Trees - The Garden of Jane Delawney (1970)

Britisch psychedelic folkrock group Trees released two records in 1970. The debut (currently being reviewed) and slightly more stately yet stiff 'On the Shore'. Both albums are hailed as favorites by listeners.

Trees has a sound that reminds us of Sandy Danny era Fairport Convention and early Steeleye Span; traditional and pure female vocals, folky guitar drones, some playfulness and beautiful ballads in the minor key. Yet Trees is slightly more progressive then beforementioned bands with some nice psychedelic electric guitar playing and a more dynamic approach to songwriting - which becomes appearant mainly on the first side of the record. Trees makes good use of two skilfull guitarplayers, which also adds to the progressive vibe. The title track is surely one of the most beautiful folksongs I've ever heard, the vocals of Celia Humphris are outstanding.

Conclusion. This is quickly becoming one of my favorite folk records and I can warmly recommend it to every-one with even the slightest interest in folkrock of progressive folk. This is what collecting little known music from the progressive period is about. Five stars.

One of the five founding members present at 1978's very first 'Rock In Opposition' festival in London(don't ask) Belgian avant- gardists Univers Zero belong to that strange little sub-set of groups who have essentially been thrown-in with the prog-rock crowd as a result of their inherant weirdness, the utterly unclassifiable nature of their sound, but most of all because there was simply no place else to put them. Branding Univers Zero under the label of prog-rock is therefore not only incorrect, but dangerously misleading as some listeners have discovered, for this is not rock music as you probably know it. Dark, challenging, deliberately obtuse, influenced by 20th century classical music, chamber music and rock 'n' roll(really?) and featuring a line-up of seriously capable musicians armed with acoustic instruments such as bassoons and obeoes, Univers Zero are, very probably, every record company executives darkest nightmare. Of the five groups present at that very first RIO concert, Univers Zero are arguably the most inaccessible of the lot, making even British avant-jazz jokers Henry Cow seem bright and breezy in comparison. Therefore it shouldn't come as a surprise to learn that this was a group that largely operated outside the margins of the known Music Biz universe, in the process becoming influential members of the RIO movement's subsequent get- togethers. Self-released in 1977, the group's eponymous debut is now regarded as a cornerstone of the genre, and on paper it seems like an intriguing proposition, yet the reality is rather more disturbing. That's because one of the main tenets of the RIO sound, and a core piller of it's DNA, is to utilise intricately-woven and deliberately-unsatisfying melodies and chord sequences to create a sound unlike anyother, meaning that to the average rock fan the music of Univers Zerio must sound acutely awful. However, those versed in ways of prog-rock may find more crumbs of interest than most, if only for the way the music is constructed, and not because of the way it sounds. Whilst for some the RIO movement was an exciting platform for creating original, daring and thought-provoking new music, for pretty much everyone else it was just a bunch of overly-intellectual art-twits indulging in inaccessible silliness. Some of the music is of course valid, but for many the experience of listening to this record will prove rather unpleasant. Subsequent listens do reveal the complex disposition of the compositions, the subtle and shifting textures and the surprisingly strong rock 'n' roll influence, yet the relentlessly confrontational nature quickly becomes gruelling, making this a hard listen for anyone in search of actual entertainment. Yes, it's impressively played and original and all that jazz, but in the end none of that seems to matter. Give me Foreigner, Journey or Styx anyday. STEFAN TURNER, STOKE NEWINGTON, 2015

The second Flower Kings album after the affable 'Back In The World Of Adventures', 1996's 'Retropolis' finds Roin Stolt and company tipping their respective hats in the direction of their 1970's heroes whilst mainting the glossy sheen and impressive technical proficiency that would eventually become the group's trademark. There is, of course, no doubting the Swedish outfits die-hard love of all things progressive, and thus, 'Retropolis' provides fanboy affection by the bucket-load, only from fans with serious talent and their own ideas. However, despite semi-successful attempts at replicating the old school synth-and-organ sound of yore and Stolt's seemingly neverending arsenal of guitar solo's, 'Retropolis' is actually something of a letdown, the golden melodies that adorn the Scandanavians very best work replaced by an earnest, overly-tricksy and actually rather boring modern-prog sound. Not only does it lack the upbeat, almost joyous, ambience of it's predecessor, 'Retropolis' lacks any real stand-out cuts, a rare thing indeed for a Flower Kings album. The chief offender in this misfire has to the title-track, which also serves as the album's opening epic, and serves up over ten gruelling minutes worth of relentless soloing from Stolt. More of the same is offered up on the slightly-less draining 'There Is More To Thias World', whilst the album's second half continues the general theme of polished production values, top-notch technicals and Stolt's tiresome guitar histrionics. Buy 'Stardust We Are' instead. STEFAN TURNER, STOKE NEWINGTON, 2015

Pallas is a rare case of a legendary (or, in their case, semi-legendary) band whose reunion work is better than the original. Pallas sounds like an 80s style arena rock band (you know, the cheery/sad melodies, thin-sounding guitars and synths) with Pink Floydian neo-prog atmospheric and church- sounding leanings. On Beat the Drum, they sound less bombastic than on the albums that follow, mostly straight-forward socially-conscious adult-oriented rock not unlike 80s Rush, Genesis or Midnight Oil. The album is about evenly divided into melody-driven rocky tunes, some ballads and attempts to return to epic scale, of which only Ghosts can be considered memorable. While other songs are not bad, they can suffer from a repetitive beat or absence of good melodic hooks. The guys are just having fun here, exploring what avenues their reunion might take them.

Rush-Snakes & Arrows

Following the darker mood and atmosphere of their previous album, Rush released their follow-up album five years later. With Rush taking long breaks in-between albums, expectations may get rather high. Don't expect the same thing as 'Vapor Trails' though, because Rush never remains the same with their recent releases.

The music differs from 'Vapor Trails', with Snakes & Arrows having more of a variety between heavy rocking tracks and softer acoustic moments. You have, as always, the heavy opener 'Far Cry' with driving guitar riffs, which is probably my favorite song on the album. From haunting yet still heavy tracks like 'Armour & Sword' and 'Faithless' to a great bluesy 'The Way the Wind Blows' and a great finale 'We Hold On', Snakes & Arrows never fails to captivate me.

Unlike other albums, 'Snakes & Arrows' is filled with unique instrumentals. You have an experimental jam 'The Main Monkey Business' with heavy guitar, nice acoustics, space-like sounds, and an ambient guitar solo. The 2nd instrumental 'Hope' is a short but sweet acoustic song. Nothing but acoustic guitar, it's a really unique folk-like song. The 3rd and final instrumental is 'Malignant Narcissism', a heavy track with strong bass. Hard for me not to tap my foot to this song, with the driving bass riffs.

The lyrics are dark, like the previous album. There is a less raw and dark sound to the songs though, making them feel a little more uplifting. Certain songs are in fact empowering, like the closer 'We Hold On' which gives the feeling of hope and is combined with great heavy guitar. The instrumentals, having no lyrics, have to let the music speak. The song 'Hope' is, not surprisingly, relaxing, but the other two are heavy and haunting.

If you are one of the people who didn't like the production on 'Vapor Trails', You'll enjoy the loud powerful production 'Snakes & Arrows' has. Production for me sets a certain atmosphere for an album, and that's why I enjoyed the production for 'Vapor Trails'. For 'Snakes & Arrows' the production fits with matching the powerful riffing, vocals, and drumming.

Overall, 'Snakes & Arrows' is another flawless album in my opinion. It's less raw then 'Vapor Trails', but it doesn't remove the rock and dark mood. It's certainly essential if you enjoy Rush's present century releases.

— First review of this album —

The Arborists found their way to the Archives when I was about to suggest them, so, yes, I am thrilled about it-and I believe they will be pleased too. I am happy to write a few words about the wonderful band The Arborists truly is.

I like folk music but I usually do not get overexcited about it. Still, this Montreal based group, is a different case. "A place for you to run away" is their debut ep and it was released in the summer of 2014, making it one of the year's very pleasant surprises. The band's heart and core in this release is Alex Bedard (cello, vocals), Alex Cherney (multi instrumentalist, vocals) and Antoine Martel (guitar, vocals) but several good musicians are gathered around them, making the whole project feel like an artistic collective - or, I'd rather say, like a bunch of highly talented, good friends. Now, what makes The Arborists stand out from the rest folk bands? First of all, excellent songwriting, which at the end of the day is the only thing that really matters. Their songs are composed and performed like folk veterans would do, not like some guys debuting. Furthermore, all band members are singers and their voices are truly amazing. Lastly, the use of instrumentation is challenging and a bit experimental, widening their music's horizons and making them sound quite different and fresher than most bands of their genre. Are they prog? Actually no, there is a strong sense of intellectuality in their music though, a subconscious, discrete flirt with other styles (classical, jazz, rock and cinematic elements are well put here and there) and their playing skills reveal well educated musicians that intend to perform far more things than the basics. It seems that The Arborists achieve a great artistic balance, musically and spiritually.

This ep consists of 6 tracks and it has a running time of 27 minutes - enough time for the band to unravel some of its virtues. The 2 minutes long intro is a slow, dramatic and, somehow, epic tune that can instantly catch your imagination. I would certainly put that in a movie, with shots of a colourful spring's dawn. ''The grove of the patriarch'' then steps in, setting the pace with a traditional folk beat. You will immediately feel seduced by the warm, organic sound and the richness of the arrangement but it's the singers who steal the show, with the deep, beautiful tones and colors of their voices. Next is '' The miller and the painted lady '', holding the first real surprises and I have to admit that this is my favorite track. The song is structured around a Radiohead-like guitar melody and it features a grieving vocal performance (with incredible harmonies), while the upright bass is stunningly adding color. Then, at the middle of the song, time signature changes, rhythm section becomes technical and jazzy and the clarinet appears with a fantastic jazz noir style solo. Now, you don't listen to solos with chromatic scales in ordinary folk bands, do you? Absolutely a gem of a song and I have to be honest: this is the musical direction I dream about the future of The Arborists. A jazz folk hybrid delivered in such sensitivity. ''Change'' is next, it begins with an atmospheric intro with harmonics and goes on in a powerful groove but before the song ends, there's a part with a (bit operatic) vocal line, an intense narration and a simple piano, as if it is straightly taken out of a soundtrack. Brilliant. ''Afterglow'' that follows is another bittersweet tune, led by female vocals (and a great choir bridge, unfortunately shortly lasting) but strongly supported by every percussion and string instrument involved. Final track is the 6 minutes long ''Front porch''. The tempo is very slow, almost hypnotizing but tension is progressively built until the final bursting, sounding energetic almost in a rock manner. For some unexplained reason, in the beginning it kind of reminded me of the acoustic side of Devin Townsend's ''Terria''. No sound relation, probably the same Americana influences - or perhaps the same Canadian air?

The artwork is beautiful and quite romantic - wonderful hand paintings that perfectly suit the colorful nature of the music. The band obviously pays a lot of attention to the lyrics too (hats off for that) and every song has a poetic character of its own. Music, words and art combined, deliver the musical and spiritual balance I mentioned before. And it's great to see young people solidly tracing on their traditional roots, while maintaining a modern, innovative view on things.

Conclusion: The Arborists debut ep is good beyond expectation. While it will be enjoyable for the Fleet Foxes fan, it can also offer delight to the progsters, especially those who search for trippy but down to earth music that is natural and poetic. For me, The Arborists have many things in common with artists like Eddie Vedder or Simon & Garfunkel - in a more artistic way of course. They awake feelings of intimacy, of friendship, of sadness and sweetness, all delivered through crystal music and angelic voices. I am now extremely curious whether a full length would carry the same success. I believe that there is space for even more style enrichment and I beg them to walk further into that path. They are talented, they are true and devoted, so I guess they will succeed in whatever they choose.

''A place for you to run away'' is free to download on Bandcamp so, you really should give it a try. You have nothing to lose and possibly a lot to gain. Personally, listening to it makes me feel like I' m meeting a good, old friend, drinking a glass of good wine, laughing and reminiscing.

82/100 4 pagan stars!

— First review of this album —

COIL was so in love with the track THE SNOW off their "Love's Secret Domain" album that they decided to create a whole EP of different mixes for it. On THE SNOW EP we get six different takes on one track each tweaking and alternating tempos, beats and ambient textures. This isn't typical of most COIL music which is more often than not experimental and electronic often creepy, dark and brooding. This is ambient techno and the beat is strong and perhaps the most danceable of anything the duo has released. The embellishments are still very much COIL with the strange vocalizations and creepy ambience but the steady beat is atypical creating an unusually sounding clash of the upbeat and lugubrious.

This was basically a bunch of remixes compiled by different band members who created their own versions and they threw them all together. Two are from Peter Christopherson, two from Jack Dangers and two from John Balance and Drew McDowall. The tracks are different enough to sound like totally different songs with only the strange vocals reminding you that it's all derived from one source. Not really the best COIL has to offer but taken for what it is, namely a remix album it is one i can sit all the way through since it doesn't sound as samey as one would imagine. Decent, danceable and depressing.

In 1971 YES was riding the prog wave by releasing not just one but two classics that year. After going through several lineup changes it was time for yet another. Tony Kaye was asked to leave the band for not wanting to adapt to the group's ever expanding musical vision and incorporating more modern keyboard sounds to the mix and as a result the band scouted out Strawbs keyboardist Rick Wakeman cementing the band's most famous and celebrated of lineups in their several decade career. Noticeably different between "The Yes Album" and FRAGILE is on the former it had a bluegrass and countrified feel at times whereas with the addition of the classically trained Wakeman, the emphasis is much more in the classical music arena.

This album marked huge success in the YES world. The album proved the power of prog and its holy progginess hit the top 10 on the Billboard album charts and even spawned a top 40 hit with "Roundabout." FRAGILE also marks a new beginning with Roger Dean hopping on board to create his fantasy inspired artwork which would be a staple of the band throughout the 70s. Without doubt the album cover and title are inspired by the recently invented Earth Day and the global awareness of just how delicate and FRAGILE the life support systems on this planet can be.

The album does have one thing in common with "The Yes Album." The four longer full band tracks alternate with five shorter tracks that each member of the band contributed as to give each member a glimpse into their musical vision that isn't always apparent when melding in a band situation. The idea was conjured up more for a money saving one than an act of brilliance because it saved time and money in the recording process. Consequently the album may sound a little disjointed but after listening to this for years i have kinda come to the point where it is ok and i actually like the turbulent changes ranging from Wakeman's Brahms cover (Cans And Brahms), to Anderson's vocal dubbing fantasy (We Have Heaven), to Bruford's 4/4 timing with proggy-to-the-max dressing (Five Per Cent For Nothing) and Howe's beautiful classical guitar piece (Mood For A Day).

The longer tracks, "Roundabout," "Long Distance Roundabout" and "Heart Of The Sunrise" have to be some of the most catchy sounding progressive music ever! Each delivers a different mood mixing beautiful melodies with hearty instrumental workouts. The new lineup melds well together and although this album could be deemed a rehearsal for the following more sophisticated albums, FRAGILE works wonderfully in its own right providing yet another transitory experience in the fluidity of YES' ever-changing career. This is one of my first prog albums so it has that specialness attached as well, but even listening to it now with a more objective ear, it rings a uniqueness and warmth that very few other albums in history do.

Pendragon-Believe

'Believe' is the seventh studio album by British Progressive rock/metal band Pendragon.

This album shows Pendragon begin to evolve out of their old sound, and into a harder-edged prog rock band. 'Believe' shows less use of synth and the guitar begins to take the front seat, as heard in the opening song 'No Place for the Innocent'. It has a much harder-rocking 90's Rush feel, really reminding me of songs from Rush's 'Test for Echo'. Nick Barrett's vocals sound much better in this song, fitting the style much more then their previous albums. Some classical influences are still maintained, after some great riffing, violins can be heard for a few seconds. This song is probably my favorite from this album. Not all the songs rock hard on this album, the song 'The Temple of Solomon' and a couple parts of the four 'The Wishing Well' are more acoustic based, but some I can still enjoy.

With 'The Wishing Well', part three is where Pendragon starts to rock out. The bridge has some really catchy guitar riffs, before they soon flow into even faster riffing with a great bass-line. The final part of 'The Wishing Well', 'Two Roads', brings in the first sounds of prog metal in Pendragon's sound. It begins with nice acoustics, but soon picks up with heavy riffing. 'Learning Curve' has kind of a jazzy and bluesy feel to it, making it standout on the album.

Overall, 'Believe' shows Pendragon evolving into a hard rock/prog metal band that would lead to my favorite album by the band. Barrett's voice fits much better with the overall harder-edged feel of this album, which makes this a much more enjoyable listen for me. Recommended to fans of hard rock and prog rock, and for metal Pendragon would reach that height on the next album.

Pendragon-Not of This World

'Not of This World' is the sixth studio album by British Progressive rock/metal band Pendragon. Before Pendragon started to rock a little harder on 'Believe' and venture into metal on 'Pure', Pendragon was a traditional progressive rock band with some classical influences.

The music is much different then the sounds heard on albums like 'Pure' and 'Passion', it is a much lighter and gentle sound compared to the heavy riffing of the aforementioned albums. Songs like 'If I Were the Wind' and 'Faithless' are good examples of this. They are relaxing and calming to say the least, nice for if you're feeling stressed and need something calming. Not to say this album is without some more rocking moments. Probably my favorite song from this album is the 80's Rush-like 'All Over Now', with great soaring solos by Nick Barrett and nice slow interludes. Another favorite of mine is the epic 'A Man Of Nomadic Traits', again with great solos by Barrett.

The music is played well, and I can enjoy a few songs even though it's not a kind of music I really enjoy. My main gripe about the album though, is the vocals. This is actually the problem I have with all of Pendragon's early releases, Nick Barrett's voice just doesn't fit with the style of music very well at all. His voice has a very raw tone to it, making it fit in better with the hard rock and metal songs of later albums.

Overall, 'Not of This World' is a decent traditional prog rock album. I'll never be a fan of these early Pendragon releases, but I'll listen to a few songs on here occasionally. Good, but I would recommend skipping to 'Believe' or 'Pure'.