Exposé Online » Reviews of releases for 1984

Items found : 41

Jethro Tull - Under Wraps

Jethro Tull has been with us now for 15 years of more. In this time, they have changed dramatically, from the late 60s flok-blues influenced rock, through their mid-70s elaborately orchestrated...

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(Posted by Jon Davis 1984-10-24)

John Cale - Comes Alive

Does anybody remember the Velvet Underground? I don't. Sure I've heard Lou Reed and even Nico, and I've seen Andy Warhol's video for The Cars. But the Underground itself was before...

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(Posted by Jon Davis 1984-11-30)

Mahavishnu Orchestra - Mahavishnu

In the late 60s, guitarist John McLaughlin burst onto the jazz scene, playing with Miles Davis and Tony Williams at the very beginnings of jazz-rock fusion. When he formed his own group, Mahavishnu...

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(Posted by Jon Davis 1984-10-18)

Shadowfax - The Dreams of Children

Windham Hill used to be known for beautiful acoustic music, be it solo piano or guitar or small groups. Then along came Shadowfax, an eclectic bunch of electric and acoustic musicians with a style...

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(Posted by Jon Davis 1984-11-02)

XTC - The Big Express

I confess a weakness in reviewing XTC. I've liked all of their previous records. You might say I'm prejudiced, and it's no surprise I like the new release. But after all, it is a very...

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(Posted by Jon Davis 1984-11-02)

Andy Summers / Robert Fripp - Bewitched

When Andy Summers, guitar wizard with the Police, and Robert Fripp, guitar wizard with King Crimson, get together, you have to expect magic. Their first collaboration, I Advance Masked,...

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(Posted by Jon Davis 1984-10-05)

Mugen - Sinfonia della Luna

Originally released in 1984, a pretty dark time for all types of prog, this Japanese symphonic outfit put out a release that shines like the moonlight its title refers to. Mellow, smooth, and...

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(Posted by Dan Casey 1997-10-01)

Jan Akkerman - Pleasure Point, From the Basement & Heartware

Hux records, the offshoot of the extinct BBC archives label Windsong, has now branched off into re-master heaven with a series of 80s releases by ex-Focus master guitarist Jan Akkerman. With each...

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(Posted by Jeff Melton 1999-04-01)

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...

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(Posted by Jeff Melton 1997-05-01)

Klaus Schulze - Audentity & Angst

Audentity features Klaus plus Michael Shrieve (the original drummer with Santana) on percussion, Rainer Bloss (sounds and glockenspeil), and Wolfgang Tiebold (cello). The sound is clean,...

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(Posted by Mike McLatchey 2018-04-19)

Twelfth Night - Smiling at Grief & Art and Illusion - The Definitive Editions

Those interested in discovering the roots of neo-prog owe it to themselves to explore the music of Twelfth Night, and I can’t think of a better place to start than here. Smiling at Grief...

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(Posted by Paul Hightower 2011-06-01)

Magma - Merci

With a seven year hiatus since Magma's previous studio album, Merci finds Vander pushing a completely new sound for the band. The influence of early 80s pop music is fairly strong...

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(Posted by Rob Walker 1995-11-01)

Twice Bitten - Late Cut

Twice Bitten started life in late 1982 at Nottingham University, the duo of Rog Patterson and Greg Smith, both philosophy students, guitarists, and singers, and although the wordsmith of the duo...

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(Posted by Peter Thelen 2016-12-28)

However - Calling

Anyone who owned the original LP of this (on Cuneiform) and got to know it well will be initially shocked by this CD reissue. Indeed, However has taken great liberties with the reissue of this,...

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(Posted by Peter Thelen 1996-03-01)

North Star - Triskelion

Sometimes I wonder what I am missing about a band or album Musea reissues. North Star is a case in point. They are a derivative neo-progressive band from Pennsylvania best described as a Genesis /...

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(Posted by Henry Schneider 1993-12-31)

Murray Head - Restless

Murray Head is one of those few mid-60s singer/songwriters who seems at home on the silver screen as much as in a recording studio. In a career that has spanned almost four decades, it's clear...

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(Posted by Jeff Melton 2002-09-01)

Circles - Circles & More Circles

Circles was the obscure German electronic trio of Dierk Litert (synths, sequencers, drums, bass, guitar, voice, saxophone, and flute), Mike Bormann (guitars, bass, and synths), and Busch Buchweitz...

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(Posted by Henry Schneider 2016-06-03)

Synergy - Semiconductor, Release 2 & Metropolitan Suite

In 1986, the first era of Synergy releases came to an end with Metropolitan Suite, which in some ways is the culmination of Larry Fast’s original musical vision. That does not make...

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(Posted by Jon Davis 1999-04-01)

Edward Ka-Spel - Laugh China Doll

Laugh China Doll was Edward Ka-Spel’s first solo release, recorded in 1984. This first release was a limited issue of 2000 LPs on the In-Phaze label that quickly disappeared,...

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(Posted by Henry Schneider 2006-05-01)

Dead Can Dance - First Five Reissued

Since 1984, Brendan Perry and Lisa Gerrard have created seven albums that stand the test of time: Dead Can Dance (1984), Spleen and Ideal (1985), Within the Realm of a Dying...

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(Posted by Alan Gunnison 1995-03-01)

Débile Menthol - Emile à la Campagne

This two-disc set collects both of Swiss band Debile Menthol's early-80s studio LPs (1981's Emile au Jardin Patrologique and Battre Campagne from '84) into a single...

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(Posted by Peter Thelen 1995-03-01)

Débile Menthol - Emile à la Campagne

This two-disc set collects both of Swiss band Debile Menthol's early-80s studio LPs (1981's Emile au Jardin Patrologique and Battre Campagne from '84) into a single...

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(Posted by Peter Thelen 1995-03-01)

Sagittarian - Sagittarian

Sagittarian were a Japanese primarily-instrumental six-piece that put out one obscure album in the early 80s (in a limited edition of 100). The dominant sound is a Camel-influenced progressive...

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(Posted by Peter Thelen 1996-08-01)

Fromage - Ondine

Cheese jokes aside, this band was active throughout the eighties, and released two regular albums. Their approach was symphonic, featuring guitar, bass, keys, drums and flute, and female vocals,...

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(Posted by Peter Thelen 1996-03-01)

Musicalia - Magicorò

Once in a while comes a disc that is surprising by its nature. Magicorò is issued on the Italian Kaliphonia progressive label, but it is a gripping work of chamber music and...

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(Posted by Alain Lachapelle 1995-11-01)

Mahavishnu Orchestra - Mahavishnu

I don’t think anyone would argue against the idea that the Mahavishnu Orchestra’s peak was long past by the time John McLaughlin put this version of the band together. McLaughlin...

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(Posted by Jon Davis 2003-12-01)

The Foundation - Departure

Tepid 80s symphonic rock certainly doesn’t do a lot of head turning in the pages of Exposé, and Swiss group The Foundation may not do anything to change one’s mind. The...

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(Posted by Mike McLatchey 2000-10-01)

Univers Zéro - Uzed

McLatchey's Second Tier

This Belgian group followed up their classic third album...

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(Posted by Mike McLatchey 2015-11-26)

Osiris - Myths & Legends

Bahrain is a small group of islands in the Persian Gulf. Of all the places one wouldn't expect as a source of progressive music, it has got to be near the top of the list. But think about it,...

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(Posted by Mike Ohman 1996-08-01)

Savant - Artificial Dance

Artificial Dance gives us the entire original Savant LP plus seven additional tracks from singles and so on. This welcome reissue brings to mind a number of thoughts. First is the fact...

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(Posted by Jon Davis 2015-08-30)

Zaragon - No Return

At some point in the past I had heard this obscure Danish five-piece compared with IQ. In fact, after finally hearing it, that assessment seems to be quite inaccurate. Yes, there are some...

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(Posted by Peter Thelen 1995-07-01)

Marco Antônio Araújo - Four Reissues

Marco Antônio Araújo was an accomplished Brazilian cellist/acoustic guitarist, much inspired by classical music. What strikes me in Araújo's work is the seemingly intemporal...

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(Posted by Alan K. Lipton 1995-07-01)

Robert Rich - Trances / Drones

McLatchey's Top Tier #21

I'm not sure there's any musician alive who has a discography as long and deep as Robert Rich, and as I continue to make posts there's going to be quite a...

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(Posted by Mike McLatchey 2015-06-18)

Robert Rich - Trances / Drones

This may be my favorite rerelease of the year, especially in the electronic/ambient vein. Trances and Drones were Stanford-based composer Rich's second and third cassette releases in...  » Read more
(Posted by Mike McLatchey 1995-03-01)

Fromage - Ondine

Fromage. That's French for 'cheese.' This Fromage, however, are not French at all, but rather they are a Japanese five piece (g/k/d/b/v+flute) from the '80's. The keyword here is 80s. A very dated...  » Read more
(Posted by Dan Casey 1994-10-01)

Daniel Lentz - Point Conception

These two piano pieces – the title composed in 1979 for nine pianos and the second, shorter “NightBreaker” composed in 1990 for four pianos – place Point Conception in the middle of...  » Read more
(Posted by K. Leimer 2009-07-01)

Original Outer Limits - Outer Mania

Outer Limits were one of the mainstays of the Japanese 80s symphonic scene and perhaps one of the most accomplished of their peers (Teru's Symphonia, Pageant, Mr. Sirius and others). They released...  » Read more
(Posted by Mike McLatchey 1994-10-01)

Spirit - Son of Spirit / Farther Along & Future Games / Spirit of 84

After Spirit’s first four classic albums, the band entered a period of fluctuating personnel, style, and success. The double-LP Spirit of ‘76 had marked the revitalization of the band...

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(Posted by Jon Davis 2006-05-01)

Ptôse - Ignobles Limaces + Night of the Reptiles

If you can take your mind back to the early 80s, you might recall that heavily orchestrated rock music (aka “progressive”) was no longer the province of musicians with ambitions to create Art....  » Read more
(Posted by Jon Davis 2006-05-01)

Wendy Carlos - Digital Moonscapes & Beauty in the Beast

One of the shortcomings of electronic music is that no matter how sophisticated the hardware and software have become, it can’t approach natural instrumentation for the wealth of detail in sound and...  » Read more
(Posted by Jon Davis 2001-07-01)

Cyrille Verdeaux - Messenger of the Son

Verdeaux' name should be familiar to many, he was the main mover in the intensely symphonic seventies French band Clearlight, whose first two albums Symphony and Forever Blowing...  » Read more
(Posted by Peter Thelen 1996-03-01)