Genesis ELP Yes
PROG ROCK INFLUENCED
BANDS
By Country
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Citizen Cain - Cyclops
Comments:
Citizen Cain's Raising the Stones is
This is the first
album by Citizen, but it surely not to be the last. From the first song
'Contact' (following the intro), the album goes from strength to
strength culminating in the beautiful song 'Holdin' On'. It is obvious
that a great deal of time and effort has gone in to the making of this
CD from the lyrics, which seem at times to be almost autobiographical,
with Citizen singing in first person talking about "the woman that I
loved" in 'Salvation'. However, there does come a point where every
chord change seems to be the same, therefore the album falls just short
of the flawless title. However, don't get me wrong, this is a brilliant
album and well worth a listen!
Compositions: 10/10
Vocals(in English): 6.5/10
Recording Quality: 9/10
Cressida - Asylum
Comments:
Cressida's Asylum is a wonderful example of early British
symphonic progressive rock. This 1971 release mixes catchy Paul
McCartney-esque vocals with adventurously colorful instrumental
passages. The new listener will probably notice singer Angus Cullen,
whose voice comes close to McCartney's(not totally, but close). His
vocal melodies are some of the finest I've heard in 70s English prog,
and the subtle British storytelling style in the lyrics is amusing to
listen to. The instrumental sections are equally good, and tend to be
typical of early 70s prog rock. A fair amount of the music is driven by
Hammond organ(dirty, and mellow), piano, bass, guitar, and drums; a
small orchestral band also adds violins, and other orchestral
instruments(cellos, trumpets, timpanis, etc) to the arrangements. Most
of the first side of the LP seems to deal with the title of the album,
"Asylum", and ends with a short filler track. That filler track features
one of weirdest topics for a rock songs that I've heard. The second side
of the LP features a couple more short filler tracks, and a high-quality
epic. One of the short tracks, on Side B, turns a bit cheesy when the
singer starts to yell "Survivor!!!!", in a 70s broadway sort of way, but
after those few scary seconds the band returns to their classic sound.
Overall, Asylum is a classic.
Compositions: 10/10
Vocals(in English): 9.5/10
Recording Quality: 9/10
Elton Dean/Mark Hewins - Bar Torque
Comments:
Bar Torque is a duo project consisting of Elton Dean(of Soft Machine
fame) and guitarist Mark Hewins. Both musicians decided to record
improvised jam-sessions featuring Elton's alto sax melodies and Mark's
midi-guitar explorations. "Midi guitar" technology seems to stir
negative feelings out of many musicians(especially these days due to
newsgroup spammer, Jarl Sigurd). But Mark's use of midi-guitar
technology is really incredible and advanced. In fact, I would have
guessed that many of the ambient atmospheres/tones on this album came
from keyboards or the sampling library for a movie soundtrack. The CD
has three tracks total(24, 13, and 14 minutes). Elton's sax
improvisations fall somewhere within his Cantebury jazz education, and
mellower smooth-jazz common today. The music is rather relaxing, yet the
level of dissonance, and experimentation(some sections are influenced by
Indonesian Gamelan or feature Mark's more avant guitar techniques),
distances their form of jazz from more commercial forms of modern jazz.
Overall, this is an interesting CD is you're into Elton Dean, avant and
improv-jazz, and ambient music.
Website
Moon June Records
England - Garden Shed
Comments:
Are you a fan of albums like Close To The Edge and Selling
England By The Pound, and wish that Yes and Genesis released at
least one more album in those styles? Well, England
might be a band to check out. These guys not only managed to write music
similar to Yes and early Genesis back in 1977, but the quality of that
music reaches the level of those two, once mighty, bands. There isn't a
weak track on here, and the two epics are worth the price of the CD
alone. The band comes close to plagiarizing well-known Yes and Genesis
melodies, and riffs, every once in a while, but the majority of
Garden Shed sounds original. A fun album!
Compositions: 10/10
Vocals(in English): 9.5/10
Recording Quality: 9/10
Fantasy - Paint A Picture
Comments:
Before reading my short review of this album, I have to admit being a
bit biased. I really love this style of early English progressive rock.
Although the musicians are not virtuosos, and the tracks are not
terribly complex the music here is so warm, sincere, and melodic that
you immediately fall for the colorful sounds coming out of your
speakers. 1973's Paint A Picture is Fantasy's only
official release(the second album, which was rejected by Polydor in the
70s, was released on CD in 1992). Some of the music on Paint A
Picture reminds me of David Bowie's "Space Oddity". Not that the
tracks here sound like Bowie's classic song, but the orchestration is
very similar. Especially with the use of acoustic guitar, and mellotron.
The band also knew when to pick up the pace in a song with an aggressive
instrumental section or two, but the overall atmosphere is relaxed. This
classic will appeal to fans of Spring, Earth And Fire, Pentacle, and
PFM's Per Un Amico.
Compositions: 9/10
Vocals(in English): 9/10
Recording Quality: 9/10
Gracious! - Gracious!
Comments:
I heard someone say once that they considered Gracious! one of
the best albums released in 1970. Well, after listening to this album
they might have a point. Gracious! were quite influenced by King
Crimson and the Beatles, but they took their influences to the next
level. The band was seemed interested in mixing prog, hard rock, blues,
jazz, baroque, classical, and even Zappa into a futuristic sound(well,
futuristic for 1970). Both epics, which are worth the price of the CD,
are made-up of shorter sections, and we find the band quickly weaving in
and out of various genres and moods. The album, however, has some flaws
that might bother some collectors. The fourth track, for example,
features a classical duet between guitar and harpsichord. Although the
music is beautiful, it doesn't really fit the style of the other tracks.
Also, some sections on "Hell"(on side A) are silly in a style similar to
Zappa's "America Drinks and Goes Home", and don't fit into the epic.
Overall, these complaints are minor since rock musicians make
compositional mistakes all the time, but I just want to point this out
if you're looking to get this CD. In all, Gracious! is quite an
advanced prog album for a 1970 release, but expect some flaws.
Compositions: 8/10
Vocals(in English): 8/10
Recording Quality: 8.5/10
Matching Mole - Little Red Record
Comments:
Matching Mole was Robert Wyatt's first project after leaving Soft
Machine. The group released two albums with Little Red Record as
their second effort. The music here sounds like a quirky combination of
Soft Machine, Robert Wyatt's Rock Bottom, Brian Eno, with even a
bit of King Crimson thrown in(Robert Fripp appears on a couple of
tracks). The overall atmosphere is experimental and fun. Most of the
album sounds like a group of prog musicians having a great time in a
garage and in the studio. The music is complex, yet loose. Whether you
enjoy this CD, or not, depends on your opinion of Robert Wyatt's voice.
Many people have no problems with it, while others can't stand it. So I
recommend this CD to people who are familiar with Soft Machine, and
Robert Wyatt's Rock Bottom. If you're not familiar with Robert
Wyatt, check out Soft Machine's Third.
Compositions: 9/10
Vocals(in English): 9/10
Recording Quality: 8.5/10
Spring - Spring
Comments:
I'm pretty sure that alot of people are familiar with the mellotron hype
surrounding this album. You've probably read statements like "Soaked in
mellotron!", and "3 mellotrons on every track!". Well, don't fall for
it. Although most of the tracks have mellotron, the band was actually
well-rounded, and consisted of acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bass,
drums, and vocals. Basically, don't expect anything similar to King
Crimson's "Mars". Spring's music is mostly song-oriented with an
early 70s proto-prog vibe, and emphasizes vocals. You could compare this
band to Fantasy, but Fantasy are a bit more complex. That being said,
Spring produced some great music. The first 5 tracks are
high-quality if you enjoy early-70s rock. Most listeners will instantly
notice the singer's unique, and charismatic, voice. I have to also
mention that the bonus track from an unfinished 2nd album are
high-quality. Overall, I recommend Spring to fans of early
seventies English rock.
Compositions: 8/10
Vocals(in English): 9.5/10
Recording Quality: 9/10
Trader Horne - Morning Way
Comments:
What a wonderful album. 1970's Morning Way is the sole release by
the prog-folk band Trader Horne. Trader Horne were part
of the British modern folk movement of the early 70s. That era saw an
emergence of bands that took to updating local traditional folk music
with modern influences. In the case of Trader Horne, they
practically started their own genre of music. I would call it a form of
psychedelic folk music that occasionally flirts with classical music.
The new listener will instantly notice beautifully mellow songs
featuring acoustic guitars, pianos, violins, violas, harpsichords,
glockenspiels, and gorgeous 60s-era vocal interplay between a male and
female vocalist. The real emphasis here is on haunting English melodies
that simply get better as the album unfolds. Incredibly, the lyrics,
considering the era, are intelligent and hold a simple English charm. If
you're looking for a gentle, acoustic, album to relax with you found it!
Compositions: 10/10
Vocals(in English): 10/10
Recording Quality: 10/10
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