801 - Live Collector’s Edition (2CD, $38.99)
Titles are arranged alphabetically with the latest additions highlighted in yellow. Some of the newer or more popular British artists are on Page 1 or 2 of the store rather than here, otherwise this page would be even longer than it is.
801 - Live Collector’s Edition (2CD, $38.99) 801 was one of the first progressive rock supergroups, and their first album was a live one with stellar sound quality. In 1976, while Roxy Music had temporarily disbanded, 801 (the name of the band was taken from the Eno song The True Wheel) got together as a temporary project. The original sextet included Phil Manzanera, Brian Eno, Bill MacCormick, Francis Monkman, Simon Phillips and Lloyd Watson, and after a warm-up show in Cromer in Norfolk, that lineup played just two gigs: at the Reading Festival and at London’s Queen Elizabeth Hall. The latter concert was subsequently released as 801 Live. The music consists mostly of mutated selections from Quiet Sun’s sole album, Manzanera’s Diamond Head album, and the odd Eno song (they were all odd), plus a version of Lennon-McCartney’s Tomorrow Never Knows that easily tops the original, and an off-the-wall cover of The Kinks’ You Really Got Me. Released at the height of the punk rock scourge in the UK, the LP nevertheless sold well worldwide. This new Collector’s Edition has been remastered and comes in a large digibook format, similar to a hardbound book, with a 40-page booklet. It includes a second CD of the rehearsal sessions. More detail here. Counts as 2.5 CDs for shipping. Granted a list price of $44.95 is a lot to pay for a 2CD, but it does segue nicely into these two CDs:
801 - Live @ Hull ($14.99)In 1977, the year after 801 Live was recorded, a new 801 lineup took to the road in the UK for a 10-date tour. Eno was otherwise engaged, Roxy Music’s drummer Paul Thompson replaced Simon Phillips, and the lineup was completed by Bill MacCormick (bass & vocals), Dave Skinner (keyboards & vocals), Simon Ainley (guitars & vocals) and bandleader Phil Manzanera (guitars). These two 78-minute digipack CDs contain two dates from that tour. Live @ Hull, recorded at Hull University, features Eddie Jobson on violin. Jobson was in Roxy Music at this time, and his performance of Out of the Blue may be the highlight of this album. Manchester features guests Andy MacKay from Roxy Music and 10cc’s Kevin Godley and Lol Creme. The setlist on these CDs includes a few songs that appeared on 801 Live but also a number of songs from Listen Now, which was either Manzanera’s second solo album or the first 801 studio album, or both.
Abel Ganz - Back from the Zone ($13.99) Abel Ganz were the other Scottish neo-prog band during the 1980s progressive revival, Pallas being the better known of the two. Abel Ganz’s singer Alan Reed became Pallas’s second singer. Abel Ganz’s 1980s albums were initially only available on cassette before being reissued on CD by a now-defunct French label. Back from the Zone features five remastered tracks from their first three albums, finally sounding the way they should, plus one of their old tracks re-recorded in 2001, plus a new 2001 track, for a total of 65-minutes of music. This is melodic symphonic prog that ranks with Pallas, Twelfth Night, Haze, Galahad, and Castanarc.
Lee Abraham - Black & White ($14.99) Lee Abraham was the bass player of Galahad for a time and has a couple previous CDs under his belt, one under his name, one as half of the duo Idle Noise. Black & White (2009) is a British neo-prog all-star project that includes John Mitchell (It Bites, Arena, many others), Simon Godfrey (Tinyfish), Jem Godfrey (Frost), Gary Chandler (Jadis), Steve Thorne, Sean Filkins (ex-Big Big Train), and Dean Baker (Galahad). That cast leads to certain expectations, and this CD delivers on them. The music is melodic, mainstream, third-generation (unless we’re up to fourth generation now) British prog. The infrequent metal guitar is at odds with the overall genteel, Jadis-like vibe, but it helps get your CD reviewed on sites with ‘metal’ in the name. Read the DPRP review.
Affinity - Affinity ($17.99) This 1970 early prog album was the only one for Affinity, a British band fronted by singer Linda Hoyle and comparable to Sandrose, Analogy, Julian’s Treatment, and Curved Air. This is the Angel Air edition, which adds a mere eight bonus tracks and is the best of the CD reissues. Lots of reviews and an mp3 at ProgArchives.
Shirley Collins and the Albion Country Band - No Roses ($11.99)This 1971 album is a milestone in English folk-rock and the first album by Ashley Hutchings’ Albion Band. It combines a traditional English singer in Collins with 25 musicians, some from a folk background, some from rock, and some from early music. The list of musicians reads like a who’s who of the scene, including Richard Thompson, Maddy Prior, Simon Nicol, Barry Dransfield, Dave Mattacks, and John Kirkpatrick. Shirley Collins and Ashley Hutchings were in the first year of their marriage when the album was recorded, with Hutchings having already helped found Fairport Convention and Steeleye Span. The confluence of the full electric rock sound with Shirley’s enchanting balladry was adventurous at the time and still compelling today. This is the 2004 remastered edition on Castle/Sanctuary.
Daevid Allen - Good Morning ($17.99)This is the 2008 edition on the Esoteric label. In 1975, following his departure from Gong, Daevid Allen sought musical solace on the island of Mallorca. Here he began a collaboration with a group of Catalan musicians called Euterpe. Recorded in Mallorca, the album Good Morning was released by Virgin Records in 1976 to great acclaim. It is a unique work that was regarded by fans and critics as being as good as anything Allen recorded with Gong, if not better. Allen created a work that for the most part eschews drums and heavy percussion. It has more charm than any Gong record, and while some of it is Gong-like, there is a Genesis-like pastoral quality in spots, one track that presages what Peter Gabriel and King Crimson would do years later, and touches of folk. The 11-minute track Wise Man in Your Heart features Gong colleagues Mike Howlett and Pierre Moerlen. Good Morning appeared briefly on CD in the early 1990s but vanished quickly. 24-bit remastered with one bonus track.
Amazing Blondel - England / Blondel ($16.99) 
Amazing Blondel - Englishe Musicke ($14.99)Amazing Blondel sound like minstrels, using some early music instruments to update English traditional music in a very different manner than Fairport Convention and Steeleye Span, taking courtly renaissance music as their source as opposed to folk songs. The 2-on-1 Evensong / Fantasia Lindum CD on the BGO label contains their 1970 second and 1971 third albums on one CD. “Evensong is a folk album that harked back to the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Madrigals and ballads performed on period instruments became their specialty, and the trio’s creative ideas led to the concept album Fantasia Lindum, which belongs more to progressive-rock than to folk-rock.” [Prog Archives]
The 2-on-1 England / Blondel CD was released by BGO in 2010, containing the 1972 fourth and 1973 fifth Amazing Blondel albums. “England used the same technique to craft elegant, lushly-arranged pop songs. [Founding member John David] Gladwin left and the surviving duo veered towards Steeleye Span’s hard-folk with Blondel, entirely composed by Eddie Baird.” [Prog Archives]
Restoration is their 1997 reunion album following a 21 year break. This is the original trio plus two guests, playing genteel acoustic minstrel music on guitars, flute, recorders, woodwinds, harpsichord, organ, dulcimer, mandolin, percussion and occasional drums, with all three members singing.
Englishe Musicke is a 71-minute compilation on the Edsel label drawn from Evensong, Fantasia Lindum and England. See Prog Archives for more info.
Jon Anderson - 3 Ships: 22nd Anniversary Edition ($16.99)3 Ships is again available following a long period of unavailability. In 1985, Jon Anderson decided to record a seasonal album and thus 3 Ships was born. The album contains several traditional Christmas songs: Three Ships, Ding Dong Merrily on High, The Holly and the Ivy, Oh Holy Night, and Jingle Bells (no, really). The album proper also includes seven original Jon Anderson compositions plus the Vangelis-penned Easier Said than Done. This remastered edition adds five bonus tracks. The many musicians on this album include Trevor Rabin on guitar, an orchestra, a gospel choir and a children’s choir.
Jon Anderson - Searching for the Songs ($15.99)This CD was released previously as part of The Lost Tapes boxset. Searching for the Songs is a collection of 14 songs recorded in 1986, some of which went on to become better known songs on other releases such as The Meaning of Your Love, which became The Meeting on the ABWH album. Low sound quality versions of many of these songs have been traded freely among the Yes and Jon Anderson fan base under the name Preparation for the Songs. The sound quality of this release is far superior.
Anderson/Wakeman - The Living Tree ($16.99)Jon Anderson and Rick Wakeman have toured together outside of Yes a couple times. The Living Tree (2010) is their first studio album together, featuring nine new songs. Read reviews at Prog Archives.
Martin Ansell - The Englishman Abroad ($12.99) 
This album recorded in the 1980s was one of the first on Island Records. It is easily grouped with Rupert Hine’s progressive pop albums of the same decade. The reason is obvious. Rupert Hine produced, plays keyboards and adds backing vocals, while Hine’s cohorts Trevor Morais (drums) and Phil Palmer (guitars) are also in the band. Howard Jones is credited with “impressive keyboard solos”. Hine’s stamp is all over this album. High quality bonus tracks take the total playing time up to 73 minutes. Note there are also RealAudio clips at the Windows Media link above.
Aquaplanage - Aquaplanage ($14.99) Aquaplanage are the creative offspring of Fragile, the Yes tribute act who have toured extensively with Steve Howe of Yes and been endorsed by Rick Wakeman through regular airplay on Planet Rock. Aquaplanage are Robert Illesh (guitars, vocals, keyboards, orchestral arrangements, flute, programming); Steve Carney (lead vocals); Jon Bastable (bass guitar, samples) and Tom Dawe (guitar), also featuring Max Hunt (keyboards), Mitch Harwood (drums, vocals), Deborah Peake (violin), Ruth McGibben (viola) and Sophie Hurr (cello). Material on their 59-minute 2008 debut CD was written over a number of years and features contributions from members of Fragile past and present. Yes is the dominant influence on the album, but not to the extent of being a clone, as there is an original style present as well. When Aquaplanage do sound like Yes, they come closest to the style of Magnification and the Keys to Ascension studio tracks. Much of the Aquaplanage material was written in early 2002, much closer to the time of those albums. Aquaplanage’s vocals are one of their strengths. All told, this is an excellent classic-style symphonic prog album from musicians who’ve learned Yes through and through and have applied that know-how to their own creative endeavor.
“Aquaplanage: Life-affirming prog rock from a six piece who wear their 1970s influences on their sleeves, yet mould these timeless traces of vintage British ventures into their own musical landscape of excellent dynamics, stunning solos and consummate lyrical expression. Ode to Grey Mornings is set to be a prog classic, as its 15 minutes and five sections find superbly produced lead and group passages, plus flute and sound samples delivered in brilliant succession. Anyone seeking a modern edition of Genesis’s Selling England by the Pound, Jethro Tull’s Thick as a Brick or Yes’s Close to the Edge should grab every opportunity to catch this band. A simply tremendous album.” [Musician Magazine (UK), Spring 2009]
Arc - ...At This ($17.99) This 2009 edition on Esoteric is the first official UK CD release of this 1971 album, remastered from the original master tapes. The DPRP review also provides some biographical info; there’s much more in the booklet. Like many of Esoteric’s rescued relics, Arc’s album is proto-prog or early prog, that is, it lies between the mundane rock of the era and the full-blown progressive rock that King Crimson, Yes and Genesis were already producing. But as proto-prog albums go, Arc’s is quite good. They have a piano/organ player, and it’s really only the heavier tracks that sound dated, because of the primitive lead electric guitar tone and blues-rock elements. The lighter tracks fare better.
Neil Ardley - Harmony of the Spheres ($17.99) This 2008 edition on Esoteric is the first official UK CD release of this 1979 album, remastered from the original master tapes. Neil Ardley was known as a jazz composer, and the musicians on this album were drawn from the top echelon of British jazz musicians (many from Nucleus). But this album was a departure for Ardley, as the music has more appeal to progressive rock fans, while probably irritating many jazz fans. Ardley plays synthesizers throughout, and the music is symphonic, structured, and sometimes spacey, with many melodies that have little to do with jazz. There are sections of jazz-rock, other sections that are merely a little jazzy, and much that isn’t jazz at all. Bass guitar is way up in the mix, and there are some ethereal wordless female vocals. Notable among the musicians on this record is folkie John Martyn on guitar. Read the DPRP review.
Arena - Immortal? ($9.99) Immortal?, the 2000 album from Clive Nolan, Mick Pointer, and crew, featured a new singer in Rob Sowden. Here Arena shifted to a darker, heavier, more aggressive approach, though Clive Nolan’s keyboards are still at the center of the show. The 20-minute Moviedrome is the highlight. Check our DVDs page for Arena’s DVDs.
arK - Wild Untamed Imaginings ($13.99) If you wondered what John Jowitt was doing before showing up as the bass player in more English neo-prog bands than you can remember, in the 1980s he was in the band arK. Those tuned into the English progressive revival of that decade should be familiar with arK’s first album The Dreams of Mr. Jones (1988). Two cassette albums followed before Jowitt left in late 1990. The band continued for several years, releasing a few more CDs. Jowitt has reformed the band, leading to this new CD in 2010. The band now features original members Tony Short on vocals and flute, Pete Wheatley on lead guitar, Steve Harris on guitar synth, and new member Tim Churchman (formerly of Darwin’s Radio) on drums. Some of the songs here appear for the first time, while others are re-recorded versions of old arK songs. arK always had a less polished sound than the neo-prog frontrunners (Marillion, IQ, Pendragon, etc.), probably closer to their live sound. arK did gig heavily back in the day. These new versions sound better than the original recordings though, with better musicianship. The use of flute and guitar-synth in lieu of a keyboardist gives arK an identifiable sound. Read the DPRP review.
Asgard - In the Realm of Asgard ($17.99)This is the 2010 remastered edition on Esoteric of In the Realm of Asgærd (we’ll spell it that way once), a 1972 album that originally appeared on The Moody Blues’ Threshold label. It’s an album of early British prog or proto-prog, from a lineup of vocals, guitar/vocals, violin, bass and drums. You can hear most of the songs on YouTube; start here. Prog Archives has several reviews and one mp3.
Harvey Bainbridge - Dreams, Omens & Strange Encounters ($17.99) This 2010 CD from the ex-Hawkwind synth wizard is full of cosmic/rhythmic synth music in the classic style. Electronic music fans who may have no interest in Hawkwind can dive right in here, as this is pure EM. For the most part, it is a high-tech version of mid-to-late 1970s Tangerine Dream, with touches of Vangelis and some of the French synthesists, and lots of twittering synths Hawkwind-style. Several tracks use electronic percussion to up the energy level. This is as good as the Berlin school heroes. 69-minutes.
Peter Banks - Two Sides of Peter Banks ($17.99) This is the 2009 edition on Esoteric Recordings, known for their superb remastering jobs. Guitarist Peter Banks left Yes following the release of Time and a Word and formed the progressive band Flash. That band enjoyed a degree of success in the U.S., affording Banks the opportunity to record this 1973 instrumental solo album with guest musicians that include Jan Akkerman (Focus), Phil Collins, Steve Hackett, and John Wetton, as well as Flash members Ray Bennett and Mike Hough. Akkerman has the largest role. Read the reviews at Ground and Sky. Check our Bargain CDs page for more Peter Banks CDs.
Tony Banks - A Curious Feeling 30th Anniv. Ed. ($17.99)This is the 2009 30th Anniversary Edition on Esoteric Recordings of Tony Banks’ first and best solo album, 1979’s A Curious Feeling. The CD is not simply remastered, rather it contains a new stereo mix, for the same reason the recent editions of the Genesis albums have new stereo mixes -- it is essentially a byproduct of creating a surround mix. Unfortunately, the deluxe edition that added a DVD with the surround mix is no longer available. This is the CD-only edition. The booklet contains new liner notes by Tony.
Barclay James Harvest - Nexus ($7.99) SALE!Barclay James Harvest are a British band who released their first album in 1970. They are known for creating a unique brand of soft symphonic pop. Following 1997’s River of Dreams, Barclay James Harvest’s last album as a trio, John Lees and Les Holroyd went their separate ways. For Nexus (1999), Lees teamed again with original BJH keyboardist Woolly Wolstenholme. Craig Fletcher and Kevin Whitehead from Woolly’s band Maestoso completed the lineup, so think of this version of BJH as Maestoso with John Lees. Half the album is new songs and (at the record company’s insistence) half remakes of classic BJH tracks. For prog fans, Woolly was the key to BJH being prog-worthy, so not so surprisingly, Nexus is the highest-rated, post-1978 (after XII) BJH studio album at Prog Archives; read the many reviews there.
This is the 2006 Eclectic Discs edition (now out-of-print) of BJH’s 1990 studio album Welcome to the Show, remastered from the original master tapes with Eclectic’s usual superb sound quality. Three bonus tracks recorded live in 1992 have been added.
Be Bop Deluxe - Drastic Plastic ($12.99)Be Bop Deluxe was a 1970s art-rock band led by guitarist/singer/composer Bill Nelson, who was and is an exceptional talent. Be Bop Deluxe are a tough band to describe because some people don’t consider them to be a progressive rock band, and Bill surely would be horrified to have to come to terms with the prog label, but a lot of progressive rock fans who were around when these albums came out did think of Be Bop Deluxe as a progressive band. For instance, Be Bop Deluxe toured the U.S. with Nektar, and Be Bop Deluxe headlined. They changed their style somewhat on their final album, 1978’s Drastic Plastic, playing shorter, quirkier songs. After all, new wave had taken over, but these songs were filled with Nelson’s intelligence and adroit lyric writing. This is the latest edition with bonus tracks.
Blue Drift - Mariner ($14.99) Blue Drift is an instrumental prog band related to The Morrigan -- two members have also been or still are members of The Morrigan, and The Morrigan’s Colin Masson provided the cover art for Blue Drift’s two CDs: Cobalt Coast (2003) and Mariner (2005). But there’s no folk here. The music on Cobalt Coast varies along a spectrum between Camel (structured, melodic) and Ozric Tentacles (spacey, jamming), while other influences and prog styles are present -- one song is closer to Bruford or the first UK album. Mariner is not a radical departure, but it is distinct from its predecessor, containing mostly high-energy symphonic prog, sometimes spacey, with a touch of fusion when the guitarist adopts an Allan Holdsworth tone. There are also subtle, gentler passages where the feel is not far from Genesis. These CDs are what instrumental prog should be, carefully-crafted melodic music with sufficient variety. Read the Progressor reviews of Cobalt Coast and Mariner and the DPRP review of Mariner. The Silhobbit review of Cobalt Coast, while not particularly useful, is the most entertaining read. These are the MALS label editions.
Breathing Space - Below the Radar ($15.99) 
Breathing Space (2005) is the first CD from former Mostly Autumn keyboardist Iain Jennings, joined here by Olivia Sparnenn on vocals and Mostly Autumn bandmates Liam Davison and Bryan Josh on guitars and brother Andrew Jennings on drums. Olivia was hired by Mostly Autumn to provide backing vocals, but she is featured prominently on this album as lead vocalist, and she is a very strong singer. Iain wrote or co-wrote a number of Mostly Autumn songs, so it should be no surprise that this is more of a songwriter’s album and not one full of flashy keyboard workouts. Jennings is coming much more from a Tony Banks and Rick Wright direction than Emerson or Wakeman. There are seven tracks with vocals, heavy on the ballads, plus two instrumentals, including the beautiful Vangelis-like Escape that concludes the album with some “breathing space”. This album should please most fans of Mostly Autumn, as much of it sounds like MA with the heavy Pink Floyd influence (coming from Bryan Josh) downplayed and another side of the band emphasized. This is the U.S. edition. (There are no U.S. editions of the later CDs.)
After the first CD, Iain formed a touring band and gave them the name Breathing Space, retaining Sparnenn as lead vocalist and bringing in a new guitarist, bassist, drummer, and brother Ben as second keyboardist. Coming Up for Air (2007) is a solid second effort. The CD is front-loaded with the most song-oriented and vocal-heavy tracks, after which the music get proggier, with room for instrumental passages. Sparnenn’s voice is often the most recognizable element of the Breathing Space sound, and as her voice has similarities to Joanne Hogg’s of Iona, this album could be compared to Iona’s upbeat vocal tracks, with Jennings’ Genesis influences substituting for Iona’s Celtic elements. Read the review at Musical Discoveries.
Below the Radar (2009) is their third. “Vocalist Olivia Sparnenn has an absolute gem of a voice; clear, strong, expressive with spot-on pitch. Sound and style are very much in the Mostly Autumn vein though a bit more mainstream, emphasizing mid-tempos and power ballads led by Sparnenn’s vocals... The production is simply outstanding, with everything fitting perfectly into place. All the songs are great, especially Run from Yourself. Boasting hot keyboard solos and cool groove, this is the only track where Jennings and Sparnenn harmonize, refreshingly altering the pattern of Sparnenn’s singular/self-harmonized vocals.” [Progression] Reviews of all the CDs here.
Bruford - The Bruford Tapes ($16.99)
Bruford - Feels Good to Me ($16.99)
Moraz / Bruford - Music for Piano and Drums ($16.99)There are all the 2005 remastered editions on Bill Bruford’s Winterfold Records label. Feels Good to Me contains an unreleased version of Joe Frazier as a bonus track. One of a Kind contains the previously unreleased bonus track Manacles. Gradually Going Tornado contains the bonus track 5G, while The Bruford Tapes contains the bonus track The Age of Information. The Bruford Tapes is actually a double-CD, adding a sampler CD of Bruford’s Summerfold Records label, including an interview with Bruford. Summerfold exists to reissue remastered and expanded versions of Bruford’s post-1987 output (his jazz work), while Winterfold exists to reissue remastered and expanded versions of his CDs up to 1987 (his rock work).
Following his brief tenure with Genesis, Bill recorded his debut album Feels Good to Me in 1978. It predates the official start of the band “Bruford” although it features performances from many of the musicians who would go on to work with Bill full-time in that group. The album features vocalist Annette Peacock, keyboardist Dave Stewart, bassist Jeff Berlin, guitarists Allan Holdsworth and John Goodsall (Brand X), and flugelhorn player Kenny Wheeler. After the first version of UK split-up, Bruford and Holdsworth teamed with Dave Stewart and Jeff Berlin for the first official Bruford album One of a Kind (1979). Easily Bruford’s best studio album, this is also one of the best albums of progressive jazz-rock ever recorded. Some of the tracks were being played by UK on their first tour, and Dave Stewart’s stamp is all over this album.
The Bruford Tapes is a live album recorded in 1979, featuring two tracks from Feels Good to Me and the rest from One of a Kind. It perfectly captures the atmosphere of the gig, and the versions here are even better than the studio versions, making this the definitive Bruford album. The final Bruford album Gradually Going Tornado (1980) sees guitarist John Clark replacing Allan Holdsworth, but the band loses little. This album features four shorter vocal songs, with Jeff Berlin handling the vocals. The long tracks Q.E.D. and Land’s End are outstanding. As good as the first UK album is, the split into Bruford and the Wetton/Jobson/Bozzio UK gave us twice as much great music, with each band free to do the style its members did best. The Bruford style might be summarized as a combination of the Canterbury style (Dave Stewart’s contribution) with jazz-rock. Check our DVDs page for Bruford’s Rock Goes to College DVD.
Bill Bruford’s two collaborations with keyboardist Patrick Moraz, Music for Piano and Drums (1983) and Flags (1985), have also been remastered and each now has three bonus tracks. As for the live album In Tokyo, this is more or less from the press release: On reflection, keyboardist Patrick Moraz and drummer Bill Bruford had obvious commonality. By the mid-1980s, both were Yes alumni, both were tiring of big-stadium excess, both had roots and influences that lay closer to jazz than progressive rock, and both were looking for a more flexible music, stripped of the trappings and associated costs of their regular day jobs. The duo recorded two albums of drum-and-keyboard based music, suffused with upbeat invention and peerless skill. Both Music for Piano and Drums and Flags were well-received. Released on Bruford’s Winterfold Records, In Tokyo is an A+ quality 1985 live recording, with ten tracks (62-minutes) that capture Moraz/Bruford at their peak. As commentator Sid Smith remarks: “Though there’s an undeniable jazzy vibe to much of what’s going on, there’s also more than a hint of the symphonically-inclined prog rock in which both players cut their professional musical teeth. Principally this is most evident in the framework provided by Moraz’s likeable and accessible tunes. Though clearly well-structured, they offer plenty of opportunities to display lightning-quick reactions and sharp dynamics”. The rest of the Patrick Moraz CDs are here.
Tim Burness - Vision On ($12.99) Tim Burness has been at this since the mid-1980s with his band Burnessence, who released two LPs and played gigs with IQ, Pendragon, Pallas, and Solstice, and he continued to record under his own name during the 1990s. Finding New Ways to Love (2004) is his most substantial release to date, a blend of his progressive-pop vocal tracks and progressive rock instrumentals. Tim is joined by several musicians on this album, notably Fudge Smith (Pendragon, Steve Hackett) on drums. The vocal tracks are inspired by Peter Gabriel, Sting, and Tears for Fears, while you can spot the influence of early Steve Hillage in the instrumentals, also a little Steve Hackett and Robert Fripp. The hammered dulcimer on two of the instrumentals is a great addition; only Nigel Mazlyn Jones has done something similar.
Vision On (2008) continues the mix of progressive-pop vocal tracks and prog rock instrumentals, with more of a band vibe as Tim leads the same group of musicians from the previous CD. Some tracks feature a combination of Steve Hillage-style spaciness and neo-prog that is unique, and in fact this CD includes a track dedicated to Hillage and Gong. Tim feels this album represents a return to his prog rock roots.
Caamora - She studio digipack 2CD ($19.99) She (2008) is the huge giant epic rock opera from Caamora, the project keyboardist Clive Nolan (Pendragon, Arena, Neo) had been laboring on for two years with Polish female singer Agnieszka Swita and guests Alan Reed (Pallas), Christina Booth (Magenta), Mark Westwood (Neo), John Jowitt (IQ, Neo), Scott Higham (Pendragon), Richard West (Threshold), Hugh McDowell (ELO), and others. It’s a rock opera all right -- Nolan has made Jesus Christ Progstar for the 21st century. One can hear the seeds of Caamora in Nolan’s Strangers on a Train and Shadowland albums, but Nolan has matured as a writer in the interim. His real forte is orchestrating, where he has few peers among active progressive rock musicians. Read the excellent DPRP review for much more detail, and follow the mp3 link above to the Caamora website for more info on the She project.
The studio digipack 2CD contains the full studio version of She plus one bonus track that is not available on the jewel box version. Counts as 1.5 CDs for shipping.
The DVD contains the live premiere of She, filmed on 31 October 2007 in Poland, with almost all of the same musicians that appear on the studio recording and then some. A Making of She featurette is included as a bonus. Dolby Digital 5.1 surround audio, 160-minutes. The Limited Edition includes the DVD plus the double-CD live version of She in a lavish digipack DVD case. Counts as 2 CDs for shipping. (Compare to amazon.com’s price, which has generally been around $40.)
Café Jacques - International ($17.99) These are the 2010 Esoteric label reissues of the two albums by British progressive pop band Café Jacques: Round the Back (1977) and International (1978). The band came to the attention of prog fans in part because of Phil Collins’ notes on the back of the Round the Back LP jacket. Collins played on both albums, along with Caravan alumni Geoffrey Richardson and John G. Perry, and Rupert Hine produced both. While Collins is a guest, Richardson and Perry appear on most tracks. In retrospect, Café Jacques are one of those British bands who fell victim to the punk scourge that had spread like bubonic plague through the UK at the time. Their music is similar to Phil Manzanera’s 801, especially circa Listen Now. Rupert Hine’s stamp is evident; 10cc and Steely Dan are also good reference points. The two founding members of Café Jacques shared a fondness for Genesis, and that influence can be heard in places. It’s all characterized by great melodies and great vocals, intelligent pop with prog and jazzy touches and astute musicianship. These CDs have been remastered from the original tapes by the Esoteric team. The original album artwork is restored and the booklets have new essays by Sid Smith plus unseen photos. Round the Back includes the single version of Meaningless as a bonus track. Note all the copies we received from Esoteric are unsealed. Here is a starting point at YouTube for several songs.
Robert Calvert - Captain Lockheed and the Starfighters ($17.99) The Eclectic/Esoteric team have done their usual superb job with this 24-bit remastered 2007 reissue (reprinted in 2009 without the slipcase under the Esoteric banner), rendering the older BGO reissue obsolete. Captain Lockheed and the Starfighters (1974) was the first solo album by Hawkwind poet, lyricist, frontman, and formerly-alive person Robert Calvert. Featuring Hawkwind and guests Paul Rudolph (Pink Fairies), Vivian Stanshall, Brian Eno, Arthur Brown and Jim Capaldi, the album is a conceptual work of dark wit. Remastered from the original master tapes and with fully restored artwork, this reissue adds three bonus tracks including a previously-unreleased extended version of The Right Stuff. The liner notes are written by Hawkwind’s Nik Turner.
Camel - Pressure Points (2CD, $21.99) 
Camel - Nude ($17.99) 
These are the 2009 24-bit remastered editions on Esoteric Recordings, known for their superb remastering jobs. Stationary Traveller (1984) was Camel’s final studio album for Decca Records. In addition to the one constant, Andy Latimer, the lineup included Kayak keyboardist Ton Scherpenzeel, David Paton, Paul Burgess, Mel Collins, and Chris Rainbow. This edition includes two bonus tracks, In the Arms of Waltzing Frauleins, and the 12" single version of Pressure Points.
The subsequent tour to promote the Stationary Traveller album was recorded by Decca at Hammersmith Odeon on 11 May 1984 and released as the live album Pressure Points later that year. That LP did not include the entire concert however. The concert saw Camel joined by former member Peter Bardens for certain songs, including a rousing version of Lady Fantasy not included on the original album. Long unavailable on CD, this newly remastered edition has been expanded to a double-CD to include six songs not featured on the original album.
As hinted at by the title, Camel were under pressure to produce more commercial music on The Single Factor (1982). But Andrew Latimer brought in an impressive array of musicians to assist, including Anthony Phillips, Francis Monkman, Simon Phillips, and David Paton, while Peter Bardens returned to play on one track. A rare edited version of You Are the One is included as a bonus track.
Unlike many bands whose careers began in the early 1970s, Camel continued to enjoy success in the 1980s, beginning with the concept album Nude in 1981. Camel toured globally to promote the album, with their February 1981 concert at Hammersmith Odeon recorded by the BBC for the “In Concert” program. This remastered and expanded edition includes the 35-minute Excerpts from Nude from that radio broadcast as bonus material, nearly the entire album live! The extensive booklet includes many photographs, memorabilia, and a new essay.
I Can See Your House from Here (1979) was the first Camel album for Kit Watkins, splitting keyboard duties with Jan Schelhaas, and bassist Colin Bass, while Mel and Phil Collins (no relation) guest. Rupert Hine produced and guests on vocals. This edition includes two bonus tracks, the single version of Remote Romance, and a live version of Ice recorded for BBC Radio One in 1981.
Breathless (1978) would be the last studio album to feature Peter Bardens, and heralded more personnel changes for Camel. Former Caravan and Hatfield and the North member Richard Sinclair had already been in Camel for some months and was soon joined by cousin Dave Sinclair in a new Camel lineup. Breathless features traditional Camel music along with the whimsical Canterbury style associated with Richard Sinclair, making for a unique album. The single version of Rainbow’s End is included as a bonus track. As always, these Esoteric reissues have been remastered from the original master tapes. The booklets are lavishly illustrated and include a new essay.
Camel - A Nod and a Wink ($14.99)A Nod and a Wink is Camel’s 2002 studio CD and the best Camel album in many years. Andy Latimer returned to doing what he does best and to making music consistent with 1970s and 1980s Camel, albeit with a sense of humor not often evident before. Perhaps the addition of Nathan Mahl’s keyboardist and drummer has something to do with this renaissance. We couldn’t have asked for a better album to celebrate Camel’s 30th anniversary.
Camel, A Tribute to - Harbour of Joy (2CD, $23.99)This 1996 Camel tribute 2CD set contains 22 Camel tracks, some of them medleys. The participating bands include Glass Hammer, Cast, Fonya, Aton’s, Zauber, Finisterre, Galahad, CAP, and others. 2CD set in fat case, counts as 2 CDs for shipping.
The Neil Campbell Collective - Particle Theory ($13.99) Particle Theory (2008) is the second CD for the English band led by composer, virtuoso classical guitarist, and multi-instrumentalist Neil Campbell. The Collective includes some of the best musicians in Liverpool, who contribute vocals, drums, bass, cello, horns, and Celtic harp, while Campbell himself plays all manner of guitars, keyboards, and more. The music is predominantly instrumental, with some male lead vocals and occasional ethereal female vocals, but is not song-oriented. Bands such as the NCC with an original style are not as easy to describe as bands who sound like so-and-so. The first thing that is apparent is that these are musicians with classical training. At times the NCC sound like a chamber orchestra playing rock, more rock-oriented than Karda Estra, more melodic and warm than Univers Zero. While they don’t strongly resemble any of the 1970s progressive bands, the NCC share the same true progressive ethos and the same desire to incorporate several centuries of western musical development into rock. Follow the mp3 icon above to the NCC MySpace page for more information.
To Canterbury and Beyond: A Tribute to the Canterbury Scene (2CD, $23.99)This 1999 tribute 2CD set contains covers of 21 tracks, some medleys, by bands associated with the Canterbury scene: Caravan, Gong, Hatfield and the North, National Health, Egg, Camel, Soft Machine, Robert Wyatt, Hugh Hopper, Bruford, and Fred Frith. The participating artists include Patrick Forgas, Hostsonaten, Notturno Concertante, The Underground Railroad, Tilion, Mary Newsletter, Nostalgia, Algebra, Dono Celeste, Trama, and more.
Carmen - The Gypsies / Widescreen (2CD, $21.99) |   |
Channel Light Vessel - Excellent Spirits ($15.99) Automatic is the 2006 edition (with one bonus track) of the 1994 first album by Channel Light Vessel, a group comprised of Bill Nelson (Be Bop Deluxe), Roger Eno, Kate St. John, percussionist Laraaji, and Japanese cellist Mayumi Tachibana. Often described as an “ambient supergroup”, that may be a bit misleading as many of the tracks contain drums/percussion, and a few include vocals from Nelson and St. John. Some of the tracks are similar to Nelson’s solo work, only these sound like highly-textured finished tracks, whereas many of Nelson’s sound like demos that he didn’t care to finish before moving on to the next song. The Channel Light Vessel style overlaps with Karda Estra, especially when St. John plays oboe or cor anglais. “A record so lovely and transporting it is physically painful to have it end.” [Billboard] Excellent Spirits is the 2006 edition of their even better 1996 follow-up. “Excellent Spirits is well-played, ethereal prog rock with substance.” [Alternative Press]
ChimpanA - ChimpanA ($15.99) ChimpanA is a Welsh outfit and another project of Magenta’s Rob Reed, here on their 2006 debut with Rob Thompson and Steve Balsamo (who has an impressive music career of his own). There are five different female vocalists employed including Sam Brown, Magenta’s Christina Booth, and well-known Welsh classical soprano Sian Cothi. This is a chance to hear Reed’s writing talents applied to something much more modern than Magenta and the other bands he’s been involved with in the past. This is gorgeous progressive rock/pop, influenced as so many modern prog bands are by Pink Floyd (in fact, several of the singers here have worked with David Gilmour), but sensuous and lush rather than depressing. With the occasional spoken-word (by London-based poet Tony Dallas) and strings, it is also reminiscent in spots of Rain’s Cerulean Blue album. It’s a very original work with superb melodies and creative use of modern music technology. 59-minutes. Read the review at Musical Discoveries.
Circulus - Thought Becomes Reality ($15.99) Circulus are “Britain’s foremost medieval-influenced progressive psychedelic folk-rock band”, a dancing-around-Stonehenge seven-piece band with male & female vocals, synthesizer, guitars, bass, drums, flute, recorder, cittern, crumhorn, harmonium, and a few other odd instruments. They do a prog rock take on psychedelic folk plus some trad folk and medieval music, and their records sound like they came straight out of 1971 or 1972. Think Spirogyra and Spriguns, but proggier than either. Thought Becomes Reality (2009) is their third CD.
City Boy - It’s Personal ($13.99) 
City Boy - Young Men Gone West ($13.99) 
City Boy were an English progressive pop or art-rock band along the lines of 10cc and Stackridge, to a lesser extent Quantum Jump, early Queen, Supertramp, and ELO. They released seven LPs between 1976-1981. Like Supertramp, City Boy had two lead vocalists, one high-pitched and the other low-pitched. They added a third lead vocalist (also their new drummer) on their fourth album. Prior to their first LP, they had been a folk band, and this carries over slightly onto their self-titled 1976 debut, where there are some more acoustic-flavored tracks, especially the gorgeous Haymaking Time. This first album was City Boy’s best: it shows the strongest identification with progressive rock, and has a couple longer tracks that are outstanding. Dinner at the Ritz (1977) displays a bit of the English music hall influence, as Queen did early on, and also includes excellent hard rocking songs (Queen were pretty good at that too).
Beginning with Young Men Gone West (1977), the albums became less arty, more a set of quirky and sophisticated rock/pop songs. Like every band operating during the late 1970s, pressure increased every year to produce hit singles and more commercial rock. In City Boy’s case, they were probably also pressured to make music insipid enough to break them in the USA. Book Early (1978) yielded the band’s first hit single, and while we’re sure there are a lot of pop fans who consider this album City Boy’s best, none of those people ever shop at this site. The Day the Earth Caught Fire (1979) is actually something of a return to form; the title track is one of City Boy’s best. You can watch the promo video for it on YouTube. (Be forewarned that the other City Boy songs on YouTube are skewed toward their more commercial output.) Steve Broughton, one of their principal songwriters and vocalists, had left before Heads Are Rolling (1980), and it was like Supertramp after Roger Hodgson departed.
City Boy’s final album It’s Personal (1981) is unknown to many fans because it was only released in the Scandinavian market! There’s a reason that happened which you can find explained in one of the Prog Archives reviews. The City Boy fan site has a good overview of their albums on the who tab, actually taken from the Gibraltar Encyclopedia of Progressive Rock.
Clouds - Scrapbook / Watercolour Days ($19.99)This BGO 2-on-1 CD reissues Scrapbook (1969) and Watercolour Days (1971), the first two albums by Scottish band Clouds, both remastered for this CD. (Their third album Up Above Our Heads was only released in the U.S. and was only partially new material.) Scrapbook is period pop, influenced by The Beatles and The Moody Blues with only flashes of progressive rock coming from the keyboards. Watercolour Days is an excellent proto-prog album dominated by Hammond organ. See the transition from 1960s pop to progressive rock happening before your very ears!
CMU - Space Cabaret ($17.99) These are the 2009 editions on Esoteric, remastered from the original master tapes. (The now-deleted 1993 See for Miles 2-on-1 CD reissue omitted Open Spaces’ lengthy tour de force, Chanticleer.) Space Cabaret adds two bonus tracks. “CMU (Contemporary Music Unit) were a unique fusion of progressive rock, jazz and folk influences. In keeping with the mood of the times, Open Spaces (1971) evokes the work of contemporaries Affinity or even Arthur Brown. In Larraine Odell, CMU had one of the few female vocalists of the progressive era, a fine vocalist supported by a fine band. For their second and final album Space Cabaret (1973), CMU changed lineup and recruited Leary Hasson on Mellotron from labelmates Marsupilami.” [Esoteric] Read the DPRP review.
Cressida - Cressida / Asylum ($19.99) This 2009 2-on-1 CD on the BGO label is the latest CD reissue of the two albums by Cressida, a British or possibly Scottish early-progressive band in the vein of Spring, Fantasy, Gracious, Cirkus, etc. These albums appeared in 1970 and 1971 respectively on the Vertigo ‘spiral’ label. Read the ProgWeed reviews.
Cruachan - The Middle Kingdom ($12.99) 2000 album mixing Irish folk and instrumentation with metal.
Curved Air - Live ($17.99) This is the 2008 remastered edition on Esoteric of Curved Air’s 1975 live album, remastered from the original master tapes and including a booklet with new essay and photographs. This live album includes most of the classic tracks from Curved Air’s first three albums, performed by the lineup of Sonja Kristina, Darryl Way, Francis Monkman, Florian Pilkington-Miksa, and Phil Kohn.
Paul Cusick - Focal Point ($15.99) British multi-instrumentalist Paul Cusick’s 2009 debut CD is most often described as a blend of Porcupine Tree and Pink Floyd. If that sounds even remotely like something you’d like, you probably will, as this is an outstanding modern prog album. Cusick is assisted by drummer Alex Cromarty, except one track on which drummer Andy Edwards (IQ, Frost) guests. The production is first-rate, the man can sing; there are none of the shortcomings some prog fans associate with solo projects. The songs are melancholy and dark, though the song Hold On has a sing-along chorus full of hope. Read reviews at Sea of Tranquility, DPRP, and Metal Manic (don’t worry, it isn’t metal), or read comments from people who paid for the CD at amazon.com and amazon.co.uk.
Cyclops Sampler 6 (2CD, $11.99) out-of-stockThese are bargain-priced sampler CDs from the British Cyclops label. The 75-minute Sampler 2 covers earlier Cyclops releases by Robert Berry, Credo, Epilogue, Ezra, Fruitcake, Grace, Grey Lady Down, Lands End, Sphere, Tristan Park, and Vulgar Unicorn. Almost all of the releases covered by this CD are now out-of-print.
Sampler 5 is a double-CD and all the tracks are unique to this collection: 20 exclusive, alternate, and rare tracks, over two hours of music from Rob Andrews, Flamborough Head, Guardian’s Office, Henry Fool, Karda Estra, Lands End, Manning, Mostly Autumn, Mysterkah, Nice Beaver, Odyssice, Parallel or 90 Degrees, Pineapple Thief, Saens, Sphere3, Transience, Tr3nity, Twelfth Night, and Vulgar Unicorn.
Sampler 6 is a double-CD containing 140-minutes of exclusive, alternate and rare tracks from Cyclops-label bands. For the first CD of the set, Abarax have created a new 14-minute track showcasing their great guitar work. Rob Andrews gives us a brand new track, while Discipline provide a live version of their epic Canto IV. Drama, The Gift and Lands End provide alternate versions of tracks from their albums. Flamborough Head’s entry is a live version of Mantova and Karda Estra’s is a new track. The second CD opens with a Mostly Autumn track from the deleted Prints in the Stone EP, the improved 2000 reprise of Heroes Never Die. Nautilus give us a different take of their Dark Room, Nice Beaver show us that Saturday Night Beaver is the best kind, while Pineapple Thief fans will want the superb 13-minute epic produced especially for this collection. Product provide the previously-unreleased Stranger and Kiroshi. Sensitive To Light give us a radical reworking of one of their best tracks, followed by an excellent new track from Trion. Sampler 6 is brought to a close with a new rendition of an epic track by Tr3nity. Read the DPRP review.
Darwin’s Radio - Template for a Generation ($15.99) Eyes of the World (2006) is the first full-length CD from an excellent English neo-prog band formed by ex-Grey Lady Down members Mark Westworth (keys, backing vocals) and Sean Spear (bass), Declan Burke (vocals, guitars) from the Rush tribute band The Spirit of Rush, and Dave Pankhurst (drums, backing vocals) from space-rockers Unlimbo. Darwin’s Radio is by no means a continuation of Grey Lady Down though. Burke is an excellent singer, and you can often hear the Rush influence in his guitar playing, but it’s integrated into a more symphonic whole than your usual Rush-influenced band. Overall Darwin’s Radio are comparable to Kino and the current incarnation of It Bites, with similarly strong melodies. They are what we’ve come to expect from British progressive bands, songwriting abilities and a melodic sense that are sometimes lacking in prog bands who only grasp the technical side. But hey, the British invented this stuff.
Mark Westworth replaced Martin Orford in IQ while remaining in Darwin’s Radio, which has helped raise Darwin’s Radio’s profile. Template for a Generation (2009) consists of just three very long tracks. This CD is a great surprise, as it is much more ambitious than their first and much closer to classic prog. At times it’s closer to early Marillion, which is still proggier than what many young British prog bands are doing. There’s just enough heavy guitar here that more metal-headed prog fans won’t lose interest and wander off. Maybe it’s that Westworth’s time with IQ had a positive effect, and he doesn’t want Darwin’s Radio to appear second-rate next to IQ. Whatever the reason, this is a good template for a 2009 progressive rock album.
Dead Heroes Club - A Time of Shadow ($14.99) This band from Northern Ireland claim to be Ireland’s only existing progressive rock band. After a 2004 debut, A Time of Shadow is their 2009 second album. They have a very strong singer in Liam Campbell, who has something of a Peter Gabriel and Fish quality to his voice and sings with similar conviction. The music is in the Marillion vein, though often a better reference is Abel Ganz. An excellent band in the British Isles neo-prog tradition, emphasizing melody, strong songs and a singer who can carry them. Read the Eurorock review.
Decameron - Parabola Road: The Anthology (2CD, $17.99) This is the 2005 domestic issue of a 2CD set that includes in their entirety Decameron’s second, third, and fourth albums: Mammoth Special (1974), Third Light (1975), and Tomorrow’s Pantomime (1976), plus an array of bonus tracks including rarities and contemporary live performances. All are remastered from the original master tapes. Decameron was a prog-folk band whose music shows similarities to early Strawbs, Steeleye Span, and Fairport Convention, plus bigger production numbers with rock guitar and string arrangements. All the band members were multi-instrumentalists and vocalists.
Demon - The Plague (2CD, $15.99) Demon were one of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal bands, but on their 1983 concept album The Plague, the band changed musical direction and became a symphonic progressive rock band. By today’s standards, there is no metal here at all. In fact, The Plague compares favorably with Pallas, with a slightly harder edge perhaps, but the keyboards hold their own against the guitars. This set includes a second CD with the original first mix of the album.
The Dog That Bit People - same ($17.99) This is the Esoteric label remastered reissue of the 1971 sole album by Birmingham outfit The Dog That Bit People. The group evolved from the ashes of legendary band Locomotive. Bassist Mick Hincks and drummer Bob Lamb were joined by guitarist John Caswell and keyboardist Keith Millar (piano, organ, Mellotron), and the band recorded this album for EMI Records. Three of the four members sing. Bizarrely issued on the Parlophone label instead of EMI’s progressive imprint Harvest, the album originally failed to sell, and original LPs now command £500+ among collectors. (OK, not the most rational people on earth.) If you look at the ‘friends’ on the band’s MySpace page (mp3 icon above), you’ll have an excellent idea of The Dog That Bit People’s style (Spring, Parlour Band, Home, Stackridge, etc.), a mix of early symphonic prog, psychedelic rock, period hard rock, and folk (lots of acoustic guitar). The music is suspended between In the Court of the Crimson King, early acoustic Yes, The Moody Blues, Black Sabbath, Traffic, and Crosby Stills & Nash. It may be obscure but it’s a gem; the songs with Mellotron are particularly good. This CD contains one bonus track, the B-side of the band’s only single. More songs can be found on YouTube; start here and look for others nearby.
Geoffrey Downes / The New Dance Orchestra - The Bridge ($17.99)Geoff Downes is known for being the keyboardist in Asia and (briefly) Yes. The Bridge (2006, 75-minutes) contains a previously-unreleased 2003 studio recording of the 22-minute title piece, which is in the same vein as Downes’ first solo album The Light Program, though benefiting from more modern technology. The piece was originally premiered in 2003 at an exclusive live performance by Downes at a church in London, and a binaural recording of this follows the studio version on the CD, plus the rest of the concert, which features selected works from Downes’ past, including Asia songs, two songs from Yes’ Drama, and of course The Buggles’ Video Killed the Radio Star. The live portion of this CD was released on a very limited basis to the Asia Fan Club in 2004.
East of Eden - Snafu ($16.99)These are the latest remastered editions of these classic prog albums. Mercator Projected (1969) is on the Esoteric label, Snafu (1970) on the Eclectic label. Esoteric is the same people as Eclectic; the latter went under. These are the first two albums by East of Eden, a British early progressive band. Their sound fused rock, jazz, psychedelia, and Eastern-influenced world music, lead by violin and hard-rock guitar. (Their violinist Dave Arbus later played the famous violin solo on The Who’s Baba O’Reilly.) Both albums have been taken from the original master tapes and have extensive booklets. Mercator Projected features three bonus tracks totaling nearly 25-minutes, while Snafu has seven bonus tracks totaling 34-minutes!
Egg - The Civil Surface ($17.99)
These are the latest remastered versions of these classic prog albums on Esoteric. All have been mastered from the original master tapes and feature extensive liner notes. Egg was Dave Stewart’s first band with a recording contract, a trio with Mont Campbell on bass and Clive Brooks on drums. Initially drawing inspiration from The Nice and early Soft Machine, Egg were more adventurous. Stewart was already fond of the odd meters that would characterize his later work in Hatfield and the North, National Health, and Bruford. Organ dominates, except for the occasional Mellotron abuse. Their self-titled debut (1970) now features three bonus tracks, The Polite Force (1971) has two.
Stewart had already worked on the first Hatfield and the North album when, in 1974, Egg reformed to record their third and final album The Civil Surface for the newly-established Virgin Records label. Steve Hillage, members of Henry Cow, the Northettes (Barbara Gaskin, Amanda Parsons, Ann Rosenthal), and a wind quartet guest on what is the most “Canterbury” of the Egg albums.
ELP, A Tribute to - Fanfare for the Pirates (3CD, $29.99)This 1998 Emerson Lake & Palmer tribute 3CD set contains 27 ELP tracks performed by mainly lesser-known bands including Zauber, Hermetic Science, Prowlers, Mary Newsletter, House of Usher, Nostalgia, Trama, Rivendell, and many others. 3CD set in fat case, counts as 2 CDs for shipping.
Keith Emerson - At the Movies (3CD, $21.99)At The Movies is a 3CD collection of pieces from seven films scored by Emerson between 1981 and 2004. Most of this music is rare and much of it is making its official U.S. CD debut. Disc 1 includes the complete soundtrack to the 1981 Sylvester Stallone suspense thriller Nighthawks. Music from 1986’s Best Revenge ends the first disc, including Boston vocalist Brad Delp guesting on Playing For Keeps. Disc 2 covers three Italian movie scores starting with the 1980 Dario Argento horror film Inferno. Four tracks from director Michele Soavi’s 1988 film La Chiesa (The Church) follows. The disc closes with nine tracks from 1986’s Murderock. Disc 3 includes the scores for two Japanese films: 1985’s animated feature Harmageddon and 2004’s Godzilla: Final Wars, a remake of the classic original monster movie. Counts as 2 CDs for shipping.
This is the 2005 remastered edition of Honky with detailed liner notes and photos, originally released on LP in 1980. It’s Emerson’s first solo album, an eclectic one, and one of his few that is not a soundtrack. Emerson was in a playful mood during these recording sessions in the Bahamas, using local musicians.
Engineers - In Praise of More (2CD, $15.99) out-of-stock Porcupine Tree meets Cocteau Twins and Krautrock? Engineers’ 2009 second album Three Fact Fader is on the Kscope label, home of Porcupine Tree and The Pineapple Thief and bands that sound like them, so not surprisingly, there is a noticeable PT/TPT style at play here. There is also the wall-of-fuzzy-guitars-and-reverb sound of Cocteau Twins, and the unmistakable guitar style of Neu! and Harmonia. So mix the melancholy psychedelia of Porcupine Tree with shoegazing dream-pop, and you have Engineers. Is it progressive rock? Well, only at times, but there is an awful lot of glorified alt-rock and metal being passed off as progressive rock these days. Ultimately, Engineers may find that this blurred sound and style can’t be continued much longer without it becoming redundant, though that didn’t stop Cocteau Twins. But this one 57-minute CD is just about right.
In fact Engineers did not make more of the same music on their third album In Praise of More (2010), personnel changes having a lot to do with this album being fairly different from its predecessor. The music is a very mellow kind of dream-pop, the vocals very soft, like The Beach Boys on quaaludes. We wouldn’t be surprised if the singers recorded their vocals lying down. The ambiences are often beautiful, yielding a gentle, dreamy psychedelic pop wrapped in cotton fluff. This 2CD edition adds an instrumental version of the album on the bonus disc. Read reviews at The Line of Best Fit, Clash, and musicOMH.
The Enid - Journey’s End ($15.99) 
The Enid - The Stand Vol. 1 ($15.99)
The Enid - In the Region of the Summer Stars ($15.99)Check our DVDs page for The Enid’s DVDs. The Enid are symphonic rock masters, with the emphasis on the symphonic. Their brand of romantic classical progressive rock has never been duplicated, except perhaps by Craft (see the Kinesis-label section), but Craft was formed by ex-Enid members. In the Region of the Summer Stars was first released in 1976, Aerie Faerie Nonsense in 1977. These are the first two Enid albums, both instrumental, and for many still their best. Either because the master tapes of these albums were thought lost, or EMI just wouldn’t give them up, the band re-recorded these two albums between 1984-87 and they were released on earlier CD editions. However, the CDs for sale here are the original EMI recordings, previously only released on vinyl. These 2010 CD editions are on the band’s own Enidiworks/Operation Seraphim label. The albums were transferred from the original 30-ips 1/4" Dolby A tapes to 96kHz/24-bit digital at Abbey Road in June 2010, then mastered for CD at The Lodge Recording Studio. The CD artwork is taken from the original releases.
Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983) was the first Enid album to feature vocals. Kevin Godley and Lol Creme of 10cc were brought in to assist with production, and they probably had something to do with the sound of the massed vocals. This is the new remastered edition on The Enid’s own label; it includes three bonus tracks from the same time period.
The two The Stand albums were originally The Enid fan club releases. The Stand Vol. 1 was first released on vinyl in 1984, limited to 5000 copies. Professionally recorded live in Manchester, this concert performance of both old and (at the time) new material was captured in 24-track glory and includes The Enid’s encore, a cover of Wild Thing. The Stand Vol. 2 was released on vinyl in 1985 and limited to only 2000 copies. It features 10 tracks, four of which are the singles released by The Enid to that point, though Golden Earrings is a different version and not released on any other album. The other rarities include two remixed tracks from Robert John Godfrey’s Fall of Hyperion album. Tallest Dwarf in the World is an unfinished track from the Six Pieces sessions, while Jig Fugue is a Bach composition arranged by RJG.
Arise and Shine (2009) was originally released as a limited edition to introduce the new band line-up and current repertoire. It contains versions of Enid tracks reinterpreted and re-recorded by the new line-up, all of which feature in the current live repertoire.
Journey’s End (2010) is that rarity among progressive rock albums, a new work by one of the first generation bands that stands with their best work, a new classic. While most of the 1970s prog bands are content to relive past glories (if they are active at all), The Enid are reborn. Read the DPRP reviews.
Brian Eno - Another Day on Earth ($15.99) This 2005 CD is Brian Eno’s first vocal and song-based album in two decades. It’s not exactly another Before and After Science though, as all that work in ambient music has taken it’s toll. This is a low-key album with some electronic percussion loops but no real drums. A welcome return, but more soundscapes than rock. To find the audio clips, click the mp3 icon above, click Enter Site, then click the dot over the western U.S. on the world map in the lower left.
Erasmus - Voyage ($13.99) Erasmus’ Voyage (2002) is an excellent album between prog and prog-metal. One of the two main members of Erasmus is Matthew Cohen, the leader of The Reasoning. We’re not exactly fans of metal, but we like this album, as the prog rock always maintains the upper hand, the melodies are strong, and the vocals are fine prog rock vocals. (Metal vocals seem to adhere to a different aesthetic.) Magenta’s Rob Reed produced, mixed, helped arrange and played on the album.
Esquire - Esquire ($11.99) Esquire was the band fronted by Nikki Squire, Chris Squire’s wife at least at the time of their 1987 self-titled debut. This is the stronger of their two albums, and Yes personnel are involved: Alan White plays drums, Chris Squire sings backing vocals, and Trevor Horn mixed some tracks.
Ezra - Songs from Pennsylvania ($14.99) Welsh progressive rock band Ezra has been around since the beginning of the 1990s and released two CDs on the Cyclops label during that decade. Their 2006 third CD Songs from Pennsylvania is on the F2 label (Magenta and others), and like the band Credo, their new album on F2 is a huge improvement over their earlier CDs. Ezra have some similarity to IQ and Jadis at times, a noticeable Pink Floyd influence, a strong Yes influence on one song, and a pop sensibility that manifests as terrific melodies that few besides the British can create. Ezra also have great harmony vocals, which may remind the listener of Echolyn on occasion, though that could just be the power of suggestion. (Echolyn is from Pennsylvania.) At other times, the vocals have the melancholic feel prevalent in many of today’s bands, and overall this album has a contemporary feel along the lines of RPWL. The tracks vary enough that influences present in one track are absent from others, but all seven tracks are proggy and all are exceptional.
Fair Weather - Beginning from an End ($17.99) Following the demise of Amen Corner, Andy Fairweather Lowe and musical cohorts Blue Weaver, Clive Taylor and Dennis Byron transitioned into the band Fair Weather. Heading in a more progressive direction, the band adopted a harder edge and were the first act to sign to RCA’s progressive imprint Neon (an attempt to rival Philips’ Vertigo label). Perhaps the most successful Neon signing, the band had a UK top ten hit in Natural Sinner (included here as a bonus track) before releasing their sole album Beginning from an End in 1971. Though the album was a success in Europe, Fair Weather lasted a mere 13 months before disbanding. This 2008 Esoteric edition adds six bonus tracks, the A & B sides of three singles, to comprise this definitive edition remastered reissue.
Fields - Fields ($17.99)This is the 2010 edition on Esoteric. After the first lineup of Rare Bird folded in early 1971, keyboardist Graham Field formed this outfit with bassist/singer/guitarist Alan Barry and drummer Andy McCulloch (in between his time with King Crimson and Greenslade). Although Fields didn’t achieve the commercial success Rare Bird had, their sole album is a very good British prog album, certainly better than the Rare Bird albums that would follow since Rare Bird without Graham Fields wasn’t very progressive at all. This CD edition has been remastered from the original master tapes and features an essay by Sid Smith and an interview with Graham Field. Read reviews at Prog Archives and Music from the Other Side of the Room. There is at least one song on YouTube.
Final Conflict - Stand Up remastered digipack ($15.99) Final Conflict are an English neo-prog band formed in 1985. They released their first CD in 1991, though there were a couple cassette releases even earlier. This is the 2010 remastered digipack reissue of their 1997 third CD Stand Up. Two bonus tracks take the playing time to 79-minutes. One is a new 2010 version of Moment in Time; the second is previously unreleased. Stand Up is comparable to Marillion, Egdon Heath, Iluvatar, Arena, etc. Check our DVDs page for Final Conflict’s Another Moment in Time DVD.
Fish - 13th Star ($16.99) 
Fish - Yang ($6.99)13th Star is the 2008 studio album from the ex-Marillion front man. It’s one of Fish’s very best albums, and a very personal one, reinforcing the notion that the best art is borne of pain. Read reviews on the official Fish site to get the whole story.
In 2005, Fish embarked on the Return to Childhood tour across Europe and South America, performing Marillion’s 1985 masterpiece Misplaced Childhood in its entirety. The concert was divided into two halves, with the first half consisting of songs from Fish’s solo career: Big Wedge, Moving Targets, Brother 52, Goldfish and Clowns, Raingods Dancing, Wake Up Call (Make It Happen), Innocent Party, Long Cold Day, Credo. The second half is a performance of the complete Misplaced Childhood album plus Marillion favorites Incommunicado, Market Square Heroes and Fugazi. The Return to Childhood 2CD set was recorded on the same tour but at a different concert than the companion DVD. Beautiful fat 2CD digipack, 125-minutes. The DVD includes a backstage interview with Fish and a running time of 192 minutes. Unlike the 2CD, the DVD is the complete show including Fish’s stage banter. The current edition of the DVD comes in a standard Amaray case.
Yin and Yang were companion compilation CDs spanning 1980-1995, but most of the songs were re-recorded. Yang includes four Marillion songs recorded by Fish’s band. Check our DVDs page for more Fish DVDs.
Five Hand Reel - Five Hand Reel / For A’ That / Earl O’Moray (2CD, $21.99) The reissue of 2006 for folk-rock fans. This 2CD set, packaged in a slipcase, is the first time on CD for the first three albums (1976, 1977, 1978) from Celtic rock band Five Hand Reel, who were led by Scottish singer/guitarist Dick Gaughan. The band had Scottish, Irish, and English members, and most of their repertoire was drawn from Scottish and Irish sources. Like Fairport Convention (who they most closely resemble), Steeleye Span, and early Horslips, Five Hand Reel arranged traditional songs for electric rock band. The instrumentation generally included acoustic & electric guitar, fiddle, keyboards, bass and drums. The 24-page booklet includes the lyrics and extensive liner notes.
Flash - Out of Our Hands (Esoteric) ($17.99) 
These are the 2009/2010 remastered editions on Esoteric Recordings, known for their superb remastering jobs and extensive booklets. The self-titled first Flash album (1972) contains the rare single version of Small Beginnings as a bonus track. In the Can (1973) is the second Flash album, Out of Our Hands (1973) the third. This CD of In the Can includes the bonus tracks Watch Your Step and the single version of Lifetime, the A & B sides of a 1973 single. Flash was Peter Banks’ post-Yes band, who continued the early Yes style. On the first album, Tony Kaye is on keyboards, though he was never officially a member and never toured with them. Kaye left after the first album and Flash continued as a quartet, their sound becoming more guitar-oriented. The first album is the best, with each subsequent album tailing off a little. Flash then morphed into the band Empire, and Banks continued the slow but steady downward trend. The Flash albums however, especially the first, are fairly essential for fans of early Yes.
Flood - Tales from the Four Seasons ($14.99) This 2009 release is the debut CD by an Englishman known only as Flood. As Flood says: “My debut album Tales from the Four Seasons is an instrumental album. It began life as a short piece entitled Summer written whilst on holiday in Dorset five years ago. I liked the feel of the arrangement and therefore decided to write a suite of four pieces based on the four seasons. Although typically drawn to more heavy arrangements in terms of the use of synthesizers, bass pedals and electric guitars, I felt it was important to keep the orchestration and choice of instruments the same as had been used on Summer. Each season is made up of individual movements linked together using short linking passages. The music was inspired by the sights and sounds of the English countryside.” This is a very pastoral and relaxing work, nearly 80-minutes in length, influenced by the English classical composers. There are passages with drums and/or synths and organ, but they’re in the minority. Acoustic 6 & 12 string guitar and piano form the backbone of the album, augmented by flute, clarinet, cello, and upright bass. When the guitar is present, the feel is close to Gordon Giltrap’s later work, while Mike Oldfield and Anthony Phillips are other possible reference points. Very nice.
Forest - Forest / Full Circle ($17.99) This 2-on-1 CD on the BGO label contains the two albums by English psychedelic folk-rock band Forest: Forest (1969) and Full Circle (1970). Forest are in the vein of Dr. Strangely Strange, Comus, and Incredible String Band. “...dark but subtle acid lyrics, incorporating pipes, harmonium, harpsichord, mandolin, 12-string guitar and percussion in their sound. Their music doesn’t have the electricity normally associated with rock, yet it can’t be described as straight folk either, the lyrics being rather strange and the band’s approach being far too eclectic... Both albums are altogether esoteric, pastoral, serious and communal as befit the times.” [Prog Archives]
Frost - The Philadelphia Experiment (2CD+DVD, $19.99) 
Frost is a UK progressive rock band featuring Jem Godfrey, John Mitchell (Kino, Arena), John Jowitt (IQ,...), Andy Edwards (IQ), and (on the second CD) Declan Burke (Darwin’s Radio). It does seem that the same core group of musicians is shuffled around to form as many bands as possible, with the one requirement that Jowitt be the bassist. But Godfrey, who made a name for himself as a writer and producer in the pop music field, is the sole writer in Frost, and as he says: “I’ve always been into progressive rock music and so I decided to do exactly that, writing an album to my kind of taste”. Frost’s 2006 debut Milliontown is a blend of classic prog and very modern, heavier prog. The classic stuff happens mainly during the instrumental passages, of which there are plenty. These instrumental passages sound like what Genesis would produce today in an ideal universe (in which the five of them were together, had their youthful energy and then some, and forgot everything that happened after Duke). The keyboards especially remind one of Tony Banks. The album opens with a killer 7:30 instrumental and concludes with the 26:35 title track, which is the highlight. In between there’s a 10-minute song, and the remaining shorter songs showcase the modern side of the band.
It looked for a time as though Frost would be one-and-done, but they returned in 2008 with Experiments in Mass Appeal, which is a completely contemporary-style progressive rock album, meaning guitar-oriented, darker, heavier, and employing some modern production techniques. This is as good as Porcupine Tree or any of the other practitioners of the modern prog style you care to name. And even though it is guitar-dominated, keyboards still play a more important role than in most other such bands. This is the digipack special edition, which adds an NTSC DVD containing a documentary, informal studio renditions of two songs from Milliontown, and an instrumental remix of the entire EiMA album as 192kbps mp3 files. Read reviews at Prog Archives.
The triple disc set The Philadelphia Experiment was recorded live at the 2009 Rites of Spring festival (RoSfest) in Philadelphia, containing nearly two hours of music on two audio CDs. There are 14 live tracks covering both Frost studio albums, plus Frost’s new 17-minute studio track The Dividing Line, recorded specially for The Dividing Line Broadcast Network’s 10th Anniversary. The third disc is a DVD containing a documentary that goes behind the scenes in the run-up to the gig, plus outtakes and a 5.1 surround mix of The Dividing Line. Counts as 2 CDs for shipping.
Fruupp - Modern Masquerades ($17.99) 
Fruupp - Future Legends ($17.99)These are the 2009 remastered editions on Esoteric of the four albums by the Belfast-based symphonic prog band Fruupp, Northern Ireland’s great contribution to 1970s progressive rock. Amazingly, these four LPs were originally released within a span of less than 18 months in 1973-1975. Fruupp opened for Genesis many times, and their open admiration for Genesis probably influenced them, as their music is sometimes similar to pastoral 1970s Genesis. The DPRP history and review of Fruupp and these four CDs will tell you all you need to know. Future Legends has one bonus track, The Prince of Heaven’s Eyes has two. All have extensive booklets with previously unseen photographs and new liner notes.
The Fyreworks - same ($15.99) The Fyreworks’ 1998 album is conceptually similar to Ad Infinitum, a successful attempt to create a purely 1970s style vocal progressive rock album. Keyboards are intentionally limited to Hammond, Mellotron, Moog, and piano. The main difference is that, in addition to the 1970s Genesis and Yes stylings, The Fyreworks add a substantial Jethro Tull feel (circa Thick as a Brick) and perhaps a little Van der Graaf Generator. Magenta’s Rob Reed plays keys, co-wrote and produced the album, but the main force behind this quintet is Danny Chang, who has been playing and recording since the early 70s.
Galahad - Empires Never Last ($17.99) British neo-prog band Galahad have been at it for a while, with their debut CD being released in 1991 and, prior to that, cassettes dating back to 1985. There is a correlation between longevity and quality. Empires Never Last (2007, 62-minutes) is worth the wait of five years since the previous CD. This is Galahad’s heaviest, darkest and most intense album. If their earlier albums were comparable to Pendragon, ENL is more in the direction of Arena, IQ at their heaviest, and Fugazi-era Marillion. There is more guitar and a metal influence, though it stops short of being prog-metal, staying in the heavy symphonic realm. Galahad also make good use of samples and electronic effects to enhance the proceedings. The album was recorded at Thin Ice Studios and engineered and mixed by Karl Groom, so the shift toward the huge Arena and Threshold sound is not surprising. Groom, Clive Nolan, and Tina Booth (Magenta) guest. Check our DVDs page for Galahad’s Resonance DVD. Read reviews of all Galahad CDs.
Galliard - New Dawn ($17.99) These 2009 editions on Esoteric are the first official CD releases of two 1970 albums from Decca’s Deram label. Both are remastered from the original master tapes, with booklets containing previously unseen photographs and new liner notes. Strange Pleasure includes two bonus tracks. Galliard were an English proto-prog band that augmented their sound with brass arrangements. The brass arrangements are sometimes in the jazzier style of early Chicago, sometimes in the British brass band style a la Home Service. The DPRP reviews are required reading; Mark Hughes hits the nail on the head when he writes that Strange Pleasure “...perfectly encapsulates the musical freedom of that era. Jazzy without being jazz, psychedelic without being trippy, pop without being limp-wristed and progressive without being indulgent, the songs stand out for the ease of which the different styles blend together, carefully encased with perfectly executed brass arrangements.” There is also some trad folk influence as well as a bit of baroque in what are two underrated gems of the formative era of British prog.
The Gift - Awake & Dreaming ($14.99) The debut by London quintet The Gift is a 71-minute neo-prog opus consisting of two long song suites. The music relies heavily on the vocals of Mike Morton, which are front and center, very clear in the mix, while instrumentally it is mainstream symphonic neo-prog along the lines of Galahad, Tr3nity, Landmarq, etc., with just a touch of heavy riffing to let you know it’s a modern record. It may be too tame for hardcore prog fans, and while Cyclops certainly over-hyped it to call it the best prog album of 2006, it is a fine album that will probably require a few listens to get under your skin. Read the DPRP review.
Gilgamesh - Another Fine Tune You’ve Got Me Into ($17.99) These are the 2009-2011 24-bit remastered editions on Esoteric Recordings, known for their superb remastering jobs. Both the 1975 self-titled debut and the 1978 second album by Gilgamesh are Canterbury classics. Gilgamesh was centered on keyboardist Alan Gowen, who had been a member of National Health, and Gilgamesh is closely-related to National Health / Hatfield and the North, with Richard Sinclair, Neil Murray, and Mont Campbell (Egg) all passing through. Gilgamesh’s music is jazzier and less idiosyncratic than either of those bands, Gowen’s and Dave Stewart’s contrasting compositional and playing styles largely accounting for the difference. Gowen succumbed to leukemia in 1981. National Health’s D.S. al Coda album contained all Alan Gowen compositions and was a tribute to him.
Gordon Giltrap & Rick Wakeman - From Brush & Stone ($16.99) 
Gordon Giltrap’s rock days are behind him, and he now focuses on acoustic guitar. Giltrap has a signature style that is a clear influence on Ritchie Blackmore in Blackmore’s Night. At the Symphony Hall, Birmingham employs the DualDisc format with a CD on one side and a DVD-Video on the other side. The DVD was recorded in March 2005 at the Birmingham Symphony Hall during one of Gordon’s many live concert appearances. Gordon is joined on this concert date by the Sheffield Philharmonic Orchestra and guests Raymond Burley, Rod Edwards, Gilly Darbey and Rick Wakeman. The concert saw the performance of Gordon’s rhapsody The Eye of the Wind, which was written between 1978 and 1980 to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Sir Francis Drake’s circumnavigation of the world. The CD includes the complete 49-minute studio version of The Eye of the Wind, recorded in 2004 with The Sheffield Philharmonic. Fans will recognize some of the themes from Giltrap’s band albums. It’s great to hear Giltrap’s music adapted for symphony orchestra. Note playback of DualDiscs cannot be guaranteed on all CD or DVD players as the disc thickness exceeds the spec for CDs and DVDs, though problems are not common.
The double-disc Drifter contains a 2004 studio CD and a 2003 live performance. Many of the tracks on the studio disc feature the violin of John Bradbury, and the combination of Giltrap’s acoustic guitar and Bradbury’s virtuoso violin is sublime. The live CD is the audio from Giltrap’s Live at Huntingdon Hall DVD and contains 20 tracks. Using one acoustic guitar, Giltrap is able to fill the sonic spectrum almost like an orchestra. Our favorite acoustic guitarist.
From Brush & Stone (2009) is a collaboration between Giltrap on acoustic guitars and Rick Wakeman on piano and synths, recorded late in 2007. The two have worked together before, and they mesh perfectly. 59-minutes of beautiful instrumentals from two masters of their instruments.
Gordon Giltrap - Airwaves ($15.99) out-of-stock 
Gordon Giltrap - The Peacock Party ($15.99) 
These are Gordon Giltrap’s band albums, easily the best albums in his extensive catalog. Giltrap is as unique a British music talent as they come, not only for the acoustic guitar technique that he developed, but for the style of instrumental progressive rock heard on these albums that is also unique. After beginning his career in the late 1960s as a folkie, Giltrap switched to a bounteous, symphonic instrumental rock style more classical than folk, beginning with 1976’s Visionary and continuing with Perilous Journey (1977), Fear of the Dark (1978), The Peacock Party (1981), Airwaves (1982), and his 1979 (Live at Oxford) and 1981 live CDs. While acoustic guitar is his favorite, he does play some electric on these albums. He actually plays a lot of electric on The Band Live 1981, which was recorded live in the studio specifically for radio use and features 14 tracks of Giltrap’s best material.
One constant in his band was keyboardist Rod Edwards. His band on Visionary and Perilous Journey also included John G. Perry and Simon Phillips. The Peacock Party includes Bimbo Acock, Richard Harvey (Gryphon), Ian Mosely (Marillion), John Gustafson, Morris Pert, and Ric Sanders (Soft Machine, Fairport Convention). His rhythm section on Airwaves switched to Chas Cronk (Strawbs) and Clive Bunker (Jethro Tull), and so Giltrap surrounded himself with excellent musicians, some of whom went on to Steve Hackett’s band. Giltrap’s band albums are an essential part of any progressive rock library. Start with The Peacock Party.
Visionary (53-minutes) contains the bonus tracks On Wings of Hope, Jerusalem, and the original version of the title track. Fear of the Dark contains four bonus tracks.
Gizmo - Victims ($13.99)Gizmo is a British progressive rock band known for their 1979 LP Just Like Master Bates, one of the most homemade-looking LPs ever. Their second album Victims was recorded in 1981 and later released on this CD by the defunct French UGUM (MSI) label. It is long out-of-print. Gizmo existed in those awkward years when progressive rock was moribund in the UK, disappearing just before the progressive revival led by Marillion. There is a quirky, lo-fi, synth-pop aspect to the earlier tracks on this CD. The music becomes more symphonic on the later tracks, which are longer and feature some violin, concluding with a version of Holst’s ever-popular Mars.
Gnidrolog - In Spite of Harry’s Toenail / Lady Lake ($16.99) This is BGO’s reissue combining Gnidrolog’s two 1972 albums on one CD. Gnidrolog were a full-blown progressive rock band from Wales who were contemporaneous with and similar to Van der Graaf Generator, Gentle Giant, Jethro Tull, and King Crimson. And Gnidrolog sometimes reached the same level. One could also compare aspects of their style to Traffic, Audience, Catapilla, Still Life, etc., blues-based rock bands with progressive tendencies, but Gnidrolog were proggier. Lady Lake is their best.
Gong - You ($12.99) 
This is the jewel box edition on Charly/Snapper of Gong’s 1974 album You, the final part of their Radio Gnome trilogy, and for many their best album. When Ozric Tentacles burst on the scene, their sound didn’t come out of nowhere -- it traces to this album. You marked an important turning point for Gong. “By 1974, the psychedelic hippie folk-rock element of the sound that was leader Daevid Allen’s most important contribution was beginning to disappear. In its place was a more sophisticated musical vision that owed as much to jazz-rock fusion as to fellow space rockers like Pink Floyd or Hawkwind. Ironically, this is Gong’s most spacey album, full of extended, ethereal passages that would inspire future generations of space rockers. The sound was equally defined however by the jazzy flights of saxophonist Didier Malherbe and the sinuous rhythms of bassist Mike Howlett and drummer Pierre Moerlen. Allen’s songs still provide a crucial link to the rest of the trilogy, though the conceptual/mythological aspect is less crucial to You.”
Angels Egg (1973) was the second album in the Radio Gnome trilogy. This is the remastered reissue on Charly/Snapper, which comes in a jewel case. While You is much more instrumental, Angels Egg is full of Daevid Allen’s whimsical, quirky lyrics. Angels Egg is a transitional album, having much in common with the previous two albums but with the more refined sound and the synths that would characterize later albums.
This is the remastered digipack reissue on Charly/Snapper of Gong’s 1973 album Flying Teapot, the first part of the Radio Gnome trilogy. This is the first appearance of Tim Blake (synthesizers) and Steve Hillage (guitar), who make this album sonically richer than previous Gong albums. One has to be as stoned as Daevid Allen was to make much sense of the Gong mythology, but it’s all part and parcel of Gong’s psychedelic space/art/jazz-rock.
Grace - Gathering in the Wheat (2CD, $6.99) out-of-stock SALE! SALE!Superb progressive rock and progressive pop with a subtle folk influence, hard not to like these guys. Poppy (1996) is Grace’s third album. Gathering in the Wheat is a 2CD live album recorded in 1997 that serves as an excellent retrospective covering all three of their studio albums. Read the DPRP review.
Greenslade - The Full Edition: Live 2001 ($17.99)Greenslade were a fine second-tier English prog rock band based around the dual keyboards of Dave Greenslade and Dave Lawson. They released four albums during the 1970s, plus a few solo albums by Dave Greenslade. Blend ELP, The Nice, Argent, and Procol Harum and you’d be in the ballpark. They reunited circa 1999 with original members Dave Greenslade and bassist Tony Reeves, plus John Young on vocals & keyboards and a new drummer. They were a hit at Baja Prog 2002, showing the younger bands a thing or two about composing and songwriting. The Full Edition: Live 2001 includes live renditions of most of their best 70s tracks plus a few tracks from their comeback album Large Afternoon, all on one 75-minute CD. Since John Young has a better voice than Dave Lawson did, and recording technology has improved, this is a great way to hear a classic progressive rock band at their finest. This is the reissue on the Angel Air label.
Live 1973-1975 on Angel Air features four tracks recorded live in 1973, just after the release of their first album Greenslade, and five live tracks from 1975, after the release of their third album Spyglass Guest. These are the only available live performances from those classic years.
Gryphon - Treason ($14.99) 
Gryphon - Midnight Mushrumps ($14.99) 
Gryphon is Britain’s famous progressive rock band who combined early music instruments and renaissance music influences with rock. Using recorders, crumhorns and bassoon alongside guitars, bass, keyboards and drums, their style of medieval progressive rock has never been duplicated. These are the latest editions of the Gryphon CDs on Talking Elephant. Raindance had been long out-of-print; this 2010 edition has been remastered from the original master tapes, and now the complete Gryphon catalog is again available.
Gryphon’s 1973 self-titled debut is entirely acoustic. They began to ramp up the rock on Midnight Mushrumps (1974), culminating in their masterpiece Red Queen to Gryphon Three (later in 1974), which features longer, more symphonic pieces. Raindance (1975) is highlighted by the 16-minute (Ein Klein) Heldenleben, while the remaining tracks are shorter. While not the equal of Red Queen, it is a worthy follow-up, beginning the transition to more rock-based, less folk/medieval material.
Treason (1977) is actually the most conventionally progressive of Gryphon’s output and the favorite of many fans; it is more electric, more rock, less folky, and with more vocals. Gryphon had been touring with Yes prior to recording Treason and it shows, though given the instrumentation, comparisons to Gentle Giant are also inevitable.
Steve Hackett - Beyond the Shrouded Horizon jewel box (2CD, $14.99)
Steve Hackett - Out of the Tunnel’s Mouth SE (2CD, $15.99)
Steve Hackett - Time Lapse ($14.99)
Steve Hackett - Please Don’t Touch remastered ($12.99)Beyond the Shrouded Horizon is Steve Hackett’s 2011 studio CD. These 2CD editions add an all-instrumental second disc with nine more new tracks. (The hardcover digibook edition contains the same tracks as the jewel box edition.) Chris Squire plays bass on several tracks. Read the reviews at ThisIsNotAScene and Dangerdog.
This is the 2CD jewel box special edition of Steve Hackett’s 2010 studio album Out of the Tunnel’s Mouth. Anthony Phillips and Chris Squire are among the many musicians lending a hand. The second disc contains six tracks, five of which were recorded live in Italy in March 2009: Blood on the Rooftops, A Tower Struck Down, Firth of Fifth, Fly on a Windshield, and Broadway Melody of 1974. Read the Classic Rock Presents Prog review.
Live Rails (2CD digipack) was recorded in New York City, Paris and London in 2009-2010, on Steve Hackett’s tour promoting Out of the Tunnel’s Mouth with his current six-piece band. The setlist includes several Genesis songs and many Hackett classics going all the way back to Ace of Wands.
In addition to his work in progressive rock, Steve Hackett has shown remarkable dedication to his classical side. To date he has released five acoustic/classical albums and has appeared as the featured soloist with the London Chamber Orchestra, earning the respect of both rock contemporaries and classical figures. Metamorpheus is his latest classical project, the natural successor to 1997’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream (which spent several weeks in the UK classical charts). It combines Steve’s nylon guitar with a number of orchestral musicians. Some of the tracks are “small” pieces revolving around Hackett’s guitar, while others are large orchestral pieces. There are even times during the latter when Hackett is not playing, the point being that this album really showcases Hackett as a classical composer and orchestral arranger. Beautiful work.
Guitar Noir was released in 1993, one of Hackett’s full electric band, vocal albums. Time Lapse (1991) is a live album drawn from shows in New York City and Nottingham which span ten years and two band lineups.
The Genesis Files is a double-CD that includes all the tracks from the 1996 Genesis Revisited CD along with a selection of tracks from The Tokyo Tapes, two tracks from Bay of Kings, and one each from Feedback ’86 and Darktown. Genesis Revisited contains Steve’s remakes of Watcher of the Skies, Dance on a Volcano, Valley of the Kings, Déja Vu, Firth of Fifth, For Absent Friends, Your Own Special Way, The Fountain of Salmacis, The Waiting Room, I Know What I Like, and Los Endos. Déja Vu is a song started by Steve and Peter Gabriel in 1974 and only completed circa 1995. Featured musicians include John Wetton, Bill Bruford, Ian McDonald, Paul Carrack, Chester Thompson, Tony Levin, Colin Blunstone, members of various editions of The Steve Hackett Band, and The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. The Tokyo Tapes is a 1998 live 2CD from Hackett’s all-star band that included Wetton, McDonald, Thompson, and Julian Colbeck.
These are the remastered and expanded editions of Steve Hackett’s early albums Please Don’t Touch and Defector. They were remastered in 2005 at Steve Hackett’s studio by engineer Benedict Fenner, in direct collaboration with Steve. Each has new liner notes. For bonus tracks, Defector contains the track Hercules Unchained plus live versions of Sentimental Institution, The Steppes, Slogans, and Clocks - The Angel of Mons. Please Don’t Touch contains a version of Narnia with John Perry on vocals, another alternate version of Narnia, and a live version of Land of a Thousand Autumns / Please Don’t Touch. Please Don’t Touch (1978) features Steve Walsh and Phil Ehart of Kansas as well as Richie Havens. Spectral Mornings (1979) and Defector (1980) are the albums on which Hackett established his own voice apart from Genesis and should be considered his classics. Check our Bargain CDs page for more Steve Hackett CDs. Check our DVDs page for Steve Hackett DVDs.
Claire Hamill - Love in the Afternoon ($17.99) |       |
Peter Hammill - In the Passionskirche, Berlin 1992 (2CD, $14.99)In 1991, Peter Hammill released the album Fall of the House of Usher based on the Edgar Alan Poe story. The album has never been performed live in its entirety; however during solo concerts in late 1991 and 1992, Peter Hammill performed an edited suite of songs from the album. One such concert took place at The Passionskirche in Berlin. For many long-time fans, this performance holds a special place, and bootleg copies have been traded for many years. The jewel for many fans is Usher’s Suite, here in a stark solo performance where Hammill alternates between piano and guitar. Hammill also performs a number of songs from his long solo career including the Van Der Graaf Generator song My Room from Still Life.
Gavin Harrison & 05Ric - Circles (CD+DVD-A, $14.99) Circles (2010) is the second album from Porcupine Tree and King Crimson drummer Gavin Harrison, and multi-instrumentalist, singer, and extended range bass player 05Ric. The extended range bass is an instrument 05Ric had a hand in designing, incorporating aspects of the Chapman Stick and a conventional electric guitar. These are two stellar musicians making full-sounding music mostly in the Adrian Belew-era King Crimson vein with a healthy dose of Allan Holdsworth added. We’ve all heard lots of bands influenced by 80s Crimson and by Holdsworth, but few if any as good as the originals. Circles however is right up there with them. The intricacy of it all is kind of mind-bending, yet it is musical, flowing naturally; it’s even soothing at times. Gavin is definitely holding back when playing with Porcupine Tree (which makes sense for PTree’s style). This edition includes a CD plus a DVD-Audio (NTSC, all-region) containing the album in surround, packaged in a super jewel box + slipcase. Thank you Kscope for a hi-res surround version with basically no increase in price! Those with DVD-Video-only players can listen to the DTS surround mix.
Annie Haslam - Still Life 2CD ($16.99) This is the 2011 remastered edition on Gonzo (formerly Voiceprint) of Annie Haslam’s second solo album, one of the highlights of her solo career. Still Life was recorded with Louis Clark and The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in 1985 and consists of light classical pieces set to lyrics by Renaissance lyricist Betty Thatcher. Louis Clark had previously done the orchestral arrangements for Renaissance’s A Song for All Seasons. In addition to the orchestra and Annie’s stunning vocals, there are musicians on harp, piano, bass and drums. This new edition adds a bonus disc containing instrumental versions of all tracks (for your karaoke parties).
Hatfield and the North - The Rotters’ Club ($17.99) These are the 2009 Esoteric Recordings remastered editions of two classic progressive rock albums that virtually defined the Canterbury genre. Hatfield and the North comprised former Caravan member Richard Sinclair, keyboardist Dave Stewart, guitarist Phil Miller and drummer Pip Pyle. Their self-titled 1974 debut album features guest appearances by Geoff Leigh of Henry Cow and Robert Wyatt who sang on the track Calyx. This reissue has three bonus tracks: both sides of the band’s first single, and Your Majesty is Like a Cream Donut incorporating Oh What a Lonely Lifetime featured on the Virgin sampler album V and previously unreleased on CD.
The Rotters’ Club (1975) features guest appearances by such luminaries as Jimmy Hastings and Mont Campbell. This reissue adds three bonus tracks from the 1980 compilation Afters and the 1975 live album Over the Rainbow. Both booklets feature restored artwork, notes by Sid Smith and a Dave Stewart interview.
Hawkwind - The Xenon Codex ($17.99) 
Hawkwind - PXR5 ($17.99) 
Hawkwind - Astounding Sounds, Amazing Music ($17.99) These are all the 2009-2010 editions on Esoteric’s Atomhenge label, all remastered from the original master tapes. The Xenon Codex was originally released in 1988 and was the last Hawkwind studio album to date to feature Huw Lloyd Langton on lead guitar and Danny Thompson on drums. This edition includes five 1988 live recordings and fully restores the limited edition fold-out artwork featured on initial pressings of the LP.
Choose Your Masques was originally released in 1982, with the line-up of Dave Brock, Harvey Bainbridge, Huw Lloyd Langton, and Martin Griffin. This Atomhenge remastered edition adds 14 bonus tracks, 12 of which appear on a bonus second CD.
Hawkwind’s 1980 album Levitation features Ginger Baker on drums and was well-received. Although Baker’s tenure with Hawkwind was brief, a concert at Lewisham Odeon in December 1980 was recorded by a mobile unit. Remixed from the original multitrack masters, this 3CD deluxe edition includes the entire concert (during which sci-fi author Michael Moorcock guested) on Discs 2 and 3. Disc 1 adds eight bonus tracks, including five from the Hawklords 1979 Rockfield sessions. This 3CD edition is limited to 3000 units and will then be reduced to just a single CD. Counts as 2 CDs for shipping.
PXR5 (1979) adds eight bonus tracks, five previously unreleased. This is the first CD edition of PXR5 to be mastered from the original tapes.
Originally released in 1977, Quark Strangeness and Charm saw Dave Brock and Robert Calvert deftly incorporating the influence of new wave to deliver one of the most effective albums released during Calvert’s tenure with Hawkwind. This 2009 2CD remastered expanded edition on Esoteric’s Atomhenge label includes 13 bonus tracks, nine previously unreleased. Read the detailed DPRP review.
Astounding Sounds, Amazing Music (1976) marked the return of Robert Calvert, who would be a major influence on the creative direction of the band as lyricist and vocalist. This edition adds four bonus tracks, two previous unreleased, and is the first CD edition to be mastered from the original tapes.
This is the 30th Anniversary 2CD edition of the Hawklords album on Esoteric, not only newly remastered from the master tapes, but with a bonus disc featuring 10 previously unreleased tracks (mostly alternate versions) and five 1977 live tracks from The Sonic Assassins (same band, different name), a 24-page booklet, and a slipcase. There are also three bonus tracks on Disc 1, all single mixes. This was very much a Hawkwind album, the name alteration probably due to contractual reasons, as Hawkwind had briefly blinked out of existence. The lineup includes Dave Brock, Robert Calvert, Harvey Bainbridge, Steve Swindells, Simon House (on three tracks), with the drums split between original drummer Simon King and Martin Griffin. The sound is close to the Astounding Sounds and Quark Strangeness and Charm albums, taking cues at times from the new wave music that had overrun Britain at the time. Few liked the cover art, but some great songs. Read the detailed DPRP review.
Credited to the fictitious group Psychedelic Warriors, White Zone was recorded by Dave Brock, Alan Davey, and Richard Chadwick, revealing another side of their musical nature, absorbing influences from the UK dance and rave music scene to create an album of electronica with that distinct ambient Hawkwind feel. The album was first issued on the Emergency Broadcast label in 1995 and deleted soon after.
Check above for Robert Calvert’s CDs.
Hawkwind - Bring Me the Head of Yuri Gagarin ($11.99) Bring Me the Head of Yuri Gagarin is a live recording of Hawkwind’s performance at London’s Wembley Arena in the summer of 1973. This is the Abstract Sounds USA edition.
Haze - 30th Anniversary Shows (2CD, $14.99) 
Haze were one of the bands responsible for the progressive revival in Britain in the 1980s, and their members carry on making music in one form or another (usually several forms) to this day. Back in 1992, the Haze compilation CD In the End: 1978-1988 was released on the hoary Kinesis label, and by following that link, you’ll find more info about Haze and their music. Stoat & Bottle (1987) was far and away Haze’s finest hour, and In the End drew heavily from it. Cyclops have now reissued Stoat & Bottle in a standalone version with new liner notes by Chris McMahon and five bonus studio tracks that Haze recorded as demos during August 1987 but never released. Most of these demos were re-recorded for the first World Turtle CD. The album has been remastered by Chris but not remixed. As Chris notes, remixing was impossible due to the state of the multitrack tapes.
Haze celebrated their 30th anniversary in 2008 and recorded two shows at The Peel, Kingston and The Boardwalk, Sheffield to produce the 2CD commemorative live set, which is priced as a single CD. For these gigs, the band tried to avoid playing too many of the obvious choices that had already been captured live on their 10th and 20th Anniversary CDs (not that those CDs were widely available) by including several new songs, some of their oldest (Turn Around, Portrait, Unto the Dawn, Mirage)), and two tracks first played with Treebeard, in addition to Haze classics such as Ophelia, Last Orders, Seven Stones, and The Vice. In all there are 26 songs totaling 133 minutes. The trio of Paul Chisnell and brothers Paul and Chris McMahon are joined on many tracks by flautist Ceri Ashton and by Rog Patterson for a cover of Pink Floyd’s Comfortably Numb.
The McMahon brothers, two-thirds of Haze, went on to form World Turtle, a slightly more pop-oriented version of Haze. Whether this CD should be under the name Haze or World Turtle is unclear. It is really the first World Turtle CD, but includes songs that would have appeared on the third Haze LP plus a few re-recorded Haze tracks. 69-minutes. Now deleted, last copies.
Steve Hillman - Opener of the Ways ($7.99) SALE! SALE!With over a dozen albums to his name, Steve Hillman has been a leader in the electronic music genre since the early 1980s. Opener of the Ways (2002, 74-minutes) contains Steve’s take on the 1970s Tangerine Dream style. There are a few abstract tracks, and a lot of sequencer-driven rhythmic tracks. Hillman recorded new versions of some of the best of his earlier works, even replacing drum machine with drum kit, and this is what distinguishes his music from Tangerine Dream. The drums kick the energy level up a notch and make this electronic rock.
The 75-minute Riding the Storm (1996) is a compilation of remastered tracks from Hillman’s cassette releases. Now deleted, last copies.
After ten cassette-only releases of Tangerine Dream-style electronics, Hillman recorded Matrix in 1994, in which he adopted a more rock-oriented approach, with electric guitar leads, drum programming, and his wife Linda adding some flute.
Rupert Hine - The Wildest Wish to Fly ($15.99) 
For those who don’t know Rupert Hine, you may have seen his name as a producer for Nova (on Blink), Jonesy, Camel, Rush, Saga, Anthony Phillips, Kate Bush, Dave Greenslade, John G. Perry, or Café Jacques, but he is also a very creative musician and a singer with an unmistakable voice. After two albums under his own name in 1971 and 1973, he was the main force in Quantum Jump (two albums in the mid-70s; check below), after which he released this trilogy of albums under his own name: Immunity (1981), Waving Not Drowning (1982), and The Wildest Wish to Fly (1983). These were followed by the Better Off Dead soundtrack in 1985, then the three under the Thinkman name in the late 80s, and The Deep End album under his name in 1994. Hine began using the exceptional lyricist/poet Jeannette Obstoj on some of the Quantum Jump songs. The lyrics on his albums from 1981 on are all the work of Obstoj. His music from 1981 on is progressive pop, very intelligent and modern (for its time), often utilizing well-known British musicians (Phil Collins and Geoffrey Richardson to name just two). Check for the related Martin Ansell CD above.
Thinkman - Hard Hat Zone ($15.99) 
Thinkman was essentially a fictitious band name Rupert Hine used for his three albums released between 1986-1990. This had to do mostly with Hine wanting to hide his name from mainstream critics, feeling that his success as a producer for Top 20 acts such as The Fixx, Howard Jones, Chris de Burgh, and Tina Turner was responsible for the negative reactions to the albums he had released under his own name. (The actual reason was the same reason the mainstream critics were vehemently anti-progressive rock, that is, they had musical IQ’s in the single digits.) The Formula (1986) was first. Life Is a Full Time Occupation (1988) is generally dark and aggressive. Hard Hat Zone (1990), though not hugely different, is probably where prog fans should start. Among the other musicians helping out here are Geoffrey Richardson on electric & acoustic guitar, bass, electric & acoustic viola, violin, and ukulele; and Phil Palmer on electric guitars.
Home - The Alchemist ($17.99) This 1973 album was the third and final album for English band Home, and their most progressive. The band brought in a keyboardist for this album, responsible for piano, organ, synth and Mellotron. This is the 2010 Esoteric label release, which adds three bonus tracks. Read the reviews at Prog Archives (though one “reviewer” failed to take his medication that morning -- you’ll see).
Spiral Realms - Trip to G9 (2CD, $16.99) 
Spiral Realms is Simon House, the violinist of High Tide, Hawkwind, The Third Ear Band, and David Bowie, assisted by keyboardist Len del Rio. These CDs feature electronic/symphonic space rock with House’s trademark violin, lots of keyboards, and programmed drums. Trip to G9 (1994) and Crystal Jungles Of Eos (1995) both come with a second CD of remixes of the original album tracks; both are on the cosmic and abstract side. These albums have elements of Hawkwind but are more symphonic and refined. It’s a beautiful combination of symphonic/spacey electronics, soaring violin, and programmed drums (which fit perfectly with the music). Aside from the violin, the music is sometimes close to the early Fonya style, though House tends to go for a sonic stew with less separation of instruments. Sometimes the sonic stew is impenetrable. (You’d think the remixes on Trip to G9 and Crystal Jungles Of Eos would be less murky than the originals, but they aren’t.)
Solar Wind was originally released in 1996 and was the second album to be recorded under the name Spiral Realms. It was recorded live during The Space Ritual 1995 U.S. tour and contains a selection of Simon’s work as a solo artist, the Hawkwind song The Forge of Vulcan, and the Syd Barrett composition Interstellar Overdrive. Del Dettmar plays on a number of tracks. It’s the style of symphonic space rock we’ve come to expect from House, and though his favorite reverb setting is still “aircraft hangar”, this one is actually clearer sounding than some of his studio recordings. All the CDs in this series are the 2005 remastered editions on Hawk Records, personally remastered by Simon House.
Steve Howe - Spectrum ($14.99) 
Spectrum (2005) showcases Steve Howe’s unique talent and a style that continues to evolve. His band this time is Tony Levin on bass, Oliver Wakeman on keyboards, and sons Virgil and Dylan on Moog synth and drums, respectively. This one is just a lot more satisfying that Howe’s previous couple albums. Recorded in Switzerland during the winter of 2004/2005, it nevertheless has a very sunny, summer feel. The title is probably meant to imply that Howe covers a wide range of styles and influences, but to the extent that he does, it’s all integrated into a cohesive set of instrumentals. It isn’t the usual case of one song of jazz, one song of blues, one acoustic song, etc., that rarely produces a great album. Instead we have one of the tastiest albums of instrumental guitar rock around, songs fused with optimism, natural energy, and self-confidence. 61-minutes, digipack. Skyline (2002, digipack) is a mellow album, yet extremely tasty.
The Grand Scheme of Things (1993) is similar to Howe’s first solo album Beginnings, evenly split between instrumentals and songs featuring Steve on vocals. Unfortunately, few people give him high marks for his singing.
Humania - Sinews of the Soul ($16.99)Humania is the band Billy Currie put together in late 1988 after Ultravox split up (Currie later used the name Ultravox for his band) and in between his first and second solo albums. The band sounds a lot like Ultravox except that Humania’s singer is no Midge Ure.
IOEarth - IOEarth (2CD, $17.99) Ask a knowledgeable British prog fan today who the latest, greatest British progressive rock band is, and you’ll probably hear the name IOEarth. After hearing their 2009 double-CD debut, the reason is clear. IOEarth are not just another melodic rock band in symphonic clothing. This is an astounding debut: expansive, cinematic, eclectic and technologically current (which progressive rock originally was but today more often is not). The music is heavily instrumental while featuring two female vocalists on several tracks and Steve Balsamo (Chimpan A) singing on three. IOEarth may even be pointing out a possible way forward for progressive rock that maintains melody, emotion and heart energy and thus a chance for more than niche appeal, instead of only recreating the past, becoming a cold, technical music, or the regression toward the mean that much contemporary prog and especially prog-metal represents. Read reviews at Background Magazine, DPRP, Prognaut, and Sea of Tranquility.
Isotope - Deep End ($16.99)
These are the newly-remastered 2011 editions on Esoteric of the three albums by Isotope, the first two first appearing in 1974, Deep End in 1975. Isotope was a progressive jazz-rock band you could group with other British jazz-rock bands such as Brand X, later Soft Machine, and Neil Ardley. Guitarist Gary Boyle and drummer Nigel Morris were constants. The other personnel varied, but it was always guitar/keys/bass/drums, with two keyboardists on Deep End. Hugh Hopper plays bass on Illusion. Deep End includes four bonus tracks, all 2001 remixes of album tracks. Read the review at Head Full of Snow.
It Bites - The Tall Ships ($13.99) This CD was first released in late 2008 on InsideOut. This is the nicer-looking ProgRock Records edition, a tri-fold digipack with 28-page booklet. British prog/pop band It Bites emerged in the mid-1980s and actually charted in the UK. At that time, the band was Francis Dunnery, Richard Nolan, Robert Dalton and John Beck. Singer/guitarist Dunnery moved to New York City and began his solo career, while keyboardist Beck and drummer Dalton went on to the band Kino. In the 1980s, It Bites occupied a middle ground that wasn’t proggy enough for some prog fans and not poppy enough for the industry, but they had chops and could write songs. Maybe it was too soon for the pop/prog mix then, but given that the current generation of British prog bands nearly all have one foot in pop or mainstream rock, the time was right for It Bites to reform. Beck and Dalton approached Kino’s singer/guitarist John Mitchell (a huge It Bites fan since his teenage years) and reformed the band with Mitchell assuming Dunnery’s role. So with It Bites and Kino being closely-related, those familiar with Kino already have a good idea what this CD sounds like. And for those familiar with earlier It Bites, this is quite a bit proggier. This is Brit-prog with classic British pop songwriting and excellent production. 70-minutes.
Jade Warrior - Way of the Sun ($16.99) 
Jade Warrior - Floating World ($16.99) These are the 2010 remastered editions on Esoteric of the four albums Jade Warrior recorded for Island Records, the band’s best period. Floating World (1974), Waves (1975), Kites (1976), and Way of the Sun (1978) were the band’s fourth through seventh albums overall. Jade Warrior were so unique that those still unfamiliar with their records should read the reviews at VintageProg.com or the Prog Archives reviews of Floating World, Waves, Kites, and Way of the Sun.
Jadis - Photoplay ($14.99) For those not yet familiar with Jadis, they are a melodic UK prog band, their songs built around Gary Chandler’s vocals and very lyrical guitar leads. For much of their history, Jadis shared two members with IQ (Martin Orford and John Jowitt). If Jadis and IQ can be thought of as two sides of the same coin, then Jadis represents daylight while IQ gets the nighttime. The special edition of Fanatic (2003) is a digipack with one additional track.
Photoplay (58-minutes) is the 2006 Jadis studio CD, still with the Gary Chandler, Steve Christey, Martin Orford, John Jowitt lineup. Orford has since left the band, so this is the last chance to hear him as a part of Jadis. According to bandleader Chandler, this album has some of their best riffs and melodies to date and shows a heavier side of the band. A lot more has gone into the vocal arrangements, with Steve Thorne contributing backing vocals on most of the tracks. A criticism one could make of the previous Jadis albums was that they more or less stuck to the same formula, good formula though it is. Photoplay is the first Jadis album that sounds noticeably different. Their fundamental style is intact but is enhanced by layers of new sounds and detail as well as more energy. Apparently this is because Chandler did most of the recording in his home studio in Pro Tools, giving him the freedom to spend much more time on this album. The effort definitely paid off. Check our DVDs page for Jadis’ View from Above DVD.
Jonesy - Masquerade: The Dawn Years Anthology (2CD, $19.99)Recently cited by Classic Rock magazine as “The Best Prog Band You’ve Never Heard”, Jonesy were one of the most innovative British bands of the early 1970s. Placing a Mellotron at the center of their sound and taking influences from the worlds of jazz, rock, classical music and folk, Jonesy recorded a single and three albums (No Alternative, Keeping Up, and Growing) for Pye’s progressive Dawn imprint, all between 1972-73. Drawing comparisons to King Crimson and Yes, Jonesy were distinct from them. Beginning with their second album, they added Alan Bown on electric trumpet and electric flugelhorn, further distinguishing their sound. This 2CD set on the Esoteric label gathers all of Jonesy’s recorded output for Dawn Records: all three albums and both sides of the single, all 24-bit remastered from the original master tapes. Read reviews and hear audio samples at All Music Guide.
Josh & Co. Limited - Through These Eyes ($16.99) This is the first solo album for Bryan Josh, the leader/guitarist/singer/composer of Mostly Autumn. Josh is assisted by Gavin Griffiths on drums and singer Olivia Sparnenn. Sparnenn is now the lead vocalist for both Mostly Autumn and the band Breathing Space. But Josh is the primary vocalist here, and partly for that reason, Through These Eyes (2009, 55-minutes) has more of the feel of the first two Mostly Autumn albums than the last few Mostly Autumn albums have. Those who’ve followed Mostly Autumn know that Josh initially handled most of the vocals, gradually shifting the workload to Heather Findlay as she blossomed into a fine singer. So consider early Mostly Autumn songs such as The Spirit of Autumn Past and Please as good reference points. Fans of Mostly Autumn have probably figured out that Josh is a big David Gilmour and Pink Floyd fan, and that is the biggest influence present. This is an album of heartfelt songs with an innate spirituality and their own special magic, from a songwriter of uncommon talent. If the song Not a Dream doesn’t move you now, try it again later in life. Read the DPRP review. The Mostly Autumn CDs are below.
Julian’s Treatment - A Time Before This ($17.99) These are the 2008 editions of these CDs on the Esoteric label, remastered from the original tapes and featuring fully-restored artwork and new essays. Released on the short-lived Youngblood label in 1970, the double-LP A Time Before This was the first vinyl outing for science fiction author Julian Jay Savarin, who assembled a group of musicians on guitar, bass, and drums to record this conceptual work. The music is classic proto-prog, dominated by Savarin’s spacey organ and the vocals of Australian singer Cathy Pruden, whose singing is similar to that of Annisette of Savage Rose. This is the more psychedelic of the two albums.
Savarin’s second album Waiters on the Dance was released on the Youngblood imprint Birth in 1973. A lot happened to progressive rock between 1970 and 1973, but Waiters on the Dance doesn’t reflect most of those advances. It is still more closely related to proto-prog bands such as Rare Bird, Cressida, Mainhorse, Jonesy, etc. It is superior to A Time Before This, though much shorter, dropping the more psychedelic elements and increasing the grandiosity. It features great Hammond work and even adds a little Mellotron. Aside from the bassist, the other supporting musicians are new, including singer Jo Meek from Catapilla, though this album is more instrumental than the first one. Overall these albums come closest to those of Sandrose and Earth & Fire.
Jump - Home Songs ($6.99) SALE! 
Jump - And All the King’s Men ($6.99)Matthew (2000), On Impulse (2001), and Home Songs (2003) are the sixth, seventh, and eighth studio albums respectively from this six-man UK band. All rely heavily on the vocal talents of John Dexter Jones, powerful contemporary lyrics, and strong melodies. Jump are a hard-working band playing a vocal-oriented rock music with progressive touches, close at times to Oysterband (without the fiddle or folk overtones) or some Marillion or Fish (both of whom Jump has supported in the past). Their songwriting well seems in no danger of running dry, and Jump only improve with age, probably because of their regular touring. And All the King’s Men (1994) is their third album; this attracted the attention of Marillion’s Mark Kelly, who produced their fourth album. Matthew and On Impulse are now deleted, last copies.
Kandina Jane - Move Forward / Back to Lillie ($13.99) If Welsh singer-songwriter Kandina Jane doesn’t make you think of Kate Bush, then you haven’t heard Kate Bush. Like Kate, Kandina Jane transcends the pop and singer-songwriter genres and creates her own magical universe. The music also has similarities to Cocteau Twins but is much warmer. This CD combines Kandina Jane’s independently-released 2005 debut Move Forward with her 2007 follow-up Back to Lillie on one CD, over 72-minutes total. She plays piano and other keyboards and multi-tracks her vocals, backed by other musicians on guitars, keys, bass and drums. These are soft symphonic rock songs centered on her breathtaking vocals, songs with depth and a full, lush sound palette, but with feminine energy and mystique. Here are full-length mp3’s of the songs Move Forward, Cariad, and Maria.
Kara - Kara ($14.99) “Fans of Iona, October Project, Clannad, Mostly Autumn and Magenta will now be able to add the name Kara to the fold of Celtic-inspired progressive folk-rock bands that have become increasingly popular recently.” Thus begins the review of Kara’s 2005 debut CD at the Sea of Tranquility review site. We would add Karnataka to the list. On this CD, Kara is a trio of Colin Mold (guitars, keys, vocals), Kirsta Johnston (lead vocals, recorders, flute, keys), and Steve Barfoot (drums, vocals). They have the sound of a larger ensemble, and the band have since expanded to a quintet with a new female lead singer. The term “folk” is often used in reviews, but Kara are no more folk than Mike Oldfield or Renaissance, which most folkies don’t recognize as folk music. Mike Oldfield is an especially good reference for Kara, because of the excellent electric guitar leads as well as acoustic work of Colin Mold, while the atmospheric synth pads that underpin it all are reminiscent of Clannad. Yes, Kara does cover one English traditional song, the ever-popular She Moved Through the Fair, but Kara’s arrangement is instrumental and would have fit well on the Robin of Sherwood soundtrack. Wonderful music hidden beneath a pedestrian cover. “This is an excellent album, all the members are multi-instrumentalists, and of the nine tracks on the CD, there really is not a weak one among them. As a musical reference, think early Mostly Autumn with their Celtic influence but without the longer epic tracks.” [Classic Rock Society Magazine] Read the in-depth review at Musical Discoveries.
Karda Estra - Weird Tales ($14.99) 
Karda Estra - Alternate History ($7.99) 
Karda Estra - Eve ($13.99)Karda Estra is a unique hybrid of progressive and classical music, using both rock and orchestral instruments. Assisted by several musicians and employing classical & electric guitars, bass, keyboards, percussion, oboe, flute, violin, cor anglais, and heavenly wordless female vocals, Richard Wileman achieves a surreal melancholy and poignant beauty that has few parallels. One band that comes close to Karda Estra is In the Nursery, though ITN tend to be more electronic. Another is Channel Light Vessel (check for their CDs above). Or imagine the best of the 4AD label taken much further into progressive/symphonic/classical realms.
Eve (2001) is inspired by the story The Future Eve and combines symphonic rock and classical elements to create a hauntingly beautiful and atmospheric music. Gorgeous stuff. Constellations (2003) is centered around a haunting and powerful suite inspired by six constellations. The suite runs a vast emotional range, from gentle melancholy passages featuring classical guitar and woodwind, to expansive bursts of sound and color. The album concludes with a beautiful interpretation of the Steve Hackett instrumental Twice Around the Sun, and one can detect an affinity for Steve Hackett’s music in many of the Karda Estra pieces. Voivode Dracula (2004) is based on the Dracula legend and is darker than most of the other Karda Estra albums.
Alternate History is a low-priced sampler containing 11 tracks spanning 1998-2004: eight tracks from the previous Karda Estra albums and three rare tracks from the now deleted Land of Ghosts compilations.
The Age of Science and Enlightenment (2006) is the sixth CD from Karda Estra. It’s hard to say whether this is Karda Estra’s best work, but we can say that it is almost unspeakably beautiful. As a rough guide, think of Hackett & Rutherford’s Unquiet Slumbers for the Sleepers extrapolated into a more serious classical work. However one looks at it, this is exquisite. The Last of the Libertines (2007) is the most rhythmic of their albums, and one can again hear the dark side of Steve Hackett at times.
Weird Tales (2009) is something like the eighth Karda Estra CD, a bit darker than most of their other albums, but no less spellbinding. There isn’t much we can add to what we’ve written already other than to remark that Richard Wileman has created a pretty good working environment for himself, employing female musicians almost exclusively! “Richard Wileman is one of the best progressive, contemporary classical music composers to grace the planet today.” [Hairless Heart Herald]
Karnataka - The Gathering Light ($15.99) 
In their first incarnation, the Welsh band Karnataka won the 2000 British Classic Rock Society Award for Best New Band, while lead vocalist Rachel Jones also garnered Best Female Vocalist honors in 2000 and 2001. The strength of the original Karnataka was undoubtedly their vocals, with Rachel joined by Anne-Marie Helder on backing vocals and flute, and the fact that the lovely vocals came from two lovely women did not hamper their stage presence. Instrumentally, the band often shows a Marillion-derived neo-progressive lineage, with keyboards, guitar, bass, and drums, but the combination of their different elements makes them unique. Because of the vocals, Karnataka can be compared to Iona, though they aren’t as Celtic as Iona. There is no denying their appeal, which should include fans of later Clannad, Renaissance, and October Project, and the band seemed poised for greater success. But in August 2004, this lineup broke up.
The Storm (2000) is their second CD. Strange Behaviour (2004) is their 2CD live album, featuring a 20-page full-color booklet. Karnataka selected the best performances from their 2003 tour, and the sound quality is superb. Since the band improved steadily, the live renditions of songs from their first two CDs are significantly more powerful. Furthermore, this was the first recorded work to fully feature Ann-Marie Helder; her flute playing and her magnificent backing vocals take many of the songs to a new level. There are also two excellent songs that had yet to appear on a studio album, plus two hidden songs after a gap following Out Of Reach. Read the DPRP review.
The original Karnataka splintered into at least three different bands: Panic Room, The Reasoning, and the current version of Karnataka who are lead by founder Ian Jones. This Karnataka debuted in 2010 with The Gathering Light (68-minutes), and it was absolutely worth the wait. In addition to recruiting a new guitarist, keyboardist, and drummer, Jones found yet another female singer with a fabulous voice in the person of Lisa Fury. Ubiquitous pipes and whistles man Troy Donockley and former ELO cellist Hugh McDowell make important contributions. Significantly, this is the biggest sounding, most symphonic of all the Karnataka and related albums, the most traditionally proggy. If you like your progressive rock melodic and bombastic and appreciate heavenly female vocals, then chances are this will be on your top ten list for that year. Read the reviews at DPRP and Musical Discoveries.
Keats - Keats ($11.99) Keats was more or less a studio project offshoot of the Alan Parsons Project, featuring Colin Blunstone (ex-Zombies) on vocals, Pete Bardens (ex-Camel) on keys, and APP members Ian Bairnson (guitars), David Paton (bass, vocals), and Stuart Elliott (drums). Alan Parsons produced. First released in 1984, it’s fairly mainstream stuff close to APP with some Camel influence by way of Bardens. This is the Renaissance Records edition, which includes the track Hollywood Heart which was left off of the U.S. LP, plus a 26-minute interview with Parsons and Bairnson. Here’s a promo video on YouTube.
Khan - Space Shanty ($17.99) This is the 2008 Esoteric label edition of this classic prog album, basically a repressing of the remastered version released earlier on Eclectic Discs, mastered from the original master tapes and featuring extensive liner notes. Best known as the album that first brought the talents of guitarist Steve Hillage to prominence, Khan also featured Dave Stewart (Egg, National Health, etc.). Khan’s sole album is a splendid example of a fusion of Canterbury style rock with jazz and space rock influences. Originally released in 1972, this expanded edition includes two previously unreleased bonus tracks.
Arthur Brown Kingdom Come - Journey (2CD, $17.99) 
These are the 2010 newly-remastered and expanded Esoteric label editions of the three albums from Arthur Brown & Kingdom Come, a psychedelic space-prog-rock band somewhat similar to Hawkwind of the same timeframe. For bonus tracks, Galactic Zoo Dossier (1971) contains alternate versions of two album tracks, plus two tracks from a 1971 BBC Radio One John Peel session (previously unreleased on CD). Kingdom Come (1972) contains alternate versions of two album tracks plus two more tracks from a 1971 John Peel session, also previously unreleased on CD.
Journey (1973) has been expanded to a double-CD. The second disc contains eight bonus tracks of rare single material, alternate mixes, and three recordings from a 1972 John Peel session. As an aside, Journey is usually cited as the first rock album where the drummer was replaced entirely by a drum machine, in this case the Bentley Rhythm Ace, an early analog unit and the predecessor to the Roland TR77. The fact that these analog units sort of work with the music is because they sound almost, but not quite, completely unlike drums. The 8-bit digital drum machines that would appear in the 1980s actually sounded vaguely like drums, which made them more irritating when used in lieu of a rock drummer. Lots to read about these albums at Prog Archives, plus some Mellotron-centric reviews at Planet Mellotron.
Landmarq - Thunderstruck: Live ($16.99) Landmarq were a British neo-prog band with the typical Thin Ice Studios sound, a style associated with Arena and Pendragon keyboardist Clive Nolan, who produced and engineered. All their CDs are recommended to fans of Pendragon and Clive Nolan’s various projects. Thunderstruck is the 1999 live album which drew on the band’s full repertoire from each of their first four studio albums (all of which are out-of-print). Thunderstruck is also now deleted, last copies. Check our DVDs page for Landmarq’s Turbulence DVD.
Locomotive - We Are Everything You See ($17.99) “Issued by Parlophone in January 1970, this was the only album by the Birmingham based group fronted by keyboard player Norman Haine. Featuring the psychedelic classic Mr. Armageddon, the album was a marvelous fusion of jazz, psychedelia and early progressive music and was graced by guest musicians Dick Heckstall Smith, Henry Lowther and Chris Mercer. This remastered Esoteric edition includes six bonus tracks, comprising the mono single versions of Mr. Armageddon and You Must Be Joking, rare B-sides, and both sides of the band’s final single.”
Maestoso - Caterwauling ($17.99) 
Woolly Wolstenholme - Maestoso ($14.99)All the CDs here are on the Eclectic/Esoteric label, known for their meticulous remastering jobs and extensive booklets. And as the Eclectic label is no more, the older titles are now out-of-print. Woolly Wolstenholme was the keyboardist and Mellotron man in Barclay James Harvest and was responsible for their more epic and symphonic pieces. He left BJH in 1979, and in 1980 released his first solo album Maestoso. Wolstenholme is joined by several other musicians, and later he used “Maestoso” as the name of this band. This is a quality album that will please most fans of early BJH. This CD edition adds two bonus live tracks.
Fiddling Meanly (2005) is a live CD recorded at The Mean Fiddler in London in 2004, recorded straight to DAT from the mixing desk. It features a mix of Wolstenholme’s solo material and BJH material. The warts and all recording actually gives the listener more of a feeling of being there, especially with the between song banter left in, and the increased energy of the live performance makes some of the versions on this disc superior to the studio versions.
Grim (2005) is a sometimes dark and sometimes humorous tale of a fictitious Northern England town and its strange inhabitants. (No, not Royston Vasey.) With only a change in drummer, Grim picks up where One Drop in a Dry World left off and goes further, ranging from Mellotron splendor to dark orchestral to delicate to humorous and generally just clever. This is symphonic rock that doesn’t sound overly retro, but it could only have been created by someone who was making music in the early 1970s and understands the aesthetic from the inside. It’s more progressive than any BJH album, and probably Wolstenholme’s best to date.
The latest Maestoso studio album is Caterwauling (2007, 59-minutes). Perhaps tired of being pushed around and labeled “soft”, Wolstenholme and his band open with a loud blast of something resembling Red-era King Crimson. But the soft, pastoral, and majestic stuff is what Wolstenholme does best, and that’s what the other 98% of the album is, evoking the classic BJH sound. Geoffrey Richardson (Caravan, Penguin Café Orchestra) guests. As the All Music Guide says, “Wolstenholme’s recorded work with Maestoso is not just the best of any BJH side projects, but is equal to any work by BJH in their prime.” More info on all these CDs at Woolly’s site.
Magenta - Chameleon ($14.99) |             |
Manfred Mann’s Earth Band - Chance ($15.99)
Manfred Mann’s Earth Band - Nightingales & Bombers ($15.99)
Manfred Mann’s Earth Band frequently get overlooked in discussions of progressive rock, perhaps because they’ve had a long career that has covered more styles than just prog rock, and their commercial success came from doing covers. Mann himself should at least be mentioned alongside the other pioneering prog rock keyboardists. These CDs are the latest remastered editions with bonus tracks.
Solar Fire and The Good Earth, both originally released in 1974, are the two proggiest MMEB albums. They will surprise those only familiar with the MMEB radio hits. Solar Fire has two bonus tracks, the hit single Joybringer, which was based on Holst’s Planets suite and did not appear on the European vinyl release, plus an alternate 45 edit of Father of Day, Father of Night. The Good Earth has three bonus tracks which are single versions of album tracks.
Nightingales & Bombers (1975) kicks off with the hit Spirits in the Night, the first of several Bruce Springsteen covers for MMEB. At its best, the album is true progressive rock, and at its worst, it’s still pretty good, a blend of progressive and blues-based rock. The two bonus tracks include the single edit of Spirits in the Night and the cover of Bob Dylan’s Quit Your Low Down Ways, which was only on the U.S. vinyl release.
The Roaring Silence (1976) gave MMEB a whole new level of fame, opening with the 7-minute Blinded by the Light, another Springsteen cover and one of only a handful of progressive rock songs to become classic rock radio staples. The rest of the album is on the same level. The two bonus tracks include Spirits in the Night sung by Chris Thompson (he first appears on this album) and the single edit of Blinded by the Light.
The MMEB sound generally changed with the times, so Watch (1978) is still fairly proggy but more song-oriented. The songs here are really strong, as this album is the best-selling of Mann’s career. It contains the UK hit Davy’s on the Road Again and a reworking of the big hit The Mighty Quinn. The four bonus tracks are single versions of three of the album tracks, plus one non-LP. One of these bonus tracks is the single version of The Mighty Quinn, which is a different recording than the album version.
Chance (1980) again sees MMEB updating with the times to a more high-tech pop sound, with lots of keyboards. Lies (Through the 80s) was a hit, as was the cover of Springsteen’s For You. Both are terrific if forgotten songs that are great to hear again. Trevor Rabin was the associate producer and contributed some guitar. The four bonus tracks include a rare B-side and three single versions. The booklets are generally excellent, with extensive liner notes.
Manning - Margaret’s Children ($14.99) |         |
Phil Manzanera - Diamond Head digipack ($17.99) Phil Manzanera should be well known to most prog fans, as a member of Roxy Music, Quiet Sun, and 801, and for his numerous solo albums and collaborations from the 1970s to the present. Quiet Sun was a four-piece band conceived in 1970 at Manzanera’s alma mater, Dulwich College. His fellow band members were Bill MacCormick (bass), Charles Hayward (drums, vocals), and Dave Jarrett (keyboards). After a brief tour and no record deal in sight, the band split and Manzanera joined Roxy Music. By 1974, riding high on the Roxy wave, Manzanera secured a deal for his debut album Diamond Head. What he didn’t mention to the label was that he had reformed Quiet Sun and was dividing his daily 12-hour studio time between the two projects. Quiet Sun’s landmark Mainstream album (1975) gets the deluxe Collector’s Edition photobook treatment, same as the 801 Live CD, that is, large-format hardcover book form with new photos and memorabilia as well as bringing together all early demos (five bonus tracks) in one place. Counts as 2.5 CDs for shipping.
Phil says that he thinks of Mainstream and Diamond Head as fraternal twins, recorded at the same time, gestated in the same studio and over the same time period. While Quiet Sun mostly re-recorded the songs they had rehearsed back in 1970, several songs from that time instead found their way onto Diamond Head. These two albums also formed the basis of much of 801’s live shows. For Diamond Head, Phil called in a lot of favors, thus the album features John Wetton, Robert Wyatt, Brian Eno, Bill MacCormick, Eddie Jobson, Andy Mackay, Paul Thompson, and more. This 2011 reissue on Manzanera’s own label comes in a digipack with new photos and a bonus track.
Phil Manzanera - Firebird V11 ($14.99) 
Phil Manzanera - Vozero UK edition ($14.99)Vozero was Manzanera’s first solo album in 10 years. It was released in 1999 in the UK in a jewel box, and that is the edition offered here. All the tracks were written by Manzanera, and in addition to Phil’s distinctive and eclectic guitar work, Vozero also prominently features Robert Wyatt, a guest spot for Andy Mackay on oboe, and a cast of other musicians and singers. Despite the passage of time, this album seems to logically follow 1977’s Listen Now and 1978’s K-Scope, a bit mellower perhaps (something to do with aging) and with a more multi-cultural sound as is the fashion of late. (Manzanera did spend his childhood in South America, so Latin touches come naturally to him.)
6pm (2004) includes contributions from Brian Eno, Robert Wyatt, Chrissie Hynde, David Gilmour, Bill MacCormick, Andy Mackay and more. Manzanera feels that this album is unconsciously allied to his first solo album, 1975’s Diamond Head. Yet you could package 6pm and Vozero together as a 2CD set and they would sound like they belong together. This is the U.S. digipack edition.
50 Minutes Later (2005, digipack, 61-minutes) completes this trilogy. It also features fellow Roxy Music members Paul Thompson and Andy Mackay plus Robert Wyatt and Brian Eno. The songwriting and the richly-textured instrumental work are superb, with the second half of the album the more progressive-rock oriented. There is an experimental attitude throughout, and the positive vibe of the early hippy era is often present. Whether or not these albums are progressive rock is a moot point. If they aren’t prog rock, then they’re what rock should be.
Firebird V11 (2008, digipack) teams Manzanera with ex-Quiet Sun and This Heat drummer Charles Hayward, top Polish classical/jazz pianist Lezek Mozdzer, and renowned bassist Yaron Stavi. This album was inspired by the red and white Gibson Firebird V11 guitar, Manzanera’s signature guitar and one with which he’s had a 35-year musical partnership. Firebird V11 is almost entirely instrumental and evokes the days of Quiet Sun, Diamond Head, and the instrumental side of 801 Live. Quiet Sun alumnus Bill MacCormick contributed one track; MacCormick’s and Hayward’s tracks were in fact written in 1970 for Quiet Sun’s Mainstream album but until now were never recorded. The music is a bit mellower now, with more jazz and classical touches, but this is a different band. So while it may not be exactly Mainstream part 2, with this album, Manzanera is giving his long-time fans what they want.
The Wasted Lands CD (1999, 74-minutes) was compiled from the soundtrack of the film of the same name. It’s Manzanera’s most ambient and relaxing album, but that’s not to suggest the music is of the abstract, boring sort. It remains melodic and often rhythmic and easily stands on its own apart from the film.
Marillion - Happiness Is the Road Vol. 1: Essence ($9.99)
Marillion - Marbles 2CD digibook ($18.99) Marillion’s 15th studio album is actually a 110-minute double album split into two separate CDs. Happiness Is the Road Volume 1 is subtitled Essence while Volume 2 is subtitled The Hard Shoulder. Both contain all new material. A new creative streak of writing and producing music was captured in the studio and fans will not be disappointed. Read reviews here. We’ll just quote from the review in Classic Rock magazine: “They still sound like Marillion but, dare we say it, a better, bolder Marillion... All in all then, it’s beautifully rendered, touching and telling. Happy days.”
Beginning in the late 1990s, a string of increasingly dull albums caused many of Marillion’s original progressive fans to lose interest. But Marillion began a resurgence with Marbles (2004). The inexpensive version here is the U.S. single-CD edition with the bonus video of Don’t Hurt Yourself. The more expensive edition is the 2011 2CD re-release on the Madfish label, which comes in the hardcover digibook format with 36-page booklet bound in, the booklet reworked by original designer Carl Glover. This set includes the second disc that was previously only available in the Racket Records (Marillion’s own label) edition. The bonus songs are more then-new tracks from the same recording sessions. The digibook counts as 1.5 CDs for shipping.
Marillion’s 2007 studio album Somewhere Else continued with similar strengths as Marbles, spawning two hit singles and giving the band their first UK top 30 album in ten years. This 2011 Madfish edition comes in a 36-page digibook reworked by the original designer and features unseen pictures not used in the original artwork.
For 1999’s Marillion.com, Marillion used the Internet to ask fans to send them passport pictures of themselves; 732 of these were then used to make up the artwork for this album. Five of the nine tracks were mixed by Steven Wilson (Porcupine Tree). This 2011 Madfish edition comes in a deluxe 36-page digibook with artwork reworked by the original designer. The book features unseen pictures not used in the original artwork. Check our DVDs page for some Marillion DVDs.
Marillion tribute: Recital for a Season’s End (3CD, $39.99)Mellow Records’ triple-CD tribute to Marillion contains 31 Marillion songs covered by 31 bands, the majority Italian. The song selection is naturally skewed toward the older Marillion songs. See Mellow’s blog for the full list of bands and tracks. Counts as 2 CDs for shipping.
Marsupilami - Arena ($17.99) These are the 24-bit remastered editions on the Esoteric label. Initially folk-based, the British band Marsupilami evolved into one of the most adventurous if unsung bands of the early 1970s, producing two of the best British proto-prog albums. Marsupilami drew comparisons to contemporaries such as Gracious or East of Eden, but the "proto" qualifier is not as necessary with Marsupilami as it is for many bands of that era, as Marsupilami’s albums are truly progressive rock.
Their self-titled 1970 debut features lots of flute and organ in addition to guitar, bass, drums and vocals. Arena (1971), their second, adds more instruments including Mellotron, but still relies heavily on organ. This ambitious concept album was produced by Peter Bardens (Camel).
Mellow Candle - Swaddling Songs ($17.99) This is the 2008 edition of this CD on the Esoteric label, known for their superb remastering jobs. Mellow Candle are legendary in the psych-folk world, and their 1972 sole LP is often considered to be the psychedelic progressive folk-rock album. The album had just enough trad-style folk to appeal to fans of Fairport Convention, Fotheringay, Steeleye Span, etc, but the album is dominated by mystical, medieval atmospheres and a progressive rock aesthetic, a thing of beauty. Mellow Candle featured the young female Irish singers Clodagh Simonds and Alison Williams, who had moved from Dublin to London when the album was recorded. They toured in support of Thin Lizzy (Simonds appeared on Lizzy’s album Shades of a Blue Orphanage) and Horslips, but their existence was short-lived. Clodagh Simonds went on to work with Mike Oldfield and Jade Warrior. This release makes one wonder what could have been had Mellow Candle continued. The people at Esoteric would probably like to at least break even on their CD reissues, but what they are really doing is preserving music for posterity with the best sound possible within the restrictions of the CD format. Too much is in danger of being lost. Read the DPRP review.
Mentaur - Darkness Before Dawn ($16.99)Mentaur was a British heavy neo-progressive band who released several albums on cassette between 1989-1993. This CD compiles material from all their albums, remixed for this release. Now deleted, one copy left.
Mermaid Kiss - Etarlis ($16.99) out-of-stock 
Mermaid Kiss is a British band comprised of Jamie Field on guitar (mostly acoustic) and backing vocals; Andrew Garman on keys, bass and drums; Nigel Hooton on electric and acoustic guitar; and at the center of their sound, singer Evelyn Downing, who also adds flute. On Etarlis (2007, 60-minutes), Kate Belcher sings on three songs, Troy Donockley (Iona) guests on uilleann pipes, and Jonathan Edwards (ex-Karnataka) guests with a keyboard solo. Etarlis is their masterpiece, a stunning, epic album that often sounds as if Loreena McKennitt had turned her talents to symphonic rock. Some tracks are pure symphonic progressive, most are full of mystical atmospheres and sophisticated textures, and there are Celtic and folk elements. With guest Wendy Marks adding cor anglais, oboe, and recorders, some tracks brush up against Karda Estra. All told, it is absolutely spellbinding and gorgeous. Recommended to fans of Kate Bush, Iona, Karnataka, Kara, October Project, and Clannad. Read the review from Fireworks magazine. This album has its own website, separate from the band’s.
Salt on Skin (2006) contains seven tracks totaling 30-minutes, so call it an EP or a short album. The lead vocals here are split between Evelyn Downing, Kate Belcher, and Kate Emerson. Most bands would be fortunate to call any one of these singers their own. Unlike Etarlis, Salt on Skin has few of the Celtic or real folk elements, nor is it as epic and progressive, but it is still heaven for those who love beautiful female vocals. The variety of singers is a big part of the pleasure of this album. Paul Davies (ex-Karnataka) guests. Read the Sea of Tranquility review.
The Mermaid Kiss Album (2003, 53-minutes) is their debut. It features Evelyn Downing’s vocals throughout. It’s not really a debut because the trio of Downing, Field, and Garman had previously recorded albums under Evelyn’s name. The Mermaid Kiss Album is again more conventional than Etarlis but is still a beautiful album of softer music that transcends genres, mixing progressive, pop, ambient, acoustic, and singer-songwriter styles. Mermaid Kiss simply don’t sound like any of the many other bands that features female vocals. Obviously start with Etarlis and then try either of the first two.
Francis Monkman - 21st Century Blues ($16.99)Don’t be too misled by the title. This album, recorded in 1997/98 by the former keyboardist for Curved Air, 801, Sky, and others, is a rock album, some of which is progressive and some of which is blues-based. But most early-1970s rock was blues-based, and that’s the style Monkman goes for here. The liner notes are sparse and Monkman isn’t saying who if anyone else plays on this album, but Monkman is also a guitarist, and here he concentrates on electric guitar. That’s Monkman singing too; the vocals are gruff and wisely buried in the mix most of the time, and sometimes intentionally distorted. At nearly 80-minutes, the album has room to be inconsistent, but there is at least one normal length album of good material here.
The Morrigan - Masque ($14.99) 
Colin Masson - Isle of Eight ($14.99)In the realm of lesser-known bands, The Morrigan are one of our favorites. As the band overview on Prog Archives reads: “The Morrigan’s music is a lively mixture of traditional [Anglo-]Celtic folk with prog rock, sometimes leaning heavily in either direction. Their sound is distinctly original and full of magic vocals, their music made up of warm melodies wrapped up in rich arrangements (sometimes of their own composition, sometimes rearranged traditional folk songs). Imagine a heavier Steeleye Span and then move them up a notch on the prog scale... The Morrigan’s music is accessible and leans on the harder, rockier side of folk with full-blown prog structures, complex arrangements and excellent musicianship.” It’s important to make the distinction between what The Morrigan do and the music of Fairport Convention or Steeleye Span. The latter combine trad folk and rock, but The Morrigan combine trad folk with progressive rock, and they do both styles convincingly. As such, they are nearly a unique band. The Spirit of the Soup (1985) is from the band’s early days as a trio with no drummer, recorded on a Portastudio and remastered in 1999. Wreckers (1996) was their first album recorded for the English Garden label, followed by Masque (1997). Visit The Morrigan’s site for reviews and mp3’s and read reviews at Prog Archives.
Multi-instrumentalist Colin Masson is one of the founding members of The Morrigan. On his 2001 solo CD Isle of Eight, he is assisted by The Morrigan’s singer Cathy Alexander. The album combines the styles of The Morrigan and Mike Oldfield. Read reviews at Prog Archives and Ground and Sky. These are all the MALS label editions.
Mostly Autumn - Go Well Diamond Heart ($15.99) |
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Mr. So & So - Sugarstealer ($15.99) Mr. So & So released three albums during the 1990s before the two principal songwriters in the band recruited new members and released their comeback album Sugarstealer (2009), first as a digital download, later as this CD. Read the Sea of Tranquility review.
Multifuse - Journey to the Nesting Place ($15.99) This 2008 CD by English band Multifuse is one we’re quite fond of, appreciating it more with each listen. The music is centered on the keyboards of Peter Fallowell and the vocals of Cherie Emmitt, often multi-tracked to perfection. Fallowell favors electric piano most (think Supertramp), acoustic piano second, while also playing guitar, drums, and adding some vocals. Tom Allen plays bass, while the live band is considerably larger, with about a dozen people on stage. Two comparisons suggest themselves, the first being Curved Air (without the violin), partly because Emmitt’s voice is a bit similar to Sonja Kristina’s. The second is Illusion (the Jane Relf Renaissance). Both are only approximations, but the key is that Multifuse have a 1970s style prog sound, and those who began their prog listening after the 70s may never fully understand the particular quality of the 70s bands that is often missing from later music. The six-part, 25-minute piece Yours Again that concludes the CD is something special. It’s become common these days for bands to record 20+ minute epics when they’ve yet to write a convincing 4-minute song, and you just wish those long tracks would end already. But like Supper’s Ready, Yours Again is made up of a number of songs or partial songs that are interesting in their own right, with no filler. One reminds us of Rupert Hine’s early 1980s work. Fallowell is an expat living in France, and maybe it’s just coincidence, but near the end of Yours Again, you’re treated to some Magma/Eskaton style singing and music reminiscent of Minimum Vital circa Esprit d’Amor.
“This is an album that took a few listens before it started to really speak to me, but after investing that time, I really like it now. It’s deceptively simple-sounding on first listen, though deeper levels of complexity start revealing themselves after a few spins. If Journey to the Nesting Place turns out to be Multifuse’s only album, at least it was quite the masterpiece. If not, then it will be hard to top. I really enjoyed this album and suggest it to those who don’t need crunchy electric guitars, screaming vocals, scads of Mellotron or distorted Hammond to make it feel ‘prog’ to them. Good stuff.” [Fred Trafton, Gibraltar Encyclopedia of Progressive Rock]
National Health - Of Queues and Cures ($17.99) out-of-stock These are the 2009 24-bit remastered editions on Esoteric Recordings, known for their superb remastering jobs. National Health was the continuation of Hatfield and the North, with keyboardist Dave Stewart assuming more control. Both their 1978 self-titled debut and Of Queues and Cures, which followed soon after, are essential progressive rock records, two of the most revered albums to come out of the Canterbury scene.
Nautilus - Fathom ($13.99) Nautilus are a British progressive quartet (guitars/keys/bass/drums) with a distinctive style. What Colours the Sky in Your World? is a reissue of their 2004 debut, which the band had originally released themselves. This one is entirely instrumental, the music somewhere between progressive rock and space rock, somewhat dark and somewhat quirky, with the keyboards usually remaining subtle while the guitars do the heavy lifting. There are slight similarities to 1970s King Crimson and Pink Floyd, the former for the angular guitar and the latter for the spaciness. But while space rock is known for monotony, Nautilus’ music often changes mood and tempo within each track. Read the DPRP reviews.
Fathom (2009) is their second and includes some songs with vocals featuring guest singer Peter Straker. Straker has an early-70s style voice, not surprising since he’s been singing professionally since the late 60s. This album is a step up in all aspects. The keyboards (mostly organ) are more prominent, filling out the sound, and the vocals add another dimension. The album seems less spacey but is still dark and quirky, with some suggestions of early British hard rock. Often it feels close to 70s King Crimson with the addition of organ. An excellent early-70s sounding album that retains a distinctive style.
Nektar - Complete Live in New York 1974 (2CD, $17.99)This is the 2011 edition on Cleopatra, which comes in a black box with full color booklet. It reissues the material on the 2004 Live in New York double-SACD on Dream Nebula, which in turn was a remix/remaster of the material on the two double-LPs Live in New York and More Live in New York. The 2004 SACDs were a huge improvement over the original LPs, and while this Cleopatra release is only CDs and therefore only standard-res stereo, the improved sonics carried over.
Nektar - Remember the Future 2CD ($15.99)After being remastered and reissued in 2004-2005 on Eclectic Discs/Dream Nebula, the Nektar catalog went out of print, but these two titles have been reissued on the It’sAboutMusic label as 2CD editions with bonus live discs, presumably with the cooperation of the band since the Treacle Music logo appears. The bonus disc on A Tab in the Ocean is called In the Beginning - The Boston Tapes, recorded in 1970. This was originally sold separately by the band as a “Collector’s Corner Subscription album”. The bonus disc on Remember the Future is Vivo Niteroi - Live in Brazil, recorded in 2007.
Nektar - Book of Days ($14.99) 
Check our DVDs page for Nektar’s DVD. Book of Days is Nektar’s 2008 studio CD on the band’s own Treacle Music label. Original members Roye Albrighton and Ron Howden are joined by new members Peter Pichl on 5-string bass and Klaus Henatsch on keys, both from Hanover, Germany. This is the best of the reformed (post-2000) Nektar albums. Some songs have a modern sound, but there is much of the old Nektar sound present, something the previous two albums needed more of. Listeners are guaranteed a couple flashbacks to Remember the Future. Here are mp3 samples of the tracks Doctor Kool and Where Are You Now. For the full 11-minute Doctor Kool, which is an instant classic, check Roye Albrighton’s MySpace page. More audio clips can be found here.
The Prodigal Son was Nektar’s 2001 comeback album, though it sounds like it began as a Roye Albrighton solo album with Taff Freeman and Ray Hardwick brought in to play the keyboards and drums, respectively. This is the Bellaphon edition with the fold-out poster booklet.
This is the 2005 edition of Sunday Night at the London Roundhouse on Dream Nebula, expanded to a 2CD that contains the entire concert. Recorded on 25 November 1973 at this legendary London venue, it captures Roye Albrighton, Taff Freeman, Mo Moore and Ron Howden just prior to the release of Remember the Future. This edition has been remixed from the original 16-track master tapes by Paschal Byrne, Mark Powell and Roye Albrighton and also remastered, resulting in greatly improved sound. Read the Sea of Tranquility reviews.
Neutrons - Black Hole Star / Tales from the Blue Cocoons ($16.99) Neutrons were an offshoot of Welsh band Man and included Gentle Giant drummer John Weathers in their lineup. They released only these two albums in 1974 & 1975, reissued by BGO on one CD with one bonus track. While Man was a guitar-based psych band, Neutrons made some real progressive rock and placed more emphasis on keyboards. Black Hole Star is the proggier of their two records, with some Gentle Giant mannerisms and Renaissance-style folkiness. Tales from the Blue Cocoons has more female vocals and moves closer to the clever art-pop of City Boy or 10cc. Read reviews at Prog Archives.
Tom Newman - Faerie Symphony ($17.99) SALE!Originally released in 1977 by Decca Records, Faerie Symphony was the third album by Tom Newman, founding member of the psychedelic group July as well as engineer and producer on many albums by Mike Oldfield, including Tubular Bells. Faerie Symphony is Newman’s classic, an unconventional instrumental suite featuring Oldfield on acoustic & electric guitars and piano, Jon Field (Jade Warrior) on flutes and bagpipes, Neil Innes (Bonzo Dog Band, Monty Python) on Hammond organ, and several other musicians. A cross between early Oldfield and Jade Warrior describes this almost perfectly. This is the 2009 remastered edition on Esoteric. Read Sid Smith’s review.
Ozymandias is another of Newman’s progressive works. (He has albums in his catalog that are not progressive.) “From 1986, Tom Newman’s Ozymandias is something of a lost masterpiece. Featuring a variety of inspired settings incorporating neo-classical, ambient and rock motifs, Tom provides a musical backdrop for the powerful and much acclaimed work of Percy B. Shelley.” [Voiceprint] The album is instrumental save one track. The music often has a feel similar to Bo Hansson, also Mike Oldfield at his spaciest.
The Nice - Ars Longa Vita Brevis ($12.99) This is the remastered digipack edition on Charly/Snapper, featuring four bonus tracks: America (2nd Amendment), Diamond Hard Blue Apples of the Moon, Daddy Where Did I Come From (early version), and Brandenburger (demo). The Nice of course was Keith Emerson’s pre-ELP band and one of the most important proto-prog bands. This 1968 album was their second, quite pioneering for its time. The Nice were always pulling in different directions, mainly psychedelic pop versus Emerson’s rock arrangements of classical pieces. Of the latter, Sibelius’s Intermezzo from The Karelia Suite is the highlight of the album proper, and the arrangement of Leonard Bernstein’s America is a classic.
North Atlantic Oscillation - Grappling Hooks ($14.99) Following a debut EP, Grappling Hooks (2010) is the first full-length CD for Scottish prog-pop band North Atlantic Oscillation, signed to the Kscope label (Porcupine Tree, The Pineapple Thief, Engineers, Nosound, et al.). Read the Classic Rock Presents Prog and other reviews here.
Oceansize - Self Preserved While the Bodies Float Up ($13.99) This is the 2009 North American edition of Oceansize’s 2007 album Frames (66-minutes), which includes the 2-hour Frames Live DVD (NTSC, all-region) containing a performance of the full album plus bonus behind-the-scenes footage. Oceansize are one of them young, modern arty rock bands who are sometimes considered progressive, depending on which track is playing and where one is standing. A clue to their sound (and where their progressive credentials can fall short) is that they have room for three guitarists but no true keyboardist; a guitarist and the bassist add keyboards when they’re not too busy. Certainly most of Frames is outstanding modern prog along the lines of Radiohead and later Porcupine Tree: complex, dense arrangements; a richly-textured, sometimes lush sound palette; plenty of inventiveness. If the band eliminated a couple tracks that are little more than post rock or heavy rock, there would be little argument. What else to do but head to Prog Archives and read what the people say? (Congratulations to the band and label on the most useless CD booklet we’ve ever seen.)
This is the jewel case edition of Oceansize’s 2010 CD with the long name that will henceforth be written as SPWtBFU. Read the BBC review.
Mike Oldfield - Music of the Spheres ($9.99) One of the giants of progressive rock, Mike Oldfield’s albums now go virtually unnoticed in the U.S., an indictment of the music industry (if one was needed). Music of the Spheres (2008, super jewel box) is Oldfield’s first completely orchestral album (no synths or electric guitar). It was written by Oldfield, orchestrated and conducted by Karl Jenkins (Adiemus, Soft Machine), and performed by the Sinfonia Sfera Orchestra (which includes a choir), with Oldfield playing classical guitar. Oldfield revisits themes from Tubular Bells on a couple songs, while others sound like an Adiemus album, but then Oldfield actually did the signature Adiemus style before Adiemus did. So it seems fitting that Oldfield and Jenkins have now worked together. You can find most of the songs from this CD on YouTube (most are unofficial). These official videos of the premiere (Part 1, Part 2) are good starting points.
Mike Oldfield - Heaven’s Open ($11.99)
Mike Oldfield - Five Miles Out ($11.99)These are all the latest HDCD remastered editions. It would take a small book to adequately cover the work of this incredibly creative musician, so we won’t attempt to describe each album. The two or three people unfamiliar with Mr. Oldfield should Google him and investigate the wealth of resources on the web. Suffice to say Mike Oldfield belongs in the progressive rock Hall of Fame. Check our DVDs page for some of Oldfield’s DVDs.
Ozric Tentacles - Paper Monkeys ($13.99) 
Ozric Tentacles - Strangeitude 2CD ($15.99) 
The Floor’s Too Far Away (60-minutes, digipack) is Ozric’s 2006 studio CD. Ed Wynne is the only original member now, and he’s the primary creative force here. It’s another very good album for the band. It’s hard for Ozric Tentacles to break a lot of new ground as they’ve been at this for something like 23 years to this point, but their sound does evolve due to personnel changes at least. There are some tracks on The Floor’s Too Far Away that are nearly fusion!
The YumYum Tree (digipack) is the Ozric’s 2009 studio CD. Read the many reviews at Prog Archives.
Paper Monkeys (digipack) is the 2011 studio CD from the Ozrics, still a force after 27 years or so. You can find most of the tracks from this CD on YouTube.
Erpland (1990) is generally considered to be one of Ozric Tentacles’ best albums -- it’s the album that got us and a lot of others hooked. The album was remastered for this 2010 2-disc reissue on the Snapper label, which is limited to 3000 copies worldwide. Disc 2 is a DVD (NTSC, all-region) featuring the Brixton Fridge gig which was released on VHS tape long ago. The gig was recorded in May 1991 and features the classic lineup of Ed, Joie, Jon, Roly, Merv, and Paul Hankin. The set comes in a hardcover digibook (counts as 1.5 CDs for shipping).
Strangeitude (1991) is another classic Ozrics album, remastered for this 2010 hardcover digibook edition on Snapper that has new sleeve notes from the band and adds a second CD of live recordings and alternate versions. (Counts as 1.5 CDs for shipping.)
This 2008 CD+DVD digipack edition of Jurassic Shift on Snapper includes the original 1993 album remastered on the CD. The DVD (NTSC, all-region) is titled Ozric Archives 1993 and includes an interview at the Glastonbury festival, the video for the song Vita Voom, and live footage from various festivals and venues. There are more Ozric Tentacles CDs on our Bargain CDs page. Check our DVDs page for Ozric Tentacles’ DVDs.
Paladin - Charge ($17.99)This is the 2008 edition on the Esoteric label. Originally released in the summer of 1971, Charge was Paladin’s second and final album. Formed the previous year by Keith Webb and Pete Solley (both ex-members of Terry Reid’s band), Paladin fused rock with jazz and ethnic Cuban music. Charge was both more progressive and harder-edged than their debut, with less of the Latin influence, a mix of period hard rock and progressive rock. The record also became known for its Roger Dean cover. Recorded at The Beatles’ Apple studios and engineered by Geoff Emerick, Charge was Paladin’s finest hour. 24-bit remastered and with seven bonus tracks, this CD is over 73-minutes long. After skipping the tracks that have little progressive about them, you’re left with a solid album of normal length.
Pallas - XXV Ltd. Ed. (CD+PAL DVD, $15.99) This is the U.S. edition of Pallas’s 2011 studio album XXV, which comes with a considerably lower price tag than the European edition, though the DVD in this limited edition is still PAL, all-region. Billed as The Sentinel Part 2, XXV is the first Pallas album with new singer Paul Mackie. The DVD includes the band’s show-closing XXV set at the 2010 Night of The Prog festival. “With XXV, Pallas have possibly released the best album of their career.” Read the full Classic Rock Presents Prog review. Check our DVDs page for Pallas’s DVDs.
Panic Room - Satellite ($15.99) At the beginning of this millennium, the Welsh band Karnataka were one of the most popular new progressive bands in the UK. In 2004, when they seemed destined to break through to greater success, they disbanded. The original band splintered into at least three new bands: one using the name Karnataka lead by founder Ian Jones, The Reasoning (who nabbed lead singer Rachel Jones), and Panic Room. Four-fifths of Panic Room (everyone but the bassist) are former Karnataka members. Visionary Position (2008, 65-minutes) is the band’s debut album and is not far removed from Karnataka. As before, the focus lies as much with singer Anne-Marie Helder’s powerful but controlled voice as with Jonathan Edwards’ symphonic keyboard parts. Visionary Position does sound like it is further developing the style of the original Karnataka, and is arguably more progressive. Anne-Marie is a wonderful singer (also multi-instrumentalist), and the electric violin from guest Liz Prendergast is a great touch. Now the dissolution of Karnataka no longer feels like a loss, as not only is this a tremendous album, Karnataka have seeded half the melodic prog bands in Britain.
Satellite (2010, 59-minutes) is their second studio CD. The Where Worlds Collide review provides insight into the essential difference between Visionary Position and Satellite. The former was composed in the studio, but the songs proved a challenge to recreate live. The songs on Satellite were road-tested first, recorded in the studio second. That’s probably one reason why there is no violin on this one. The result is an album of polished shorter songs of symphonic/progressive-flavored melodic rock. Which is pretty much what most of the current generation of British prog bands play. It’s remarkable how Anne-Marie Helder has progressed from someone brought in to sing backing vocals in Karnataka to as good a female singer as you’ll find in rock today (and not a bad lyricist either). The band must recognize this, as her vocals are the centerpiece of every song. There are similarities to the band Breathing Space, who are also responsible for transforming a female backing singer from another band into a stellar lead vocalist, not to mention Magenta, Mostly Autumn, Karnataka, The Reasoning, and Touchstone. Also read the Eurorock, Sea of Tranquility, and Prog Archives reviews.
Parade - The Fabric ($15.99) The Fabric (2010, 54-minutes) is the debut CD of Parade, the new band formed by Chris Johnson, guitarist for Fish, a member of Mostly Autumn for two years, and a member of Bryan Josh’s live band. Parade could be considered the fourth splinter band from the original Karnataka, as members include Anne-Marie Helder and Gavin Griffiths, both also members of Panic Room and Mostly Autumn. The album features guest appearances by Mostly Autumn’s Bryan Josh, Heather Findlay and Olivia Sparnenn (also Breathing Space). Someone needs to diagram all this incestuous band construction. As with some of the other bands in this family tree, Parade’s music is more often progressive-flavored melodic rock than prog rock per se, but most prog fans will identify with it immediately. There is a quality to the songs and arrangements that qualify the music as modern prog, with seductive atmospheres, a sense of experimentation, subtlety, beauty and craftsmanship. Read the reviews at BigDistraction and Musical Discoveries.
Parallel or 90 Degrees - Jitters ($15.99) SALE! To finish the rather long subtitle of the A Can of Worms double-CD set: ...Plus Unreleased Recordings from 2002. Parallel or 90 Degrees (Po90 for short) was Andy Tillison’s band that evolved into The Tangent. The music of both bands is similar, and Po90 would probably be better known had the Cyclops label simply kept their albums in print longer than a couple years each. This 2CD set not only includes selections from the Po90 CDs released by Cyclops, there is an unreleased 2002 version of Blues for Lear with Roine Stolt, and 30 minutes of tracks from A Kick in the Teeth for Civic Pride, the 2002 album Po90 were working on that was put on hold in favor of The Tangent. It was usually easy to spot the Van der Graaf Generator influence in Po90 -- one of their CDs consisted entirely of Van der Graaf Generator and Peter Hammill covers -- but given this opportunity to look back on their work, one realizes that Po90 were one of the best and most important bands when it came to reinventing classic progressive rock along contemporary lines.
After a seven year hiatus, Po90 returned in 2009 with a new studio CD Jitters. With Po90 and The Tangent running concurrently, there’s no point in one sounding like the other, so it’s pretty clear that The Tangent will be the classic prog band and Po90 the one incorporating a lot of modern influences. But that’s right where Po90 left off on 2002’s More Exotic Ways to Die, already a very contemporary band, and actually, they began to show their intense, hard-edged side on Unbranded (2000). There are still 1970s progressive influences present on Jitters, and times when Po90 do sound similar to The Tangent, mixed in with more abrasive, noisy stuff, which is what is expected for a band to be called “modern”. There’s at least one review on the Po90 site.
The Parlour Band - Is a Friend? ($17.99) This 1972 album on Decca’s Deram imprint was the sole album for The Parlour Band, a melodic early prog band from Jersey (the Channel Island). This is the 2010 Esoteric label release, with one bonus track. Read the review at Time Has Told Me.
Kevin Peek - Life and Other Games ($17.99)Australian guitarist Kevin Peek is best known for having formed the classical rock band Sky with John Williams, Francis Monkman, Herbie Flowers and Tristan Fry. Peek was also an in-demand session musician; notably he plays on the first Alan Parsons Project album, Jeff Wayne’s War of the Worlds, at least two Sally Oldfield albums, and Francis Monkman’s The Long Good Friday soundtrack, to name just a few. The Beyond the Planets album with Rick Wakeman is primarily Peek’s album. Awakening (1981) and Life and Other Games (1982) were the second and third of three solo albums for Peek. Both were recorded while he was still a member of Sky, and while Peek’s first solo LP did not receive wide distribution, these two did because of Sky’s prominence at the time. Both albums includes performances from fellow session musicians on bass, drums, keyboards and guitar. They are instrumental and close to the style of Sky as well as Gordon Giltrap’s band albums. We’ve always been fond of these two albums where melody is king, albums that make it clear that Peek had a lot to do with Sky’s style.
Pendragon - Passion (CD+DVD, $12.99) |    |      |
Persona Non Grata - The Fine Art of Living (2CD, $15.99) out-of-stockPersona Non Grata is Neil Randall and Bruce Soord, who are otherwise known as Vulgar Unicorn. Bruce Soord is also the main force in The Pineapple Thief. Hopefully many of you are familiar with those two bands, because otherwise it’s difficult to convey just how good and how creative these guys are. They play a modern progressive rock that maintains continuity with the progressive rock of yore while taking it in new directions. The 75-minute bonus disc includes a different version of the epic Under The Umbrella plus another long track The History Of The World, recorded in the same sessions but previously unreleased. A new track rounds it out. These older tracks on the bonus disc are every bit as good as the first disc, more conventionally progressive in fact. It all comes highly recommended.
Anthony Phillips - Private Parts and Pieces I & II (2CD, $15.99) SALE!
Anthony Phillips - Wise After the Event 2CD ($12.99)These are the 2008-2010 remastered 2CD Voiceprint editions of Anthony Phillips’ classic early albums. The Geese and the Ghost was released in 1977, but the recordings for it had begun several years earlier and are representative of the pastoral early Genesis sound. As most Genesis fans know, Mike Rutherford and Phil Collins play on this album, with Phil singing on two tracks. Ant took over vocals on Wise After the Event (1978), while the guest musicians include Michael Giles, Mel Collins, John G. Perry, and Rupert Hine (who also produced).
Giles and Perry form the rhythm section on Sides (1979), with many other musicians assisting including Mel Collins and John Hackett. The original album contained two instrumentals and eight vocal songs, with several different lead vocalists. The first side of the LP offers a charming pop style that is difficult to label ‘mainstream’ even if that was Phillips’ intent, because his version of pop never had a chance of radio airplay. The second side features Genesis-oriented progressive material and some of Phillips’ strongest tracks. Ant was under considerable pressure to make his music more commercial at this time, as was every other progressive artist on a major label. Sides was his way of only half giving in.
1984 was released in 1981 and finds Ant playing keyboards and only occasional guitar. Morris Pert and Richard Scott assist, but it’s mostly Ant. He uses the Roland CR-78 CompuRhythm, which was also used by Genesis, Phil Collins, Peter Gabriel, Mike Oldfield and many others. It was never intended to sound like real drums, which is its appeal. 1984 is instrumental and bursting with great melodies, and perhaps Oldfield is not a bad reference for some of it.
All four of these titles include a second CD full of rarities, demos, alternate mixes, etc., providing great insight into the making of each album. Many of the bonus tracks on Sides are instrumental mixes that are proggier than the vocal versions on the album proper. The booklets include extensive new liner notes, including background information on each bonus track. Also, The Geese and the Ghost and Wise After the Event were two of the best album covers ever, though the larger format of the vinyl LP is really required to see the clever details.
The first two albums in Phillips’ long-running Private Parts and Pieces series are the best. The first volume was released in 1978 and contains almost all acoustic material that had been written between Ant leaving Genesis and the release of The Geese and the Ghost. Private Parts and Pieces Volume 2: Back to the Pavilion was released in 1980, with Phillips assisted at times by Mike Rutherford, Mel Collins (flute), Rob Phillips (oboe), and Andy McCulloch (drums). This double-CD on Voiceprint combines the two albums (at a single CD price) and adds three bonus tracks. Both albums were remastered for this release by Simon Heyworth.
Anthony Phillips - Ahead of the Field ($11.99) SALE!
Anthony Phillips - Slow Dance ($11.99)
Anthony Phillips - Invisible Men ($15.99)On Invisible Men (1983), Anthony collaborated with Richard Scott, and the album includes guests such as Morris Pert, Bimbo Acock, and Joji Hirota. It is an album of ambitious pop songs, the most pop-oriented of the Anthony Phillips catalog. But Phillips has the same knack for writing catchy songs that runs through the Genesis family, and many of these are very good, perhaps comparable to Camel’s The Single Factor released the previous year, which Phillips played on.
Tarka is one of the most beautiful instrumental albums period. The music was written and recorded with Harry Williamson, whose father Henry wrote the novella Tarka the Otter upon which the album is based. The music is primarily orchestral and features the National Philharmonic Orchestra, with acoustic guitar and keyboards from Phillips and Williamson, and a long list of soloists that includes Didier Malherbe, Guy Evans, and Lindsay Cooper. Though the album was released in 1988, the music had sat in the vaults for a decade.
Gypsy Suite was another collaboration with Harry Williamson that, when it was released in 1995, was already 20 years old. The main part of the CD is the four-movement Gypsy Suite, which was begun before Tarka but not finally recorded until 1978. The music is an ambitious piece based on 6 and 12 string guitars, with some organ, piano and percussion, romantic and pastoral in the same way as The Geese and the Ghost. There are also 1975 demos of Tarka on the CD.
At the time of this writing, Phillips’ 1990 album Slow Dance is the highest rated of all his albums on Prog Archives, and with a statistically significant number of ratings. Read the many reviews. It’s a marvelous work that gets overlooked simply because it was released as late as it was.
Field Day is a beautiful double-CD digipack containing 61 pieces and over two hours of acoustic instrumentals on various 6, 10, and 12 string guitars, English bazouki, cittern, charanga, and mandolin. Phillips had been ignoring his guitars in favor of his keyboard-based TV work, so it’s good to hear him work his magic again. Most of Field Day was recorded between 2001-2004. The pieces are short, the moods varied, and Phillips switches instruments before it can become too much of the same sound. This is English poetry performed on stringed things, by a founding member of Genesis whose integrity remains uncompromised.
If memory serves, Anthony Phillips first worked with Joji Hirota on 1983’s Invisible Men album. The two later collaborated on music for television wildlife programs mostly in the British Survival series. Wildlife (2008 on Voiceprint) contains highlights of that music, recorded by Ant and Joji between 1994-2003. The CD contains 45 tracks from 11 programs.
In 1984, Anthony was commissioned by music publishers De Wolfe to write and record an album of library music for use in TV and film. The library project had a number of requirements, one of the key ones being the use of then-contemporary electronic drum and synthesizer sounds. Anthony composed a number of tracks for the project and scored a selection of them which were then recorded by some top session musicians. Ant subsequently overdubbed some additional parts, and the finished album Ahead of the Field was issued as a vinyl LP to broadcasters and production companies. The album’s “modern, punchy, industrial themes with the emphasis on rhythm” (to quote the description from the original album sleeve) were subsequently used on a number of TV programs in the UK. Voiceprint released the album on CD in 2010 as part of a series of De Wolfe library releases.
Poisoned Electrick Head - The Hanged Man ($13.99)This British band has been making psychedelic progressive rock with punk influences since 1986. The Hanged Man (1996) is their third CD and is between the styles of Hawkwind and The Cardiacs, but PEH have always been better live than on their studio recordings.
Nic Potter - New Europe - Rainbow Colours ($11.99) 
Nic Potter actually had two stints in Van der Graaf Generator, one at the beginning and one at the end. He also appears on several Peter Hammill albums and toured with Hammill. The Long Hello Volume Two was recorded at various sessions mainly at Guy Evans’ home throughout 1980 and released in early 1981. The album was the follow-up to the first volume of The Long Hello (1974), which featured David Jackson, Hugh Banton, Guy Evans and Nic Potter. Volume Two is just Potter and Evans, though Jackson plays on half the tracks.
Potter’s solo career began in 1983, and he recorded quite a few instrumental albums that are mostly electronic music, but more rock-based, structured and melodic than most. Self Contained is from 1987; this edition adds two bonus tracks. Voiceprint calls New Europe - Rainbow Colours (1992) a 2-on-1 CD, and it is long enough, but to our knowledge there were never separate New Europe and Rainbow Colours albums. On this one, Potter is assisted by David Jackson, Guy Evans, Duncan Browne, Snowy White, John Ellis, and Molly Duncan.
Quantum Jump - Quantum Jump ($15.99)This 1975 album is the first of two great albums by Rupert Hine’s funky/jazz-rock progressive-pop band, also featuring John G. Perry. Includes five bonus tracks.
RA - Rising ($7.99) RA is the new project of Rob Andrews (bass) and Steve Hillman (keyboards) along with David Groves (guitar) from Rob Andrews’ band, and Dai Rees (drums). Violinist Phil Morgan guests on one track on Wake (2007, 57-minutes), which contains high-caliber instrumental progressive rock in the British 1970s style, superior to any of the progressive rock albums Andrews or Hillman have done on their own. Influences vary by track, but the strongest is early Camel, followed by Focus and then Steve Hackett. Ah, it takes one back.
Rising (2009, 60-minutes) is a budget-priced CD intended to entice prog fans to give this overlooked band a listen. Some of the tracks are new, others are reworked, restructured versions of tracks that appeared on earlier albums: two from Wake, others from Hillman’s and Andrews’ solo albums. The quartet is assisted by six guest musicians. Both CDs are now deleted, last copies.
Rare Bird - As Your Mind Flies By ($17.99) Rare Bird was the first band with an album released on Tony Stratton Smith’s Charisma label, also home to Genesis, The Nice, Van der Graaf Generator and others. These are Rare Bird’s first two albums, on which they were a quartet with two keyboardists (mostly organ, also electric piano and harpsichord) but no guitarist. Singer Steve Gould later auditioned for Genesis after Gabriel had left; a guy named Collins got the gig though. Rare Bird’s self-titled debut album was released in 1969. This album includes their single Sympathy, which was a hit in the UK and Europe (though it probably never cracked the U.S. charts). Marillion later covered it. As Your Mind Flies By followed in 1970, featuring the 20-minute epic Flight. These two are Rare Bird’s best albums, classics of the formative days of progressive rock. Two members left after these, and the later albums didn’t measure up. These are the 2007 Esoteric label editions, which are 24-bit remastered. The first album has two bonus tracks, As Your Mind Flies By has three. Check for the related Fields CD above.
The Reasoning - Adverse Camber ($14.99) 
The Reasoning are a Cardiff-based prog band formed by ex-Magenta and ex-Erasmus bassist Matthew Cohen and featuring former Karnataka singer Rachel Cohen (née Jones). In addition to Cohen, the band have excellent male vocalists. Their 2006 CD Awakening is a great debut with strong songs. It was mixed by Dave Meegan (U2, Marillion), while Steve Rothery (Marillion) guests. Dark Angel (2008) fulfills the promise heard on their debut, with the band sounding more confident, and the songwriting and production both taking a step up. All those vocalists The Reasoning have stockpiled are paying dividends in the form of some of the best vocals and vocal interplay in progdom. New guitarist Owain Roberts adds more metal stylings. It works well enough, as the band can also be as lush, delicate, warm and melodic as Karnataka and Magenta, something few prog-metal bands could claim.
For their third CD Adverse Camber (2010), The Reasoning have a new drummer and have added a second female vocalist in Maria Owen. The band says it best: “This album has been the most relaxed, most enjoyable, most fun and most creative experience we have been through since the band’s inception, and this really shows when you listen to the songs. Adverse Camber is definitely the most cohesive, mature sounding record we have created to date. Everything you expect from The Reasoning is there -- big, lush, multi-layered vocals; catchy choruses; driving, rocking riffs; beautiful acoustic sections -- you name it, it’s there plus a whole lot more.” On the gentler songs, Rachel’s voice may remind you of Mary Fahl (October Project). Here is an mp3 album sampler (9:24). The Reasoning are easily recommended to fans of Karnataka and Magenta, the progenitors of the current south Wales progressive bands, but their appeal extends beyond that as well.
Refugee - Refugee / Live in Concert 1974 (2CD, $15.99)Refugee was seen by the British music press as an attempt to revive the The Nice, Keith Emerson’s pre-ELP band. Refugee took two-thirds of The Nice (Lee Jackson and Brian Davison) and added Patrick Moraz, who ensured that Refugee had a different style than The Nice. In fact, Refugee’s self-titled 1974 album, their only studio album, is one of the great progressive rock albums, one that probably too many current prog rock fans don’t know about. Had Moraz not been recruited by Yes, one wonders what Refugee would have gone on to achieve. In any event, Moraz has the distinction of having replaced both Rick Wakeman and Keith Emerson.
The 64-minute live CD was recorded at Newcastle City Hall in 1974. The audio has been restored with the full cooperation of the band members and sounds significantly better than any existing bootleg recordings. The tracks include Ritt Mickley, Someday, Papillon, and Grand Canyon Suite from their studio album, a version of The Nice’s Diamond Hard Blue Apples of the Moon, a 9-minute version of Bob Dylan’s She Belongs to Me, the previously-unreleased Refugee Jam, and One Left Handed Peter Pan, which was slated for the second album.
Previously released as separate CDs, this 2010 double-CD on Voiceprint combines the two in a single jewel case, at a price lower than either of the CDs alone.
ReGenesis - Here It Comes Again ($14.99)ReGenesis is a British Genesis tribute band focusing on material from Trespass through Wind and Wuthering. Here It Comes Again is a 1998 live album featuring Back In N.Y.C., The Musical Box, The Return of the Giant Hogweed, Dancing With the Moonlit Knight, Afterglow, The Cinema Show, Los Endos, The Knife.
Jane Relf - Jane’s Renaissance: The Complete Jane Relf Collection 1969-1995 (2CD, $15.99)
Illusion - Out of the Mist (Esoteric) ($17.99)
The complete and rather confusing history of the band Renaissance is beyond the scope of this product description, but the better known Renaissance with Annie Haslam was not the first Renaissance. One Renaissance did morph into the other, even though the full-time personnel were completely different. The first Renaissance emerged from The Yardbirds. Singer Jane Relf is the younger sister of Keith Relf. (Keith passed away in 1976.) Among their members was future Strawbs keyboardist John Hawken. This first Renaissance released two LPs in 1969 and 1970 before giving way to the second incarnation of the band. These are the 2010 remastered editions on Esoteric of those first two Renaissance albums. These two albums have been reissued countless times, but now the Esoteric team has had a go at remastering them and expanding the booklets. The self-titled CD has two bonus tracks, both sides of a single containing the single version of Island and a non-LP song The Sea. Illusion has three bonus tracks, all non-LP. Two were recorded for an unreleased film in 1970; the third is a 1976 demo by Keith Relf. Check our DVDs page for this Renaissance’s Kings and Queens DVD.
When the first Renaissance reformed in 1976, the name Renaissance was already in use, so they called themselves Illusion, from the title of the last album they recorded as Renaissance. Illusion’s 1977 album Out of the Mist is their best, followed closely by the 1978 self-titled Illusion album. In fact, Out of the Mist is the best thing this group of musicians has released under any name, and is essential for fans of either version of Renaissance. These are the newly-remastered 2011 editions on Esoteric.
Enchanted Caress is the third Illusion album. It was recorded in 1979 but remained unreleased for many years, no doubt the punk and new wave plague having something to do with that. This is the Renaissance Records edition.
Jane Relf has one of the most beautiful voices in rock. The jam-packed double-CD Jane’s Renaissance compiles material from Renaissance Mark I, Illusion, and Stairway (a more new age-y Illusion offshoot). Perhaps most important are the Jane Relf solo songs that few have heard before. She released a solo single Without a Song from You b/w Make My Time Pass By in 1971; both songs are included here along with Gone Fishing, a song recorded in the mid-1970s for a frozen food advertisement! There are also two rare demo versions of Carpet of the Sun with Jane singing, which ties the two incarnations of Renaissance together. The booklet contains photos and a detailed bio. Read the review at Musical Discoveries.
Renaissance - Tuscany ($14.99)
Renaissance - Live in Chicago ($15.99)
Renaissance - The Other Woman / Ocean Gypsy (2CD, $14.99)This is the 2010 Friday Music edition of Renaissance’s 1975 masterpiece Scheherazade and Other Stories, remastered from the original Sire/Warner Bros tapes, with new liner notes from the band. The second disc is a DVD (NTSC, all-region) entitled Renaissance - Filmed at Mill House and Bray Studios 1979. It contains five videos of the band performing in the studio and on a soundstage: four songs from Azure d’Or plus Carpet of the Sun, professionally produced and edited. Carpet of the Sun and Forever Changing are performed unplugged; the latter has some other footage of the band blended in.
Renaissance’s magnificent 1976 double live album Live at Carnegie Hall captured the band at their peak, playing with a symphony orchestra in a city where they were probably more popular than in their home country. This is the 2009 Deluxe Anniversary Edition on Friday Music, remastered from the original Sire Records vault tapes and including new recollections and artwork from Annie Haslam.
Tuscany is Renaissance’s 2001 comeback album, with Mickey Simmonds replacing Jon Tout (who guests) on keys. Jon Camp is absent, but Annie Haslam, Michael Dunford, and Terrence Sullivan are all here. A good album though not up to their classic material; mainly it lacks extended instrumentals.
Live in Chicago captures Renaissance performing at Park West Chicago in 1983. It was originally recorded for a US television show called Hot Spots. The lineup here is Annie Haslam, Michael Dunford, Jon Camp, Gavin Harrison, and Mick Taylor. Though the album Time Line had just been released, the only song performed from it is Flight, as the band decided to concentrate on their classic material.
For the Dreams & Omens CD, Renaissance delved into their archives and located this pristine 1978 concert recording at Philadelphia’s most famous venue, The Tower Theatre. The tracks included here are Can You Hear Me, Carpet of the Sun, Day of the Dreamer, Midas Man, Northern Lights, and Things I Don’t Understand. The package includes new liner notes and photos from the band as well as cover artwork by Annie Haslam.
Greatest Hits Live Part One and Part Two are reissues of the King Biscuit CDs previously titled Renaissance at the Royal Albert Hall with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Part 1 & 2, with new artwork. Part One is no longer available; Part Two has also been deleted and will be gone soon. This is all classic material recorded live in 1977 and may be even better than the Live at Carnegie Hall album. The track listing on Part Two: Running Hard, Midas Man, Mother Russia, Touching Once (Is So Hard to Keep), Ashes Are Burning, Prologue, and You (a great previously unreleased studio recording).
The Other Woman (1995) and Ocean Gypsy (1997) are the two CDs by Michael Dunford’s Renaissance. With Annie Haslam living in the U.S., both she and Dunford used the name Renaissance at times, though neither version had any other Renaissance members participating. Dunford’s UK-based Renaissance featured singer Stephanie Adlington, who has more of a theatrical voice, and Betty Thatcher contributed to the lyrics. Aside from a new arrangement of Northern Lights, The Other Woman features new compositions, while Ocean Gypsy has only a couple new songs, the rest being new arrangements of classic Renaissance songs. The 2CD here is the 2010 edition on Floating World that combines both CDs in a double-CD set. More Renaissance CDs can usually be found on our Bargain CDs page. Check our DVDs page for Renaissance DVDs.
Renaissant - South of Winter ($15.99) Renaissant is the Renaissance spin-off created by drummer (and here, multi-instrumentalist and vocalist) Terry Sullivan, with keyboardist John Tout helping out, plus several other musicians including a guest appearance by Martin Orford (IQ). Betty Thatcher Newsinger wrote lyrics for four of the songs, while Terry’s wife Christine handles most of the vocals. Of course Christine is not Annie Haslam, and no one can possibly replace Annie in the hearts of Renaissance fans. But the music is true to the Renaissance style. Like the previous Renaissance album Tuscany, South of Winter lacks extended instrumental excursions, and the energy level is somewhat subdued. So this concentrates on Renaissance’s symphonic folk style, and while naturally it falls short of classic Renaissance, it’s nice to see Terry trying to keep the spirit of Renaissance alive. Read the review at Musical Discoveries.
Room - Pre-Flight ($17.99) Recorded at Decca studios in the summer of 1970, Room’s Pre-Flight was an ambitious blend of rock, blues, jazz and classical influences that became a sought-after item for progressive rock collectors. Their only recorded work was critically well-received, but like many of Deram’s releases in this genre, did not achieve the hoped-for breakthrough to greater commercial success. Room had a female lead singer; her voice is in that range where it could almost be a male with a high tenor voice. The music is early British prog, much further along than the ordinary rock of the time, but not as advanced as King Crimson, Yes or Genesis were. Room did not have a keyboard player, but a large ensemble of session musicians added strings and brass arrangements, filling out the sound and giving the music the necessary complexity. The album has been remastered from the original analog tapes and is now presented in this definitive 2008 edition from Esoteric Recordings. Read the DPRP review. Lots more reviews and info at Room’s website/blog.
Samurai - Samurai ($17.99) 
These are the 2008 editions on the Esoteric label, known for their superb remastering jobs. Samurai and I Spider are two closely-related CDs. The English band The Web began life as a jazz, blues and soul-influenced outfit, fronted by singer John L. Watson, enjoying top ten hit singles throughout Europe. By the time of Theraphosa Blondi (1970), the band had undergone a metamorphosis, their music taking on more jazz and progressive influences, resulting in an album mostly in the British early jazz-rock style while also displaying The Web’s earlier styles. This CD edition contains two previously-unreleased bonus tracks.
After three albums, their American lead singer left and the rest of the band decided to change direction. They dropped the definite article from their name, but more importantly, they brought in keyboardist/singer Dave Lawson. Lawson not only took over the vocals, he took over all the writing. I Spider was originally released by Polydor Records in 1970, an innovative album that continues to draw comparisons with the work of Van der Graaf Generator of that time. The band renamed themselves Samurai and released their eponymous album on the short-lived Greenwich Gramophone label in 1972. (Bassist Tony Reeves was A&R director for the label.) Both albums are classics of early British progressive rock. The musicianship was excellent, and Lawson’s compositions were groundbreaking and memorable. If “Canterbury” is taken to refer to the jazz-influenced branch of British prog (as opposed to the symphonic branch), then these are Canterbury albums. In addition to Lawson’s organ, piano and (a little) Mellotron, both albums feature sax and flute. The sax is most important. It is played melodically and, as these are structured songs with no improvisation, the jazz influence is felt primarily harmonically. This style of jazz-rock has very little to do with the style exemplified by Mahavishnu Orchestra, Weather Report, or Return to Forever. A better reference is some of the music created many years later by the American band However.
Sadly, Samurai disbanded shortly after the release of the record, resulting in limited sales. However, the influence of the album was not lost, as both Dave Lawson and Tony Reeves soon joined Dave Greenslade to form the group Greenslade, and though Greenslade was less jazz influenced, one can hear many similarities. These Esoteric reissues are remastered from the original master tapes, and their booklets contain previously unseen photographs and an interview with Dave Lawson. I Spider features two bonus tracks recorded live in Sweden in 1971. Read the DPRP reviews of I Spider and Samurai.
Lee Saunders - A Promise of Peace ($13.99) Saunders’ 1995 World War II-themed anti-war concept album has been popular among Pink Floyd fans, as there does seem to be a lot of Pink Floyd/Roger Waters influence. With Saunders aided by ten other musicians, A Promise of Peace is comparable to The Final Cut, though many also think of it as a poor man’s The Wall. This is the U.S. version of the CD, released in 1999, for which the music was remastered. 76-minutes.
Jan Schelhaas - Dark Ships ($17.99) Dark Ships (2008, 64-minutes) is the first album for Jan Schelhaas, whose has been a member of both Caravan and Camel, writing as well as playing. Jan plays most of the instruments and sings, while Doug Boyle plays guitar on most tracks, and Jimmy Hastings adds some flute and soprano sax. The music is reminiscent of Peter Bardens’ post-Camel albums in that it is a mellow symphonic rock bearing some resemblance to Camel. Many of the songs here follow a similar pattern of beginning quite soft, with vocals, then opening up into proggier instrumentals later in the track.
Shadowland - Edge of Night Ltd. Ed. (DVD+2CD, $21.99) Shadowland is one of Clive Nolan’s (Pendragon, Arena) many projects. Nolan handles the vocals as well as the keys in Shadowland, which also features Karl Groom on guitar. Shadowland released three CDs during the nineties: Ring of Roses (1992), Through the Looking Glass (1994), and Mad as a Hatter (1996). The music is fairly typical 1990s neo-prog, close to Arena’s less aggressive style, with more emphasis on vocals and songs.
Edge of Night (2009) is Shadowland’s first DVD (NTSC, all-region). This is the Limited Edition, which adds the audio double-CD and comes in deluxe packaging. Shot at the first edition of the Prog Rock festival in Katowice, Poland, the lineup here is Nolan, Groom (Threshold, Strangers on a Train), Mike Varty (Landmarq, Credo, Jannison Edge), Mark Westwood (Caamora, Neo), and Nick Harradence (NW10). Songs from all three Shadowland albums are performed. Bonus features include an interview with Nolan and Groom, and the video Shadowland Live in Holland 2009. DVD playing time 200-minutes, CDs 110-minutes total. Dolby Digital 5.1 surround and 2.0 stereo audio, 16:9 widescreen. Counts as 2 CDs for shipping.
The gorgeous boxset Cautionary Tales (2009) contains the entire Shadowland discography to date. It includes the Edge of Night DVD and 2 CDs as above, and it includes remastered editions of the three Shadowland studio CDs. These CDs have been out-of-print for a long time. Additionally, each of the studio CDs includes bonus tracks, eight total. These include the bonus tracks from the Japanese editions. The set also includes a booklet with biography, discography, lyrics to all songs, and photos from the archive. Make some shelf space. Counts as 4 CDs for shipping.
Pete Sinfield - Still (2CD, $21.99)This is the 2009 2CD expanded edition on Esoteric Recordings, known for their superb remastering jobs. Pete Sinfield is best known as the lyricist for King Crimson and ELP. His classic 1973 solo album was one of the first releases on ELP’s Manticore label and features contributions from Greg Lake, Ian Wallace, Mel Collins, John Wetton, Keith Tippett, and many more musicians. The album has a strong early King Crimson flavor. The second disc includes nine previously-unreleased early album mixes plus two bonus tracks. The deluxe package (jewel box + slipcase) restores the album’s artwork, while the booklet includes an interview with Sinfield. Read reviews at Prog Archives.
Soft Machine - Alive & Well: Recorded in Paris (2CD, $21.99) 
Soft Machine - Bundles ($16.99) These are the 2010 remastered editions on Esoteric of the Soft Machine albums from their years on EMI (1975-1981). All have been remastered from the original tapes and fully restore the original artwork. Bundles (1975) was the first of these albums and featured a lineup of Mike Ratledge (keyboards), Karl Jenkins (oboe, piano, soprano sax), John Marshall (drums), Roy Babbington (bass), and some guitarist named Allan Holdsworth (wonder what became of him?) who plays an important role here. Bundles began a new chapter for the band, one in which Karl Jenkins became the principal composer and Soft Machine became more purely a fusion band. Read reviews at Prog Archives.
Softs (1976) was the band’s second album for EMI’s Harvest label and featured a lineup of Mike Ratledge (keyboards), Karl Jenkins (oboe, piano, soprano sax), John Marshall (drums), Roy Babbington (bass), and new member John Etheridge (guitar), along with saxophonist Alan Wakeman. Softs showcased John Etheridge’s considerable guitar playing talents and would be the final album to feature founding member Mike Ratledge. Read reviews at Prog Archives.
Land Of Cockayne (1981) was Soft Machine’s final album. By this time, Soft Machine comprised keyboard player and saxophonist Karl Jenkins and drummer John Marshall. They were joined by musicians such as Jack Bruce, the returning Allan Holdsworth, Dick Morrissey, and John G. Perry, among others. Jenkins is in control here, responsible for all the music and string arrangements. It’s always been a divisive album among fans, with those who expect it to sound like older Soft Machine critical of it, while those who accept it on its own terms favorable toward it. There’s at least one audio sample on YouTube. Read reviews at Prog Archives.
Alive & Well was the product of several nights of excellent concerts at Le Palace Theatre in Monmartre, Paris in July 1978. The album was initially released as a single album, but the discovery of multi-track masters of a concert in the archives has resulted in this expanded edition with a second CD of additional material recorded in July 1978. The bonus disc also includes both sides of a 1978 single making their first appearance on CD. The band line-up is Karl Jenkins (keys), John Marshall (drums), John Etheridge (guitars), and new members Steve Cook (bass) and Ric Sanders (violin).
Solstice - Kindred Spirits (DVD+CD, $18.99)“Kindred Spirits (2011) is Solstice’s first live album since The Cropredy Set in 1998. They launched their last studio album Spirit in 2010 and filmed the show, and it’s that film that forms the Kindred Spirits DVD (NTSC, all-region) along with a couple of tracks from their set at the Loreley Festival in Germany the same year. The Kindred Spirits CD is a compilation of live tunes from 2007-2008 and covers a lot of older material that they didn’t get to play at the Spirit launch. Both the DVD and CD have superb sound and capture the energy of the performances. A month or so before Kindred Spirits was due to be pressed, Andy Glass of Solstice got an email from someone saying how much they were enjoying their recently purchased copy of Spirit. That someone turned out to be veteran Marvel artist and prog fan, Barry Kitson. The result of this moment of synchronicity is the brilliant art that runs through the album. Barry is a phenomenal artist and lovely bloke, and the band are greatly indebted to him. Another discovery that preceded the release of Kindred Spirits was the discovery that Steven Wilson of Porcupine Tree is a Solstice fan. Steven very kindly agreed to contribute to the sleeve notes, and his chat with Festival Music’s David Robinson fills a couple of pages of the booklet.”
Solstice - Spirit (CD+DVD, $18.99) Solstice returned in 2010 with a new studio CD Spirit (60-minutes). Also included is a superb full-concert DVD (NTSC, all-region) recorded in a club in July 2009, featuring 13 tracks plus interviews with the band. The band describe Spirit as “the album we’ve always wanted to make”. So after fits and starts in the 1980s and 90s, now this latest incarnation of Solstice are serious! Some of the names have changed, but the instrumentation is the same: female & male vocals, guitars, violin & viola, keyboards, bass and drums. Solstice pick up right where they left off, true to the sound and spirit of the band, though there are a few new elements such as a bit of heavy guitar and some Celtic melodies played by the violin. At a time when a lot of bands sound like each other, Solstice still stand apart. Read the Progressive Land review.
Solstice - Silent Dance def. ed. (2CD, $19.99) 
Solstice - The Cropredy Set def. ed. (CD+DVD, $19.99)These are the 2007 Definitive Editions on the Festival Music label, most expanded to two-disc sets, all with new booklets and new liner notes by Oz Hardwick (which have been purloined for some of the descriptions below). While part of the same British 1980s scene that featured Marillion, IQ, Pendragon, Twelfth Night, Pallas, Haze, etc., Solstice stood apart. They featured female vocals (they went through several different singers) and violin, and in many ways had a stronger connection to the 1970s -- there was still a hippie vibe to their symphonic prog. They blended Yes and Renaissance with touches of psychedelic folk and a little jazz.
By the time their debut album was recorded, Solstice were already seasoned veterans of countless gigs throughout Britain. It is striking, then, that Silent Dance (1984) is so emphatically a studio album. From the staccato opening of Peace to the jazz-tinged coda of Find Yourself, the album has a glacial quality. The rough, folky edges were replaced by a sleek ambience, sometimes intimate (Earthsong), elsewhere thrillingly expansive (Sunrise). Mark Elton’s violin was reigned in as atmospheric keyboards gained prominence, generally leaving center stage to Sandy Leigh’s vocals and Andy Glass’ guitar. Dynamic foundations are provided by Martin Wright’s percussion and Mark Hawkins’ bass, though the one criticism of the album is that the bass lacks presence in the mix. The 70-minute bonus disc includes the tracks from Solstice’s cassette releases First Light (1982), Pathways (1982), and The Peace Tape (1983); a 1983 demo recorded at BBC Maida Vale with Shelley Patt on vocals; and their 1983 appearance on BBC Radio 1’s Friday Rock Show, 15 tracks total.
New Life, their second, was recorded in 1992, eight years after their first, but featured songs from the 1983-85 period when Solstice gigged extensively. The album features a crisper, fuller sound than their debut and better captures the grandeur Solstice was capable of, the fuller dynamic doing justice to bassist Craig Sunderland, adding depth and power to the stage favorites that hadn’t made it onto the debut. The lavish swathes of keyboards are still present, but Marc Elton’s violin is more prominent, blending with Andy’s guitar to frame Heidi Kemp’s commanding vocals. A stunning album throughout, the cornerstones are the two epics, Guardian and Journey, tapestries of mood and color which move from the meditative to the exuberant with a confidence that encompasses all the diverse elements which make Solstice’s music unique. The 70-minute bonus disc includes 1985 demos with Barbara Deason on vocals, a 1984 bootleg, and two 1985 bootlegs, 13 tracks total.
Circles (1997) featured all new material. Framed by two meditative instrumentals, Salú and Coming Home, Circles is perhaps the most impassioned Solstice album. Fronted by Emma Brown, perhaps their strongest vocalist to date, the band had never sounded so powerful on disc. Bolstered by ex-Jethro Tull drummer Clive Bunker, the sound produced is full, dynamic and committed. This new edition is a single CD with four bonus tracks taking the time up to 63-minutes.
Thirteen years after the brace of sell-out farewell concerts at London’s legendary Marquee club, it was finally time to release a live album. The venue was Cropredy 1998, Fairport Convention’s annual outdoor festival of the finest in folk, rock, and the hybrid beasts in between. (For those who’ve never been to a Cropredy, 25,000 people attend, dwarfing today’s prog festivals.) The sun shone on a huge crowd as Solstice, now augmented by Jenny Newman on violin, Robin Phillips on bass and Steve McDaniel on keyboards, took the stage for a set that began with a sequence of old favorites before concentrating on material from the then-recent Circles album, but there was also space for a band version of Awakening from Clive Bunker’s solo album, along with the new instrumental Ducks on the Pond. Unfortunately, problems with sound rendered the recording unusable. Resilient to the end, the band set up in the studio the following day and replayed the set – live without an audience – which is what you hear on this album. The show was captured on film. The technical problems with the sound led Andy Glass to initially veto its release, though now after remastering, it is available on DVD. The Cropredy Set Definitive Edition includes both the CD and the DVD (NTSC, all-region). Here are video excerpts of Morning Light, Thank You, and Sacred Run in mpeg format. (These are big files.)
Space Ritual - Otherworld ($17.99) The Esoteric label’s description: “A band formed by founding members of Hawkwind, Space Ritual are true exponents of space rock, performing sold-out concerts drawing on classic Hawkwind repertoire written by Nik Turner, Dave Anderson and Terry Ollis. Now Space Ritual deliver a stunning 2007 studio album of original material that takes their music into a new dimension that is both contemporary yet still aware of its heritage and roots. Also featuring poems by sci-fi author Michael Moorcock, Otherworld has been described as ‘more Hawkwind than Hawkwind’ by one commentator, but Space Ritual are more than that. They are a band in their own right, with their own style and future.” Read the DPRP review.
Spirogyra - St. Radigunds ($15.99) This British progressive folk-rock band featured Barbara Gaskin on vocals, who later sang for Hatfield and the North and teamed with Dave Stewart on several progressive pop albums under the name Stewart/Gaskin. Dave Mattacks played drums on all three Spirogyra albums but was never a member. St. Radigunds (1971) and Old Boot Wine (1972) are excellent albums that can be grouped with Trees, Comus, and Spriguns. In fact, their progressive content exceeds that of almost any of the 1970s folk-rock and psych-folk albums.
Stackridge - Mr. Mick (2CD, $22.99) 
Stackridge - Friendliness ($17.99) 
Stackridge is an eccentric English progressive-folk-pop band from Bristol who released five LPs between 1971-1976, a comeback album in 1999, a mini-CD in 2003, and another comeback album in 2009. Their music is in the vein of 10cc, City Boy, and to some extent Supertramp, a quirky, humorous, exceedingly clever and very English music featuring innovative arrangements that can trace its lineage to The Beatles. These are the latest remastered editions on Angel Air.
The self-titled CD is their 1971 debut plus two bonus tracks. Friendliness (1972) is their second, with four bonus tracks. Their third album The Man in the Bowler Hat was produced by George Martin and released early in 1974. Extravaganza, their fourth, was released at the beginning of 1975.
Mr. Mick (1976) was their fifth. Their record company at that time didn’t like the finished result and ordered the removal of most of the dialogue. As the album was based around a poem, this wholesale remodeling didn’t please the band much. This 2007 2CD edition on Angel Air includes the original album in its entirety on CD1 (first released in 2000 as The Original Mr. Mick) and the remastered album released to the public in 1976 on CD2.
Purple Spaceships Over Yatton is a 2006 compilation featuring 15 tracks, all remastered; the title track is a new recording. Check for Stackridge’s The Forbidden City DVD on our DVDs page.
Strangefish - Fortune Telling ($16.99) Fortune Telling (2006, 65-minutes) is the second album for this British neo-prog band who were voted Best New Band of 2003 by the Classic Rock Society, though most of the band members had been playing together for 14 years prior. Which has to have something to do with the maturity on display here. This is a very accomplished album, particularly for a band whose members all have day jobs, and is warm-sounding and well-produced. Weak vocals, the bane of many modern prog bands, has rarely been a problem for British bands, and the superb lead vocals of Steve Taylor (who has a touch of Sting in his voice) immediately put Strangefish in the professional class. Taylor was named Best Male Vocalist for three consecutive years by the UK’s Classic Rock Society. Strangefish don’t copy anyone too closely, but their music is familiar in a good way. They add enough originality to make the music their own, such as the occasional jazz guitar, or the violin, viola, and mandolin from the bassist. For those who have tired of bands attempting a technical showcase without having developed much in the way of composition and songwriting, Strangefish will be a breath of fresh air. Read the review at Sea of Tranquility.
Strawbs - Dancing to the Devil’s Beat ($14.99) 
Strawbs - Burning for You ($14.99) 
Strawbs - Live at the Calderone, New York ’75 ($14.99) 
The single CDs are the latest editions on the Strawbs’ own Witchwood Media label. Dancing to the Devil’s Beat is the 2009 studio CD for the resurgent Strawbs, celebrating their 40th anniversary. The Strawbs lineup now is Dave Cousins, Dave Lambert, Chas Cronk, Rod Coombes, and Oliver Wakeman. As fans know, Rick Wakeman was the Strawbs keyboardist before leaving for Yes, so his son Oliver returns the keyboards post to the family. Apart from a couple duff tracks (there are always a couple duff tracks), this easily sits alongside the previous year’s The Broken Hearted Bride as the best post-1970s Strawbs albums. Details of this CD can be found at the Strawbs website.
The Broken Hearted Bride is Strawbs’ 2008 studio CD, with the lineup now Dave Cousins, Dave Lambert, Chas Cronk and Rod Coombes. John Hawken has retired from touring but does play keyboards on the CD, and Ian Cutler adds fiddle. This is the best Strawbs album in ages. The Strawbs sound young again, they sound like a rock band again, and there are some symphonic songs worthy of the glory days. 60-minutes. More information at the Strawbs’ website.
Recorded just prior to the Strawbs reunion tour that saw them headline NEARfest 2004, Deja Fou was not only Strawbs’ first album of all new material in a decade, but the lineup is the classic one that recorded Hero and Heroine and Ghosts, together for the first time in 30 years. No one seriously expected another Hero and Heroine, but Deja Fou is quite a good album, a lot of which sounds like it could have come from an even earlier period in Strawbs history, particularly the acoustic tracks. With keyboardist John Hawken living in the U.S., he contributed little to the writing and not all that much to the playing – he added his parts from the U.S. after receiving the tapes from the UK recording sessions. This is really a Cousins and Lambert album. Nevertheless, there are two tracks of classic Strawbs prog music, and the old magic frequently shines through.
The Strawbs’ prime period was that of Hero and Heroine (1974) and Ghosts (1975), so Deep Cuts (1976) is from shortly after their peak, with the shift from symphonic to pop-rock on. (The story is the same for any number of progressive bands; only the album names have been changed.) Deep Cuts featured a new label, new producers and new keyboardists, and contains some classic tracks, with Simple Visions still a concert staple. One of the great LP covers too. This CD contains one bonus track.
Burning for You followed in 1977, featuring a Patrick Woodruffe cover illustration. It was the last Strawbs album to chart in the U.S. The tracks Burning For Me, Cut Like a Diamond, and Heartbreaker are standouts. One bonus track.
The Deep Cuts / Burning for You double-CD is the 1996 edition on Road Goes on Forever, which is where Witchwood were releasing Strawbs CDs prior to bringing everything in house. Both albums are here in their entirety, though not with the bonus tracks of the Witchwood editions. But it’s cheaper than buying the two separately, and as Geddy Lee once said, “Ten bucks is ten bucks, eh!”
Live at the Calderone, New York ’75 is an official live CD released by Witchwood. In the mid-1970s, the Strawbs were on a roll in the United States. The band had had five consecutive albums on the Billboard charts between 1972-1975, with Hero and Heroine and Ghosts selling over half a million copies between them. This CD was recorded on the Strawbs’ first U.S. headline tour and is the first release of this concert on CD. After John Hawken’s first departure, Cousins, Lambert, Cronk, and Coombes were augmented by Robert Kirby and John Mealing, both on keyboards. This CD shows how the Strawbs’ stage show had evolved from its early folk-inspired tunes into an almost continuous symphonic sequence of hard-hitting songs. Among the established classics were new offerings from the Nomadness album including The Promised Land, To Be Free, and Hanging in the Gallery, which have never appeared before on a Strawbs live album. 68-minutes.
Dave Cousins’ Two Weeks Last Summer (1972) was recorded between the Strawbs’ Grave New World and Bursting at the Seams albums. Assisting Dave are Dave Lambert (who had not yet joined the Strawbs), Rick Wakeman, Roger Glover (Deep Purple), Jon Hiseman (Colosseum), and others. The album fits in well with the Strawbs’ releases, and this 2004 CD adds the track Going Home, which had been released as a single.
Dave Cousins’ 2007 solo CD The Boy in the Sailor Suit features Chas Cronk, guitarist Miller Anderson (who was also on Two Weeks Last Summer 35 years earlier), fiddler Ian Cutler and drummer Chris Hunt, who along with a couple keyboardists and backing vocalists comprise “The Blue Angel Orchestra”. The album is more or less in the Strawbs’ folk-rock style. The fiddle pushes the sound close to Fairport Convention, though Cousins still rocks harder at times, and between his voice and his songwriting, there’s no mistaking The Boy in the Sailor Suit for the work of anyone else. Check our DVDs page for Strawbs DVDs.
Stud - Stud ($17.99) This is the 2008 edition of this CD on the Esoteric label, known for their superb remastering jobs. Esoteric’s description: “Stud were formed in 1970 by Richard McCracken and John Wilson (from the recently disbanded Taste) and Jim Cregan (of Blossom Toes and later Family). The album they recorded for Decca’s Deram label was an amalgam of rock and jazz and was an outstanding progressive album of its time. The sessions also featured guest appearances by Poli Palmer (Family) and John Weider (Eric Burdon & The Animals, Family). Although Stud never achieved the acclaim they deserved, their debut album remains highly sought after by aficionados of progressive rock.”
Tantalus - Lumen et Caligo I ($14.99) 
Tantalus may be the most overlooked of the British neo-prog bands. Their second album Short Stories was originally released in 1996 on cassette by the first Tantalus lineup. It was remastered in 2002 for this CD with two 2001 recordings from the second lineup added. Two instrumental tracks are the highlights: the Camel homage Moondance, and a rousing version of Bach’s Toccata & Fugue in D minor.
Jubal (2000, 72-minutes) is their third album, about which Jurriaan Hage wrote: “Generally the music sounds like a mix of a bit of the optimistic Yes sound with typical English nineties neo-progressive, like Pendragon and maybe a bit of Primitive Instinct and Mostly Autumn without the female vocals and the folk. This album would have fit very well on the Cyclops label.” Also read the DPRP and ProgressiveWorld reviews.
Start with their fourth album Lumen et Caligo I (2002, 74-minutes). Read reviews at Prog Archives, Progressor, and DPRP. These are all the MALS label editions. Lumen et Caligo I is the redesigned, remastered version.
Thieves’ Kitchen - The Water Road ($12.99) |      |
Steve Thorne - Into the Ether ($14.99) 
Emotional Creatures Part One (2005) and Part Two (2007) are two finely-crafted neo-prog albums from English singer/songwriter Steve Thorne. Both were released on IQ’s GEP label and include many well-known prog musicians. Part One includes, among others, Tony Levin, Nick D’Virgilio (Spock’s Beard), Geoff Downes (Asia), Martin Orford (IQ), Gary Chandler (Jadis), Steve Christey (Jadis, John Wetton), John Jowitt (IQ, many more), and Paul Cook (ex-IQ). Part Two includes D’Virgilio, Levin, Chandler, Downes, Orford, Pete Trewavas (Marillion), John Mitchell (Arena, Kino, etc.), Gavin Harrison (Porcupine Tree), and several more. Both are excellent albums featuring Thorne’s songs, vocals, and multi-instrumental skills in expansive symphonic arrangements that integrate progressive rock with folk and pop leanings. The styles touch upon Hogarth-era Marillion, IQ, Jadis, Kevin Gilbert, Peter Gabriel, Manning, Pineapple Thief, and more. In classic British progressive fashion, Thorne starts with a song; it’s the arrangement that makes it progressive rock. Read the DPRP reviews of Part One and Part Two.
Thorne moved to the Festival Music label for his 2009 third CD Into the Ether. Thorne has again assembled a stellar cast of musicians to realize his songs, including Trewavas, D’Virgilio, Harrison, Levin, Mitchell, Chandler, John Giblin (Brand X, many others), and John Beck (It Bites, Kino). Thorne has taken the production and songwriting on Into The Ether to the next level. With thought-provoking lyrics, very strong melodies and lush arrangements, if ‘singer-songwriter neo-prog’ is a genre, then this is the benchmark. Warning to those who embrace the modern zeitgeist: these songs contain joy and exuberance and may cause you to feel good. The CD comes in a slipcase with 28-page booklet.
Note Festival Music plan to release a 2CD ‘definitive edition’ of Thorne’s Emotional Creatures part one, so we’ll wait to stock the new edition.
The Timedivers - Timedivers ($11.99) We haven’t heard the earlier albums of this Shropshire band, but from their website, The Timedivers appear to be a pub band who got more ambitious. If the cover art on this 2007 CD looks like Pawn Hearts, it is by Paul Whitehead, and the band does list Van der Graaf Generator as one of their influences, also Genesis, Jethro Tull, Peter Gabriel, King Crimson, and a host of bands from other genres. The music could be termed ‘semi-progressive’. It sounds straight out of the British early 1970s scene, and The Timedivers sometimes sound like a proggier version of the 70s prog-folk-rock band Decameron. If you don’t know Decameron, Strawbs is the next best approximation.
Tinyfish - The Big Red Spark (CD+DVD, $19.99) First there was just Fish. Now we have Strangefish, Beardfish, and London-based Tinyfish, who bill themselves as “the world’s smallest prog rock band”. Their singer, Simon Godfrey, is the brother of Jem Godfrey of Frost. Tinyfish’s self-titled 2006 debut (currently out-of-print) is on the melodic rock side of neo-prog, with influences of Pink Floyd, Marillion, and others. The focus is on the songs, atmosphere, strong vocals and vocal harmonies, all hallmarks of the current crop of British prog bands.
Curious Things (2009, digipack) is a 29-minute mini-album containing rare tracks recorded prior to Tinyfish’s first album. The music was recorded, produced and mixed by Jem Godfrey.
The Big Red Spark is Tinyfish’s 2010 studio CD. The bonus DVD (NTSC, all-region) contains four more audio tracks (48kHz PCM stereo) plus a video entitled An Interview with Tinyfish. There’s nothing tiny about this album. It’s far more ambitious than what they’d done previously, head and shoulders above their debut. Everything from the writing to the playing to the recording quality has been taken to the next level. In fact, it’s the first prog album to ever get 9/10 from Geoff Barton in Classic Rock Magazine, who wrote: “Three years in the making, The Big Red Spark is a concept album tour de force – and then some. The world’s smallest prog band (as Tinyfish like to style themselves) have forged an absolute monster, equal parts deeply involving and massively confusing... All the familiar Tinyfish traits are here, but amped to the max. Jim Sanders’ guitar sounds gigantic; the recurring themes reverberate with chilling precision; the spoken-word parts sound like they’ve been lifted from the script of Blade Runner. Or Brazil. Or Metropolis… even though it was a silent movie. See? That’s the twisted effect Tinyfish have on you.” Also read the review at Harmonic Lizard. The four songs on the DVD may be there because they’re not part of the story; they have a more organic feel than the album proper. The booklet text is printed in dark grey on a black background. We have no idea what it says, but the Tinyfish website has visible text.
Check our DVDs page for Tinyfish’s One Night on Fire: Live in Poland DVD.
Titus Groan - Titus Groan ($17.99) “Esoteric Recordings announce the release of a newly remastered and expanded edition of the classic 1970 album by British progressive rock band Titus Groan. The band signed to Pye’s Dawn imprint in 1970, recording a sole album and 3-track maxi single for the label. Featuring a line-up of Stewart Cowell (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Tony Priestland (sax, oboe, flute), John Lee (bass) and John Toomey (drums), the band’s only album was a jazz-influenced early prog classic and included the epic track Hall of Bright Carvings. This expanded edition has been remastered from the original master tapes, restores the album artwork and features three bonus tracks.”
Trinity - The Cold Light of Darkness ($12.99) This band want to spell their name with a numeral, i.e., Tr3nity. On their 2001 debut The Cold Light of Darkness, this British quartet plays melodic prog primarily in the Pendragon style, with a Pink Floyd feel on one track. The Pendragon-like tracks are their best material, comprising the first half of the CD. The CD concludes with a 20-minute epic that, while not spectacular, does build effectively from introspective to anthemic, closer to the style of Pallas.
Twelfth Night - MMX 2DVD PAL ($29.99)
Twelfth Night - Reading Rock ’83 PAL DVD ($19.99)
Twelfth Night - Live at the Target def. ed. (2CD, $17.99) Hopefully most of you are familiar with this British band who, along with Marillion, IQ, Pendragon, Pallas, Solstice, and Haze, spearheaded the progressive revival of the 1980s. MMX is the first newly-recorded Twelfth Night CD since 1986! Recorded live in May 2010, MMX is a double-CD featuring over two hours of classic Twelfth Night performed by the new six-piece line-up. The double-DVD (PAL, all-region) has the same songs plus lots of extras: backstage footage, radio interviews, alternative views of We Are Sane, Take a Look, Creepshow and The Collector; three galleries featuring exclusive music including a new piece by Andy Sears and a new ‘avant-garde’ remix of Creepshow by Clive Mitten; new menu music by Dean Baker and Mark Spencer, and sleeve notes by Andrew Wild and Clive Mitten. Watch a low-res excerpt at YouTube.
The book+DVD Play On is the authorized biography of Twelfth Night written by Andrew Wild, published with the full cooperation of the band and the Mann family. This is a 288(!)-page book that comes with a fairly amazing data DVD (play it on a computer) containing untold megabytes of previously-unreleased audio and video dating back as far as 1978 and as far forward as 2008, as well as press cuttings, reviews, photographs, a family tree, newsletters, and more. The book’s appeal extends to anyone interested in the prog scene of the 1980s as it recounts the story of a band that so very nearly ‘made it’. In the band’s words, it is “a true cautionary tale of how a combination of industry pressure, bad timing, bad luck and bad decisions can negate almost 10 years of musical innovation, progress and sheer hard work.” Contemporaries such as Nick Barrett and Clive Nolan (Pendragon) and Peter Nicholls (IQ) were among those interviewed. Counts as 5 CDs for shipping.
We’ll let Charlie O’Mara of Silhobbit explain the Reading Rock ’83 DVD (PAL, all-region): “Twelfth Night’s appearance at the Reading Rock festival in 1983 saw the band at their peak with Geoff Mann. Indeed this may have been his last appearance with the band, as he left soon after. Their gig was supposedly professionally filmed, though this footage has never materialised, but recently audience camera footage of the band’s set has surfaced and, although only four of the six tracks performed that day were usable, the band have painstakingly mated the visuals with archive Radio One Friday Rock Show stereo audio. So thanks to all that we get to see the band blast their way through The Ceiling Speaks, Creepshow, The Poet Sniffs a Flower and the classic Sequences. As this is an historical piece, to criticise it would be like finding the Holy Grail and whinging that “it’s a bit dented, isn’t it”. But still, it is a bit dented. This is in essence a handycam audience bootleg albeit with near perfect sound. The action on stage is sometimes a little indistinct, some of the footage had to be replaced with stills, and you’ll wish a sniper had taken out the pratt with the flag. Even given all that it still has its charm. On top of that, you do get an insightful interview with Brian Devoil and Clive Mitten and another four live tracks: We Are Sane, This City, Fact and Fiction and Afghan Red, recorded at Reading University in January 1983. The DVD is rounded off with some slideshows and a couple of Easter eggs. Which I didn’t find. This is not a DVD for the casual fan of the band or the curious outsider, but it never set out to be that. This is a piece of history for real fans to reminisce over.” This YouTube trailer will let you see/hear for yourself.
The double-CD Voices in the Night (2007) contains unreleased recordings featuring all the vocalists associated with Twelfth Night. CD 1 is a collection of studio rarities including three tracks with Electra from the Twelfth Night Early Material album. A rare track with short-tenure singer Ian Lloyd Jones is followed by three with Geoff Mann and four with Andy Sears. The track with Axe is the only recording with him on vocals. The last vocalist, Martyn Watson, contributes four tracks. CD2 is a live disc. The first two tracks have been repeatedly requested by fans as they are the lost encores from Geoff’s final Marquee show, which were captured on Live and Let Live but space did not permit inclusion there, so this is their first release on CD. Tracks with Andy Sears and Martyn Watson follow before a version of Love Song with both Geoff and Andy singing. The package includes sleeve notes by band members Brian Devoil and Electra, plus a collection of rare photos. Now deleted, last copies.
The first Twelfth Night vinyl release was the classic instrumental LP Live at the Target (1981), highlighted by the 20-minute track Sequences. The 2012 Live at the Target Definitive Edition 2CD contains the original album on the first disc and adds a bonus CD of live tracks from that period plus a couple of extremely rare studio recordings. On that second disc, the tracks Entropy and Keep The Aspidistra Flying were recorded at the Old Five Bells, Northampton, 29 March 1981 and are taken from the archive CD Entropy. Encore Une Fois and (Hats Off To) Freddie Hepburn were recorded at the Bridgehouse, Bracknell, 12 April 1980. Afghan Single was recorded at Woodcray Manor Farm Studios, Wokingham, 25 May 1981. Für Helene I was recorded at Arny’s Shack, Bournemouth, August 1980 and was the B-side of their first single. The Cunning Man was recorded at Reading University, 27 June 1980, taken from the archive CD A Midsummer’s Night Dream. Afghan Red was recorded at The Target, Reading, 21 November 1980, while Für Helene II was recorded at Reading University, 13 November 1979. Five tracks are previously unreleased, while a sixth appears on CD for the first time. The 16-page booklet has some new sleeve notes and lots of previously unseen photographs from the archives.
The next vinyl release after Live at the Target was Fact and Fiction, but in between was the 1982 cassette-only Smiling at Grief album, which was the first album with Geoff Mann on vocals. It was released on CD in 1997 by the French MSI label, but that label has been out-of-business for years. This double-CD ‘definitive edition’ contains the original album and the bonus tracks that appeared on the MSI CD, plus a second disc containing the archive release Smiling at Grief Live. The latter is the only known live recording of the four-piece line-up, from a concert recorded a month or so after the studio album. This set also includes three previously-unreleased tracks, including the original demo of Eleanor Rigby and a very different early version of This City. Smiling at Grief Definitive Edition sports new artwork, sleeve notes and previously unseen photographs.
Art & Illusion (1984) was the first Twelfth Night album with Andy Sears as their singer. The 2010 double-CD ‘definitive edition’ on the Festival Music label includes the seven bonus tracks from the 2003 Cyclops label edition. It adds a bonus live CD containing 12 songs compiled from the Art & Illusion tour, nearly all previously-unreleased. Four of the bonus studio tracks on Disc 1 are alternate versions, while the remaining three are proggy studio versions of tracks that were destined to be part of the next album: Blue Powder Monkey, Blondon Fair, and the 12-minute Take A Look. The album proper was remastered for the Cyclops edition, while the bonus tracks have been remastered for the new Festival Music edition, which includes new artwork and sleeve notes. Check our DVDs page for more Twelfth Night DVDs.
Geoff Mann - In One Era ($6.99) SALE!Geoff Mann was the much-loved singer for Twelfth Night. After his departure from that band, he pursued a more personal rock music, first releasing three albums under his own name with various musicians but no real band, then two albums with his band The Bond. In One Era (74-minutes) combines both of Geoff’s solo albums I May Sing Grace (1984) and Psalm Enchanted Evening (1985) on one CD and features artwork for the booklet and cover that he completed just before his premature death in February 1993, and a disc design that Geoff had painted but never used.
Marc Catley & Geoff Mann - Fine Difference ($13.99)This 1992 CD includes Geoff Mann and Marc Catley’s 1988 collaboration album In Difference plus four tracks from Geoff Mann’s 1984 Chants Would be a Fine Thing LP, three tracks from Catley’s 1987 The Peel Tower Hop EP and one track from his 1986 mini-album This is the Birth of Classical Acoustic Rock. The style is mainly-acoustic progressive rock songs. 75-minutes total. Here are mp3 samples from the tracks The Calling and Closer to You.
Mannerisms: A Celebration of the Music of Geoff Mann ($14.99) This 74-minute CD, originally released in 1994, is a tribute to Geoff Mann, who passed away in 1993 at age 36. It includes performances by Pallas, IQ, Galahad, Eden Burning, Pendragon, Jadis, Twelfth Night, Clive Nolan & Alan Reed, and more, performing Geoff Mann and Twelfth Night songs. The fact that all the performers were friends of Geoff makes this all the more heartfelt. The detailed 24-page booklet is full of photos and info on Geoff Mann. This is the 2001 Verglas edition.
UK - Night After Night 30th Anniv. ($14.99)
These CDs are the 30th Anniversary editions of the UK albums, released on Eddie Jobson’s Glo Digital label, all remastered by Jobson himself. UK was the supergroup formed by Eddie Jobson, John Wetton, Allan Holdsworth, and Bill Bruford. Their self-titled 1977 debut is probably the essential progressive rock album of the late 1970s. The lineup didn’t last beyond the tour that followed, with Bruford taking Holdsworth along with him to his band Bruford. Jobson and Wetton recruited drummer Terry Bozzio and recorded Danger Money (1978), which is closer in style to ELP. This is the lineup on 1979’s Night After Night, UK’s only official live album, which contains songs from both studio albums plus two new songs.
Our two cents is this. Danger Money is just as remarkable as the first album, but one can’t judge it fairly without hearing the three songs destined for Danger Money as performed by the first UK lineup on that first tour. (Bootleg CDs of radio broadcasts from that tour exist.) As good as the original lineup and first album were, the early versions of The Only Thing She Needs, Carrying No Cross, and Caesar’s Palace Blues make it very clear that the two factions of the band were pulling in different directions. The studio versions on Danger Money are much more powerful. The most intense, structured instrumental sections on Danger Money don’t exist in the early versions -- in their place was Holdsworth improvising over a jazzy groove, and it sounded like the songs switched between two different bands in different sections. By splitting into UK Mk II and the band Bruford, each was free to create the music they wanted, and we benefited from twice as much incredible music.
Van der Graaf Generator - A Grounding in Numbers ($16.99) out-of-stock 
Van der Graaf Generator - World Record ($16.99) Hopefully Van der Graaf Generator need no introduction. Their albums should be in any progressive rock collection. This is the 2005 remastered edition of World Record with bonus tracks, new liner notes and photos. The bonus tracks on World Record (1976) are versions of When She Comes and Masks recorded for BBC Radio One’s The John Peel Show in 1976.
Van der Graaf Generator’s Live at the Paradiso DVD (NTSC, all-region) and companion double-CD were recorded in Holland in 2007. They feature the three-man lineup of Peter Hammill, Hugh Banton and Guy Evans performing Lemmings; A Place to Survive; Lifetime; (In the) Black Room; Every Bloody Emperor; All That Before; Gog; Meurglys III, The Songwriter’s Guild; The Sleepwalkers; Man-Erg; Scorched Earth. Peter Hammill wrote the sleeve notes. The DVD also features an interview with Hammill. PCM (uncompressed) stereo audio on the DVD, 4:3 aspect ratio.
Van der Graaf Generator’s 2011 studio CD A Grounding in Numbers received four stars in Mojo: “While Trisector (2008) was finely wrought but felt a mite flat, the music here, while still driven by Van Der Graaf’s characteristic restlessness and intensity, sounds bolder and full of colour. It’s also their most melodic set since VDGG’s earliest days... Peter Hammill’s singing reminds us why he is the greatest pop star that never was, while the group’s momentum is at times diverted into some knotty unison instrumental passages... ‘No one can ever know what of their own’s very best’ states Hammill on Bunsho, but one feels he knows that this album is pretty high up the list.”
Rick Wakeman - G’olé ($15.99) |          |
Oliver Wakeman - Mother’s Ruin ($12.99) |   |
Walking on Ice - No Margin for Error ($6.99) SALE!1994 British neo-prog on the Cyclops label.
Darryl Way - Concerto for Electric Violin ($17.99)This is the 2009 edition on Esoteric Recordings, remastered from the original master tapes. The label says: “Concerto for Electric Violin was recorded by Curved Air and Wolf violinist Darryl Way for Island Records and was the subject of much critical acclaim and a feature on ITV’s South Bank Show upon its release in 1978. A unique fusion of rock and classical music, the album made full use of synthesizer technology to produce a truly unique work of classical progressive rock. For the recording sessions, Way was joined by former Curved Air colleague Francis Monkman and drummer Ian Mosley (formerly with Wolf, later to join Marillion).”
Darryl Way’s Wolf - Night Music ($17.99) 
These 2008 editions on Esoteric are the first official UK CD releases of these albums, remastered from the original master tapes. Canis Lupus (1973) has two bonus tracks, Saturation Point (1973) has three. Night Music (1974) was the final Wolf album. Wolf was the band formed by violinist/keyboardist Darryl Way after Curved Air first broke up. The band was full of musicians who would go on to become well-known: Ian Mosley on drums (later Trace, Steve Hackett, Marillion), John Etheridge on guitar (later Soft Machine), and Dek Messecar on bass (later Caravan). Ian McDonald produced and guested on the debut Canis Lupus, while former IF vocalist John Hodgkinson had joined the band on Night Music.. These are three excellent albums from an often overlooked British progressive rock band. Read the review of all three albums at Music from the Other Side of the Room.
John Wetton - Rock of Faith ($14.99)Rock of Faith is Wetton’s 2003 album, while Sinister is from 2001. Read the ProgressiveWorld.net reviews of Sinister and Rock of Faith.
Wetton • Downes - Icon II: Rubicon ($13.99) SALE!
This is the 2006 U.S. release of John Wetton & Geoffrey Downes’ first Icon CD (2005), which had previously been released only in Italy and Japan (not counting digital download). This edition includes the bonus track from the Japanese edition, Heat of the Moment ’05, plus two additional bonus tracks There in Your Bed and The Smile Has Left Your Eyes ’05, taking the length up to 57-minutes. Assisting Wetton and Downes are Steve Christey (Jadis, John Wetton Band) on drums, John Mitchell (Arena, Kino, Frost) on guitars, Hugh McDowell (ELO) on cello, Ian McDonald (King Crimson) on flute, and Annie Haslam (Renaissance) guesting on vocals on two songs! We know now that this album was foreshadowing the Asia (original lineup) reunion tour. The style of music here will not surprise anyone. It is prog/pop/AOR in the Asia style but mellower and ballad-heavy, featuring Wetton’s unmistakable voice and lush orchestration from Downes’ layered keyboards. Hearing John and Annie sing a duet on the chorus of In the End is alone nearly worth the price of admission.
A spark was apparently ignited, as the duo released Icon II: Rubicon in 2006, a stronger album in just about every respect. They are again accompanied by Christey, Mitchell, and McDowell. Anneke van Giersbergen of The Gathering sings duets with John on two tracks, and 15 year-old American violin prodigy Katie Jacoby plays on two tracks. Eddie Jobson has a co-writing credit on one song, King Crimson lyricist Richard Palmer-James on another. Wetton’s voice has never sounded better, and the whole album is more upbeat than the first Icon, with some new musical elements in a few of the songs. As the audio samples should make evident, this is the best work for these gentlemen since the first Asia album.
Never in a Million Years was recorded live during 2005/2006 following the first Icon album, with John Mitchell on guitars and Steve Christey on drums. It features songs from the first Asia album through the first Icon album including some from the 20-odd years in between.
John Young Band - Live at the Classic Rock Society 2003 ($15.99) John Young is a classically-trained keyboardist/singer/songwriter who has worked with Fish, John Wetton, Asia, Qango, Greenslade and many others, composes music for sound libraries, and has his own solo career. Young has usually co-written as well as played with those other artists. Significance (2002) is a 54-minute collection of proggy songs. John Young’s aesthetic here is close to Tony Banks’, striking a balance between pop appeal and power & complexity, though Young’s music is proggier than any Banks albums after A Curious Feeling. Some of the songs show a Peter Gabriel influence in the atmospheric and rhythmic elements, a couple tracks have a Fish feel, while others reflect Young’s long association with John Wetton. John Young has a great voice, writes quality lyrics, and gives even his mainstream material the right touches to endear it to fans of melodic prog rock.
The live CD was recorded in 2003 with John Young on keys and lead vocals, Robin Boult (Fish, Howard Jones) on guitars, the ubiquitous John Jowitt on bass, and Dave Stewart (Camel, Fish) on drums and vocals. Five of the nine songs are from Significance, while the remaining tracks include the 14+ minute Unknown Soldier and the great Crimson-ish instrumental Kings. The audio quality is excellent, and the live versions are superior to the studio versions. 57-minutes.
