Exposé Online » Reviews of releases for 1985

Items found : 32

Marillion - Misplaced Childhood

[Regarding the 1998 reissue]

Marillion's opus Misplaced Childhood is about as perfect a specimen of the neo-progressive genre as you'll find. I am no adherent of...

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(Posted by Mike McLatchey 1999-11-01)

Wishbone Ash - Twin Barrels Burning & Raw to the Bone

The first half of the 80s were troubled times for Wishbone Ash; the band that had created classics like Pilgrimage, the mighty Argus, and There’s the Rub only a few...

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(Posted by Peter Thelen 2018-06-29)

Present - Le Poison Qui Rend Fou

Generally speaking, spin-offs are never a good idea, but if you count Present as a Univers Zero spin-off then it's a terrific exception to that rule. Le Poison Qui Rend Fou was the...

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(Posted by Mike McLatchey 2018-06-14)

Robert Rich - Inner Landscapes

There is a wealth of music to be found on Audion / Ultima Thule’s Auricle cassette label. Right off the bat, there are the Peter Frohmader classics Jules Verne Cycle and Orakel /...

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(Posted by Mike McLatchey 1999-11-01)

The Monochrome Set - 1979-1985 - Complete Recordings

The Monochrome Set is a band that I had heard the name of but never encountered their music. I believe that I first read about them through Archie Patterson’s early efforts with Paradox Music...

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(Posted by Henry Schneider 2018-03-07)

Pendragon - The Jewel

You'd really never know what a classic early 80s Marquee-era progressive rock album The Jewel is by the opener, "Higher Circles," a really abysmal, cheesy number that I'm...

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(Posted by Mike McLatchey 2018-05-03)

The Muffins - Open City

For the uninitiated, The Muffins were a Washington DC based band who existed from about 1973 to '81. Despite that many years, they only released three regular albums during their career...

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(Posted by Peter Thelen 1994-08-01)

Takami - Y. de Noir II & Yume no Kirigishi

Serenity... calm... stillness... These are the virtues most strongly imbued in the music of Takami's first recording Y. de Noir II, an album that is almost completely dominated by...

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(Posted by Mike Ezzo 1996-03-01)

Kenso - Overview of Pre-1996 Releases

If Japan has the equivalent of a Happy the Man, Kenso is it. Their sound encompasses everything, from polished symphonic prog, to fusion, Canterbury, even touches of Japanese traditional music. The music is (with a couple of exceptions) entirely instrumental, melodically rich, highly spirited, and completely energized. They've been together since the late 70s, off and on, and the lineup has changed over time, but has always centered around guitarist Yoshihisa Shimizu. In addition to guitar, the lineup typically features dual keyboards, bass, and drums — and early on included a flautist as well.  » Read more
(Posted by Peter Thelen 1996-03-01)

Kenso - Overview of Pre-1996 Releases

If Japan has the equivalent of a Happy the Man, Kenso is it. Their sound encompasses everything, from polished symphonic prog, to fusion, Canterbury, even touches of Japanese traditional music. The music is (with a couple of exceptions) entirely instrumental, melodically rich, highly spirited, and completely energized. They've been together since the late 70s, off and on, and the lineup has changed over time, but has always centered around guitarist Yoshihisa Shimizu. In addition to guitar, the lineup typically features dual keyboards, bass, and drums — and early on included a flautist as well.  » Read more
(Posted by Peter Thelen 1996-03-01)

Various Artists - Space Echo: The Mystery behind the Cosmic Sound of Cabo Verde Finally Revealed

Cabo Verde aka Cape Verde is an archipelago of 10 volcanic islands 350 miles off the coast of West Africa. It was uninhabited until Portuguese explorers discovered and colonized it in the 15th...

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(Posted by Henry Schneider 2016-08-06)

Etron Fou Leloublan - 43 Songs

Yet another crazy band. Establishing their premises strongly in the RIO realm, Etron Fou Leloublan's crafters weave intricate lines putting forth saxes in the forefront while silly lyrics...

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(Posted by Alain Lachapelle 1997-02-01)

Klaus Schulze - Revisited Records Reissues, Part 1

Revisited Records continues its reissue of the Klaus Schulze back catalog with another 12 CDs. I haven’t quite figured out their rationale, but they are releasing 12 a year covering the...

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(Posted by Henry Schneider 2008-01-01)

Bertrand Loreau - Réminiscences

Bertrand Loreau is a French synthesist who has been composing and releasing music for the past 30 years. Listening to and learning from the masters Klaus Schulze and Vangelis, Loreau has an...

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(Posted by Henry Schneider 2011-06-01)

Edward Ka-Spel - Eyes! China Doll

Beta-lactam Ring Records has just reissued Edward Ka-Spel’s classic second solo album from 1985, Eyes! China Doll. This reissue is its first proper CD reissue and it comes in a...

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(Posted by Henry Schneider 2016-06-02)

Riccardo Sinigaglia - Watertube / Ringspiel

Originally released in 1985 as a cassette on the ADN Tapes label, this was Sinigaglia’s first solo release after having been a member of the experimental world music trio Futuro Antico. The...

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(Posted by Peter Thelen 2016-04-29)

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)

La Société des Timides à la Parade des Oiseaux - Le Combat Occulté

This French avant-garde troupe has been around for a while, and though I’ve seen the name around for ages, this odds-n-sods collection is the first I’ve really heard of their strange...

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(Posted by Jon Davis 2006-05-01)

Pneuma - Psychabuse

The release of Pneuma's CD represents a much-needed effort at filling the gaps in the huge hole that has opened up in Japan with this genre: that of the solo electronic / synth. artist. For...

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(Posted by Mike Ezzo 1996-03-01)

Lacrymosa - Bugbear

Lacrymosa is a collective of musicians loosely organized around bassist Chihiro S. (see also Golden...

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(Posted by Peter Thelen 1996-03-01)

Anna Homler / Steve Moshier - Breadwoman and Other Tales

In the early 80s, performance artist Anna Homler crossed paths with avant-garde composer Steve Moshier, and this collaboration was the result. Moshier took recordings of Homler’s wordless...

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(Posted by Jon Davis 2016-02-02)

Magma - Mythes et Légendes Vol.1

Released in 1985, Mythes et Légendes, Vol. 1 is essentially a condensed overview of the Kobaïan story. It features extracts from several early compositions tracing the...

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(Posted by Rob Walker 1995-11-01)

Hawkwind - Chronicle of the Black Sword

This incarnation of the band is the same as the one that released Church of...

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(Posted by Anatole Gordon 1994-10-01)

In Spe - Typewriter Concerto

This is the second album by this outstanding Estonian ensemble, probably better known as The Girl on the Beach (based on the photo on the front cover, all information on the original LP...

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(Posted by Peter Thelen 1995-07-01)

Michael Stearns - Planetary Unfolding

McLatchey's Second Tier

If Morning Jewel was about the slow album-side rise from silence to peak, Planetary Unfolding worked a similar magic with smaller...

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(Posted by Mike McLatchey 2016-02-18)

Pneuma - Psychabuse

A repetitive pattern recalling the spirit of "Tubular Bells" introduces the listener, continuing long after its worn out it's welcome, creating a nervous tension – nothing could...

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(Posted by Peter Thelen 1995-07-01)

Outer Limits - Misty Moon

Musea continues to unearth the most unknown and rare albums from the annals of obscure progrock history. Outer Limits were a pretty original Japanese band from one of the darkest times in prog...

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(Posted by Dane Carlson 1999-01-01)

Air Craft - So Near, So Far

After the death of progressive rock at the end of the 70s, some of the survivors kept their band names and turned to more commercial endeavors, or else they were driven deep underground where...

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(Posted by Peter Thelen 2015-01-29)

Urban Sax - Urban Sax, Fraction sur le Temps & Spiral

Legend has it that the idea for Urban Sax came into being around 1973, when the town of Menton in the south of France commissioned Gilbert Artman to reverberate the town with four amplified fixed...

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(Posted by Peter Thelen 1994-10-01)

Kit Watkins - Azure, Sunstruck & In Time

Everyone should at least be aware of who Kit Watkins is. His first gig was keyboardist with the acclaimed Happy the Man, who released two outstanding albums in the late 70s, for which Kit penned...

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(Posted by Peter Thelen 1994-10-01)

Magma - Kronicas

Not to be confused with the Kobaian ensemble led by Christian Vander, of course, this Magma was a symphonic progressive band borne out of the same Argentine music underground that produced MIA and...  » Read more
(Posted by Mike Ohman 1996-03-01)

Ken Watson - Assembly

Originally released independently in 1985, Watson's home-brew project has stood the test of time: until this CD came out, that vinyl release with its  » Read more
(Posted by Peter Thelen 1994-05-01)