Exposé Online » Reviews of releases for 1996

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...

National Health - Missing Pieces

After 20 or so years in the vault, many unreleased National Health treasures finally see the light of day. National Health ranks up there among the most important progressive rock bands of all...

National Health - Missing Pieces

Finally! Most of the missing links between the last Hatfield and the North (1975) and the first National Health (1977) albums make their way into the light of day. Several copies of these sessions...

National Health - Missing Pieces

Normally, Exposé reserves roundtable reviews for new releases by current artists, but an exception has been made in this case — a CD of "lost" recordings by the...

Cast - Beyond Reality

Cast has released some of the more interesting neo-progressive music in the past few years. In many ways, Beyond Reality is similar to last year's Endless Sings. The strong...

Arto Lindsay - O Corpo Sutil - The Subtle Body

Lindsay has been a fixture of the New York "No Wave" scene and beyond since the early 80s. His most notable projects have been as vocalist and guitarist for The Lounge Lizards...

Mike Keneally & Beer for Dolphins - Half Alive in Hollywood

Most should be familiar with Mike Keneally's recent albums and his album with the Mistakes (unless you've been living in a cave, or stubbornly ignoring our writers' recommendations)....

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...

If, Bwana - 33 Birds Went, Breathing & Tripping India

Sometimes something comes along that totally defies categorization and comparison, like music from some other universe — or music from this universe turned inside out. Such is the music of...

Alan Gowen & Hugh Hopper - Bracknell Bresse Improvisations

The legacy of rare and obscure recordings continues on Voiceprint! Another Alan Gowen set of live recordings and free soloing ideas is released to the anxious awaiting public! Well, maybe it's...

Hugh Hopper & Richard Sinclair - Somewhere in France

Voiceprint is still hard at work unearthing half completed projects and one off collaborations of which Somewhere in France fits nicely. Caravan and Hatfield vocalist and bassist Richard...

Anthony Phillips - Dragonfly Dreams & The Meadows of Englewood

The most artistically inclined and prolific of all Genesis members past or present is (how ironic) also the least popular. Nevertheless Phillips has neither given up nor given in, as these two...

Anthony Phillips - Dragonfly Dreams & The Meadows of Englewood

The most artistically inclined and prolific of all Genesis members past or present is (how ironic) also the least popular. Nevertheless Phillips has neither given up nor given in, as these two...

Vangelis - 1492: Conquest of Paradise, Blade Runner, Voices & Oceanic

I had almost left the Greek hero for dead following 1987's Direct, but five years hence Vangelis managed to rekindle the magic spark, and 1492 was the album to do it. A...

Alpes - Patrice Moullet - En Attendant Noe

With a signature sound almost indescribable, Patrice Moullet is back with another Alpes release. Imagine a mad scientist living alone in the mountains, inventing, designing, and constructing his...

Faith & Disease - Fortune His Sleep & Livesongs: Third Body

These being two of the three albums to date by this Seattle-based duo. The band is Dara Rosenwasser, vocals / lyrics and Eric Cooley, bass / lyrics. Both albums have several additional musicians to...

Stormy Six - Macchina Maccheronica, Al Volo & Un Concerto

One hears the term Rock in Opposition quite often in music today. Many current bands are labeled with an "RIO" style. The Italian group Stormy Six is the basis for this style termed...

Motor Totemist Guild - Archive One & Two

Before the recombinant U Totem ever hit the streets, baton wielder James Grigsby fronted The Motor Totemist Guild (recently reconstituted as a twelve-piece ensemble featuring members of Non Credo,...

Motor Totemist Guild - Archive One & Two

Before the recombinant U Totem ever hit the streets, baton wielder James Grigsby fronted The Motor Totemist Guild (recently reconstituted as a twelve-piece ensemble featuring members of Non Credo,...

The Spacious Mind - Sailing the Seagoat

This third album from The Spacious Mind delivers more of their patented spacy psychedelia. Those familiar with their earlier releases know exactly what to expect; Ebowed guitar leads over a...

Philharmonie - Rage

Perhaps a bit of history is in order. Philharmonie began in the late 80s as strictly a guitar trio, led by former Shylock guitarist Frederic L'Epée. Their first album, Beau...

Tryo - Tryo, Crudo & Patrimonio

Three is the theme. Three albums recently released and / or reissued from this instrumental power trio of sorts. The self-titled first of the lot contains a collection of material ranging from...

John Flomer's Primal Cinema - Mysterious Motions of Memory

Mysterious Motions is synthesist / composer Flomer's debut for Spotted Peccary. As 'Primal Cinema' and the title might suggest, the music here has a strong cinematic character,...

David Helpling - Between Green and Blue

The dreamlike textures and flowing moods offered on Between Green and Blue give this a slightly different feel than many of the SPM releases before it. There is a lot of territory explored...

Pageant - La Mosäique de la Rêverie

Having heard well over a hundred Japanese symphonic progressive rock releases from the early 80s to the present, ranging from mediocre to excellent, there are two that come to mind immediately as...

Lito Vitale - Un Dia Antes de Ayer (Recopilación)

This is a compilation made largely redundant by the reissue of Vitale's first album, Sobre Miedos..., and although I'm not familiar with the bulk of Vitale's later work, the...

C.W. Vrtacek - Silent Heaven

Over the years Connecticut-based multi-instrumentalist and composer C.W. Vrtacek has released several solo albums, appeared on numerous compilations, collaborated with Frith, Didkovsky, Biota, and...

C.W. Vrtacek - Fifteen Mnemonic Devices

Better known as the leader for the wonderfully tuneful instrumental trio Forever Einstein, C.W. “Chuck” Vrtacek also has a darker side. His solo album Fifteen Mnemonic Devices...

Martin Velíšek & Už Jsme Doma - Jaro, Peklo, Podzim, Zima (Spring, Hell, Autumn, Winter)

This upstart Czech ensemble occupies firm Rock in Opposition territory, with honking horn fanfares over rhythmically tricky power chord riffs. However, this generalization doesn’t quite work...

Ragnar Grippe - Sand

This is a nugget from the past. Grippe is a Scandinavian electronic and electro-acoustic music composer whose work is under appreciated. Originally released on the visionary Shandar label from...

Gong - You Remixed & Hawkwind - Future Reconstructions

It's a prog chill-out! Phew! I made it. The disc is over! God be praised! What we have here is a techno / ambient version of Gong's masterpiece, You. 16 different "bands"...

Elton Dean / Paul Dunmall - If Dubois Only Knew

Two seasoned British sax players: just them, no keyboard, guitar, bass, or drums for accompaniment. Uh-oh! Eight songs of duets and free jazz performance? God, I need some Tylenol, just thinking...

Ashra - Sunrain - The Virgin Years

And what great years they were. Never heard any Ashra? Buy this! Sorry, I am biased, this is great stuff. If you don't know, Ash Ra is Manuel Göttsching, a phenomenal guitar player and...

Bob Drake - Little Black Train

Little Black Train is a cleverly appropriate title for this collection of musical wizardry by guitarist / violinist / bassist Bob Drake. Known to most for his work with Thinking Plague and...

Pete Bardens Mirage - Live Germany 1996 (AKA Speed of Light Live)

Two live albums by a new band prior to any new studio is an unusual policy. Live in Germany is marginally better than the last live disc (which was an ill-fitting convergence of Camel and...

Advent - Advent

Advent is a New Jersey group led by the brothers Ptak, Henry and Mark, whose eponymous debut was actually released back in 1993 on cassette. Word steadily got around about Advent and this year the...

Accomplice - Accomplice

This LA band's self-titled debut is a combination of 80s hard rock, melodic arena rock, and progressive-metal. Think of a cross between Iron Maiden, Dokken, and Savatage and that will put you...

Deep Purple - Purpendicular

No one should need an introduction to this group, probably one of the most famous of 70s hard rock groups. Deep Purple, in their early days, were quite innovative in the format, shaping and...

Rick Wakeman - Simply Acoustic

Recorded live at the Cavalry Chapel in Costa Mesa, CA in March 1994. Simply Acoustic is a solo piano retrospective through his career work with Yes, David Bowie, and even Cat Stevens....

Electric Orange - Cyberdelic

The British prog-psych Delerium label has been pumping out quite a bit of music lately, most notably probably Porcupine Tree. Label-mates Electric Orange have put together an even spacier, even...

Mike Oldfield - Voyager

What Vangelis is to Greece, and Kitaro is to Japan, Oldfield is to the British Isles. This maestro of the epic had taken a predilection for infusing his tone poems with the piquancy of Celtic music...

After Crying - Első Évtized

After Crying is a Hungarian band with at least five CDs on the market plus this double CD, which comprises a compilation and a live disc. Surprisingly enough, not much is known about After Crying,...

D.F.A. - Lavori in Corso

Rarely has a new Italian progressive created an album of this caliber; DFA have really put a lot of work into making an album of incredible complexity and depth for their premier run. This is...

Osamu Kitajima - Beyond the Circle

Japanese expatriate Kitajima has kept quite a low profile ever since his emigration to America, shrouding his hermetic career in enough mystery to drive even the most arduous collector a bit...

Harold Budd - Luxa

While the music is eminently recognizable as Budd’s, he has been pushing the boundaries of his narrow musical niche on his last few recordings and Luxa is no exception. Some pieces...

Roedelius - Pink, Blue and Amber

The alchemist of musical impressionism, Roedelius continues to bring delight to the ears of those who have retained their sensitivity for making sense out of music that exists largely in the...

Richard Bone - Metaphysic Mambo

This is the fifth album by Richard Bone that we have reviewed in these pages, and with each successive release he further refines his style, one based in ambient programmed electronic realms,...

Steve Roach / Stephen Kent / Kenneth Newby - Halcyon Days

Teaming Steve Roach up with Lights of a Fat City / Trance Mission musicians almost seemed like an inevitability to me due to their mutual fascination with didgeridoos. And there are a lot of them...

Acumen - Out of Balance

This five-piece from Cincinnati sports an interesting hybrid folk-rock meets hard-space-rock sound; the vocal harmonies, jangly guitars and song-oriented approach could be straight out of late-60s...

Richard Thompson - You? Me? Us?

A double CD release from well-known folk rock pioneer, Richard Thompson is an event to celebrate in the 90s. Richard has spent most of his prolific career ignored by the mainstream, starting with...

Space Streakings - First Love Remastered, 7-Toku & Shakuhachi Surprise

The band called Space Streakings didn’t last very long, with three years or so between their beginnings and splitting up, but the two albums they released, plus a collaboration with the...

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...

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...

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...

Völgyessy Szomor Fanni - Hajnalban

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

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...

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....

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...

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...

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...

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...),...

Eclat - Vol. I & II

Eclat is a French five-piece whose style lies somewhere between the symphonic stylings pioneered by bands like Ange and Mona Lisa and the folk-directed tendencies of bands like Minimum Vital. There...

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,...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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,...

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...

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...

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),...

Bertrand Loreau - Sur le Chemin...

Bertrand Loreau’s third album Sur le Chemin... is the first to appear on Musea’s new sub-label Amplitude, an outlet for what Musea calls electronic modern music. Loreau creates...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

Quarkspace - Spacefolds 1

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

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...

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...

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....

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...

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 —...

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...

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...

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...

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...

Various Artists - Supernatural Fairy Tales

Who woulda thought... I mean, for a semi-major label to release this five disc celebration of Progressive Rock's early history and heyday is something that I would have given about the same...

El Reloj - El Reloj (AKA Second Album)

[Second album revisted]

This is an album I played to death when the Record Runner CD came out in the mid 90s (can't speak for later re-issues). El Reloj was essentially what...

Rush - Test for Echo & Working Man Tribute

My initial reaction to the new Rush album: "It's bogus." After making this statement, people claimed that it wasn't informative enough, so I sat back and rethought just what I...

Rush - Test for Echo & Working Man Tribute

My initial reaction to the new Rush album: "It's bogus." After making this statement, people claimed that it wasn't informative enough, so I sat back and rethought just what I...

I.E.M. - I.E.M.

The Incredible Expanding Mindf*ck is one of Steven Wilson’s (Porcupine Tree, No-Man) side projects. The goal of the original IEM album from 1996 was to do an anonymous Krautrock project. The...

El Reloj - El Reloj & Second Album

El Reloj is an Argentine group influenced by the more harder rocking bands of the early 70s like Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin. Their sound on their first album is a dual-guitar rock that keeps a...

El Reloj - El Reloj & Second Album

El Reloj is an Argentine group influenced by the more harder rocking bands of the early 70s like Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin. Their sound on their first album is a dual-guitar rock that keeps a...

Norma Tanega & Mike Henderson - HybridVigor

Despite the presence of guitarist Mike Henderson, this disc sounds nothing like Djam Karet. Rather it is a pleasant if unspectacular acoustic excursion combining the talents of Henderson with...

Anthony Phillips - Private Parts and Pieces I & II

Released in 1978 and 1980 respectively (though recorded earlier), when acoustic music was anything but in vogue, the first two Private Parts & Pieces collections set the tone for much...

Anthony Phillips - Private Parts and Pieces I & II

Released in 1978 and 1980 respectively (though recorded earlier), when acoustic music was anything but in vogue, the first two Private Parts & Pieces collections set the tone for much...

Raoul Björkenheim / Krakatau - Ritual

Ah Krakatau's first album, another interesting choice by Steve Feigenbaum for reissue. Krakatau has resided in ECM's stable since their third album, and all are worth checking out. Raoul...

The Muffins - <185>

This newly re-released version of <185> is an excellent document of the final recordings by this talented Washington, DC quartet. First, a little history: Fred Frith produced the...

Die Knödel - Panorama

Well I thought the RIO movement was going trad. on us when L'Ensmeble Rayé's last CD hit the shelves, but now they really have gone and done it. Here is something you would expect to...

Jody Grind - Far Canal

One of the earliest CD labels reissuing early UK progressives was the Line label; off the top of my head they put out the early Jade Warriors, the two Marsupilamis, Gentle Giant, and this second...

Mastermind - IV - Until Eternity

Mastermind's fourth offering lies somewhere between melodic rock, hard rock, and progressive rock. Guitarist / songwriter Bill Berends plays and writes in a style reminiscent of people like...

Mastermind - Volume One

Ten years after it was recorded and released as a cassette, and about six years after its original CD incarnation on ZNR records, Mastermind's debut is finally available once again. It...

Famlende Forsøk - Return of Monster Attack

Lumpy Davy and Brt from the psych band The Smell of Incense started Famlende Forsøk in 1981, their music inspired by such great bands as Cabaret Voltaire and Throbbing Gristle. Because Brt...

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...

Magma - Théâtre du Taur - Concert 1975 - Toulouse

By the early 90s, Seventh Records had showed up, started reissuing the original Magma albums along with some offshoots, and began to open Magma's considerable live vaults. The...

Banda Elástica - Maquizcoatl

This is not music in the traditional sense. But don't let this refrain you from sampling a collection of sonic atmospheres exclusively made with acoustic instruments and most noticeably, South...

Finisterre - In Limine

Finisterre surprised us last year with their debut album. In Limine is an excellent follow-up. Compared to their first, we find here in most pieces more of an acoustic atmosphere. Time is...

Various Artists - Camel Tribute - Harbour of Joy

Add this to the alarmingly long list of tribute albums that have cropped up so fashionably over the last year or so. If you've paid any attention to the tide of tributes, you'll find a...

D.F.A. - Lavori in Corso

When Italian progressive rock began its renaissance in the late 80s, there were a lot of powerful and notable releases, like Nuova Era's L'Ultimo Viaggio or Ezra Winston's...

Gong - Angel's Egg

The pivot of the Radio Gnome Trilogy, Angel's Egg is one of the most fully realized parables of inner spirituality that ever came from the rock scene and perhaps the album where Zero...

Jonathan Block - After & Ether

Imagine that you’re taking an afternoon nap and are trying to wake up after a short but deep sleep. You are semi-aware (background voices, sounds, etc.) but you can’t make your body...

Trance Mission - Head Light

Trance Mission is not your standard exotic world beat group. What I mean is that they don't just incorporate a compelling mix of exotic instruments: they exploit them. A short personnel...

Jacky Maestracci Symphonia - Kosen-Rufu

Jacky Maestracci is a French multi-instrumentalist with a penchant for middle of the road New Age keyboards on his debut solo album Symphonia. Nothing exciting happens on this disk, no...

Truth in Advertisement - Balance

Balance is the debut solo effort of Truth in Advertisement a.k.a. Mark Reynolds, an accomplished progressive rock and jazz drummer living in Seattle. In addition to drums Mark also sings...

Pendragon - The Masquerade Overture

For 15 years Pendragon has been a fixture on the English progressive scene. They've got solid support from a devoted European fan base, consistent albums, and a refined sound. They've got...

Pendragon - The Masquerade Overture

Unlike Marillion, Pendragon have had to slog it out arduously throughout their career in order to achieve their level of success. The latest offering is an ambitious project to say the least. And...

Pendragon - The Masquerade Overture

Pendragon's new release, The Masquerade Overture, further proves that this band is one of the better proponents of neo-progressive rock. Not because of any great originality, but...

Pihasoittajat - Hattukauppiaan Aamu

These two discs contain material culled from three albums released in the early 70s. The earliest album, Kivinen tie Dublinniin (Rocky Road to Dublin), was released in 1972, and finds this...

The Flower Kings - Retropolis

The latest release from Roine Stolt and Co., Retropolis, is a natural follow-up to last year's Back in the World of Adventures. The variety dominating that album is present...

The Flower Kings - Retropolis

For starters, Retropolis is a commercial progressive album. It's definitively got wide-audience appeal. We find here a balanced mix of vocal (with a tone reminiscent of John...

Maximum Indifference - Maximum Indifference

You may recall our review of their most recent live demo a few issues back, so we welcome this CD release. Maximum Indifference is an instrumental trio of guitars+synths, bass+synths, and drums...

Camel - Harbour of Tears

For anyone hoping that Camel might be turning out something a bit more uptempo, full of fire and color, after the somewhat 'gray' Dust and Dreams, I hate to be the bringer of bad...

Camel - Harbour of Tears

It's hard to believe that Dust and Dreams, the album that single-handedly revived Camel, was released so long ago. The subsequent 20th anniversary double-live CD elevated the band to...

Camel - Harbour of Tears

Camel's latest album is a rather moody, somewhat slow-moving concept surrounding the events which take place in a small town on the Irish coast. Harbour of Tears is again (like...

Suns of Arqa - Selected Catalog 1979-2000

Suns of Arqa started in the late 70s, first gaining notice as the touring band for reggae star Prince Far-I. Bassist / multi-instrumentalist Michael Wadada has been a constant in the band which has...

Volkor (Lockwood) - Jazz Rock / Debbi (AKA Volkor)

This Musea CD is a reissue of both Didier and Francis Lockwood’s first releases: Jazz Rock and Debbi. Due to the loss of the master tapes, Musea had to resort to recording...

Arachnoïd - Arachnoïd

In 1979, progressive rock was all but dead in many countries, whether the support had gone or the big bands had become subsumed by arena rock. But there was really a lot going on in France in the...

Apocalypse - Aurora do Sonhos

Aurora dos Sonhos is the second release in just a little over a year by this Brazilian neo-progressive quartet of bass, guitars, synths, and percussion. This exotic and colorful band...

Magma - Théâtre du Taur - Concert 1975 - Toulouse

The long awaited fourth release on Christian Vander's AKT label is a legendary concert from September 24th, 1975 in Toulouse. The lineup here includes Christian and Stella Vander on drums and...

Magma - Théâtre du Taur - Concert 1975 - Toulouse

Recorded in Toulouse roughly three months after the concerts from which Live were taken, this two CD set was released for the first time in 1994 on Christian Vander's AKT label. The...

Various Artists - Le Meilleur du Progressif Instrumental

This is the third sampler in Musea's Meilleur... series, which extracts material from their regular releases and distribute them as low-cost samplers to familiarize new listeners with...

Rhesus O - Rhesus O

Digging through their music archives Musea has unearthed another relic of the pre-Magma / zeuhl school of music. Recorded in 1971 at the Chateau d’Herouville, this short-lived band produced...

Heretic - Yayoi Dream

Hiro Kawahara was the central member of Heretic and he contributed electric violin, electric guitar, synths, keyboards, sequencers, electronic percussion, voice, drum machines, tapes, devices, and...

Area - Parigi-Lisbona

This recording comprises two live shows from the premier "international PoPular group" of the 70s and 80s, Area, bringing us back in time to 1976 when such bands were loud (yet audible),...

5uu's - Point of Views

From the beginning, led by drummer Dave Kerman, 5uu's started out as the west-coast answer to the European RIO music of the day. Their first mini-album Bel Marduk & Tiamat echoes...

Tim Morse - Yes Stories: Yes in Their Own Words

These are times of plenty for Yes fans. The band is coming out with a plethora of new releases and solo projects, as well as gearing up for some major touring in 1997. On top of this, two new...

Bart Hopkin - Gravikords, Whirlies & Pyrophones: Experimental Musical Instruments

If you've ever had an interest in experimental and in some cases unique musical instruments, then this beautifully illustrated (with many full color photos) volume by Bart Hopkin, with a...

Cloud Chamber - Live Demo

A purely improvisational ensemble, Cloud Chamber features four musicians who have all made their mark on the new music scene as individuals: Barry Cleveland, on guitar and e-bow, has several...

Network - The Little Blue Book

Some may remember Network from their album Corroded Paths released about three years ago. Members of the band (a five-piece from the UK) all seem to be involved in numerous projects,...

Volaré - Volaré

Volare are a five piece from Athens, Georgia, featuring multi-keyboards, acoustic and electric guitars, bass+sax, cello+ocarina, and drums. Prior to their performance at Louisville's Eclectic...

Scott McMahan - Garden of Sand

After a couple times through in loop mode this collection of noisettes and electonic musical thoughts got to be pretty addicting. One sort of gets used to the low-budget sound quality and the...

J.B. Lee - We Know You Can Hear Us, Earthmen

An interesting and somewhat haunting musical expedition, Lee performs the six instrumental compositions here on programmed synths and sequencers using a variety of instrument voices. It took a...

Arjen Anthony Lucassen - Strange Hobby

“Arnold Layne had a strange hobby…” This 20-year-old artifact of 60s covers will surely hit the spot for anyone who grew up in the years from 1966-1970, taking a sampling of...

J.Arif Verner - A Vision beyond Light

Verner is a composer, multi-instrumentalist, and engineer who is no newcomer to the scene: his first release was Clear Colors, released in 1988, and he has been involved in numerous...

Algaravia - Breve e Interminável

The title of the first track, "Crimsoniana," ought to give you an idea as to this new band's sound, but it doesn't tell the whole story. Algaravia's line-up consists of two...

Anima - Singularities

While eight musicians are credited here, the music features guitars, bass, drums, and keyboards, and some vocals / harmonies / choirs, and one might suspect this to be a basic four or five piece...

Espíritu - Espíritu & Live en Obras '82

This Argentine band are best-known for their classic Crisálida, an album of complex guitar / synth prog in the Italian style a la Semiramis. The self-titled album was made several...

Grandbell - The Sun and the Embryo

My immediate snap-judgment upon first listening to this was "Yes-clone." This was mainly based upon hearing vocalist Renato Jardim, who is unapologetically influenced by Jon Anderson....

Agnus - Pinturas y Espresiones

In their gold-panning expeditions for largely undiscovered old South American bands, Progressive Rock Worldwide recently unearthed this little nugget. Agnus hail from Argentina, consisting of a...

Ave Rock - Ave Rock & Espacios

Over the course of their two albums, Ave Rock displayed a heavier approach to progressive rock than their other Argentine counterparts. Organ and guitar dominate the instrumentation on the...

The League of Gentlemen - Thrang Thrang Gozinbulx

The early 80s were a musical dance phenomena as well as a signpost for radical changes in the echelons of music taste and fashion. The times dictated 'in with 4/4 rhythms, out with the extended...

Solaris - Live in Los Angeles

For anyone that was completely blown away by this band's performance at Progfest in November '95 (everyone in the house, from what this writer could ascertain), this two disc set is nothing...

David Thomas & Ronnie Gunn - The Giants Dance

I guess at some point anyone even remotely connected with Genesis will come out of the woodwork to market their offerings. Case in point. David Thomas and Ronnie Gunn were two musicians who...

Various Artists - Steinway to Heaven

Yup. A full album of rock keyboard gods performing straight ahead (almost) classical pieces on piano, totally solo, sink or swim. Indeed this is proof positive that the likes of Emerson, Wakeman,...

Richard Bone - The Eternal Now

With four releases under his belt, Richard Bone has touched on a variety of different musical avenues, of which The Eternal Now is his nod to the New Age / ambient realm. While I'm...

Emmanuel Borghi & Collectif Mu - Anecdotes & Live au Crescent

These two albums are products of Seventh's developing interest in contemporary French jazz. The lineups on the recordings are similar; they share the same bassist, drummer, and two sax players,...

Emmanuel Borghi & Collectif Mu - Anecdotes & Live au Crescent

These two albums are products of Seventh's developing interest in contemporary French jazz. The lineups on the recordings are similar; they share the same bassist, drummer, and two sax players,...

Christian Vander / Simon Goubert - Welcome

These guys have just about got it right on this one! For the last several years, Christian Vander has been following the spirit of John Coltrane, particularly the Impulse years, Both he and Goubert...

La Casa de Agua - La Casa de Agua

Most of this album has me wondering why I'm reviewing it in a progressive rock publication at all. "Mexican jazz-funk" is the closest description that I can come to for the bulk of...

Steve Roach - The Magnificent Void

McLatchey's Second Tier

Roach had a lot of truly great ambient albums in the 90s, but I was particularly impressed by this Hearts of Space release. With Worlds End in...

Mickey Simmonds - The Shape of Rain

Mickey Simmonds' debut as a solo artist presents a well-traveled craftsman in do-it-yourself mode. I'm not certain if this is due in part to his inability to supply material for a group...

XII Alfonso - The Lost Frontier

XII Alfonso is a French band whose debut release The Lost Frontier is a concept album about Hadrian’s Wall. Similar to Musea’s other Celtic inspired band Kadwaladyr, XII...

XII Alfonso - The Lost Frontier

It's unclear from the booklet notes what actually constitutes the band proper, but it seems to be centered around two brothers François and Philippe Claerhout, on keyboard programming...

Thread - Thread

This disc is essentially a two person project between Doane Perry (Jethro Tull's long time drummer) and Vince DiCola (LA virtuoso keyboardist and arranger). It evolved into a three piece with...

Tajack - Tajack

Imagine heavy-duty three-piece power funk with an Italian version of David Clayton Thomas (Blood Sweat & Tears) at the microphone, all placed in a progressive-hard-rock context. Add some police...

Malombra - Our Lady of the Bones

This album has some great song titles: "Dedicated Dopamines Dance," "Requiem for the Human Beast," "Sinister Morning." Excellent! Also of intrigue is that one track,...

Foglie di Vetro - Foglie di Vetro

The Italian scene has undergone a complete renaissance in the last five to six years. With bands like Deus Ex Machina, Aria Palea, Finisterre, Spirosfera, Sithonia, and Abiogenesi leading the way,...

Taliesyn - When Silence Will Be Unbearable

This German band makes prog-metal with a difference. For one thing, you can actually hear the keyboards! Not only that, but the keyboards also get some decent solo space, rare in music like this....

Lynne - Witchwood

With the exception of a few guest guitar spots and several samples from Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom sound effect library, all of the music on Witchwood is played by...

Aton's - Klein & Wagner

Aton's is led by vocalist / guitarist / keyboardist Pietro Ratto, who is also the sole songwriter for the band. For the most part, the compositions are more interesting rhythmically than...

EAS - Absolute Presence

It's hard to be a three-piece guitar, bass, and drums progressive rock band and not sound like Rush it seems. EAS has enough in common with them that comparisons are hard to avoid. The...

Sons of Selina - Terminus

This EP is a bit of enigmatic release, coming with no band or lineup information at all. The disc contains three songs, totaling 23 minutes. The music on the first two tracks features a driving,...

Livit - Unspoken

The ability to surprise is one thing that makes music interesting. Livit apparently knows this, and uses it to their advantage of their 1996 album Unspoken. No style used on this album...

Moongarden - Brainstorm of Emptiness

Genesis and Van der Graaf Generator were very popular in Italy in the mid-70s. While nowadays you can't sell out a 1,000 seater at Progfest in the USA, bands such as these were hot sellers in...

Benjamin Grant DePauw - Monkey Village

Can an album be too diverse? Monkey Village opens with two minutes of beautiful ambient angelic voices, then kicks into the six minute title track, a funky pop tune in a very commercial...

Egoband - We Are...

Egoband are a contemporary progressive outfit from Italy. Although their sound is generally generic hard prog, at times they throw in some surprises such as e-bowed guitar solos, Floydian drones,...

Andrew Booker - Ahead

Booker does it all himself on this new release of well-rounded progressive rock. Apart from a guest guitarist on the last track, Booker is the only musician credited; he ably handles guitar,...

Deambra - Deambra

This Southern California five-piece of veteran session players is led by guitarist Alex Deambrini. It was no surprise to learn, in their bio, that vocalist Jonn Ross has done studio work with Jon...

Lemur Voice - Insights

When they give out the awards for the weirdest band names, Lemur Voice will surely be at the front of the line, right up there with Public Foot the Roman. Names aside, if anyone longs for the kind...

Necropolis - Blueprint for Bedlam

Necro- [<Gr. nekros, a dead body] a combining form meaning death, corpse.

Get it? Well, before one writes these guys off as another worthless death...

3RDegree - Human Interest Story

A four-piece from New York City, 3RDegree specializes in well-crafted, hook-infected, song-oriented rock with strong melodic drive and progressive overtones. In fact they've been around for...

The Surgery - Holy Umbrella

The Surgery is a trio of guitars, bass and drums, with guitarist Toshi Horisawa providing the predominantly English lead vocals, as well as some synths and programming. The album opens with a...

Drifting Sun - Drifting Sun

Keyboardist Pat Sanders seems to be the main mover in Drifting Sun, a relatively new four-piece from the UK. This is their first release, a solid collection of nine rock tunes, mostly memorable and...

Legend - Triple Aspect

Move over Annie Haslam. Legend is a British Pagan prog-rock band, fronted by the amazing voice of Debbie Chapman. In fact this writer heard their first record Light in Extension about five...

El Puente de Alvarado - Conquista y Destrucción de México-Tenochtitlán

Two alumni from Iconoclasta (the drummer and guitarist) team up with ex-Chac Mool / Via Lactea keyboardist Carlos Perea and a bassist to record this CD of short instrumental prog rock tunes. If it...

Seate - Kedarui Gogono

This hitherto unknown five-piece from Japan features violinist Junko Minobe, ex- of Cinderella Search, and is fronted by vocalist Yoko Tuchiya. The remainder of the band features piano, bass and...

Kräldjursanstalten - Voodoo Boogie / Nu Är Det Allvar!!

Have the Excedrin bottle handy for this one. Actually it's not that bad, and in fact starts to reveal itself after a few listens as being pretty innovative and unique. But the shouted punky...

Germán Bringas - El Salto

Bringas is a Mexican multi-instrumentalist operating along the experimental / jazz / new world music axis. El Salto is the latest of several albums, and is a solo project in the truest...

Altura - Mercy

Altura is a five-piece gigging band from Charlotte, North Carolina. Their first album is a definite progressive metal project with intricate time changes that support a core emphasis of aggressive,...

Rivendel - The Meaning

It's amazing how Musea continually releases an endless string of masterpieces; not just old classics, but new releases such as this one as well. This album's style fits squarely in the...

Lhasa Cement Plant - Chakra Full of Blood

This instrumental four-piece of dual guitars, bass, and drums features two ex-Borbetomagus members and occupies an area of the sonic spectrum shared with bands like Material and Praxis, a grinding...

Geno White - Standing in Stereo

From the opening track, a maelstrom of Hendrix-like feedback mixed with chunky blasts of power rock, it's obvious that White's latest release will be a guitarist's guitar album. Joining...

Adrian Belew - Op Zop Too Wah

Op Zop Too Wah is an overview of a little bit of everything Belew's been up to from his work in King Crimson to The Bears as well as his own introspective and energy laden singer /...

The Electric Groove Temple - Sequence Me

We're in heavy techno country here — intensely rhythmic, and like the Ozrics, EGT use real drums to augment the electronic based dance-beats, as well as additional percussive elements...

Soh Band - No Problem at All

Soh Band is a Japanese quintet who play the familiar variety of eclectic fusion native to their country. With a sound at times not unlike fellow countrymen Il Berlione, they mix a bit of...

Holy River Family Band - Haida Deities

Holy River Family Band is apparently an offshoot of the Swedish psych band The Spacious Mind, a three-piece lineup playing guitars, zaz, oud, surna, violin, bass, organ, synths, hurdy-gurdy,...

Yun - Mobius Strip

Yun is essentially Korean multi-instrumentalist Jo Yun on guitars, keyboards, and percussion, with a male and female vocalist, and bassist Hyoung-Suk Kang. While other 'progressive'...

Darling - Darling

From Omaha, Nebraska, Darling is Hal Darling on drums, piano, keyboards, and sequencing, and sibling Bryce Darling on ancillary percussion and keyboards. No vocals, sorry! No guitars either, but...

Somnambulist - Somnambulist

Fans of Mellotron and heavy Hammond take note. Somnambulist is a four-piece from Chattanooga, Tennessee, who are solidly powered by these two instruments, as well as synths, guitars, and a heavy...

Mike Myers - Myriad

This is the second release for Texas based percussionist / keyboardist Mike Myers. The eleven tracks on Myriad cover a wide range of styles from jazz-rock to progressive to pop to more...

Bellaphon - Firefly

Bellaphon are a four-piece from Japan, consisting of the standard guitar / bass / keys / drums lineup. Their arrangements are heavy on the keyboards, with Camel-like guitar breaks providing the...

J.E.T. - Fede, Speranza, Carità

The sole album from this Italian outfit dates back to 1972. The band is a four-piece consisting of guitar, keys, bass, and drums. While there are certain clearly Italian melodies and harmonic...

Rhesus O - Rhesus O

A lost relic from the early zeuhl period, Rhesus O was a band formed by keyboardist Jean-Pol Asseline and drummer Thierry Blanchard in 1971, along with five other musicians — among them Magma...

Rascal Reporters - Happy Accidents

What do you get when you combine two one-man bands? Why, Rascal Reporters of course. Steve Gore and Steve Kretzmer are the men responsible for the music of this highly idiosyncratic American group....

Enzo Capuano - Storia Mai Scritta

A very rare Italian solo, Enzo Capuano's music cuts the line between Italian canzone (Battisti, early Storm Six and many more) and a symphonic soundtrack type of music. The vocal music is...

Ilous & Decuyper - Ilous & Decuyper

Ilous & Decuyper occupy an interesting niche in French rock, one that doesn't relate much to what is even vaguely referred to as progressive or symphonic rock. Yet this album is certainly...

Riccardo Zappa - Celestion

Zappa is a composer and guitarist who released a string of about nine mostly instrumental albums between 1977 and 1990. Celestion was the first, and is also the first to get the digital...

Solaris - Marsbéli Krónikák (The Martian Chronicles) & 1990

At long last, The Gong label has stepped forward and re-released Solaris' The Martian Chronicles and 1990. While both these titles have been previously available on CD, both...

Ultimate Spinach - Ultimate Spinach, Behold & See & III

Long before the British domination of all things progressive, progress was being made in the post-San Francisco underground scene in many US cities, among them Boston. The fact that producer Alan...

Hecenia - Légendes

Légendes is Hecenia’s first album, recorded in 1989, released in 1990, and now reissued on CD. If you’ve only heard Hecenia’s second release, La Couleur du...

Frank Zappa - Läther

At long last, Zappa's late 70s quadruple-album masterpiece has received a well-deserved official release. When Warner Bros. rejected Zappa's attempt to fulfill his remaining contract...

Trace - Birds

Often unjustly dismissed as "Rick van der Linden's post-Ekseption band" or "Ian Mosley's pre-Marillion band," Trace certainly deserve to be remembered for what they...

Dr Folamour - Dr Folamour

About halfway through my first listen to Dr Folamour's eponymous debut, I had to go and find my copy of baG's

Dr Folamour - Dr Folamour

Dr Folamour is one of Musea’s new discoveries from France. Essentially the duo of Marc Beugnies (drums) and Marc Mourgues (guitar and bass) plus a variety of guest musicians and vocalists, Dr...

7% Solution - All About Satellites and Spaceships

Now here's a novel idea: With each CD you sell, include an extra copy of the disc for the buyer to pass along, thus spreading the word about the band. That's precisely what this four-piece...

Chris Cutler / Zeena Parkins - Shark!

Cutler (drums, percussion, electronics) and Parkins (harp, melodica, electrification) are both seasoned veterans of the Recommended axis. This project contains two lengthy live improvisations that...

La Société des Timides à la Parade des Oiseaux - Les Explositionnistes

STPO stands for "La Société des Timides à la Parade des Oiseaux". Okay... I think that means "the shy people's society at the parade of the birds." This...

Various Artists - Eyesore: A Stab at the Residents

The Residents were, and still are, a band that is truly one of a kind. They were experimenting with sound fragments and executing twisted parodies of countless musical styles as far back as 1973,...

Annie Haslam & Steve Howe - Lily's in the Field

The second publicly available song (the other being the rework of "Turn of the Century" from the Magna Carta tribute) from this duo is a benefit single for children orphaned from the...

moe. - Meat

moe. (the lower-case "m" and the period are not typos) has been gigging around the east coast for the past five years, cultivating a loyal following with their dynamic live performances...

Geoffrey Downes - Evolution

Downes of course was a one-time member of Yes; in the absence of Wakeman and Moraz he took over the keyboard duties on their Drama album while former Buggles associate Trevor Horn did his...

Asia - Archiva 1 & 2

Probably the best question to ask at this point is: What relevance does Asia have within the context of a progressive rock journal? By now the question is largely rhetorical because the answer is...

Redjy Emond - Sphere

Sphere is a complete one-man show by a keyboardist whose primary style is drawn from a very watered down Emerson (e.g. Keith on the last ELP: injured and should have waited) or Yanni on...

Redjy Emond - Sphere

This is one of those albums that contains a one man rock band mostly controlled by synthesizers. I'm not too fond of the robotic tendencies of this way of going at it, yet Redjy is a more...

Redjy Emond - Sphere

Redjy Emond is a keyboard player from Quebec. He is a newcomer on the prog rock scene and while the pieces found on this CD constitute his very first offering, he nevertheless culminates many years...

Guru Guru / Uli Trepte - Hot on Spot / Inbetween

McLatchey's Second Tier

Back in the mid 80s, in between the era when all the original German 70s rock came out on vinyl and the reissue era, and when many of these albums...

Attila & Dave Project - Songs of Innocence & Experience

Keyboardist / singer Attila Medveczky and guitarist / backing vocalist Dave Stevenson form the core of this band, with drummer / percussionist Rusty Aceves fortifying the group's rock dimension...

Attila & Dave Project - Songs of Innocence & Experience

This new trio from the San Francisco Bay Area is a picturesque collage of styles ranging from mid-60s psychedelic music (e.g. early Pink Floyd), 50s surf style guitar playing (new words) but with a...

Cryptopsy - None So Vile

McLatchey's Second Tier

And speaking of world class drummers, it's time to go metal again. While this is a fairly unknown title outside the death metal genre, it's...

Present - Live!

Present is back in black. When we last heard from this Belgian band — 1995's studio reformation disc COD Performance, the lineup consisted only of Roger Trigaux and his son...

Present - Live!

On again, off again, and on again, this mini-tour eventually did occur (with 5uu's David Kerman subbing for the rumored Daniel Denis) and is captured on this fine release. Along with...

Present - Live!

What a treat this was — to hear a live recording by the enigmatic Present. Led by Roger Trigaux, this band has unfortunately dwelt in the shadow of his alma mater, Univers Zero. With only...

Bon - To the Bone

Bon Lozaga is a talented guitarist related to the Gong axis tenuously through the Pierre Moerlen side. This is his new album, joined by guests like David Torn and other Moerlen's Gong...

Bon - To the Bone

Lots of guitar on this one, naturally. This is mainly a guitar album and to this effect, Bon Lozaga delves in gracefully, supported by fellows Hansford Rowe on bass, Vic Stevens on drums plus the...

Bon - To the Bone

Bon Lozaga's latest moves further into the heavy guitar driven jazz realms, a place only hinted at on his previous, Full Circle. There's plenty of variety herein, from punchy rock...

Presence - Black Opera

Giuseppe Verdi, 1813-1901. Not exactly a household name among proggers, but his operas rank among some of the best of the 19th century: La Traviata, Aida, Don Carlo,...

Presence - Black Opera

For their second album, this Italian group has expanded on its dramatic, heavy-metal-meets-neoprog sound. A quartet of guitars, keys, vocals, and drums, their music flirts with a quasi-operatic...

Cast - Beyond Reality

If anything, Cast are at least one of the best when it comes to promoting and marketing their music. A hundred "progressive" bands could learn a lot from the way they do things as...

Cast - Beyond Reality

Can a band really improve exponentially? Cast proves that it may just be possible. I found it hard to believe that they could do much better than their last album, Endless Signs, but their...

Mastermind - IV - Until Eternity

Mastermind's calling card is the extraordinary talent of frontman Bill Berends, who composes the material and provides much of the sound, with his midi guitar and traditional guitar leads....

Mastermind - IV - Until Eternity

For their fourth album, Mastermind has carefully balanced all of their best tendencies within eight tracks of varying length, offering an album that captures the spirit of late-60s/early-70s rock...

Landberk - Indian Summer

Landberk's third album is basically what you'd expect from this Swedish outfit: every bit as melancholy and organic as their first two releases. Mellotrons weave in and out of clean guitar...

Landberk - Indian Summer

Landberk makes me sleepy. Now before this is taken as criticism, remember that sleep is a good thing at the right time, which is as good an analogy as I can get to their music. This is essentially...

Landberk - Indian Summer

Before Änglagård and Anekdoten were household prog names, Landberk was paving the way for the new breed of Swedish progressive rock bands. It's strange in a way because Landberk...

Ars Nova - The Goddess of Darkness

I never thought "progressive rock" was a music of image, but Ars Nova have done a lot to change my mind about that. Anyway, what is it with the Japanese symphonic rock groups? Have you...

Ars Nova - The Goddess of Darkness

In mostly minor modes, Ars Nova, Japan's all-female progressive band, delivers riff after riff of enjoyable, classic prog keyboard trio fare targeted at the not-so-faint-of-heart amateurs....

Ars Nova - The Goddess of Darkness

The Goddess of Darkness is the third and latest release from this Japanese instrumental trio and is a solid follow-up to their last album, Transi. Although influenced by the likes...

Ars Nova - The Goddess of Darkness

It was about the time of ProgFest '94 when Arsnova's second album Transi made a big splash. Not just because this keyboard-heavy power trio was comprised of Japanese females, but...

Premiata Forneria Marconi - 10 Anni Live 1971-1981

The saga of PFM is one of the most interesting and revealing of all of the "progressive" symphonic rock greats. With PFM you see the birth of the Italian classical rock scene, you see a...

Yes - Keys to Ascension

Yes fans arrived from the furthest corners of the U.S. and on the night of March 5 this formation of Yes hit the stage for the first time in 17 years. Over three nights the band performed a set of...

Magma - Concert 1971 Bruxelles - Théâtre 140

Prior to the release of this, the earliest Magma shows that could be found on the tape collector circuit were mostly from the 1973-74 period (although a partial show from Metz in 3/72 exists). So...

Jean-Luc Chevalier - Hommage à Jaco

This is Chevalier's tribute to the extraordinairy bassist Jaco Pastorius. As expected we find here a music that gives ample room to horns. The trumpet is introducing and playing melodies,...

Patrick Gauthier - Le Morse

Patrick Gauthier's third solo offering reveals, past the "soul" opening piece, a rich blend of keyboards and vocals, hovering mostly in between mysterious and clear atmospheres, with...

Soft Machine - Spaced

The material on Spaced was originally recorded in 1969 (circa Third) for a special choreographed multi-media one-week event of the same name at the London Roundhouse. Although the...

IQ - Forever Live

What, no "Material Girl?" I remember hearing of this supposed IQ live CD+Video compilation about two and a half years ago when IQ played in San Jose. Three years after the actual...

Mystery - Theatre of the Mind

Straddling the line between mainstream rock and a more progressive angle, this excellent six-piece from Lorraine, Quebec covers an area that is covered often but rarely done so well. This is not...

Quidam - Quidam

I love almost any album that starts with heavy organ... almost. To be a bit more objective, this self-titled album by the symphonic Polish band Quidam is like a lot of other bands: less derivative...

Arena - Pride

I never thought I'd see the day when Mick Pointer became a more prolific musician than his former Marillion mates. After dropping off the face of the earth for over a decade, Mick and Co. have...

Art Zoyd - Faust

It's been too long since I've heard anything by Art Zoyd. They have continued down their unique path begun on L'Enfer, taking them in recent years to the macabre soundtracks of...

Lussier / Derome / Cutler - Three Suite Piece

This project featuring Canadians Jean Derome (keys, flute, saxes, electronics), and René Lussier (guitars, percussion) along with drummer Chris Cutler, veteran of Henry Cow and countless...

Porcupine Tree - Signify

On their latest release, Signify, Porcupine Tree continues to consolidate and refine the approach used on their previous release, The Sky Moves Sideways. While Sky was...

Melting Euphoria - Beyond the Maybe Machine

Back in the late 60s, I used to imagine music like this, but nobody was making it then; Ummagumma was the first album that really came close. Meltin Euphoria's sound could best be...

Mathematicians - Factor of Four

Factor of Four is the second release from this all-instrumental quartet. Their music is a mix of somewhat rhythmically intricate symphonic elements with an occasional contemporary fusion...

Buckethead - The Day of the Robot

Out of the floating ambient textures that open the first track, a grisly mechanical metal monster arises, destroying everything within ear's reach; there is, of course no escape, until it...

King Crimson - Thrakattak

What more can be said about King Crimson that hasn't already been said? Not much that I can think of. They have continued to define and redefine the parameters of Progressive Rock (at least in...

Spiral Realms - Solar Wind

I am bummed that my dislike of Nik Turner caused me to miss these guys. The master of Space Violin, ex-Hawkwind player Simon House brought his band, Spiral Realms, to the Great American Music Hall....

Dead Can Dance - Spiritchaser

A group I've only had the chance to hear on one previous occasion (their Spleen and Ideal album), Dead Can Dance didn't take me by storm then. But I have always awaited a chance to...

The Moor - Flux

The Moor's first album, Every Pixie Sells a Story (reviewed in #9), set the stage...

Quarkspace - Quarkspace

Quarkspace was one of six bands who performed at Eclectic Electric Event in Louisville this year, a four-piece from Ohio, with guests. Their sound is based around a loosely structured and rhythmic...

Echolyn - When the Sweet Turns Sour

So one of the best American bands in ages has come and gone, rising unheard of from Philly and through the ranks of the Sony / Epic corporate record label, which sadly proved to be their last true...

Bondage Fruit - Bondage Fruit II

Bondage Fruit has produced another disc of full-throttle over-the-top world-influenced zeuhl-rock with their own unique Japanese avant-garde twist. For anyone won over by last year's powerful...

Deus Ex Machina - Diacronie Metronomiche

Every Deus Ex Machina listener has a preferred song that is a wish to hear performed live. Diacronie Metronomiche sheds any doubts about the band using studio overdubs to make their full...

Finisterre - In Limine

After a respectable first album, Finisterre returns with a solid follow-up. The band doesn't really have any weak links. All of the musicians are on about the same musical level, and their...

Finisterre - In Limine

Still spacey, ethereal and sublime, Finisterre are one of the most interesting of the new Italian groups, skirting the Marillion school that so many are fond of and embracing that refined subtlety...

Tipographica - God Says I Can't Dance

By now everyone should know who these guys are and have some kind of idea what they sound like, even if you've never actually heard anything by them (unless you've been living in a cave, or...

Patrick Broguière - Icones

Icones is Patrick Broguière’s second release and is a concept album inspired by Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition. You the listener / visitor are given an...

Klaus Schulze - Irrlicht, Dune, Dziękuję Poland, Miditerranean Pads, Sequenced? & Crime of Suspense

Revisited Records continues reissuing the Klaus Schulze back catalog. The past twelve months have seen seven more albums released with another batch due Fall 2006. Revisited is holding true to the...

Klaus Schulze - Irrlicht, Dune, Dziękuję Poland, Miditerranean Pads, Sequenced? & Crime of Suspense

Revisited Records continues reissuing the Klaus Schulze back catalog. The past twelve months have seen seven more albums released with another batch due Fall 2006. Revisited is holding true to the...

Deborah Martin - Under the Moon

An album based on the twilight-to-dawn theme, Deborah Martin’s Under the Moon shines with an impressionistic delicacy supported by a lush backdrop of multi-synths, textural electric...

Dilate - Cyclos

It's interesting that Cleopatra is releasing ambient electronic music like this, as my initial impression of the label was much different. There’s not an awful lot of information in the...

Steve Roach - The Magnificent Void

It seems Mr. Roach can do no wrong, always working with quality musicians always following different trails into uncharted areas and always sticking to psychosomatic energy in music. Lately,...

Liberation thru' Hearing - Liberation thru' Hearing

How to describe this? Let's first consider the music: although it doesn't say exactly who plays on the album, one may hear synths, percussion, flutes, sax, drums, bass, guitars, plus some...

Tel Basta - Lickerish

I really like this CD. Musically it's very simple. I am reminded of early Cure and Joy Division music. Progressive? Well, not as I call progressive. The promo statement for the band read...

Ten Seconds - Ten Seconds

Ten Seconds is the duo of Bill Forth (guitars, vocals) and Jeff Fayman (keyboards), augmented by numerous guests on bass, drums, additional keys, and guitar soundscapes (gee, I wonder who that...

Exclusive Raja - Insubmersible

Insubmersible is Exclusive Raja's second album and is a step onward from their debut, Off the Map, of three years ago. This eclectic band shows musical influences of such...

Pierre Bastien - Eggs Air Sister Steel

An interesting album indeed. Each one of the thirteen instrumental vignettes presented here has its own unique character, all within a more-or-less experimental neo-classical context, with some...

Dweller at the Threshold - No Boundary Condition

Dweller at the Threshold is a trio of Paul Ellis, Dave Fulton, and Jeff Vasey, on synthesizers, synthesizers, and synthesizers respectively, out to explore the far reaches of a finite universe with...

Patrick Broguière - Icones

Broguière's debut album Brocéliande was one of Musea's brightest promises last year, the multi-instrumentalist (guitars, keyboards, violin, and flute) serving up a...

Catweazle - Ars Moriendi

Just what the world needs, another Swedish prog band! Catweazle are a four-piece of guitar / keyboards / bass / drums with lead vocals by keyboardist Michael Thorne. They seem to be coming from the...

Psychomusak - The Extasie

You want psychedelic? The music here, spread out across five long purely instrumental tracks, each ranging from ten to twenty minutes, evokes a hallucinatory half dreamlike state by offering...

Aria Palea - Zoicekardi'a

In fact what begins as a pretty bizarre sounding album, with the bassist making weird laughs, sound effects, assumed voices, and whispered lyrics for over two minutes, turns out to be one of the...

Spirosfera - Umanamnesi

Does Alberto Piras have a twin brother? Spirosfera is an Italian quartet of guitar, bass / keys, drums, and dedicated lead vocalist Nicola Pavan, with regular guests on Hammond organ and saxes....

Spektakel - Spektakel

Unless one has been hiding in the forest for a year, it should be fairly well known that The Laser's Edge was planning on releasing this, the tapes of an early band involving Ede Schicke and...

Finnforest - Finnforest / Lähtö Matkalle

At the core of this classic Finnish prog-fusion unit were two brothers, Pekka and Jussi Tegelman, on guitars and drums respectively. They recorded three albums in the mid-late 70s; the first two...

Kryptästhesie - Inner Whirl

This is the first regular album on the Delerium label for this Italian band (though several private cassettes, two singles, and a double-LP on other labels date back to the mid 80s), a five piece...

Atlantide - Atlantide

Jean-Pierre Massiera had somewhat of a reputation for putting together one-shot bands that record and promptly die. Another one of his 'projects' was Visitors, which we

Hampton Grease Band - Music to Eat

The "Hampton," of course, refers to the venerable Bruce Hampton, best known for his 90s rock / jazz / funk outfit, the Aquarium Rescue Unit. But back in the early 70s, Hampton was the...

Alquimia & Jose Luis Fernandez Ledesma - Dead Tongues

Alquimia is a vocalist, composer and multi-instrumentalist who has three previous albums to her credit in the pre-hispanic/new electronic music area, while Fernandez Ledesma is the de-facto leader...

Chris Savourey - End of Millenium

Seems like we just reviewed Savourey's first album in the last issue, and already he's back with a superb and highly energized follow-up. Okay, this may not be exactly what most consider...

Bellaphon - Delphi

Probably best known for their 1987 album, Firefly, this instrumental four-piece existed from around 1982, and co-existed with the mid-80s Ain Soph, keyboardist Mitsutaka Kaki and drummer...

Black Stage - Black Stage

This is a project featuring Keiji Haino (electric guitar, flute, harp, voice), Natsuki Kido (acoustic guitar), and Yuji Katsui (violin) that – despite its release date – was recorded...

Trace - Birds

Birds, released in 1975, was the second album by the Dutch progressive band Trace. This CD reissue contains the complete original album plus two bonus tracks, "Birds" and...

Island - Pictures

This is extremely powerful music, hard driving, jagged, complex and unusual, and the overall feeling is very dark. Nothing really compares, although something like Il Baletto di Bronzo's...

Gerard - The Pendulum

Gerard, a Japanese band led by keyboardist Toshio Egawa, has been recording since 1984 and The Pendulum is their fifth album. Gerard has gone through a number of changes since 1984 and the...

Alan Davey - Captured Rotation

Alan Davey has been a key member of Hawkwind for quite some time, playing bass, synthesizers, and writing the occasional song ("Wings" from their 1990 album Space Bandits is a...

Ash Ra Tempel - The Private Tapes

Germany — 1971 — Underground. Those three terms evoke images of the Berlin Wall, intensity, angst, freedom. And no band helped define this milieu more than Ash Ra Tempel. With a long...

Polite Force - Canterbury Knights

Mark Hewins’s longtime jamming project released a disc in 1996 after many years of existence in local obscurity. The band had a floating set of players as wide ranging as Richard Sinclair and...

Nouvelles Lectures Cosmopolites - Unis & The Cereal Killer

NLC is a project led by one Julien Ash, who has apparently been at this for some time, although these two releases were my first exposure to his work Their relative anonymity may not last, as they...

Mashu - Elephants in Your Head?

Hugh Hopper’s penchant to seek the unobtrusive collaboration results in another crystal of a project. This improvising trio is based on your typical guitar, bass and percussion scenario,...

David Jackson - Fractal Bridge

Utilizing the heretofore-unknown Soundbeam system, Dave Jackson has found a means to incorporate together his love of the spontaneous moment as well as live improvisation. Across the eleven cuts,...

Hector Hernandez - La Evocación de lo Sublime

The up side of the modern availability of inexpensive digital recording equipment is that virtually anybody who wants to can put out a CD of their own music without having to go through the...

Various Artists - Space Daze 2000

The album's subtitle "A Mind Journey of Electronic Ambient Space Rock" pretty much sums it up. Material by fourteen different artists is collected here, representing a wider range of...

Gualberto - Sin Comentario

Spanish guitarist Gualberto Garcia Perez offers up an instrumental album "without commentary" and lets the music do the talking. Gualberto first came into prominence with the group Smash,...

Five-O-One AM - 21st Century Dream

Somewhere between Marillion (Season's End) and the SI label bands Lies Five-O-One AM. That is, song oriented pop with elements of prog. Combine that with WMMS's reputation and...

Djabe - Djabe

One thing I enjoy about the current swell of musical activity in Hungary is the way it proves just how deep the well of quality really is. No single person could ever know all that there is to know...

Thee Majesty - A Hollow Cost & Thee Fractured Garden

The incarnations of Genesis P-Orridge continue to manifest in many different and sometimes compelling ways. Two of the composer’s spoken word series are reissued here by Voiceprint in part to...

Atman Featuring Anna Nacher - Tradition

No newcomers to Exposé, this exotic Polish ensemble check in with another release. Atman’s sound is tough to pigeonhole, their forte being a bent for creating ambient drones...

Rattlemouth - Walking a Full Moon Dog

The Rattlemouth recipe: Take elements of European and Middle Eastern folk music, neo-classical, jazz, rock and a lot more, mix 'em all up, and play them back with an agressive four-piece lineup...

Porcupine Tree - Waiting

This is Porcupine Tree's latest three-song CD EP, appropriately titled I suppose, while we are waiting for the release of their next full length CD Signify this coming fall. The music...

Il Castello di Atlante - L'Ippogrifo

This is the follow-up disc to the rather well-acclaimed Sono io il signore delle terra nord. To sum up Il Castello's history, it is a band that exists since 1976 but never recorded...

Musica Urbana - Iberia

Spanish ensemble Music Urbana are quite an interesting group of musicians, creating a very original music. Their first album, recently reissued showed a band blending a plethora of styles –...

Various Artists - To Cry You a Song: A Collection of Tull Tales

At first thought, this disc had the possibility of being not just another tribute album with renditions of classic songs by wimpy bands and weird line-ups. But as with some expectations, they can...

Heretic - Past in Future

This strictly limited edition private release by Heretic (a.k.a. Hiro Kawahara) represents the work of the last few years with demo versions of two thirty-five minute tracks in multiple parts,...

Electric Orange - Orange Communication

Some may recall that we reviewed the original Electric Orange album back in issue #4. That album,...

Tempest - Turn of the Wheel

No, this is not Allan Holdsworth's hard rock band reunited. This is a new band mating Celtic folk and rock, and doing quite a job of it I might add. Comparisons to Jethro Tull (especially...

Tempest - Turn of the Wheel

Tempest (not to be confused with the ex-Colosseum group) wasn't a group I would have expected to review in Exposé as I considered them a straighter folk-rock band from the...

Tempest - Turn of the Wheel

Tempest is led by Lief Sorbye (formerly of folk group Golden Bough). This is their first album for the Magna Carta label and their fourth disc overall. Jigs and reels and storytelling: that's...

Devil Doll - Dies Irae

I suppose it was inevitable that before long this band would find a concept such as this too good to pass up. Given the countless readings of this medieval concept in classical music, though,...

Devil Doll - Dies Irae

Proceed with extreme caution. If you love symphonic progressive rock with a nasty, sinister edge, Devil Doll may be the band you've been waiting for. Fronted by the inimitable Mr. Doctor on...

Devil Doll - Dies Irae

If ever there was a band that fit the "love 'em or hate 'em" mold, this is certainly it. Fans tend to be die-hards, and non-fans tend to just ignore this band. So when the fans...

The Spacious Mind - Sailing the Seagoat

Here's an interesting concept. Take simple folk ideas, add a little psychedelic electronics and synth, add a few flute and bongo lines and some very radio-friendly vocals and brew up some long,...

Fonya - Earth Shaper

Fonya continues to be the solo vehicle for multi-instrumentalist Chris Fournier. His latest release is one that builds well on previous efforts, and is simultaneously familiar and accessible, not...

Fonya - Earth Shaper

Earth Shaper is a travel into a fantasy land. A rather colorful travel where most of the times the instruments are equal in conveying the soundscapes to these imaginary places. It could be...

Fonya - Earth Shaper

Fonya is Chris Fournier, a multi-instrumentalist adept at making instrumental symphonic progressive rock in a variety of moods. The album is primarily keyboard-based, using modern keyboard sounds...

The Third and the Mortal - Nightswan & Painting on Glass

Not long ago, you may recall, this Norwegian band gave us their debut releases: the mini-CD Sorrow and its full-length companion Tears Laid In Earth. These were promising but...

The Third and the Mortal - Nightswan & Painting on Glass

Somewhere between Hawkwind at half speed and Ozric Tentacles at quarter impulse lies The 3rd and ghe Mortal – floating out into space at a pace that'll make you swear you're moving in...

The Third and the Mortal - Nightswan & Painting on Glass

Scandinavian symphonic rock groups are discernibly gaining their own sound now. Following in the footsteps of groups like Anekdoten, Landberk, and especially White Willow (who could be their...

Les Batteries - Démesure Révolutionnaire

"Les Batteries." That means "The Drums" in French, as in the drums of the French revolution. That should give one a good idea as to what this French duo is all about, and...

Deborah Martin - Under the Moon

Many listeners have a love/hate relationship with the New Age genre, but if you’re a fan then this one is probably already in your collection. If not, it should be. Under the Moon...

Peter Hammill - X My Heart

Here's another work in the "difficult artiste" series from prolific songwriter Peter Hammill. How many releases does this make for him? Over 20, not including compilations? He has...

The Soundtrack of Our Lives - Homo Habilis Blues

After a distinguished career with a band called Union Carbide Productions, Ebbot Lundberg (vocals), Björn Olsson (guitars), and Ian Person (guitars) regrouped as The Soundtrack of Our Lives...

Nuova Era - Il Passo del Soldato

Nuova Era - Il Passo del Soldato

Arachnoïd - Arachnoïd

Bill Nelson - Northern Dream

Tipographica - God Says I Can't Dance

Tipographica - God Says I Can't Dance

Aksak Maboul - Un Peu de l'Âme des Bandits

Nik Turner - Past or Future?

The Feck - The Feck

Gentle Giant - Out of the Woods - The BBC Sessions

Miriodor - Jongleries Élastiques

Miriodor - Jongleries Élastiques

Miriodor - Jongleries Élastiques

Visible Touch - Forgotten Land & Vienna

Kantata - Samsara

Marillion - Made Again

Beyond-O-Matic - Sonic Reclaimator

Jörg Thomasius - Marmor

Galaad - Vae Victis

Amon Düül II - Live in London

Kit Watkins - Beauty Drifting

Kit Watkins - Beauty Drifting

Kit Watkins - Beauty Drifting

Bi Kyo Ran - Deep Live

Emily Bezar - Grandmother's Tea Leaves, Moon in Grenadine & Four Walls Bending

I read a review of Moon in Grenadine some time ago which described it as what you might get if Sarah McLachlan’s band indulged itself in a King Crimson fetish, so of course I had to have...

vidnaObmana - The River of Appearance

Coronarias Dans - Visitor

Steve Howe - Homebrew

Ring of Myth - Unbound

Providence - There Once Was a Night of "Choko-muro" the Paradise

Some may recall the first, very highly regarded Providence CD And I'll Recite an Old Myth... from around 1990. At that point they had already released a couple cassettes, two videos, and...

You Are Here - You Are Here

You Are Here are a new band out of Toronto with this eponymous EP as their debut. First off, I should point out that while a keyboard player is present, this quintet have a much newer and younger...

Surge - For the Time Being

Stips - Egotrip