CLASSIC ROCK PRESENTS: PROGNOSIS 4

Prognosis 4 came with the great new pricey prog magazine, that is both gaining respect and becoming maligned by the prog world, "Classic Rock Presents Prog". In Issue 4 the CD features some of the best prog talent around. The magazine itself features classic and newer prog but the CDs are more designed to expose new prog talent rather than providing a solid overall collection of the genre. Some of the CDs as a result are well below par and even feature non progressive artists which is rather disappointing. However in this case the CD is very well compiled. If you load it onto a computer it has a flashy menu where if you click on an artist you are instantly whisked into their website, and there are a few photos of the band. Let us visit each track.

Magenta is featured with the beautiful voice of Christina Booth singing 'Gluttony' from the very popular "Seven" album based on the 7 deadly sins. The first time I heard it I was reminded of Yes as the sound is similar, though the female vocals are a welcome touch. The 7 minute song is quite melodic with some interesting lyrics about the future and asks the question are we able to live on our own or do we rely on others.

25 Yard Screamer (With Ben Randall) are featured with 'Broken Machine' a rather plodding accessible track with low key vocals and downbeat lyrics. The music is atmospheric and there is a very melodic chorus with mild distortion on guitars. This one is a bit border line prog for me.

Ebony Tower are represented with the song 'White Rabbit' and begins with vioin, piano and guitar played very soft and melancholy. There is a folk edge to this for a while and then it launches in to a driving beat and riffing guitars. The vocals are high octave and metal like and I like the way the guitars compete with the slicing violin giving this a different feel to standard rock.

Abel Ganz is a guitar heavy group who shine on 'So Far (Edit)', ten minutes of their lengthy epic. Soft vocals in the verses are balanced with strong choruses and there is a very well executed lead break to savour. One of the highlights.

The Enid are here with 'Malacandra - The Silent Planet' a 7 minute edit of their long track. This feels a bit slow at times with Moody Blues style vocal harmonies but there is enough musicianship to grab attention when the band switch to instrumental mode. There is a huge symphonic ambience and a full orchestra adds to the majesty and bombastic approach. Certainly an intriguing track though you will need some patience to get through this a few times.

Arjen Lucassen's Guilt Machine is the next ambitious project from the Ayreon master and the track 'Perfection?' is similar to the type of trademark sound of Ayreon we have come to expect. At 10 minutes it flows along nicely, with thoughtful lyrics, gentle vocals and ambient textures in the very free form style musicianship. It builds after 4 minutes into a metal riffing prog feast complete with time signature changes and a big finale. Love to hear the rest of this album.

Sunchild's 'The Invisible Line (Part 1)' is a spacey mellotron-soaked piece of weirdness with very endearing keyboard motifs. The vocals are satisfactory but the real stars are the musicians, piano and Hammond and synthesiser sounds throughout; a terrific track whetting the appetite for more of these unusual proggers.

Secret Green are represented by 'Tom 'O' Bedlam' which reminds me of Mostly Autumn or some Celtic act, complete with female folky vocals and an off-beat time sig. Some of the lyrics are corny but the lead guitar is scorching on this. It certainly is easy to listen to with some interesting diversions in the music. At 3:35 is quietens down to a single soprano voice and a harp and chimes, which is rather beautiful. The track ebbs slowly along downstream with piccolo or flute and an orchestral accompaniment with huge washes of sound waves. The result is a symphonic epic feel that always works for me. It builds to a crescendo with a huge lead break and a final verse before the minimalism of an acoustic guitar is plucked medieval minstrel style.

The final track is the absolute fresh sound of Yak and the amusingly titled 'The Journey of Yak'; as silly as it sounds it is actually a serious progressive feast of talent. Interlaced within are some incredible proggy moments. It begins with piano and huge lead guitar in a wall of sound. It locks into a rather jagged staccato riff that sounds orchestral and the way the drums kick in is enough to gain my attention. The main drawcard is the Hammond blasts that are ELP like. These guys are great virtuoso musicians and they go into full flight on this instrumental. Once again it really sets the scene and you may end up with this album if you like this sample, I must admit I am interested to hear more.

Overall this CD so-called freebie is not to the standard of the first 3 issues but there is still enough here to make it worthwhile namely tracks 3, 4, 6, 7, 8 and 9, though there is nothing brilliant. As with all sampler CDs you get some bad with the good but I think this is a solid compilation of great music and if it makes you long for more or desire to get hold of the whole albums represented here, then mission complete.