Lazland playlist

A belated happy birthday from me too Steve. Yes - the IQ Stage DVD is excellent (both concerts) as are all the other DVDs they have released over the years (I have them all). As well as the wonderful performance of 'Harvest of Souls' at Nearfest on Disc 1 of the 'Stage' DVD, this little tune below ranks right up there with my all-time fave IQ 'lives':

Edited by yam yam - December 31 2015 at 08:19

Happy Birthday Mr. Laz!   IQ does sound like a good choice.  I've not that the good fortune to see them play live in person nor on DVD.  Enjoy!

I am going through one of my playlist, not entire album, phases, and the sharing of this is why the blog was started. As I have sworn to stay away from the general discussion threads which are really beginning to turn me off this site, I will turn inwards, somewhat, and concentrate on what brought me here in the first place, the music, talking about it, sharing it, and reviewing it.

So, to Saturday night. My father and his wife are visiting Chez Lazland, and it is lovely to see them. Having said that, Mr Laz junior has very little interest in Dancing or Talent shows on tv, so on went the headphones for music and copious amounts of beer time.

The initial phase went something like this:

Karnataka. Feels Like Home. This is on every single day. Just love it.

Goblin. Goblin, from Wampyr, this played after the suggestion from Nicholas. This is the first time I have listened to this band, and this is good stuff.

Rainbow. Weiss Heim. Simply delicious from the Man in Black.

ELO. Telephone Line. From one of the first albums I purchased, I simply love this fragile piece of beauty.

Dire Straits. Private Investigations, Live. Probably the proggiest effort from this great band, I love the suspense. Knopfler's guitar work is awesome.

Moody Blues. Question. This is the version with the Philharmonic Orchestra, and mighty fine it is, too.

Marillion. The Sky Above The Rain, live. As achingly beautiful as the very first time I heard it, I simply adore this track, a song rooted in the pain, angst, and, above all, love and hope of real life.

From this, the good old random shuffle was put on. I rather like the surprises you can get from randomly playing tracks from the hundreds of albums I have placed onto my Mac, and, by extension, the iPad. Here are the tracks it threw up:

IQ. Dans Le Parc Du Chateau Noir, a bonus track from the remastered The Wake. One of the finest bands to play this earth, from a vintage album.

The Flower Kings. Cinema Show, from one of the Fanclub CDs. Ah, some great bands don't half wear their influences on their hearts!

Anthony Phillips. Last Goodbyes. Quite utterly gorgeous music. Ant does piano as well as guitar.

Blackmore's Night. Hanging Tree.

Enya. A Day Without Rain. Appropriate enough, given the fuss with the new album, which I have not heard yet, aside from the single, which does not sound as if it is breaking any new ground. I do rather like these songs, though, ethereal and clever.

Jon & Vangelis. Thunder.

Radiohead. Go To Sleep. Hail to the Thief is a very good album, and one I should play more, really.

The Who. Imagine a Man. Quite easily the finest track from By Numbers, a classic, and Townsend writing at his best, and Daltrey singing likewise.

Pictorial Wand. Circle's End. The final track from Face of our Fathers, an album I gave a rather indifferent review to five years ago. My decision has not really changed that much on listening to this for the first time in said five years. Okay, but there is far better Scandinavian prog out there. Mr Sorum's new project is Progatom.

More Jon & Vangelis, this time State of Independence, which is a great old track, and far better than that Donna Summer cover which was a massive hit in the day.

Genesis. The Knife, from Genesis Live. Nothing to say, really, except...Bloody brilliant.

Steve Hackett. Shadow of the Hierophant, the original studio version from Voyage of the Acolyte. Superb. Just love Sally's vocals. Imagine what it would have sounded like with Banks on keys?

The X Factor is coming to an inglorious end, thankfully, and it is time to settle down to Match of the Day. So, nos da to all.

Ah mr. Laz is active once again! I know, sounds like a paradox but it's great to hear ya back in action once again
I really like how you are revisiting a lot of your staples with in your music world.
Kicking things off with Marillion? Not a bad start or choice at all!
Also happy to hear you gave dream Theater a brief visit. 1928 is an incredible opener to one of the very best concept albums I've ever heard. ;)

Well, If you by chance feel like a classy instrumental album with some incredible thick bass lines, give Goblin's Four of A kind album a spin. 43mins of bliss. ;)

Enjoy the day and the rest of your week, my friend.

Steve. You sound great...very healthy I mean.
I am so glad you are rekindling the fire of music that burns with in you.
I never knew it could actually leave someone like you, but as you are of course experiencing as of late, life can be a complicated mess at times. Anyhow, we have a sonic backbone that can help us through all our troubles. I know I'd be a very lost individual without music.
So Edison's children. I have their first album and I really quite like it. I can listen to Pete trewas play bass all day. He really is one of the best. I'd put him up there with Geddy lee of Rush and Chris squire of Yes. Yes, I do feel he is that good.

And you got the Unquiet Sky!!! Oh and I cannot wait to read your review. I actually got so inspired by Arena's latest, that I even wrote a review of the album. It's all praise really. I couldn't find a way to constructively criticize it, so it's not really a balanced review. It actually sounds more braised than anything else, but as you know I am seriously riding that Arena train pretty fast these days. I just love them. :)

Above all else though. I am glad you are back and I am very sure you are gonna find some new sonic treats very soon. If anyone out there knows how to dig for sonic gold....it's you!

Cheers. :)

Barbu wrote: lazland wrote: In addition, I picked up a copy of the Marillion live Holland Weekend gig in 2013 Sunday Night Above The Rain. This is a double album, and quite superb, essential, in my opinion, as a record of just where the great band are live now. The track from which the title takes its inspiration, The Sky Above The Rain, is even more achingly beautiful and effective than the studio version. It drips with emotion and truth, and is worth the admission price alone. For aficionados of the Fish era, there is also a fun, rollicking, version of Garden Party. I added the album to the archives on Friday, so you can see the full track listing there. Sunday Night Above the Rain Excellent, excellent!! I recently bought High Voltage 2010 and this one blew me away, big time. If you haven't heard it yet do not hesitate if you see it, a top 3 Marillion live favorite for me.

That High Voltage appearance won them a great number of both new and returning fans, that is for sure. Marillion are, to me, the greatest live band I have ever seen.

As promised, or threatened (delete according to taste and constitution), my little blog returns, and life is returning to some sort of normality in the Lazland household, or as near to normality as it is possible to get, I suppose.

For somewhat obvious reasons, I have not contributed to the site a great deal in recent times. In addition, I have not been active at all in getting new music. I just haven't felt like it, or had the time, really.

The last time this happened was when we had that almighty row on the site about sub-genres, which I was responsible for initiating. As a result, I resigned as a collab on the Neo team, and rather fell out of love with music altogether. Thankfully, this did not last a long time, and thus it is now. Life goes on, and my signature says it all, really.

So, this last week has seen, for me, a positive orgy of music buying.

I received the new Edison's Children cd last week, and have given it a couple of spins. This has been the subject of what was, to me, a rather ridiculously pedantic argument on the forum as to whether it should be classified on the site as a studio album, or as a compilation album. Personally, I do not really care a great deal as to what the classification is. I was responsible for Pete and Eric's collaboration being added to the site, and, at the end of the day, as long as they are here, nothing else really matters.

It is described as a "bridging album", something to keep fans (this is a large number in the context of our genre. This has been a very successful project, even hitting the American charts) going until the next promised epic, which will be recorded after the next Marillion project. Understandably, this takes precedent in Pete's world.

It is extremely good, and I particularly like the alternative mixes of tracks we have had before, and mention should go to Jakko Jakszyk, of Crims fame, and John Mitchell. I will save the detailed comments for my review, but, suffice to say, both bring unique and new touches to the works. Further, I have found it very interesting to listen to the pieces outside of their usual context as part of sprawling narratives and concept. There is also a marvellous live rendition of A Million Miles Away (I Wish I Had A Time Machine) from a Wolverhampton Marillion Weekend. In addition, there are some new tracks as well, which make me really look forward to the next wholly new album from two extremely interesting and talented individuals whose music I find fascinating and wholly original.

I rated the first two as masterpieces, and still hold by those opinions. They are both also still rated overall above four on the site, a testament, I feel, to their quality and appeal. This one, I feel, is probably a four, i.e. excellent, although it will have a few more listens prior to my reviewing. I also get a name mention on the cd as one of those who pre-ordered a fair while ago.

To those who read either my (lately, infrequent) reviews, or this blog, and share my tastes, but have not yet ventured into the dark and gothic world of Edison's Children, you really should. They are well worth it.

I also purchased, at Derricks Music, a very good independent store in Swansea, Richard Thompson's new, electric, album, Still. Not prog, but one of the towering figures in folk rock, Thompson has been recording for not far short of fifty years, now, and the new album is quite superb, and will, I feel, be a firm favourite of mine in 2015.

In addition, I picked up a copy of the Marillion live Holland Weekend gig in 2013 Sunday Night Above The Rain. This is a double album, and quite superb, essential, in my opinion, as a record of just where the great band are live now. The track from which the title takes its inspiration, The Sky Above The Rain, is even more achingly beautiful and effective than the studio version. It drips with emotion and truth, and is worth the admission price alone. For aficionados of the Fish era, there is also a fun, rollicking, version of Garden Party. I added the album to the archives on Friday, so you can see the full track listing there.

I also ordered, but have not yet received, from Will at Caerllysi Music, the new Arena album, The Unquiet Sky (told you I would get it eventually, Nicholas!), the new IO Earth double opus, New World, and, based upon Thomas' (Tszirmay) review, Dave Kerzner's album, A New World. I have very high hopes for this, and cannot wait for it to arrive.

I have also splashed out on the new Corvus Stone album, which has also been the subject of controversy re classification, but have not gotten around to listening to it yet.

So, music is back with a bang in my life, and I am very much the richer for it. I face a week of commuting this forthcoming week, as my usual lift is on holiday. I will, therefore, get around to penning a few words on reviews, as the backlog of stuff I want to review has gotten ever longer.

As ever, thank you to all who respond here for your thoughts, and, especially, your continued kindness.

Steve, I don't post here often, but I do read your writings when I can. Thoughts are with you, keep your head up!

Wow Steve......I am so sorry to hear all this terrible news in your family. Mighty fine of you and your wife and son to handle the family as you have! Whether this means anything or not to you and your family, you all have a special place reserved in heaven for your good family deeds.

Thanks Nicholas and Jim. I really appreciate the sentiments.