Grand Funk Railroad - What's Funk? (1983)

The 13th and final album from this band from USA.

The band was a trio with a lineup of drums, percussion, bass, guitars, keyboards and vocals.

The second album from this reformed band. A band who are still alive and touring. That is what I have been told in Wikipedia.

This forty minutes long album has seven original tracks and three cover versions of some golden oldies tracks. Soul and funk tracks, that is.

The original material, the songs the band has written, is in the hard rock genre. They are trying to tag onto the emerging heavy metal scene on this album, but is failing a bit as their music is not that heavy.

The music is pretty bad throughout. This is by far their worst album and it made sense to give recording studios a wide berth after this album. It is better to tour and play the good old songs.

A handful of decent songs is the only saviour on this album. At their best, this band was a good band and they are a typical US hard rock band. I have a bit of a soft spot for Grand Funk Railroad. 

1.5 points

 

 

Wyatt. Robert - '68 (2013)

The 11th album from this artist from Great Britain.

Robert Wyatt did the percussion, piano, organ, piano, electric piano, bass and vocals on this album.

He got help from three guests, Mike Ratledge (organ), Jimi Hendrix and Hugh Hopper (both bass). 

This is an album with archive material, an album he recorded before the release of the very first Soft Machine album. The band had been on tour with Jimi Hendrix, as a support act for Jimi, in USA and Robert took the chance to record this album in a studio in USA before he returned to Great Britain and his daytime job as a drummer in Soft Machine again.  

We get four whimsical psych rock tracks here. Two long ones and two short ones. This includes the long, wild version of Moon In June. A song later sanitised and restructured for Soft Machine's legendary classic Third album.

Before this song, which ends this album, we get three improvised songs. Three decent songs. Moon In June is the reason why anyone would get this album, though. That and Robert's vocals. Jimi Hendrix does a decent, yet unremarkable job on bass on one of the songs. 

The result is a decent to goo album. I am afraid this is the final album in Robert's discography. A discography which includes the classic album Rock Bottom. An album everyone should have. '68 is a rather forgetable album compared to his first albums. Nevertheless...

2.5 points

Blue Öyster Cult - Ghost Stories (2024)

The 17th album from this band from USA.

The band was a quartet with a lineup of drums, bass, guitars, keyboards and vocals.

Two guests added drums, guitars, keyboards and vocals.

This is not really a new studio album, I discovered far too late... that is after two listening sessions. This is archive material from the 1970s 1980s plus a couple of cover versions. Kick Out The Jams by MC5 and We Gotta Get Out Of This Place by The Animals is those two golden oldies covered here.

The rest of the songs are songs who were deemed not good enough for the studio albums. That include a couple of dreadful studio albums. 

The eleven original songs are pretty dreadful. Nevertheless, you can still hear the typical Blue Oyster Cult sound on these tracks and that is mostly a good sound.

The result is a fairly decent album clocking in at forty minutes. It is not an album I will ever play again. The band is so much, much better than this album.

1.5 points

Motorpsycho - Blissard (1996)

The fifth album from this band from Norway.

The band was a trio with a lineup of drums, bass, guitars, piano and vocals.

The band had some help from numerous guests who added vibraphone, theremin, pandeiro, guitars, violin, mellotron, clavinet, organ, piano, keyboards, narration and vocals.

When I decided to review all the Motorpsycho albums, I was aware of that this ride/task was going to be a difficult one. Something they proved with the imposible-to-review fourth album The Tussler.

Blissard takes us at least back to more familiar psych rock terrain again. 

Take some psych rock and add both garage rock and indie rock. The add some electronica at the end of the album.

The music is slightly light and fluffy. The psych rock here has this garage rock feel too.

The vocals is good and the band does a good job on some not so good stuff. The quality is somewhere between decent and good. I am not won over but I am still looking forward to continue this journey.

2.5 points

Mythic Sunship - Another Shape of Psychedelic Music (2018)

The fourth album from this band from Denmark.

The band is a quartet with a lineup of drums, bass and guitars.

Two guests added guitars, electronics and saxophone.

This ship returned again with their fourth album.

A seventy-five minutes long album is what we are being treated to here. The music is still space rock from outer space. But there is a difference here... a big one from their previous albums.

The saxophone.

In the bottom of the sound, we get the bass, drums and guitars. On the top of that, and pretty dominating too, is the saxophone which is dancing and twisting along with the music. That gives the space rock a jazzy feel. It is like avant-garde jazz meets space rock.

The result is overwhelming over seventy-five minutes. The saxophone solos is unrelenting and the music is pretty hard.

The quality of the compositions here is somewhere between decent and good. The saxophones adds a huge amount of originality to the music. It is like the music is it's own genre. This album is indeed pushing the envelope of both avant-garde jazz and space rock.

The music is a heck of a rackett. Play this on load speakers in public and the general public, even the more tolerant ones, will run away in panic.

It is still a good album though. Barely good, but still a good album. I wonder what the next album will bring....

3 points

Yobrepus - Mycelium Days (2020)

The second album from this band from Norway.

The band is a quartet with a lineup of drums, bass, guitars, keyboards, synths and vocals.

I was quite impressed by their new album A Rhizome Revolution Part 1, released and reviewed one month ago. Hence, I wanted to check out their first two albums too. I only found Mycelium Days, though.

Their music is a mix of Radiohead, Marillion and Airbag. There is also some hints of A-ha and King Crimson too.

The music is pretty melancholic and softly spoken throughout. 

The twenty-two minutes long title track is pretty progressive before the remaining tracks takes us down and into solid art-rock territory.

The music is good throughout this three quarters of an hour long album. The band is talented and they proved that on their new album, reviewed last month. 

Check out this band and album.

3 points

 

Cosmograf - Rattrapante (2021)

The eight album from this one-man-band from Great Britain.

Robin Armstrong did the bass, guitars, keyboards and vocals.

He got help from a trio of guests who provided drums, narration, female and male vocals.

This album was the reason Robin Armstrong left the live band version of Big Big Train. He rather wanted to write and record new music, which ended up as this album, instead of touring with Big Big Train. This in addition to his daytime job.

Rattrapante clocks out at fifty minutes. The music is a mix of art-rock and symphonic prog. There is a lot of Middle-East ambience and influences on this album.

The music is at times very bombastic. It is muscular throughout. It is also full of intricate details.

Robin's vocals is good. The music is well crafted.

This is not the best of the many Cosmograf albums. Nevertheless, this is a good album.

 3 points

 

 

Dialeto - Pandelirium (2024)

The fifth album from this band from Brazil.

The band is a trio with a lineup of drums, bass, guitars and electronics.

This band was formed in 1984 and album debuted in 1991. 

I have reviewed a couple of their albums and have not been too impressed. But I had forgotten those reviews when I agreed to review this album. 

The music is a mix of heavy progressive rock and fusion. No less and no more. All this delivered through the power-trio format.

The music on this forty minutes are decent enough. This genre, instrumental prog, is a very difficult genre. It is also over-populated. 

There is not much good stuff here. Hardly any good stuff. This is a decent album in a very difficult genre, though. 

If instrumental heavy prog is your thing........

2 points

 

 

Grand Funk Railroad - Grand Funk Lives (1981)

The 12th studio album from this band from USA.

The band was a quartet with a lineup of drums, bass, guitars, piano, keyboards and vocals.

The band split up after the previous album and then re-united again on this album. This with a new keyboard player and bassist.

The return of the band saw the band a bit lighter and not so hard rocking as before. The vocals are good and the new members does an acceptable job.

The music is middle of the road US pop/rock.

A cover version of a well known song as We Gotta Get Out Of This Place feels a bit out of place here. 

The songs are all fairly decent. This though is their worst album of these twelve albums and you can feel the end is near. The next album is the end. This is not an album doing the band's good name and reputation any service.

1.5 points

 

 

 

 

Wyatt. Robert - For the Ghosts Within (2010)

The tenth album from this artist from Great Britain.

Robert Wyatt did the vocals and a bit of trumpet, whistling and percussion.

He had help from numerous guests who added percussion, bass, accordion, strings, woodwinds, keyboards and vocals.

Robert Wyatt gave some of his songs the world music treatment on this one hour long album. Mostly Middle-East and Arabic arrangements of his songs. Arabic and Middle-East music dressed up in a classical music setting. Confusing ?

Robert Wyatt's vocals is still here. But they are not so dominating as on most of his releases. 

The music has an old age 1930 classical music sound. Still in some Middle-East and Arabic clothing.

The music is not particular interesting and it fails to resonate with the listener. His version of Lous Armstrong's Beutiful World is rather beautiful. That is the best song here on a rather uninteresting album.

1.5 points

 

ViaMedia - Bridge of Sighs (2024)

The debut album from this band from Norway.

The band is a duo with a lineup of bass, guitars, keyboards and vocals.

A handful of guests, including Jacob Lupo-Holm, John Mitchell and Craig Blundell, added drums, percussion, guitars, synths, flugelhorn, tarogate, saxophones, bagpipes, male and female vocals.

This is another prog rock act from Norway with their debut album this decade, the 2020s.. The Norwegian (prog rock) fauna is richer and more varied than the fauna on the wild prairie in USA or Mongolia. 

ViaMedia's debut album, this one, takes us through a melancholic landscape somewhere between art-rock and neo-prog. The music is also flowery at times. The sporadic vocal harmonies are very good.

The music is melodic with some good vocals and musicianship. The music is also quirky with some Gentle Giant and Genesis vibes throughout this forty minutes long album.

The quality is good throughout this album. 

I hope we will hear a lot more from this band in the future. 

Check out this album.

3 points

 

 

 

Roxy Music - Siren (1975)

The fifth album from this band from Great Britain.

The band was a sextet with a lineup of drums, bass, guitars, strings, oboe, saxophone, keyboards and vocals.

The band returned again after the success with their fourth album Country Life.

Siren is the final album of the classic Roxy Music setup. The band was breaking up and Bryan Ferry was taking full control.

The opening song Love Is The Drug became a hit single. Quite a good song with some reggae influences. 

That song is the only one with overly reggae influences. The band had been pickpocketing other trends and styles for this album. Disco is one of the genres being pickpocketed.

Most of the music is quirky art-pop/rock though.

The quality and standards has unfortunate taken a dive after Country Life. But not by much. The quality is still somewhere between decent and good. It is therefore an album well worth checking out.

2.5 points

King's X - Tape Head (1998)

The seventh album from this band from USA.

The band is a duo with a lineup of drums, bass, guitars and vocals.

The band was now signed on Metal Blade, a label with extreme metal bands like for example Cannibal Corpse. Nobody had yet managed to figure out how to handle King's X and their music. Hence the meagre album sales.

I have never really understood why this band never converted their big status to selling millions of albums. There is something fundamental wrong with this world, this planet. 

The opening track says it all..... Groove Machine. It is a statement of intent for the rest of the album.

The music is groovy with some soul, funk, grunge, prog, blues and hard rock. It has strong Led Zeppelin and The Beatles influences.

The songs are all good here. This album is not as good as their first albums. But it still deliver the goods.

Check out this album if intelligent, groovy hard rock is your thing.

3 points

Løvetann - En Duft Av Roser (2002)

The second album from this band from Norway.

The band was a sextet with a lineup of drums, bass, guitars, keyboards and vocals.

Fezza Ellingsen was the main man and guitarist on Høst's legendary Hardt Mot Hardt album. An album with classic status in Norwegian rock.

Løvetann is a project/band he has been running and releasing strictly limited CD-R albums with since 1998. Discocs is a bit confusing here but we are talking about nine or so albums. All of them almost impossible to find... at the moment. 

This is the only one of their CD-R albums I could find.

The music is a mix of art-rock and good old progressive rock from the 1970s. Van Der Graaf Generator and Peter Hammill mostly springs to mind.

The vocals is operatic. Both the male and the sporadic female vocals. The music is not particular epic or operatic. The contrasts between the pretty basic melodies and the opera vocals is interesting and the main takeaway from this album and band.

The music is good throughout and we are really, really talking about a well hidden gem here. This album and band really deserve proper releases or at least a Bandcamp page.

3 points

 

 

East of Lyra - East of Lyra (2019)

The one and only album from this band from Great Britain.

The band was a quintet with a lineup of drums, bass, guitars, keyboards and vocals.

This band released their CD and then disappeared without a trace. The CD is almost impossible to get hold of too, btw.

The music on this forty-five minutes long album is a mix of heavy metal and progressive rock. 

The heavy metal is pretty dramatic and bold. A comparison with Iron Maiden is in order. The progressive rock here can be compared to Rush. A mix of Rush and Iron Maiden is a good reference for this album.

The vocals is decent enough. The rest of the band does a good job. The bass is pretty similar to what Steve Harris does in Iron Maiden. It is in the foreground of the sound.

The quality of the music is decent enough. 

Iron Maiden fans should check out this album if they can find it. 

2 points

 

 

Stain Monsters - Still In Love (2024)

The second album from this band from Norway.

The band is a quintet with a lineup of drums, percusion, bass, guitars, keyboards and vocals.

This band album debuted decades ago. It is also regarded as some sort of a supergroup. This band also got Cecilie Leganger on keyboards. In her earlier life, she was a world champ winning handball keeper and widely regarded as the best handball keeper of all time. She was huge in my youth and I was among her fans. On this album, she is not one of the best keyboards players in the world.... But she still does a good job.

Handbal greats and idols aside...

The music on this album is a mix of 1960s pop, indie pop, psych rock and the likes of Traveling Wilburys and Electric Light Orchestra. Jeff Lynne's name is written pretty large on this album, music wise.

The vocals is good and the rest of  the band does a good job too.

This is not music I am particular interested in. Nevertheless, the music is somewhere between decent and good. ELO fans may lend this album their ears.

2.5 points

 

 

Zoltan. Eddy - Be My Guest (1983)

The second and final album from this artist from Norway. 

Eddy Zoltan did the guitars, piano and keyboards here.

He got help from some guests who added percusion, drums, bass, guitars and vocals.

His debut album Spelemann was a decent 1970s rock album. That and this album has just been re-released through the NAK series and that has given them and Eddy Zoltan's reputation a new life. 

Be My Guest is a mix of jazz, rock and pop. Most of the music is big and bold. 

The music is also well delivered with a lot of intricate details. The vocals is pretty good.

The music feels slightly dated. This is still a decent album.

Fans of Norwegian rock should check out this album.

2 points

 

 

Zappa. Frank - Dance Me This (2015)

The 43rd and final album from this artist from USA.

Frank Zappa did the guitar and synclavier.

He had help from three Siberian throat singers.

Frank Zappa had passed on in 1993. The years that followed witnessed a flood of albums with archive material. 

The quality control was very poor at the end and Dance Me This is taken from the bottom of the barrel. 

The only news here is the Siberian throat singers and they and the music around them is half-decent. The rest of these thirty odd minutes is very poor.

.... And so ends my reviews of his albums. Albums who includes some good stuff inbetween some pretty poor efforts. I think I will conlude by saying that Frank Zappa had a big personality but whose discography were not living up to his personality. I am not one of his millions of fans. Nevertheless, he has my respect.

1.5 points

Confirmation Bias - Century Mornings (2024)

The debut album from this band from Norway.

The band is a sextet with a lineup of drums, bass, guitars, keyboards and vocals.

This is a new band in the Norwegian progressive rock scene. 

The band sprung out of the Rush tribute band Rusj. The band members has also played in bands like Misplaced Childhood, Millenya and Magic Pie. That and some local bands. The average age of the band members must be around fifty years old, I guess.

That is reflected in the music on this one hour long album. Music thoroughly rooted in the 1970s prog, psych and art rock scene. There are some hints of Dream Theater and hard rock too.

The music is very muscular and melodic. The vocals is beefy.... and good. 

The result is a pretty impressive album. My only gripe is the missing great song or piece of music. Nevertheless, this is a good album.

3 points

 

Abacus - Everything You Need (1972)

The second album from this band from Germany.

The band was a quintet with a lineup of drums, bass, guitars, organ, piano, keyboards, synths and vocals.

I reviewed their debut album back in September 2012 and liked it a lot. 

For some reasons, I did not continue to review the rest of their albums. I will this spring review their remaining five albums.

The music on this forty minutes long album is mostly pop and rock. Vaudeville and a bit quirky pop and rock, but still in that genre.

There is very little prog here. There is some early symphonic prog here and that is all. The music is to a large extent poppy krautrock, though. The band comes from the krautrock scene.

The songs are catchy despite of being a bit quirky.

The quality is still pretty decent. I was so looking forward to sinking my teeth into this album.... Nevertheless, it is still a decent album. The title track is the highlight here and it is a good song.

2 points

 

 

My Dying Bride - Evinta (2011)

The 11th album from this band from Great Britain.

The band was a duo with a lineup of electronics and vocals.

A handful of guests added cello, viola, piano, keyboards and female vocals.

I am always looking forward to reviewing EPs or albums from this band as it is one of my alltime favourite bands. So I started to listen to this album...#

... An album that felt a bit odd.

This is not really a proper studio album. It is re-worked for cello, viola, piano, vocals and keyboards old pieces of music. Pieces from their long career.

This album is also long and comes as a double CD.  

Some of the pieces is some I recognise from previous albums. Other pieces are so re-worked that I am not able to recognise them.

All of this also has a lot of electronica and some male and female vocals.

This is really an avant-garde rock album and much more avant-garde than a normal album from this band.

Some of the stuff is good and some of it is decent. I am not won over but this album still deserve some attention.

2.5 points

 

 

Hawk On Flight - Hawk On Flight (1980)

The second album from this band from Sweden and Norway.

The band was a quartet with a lineup of drums, bass, keyoards and guitars.

I was pretty impressed with their 1979 debut album In Time For Hawk On Flight. A good fusion album.

The band continued on their second album with their take on fusion.

References are Return To Forever and Weather Report. This on their debut album as on their second album.

The music on this forty-five minutes long album is playful with a lot of solos and quirky melodies. Those who are into Return To Forever will really enjoy this album. The difference is that the musicians in RTF was the best ones in the world at that time. The musicians in HOF was "only" the best ones in Scandinavia at that time. That is the only major difference. That and the music on this album is slightly more laidback.

The result is a really good album.

The band continued to release some more albums. Albums I have yet to find so I will leave the band at this stage.

3 points

 

 

Earthshine - Symbiosis (1985)

The second and final album from this band from USA.

The band was a trio with a lineup of drums, bass, guitars and vocals.

This band is very obscure and their two albums were both self-released. They are both available through Ebay. 

I have not checked out their first album and I have no intentions to do so either. 

The band's music on this forty minutes long album is a mix of mainstream rock, art-rock and AOR. 

The band's musical standards is OK. There are some good guitar riffs and themes here. The vocals are barely acceptable. Hence, the guitars are their main positive feature. 

The music is half-decent to decent. The good guitars elevates this album a bit and up to a decent standard. I still have problems recommending this very obscure album. Nevertheless....

2 points

 

 

Leviathan - Heartquake / Redux (2024)

The fourth album from this band from Italy.

The band is a quintet with a lineup of drums, bass, guitars, keyboards and vocals.

This album is a re-recorded and redone version of their 1988 debut album Heartquake. Hence the album title.

Two of the original members did the re-recording with the help of three guests and now permanent members of this band.

This is another band flying well under my radar and I should therefore check out their second and third album. Both of them was released in the 1990s.

The music is neo-prog anno the 1980s. The style is the British neo-prog style and references are both Marillion and Pallas.

The music is both muscular and elegant. The six songs are medium long. They are pretty punchy too and has got some really good vocals, guitars and keyboards.

This is a good album and one neo-prog fans will cherish and really enjoy.

Check out this album.

3 points

 

 

 

Zoltan. Eddy - Spelemann (1974)

The debut album from this artist from Norway.

Eddy Zoltan Kiss played the organ, piano and mellotron.

He got help from some guests who provided drums, bass, guitars and vocals.

Eddy Zoltan was a Hungarian artist who had fled the oppressive regime in then the Sovietunion occupied Hungary and settled in Norway. One of pretty many Hungarian refugees who made Norway into their homeland. That to the benefit of Norway and the Norwegian society as a lot of these regugees was both smart and artistic.

Eddy Zoltan released two albums and I got both of them for reviews. The second one will follow in some days time.

This album was pretty heavy promoted but still did not sell well. It has just been re-released through the NAK series with the hope that it will sell some more copies and get the attention it deserves.

The music is a mix of Norwegian folk music, 1970s rock, musicals like pop and progressive rock. Procol Harum and Traffic is a good reference. 

The vocals are in Norwegian and pretty good. Ditto for the organs and the mellotrons. 

I had no expectations whatsoever to this album and became pretty positive surprised. The quality is actually decent and there are some good instrumental parts here. 

This is a very obscure band but well worth checking out.

2 points

Zappa. Frank - Feeding The Monkies At Ma Maison (2011)

The 41st album from this artist from USA.

Frank Zappa does the synclavier on this album.

This album was dug out from some leftover material from the Jazz From Hell recording session. A record released long after Frank Zappa's passing and a record who was itself based on leftover materials.

I am debating with myself if this album is a gift to the really diehard fans or just a ripoff. 

Even the diehard fans will have problems enjoying these forty minutes of mindless synclavier noises. 

That is what it is... some samples and mindless notes spliced together to make pointless pieces of noise.

In short, this album is a turkey.

1 point

Big Big Train - The Likes of Us (2024)

The 17th album from this band from Great Britain.

The band is a seven piece big band with a lineup of drums, percussion, bass, guitars, violin, mellotron, synths, piano, organ and vocals.

A handful of guests added woodwinds.

The sad passing of the lead vocalist and leading light David Longdon was a big blow to this band and the progressive rock scene. There was threrefore some questions being asked about this band.

The ex PFM vocalist Alberto Bravin stepped in as the new vocalist and the band pulled together and pooled their very considerable resources to replace David Longdon. An almost impossible task, but the band has done their best. Not at least to honour his memory.

The music is a mix of symphonic prog and neo-prog with some art-rock incorporated.

The music is lush with both male and female vocals. Alberto Bravin has done a great job here. Just as he did when he revitalised PFM again.

The music is very good with some great guitars and vocal harmonies. The mellotron is great too.

This album is again a proof that this band is the best progressive rock act on these islands and a very good album in it's own right. 

3.5 points

Grand Funk Railroad - Good Singin', Good Playin' (1976)

The eleventh album from this band from USA.

The band was a quartet with a lineup of drums, bass, guitars, piano, keyboards and vocals.

A guest added guitars.

The band continues with their mix of hard rock, arena rock and americana. 

The songs are pretty catchy on this album. But there is nothing much going on than workman like hard arena rock.

The vocals is good and the band does their best on some decent songs. 

This album, and indeed the band, is something fans of US rock from the 1970s should check out.

2 points

Wyatt. Robert - Radio Experiment Rome... (2009)

The ninth album from this artist from Great Britain.

Robert Wyatt did all instruments here. That is percussion, harp, piano, keyboards and vocals.

This album was recorded for and by a radio station in Rome, Italy back in 1981. It was an experiment, indeed. 

The music is ambient and improvised. The lyrics are left-wing and some praise for the communists in China. Very naive, taking into account how murderous that regime was back then. Not that they have improved a lot in that respect these days....

A lot of things are being used/misused as percussion and Robert uses his voice both as vocals and as an instrument.

On paper, this sounds horrible. But actually, it is not that horrible. Yes, this is an album I will never ever play again. Nevertheless, some parts of this album is pretty engaging and charming.

The result is a half-decent album but nothing more than that. 

1.5 points

Golden Core - Kosmos Brenner (2024)

The third album from this band from Norway.

The band is a duo with a lineup of theremin, percussion, drums, bass, guitars, organ, piano, synths and vocals.

Some guests added woodwinds, organ and vocals.

This is another Norwegian band who has been flying below my radar for the last five years. It is my understanding that their first two albums were stoner rock albums. 

Kosmos Brenner is something altogether different...

Take black and viking metal, add industrial metal, a bit punk and some stoner rock. Then add some heavy metal.

The music on this forty minutes long album is very brutal throughout. It also has a great avant-garde feel. It is indeed avant-garde metal, the genre we can put this album in.

Some brutal vocals also adds brutality. 

The quality is decent to good throughout. This is one of the better new brutal metal albums I have encountered this year. Check it out.

2.5 points

 

 

Earthmark - Megafauna (2022)

The debut album from this band from USA.

The band is a quartet with a lineup of drums, bass, guitars and vocals.

This is another album given to me as a progressive rock album....

Another well meant gesture. Nevertheless, the music here is not particular progressive.

Take blues and blend it with psych rock. Add a bit americana rock and you get the drift.

The music is melodic too. It is still pretty traditional and americana.

It is not particular interesting if progressive rock floats your boat. There is not many really good songs here either. Songs who would appeal to anyone but those who are into the americana genre.

This is a decent album. 

2 points

Last Ark Out - Lift (2024)

The second album from this band from Canada.

The band is a quintet with a lineup of drums, bass, guitars, keyboards, voices and saxophone.

Some guests added drums, synths and woodwinds.

This band from Vancouver on the Pacific coast of Canada released their debut album back in 2017. An EP was also released. All this through Bandcamp.

Their music is jazz. Some may even label this as fusion. 

There is some Canterbury scene peculiarities in their music, yes. Nevertheless, this is jazz.

Most jazz bands are either guitars or woodwinds dominated. This is the one hundred years long conflict between mainly saxophone or guitars. This conflict also raged in rock'n'roll before Chuck Berry once and for all made electric guitars the coolest, most rock'n'roll instrument in the world.

In jazz, the debate still rages on. To my joy, and the reason why I enjoy this album, is the woodwinds and guitar solos on this album. 

That elevates this thirty-five minutes long album from being a jazz album only for the jazz fans to become an album also prog rock fans can enjoy.

This is indeed a good album and one everyone, progheads and jazzheads, should check out.

I hope to hear more from this band in the future.

3 points

 

 

Finally George - Icy Skies (2021)

The second album from this artist from Germany.

Finally George did the percussion, bass, guitars, violins, keyboards and vocals here.

A dozen of guests added drums, percussion, guitars, strings, flugel horn, piano, organ and vocals.

This is so far the last album from Georg Hahn, also known as Finally George.

The 2018 debut album Life Is A Killer was a mix of some very melodic psych rock and neo-prog. The music was like Pink Floyd at their most melodic.

Georg Hahn returned three years later with the fifty minutes long Icy Skies. 

We get the same genre and same kind of fare. The music is slightly more epic and it feels like Georg has grown in confidence. There are indeed some interesting details and melodies on this album.

There is a lot of good things to be said about this album. I therefore hope we will hear more from Georg as Finally George in the future.

Check out this album if melodic prog floats your boat.

3 points

Cairo - Nemesis (2023)

The second album from this band from Great Britain.

The band is a quintet with a lineup of drums, percussion, bass, guitars, keyboards and vocals.

The band was started by Rob Cottingham from Touchstones and his own solo-career. 

The 2016 debut album Say was quite a good album who showed a lot of promises. It was an album quite close to what Rob did in Touchstones.

He has continued the same path with Nemesis. That means powerful, muscular heavy prog songs with a lot of female vocals. There is also some male vocals here.

Some of the songs are bordering to musicals songs too. The ballads, that is.

The music is well crafted and has a lot of interesting details. The music is also good too.

There is no doubts Cairo will become a big band in the progressive rock scene. They already are, based on this album alone. It will be interesting to see how far this band will go when it comes to commercial success.

Check them out.

3 points

Cambio Della Guardia. Il - Cambio Della Guardia (2023)

The debut album from this band from Italy.

The band is a quintet with a lineup of drums, percussion, bass, guitars, keyboards and vocals.

A guest added extra vocals.

The Italian progressive rock scene is a scene that is spawning a lot of new bands. That is mostly progressive rock in the more traditional RPI genre. A genre very popular in the 1970s and where the good old masters are still around. 

Cambio Della Guardia is taking us back to the RPI scene anno 1971-72. PFM and Banco is references here.

The music is a mix of symphonic prog and more pastoral folk rock. 

There is a lot of Italian vocals here and the vocals is very good. 

The music is songs based and pastoral. The tempo is slow to mid-tempo.

There is therefore no fireworks in their music. Just some subtle but still classy songs.  

This fifty minutes long album is a good album and a good addition to the scene. I hope we will hear a lot more from this band in the future.

3 points

Motorpsycho - The Tussler (1994)

The fourth album from this band from Norway.

The band was a trio with a lineup of bass, mandolin, guitars, violin, banjo, recorder and vocals.

A handful of guests added drums, percussion, bass, harmonica, guitars, piano, keyboards and vocals.

This is one of the oddest choices an established band has ever done. A complete weird choice and a massive album full of irony.

This is a country and western album.

Not only that.... the country and western is old style. There is therefore some bluegrass here too.

The music is close to being unlistenable for a reviewer who abhor country and western. I am not even sure what kind of score I should give this album. I am not sure if I should have written and published this review.

This album is abhorrent and horrible. It is a turkey like the vast majority of that genre is.

Turkeys is mostly farmed in the area in USA where country and western is most popular. That is what you can read into this score. Avoid.

1 point

 

 

Mythic Sunship - Upheaval (2018)

The third album from this band from Denmark.

The band was a quartet with a lineup of drums, bass and guitars.

This band is an unashamed space rock band. 

Their first two albums showcased a developing band. A band/rose yet to get in full bloom.

Upheaval is three quarter of an hour long. The music is floating space rock. Outer space rock.

Lots of guitar harmonies and floating guitars. The bass is chugging away like a freight train and the drums is keeping the train coming towards you.

The music is at times beautiful and slightly melodic. The bass keeps things a bit ugly... as ugly as it should be.

There is a lot of very interesting details here and this album is a reminder about how great this genre can be when done properly.

The result is a very good album indeed. 

Space rock bands should check out this album. 

3.5 points

Flax - Flax Tracks (1986)

The third and final album from this band from Norway.

The band was a quintet with a lineup of drums, bass, guitars, keyboards, harmonica and vocals.

I have always had a soft spot for this band based on their second album Monster Tapes which I bought on LP forty years ago. I regard that as the first ever heavy metal album from Norway. A controversial opinion.

I have also friends from the band. 

I am now being... has been for a couple of days, confronted by this forty minutes long album..... 

The music is a mix of hard rock, rock'n'roll and pub rock. There are also some very bad 1980s rock and funk here too. 

Despite of friendships, I have to be honest and publish an honest review. That is that there is nothing to like on this album. 

This is an album best forgotten as it is a turkey. That is the only thing I can say now. Avoid this at all cost.

1 point

Earth Flight - Blue Hour Confessions (2011)

The second album from this band from Germany.

The band was a quintet with a lineup of drums, percussion, bass, guitars and vocals.

This band has so far released three albums and they debuted back in 2007. Their most resent album was in 2018. Hence... this band may have been disbanded.

Their music is what they have called atmospheric rock. Discogs says post-rock.

Both labels are not entirely precise although the band's own words are pretty precise.

Take a bit of Anathema, a bit Katatonia, Radiohead and Coldplay. Add some post-rock and shoegaze. The final bit is melancholic German neo-prog. RPWL is a good reference. 

The music on this three quarters of an hour long album has some good guitars and vocals. The sound is good too.

Not all the songs are good. But there is enough here to make me wonder if I should get the rest of their albums too. This album is not bad at all.

2.5 points

Hackett. Steve - The Circus and the Nightwhale (2024)

The 29th album from this artist from Great Britain.

Steve Hachett did percussion, bass, mandolin, guitars and vocals here.

He got help from numerous guests who added drums, tar, bass, strings, woodwinds, guitar, programming, keyboards and vocals.

This is Steve Hackett finally releasing a concept album. I am not sure about the subject matter here. I am more interested in the music.

The music is what to expect from a Steve Hackett album.

Bombastic, epic and quite eclectic symphonic prog with lots of great guitars.

The music on this album has got both female and male vocals. Several well known artists and long time collaborators are adding their help to this album.

The guitars and the vocals are good. The songwriting.... OK, it is not his best album. It is still a good album but I had still expected a lot more from this album. It leaves me a bit disappointed...

3 points

Finally George - Life Is a Killer (2018)

The debut album from this artist from Germany.

Finally George, real name is Georg Hahn, did the bass, guitars, keyboards and vocals here.

He got help from a dozen of guests who provided drums, percussion, guitars, organ, piano and flute.

Georg Hahn has so far released two albums and they are all up for reviews in this blog. 

The music is melodic psych rock and neo-prog. This blend of music is bordering to mainstream rock throughout this one hour long album. 

The vocals are good and the Pink Floyd influences, the latter days version of Pink Floyd, comes thick and fast.

There is nothing really offensive, interesting or remarkable about the music here. The music is decent to good and Georg knows how to make workman like music. It is not music that really makes my heart run faster in excitement...

Nevertheless, this is a decent to good album.

2.5 points

 

Cairo - Say (2016)

The debut album from this band from Great Britain.

The band was a quintet with a lineup of drums, percussion, bass, guitars, keyboards, synths and vocals.

The band was started by Rob Cottingham from Touchstones and his own solo-career.

I really liked Touchstones. They were/are one of the most talented new prog rock bands from Great Britain. I also got one of Rob Cottingham's solo albums but have yet to listen to it.

Cairo, not to be confused with (as I did) the US symphonic prog band with the same name, has so far released two albums. Both are up for reviews in this blog.

The vocals in Cairo, as in Touchstones, is both male and female. The vocals is good. The music is a mix of neo-prog and heavy prog. Porcupine Tree is a very good reference here.

The music is very complex and at times also eclectic. This is not easy listening, this one hour long album.

The quality is somewhere between decent and good. I hope the band learned from this album and came back with a stronger, better second album. I will soon find out...

2.5 points

Laconic. The - Time And Tide (2024)

The third album from this band from USA.

The band is a duo with a lineup of drums, bass, guitars, synths and electronics.

The mainman in this band has previously released albums, as late as last year, under the name The Laconica. Their new project is derived from that name.

The music is lush and pretty colourful electronica.

There is also a lot of cinematic rock in the music too. There is a lot of Goblin references here. So much that this Italian band and their many soundtrack albums is the main reference for this album.

The music on this three quarters of an hour long album is not particular interesting. Fans of Goblin will perhaps like this album and so will fans of electronica. I am not won over.

1.5 points

Roxy Music - Country Life (1974)

The fourth album from this band from Great Britain.

The band was a sextet with a lineup of drums, bass, guitars, strings, synths, keyboards, oboe, saxophone and vocals.

The album with THAT cover. A photo/album art-work that is probably on the top ten, if not top five, of the most iconic cover art-works of all time. 

So what is hiding behind this cover ? A forty minutes long art-rock album.

The music is also a blend of quirky vaudeville rock and commercial pop. But art is what this album is all about.

Hence, the music is quirky and a bit eclectic. 

The addition of oboe, electric violin and saxophone adds a lot of spice to some already quirky melodies and songs.

Eddie Jobson should here be credited as a vital addition to this album's sound and music. Phil Manzera also does a very good job on guitars. The band's main man, Bryan Ferry, is still the main engine on this album.

The result is some really good songs. Art-rock it is but some of the songs are pretty catchy too. The music on this album is fascinating and draws the listener in. 

This is a very good album and a fine example of how eccentric art-rock sounds like. It is indeed an iconic album from cover to the music. 

3.5 points

 

 

King's X - Ear Candy (1996)

The sixth album from this band from USA.

The band is a trio with a lineup of drums, bass, guitars and vocals.

A handful of guests added percussion and vocals.

A new album with a new band logo and a hippie psych rock like album art-work. Their record label Atlantic was trying to rebrand the band. They and most others did not really understand what to make of this band.

I understand Atlantic and those who has struggled. This band is totally unique and once in a century event.

The band tried to both grunge up and add some psych rock to their sound and music. But the core is still there.....thankfully.

Their attempts to add something more, something they are not, to the music, mostly fell flat on it's face on this album. 

Despite of this, the music is pretty good though. There is a couple of substandard songs and a couple of very good songs. 

This is by no means a bad album. It is still their weakest album to that date.

3 points

Chronicles of Father Robin. The - Book 3 (2024)

The third album from this band from Norway.

The band was a sextet with a lineup of drums, percussion, glockenspiel, mandolin,bass, guitars, piano, organ, keyboards, synths, flute and vocals.

A handful of guests added strings, mellotron, organ, clavinet, piano, synths and electric piano.

This album concludes the three albums The Songs & Tales Of Airoa series of albums. The series stared last year and the final CD and digital download was released one month ago. A big LP box with all three albums has been released in five hundred copies.

We are in the middle of the Scandinavian symphonic prog landscape here. Just as on the first two albums.

Book 3 is clearly very inspired by the most quirky, eclectic output from Yes. Their Fragile era.

Although the material on Book 3 is highly original, the music is sometimes giving clear and obvious Yes associations.

As with the first two albums in this series, Book 3 is a fascinating half an hour long album. The quality is also very good throughout.

The three albums long The Songs & Tales Of Airoa is one of the more original, eccentric ever contributions to the progressive rock scene. It is also something to be proud of and  something to enjoy in the next years and decades.

Check out this album.

3.5 points

Ebb - Mad & Killing Time (2022)

The debut album from this band from Great Britain.

The band is a sextet with a lineup of drums, percussion, bass, guitars, woodwinds, keyboards and vocals.

This band is from Dumfries in Scotland and they are five girls and one male. They were also voted best newcomers by Prog Magazine last year. That got my attention and I visited their Bandcamp site.

In theory, this makes for some unusual music. And in reallity, this is the case indeed. 

Take fusion, mix with space rock, eclectic prog, psych rock, a bit soul and a bit art-rock/pop.  

The music is quirky, eclectic and strangely enough melodic too. Erin Bennet's vocals is very good. Her vocals is backed up by some frequent very good vocal harmonies too by the backing vocalists. All of them are female vocals.

There are a couple of very good songs here and a couple of not so good songs. The overall quality is good. Add the fact that their music is both original and fresh. 

The band is very active and is working hard this year. A lot of good things can therefore be expected from this band.

Check out this very good album.

3.5 points

 

Arnold's Artrock Project. Marek - Marek Arnold´s Artrock Project (2023)

The second album from this project from Germany.

Marek Arnold did the saxophones and keyboards here.

He got help from numerous guests who added drums, percussion, bass, guitars, synths, strings, keyboards, woodwinds and vocals.

Marek Arnold is mostly known from the DDR band Stern Combo Meissen before the Iron Curtain fell and then as a member of Seven Steps To The Green Door, Manning, Damanek and then a studio musician for the likes as Steve Hackett and Jon Andersen.... just to mention a few thing he is involved in. The full list is very long, indeed.

Together with his friends, he has recorded two albums under the Marek Arnold's Artrock Project.

The music is best described as a mix of progressive metal and art-rock.

It is big, bold and epic. It has pomp and silk all over it. It is really pompeous and well over the top. The music has this rock-opera feel with lots of various types of male and female vocals.

This album is excess all areas. Which is fine if the music is good..

...And it is. There is no great stuff here but the music is really good with lots of interesting details. This is an album well worth checking out.

3 points

Nautilus - Fathom (2009)

The second and final album from this band from Great Britain.

The band was a quintet with a lineup of drums, percussion, bass, guitars, keyboards, narrations and vocals.

A guest added saxophone on one track.

Their 2004 debut album was an instrumental prog/cinematic rock album. It did not really impress me either so my expectations for this album was low.

The music here is big and bold. It is a mix of pomp rock, art-rock and neo-prog.

The music on this forty-two minutes long album is also a mix of long and lingering instrumental pieces and proper songs. 

The vocals are good and the saxophones are adding some colours to the music. The more 1970s keyboard sound is adding quality to this album. 

This album is an improvement on the debut album and a fairly good album. It is an album well worth checking out.

2.5 points

Earthside - Let the Truth Speak (2023)

The second album from this band from USA.

The band is a quartet with a lineup of drums, percussion, bass, guitars, keyboards and vocals.

Numerous guests added drums, percussion, harp, saxophones and vocals.

Their 2015 debut album A Dream In Static heralded a new era in the progressive metal genre. The album announced these new talents. 

Eight years later and we get the follow up album.

The core of this album is still progressive metal. The band has also branched out into post-rock, jazz, symphonic prog, art-rock, vaudeville rock and eclectic prog. 

The music range from Roxy Music to Dream Theater in other words. 

The music is big and flowery. The vocals is good too. Very good. 

The music here is big, bold, noisy, epic and flowery. 

The quality of the music is also very good and this album was one of the better albums from last year.

There is no doubts that Earthside can become a big force in the progressive rock scene if they desire so. Get this album.

3.5 points