After the demise of the second incarnation of Mountain (West, Bruce & Laing) and also billed as Cream 3, JB came back shortly to his solo career but this time he worked with his friends from the extensive touring of WB&L across the USA. Though he'd also signed an album with John Surman and Jon Hiseman, the previous year; this time there is very little jazz in Out Of The Storm, because the people he plays with are definitely of the rock crowds: indeed drummer Keltner and Gordon were typical session men, while Steve Hunter (from Alice Cooper's band) on guitar handles the six strings. Don't get me wrong, this is still a typical JB album (but it's not particularly a good one), where he sings, plays bass and keyboards and there is some kind of continuity with his previous Harmony Row (though the song lengths almost doubled on average), but don't look too much for WB&L and Cream - though it's evident there is the JB links. The lyrics are again from Pete Brown, except for one track coming from Jack's wife.

Opening surprisingly of the near-falsetto Bruce voice over a harmonium in Pieces Of Mind, the usual JB solo sonics return, with a generally "too-busy" bass line. The slow following Golden Days feature some female vocals to enhance Bruce's ambitious project, but the whole thing sounds forced to me. Bruce goes one further with the next Running Through Our Hands song, and he clearly overstretches himself, despite an interesting starting idea and lyrics from his wife. The A-side unravels uneventfully with the album-shortest Keep On Wondering, which has indeed got us so (wondering) but we've got an "iffy" harmonica break in the middle.

The Cream-esque Keep It Down gives you a breath of fresh air with some good Hunter guitars. The would-be title track returns to the weirdness of the A-side, while the longer One is one of better songs, but the album-wide competition is relatively weak. The album closes with its main highlight album-lengthiest Timeslip (an obvious call to his Cream days), but it's clearly the manic mainly instrumental second half that drives it home, especially that Hunter delivers a killer guitar solo? too bad it ends in a fade-out, though.

It's a little sad that the person I consider mainly responsible for 50% of Cream's greatness was never able to confirm this out of the trio's gatefold, and that the more he tried (too hard, IMHO), the sadder it got? But then again, the same observation applies for both Ginger and Eric as well. Despite some valiant tries during the 70's (including a collab with Ex-Procol Harum man Robin Trower), it seems that Jack was more a man of the 60's, rather than the following decades.

July 2013 saw the 12th studio album from Jump, one in many ways that they have been working towards throughout their career. Steve 'Ronnie' Rundle has taken on the bass role in addition to his normal duties, and the only guest this time is Alice Atkinson with violin on a couple of the songs (she also played on the last album). But this time Mo is also contributing accordion as well as keyboards and the two Steves have gone acoustic while Andy isn't as prominent as is usual. Yes, Jump have moved far more into the realms of acoustic folk, although to be honest the overall sound isn't as far removed from their normal sound as one might expect. As I have said before, I have always viewed Jump as an 'English' band as opposed to progressive, and with this album they have shown that they have much in common with the mighty Show of Hands, another band who have always stuck to their own agenda, playing hundreds of gigs and producing one wonderful album after another.

There is purity to this album that is hard to define, with one great song after another, full of emotion and wonderful music, while JDJ shows yet again why he is so highly regarded as a singer. Whatever song I am playing is my favourite, and I have found myself returning to this album time and again as it is such a delight from the start to the very end. Beautiful songs, extremely well constructed with great arrangements, careful thought being given to the amount of space required between the instruments and between the notes, with room for John to add to the magic. Back in 1991 Jump released their wonderful debut, 'The Winds of Change', and some 22 years later and countless gigs four of the six people who performed on that album are still there. Over the years their music has changed, and they have changed with it, but unlike many they have continued to grow and with this, in many ways their simplest and most roots-based album, they have created the finest of their career. Indispensible. www.jumprock.co.uk

One of the very few downsides of living on the other side of the world is that I am unable to see Jump in concert. Easily one of the hardest working bands around, they must have played thousands of gigs by now and always used to be prolific in their releases. However, it took five years from the release of 'Faithful Faithless' in 2005 for them to return with this at the beginning of 2010. The core line-up is basically the same, with the one and only John Dexter Jones on vocals, Steve 'Ronnie Rundle' on guitars/vocals, Steve Hayes guitars/vocals, Andy Barker drums and Mo on keyboards. But, bassist Andy Faulkner has been replaced by Phil Mayhew, and there are a few guests on strings and sax.

Jump have always had a very hard sound to define, progressive but not really, neo but not really, crossover but not really. In fact, the only way to think of them in my mind is as a band that plays English rock (a statement guaranteed to upset the very passionate Welshman who is the frontman). They really are one of the undiscovered joys of British music, a band that always out their all into their gigs and who consistently produce wonderful albums. I have been lucky enough to hear all of these, and to my ears they generally deserve at least a 4* rating, and with this their eleventh studio album in nineteen years they have yet again delivered the goods. "On Bended Knee" is a wonderful song, and is a fine example of the album, with guitars restrained yet full, with everyone working hard to ensure that the vocals are accompanied perfectly, complex yet with simplicity. Jump concentrate on producing well crafted songs, small stories with the perfect backing, and here are another 11 that are going to gain them new fans and please the old. For more details visit their website at www.jumprock.co.uk

Simply put, the 80s annihilated Sparks. After Ron and Russell's backing band abandoned them after Music That You Can Dance To, they picked up a new guitarist and a couple of assorted other people, and proceeded to self-produce the blandest and most faceless album of their career. There are some brief glimpses of the Mael lyrical wit of old, but they're only glimpses, and much of the music sounds like it could have come from one of a thousand different synth pop bands at the time. After this album, the band ended up taking a break for six years, and it desperately needed that time off.

There are some songs that stand out from the morass of hopelessly tacky keyboards and general 80s sludge. "The Toughest Girl in Town" and "Let's Make Love" have horrendous arrangements, of course, but I somehow find them kinda touching, and I quite like the silly way Russell makes use of his falsetto when singing "I feel it in my HEART! I feel it in my SOUL!" in the latter. At the same time, I can't make much of a reasonable justification for liking these tracks more than finding them pleasant in comparison to what's all around them. Let's hear it for lowered expectations!

Another song that stands out, though hardly in a way that allows me to call it "good" by any stretch, is the closing "Madonna," which is also done in three other languages in the bonus tracks. Ok, yes, I kinda like the simple-but-stupid chorus that pops up from time to time, but I just have a difficult time understanding why this track has to exist. I guess it's kind of a successor to "Change," in that it mostly features Russell talking over a series of repetitive keyboard meanderings, but "Change" had more interesting lyrics, more varied background and a better chorus. The story Russell tells, of having a one-night-stand with somebody he's pretty sure is Madonna, leaves me feeling more confused than anything else. Is this supposed to be some kind of rip by Ron on somebody who probably had no idea Ron even existed? Is it a fantasy? A satire? Meh.

The rest of the album is gross. I guess I feel a slight admiration for the construction of the various pieces of the opening "So Important," but even that one has such terrible arrangements that I can't imagine ever wanting to seek it out. The rest is full of overdone fake big drama in the keyboards crossed with faux-tough stretches (like in "Love-O-Rama"), and the thought of listening to this album one more time just makes me ill. There's also a two-minute instrumental in the bonus tracks called "The Big Brass Ring," but it's just a bunch of keyboard wanks piled on top of each other over booming drums, and it's no better than the typical material of the rest of the album. I'll probably turn back to the couple of good tracks from time to time, but I'll be glad to be rid of this album for good. Don't buy this before you've bought any other Sparks albums.

PS: For some reason, this received a reissue in 2001 under the name Just Got Back from Heaven. Don't buy that thinking you've uncovered some collection of rarities or anything like that.

— First review of this album —

DUN AENGHUS is a collaboration of good friends separated by time and space but united by a love of music, specifically progressive and Celtic rock. Presumably they all spent time on the Aran Islands of western Ireland which inspired this work.

The music herein is largely instrumental, something between the ambiance of a 1980s MARK KNOPFLER soundtrack and the majesty of a RUNRIG production, with some MIKE OLDFIELD thrown in here and there ("Inis Mor") via ultra melodic and languid soloing. Warning and spoiler: pipes abound. Initially, a more nebulous almost new age creature envelopes us but not cloyingly so, A more progressive beast asserts itself gradually over the course of the relatively short recording and not so much wins out as energizes the symbiosis "Journey" in particular includes rare vocals and some classic prog aspects like washes of organ and assertive bass lines. "Elders Tale of Aran Part 2" is an uplifting jewel propelled by sparkling lead guitar and percussion.

Whatever obstacles the members of DUN AENGHUS may have faced to achieve this unlikely result , they should know that it has not fallen on deaf ears. Let's have some more tales.

As you might know that I am actually not a big fan of Saga ...but I occasionally spin the CD as I have some of their albums. It's quite funny to me that I love the band from their live album "In Transit" that I consider as one of the best live album in rock history especially with songs like Humble Stance that really explode my adrenalin. Based on the experience with the live album I then started purchasing their studio album CDs and like some of them. I also loved their live album titled as Detours. ANd now I have this Heads and Tales Live album released in 2011 and it performed the Heads and Tales album originally released in 1983 in its entirety. It's another funny thing again as I write this review I have never heard the original version. It's quite awkward isn't it? Never mind ....the reason I am wrting is not to compare with the original studio album as I really like this live version even though basically i don't quite like the songs performed.

And the next question is why am I writing this review? Simple, I am blown away by the live vibes and anergy demonstrated by the band in this live record: it's fantastic. Well .. I am not familiar with each individual song but as I play the music I am really tuned into it deeply. I love the voice quality of Rob Moratti. I think he sings wonderfully in this album as he can perform consistently from start to end of the album. Second, I love the guitar work performed during the performance - they are all stunning really! And ...it's rocking as well! Third, I love the keyboard work as well.

It starts off nicely with an ambient live vibe through what is titled as Intro (1:43) which sets the overall tone of the performance; it continues nicely to the opening track The Flyer (4:03) with full energy vocal-wise and music-wise. As the music moves I enjoy all the transition pieces with guitar as well as keyboard - and ...yeah ...the stunning guitar solo which is quite unique. Cat Walk (4:21) starts nicely with repetitive keyboard sound accompanied by heavy guitar work accentuated with keyboard ...oh it's so rocking man! The Sound Of Strangers (3:55) enters in with another style of riffs with sort of blues-influenced rhythm section. And again the combined guitar and keyboard work sounds wonderfully to accompany vocal. The music flows nicely from track to track The Writing (4:06), Intermission (6:14) and into the straight rocker Social Orphan (3:27). All sound really nice to my ears and also the remaining tracks The Vendetta (Still Helpless) (1:56), Scratching The Surface (5:17) and it concludes with The Pitchman (7:03). Only at the last track that there is a very nice solo combining guitar and keyboard that sounds very unique.

This is the kind of excellent live performance with little improvisation as I do not hear any long guitar or keyboard solo except those embedded in each track which I believe it is similar or the same with its original studio version. Highly recommended as the it's relatively flawless. It's a very dynamic show and I hope I was there during the concert. Keep on proggin' ....!

Peace on earth and mercy mild - GW

a very unique and excellent prog music ..

Well, yeah ... the first time I heard the music I kept laughing at it as the music turned out to be unique and it's something that was very hard for me to describe. It's my bad habit tend to categorize music into genre or subgenre that sometimes make me difficult to classify and at the end, especially with this release, I gave up categorizing it ....as music is played to enjoy and not to categorize or cataloguing them into certain type of genre or subgenre. As this was originally recorded in 1972, the concept work by the British progressive rock group only available one year due to the dispute with Marvel Comics. The Marvel World Of Icarus was a concept work based around the Marvel Comics stable of superheroes. Taken from the original master tapes, this first-ever official reissue (2007) - includes comprehensive liner notes, band quotes and previously unpublished photos - tells the fascinating story behind the album as well as documenting the wider adventures of Icarus during their 1968-72 existence.

Let's talk about the music. You might classify the music under regular classic rock type of thing similar to Captain Beyond even though it's not really similar. Yes, the music is quite raw and not clearly rock in nature but for sure it's a progressive one as I can find many time signature changes as well as style changes. In my case, the music really astonishes me as it blends various kind of music with sort of jazz, rock, pop as well as afro american style as well. The recording style is raw as it was i think intended to be like this - it sounds really great to my ears. The music moves nicely in relatively fast tempo with mostly upbeat style blending stunning guitar, dynamic flutework as well as saxophone solo along many tracks featured. The flute work I really love and it can be found many segments in the album. The basslines are also very dynamic combined with excellent drumming. In terms of style changes the band demonstrates it in various songs for example in Thor (8th track) where the music suddenly changes its style into slow tempo one. I do not read the Marvel Comics but I am very sure that the songs provided here were intended to represent the superheroes characters as described in the comics.

Overall, this is a highly recommended album with full four-star rating as the music is unique, rich in composition and textures, and most importantly it is cohesive as whole concept album from the opening track into the concluding one. As this is based on comics, the musical style heavily based on story-telling with powerful vocal work. This albu has become my regular playlist for months as I really like the style. Do not think of any symphonic or eclectic or any kind of neo prog music .....just enjoy listening the music - and I am sure you will find joy with it. Keep on proggin' ...!

Peace on earth and mercy mild - GW

I have been a huge fan of Ian Anderson/Jethro Tull for over 40 years (yes, I'm that old) so what I'm about to say feels a little like scolding your favorite child. Just my opinion, but Homo Erraticus seems more like a necessary vehicle to have a reason for a 2014 tour, rather than something created out of musical inspiration. Ian seems to have gotten a bit lazy and selfish. By "lazy" I mean he relies more on a formula for producing music. There's nothing new...nothing is "out of the box". The same instruments are used from album to album (I suppose orchestrations are too costly and can be covered by the cheesy synthesizer sounds). By "selfish" I refer to Ian's tight reign on his band mates (if you can even call them that). There is no room allowed for contribution or improvisation by the other players, so the record sounds very similar to recent efforts and almost as if it was generated by a computer program written by Ian. I'm not even sure you can call this work progressive. Is there even one moment where you are surprised by the music? Sorry, but this effort seems more like a business decision than a work of art. But I still love you Ian!

This oddly bifurcated live album presents an intriguing before-and-after portrait of an artist on the brink of ascent, and in full flight shortly afterward. The initial three tracks are from the July 1969 Newport Jazz Festival, when Miles Davis was still playing (mostly) unplugged Fusion alongside the so-called Lost Quintet. The balance of the disc is reserved for his performance at the legendary 1970 Isle of Wight Festival, where the erstwhile Jazz icon shared the marquee with Jimi Hendrix, Joni Mitchell, Jim Morrison, Jethro Tull, ELP, and Tiny Tim (Hawkwind, not invited, played free of charge outside the fence).

The earlier era has been documented more completely in the 2013 "Live in Europe 1969" boxed set. But the abbreviated Newport concert (24-minutes in all) is more exciting, and sounds better, than anything in the later compilation. The incomplete tape is a source of frustration; it opens in the middle of "Miles Runs the Voodoo Down", a much livelier, more dynamic reading than the version later recorded for the "Bitches Brew" album. But the novelty of hearing the quintet playing as an accidental foursome (Saxophonist Wayne Shorter missed the gig, stuck in Rhode Island traffic) makes it a worthwhile footnote to the unfolding narrative of electric Miles Davis.

Fast forward to late August, 1970: thirteen short months later but a world away in musical terms. The quintet has been expanded to a much louder septet, adding Airto Moreira on percussive allsorts and Keith Jarrett on the second keyboard (with Shorter replaced by Gary Bartz). The cross-fade on disc from the enthusiastic applause at Newport to the sound of over 600,000 festival-goers is a dramatic indication of changing times; the half-hour medley that follows is even more so.

The audio alone can't compare to the full visual experience of the same gig captured on the '05 "Miles Electric" DVD. But it's fascinating to hear the trumpet player leading his band with subtle music cues, setting up a tempo here, suggesting a new theme there, and daring the other players to keep up. The ferocious jam in "Spanish Key" is the obvious highlight, ebbing and flowing with relentless energy, more so than the equally thrilling studio version heard on the "Brew" album.

Like so many other posthumous Miles Davis live albums the CD imposes artificial order on the set list, with indexed track titles that didn't exist at the time. On stage in the 1970s Davis never paused for individual songs, and when asked after the gig about the name of the piece, he famously responded, "Call it anything".

Maybe that should have been the title of the album itself. "Bitches Brew Live" is a disingenuous name for this somewhat forced juxtaposition of two orphaned recordings not long enough by themselves to fill a compact disc (and besides, there's a lot of music here unrelated to the 1970 LP). Consider it an extended sampler of sorts, hastily organized and incorrectly annotated (Led Zeppelin did not play at the Isle of Wight), but rewarding as a candid snapshot of an innovative artist approaching his musical zenith.

— First review of this album —

What a fantastic gig with lots of pleasure.

This live album "Under Trucks" was recorded upon November 10, 2013 in an Osakan live venue called Nakatsu Vi-Code (on the stage another Heavy Prog outfit The Brown appeared ... sadly I could not attend though). And one of highly important matters is that this live album was the debut one for a female trumpeter and the specialty Sayaka KAWADA, actually. As Masaharu NAKAKITA (bass) always says, they play much pleasantly and delightfully "for the audience", naturally as artists. This gig got started, with lively audience's voices around the artists. Various gemmy essence of their brilliant sound can be heard here and there although their performance on stage sounds not perfect. Surprisingly mixing this album is splendid, as though we would join this gig and Djamrers would play in front of us. Very amazing indeed.

Sayaka's trumpet sounds relaxed and stretched ... it's obviously natural because she's been a member of Djamra for almost 3 years (she says she's always got strained on stage even now lol). Her instrumental battles with Shinji KITAMURA (alto saxophone) are worth listening to every time really. These battles should make us smile fully, along with her safe and sound appearance. However her play is always exciting, of course in this live lively album too.

The tracks, except the fourth "Phantom Thief Naitoh-san (Kaitoh Naitoh-san)", are well- known for us who usually attend their gigs. All of them sound very vivid and speedy as well, and we cannot avoid feeling their strong intention as professional musicians. They would have shouted on stage "We play and you listen, enjoy!". That's it. Oh don't forget about the fourth (newer) track titled "Phantom Thief Naitoh-san" ... this song is played as the title track of a midnight TV theatre "not on the air yet (lol)" about a phantom thief only midnight (and a taxi driver in the daytime). Kaleidoscopic developments in this song proclaim his activity as a hermit obscurity. The audience would get immersed in such a colourful theatrical draw.

In conclusion, we should go to a venue and listen to their gig directly if we can. But this live album should be one of strategies for some fans who cannot join the gig. Without any suspicion we can consider it's a fantastic album, recommended.

Hey Masaharu, do hope you will distribute worldwide, not only in live venues.