My New Blog

Holy Moly Man !

What an excellent and topical interpretation of a classic Gabriel tune.

My eyes were watering.

Steve, Sundays aren't supposed to be so emotional.

Nice addition to your site.

With regard to Winter In Eden:

Steve, if you're interested in getting the word out, it looks like IQ are headlining the Saturday night of Stourport's Fusion next March...

yes, I remember you saying about your caring duties, but I thought you may have some proggy friends in South Wales. Notwithstanding, it's great if you can get away for the occasional weekend; we all need/ deserve a break. 

I love Ghost Toast, so went straight to your site to read the review, and found quite a surprise waiting for me! 😱

It is definitely worth seeking out at the very least, the album prior, as the two are designed to be part of one theme.

Because I think it is an album that is very in tune with the times, it is one that I think a lot of people might enjoy, so please excuse me while I link to Steve’s review, and the Bandcamp page:

(And for anyone who might care, my own reviews for the diptych.

https://theprogressiveaspect.net/blog/2020/04/06/ghost-toast-shape-without-form/ )

I get where you are coming from Steve but on the other side of the coin, is it fair to expect to expect bands of considerable longevity to constantly moving forward, reinventing themselves and saying something new with each album? As an example, many have derided Dream Theater for trotting out only a slight variation on a well worn formula, until the released the Astonishing... which frankly wasn't. Ultimately, these bands have essentially the same personnel and they know what works for them and their fan base and a change of direction can come at a reputational risk. I remember seeing SB on their first mini UK tour supporting Day For Night and they really were revelatory, but after 13 studios, they aren't going to deviate from their sound.

Maybe Ghost Toast do win hands down (you can raise a glass to this weeks toast!) but after 10 studio albums, will they still be taking you somewhere else??  

What I find interesting is Genesis were lauded for evolving their sound (even if it was eventually in a direction disapproved of by most prog fans) rather than treading water, but were they right to keep the name? I'm just asking an open question here because if a band evolves too much, are they still the same band or become a different entity? The band which released Trespass was quite different artistically from the one which released Abacab. Which begs the question, should Yes have changed their name to Cinema when they released 90125?

To come back to PSA then, I'm guessing it became a side project for a number of SB band members, because the sound was sufficiently removed from the material on Noise Floor, so they came up with a new name. But, what if they had released a couple of albums under the name of Spock's which showed a clear evolution toward the sound of PSA... would you have praised them then for moving forward and not just staying content with churning out similar albums?

Just something for you to ponder.. 

Back on topic, I think at heart every musician, certainly within the field of progressive rock, wants to develop and experiment with different sounds and styles, rather than rehashing the same thing for a decade; most barely get paid enough to make a living out of the music they make these days, so they want to fulfil themselves through artistic expression, The question is how to do so? Some will wish to work with a wide variety of musicians, but others have a closer circle of friends with which to do so.

This is where we can judge them by double standards, where we might criticise artists who may stay part of the main band which remains essentially consistent to it's core fans and avoids pushing the envelope. In this case, whilst setting up side projects to fulfil this need. On the other hand we applaud others who try to push their main vehicle through an evolution of styles and experimentation?

Again, just a thought...