Prog Britannia - Album Reviews

CREDO    A band whose music has variously been described as British Progressive Rock, Neo Prog, Symphonic Prog, Melodic Prog or Classic Rock. Credo really don't mind what you call them, as they've always lived by the Credo of creating great music together, and that's no empty Rhetoric. After all, to do anything else would be Against Reason. This is What They Do, and they do it Live in Poland too. 

DARWIN'S RADIO    Why not tune in and turn on to the sound of Darwin's Radio and hear Darwin's theory of prog evolution for yourself? The Eyes of the World are upon this dynamic Neo Prog band as they may be a Template for a Generation of new prog fans. Some hope! 

EARTHSTONE    The musical Seed of an idea between guitarist Chris Philips and keyboard player Chris Bond, where they endeavoured to create the musical equivalent of a clear starry night spent in woodland, surrounded by crystals, and sitting amongst the fairies, elves and unicorns. That would be a night out with Jon Anderson then. 

EDEN SHADOW    Britain's got talent! Forget the TV show. Neo Prog is where the real talent lies. Eden Shadow's founder member Ryan Elliott began composing the music for the band's first EP while he was still in short trousers at school. Well, it beats doing homework. 

ELEGANT SIMPLICITY    Excellent musicianship from one-man-band Steven McCabe, although the weak wishy-washy vocals leave something to be desired. Still, having a weak singing voice never did any harm to the solo careers of Pete Sinfield, Steve Howe or Robert Wyatt - and I say that with just The Ghost of a Smile. 

EPILOGUE    The ideal band for listening to at the end of a busy day. Neo Prog foursome Epilogue are from Stoke on Trent, which is coincidentally the same Potteries town that Robbie Williams hails from, but before you make a mockery of their crockery, Epilogue are worlds away from the forgettable mindless pap that Norman Wisdom lookalike Robbie Williams churns out with such regularity. 

  1994: Epilogue - Hide

THE FAR MEADOW    A London-based five-piece-band with music in the classic Symphonic Prog style, Where Joys Abound for prog fans. Given the Impossible and the addition of a female singer for their second album, this band could go far - maybe into The Far Meadow in a distant Foreign Land. 

FINAL CONFLICT    It's time to Redress the Balance with Final Conflict - a band from the second wave of Neo Prog who blow many of the established Neo Prog bands out of the water. In the continuing Quest to discover new prog, Final Conflict are a band whose albums all Stand Up to close scrutiny, and with the benefit of Hindsight and two outstanding singers, this amazing band sound even better than Marillion. There, I've said it! It's that pure and Simple. In Another Moment in Time, thirty years ago, the music of Final Conflict and Neo Prog in general completely passed me by, but I'm making up for lost time now and really loving this band. I hope you will too. 

SALLY FRENCH    Not the name of a band, but a rare female solo artist in the Neo Prog sphere. She's been compared with Kate Bush, Maire Brennan (of Clannad) and Annie Haslam, amongst others, but Sally French sounds more like Sally Oldfield to my ears. Either way, she sallied forth with her debut album "The Other Side" on an independent Dutch label in 1994, although sadly, the album isn't currently available on YouTube. You can still hear the other side of Sally here though on her folky compilation album "Destiny", which sounds rather splendid upon first hearing, although nothing like Kate Bush. 

THE FYREWORKS     Remember, remember, the fifth of November. Founder member Danny Chang certainly does, where every night is Bonfire Night for this fiery Neo Prog band, so light the blue touch paper and stand well back because this band are a real blast! The Fyreworks also feature colourful Welsh keyboard player Rob Reed in one of his many side-projects, when he's not working with Magenta or Cyan. The incandescent flame of The Fyreworks has long since been extinguished, but they're still burning brightly over 25 years later at ProgArchives.