PROGAID - ALL AROUND THE WORLD

Charity singles are nothing new of course, ever since the massive success of Bandaid's "Do they know it's Christmas" groups of artists have got together in order to raise money for worthy causes by releasing singles. By and large with such singles, the quality of the music tends to be a secondary consideration, which is usually just as well! It is of course easy to be cynical about the motives of the participants (an excuse used by many for not buying the release), but the fact remains that charity singles do tend to sell well, and thus raise funds for their intended cause.

The "Progaid" single was released to raise funds to support victims of the tsunami in December 2004. The prolific Neal Morse (ex Spock's Beard) leads the project, but the line up reads like a who's who of modern prog. That said, not all the contributors were present on the two recording days (although a large number were). As has become an increasingly common practice of late, some recorded their contributions alone prior to the studio date, and sent them on.

The single consists of 5 versions of the track "All around the world". The song itself is similar to the USA FOR AFRICA charity single "We are the world", and indeed to charity singles generally. Different artists take a line of the song each, joining together on the chorus. It always seems churlish to criticise such worthy efforts, but in truth the single version is not particularly inspiring. It sounds very much like a charity single with only the brief guitar solo to point towards a prog basis. The 11 minute prog (or "definitive") version is much better, with a fine instrumental section which allows many of the virtuosos present, to display their skills. The other three versions, including one without the vocal track, are adequate but unlikely to secure repeated listening.

Also included is a "Making of" video which offers an opportunity to do a bit celebrity spotting. Anyone who can name all the people present really is a prog anorak!

Whether the single achieved much in the way of sales is questionable, but the money which was raised was undoubtedly appreciated. This is one occasion where I would recommend purchase, regardless of the music.

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