I have a signature from Progfreak, a site I contribute to regularly, and the usual signature is my album playlist, which is fine. You will see it below, and note I listened to the wonderful STCBM by Marillion.

Except, that playlist does not really tell the true extent of my music listening. It only tells the whole albums I listen to.

There are sometimes huge gaps in this. This is because I do not, as with many others, always listen to entire albums. Fairly often, for example when I am relatively merry/pissed (delete as appropriate) on a Saturday night, at lunch time at work, or just plain in the mood, as with tonight, I like to have a mixed playlist of individual tracks.

Basically, I rip every cd I purchase (I am old fashioned, and like to have a physical copy of my music. Like Dean, I don't trust sites on the net enough to think they will be there forever) to my laptop, and this gets uploaded to the cloud thingy I pay for with PC World, and listen via an app on IPad. Isn't technology wonderful?

So, why this blog? Are there a pile of people out there who really care what Mr Laz listens to on a balmy Tuesday (or any other) evening? Not at all. Indeed, I suspect that only the wife and dog would be even fleetingly interested (my son's attention span for Dad's music rules him out).

No, this is for my rather sad completionist tendencies. I have the PF log for whole albums. This blog is for the gaps.

It is also, though, for the thoughts sometimes of why and what, of random things, and of where I am. You see, I am a frustrated novelist, and this site is really the only place I can vent my inner thoughts, hopes, fears, and opinions without prejudice.

I am happy tonight. The tracks I listen to tend to mirror my mood, although this is not always the case. I spoke to my eldest friend, Dave, to catch up (we do not do this often enough), and to remember especially Jim, our old friend, who died too young at 49 last week. RIP. But, it was, overall, a happy conversation. I do not have many close friends, but I am blessed with the ones I have.

So, tonight's playlist:

Blue Room. David Minasian. This from one of my favourite symph albums.

The Wanting Comes In Waves. Decemberists. American rock at its best.

Arc of the Curve. Fish. Who doesn't enjoy a bit of Dick?

Wish You Were Here. Fleetwood Mac. No, not the Floyd classic, but the achingly beautiful Christine McVie track. I love this woman's music. The vinyl record Fleetwood Mac Live has a set of photo's of the band after a night's work. I fell in love with McVie when I first got this. Her look of pure exhaustion and longing is worth the price of the album alone, and I thought her commercial sensibilities a perfect foil to Buckingham's more adventurous compositions.

Are Friends Electric? Gary Numan. One of the most influential, and best, singles of all time. I fell in love with this on release.

No Return. Harvest. Fantastic modern female fronted pop prog.

Lasts, or Eschaton. Charlotte Church. This set of EP's, and this track in particular, were THE revelation of 2013 to me. I will get around to proposing this for PA addition when I can, because it is psych prog pop at its finest. 

The Road of Bones. IQ. They excel and delight. Again.

Constellations. IQ. From the special edition of the new album. This is one of the finest tracks this lot have ever recorded. Staggeringly good.

Thanks David.

Replicas is a great old LP. Most of my listening is prog, but the occasional pop, folk, or metal does creep in!

I am now out of the air cast, and hobbling about in walking boots, without crutches now, so there is palpable progress. I am doing hydro and physio twice weekly in order to strengthen the foot and leg muscles.

Never heard of IAMAMIWHOAMI until your post, to be honest, but anything with a hint of Siouxsie is welcome. Thanks David, I will check them out over the weekend and report back.

I have never blogged before, anywhere. I look at a couple of political and musical blogs for entertainment or debate/infuriation, but have not really been tempted myself until now. 

Mmmmm. This could be the start of something

Today, I worked from home, and did too much, really. I only returned to work three weeks ago following my operation, and today was by far the hardest day. For those new to my rumblings on the site, I am a tax inspector. I am charged with tackling high level tax evasion.

Today, I thought I had finished after about eight hours work commencing at 7.30. I thought I was going to close a case for not a lot, when I suddenly had one of those Eureka moments, and realised just why the financial accounts I was looking at were wrong. Only trouble is you have to prove it...... Cue another couple of hours analysis. I overdid it, really, but there we go.

Anyway, to today's music. A good playlist, even if I say so myself.

Hope Street. Levellers. There is a story behind this. This week, the PCS Union is holding its annual conference in Brighton. Until three years ago, I was a rather prominent activist, until I opted for a quiet life, and then got a promotion (oh, the irony!). I still keep in touch, and Brighton's finest struck me as a good opener this evening whilst the wife opted for TV.

Start The Sound. Panic Room. A gorgeous track from the latest, Incarnate. The orchestration and Anne Marie's voice are to die for on this.

That's Not My Name. Ting Tings. Enjoyable electro pop. The wife and I enjoyed the debut album (still the only one, I think), and I dip in every now and again.

Asylum. Supertramp. Rick Davies' finest moment, a tremendous story of a descent into madness. Sometimes, I feel........... Don't arrange to have me sent to no asylum....l'm just the same as anyone else...... It's just I write for PA...

The Pass. Rush. Their finest later era track, a story of suicide, but one which, perhaps surprisingly, has me feeling somewhat upbeat after listening. It must be me, because this is raw emotion brought to musical production.

Makin' Love. Rainbow. A slow burning blues track from a mighty fine album, Bonnet's only one with Blackmore. A shame, because it was superb.

Well, in the words of the mighty Tweety Pie, be bur be de bur........that's all folks!

Cheers Iain

Sailing was a single, and was BBC Radio Two single of the week a couple of months back, from memory.

I do not, though, think it unduly troubled the hit parades

Well, this blog is, after only a couple of days, becoming rather like a comfortable pair of slippers. It seems like it has been here (on my feet) for ever. I was considering starting one of those Blogspot thingies, and open my innermost thoughts up to the entire Blogosphere. But then I thought, am I really ready for fame? The adulation of all those spotty, angsty, kids hanging on my every word for some form of inspiration to bring meaning to an otherwise pretty pointless life? 

Nope. Not for me. Methinks the relative obscurity of some wonderful friends on the world's best prog site is more than enough!

I might leave you all, though, if this blog does hit paydirt. Just how mercenary are we all, in our deepest selves, eh?

Talking of which, I saw a report in the paper that Led Zep, or Page specifically, ripped off Spirit's riff for Stairway, and the bloke who wrote and played said riff has engaged Messrs Sue, Grabbit, and Runne. The fact he has been lying dead in an American grave for years does not seem to have put him off much. Must have been all that Californian sunshine! There is, of course, a passing resemblance if you listen carefully enough, but, then again, Hemingway stole all of my best lines, the b*****d. One of these days, I will call for my dues, promise!

Anyhow, this evening's little musical interlude following a morning of hydrotherapy and a bit of work this afternoon:

This Green and Pleasant Land. Pendragon. I am really looking forward to the new album this year. This was the highlight from the magnificent Passion (although piles of people posting on PE seemed to think it was a gem from Pure?!), and has been played for no other reason than I voted in the EU elections today. I am, as a civil servant, supposed to be neutral. Well, fine. In an entirely neutral fashion, I loathe all of the main parties (cheeks of the same dirty arse), ragbag Trots, and Nationalists who, incredibly, claim to loathe centralised UK rule, but commit themselves to Brussels (Leanne, please realise the ridiculous nature of this stance). Doesn't really leave one with a great deal of choice, does it?

A Scarcity of Miracles. King Crimson ProjeKCt. Mmmmmm......jazzy, man.

The Quiet Room and How You Gonna See Me Now. Alice Cooper. Strangely, I seem to be rather into songs about madness at the moment.....any quacks out there to help?

Judas Unrepentant. Big Big Train. Probably the single track highlight of 2012. I still cry almost every time I hear Longdon singing Victorian Brickwork (see my review of The Underfall Yard). This, in contrast, is just stunning prog rock, and such an uplifting track.

Memory. Nick Magnus. From the new album, N'Monix, another mighty fine work. Review to follow next week, but, suffice to say, he has found another beautiful female voice to shine as a guest artist on a single track.

Bully. Judie Tzuke. One of the most intense songs ever written, by a beautiful and extremely talented artist. I just love the way this track builds up to an emotional climax.

Well, that is all. Thank you, again, for reading my ramblings.

No blog tomorrow, because it is going out to town drinkie night.

Ah......Friday........beer.........taxi..........

 

Yes indeed Steve. Finding some interesting stuff in this 'ere blog of yours. Keep up the good work, my friend!

 

You might be interested to watch the lady in question actually recording her input for this track:

 

 

More of Nick's YouTube uploads here: http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfi5RrlFmvzwVfkBQIY-VnA" rel="nofollow - http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfi5RrlFmvzwVfkBQIY-VnA .

I have Replicas and The Pleasure Principle, both of which are excellent. How about persuading me to buy Living Ornaments with a short review?

Saturday night, which very nicely follows on from Saturday morning.

It has been a nice day, although not weather wise. We have had three days of extremely wet West Wales weather now. I live in a gorgeous part of the world, but, by God, it gets wet here. Therefore, the outdoor work plans came to naught.

Following a normal sort of day shopping and a couple of pints at The Prince of Wales pub, I did some ironing, which is my main domestic chore (a hangover from the short time I spent in the RAF), and listened to two of my five star reviews this year:

IQ, Road of Bones, which gets better each time I listen. The contrast in emotions in what is, at the end of the day, an extremely dark subject matter, is stunning. It gets better each listen.

Steven Wilson. The Raven That Refused To Sing....a work of utter genius. I know, for a fact, this album, when I am still listening to it in 2044 (I will be 80!), it will be on the same terms as when I listen to Nursery Cryme now in 2014, 33 years after the initial release.........I hear something new each time it is played, a frisson of emotion every time it gets spun. Surely this is the definition of musical emotion and pleasure?

I might do a re-review of the five star albums I have reviewed here. The mark of genius, surely, is whether you still feel the same after a period of not listening to it. Does it still stand out? Is it still head and shoulders above all others? This, I think, will be a project for the near future.

End of the night? Watching Man of Steel with my son. Happy days!

Sunday was, traditionally, a rather lazy day in Lazland. You know, the only lie in of the week, closeness with your loved one, a trip up to the in law's for a sumptuous Sunday lunch, a lazy afternoon, and prog in one's ear holes whilst the wife watched a Simon Cowell programme, all washed down with a couple of pints of finest ale.

Some of the above still happens, but with a bit of a twist since we started multi generational living a couple of years ago. My father in law has Dementia with Lewes Bodies, which is rather more akin to Parkinson's Disease than Alzheimer's, although he was, initially, misdiagnosed with the latter, and was placed in a local nursing home. We, or rather my lovely and dogged wife, alerted the doctors to the misdiagnosis, and he was put on medication appropriate to his condition, and the improvement was immediately palpable. 

He was shockingly unhappy at the home, as he was in a unit with a whole load of people who literally did not know what time of day it was, let alone what day it was. A tragic condition.......Lewes Bodies is different. There is a whole load of conscious lucidity amongst the hallucinations and similar episodes.

So, we all brought a rather lovely big house together (our old house was being refurbished after a fire, and is now let out), and brought him "home".

The past fourteen months have been interesting. He is a lovely, gentle man, hardworking in his day, and demanding of respect. His condition, though, is getting much worse, both physically and mentally. He is, and I say this with the utmost respect and humility, very hard work now. I sat with him this afternoon whilst the mother in law had a lie down (she had a terrible night with him last night, but did not call us and allow us to help her - they live in the apartment downstairs, and we have the upstairs main home), and, without going into the gory details, have to physically help and enable basic toiletry functions. I do not mind. It is a pleasure to help, but we want to put in place more assistance such as respite care, and this is being resisted by his wife, who wants to continue doing the bulk of the care, this at the expense of her own worsening health.

The above is a synopsis of the issues affecting us as a family at present. A very difficult situation. Sometimes doing the "right thing" seems to be no such thing, or at least does not help in the longer term.........

I would appreciate the comments of those of you who have similar issues, or know of similar situations. A problem shared, and all?..........

Anyhow, to tonight's musical delight, and what a delight it is. Our friend's over at Progstreamingclassic.com have placed, for our utter delight and musical orgasmic pleasure, Marillion's Somewhere In London, presently remixed and re released by Madfish as both the original DVD and, now, a cd as well. It was a live show in London in 2007 recorded during the Somewhere Else tour. Listening to this as I write reminds me just how much good and emotional material is present on that album (Hogarth was, at the time, going through a divorce, and it shows). 

I never got this at the time of release, simply because, financially, I could not really justify it. It wasn't as if I didn't already have a shed full of live material from the band.

This, though, is a rather special release. My son has kindly "agreed", via the good offices of my stunningly beautiful wife, to get me this for Father's Day. I am indeed blessed.

Progstreaming is a site we, as PA members, should try to support as much as we are able. The opportunity to listen and rate before we buy is important, I know, for many, and the site always has the cream of the best releases, and you will find a gem amongst these from an artist you simply have never heard of. Go on. Go over. On the main site, they presently have the stunning Edison's Children new cd, something I regard as being utterly essential and brilliant. There is also the new Ian Anderson, which I have not gotten around to getting yet, so I will give this a spin later, or tomorrow. On the classic site, not only do we have this fantastic live  Marillion, but also the incredible Edison's Children debut album, In The Last Waking Moments, an album I put in my top five of all time, this in nigh on 40 years of listening.

As I close this rather long blog entry for tonight (my apologies), Fantastic Place is bursting in my ears. A song and story of love, longing, and fearful hope. It is something like where I am this showery evening.

Keep up the good listening.

Thanks David.

I am glad he is getting the help he needs, and peace has descended upon the Guldbamsen household!

Your grandmother sounds just like my mother in law in terms of the loving obstinacy that elderly spouses have - see my response to Jim's post.

Cheers, Mr Elf. The hits will keep on a'comin!

Thanks Jim. As ever, a lovely response.

You are absolutely right about the bad cop point. In face, one of the reasons the situation was so much on my mind last night when I blogged was the fact I took the first tentative steps towards that role......and got an earful in response! I will, though, keep trying, because he is now moving on from the carer's coming in twice a day, and the rest of us (primarily his loving, very stubborn wife) managing the rest. We need to get him better and more professional care. How we do it, I am not sure yet, but we will manage. We are a strong family.

As regards Wales, My mother is English, and my father is of Maltese extraction (my grandfather married my Maltese grandmother before WWII). I moved to Wales in 1999 as a result of an internal promotion in the UK Inland Revenue.

I met my wife here, and my son is being brought up as Welsh. I absolutely adore it, and there are parts of this country which are stunningly beautiful, and the contrasts are vast as well. The Rain Song sequences put me in mind of Snowdonia in North Wales, which is where, of course, Led Zep III was written. The large, undeveloped, parts of Mid Wales hills are gorgeousand can get wild, whilst I live in a part of West Wales called the Gwendraeth Valley. My house overlooks said valley, and the views bring a strange kind of peace whilst walking the dog in the morning. Further to the west, we have the coastal counties of Pembrokeshire and Ceredigion, which have some of the finest walks in the world, whilst to the east are the old mining valleys of South and South East Wales, which have their own kind of rough hewn beauty.

Thanks Nicholas. The Numan extravaganza is now on the "to buy" list, which gets bigger each and every day!

I get your point about Neverland and your grandmother very much. What a lovely thought, and I know that Hogarth has said many times that that track, in particular, has resonated on a very personal level with so many fans.

We will pull through I know.

In Blighty, it is a Bank Holiday, this one celebrating Whitsun, although I fear that half of our Godless population would not really realise this, nor what it means! (it is our name for Pentecost for those of you elsewhere).

Being a Bank Holiday, and a remarkably dry one here in God's Own Country  (copyright Cymru Am Byth), there was only one thing to do really, and that was a good eight hours in the garden, catching up on all the jobs that had been left by the recent downpours. As I remarked yesterday,  we have caring responsibilities in the house, and doing the physical work around the home is (rightly) one of my major tasks. It helps that I have rather taken to it, I suppose.

I must, btw, thank those of you who were kind enough to respond to last night's blog. It means a great deal, believe me.

Today was a major workout for my post operative foot, and it has held up incredibly well. Methinks a round of golf (I have not played for over a year now) could be getting closer!!

The wife is watching a load of Simon Cowell cobblers on the goggle box, and there is no Game Of Thrones tonight (American holiday as well), so I chose a varied and eclectic playlist to relax to:

The Hanging Tree. Arena. A fantastic track from the excellent The Visitor. Full of bombast and feeling. I remain in hope that this great outfit can get back to making classic stuff like this again.

How Many Friends. The Who. From By Numbers, a rather less well known album from the classic Brit Mod rockers. It is nowhere near their best, but I do like Daltrey's vocals on this, ranging from the fragile to angry, as he blasts out one of Townsend's particular neuroses at this time (there were plenty of these).

Force Majeure. Tangerine Dream. Surprisingly, I suppose, for one my age, this is a band I was introduced to via PA. Of course, I knew of them, but had never delved. As a result of a thread I started quite a while ago, I took the bull by the horns, and purchased the colossal The Virgin Years, and this is a highlight. Electronic rock at its most inventive and moving. A superior force, indeed.

Cover My Eyes. Marillion. Because it's fun, and I feel like it tonight. Gloriously commercial prog pop.

One Brown Mouse (live). Jethro Tull. From the Nobs live effort, I put this on the playlist because I had a rustic rush following my horticultural efforts earlier. I adore this phase of Tull. I did, btw, listen to Homo Erraticus on Progstreaming last night. The jury is out. A few more listens are required, I feel.

Underground. Lindsey Buckingham. A work of genius from a musical genius with few to compare. Gift of Screws, from which this gem is taken, is, I think, his best solo effort, and the combination of powerful, yet mournful, guitar with a yearning vocal makes this one of his finest compositions in an illustrious career. One of the best pieces of music I have the pleasure of owning.

Sailing. Mike Oldfield. From the new album, a toe tapping joy of a single. Sometimes, all you want is a good time, eh?

Harvest of Souls. IQ. Timely, with the new album a joy to listen to. This, though, remains my favourite IQ song in a great career. Yes, of course, there are allusions to Suppers Ready, but it stands on its own two feet, and as an allegory to the "Great Satan", it is simply incredible. Holmes or Orford have never played better, and Nicholls excels. What a band.

The Brazilian. Genesis. A magnificent, and, yes, proggy, instrumental from Mr Banks. A great way to close a rather enjoyable album.

Beyond The Desert. Harvest. The gorgeous Monique leads the gorgeous Harvest. A stunning track from their remarkably mature debut, Underground Community. I really do recommend this band to anyone who enjoys melodic, female fronted, prog with the lighter touch.

That is all for tonight. Work tomorrow.

Thank you to all who take the time to read and comment on this little blog.

That's a great article, and she seems to genuinely appreciate the music and history. Led Zep III is my favourite Zep album, in much the same way that Tull's folky phase is my favourite from them.

There are, of course, a number of these isolated cottages dotted around North, Mid, and West Wales where you can become virtually completely isolated from the mainstream of society. It suits a certain kind of hardy folks. Whilst I love countryside living, I'm not sure I could be that away from it all.

I just love listening to new music, so here is my take on Vast.

I have played three tracks. 

The Last One Alive left me a little bit cold. A Better Place is an expansive, extremely superior piece of modern rock, which I adored. Free I just found great fun, especially with the 50's b movies homage video.

A must view for me, if only for the expected Who tracks and Quadrophenia clips that surely must form a part of any such documentary

As for the social commentary, I hope they come to the inevitable, and correct, conclusion that it was just a bunch of kids knocking ten barrels of sh*t out of each other, without any regard to a legacy or social psychiatric issues whatsoever. They were kids being kids, end of. Anyhow, we will see.

To prepare, I am listening to one of my great finds of this year, the gorgeous Over by Frequency Drift. A fantastic album to chill too after an intense day's work and physio session, accompanied by a rather lovely Argentinian red wine

I am in a remarkably relaxed and happy mood tonight, which is perhaps a lot to do with seeing my son perform on stage with members of Carmarthen Mini Players at a show held to mark the Commonwealth Games Baton procession in the town. He, and all the kids, did us proud

In last night's blog, I said I was going to watch a BBC documentary about Mods and Rockers. Well, actually, my paper had its tv listings wrong, and the show was on Monday, so I downloaded it last nights to the iPad, and have just finished viewing.

It was BBC social history at its best. It was fascinating seeing a bunch of 60 and 70 odd year old's reminiscing about their yoof experiences.

Theirs were the first generation to break free from the shackles of being like their mums and dads. An interesting point was made that the end of National Service was a huge catalyst behind this freedom. Also, the fact that we had virtual full employment in those days.

The rockers liked to ride quick. The mods slow and look smart. Of course, there was not really a great deal of difference in them as kids, excepting the fascinating study of the mods who originally loved American r&b, and had enough money to spend on looking smart, dressing to thrill, pulling birds, and taking (then legal) drugs to stay up all night dancing and ganging around the "scene". The rockers hung out at thier venues, typically open roads and special cafés.

The most interesting aspect, though, was when they moved onto the beach fights of 1964, as immortalised by Quadrophenia. This was the year I was born. By this time, bands like The Small Faces and The 'Oo had burst onto the scene, fuelled by a massive commercialisation of the scene, so much so that the said fights were as much a product of media manipulation and far removed from the individuality of the original "tribes". As they grew up, the original members of the gangs became disillusioned, and the first inklings of modern youth culture, fuelled by mass media, manifested itself.

The Who were not original Mods. They were, rather, a product of the commercialisation of the later scene. Before tonight, I never really knew that. 

I really enjoyed the show. If you live in the UK, go into the iplayer, and take a look.

After such a show, there is only one LP to put on, really. What? You think Quadrophenia? Nah, that would be too predictable. I shoved Tommy on, instead! You know, when they were "original" psychedelic rockers!

Short little blog tonight. Wifey, son and I have been out to a quiz night to raise money for the drama group he belongs to, a fantastic hobby for him very well run by a really nice local teaching assistant, who is a talented amateur actor in his own right, and his wife. Last year, we won the quiz, but tonight only third. We had fun, though.

Home, and said wifey has insisted upon watching bloody Britain's Got Talent, so earphones on for me, and firstly Nick Magnus' N'Monix, which I will definitely review  over the weekend. To finish before bed, the finest Porcupine Tree album, IMHO, Deadwing. The highlight for me is the exceptionally beautiful Lazarus, but, in truth, there is barely a weak moment on it. 

No blog tomorrow, as it is the Laz Friday night out.

I told you so!!! Great blog my friend......will keep stopping by. Can you put out some fresh chips and dip?? The last serving was a bit...stale!

Absolutely. One has to keep up standards, one knows!

Jim. That Quadrophenia review of yours (I remember sending you a PM at the time) is the best and most knowing on the site. The irony is that Townsend always said upon returning to tour in the UK from the US that it was nice to come back to where people could understand him

Scenes are always best at the start. Once the media latch on, and make it into a mass popular thing, the magic goes. Mods, rockers, hippies, prog, punk, indie. The list is potentially endless.

I will investigate a book for you re the scene and get back to you.

That Lazarus video is my absolute favourite, and my wife's as well, evocative, emotional, and in keeping with the lyrics perfectly. Just love it

A good day today. I spent a fair bit of money on the boy, who needed a new hard drive for his X Box, and a new game as well.

On PA, a groupie who goes by the name of Matthew Gill started a thread entitled Cheeky Genesis. As the first to respond to it, I stated I didn't have a clue what he was on about.

Well, it transpires that Phil and the boys, in addition to being responsible for the death of prog as we know it (copyright 1976 et seq all knowing proggers) are, apparently, secret perverts as well. Yep. ATOTT is full of secret sexual messages. A Fist Full Of w**kdom. Those beautiful lyrics, full of humanity, are, it seems, merely the deepest fantasies of perversion. And you thought it was just Rolf on trial, eh?

My friends, over the years I have been guilty of many things. It was not, in my younger days, unknown to have a quiet toss over the image of a gorgeous woman. Or, indeed, women. I am, though, innocent, of one thing. I have never tossed over a copy of Trick Of The Tail. Honest........

Anyhow. As I write this, I am watching boxing with my father in law. I purchased the Froch v Groves rematch on Sky PPV, as we had watched the first fight. John was a very good amateur fighter in his day, and still loves the sport, and we are both looking forward to the main bout.

Earlier, the music was entirely non prog. Deep Purple Burn and In Rock (I know they are on the site. But prog?? Nope) whilst working outside this afternoon.

Then, before dinner doing some ironing, I put The Tansads live LP, Drag Down The Moon, on. The Tansads formed in 1990 and came from Wigan. If you think The Levellers, or Chumbawumba, you would be close. Punk folk, with an attitude, they came near to success, but never really made it. The heart of the band were the Kettle brothers, and the gorgeous Janet Anderson. I am not sure how to post a You Tube link, but if you put Tansads in the search tab, you will see them. I saw them live three times, including the 20th anniversary reunion gigs that are definitely on YT. A great band, whose attitude was forged by the Thatcherite destruction of the industry of the North West where they lived. Two fingers up to a sh*te society, and never mind the bollocks. True working class punk, not the plastic cobblers of McLaren and co. For those of you going to see Pendragon at The Citadel in St Helens, that was this great band's spiritual home.

After that, a compilation of Housemartins and Beautiful South tracks. I love Paul Heaton's voice, and this was another band who started off rooted in Northern England working class music and culture. The first two albums had a real edge to them, although this diminished as they became more popular.

I was, tonight, thinking of my Best Man, Nashy, who died of prostate cancer a few months ago. We saw Heaton and co, and The Tansads, a few times. His favourite track of all time, though, was Starless by King Crimson, which is also rather topical with Dylan's 100th birthday. We spent many a happy night blasting out great music, prog and non prog. It would always, though, end with the greatest Mellotron Moment of all time shaking the speakers. 

God rest and bless, Chris. Too soon. A glass us being raised now. You old sod Always happy, his memory demands happiness, not maudlin. Methinks more wine is, then, required

Froch put Groves on his bum in the eighth, and thoroughly deserved his win. Good fight, and a very good and worthy champion.

All off to bed, and all happy

Today, I listened to the new Mostly Autumn cd, Dressed In Voices, on the Amazon Cloud player during my lunch hour, having pre-ordered it on the self same site.

Yes, I know I should probably have ordered it from the band directly on their website, but it is better than those old illegal downloads, isn't it? At least the band get their royalties. Yes, I know that Amazon are a bunch of tax avoiders. Actually, I do know a little bit about this, given my work. Amazon, whilst acting in a morally questionable way, to say the least, are not doing anything illegal whatsoever. It is their right to base themselves in Luxembourg, and if governments around the world do not have the guts or gumption to start charging corporate tax to income earned in a particular country at the point of sale, rather than allowing these complex residency and transfer pricing rules as they do now, what is a cozy large corporation to do, eh?

Actually, I am not supposed to comment on such things, really, so let us all forget what I wrote above, and state for the record that The Infernal Revenue are right in all things they do, Amazon are fantastic, so are the government, and we can all carry on with this hypocrisy.....sorry......corporate friendly tax regime without any semblance of shame whatsoever.

Yes, dear friends, I do, indeed, get a tug of moral regret whenever I click on that old Amazon button to buy something. I spent over £200 on there this weekend. If there were a UK built alternative, as efficient, as cheap, and with a marvellous, super cloud thingy which allows me to listen to a new purchase before the cd even arrives in my letter box, then I would use said service. However, there isn't, so I can't.

Also, I learnt, some time ago as a fairly politically active creature, that pointless protests are just that.....pointless. Is the entire UK population going to boycott Amazon because of their tax arrangements? No, only a very small proportion, certainly not enough to make a difference. Why? Well, half of the people probably do not even know of those arrangements, and, if they did, most would blame the government, which wouldn't be that far off the mark, really. Also, more to the point, Amazon gives us what we want. A huge range of shopping, easily accessible, delivered quickly and cheaply, and, as with today, the chance to listen to something before I actually have it. If only they had decent competition, eh?

The album itself, on first listen, might just be the finest released by this great band. Very dark, certainly in the subject matter, it hopefully might herald a springboard for greater commercial success. It would certainly be deserved. I did speak to Bryan Josh at a gig in Cardiff, and a really pleasant bloke he is, too. The marriage to Olivia would seem to have sparked a massive creative spark for them both, because she sounds magnificent.

I had an e-mail today inviting me to review a new album. This is one of the privileges of being a collaborator on this site, that artists give you a free album in order for their wares to be publicised on the world wide intertit. It can, of course, also be a little bit difficult sometimes, because unless you review honestly, then you lose all credibility as a reviewer. Prog fans, especially, can smell bullsh*t at a fairly long distance. So, who to potentially upset? Regular readers, or the hard pressed artist who have put their all into said work? No choice, really. It has to be the latter, because a dishonest, brought, review is always a crime on a site such as ours.

Having said that, I am sure I will enjoy this one when I get to listen to it at the weekend. The last one was genuinely excellent.

I now have a fair old immediate queue of albums to review, three from 2014 (two purchased and one freebie), and an excellent three year old album which I took my time getting, but utterly love. The identities can wait for the day I post the reviews! In addition, I still have a shed full of albums which I need to at least put on record as having an opinion on, and adding to the archival nature of the site.

You might think that this would give me a bit of a kick in order to move on swiftly, get said albums on, and scribe away. Well, no. My life is governed by personal circumstances, moods, priorities, and other issues. I review for pleasure, not for pay, so it is done when I am generally in the mood.

Tonight's mood was for a bit of a mix whilst keeping half an eye on the football. There is no particular sense to tonight's playlist, aside from the fact I wanted to play them!

Anglagard. Hostsjed. Instrumental prog at its finest. The great Swedish band from an album I really must get around to reviewing. I find this track gorgeously pastoral and relaxing after a hard day's work, but with enough mood swings to keep you on your toes.

Arena. Solomon. A marvellous track to end In The Lion's Cage, the band's debut, another album I am to get around to reviewing (actually, there does seem to be a bit of a theme developing in this playlist and blog!). This remains a firm fan favourite nigh on twenty years after it burst onto our decks. Nolan and Pointer created something special with Arena, which made the last album even more of a disappointment, really. This track is bombastic, feeling, moody, and never fails to grab the attention, and ends terrifically uplifting.

Barclay James Harvest. Hymn. This is the live Berlin version, and is my favourite track from a great old band. I adore this song, with its lyrics specifically about the dangers of drug use somewhat ironically creating something deeply spiritual and movingly beautiful.

Blackmore's Night. Wind In The Willows. From Under A Violet Moon, an album with criminally low ratings on this site, and another I will get around to reviewing when I retire, this features a delicious vocal between John Ford of Strawbs fame and the lovely Candice Night. A late evening treat, if ever there was one.

Boomtown Rats. Rat Trap. I wrote the other night about "true punk" from The Tansads. In the same vein, I will never forget an English lesson taken by a student teacher just before Christmas in 1978. He said he wanted to play us a song with deep meaning, open to interpretation, and worthy of intelligent discussion. This came on the cassette deck, and half the morons I shared a class with spent the remainder of the lesson pogoing or gobbing, because it was "punk". The lesson was abandoned in chaos. This is a great piece of music, which is about the finest lyric describing working class life in 70's Belfast. I can forgive Geldof anything for this track.

Wishing Tree. Fly. The gorgeous collaboration between Steven Rothery and Hannah Stobart, this is a highlight of the wonderful Ostara. Rothers is releasing a solo album this year, which I will, of course, buy. I do hope, though, we get more from these two, because it is fantastic.

Genesis. Duke's Travels and Duke's End. A massive two fingers to those who thought Genesis stopped making progressive music after a certain Mr Hackett left. Duke is an album of utter genius and these two closing pieces are utter bombast with attitude. Yes. Real attitude, with emotions searing through every single thumping beat.

Mostly Autumn. Passengers. I mentioned on Monday that I have the brand new album, which I will play a few times over the next week, or so, before reviewing. This, though, is the simply beautiful Heather Findlay singing the simply beautiful title track from the simply beautiful album released in 2003. It is a testament to the talent of Olivia Sparnenn (now Josh!) that Heather is not missed nearly half as much as one expected.

Alan Parsons Project. Limelight. Mmmmmm.......Gary Brooker. What a great piece of music this is. Stereotomy is another album on the retirement to review list!

It has been a hard day's work and last night was hard night's caring. Tell you what, though. Music like this tonight lifts me up so high I never want to come back down.

Nos da all.

 

 

 

Thanks Nicholas. I'm getting back into Arena in a big way, and later Genesis still, thankfully, has a lot of love about. I'm really glad you are enjoying the lists, although there was no music today. I worked some fairly long hours at home, had supper and promptly fell asleep on the settee! I'm getting old

Dressed in Voices [Import]

http://www.amazon.com/s?_encoding=UTF8&field-artist=Mostly%20Autumn&search-alias=music" rel="nofollow - Mostly Autumn (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Hey, Scott. Funnily enough, I discuss it in a bit more detail in tonight's blog, which I am still writing.

That is expensive, really. And, it is a real shame, because, as you will see when I post later, I think this is their masterpiece. 

Can you get to listen on Spotify at all?

As regular readers of this little blog will know, Friday night is usually Mr Laz going on  a bus eight miles to town for drinkies with my two best mates. However, this week, one is in Majorca, and the other in Bournemouth, so I didn't bother, and, instead, took Mrs Lazland for Friday night Steak Night at one of our two local hostelries. Romantic devil, eh?

Said steak was palatable, and, on return, Mrs Gorgeous put the goggle box on, and I settled down to some hard earned end of week prog. This, then, is a bit of a Brucey Bonus (don't worry, only UK people over the age of 40 will know what the hell I am on about!), as Friday is usually only drinking, and not listening.

I gave the new Mostly Autumn album, Dressed In Voices, a second spin. It has, in all honesty, merely confirmed my initial thoughts from earlier this week. It is the band's masterpiece, and the rating in my forthcoming review presently stands at a proud five stars. I will, though, give it a few more listens before putting fingers to keyboard.  The emotion, and the bleak, bloody, story behind a stirring, almost symphonic wall of sound (although this is an album which fuses that with more traditional Celtic fused folk, heavy bursts, and even a little bit of country music), reach parts that only the finest music reaches. They have threatened to release something indispensable for a few years, and now Bryan has come up with the goods, an album which should lift them to the pinnacle of the Premier League of prog. Some of the staggering sounds produced by Iain Jennings on keys, and their interaction with Josh's soaring guitars, defy belief, and Olivia is not only growing into the perfect foil for her new husband's vision, but a mighty fine vocalist in her own right. Very highly recommended, a review will follow shortly.

Then, as lovely wife continued to watch Cops At Play, or some such thing, a little mix to wind down the working week, and prepare for the weekend.

Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman & Howe. Birthright. Yes East, and a very humane song based upon a real island race's struggle for justice after we dropped a rather big nuclear test bomb on their island. I really wish that this project had not fallen away under the weight of politics and Union, because this was a fine LP.

Anthony Phillips. End Of The Affair. A beautiful acoustic piece from Private Parts and Pieces Seven. I never have understood people who think such joy is boring. 

Arena. Purgatory Road. From Pepper's Ghost, and an album I gave a rather lukewarm three star rating to, and rather offish comments about this track being "rock by numbers". Perhaps I was being a little bit harsh, although it is by no means their finest, and this album was a slight disappointment after a good run of classy albums. 

Camel. Rajaz. The title track from my personal favourite from this great band, which makes the fact I have not reviewed it even more strange. Note to self. Stop blogging, and do more reviews! A gorgeously melancholic look at life, the band, and Latimer, in particular, never sounded so good. Camel got better over the years, in my opinion, and the lilting guitar solo captures Andy at his most mournful, with that hint of Mid Eastern promise.

Fleetwood Mac. Say You Will. The title track from the reunion studio album, a nice little Nicks number which is pleasant without being anywhere near essential.

Black Sabbath. Die Young. Those whom the Gods love.......and Dio is no longer with us. He wasn't a spring chicken, but neither was he that old. I loved the Heaven & Hell album, and this is the highlight from that masterpiece. Classic heavy rock at its best, from pounding riffs to thoughtful reflection.

Peter Gabriel. Downside Up. The Ovo version, not the live one with Melanie. This is sumptuous, and I must urge those who have shunned the great man's soundtrack albums to reconsider, because as much effort to produce exceptional music goes into these as the more "traditional" Gabriel music albums. Elizabeth Fraser's fragility is wonderful, and the closing beats are a wonder to behold.

Marillion. A Few Words For The Dead. From Radiation. I have never really understood why this album attracts so little affection. It is the band at the height of their experimental, progressive (not trad prog) phase, and this builds up from a thoughtful  start to a shuddering climax. I had the pleasure and honour of getting an advance preview of the album in the studio, as it was mixed by Phil Beaumont in my old hometown of Oswestry. I asked, and I got!

Judie Tzuke. Bully. Genius, from the album Secret Agent, a track which can only be interpreted in the most personal manner. It will mean different things to different people, with memories flooding in as a result. The deceptively quiet start to the denouement builds to the most incredibly emotional wall of sound that voices can produce. Highly recommended as an artist and album to those who appreciate quality female singer songwriter's.

It's getting lateish, and Mrs Wife wants a bit more than my physical presence with earphones stuck in!

Thanks again to all of you who take the trouble to read, and, indeed, comment, on my musings. I am, indeed, honoured.

That Fate's Warning version was, indeed, a corker.

I was rather hard on Pepper's Ghost, but, as you know, Immortal?, and, especially, The Visitor were so much superior. I actually think that Arena's masterpiece is still to hit us, and I hope it's the next one.

As Jane Austen undoubtedly said to Napoleon II, thanks for reading!

A stormy, showery day in West Wales, punctuated by some domestic chores and bliss which are not, really, overly crucial to tonight's blog. Suffice to say wife and mother in law are watching the Simon Cowell final thingy together, No. 1 son is sitting with Grandad to make sure he is okay, and I am ironing whilst listening to prog. The joys of multi generational living, eh?

Tonight, new Mostly Autumn again. Third listen, now, and it gets even better with each spin. A review will follow next week, but, to repeat, it is a work of genius and love, and utterly essential. 

Following that, given that the lovely Anne Marie played so beautifully on her flute on the denouement, I moved onto another highlight of 2014, the new Panic Room album, Incarnate. As I type this, the exceptional bluesy, yet full of Mid Eastern promise, wall of sound of Into Temptation is blasting out of the speakers. A great track from a really enjoyable album.

Then, the staggeringly exceptional new IQ, Road Of Bones, which I am so glad to see is attracting rave reviews from around the world. In 2014, not 1974.

Therein lies the point of tonight's blog. It is becoming something akin to Thought For The Day on Radio 4, I suppose. A thought to be published, and then expanded to mean a little bit more, to get the reader/listener under the skin of the author....

Well, tonight's thought is really rather simple. We can, and some do, spend an infinite amount of time debating why Genesis "sold out" after Gabriel/Hackett/Collins (delete according to taste or opinion) left, or why Relayer is simply so much the album TFTO should have been, or what on earth Fripp meant when he resurrected Crimson with that bloody awful racket in the 1980's. I could go on.

But, to me, the whole point of this site is summarised listening as I am to the staggering IQ title track washing over me now, and the fantastic music that preceded. 2014 has been, thus far, a fantastic year. I have purchased, and listened to, some wondrous music. I do not think that prog has ever been in such a rude state of health as it is now since those halcyon days in the 1970's. Some of my 2014 purchases have been recommended by fellow collabs, some of if I would have got anyway. The point is this....to listen to new material and experiences is why I come here so often. To be influenced by people I trust and like, to have that frisson of a new musical experience, to listen to something that is so incredibly NEW as to be shattering, that is the whole point of PA.

Prog rock. Not something to stand still. Not a genre of music stuck in the past, but a genre making great new music in 2014, and strong enough to move confidently into the future.

So, to you lovely people, new to this wonderful site, please do not feel that you have to knock Collins era Genesis, or Rabin era Yes, or prog that smacks of......gasp.......commercialism in order to fit in, or be a "true" prog fan. We have seen, heard, and read it all before. Open up to the real reason this site is here. Spin those top ten albums of 2014 according to collabs of Prog Archives, your Ultimate Guide to Progressive Rock Music, and damn well enjoy

Nos Da. 

Oh, and a postscript, because this darling blog is written as I go along. Or, should that be, made up as I go along?....

Now blasting out. The superlative Harvest Of Souls from the equally superlative Dark Matter. 

Well.....isn't nostalgia okay sometimes?........well.....isn't it?!.........

It is definitely on the "listen again" list. I really want to like it, honest!

The blog gas taken a rest over the last couple of days, owing to domestic duties, and, tonight, a rather intense Game Of Thrones.

Bloody incredible hour of television

Nine o'clock as I write tonight's blog. Just heard some news headlines (Duke of  Edinburgh is 93 today. Bless!). Off too bed soon, as I have an early start tomorrow at 5.30 a.m. to get to a meeting on time.

Tonight (and probably the next three or four days) has been a reviewing night. I got around to doing a review for the magnificent N'Monix by Nick Magnus, another hugely enjoyable work by a very talented man. 

Steve Hackett stars amongst a range of very talented collaborators on this album. Magnus was, of course, part of Hackett's band a while back, and a fine contribution he made, too.

I have never met Steve Hackett. I have see him live, and have all of his solo works, in addition to the Genesis canon, naturally. He strikes me, though, as being a very quiet, thoughtful, but, above all, nice and friendly man. Certainly, the manner in which he aids all of his close friends in producing great music (he cannot need the appearance money) suggests to me a man who is worth knowing and valuing as a friend. Such men are rare, indeed.

I take reviewing duties on the site seriously. Tonight's review was drafted on first listen, as all are. It then undergoes radical change after each listen (tonight was the fifth listen) until I have a narrative I am happy with. The end result only has one thing in common with the initial draft - the name of the artist and album!

Seriously, a review on first listen is, IMO, almost always a bad review. Music, especially prog rock, deserves careful attention and appreciation before setting words down that can, after all, influence reader's buying habits, and, thus, money in the pocket of a hard working artist.

I am most proud of the Prog Reviewer title. It is, to my mind, the heart of what we do on this site, and why most people visit, especially those guests who are not members.

Another review today, this time of Sean Filkins wonderful War And Peace & Other Stories. This purchase was thanks to my old friend, Thomas (Tszirmay). When Thomas gives a rave review to an album, it is almost certain that 

I will feel the same and really appreciate it. He is, of course, not the only such reviewer I follow on the site, but, it is fair to say, he is more responsible than most for debits in the old bank account!

Tonight, having worked on, and posted, the review, I am watching a documentary about a great Welsh footballer, John Hartson, he of Arsenal, West Ham, and Celtic fame. For this type of show, it is very interesting and entertaining. Of course, tomorrow, the World Cup starts. I, tomorrow, will start to think of appropriate prog to play whilst watching the games. Does anyone have any ideas?

I have to be honest, Scott, and say I had never even heard of it until your post, let alone listened to it.

The great man did done fantastic stuff, but also, by his own admission, a lot of rubbish. 

Which does this fall under?

 

Edit: This is the only YouTube vid you need to watch...I saw the whole game live as an 11 year old in my granny's lounge at a little Welsh mining village named CwmCelyn nr Blaina, Gwent.

 

 

 

The best bit starts at around 1:51:00

 

The old house at the end of Gwalia Terrace still stands today, but the 'feeder' pond and surrounding area looks nothing like the above painting of it from way back when. More info at http://ebbwfachtrail.org.uk/cwmcelyn-pond-woods-page-1/4552569637" rel="nofollow - http://ebbwfachtrail.org.uk/cwmcelyn-pond-woods-page-1/4552569637 .

Not too bad, Scott, eh? Thanks for sharing. 

Only 40 minutes now until kick off

They think it's all over.........can't see it happening this year, though....

Nice website, David. That area is about 40 miles from us.

Couple of tracks to look up there, Nicholas, so thanks. Will definitely try the Aphex Twin one.

Nice to know you are cheering for England. However, most of us here are rather realistic about this year. As a mate said at work today.....England have two chances of winning. 

Slim and f**k all

Saturday night, half an hour before England's first World Cup game. It has been a busy old day....

I got up early (for a Saturday) and watched England come so close to beating the All Blacks. It was 28-27, and an incredible game of rugby. For those of you reading my blog who love the game, all I can say is get your money on England to win next year's World Cup now anti-post. Lancaster is a genius of a coach.

Wales had a heavy defeat later to South Africa, and deservedly so. We are going backwards. Time for a serious rethink about the whole structure and attitude of the game here.

So, to tonight's musical delights prior to the footie.

I decided tonight would be a classic Genesis night to start. The mix I chose was exclusively Gabriel era, and went like this:

The Lamb sides one & two. I went bonkers to Hairless Heart blasting out of the new sound system.

From Selling England, Firth of Fifth, Hackett's finest hour, and The Cinema Show, a gorgeous piece about young love, and mature advice. This itself morphed into the achingly beautiful Aisle Of Plenty, a paean to a disappearing country.

Supper's Ready. A collection of songs, rather than a single epic. Gabriel always said this was a rehearsal for The Lamb. I have always thought he understated a magnificent piece, which remains, to me, a beautiful tribute to humanity and God.

The Musical Box. I first heard this as an adolescent fourteen year old. I had purchased And Then There Were Three, and was told by a contemporary, about a couple of years older, to not pay too much attention, and get some "proper" 

Prog! When I heard this, I fell in love, and it remains to this day my favourite Genesis track from my favourite Genesis album. English to its core, but so mature in its treatment of a love unrequited, and never realised.

To finish, The Knife. A bunch of English public school boys tapping into the zeitgeist of the times, singing, and rocking, the revolution. 

After that, it was Marillion live, with a DVD sent to me by those grand chaps at the web. The selection played was the wonderful Thos Strange Engine, featuring perhaps the finest guitar solo of all time, Afraid of Sunlight, from an album which, had it been made by anyone else, would have stormed the world, and, to finish, The Great Escape, the emotional conclusion to the Brave story.

After that, I was supposed to post the blog. However, after four pints of Cwrw Blasus, and three glasses of wine, the old Lazland eyelids started to get heavier and heavier.

Yep, I missed the football, fell asleep, not waking up until 2.00 a.m. This blog, therefore, is being posted a wee bit late

A whole week since my last blog. The reason for this is fairly simple.....it has been a whole week since I listened to any music (of any genre). As this is a blog on a music site, it seemed pretty pointless posting stuff when I hadn't listened to any music.

I quite often take a bit of a break, although an entire week is somewhat rare. It is not as if I have been on holiday. I have been at work all week, and a busy one it was, too.

Nope. It has been a beautiful week, weather wise, here in God's Own Country, so I have taken full advantage of that, especially now that my foot is improving beyond all expectations. It is nowhere near full mobility, but I have a lot of hope I will get there.

I have also been watching a fair bit of the football and cricket. In the former, England departed early. I bought Private Eye today, and the front cover said it all really. It had a photo of the England team plane landing in Brazil, and a speech caption by the pilot, which said......"Shall I keep the engines running?"

So, to the return of prog to Lazland. A break is good sometimes. It means you come back to your beloved music fresh and excited.

I started off with IQ's Road Of Bones. This got the five star review from me a few weeks back, and the more I listen, the more I feel that was the correct rating, because it gets better with each listen. It is a really complex and dark piece of work, and something they should all be exceptionally proud of.

As I listen to this (regular readers will know that I write this blog as I go along, so to speak. It is a record of an entire evening), I am reading my newspaper (The Times, delivered via my iPad), and a story of a South African Broadcasting Executive, who took away a fairly gorgeous 22 year old topless lady as a gift, following a visit to a bunch of traditional tribal leaders. Nice work if you can get it, I suppose!

And so, after a particularly tasty homemade burger, potatoes, and salad prepared by the wife and mother in law, we move onto the main drinking and music listening part of the evening.

Whilst my father in law and my wife watch a recording of Aberystwyth Show (they have family there), I get on with a fairly eclectic Saturday night montage, which goes something like this.....

Asia. Wildest Dreams. Unlike most, I regard this album as a true classic of its kind, an attempt to fuse progressive rock with the huge American FM Radio sound. This is an incredible piece of music, which rocks along, and I still love to this day. The lyrics are extremely knowing in their condemnation of the prevailing political theory.

Asia. Never In A Million Years. From the second album, which was even more panned than the first. It was not as good, granted, but it did hold a couple of gems, of which this is my favourite. A good old fashioned love song, set to an expansively produced wall of sound. The lyrics could have been written for the most beautiful woman in the world, the lady who loves and looks after me, in spite of all of my little foibles. I am a lucky man, indeed.

Carly Simon. Do The Walls Come Down. A break from prog, to listen to the most sumptuous female vocalist of all time. This is a gorgeous song, and I am listening to the live version, produced by T Bone, and actually attended by a good friend of mine, who lived near Martha's Vineyard at the time. This is a bitter love song, of betrayal and regret. Do those emotional Walls come down when you think of what you miss?

Carly Simon. Coming Around Again/Itsy Bitsy Spider. I think I must be in a bit of an emotional mood tonight, although, as I write this, I am only on my second glass of wine, so am far from being drunk. I adore this song, the soundtrack from the Jack Nicholson and Meryl Streep film, Heartburn, another song of betrayal, but picking yourself up from the floor, fighting back, and moving forward. I think it might be worth pointing out here I have only been married once, and love my wife unutterably. However, this song does remind me very much of a couple of relationships in the distant past, when I had to pick myself up following some nasty happenings. It is, though, ultimately, a positive song, and nursery rhymes never sounded so good.

Edison's Children. The Awakening. Talk about emotional, this is from the superlative debut of Blackwood & Trewavas, and features at its denouement the choir of all that is Marillion. It is, though, true to say that these two stand up entirely on their own merits. This is the highlight of an incredible album, which builds up from a slow burning start to a massive wall of sound. I am very proud of the fact that my review of this album helped the boys to achieve commercial success, via a particularly good internet campaign.

Gene. I Can't Take It. My late Best Man's favourite band, a sort of Smiths lite band. This was a decent single from a bunch who nearly, but not quite, made it. Me and Chris had a couple of damn fine nights seeing them live, though!

Judie Tzuke. God Only Knows. This beautiful woman, and her beautiful voice, have figured on the Lazland Playlist blog before. This is a copy of the Beach Boys track, in itself one of the finest pieces of music ever written. This version is as good, believe me. A triumph from a woman who deserves so much more attention in the world of commercial music.

Roger Waters. It's A Miracle. Time to start going a little bit darker. From Amused To Death, which I regard as being this great man's finest moment, including Floyd. The way the story of man's folly and immaturity unfolds is a wonder to behold, and the final guitar burst sends the hairs on the back of your neck into nuclear alert. Incredible and genius, simple as.

Alan Parsons Project. Limelight. Gary Brooker. Sumptuous. Mmmmmmmmmm. "I can see the world in a different light....."

Yes. I Am Waiting. In keeping with the (mainly) romantic theme, this is amongst Anderson's finest love songs, co-written with Trevor Rabin, from another album which I feel attracts a great deal of unfair criticism. This is a song which contains all that is best of this particular Yes phase, hard rock, soaring emotions, and the voice that is at the heart of this great band. I am sure that the new album next month will be extremely competent. I am sure it will have some great moments. But it will not have Jon Anderson, and it was his voice and unique vision that made me fall in love with Yes. It is not the same without him, sorry.

Martin Orford. Ray of Hope. The first time that David Longdon came to my attention, this is an exceptionally gorgeous song from an album which I still hope will not prove to be great songwriter's swan song. Come on Martin, you have far too much to give. On the evidence of The Old Road, not to resume performing would have qualified as a capital crime not so long ago.

Martin Orford. Endgame. The best single track I have in my entire collection. Have I said that before? I don't know, but the regret, emotional wrench, and sheer English repression of outrage make this amongst the finest pieces of work ever to pass by the Laz ears. 

Deep Purple. Smoke On The Water. I am not sure why I put this on tonight's playlist, really. It is nowhere near their best, but, all the same, a very clever bit of fun with perhaps the most recognisable guitar riff of all time at its heart. Talking of smoke, Mr Laz has not now had a ciggie for four and a half months. Do I feel better? Do I feck!

Spock's Beard. Goodbye To Yesterday. A most lovely track from the wonderful V, and, in reality, the template for much of the best Transatlantic stuff. Neal Morse at his finest.

Rainbow. Gates of Babylon. THE favourite band of my yoof, I loved this lot. Blackmore was my hero, and Dio the purveyor of sword, sorcery, love, mystery, and pure hard rock. Long Live Rock and Roll was the swan song of this duo's collaboration, and, in truth, it showed. This, and Rainbow Eyes, were my favourites. It was fun whilst it lasted, though. And that gypsy violin........

Marillion. Man of a Thousand Faces. Hogarth era at its best, this from their first, brave, foray into independence from major label chains. Thankfully, they produced an album which was musically brilliant, marvellously produced, full of heart, and unutterably Marillion, i.e. honest to its core. Nobody else in the world of music sings with the emotional range of H, and this track exemplifies this unlike any other. The closing passages scream at you, and drip with feeling. Trewavas never sounded better on bass, btw.

John Wetton. The Smile Has Left Your Eyes. A solo version of a rather sad Asia track, again from the somewhat unloved second album. This version has none of the intensity of the original, but is a pleasant curiosity for all that.

Black Sabbath. Die Young. Again, a track which takes me back to my callow yoof. 1979. I was 15. The Heaven And Hell album was my favourite for so long, and remains close to my heart to this day. This is by far the cleverest track on the album, with its mix of pounding rock, and progressive undertones.

Led Zeppelin. Babe, I'm Gonna Leave You. I was reminded of Zep by, incredibly, seeing an advert for some bloody silly blokey perfume, with Whole Lotta Love as its accompaniment. This, btw, from a band who refused, in the 1970's, to release any singles in the UK, as it would constitute a "sell out". Everyone, and anyone, has their price, eh? Anyhow, this is from those heady, innocent, days of the first album, a delicious mix of blues and proto hard rock.

And so, there we are. A long blog, but, hey, it has been a whole week. As I write this, I am now watching a show with my father in law before putting him to bed, so no more music this evening. I am also now on my fourth glass of red wine, so perhaps it might be an idea to think about hankering down, anyway!

As ever, thank you so much for reading my thoughts.

Nos da.

 Yep, but they still lost

That shoulder charge at the end was about the doziest piece of defending I have ever seen, which is saying something.

Also, 19 points ahead at one stage. When will they learn to close games out??

Judie www.tzuke.com

Welcome to the Cruise was a fantastic debut album, and did quite well commercially over here.

In the last week, or so, Judie has featured on BBC Radio a little bit, so is still keeping a nice profile a fair few years after that album.

The day I stop proggin' is the day I am put six feet under!

No, delete that. Jon Anderson in some form will be playing at the Heavenly Gates as I enter

Off to sunny Bristol for a team meeting today. It is rather silly, the setup in my team. We have people in Gloucester (sort of southern Midlands of England), Taunton, Bristol (SW England), Cardiff (capital of Wales), Swansea (SW Wales), and me in proper West Wales, or God's Own Country as it is more properly referred to in these parts. However, with the increasing centralisation and urbanisation of both the organisation I work for, and the country in general, this will, in the near future, be reduced to merely two locations, namely Bristol and Cardiff. That basically means either more job losses, or a ridiculously long commute, the alternative to this being flexible working patterns at, for example, home, although I despair of this ever being properly introduced.

The train journey for me today is a total of six hours, i.e. three each way, this owing to the fact that the Welsh infrastructure is basically akin to something Pooh and Tigger would find primitive.

So, then, after sort of chilling with the newspaper and BBC Radio Five via an iPad App, the music went on, and the first of today's delights was Panic Room's latest, Incarnate, given a four star review by me a little whole back. A superb album, which improves on each listen.

And so, after a fascinating, informative, stimulating, corporate joy of life fulfilling meeting, the journey home, which was planned perfectly in order to arrive home about 6.00 p.m. this allowing a good hour for a drinkie at the local with son and dog prior to supper. One has to get one's priorities right, you know!

First album on journey home was Steve Hackett's debut, Voyage of the Acolyte. It is hard to think that next year, this rather interesting album will be 40 years old. It is not my favourite of his (that, I think, is probably Spectral Mornings or Genesis Revisited), but it is, nonetheless, a lovely album fully in keeping with Hackett's contributions to Genesis at the time. I haven't reviewed much Hackett, and really ought to do so, when I get the time.

Change trains at Cardiff for the perennially late Swansea train. Sitting opposite me is Gareth Thomas, a mighty fine (retired) Welsh rugby player, who also has the distinction of being the first major rugby star to come out as gay. I did not say anything. I am not comfortable with bothering people when they might not appreciate being bothered. Musical pleasure was Sylvan's Force of Gravity. This is yet another album not reviewed (I really must retire from work and get on with it!). I adore this band, and this release from 2009 is an excellent one. Not in the same sphere as the seminal Posthumous Silence or Sceneries, but solid, with much of that goose bump inducing wall of sound they create. Good news is that 2014 will see the release of new album, Home. A must buy for me. I did actually have the pleasure and privilege of interviewing members of the band for the site, and you can see this at page four of the Interviews section on the forum.

And so to the final part of the journey, the wonderfully on time Swansea to Carmarthen train, and for final musics this fine summer evening, The Who, Endless Wire. Their last studio album, now, of course, reduced to a duo following Entwistle's departure from this mortal coil in delicious old rocker style, this was released in 2006. It is a good effort, made doubly so when you come to an acceptance that they were simply never, ever, going to make the likes of Who's Next, Quadrophenia, and etc again. As a late period piece of work, it is representative, as clever as you would expect music written by Pete to be, and enjoyable. This is my first listen to it in a long while.

Nigh on a whole week again since the last blog. I suppose it's a jolly good job that it was never meant to be a daily thing. Worst still, I could be failing a corporate target for blogging output.

The reason for the absence is my mother being rushed into hospital (on the night of my last blog, after I got home), with serious breathing issues. Transpires she has had a bout of pneumonia, and she is expected to remain in hospital for a couple more days, just to clear all remaining infection. She is, though, hugely improved since the scare last week, and looked really good tonight, and was in fine, fighting, form.

I don't know. Living longer does, naturally, bring a societal celebration, but it does come at a bit of a cost in terms of problems later in life. I don't mean to sound harsh, but it is not long ago that most people simply died quickly with a sudden rush of pain to the chest, and, lights out, all over. Sometimes, I really do feel it might have been better that way.

Anyhow, I decided to have a small montage before going to bed. It is 9.42 p.m. as I write this passage of the blog.

First up is the Fly From Here Suite from the last Yes album, or side one as we called it in the good old days. I play this in anticipation of the forthcoming album which, judging from the comments from those who have either obtained it illegally, or got a promo copy (it will be 98% former, 2% latter), is a pile of old pants. I will keep an open mind, although my opinion about Yes without Jon Anderson is well known on this site.

Having said that, I think the FFH suite is superb, a gorgeous creation from the era which I rather loathed (Drama), and Benoit David, especially, comes out of it with huge credit. Pity about the rest of the album, really, which I found very ordinary.

Next up, Van Der Graaf, Every Bloody Emperor, the highlight from the reunion album, Present. By and large, I have not been overly impressed with the new material, but this is classic VDGG, with Hamill, especially, in fine spitting form in a dark commentary on the pitiful state of modern politics.

Next up, one of my favourite instrumentals of all time, Charm by Tony Banks from an album I have a huge soft spot for, Fugitive, in spite of the fact that Banks sings quite a bit on it, and, palpably, cannot sing for toffee. This track, though, showcases what he is best at, namely dexterous fingers with a touch of English whimsy. Just love it.

I don't know what led me after that to put on The Watchmaker, from Steven Wilson's superlative The Raven That Refused To Sing (And Other Stories). I am just glad I did. This is such a delicately beautiful piece of music, from an album which made me fall in love again with a talent beyond most of our comprehension. Like most meaningful love affairs, the emotions go up and down, and The Incident was absolutely a down for me. This album, though, is one of the most important, and finest, progressive rock albums ever made. I just love the dark, swirling, Mellotron at the end.

Richard Thompson. Mr Stupid. A great track from the great former Fairport man, this the highlight of the 2007 release, Sweet Release. Bags of fun, with extremely clever lyrics.

From that to...Ozzy Osbourne. Mr Crowley. Don't ask me why. I just did. Actually, I did see that Sabbath are playing Hyde Park (this week?) shortly, so I suppose it was at the back of my mind. Personally, I think this album, his debut solo effort, is his finest work ever. He had to literally drag himself off of the floor after being sacked by Sabbath for being too out of it even for them (a phenomenal achievement, when you think of it), and produced an album that was vibrant, urgent, full of feeling, and featured the debut of the much missed Randy Rhodes, who shines on this track. Forget the dog days of Sabbath, and the solo stuff when rampant commercialism took hold, before something akin to dementia ravaged him, this is a Black Country working class man fighting back, and bloody marvellous it is, too.

King Crimson. Red. The title track from the album many still regard as being the finest heavy rock album of all time. It is most certainly up there. I still think this is the finest of this particular Crimson phase, and I have a great deal of sympathy with John Wetton, who felt particularly aggrieved at Fripp calling it a day, just as the band were on the verge of huge and great things, breaking out of the world of cult status. Oh well, there is always the option of starting a commercial behemoth named after a continent to fall back upon, I suppose.

And, to finish...The Levellers. This Garden. Because I enjoy, and it is a celebration of life and the values that I used to hold so dear before I became a grumpy old git. Note to self......don't be such a grumpy old git!

Once again, my grateful thanks to all of you who read, and contribute to, this chronicle of mine.

Nos da. 22.49. Time for bed, Zebedee. BTW, wife has put news on. Rolf Harris found guilty of child abuse. End of civilisation. Time to go back to being a grumpy old git..

Well, it has been a long while since the last post. There are a variety of reasons for this, primarily associated with our caring responsibilities at home, and the fact that my mother has been in hospital for nearly three weeks now, this owing to a nasty streptococcal infection. She is being bombarded with antibiotics. Of increasing strength by the sound of it.

In between all of that, my father visited for a long weekend last week, and a wonderful time was had by all. The cat disappeared, only to reappear this evening, all skin and bones, and looking and sounding decidedly sorry for herself.

Also, of course, the World Cup has taken up a bit of my limited free time.

Actually, this evening's blog is concerned with musical matters of last night. Yesterday was a good day. I booked a family holiday, having sorted out respite care for the various infirm, and we are going to Gozo, the island just off Malta, in August. My grandmother was Maltese, and my grandfather's war medals are on display in the island's war museum, so it will be nice for my son to see these. 

So, I returned home after a couple of pints at the local as part of the nightly dog walk, and settled down to an evening's ironing, drinking, and PROG.

Some of the more astute amongst you will be wondering just why I am posting last night's musical activities the following evening. Simples, really. It is owing to the fact that, as my son so grandly put it....."Dad...you were absolutely leathered", this as he woke me from my grand settee sleep at 1.00 this morning!

Anyhow, to matters prog....

I decided to have a DVD night whilst ironing, and the following delights were to be witnessed blasting out of my lovely new sound system:

Mike Oldfield. Elements. I played all from Tubular Bells to Wonderful Land. I find these videos to be an absolute joy to listen to and watch. The quality of the music is astounding, and it really reflected my very upbeat mood last night.

Yes. Tsongas 35th Anniversary. Turn Of The Century, my absolute favourite Yes track of all time, was first on. Then the wonderful acoustic set, with a full blast of the superior Ritual to close. I know there are many who will disagree with me strongly, but I really feel that this should have been the band's swansong, to go out on a musical and group high. Instead, I find myself actually contemplating buying the new album with huge trepidation. Keep an open mind, Mr Laz. An open mind......

Marillion. Brave Live. Utter genius. Quite easily the finest live performance I own.

Roger Waters. From his comeback live tour, which I was lucky enough to see in Wembley, I played the Amused To Death sequence, which is, to me, the highlight of the concert, and finished off with a ridiculously loud and (from me) badly sung Confortably Numb.

Simon & Garfunkel. Live in Central Park. Art Garfunkel is one of the few to have been blessed with a voice that is, in essence, a musical instrument. He never sounded so good as on this, reunited with that creative genius, Paul Simon. I played it all, and enjoyed every single second.

At this stage of proceedings, I was a little conscious of the fact that my in-law's would be getting ready for bed, and would not appreciate my blasting out any more music. So, after a quick trip downstairs to check all was well, I repaired to the sitting room to relax to music on the iPad and a fresh bottle of wine. My lovely wife had, of course, given up on me, and gone to bed. My son woke me up later in a not altogether good state. Anyhow, I was sober enough to make a list of the tracks I played prior to falling asleep, and they were:

Pink Floyd. When the tigers broke free. Great track, first heard in the film of The Wall.

Radiohead. Ideoteque. My favourite track from Kid A, an album which I now regard as being superior even to OK Computer, simply because of its innovation and daring at the time.

Big Big Train. Victorian Brickwork. See my review of The Underfall Yard. It still makes me cry. Simply beautiful.

Big Big Train. Judas Unrepentant. The finest track from the first English Electric album.

Black Sabbath. Snowblind. No, I don't know why this follows on from BBT either. It seemed like a good idea at the time!

Martin Orford. Ray of Hope and Endgame. Incredible. The Old Road is the only album that has been continuously on the iPad since I got it. It was my introduction to the fantastic voice of David Longden. I really wish Martin would record again.

Panic Room. Start The Sound. The standout track from Incarnate.

Anthony Phillips. The Anthem from Tarka. Still my favourite track of his.

ELO. Don't Bring Me Down and Telephone Line. Nostalgia was beginning to take effect after more than a few drinkies. I still love these tracks from a band who we're huge when I were a lad.

Genesis. The Musical Box. The finest track they recorded.

King Crimson. Larks tongues in aspic 2 Live, from Cirkus. A fantastic rendition from the incredible double trio.

Flower Kings. Church of your Heart. A celebration of faith and love of life, which is where I am.

That was it. I fell asleep, and suffered the ignominy of being woken by my son.

Anyhow, the build up to the World Cup final is now getting serious, so time to concentrate on that. 

Nos Da all.

 

As far as I am concerned, more power to old farts!

You will love Orford, believe me. The Old Road is a fantastic album.

We went to PC World to buy an iron. It is a rare event for my wife to allow me to venture into geeky land of shops, so, as usual, when there, I slobbered over some Mac machines and new PC's, and saw a brand new Samsung soundbar reduced from £500 to £350. As it happened, I had a new cd in my bag, so I asked the sales rep to put it on for me.

We have surround sound connected to our projector in the sitting room, but only the telly and an xbox in the dining room, so I wanted to get a decent system for this room, and sort of make it my music room.

As soon as I heard the soundbar, I wanted it, and bought it. An absolute bargain, it sounds better  than the surround sound system in the sitting room. It absolutely fills the room with sound.

 

 

I reckon we definitely have to have just a couple of tubes from the album embedded here, so here are the very ones that Laz listened to:

 

 

Very quick post today. I have been in Bristol for a case meeting, so I had three hours to kill on the train home.

What better use could such time be put to than to listen to and review prog?

So, I finally got round to posting my Mostly Autumn Dressed In Voices review, which is on the front page as I tap these words. For all of you who share my musical tastes, all I can really say is that you will love this, an utterly brilliant release, which I hope my review does justice to.

Aside from an initial rush when I first joined the site (when most tend to review old classics or favourites), I have been fairly sparing in my five star reviews, and rightly, as well. Such gems are rarities. I have to say, though, that I have now done two this year, and we are only in July. IQ and MA will be right up there in my 2014 album of the year choices, and we haven't even had Pendragon's latest, yet. I am slobbering with excitement already!

To close my train journey, I put on Nick Magnus's new opus, the excellent N'Monix, and, with Mr Hackett firmly ensconced in my mind, I put on his superb last genuine solo LP,  Beyond The Shrouded Horizon, which I think is quite excellent.

Not a bad playlist, really.