PROG RELATED

I've noticed that the most common critical view of the mighty BOC holds that Secret Treaties was their masterpiece, Agents of Fortune and Spectres were commercial sellout, Mirrors was the collapse, and Cultosaurus was some sort of musical redemption. In a word---poppycock. My admittedly in-the-minority assessment is that Agents of Fortune is their true masterpiece, Spectres was wonderful, Mirrors, while more commercially-oriented and radio-friendly, was at least still fun, Cultosaurus was the collapse, and Unknown Origin/Revolution by Night were the musical redemption of the First Nine albums.

Cultosaurus is one of the greatest examples of a band completely out of creative gas, a title it would hold for just over five years until Club Ninja wrestled that title away from it. Club Ninja and Cultosaurus have tons in common, actually, despite their surface-level differences in production and sound-sheen: both are stacked front to back with lifeless, monotonous, utter-generic template hard rock numbers that begged me to martyr them as "parking lot" albums (an immature outcome we subjected vinyls to as teenagers when we were displeased with their content---essentially a contest to see who could launch them highest over the empty church parking lot by my friend's house and then produce the most glorious results on impact. Immature, for sure, but at the time, hilarious late-summer-night drinking antics.) For Martin Birch, bless his heart, this was not a collection of material he was going to save with a producer's magic.

The jazz interlude in "Monsters" was a welcome parlor trick that harkened the sense of playfulness this band used to possess, but it's a brief respite. "Divine Wind" is anything but divine, five minutes of relentlessly repetitive plodding. While Buck Dharma could be counted on for a surprise mid-inning stand-up triple as on "I Love the Night" or "The Vigil" elsewhere, here that at-bat would be "Deadline," and he goes down swinging as well. "The Marshall Plan," oh dear, where is that skip button? "Hungry Boys" sounds like a Joe Jackson throwaway. "Fallen Angel" is a nice break from Eric Bloom with Joe B delivering a solid vocal. If I had to come up with one song from this album to place on a BOC retrospective, it would ironically be the last number, "Unknown Tongue," rather than everybody's sweetheart, "Black Blade." "Tongue" has a sinister and playful vibe that would have been right at home on Agents of Fortune, and it has some fine piano playing (by Lanier, I assume.) It has been noted elsewhere that Allen was largely absent from creative input on this album, perhaps another clue into the band dynamic of the moment.

But far too much of Cultosaurus is utterly forgettable, repetitive, and with a sad, performative passion as opposed to music that truly moves you or surprises you. Yes, they are certainly heavier and harder-rocking songs than Mirrors, but you'd never convince me that they're more interesting or ear-pleasing in any way. Members of BOC were trying to find their way back to their first three albums, a spiritual home in their mind, but they lacked the basic quality material and the "early band magic" to pull off such a trick at this point. Mind you, few will agree with my assessment of Cultosaurus, so you'd best check it out yourself. Although, actually, there is one prominent BOC insider who did happen to agree with me, the late great Sandy Pearlman, who noted, "Cultosaurus, I don't like it; some people do. I just don't like it. It doesn't do much for me."

A final point before I exit my soap box is to consider how poorly this album compares to peer albums from other legacy rock acts of the same era---does anyone seriously contend with a straight face that Cultosaurus can stand up to Permanent Waves or Heaven and Hell? Fortunately for our beloved Cult, a more convincingly authentic musical redemption was just around the corner, the one-two punch of Fire of Unknown Origin and The Revolution by Night.

Iommi has completely changed his personal style here; he obviously spent too much time with Van Halen because there are occasions where he clearly tries to adopt the Van Halen style - big mistake. Van Halen is Van Halen and no one is going to accept imitations even if the guitarist is just as talented. There are also tracks where Iommi seems to be moving towards the heavy rock of bands like Free. All of which means that the music is filled with strong vocal and guitar hooks but there is very little of anything else, most especially there is nothing here for the prog fan although with those leanings this particular incarnation of the band is certainly playing to their strengths

This is a fairly good 1980s type metal album, verging on hair metal in places and as such the tracks mostly stand alone leaving the album as a collection of mostly decent songs but without any real need for them to be in the same place at the same time. There is little passion to this album other than those few sections where either Hughes or Iommi push themselves to squeeze a little more out in the vocals and solos. Neither of them really does well enough to lift the listener and so there are no tracks that really could have made it to regular playlists on the radio. I do expect that one or two of these tracks achieved air time in the USA where heavy rock and metal were far more mainstream than in the UK and Europe which, were dominated by pop in the 80s. No Stranger to Love would be a good example of one track that you might expect to hear on the radio methinks - no idea if it was released as a single but I wouldn't be surprised.

Lyrically, this stuff becomes very annoying very quickly with the overuse of repetition in the vocal hooks in order to make the listener believe this is truly great stuff when it really isn't. After 2 listens I start to get the feeling that I want the songs to be over so I am very glad that there is nothing over 7 minutes and only 2 tracks over 5. Having said that the production is very strong although I don't like the newer guitar sound that Iommi is using, the vocals are good too but the drum work is too 1980s for me. The whole thing does remind me of Ian Gillan era Deep purple but only the higher tempo filler tracks that those guys used to throw into their work; in fact there are parts of the Perfect Strangers album that sound very similar to some of this stuff. There is a vague nod to prior Sabbath work with the minute long sound effect that is Sphinx as intro to the title track which seems to have a very familiar chorus. Accessible it certainly is but there isn't a progressive note in earshot unless you want to count Sphinx in which case 1 minute out of 44!!

In all this is a passable metal album but entirely irrelevant in the context of progressive music. If you want progressive metal then please ignore this album. If you are Tony Iommi's mum you will love this.

"A Night at the Odeon" captures one of the most prolific and creative periods of the English band, about to take off in the world thanks to the immortal "Bohemian Rhapsody", which curiously in the setlist of the concert is part of a medley shared, without its complex operatic section, with the vaudevillian "Killer Queen" and one of the most progressive and best achieved pieces of the band, the intricate "The March of the Black Queen". The album also includes powerful pieces taken from their first four albums, such as the hard rockers "Now I'm Here", "Ogre Battle" (very close to heavy metal), "Keep Yourself Alive" and "Liar", the infallible and complex solo guitar display by Brian May after the also rocking "Brighton Rock", the intense and emotional pause proposed by the beautiful "White Queen (As It Began)", the restless and very brief "Bring Back That Leroy Brown" with almost no vocal work, and the lilting "In the Lap of the Gods. .. Revisited" which for some reason failed to become a stadium anthem despite its very chantable chorus.

The approximately five thousand people who packed the theatre also watched as Freddie Mercury's band paid tribute to 50s rock and roll with a medley that included fragments of "Jailhouse Rock", "Stupid Cupic", "Be-Bop-A- Lula" and "Shake, Rattle And Roll", before the final encore with the only single from "Queen II", "Seven Seas of Rhye" and its B-side, the bluesy "See What a Fool I've Been", and finally the tape version of the English hymn "God Save the Queen", the closing song that the band kept as an unalterable tradition in their live shows.

"A Night at the Odeon", with a very good sound production work, is another great opportunity to appreciate many of the songs that stopped being part of Queen's setlists in later tours, displaced by the mega hits that began to follow one after the other after "Bohemian Rhapsody".

4/4.5 stars

First, this live album is excellent. Doubtful a YES fan wouldn't find much to enjoy. This is a GREAT band that Anderson has surrounded himself around. World class.

Second, a criticism of Jon. The material on this album comprises only YES songs, and from the years 1971 through 1977, with nothing before or after. I know this is what most consider the crème de la crème of the band's output, and it is my favorite era for them as well, but there are decades of amazing music from both YES and Jon outside of YES. So, being in a position to dictate mostly what is played, why is he so restrictive on what gets performed? Why ignore so many gems from over the years? The criticisms of the Steve Howe led YES are understood by me, but one thing you cannot peg on Steve is a myopic approach to setlists. He has dug deep into the Peter Banks era, given a few nods to the Trevor Rabin era, and does not ignore the 90s and early 2000s era of YES when putting shows together. With his YES you know there will be fun surprises in their concerts. I hope Jon maybe digs a little deeper if he continues to tour with the Band Geeks for a while.

Third, some praise for Jon. Dude sounds amazing. I couldn't believe the power he is getting at his age. His timbre has changed over the years, but this was amongst the best he has ever sound in parts.

Ok, now the songs. 1) Yours Is No Disgrace: A+ 2) Perpetual Change: B-; one of my favorite songs, and this was enjoyable; but, the middle instrumental syncopated section didn't really flow well. It sounded more like a woodshed where the band was still trying to get their timing right. They finish it off in great form, though. 3) Close To The Edge: A+; this fired on all cylinders. Really great live version. 4) Heart Of The Sunrise: a surprising A+ from me. I'll explain ? initially I decided I would not give this greater than an A- simply because of so many special Chris Squire performances being etched into my memory, and this would not be Chris. But, it sounded like bass player Richie Castellano was possessed by Chris on this song with Chris then telling him to take that spirit and make it his own. And that he did. Wow. 5) Starship Trooper: B+; a fine performance, but nothing special. Not the same energy as the others. Would rather they played something obscure, like "The Prophet" or "Magnification". The keyboard solo on "Wurm" is awesome, though. 6) Awaken: A; Admittedly, I am not real big on live versions of "Awaken". I enjoy watching the band play it live more than listening to live versions. The studio version just has some magic to it and is so perfectly performed and produced. Nonetheless, these guys really nailed it, and most importantly they did not ritard the climax after the "Masters" section. YES always made the mistake of slowing that part down before coming in big, but that only lessen its impact. It works so well in the studio version because it's played in time. The Band Geeks played it in time. Bravo, and thank you. 7) And You And I: A-; seems maybe the mix was off a tad. Not sure. 8 ) I've Seen All Good People: A- 9) The Gates Of Delirium: A-; Why were the keyboards so low in the mix in parts? Anyway, my only beef with this is what Jon has been doing since the year 2000 ? he sings the "Choose and renounce.." and "Words cause our banner.." lines too high instead of following his original melody. As a singer myself I get it ? it feels good to blast something out a bit differently; but, one must always remember the most important melodic juxtapositions and follow them, and he doesn't here, which dampens the mood. So, this was riding on a B+ until "Soon", which is probably the best version of that section I have heard since the Detroit 1976 Cobo Hall performance on 'YesShows'. It is truly immaculate. Got chills at the end. 10) Roundabout: yeah, whatever+

Aside from some mixing issues here and there this is a solidly produced album. Highly recommend!

P.S. Fourth, I haven't watched the DVD yet.

"Live Killers" is the debut live album of Queen and that was released in 1979. It was recorded live during the European Queen's "Jazz" live world tour, between January and March of 1979 in several locations. It seams that "Don't Stop Me Now", "Spread Your Wings" and "Brighton Rock" were taken from Stadthalle, Bremen on January 20, "Death On Two Legs" was taken from Sporthalle, Cologne on February 1, "39" and "Now I'm Here" were taken from Festhalle, Frankfurt on February 2 and "Love Of My Life" was taken from the DVD release "Greatest Video Hits 1". About the rest of the tracks, it seems to me that apparently, it's impossible to know from which shows the rest of the songs were taken for.

"Live Killers" has twenty two tracks. At the time where "Live Killers" was released, Queen had already seven studio albums, "Queen" which was released in 1973, "Queen II" which was released in 1974, "Sheer Heart Attack" which was released in 1974 too, "A Night At The Opera" which was released in 1975, "A Day At The Races" which was released in 1976, "News Of The World" which was released in 1977 and "Jazz" which was released in 1978. However, not all these albums are presented on "Live Killers". And of those who are present, not all are represented in the same way. So, from "Queen" we have only one track, "Keep Yourself Alive". From "Queen II" we don't have any track here. From "Sheer Heart Attack" we have three tracks, "Killer Queen", "Now I'm Here" and "Brighton Rock". From "A Night At The Opera" we have seven tracks, "Death On Two Legs (Dedicated to?)", "I'm In Love With My Car", "You're My Best Friend", "Love Of My Life", "39", "Bohemian Rhapsody" and "God Save The Queen". From "A Day At The Races" we have only one track, "Tie Your Mother Down". From "News Of The World" we have six tracks, "We Will Rock You", "Get Down, Make Love", "Spread Your Wings", "Sheer Heart Attack", "We Will Rock You" and "We Are The Champions". Finally, from "Jazz" we have four tracks, "Let Me Entertain You", "Bicycle Race", "Dreamer's Ball" and "Don't Stop Me Now".

In 1979, Queen was considered among the rock elite class bands. With a string of hit albums, singles, and sold- out live tours to their credit, the group was about to enter in a new musical phase of their career. And since bootleg copies of their live concerts were fetching exorbitant prices among their fans, the band decided that the better way to close this phase would be the release of their first official live double album, "Live Killers". For unknown reasons, the album was criticized harshly when it was first released. But, listening to it today, I think that we can consider it a good live document of Queen at the height of their 70's arena rock powers, despite its failures. All in all, the album is a solid mix of early hits and forgotten album's tracks, all given new life in the concert setting while the zealous crowd sings along.

"Live Killers" starts with the fast version of "We Will Rock You", which really starts the fire. Next, it was followed in quick succession by some less well known songs like "Let Me Entertain You" and "Death On Two Legs". The medley versions of "Killer Queen", "Bicycle Race" and "I'm In Love With My Car" all flow together perfectly well, and after "Get Down, Make Love" the album picks up again with "You're My Best Friend" and the rollicking "Now I'm Here". The acoustic break of Freddie's "Love Of My Life" and Brian's "'39" is perfect, showcasing the amazing talents of all four members, before the grandiose extravagance of "Keep Yourself Alive", "Don't Stop Me Now" and "Spread Your Wings" show why this band was considered one of the finest live acts ever. The classic "Bohemian Rhapsody" is then followed by the hard rocking completion of the album, with "Tie Your Mother Down" and "Sheer Heart Attack" complemented by "We Will Rock You" and "We Are The Champions", along with "God Save The Queen" as the final conclusion, as usual.

Conclusion: Despite "Live Killers" be a good live album, I was a bit disappointed with it when I heard it for the first time. For a great band like Queen I expected a bit more from the first live album of them. "Live Killers" suffers, in my opinion, from several problems. In the first place, it isn't a very cohesive live album because its songs were taken from several live shows. In the second place, the choice of the repertoire wasn't very well balanced and representative of their entire career, despite being the "Jazz" live world tour. Incomprehensibly, it hasn't any song from "Queen II", which is probably their best studio album and definetely, their most prog album. In the third place, the recording and the mixing of the album aren't really good. So, because of that the final result isn't properly famous. In the fourth place, the live performance of the band sounds distant, in many moments, and the final result sounds without the flame that a live album should have. Thus, the final result isn't a cohesive and a well balanced album. However, the second disc is globally better than the first one. It has some heavy musical moments like "We Will Rock You", "Let Me Entertain You" and "Death On Two Legs", some weak musical moments like "Get Down, Make Love" and even a medley composed by "Killer Queen", "Bicycle Race" and "I'm In Love With My Car". Still, it has also some great live moments like "Now I'm Here" and "Love Of My Life", in disc 1 and "Brighton Rock" and "Bohemian Rhapsody", in disc 2. So, I give to it 3 stars.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)

As for the "drive" part, here you are: While II may sound harder and heavier than the debut on a first listen, this isn't quite the case; the "heavy" numbers on their first release were more ferocious and uncompromising by a long mile. Few of the songs here match the threat and menace of a gem like Dazed And Confused or How Many More Times; these were simply more gripping and edgier than most material on here, whether one adores or despises blues- influenced music. Only Whole Lotta Love showcases some of the darkness of the debut, while the rest of the record is rooted more on hard rock than early metal. It's not a disadvantage, but too many people mistake this release as the heavier one while this is not the case.

The only improvement I can see in the album is the over-abundance of riffs here; truly, this is actually the most riff- heavy album in the Zeppelin Pantheon and for good reason; the riffs allow the group to move on a harder rocking territory, as opposed to the debut's blues leanings. Whether they are brash and heavy on the album opener, bluesy on The Lemon Song or baggy and groovier on Heartbreaker, Jimmy works wonders with these catchy phrases on his guitar. Sometimes, even the bass works up some incredibly memorable and nifty lines, as on What Is And What Should Never Be; speaking of which, isn't it a terrific tune to begin with? A compelling fusion of jazz, hard rock and pop that should not be missed. Jimmy's dynamics are also prominent here; loud and sharp on the choruses, light and restrained on the verses and a bit of both on his awe-inspiring slide solo. Fantastic!

Whole Lotta Love is such a famous classic that I won't even bother talking about it; suffice to say, if you haven't heard this one, your rock knowledge is really incomplete. The Lemon Song is the album's You Shook Me; not as earth- shaking as that one, but incredibly groovy on the other hand. From the opening riff to the middle part, where Jones lays down every bass trick he knows while Jimmy with Robert engage in a terrific 'call and response' routine, this is as fantastic as blues jams can get. Even more impressive, from a songwriting standpoint, is Ramble On; Robert sings a sweet melody before leading the way for the explosive chorus, Jimmy mixes impressively acoustics with electrics, not to mention an astonishing "harmonized" solo figure in the middle of the song. Jones' playing is as inspired as on What Is and Bonham treats the verses with African percussion. Impressive!

Living Loving Maid is the brother of Communication Breakdown in the sense that it is a pop-meets-hard rock experiment, but quite often feels watered-down. It lacks the trademark Zeppelin fire and the group mistakenly emphasizes the pop side rather than the hard one, the former of which they never truly mastered. Another let down is also Thank You; where has Babe I'm Gonna Leave You gone? This is arguably a low point in Zep-ballads, where even the admittedly good melody can't save the tune from its overly sentimental and 'adolescent' nature. This is a band that would, in the following years, pen mature gems like Going To California and That's The Way.

The closing Bring It On Home is one last valuable addition,to the album but it pales in comparison to the debut's closing number, which kicks it by the window any time of the week, but it has a well-written riff, as well as interesting harp lines from Robert?and that's about it. Live, it worked much, much better as a medley; everyone should check it out. The honor for the worst cut, though, must fall on Moby Dick. Now, don't get me wrong; John Bonham is tied for my favorite drummer together with Keith Moon and Neil Peart and others. , but this is not the essence of his playing. He became famous for being an inventive, dynamic and instinctive drummer, not a soloing beast. Not to mention that, the only people who need drum solos on an album are, guess what, drummers. The rest should, logically, press the forward button as soon as possible.

To cut the story short, this a solid and in places improved follow-up to the group's first album. Unfortunately, it has a solid percentage of filler and, quite frankly, I'm not going to forgive this flaw just because Whole Lotta Love and Heartbreaker are/were radio standards. The debut had a zero amount of bad songs and a much more threatening vibe that truly is the essence of early Led Zeppelin. And while it opens much more impressively, it finishes rather poorly compared to I. In any way, it is Zeppelin at their prime without a doubt and one of the best they did throughout their impressive career. Great sophomore album, 4 stars

If you've listened to the band's entire discography, you'll notice that by the mid-80s, their extravagance and affinity for grandiose concepts eventually became their undoing. The Grand Illusion is widely considered Styx's best record because it is the optimal point of intersection between their grandiosity and artistic integrity ? it came out after their meandering progressive roots, yet before they imploded into disjointed, theatrical pop. What we end up with is something that sounds magnificent and retains Styx's trademark flair-for-the-dramatic, but is also capable of detouring into mysterious and unpredictable territories.

The Grand Illusion is not so much a "concept album" as it is one that possesses a central motif. Themes of eschewing material wealth and coming to peace with who you are permeate the record: paired with the similarly themed follow- up Pieces of Eight, 1977-1978 marked Styx's existential crisis period. The band was at peak popularity, and they questioned everything from their fame ("we made the grade and still we wonder who the hell we are") to their place in the world ("I spend my life and sell my soul on the road, and I'm still in the dark"). It makes for an uplifting experience as Styx condemn affluence and celebrity status in favor of trying to relate to their listeners on a human level. It's as Dennis DeYoung sings on the stately, eponymous opener, "deep inside we're all the same."

Styx somewhat unfairly garners a reputation as a cheesy glam-rock band. There is certainly some truth to it as they espouse some of these traits, but their music was always built upon a foundation of progressive-leaning rock with interesting guitar solos, varied song structures, and mysterious atmospheres. These styles are easier to differentiate from the pomp and frills on earlier works, but The Grand Illusion is by far the best combination of styles ? resulting in a breakthrough that would lead to Styx's golden era (1977's The Grand Illusion, 1978's Pieces of Eight, 1979's Cornerstone, and 1981's Paradise Theater). In that sense, this record might be viewed as not only the group's masterwork, but also the catalyst that led to one of the most fruitful five year periods in the history of rock 'n' roll. The Grand Illusion is an essential of Styx discography its also their proggiest effort. 5 stars.

Boyle could not only sing angelically and with more warmth than MCSHEE, but she adds flutes and whistles complementing those of the ever present TONY ROBERTS, while Tilston himself sings and strums and plucks a cornucopia of instruments. The result is the best such collaboration in Renbourn's long career at this unlikely late date of 1988. While it can't match his best instrumental projects, songs like the STEELEYE like "Searching for Lambs", the enchanting "Sandwood down to Kyle", and the MORRIGAN-like title cut lend credibility to the hypothesis that the newcomers injected needed vivacity into a formula that had thus far been only a titch to the good side of competent. Even the one vocal-less number "Cobbler's Jig / Maltese Brawls", with a title that screams filler, is one of the high points for its flourishing arrangements.

It's a shame that this was not only a one off but proved to be Renbourn's last disc for a decade. While it hits the 3.5 star level on the nose, I'd be a fool not to round up if only to acknowledge its preeminence relative to the 1977 and 1980 top heavy John Renbourn Group issues.