Prog Britannia - Album Reviews

Album Review #36:- JON ANDERSON needs no introduction, but the longstanding frontman of YES deserves an introduction anyway, so here goes..... He was born in Accrington, Lancashire in 1944. Anderson was a member of his brother's band, The Warriors, during the mid-1960's and he joined YES bassist Chris Squire's band, Mabel Greer's Toyshop in 1968. They changed the name of the band to YES later that same year. He was the lead vocalist on all but one of the YES albums from the first self-titled album in 1969, through to the "Magnification" album in 2001. The only exception was the 1980 "Drama" album which featured Trevor Horn on vocal duties. Jon Anderson was also the frontman on the "Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe" album, a YES album in all but name. He had a long-lasting musical partnership with Vangelis, recording four sophisticated albums of Electronica together as Jon & Vangelis:- "Short Stories" (1980); "The Friends of Mr Cairo" (1981); "Private Collection" (1983); & "Page of Life" (1991). He joined with fellow YES member Rick Wakeman in 2010 to record "The Living Tree" album. Jon Anderson's most recent collaboration was the "Better Late Than Never" (2015) album with Roine Stolt of The Flower Kings. This album, "Olias of Sunhillow" (1976), is the first of Jon's fifteen solo albums, with his latest album "1000 Hands: Chapter One", released as recently as 2019. His second album "Song of Seven" (1980) is also in the progressive mould, before he branched out into other avenues of music, such as regular Pop/Rock and New Age albums. "Olias of Sunhillow" is a concept album, recorded at a time when the concept album was King in the weird and wonderful world of Progressive Rock. The album tells the story of an alien race looking for a new world to colonise, following the destruction of their home planet in a volcanic catastrophe. Jon Anderson wrote all of the music and lyrics, and played all of the musical instruments featured on the album, so this really IS a solo album, in the true sense of the word. Let's don the flares, Afghan coat and platform shoes now as we travel back in time to those halcyon Prog-Rock days of the mid 1970's.

The album opens in dramatic style with the the sound of rumbling waves in the instrumental "Ocean Song". We then hear the exotic sound of a synth, which somehow conjures up images of the mystical East with its oriental vibe. This acts as a prelude to "Meeting (Garden Of Geda)", a buoyant and uplifting song that sounds like a more melodic and harmonic version of YES. The lyrics tell a story of a spacecraft embarking on a journey to escape a doomed planet:- "There stands Olias to outward to build a ship, Holding within all hope we retain, The frame will be so built to challenge the universe." ..... This is "YES lite" without the constant changes of tempo, sudden key changes and crashing chords that we've become so accustomed to over the years from classic YESSONGS. The "Olias of Sunhillow" album is still very much in Progressive Rock territory, but it's gentle and melodic Prog-Rock with a New Age oriental feel to it. Our journey across the universe continues now with "Dance Of Raynart, a beautiful instrumental number, featuring the gentle sound of a harp combined with mesmerizing keyboards. This leads us into "Olias (To Build the Moonglade), a passionately uplifting song full of optimism, as the alien colonists begin building their spaceship. Onwards now to the mysteriously titled 7-minute-long, three-piece suite,"Qoquaq Ën Transic"/"Naon"/"Transic Tö". It's a gorgeous-sounding oriental instumental, opening to the sound of gently melodic swirling synths. This transposes into "Naon", a bright and breezy happy-clappy New Age chant, before returning to the redolent sound of the oriental synth in "Transic To". Our space colonists now embark on their journey across the universe with "Flight of the Moorglade", to close out Side One. This is an ebullient and uplifting song which is positively aglow with optimistic exuberance. Just take a look at these inspiring lyrics:- "The first to venture, First to gain, Exploring daylight, Clearer than the Talloplanic view." ..... No idea what the "Talloplanic view" is, but it sounds good and the joyfully intoxicating music is guaranteed to put you in jubilant mood and high spirits, without the aid of any alcoholic beverages.

We enter "Solid Space" now with the opening of Side Two. We're in full Symphonic Prog mode here with this rousing and restorative piece of music. It's a surging, tympanic and superlative song, bursting with glorious optimism. Okay, that's enough adjectives for now, so onwards we travel through space to "Moon Ra"/"Chords"/"Song of Search". Yes, it's another three-piece suite (no, not two armchairs & a sofa). "Moon Ra" is another New Age chant. If we weren't travelling through space, then this is the kind of jolly and vibrant song you might hear New Age revellers chanting as they dance around a tree (possibly naked) by the light of a silvery moon. This leads us onto "Chords", which, not surprisingly, is a song full of bright and uplifting, reverberating major chords to elevate the spirits up into the stratosphere and beyond. The three-piece suite concludes with "Song of Search", a hauntingly atmospheric piece of instrumental music to transport you to a higher plane of musical existence. This is soothing and sophisticated melodic prog that reaches the places that other prog-rock albums can only aspire to. We drift gently back to Earth now with the closing song on the album, "To the Runner", a joyous and jubilant hymnal melody. The music is all aglow with some positively inspirational and spiritual vibes. If only they played music in church as good as this, it might be enough to turn an atheist into a religious devotee!

You don't HAVE to be a YES fan to enjoy this album, because "Olias of Sunhillow" is a gently melodic and harmonic departure from the sound of YES, but if you ARE a fan of YES, then the familiar sound of Jon Anderson's voice may be enough to inspire you to go out and buy the album. It's still Progressive Rock, but it's Prog-Rock given a New Age oriental twist, in true Jon Anderson style. If I could choose just one word to describe the beautiful music contained within this marvellous album, it's Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!

Edited by Psychedelic Paul - December 07 2019 at 11:52

Album Review #38:- Keyboard player extraordinaire TONY BANKS (born 1950) is of course the longstanding Master of the Keys in the band Genesis. He's appeared on all fifteen Genesis studio albums, starting with "From Genesis to Revelation" in 1969, right through to the final Genesis album, "Calling All Stations" in 1997. After all, Tony Banks IS the sound of Genesis. He's been voted one of the greatest keyboard players of all time, and deservedly so. He got together with the other three founder members, Peter Gabriel, Mike Rutherford & Anthony Phillips, to form Genesis at Charterhouse School in 1967 when they were discovered by record producer Jonathan King, and the rest is Genesis history, which there's no need to elaborate on here. This album "A Curious Feeling" (1979) is the first of six Tony Banks solo albums. The album features male vocalist Kim Beacon and American drummer Chester Thompson.  Later albums were "The Fugitive" (1983), "Still" (1991), "Seven: A Suite for Orchestra" (2004), "Six Pieces for Orchestra" (2012), and his most recent album, "Five" (2018). He also recorded an album under the punningly titled bandname, "Bankstatement" in 1989, as well as composing the music for "The Wicked Lady" (1983) movie, followed by the release of a collection of soundtrack pieces in 1986, titled "Soundtracks", appropriately enough. Tony Banks' albums feature a compelling mixture of Classical music and Progressive Rock. Introduction over, it's time now to give this particular album a spin, and I have "A Curious Feeling" you're going to like it.

The album opens in grand symphonic style with "From the Undertow". It's a breathtakingly beautiful opening piece of instrumental music which promises we're in for a rather special treat with this album. This serves as a prelude to "Lucky Me", an exhilarating song with a joyful vibe, as these uplifting lyrics reveal:- "And I would rather be nobody else, I'm happy as I am, all I need is in my way, And you see no one expects too much from me." ..... It's a gleeful song full of boundless optimism. Song No. 3 "The Lie" is a buoyant and flamboyant toe-tapping number that romps along nicely in rousing fashion, which leads us into "After the Lie", where Tony Banks really shines like a beacon with his stunning keyboard virtuosity. This is lush, melodic and marvellous music! Onto Song No. 5 now and the title track "A Curious Feeling", a commercial-sounding song that has "hit record" written all over it. The song has a joyous and jubilant feel to it in the same way as "Follow You, Follow Me" by Genesis. To close Side One in superlative and uninhibited style comes the 6-minute long keyboard opus, "Forever Morning". Prepare to be lifted to a higher plane of musical existence with this touching, transporting and transcendental piece of magnificent music. This is spectacular!

Returning to Earth now with "You" to open Side Two. The singer Kim Beacon is in romantic balladeer mode here with this tender-hearted melancholic number. Wait a minute though! What's this!?? Tony Banks breaks out into a wild and uninhibited Rick Wakeman-inspired keyboard jamboree to close out the song. Wow! This song is amazing! You really have to hear this to believe it!! This is a glorious symphonic masterpiece, elevating this album instantly to five-star status. What more can I say!? I'm flabbergasted by the technical brilliance on display here!! In fact, my flabber has never been so gasted!!! Okay, that's enough exclamation marks for now. Onwards to Song No. 8 and "Somebody Else's Dream", the longest song on the album at nearly 8 minutes long. It's a sonorous and resonant, keyboard-heavy anthemic song with the awesome power of a runaway steamroller, so get ready to pump up the volume and rattle those windows for this stentorian piece of stirring music. To paraphrase James Bond, you'll be shaken AND stirred after listening to this powerful and passionate piece of music. Into melodic Genesis territory now as we settle into a somewhat mellower mood for "The Gardens of Lethe". What's it all about you may well ask and where on Earth is "Lethe"!? No idea, because it's an instrumental. To call this wonderful piece of music an "instrumental" though doesn't really do it justice, because it's a sublime symphonic masterpiece, which is just what we've come to expect from Genesis keyboard maestro Tony Banks. It's time now to take a break "For a While", because that's the name of our next song. It's a lovely romantic ballad featuring these charming and invigorating lyrics:- "It sure felt good for a while, Yes, it was good for a while, I found somebody to take my hand, To the promised land of the loved." ..... It's emotional, it's inspirational, and above all, it's beautiful! Sadly, we've now reached the end of this impassioned and very impressive album with "In the Dark". It's a sad song that really tugs at the heartstrings with these emotionally-wrought lyrics:- "If you know my story now, Please don't tell, Don't want to hear, It can only bring me pain, Maybe one day before I die, I'll open that door, Maybe I'll cry, But for now I'll live in the Dark." ..... It's enough to bring a tear to your eye, as we say goodbye, but try not to cry, because this album will leave you on an emotional and spiritual high.

A gloriously uplifting album which is choc-a-bloc full of sonorous symphonies and romantic ballads. It's an absolute must-have album, regardless of whether or not you're a Genesis fan, because dare I say it..... this album is as good as, if not better than anything Genesis have ever done. It's certainly better than the 1980's Phil Collins era of Genesis, that's for sure!

Edited by Psychedelic Paul - December 09 2019 at 07:07

Psychedelic Paul wrote: FUCHSIA - Fuchsia (1971)   Album Review #26:- FUCHSIA were a British Prog-Folk band who released just one self-titled album in 1971 and then promptly disappeared from the scene, in common with many other one-album bands of the era. The album has now come to be regarded as a lost classic and their music has been compared with the Psych-Folk of Comus. If you like the music of Comus, then you're sure to like this album too. The band were a six-piece outfit, featuring a male lead vocalist and guitarist (Tony Durant), a bass guitarist, a drummer, and a mini-choir of three female vocalists providing backing harmonies and playing various instruments. Although the original album virtually disappeared without trace in the early 1970's, the band re-emerged in 2013 with another studio album "Fuchsia II - From Psychedelia to a Distant Place" with Tony Durant still there at the helm. This second studio album has also now become something of a rarity. There's also a compilation album available "Fuchsia, Mahagonny & Other Gems", released in 2005. A CD reissue of the original Fuchsia album in 2018 contained enough bonus tracks to make it a double album. Let's have a listen now and see whether Fuchsia are a rare flowering beauty or whether they're going to wither on the vine. The album blossoms into life with "Gone with the Mouse", a very proggy-sounding song which sounds like Fairport Convention with bells on. One wonders what a song with such an obscure title could possibly be about. Well, it's a tale of derring-do in a medieval kingdom with gallant knights battling to defend a maiden's honour, in time-honoured tradition. The song is abounding with the sound of acoustic guitars, violins & cellos and lovely vocal harmonies from the 3-part girl choir. This song is as English as strawberries & cream at Wimbledon with the charming English accents of the singers very much in evidence. It's traditional English Folk with a progressive twist, and very good it is too. This album promises to be very special indeed if this opening number is anything to go by. Once more into the breach dear friends with "A Tiny Book", one of the two long songs on the album with a running time of just over 8 minutes. There are cellos and violins galore on this song, giving it something of a classical feel. The Prog-Folk elements are all there though, with fast-paced drumming, dextrous guitar riffs and constant changes of pace. It's compulsive, it's progressive, and above all, it's very impressive. Onwards and upwards now with "Another Nail", another tale of nefarious goings-on in medieval times. There' a long 3-minute instrumental intro in this entertaining fast-paced number. It's a real humdinger of a song, guaranteed to get the feet tapping with its spritely rhythm. In keeping with the medieval theme of castles & kings and gallant knights, the song opens with these lyrics, "Is that your daughter, Drinking some water, Laid on an altar, Selling a king for his crown?" ....... It's another 7 minutes of pure Folk-Prog joy and delight. The intriguingly-titled "Shoes and Ships" is up next. The cryptic lyrics are a mystery wrapped in an enigma, but who cares when the music is this good!? If you like the conventional Folk-Rock of Fairport Convention, and you'd like to hear it given an unconventional progressive twist, then this is the album for you. We come to "The Nothing Song" now, although this 8-minute wonder has everything! It's a lively and stirring number that proudly wears it's English heart on its sleeve. It's all about a day in the life of a typical Englishman, going out on a Saturday night, and having a long lie-in on Sunday - and what better way to spend a Sunday morning than lying back and listening to this wonderful album. And now for the penultimate song on the album "Me and My Kite", a jolly little tune with whimsical lyrics to lead us onto the seventh and final song, "Just Anyone," to play out the album. It's a brooding and mysterious song with enigmatic lyrics and it's a marvellous ending to a superb album overall. For any fans of Prog-Folk out there who are looking for something fresh and original in the style of Fairport Convention & Fotheringay stirred into a progressive cocktail, then look no further than this compelling album of English Prog-Folk at it's very best. Fuchsia are blooming marvellous!

Edited by dr wu23 - December 09 2019 at 15:12

 I also have these on cd...love to have the original vinyl...

BADGER - White Lady (1974)

Edited by Psychedelic Paul - December 10 2019 at 07:50

STILL LIFE - Still Life (1971)

miamiscot wrote: I think Psychedelic Paul has taken over PA. Great thread. Paul is a breath of fresh air around here: someone who doesn't claim to know every album by every band ever termed progressive. We should all listen with childlike ears... Keep up the good work, dude.

Edited by Psychedelic Paul - December 11 2019 at 14:54

DAVID GILMOUR - David Gilmour (1978)

Edited by Psychedelic Paul - December 13 2019 at 11:25

GNIDROLOG - Lady Lake (1972)

Edited by Psychedelic Paul - December 16 2019 at 16:56

Album Review #46:- ROGER GLOVER (born 1945) is of course best-known as the longstanding bass player with Deep Purple and Rainbow. In the second Deep Purple line-up during the early 1970's he appeared on four Deep Purple albums:- "In Rock" (1970), "Fireball" (1971), "Machine Head" (1972), & "Who De We Think We Are" (1973). He joined Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow in the late 1970's, appearing on four albums:- "Down to Earth" (1979), "Difficult to Cure" (1981), "Straight Between the Eyes" (1982), & "Bent Out of Shape" (1983). He rejoined his Deep Purple bandmates in the mid-1980's, returning for the 1984 album, "Perfect Strangers", and he's remained with the band ever since through the recording of ten albums, up to and including the most recent Deep Purple album, "Infinite" (2017). Roger Glover has also made numerous guest appearances on other musician's albums, as well as having a whole bucketload of production credits to his name. The album we have here, "The Butterfly Ball and the Grasshopper's Feast" (1974) is Glover's first solo album. He followed it up with "Elements" (1978) and "Mask" (1984). He teamed up with his Deep Purple bandmate Ian Gillan in 1988 to record the album "Accidentally on Purpose" and he's also recorded a couple of more recent albums, "Snapshot" (2002) and "If Life Was Easy" (2011) under the name Roger Glover & the Guilty Party. This album, "The Butterfly Ball" is a rock opera with all of the nineteen songs on the album written and produced by Roger Glover. It's a real ensemble effort though - with Glover acting as ringmaster - featuring a whole host of notable guest singers from the world of rock, including Tony Ashton, David Coverdale, Ronnie James Dio, Glenn Hughes & John Lawton amongst others. The music on this album is a real departure from the Hard Rock sound of Deep Purple that we've become so accustomed to hearing over the years from Roger Glover and his bandmates, so we could be in for a real surprise here. Let's have a listen now to "The Butterfly Ball" and see if it floats like a butterfly and stings like a bee.

"The Butterfly Ball" is really one long suite of music with all of the nineteen songs segueing into each other. As "Dawn" breaks on the album, we hear the sound of birdsong and the melodious sound of a synth, conjuring up images of a peaceful Sunday morning spent lazing in bed. This leads us nicely into the bright and lively "Get Ready", with the quirky sound of the synth giving the song a New Wave feel to it, before the term "New Wave" had even been invented. Remember, this is 1974 we're talking about here. The song is a real rocker at heart though, with Glenn Hughes of Deep Purple given a chance to really stretch his vocal chords. Next up is "Saffron Dormous and Lizzy Bee", a very silly song title with silly lyrics to match, but with a childishly charming appeal. Barry St. John & Helen Chappelle share vocal duties on this cheap and cheerful little number with its happy-go-lucky vibe. It's only a mere 90 seconds long and it sounds a little offbeat and off-the-wall, but being "Off The Wall" never did Michael Jackson's career any harm. The next song "Harlequin Hare" barrels along at a rapid hare's pace with the relatively unknown singer Neil Lancaster doing his best impression of David Essex. Burrowing onwards now with "Old Blind Mole", featuring John Goodison (who?) on vocals. It's a playful lyric sung in the nursery rhyme style of "Old King Cole". It's short and sweet at 70 seconds long, featuring the sound of a tabla drum, which somehow reminds one of Indian curries and poppadoms. Fluttering into view comes "Magician Moth", a mournful synthesiser piece, featuring the man himself, Roger Glover on keyboards, proving there are many more strings to his musical bow than "just" being a bass player in a Hard Rock band. Next up is "No Solution", a brassy and rollicking Jazz-Rock number which you could be forgiven for thinking it's titled "Don't Drink the Water", as that's the main recurring lyric of this romping stomping song. It features Micky Lee Soule on vocals, who, just in case you may not have heard of him before, was a member of Ronnie James Dio's band Elf, as well as being a founder member of Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow. You'll have no problem recognising the rich velvety tones of the singer on "Behind the Smile" though, because it's no less than David Coverdale, the acclaimed frontman with Deep Purple and Whitesnake. It's a quirky little song with an offbeat time signature, which is quite a departure from the Hard Rock songs we're more accustomed to hearing from Mr. Coverdale. We're in Countrified mode now for the bright and twangy Pop song "Fly Away". The virtually unknown singer on this song Lisa Strike sounds remarkably like Kiki Dee , which has to be a good thing. Next up is "Aranea", an imitation white Reggae number featuring Judy Kuhl on vocals. It's a happy-sounding song with the same kind of cheerful vibe to it as the cod Reggae song "Tropical Loveland" by ABBA. We reach the end of Side One now with Song No. 11: "Sitting in a Dream", featuring the barely-recognisable voice of Ronnie James Dio, no less. This beautiful ballad represents the high point of the album so far, with it's gorgeously-rich orchestration and with hard rocker Ronnie James Dio in romantic balladeer mode. Yes, really! This is an album FULL of surprises.

You may recognise the singer on the opening song on Side Two: "Waiting", because it's the sweet and soulful voice of Jimmy Helms. "Waiting" is a lovely Pop-Rock song with a heart full of soul which sounds as happy and carefree as a bright ray of sunshine breaking through the clouds. The lyrics are uplifting too:- "I'm waiting here for something good to come my way, And I've been waiting patiently all day, The sunshine begins to stretch upon the sky, I'm just waiting, Oh I'm waiting." ..... This bright sunshiney song is enough to brighten up anyone's day. Creeping along now comes "Sir Maximus Mouse", a song which is the complete antithesis of a timid mouse, because this is a powerful, hard rockin' mouse (and song) with attitude, featuring Eddie Hardin (of Hardin & York fame) on vocals. Next comes "Dreams of Bedivere", an instrumental number combining synthesiser and lush orchestration. Roger Glover does his best impersonation of Rick Wakeman on the keyboards before the orchestra takes over, concluding with a classical piece in the style of J.S. Bach. It's back for some more synthesiser virtuosity from Mr. Glover in the opening to "Together Again", before taking a completely different turn with the sound of a honky-tonk pub piano and with the Chas & Dave-style singer, Tony Ashton (of Ashton, Gardner & Lake), sounding like he's had a bit too much to drink. There's a complete change of pace again for the next song "Watch Out for the Bat", which brings to mind Ozzy Osbourne. It's a good old-fashioned lively rock & roll number (complete with orchestra) with John Gustafson giving it his all on vocals. It's time to feast your ears on the next piece of music because this is a beautiful solo piano piece titled "The Feast", which leads us into "Love is All". This is a real humdinger of a song, featuring Ronnie James Dio on vocals. It's a very commercially appealing and happy-sounding Pop song, so you won't be surprised to hear this uplifting Beatle-esque number was released as a single. It didn't make much of an impression in the U.K. charts, but it reached number one in The Netherlands, so I guess the Dutch know a good song when they hear one. The song also received a lot of airplay in America, often being featured in children's TV shows. It's "Homeward" now as we reach the end of our entertaining musical journey. Ronnie James Dio returns again for this beautifully-orchestrated romantic ballad. It also features a charming, sweet-voiced children's choir. This emotionally-rich and enchanting ballad closes out this marvellous album in fine style with an unrestrainedly joyous song of love.

"The Butterfly Ball" is a very musically diverse rock opera album where you never quite know what to expect next. The album is a veritable smorgasbord of music, featuring primarily Pop-Rock songs, but also including Hard-Rock songs and gentle ballads, with a sprinkling of Reggae and Classical music thrown into the mix too. If there's one thing this album definitely isn't though, it's not in the slightest bit proggy. If you're in the mood for some bright and cheerful Pop/Rock though, then look no further, because this is the album for you. You'll really have "A Butterfly Ball" with this sensational album. It's "Poptastic!"

Edited by Psychedelic Paul - December 17 2019 at 06:57