Greek Prog: From Alpha To Omega

I'm sure it'll be an absolute stunner! The chances of me not liking it are about as likely as Britain returning the Elgin Marbles to Greece. 

Or one of Sarah Palin's many word salads....

BLACK STRAT BAND     Kalimera Corfu! The beautiful sun-blessed isle at the northwest frontier of Greece is where these four talented guys hail from. Not much happens on the sleepy Greek island of Corfu, but Black Strat Band are the most exciting thing to happen there since the great naval battle of Arginusae during the ancient Peloponnesian War between the Greek city states of Athens and Sparta.  Back to the present day now, and If the name of the band and the striking silver "V" on the album cover conjures up visions of a twin-Strat axe attack of Greek fire and fury - something along the lines of Wishbone Ash's twin screaming diz-busters with their distinctive "V" shaped black Stratocasters - then you may be in for quite a pleasant surprise when you hear Black Strat Band for the first time, with maybe the greatest "Eureka" moment since Archimedes pulled the plug in his bath. This is heavy Blues-Rock that's as cool and laid-back as an ice-cold margarita with a slice of lemon on a sun-kissed Corfu beach whilst reclining in the shade of a beach umbrella. There's no shortage of down and dirty  heavy riffing though, so imagine Gary Moore on a Corfu beach with his custom gold Gibson guitar and you'll get the picture. Black Strat is a good solid album of Greek marble with no Achilles Heel, but the real twin highlights of this heavy duty blues-breaking album are the simply sublime "Girl with the Golden Hair" which reaches high up into the stratosphere with music as grand and majestic as the ancient Parthenon in Athens, followed by the anthemic, rabble-rousing grand finale: "Ships of Freedom" which, if you have a vivid enough imagination, brings to mind potent images of Greek galley slaves rising up and breaking free of their chains. They say that absence makes the heart grow fonder and that's certainly the case with the Black Strat Band when they came back with the equally strong "Absence" album two years later. Finally, what do they call a resident of Corfu? ..... A Corfiot. Not a lot of people know that, but you don't need the wisdom of Socrates to know that the Greeks are top dog when it comes to prog. 

CRYSTAL THOUGHTS     Tripping the light fantastic! Crystal Thoughts are the most exciting phenomena to occur in the spacetime continuum since cosmologist Carl Sagan first took us on a fantastic voyage of discovery across the Cosmos in his eponymous TV series and book. This incredible album is a cosmic journey of the mind though, only without the psilocybe effect of eating magic mushrooms, and yes, they are indeed toxic, so they're best avoided if you see them growing in your local magical forest. Crystal Thoughts are one of the most obscure and enigmatic outfits ever to emerge from the Greek archipelago, with psychedelic folk music as wide and expansive as one of Demis Roussos' colourful kaftans. Crystal Thoughts only recorded this one outstanding album, and then just as mysteriously disappeared forever and ever into the cosmic aether, elevating the album to instant classic status. Finding this ultra-rare album for sale in your local record store would be almost as amazing as finding the Ark of the Covenant on sale at your local antiques shop. This transcendental treat won't help you escape the surly bonds of Earth, but it may lift your spirits high enough to almost touch the face of the prog gods on Mount Olympus. "Toxic Phenomena in Kosmic Fields" takes us on a magic carpet ride back through time, back to those hazy lazy halcyon days of flowers and beads and butterflies in a psychedelic Garden of Eden, when being gay just meant being happy and carefree. This lovely album has all the glowing warmth of the Mediterranean, combined with the mystery and exoticism of the ancient casbah and with inscrutable song titles as colourful as a florilegium. It's not crystal clear what the final album track "Carovna Pistalka" refers to, but it appears to be a Greek children's fairy tale, and after listening to this beautifully mellow album of spaced-out meditative moods, then maybe you too will believe there are fairies at the bottom of the garden. Then again, maybe not. Either way, this spacey and hypnotic album is as chilled out as a dry vodka Martini, shaken not stirred. "Kosmic Fields" is a good solid album of Grecian alabaster marble and a real diamond gem of psych-folk - and you know what they say about diamonds and longevity.

DAEMONIA NYMPHE     Music and moussaka! Daemonia Nymphe (Latin for Demon Nymph) are an ethnic ensemble of players who sound as authentically Greek as an evening of fine dining and plate-smashing at a Greek restaurant. So what's on the menu tonight? This charming band of nymphs serve up appetizing morsels of dulcimers, pandouras, bouzoukis and Greek lyres, all wrapped together in a tasty pita bread of heavenly voices and tribal percussion instruments. This ethnic blend brings to mind delicate Incantations of Mike Oldfield's music, especially on his folklore-influenced fourth album. So if you're in the mood for a Bacchanalian feast of ethnic chanting, combined with the most authentic assemblage of Greek instruments you're ever likely to experience outside of Athens, then prepare for an enjoyable evening of caroling and carousing with the nymphs. They say that the devil has all the best tunes and Daemonia Nymphe are a devilishly fine band. They're the most exotic musical experience since neoclassical darkwave duo Dead Can Dance first twanged our heartstrings, so if you're a fan of Aussie duo Lisa Gerrard and Brendan Perry, then you're surely going to love the sound of Daemonia Nymphe. "Tyrvasia" offers up a veritable feast of charming Greek folk with some of the finest ethnic music of pure beauty you'll ever hear within the realm of a dying sun. And if you're in an adventurous spirit, then you may like to try a marathon-run of all six of Daemonia Nymphe's albums, where you'll find their latest offering "Psychostasia" is the Olympic gold medallist in terms of excellence with performances as polished as Greek marble.

ECHO TATTOO     An Alternative Rock band from Athens with echoes of Britpop. Echo Tattoo are no Blur or Oasis though. No, they're much better than that! 

YIORGOS FAKANAS      Yes, we have no Fakanas. There are three albums by Giorgos Fakanas listed on ProgArchives:- "Horizon" (1988), "Amorosa" (1991) & "Echoes" (2004), only the last of which is currently available on YouTube. In addition, there are four later Giorgos Fakanas albums, all of which can be found on YouTube, but none of which are listed here on PA, so inevitably "Echoes" is the only one of seven Fakanas albums currently available for review. Confused? Me too! "Echoes" takes us on a jaunty, jazzy journey around the ancient historic regions of Greece, namely:- Thrace; Epirus; Macedonia; Crete; Thessaly, Peloponnese; Sterea Ellada; Aegean; and the Dodecanese - which are presumably islands with twelve sides. There are many sides to Giorgos Fakanas too, with jazzy horns, sassy sax, vibrant vibraphones and delicate piano motifs in abundance, in combination with sweeping classical strings. Fakanas is best-known as a bass player (if he's known at all outside of his native Greece) but the bass playing is very understated here, so you won't hear any heavy storm and thunder bass riffing in the style of Chris Squire, meaning it's probably not going to awaken the passions of the slumbering Greek Prog Gods on Mount Olympus. After all, this is a jazz album - not a prog album. In conclusion then, if a profusion of Jazz Fusion puts you in a land of confusion, then "Echoes" may leave you in a state of disillusion, but on the other hand, if a jazzy infusion is good for your constitution, then this album may be the ideal solution - or is that just circumlocution?