.50
Legacy Rating: 4.0
Final Rating: 4.25

__________________
Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

Trollheart

Fun as it often is not, going year-by-year and slowing climbing through the decades, it is necessary, as this is, after all, first and foremost a history. But as with some of my other journals I like not to be too rigid in my exploration, and will occasionally step outside of the timelines to look into a certain artist, aspect or other feature of progressive rock.

This is one of those times.

To my mind, Italy is the only country outside of the UK to have essentially an entire subgenre named after and linked to them, and be, of course, exclusive to them. You can't play Italian progressive rock if you're not Italian, unlike the Canterbury Scene, where you didn't even have to be from England, never mind Canterbury. But for all its influence over the genre, I've only heard very little of this music and that kind of in passing, with bands like Prognesi and to an extent Fabio Zuffanti, mostly through his work with Hostsonaten. So here's where I change this, as I go on a deep exploration of the world and music that is known as
Rock Progressivo Italiano

I honestly don't know where to start. This isn't going to be a history of RPI, as such, but a chance to take a look and listen to some of the better, and perhaps less good, famous and less well-regarded bands, artists and albums within the genre. I read that at the time when prog was in its most nascent form in the UK, bands like Genesis, Van der Graaf Generator and Gentle Giant found an audience for their music among Italian fans almost before they found fame at home, so if England could be, and is, seen as the wellspring and font of all things prog, then surely Italy must be regarded as one of the mighty river's greatest tributaries.

One of the first Italian prog bands to spring up appear to have been these guys, who went on to become, in fairness, more known for their work on film soundtracks, notably with horror/schlock maestro Dario Argento, but did put out some standard prog albums. This one, in typical prog style, is a concept, although if it's sung in Italian, as I assume it is, you're out of luck as I have no Italian beyond “Ay Giovanni! Where's-a my pizza?” (Note: any slights made on the Italian language are in jest only, and should not, I repeat NOT be communicated to or repeated within a hundred miles of any practicing members of the Cosa Nostra.)

Hey, maybe it'll be an instrumental album. Avanti!

Il Fantastico Viaggio del Bagarozzo Mark – Goblin – 1978 (Cinevox)

No, there are vocals. Well, from what I read by quickly scanning other reviews of this album by people far better versed in RPI than myself, this is something of a maverick within the genre, as it would seem the usual RPI albums tend not to have any singing. Interesting. I also note that the translation of the title comes out as “the fantastic journey of (I could have translated that much myself, of course) the beetle Mark”. So is there some psychedelic weirdness mixed into the lyrics? We'll never know, as, as I say, I can't speak Italian, so that will have to remain a mystery, as we concentrate – as it seems we will be mostly or even exclusively doing all through this section – on the music.

It's not an epic by any standards, certainly not by those of progressive rock, having a mere eight tracks and clocking in at a very low thirty-five minutes in total, with no track overstaying its welcome, the longest being just under six minutes long. “Mark il bagarozzo” (Mark the beetle I assume) gets things going with a spacey synthy keyboard sound and some nice guitar; the vocals are strong but as I can't tell what's being sung I can say little more about them, and here at least I can see why some people seem to consider them more a distraction, as they sort of take from the music, which, once it gets going, is very impressive. You can see why these guys went on to have such a career in film music. Superb organ from Claudio Simonetti mostly drives this, though Massimo Morante, who also takes the vocals, makes his guitar heard too. It might be me, it might be him, or it might be the fact that this is a seventies album, but at times (mostly during the vocal parts it has to be said) the production, or at least the sound, comes across as quite muddy.

There's a fine guitar solo from Morante to take us into “La cascate di viridiana” (The green waterfall?) with a whistling keyboard accompanying a very thick bass, almost sounds fretless (?) ably wielded by Fabio Pignatelli, while soft, almost tribal drum patterns are laid down by Agostino Marangolo and we even hear some low sax, care of Antonio Marangolo (could be his brother I guess; he's a guest musician anyway so obviously not part of Goblin). I don't know if I guessed right about the title, but everything about the music (and there seem to be no vocals to this track) do suggest the idea of a waterfall, from the flowing piano to the haunting sax. I have to be honest: this is that longest track I spoke of, and I can really see the band stretching themselves and coming into their own now, and can agree that the vocal is a distraction, as these guys are really great musicians. This has film soundtrack written all over it. Lovely.

“Terra di Goblin” (anyone?) has a real Tony Banks sound to the keys, almost ethereal, but I have to say unfortunately, we're back to the vocal tracks, and it really is a disappointment, as this seems to be the kind of music that would survive so much better – thrive indeed – without the addition of singing, and it's not often I admit that. It's not just that I can't interpret the vocals; they almost seem to be tacked on, as if this is something the band feel they should be doing, but kind of don't really want to. I wonder how well this album sold? Once the vocals drop back in the second minute the band can really let loose, and the song is so much better for the absence of singing. A great militaristic drumbeat attended by fluting synth to take us out and into “Un ragazzo d'argento” (A silver something) where the music picks up pace and becomes almost boppy, whereas up to now it's been generally stately and grand; this is almost like electronic. Sadly the vocals are back, though this time they don't seem to be as bad. Perhaps it's the more slightly poppy tone of the song that complements them better. This is the first time I've heard the vocals and not wished they were not there.

Looks like “La danza” (the dance?) might be another instrumental, and a very good one too, in which Simonetti gets to really flex his ... oh. There are vocals. God damn it. They don't quite ruin it, but I was getting a certain vibe from the piece which now I kind of don't any more. The pace has increased too, with Morante's guitar taking a more active role. There's almost a toy piano feel to “Opera magnifica”, and there's no escaping the vocals as they're there from the start, but the almost commercial pop feel of the song again allows them to exist in harmony with, rather than despite, it, and it all works quite well. The mumuring vocal on “Notte” (night) reminds me of the opening to “I Know What I Like”, and the piano keeping the melody behind it is great. “... e suono rock” does however seem to be an instrumental, and a pretty rockin' one, good way to end the album.

Track listing

1. Mark il bagarozza
2. La cascate di viridiana
3. Tierra di Goblin[/COLOR]
4. Un rqagazzo d'argento
5. La danza
6. Opera magnifica
7. Notte
8. ... E suono rock

Overall, I'd say I'm highly impressed with this album. I see why purists have mentioned that the vocals don't really work, though on occasions I would say they do. Mostly though this band plays to its strengths when they concentrate on just making music, and when they do that, they really shine. I'd be interested in checking out more of their work, but for now I'm going to move on to another artist, as there are masses of them to choose from in this very specific subgenre of progressive rock.

And my journey has just begun.

__________________
Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

Trollheart

Keeping in the seventies for now, and in fact, going further back, to 1973. Despite having their debut album released in 1972, Banco del Mutuo Soccoroso (Bank of mutual help? Don't ask me) were already on their third album by the following year, having released two in 1972 to widespread acclaim, at least in Italy. BdMS (whom we'll just refer to as Banco in future, due to the unfortunate connotations linked to that acronym, or one very close to it! It's also how they were known in later years, as they dropped the other three words) are seen as one of the “big three” of Rock Progressivo Italiano, along with Le Orme and Premiata Forneria Marconi, or PFM, and up to 1997 had recorded a total of fourteen albums. Although they still gig today, Nudo was their last official release.

Io Sato Nato Libero – Banco del Mutuo Soccorso – 1973 (Ricordi)

Again, another short album, in fact only five minutes longer than the Goblin effort we looked at last, and with fewer tracks: five in all, though in fairness the first one is fifteen minutes long. The title apparently translates to I Was Born Free, which sounds like a cue for Matt Monro and Elsa the lion! No? Damn you youngsters! Anyway, what's the album like? Let's see. Sounds like an oboe maybe starting off “Canto nomade per un prigioniero politico” (Nomadic chant for a political prisoner”*) and then the vocals come in. I immediately find Francesco di Giacomo perhaps a better singer, perhaps just easier on the ear than Morante from Goblin; somehow the music just seems to sit better with his voice. This is the fifteen-minute track I spoke of, and unsurprisingly it goes through several changes over the length of its run. Piano gives way to keyboards and organ, both ably played by the Nocenzi brothers, Vittorio and Gianni. There's not too much room for Marcello Todaro's guitar just yet, but no doubt he'll make himself known soon enough.

Slowing down now to an almost ghostly moan in the fifth minute before a big burst of piano takes the song forward, the sole accompaniment to di Giacomo's vocal, which at this point puts me somewhat in mind of Eric Woolfson, in style if not actual sound. Another dark, eerie sort of instrumental part, quite menacing in its way, as we hit the seventh minute and pass the halfway point, and now we have a sort of jazzy breakout on piano then organ, with the rhythm section keeping it all together. I really still don't hear too much of the guitar, but I guess it's in there. No solos yet. Oh, here comes the guitar in something of a star turn at the tenth minute, sounds either acoustic or Classical, never been able to distinguish one from the other. And now a drum solo of sorts, with the organ humming in the background. A really nice strummed guitar as we move into minute eleven, the only instrument playing now for the next minute or so, other than the bass, then the percussion storms back in and the keyboards leak slowly back to take the tune to its conclusion with a powerful jazzy outro.

As I often point out, it's quite brave to open your album on such an epic, though at this time, at least in their native Italy, Banco were pretty much established so I guess it wasn't quite as much of a risk as it could have been, and anyway, this is prog rock: the fans expect long tracks. Which is not what they get with the next one, “Nom mi rompete” (Don't bother me) which runs for a mere five minutes, and gives Todaro a chance to shine on the acoustic guitar, as it appears initially anyway to be a ballad. Gets boppy and happy there in the second minute, so maybe not. Good vocal from di Giacomo, and the guitar sounds almost flamenco? Definitely keeping the keys out of this one so far. Wonder if Todaro wrote it? No, seems he didn't have a hand in writing any of the five tracks. Still, it's a good vehicle for him to express his talents, which are impressive. Quite a hippy/psych vibe off this. Oh, there's some keyboard there near the end. Very nice.

A slightly longer track, “La città sottile” (the subtle town) takes us back to the piano, with a sort of neoclassical touch, and a very Alan Parsons Project vocal. Marcello Todaro, having been given his head on the previous track, is not shy about joining in quickly, and then one of the Nocenzis fires up the organ and away we go. I can hear echoes of early Supertramp here too. Some fairly what I suppose would be termed early experimental stuff here; quite surprising what these two guys could do with keyboards. The other relatively long track, just shy of ten minutes, is “Dopo...niente è più lo stesso” (Then ... nothing is still the same”) and it rocks considerably more than the previous ones have, much more uptempo and with a kind of urgent vocal, the piano creating its own sense of tension, and then I guess they somehow pitch bend it or maybe it's done in production but the piano goes all dark and warped for a moment, before flutes come in but even these sound a little frenetic and chaotic. The vocal is at times almost like a prayer, as if di Giacomo is chanting, carrying out some form of worship. Then everything explodes in a big keyboard instrumental in the fourth minute, the tempo kicking right back up even as the vocals return. Todaro gets a chance to rip off a proper electric guitar solo (he may have done this already but this is the first time I've been able to hear it, to point to it and say there it is) as everything slows down to a dark crawl again in the sixth minute with what sounds like cellos? Bouncy piano then takes the melody, aided by trumpeting keyboards and more guitar, with something of a jam developing in the eighth minute before it all slows down to a simple organ and piano line as the piece comes to a close.

And that leaves but one track, and it's a short one. They even failed to bother to name it, calling it “Traccia II” or “track two” (although here it's track five, two of the B-side of the album I guess). It's the only one not written by Vittorio Nocenzi, but in fact by his brother Gianni, and it has a very classical, fanfare-like feel. Unsurprisingly it's written for keys, and an instrumental, and it ends the album very well.

Track listing

1. Canto nomade per un prigioniero politico
2. Nom mi rompete
3. La città sottile
4. Dopo...niente è più lo stesso
5. Traccia II

Again, I'm very impressed. Vocals definitely work better here in general than they did with the Goblin album, but the music is I think as good as if not better than those guys. Having two keyboard players certainly makes a difference, and if that doesn't mark you out as a prog band, you have something of a problem. Vocalist Francesco di Giacomo sadly passed away in 2014, but the remaining members of Banco continue to gig, though no new material has as yet been recorded.

* No I haven't been taking Italian lessons: I found a translation.

__________________
Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

Trollheart

It's kind of odd. I wanted – want – to move away from the seventies and was checking out a band called Moongarden, then I find they're not really considered RPI, although they are Italian. So what is it about Rock Progressivo Italiano that makes it what it is? I assumed – apparently wrongly – that to be an RPI band you simply had to play prog rock and come from Italy, but that does not now appear to be the case. Well, returning to my other go-to source, progarchives.com, I read that RPI is not so much a genre or even a country-based phenomena (although you can't be an RPI band without being Italian; however just simply being an Italian prog band does not make you RPI. Huh?) but a way of thinking, playing, composing and paying your musical dues back to your seventies forebears. One writer compares the emergence of RPI to the Renaissance, when fifteenth-century Italy led the way in a resurgence in culture, art, literature and thinking as the Dark Ages receded.

So then I thought, well to be RPI you must be a band playing in, or at least formed in, the heyday of Italian prog, ie the seventies. But no: this band were only formed in 2008, and yet are supposedly accepted as being Rock Progressivo Italiano as much as PFM or Banco. I'm going to be reading up more on this idea, but for now I have from Progarchives a list of bands who most assuredly are considered RPI, and from this list I have plucked

La Crudeltà di Aprile – Unreal City – 2013 (MRL)

Although he is not in the band, my good buddy Fabio Zuffanti, whom I mentioned at the beginning of this article, he who helms Hostsonaten among others, is credited with being the artistic director of this new band, whatever that may mean. It seems to be the baby of Emanuele Tarasconi though, as he sings and plays the keys (and there are a lot of them), while Francseca Zanetta is something of a rarity, not only in being a lady in prog but also the guitarist, and the hilariously-named Francesco Orefice looks after bass duties. Although they only formed in the twenty-first century it seems Unreal City are afforded the tag of RPI due to their adherence to the old values of bands like PFM and Banco, and indeed are credited here (whether officially or not I don't know) with the extra tag of “modern PFI”. Hmm. This is their debut album, and it seems to have been quite well received. Good boppy start to “dell'innocenza perduta”, some fine organ and piano, vocals then come in around the second minute as the tune settles down into a nice relaxed piano run, and the singing itself is very pleasant. Not a clue what he's singing about of course, but nice to listen to. Picking up speed now in the fifth minute, crazy piano and organ run and some thundering drums from Federico Bedostri. Sounds like a fiddle there at the end. Could be; these guys seem to use a whole lot of instruments, including, I see, a Renaissance lute! Well, I see there's a guest appearance by Fabio Biale on the violin, so I guess that's him.

It's a fine guitar that gets “Atlantis (Conferendis Pecuniis)” underway, sort of a dark feeling to it, then it picks up nicely about halfway through, before falling into a sort of medieval folk thing. I guess that could be the Renaissance lute they were talking about. And the reliable old church organ heralds our descent into Hell, or “Catabasi (descenscio ad infernos)” with pealing bells and then a dark synth. In places this reminds me very much of Arena. Suddenly then that violin/fiddle is back, jumping the pace and bringing some light into the netherworld. “Dove La Luce È Più Intensa” has a powerful instrumental opening, which goes on for a minute and a half of the seven it runs for, while “Ecate (Walpurgusnacht)” opens on a beautiful classical piano line with attendant synth with some funky percussion and organ, and a sort of mix of reggae and blues, if you can imagine such a thing.

The epic though is the closer, “Horror vacui”, which runs for almost eighteen minutes and is split into four different sections. Opening on “Le radici del mare”, it's a soft, gradual introduction to the piece as it slowly coalesces on soft piano and bassy piano before warbling synth joins in as the rhythm section makes itself heard, and I'm going to assume the first part is an instrumental intro, as otherwise I have no breakdown of the suite and therefore no idea where one section ends and another begins. The vocals then bring in a more jaunty, upbeat tempo as “L'assassino” (yeah, who can translate that?) begins, but unless it's very obvious, I have no idea where this will move into part three. Nice keyboard solo in the tenth minute, could be part three, but no way to know for sure. Some lovely smooth fretless bass too. Powerful, almost jazzy at times, instrumental ending.

Track listing

1. Dell'innocenzo perduta
2. Atlantai (Conferendis pecuniis)
3. Catabasi (descenscio ad infernos)
4. Dove La Luce È Più Intensa
5. Ecate (Walpurgisnacht)
6. Horror vacui
(i) La radici del mare
(ii) L'assassino
(iii) Nel sonno della ragione
(iv) Il baratro della follia

And another great Italian prog album, proving I guess that you didn't have to be recording in the seventies to be an RPI band. Unreal City certainly have an advantage though, as they are under the wing of Zuffanti, who has been playing and composing and producing music since the mid-nineties and certainly knows his way around the scene. A real case, I think, of “stick with me, boys, and I'll make stars out of you.” They've made a very good start with this debut.

__________________
Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

Trollheart

Album title: Camembert Electrique
Artist: Gong
Nationality: French
Label: BYG Actuel
Chronology: Second
Grade: A
Factsheet: Pretty much flying the French prog flag, the second album from Gong had the rather undistinguished “honour” of, having been reissued outside France in 1974, selling for the princely sum of fifty-nine pence (slightly over half of an old Pound), for which price you could at the time buy a single. They did this again in 1976, but how it affected sales of the album I don’t know. Maybe they should have given a free gong away with each copy?
Tracklisting: Radio Gnome/ You Can’t Kill Me/ I Bin Stone Before- Mister Long Shanks - O Mother/ I Am Your Fantasy / Dynamite - I Am Your Animal/ Wet Cheese Delirium/ Squeezing Sponges Over Policemen’s Heads/ Fohat Digs Holes in Space/ And You Tried So Hard/ Tropical Fish - Selene/ Gnome the Second
Comments: In what we’re beginning to see as typical Gong behaviour, the album opens on twenty seconds of sped-up vocal leading into the first real track, very psychedelic with an annoying squeaky/screechy voice in which I think they call a “space whisper”? Yeah. Some pretty wild guitar here but I have to say the repetitive nature of the song and the fucking space whisper kill it for me. You can, then, kill me. Next. Nice Hammond opening, a slower song, sax here that reminds me of part of Supertramp’s later “Fool’s Overture” from the album Even in the Quietest Moments then what sounds like a children’s nursery rhyme and ending in a sort of Beatles/Monkees pastiche. Right.

After all that messing, “I Am Your Fantasy” is breathy and ethereal, with proper backing vocals from the female (I think she’s called Gilli Smyth, also known as Shakti Yoni - of course she is) and some dreamy guitar, very low key, almost an early form of shoegaze maybe. It’s only a short respite though as we’re back to the madness, with a repeated vocal against a bouncy beat and that damned space whisper is back. Fuck that thing; my god it’s annoying. Actually, the whole track sets my teeth on edge. Two bits of sonic nonsense next and we’re into “Fohat Digs Holes in Space”. Uh-huh. Sort of an almost Black Sabbath groove to this, with a bit of Hawkwind mixed in. Sure beats the last few tracks into a cocked, er, fohat. Herself tries but fails to ruin it with her stupid ya-hoos or whatever. Wish she’d fall into one of these holes Fohat is digging in space. Great guitar solo though.

Two tracks proper to go, as the final one is more sonic fluff. “And You Tried So Hard” seems to be an actual basic rock song from what I can hear, guitar-driven and sort of sixties-sounding. But of course we couldn’t end like that, could we? This is Gong, and we must have madness and organised chaos. And that’s - more or less - what we get with the final track, “Tropical Fish/Selene” with a lot of peppy horn and so far no fucking space fucking whisper. Let’s keep our tentacles crossed, eh?

Favourite track(s): I Am Your Fantasy, Fohat Digs Holes in Space, And You Tried So Hard
Least favourite track(s): You Can’t Kill Me/ I Am Your Animal
Musings: You know, I’m beginning to think that, for me, Gong stands for God! Oh No! Gong! Maybe I’ll just write about the rest of their albums rather than listen to them. Might be safer.
Personal Rating: 2.50
Legacy Rating: 3.0
Final Rating: 2.50

__________________
Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

Trollheart

Album title: The Inner Mounting Flame
Artist: Mahavishnu Orchestra
Nationality: American
Label: Columbia
Chronology: Debut
Grade: B
Tracklisting: Meeting of the Spirits/ Dawn/ The Noonward Race/ A Lotus on Irish Streams/ Vital Transformation/ The Dance of Maya/ You Know You Know/ Awakening
Comments: It’s certainly a big dramatic opening to “Meeting of the Spirits”, really more what you’d expect to hear at the end of a song, the big climax, but then it tails back on acoustic guitar before jumping into life again with violin added, a quite excellent guitar solo and, I must admit from the off, not at all what I was expecting. If it’s all like this I may end up being a fan. Wow! I see Jan Hammer was in this band, also Billy Cobham, whom Plankton rated highly enough to introduce me to one of his albums.

Great piano work here from Hammer, and it’s John McLaughlin who’s the fretboard wizard. “Dawn” is more in the slow jazz line, sort of more the kind of thing I had expected when I read jazz fusion, but it’s nice and relaxing, with the instruments meshing well and nobody playing over anyone else. No vocals of course - they don’t do them - but really nice music so far. Then we get “The Noonward Race”, where both Cobham on the skins and McLaughlin on the frets go completely wild. Total freakout, man. Slowing things right down and allowing us to catch our breath, and driven mostly on Jerry Goodman’s violin, is “A Lotus on Irish Streams”, really nice and certainly has a nice little Celtic twist to the music. It actually sounds like there’s a harp in there, but I don’t see one credited.

“Vital Transformation” ramps it all up to ten again, rolling, thundering drums and wailing guitars as the piece cannons along, with some fine organ thrown in too, Slow and laconic is the order of the day for “The Dance of Maya”, with a slightly sinister twist to the guitar, then it bursts into a twelve-bar boogie which is pretty damn cool. It seems to be something of a pattern here - jazz rock freak out followed by slower more ballad-like, and here again we see this as “You Know You Know” runs on gentle acoustic guitar and soft percussion, and yes, true to form, the closer is another mad bash on the drums, racing violin and howling guitars to bring the album to an end.

Favourite track(s): Meeting of the Spirits/ Dawn/ A Lotus on Irish Streams/ You Know You Know
Least favourite track(s):
Personal Rating: 3.50
Legacy Rating: 5.0
Final Rating:4.25

__________________
Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

Queen Boo

The late Gilli Smyth with her space whispers and ya-hoos is one of my favorite things about Gong, why you gotta do her dirty like that?

__________________
https://www.twitch.tv/drrobuttnik

Queen Boo

Looking through your reviews it seems like you really don't care for psychedelic or experimental rock, which sucks for you considering how often prog overlaps with both.

On the other hand some of your takes surprised me, I was not expecting you to like Yeti as much as you did.

__________________
https://www.twitch.tv/drrobuttnik

Trollheart

I would say that in general, I like my music to be, to use perhaps a catch-all word, palatable. I like to enjoy what I'm listening to. People may love - and I'm sure they do - listening to Zappa growling out his grocery list or Beefheart banging dustbin lids together for a half hour, and more power to them. I don't. It's not that I don't feel that sort of music has no merit. I know it does, it just isn't for me.

Psychedelic I can take or leave. I mean, Hawkwind is pretty psych isn't it? But yeah, undertaking to write the history of prog rock does of course mean I'll be coming up against a lot of music I don't like. You've seen my review of Magma's first album, I presume?

__________________
Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

The Batlord

Saying you like prog but not Magma is like admitting to the world that you've written original series Star Trek fan fiction.

__________________