Most CDs on the Canadian Unicorn Digital label are now on sale, with most single CDs priced at $9.99. This sale will continue until stocks are exhausted, or we change our mind, whichever comes first.
The Purple Pyramid label has been busy releasing recent Tangerine Dream CDs in the U.S., including Springtime in Nagasaki, Summer in Nagasaki, Autumn in Hiroshima, The London Eye Concert, Views from a Red Train, Phaedra Revisited, The Great Wall of China, Hyperborea 2008, Tangram 2008, Booster II and Booster III. Too many in fact to cram into this space, but they’re only a short click away.
The Windmill - To Be Continued... ($14.99)
The Windmill are a Norwegian symphonic prog band formed in 2001, but this 2010 CD is their debut. Click the mp3 icon above not only for audio samples but for links to reviews. (Description to be added.)
Koi - In Tomorrow Hid Yesterday ($16.99) This is the 2010 debut by a young Swedish prog quintet along the lines of Liquid Scarlet. This is the Progress Records edition, which follows an initial release by the band. Koi belong to the legion of modern prog bands because mood and texture are paramount, while vocals and instruments are purposely somewhat indistinct, blended together into a wall of sound that makes Phil Spector’s seem like more of a thin veneer of sound. If you’ve heard Godspeed You Black Emperor, you know the aesthetic. Among the other influences Koi list are Gazpacho, Oceansize, Porcupine Tree and Radiohead, so there’s little debate about which prog camp Koi fall into. But their style overlaps some with the later Anekdoten albums, especially when the cello appears, and there are beautiful, nuanced passages of acoustic guitars that are borderline Genesis. It’s a lovely and lush noise Koi make, full of what sounds like Mellotron and other sustained keyboard pads, and of course distortion on the guitars and reverb on everything, filling up every possible frequency throughout the midrange. And it wouldn’t be Swedish without some attractive melodies. If pressed for time, at least audition the first two songs: The Rabbit and Woodnote.
Banco - As in a Last Supper ($17.99)These are the 2010 definitive remastered editions on the Esoteric label of the two English-language albums Banco del Mutuo Soccorso recorded for ELP’s Manticore label. This material is from Banco’s prime period. The self-titled album was initially released in 1975 and contains reworked material with English vocals from Banco’s earlier Italian albums, plus one new song. Actually the material is drawn from Banco’s first album and from Io Sono Nato Libero; nothing from Darwin appears. The production on the songs from their debut is vastly improved. As in a Last Supper is the English-language version of Come in un’Ultima Cena (1976). Both have been newly remastered by the Esoteric team.
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.
Ghiribizzi - Circuit Rewiring ($15.99) Ghiribizzi is a Belgian symphonic prog band whose first album Zep Tepi was released in 2001 when they were a trio of guitars, keys, and keys/drums. They then added three musicians so that Panta Rhei (2005, 75-minutes) has three keyboardists in the lineup as well as a dedicated bassist and drummer. Even so, the keyboards and guitar are in balance. The music is melodic and has been described as a cross between early Marillion and Kayak. It isn’t overly Marillion-influenced, but the lead vocalist does have some Fish character in his voice and delivery. Or think of Kayak’s Max Werner with his voice shifted down into Fish’s frequency range. The music does have aspects of Kayak but is more bombastic and more modern, meaning hard-edged with some metallic lead guitar. With four members who sing, there are frequent harmony vocals, majestic in a Queen sort of way.
Circuit Rewiring (2010) is the brand new Ghiribizzi CD. (Description to be added.)
US - Feeding the Crocodile ($14.99)Feeding the Crocodile (2010, 62-minutes) is already the eighth CD for Dutch neo-prog band US. See our Dutch page for all the US CDs and more info.
Nosound - Sol29 (CD+DVD, $13.99) 
Nosound is a Roman ambient/prog band headed by Giancarlo Erra. He and his bandmates were once a Porcupine Tree cover band, so it’s not surprising Nosound have ended up on the same label as Porcupine Tree and No-Man. Also, the resemblance of Nosound to No-Man is not simply alphabetical. Nosound is very much in the style of No-Man, softer Pink Floyd and early Porcupine Tree but even more melancholy, if that’s possible. Erra sings in English, sometimes in a voice that sounds disconnected from reality. Mellotron strings and choir add a unique touch to this style: languid, richly-textured, intimate, relaxing and beautiful in that melancholy way.
In 2010, the Kscope label reissued Nosound’s 2005 debut Sol29 in this CD+DVD set packaged in a super jewel box + slipcase. The CD contains the remastered version of Sol29 plus three bonus tracks (also remastered), 78-minutes total. The DVD contains the original 2005 mixes of Sol29 plus four videos. One is a new 10-minute video, the others are the three ambient/experimental audio/video tracks included on The World Is Outside DVD-R. Counts as 1.5 CDs for shipping.
Lightdark (2008) is NoSound’s second album, more of a band project whereas Sol29 was mostly the work of Erra. Tim Bowness sings on one song, and a cellist plays on three tracks, a nice addition to the sound palette. This double-CD digipack edition adds four more tracks totaling 27:20 and a 4:48 video for the title track. Read lots of reviews at Prog Archives. Counts as 1.5 CDs for shipping.
A Sense of Loss (2009) is Nosound’s third album. This 2-disc digipack includes a DVD-Video containing the 5.1 surround mixes in both Dolby Digital and DTS, plus the PCM 24-bit/48kHz stereo mixes, video footage and a photo gallery. The DVD is all-region, but it is in the PAL system. We will not accept returns because the DVD will not play in your NTSC-only player. Counts as 1.5 CDs for shipping.
IQ - The Wake: 25th Anniversary Deluxe Edition 3CD+DVD box ($39.99)Along with Marillion’s Misplaced Childhood and Clutching at Straws, IQ’s The Wake (1985) is the best album to come out of the 1980’s progressive revival in the UK. This 2010 boxset includes three CDs and a DVD. The first CD contains the 2010 remaster of The Wake. The second and third CDs are chock full of bonus tracks, including demo versions, outtakes, rough and alternate mixes, a BBC Friday Rock Show session, and a live track. The DVD contains a 47-minutes live show from 1984, the oldest existing footage of IQ; album commentary from Paul Cook, Peter Nicholls and Mike Holmes recorded in April 2010; multitrack files for Corners for remixers; and another 2.5 hours worth of mp3 files of writing sessions, unused ideas, demos, and contemporary interviews. The 60-page full-color booklet features an in-depth account of the making of the album, illustrated with rare photographs and contributions from all band members. There is also a double-sided poster featuring the album artwork and memorabilia. Counts as 2 CDs for shipping. See Page 2 for the rest of the IQ catalog.
All Over Everywhere - Inner Firmaments Decay ($11.99) This is the 2010 debut CD by All Over Everywhere, a musical collective based in College Park, Maryland. Based around the collaborative songwriting of Trinna Kesner and Dan Britton (Deluge Grander, Birds and Buildings), Inner Firmaments Decay is a themed collection of songs featuring the vocals of Megan Wheatley and a large ensemble of classical and rock musicians who float in and out of the songs. There’s flute, 12-string guitar, electric guitar, violin, viola, cello, hammered dulcimer, zither, piano, accordion, oboe, clarinet, vibes, bass, drums and percussion, and then there are Dan Britton’s keyboards, featuring loads of Mellotron. There is some similarity then to the British band Karda Estra, who also blend rock and classical instruments and use female vocals. Look upon All Over Everywhere as the marriage of dream-pop and symphonic rock. The first seven songs range from three to seven minutes in length, with the female vocals heavily-reverbed, the textures mostly acoustic apart from Britton’s symphonic keys. The mood is somewhat sad, languorous and dreamy. The final track Gratitude (10:35) begins in the same style but morphs seamlessly into majestic symphonic rock and a joyful mood, and may be the only piece of music that transitions from Cocteau Twins or various Projekt label bands into Genesis. Read the DPRP review.
Blue Drift - Mariner ($14.99) We missed these two CDs the first time around, but probably so did a lot of other people. 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, not an ad hoc bunch of musicians locked in the studio for a weekend making it up as they go along. 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.
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.
Apocalypse - The Bridge of Light ($15.99) Back in stock. Apocalypse are a Brazilian symphonic progressive band that began in the 1980’s, initially more Marillion influenced but becoming more of a classic prog band later on. They tend to have an exuberant, triumphant spirit. The Bridge of Light (2008, 71-minutes) was slow making its way out of South America. It appears to be all new material, but it was recorded live in late 2006, with excellent sound. Apocalypse sing in English now. New singer Gustavo Demarchi has the voice and command of English to sing for any number of American stadium rockers, and if that wasn’t enough, he also plays flute. A guest electric violinist appears on four tracks, so with all these additions, Apocalypse have their most powerful sound ever. Eloy Fritsch still likes to build a fort out of his many keyboards, and there are 3-4 guys adding backing vocals. You’ll spot ELP, Jethro Tull, Marillion, Kansas, Saga, and other influences. See our South American page for the rest of the Apocalypse CDs and DVD.
Sagrado Coracão da Terra - Cosmos x Caos DVD ($19.99)The greatest Brazilian symphonic progressive band, Sagrado’s first work dates from 1979 and all are based around the genius of violinist and multi-instrumentalist Marcus Viana (also composer and arranger). Viana must be conservatory-trained, as not only is he an incredible player, it’s clear he knows how to orchestrate. Consequently, Sagrado’s epic tracks are in a league above those of most of today’s bands. Great male and female vocals too (lyrics in Portuguese).
The DVD Cosmos X Caos (NTSC, all-region) is supposed to be the first part of a History of Sagrado series. In fact, references to “A Historia Parte 1” abound on the web, but that title doesn’t appear on the packaging. The DVD begins with a show from 1989 featuring nine songs mostly from Flecha and Sagrado’s eponymous first CD. That’s followed by excerpts from their appearance at the 1996 Rio Art Rock Festival; most of that material is from Grande Espirito. The extras include a band history documentary, interviews, discography and photo gallery. English subtitles are provided. The video and audio quality is excellent. Bits of this DVD can be found on YouTube in lower quality; from that one video you can easily find more. Check our South American page for the Sagrado CDs. More prog DVDs can (oddly enough) be found on our DVDs page.
Neuschwanstein - Alice in Wonderland ($15.99) Battlement is the CD reissue of the 1979 album by Neuschwanstein, remixed in 1992 for improved sound. This is essentially a clone of Gabriel-era Genesis, but so well done that it is rightly considered a minor classic of German progressive rock. Vocals in English.
Back in stock. Alice in Wonderland is a virtually unknown album recorded in 1976, appearing on CD in 2009. It predates the arrival of singer Frederic Joos, so the music here is almost entirely instrumental, with brief narration auf Deutsch tying pieces together. (The inspiration for this album was Rick Wakeman’s Journey to the Center of the Earth.) There is some Genesis influence present, but here the music is closer to Snow Goose-era Camel, flowing and nimble, with lots of flute in addition to keys, guitar, bass and drums. There is audible distortion at times, but in Machiavellian terms, the end easily justifies the condition of the master tapes. The booklet provides the history of the band (in English) with several period photos. A fantastic relic from the golden age when prog was prog, played by great bearded men in strange clothing.
Demians - Mute ($12.99) Demians began as the project of Frenchman Nicolas Chapel, who you can call the French Steven Wilson. Chapel sings and plays everything on Building an Empire (2008, digipack), and yet the end result is indistinguishable from a full band. For live performance, Demians is a full band, with three additional members. Porcupine Tree’s Steven Wilson consecrated Building an Empire thusly: “One of the most assured and accomplished debut albums I’ve ever heard, the textures and dynamics within the music are breathtaking. A must for everyone that appreciates the art of epic and ambitious 21st century rock music.” That quote probably tripled sales of the CD, but it was deserved. Read the Sea of Tranquility review. This digipack edition includes one bonus track.
Mute (2010) is the second Demians album. Read reviews at Blistering, Sputnik Music, and Prog Archives.
arK - Wild Untamed Imaginings ($12.99) 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 1980’s 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 indentifiable sound.
Touchstone - Live in the USA (2CD, $17.99) 
Touchstone are one of the current crop of British melodic progressive rock bands, having been voted Best New Band by Britain’s Classic Rock Society in 2007. Following a 2006 EP, their first full-length (63-minutes) CD Discordant Dreams was released in 2007 and led to Touchstone making their first U.S. appearances at Rosfest 2009 and CalProg 2009. Touchstone’s second CD Wintercoast (2009) is an excellent, more ambitious follow-up, featuring narration by actor Jeremy Irons. Like most of the recent British prog bands, Touchstone’s progressive rock has an AOR or melodic rock side to it, with metal guitar more prevalent on Wintercoast. Their great strength is their blended male/female vocals, which brings their sound close to The Reasoning. On Wintercoast, Kim Seviour assumes more of the vocal duties, and she has a very good voice. Relative to The Reasoning, there is a stronger element of the old Marillion/Pendragon neo-prog style in Touchstone’s music. So if you enjoy the albums by The Reasoning, Darwin’s Radio, Tinyfish, Strangefish, JEBO, and Breathing Space, then Touchstone comes highly recommended. Read the reviews of Discordant Dreams at Silhobbit and DPRP and of Wintercoast at Silhobbit.
Live in the USA is a double-CD containing 14 live tracks from Touchstone’s 2009 appearances at RoSfest and CalProg.
Flash Range - On the Way (CD-EP, $7.99) This is a 4-song digipack CD-EP from a neo-prog project headed by Russian keyboardist Andrey Dudkin, who convinced John Mitchell (Arena, It Bites, Kino, Frost), John Jowitt (IQ, Jadis), and Andy Edwards (IQ) to provide vocals/guitar, bass, and drums, respectively. Here are mp3 excerpts from On the Way, Far From Home, Follow Me Now, and Vision of Sadness.
Edensong - Echoes of Edensong ($9.99) The Fruit Fallen, the 2008 debut by this U.S. band, has a surprisingly early-1970’s British progressive sound. There are nods to Van der Graaf Generator, Yes, Jethro Tull and others, but overall the music is darker, more melancholy and pastoral. It goes without saying that Edensong’s songwriting is not on the level of those classic bands, but for those looking for long, dense tracks with that magical sound, or those missing Anglagard, this album will be most welcome. The keyboards generally stick to piano and organ, there is a lot of flute, some violin and cello. A small amount of metal lowers the tenor a bit and disrupts the early-70’s illusion, but this is not prog-metal. 71-minutes, digipack. Read the Sea of Tranquility review.
Echoes of Edensong (2010) contains a mix of studio and live tracks. There are three live renditions of tracks from The Fruit Fallen, the studio version of Lorelai (previously released on The Haiti Projekt), a remastered version of a song originally intended for inclusion on The Fruit Fallen, and a new arrangement and recording of Beneath the Tide, a song that dates to 1999 and Edensong’s predecessor band Echoes of Eden. The CD comes in a printed cardboard sleeve and counts as only one-half CD for shipping.
Porcupine Tree - Nil Recurring ($13.99)Nil Recurring is a half-hour mini-album consisting of four songs written during the Fear of a Blank Planet sessions. They aren’t leftovers but rather songs intended for a separate release because the band felt they didn’t fit with the rest of Fear. Robert Fripp guests on the title track. This is the 2010 Kscope edition, which comes in a super jewel box. The initial release of Nil Recurring in 2008 was priced like a full-length CD or worse. The PTree faithful bought it, but this edition has lowered the price to within the slightly sensible range. The rest of the Porcupine Tree CDs are on Page 2. And if you missed their Anesthetize Blu-ray/DVD, head to our DVDs page.
Dave Kulju - Notes in the Margin ($8.99)Dave Kulju was the guitarist of the band Electrum. We wish he’d do a Guy Manning and use only his last name, as too many prog fans skip over anything released under an individual’s name. And Notes in the Margin is one of the best progressive rock CDs we’ve heard in 2010. Kulju handles most of the instruments here, with Frank Basile taking care of the drums throughout and Ian Cameron on electric and acoustic violin on one track. The album opens with a rousing space-prog instrumental that sounds like Rush covering an Ozric Tentacles piece, and this style does reappear later. But the centerpiece of the album is the half-hour suite A Poet’s Talespin, which features the beautiful vocals of Annie Oya. This is sophisticated symphonic prog featuring classically-influenced piano, contrasting subtle, refined passages with powerful riffs, surely Kulju’s finest composition. It’s as close to Squonk Opera as it is to Rush. There are guitarists who dabble with keyboards but are generally limited to playing pads behind their guitar work, because after all, holding down three keys isn’t all that difficult. But that isn’t the case here, as keyboards play an important role, and they sound like they’re played by a keyboardist. This is a mature progressive rock album incorporating classical and jazz influences, and it’s always satisfying to see a musician grow from a youngster who thought progressive rock is Rush and Dream Theater to the level Kulju is at now. The CD comes in a fold-open cardboard sleeve and counts as only one-half CD for shipping. Here are mp3s of A Poet’s Talespin Part ii: Soft Collisions, A Poet’s Talespin Part iii: The Bridge, and Know Again. Read the DPRP review.
Abstract Expression (2007, digipack) is an instrumental progressive rock album, and if it was advertised as the third Electrum album, none would be the wiser. While Kulju plays electric & acoustic guitars, bass, drums, guitar synth, keyboards and programming, a number of talented guest musicians contribute drums, organ, theremin, and violin. Guitar has most of the lead work, but there are a lot of keyboards adding symphonic and spacey textures. In this way, the music is similar to Rush during their prime, though Rush is only one of several influences. This album is more imaginative than most guitarist’s CDs, more richly textured and symphonic. In fact, forget it’s a guitarist’s CD and just think of it as a very enjoyable instrumental progressive rock album. Here is an 5:20 mp3 sampler of the whole album. Read the DPRP and USA Progressive Music reviews.
Eela Craig - One Niter ($17.99)This is the 2010 edition on Esoteric’s Reactive imprint, newly remastered from the original master tapes. One Niter (1976) was the second album by Eela Craig, Austria’s best-known progressive rock band. Their self-titled 1971 debut was more of a psych-prog, Krautrock album, but by the time they released One Niter five years later, they were a keyboard-centric, spacey symphonic prog band. Three of the six members were keyboardists! Pink Floyd is certainly a reference point, but it’s really a unique style they developed. For many, this is the best progressive rock album to come out of Austria. Read reviews at VintageProg.com and Prog Archives. The two main members of Eela Craig, Hubert Bognermayr and Harald Zuschrader, went on to form Blue Chip Orchestra, a more electronic music oriented band that released several albums on the Erdenklang label in the 1980’s and 1990’s.
Renaissance - Scheherazade and Other Stories (CD+DVD, $20.99)This is the 2010 Friday Music edition of Renaissance’s 1975 masterpiece, 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. It may be self-serving for a retailer to say this, but in the colloquial sense, this is priceless. Check our British page for more Renaissance CDs.
Soft Machine - Land of Cockayne ($17.99) 
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.
Jade Warrior - Way of the Sun ($17.99) 
Jade Warrior - Floating World ($17.99) 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.
Flash - Out of Our Hands ($17.99) 
These are the 2009/2010 remastered editions on Esoteric Recordings, known for their superb remastering jobs and extensive booklets. The CD of 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.
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. There is at least one song on YouTube.
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.
Aphrodite’s Child - It’s Five O’Clock ($17.99)This is the 2010 definitive edition on Esoteric. The Greek band Aphrodite’s Child was the first band of keyboard legend Vangelis, with Demis Roussos on bass & vocals and Lucas Sideras on drums. Roussos went on to become a well-known pop singer throughout Europe (and the most famous passenger on TWA Flight 847, hijacked by terrorists in 1985). It’s Five O’Clock (1969) was the band’s second album. Aphrodite’s Child’s first two albums contain psychedelic pop with an experimental edge, spawning several international hits. (Their third and final album, the double-LP 666, is far more progressive and avant-garde.) The title track (video here) is very close to Procol Harum’s A Whiter Shade of Pale. For more audio samples from this album, YouTube has audio and/or videos of Annabella and Marie Jolie. Overall the album is a mixed bag, some songs of interest to prog and psych fans, some others best forgotten. This Esoteric Recordings reissue has been remastered from the original tapes and includes six bonus tracks from three singles including a rare Italian-only release.
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.
No-Man - Wild Opera (2CD, $14.99) 
No-Man is the duo of Steven Wilson (Porcupine Tree) and Tim Bowness (Henry Fool) plus guest musicians. No-Man is like the ambient side of Porcupine Tree, a unique fusion of dream-pop, art-rock and moody minimalism. Wild Opera was originally released in 1996 and had been out-of-print for some time. The album is regarded by some fans as being not only one of the finest works recorded by No-Man but up there with the best of Steven Wilson’s entire catalog. This new remastered 2CD edition on Kscope also includes the entire 1997 Dry Cleaning Ray album (9 tracks), plus 6 bonus tracks of B-sides, alternate versions, and radio sessions. The set comes in a hardcover digibook featuring new artwork (counts as 1.5 CDs for shipping). See Page 2 for more No-Man CDs and more info.
The Pineapple Thief - Someone Here Is Missing ($14.99) The Pineapple Thief is the band led by Bruce Soord, a very creative musician who was the guitarist in Vulgar Unicorn. The Pineapple Thief (TPT) combine 1970’s progressive styles and sounds (Mellotron, Rhodes, analog synths, orchestral instruments) with a mélange of modern pop/rock styles, recommended to fans of Radiohead (though TPT are much proggier) and especially Porcupine Tree, though TPT generally avoid the heavy elements that Porcupine Tree have gravitated to of late. TPT have more in common with the bittersweet, song-oriented side of Porcupine Tree, and have a similarly spacious sound and that sensual melancholy.
After a half dozen CDs on the indie prog label Cyclops, TPT signed with the KScope label, so now they are label-mates of Porcupine Tree. Tightly Unwound (2008, 60-minutes, digipack) has much in common with the previous album What We Have Sown, as both albums were written during the same session. The foundation of TPT’s sound here is strummed acoustic guitar mixed with electric leads, while the keyboards are generally Mellotron strings and synths used as pads. Much of the material is in atypical time signatures, frequently seven, but TPT pull it off without drawing attention to it, adding a layer of complexity without sounding contrived. Tightly Unwound can only add to the reputation of this remarkable band.
Someone Here Is Missing is TPT’s 2010 studio CD, which comes in a super jewel box plus slipcase. Read the detailed Philadelphia Rock Music Examiner review. Kscope’s album montage video is here, featuring a glaring spelling error. Check our British page for the related Persona Non Grata 2CD.
Daal - Disorganicorigami ($15.99) Daal is keyboardist Alfio Costa (Tilion, Prowlers, Colossus Project) and drummer Davide Guidoni (Gallant Farm, Taproban), with assistance from Fabio Zuffanti (Finisterre, La Maschera di Cera), Cristiano Roversi (Moongarden, Mangala Vallis), Alessandro Papotto (Banco, Periferia del Mondo), Vincenzo Zitello (Prowlers), Laura Mombrini (Prowlers), and younger brother Flavio Costa (Prowlers, Tilion). Disorganicorigami (2009, 60-minutes) “refreshes ears tired of the same old ‘progressive’ clichés. No two tracks on the essentially instrumental album sound alike, swerving violently between prog metal, tribal synth experimentation, lengthy avant-prog, and even out-there fusion. Top marks though may go to their very psychedelic take on Pink Floyd’s A Saucerful of Secrets, complete with wordless female vocals, the song only really becoming recognizable when the iconic piano part kicks in... If you’re looking for a modern prog album that doesn’t sound like everyone else, Daal may well perk up your jaded taste buds, although be warned: some of you may find their wild genre freestyling a bit much to take. It’s definitely an admirable album.” [Planet Mellotron] Our two cents is that the tracks are unified by the consistently dark mood, and the ‘wild genre freestyling’ is all in a day’s listening for Superprogfan, as the music remains within the boundaries of prog.
Master of Ceremony - Above and Beyond ($15.99) The work of keyboardist Marco Cinti, Above and Beyond (2010, 65-minutes) is keyboard prog heavily influenced by Genesis. Sure the production is project studio quality, and Cinti won’t get any gigs as a singer, but he has the Tony Banks writing and playing style down, making this a guilty pleasure for the Genesis fan. Comparisons to The Watch are natural, and it’s interesting how two Italian artists so influenced by Genesis can end up sounding quite distinct from each other. Because of Master of Ceremony’s Tony Banks orientation, this CD leans more toward the Trick of the Tail and Wind and Wuthering era, while The Watch tend not to stray beyond the Gabriel era. Also, Master of Ceremony is not as complete a Genesis clone as The Watch is. There is a little more originality here, but you’ll still hear some rather familiar bits too. Printed cardboard sleeve, counts as only one-half CD for shipping.
Eris Pluvia - Third Eye Light ($17.99) Eris Pluvia’s first album Rings of Earthly Light (1991) was a top-notch Italian symphonic progressive album, one of the best of its era. Third Eye Light (2010) is a new studio album marking the return of Eris Pluvia after 19 years. This album sounds somewhat more British than Italian, not just because it’s sung in English. Much of Eris Pluvia’s earlier style is carried over though, with flute on many tracks, while there are a few sections that qualify as neo-prog. It was unlikely this comeback album would have the wonderful atmosphere of Rings of Earthly Light, and it doesn’t, but it is still a fine melodic prog rock album. Read the Prog Archives and Gibraltar reviews for more detail and biographical info. The CD comes in a heavyweight gatefold mini-LP sleeve. Check our Italian page for Rings of Earthly Light and related CDs.
Biglietto per L’Inferno.folk - Tra l’assurdo e la ragione ($19.99) This new incarnation of the famous Italian prog band features original members Pilly Cossa, Baffo Banfi, and Mauro Gnecchi, with contributions from singer/lyricist/flautist Claudio Canali. While these tracks are rearranged versions of the band’s classics, the approach is so different that for all intents and purposes this is a new work. Here Biglietto per L’Inferno are augmented by some talented young north Italian folk musicians as well as a female singer, therefore the suffix ‘.folk’ has been added to the band name. The folk instrumentation is a great touch. The piffero is an instrument in the bombarde family and stands out because, well, you can’t hide a bombarde in a mix. In combination with bagpipes, the sound has much in common with Breton folk, though the Italian flavor is unmistakable. There is also accordion, mandolin, violin, flute and more, all integrated into a rock format. Biglietto per L’Inferno have transformed their classics into something new, yet just as satisfying. The CD also features one previously-unreleased song composed by Claudio Canali. Heavyweight gatefold mini-LP sleeve. Read the Prog Archives and Progressive Land reviews.
La Nuova Raccomandata Ricevuta di Ritorno - Il Pittore Volante ($19.99) 38 years after their first album, the legendary Italian prog band Raccomandata Ricevuta di Ritorno returns in 2010 with a great new record. In addition to original members Luciano Regoli (Ritratto di Dorian Gray, RRR, Samadhi), Nanni Civitenga (RRR, Samadhi), Roberto Gardin (RRR, Ritratto di Dorian Gray), and Walter Martino (RRR, Goblin, Ritratto di Dorian Gray), this CD features Italian prog legends Claudio Simonetti (Goblin), Lino Vairetti (Osanna), Nicola di Staso (Libra), as well as Carl Verheyen of Supertramp. The label says that for them, this is by far the best Italian progressive reunion ever, and they may be right. The music is modern yet full of reminiscences of the past, full of ever-changing moods, featuring the powerful voice of Luciano Regoli supported by skilled musicians. The new RRR didn’t set out to make a purely nostalgic album or one that sounds like 1972. What it does sound like is a band full of energy and enthusiasm that had a new album they wanted to make, one that is original, adventurous, full of surprises, and extends rather than rehashes the great Italian prog tradition. Heavyweight gatefold mini-LP sleeve, 61-minutes. Read the Prog Archives and Progressive Land reviews.
Mediterranea - Ecce Rock ($19.99)2010 is the first time on CD for this 1981 Italian instrumental prog album, the only album for Mediterranea. Collectors know this record because it was issued on vinyl in Japan. It’s quite good and quite distinctive, blending rock with a Mediterranean folk feel not unlike PFM’s Passpartu, albeit without the vocals. YouTube has audio of the songs Vai Facile, Sonata, Madama Terra, and A Sazietà. Heavyweight mini-LP sleeve.
Finisterre - In Ogni Luogo remastered mini-LP ($17.99)These are new paper-sleeve editions of older CDs by the related bands Finisterre and Höstsonaten. In Ogni Luogo (1999) is Finisterre’s third studio CD, a mostly-instrumental affair (some guest female vocals) that contains both highly-structured Genesis/Camel style progressive as well as slightly more freewheeling pieces that can be reminiscent of PFM in a jamming mood, particularly when violin is featured. Roberto Colombo produced. This is the 2010 remastered edition, which comes in a heavyweight gatefold mini-LP sleeve and adds four previously-unreleased bonus tracks plus some new artwork and liner notes.
Höstsonaten’s second album Mirrorgames (1998) is an impressive and ambitious symphonic rock work with renaissance music influences via the liberal use of recorder, tin whistle, and flute, plus a five-member choir and multiple keyboards including Mellotron. Mirrorgames contains the seeds of many of the styles prolific bandleader Fabio Zuffanti would go on to explore, including the styles of La Maschera di Cera, Aires, the Merlin rock opera, and the subsequent Finisterre albums. This is the 2010 remastered edition, which comes in a heavyweight gatefold mini-LP sleeve and adds a previously-unreleased bonus track plus new artwork. Here is an mp3 from the track Mirrorcloud. More info and more CDs by Finisterre and Höstsonaten can be found on our Italian page.
RPWL - The Gentle Art of Music (2CD, $17.99) RPWL celebrate their 10th year with the double CD The Gentle Art of Music, which comes in a hardcover digibook. The first disc is a compilation, a career-spanning ‘best of’. On the second disc, RPWL present nine of their classics reworked as acoustic arrangements plus two new songs. These feature many special guests, including Ray Wilson, Tom Norris of the London Symphony Orchestra, and acclaimed Hang (a percussion thing) player Manu Delago. Read the Sea of Tranquility and DPRP reviews. See our German page for the rest of the RPWL CDs and more info, and check our DVDs page for The RPWL Live Experience DVD.
Frost - The Philadelphia Experiment (2CD+DVD, $19.99) This triple disc set 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. See our British page for more Frost CDs and more info.
Dec Burke - Destroy All Monsters ($13.99) out-of-stock Destroy All Monsters (2010) is the first solo CD from the singer/guitarist formerly of Darwin’s Radio, who has also been a member of Frost and guested on a Jupiter Society album. Dec also plays almost all the keyboards on this CD, with Carl Westholm (Carptree) guesting on one song, while other musicians handle bass and drums. (The live band goes under the name “Destroy All Monsters”.) Consistent with most of the current generation of British prog bands, the music is a blend of pop and prog, with the typically excellent British melodic sense. Burke’s mixes are dense with a slightly more synthetic sound than most.
Frogg Café - Bateless Edge ($12.99) Bateless Edge (2010, 77-minutes) is the fourth studio release from New York progressive fusion band Frogg Café. As on their previous studio album, there is a mix of vocal and instrumental numbers, with the vocal passages tending to show off the melodic side of the band, while the instrumental sections are some of the darkest and most intense musical statements made thus far by this ever-evolving band. Here Frogg Café explore new textures and tone colors that expand their contemporary jazz-rock sound, incorporating detailed orchestration by way of violin, viola, trombones, trumpet, flugelhorn, clarinets, mandolin, cello, glockenspiel, marimba, xylophone, flute, Indian Slide guitar, tamboura, tabla, and saxophones. Some of the music has taken a step in the direction of Univers Zero and Present, while other influences include Frank Zappa, Mahavishnu Orchestra, King Crimson, and Gentle Giant. Not sure how long this link will remain active, but here is a 2:57 sampler mp3 from Bateless Edge. See Page 3 for the rest of the Frogg Café catalog.
Erik Norlander - The Galactic Collective ($11.99) Erik Norlander is known as the keyboardist for Rocket Scientists, Lana Lane, and the John Payne version of Asia, not to mention quite a few albums under his own name. The Galactic Collective (2010, 79-minutes) is a new take on the best of Erik’s many instrumental compositions written for Rocket Scientists, Lana Lane, and his own solo albums over the years, including the epic 20-minute suite The Dark Water. This CD was recorded on an impressive arsenal of classic analog synthesizers (including six Moog instruments), Hammond organ, and a Steinway model B grand piano at Cleveland’s prestigious Magnetic North Studio. The rest of the collective is bassist Mark Matthews, drummer Nick LePar, choral vocal sections by Lana Lane and John Payne, plus a bevy of guest guitarists including John Payne, Mitch Perry, Mark McCrite, Ron Redfield and Freddy DeMarco. There are several tracks that originally appeared on Erik’s first solo CD Threshold (first released on the derelict Kinesis label), but all the versions here are bigger, bolder, heavier, and very different from the originals. It sounds like these band-oriented arrangements are the way Erik always wanted the songs to sound. See Page 2 for more Erik Norlander and related CDs.
In Search For - Faith ($15.99) The concept album Faith is the 2009 debut CD by the second-greatest prog band in all of Belarus. On their website, they brand themselves as ‘art rock / prog metal’, and that’s accurate as they switch between progressive rock and melodic prog metal such that you can’t simply say they are one or the other. The common attribute is that In Search For are bombastic in that Ayreon way whether playing prog or metal. The vocals are (mostly) in English, mostly male with some female vocals in support, and the band sound like they could be from just about any country. Most of it is very symphonic, with loads of keyboards and a little violin, viola, and flute. There’s a recurring bit where the protagonist in the story carries on a conversation with Mickey Mouse, though we think it’s supposed to be the voice of a computer. It sounds like Arthur Dent’s conversations with the white mice in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy radio series, only it’s supposed to be serious. Mini-LP style sleeve, 73-minutes. Apparently In Search For have a 2010 EP titled Soul Inside that you’ll run into on their MySpace page, but it sounds like it’s not as proggy as Faith.
Sunrise Sunset Project - Sunrise Sunset ($15.99) This is the 2009 debut by a prog band from St. Petersburg, Russia, though the two founding members are named Andrew Lee-Beth and Steve Kuddins, so most likely they’re ex-pats. The music is entrancing instrumental Floydian rock, spacey and mostly easy-going, with occasional outbursts of energy and menace. As for other similar artists, one could mention Michael Rother, Bo Hansson, and Camel. Read reviews at Sea of Tranquility, Prog-Nose, Proggnosis, and DPRP. Mini-LP style sleeve.
Lisa LaRue Project 2K9 - World Class ($14.99) Keyboardist/composer Lisa LaRue is a Native American, Cherokee to be specific. On this 2009 CD, she assembled some notable talent, including John Payne (Asia, GPS) on vocals, Jo DeBoeck (Belgian band Beyond the Labyrinth) on vocals, Steve Adams (ARZ) on guitar, Chris Brown (Ghost Circus, Roswell Six) on bass, Svetlan Raket (Pär Lindh Project, Zello) on drums, plus numerous guests including David Mark Pearce of The Oliver Wakeman Band and Quebec’s Claire Vezina. The album is a mix of instrumentals and vocal songs. As is often the case, the vocal songs tend to sound more mainstream, while the instrumentals are full of proggy goodness. LaRue’s playing is not demonstrative like an Emerson or Wakeman but rather more sensitive and evocative. This is excellent melodic prog with an appropriate balance between keys and guitar (something many modern prog bands don’t achieve because keyboardists like LaRue are in short supply). Read the Sea of Tranquility, USA Progressive Music and DPRP reviews. Here are mp3’s of the tracks In Camera, Copper Edge, Kituwa, and Two A.M.
Soul Enema - Thin Ice Crawling ( ($14.99)This is the 2010 debut CD by an Israeli band who move back and forth between symphonic prog and prog-metal. The band is lead by keyboardist Constantin Glantz, so though there is frequent heavy guitar, the sound is very symphonic. They have a very good female lead singer. There is at times a somewhat theatrical delivery to the vocals that gives Soul Enema a unique identity, a slight rock opera feel. Mini-LP style sleeve, 67-minutes. Read the DPRP and Proggnosis reviews for a more in-depth description.
However - Calling ($12.99) These two CDs were first released on the Kinesis label in 1994 and 1995 but had been out-of-print for several years. The band has now reissued them with additional mastering and expanded liner notes. They added one track to Calling but dropped the bonus track No Cows that appeared on the Kinesis edition of Sudden Dusk. However were a Washington DC area band that blended Happy the Man with Gentle Giant, Hatfield and the North, National Health, King Crimson, Henry Cow, and Frank Zappa. The musicianship and compositional skills on display here set a standard not many contemporary progressive rock bands reach. They are one of America’s best and most undeservedly unknown bands. See the However page in the Kinesis label section for much more information.
Ozric Tentacles - Erpland CD+DVD ($14.99)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).
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. More Ozrics CDs can be found on our Bargain CDs and British pages.
Progressive Italia Gli Anni ’70 Vol. 4 6CD boxset ($44.99)Each volume of these limited edition boxsets features six Italian 1970’s progressive rock albums on CD. More importantly, it’s the first time on CD for some of them, and all have been remastered by Maurizio Biancani at Fonoprint in Bologna. The individual albums come in printed jackets. Each set counts as 2 CDs for shipping.
Volume 1 includes Balletto di Bronzo - YS, De De Lind - Io non so da Dove Vengo, Jumbo - Vietato ai Minori di 18 Anni, Sensations’ Fix - Portable Madness, Latte e Miele - Passio Secundum Mattheum, and Mauro Pelosi - Al Mercato degli Uomini Piccoli.
Volume 2 includes Locanda delle Fate - Forse le Lucciole non si Amano Più, Sensations’ Fix - Finest Finger, Ibis - Ibis, Roberto Cacciapaglia - Sei Note in Logica, G. Vivaldi / P. Minieri - Carnascialia, and Stradaperta - Maida Vale.
Volume 3 includes Jumbo - Jumbo, Billy Gray - Feeling Gray?, Sensations’ Fix - Boxes Paradise, Tritons - Satisfaction, Toni Esposito - La Banda del Sole, and Mauro Pelosi - Mauro Pelosi.
Volume 4 includes Ibis - Sun Supreme, Jumbo - DNA, Madrugada - Madrugada, Sensations’ Fix - Fragments of Light, Mauro Pelosi - La Stagione per Morire, and Latte e Miele - Papillon.
Celeste - 1969-1977: The Complete Recordings (4CD box, $74.99) This 2010 limited edition four-CD set in the tall, hardcover book format reissues the complete* works of Celeste, everything carefully remastered by Celeste’s Ciro Perrino. Most of the CDs in this set have been out-of-print for a long time. The first CD is the Il Sistema - Il viaggio senza andata album, containing recordings from 1969-1971 from the band that was a forerunner to Celeste and Museo Rosenbach. The fourth CD is the 1978 Saint Tropez - Icarus album, an offshoot of Celeste more in the style of Hillage-era Gong. The second CD is Celeste’s 1976 magnum opus Principe di un giorno, one of the greatest Italian progressive rock albums. This album is in the softer PFM style, delicate and gentle, emphasizing acoustic guitar, flute, piano, Mellotron strings, and Italian vocals.
The third CD is Celeste II (1977 but not released until 1991). Also on CD3 is the big bonus, the complete demo recording for the Celeste debut titled Prince of One Day (if you haven’t guessed, that’s the English translation of Principe di un giorno, though Prince for a Day is probably what was intended). It was recorded with a female singer and with English lyrics! This set also features a large, glossy 44-page book with the complete history of Celeste and the Liguria prog scene with more than 100 rare pictures from Ciro Perrino’s archive. Counts as 3 CDs for shipping.
* There was a Celeste CD released by Mellow Records titled I suoni in una sfera that is not part of this set. It was the soundtrack to a 1974 film. Perhaps Ciro doesn’t consider this to be a real Celeste work?
Coincidence / Jean-Pierre Llabador - Then and Now (2CD, $17.99) Guitarist Jean-Pierre Llabador was the leader of the French fusion band Coincidence, who released two albums: Coincidence (1976) and Clef de Ciel (1978). This 2007 2CD set contains three albums. Disc 1 contains all but one track of the two Coincidence albums, the first time on CD for either. Disc 2 contains Jean-Pierre Llabador’s 2007 solo album New Incidences. Jean-Pierre formed Coincidence with his brother, keyboardist/guitarist Jean-Claude Llabador. After recording two Coincidence albums, Jean-Claude died in an auto accident. With a melodic and dynamic approach to instrumental fusion, Coincidence was among the better European fusion bands. Composing and recording guitar instrumentals for 30 years, Jean-Pierre Llabador has released numerous albums in France and abroad. New Incidences carries on the jazz guitar instrumental sound that he so deftly explored in the 80’s and 90’s. Read the Gnosis2000 review of the Coincidence albums.
There are recent MALS-label mini-LP sleeve reissues scattered across our country-specific pages -- look for the titles highlighted in yellow. We’ll feature a few here that had been out-of-print for years:
Mario Millo - Epic III mini-LP ($15.99) Mario Millo was the leader of Sebastian Hardie, Australia’s premier progressive rock band. Epic III was initially released in 1979, two years after Windchase’s Symphinity. If one considers Symphinity to be the third Sebastian Hardie album, then Epic III is the fourth, an album unknown to many prog fans that really deserves to be rediscovered. Carefully written, played and produced, with the help of several guest musicians, this album offers the same magic melodies, refinement and subtlety as the best Sebastian Hardie pieces. In the same vein as Yes and Camel, with a definite personal style, Epic III is a major album for this period in progressive rock history. This mini-LP version is the 2010 limited edition released by the MALS label under license from Musea, which comes in a heavyweight gatefold cardboard sleeve.
Elixir - Sabbat mini-LP ($15.99) If memory serves, this was one of the first albums released by Musea, but only on vinyl. The only prior CD issue is believed to be on Si-Wan in Korea, long out-of-print. This mini-LP edition is the 2010 limited edition released by the MALS label under license from Musea, which comes in a heavyweight cardboard sleeve. Sabbat is from 1986, and it bears the same relationship to Ange, Mona Lisa, and Atoll as IQ does to Genesis. In other words, Elixir play the classic style of French symphonic prog updated with some of the 1980’s energy and directness.
Lady Lake - No Pictures mini-LP ($15.99) Lady Lake is a Dutch progressive rock band formed in 1973, taking their name from the Gnidrolog LP. They released the album No Pictures in 1977, primarily instrumental and in the Camel and Caravan veins. This CD reissue adds six bonus tracks recorded in 1997 that sound like the band just picked up where they left off. This mini-LP edition is the 2010 limited edition released by the MALS label under license from Musea, which comes in a heavyweight cardboard sleeve.
“Influenced by the likes of Camel and to a lesser extent Focus and Genesis, Lady Lake offer extremely well-arranged and highly melodic progressive rock with a variety of moods and atmospheres. The ultra-sensitive guitar work of Fred Rosenkamp will definitely remind you of Camel’s Andy Latimer, presenting a very melodic style with nice harmonies, a slight Canterbury feel and even some bluesy touches. A few pastoral passages with calm guitar playing are very close to early Genesis, while some jazzier parts remind one of Jan Akkerman. Keyboards are an absolutely fascinating element of Lady Lake’s music, with superb atmospheric parts and lots of good solos... Top-notch melodic symphonic prog with slight bluesy influences, Latimer-like guitars, a great rhythm section, some groovy passages and tons of memorable melodies, Lady Lake’s return has to be a regarded as a fantastic discovery among prog fans. Everything here is amazingly well-crafted and perfectly executed.” [Prog Archives]
Taal - Mister Green mini-LP ($15.99) Mister Green, the 2000 debut CD by French band Taal, can be likened in some ways to Solaris’ Martian Chronicles, a fully-mature progressive rock debut album, though Taal’s music has more variety, complexity, and large-scale structure than Solaris’. These nine pieces, mostly instrumental, reveal fantasy, humor, and dark atmospheres contrasting with symphonic splendor; they are difficult to compare to anything else. One could reference other French bands such as Shylock or Pulsar; Taal are nothing if not eclectic. With the addition of sax, violin, cello, flute, and clarinet, Taal build a powerful symphonic rock with numerous inspirations, including some eccentric passages sounding like a prog rock circus. This mini-LP edition is the 2010 limited edition released by the MALS label under license from Musea, which comes in a heavyweight cardboard sleeve.
Rousseau - Retreat mini-LP ($15.99) Rousseau are a German band that released three well-regarded albums between 1980-1987 and a reunion album in 2002. Flower in Asphalt (1980) is the first of those albums, Retreat (1983) the second. These albums feature a flowing, melodic, romantic style of symphonic prog close to Camel, primarily instrumental, based on layers of fluid keyboards, airy guitar, and lots of flute. These mini-LP editions are the 2009 limited editions released by the MALS label under license from Musea, which come in heavyweight cardboard sleeves.
Lo-Fi Resistance - A Deep Breath ($13.99) Lo-Fi Resistance is the new project of guitarist/multi-instrumentalist/vocalist Randy McStine, with Nick D’Virgilio (Spock’s Beard) playing drums on the vast majority of this 2010 debut CD; Nick also mixed the album and sings on one track. Guests include Dave Meros (Spock’s Beard) on bass, Dug Pinnick (King’s X) on vocals, Rob Weinberger on flute and sax, and Lloyd Landesman on synths and B3. McStine was a child prodigy guitarist and is still quite young, so perhaps the maturity of this work should be surprising. This is a superb album straddling progressive and modern melodic rock, with the guitar work always in service of the song. In terms of the prog/melodic rock balance if not the actual sound, this is comparable to most of the current British bands, including Marillion, It Bites, Frost, The Reasoning, and on and on. The style is definitely contemporary, with more than a little Porcupine Tree / Steven Wilson influence. But McStine adds a bit of Ozric Tentacles here, King Crimson and ELP there, plenty of lush, proggy stylings throughout. Great songwriting is in evidence, supported by stellar guitar work, layered sounds and harmony vocals. Beautiful digipack with 12-page booklet. If you prefer to stare at the album cover while listening to the album audio sampler, there’s YouTube.
t - Anti-Matter Poetry ($12.99) out-of-stock t is the moniker used by Thomas Thielen, formerly singer/guitarist of the band Scythe. Voices (2006, 73-minutes) is the second t album, a seriously under-recognized work of modern symphonic prog. Thielen’s voice has similarities to Steve Hogarth and Peter Gabriel, and the music has similarities to Brave and other later Marillion, to Gabriel, and to bands such as No-Man and Product. The predominant mood is dark, atmospheric, surreal, dramatic and profound. There are lots of richly-textured, detailed, dense instrumental arrangements that often include Mellotron and strings. These tracks supposedly deal with the voices we hear in our head in various life situations, and Thielen’s voice has a distant quality that evokes that. This is the MALS label edition, which is identical to the Galileo edition apart from label boilerplate.
Four years in the making, Anti-Matter Poetry (2010, 65-minutes) is stunning. What we said about Voices is just as applicable here, but everything has been perfected. Some bands in the ‘modern progressive’ category are not capable of playing convincing classic symphonic prog, but parts of Anti-Matter Poetry are exactly that, with the largest debt owed to Pink Floyd (as is also the case with Porcupine Tree and many of the other modern prog bands). And some bands are in the modern prog category mainly because they’ve diluted and dumbed down their music with metal, grunge, etc, but that’s not the case with t. What does put t in the modern prog category is the prevailing mood of melancholy and alienation, the skillful use of samples and loops to augment but not form the basis of the music, and the finely-detailed atmospheres. It is majesty without bombast.
Veteran prog reviewer Jurriaan Hage had this to say about Naive, the first t CD from 2002, and t has only gotten better since then: “This extremely intimate and seemingly very personal catharsis is one of the most original and, I feel, timeless albums to grace progressive rock in some time. I have to admit this may not be everyone’s cup of tea; that is simply a question of what you expect in music. Main references are Porcupine Tree, Radiohead, Hogarth’s Marillion (Brave era) and No-Man. The quality and expressiveness is apparent throughout with maybe a bit of experimentation, but never without purpose. Do yourself, the label and the artist a favor and let the emotions and melodies that haunt me now haunt you too.”
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.
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 1970’s style prog sound, and those who began their prog listening after the 70’s may never fully understand the particular quality of the 70’s 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 1980’s work. Fallowell is an ex-pat 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]
Schicke Führs & Fröhling - Ticket to Everywhere ($17.99) 
Führs & Fröhling - Ammerland ($17.99)The instrumental trio of drummer Eduard Schicke, keyboardist Gerd Führs and guitarist/bassist Heinz Fröhling, otherwise known as SFF, made three classic German progressive rock albums in the 1970’s, while the duo of Führs & Fröhling made three more excellent albums. These are the newly remastered 2010 Esoteric editions on their new Reactive imprint, dedicated to reissues of classic German rock. The booklets feature restored artwork, photos and liner notes. Symphonic Pictures was released on the Brain label in 1976, followed by Sunburst in 1977 and Ticket to Everywhere in 1979. The consensus is that Symphonic Pictures is SFF’s best, followed by Sunburst, with Ticket to Everywhere bringing up the rear, but all are worthwhile. This edition of Symphonic Pictures includes an entire live album on a bonus CD at no extra cost, a 1975 live performance. It appears to be the same recording as the SFF - Live 1975 CD released in 2002. It’s unclear whether Esoteric remastered it; chances are they did. Ticket to Everywhere includes three 1978 live bonus tracks.
Ammerland (1978) is the first and best of the three Führs & Fröhling albums. The other two have not seen a legitimate CD reissue. Ammerland is more acoustic, pastoral and classical than the SFF albums, a German equivalent of Anthony Phillips’ The Geese and the Ghost perhaps. It is one of the most beautiful progressive albums ever made. Read the review at VintageProg.com.
Hawkwind - The Xenon Codex ($17.99) Esoteric continue the Hawkwind reissues on their Atomhenge imprint; these are two of the latest, 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.
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. See our British page for more Hawkwind reissues on Atomhenge.
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 1970’s 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. More electronic music CDs.
Steve Hackett - Out of the Tunnel’s Mouth digipack SE (2CD, $15.99)This is the 2CD digipack 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. See our British page for more Steve Hackett CDs.
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.
Mars Hollow - same ($12.99) This is an outstanding 2010 debut from a quartet of veteran southern California musicians, and the best album released to date by the 10t label. Aside from its 58-minute length, Mars Hollow’s CD could pass for an American 1970’s symphonic prog album -- Kansas obviously, but also the indie bands such as Lift, Pentwater, Easter Island, etc. Like those bands, the primary influences are Yes and ELP, who had a chart presence in the U.S. that secondary influences such as Genesis, Renaissance, or Gentle Giant did not. (Of course, Genesis the pop band would later.) The music is song-based but with extended arrangements that include substantial instrumental developments. Keyboards and guitar are in balance. All we’re really describing is what symphonic progressive rock is supposed to be, where the guitar is sympathetic to the arrangement, not usurping it. File under ‘Essential’. Read the Sea of Tranquility review.
Sky Architect - Excavations of the Mind ($12.99) After hearing the band 5bridges, we didn’t expect to learn of another Dutch band playing classic progressive rock so soon, since for the past 20+ years, Dutch prog bands have taken their cues from Marillion or, more recently, metal bands. Excavations of the Mind (2010) is the debut for Sky Architect, a quintet of relatively young Dutch musicians including three from a Rotterdam conservatory. They come right out and state that they are interested in reviving the symphonic progressive style of the 1970’s. While 5bridges are more Genesis-influenced, Sky Architect are a bit harder-edged, a bit darker, quirkier and more technical. Maybe more original too, because beyond a vague sense of King Crimson or Gentle Giant, they don’t really call to mind specific bands. There are lots of vintage keys including Mellotron. It would have been nice to hear some suggestion of Focus, Kayak, Supersister, Trace, Finch, or any other Dutch 70’s progressive rock instead of only British influences, but it’s common today to find young European progressive rock musicians who are unaware of their own heritage. (So is it any wonder music is more homogenized now?) Nevertheless, this is a very promising debut by a band who’ve gone back far enough in their listening to find the real, undiluted prog. Mark Wilkinson created the CD artwork. Note drummer and backing vocalist Christiaan Bruin is the guy responsible for the Chris - A Glimpse Inside CD released by Musea.
FramePictures - Remember It ($12.99) This is another joint release of the Swiss Galileo and American ProgRock Records labels, the 78-minute 2010 debut by a Portuguese progressive rock band singing in English. They’re in the modern style with a lot of influence of heavy rock and metal, but they do have a true keyboardist. Rush is certainly one influence, while the instrumental passages at least are influenced by the likes of Planet X. The vocal passages generally remain melodic and accessible, while the instrumental passages are where FramePictures unleash some fireworks. So think of mainstream heavy prog bands such as Shadow Gallery or Enchant mixed with a chops-fest band such as Planet X.
Resistor - Rise ($11.99) Resistor is the electric band formed by Steve Unruh; the self-titled CD is their 2008 debut. Steve calls Resistor his “high-energy rock/prog/jam band”, and it’s where much of his musical energy has been going lately. Resistor is a quartet of two guitarists, bass and drums. Unruh sings lead and also adds flute and violin. Not surprisingly, the tracks with flute or violin are the most progressive, the flute tracks sounding like Jethro Tull with louder guitar (one such track is named Jethro Fran). Otherwise the first CD is guitar and more guitar, often with a grungy sound, though some tracks use cleaner jazz tones. If you’ve heard Steve Unruh’s solo albums, then some of the Resistor style will sound familiar. Some of it has a Rush La Villa Strangiato thing going on. Be sure to read the DPRP review.
Rise (2010), the second Resistor CD, is markedly proggier and for many will be their favorite of Steve Unruh’s now large catalog. Here is a full-length mp3 of the 16-minute song Mimosa. You might think that’s giving away a large part of the CD (albeit in lo-fi), but Rise runs 79-minutes, and Mimosa is not the longest track by a wide margin! That distinction belongs to the 10-part, 39:22 The Land of No Groove. Busy customers who can’t take time to listen for themselves always want the music summed up in a few words, so how about this: a merger of Umphrey’s McGee, Jethro Tull, Rush, and Nektar (specifically their jamming Sounds Like This style), with Ric Sanders guesting (had to get the fiddle in there somehow).
Steve Unruh - Challenging Gravity ($11.99)Challenging Gravity (2010, 51-minutes) continues the style of Steve Unruh’s previous album The Great Divide in a more song-oriented direction (no 36-minute suites), though there are still only two tracks under 5:30. The electric bass gets a waiver, otherwise it’s all acoustic: vocals, acoustic guitars, violin, flute, and drum kit. It is again acoustic progressive rock with strong singer-songwriter and American folk aspects and weighty lyrics. The album has Unruh’s trademark dynamics shifts and odd time signatures, the sound so big during the high-energy passages that it’s easy to forget you’re listening to acoustic instruments. Here is a 3:28 mp3 album sampler. See Page 2 for the rest of Steve Unruh’s CDs and much more info.
WolfSpring - WolfSpring ($12.99) WolfSpring is a new band assembled by Jean-Pierre Louveton, guitarist and singer of the popular French prog band Nemo. WolfSpring includes Nemo’s keyboardist, a drummer, and a German vocalist who sings in English. This is their 2010 debut. WolfSpring is Louveton’s vehicle for a more guitar-centric and more contemporary-sounding progressive rock, closer to the Porcupine Tree side of things. And with English rather than French vocals, the barrier to entry has been lowered for many. There are still plenty of keyboards in a supporting role as well as classic prog flavors (Pink Floyd for one), and the result is still more symphonic and nuanced than most of what falls in the ‘modern prog’ category. It’s an excellent album that is distinct from Nemo’s output. One band is just not enough to contain Louveton’s creativity.
Roswell Six - Terra Incognita: A Line in the Sand ($12.99) Roswell Six is not so much a band as a brand name. The first Roswell Six CD Beyond the Horizon (2009, 73-minutes) is largely the work of Erik Norlander, keyboardist of Rocket Scientists and Lana Lane, with a number of albums under his own name. Norlander wrote all the music for this project, which also features singers James LaBrie, Michael Sadler, John Payne and Lana Lane; bassist Kurt Barabas (Under the Sun, Amaran’s Plight), violinist David Ragsdale (ex-Kansas), guitarists Gary Wehrkamp (Shadow Gallery, Amaran’s Plight) and Chris Brown (Ghost Circus), and drummer Chris Quirarte (Prymary). Martin Orford (ex-IQ) adds flute, Mike Alvarez cello. Beyond the Horizon is in the Ayreon style of bombastic prog and metal, meant to accompany a fantasy novel by author Kevin J. Anderson, who co-wrote the lyrics. Click the first mp3 icon above for reviews.
The second Roswell Six CD A Line in the Sand (2010) has Henning Pauly (Frameshift, Chain, Shadows Mignon) at the helm. Vocals are by Steve Walsh (Kansas), Michael Sadler (ex-Saga), Sass Jordan (Album Rock’s Female Vocalist of the Year), Alex Froese (Frameshift), and Nick Storr (The Third Ending), with guest appearances by Charlie Dominici, Juan Roos, and Arjen A. Lucassen. As with the first CD, Anderson co-wrote all of the lyrics with his wife, bestselling author Rebecca Moesta, while two of the songs are co-written by Janis Ian.
Manning - Songs from the Bilston House 10th anniv. ed. ($11.99) 
Manning - Tall Stories for Small Children 10th anniv. ed. ($11.99)The Festival Music label has begun to reissue the Manning albums in ‘10th Anniversary Editions’. These new editions come in printed sleeves rather than jewel boxes and count as only one-half CD each for shipping, plus the price is nice. Tall Stories for Small Children, The Cure, and One Small Step were remastered in 2010 by Andy Tillison (The Tangent), while Songs from the Bilston House is recent enough that there was no need for remastering. Each 10th Anniversary Edition CD adds one bonus track. See our British page for more Manning CDs and much more information.
Twelfth Night - Art & Illusion 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 1980’s. Art & Illusion (1984) was the first Twelfth Night album with Andy Sears as their singer. This 2010 ‘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 this new edition, which includes new artwork and sleeve notes. See our British page for more Twelfth Night and related CDs.
Karfagen - Solitary Sandpiper Journey ($12.99) Solitary Sandpiper Journey (2010, 75-minutes) is the new Karfagen CD, with Antony Kalugin (the man also behind Hoggwash and Sunchild) joined by a large percentage of the musicians in the Ukraine, the instrumentation including cello, flute, oboe, bassoon, viola, violin, sax, and bayan (accordion) in addition to keys, acoustic & electric guitars, bass and drums. As on the previous Karfagen CDs, the music lies roughly in Camel (The Snow Goose) and Genesis territory, but is more eclectic than that. The music is still predominantly instrumental, with Kalugin singing on one track, while female vocalist Marina Zacharova adds a Renaissance feel to a couple others. The lyrics are in English. This is a finely-crafted progressive rock album, the best Karfagen album to date; those who’ve heard the Sunchild and Hoggwash albums would expect no less. The 22-minute track Mystery that concludes this long album is a real tour-de-force. The rest of the Karfagen, Hoggwash, and Sunchild CDs are on our East European page along with more information.
Mystery - One Among the Living ($14.99) On One Among the Living (2010, 69-minutes) Mystery is joined by guests Daryl Stuermer (Genesis, Phil Collins), John Jowitt (most British neo-prog bands), Oliver Wakeman, Antoine Fafard (Spaced Out), Claire Vezina, and Richard Lanthier. Again with Jon Anderson stand-in Benoit David on vocals, Mystery go for their biggest, most bombastic sound yet, a bit heavier than before but also more symphonic, and not neglecting the delicate passages. While the 22-minute suite Through Different Eyes is the epic, the Yes-like Sailing on a Wing that closes this album could be the most memorable song Mystery have ever produced. Digipack with 28-page booklet. Read the DPRP review. The rest of the Mystery CDs and more information can be found on our Canadian page.
Phil Manzanera - Firebird V11 ($14.99) 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 1970’s to the present. 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. See our British page for more Phil Manzanera CDs.
801 - Live Collector’s Edition (2CD, $39.99) 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 the digibook format, which is 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.
Neo-Prophet - Monsters ($15.99) Monsters (2009, 62-minutes) is the debut for Belgian band Neo-Prophet. No points for guessing they’re a neo-prog band, but they are an uncommonly good one. There are Marillion-isms to be sure (the words misplaced childhood even appear in the lyrics), but Neo-Prophet are not simply Marillion/Arena imitators. They add touches of hard rock (generally not metal), while loads of symphonic keyboards maintain the guitars/keys balance. Ultimately, Neo-Prophet have the songwriting chops and the intangibles that distinguish the best neo-prog bands from the paint-by-numbers bands, resulting in music that is exciting and catchy. With Neo-Prophet, Mindgames, and Quantum Fantay, Belgium is back on the prog map. Read the reviews at Sea of Tranquility, DPRP, Prog-Nose, and Rock Report.
The Barstool Philosophers - Sparrows ($12.99) Sparrows (2009, 59-minutes) is the debut for Dutch band The Barstool Philosophers. It’s a blend of Marillion-style neo-prog and metal, but not Dream Theater, not the usual cold, brutal, ugly stuff of modern metal but rather the Queensrÿche and Fates Warning styles. So some call it prog-metal, while others call it heavy prog or neo-prog with metal influences, and we lean toward the latter. In his normal range, singer Leon Brouwer has a voice a bit like David Bowie, and he occasionally does the high-pitch, underpants-on-fire thing. The symphonic keyboards are nearly omnipresent, so unlike most prog-metal records, the music rarely devolves to just metal. Read the Background Magazine and Ytsejam.com reviews.
PFM - Jet Lag ($17.99)
PFM - Photos of Ghosts ($17.99)These are the Esoteric label reissues of Premiata Forneria Marconi’s English-language albums, remastered from the original master tapes and including Esoteric’s usual lavish booklet with a new essay. PFM is the most famous of all Italian progressive rock bands, due in part to these albums being released on ELP’s Manticore label, with Pete Sinfield penning some of the lyrics. Photos of Ghosts (1973) includes six bonus tracks, early mixes from the album sessions. The World Became the World (1974) includes three bonus tracks: two previously-unreleased single edits plus La Carrozza di Hans, the B-side of a UK single.
Chocolate Kings (1976) and Jet Lag (1977) featured new vocalist Bernardo Lanzetti, ex-Acqua Fragile. Chocolate Kings is PFM at their most energetic (and the cover of this version is a lot easier to look at than the Italian version). This newly remastered edition adds a second CD of previously unreleased live material recorded at Nottingham University on the band’s 1976 UK tour, an entire live album. Jet Lag saw PFM heading in a Brand X direction, a move which may have been required for a prog band to survive in Italy in that year. It doesn’t sound like any other album they made, but not surprisingly, PFM were superb at jazz-rock too. This edition of Jet Lag includes a previously-unreleased live version of La Carrozza di Hans recorded at Nottingham University on the band’s 1976 UK tour (which does not appear on the Chocolate Kings live disc). While Jet Lag doesn’t make the Top 100, the other three albums or their Italian-language counterparts are arguably among the Top 100 prog albums of all time.
Von Hertzen Brothers - Love Remains the Same ($17.99) Here are the latest two CDs from Finnish band Von Hertzen Brothers, who quickly won over the crowd at RoSfest 2010. This band of brothers (currently a quintet with three brothers plus two others) is that rarest of phenomena, a progressive rock band who have topped their national charts. After a 2001 debut, their second album Approach (2006, 58-minutes) went gold in Finland and won the Finnish equivalent of a Grammy for best rock album of the year. Love Remains the Same (2008, 62-minutes) spent three weeks at number one in the national sales chart and has also gone gold, and this is an album that opens with an 11-minute track and closes with a 9-minute track! Von Hertzen Brothers have a Scandinavian prog sound sometimes comparable to Magic Pie. They blend various 1970’s melodic and hard rock influences into their prog rock, with catchy melodies and a fresh approach, which explains how they’ve crossed over to a wider audience. (Let’s give the Finnish public credit too.) But there is no doubt they are a prog band, with Yes and Pink Floyd as certain influences. Their three-part vocal harmonies are a big part of their sound, and they have a mystical side as well. “[Approach] is one of the best albums that I’ve heard in the category of progressive rock... they are one of the most important Finnish progressive rock bands ever.” [UltimateGuitar.com] Start with Love Remains the Same, their most fully-realized work. “They have created nine epic and beguiling soundscapes which are not only a joy to behold but make the album as a whole a profoundly satisfying experience. It is a rare release indeed which leaves the listener with a feeling of completeness after the final notes have faded.” Read the full review at KomodoRock. Love Remains the Same comes in a super jewel box; neither CD is sealed.
Pi2 - Silent Running ($15.99) 
The Spanish band Pi2 initially released Retorn in 1998, though it didn’t receive widespread distribution until this 2004 reissue. This is sophisticated classic-style instrumental symphonic prog, vaguely in the Camel, Focus, Genesis, and ELP camps but about as original as one can be with this style of prog these days. It is generally mid-tempo and melodic, with lots of keyboards and some tasty clarinet and sax parts. After Retorn, Pi2 added an excellent singer in Alex Warner, so the following albums have English-language vocals and an increasingly mainstream English prog style. Their 2001 second CD Demà Serà un Altre Dia is currently out-of-print. The Endless Journey (2005, 58-minutes) and Silent Running (2009, 67-minutes) feature an expanded role for vocals, though there are still a lot of instrumental passages. Each album is more professional-sounding and better produced than the last, with Camel and Genesis as the main influences. Silent Running concludes with a 25-minute multi-part epic -- the lyrics to one part are composed mostly of progressive rock album titles. Read the Progressive Land review of Silent Running. Pi2 are certainly one of the best Spanish symphonic prog band of recent years.
Qantum - Les Temps Oubliés ($15.99) Qantum is a French band initially formed by musicians from Ultime Atome and Lapsus Linguae. Their first album Les temps oubliés (2009) is excellent symphonic prog inspired by the classic French progressive bands (mostly Mona Lisa, Ange, and their ilk), with some Genesis influence and commonality with early Marillion or Galaad. One reviewer describes it as “feel-good symphonic prog”. That it is.
Acanthe - Someone Somewhere ($15.99) This is a great find for the Musea label. The French band Acanthe existed from 1973-1977 but did not release an album until this 2009 CD. Some tapes of the band’s music were recently rediscovered, and after much restoration work by band leader Frederic Leoz in his studio, we have Someone Somewhere. This release is a godsend for French progressive fans. Acanthe’s music sits somewhere between Pulsar and Ange, that is, between the more Pink Floyd influenced and the Genesis and early King Crimson influenced French camps. There is a good balance between instrumental and vocal passages, with lyrics in both English and French, and lots of classic keyboards. Read the Proggnosis and DPRP reviews.
T.Phan - Last Warrior ($15.99) T.Phan is the new project of Stéphan Caussarieu, the drummer from the band Tai Phong. The two band names sound similar, and not by chance. For those who don't know Tai Phong, they were a French progressive rock band from the second half of the 1970’s signed to a major label; their singer Jean-Jacques Goldman went on to become one of the most respected singer-songwriters in France. They had a European hit with the song Sister Jane and created quality melodic rock sung in English, roughly a blend of Yes and Barclay James Harvest. Thirty years later, T.Phan continue the story with Last Warrior (2009, 60-minutes). While it sounds distinct from Tai Phong, it’s close enough that it could be the follow-up album to Last Flight, given that 30 years have passed since that final Tai Phong album. Probably the best reference is Camel from Nude on. Last Warrior is not quite on the Camel level, but it is sung in English, features a similar balance between vocals and instrumental passages, has touches of jazz, some great melodies and fine playing. Read the DPRP review.
Nevärlläjf - Klusterfloristen ($15.99) The Swedish band Nevärlläjf formed in late 2005, and two years later they won a national contest called Musik Direkt. The band then met Beardfish, an encounter that left a mark on their music. Nevärlläjf play an instrumental blend of fusion and progressive rock that, apart from some guitar using a more modern metal tone, is true to the 1970’s progressive sound and spirit. Nevärlläjf also have that characteristic Swedish style that can be heard from 70’s Kaipa through to Änglagård. It's hard to believe Klusterfloristen (2009) is the debut of a young band. They make the intricate feel effortless, they seem to be bubbling over with musical ideas, and the whole album is a 55-minute roller coaster ride that you’ll want to hop on again after you catch your breath. One of the best fusion-prog albums in many years.
Klotet - Det Har Aldrig Hänt Och Kommer Aldrig Hända Igen ($15.99) Klotet is a Swedish quartet in existence only since 2004, and yet their albums could have come straight out of the first generation of Swedish progressive rock, as Klotet’s music leaves few clues that it wasn’t made in the early-to-mid 1970’s. Klotet are from Uppsala, the old university town that seems to be the birthplace of Swedish progressive rock. Their music is instrumental, the instrumentation restricted to vintage keys (mostly organ and Rhodes) and guitar tones. Those who know and love the music of Bo Hansson, Samla Mammas Manna, Kebnekaise, Trettioåriga Kriget, Fläsket Brinner, etc. already understand the special flavor of this music. The band even mention Harald Hedning; how’s that for an obscure reference? En Rak Höger is their 2008 debut, while Det Har Aldrig Hänt Och Kommer Aldrig Hända Igen (2010) is their second. Much of Det Har... is played at breakneck speed -- imagine a Swedish B-52s or Devo playing instrumental prog (if those bands could play like this).
Terraex - Somnia ($15.99) Somnia (2010) is the debut CD by Terraex, a Norwegian band led by Carlos Sanchez (guitar, bass, keyboards), with Maria Toresen (vocals, piano, violin), Gunvar Wie (drums), and Andrea Ummarino (guitar). They describe themselves as an alternative band with a progressive attitude, and at heart they are an indie-rock/pop band with female vocals. But they have a pronounced progressive side; most notably, they use a lot of Mellotron, and not just strings. Maria’s voice has a different character on different songs, sounding typically juvenile on the fast songs with the grungy guitars, sounding more mature when the music also sounds more mature, even taking on a Kate Bush quality when they slow things down. When Terraex do incorporate the progressive elements, as they do most of the time, the results are very good, highlighted by pretty female vocals and lush symphonic keyboards. Terraex are a rather unique band, and they’ve realized that Mellotron makes just about everything better! Check out the song (or video) Honesty, which may be all you need to hear. Read the Background Magazine review.
Ars Nova - Seventh Hell ($15.99) The Japanese band Ars Nova was originally an all-female trio led by their keyboardist/composer Keiko Kumagai. They feature loads of bombastic keyboards and have certainly been influenced by ELP, but like the similar Japanese band Gerard, their progressive keyboard rock is heavier, darker and more orchestral, closer to Italian bands such as Goblin and Il Balletto di Bronzo, but more aggressive than them as well. Seventh Hell (2009) contains five long pieces in the bombastic Ars Nova tradition, including a 17-minute suite. Hungarian guitarist Zoltan Fabian (Age of Nemesis) and Dutch keyboardist Robby Valentine guest. Even though the album opens with a bit of prog-metal, it ends up being arguably Ars Nova’s best work. Much of it is still frantically-paced -- Ars Nova often play as if they’re trying to finish the piece before the tape or hard disk space runs out. This is the European (Musea) edition. Read the Progressive Ears, Sea of Tranquility, and Proggnosis reviews. Check our Japanese page for more Ars Nova CDs.
Flat122 - Kagerou ($15.99) Flat122 is a Japanese progressive/fusion band. Kagerou (2009, 73-minutes) is the follow-up to their excellent 2005 debut The Waves. While The Waves was an energetic album close to Kenso, Kagerou is a less extroverted album but casts its net wider, somewhat along the lines of the later Isildurs Bane albums. On both of their albums, Flat122 show an avant-garde aspect similar to bands such as Cartoon, Birdsongs of the Mesozoic, or Miriodor. Kagerou is still primarily instrumental symphonic fusion but is more strongly 20th century classical, with a chamber music element that overlaps with some of the RIO bands. The addition of some accordion is a welcome touch. It wasn’t the expected follow-up to The Waves but is perhaps even more impressive. Read the Proggnosis review.
Pavlov’s Dog - At the Sound of the Bell digipack+3 ($16.99)Pavlov’s Dog is an American band from St. Louis that released two classic progressive rock albums: Pampered Menial (1975) and At the Sound of the Bell (1976). Principal songwriter and singer David Surkamp has the most unique voice in rock, sounding like he has lungs full of helium. All the CDs here are the latest editions released by the German Rockville label with the full cooperation of David Surkamp. Though they’ve been available for some time in Europe, it took until 2010 for a U.S. release of the first two albums.
Pampered Menial (digipack) is usually considered Pavlov’s Dog best album, with Of Once and Future Kings, the mini-epic that closes the album, maybe the best thing they ever recorded. The seven-man lineup included a violinist and a flute/Mellotron player, and these first two albums are musts for Mellotron fanatics. This 2007 edition was remastered and contains four bonus tracks: a 1976 live version of Subway Sue, a 1975 live version of Preludin in its original 10-minute length, a 1975 live version of I Wish It Would Rain, and Rainbow from the 1969 Touch album Street Suite featuring Surkamp on lead vocals.
At the Sound of the Bell (digipack) is not far behind Pampered Menial in quality. Bill Bruford was brought in to play the drums, while the numerous guest musicians include Andy Mackay and Michael Brecker. This 2007 edition was remastered and contains three bonus tracks: Gold Nuggets recorded live at the 2007 Burg Herzberg festival and 1976 live versions of two more album tracks.
Pavlov’s Dog - Lost in America ($16.99) 
Has Anyone Here Seen Sigfried? is the lost third Pavlov’s Dog album. For many years this album was considered to be lost, as the band split during the 1977 recording sessions. There have been several bootlegs of this album, but this 2007 edition is the first legitimate CD release, though it is mastered from vinyl (something the label and most retailers intentionally don’t mention). The quality of the 1977 material dropped off from the first two albums, but the Mellotron still makes appearances, and the Dog’s style is much the same. In addition to the 10 original ‘lost’ tracks, this CD contains 10 bonus tracks of unreleased live and studio rarities that take the CD length up to 79:57. There are live versions of many of the classic songs from the first two albums. This material could have been released as a separate ‘live and unreleased’ CD, so if you already own one of the bootlegs, the bonus tracks may be the reason to buy this CD.
1990 saw the unexpected release of the fourth Pavlov’s Dog album, after 13 years of silence. Lost in America is much more of an AOR album. Ironically, it is this album that now sounds dated, with what are largely 1980’s arena rock production values, whereas the 1970’s albums sound timeless. In addition to the 10 original tracks, this 2007 edition contains eight bonus tracks of rare and unreleased live recordings from the period 1990-2006 that take the CD length up to 79:23.
David Surkamp released a solo album Roaring with Light in 2001 and returned in 2007 with his second solo album Dancing on the Edge of a Teacup, which is subtitled The Pavlov’s Dog Trinity Sessions; all that really means is that Surkamp is the custodian of the Pavlov’s Dog brand name. The young Geddy Lee’s voice mellowed with age, but Surkamp’s voice hasn't changed much in over three decades; he still has that characteristic unforced vibrato. Teacup is a nice blend of progressive and pop and sounds quite similar to Pavlov’s Dog, who after all were on the pop side of progressive rock. The songs are essentially folky pop songs that could have been written 30+ years earlier, but Surkamp still likes big arrangements and a lush sound, with loads of keyboards pulling the result to the progressive side. A short CD at 37-minutes, but then all Pavlov’s Dog albums are about that long.
Mr Gil - Skellig ($13.99) Skellig (2010) is the second solo CD for Mirek Gil, guitarist for Believe and formerly Collage, with Believe’s singer and bassist and Satellite’s drummer completing the band. Gil was perhaps challenging himself here to make a progressive rock album using only guitars. The key is to get sufficient variety and density of tone colors from guitars while keeping everything tasteful. Gil does an admirable job by overdubbing different guitar tracks and using the vocals as yet another tone color. Vocalist Karol Wroblewski sings in Polish here and sounds more comfortable than he does singing in English on Believe’s This Bread Is Mine. “Think of early Collage with much better production and without the keyboards. Instead Gil makes a complete CD using only guitars as solo and harmonic instruments (usually the acoustic guitar as the basic guide and the electric guitar for soloing and harmonies)... You may feel that some keyboard lines could add a little color here and there. But really, this a guitar genius solo album and he proves his point very well here... Forget all the grunge/alternative/pop experiments Mirek Gil was doing on his various solo projects before. This is the truly prog guitar album we all waited to hear for so long.” Read the full review at Prog Archives. See our East European page for the Believe CDs and more info.
Vonassi - The Battle of Ego ($13.99) The Battle of Ego (2010, 57-minutes) is the debut CD for Vonassi, a young American band playing the typical modern style of prog, that is, guitar-oriented, lacking in classical influence, not a million miles away far from alternative, grunge, and metal. We probably have Porcupine Tree to thank for this. “Possibly the foremost characteristic is Vonassi’s efficient use of complexity in their compositions. Excepting the last song Coiled, all the songs time at less than five minutes, most around four. However, the textures Vonassi pump into those short periods is quite remarkable. While songs can alternate between heaviness (The Drudge) and melodic subtlety (Posing for the Cold), they are deep with impressive bass lines, eccentric rhythms, provocative drumming, and graceful, less ostentatious fret work. Many of these arrangements are made more clever and evocative from Vonassi’s use of ambient to progressive keyboard work... While progressive may be the overarching motif here, there is plenty of natural accessibility here, almost with an alternative rock feel... Overall, Vonassi’s The Battle of Ego is a singular and distinctive work demonstrating this trio’s immense talent and creativity for melodic progressive rock with an modern alt rock feel.” [DangerDog] Also read the Sea of Tranquility review.
Crystal Palace - Reset ($15.99) Berlin’s Crystal Palace are a neo-prog band formed in 1992. They’ve been releasing albums since 1995, and counting some EPs, Reset (2010, 61-minutes) is their tenth release. (The earlier CDs are out-of-print but some should become available later in 2010.) Reset contains everything one would expect from a neo-prog CD in 2010: melodic Marillion-influenced songs sung in English, skewed darker and heavier at times. Another quality German neo-prog band to join Martigan, Morphelia, Jack Yello, and others.
Victor Peraino’s Kingdom Come - No Man’s Land ($16.99) Victor Peraino was the American keyboard player for Arthur Brown’s Kingdom Come. Following that band’s final album Journey, Peraino returned to the states and, with the assistance of numerous musicians on guitar, bass, drums, flute, and vocals, recorded the album No Man’s Land (1975). Details are sketchy, but according to legend, only 100 copies were pressed, making the LP a major rarity. A 1981 EP We’re Next was recorded containing four tracks including a new version of the big Arthur Brown hit Fire. Both the LP and the EP tracks appear on this 2010 CD on the Black Widow label. Peraino plays Hammond B3, VCS-3, ARP and Moog, but it’s his Mellotron that commands attention, not just strings and choir but also cellos and brass are all over this album.
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 1980’s 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.
Wigwam - The Lucky Golden Stripes and Starpose ($17.99)
Wigwam - Being ($17.99)Wigwam was the best known Finnish rock band of the 1970’s (Pekka Pohjola was a member early on), their albums ranging from progressive rock to intelligent pop-rock. Nuclear Nightclub (1975) and The Lucky Golden Stripes and Starpose (1976) were released by Virgin Records in the UK. These are the 2010 remastered editions on the Esoteric label, with restored artwork, lavish booklets, and a new essay and recollections from Jim Pembroke. The Lucky Golden Stripes and Starpose has two bonus tracks from a 1975 single: Tramdriver and Wardance. These were the first two albums by what is usually considered the second era of the band, during which their English ex-pat singer-songwriter Jim Pembroke became the dominant composer. During this phase, Wigwam were sort of the Finnish Steely Dan. Read the Wigwam overview at DPRP. Read reviews at Prog Archives of Nuclear Nightclub and The Lucky Golden Stripes and Starpose. The unofficial Wigwam Nuclear Netclub site has a wealth of information.
The Esoteric reissues of Fairyport (1971), Being (1974), and Live Music from the Twilight Zone (1975) are now in stock.
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.
Home - The Alchemist ($17.99) This 1973 album was the third and final album for English band Home, and it’s 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).
Unitopia - Artificial jewel box ($10.99) The Garden (2008) is a double-CD, the second release by Australian progressive rock band Unitopia following a 2005 debut. We felt all along that Unitopia’s first album was unjustly overlooked, and The Garden remedied that, as it is a really fine melodic prog album. Unitopia’s greatest strength is their vocals, which are well ahead of the average progressive rock band, both the lead vocals and the vocal harmonies. Singer Mark Trueack sounds like Peter Gabriel when he sings in his lower register, and like the guy from Men at Work at other times. While Unitopia don’t sound all that much like Transatlantic, Spock’s Beard or The Flower Kings, they will almost certainly appeal to fans of those bands and InsideOut’s other melodic prog bands.
This is the jewel box edition of Artificial (2010), a CD that elevates Unitopia to the top tier of the current generation of melodic prog bands. Read the Prog-Nose and DPRP roundtable reviews, which will tell you everything you need to know and then some. Read reviews of all the Unitopia CDs.
Abarax - Blue Room ($15.99) Crying of the Whales (2006, 62-minutes) is the debut CD from a six-man band that includes four members of the same family: father and three sons! They are very Pink Floyd influenced. They’re German, so by association one could also compare them to Eloy, Solar Project, or RPWL (minus the playfulness and Beatles influence). Abarax are very good at this style, with excellent lead guitar and strong harmony vocals, at times quite majestic and beautiful.
Blue Room (2010) is their second. Here Abarax take the Pink Floyd influence much more in the direction of Jane, early Eloy, and other similar 1970’s German symphonic bands. With the 70’s fuzz guitar tone, roaring Hammond organ, and a harmony vocal style that also belongs to the period, this is utterly convincing as a 1970’s German progressive rock record, except that at 58-minutes it’s too long to be an LP!
Millenium - Back After Years: Live in Krakow 2009 2CD ($15.99)Polish neo-prog band Millenium had been a studio project for most of its existence, but the success of their 2008 CD Exist prompted the band to play concerts in 2009. Back After Years: Live in Krakow 2009 is Millenium’s first live album, a double-CD digipack with a generous playing time of 138-minutes, featuring new arrangements of some of the older songs. Lots more Millenium CDs and more info are on our East European page.
Amaryllis - Inquietum Est Cor ($14.99) This is the 2009 debut CD (61-minutes, digipack) by a Polish prog band with a female lead vocalist and a full-time lute player! Amaryllis play gothic progressive rock with beautiful female vocals and exquisite overdubbed vocal harmonies. The lyrics are mostly in Latin, giving the music a religious or sacred feel. There is some metal guitar, so the music overlaps to a degree with all those female-fronted gothic metal bands, but Amaryllis are much more progressive and creative. Yes, it’s yet another young band who apparently don’t realize how much more refined, intelligent, and sophisticated their music would sound without the abrasive metal guitar (playing riffs interchangeable with those on any other modern metal record) and how completely out-of-place it is. But fortunately the majority of the guitar is sustained prog-style leads and fine acoustic work, and the amazing blend of musical elements more than makes up for the brief lapses into metal. The production is crystal-clear. This is highly original music and quite astounding for a debut. Read the Progressive Land review and a few more reviews here.
Iluzjon - Silent Andromeda ($15.99) 
Warsaw-based prog band Iluzjon began as a trio on City Zen (2005), an excellent album of ambient progressive rock with occasional similarities to Peter Gabriel, overall more subdued and mesmerizing than what would follow.
On No Phantoms In (2007), Iluzjon are a quartet and seem to be centered on singer/composer/lyricist Michal Dziadosz in the same way that Porcupine Tree is centered on Steven Wilson. The vocal passages (sung in English) are full of atmosphere and ambience, while the instrumental passages are sometimes heavy and sometimes symphonic. Iluzjon are far from being Porcupine Tree copyists as their sound is distinct, but they do belong in the modern progressive camp that Porcupine Tree helped define.
Silent Andromeda (2009) is their third, and now it’s clear this band is not going to make the same album twice. There is some carryover of the style found on No Phantoms In, but here the rest of the band steps forward. There is some modern King Crimson influence now, while electronics are used to create great atmospheres. One reason for the change is new guitarist Matthew Wojcik, who is able to play in a wider range of styles. Sometimes the music has the aggressive modern sound, while at other times it’s dreamier. It’s certainly easier to describe the Polish bands who stick to the mainstream neo-prog and prog-metal styles, but while Iluzjon make reviewers’ jobs more difficult, it’s a small price to pay for a more original progressive style. This is their most mature work.
Quidam - Pod Niebem Czas (The Time Beneath the Sky) CD+PAL DVD ($19.99) Along with Collage/Satellite, Quidam have arguably been the top latter-day progressive band in Poland. They began with a female singer, Emila Derkowska, who was one of the best female vocalists in progressive rock. Their earliest style mixed Marillion (as filtered through Collage) with Renaissance and Camel. The heavy use of flute further highlights their sound.
Pod Niebem Czas / The Time Beneath the Sky (2002) is their third studio album, still with Emila as the vocalist. It sees them expanding their sound and losing most of the Marillion influence, Quidam’s most mature album to that point. It is sung in Polish aside from a Led Zep cover, with English translations in the booklet. This new CD+DVD edition comes in a super jewel box + slipcase and adds an official live bootleg DVD of a very special performance, Quidam’s 2003 farewell concert with singer Emila, the end of the band’s first era. Special guest Colin Bass (Camel) appears on five of the 19 tracks, which include Camel and Colin Bass songs. Note the DVD is all-region but is in the PAL (European) format. We will not accept returns because the DVD will not play on your NTSC player. See our East European page for more Quidam CDs and more info.
Tempest - Another Dawn ($15.99) With their albums from 1996 on released on the Magna Carta label, most prog fans are familiar with Tempest, a folk-rock band led by Norwegian-American Lief Sorbye. They have similarities to Fairport Convention but are heavier, draw more on Celtic material, and benefit from better production courtesy of Robert Berry that gives them a bigger, proggier sound. Berry usually adds keyboards too. Tempest also come close to the folky side of Jethro Tull, though Tempest frequently arrange traditional songs, something Ian Anderson consciously avoided. The Los Angeles bagpipes/didgeridoo/drums band Wicked Tinkers guests on The Double-Cross (2006), leading to some rousing bagpipe rock. The CD includes a bonus video In the Studio With Tempest.
Another Dawn (2010) is their 12th studio album. Click the mp3 link above to read Lief’s song-by-song notes.
Solstice - Spirit (CD+DVD, $17.99) Solstice return 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. While part of the same British 1980’s scene that featured Marillion, IQ, Pendragon, Twelfth Night, Pallas, Haze, etc., Solstice stood apart. They featured female vocals and violin, and in many ways had a stronger connection to the 1970’s -- there was still a hippie vibe to their symphonic prog. They blended Yes and Renaissance with touches of psychedelic folk and a little jazz. The band describe Spirit as “the album we’ve always wanted to make”. So after fits and starts in the 1980’s and 90’s, 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. The rest of the Solstice catalog is on our British page, along with more info.
Hamadryad - Intrusion special edition (CD+DVD, $17.99) This is the special edition of Hamadryad’s third studio CD Intrusion (2010, 62-minutes), which adds a 78-minute concert DVD (NTSC 4:3, all-region) entitled When They Were Four: Live in France 2006 Crescendo Festival. On Intrusion, the band is back to a quintet, having hired new lead singer Jean-Philippe Major, thus addressing the ‘major’ shortcoming of the lineup that recorded Safe in Conformity. Hamadryad are clearly not going to make the same album twice. Intrusion opens with a hard-edged track, but the second track is close to classic Yes, and that remains the dominant style of the album. Sometimes it veers closer to Genesis than Yes, and the harder style resurfaces now and again, but for the most part, this is Hamadryad’s unique, contemporary take on classic British prog. Benoit David (Mystery, Yes) guests. This is Hamadryad’s best album. See our Canadian page for the rest of the Hamadryad CDs and more info.
Konchordat - English Ghosts ($14.99) Konchordat is a new name to add to the British neo-prog pantheon. They were first heard from with a track on one of the CDs that comes with each issue of Classic Rock Presents Prog magazine. Their debut English Ghosts (2009, 63-minutes) is mostly in the classic 1980’s neo-prog style (e.g., Marillion, Pendragon), though since singer Lee Harding has a somewhat Gabriel-like voice, Citizen Cain or the more Genesis-like Ad Infinitum tracks also come to mind. Nick Magnus mastered the album. Read some gushing reviews at Eurorock and Prog Archives.
Tabula Smaragdina - A Szavakon Túl ($15.99) Tabula Smaragdina is the band of Bogáti-Bokor Ákos, founder of the Hungarian/Romanian band Yesterdays and guitarist of the Hungarian band You and I. Tabula Smaragdina actually dates to 2002, had a period of intense live activity, but was put on hold due to Bogáti-Bokor’s commitments to those other two bands. Here he assumes the roles of lead singer, guitarist, composer and producer, joined by a keyboardist, bassist and drummer. Both You and I and Yesterdays show a strong Yes influence while maintaining a distinct personality, and that’s also the case with Tabula Smaragdina on A Szavakon Túl (2009). The sound is mostly classic 1970’s prog, with vintage keyboard sounds, some Steve Howe-like guitar and Chris Squire-like bass. A female singer with a sweet voice sings lead on one song and backing vocals elsewhere. While there are some more energetic songs than Yesterdays, there are also a lot of dreamy songs floating on Mellotron clouds. The lyrics are in Hungarian, and as is usually the case, the singers sound natural singing in their first language. There will always be listeners who prefer English-language vocals from non-English speaking countries, even though lyrics invariably lose a lot in translation and the English is often accented. Our preference is that music not all sound the same. And after all, the title of this CD translates to ‘Beyond Words’. Read the DPRP review.
Lost World - Sound Source ($15.99) 
Lost World was formed in 1996 by three Moscow Conservatory students. They added a singer in time for Trajectories, their first album, released in 2003 despite what it says on the traycard. It was released on the prestigious Russian Boheme label, then deleted a few months later for no apparent reason. The band have since taken matters into their own hands, and at least one of the band members now lives in New York City. Lost World play symphonic prog with a strong classical element, using flute and violin in addition to the standard prog rock instrumentation. The way they do classical rock is unlike anyone else, and some of it is outstanding. The closest comparison might be Hungary’s After Crying, another band of conservatory-trained musicians. But Lost World show little ELP influence, which is the dominant influence in After Crying. Both bands share some King Crimson influence, and Lost World add some pastoral Genesis. Of the 14 tracks on Trajectories, only five have vocals (in Russian). Everything on the album is progressive, but Lost World cover a variety of styles, with moods ranging from dark and frenetic to gentle, romantic and pastoral. Because the pieces are generally of modest length, it never gets boring. Read the Sea of Tranquility review.
Awakening of the Elements (2006) and Sound Source (2009, 65-minutes) are all instrumental. This is classical progressive rock of the highest order, with flute and violin featured prominently. Probably because they’re Russian, they sound unlike most of the other prog bands with heavy classical influence, so the music usually sounds quite original. Kansas, The Dixie Dregs, or Jethro Tull are fair reference points for some of the material. These guys can play and they can compose. Read the Proggnosis reviews of Awakening of the Elements and Sound Source and the Progressor review of Awakening of the Elements.
Nick Magnus - Children of Another God ($15.99)Nick Magnus is probably best known as the keyboardist in Steve Hackett’s band during their prime period. Children of Another God (2010, digipack) features Steve and John Hackett along with several other guest musicians. This CD is simply fantastic, as most of the tracks would sit comfortably beside those on Spectral Mornings and Defector, sometimes with more of a mid-1970’s Genesis influence than even the Steve Hackett albums display. This is the way the British used to make progressive rock, and there are precious few albums like this coming out the genre’s birthplace now. At the time of this writing, the only audio samples on the web are in the form of three videos, which by themselves don’t convey how good this album is, though the 8-and-a-half minute title track has a video, and it’s an instant classic.
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.
Karnataka - The Gathering Light ($15.99) 
Karnataka - The Storm ($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 is 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 modern Clannad, Renaissance, and October Project, and the band seemed poised for greater success. But in August 2004, this lineup broke up.
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.
Delicate Flame of Desire (2003) was the third and final studio album for the original band. It is undoubtedly their best, a sumptuous CD with fantastic vocal harmonies and enough progressive instrumental content to sink one’s teeth into. The 10+ minute finale Heart of Stone is absolutely glorious. The Storm (2000) is their second CD.
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 the year. Read the reviews at DPRP and Musical Discoveries.
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.
Ephemeral Sun - Harvest Aorta ($9.99) Ephemeral Sun is a U.S. band formed from the remnants of a doom metal band called Rain Fell Within. Their 2010 CD Harvest Aorta could be from a different band than their 2005 debut Broken Door. We originally wrote about Broken Door: “You could get rid of the metal guitar and be left with a stunning progressive band”, and though they didn’t get rid of the metal guitar, that stunning progressive band is very much in evidence on Harvest Aorta, a spectacular 69-minute instrumental work of heavy symphonic prog comprised of only four pieces. It sometimes sounds like a heavier Genesis. The metal guitar is still present at times, fearing that without it there could be frequencies in the bottom half of the audio spectrum left unfilled, but there is much less of the trivial, generic riffing that characterizes modern metal. With much of the album recorded live in the studio, the energy of a live performance has been captured. One of the most pleasant surprises in a while. (The CD comes in a cardboard sleeve.)
On Broken Door (72-minutes), an important aspect of Ephemeral Sun’s sound is vocalist Laurie Ann Haus, who has a beautiful voice that sounds classically trained. There is frequent metal guitar on this one, but the band is more symphonic progressive than the likes of Within Temptation, while sharing a penchant for the gothic. In addition to traditional proggy keyboards, John Battema adds a lot of ambient electronic textures that sets the band apart. It’s a cliché to talk about a band exploring new musical territory, and it is difficult to do that in prog rock in this century, but at the very least, Ephemeral Sun were already combining the components in a novel and very seductive way.
Vieux Carré - Glispiriti Icorpi Elementi ($17.99) Despite the French name (which refers to New Orleans’ French Quarter), this is an Italian quintet from Umbria. They released their debut CD Glispiriti Icorpi Elementi independently in 2008, and it has been a well-kept secret outside Italy. For Vieux Carré play in the classic Italian symphonic prog style of PFM, Le Orme, and Banco, and this album is way too good to remain unknown. One must also mention Genesis, because three of the songs are sung in English, and singer Marco Rambaldi reflexively switches to a Peter Gabriel style on those songs. (Or maybe it’s a Bernardo Lanzetti style.) The band’s first demo (when they were known as Chiaroscuro) contained covers of Firth of Fifth and The Musical Box, so the Genesis influence is not imagined. There is also some jazz influence, which the best first-generation Italian bands had as well. It’s mostly the songs sung in Italian that have that old magic; lovers of vintage Italian prog will understand.
Morphelia - Waken the Nightmare (2CD, $17.99) Morphelia are a German heavy neo-prog band who, while not ready to displace Martigan at the top of our list of German neo-prog bands, are providing healthy competition. They debuted in 2003 with Prognocircus (72-minutes) and followed that with the ambitious Waken the Nightmare (2009, 117-minutes), a double-CD in a beautiful fat digipack. To oversimplify their style, take the first two Marillion albums and add some metal, with a predominance of darker moods and epic length tracks. There is also some Pink Floyd influence, especially on the 27-minute final track. The second disc is actually stronger than the first, where Morphelia slide into metal less frequently, yielding more unadulterated progressive rock. Read the reviews at ProgressiveWorld.net and Background Magazine.
Prognocircus is similar, though Morphelia honed their playing and production skills in the time between their two albums. One criticism that could be leveled at Waken the Nightmare is that, for an album of its length, it sticks pretty closely to the same script (for a jester’s tear). Prognocircus has a Saga influence heard right off the bat, and overall feels a bit more varied. Start with Waken the Nightmare, and if you enjoy it, you’ll almost certainly want Prognocircus as well.
Martigan - Vision ($15.99) 
With the addition of Morphelia to this page, it seemed like a good time to call attention to Martigan again. For many, German band Martigan will be the best neo-prog band you’ve never heard. They were founded in 1994 and have made steady progress with each album, and with Vision (2009, 79-minutes), they are at least on a par with Collage and Deyss at their peak, and ahead of any other continental band who play or played a style similar to early Marillion or IQ. Which is exactly what Martigan play, the original neo-prog style without metal, excessive melancholy, or other modern downgrades. The music is melodic, exuberant, dramatic and majestic, with soaring Rothery-style guitar leads and excellent vocals, and like the best neo-prog bands, the ‘neo’ tag is not always necessary. The 23-minute track that opens Vision will hook any fan of the style immediately. The excellent Man of the Moment (2002) is currently unavailable. Working backwards, the quality only drops off slightly on Ciel Ouvert (1996, 68-minutes). All their albums are sung in English.
Live in Köln is a 112-minute ‘official bootleg’ DVD+R with stereo audio of Martigan performing live in 2003. The disc is all-region but in the PAL system, so those outside Europe, be sure you can play PAL DVDs. It comes in a slimline case with no liner and counts as only one-half CD for shipping. Here is a video sample. Reviews of each CD can be found by following the second mp3 icon above.
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.
Troy Donockley - The Madness of Crowds ($15.99) The Madness of Crowds (2009) is the third solo CD for former Iona member and always in-demand session musician Troy Donockley. If you’re new to Troy’s music, you’ll find more info on Page 2 along with Troy’s earlier CDs and collaborations with Dave Bainbridge. The cast on The Madness of Crowds includes Joanne Hogg (Iona), Nick Holland (Maddy Prior’s band), Brad Lang, Frank van Essen (Iona), Rosie Biss, Barbara Dickson, Heather Findlay (Mostly Autumn), as well as a quintet of harp, oboe, clarinet, flute, and bassoon. This is cinematic Celtic progressive rock: atmospheric, majestic, sublime, and nearly unique. In some ways, this is an extension of what Clannad had begun circa 1983, taken into more classical and progressive realms. “If any modern music can shake off the ravages of fashion and hark back to a time when music was created and listened to as Art rather than as commodity and accessory, then by definition this does precisely that... the essence of that ‘lost world’.” The CD comes in a fat digipack plus slipcase, but it folds out into an 18-panel piece of art that must have cost a fortune to manufacture. Read reviews here.
Patrick Moraz - The Story of i ($15.99)Back in stock. In the go figure category, all the Patrick Moraz CDs are distributed in the U.S. except this one, his best. Swiss keyboardist Patrick Moraz is known to most for his stint in Yes on the Relayer album, where his playing style had a large impact on Yes’ sound, and for his 1978-1991 tenure with The Moody Blues, which paid the bills. Moraz also recorded two studio albums with Bill Bruford. The Story of i was Moraz’s debut solo album, recorded in late 1975 during a period when all the Yes members recorded solo albums. The album is a concept piece based around a story Patrick had written. The album features Brazilian musicians and rhythms, demonstrating that progressive rock musicians were doing world music before it became fashionable, and doing it better. Other featured musicians on the album are jazz drummer Alphonse Mouzon and bassist Jeff Berlin. This is without a doubt Moraz’s best solo album. Not only that, it is unique and is a progressive rock classic. This is the remastered edition on Voiceprint with two bonus tracks. The rest of the Patrick Moraz CDs are here.
Moraz / Bruford - In Tokyo ($17.99)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 (1983) and Flags (1985) 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”.
Anthony Phillips - Private Parts and Pieces I & II remastered (2CD, $15.99)Voiceprint’s Anthony Phillips reissues continue with the Private Parts and Pieces series. The first two albums in this long-running series are probably 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 combines the two albums (at a single CD price) and adds three bonus tracks. Both albums were remastered for this release by Simon Heyworth. More Anthony Phillips CDs are on our British page.
PBII - Plastic Soup (CD + PAL DVD, $16.99) The Dutch band Plackband was formed in the mid-1970’s and was most influenced by Genesis. They took an 18-year holiday, reuniting in 2000. After 30 years, Plackband rebooted as PBII with three of the original members and the desire for a more modern sound. They had to find a new bass player, and keyboardist Michel van Wassem assumed lead vocal duties. Guests include John Mitchell and John Jowitt, two guys who never met a neo-prog band they didn't want to play with, and singer Heidi Jo Hines. It's not a radical change from Plackband, as the old Genesis influence is still present most of the time. PBII’s desire for a more modern approach has more to do with the use of modern sounds, modern production and the sound of the mix than a change in musical style. Frost is not a bad comparison in terms of that marriage of classic prog and modern execution.
In addition to a standard CD (69-minutes), this set includes a DVD. The packaging bears the DVD-Audio logo in two places, the only problem is that it is not a DVD-Audio disc. It is a PAL DVD-Video disc (all-region) containing a Dolby Digital 5.1 surround mix of the entire album, plus two videos (16:9). The 2-disc package comes in what looks like a digipack but lacks the integrated plastic tray; it’s a tri-fold eco-friendly sleeve with pockets for the two discs and booklet. North American customers, be aware that we will not accept returns because the DVD will not play on your NTSC player, though some NTSC players will still play the surround audio, and computer DVD drives will play the entire disc. Read the Background Magazine and DPRP reviews.
Flavio Mezzodi - Elements ($15.99) Drummer Flavio Mezzodi was a member of the Swiss prog band Thonk, though his experience goes far beyond that. Elements (2009) is his first CD under his name, containing symphonic prog with fusion touches. Mezzodi also plays piano and synths and contributes backing vocals, while numerous other musicians appear on vocals, guitars, bass, soprano sax, and more drums. There are two songs with English-language vocals and six instrumentals. This is really brilliant. Mezzodi’s masterful drumming is something to behold. No matter how complex the drum parts become, he maintains the groove and doesn’t turn the songs into drum solos. Except for the last track that is, which is a drum and percussion workout with three drummers playing at once. The music is carefully composed and arranged, and the immaculate production makes it especially powerful. In addition to the audio, there is an 8-minute video set to a medley of the Elements songs. It’s well-known among retailers that some prog fans are incapable of buying a CD under an unknown individual’s name, even though for decades studio tracks have been recorded one part at a time, with no need now for the musicians to ever be in the same room together. If ever there was a CD that makes the stupidity of that bias evident, this is it.
Maxwell’s Demon - Diablo ($12.99) Prometheus is the 2001 debut by a U.S. instrumental band going for the Änglagård sound and style and coming very close, adding a slightly more avant-garde flavor a la Univers Zero. The album plays as one long track. Diablo is the follow-up, released at the end of 2009. While retaining the King Crimson (think Providence, but composed rather than improvised) and Änglagård appeal, Diablo is more challenging. Much of the album is very dissonant, with all the tritones the band can muster, consciously avoiding major thirds. Yet the album culminates in more tonal, less diabolical, nearly happy music, so with patience even Diablo resolves. As the band says: “This album was made by the band, for the band, and the few remaining fans of authentic progressive rock who want to be challenged and are willing to explore this difficult yet rewarding music over many undistracted listenings. You know who you are”.
Stefano Panunzi - A Rose ($17.99) Timelines (65-minutes, digipack) is the outstanding 2005 debut by Italian keyboardist Stefano Panunzi. It was recorded in Italy, Germany, the UK, and Japan, and features many guest musicians including Mick Karn (Japan, Rain Three Crow), Gavin Harrison (Porcupine Tree, Mick Karn), and Peter Chilvers (No Man, Henry Fool). This is highly-polished, moody progressive music in the No Man, Porcupine Tree, Nosound, and David Sylvian veins, with detailed ambient textures and elements of jazz, about evenly divided between songs (sung in English) and instrumentals.
A Rose (2010, 54-minutes, digipack) features Mick Karn, Tim Bowness (No-Man), Giancarlo Erra (Nosound), Theo Travis, Markus Reuter, Robbie Aceto, and many more musicians. It downplays the ambient jazz of the first CD and features more songs: seven songs using seven different singers, plus three instrumentals. The production is immaculate, the music mesmerizing and seductive; this is a masterpiece of ambient progressive rock. Read the review at Prognaut; another review appears on Panunzi’s MySpace page (first mp3 icon above).
Mindgames - MMX ($17.99) 
International Daylight (2003, 66-minutes) is the debut by Mindgames, a Belgian melodic symphonic progressive band singing in English. After their promising debut on Musea, Mindgames self-released an outstanding second CD Actors in a Play (2006, 67-minutes), followed by MMX (57-minutes, digipack) in 2010. Mindgames have elements of neo-prog (Pendragon, early Marillion, Clepsydra, Saga), while those familiar with the first-generation Benelux progressive bands may feel that Mindgames have much in common with Machiavel, Isopoda, Flyte, and Phylter. Singer Bart Schram’s voice is sort of a hybrid of Nick Barrett’s and Jon Anderson’s, so there are allusions to Yes in addition to the Pendragon similarities. MMX strikes us as being more purely neo-prog (add Castanarc and Multi-Story to the list of references), with crystal-clear production. All their CDs are full of epic tracks combining vocal and instrumental sections. It’s good to see quality symphonic prog coming from Belgium again.
Half Past Four - Rabbit in the Vestibule ($12.99) This is the late-2008 debut by Toronto’s Half Past Four, an excellent, eclectic progressive rock band that could be grouped loosely with Echolyn and IZZ in that they have a modern, energetic sound that is nevertheless respectful of the classic progressive rock bands, with some nimble playing and complex arrangements. Likewise, Half Past Four have a true keyboardist (who favors piano), the essential element missing from too many modern so-called prog bands, so the balance between keys and guitar is what it should be for a prog band. Half Past Four’s songs are centered around their talented female vocalist Kyree Vibrant (which is a pretty good surname). The music is often arty and quirky, skirting Squonk Opera territory, simultaneously innovative and catchy. Read reviews here and especially the DPRP review for more in-depth descriptions of a band we hope to hear more from. 63-minutes.
Blackmore’s Night - Secret Voyage ($14.99) 
Blackmore’s Night - Shadow of the Moon ($13.99)For those few yet unaware, this is what guitar hero Ritchie Blackmore has been doing since 1997 and with great success. His wife Candice Night provides the beautiful vocals. Blackmore’s Night do a renaissance faire or medieval minstrel style of symphonic rock, electric but using early music instruments and a lot of other acoustic textures. There are influences of renaissance music, Celtic and East European folk. Blackmore himself concentrates more on acoustic guitar than electric, playing in the style of Gordon Giltrap. This is the most complex progressive music that Blackmore has ever played, and not at all what a Deep Purple or Rainbow fan would expect.
These are the 2010 reissues on the band’s own Minstrel Hall Music label of the first and third Blackmore’s Night CDs: Shadow of the Moon (1998, 65-minutes) and Fires at Midnight (2001, 68-minutes).
The Village Lanterne (2006, 71-minutes) is their fifth studio CD, with the biggest symphonic rock sound of their albums to that point. Secret Voyage (2008, digipack) contains 12 new tracks plus a bonus video. It is another fine album for Blackmore’s Night, with Blackmore dusting off his electric guitar on several tracks. Read the reviews at Prog Archives. Check our DVDs page for the Blackmore’s Night DVDs.
Kaipa - In the Wake of Evolution ($12.99) On In the Wake of Evolution (2010, 70-minutes), Kaipa pick up where they left off, with the same lineup as on Angling Feelings plus guests on recorders and violin. It’s a fantastic sympho-prog album with many similarities to Yes. Read the peoples’ proclamations at Prog Archives. More info and more Kaipa CDs are on our Scandinavian page.
Pekka Pohjola - The Mathematician’s Air Display ($17.99) The most revered Finnish progressive rock musician, Pekka Pohjola was not simply a phenomenal bassist (he was also adept at several other instruments), but a composer extraordinaire, his work ranging from a Scandinavian Mike Oldfield style to progressive big band to classical and more. He passed away in 2008 at age 56. These are the 2010 remastered editions on the Esoteric label of his second and third albums, originally released in the UK by Virgin Records, with fully-restored artwork and a new essay. The Love Records release of B the Magpie (1974) was titled Harakka Bialoipokku; The Mathematician’s Air Display (1977) was titled Keesojen Lehto. The latter may be Pohjola’s best-known work because it features Mike and Sally Oldfield and Pierre Moerlen and was released under about five different names. Read reviews at Prog Archives of B the Magpie and The Mathematician’s Air Display. Here is a page with several YouTube videos embedded, including at least one track each from these albums.
Engineers - Three Fact Fader ($15.99) 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. Note the Kscope sampler below contains a track from this CD.
Kscope - Volume 1 ($3.99)The Kscope label’s first sampler CD comes in an attractive physical package and contains these tracks: The Pineapple Thief - Tightly Wound, Lunatic Soul - Lunatic Soul, No-Man - Truenorth (edit), Engineers - Brighter As We Fall, Anekdoten - Gravity, North Atlantic Oscillation - Drawing Maps from Memory, Richard Barbieri - Decay, Nosound - Kites, Anathema - Flying, and Steven Wilson - Harmony Korine.
Proximal Distance - same ($9.99) What do you get when you combine Slychosis and Majestic? It’s Proximal Distance of course. Proximal Distance began as a collaboration between Gregg Johns and Jeff Hamel, the masterminds of Slychosis and Majestic, respectively. Majestic’s Jessica Rasche was brought in to handle the vocals, while Jeremy Mitchell and Todd Sears from the Slychosis camp play drums/percussion. The band says: “Taking from both Gregg and Jeff’s progressive influences, the Proximal Distance sound is along the lines of Yes, Genesis, Pink Floyd, Saga and many more 70’s-style influences and should please even the most hardcore progressive rock listeners.” Those influences are present, with Pink Floyd dominant (and we might add early Nektar), but the overall feel is more contemporary than that might suggest. For one, there is a slight metal influence. Not surprisingly, the album sounds like a blend of Majestic and Slychosis, except that the Genesis influence heard on Slychedelia is downplayed. There is a wealth of sonic details in the quieter sections. With a playing time of 74-minutes, there is a lot to absorb here, and it’s difficult to sum it all up in a few words. Ultimately, their sound may be defined most by the fact the composers are both principally guitarists, and guitarists and keyboardists tend to write and arrange differently, particularly when it comes to classical music influences. Since guitarists have come to greatly outnumber true keyboardists in modern prog, that is one reason Proximal Distance sound contemporary even though the music draws heavily from classic prog. Beautiful artwork throughout the booklet from Russian artist Vladimir Moldavsky.
Majestic - Arrival ($15.99)Majestic is the project of American multi-instrumentalist Jeff Hamel, whose CDs are released by the Moscow-based MALS label. Arrival (2009, 77-minutes) comes in a heavyweight mini-LP cardboard sleeve. Whereas the previous Majestic CD Descension suffered from weak vocals courtesy of Hamel himself, he’s brought in singer Jessica Rasche for Arrival, which is part of the reason Arrival is a huge improvement. The Sea of Tranquility reviews will tell you what you need to know, in particular “Arrival does not feel like a one man band in the slightest. The sound is so rich and full it is hard to believe this is the work of one man.” OK, the drums sound like samples and the production is project studio quality, but those are the only clues. There isn’t just a single prog style here. With the slight metal influence, the overall feel is of a modern progressive rock album, and the Majestic press kit does mention Porcupine Tree, Riverside, Dream Theater, and Ayreon (Stream of Passion should also be tossed in there). But the classic prog content is also impressive, with a lot of Pink Floyd, a little Genesis and Yes, even Tangerine Dream style electronics are employed. More review excerpts can be found on the Majestic site, and there should eventually be more reviews at Prog Archives. Here is an mp3 of excerpts from Arrival.
Slychosis - Slychedelia ($9.99)Slychosis is a progressive rock band from Mississippi led by Gregg Johns. On their 2006 self-titled debut (54-minutes, digipack), they display many of their influences, including Genesis, Yes, Rush, Pink Floyd, Deep Purple, Hawkwind, and 70’s hard rock. On a few of these tracks, they wear those influences on their sleeves, but most of the tracks are more original. The debut recording is project studio quality, so while it doesn't have the clarity and sheen of a pro studio recording, it does reinforce the illusion that this is an early 1970’s album.
Slychedelia (2008, 62-minutes, digipack) is a significant step up in both music and production and, unlike its predecessor, doesn’t sound like a 1970’s record. There is still a strong classic progressive rock feel and some 70’s hard rock, but the heavier, more aggressive guitar is from the modern era, and modern technology is employed, for example, the Vocaloid Miriam software, which allows Miriam Stockley (Adiemus) to sing on one’s record without her knowledge. On the latter tracks, the heavy guitar disappears and the Genesis influence becomes dominant, sounding something like the Banks/Rutherford/Collins lineup producing an instrumental progressive track (which they did all too infrequently). Instrumentals dominate over vocals, though the vocals are respectable. This is also one of the most beautiful CD packages you’ll see, featuring the artwork and design of Russian artist Vladimir Moldavsky.
Distinguished Panel of Experts - Trans-indulgent ($12.99)This Distinguished Panel of Experts is a new instrumental prog band formed by some familiar names from the progressive rock world: Guy LeBlanc (Nathan Mahl, Camel) on keyboards, Shawn Persinger (Boud Deun, Prester John) on guitars, Mike Sary (French TV) on bass, and Chris Vincent (French TV) on drums. This is their late-2009 debut CD, which contains an amalgam of the Nathan Mahl, French TV, and Persinger’s styles, that is if one considers only Nathan Mahl’s fusion-tinged instrumental style as found on their Shadows Unbound album. Overall, the music is not as convoluted as French TV; rather it’s more of a progressive jam band album with Persinger’s guitar the main feature. Digipack.
Mike Oldfield - Music of the Spheres ($11.99) 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), and it is a beautiful one, also one that feels familiar. It was written by Oldfield, orchestrated and conducted by Karl Jenkins (Adiemus), 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 it could be argued that Oldfield did the signature Adiemus style before Adiemus did. So it seems fitting that Oldfield and Jenkins have now worked together. You can find videos for 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. More Oldfield CDs can be found on our British page.
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. See below for the Mostly Autumn CDs.
Fromuz - Seventh Story ($12.99) 
Fromuz are a world-class instrumental progressive rock and fusion band from Uzbekistan, very high-energy and fairly heavy. Using the ISO code for their country (UZ), their name literally means “From Uzbekistan”. The drummer/percussionist on their first two CDs is Vladimir Badirov, who released the Greeting from Nostradamus CD on Unicorn Records in 2004. Audio Diplomacy (2007) features an NTSC, all-region DVD of a 2005 live performance, a multi-camera professional production. There is an accompanying 75-minute audio CD containing the same songs on the DVD, the two discs housed together in a jewel box. There is so little crowd noise, and the recording quality is so high, this could pass for a studio CD. Maybe it is and we’re just confused. The DVD includes two bonus tracks. Read the Sea of Tranquility reviews.
Overlook (69-minutes) is Fromuz’s 2008 studio CD. There is little real jazz or fusion here, as Fromuz have focused on the progressive rock side of their style. They get heavy at times, but the music is distinct from the likes of Planet X or Liquid Tension Experiment. Fromuz are much artier, varied and inventive. High marks all around. Read the Sea of Tranquility reviews.
On Seventh Story (2010), Fromuz continue the shift towards symphonic prog, leaving all but a little fusion behind. This may have something to do with lineup changes. While the compositional core of the band remains, drummer Badirov and the bassist have been replaced and a second keyboardist added, with grand piano being used for the first time. The music is now more rock-oriented, more symphonic and classical, and even features some vocals. There are references to King Crimson, a little Camel, proggy jams, the music jumping around between different progressive rock styles so that the album is always interesting. This is the Fromuz CD with the broadest appeal so far. Be sure to read the Sea of Tranquility reviews.
Kinetic Element - Powered by Light ($11.99) Kinetic Element is a classic prog band out of Richmond, Virginia, let by keyboardist Mike Visaggio. Their debut Powered by Light (2009, 69-minutes) is pure 1970’s-style symphonic prog that sits right alongside the work of Lift, Pentwater, Ethos, and various other American 70’s prog bands, and is on the same level. Like those bands, Kinetic Element have absorbed the influences of Yes, Genesis, ELP, and other first-tier progressive bands. (Refugee is actually a better reference than ELP here.) Significantly, the music is composed by a keyboardist. Contrast that with the ‘modern prog’ bands who, if they have a skilled keyboardist at all, have often relegated him to playing pads if the guitarist has left any space in the music. Visaggio is not someone trying to recreate the sound of an era that predates him; he’s old enough that he was there when progressive rock first emerged. Read reviews here.
Starship Universe is Mike Visaggio’s 2006 solo CD, on which he has help from a drummer on three tracks. The style is largely the same, epic prog influenced by ELP, Yes, and Rick Wakeman. Read the review at Prognaut.
Eloy - Visionary ($14.99) Eloy is Germany’s well-known symphonic space-rock band, who really hit their stride with Silent Cries and Mighty Echoes (1979) and Colours (1980), and peaked on Planets (1981) and Time to Turn (1982). While they may have been influenced by Pink Floyd, Eloy became a reference to which other prog bands could be compared. In simple terms, they combine the symphonic progressive and space rock styles like no one else.
In celebration of Eloy’s 40th anniversary, founder/guitarist Frank Bornemann returned to the studio to create the band’s first studio album in 10 years: Visionary (2009). Bornemann’s goal was to recreate the vintage sound of their most popular period. To that end, he assembled a lineup featuring members of Eloy’s past. Time was spent recording at world-renowned Horus Sound Studios in Hannover, Germany. Actually owned by Bornemann, it is the place where the classic Eloy sound was created. This is the U.S. edition, which comes in a jewel case with a 16-page booklet. The CD includes a video entitled The Making of Visionary.
King Crimson - Lizard: 40th Anniversary Ed. (DVD-A+CD, $21.99) |    |
Intentions - Place in Time ($16.99) Place in Time is a fine 2009 debut by this Dutch melodic prog band. Intentions play the modern style of neo-prog (neo-neo-prog?), darker and melancholic while still lush and melodic, along the lines of today’s Sylvan, the darker RPWL songs, or most of the current crop of Polish prog bands (but without the metal of Riverside and their ilk). Read the DPRP review.
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 1970’s, Camel continued to enjoy success in the 1980’s, 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.
Big Big Train - The Underfall Yard ($12.99) 
Big Big Train - Bard ($15.99) English band Big Big Train began in the early 1990’s as a soft neo-prog band. They made what we consider their breakthrough album in 2002 with Bard. The band almost called it quits at that point, but the overwhelmingly positive response to Bard encouraged them to continue. For Gathering Speed (2004), they added a new singer. The music on this CD is more intense than past efforts and far more connected to early Genesis than to the 1980’s prog bands, with tasteful use of Mellotron and that characteristic mix of the pastoral and the majestic. A concept album set in the summer of 1940 during the Battle of Britain, it tells the story of a fighter pilot who is shot down during a combat patrol. If you want to re-experience the way English bands once made progressive rock, this is an essential album. (The current edition is a digipack.)
Though Gathering Speed would exceed it, Bard is a very good album, more complex than Big Big Train’s previous work, the band’s compositions having become quite sophisticated by this time. While you can detect a few similarities to Jadis and IQ (Rob Aubrey engineers the albums of all three bands), Big Big Train have their own sound, a certain fragility and an appealing relaxed vibe permeating the vocal sections (male with some female vocals). They do cut loose during some of the instrumental passages, especially in the 14-minute Broken English, while the 17-minute For Winter is also a highlight. A perfect antidote to all the metal bands masquerading as progressive, this is very English music full of finesse and grace. Bard is now deleted with no plans for a reissue, so last copies.
Big Big Train’s fifth album The Difference Machine (2007) features significant contributions from Pete Trewavas (Marillion) and Nick D’Virgilio and Dave Meros from Spock’s Beard, and was mixed by Rob Aubrey. The band describes this CD as a combination of classic progressive influences (Genesis, Van der Graaf Generator, King Crimson, PFM) and influences from alternative rock (Sigur Ros, Oceansize, Mew). It does represent a significant evolution of their sound from previous albums, and is one of those albums like Marillion’s Brave that defies expectations and may require several listens before it begins to sink in. “The great chord changes and powerful melodies are still there, more so in fact than before, but the music is much more upbeat, more ‘proggy’ if you will than previous albums. In fact it doesn't even sound like the same band as earlier albums, except for some of Gathering Speed. This is in fact one of the most powerful and beautiful albums I have heard in years. This is one of those albums that sound better and better with repeated listens, and the addition of sax and cello give the overall effect of a true classic, somewhere between Yes, Genesis and Pink Floyd in their primes. Mellotron abounds as well, in the short breaks that divide the three long songs that make up the bulk of the album.” [Bill Gillham, ProgArchives] One thing is reasonably certain: Big Big Train have gone from being a second-tier neo-prog band to a band that is now breaking new ground. This is the 2010 digipack edition, which adds one bonus track.
Big Big Train’s second album English Boy Wonders was originally recorded on a limited budget and released by GEP (IQ’s label) in a semi-complete state in 1997. It had been unavailable for several years. For this 2008 digipack re-release, Big Big Train returned to the original multi-track tapes but also re-recorded much of the album. Additional sections of music were written to complete the album as it was originally intended. A bonus track featuring Martin Orford has been included and the album has been completely remixed and remastered by Rob Aubrey. Across its 80 minutes, English Boy Wonders tells the heartbreaking story of a doomed relationship.
The Underfall Yard (2009, digipack) is the most ambitious Big Big Train album yet, an astonishing work, dare we say their masterpiece. New singer David Longdon, whose voice is similar to that of Peter Gabriel and Phil Collins, is the final piece now in place. Longdon also plays many instruments on this album: flute, mandolin, dulcimer, psaltery, glockenspiel, and keyboards. Longdon worked with Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford for half a year on what would become Genesis’ Calling All Stations album before losing the job to Ray Wilson. More recently, Longdon sang on Martin Orford’s The Old Road, an album also recorded by Rob Aubrey, and with Martin and Rob’s recommendation, Longdon boarded the Train. Nick D’Virgilio plays the drums, and there is a small orchestra worth of other musicians contributing, including Dave Gregory (XTC, Peter Gabriel), Jem Godfrey (Frost), and Francis Dunnery (It Bites, solo). While The Difference Machine added modern influences, and some of that is still present on The Underfall Yard, this feels much more like a classic prog album. And yet different. The pastoral Genesis and PFM influence is still present, with flute, acoustic guitar, and cello, all bathed in a warm Mellotron glow. But there is more Yes influence than on any previous Big Big Train album. Don’t finalize your Best of 2009 list until you’ve heard The Underfall Yard. Read the Progressive Land review.
Shadow Circus - Whispers and Screams ($10.99) Welcome to the Freakroom is the debut by a New York City band who go for a classic 1970’s progressive rock sound (Yes, Rush, Kansas, Pink Floyd, Led Zep) with a somewhat more contemporary guitar style and energy. Vocalist David Bobick has a degree in musical theater and brings some of that feel to these songs. The first five tracks are more vocal-heavy, but the album culminates with the 12-minute Journey of Everyman suite, which is the progressive tour de force and is loaded with instrumental fireworks. There is something similar in Shadow Circus’s approach to that of Puppet Show, the way both bands have absorbed mostly British 70’s progressive influences but add a contemporary energy and American flavor. Other modern reference points might be Transatlantic and The Tangent. This album was first released on CD by the band in February 2007, but this second edition on ProgRock Records has been remixed and is a significant sonic upgrade.
Whispers and Screams (2009, 61-minutes) is even better. It begins with the 33-minute Project Blue suite, a roller-coaster ride of classic rock and progressive rock influences, always keeping the listener guessing what comes next. There is a greater American flavor to parts of this CD. The best is saved for the last three tracks (two of which are long ones), which are full of classic symphonic prog with Yes and Kansas as likely influences, and a guest cellist making important contributions. The final track could almost be The Enid. Keyboards and guitar share the spotlight throughout the album, something that is becoming less and less common in what passes for progressive rock, as quality keyboardists seem to be an endangered species. Fortunately, Shadow Circus understand the importance of symphonic tone colors. Read the DPRP review.
Horslips - The Man Who Built America digipack ($14.99)
Horslips were the Irish folk-prog band. Prior to U2, they were arguably the Irish band period (and Bono was a fan). Formed in Dublin in 1970, the Irish folk aspect of their style was strongest early on. By the end of their career (1980), they had become almost purely a rock band. (The band has recently reunited for live performances.) The first CD reissues of the Horslips albums sounded terrible. They were reissued again circa 2000 but didn’t stay in-print long. The Horslips CDs finally began reappearing in 2009 in these remastered digipack editions with live bonus tracks. Apparently Dancehall Sweethearts and Aliens are also out now; we’ll try to get those in. (If price is no object, you can get them for $28 each on Horslips’ site.)
Their second album The Tain (1973) is one of their two best, the other being The Book of Invasions (1976). The latter is more polished, but both are essential. Aliens (1977) followed The Book of Invasions, and progressive rock fans were taking notice, for not only did Horslips often sound like an Irish Jethro Tull at this time, these albums actually charted in the U.S. From Aliens until the end of their career, each subsequent album contained less folk and more rock, and the quality dropped off as the commercialism increased. Well, the story was much the same for most progressive bands during the late 70’s. The Man Who Built America (1978) was still a good album, really Horslips’ last good album, dealing with Irish immigrants in America.
Gryphon - Treason ($14.99) 
Gryphon - Gryphon ($14.99) Gryphon is Britain’s famous progressive rock band who combined early music instruments and renaissance music influences with rock. They played a reunion gig in 2009. These are the latest editions of the Gryphon CDs on Talking Elephant. Their fifth and final album Treason (1977) is the latest to be reissued; it had been unavailable on CD for many years. Their self-titled debut is from 1973, their second Midnight Mushrumps from 1974, and their third Red Queen to Gryphon Three from later in 1974. Their 1975 fourth album Raindance is not available on this label.
Gryphon’s first album is entirely acoustic. They began to ramp up the rock on Midnight Mushrumps, culminating in their masterpiece Red Queen to Gryphon Three, which features longer, more symphonic pieces. Treason 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.
The Tangent - Down and Out in Paris and London ($12.99) The Tangent are one of today’s top-tier progressive rock bands. They are centered on extremely-talented composer/keyboardist/singer Andy Tillison, also of the band Parallel or 90 Degrees (Po90). This is the jewel box edition of Down and Out in Paris and London (2009), their fifth studio CD, the name borrowed from the George Orwell novel, though the music and lyrics are not related to the novel. This is the jewel box standard edition. (There is supposed to be a digipack limited edition that InsideOut apparently didn’t send to their new U.S. distributor.) More lineup changes since the previous album: Jaime Salazar and Jonas Reingold are gone, so now The Tangent consists of Tillison, Guy Manning, Theo Travis, Paul Burgess (10cc, Camel) and Jonathan Barrett (Po90). As Tillison notes: “For the first time since 2003, all the members of the Tangent are English. I think that’s an important thing, because one of the most defining things about The Tangent’s sound has been a certain ‘Englishness’ - an affinity with the roots of prog rock.” The CD concludes with the 13-minute The Canterbury Sequence Volume 2, this time sounding less like Caravan, more like Hatfield and the North, National Health, and Gilgamesh. Read the review at Bill’s Prog Blog. The rest of the The Tangent CDs and more info are on our British page.
Parallel or 90 Degrees - Jitters ($15.99) 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 return in 2009 with a new studio CD Jitters. With Po90 and The Tangent now 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 1970’s 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.
Ixion - Garden of Eden ($16.99) Ixion is a project created by Dutch composer/bassist/keyboardist Jankees Braam. Braam also does live sound for Knight Area, S.O.T.E., Ulysses, and Illumion, and members of all these bands plus several other musicians play and sing on his albums. So Braam is following the Ayreon model, and similarly the third Ixion CD Garden of Eden (2009, 56-minutes) is a concept album with an original story. The music is bombastic modern progressive rock featuring a number of different vocalists, both male and female. There is some heavy guitar, and the music is generally dark, which may be enough to interest most prog-metalheads. But it’s primarily richly-textured symphonic prog, with classical touches at times, especially when violin and cello are used. Garden of Eden is the most fully-realized of the Ixion albums.
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 in 2010, so we’ll wait to stock the new edition.
Gazpacho - Tick Tock ($12.99) new lower price!Norwegian band Gazpacho originally allied themselves closely with Marillion. One can assume they took their name from the Marillion song and not from a love of cold soup, and the title of their first full-length album Bravo is only a vowel shift away from a well-known Marillion album. They were on Marillion’s label for a time and have supported Marillion on tour. Certainly their style shares a lot with Marillion from Brave on. Their music is in the serious-sounding, deliberately-paced modern progressive style that emphasizes atmosphere, texture and melody over demonstrative playing. Other bands frequently mentioned as reference points are Porcupine Tree and Radiohead. Gazpacho came of age with 2007’s Night, at which point the guest violinist of the previous three albums had been promoted to a full member. Their fifth album Tick Tock (2009) is a natural evolution from Night and of equal quality. Read the roundtable DPRP reviews.
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 1970’s. 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.
Syzygy - Realms of Eternity ($12.99) 
Cleveland, Ohio-based Witsend released their outstanding debut Cosmos and Chaos in 1993, one of the classiest American prog rock albums. This is the remastered second edition. These guys have chops on the same level as Spock’s Beard, but their mostly-instrumental music lacks the Beatles/pop influences of the Beard. Probably influenced most by Yes and ELP, maybe early Ambrosia, with a bit of Steve Hackett thrown in, this is nevertheless quite contemporary in sound and execution.
Syzygy is the same band after taking time out to raise families, and 2003’s The Allegory of Light vaulted them right back near the top of the American prog rock heap. This is complex, clever, heavily-instrumental prog rock played by top-notch musicians, mixing the old and the new. Influences and reference points include ELP, UK, Yes, King Crimson, Gentle Giant, Transatlantic,... you get the picture. 63-minutes.
Realms of Eternity (2009) was originally going to be a double-CD but has been released as a no-filler 77-minute single CD. Syzygy have expanded to a quartet with the promotion of bassist & backing vocalist Al Rolik to full-time status, and brought in veteran session singer Mark Boals as guest lead vocalist, as there is a greater emphasis on lyrics on this album. The vocals, so often the shortcoming of indie prog bands, are completely professional, and yet instrumental content still dominates. There are loads of leave-you-speechless instrumental fireworks, but also acoustic, pastoral passages worthy of Tull and Genesis. Syzygy sound more British than ever (and to be quite frank, none of the current generation of British bands appear capable of a work like this). With excellent production, this is not only Syzygy’s best and most ambitious album, it’s vies with Phideaux’s Number Seven as the U.S. prog album of 2009, quite possibly prog album of 2009 period. It seems a crime that one can buy this much music of this caliber for so little money.
Phideaux - Number Seven remastered ($11.99) 
Phideaux - 313 remastered ($11.99)
Phideaux - Fiendish ($11.99)The Los Angeles band Phideaux is led by songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Phideaux Xavier. Their first album Fiendish (2004) is an intoxicating blend of progressive and psychedelic-folk, with an organic sound from an earlier era. Think of a more proggy/spacey Polyphonic Spree. Xavier’s lead vocals are supported by female backing vocals. In addition to Xavier’s guitar and keyboards, drummer Richard Hutchins is the other constant, while a large number of other musicians contribute vocals, bass, cello, Theremin, oboe, English horn, harpsichord and more. There are elements of The Moody Blues, early Floyd, David Bowie, trippy English folk, and baroque music (Amazing Blondel perhaps?).
Ghost Story (2004) makes it clear that Phideaux are not going to make the same album twice. The female vocals are absent here, the music is darker and rocks harder, with a bigger sound. There is still an Englishness to the more serene numbers, and they still have that mesmerizing psychedelic quality. The rockier numbers sometimes suggest a progressive version of David Bowie. An excellent album from a band that can’t be pigeonholed.
Chupacabras (2005) is a no-holds-barred, Mellotrons-and-all progressive album highlighted by the 21-minute title suite, a true prog rock epic. The effect is often that of David Bowie singing for Van der Graaf Generator with some Floydian spaciness and psychedelia added.
313 followed in 2006, with more immediate, shorter songs. Phideaux’s essential psychedelic progressive style is intact, in which songs can somehow be simultaneously haunting and playful. It’s amazing how this U.S. band can sound so (early 70’s) British sometimes, but one can’t call this retro, as Phideaux include later styles in their very creative blend. This is the 2010 remastered version.
The Great Leap (2006) is more vocal-heavy and guitar-oriented, though there are about a dozen musicians involved and there are all manner of keyboards, Theremin, violin, cello, flute, recorder, brass, hammer dulcimer, sitar and more. Of the previous albums, it is closest to Ghost Story. It sounds like David Bowie’s version of Pink Floyd’s The Wall, and fans of Roger Waters will likely love this album.
The Great Leap is part of a conceptual trilogy, of which Doomsday Afternoon (2007) is part two and is Phideaux’s first masterpiece. As the band says, Doomsday Afternoon is the yin to The Great Leap’s yang. The Great Leap is an art-rock album, while Doomsday Afternoon is a 67-minute symphonic rock epic, essentially one long song cycle divided into two acts, and includes the instrumental sections missing from The Great Leap. The album features a small chamber orchestra drawn from members of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Among the guests are Martin Orford (IQ), Matthew Parmenter (Discipline), and Matthew Kennedy (Eyestrings). The booklet is gorgeous too. Comparisons to earlier progressive rock bands are possible but seem unnecessary at this point. There aren’t many artists today who could make this album, and now the bar has been set very high.
As for Number Seven (2009, 63-minutes), Phideaux says: “This album is a continuation of the long form compositions found on Doomsday Afternoon and Chupacabras. It represents another foray into progressive rock, with perhaps a good dollop of chamber jazz and classic rock. For this release, we stayed completely in-house, inviting no outside musicians to contribute. We wanted to see what we could cook up with our live band. I think you will be surprised!” We dare say Number Seven is the best Phideaux yet. The sound is organic in the same way the classic early-1970’s prog bands were. The keyboards are dominated by classically-influenced piano, there is a lot of acoustic guitar, and there is a folk influence throughout, though the music is never folk per se. Both male and female vocals convey this epic tale. When the lyrics switch briefly to Italian, you’ll think you’re listening to a classic Italian prog band. The music is about as original as one can be today and still remain true to the ideals of progressive rock, and there is a craftsmanship and maturity here that stand in stark contrast to all the half-metal, half-prog bands littering the landscape. All the Phideaux albums are distinct from each other, but the quality is consistent, and the musical ambition of this band is incredible. Now about the remastering, read this communiqué from Phideaux. Those who bought the first version will be able to upgrade for free by contacting the band. Read the reviews at ProgArchives.com of Number Seven, Doomsday Afternoon, The Great Leap, 313, Chupacabras, Ghost Story, and Fiendish.
Magenta - Seven Special Ed. (CD+DVD, $17.99) Magenta’s 2004 studio album Seven is a sympho-prog feast and was one of the major prog albums of that year. In fact, the consensus is that this is their best album. In 2009, the band reissued Seven in this CD+DVD Special Edition, which comes in a jewel box plus slipcase. The album was completely remixed by Rob Reed and remastered by Bob Katz (Digital Domain), and the CD now runs 78:54. In revisiting the multitracks, Rob found loads of musical parts that had not been used in the original mix and incorporated some of them. The DVD (NTSC, all-region, 16:9) begins with the feature Inside the Mix with Rob Reed (79:56), in which Rob discusses and dissects the multitracks of the original 2004 mix. An interview with lyricist Steve Reed and Rob Reed follows (36:54), with the two discussing each track from a musical and lyrical point of view, the artwork and guest musicians, and reflecting on the impact of the CD five years on. Next up is 42-minutes of bootleg live videos of the songs Lust, Anger, Gluttony, and Pride. But best of all, the DVD contains a Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround mix of the entire Seven album! OK, it isn’t DVD-Audio or SACD or Blu-ray, but we’ll take whatever surround we can get. This 2-disc version is limited to 2000 copies.
Magenta - Live at the Point 2007 DVD ($17.99) Magenta’s 2008 live double-CD features over 100 minutes of live music recorded at their amazing performance at The Point in Cardiff in November 2007. Only two of the tracks appear on Magenta’s previous live 2CD. Live at the Point includes an extended selection from Home, the rarely performed Sloth, and the recent show-stopping arrangement of The Warning from Revolutions. View the setlist here.
The same performance is captured on the DVD (NTSC, all-region), which adds a behind-the-scenes documentary, interviews, and the video for Speechless. Not only was it the last concert in support of their third album Home and the last performance of that lineup, apparently even the venue has since closed! The Live at the Point DVD features a set list largely different from The Gathering DVD released in 2005. 5.1 surround and stereo audio, 147-minutes (concert running time 106-minutes), 16:9 widescreen.
Magenta - Metamorphosis ($13.99) |          |
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