Exposé Online

10cc - King Biscuit Flower Hour Presents 10cc in Concert

The King Biscuit archives are vast commodity of lost recordings of live bands in action, as they were: warts and all. One of the many missing chronicles in live music history is the early period of...

After Crying - De Profundis

I'm not sure how this fits in in the overall scheme. It's one of those albums that makes you feel maybe you're just not hip enough for this yet. You know, if I give myself a couple of...

Ajalon - Light at the End of the Tunnel

The first CD release for this Christian progressive band (stop cringing) is part of Rick Wakeman's venture on his new Hope label located on the Isle of Man. These residents from uptown...

Alan Stivell - Brian Boru

Anyone who doesn't recognize this name is definitely sticking too hard to certain genres, as Alan Stivell is a legend — and as deserving of praise as any other individual musician I could...

Amaia Zubiria / Pascal Gaigne - Zineman

This is a serene, sometimes melancholy album of predominantly instrumental pieces. Pascal Gaigne alternates between piano, accordion, synth, and some brief acoustic guitar. He is joined on various...

Area - Chernobyl 7991

Hmmm? A new release from Area? Yep. Fariselli, Capiozzo return with bassist Paolo dalla Porta for one of the strangest releases in a long time. Tic & Tac this is not, but it has a...

Area - Concerto Teatro Uomo

Released virtually in parallel with the magnificent Parigi-Lisbona towards the end of last year, this double-live bootleg-quality set gives an even more impressive account of the Area...

Bertrand Loreau - Sur le Chemin...

France hasn't exactly been renowned as a breeding ground for solo electronic artists. I can call to mind only a small handful who have surfaced over the years. So this album by the one-man...

Bill Nelson - After the Satellite Sings

Solo artist extraordinaire (due in no small part to the huge volume of work generated in almost 30 years), Bill Nelson's latest collage is a splash of modern sophisticated pop, sampled amusing...

C.W. Vrtacek - Days of Grace

Try tackling a review for a project like this and inevitably you end up with blank pages and a headache brought on by acute frustration. Whenever I listen to music of a very personal, experimental...

Caravan - All over You

Caravan finally takes the plunge into Unplugged Greatest Hits territory, but with mixed results. New versions of ancient tracks are really no better or worse than their two decade-old predecessors,...

Channel Light Vessel - Excellent Spirits

Believe it or not, Channel Light Vessel is a superstar ambient group. Personnel breakdown includes Dream Academy alumni Kate St. John, Bill Nelson, Laraaji (Ambient 3: Day of Radiance),...

Cobweb Strange - The Temptation of Successive Hours

Atlanta power trio Cobweb Strange is led by singer / songwriter and bassist Wade Summerlin. Together with Jonathan Burke and Derik Rinehart, they've shaped forty-five minutes of guitar-based...

Creedle - When the Wind Blows

Creedle is a band that has come a long way. Their debut recording in the early 90s (Half Man, Half Pie) established them as an alternative punk band with a serious musical outlook....

Cro Magnon - Bull?

It's been a few seasons since Cro Magnon's debut CD Zapp! This long-awaited follow-up picks up where the first left off, but adds a bit more variety and electricity to the mix. The...

Culto sin Nombre - Hallazgos Nerviosos

Like dark? Here's dark. Anyone remember a Mexican mid-80s group called Nazca? They had a couple of very Stravinsky influenced chamber-rock albums and then disappeared nearly without trace....

Doctor Nerve - Every Screaming Ear

Guitarist / bandleader Nick Didkovsky's latest Dr. Nerve offering is something of a live retrospective of the band's various musical personalities. While many of the tracks on Every...

Enchant - Wounded

Three years after their debut A Blueprint of the World hit the streets, Enchant is back. Wounded is a much more somber and mellow record than Blueprint, and shows the...

Erratica - Erratica

Erratica is essentially the solo project of multi-instrumentalist David O'Neil, one third of San Jose trio Industrial Soup. Much of the madness of that band's Flagrant Display of...

Escapade - Searching for the Elusive Rainbow

One wouldn't think that music this trippy could come from the USA in the 90s; indeed, the references in Escapade's music go back to the experimental Krautrock of the earliest 70s —...

Fred & Co. - Fred & Co.

So who is this Fred guy, anyway? One glance at the cover and one can see the long list of French jazz-rock session men who worked on this release (most of whom are unknown to this writer...),...

Ganelin / Tarasov / Chekasin - Concerto Grosso

My first impression of this Russian trio's single, long improvisation (nearly thirty-five minutes) was that this was some vile attempt to do an Irish jig, using recorders and ocarina to begin...

Gary Windo - His Master's Bones

60s jazz icon Gary Windo was a member of both the US and UK jazz scenes. This compilation of the tenor sax player's activities, produced by noted Canterbury musicologist Mike King, is a loving...

GTR - King Biscuit Flower Hour

1986: a transitional year when two frustrated but previously successful English guitarists decided they would pool their talents and start a new project. The focus for this group would be on two...

Haco - Haco

After an almost seven-year hiatus since Paradise of Replica (After Dinner's last, and only second full studio release), songstress and presumptive After Dinner leader, Haco resurfaces,...

Il Segno del Comando - Il Segno del Comando

After a minute or so of chanting, wind-sounds, and church bells, the mighty Hammond organ casts its spell, followed by dual guitars, drums, and bass, marching onward into the title track (named...

Jacky Maestracci Symphonia - Kosen-Rufu

As evidenced by the unusual (for Musea) catalog number, this release is not part of the primary offering (FGBG) series from Musea. When you hear it, you'll know why. This aptly-titled release...

Jane Siberry - Teenager

Quirky Jane Siberry's eighth album is her first on her new label and a poignant introspective delving into the past via songs she wrote at age 16. This really is only her second completely solo...

Jeff Song & Lowbrow - Rules of Engagement

On paper, a project such as this one would likely scare off the majority of Exposé readers — an entire CD of nine lengthy and involved free-form pieces. The problem of where...

José Luis Fernández Ledesma Q. - Motivos para Perdere

Ledesma may be known by some already for his recent duet recording with Alquimia called Dead Tongues, and as a member of Nirgal Vallis during the 80s. Now he's back with an opus that,...

Kenso - Zaiya Live

Kenso has been a fixture of the Japanese progressive rock scene since the 70s, and in the midst of numerous changes in style, they have always stayed true (more or less) to the high standards of...

Levi Chen - Meditation of My Soul

Peace and tranquillity are yours for the asking when you spin this CD, the third by Levi Chen, an accomplished performer on electric guitar and guzheng (here called "Chinese harp")....

Luc Marianni's Seltae Beat - Up and Down

Musea seems to be releasing a number of concept albums lately. Up and Down, their latest and Luc Marianni’s sixth album, is a bit unusual in that it is exactly 60 minutes long....

Mal - Memory Overflow

Memory Overflow is a demo from Malcolm Humes, who plays guitars, synth, loops, etc. The disc contains some very rough mixes from the catalog of his recordings throughout an 11-year period...

Mary Newsletter - Nuove Lettere

A five-piece from Vigevano, Mary Newsletter forges their sound from strong folk and classical roots and the sensibility of the best seventies Italian progressive rock using dual guitars, keys, bass...

Masahiko Hosokawa - Like Shimmering of Hot Air

Belle Antique have really come full circle now, with this release — a solo keyboard work from Hosokawa, a native Japanese composer. The album consists roughly of six solo piano pieces,...

Midas - Midas II

As one of the several Japanese symphonic rock groups of worthy note, its good to see that Midas have released a second album, as their Beyond the Clear Air was one of the better in a genre...

moe. - No Doy

It's always hard to write objectively about a band which has won over my heart, fully and completely. Such is the case with moe. For those of you who have read Expose #11, you already know from...

New Sun - Live at the Back of a Cavern

This simple cassette recording is an accurate live representation of a tight five-piece unit from the San Francisco Bay Area playing at the Cactus Club last year in July. Stretching out in a...

Perfume de Mujer - Variaciones en la Cuerda Vol. 2 & 3

This 1996 CD release from Cuban ensemble Perfume de Mujer is a compilation of their two albums L’Ultima Cena and Aquarium. Ten participants are credited here though most of...

Pest - Pest

Here's a real surprise. Fans of Crimson's harder edge as well as folks like Kong and Buckethead will want to take note. This Austrian five-piece of drums, bass, cello, accordion, and guitar...

Phil Miller - In Cahoots - Parallel

Canterbury guitar god Phil Miller's eighth post-National Health album is another notch in the tree for the player as composer. Phil seems to be on a sideways trend as he gets older to downplay...

Quarkspace - Spacefolds 1

While the material on Quarkspace's CD release (see review in issue #11) has more of a song focus, these...

Reinhard Flatischler + Megadrums - Layers of Time

I've never heard of this fine musician before now, but if I had one bit of advice to give him I'd say, "Call up Manfred Eicher, pronto!" This release would fit sparklingly well on...

Renaissance - At the Royal Albert Hall with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

It is with great pleasure that I announce Renaissance live at the Royal Albert Hall with Orchestra. Recorded live on the King Biscuit Flower Hour on October 14, 1977, this is a far better...

Shadowland - Mad as a Hatter

Shadowland is basically a collaboration side-project for Pendragon keyboardist Clive Nolan and guitarist Karl Groom. It seems that the neo-prog onslaught has tapered down a bit over the last year,...

Sonic Abandon - Sonic Abandon

This overlooked project is simply two talented guitarists playing together with engaging rhythms and somber effects units. There are four pieces loosely connected by some vague, linear continuity....

Spock's Beard - The Beard Is out There (AKA Official Live Bootleg)

The Los Angeles ProgFests have proven their worth to the attendees and now they seem to be yielding rewards for the performers as well. While there was no ProgFest last year, 1996 turned out to be...

Steve Hackett - Genesis Revisited

After Steve Hackett left Genesis in 1977, he continued to create imaginative music while his cohorts gradually faded into a massive commercial success. With the Genesis of old long gone, Steve...

Steve Jansen and Richard Barbieri - Other Worlds in a Small Room

Other Worlds in a Small Room is the only second duo project by half of Japan (later Rain Tree Crow) and also a few side projects with Mick Karn (Seed). In addition, Barbieri is...

Surrender to the Air - Surrender to the Air

Free jazz is little more than an afterthought in the consciousness of the jazz world today, so it is refreshing as well as a bit intriguing to see a gutsy new release in this genre, from a major...

Telaio Magnetico - Live '75

Steve Hackett once made a very poignant comment on the conflicts engendered when instrumental music is inappropriately adorned by vocals; he said it was as if you had painted this marvelous canvas,...

The Last James - Kindergarten

Is this Magical Mystery Tour Vol. II? Kindergarten is a brilliant concept album of intense psychedelic pop, loaded with Mellotrons, great vocal harmonies, song-to-song musical...

Thistle - Thistle

What a pleasant surprise I had the day when I found this treasure in my mail box! Thistle is the latest release of mysterious-cosmic-eerie female vocal-electronic music from Ventricle. Up...

Trembling Strain - Bottom of Empty

Trembling Strain may well lose whatever fans they have gained, or else recruit lots of new ones by virtue of this, their third album in less than a year and a half. In this short time the ensemble...

Valarie Morris - Transformations

Like an artist's sketchbook; that is, in essence, what Transformations presents itself as. Most of the titles were written for small groupings of winds, piano, etc., but are rendered...

Various Artists - Czech Masters of Rock Guitar / Čeští Mistři Rockové Kytary

As the title implies, what we have here are eleven tracks of smoking hot instrumental guitar rock. The list of featured performers reads like a who's who of Czech guitarists — some...

Various Artists - Czeching In

Well, well, well, I was as unprepared for this omnibus CD as one could be. Apart from Iva Bittová, Dunaj, and Už Jsme Doma, little other Czech rock music of a creative nature seemed to hit...

Various Artists - Maborishi No Sekai Samples

Readers may recall the deluge of Japanese symphonic rock bands flourishing in the mid-80s. It would seem the last of their like has been seen. Enter the 90s, and Maboroshi No Sekai. The brainchild...

Various Artists - Progfest '95

For those of you not able to attend the festival in Los Angeles in November 1995, here is your chance to experience the highlights of Progfest ‘95. Opening the festival and this 2CD set is...

Various Artists - Progfest '95

Well, it's finally here. This 2CD package was definitely worth the wait, even that two of the featured bands (Solaris and Spock's Beard) have already released their entire Progfest...

Various Artists - Variaciones en la Cuerda Vol. 1

The Mexican Luna Negra label has released two discs as an overview of the Cuban prog scene, under the moniker Variaciones en la Cuerda, Una Vision del Rock en Cuba, Vols. 1 and 2....

Vidna Obmana - Twilight of Perception

Belgian composer Vidna Obmana has been on the Fourth World electronic scene for quite a few years now, using electronics, percussion, tape loops, and processing to produce music with a rich, dark,...

Völgyessy Szomor Fanni - Hajnalban

Volgyessi Szomor Fanni is the female singer for Hungarian band You and I, whose excellent eponymous release was

Wappa Gappa - Yamatai Koku (AKA Wappa Gappa)

Combining elements of several types of rock into one package, Wappa Gappa touches on just about everything. Vocalist Tamami Yamamoto is a mezzo with a really smooth voice, and she typically sings...

What's new

These are the most recent changes made to artists, releases, and articles.

• Release: Thierry Zaboitzeff - Pagan Dances
  Updated 2021-11-30 00:01:12
• Release: Charlie Rauh & Cameron Mizell - What We Have In Common
  Updated 2021-11-29 22:33:02
• Release: Kornmo - Vandring
  Updated 2021-11-29 16:20:15
• Release: Kornmo - Svartisen
  Updated 2021-11-29 16:17:32
• Release: Kornmo - Fimbulvinter
  Updated 2021-11-29 16:15:42
• Artist: Kornmo
  Updated 2021-11-29 16:12:38
• Release: Isobar - Isobar II
  Updated 2021-11-28 22:09:32
• Release: Dreadnaught - Northern Burner
  Updated 2021-11-28 22:06:55
• Release: David M. Stowell - A Raven in Flight
  Updated 2021-11-28 19:48:12
• Artist: David M. Stowell
  Updated 2021-11-28 19:47:05
• Release: Airbag - A Day in the Studio / Unplugged in Oslo
  Updated 2021-11-28 19:29:04
• Release: Flower in My Lung - Exopotamia
  Updated 2021-11-24 15:26:58
• Release: Flower in My Lung - Flower in My Lung
  Updated 2021-11-24 15:19:53
• Artist: Flower in My Lung
  Updated 2021-11-24 15:18:50
• Release: The Breakers - Tubular Bells (The Exorcist Theme)
  Updated 2021-11-23 23:37:49
• Review: Proud Peasant - Peasantsongs
  Updated 2021-11-23 13:43:13
• Release: Spirit - Sunrise & Salvation - The Mercury Era Anthology
  Updated 2021-11-23 00:36:20
• Review: The Ed Palermo Big Band - I've Got News for You: The Music of Edgar Winter
  Updated 2021-11-20 15:57:28
• Release: Professor Tip Top - Lanes of Time
  Updated 2021-11-20 11:07:01
• Release: Rich Halley - Boomslang
  Updated 2021-11-20 01:04:23