Well I like what ive heard from Japan and i really liked Secrets of the Beehive so imma take on Gone to Earth. Robert Fripp being there just makes this choice all the easier.

Given that Toto are one of my all-time favourite bands, I'm inclined to pick them, but I'll wait and see if anybody else picks them first.

I'm all over this one The Custodian - Necessary Wasted Time

Spacey vibe and Porcupine Tree similarities has sold me.

Something for thise rarity seekers amongst you.
For a serious psych-prog wah-wah guitar album, you must check out "Theme For A Dream" by Agnes Strange (1972). Amazing underrated band:)

OK then this seems to be how it's panning out at the moment...
DJChameleon

Trollheart



Blomljud | Moon Safari

Ninetales

Unknown Soldier (with a possibility of Trollheart sticking his big nose in here too) ;)

As two weeks takes us close to Christmas time let's say we'll give this to Jan 1, as surely nobody will be in the mood to review albums over Xmas. Which means theoretically we have almost a month to get our reviews done, then we start off fresh in January. Sound ok to everyone?

My Toto review should be up soon, just said this to remind everybody else to wrap theirs up in the next week as well.:pimp:

Yeah you're right, need to get mine organised. Spending so much time getting the Year in Review for Sunday's update and stacking up those awards. But I'll get it done, as they say.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...-_Blomljud.jpg

Blomljud --- Moon Safari --- 2008

I have to be honest: when I looked at this and saw that there were two ten minute tracks, a fifteen minute one and a THIRTY-TWO minute one I paled. However I've really liked what I've heard from Moon Safari so far, so I'm happy to give it a ago. The album title, apparently, means "Flowersound", and as it unfolds I can see why: there's a definite sense of nature and a real pastoral feeling about this, the Swedish prog band's second effort. It starts off well with a Beach Boys-style acapella opener that's very pleasant, and on into a nice piano-driven second track, with a very early Genesis sound about it, very soothing vocals from Simon Åkesson and Petter Sandström and some lovely harmonies, reminds me a bit of Blunstone or Woolfson. Certain sense of Spock's Beard about the piano parts too. Really nice. Have to say I'm really impressed.

Nice Country feel to the appropriately-named “In the countryside”, some really sweet percussion courtesy of Tobias Lundgren, puts me in mind of “Hedgerow” off the Big Big Train “English Electric Part I” album. Sort of. “Moonwalk” is a great instrumental with a lot of guitar in it --- Sandström plays guitar on this album as well as singing (and a lot of other instruments too!) but I think the bulk of the fretwork comes from Pontus Åkesson, especially the beautiful twelve-string and some lush mandolin --- very uptempo. Two ten-minuters follow each other but really this is so consistently good I don't even notice: I'm just kind of letting the music wash over me. Lovely. These guys remind me in a way of an old German pop band called Freiheit, which nobody will know. Nobody. But I have yet to hear anything resembling a bad track, and we're more than halfway through.

“Yasgur's farm” has more country/bluegrass style guitar with a lovely booming synth, rippling piano ... ah hell I could go on but this is supposed to be short. Short, Trollheart! Look it up! Okay, I'm shutting up and just enjoying the music until ...hey! They just robbed a Springsteen lyric there! “Rosalita”, I think. Nice little reel or jig or something celtic anyway in “Lady of the woodlands”, one of the few short tracks, which is followed by the other, “A tale of three and tree”, which melds the seventies art-prog of Gabriel's Genesis with the soft rock crooning of David Gates and throws some eighties Alan Parsons in for good measure. Just perfect.

Yes, I'm aware I'm going on to my fourth paragraph and the massive epic has yet to hit me, but this album is too good to just write a few lines, sorry: it needs to be properly treated, and I'm already lining it up for a full review in my journal next year. The vocal harmonies come totally into their own on this track, then we're into that epic, the penultimate track, almost long enough to be an album in its own right and split into four sections. “Other half of the sky” runs to a total of almost thirty-two minutes, its first part, “Written in the stars” a soft, lush, gentle lullaby that really showcases the vocal talent of, well, both lead vocalists, as it's hard to know who takes lead here.

Some beautiful piano work and gentle guitar just frame the melody perfectly, and there's a feel of early Floyd around the “Meddle” era here as well as of course classic Genesis. It kicks up then on bouncy Hammond for “The meaning of success”, taking a turn somewhat into seventies Yes territory but without ditching all the already-mentioned influences, and with more of a role for the guitar in a harder sense. Returning to its softer acoustic tone then for part three, “The child inside the man” as it slows down again, getting nice and pastoral with some flute and piano, ah, but then it ramps up with a superb keyboard solo and much faster percussion, superb Hammond coming in evoking the best of the likes of “Cinema show” and “One for the vine”, then some beautiful Gilmouresque guitar leads in an instrumental to open part four, “After all”, with some recorded broadcast stuff going on in the background a la Porcupine Tree. A definite sense of a big closing section as the vocal comes back in against powerful evocative Hammond. It's amazing, but over half an hour has just gone by and it doesn't even feel like it.

Long as it is though, and epic closer though it would have made, there's one more track to go. With a real feel of “The carpet crawlers”, final track “To sail beyond the sunset” finishes off this album perfectly, with a pastoral, gentle, lush tune that just plays out the album in a perfect almost coda after the gargantuan “Other half of the sky”. What an album!

TRACKLISTING

1. Constant bloom
2. Methuselah's children
3. In the countryside
4. Moonwalk
5. Bluebells
6. The ghost of flowers past
7. Yasgur's farm
8. Lady of the woodlands
9. A tale of three and tree
10. Other half of the sky
(i) Written in the stars
(ii) The meaning of success
(iii) The child inside the man
(iv) After all
11. To sail beyond the sunset

Rating: 10/10 (I know; it's really just that good!) I have GOT to get the rest of their discography! Ant, my man...? ;)

Moon Safari have been nice enough to put their entire discography up on BandCamp for streaming/buying/lyric reference purposes, so here's a link to each album if you plan on buying their stuff later on. I don't mind PMing you the albums though, mate! :D

Debut album: A Doorway To Summer (2005) - A Doorway to Summer | Moon Safari

Third album - Lover's End (2010) - Lover's End | Moon Safari

Newest album - Himlabacken Vol. 1 (2013)
- Himlabacken vol. 1 (24 bit version) | Moon Safari

Toto for me were always something of a passionate love affair and they were the band in the early to mid 1980s that probably resonated with me better than any other band out there. Their music and songs always were in my opinion the ultimate that AOR could offer. They were outstanding songwriters and musicians and always had the cream when it came to vocalists, quite simply I was in love with them. But by the early 1990s I had slowly fallen out of love with them and realised that love is not eternal. Ever since then I still pick up any Toto release or Toto related projected with great vigour, usually in the hope that my love will be rekindled but sadly it never is. Falling in Between is probably one of the more ambitious Toto projects of the last ten years, as they try to blend their classic sound with the sound of some of their progressive rock influences from years gone (just listen to the Jethro Tull influences on Hooked) It has some strong songs thanks to Bobby Kimball's vocals on the opening title track and especially on "No End in Sight" probably the best song on the album. Then there is typical Steve Lukather fare with songs like "Bottom of Your Soul" but some tracks also really drag like "Dying on My Feet" and there are others which are mostly there to just bulk out the album. But by and large none of the songs approach the quality and everlasting appeal of the band's classic era and sadly at the end of the album, I hadn't fallen back in love with them again, but the album did provide me with a certain amount of melancholy. 6/10

Dying On My Feet drags? That's prime bluesy jazz-rock fusion boy, and don't you forget it! ;)

Great reviewing as always though Soldier. Nevertheless, I still stand by my opinion that it's probably Toto's strongest album post The Seventh One. Doesn't hurt that the production values are incredible either, right up there with the debut or Toto IV.

Give it a few months and you may come back with an 8/10 instead of a 6. And this is coming from a guy who initially didn't like anything off albums like Tambu or Mindfields.

I thought my laptop would have been in today but I only got a confirmotion call to process the order. I don't want to hold the rest of the club up because of my laptop issues so proceed.

Aahhh i swear ill have mine up by tomorrow D: time got away from me recently but ill post mine asap

In essence the song is not bad and is kind of what I refer to as the sound of a mature Toto for lack of a better phrase.

Agreed the Seventh One was their last great album.

I hope you're right but don't hold your breath;)

Happy New Year guys!
Well, given that US and I have reviewed our albums, DJ is having laptop issues and Ninetales is promising that his will be here tomorrow, let's say Monday for the new selections, and anyone who hasn't reviewed by then can catch up.

Who's next, and what ya got for us?

I'll go next and I'll put up the four choices on Monday.

Yeahhhh okay but that's not what I meant about the new format. It's supposed to be four separate albums, not four by the one artiste. I mean, I could do four Marillion or Arena or Kamelot. Doesn't make for much variety does it? I would prefer a larger choice. I'm not sure how you didn't understand the basic premise? Can you look at this again: it's not going to work this way.

Hell I thought it was 4 albums regardless and actually there is more variety than you'd believe, but anyway I'll change them and come back with another four later.

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Ok I lied. Im a few days late whoops sorry friends.

And well this is another album through this club that Ive quite enjoyed. Im betting its something that Id need to be in the mood for, but I wasnt disappointed by any of my listens to it and thats a plus. Parts of this reminded me of Depeche Mode or maybe Roxy Music, I think because of the vocal style and the dark atmosphere of some of the songs (like Before the Bullfight). Neither of which is a bad thing. And then it goes into the more ambient half and Im in love. The Healing Place and Answered Prayers are gorgeous and the rest of the album is basically perfect. If theres one complaint I have its that I think id rather just listen to the second half but still.. I quite like the first half too. River Man is one of my favs here as well.

All in all outstanding album and one I will definitely return to quite a bit. Ill have to dig more into Sylvian's stuff too as I have very limited knowledge on his works.

oops forgot rating. Im gonna go ahead and give it an 8/10

Nice review, considering it's your first. :clap:
Can you edit in a rating please? We always rate our albums out of 10...
:thumb:

The Custodian - Necessary Wasted Time (2012/2013)
http://www.progarchives.com/forum/up..._custodian.jpg


I jumped all over this album for two reasons. The description had me at spacey and I am into Porcupine Tree. So I was sure that I would be on board with what I was about to hear. Richard Thomson's voice is very soothing and easy on the ears. For me the stand out track on this album is The Things We Tell Ourselves which is one of the instrumental tracks that just has this groovy bass line that stands out amongst the rest of the guitar work going on. I was definitely in the mood for this laid back album when I heard it. I was a bit surprised by how much I liked it actually. I give Richard so much credit for drumming and singing at the same time. I loved the mixture of his harmonies between the drum fills. This album is definitely a keeper for me.

Edit: forgot to add my rating. 8/10

Hey US! Any sign of those four albums yet? Tappity-tappity-tap.... ;)

Completely forgot as so busy etc should be up by Sunday.

Since my previous Todd Rundgren albums were rejected for being too self-indulgent. I've now selected with more diversity (as long as you like 1970s American prog and love bands hated by the uneducated public) you should enjoy these four albums. Two are classics as far as I'm concerned, one a great blueprint and another interesting.

Journey Look into the Future 1976
http://static.fulldiscografias.com/w...al-300x300.jpg

Kansas Leftoverture 1977
http://www.progarchives.com/progress...1222122009.jpg

Styx The Grand Illusion 1977
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Utopia Ra 1977
http://a54.idata.over-blog.com/3/87/...topia---RA.jpg

I'll take that there Journey one. :)

I'll go for Styx, see if all your enthusiasm about them is justified...

I'll take Kansas!

Is wayword son on that album?

love that song.

Yes it's the opening track.

oops havent kept up with this :o: if its not to late I can take that last Utopia album.

Yeah I think we're all cool. Looks like about Feb 2 for deadline I think so a few more days left. Better get cracking on that Styx album myself!

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...d_Illusion.jpg

The grand illusion --- Styx --- 1977

Unknown Soldier is always going on about how great Styx are, and to be honest I've never been able to agree or disagree, as I know very little of their output beyond the singles (which, as we all know, is quite often the worst way you can judge a band) and quite frankly have never felt the urge or need to get deeper into their discography, though I have it all somewhere here on my computer. This is their seventh album, their first real commercial success so far as I can see and the album that preceded by two the one on which they would have their biggest hit, the sugary ballad “Babe”, which took them to number one but forever after ensured they were pegged as a soft rock ballad band by anyone, including me, who did not know of the rest of their material. This is also the second album with mainstay Tommy Shaw and on it Styx continued the practice they had stared on 1976's “Crystal ball”, that of splitting the vocal duties between founder Dennis DeYoung and Shaw.

There were two hit singles from the album, “Fooling yourself (The angry young man)” and the vastly superior in my opinion “Come sail away”, and this album began a cycle of hits and platinum albums for Styx which would take them through the latter half of the seventies and into the early eighties before a hiatus of seven years between “Kilroy was here” and “Edge of the century” would mark a slow decline in popularity, at least commercially, for the band, with their last proper offering coming all the way back in 2003. They're still shown as an active band, but I think at this point, with the two main members pursuing solo careers and nothing new on the horizon, you would have to consider Styx as a band to be a dead duck.

But back in the seventies and eighties they could do no wrong, especially once this hit. I was more than a little surprised to find how proggy much of this album is (obviously I would expect it to be, given that this is the PRAC), with big squealing keyboard passages and fanfares from DeYoung but still enough raw guitar power from Shaw to make it seriously rock, especially on “Miss America”, where the close vocal harmonies owe more than a little to Queen. I really like “Come sail away”, particularly because it's one of those songs that fools you into thinking it's a ballad with its soft piano intro and gentle vocal, then about halfway through it kicks up and becomes a mid-paced rocker, while still retaining its original identity. Nice.

There's a slow sort of southern boogie feel to “Man in the wilderness”, reminds me of Blackfoot, though I know they came later so I guess I should swing that around. Still, I heard Blackfoot first so to me it's how it sounds. Nice sort of flutey sound to it on the keys, and there's more than a hint of early Kansas in it too. Another one that treads the ballad line without tipping over into it. Good strong ending. Like the medieval organ and pulsing bass opening to “Castle walls”, very Asia-like keyboard middle section, oh so proggy! Good bit of Arena there too and of course the whole thing is very reminiscent of the Alan Parsons Project, especially on “The turn of a friendly card” which ... let me just check ... yeah, came out later BUT one of the lines in the lyric is “Far beyond these castle walls” and THAT, my friends, was the debut album for Chris de Burgh, released in 1974! Spooky! And, quite possibly, a little scary.

As far as this album is concerned, it's damn good. A nice mix of prog and some straight-ahead rock with the odd bit of AOR thrown in for good measure. It doesn't really get going, for me, until about the third track, which is not to say the first two are bad, just didn't impress me that much. But does this make me suddenly want to break into a Styx binge? Do I feel like I've been missing out? Answer is no. But has it made me want to never check out another Styx album? Answer is also no.

In conclusion, I would say I'm not going to end up as enamoured of this band as Unknown Soldier is, but I can see why he likes them. Whether this is their best album, or one they should be judged on only he can tell me, but as I said at the beginning this came first in a cycle of about five albums that seem to comprise Styx's “purple patch”, so I'd have to say it's a reasonable representation of what they could do, and what they were capable of.

Rating: 7/10

Some good points there concerning the album and btw there is a third vocalist as well in James Young who on that album sings "Miss America" and if you ever get around to trying anymore Pieces of Eight, Paradise Theater and Kilroy Was Here are a must. Forget Cornerstone it's an average album (the one that contains Babe) but knowing your taste you might like it:)

As for The Grand Illusion I pretty much adore that album, especially the four track genius of "Come Sail Away" "Miss America" "Man in the Wilderness" and "Castle Walls" imo one of the best four track sequences to appear on any album, even though "You're All I've Got Tonight" "Bye Bye Love" "Moving in Stereo" and "All Mixed Up" by you know who could give it a run for its money.:pimp:

At the end of the day the brilliance of Styx is wasted on you and I'm sure Anteater would agree with me:D

Should have my Utopia review up over the weekend.

C'mon guys! Get the lead out! This is officially the last day to be posting reviews. We'll give DJ a free pass as he's been locked out of his data, but surely the rest of you can get writing? Tom Waits for No-Man, y'know... ;)
http://thefightingconnection.com/sit...01-picture.jpg

http://www.metalkingdom.net/album/co...the_future.jpg
Journey - Look Into The Future (1976)

One of the few late 70's American prog classics I was surprisingly unfamiliar with, this sophomore release from future AOR superstars Journey was certainly something I needed an excuse to explore...and I can only say thanks to Unknown Soldier for giving me that opportunity, because I really enjoyed this sucker from start to stop!

While Side B is where a lot of big meat was for me (the title cut, 'Midnight Dreamer', 'I'm Gonna Leave You'), there's some tasty hard rock gems to be found long before the title track, particularly the Schon-penned 'She Makes Me (Feel Alright)' and the rumbling, almost cosmic groove of 'Anyway'. Gregg Rolie is certainly a very different singer from Steve Perry, but he does such a great job all throughout this album that I'm rather curious where he might have taken the band into the 80's as lead singer if things had turned out just a little different. Guess we'll never know though eh?

Like Ambrosia's debut back '75 and Styx right around the same time, Journey's marriage of the Californian hard rock aesthetic with prog. and jazz-fusion explorations is never anything less than interesting...and the longer the songs got, the more it sinks in just how underrated this collection is. That's what I got out of it anyway. :beer:

9 out of 10

Ra was always interesting as an album, as it was the first Utopia album that was truly a group effort instead of being a Todd Rundgren album in all but name. Utopia had largely been set-up by Todd Rundgren to allow another outlet for his progressive rock tendencies and he recruited some outstanding musicians in Roger Powell, Kasim Sulton and John Wilcox. The album was a highly ambitious concept piece, designed to show the strengths of each band member. Ra is not an album for everybody, but I'd say it was one of the finest examples of what a 'cinematic progressive rock album' should sound like as you'd expect from Todd Rundgren. So its grand and excessive in most aspects. Todd Rundgren's music was often complex and Ra is no exception. As an album I wouldn't call it a masterpiece but a rewarding listen to anybody with an open mind.

8 out of 10

Hate to do this guys but ... is this working? I'm seeing less conversation and debating about albums, and although this was my idea and I accept blame for it, I think I've screwed up. It's almost like we're now each in our own little listening cubicles listening to our album while someone else listens to something else, and there's no back-and-forth, no cut and thrust. We each review an album and that's it, on to the next, with no discussion.

Look at our reviews this time. With the exception of US's comments on Styx (and remember, these are his choices) nobody is talking. Should we go back to just doing the one album? I'm really not sure which way to go, but I tend to think that my way has fallen flat on its face, and rather than inject fresh interest into the club it's just isolated us from each other.

Opinions?
Ideas?
Comments?
Death threats?

... and he's back! Another (probably dumb) idea. Since I'm doing Progarchives top 100 Prog albums of 2013, would yiz be interested in following that? Like maybe all take album 100 and review it, give your comments and see if they tally with mine in the review in my thread? Some great albums in there, though admittedly they're all current, as in last year.

Anyone else with ideas shoot away: I'm just tossing out possibilities here, but I think we definitely need to get "back in the clubhouse" as it were and all start talking and discussing more together.

"Kum-ba-ya my lord, kum-ba-ya...."

One idea that might be interesting is setting up a "prog room" over at plug.dj for a specific time/date, finding a full stream of the album we'd like the Prog Club to review, and listening through it together (or different streams of each individual song that comprises the album). Afterwards, we could all write up individual reviews based on our individual perception of the music and rate it accordingly.

This method gives us the opportunity to discuss the album track-by-track with commentary and encourages more Club-like interactions before we come back to this thread to review anything.

Sorry Ant, Plug does not interest me in the least, not to mention that we'd have problems with time differences and I like to listen to my albums in my own way. I just don't see that working for me at any rate...

Oh come on mister grumpypants, it gives the club an excuse to be more interactive. It was a mere suggestion in any case: feel free to explore other methodologies. :)