Greek Prog: From Alpha To Omega

 1999: Will-O-the-Wisp - Will-O-the Wisp - http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoRNXsrOuZ-XUzCw1w-_j9PFeuDr9fiHe

{{NOTE: Usually means I might not have listened to the whole album, but did hear the piece in question and (usually) at least one more or so depending on how it grabbed my ears.}}

Yiorgos Fakanas - Acrobat ... towards the jazz fusion stuff with a very definite Southern California touch for music in my ears. ("partial review")

Yiorgos Fakanas - Echoes ... Nice stuff, that I think fits more into the "nice stuff" or "soft jazz" that is centered on melody, rather than jazz itself, even though it goes through several changes. Not great, but at least showing someone's musicianship.("partial review")

The Flow - Incubation ... What a wonderful start. In a very light jazzy sort of way, it takes us along really well. Very pretty start with "Topic". I will admit that I'm not sure how the words/lyrics (occasional in some obviously pre-defined moments). "Touch of Frost (pts 1 and 2)". A few more words are used here, but this is also a rather nice piece, and the band breaks into the normal "format" of popular music, which in the first piece they had not shown. The first piece was strictly about the piece of music meditative feel. This 2nd piece is not that until what must be its 2nd part. Very nice. "Spacestation 61" is another nice soundscape. The album is mostly very nice and soft material. A very nice listen.

Forbidden Myth - Zantea Chronicles ... The most conventional of all these bands listed (so far) but that's not to take it away from this work. It has some wonderful keyboard work, and lyrical content which tells its story. Nice stuff, not great, although I'm not sure I would consider this "progressive" simply because the album is a concept.

Yiannis Glezos - The Roses of Pieria ... All of the music in this album is inspired by "Ancient Greek Lyric Poetry".  "Lament" with a nice heavy guitar that seems to want to take over, but never does, this flows rather nicely. "The Roses of Pieria" is better described as theme music, or at least, what I might suggest as soundtrack music, though I think you might have to follow the poetry to get the imagery. It is nicely done, and reminds me of other works out there of the instrumental nature. "Spring Angel" is another nice piece. Faster paced but well put together so the solos develop the music further instead of simply repeating the material. Strong piece and a nice one to play on radio broadcasts, though it might not quite be the best representation of the album. "A Friend Far Away in a Foreign Land" is another nice piece, possibly a bit melancolic and romantic, but still a very nice touch. All in all a very nice album to have, although this is "nice music" and not exactly progressive per se, although the instrumentation of the material is excellent through out the album.

Socrates - Phos ... one of the things that was played on Space Pirate Radio way back in 1976. The album had Vangelis in it and the stuff in it was very nice. 

Hieronymus Dream - Nostos ... The album seems to be based on Homer's Odyssey, or at least it is a "journey" that the band undertook to get this done. "Odysseus Raft" is a gentle start to this piece and very enjoyable, and you keep thinking that a rock riff will come out of it, but this is not a "rock" album, as much as it is a "journey" album, and there are no ego defining solos to show how good it is ... it sticks with its continuity and theme, and avoids the familiar and repetitive styles of pop music. It's almost "symphonic" in its continuity and probably deserves that definition for its way of telling a story via instrumental music, something that rock audiences can not appreciate as much, as so much classical music has for hundreds of years. "The Island of Lotus Eaters" develops slowly around the guitar and it is very neatly crafted and played. There is no hurry, and it takes us with its touches. "Circe's Secret" is slightly similar to the previous piece. I think folks might find this similar to the previous piece. All in all a nice album which makes for a nice comfortable listen. Makes you wonder what we are missing in the Greek Lyric of antiquity ... though I have always found the English translations to be horrible and invoke wrong images that did not exist or were a part of that time in Greece.

Intravenous - Oiseau ... What a wonderful start this has. So simple. As it gets more serious into a solo section, it is interesting, but it returns to the simple stuff. As it reaches past half way it starts its journey into the experimental and likely a lot of improvisation. It actually works and sounds fine and is very listenable because it is not doing the expected, and it flows rather nicely. Very enjoyable piece.

Iraklis - Pezis Me Tis Mihanes ... (The toob stuff is not translated and it is hard to know what things are, btw) ... Prog pop to my ears. Didn't catch me much.

Jargon - The Fading Thought ... "Time is Running Out"/ "In Search of the Invisible Line"/"The Film"/"The Fading Thought". Although this is piano driven, it feels like this is symphonic and really well done progressive music, although no one here does the show mamma your talents or riffs! Soft for the most part, and tight. Well done stuff.

 1968: Aphrodite's Child - End of the World - http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9EAiJXXtc-ZA1H9DVKPK0Ki4DUcp66pw

 1969: Aphrodite's Child - It's Five O'Clock - http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9EAiJXXtc-by1atAfLy1nurHtHLo_Lq4 

 1972: Aphrodite's Child - 666 - http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9EAiJXXtc-bdbxNvRZCRs402jnbC_bxw

 2010: Ciccada - A Child in the Mirror - http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_nD0iFd7MtR0X12doLZiom-MpqSEI9gl0A

 2015: Ciccada - The Finest of Miracles - http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kg4DjfqzAHdhHIxlqUDCp3-dZ4NOc9m5k

 2021: Ciccada - Harvest - http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_nWG_xYXp_MUPgxmRe5RaKmfygwskckFQs

 2021: Forbidden Myth - Zantea Chronicles: The Dream Dominator - http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLaBU4nHamOnWwcRWn5vOWeV-H2dmxxL_E

                          Vangelis

                          Yanni