Zappa Frank - Uncle Meat (1969)

The sixth album from Frank Zappa.

Frank Zappa did the guitars, percussion and vocals here.

Numerous other musicians provided drums, percussion, bass, guitars, woodwinds, celesta, harpsicord, piano, organ, keyboards, spoken words and vocals.

I am reviewing all the Frank Zappa studio albums and I have yet to be impressed. I understand their appeal as his first five albums was groundbreaking and in tune with the hippies movement. Music wise, they are pretty bad.

I was wondering when the music composer Frank Zappa would arrive on the scene and give us proper music instead of spoken words and silly melodies.

Uncle Meat sees us go down the silliness route.... in the beginning. It is a double album though.

The first half is bordering to very silly. There are some acceptable pieces of music here. The second half of the album is a soundtrack to a movie never made called.... wait for it.... Uncle Meat.

This soundtrack gives us some pretty good jazz. The sound is not particular good though. But the music is pretty good.

The result is a decent enough album. I am still awaiting more proper music from Frank Zappa...

2 points

Beggars Opera - Sagittary (1974)

The fifth album from this band from Great Britain.

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

The band had moved on from the rather opinion dividing last album Get Your Dog Off Me. My opinion is that it was a bad album.

The band continues on with some blues, reggae and prog rock influenced hard rock. 

Yes, there is a reggae tune here too. It is not as bad as expected. 

The rest of the album is rather run of the mill hard rock.

There are some progressive rock influences here but most of the hard rock is influenced by blues.

The vocals is rather good and the music is not too bad.

This is a rather decent album from a once so promising progressive rock band.

2 points

Bright Light Social Hour. The - Space Is Still the Place (2015)

The second album from this band from USA.

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

This band is just about to release their third album and I hope to get it and bring a review later this year.

I do not have their debut album but I also hope to get a copy of that one and review it the same week as I review their upcoming album. That is the plan......

The band is from Austin, Texas. Their plan and concept behind this album was to put all the southern states music genre into a pot, add some progressive rock and then stir all the components together and release them as this Bandcamp album.

That means soul, rock, bluegrass, country, blues, funk and progressive rock together in the sound and song structures.

To a large extent, this is what we get here. That and some good vocals.

The songs are all good and the music is pretty exciting and lively. 

There is a lot of life and spicy flavours in their music. 

The result is a good album and and album that makes me a lot interested in this band. I need more from  this band.

3 points

 

 

Mice On Stilts - I Am Proud of You (2023)

The third album from this band from New Zealand.

The band is a ten piece big band with a lineup of drums, percussion, bass, guitars, keyboards, piano, synths, strings, woodwinds and vocals.

New Zealand has not the most productive of the progressive rock scenes. There is not much music coming from these two islands, full stop. 

But Mice On Stilts is one of their biggest contributions to the world of music.

I really liked their second album and it got a good rating in the first issue of this blog, # 1. Good pastoral prog.

The music on I Am Proud Of You is a mix of Muse, Radiohead, Gazpacho, a bit Coldplay and some Genesis and Pink Floyd.

Pastoral, gentle and elegant music in other words.

There is not any really outstanding piece of music on this album and that is the only gripe I got with this album.

This is still a very good album and one to check out.

3.5 points

 

 

Pennies by the Pound - Nothingside (2023)

 

The third album from this band from Finland.

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

Two guest musicians added extra keyboards and female vocals on a couple of tracks.

This is a new band to me. They are a Bandcamp based band and released Nothingside through a major record label.

The band does a mix of progressive rock and classic rock on this album. They have also one song with retro 1980s pop music.

Take some Steve Hogarth era Marillion and add in some neo-prog too. Add some U2 too. 

The vocals is very good and the best thing here. 

The music is good...... but the 1980s pop song is pretty horrendous and gives the listener flashbacks to an era the listener could have been well without.

There is no killer tracks here and the band has some way to go when it comes to great song writing. The music is a bit bland.

This is still an album well worth checking out.

2.5 points

Mollestad. Hedvig - Ekhidna (2020)

The solo debut album from this artist from Norway.

Hedvig Mollestad did all the guitars here and she had help from a quintet of musicians who added drums, percussion, bass, trumpet, moog, electric piano and synths.

Hedvig Mollestad debuted around 2010 as a part of the Hedvik Mollestad Trio before she released two solo albums. I got both of them for reviews.

As the guitarist in Hedvik Mollestad Trio, Hedvig got a formidable reputation as a guitarist. She was and still is one of the best jazz guitarists on this planet. 

The ten or so Hedvik Mollestad Trio albums is well worth checking out.

Ekhidna sees Hedvig venture into both Iron Maiden territory (!!!), progressive rock country and eclectic jazz.

The music is dynamic and eclectic. King Crimson is a good reference in some of the hooks and melodies.

This is mostly a jazz album though. It is also my first ever album where I can fully enjoy and understand why Hedvig Mollestad has this great reputation as a guitarist. Her guitar playing is superb on this album and I am won over.

The result is a very good album. An album fans of both jazz/fusion and progressive rock will enjoy.

3.5 points

 

Overhead - Metaepitome (2005)

The second album from this band from Finland.

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

A guest added a long guitar solo on the title track.

This band album debuted back in 2002 and has just released their sixth album. An album up for review next week.

The band is very influenced by the likes of King Crimson, Pink Floyd, Marillion the Hogarth era and Genesis. Add some heavy prog too and you get the picture.

The opening track, the title track is twenty minutes long and a very complex, eclectic track.

The rest of the music is less complex. The music is pretty melodic too and the vocals is good.

The songs are all long and the music is always somewhere between art rock and progressive rock. 

There is no real great tracks here. Nevertheless, this is a good album and one the band should be happy with.

3 points

Cosmic Lotus. The - Devoci​ó​n Al Loto (2023)

The debut album from this band from Mexico.

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

A keyboard player added keyboards on a couple of compositions here.

This band has released a demo, an EP and then this album through Bandcamp. 

The music is hard and heavy space rock. This album is almost two hours long and divided into five compositions. 

There is not much difference between the compositions.

The music is groovy though and the music is decent enough. It has this improvised feel and not much else.

Space rock fans should give this album a chance.

2 points

 

 

Barrdo - L'éternel Retour (2019)

The second album from this band from Canada.

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

Three guests added xtra vocals and woodwinds.

As I found out on their debut album, Barrdo is a seriously weird band. Their music is, that is. The band members may be quite ordinary French speaking citizens of Canada. 

I got their five albums for review and that has proven to be a serious challenge.... the first two albums, that is.

This album clocks in at seventy minutes too and that has given me a serious challenge.

The vocals is pretty light and fluffy. There are some female vocals here too. The music can best be described as a mix of the symphonic prog of Ange, the more melodic pop from The Beatles and the more chanson and folk rock aspects from Harmonium.

Intrigued ? The music is indeed intriguing. The music is melodic but with an eclectic edge to it.

The music is also good throughout. This album is a step up from their debut album and that is welcome. 

Barrdo is one of the most original and intriguing bands in the traditional progressive rock scene now. Their music is difficult.... It is therefore with both trepidation and joy I will complete my reviews of their remaining three albums later this spring...

Get this album.

3 points

Vienna Circle - White Clouds (2009)

The debut album from this band from United Kingdom.

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

Two guests added drums and female vocals.

The band is the brothers Paul and Jack Davies. They have so far released three albums and all of them are up for reviews this spring in this blog.

White Clouds brings us almost an hour full of neo-prog with some folk rock and symphonic prog influences.

There is some Mostly Autumn and a lot of Genesis influences in their music. There are also some Marillion influences here.

The music is really dynamic and pretty hard. There are also some more piano driven poetic pieces here.

The music is not very complex and epic. It is more melody driven than complex.

The result is a good album. It is an album and a band should be regarded as a welcome addition to the British neo-prog scene. 

3 points

Bradshaw. Don - Distance Between Us (1972)

 

The one and only album from this artist from USA.

Don Bradshaw-Leather does the percussions, organ, piano, mellotron and vocals himself.

Don is a classic trained pianist. For some reasons, he approached CBS Records with an idea to record an album and they financed it. The result is this album and probably something very different than CBS Records thought they would get. They did not release this album.

This album is a double LP too, clocking in at ninety minutes. 

It is also a semi-classic album in the progressive rock and krautrock scene.

The music is a mix of improvised krautrock and movie soundtrack. It is like Ya Ho Wha 13 meets up with Goblin.

The leading instrumens is mellotron and the percussions. The other instruments just supports those two instruments.

I am pretty certain this album was recorded in one take. The whole album, the four movements, feels like it has been improvised. 

The result is a weird piece of music as there is not much, if any difference, between these four movements. Tha final movement has substandard sound. Maybe the money ran out.... 

This is semi classic album and a decent one. It is also a very eclectic, weird album. Beware.

2 points

Metrognom - Twangyluck (2006)

The one and only album from this band from Norway.

The band was a quintet with a lineup of drums, percussion, bass, guitars, saxophone, woodwinds, theremin, organ, mellotron, keyboards, minimoog, synths and spoken words.

One hour of instrumental music is not something I really enjoy most. My hopes were very low before the first listening session.

The music here can best be described as a mix of Camel, King Crimson, Soft Machine and the Swedish folk and symphonic prog scene.

The sound is mid 1970s and that is the feel and ambience this album has.

The music is dynamic and based on organ, mellotron, minimoog and saxophones. 

The music is also groovy and the melodies are pretty good.

Those into retro prog from the 1970s with a modern twist should check out this album. An album I hope will get a re-release soon. It deserve it.

3 points

Enslaved - Heimdal (2023)

The 16th album from this band from Norway.

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

The band played on.... and on....

The band had been stable now for two albums and the band concentrated on writing new music and touring all over the world. Enslaved is indeed a hard touring band, appearing as head liners or close to headliners on big festivals.

They are probably touring when you read these lines in 2023 or years later. 

The music is a mix of progressive rock and extreme metal. This is a formula developed by them and it works. 

The vocals is a mix of very good clean vocals from two vocalists and some screaming black metal vocals from Grutle, the founder of the band together with the rhythm guitarist Ivar. I met both of them back in 1993. 

Their music is always engaging and pretty exciting. My only gripe is the lack of some great songs and that the band seems to have stagnated a bit. The same formula has been followed for the last ten albums and it is maybe about time to take another step into the unknown. If not, their fans will still be satisfied.

This is another good album from this band.

3 points

Bridgend - Einder (2022)

The third album from this band from Italy.

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

A female vocalist added some vocals too.

I reviewed their 2016 debut album Rebis last week and that was an interesting album. It was basically a psych rock album. I have not got their second album and has therefore arrived at their third album.

Again, we get some narrations in Italian. But not as much as on Rebis....thankfully. 

The music is a mix of psych rock and post-rock. There is some Camel influences and a lot of Goblin influences too.  

The music is instrumental and full of piano and guitars. It is mid-tempo and pastoral throughout.

The result is another pretty good album. It is an improvement on the debut album and it an album well worth checking out. 

Those of you who collect Italian progressive rock should include this band and album in this collection.

3 points

Sage Malone - I Can Do Without You (1986)

The second and final album from this band from Norway.

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

A guest added some extra electronic drums.

I was pretty happy about their debut album Word. Some good art-pop/rock. So I was looking forward to review this album.

I Can Do Without You is a mixed bag to say at least.

There is a lot of Madness like pop here. There is also some funk and disco here. And you can also add some generic 1980s pop and rock to the picture.

This album is a pretty huge step backwards from the debut album. 

It sounds like a 1980s rock/funk album and the songs are not good at all. The band has tried to hide the bad song writing by employing some pretty lame rhythms and percussions. Tricks that falls flat on it's face.

There is some decent stuff here, but....

It is a half decent album and that is all. 

1.5 points

Khan - Creatures (2023)

The third album from this band from Australia.

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

The band may be have named themselves after the luxury train who goes from Melbourne to Alice Springs in the far north of the vast Australia. It is a many days long train journey..... Or they may have chosen their name for other reasons.

The music is a bit outback as in the vast majority of the landscape in Australia. Barren, windswept and pretty brutal. Only the fittest (barely) survives and that also goes for their genre they operates within.

Grungy stoner with some heavy metal and rock sensibilities.

The vocals is good and the guitars change between being pretty jazzy to being rock and metal. These changes happens on a frequent basis and adds a lot of quality to the music. 

The melodies are also good and their concept is to be applauded.

This is a good album and well worth checking out. I should now check out their first albums too.

3 points

Buaas. Anders - The Witches of Finnmark II (2018)

The second album from this artist from Norway.

Anders Buaas does all instruments here. That means guitars, bass and programmed drums and keyboards.

This is the second album in the The Witches Of Finmark trilogy. 

The music on this half an hour long album is instrumental prog in the vein of Camel.

There are also some more electronica and a detour into Americana on this album. 

 Instrumental guitar driven music is not really a genre known for quality. Many has tried, few has succeeded in making good guitar driven instrumental albums.

The music on this, thankfully, now only forty minutes long/short album is not really armed with quality. Anders Buaas still manages to add a lot of interesting hooks and melody lines to this album. 

Some of the music is rather dull and the debut album is slightly better than this album.

Nevertheless, this is an acceptable album well worth checking out.

2.5 points

Bowness. Tim - Abandoned Dancehall Dreams (2014)

The sixth album from this artist from England.

Tim Bowness did the piano, programmed drums, mellotron, guitars, keyboards and vocals here.

He had help from numerous guests who contributed with drums, percussion, bass, guitars, strings, piano, electric piano. mellotron, organ, synths and vocals.

Tim Bowness worked with Steven Wilson in No-Man before he went solo and Steven Wilson formed Porcupine Tree.

His solo career has been a success. Abandoned Dancehall Dreams was his breaktrough album.

The music is still in the singer/songwriter mould and tradition. Tim's vocals and lyrics is central to the music. There is a lot of interesting details on the rather simple and straight forward songs.

Some of the songs are rather epic. Some of them has an electronica sound and influence. All of them are pretty relevant too. 

It is still a singer/songwriter album, no matter what other instruments he has added to the songs. 

The music on this eighty minutes long album is rather good... in the meaning; this is a good album. There are some songs here who could have been developed into some proper symphonic prog too. 

Nevertheless, this is a good album and a deserved breakthrough album.

3 points

Blind Owl - Debut At Dusk (1987)

 

The one and only album from this band from USA.

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

This band was based on the east coast of USA, in the area bordering to Canada. They had a local reputation but their CD did not sell anything outside that area. Maybe due to poor distribution and marketing. Through the likes of ProgArchives, the album has now got some attention.

The music is a mix of neo-prog and AOR. There is also some Kansas influences in their music.

The vocals are thin but OK. The sound is the 1980s sound. Very much plastic and is lacking in muscles and fat.

There is not many interesting details here. The AOR bits are pretty poor.

That said, this is a decent enough album. But this album deserve it's obscurity. The AOR crowd may appreciate it, though.

2 points

Melimelum - Melimelum (1976)

The one and only album from this band from Argentina.

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

This band and album is an obscure chapter of the progressive rock history of South America. Nothing is known about this band and album, that is.

The music is a mix of folk rock, acid psych and pop music. 

The music is very pastoral and based on harmonies. Mostly vocal harmonies. The vocals are in Spanish, the language used in Argentina.

Besides of the accoustic guitars and vocals, there are some flutes and organ/piano here too.

There are some really good songs on this album too. The songs are a bit sparse on interesting details.

This is an album well worth checking out.

2.5 points

Pelegrin - Ways of Avicenna (2023)

The second album from this band from France.

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

Both their albums has been primarly released through Bandcamp although LP, CD and cassettes is also available of both albums.

The music is a mix of vintage progressive rock, heavy psych and stoner rock. 

The vocals is good and the band does their business throughout these thirty-five minutes.

The music is pretty melancholic and melodic. 

It is also a bit bland and the band has not really written enough good songs to get my full approval. 

This is another almost-there album.

2.5 points

Bridgend - Rebis (2016)

The debut album from this band from Italy.

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

This band has released three albums and I got two of them up for review this week.

The band's music on this fifty minutes long album is a mix of psych rock, theatrical rock and post rock.

There is a lot of spoken words and narrations on this album. This in Italian and I do neither speak or understand this language. 

The spoken words sounds a bit weird and quirkiness is something that this album is dominated by.

The music is decent to good with some good pastoral pieces and some decent melodies.

This is an acceptable debut album and I am really interested to hear what they have to offer on the remaining album I have yet to review.

Check out this album if psych rock is your thing.

2.5 points

Sage Malone - Words (1985)

The debut album from this band from Norway.

The band was a sextet with a lineup of drums, percussion, bass, guitars, organ, flute, saxophone and vocals.

A guest added a guitar solo on one of the songs.

This and (far too) many other Norwegian bands were totally unknown to me until I learnt about the excellent Norske Albumklassikere series of CDs. This is obscure Norwegian LPs and cassettes (analogue albums) re-released on CDs. An excellent series and I have bought some of the CDs.

I have bought the two Sage Malone albums and a review of the second album will follow later on.

The music here is a mix of art rock, pop, funk and symphonic prog. 

The mix of genres is a bit strange, to say at least. Take a lot of Madness influences and add good old Genesis and standard rock to that again. Add a lot from the British band Gnidrolog as a reference too.

The result is 50 % progressive rock and 50 % art pop/rock. 

The music is........ quirky. 

The vocals, all in English, is good and the music is eclectic. This album and this band deserves a second chance although neither this band or this album is among the better Norwegian progressive rock around.

Quality wise...... good, although I am in doubt. Very much in doubt. 

Check out this album if you can. 

3 points

 

 

Haken - Fauna (2023)

The seventh album from this band from England.

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

The music on this album is a mix of progressive metal, a bit operatic prog, a bit of pastoral prog and some more pop rock elements.

The music is bombastic and pretty complex. Haken has found their own style and niche in the market. Hence their popularity and status as one of the biggest and best progressive metal bands on this planet at the moment.

Haken is slightly threading water on this album. They are delivering the goods and the music is very good. There is no developments here and the band is happy within their own skin and formula. 

The vocals is some of the best in the scene. Ditto for the vocal harmonies and backing vocals. The guitars are very good.

The result is a very good album and it will really please all fans of Haken and progressive metal. Even a reviewer who normally does not like progressive metal really likes this album.

3.5 points

Psicolorama - Electric (2017)

The 13th album from this one man band from Spain.

The man in this band does all guitars, synths, bass, programming and vocals himself here.

This album is another name your price Bandcamp album. 

The quality and type of electronic music is a bit different on each album. Hence my interest in this artist. 

The music is dark electronica here with lots of rumbles and thunder along these fifty minutes.

There is some guitar riffs and long guitar solos too here. 

The music is decent throughout. This is not his best album. Nevertheless, this is an acceptable album and one to perhaps download and check out.

2 points

Alpha III - Agartha (1986)

The fourth album from this band from Brazil.

Amyr Cantusio Jr does all the synths and drums machines on this album.

The previous album, Sombras from the same year, had some decent stuff. It was a progression in quality from the pretty abysmal first two albums.

I had hopes.....

Hopes killed by this album, Agarthe.

Some synths making some pretty decent melodies into some staccato, overblown exploded experimental pieces of music.

This is technology gone mad. This is technology destroying what was some pretty decent pieces of neo-classical music.

This is a horrible album and a turkey.

Avoid.

1 point

Booz. Emmanuel - Le Jour où les Vaches... (1974)

The second album from this artist from France.

Emmanuel Booz did the vocals himself.

A dozen musicians added drums, bass, guitars, electric violin, organ, piano, synths, keyboards and additional vocals.

Emmanuel Booz released four albums between 1969 and 1979. He then became a good actor, performing in both French and Hollywood movies. I believe he is still around.

His music was somewhere between French classical music, folk music, chanson and symphonic prog. 

The music is theatrical throughout this album and there is a feeling of concept album throughout this album.

The vocals is good but the music is not really of the same standard.

The music on this album is truly eclectic and original. It is also very French.

The quality of the music is decent enough. 

This is an album for those who are seeking symphonic, eclectic music. 

2 points

 

 

Medusa - Medusing (1979)

The one and only album from this band from Norway.

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

This band was based in Norway but it also had members from UK and Greece. The album has just been re-released on CD through the Norwegian re-release of obscure LPs onto CDs. The series is called Norske AlbumKlassikere and it is a brilliant iniative.

The music is a mix of funk, 1970s stadium rock and progressive rock. 

Influences from the likes of Rush, Rainbow and Yes is pretty obvious here. Ditto for the Sly Stone influences.

The songs on this long album is catchy and has got a lot of good guitar solos. The vocals is also very good.

This album is very obscure and forgotten..... but thankfully available again. That means we can now appreciate this good album again. It is a true find from the Norwegian scene. 

It is probably more a retro than a progressive rock album. Nevertheless, check it out.

3 points

Lifestream - Alter Echo (2023)

The second album from this band from Italy.

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

Two guests added female vocals and saxophones on a couple of tracks.

Their 2018 debut album Diary did not impress me at all. Poppy progressive rock with substandard songs. But I am always interested in what Italian bands brings to the table. Hence this review...

The music has changed to a mix of neo-prog, art rock and some symphonic prog too. There is though some pretty heavy Dream Theater influences here too. So we have to add progressive metal to the mix too despite of the music on this album not being very heavy.

Mid tempo with some forays into more pastoral prog is what we get here.

The music is very varied on this over seventy minutes long album. The pastoral bits with both female and male vocals are mostly at the end of the album, after fifty minutes. This part of the album is pretty much different from the first part of the album. The second part of the album is also by far the best part of the album. That part of the album even has some subtle RPI influences.  

The result is an acceptable, good album. It has some flaws but it is a big step in the right direction, compared with the debut album.

Check it out.

3 points

Tea Party. The - Blood Moon Rising (2021)

The ninth album from this band from Canada.

The band is a trio with a lineup of drums, percussion, tabla, bass, oud, banjo, guitars, sitar, hurdy gurdy, mandolin, steel guitars, cello, keyboards and vocals.

This is their last album as I write this review. I am pretty certain more albums will follow.

The band has taken over as Rush place as the best rock band from Canada.... or so everyone says.

The band has gone a bit more prog and art rock again after a couple of lacklustre rock/pop/grunge albums. There is a lot of Eastern Asian themes here and some Indian subcontinent sounds. Sitar and tabla is used quite often on this album.

The songs are pretty cleverly composed and they are all somewhere between heavy prog and art rock. 

The vocals are good and the musicians does a good job.

This is a good album and one well worth checking out.

3 points

Broguière. Patrick - Mont Saint-Michel (1998)

The third album from this artist from France.

Patrick plays bass, guitars, keyboards and backing vocals here.

He got help from around ten guests who provided drums, strings, saxophones and background vocals.

This is the third of his in total four albums from him.

His debut album Broceliande from 1995 was a decent album. Neo classical and ambient music with some symphonic prog influences.

Mont Saint-Michel gives us one hours with a mix of baroque chamber music, neo-classical music, some old French folk music and some symphonic prog.

The music is very engaging and has a lot of influences from the folk music scene from Bretagne.

Some saxophones gives a more modern sound to the music. 

The result is a good album and a very nice addition to the French folk and symphonic prog scene.

Check it out.

3 points

 

 

Karaba - All High Ways (2022)

The fourth album from this band from Germany.

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

I have never heard about this band before. But based on All High Ways, I think I will purchase their first three albums too.

The music here is jazz/fusion.

Their take on fusion reminds me alot about Weather Report and Embryo.

The band creates distortions and almost organ sounds with the keyboards and the keyboard player does a great job on his instrument.

The guitars, bass and drums does a good job too.

The music is very good throughout this album and this makes this one of the better fusion albums I have heard for some time. I need to get their first three albums...

3.5 points

Zappa. Frank - Cruising with Ruben & The Jets (1968)

The fifth album from this artist from USA.

Frank Zappa did vocals, piano, drums, bass and guitars.

He had help from numerous band members of Mother Of Invention who provided drums, bass, guitars, woodwinds, piano and vocals.

My reviews of all his albums continues....

I have been deeply unimpressed by his albums so far. And we are now at his fifth album.

We get an album worth of the worst doowop rockabilly from the 1950s here. Music best forgotten. Music resurrected by this album.

The result is a horrible bad album and a turkey. No matter how big and important Frank Zappa became but this album is a turkey. 

1 point

 

 

Beggars Opera - Get Your Dog Off Me ! (1973)

The fourth album from this band from Scotland.

The band was a quintet with a lineup of drums, percussion, bass, guitars, harpsichord, mellotron, moog, piano, organ and vocals.

I think the cover art-work gives away the game here. And indeed, it does.

After three symphonic prog albums, the band does a big about turn, one hundred and eighty degrees, and goes in a totally different direction.

US rock with a lot of hard rock and southern rock influences is what we get here. 

The vocals is muscular and dominates the music. The music is simple and not exciting at all. 

The music is bereft of any interesting details. 

The songs are only half decent. The instrumental Classical Gas, a cover version no less of a melody from the 1960s USA, is the only saving grace here.

This album is a disappointment.

1.5 points

Big Hogg - Big Hogg (2015)

The debut album from this band from England.

The band was a sextet with a lineup of drums, percussion, bass, guitars, cornet, trumpet, flute, trombone, tenor horn and vocals.

A handful of guests added saxophones, organs and narrations.

I reviewed their latest, their third album Pageant Of Beast in this blog two years ago, just after it was released. I was not impressed but noted that it was a decent album.

I am not able to get hold of their 2017 album Gargoyles. But I got this album and it is up for review.... now.

The music is nowhere near Canterbury prog. Take some acid folk, art rock, add some rock, some blues, a lot of brass rock, indie rock and some 1970s stadium blues rock. 

The female vocals is good and the best thing about this album. 

The songs are decent enough but just that. The music is all over the place and a bit of a frustrating listen. 

This is a decent album and it has dawned on me that this band is not really for me.

2 points

McOil - All Our Hopes (1979)

The one and only album from this band from Germany.

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

Nothing is known about this band and album. An album released as a private pressing and re-released on CD by the German re-releases label Garden Of Delights.

The music on this album is hard rock. Take Deep Purple and some Quartermass. Add some more progressive rock and you get this album.

The music is hard and aggressive throughout. The music is never heavy metal though. It is still 1970s hard rock.

The vocals are OK and the drums are hyper active and technical. Most of the music is indeed very technical.

The result is a decent enough album which fans of hard rock will lap up.

2 points

Winter Dust - Unisono (2023)

The third album from this band from Italy.

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

This is their third album and they have been flying under my radar until this album showed up in my inbox. It is a pay-if-you-want Bandcamp album too. All their albums is, I believe. They are also available through CD and the band is a touring band.

Their music is a mix of post-rock, post-metal, emo and hardcore.

Yes, this is not progressive rock. It is still well worth exploring.

The vocals is male screaming and clear female vocals. The music is pretty hard.

It is also pretty melodic and epic.

The quality of the music is decent enough. It is an ounce too heavy for me.

2 points

Tea Party. The - The Ocean At The End (2014)

The eight album from this band from Canada.

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

The band was helped out by Ian Anderson on flute and a some other guests who provided harmonica, pedal steel, percussion and backing vocals.

The band split up after their previous album and then reformed for The Ocean At The End.

The music is again art rock with a lot of grunge and stadium rock influences. There is even some Rush in their music.

There is not much progressive rock in their music though.

The songs are actually pretty good and worth a listen or two. I am not pretending that this is the type of music that makes me want to wake up every morning. Nevertheless, this album is pretty good and the band knows what they are doing. Art, it is.

3 points

Broguière. Patrick - Brocéliande (1995)

The debut album from this artist from France.

Patrick Broguiere does all the keyboards, flute, guitars and electronics himself on this album.

He released four albums in his long career and I got two of them for review this spring. This one and his final album. Review to follow later.

Patrick Broguiere gives us fifty minutes of a mix of neo-classical music, ambient, fusion, old French folk music and some symphonic prog.

The music has a baroque and chamber rock feel. 

There is not much rock here though. 

The music here is very Mike Oldfield'ish and would appeal to the fans of his ambient, neo-classical albums.

The quality is decent enough and this album is OK as background fill in a busy office. It has it's limitations though. Nevertheless.......

2 points

Basso. Luciano - To Tell (2023)

The ninth album from this artist from Italy.

Luciano Basso plays piano on this album and has got help from three guests who provided violin, flute and piano.

Luciano Basso album debuted back in the 1970s with a couple of albums which is pretty highly rated in the RPI scene. He has then gone onto producing music for TV and movies. 

He has also moved into new-age and ambient music. This is where we find this album.

The music is neo-classical and pastoral. There is very few interesting details here. 

The music is more classical ambient than progressive rock/rock.

I respect this artist. Nevertheless, this is an album best avoided unless ambient music is your style. Half of this album is decent enough though and that is the best I can say about this album.

1.5 points

Barrdo - Apologie Des Etats Seconds (2016)

The debut album from this band from Canada.

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

Some guest helped out on vocals, woodwinds and strings.

This band is from Montreal in the French speaking part of Canada. Hence the French vocals and lyrics. 

They have so far released five albums and they are all up for review this spring and summer in this blog.

The music on this album is what fits into the Eclectic Prog genre.

Take some late 1960s psych and hippie music, add Ange like symphonic prog and then add some Harmonium like folk rock. On the top of that, add avant-garde folk rock and a lot of acid folk.

The vocals is a mix of male and female vocals. The music is pretty pastoral and pedestrian.

The music is weird and eclectic, to say at least.

The quality is not really there.... This is not a good album. 

The music is decent enough and I am looking forward to listen to their four other albums due to this band being pretty weird.

2 points

 

Tea Party. The - Seven Circles (2004)

The seventh album from this band from Canada.

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

A female vocalist and a string ensemble is prominent guests on this album.

This band started out in the same vein as Rush. As a hard blues and hard rock band, in other words.

The band evolved during the follow up albums and we have now arrived at their seventh album.

The music on this album is a mix of hard rock, grunge and teenybopper power pop.

The songs are catchy and pretty much designed around a young audience. Ditto for the rather good vocals.

The sound is pretty good despite of the rather dubious quality of the songs.

This is by far their least good album and a disappointment. I hope the next two albums is better than this one.

2 points

Beck, Bogert & Appice - Beck, Bogert & Appice (1973)

The one and only album from this US & UK supergroup.

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

Three guests provided mellotron, piano and backing vocals.

I think it is fair to label this album as a semi-classic album from the 1970s. An album with a far better reputation based on the musicians involved than the quality of the music itself.

Wikipedia has the extensive story behind this album and trio. The musicians had long histories in Jeff Beck Band, Cactus, Yardbirds and Vanilla Fudge. 

Jeff Beck got tired of playing standard soft rock n roll and decided to go hard rock again. Hence this trio with members with suitable hard rock experience. Cactus and Vanilla Fudge, that is.

This album has a mix of covers and self-written songs. The Stevie Wonder classic Superstition is included here. 

The music is surprisingly tame. It is not the hard rock and hard blues workout it promised to deliver. The music is competent delivered but the quality of the songs are not up to standard.

This is indeed a semi-classic album who does not live up to it's good reputation.

2.5 points