A very pleasant surprise from Tim Bowness' latest studio album, titled 'Butterfly Mind', as the master songwriter proposes a collection of great, melodic and highly melancholic songs that expand on his pop-prog crossover leanings, while maintaining an interesting relationship with the more electronic sounds that have been perpetrating the British musician's sonic craft over the course of his last couple of albums. It is always enjoyable to sit down and listen to the guy's haunting yet captivatingly tranquil singing voice interact with the synthy/proggy instrumental explorations, especially as they are proposed on 'Butterfly Mind', a minor triumph of minimalistic and modern aesthetics interwoven with a feeling of profound and empathy and gripping melancholy. It is worthy to mention that a cast of stellar guest musicians have jumped in on board to help Bowness make this great album.

Electronic leanings and synth-led soundscapes should not surprise anyone, given the main man's No-Man years. But the highlight for me in Bowness' solo releases is how concise he always manages to present them, on the one hand, and on the other, how emotionally and musically rich they always come out to be. 'Butterfly Mind' is no exception to this rule, and in fact, it comes off as one of the better releases of his catalogue, in my humble opinion. The more upbeat moments on the album do, however, sound more convincing than the mellower or more atmospheric numbers, like 'It's Easier to Love' or 'Lost Player'. This would certainly mean that tracks like 'Always the Stranger', a proggy electronic 3-minute long striker, the captivating 'Only A Fool', the elegant and memorable 'Glitter Fades', the main piece of the album, the 8-minute long 'Dark Nevada Dream', or the more traditional rock approach found on 'We Feel', could be indicated as the highlights, although it is fair to say that there aren't any weak spots on here.

With all of these in mind, one could conclude that Bowness' elevating new piece of studio material is an exquisitely fresh offering from the crossover side of the alternative or progressive rock umbrella, whichever you prefer. Elegance and intricacy do not overshadow the emotive presentation, the lovely melodies, or the memorable and though-provoking lyrics. An overall step-up in this discography.

By this point in Ozric Tentacles' existence, the project had largely evolved to the point of being "Ed Wynne and whoever happens to be playing with him", and this album perhaps took that direction further, with Wynne being the main fixed point amidst a fluctuating lineup. Steve Hillage and Miquette Giraudy. who by this point had moved beyond Gong and Steve's solo career to forge a new musical identity for themselves as System 7, guest on Akasha, providing an intriguing crossover between the Ozric universe and that of Gong, one of their major influences. Other musicians include Brandi Wynne, Ed's wife, adding bass, and Merv Pepler of Ozrics offshoot Eat Static. The end result continues the exploration of psybient territory that The Hidden Step captured the band evolving towards.

A young collective from Norway that bursts onto the scene with some gorgeous symphonic pastoral music. And I like the fact that these guys are not so big on flashy instrumental solos, but rather more on varied (and nuanced yet- complex) structured compositions with strong vocal performances.

1. "Night by Day" (5:17) incredibly beautiful, full-spectrum symphonic sound with vocals sung in English from several sources, male and female. I cannot imagine this song being improved upon. (10/10)

2. "Solveig" (4:24) a pop-folk song fronted by stunningly enigmatic vocalist Johanne Margrethe Kippersund Nesdal (I can't tell if she's folk, blues, rock, cabaret, or pop/R&B--though at times her singing remind me of both of Anna Jobs BENDER from the Swedish family band INTROITUS and of DAM KAT of CHILRDN OF PARADISE). (8.75/10)

3. "Shortcut to a Masterpiece" (3:53) a heavier rocker on which Johanne Margrethe's voice reminds me quite a little of that of BENT KNEE's amazing Courtney SWAIN. Solid song. (8.75/10)

4. "Ghost" (4:49) acoustic guitar and violin open this one, dancing and weaving with one another in quite a lovely (almost Gaelic) fashion. Knut's turn in the lead reveals a very folk-oriented song--doubled up by Johanne Margrethe's background harmony vocals from the second verse on. Beautiful folk song reminiscent of the masters of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Almost on a par with songs by Crosby, Stills, and Nash and WOBBLER. (9.25/10)

5. "Dover Beach" (4:35) a song that immediately brings me to an oceanside beach--opening like a Joni Mitchell song before amping up into the upbeat Jazz-Canterbury territory of INNER EAR BRIGADE or even iNFiNiEN. Brilliant singing by uber-talented Johanne Margrethe Kippersund Nesdal with some equally awesome backing by the rest of the band-- especially drummer Mats Lillehaug. (9.75/10)

6. "Akrasia" (2:03) piano and Johanne Margrethe = reminders of Courtney Swain. I LOVE the interplay of violist Ingvild Nordstoga Eide between Johanne Margrethe's singing passages as well as the fascinating chord play by pianist Ole Gjøstøl. Amazing song! (5/5)

7. "Grains of Sand" (5:49) another gorgeous jazzy iNFiNiEN-like upbeat song that sucks me in from beginning to end. Awesome interplay and performance contributions from every musician, with strings, guitar, and vocalists in the limelight. The vocal arrangements and Johanne Magrethe's lead are so much like iNFiNiEN and Chrissie Loftus! (9.5/10)

8. "I Surrender" (4:15) strummed guitar chords with pop rhythm track and straightforward lead vocal from a male (but is it Knut?) makes one feel as if we're going for a stage performance here--even when the chorus amps up and the "big" voices of the full band choir step up am I reminded of musical productions like GODSPELL or A CHORUS LINE or RENT. Great melodies (and piano and bass play). (9/10)

9. "Sorry for the Kiss" (3:14) What an intriguing title! And then to open with 90 seconds of laid back semi-jazz instrumental music before I begin to realize that this is probably an instrumental. While the main melody, established in the first measure, plays without break from start to finish, "background" instruments such as strings and drums move slowly to the foreground and become a bit flashier (though never what I'd call "soloing") to the end. (8.75/10)

10. "Valentina in the Sky" (9:04) sounding a bit like countrymates NEEDLEPOINT or Texas band MIDLAKE, we have an interesting pop-jazz song with Knut in the lead vocal and full band choral support over some quirky Indie-pop. Great drumming and bass playing throughout with wonderful strings (and flute?) arrangements in accompaniment. Then there is an odd stoppage at 4:30. When the music gradually re-introduces itself it is with rapid piano arpeggi and what sounds and feels like full-orchestral arrangement carrying the song, the melody, the everything! Beautiful! And quite cinematic. (Making me desperate to see the movie!) At 6:40 orchestra backs down as drums, bass, and guitars slowly build with Johanne Margrethe and Knut (and whoever else is going uncredited) chanting a line over and over. Then strings and full band increase their dynamics as Johanne Margrethe takes a lead role over the choir until the song closes out with a fully-orchestrated finish. Wow! (18.75/20)

Total Time 47:23

I don't know where these guys came from (Hamar), or why I've never been led to them before now (it's September 2023) but here is yet another AMAZING band (and album) that has flown under everybody's radar! It's so disheartening! And what an amazing force is chameleonic vocalist Johanne Margrethe Kippersund Nesdal.

A/five stars; a masterpiece of jazzy folk-pop symphonic music--truly progressive and yet feeling oddly familiar and comforting; something I would think that every self-proclaimed prog lover would find joy and amazement in.

Being a band of only two members, the Canadians "Space Kitchen" are nevertheless skilled enough to cover all the musical edges of their debut; fresh airs that blow firmly and without excessive frills, with vocal reminiscences of Jeff Lynne's Electric Light Orchestra, round off their homonymous EP.

Starting with a couple of straightforward tracks of frugal digestion, such as the easygoing "The Arribal" and the resigned return of the protagonist of the story to his family home, including the reunion with Kipp, the pet canine, and the broken "I Love You Baby", Space Kitchen exhibits enormous potential; as evidenced by the powerful "Moving Picture", a sequence of elaborate developments with Rob Howell's keyboards setting the pace and a dramatic, choked guitar solo by Robbie Carvalho, which would have deserved to be extended a few more instrumental passages given its solid construction, as well as the doubled and metaphorical "Sun Tower", rounded off with some nods that remind us at times of their legendary compatriots Rush from the second stage.

And to ratify the concept, the dense and strange "Pain Goblin" and its hypnotic mid-tempo adorned by a very nice guitar solo by Carvalho, closes the more than interesting debut of the Canadians. It's worth keeping an eye on them.

3/3.5 stars

Among the first of many archival Soft Machine releases to be put out by the Cuneiform label (it was preceded by Spaced, an odd set of tracks knocked out to accompany a dance performance), Virtually presents a performance originally recorded for Radio Bremen in March 1971. We're coming right towards the end of Robert Wyatt's tenure in the band here - no more vocals, and perhaps a certain tension in the group exists as a result, but he's giving it all with his drumming here.

A lot of archival stuff from this period has emerged since, but Virtually is a pretty strong set with good sound quality, and that might explain why both Cuneiform and others keep going back to this well - Soft Machine in this period absolutely cooked. Once it became apparent that treasures like this were lying around in the vaults, the hunt was on, so perhaps we should give Virtually credit for setting the bar for this sort of release.

Review Nº 695

'Essential Collection' is a compilation album of Marillion that was released in 1996. It has tracks from all their four studio albums, 'Script For A Jester's Tear' of 1983, 'Fugazi' of 1984, 'Misplaced Childhood' of 1985 and 'Clutching At Straws' of 1987. It has also a track from their debut EP 'Market Square Heroes' of 1982 and two tracks that were only released as singles. All these tracks were released by Marillion in the time when Fish was still a member of the band.

'Essential Collection' has nine tracks. 'Grendel' is from their debut EP 'Market Square Heroes'. It's an epic and complex song inspired by John Gardner's book 'Grendel'. This is an adaptation of the Anglo-Saxon poem 'Beowulf' by Marillion. This track is one of the best tracks from the band, and it's also one of their most progressive too. This composition is frequently compared (mostly unfavourably), with 'Supper's Ready' of Genesis. Curiously, this EP was produced by David Hitchcock, who also had produced the Genesis studio album 'Foxtrot', with 'Supper's Ready' on it. So, this happy or unhappy coincidence, forced a big comparison between both pieces. 'He Knows You Know' is from 'Script For A Jester's Tear'. It's a song that tells us about the abuse of drugs, and alludes particularly to intravenous drug use. This is the shortest song on the album but it still is a great track and represents also another great musical moment on the album. It's a powerful song with powerful lyrics too. The song begins with the guitar followed by Fish's voice and soon the keyboards appear also and then, the song reaches its great musical climax when the drum section enters on the scene. 'Jigsaw' is from 'Fugazi'. It's a bit slow rock song, very nice and I particularly like of it very much. This is a song about everything with Marillion, their music, their audience and the accusation of being a Genesis' clone, what really bothered them. This is a sensual song with beautiful lyrics that we want to sing as we take our morning shower and leaves us well prepared to begin our day's work. Definitely, I love this song. 'Punch And Judy' is also from 'Fugazi'. The lyrics of the song are an amusing subject about a married life, a marriage that gone bad. It's the shortest track on that album but still is a very good song. This is a wonderful song although not very typical of their music until now. However, it features everything that's great in Marillion's songs, catchy riffs and melodies and their typical sound so characteristic of Fish's era. 'Cinderella Search' was never released on any of their studio albums. It was released on their single 'Assassing', in 1984 and it was the B side of that Marillion's single. It was released from their second studio album 'Fugazi'. It remains as one of my preferred songs from the 'Fugazzi' sessions, though not featured on the original album. 'Kayleigh' is from 'Misplaced Childhood'. It was also released as the A side of Marillon's first single 'Kayleigh' and with 'Lady Nina' as the B side. It was also released as a single to the US market with 'Kayleigh' as the A side and 'Heart Of Lothian' as the B side. A 12' version was also released with the alternative mix and an extended version of 'Kayleigh' as the A side with an extended version of 'Lady Nina' as the B side. This is maybe the most recognizable Marillion's tune. It's also one of their most accessible tracks. 'Lavender' is also from 'Misplaced Childhood'. It was also released as the A side of the Marillon's second single 'Lavender', taken from that studio album, with 'Freaks' as the B side. A 12' version was also released with 'Lavender Blue' as the A side and 'Freaks' and 'Lavender' as the B side. It features beautiful lyrics, nice vocals and great musicianship. This is a ballad track, albeit short. 'Lady Nina' was never released on any of their studio albums too. It was released on their single 'Kayleigh' and it was the B side of that Marillion's single. It was released on their third studio album 'Misplaced Childhood'. It was also released as a separated single in U.S.A. It was the A side of that single. This is possibly one of the poppiest tracks of the band. The hook is huge, and even when the lyrics get flowery they still work in the context. 'Torch Song' is from 'Clutching At Straws'. It's one of the slower tracks on that album. It's a romantic ballad which shows how Fish has developed very good manners performing this kind of songs. Fish's vocals shine here and all the players are solid, as usual. Despite be a ballad, it's very beautiful, not spectacular, but good enough. This is a great prog rock song, really.

Conclusion: 'Essential Collection' is one of the many compilation albums released by Marillion. This is also another compilation album from them focused on their musical era with Fish. And as is usual, we are in presence of a good compilation album of the band. It's very short but it covers the all era of Marillion with Fish. Thus, we have one track from their debut work, their EP 'Market Square Heroes', four tracks from their four studio albums with Fish, one track per album, and two non-album's tracks, tracks that were only originally released as singles. Therefore, we can say that 'Essential Collection' is a very well representative compilation album of Marillion. All tracks chosen to be part of it are great and represent a good showcase for the band, which means that 'Essential Collection' is a good starting point to all people who are newbie with Marillion. So, this is a compilation album that deserves to be rated with 3 solid stars.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)

A collection of six uniquely individual full-length songs and two short instrumental expressions, all expressly (and quite skillfully) composed with the intention of representing several archetypical roles or conditions common to the human experience.

1. "An Fanai (Intro)" (2:46) wind noises. Weave of picked acoustic guitar and glockenspiel-like instrument slowly fade in to take over. Nicely melodic yet interestingly discordant at key moments. Fades out on the other side of the pan (right). (4.5/5)

2. "The Explorer" (6:13) opens like a sensitive SATELLITE song with church organ and sensitive male voice singing before the full band bursts into a complex weave of full progginess. At 1:30 all bombast ebbs away leaving delicate piano, synth wash, and eery female vocal "swipes" while Riccardo Romano continues singing in his perfect voice. At 2:30 Riccardo amps up his voice: a very smooth and effective (and kind Peter Gabriel-like) transition. At 3:15 the full band jumps back in for a bit but then disappear for some guitar and strings behind Riccardo's delicate, plaintive voice. At 4:28 an instrumental shift occurs into a more rhythmically-diverse motif while Riccardo also adapts before jumping into full voice with the band's re-amping in the beginning of the sixth minute. This is a very polarized song, dynamically, but, for some reason, it works. I think Riccardo's skill and proficiency is the key to that. A very well composed and realized song that reminds me of the passionate story of Breton's SEVEN REIZH's four-part rock opera about the magical stonecutter Enora in the land of Ys. My second favorite song on the album. (9/10)

3. "The Dreamer" (8:01) Very beautiful music with all instruments on ultra-delicate mode as raspy-voiced Martin Wilson sings his impassioned story. Nice guitar solo at the three minute mark before things dial down for a spoken word passage. Delicate weave returns for another verse of Dreamer Martin's story. Unfortunately, Martin's impressive edge is lost a bit in the chorus. Another nice lead guitar solo--this one better than the first--in the seventh minute. This actually plays out to the finish. Nice. My favorite song on the album. (14/15)

4. "The Chaotic" (7:21) a little more aggressive, but still quite bombastic music within which doubled up muted voices of two (or more) male voices semi-rap. Then regal stage-acting vocal performance (Laura Piazzai?) fills the third minute before the band returns to filling the sonic field with aggression as the muted men discordantly chant about "ego," "action," "fear," "intrusion" and the like. At 4:19 we tone things down for a sequenced synth track over which pitch- bending synth solos (Adam Holzman?) for a full two minutes--even while the music is ramping back up beneath him in the second minute. Angular chords and rapid fire guitar notes begin the arduous journey of taking us out of the synth world at 6:23 gradually emerging into a full on guitar-fest of hard rock 'n' roll to the finish. A weird and difficult-to- like/enjoy song--though I do appreciate the creativity involved with its conceptualization as well as the extraordinary skills necessary to pull it off. (13/15)

5. "The Lost" (9:19) Singing in a passionate raspy voice as Kristoffer Gildenlow does while riding exclusively over some fairly nondescript Spanish guitar play for almost three minutes is a tough call--especially when you're trying to please the ears & brain of someone like me who doesn't hear words/messages of the lyrics except in terms as another instrument in the mix. In fact, it's not until the seven-minute mark that the band fully commits to a full-metal jacket for the musical style being presented here--and even then the resultant effect is questionable at best. (The loud flange effect in the final minute may, in fact, be the best thing about this song.) (16.875/20)

6. "The Wanderer (Interlude)" (2:00) interesting choice of bass sounds to use within these eerie space-voices and their ghostly vocalise. (4.25/5)

7. "The Haunted" (11:32) Nice relaxed pastoral sound palette for the opening of this, with lots of time given to establishing several of the instrumental hooks, but then things switch completely into solo acoustic guitar picking to back the arrival of singer Charlie Bramald's Geoff Tate/Peter Gabriel voice. Some interesting motifs are inserted here and there giving the music a theatric suite-like feel. Unfortunately, the lyrics really do little to draw me in--do not seem deserving of the Peter GABRIEL/DOROCCUS (Babylon)-like delivery. And the rhythmic patterning of the song is a bit too constant and wavy for me--I find it annoying from the start but then to hear it maintained (even in delicate solo "classical" guitar-like passages) is almost cloying. At 8:45, after the last of these acoustic guitar solo motifs, a spacey atmospheric soundscape is established over which Charlie reads a long poetic passage about how and why he doesn't panic in the face of chaos and stress. This, unfortunately, is, for me, the best part of the song. (17.25/20)

8. "The Architect" (11:32) wonderfully delicate instrumental mix--almost jazzy--beneath Achraf El Asraoui's remarkably nuanced and sensitive vocal over the first 2:40. As the music ramps up into more dynamic realms Achraf's voice keeps pace--continues to be effective. The music looses a bit of my interest in these middle-sections, however, for me, this is the most interesting song on the album for its dynamic diversity, unpredictabilty and wonderful vocal performance. John Mitchell's guitar solo needlessly extended fails because he is not an emotionally-impactful, singer of heart-felt notes; he's a technical wizard, yet there is very little of his technical wizardry in this solo and absolutely none of the David Gilmour-esque magic that one would expect from this length of time dedicated to it. This is what I would call (excuse the pun) and epic fail! My third favorite song on the album. (18/20)

Total Time 58:44

I must say, the match-making of singer/vocalists with each song is quite masterful--especially for "The Explorer," "The Dreamer," and Charlie Bramald's poetry reading at the end of "The Haunted" as well as Achraf El Asraoui's wonderfully sensitive vocal in "The Architect."

B/four stars; an excellent addition to any prog lover's modern music collection.

Hailing from a live performance originally broadcast on German television, this hails from the Deadwing tour, coming a month or so after the material captured on the Arriving Somewhere live release. For the most part the setlist concentrates on recent material from In Absentia and Deadwing (and non-album tracks from the same era), though The Start of Something Beautiful and Radioactive Toy pop up to offer something from Up the Downstair and On the Sunday of Life respectively. As one might expect from performances recorded professionally for TV, the sound quality is decent, and overall this is another fine live release, though if you are not a big Porcupine Tree you may find this is a little redundant next to Arriving Somewhere, which draws on a somewhat wider range of their back catalogue at that.

Though released in the same year as The Hidden Step, Swirly Termination is perhaps best appreciated if one recalls that it wasn't recorded as a cohesive studio album, but instead consisted of a grab-bag of unreleased tracks put out by their former record label after a fraught parting of the ways. Later issues include comments from the band's manager suggesting that it's best seen as a followup to The Bits Between the Bits - the cassette release which put together a disparate range of tracks that didn't make it onto any of their other early cassette albums.

Seen in this light, Swirly Termination is easier to enjoy. Yes, it doesn't sound like what the Ozrics were doing in 2000, but that's because it's not from then - instead it's a brace of leftovers ranging from 1992 to 1998. But precisely because it's a disparate range of tracks of various origins, it does end up being a more varied trip than some Ozrics albums from this period. As such, what it loses on consistency it makes up for in variety and novelty, making it an intriguing release.

The album starts in a similar vein as the previous 2 mid-80's ones - laid-back undistinguished compositions with monotonous melody. The second song brings refreshment and a slight blues-rock twist even some intensive Ursiny singing. Further songs are rather hits than misses but none can match Ursiny's pre-'81 output. To be fair, the sound and instrumentation livelier and slightly better than on previous albums. "Kus tvare" is a drum-less mellow pretty simple and yet emotional song. All in all, a slight return to the shape or rather saying - mediocre Ursiny to the average Ursiny. Try it out and share your feedback, alright? :-)