CLASSIC ROCK PRESENTS: PROGNOSIS 13

The first "Classic Rock presents Prog" magazing I bought had this little compilation cd in it. I remember looking at the back of the sleeve and reading the names of the bands then popping it in my cd player and skipping down to track number five.Yes the SOFT MACHINE tune, and I must say it was amazing. After the song ended I popped it back out and haven't played it since until this week in order to review it.

It starts with GREY WATERS' "Say Goodbye" and the first thing I noticed was how loud the sound was. And not in a good way either. Not a bad song though, quite heavy at times. "A Demon's Kiss" by Lalle Larson is a top three track for me. It's an uptempo instrumental that pushes all the right buttons for me.The guitar and keyboards take turns leading. Some great sounding piano before 5 minutes as well.

AGENTS OF MERCY's "The Duke Of Sadness" is next and instrumentally it comes off sounding like THE FLOWER KINGS quite often but I honestly can't get passed the vocals. Just not a fan. "Barahir's Son" by AINUR is interesting sounding with some crazy contrasts between the male and female vocals and the wild and pastoral sections. Not a fan of those male vocals at all.

SOFT MACHINE's "Fanfare / All White (Edit)" is by far my favourite. Just to see the names of the composers in Ratledge and Jenkins after the song title means a lot.The drumming, horns and electric piano kill. Okay the whole thing kills.

"Gilberto's Fantastic Safari" by BRAINKILLER is my other top three and i've never heard of this band. A real revelation with the punchy horns, keys and drums before it settles in. Great song. Matt Stevens' "Lake Man" sounds like they're using a drum machine with laid back guitar. I do like the mood here and it does pick up.

"Stars Of Sayulita" has horns and a beautiful soundscape really. Reserved vocals join in. Good song. TILES" "Sacred & Mundane" like the first song doesn't "sound" right.Too loud but it's more than that. Great band but i'm not into this song.

AEON ZEN's "The Demise Of The Fifth Son" on the other hand "sounds" incredible. Perfect really. This is by far the longest song at 12 1/2 minutes. Again like TILES I think this is a fantastic band but much prefer their debut.

A low 3 stars for this one.There are three maybe four tracks worth 4 stars out of the ten.

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