VARIOUS GENRES

One of the earliest chapters of the Finnish based Colossus Projects was the 2006 release, THE 7 SAMURAI: THE ULTIMATE EPIC which was the sixth epic adventure of concept albums of prog which in this case focused on the 1954 Japanese film by director Akira Kurosawa, "The 7 Samurais." This was the first release to feature a sole CD rather than a double disc set although maximizing the limitations of the physical format at a playing time of nearly 76 minutes.

This various artists compilation only features three sprawling tracks by the bands C.A.P. and Tapobran, both from Italy and the band Témprano from Venezuela. This album is dedicated to classic 1970s retro-prog with vintage keyboard sounds and a unified stylistic approach that borrows from early Genesis, ELP, Jethro Tull and the Italian greats like Banco and PFM. Each of the three tracks exceeds 22 minutes with the opening track by C.A.P. reaching a satisfying 27 minutes of symphonic prog splendor.

Consorzio Acqua Potabile (C.A.P.) starts the prog party with the sprawling 6-suite "Alla corte degli eroi - 1550, periodo Sengoku" which narrates the developments of the Samurai through endless variations based in the context of classic symphonic prog with additional references to Jethro Tull, King Crimson and especially Italian greats including Le Orme, Banco, Museo Rosenbach and just about anything else but the kitchen sink. This is one of the strongest tracks which is the most focused and features the most logical meandering through an endless series of developments. The segments while basically mini-tracks in their own right provide a logical procession although the actual Samurai references are nebulous and sparse. This track also features the most interesting vocalist at least for my ears.

The Venezuelan Témprano follows suit with a similar but distinct style as it nearly matches the longevity prowess of its processor. "The Farmers" which constitutes a mere four suites delivers the usual suspects for influences but also finds itself a bit less focused as far as meaningful movements and resorts to lengthy jamming extensions which tend to sound a little forced and at some points monotonous. Although not unlistenable by any means, just seems to be a step down from the opener and much more Genesis influenced with easily identifiable moments from classic pastoral sounds and Hackett inspired guitar tactics. Some jazzy moments are scattered about and the track sounds a bit more vintage.

The final track "The Bandits" by Tapobran likewise extends over the 20-minute mark surpassing the 22 minute demarcation. This track is segmented into four suites and offers some of the more overt rocking performances with heavier guitar moments and keyboard heft that will please fans of Emerson, Lake & Palmer's more brash moments. Being Italian there are plenty of references to the Italian greats of the era as well as moments of actual Japanese references making it the most identifiable as something that refers to the concept, something these Colossus Projects tend to make secondary in emphasis. While the track is the shortest, it offers more of a condensed punch in many regards and suits a more dramatic ending.

Overall this isn't as consistent as some Colossus releases yet quite excellent when taken as a whole. This is one of those pomp and awe type of prog album that many will cite as endless noodling but if an infinite roster of variations and thematic changes are your bailiwick then this will not disappoint. All three bands show an excellent display of tackling classic 70s prog and making it their own and despite an immeasurable wealth of influences on board, each band delivers a distinct flavor that far exceeds mere copycatting. For lovers of sprawling epic prog compositions, this is prog heaven however anyone allergic to these types of excess best stand clear. Personally i love it.

Musical brothers finding a truce in recording. Andrew Lloyd Webber is famous as one of the most revered composers of musical theatre, soundtrack scores and showtimes of all time, most notable for musicals scores for "Cats," The Music of the Night," "Phantom of the Opera" and of course "Jesus Christ Superstar." Spanning a musical career WEBBER has primarily existed in the realms of classical music and Broadway showtimes mixed with aspects of rock and pop however his younger brother Julian Lloyd Webber, a solo cellist carved out a career in the worlds of modern classical, concertos, orchestral, romanticism and post-minimalism.

In a rare moment where the brothers' two different styles found a crossroads on this one of a kind album titled VARIATIONS which was written by Andrew in the mid-70s for his brother Julian to perform, a magical moment where sibling rivalry found common ground. The album is based on the theme of Paganini's "24th Caprice" and as the album title suggests it includes 23 differing VARIATIONS which has been a key tool in spicing up classical music since the beginning of time (as well as every other Western genre since). The score premiered at the 1977 Sydmonton Festival and featured the progressive jazz rock band Colosseum II to serve as the rock part of the equation. The following year it was recorded and released and then immediately shot up to #2 on the British charts showcasing the appeal of these types of novelties as the prog rock years were waning.

VARIATIONS was unusual concoction that features just as much jazz as rock interjected into a classical context however Andrew having mastered the art of classical composition ensured the rock and jazz aspects interacted smoothly with the clashing forces with which they were put against thus offering a sleek and well?.varied instrumental display of fine classical craftsmanship. The impressive lineup included Don AIry of Colosseum II, Deep Purple and Rainbow amongst others along with Rod Argent also of the same three groups. In addition Barbara Thompson of the original Colosseum brought in her jazz sensibilities from her time with The New Jazz Orchestra and would soon take inspiration to join the United Jazz + Rock Ensemble. Gary Moore also of Colosseum II and Irish rock band Think Lizzy provided guitar work while Julian rocked the cello. The biggest surprise of all comes from the appearance of Genesis and Brand X drummer Phil Collins sitting on the drum kit.

While only a short album at about 34 minutes, VARIATIONS certainly delivers its namesake with bravado and gusto alternating between moods, tempos, cadences, key changes, genres and all the tricks and trinkets that classical musicians pull out of their magic hats. While considered crossover classical where rock and classical along with some jazz commingle on the greater musical playground for a day, the emphasis is clearly on the classical aspects due to the source material which coincide with the the sophistication that virtuoso classical composers display. While there are certainly moments of cheesiness especially with the canned drumming moments (i wish Collins was more Brand X than Genesis here), the overall effect is as dramatic as one of Andrew's top theatrical scores. Julian totally rocks the cello but never makes it sound like a forced rock instrument.

While this sounds cheesy in its premise it's actually quite an intricately designed moment where none of the genres water each other down in the least bit and on the contrary find the perfect juncture where all can unleash their full potential without interfering with the other. Julian's virtuosic cello performances are the true standout but for the most part he is reserved and the musical flow dictates the overall instrumental interplay which found Andrew in the conductor's chair as well as adding his overall duties as producer and playing the synthesizer. It's an oddball album for sure and it will vaguely remind you of The Nice or other "rockin' the classics" prog that was all the rage in the 60s and early 70s but the difference here is you get a real classical composer reinterpreting the genius of Niccolò Paganini with an arsenal of talented musicians to take his vision to heart. Much better than i had expected and actually find this captivating.

— First review of this album —

This CD, bringing together a wide host of Ukrainian prog artists, is compiled by ANTONY KALUGIN, one of the most prolific prog musicians of our time. No less than 16 tracks have been included in near 79 minutes; the number of various artists is a bit smaller. Here's a brief introduction for most of them.

First let's have a look on how Kalugin's own projects are represented here, as they are much better known in the prog community than the rest. KARFAGEN's 'Curious Talk' comes from Messages from Afar: First Contact (2017) and 'Hymn of Hope' from Messages from Afar: The Working Tapes (2024). The SUNCHILD track 'Rain Drops' is taken from the live album A Message of Peace Tour (2023). Hoggwash or Antony Kalugin's solo output are not included here.

INSIDE THE SOUND is a project of guitarist Max Velychko, who has worked in Kalugin's projects and in Modern-Rock Ensemble. 'Horizon' from Wizard's Eyes (2017) is a gorgeously soaring instrumental, with melodic power reminiscent of Camel, Hackett and such.

ARLEKIN is a Neo Prog moniker of the singing multi-intrumentalist Igor Sydorenko. 'Mirror of Shadows' is a 9-min. piece from his second album The Secret Garden (2021) which I haven't listened to. Sounds less Marillion- esque than the first album from 2014, and perhaps less intriguing too. Wish he would recruit a separate vocalist.

Crossover Prog band OBIYMY DOSCHU and their latest single 'Na Vidstani' (2020). A totally new name for me. Modern, silghtly depressed art rock, very well produced.

(Tracks 5 and 14) YELKA is not yet in ProgArchives. An interesting, highly eclectic sound with a strong female vocalist. Some ethnic nuances especially in the singing.

ICHTHYANDER DAD'S ONLY DOLPHIN is an instrumental quintet who released a live album in 2015. 'Biometry' demonstrates their Crimsonesque sound with violin in a big role.

LA HORSA BIANCA plays dynamic and psychedelic instrumental prog. 'The Mouse Principle' is from their third album Diluvian Beat (2020). Another non-PA artist KONSTANTIN IONENKO QUINTET plays fine modern jazz. Piano, saxophone and trumpet make their solos on 'Sect', and also the rhythm section is excellent.

Nor have I -- or PA -- heard of ROMAN GORIELOV. 'With No Reply' (2017) is a brief, pretty acoustic guitar piece. DMYTRO IGNATOV (not in PA) is obviously a metal-oriented guitarist, and on 'Silence' the American prog artist Derek Sherinian guests on keyboards.

The further artists on this CD are VICTOR GO, PEREVOD and KalMar. The two last mentioned are not in PA. All in all, this sampler really widens up anyone's picture of the progressive music made in Ukraine. It's much more many- sided than you'd think.

One of the many ambitious projects from the Finnish Colossus Society in collaboration with the outstanding progressive label Musea Records, The Colossus Project has unleashed a treasure trove of various artists concept albums that aren't afraid to exercise all the prog pomp excesses that make the genre so dynamic. THE SPAGHETTI EPIC 3 - THE GREAT SILENCE as the name implies is the third part of epic concept albums that are dedicated to the great spaghetti western craze of the 1960s. A strange thematic bedfellow with the likes of knotty symphonic prog but nevertheless Musea has cranked out at least 4 of these spaghetti western tributes and many deem this third installment as the best!

This particular tribute is dedicated to the Sergio Corbucci film THE GREAT SILENCE which was a 1968 revisionist spaghetti western film that tackled the usual plot of bounty killers and outlaw activities which were all the rage in Europe and was the continent's version of the US based westerns which were also very popular during the 1950s and 1960s. While cowboy visions and dreams are not exactly the subject matter of prog, this single album of three tracks which features Little Tragedies (Russia), Yesterdays (Romania) and N.Ø.T. (Italy) does an amazing job of crafting amazingly beautiful prog if not always highlighting the zeitgeist of a nostalgic film craze. Unlike the many double album editions of the Colossus Project, this one is a mere collection of three tracks that all average out around the 20-minute playing time. Collectively they add up to only 63 minutes which is actually quite short considering many of this compilations can feature up to 4 CDs!

First up is Маленькие трагедии (Little Tragedies) which has been a Russian staple in symphonic prog since 1994. "The Voice of Silence" tackles the expected dramatic developments set out in the symphonic prog universe with lots of time to allow ideas to flourish in its 19 1/2 minute run. This track features a wealth of melodic and compositional ideas that all play out with as much time as they require to feel fully developed before moving on. The track feels perfectly executed with all the required instrumentation demonstrating peak playing skills with special kudos to the excellent keyboard runs. Lyrics are in Russian and the tracks is the most exotic sounding of the three with lots of interesting twists and turns that keep you from guessing what will come next, of course without sacrificing the melodic flow which dominates the entire album.

The following Yesterdays delivers the two part "Suite Pauline" and allows a completely different take on symphonic prog that is a lot mellower than the musical style of Little Tragedies. Infused with a bit of jazz and a love for classic analog equipment, this band certainly does exhibit some classic Yes attributes and sounds the most like a bonafide 70s band due to its staunch dedication to the classic compositional style of the 70s including Steve Howe inspired acoustic classic guitar and Rick Wakeman-like keyboard assaults. This track clocks in at exactly 20 minutes and is brimming with creative infusions. The second fugue part is absolutely entrancing with the ultimate tribute to J.S. Bach in some of the most creative ways possible!

While the first two bands are fairly well known in symphonic prog circles, the third band N.Ø.T is not. This Italian band has never actually released an album in its own right and is one of those bands that has only appeared on the Colossus Projects but as Italians qualifies the most to actually evoke the spirit of the classic spaghetti western themes since Italy was the nation that released the most of these European classics with films like "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly" ranking amongst the highest rated movies of all time. While the previous two bands were excellent in constructing phenomenal prog epics, this track takes on a darker approach and actually channels the spirit of what the subject matter is all about and at 23 1/2 minutes long, the lengthiest of the three tracks on board.

While the whole spaghetti western theme doesn't really fly in the context of symphonic prog in the end it doesn't really matter! What does matter is that this is one of the best Colossus releases i've experienced so far. This is what symphonic prog dreams are made of. Lengthy behemoths that meander in logical processions and develop beautiful multi-layered melodic constructs that crescendo in thundering instrumental virtuosity. The infusion of creativity for these bands is off the chart here and often these Colossus Projects feature bands that put their best material on these compilations. I'm woefully not too familiar with any of these bands' music so i can't compare to their regular releases but all i can say is that this is some of the best modern prog that can be heard. Everything is perfectly designed and when it's this fantastic. This is a masterpiece of symphonic prog majesty!

Back when artists really put their all into the Musea/Colossus theme projects--and, more impressivley, the publishers could get their bands to compose, perform, and engineer 20- to 30-minute epics.

CD 1 (77:01) 1. "Un Pensiero e Sempre Libero" (LEVIATHAN) (26:34) Kudos to Musea/Colossus for getting these Italian NeoProg rockers to come out of retirement for this project. The music, quality of composition, musicianship, and sound engineering are all pretty good--except the pitchy performance of lead singer Paolo Antinori. Though Paolo was present on the band's third and last album, 1997's Volume, he was not the band's original singer (two albums created at the end of the 1980s.) As a matter of fact there are only two other musicians from the band representing on this piece--both founding members: keyboardist and flutist Andrea Amici and Andrea Moneta on bass, drums, ChapmanStick, and engineering. Despite some shortcomings, the musicians do a pretty good job of pulling together a very engaging and overall pleasing epic. As a matter of fact, the music is quite good; the overall rating might be higher if there were less singing (which, by the way, is all done in Italian). (40/50) B-

2. "The Secret Passage" (GREENWALL) (27:13) opens with some classical/New Age jazz piano soloing away as if performing an overture.lots of rather clichéd hooks and motifs (some very engaging and interesting) performed with passable engineering and then spliced together in an interesting fashion--like an Andrew Lloyd-Weber musical. Andrea Pavoni's classical/New Age piano solo over the final three minutes is, for me, the highlight. Unfortunately, the finished product is like listening to a B-level off-Broadway radio play. The vintage analog instruments are certainly present and shining but rarely creating anything exciting to the modern prog lover. The players' sometimes-pitchy accented English is sometimes horrible--especially the male. Luckily, they also spend quite a bit of time singing in Italian. Despite the fine effort from the performers, this is just not A-level prog. (46.5/55) B-

3. "God Of Silence" (SINKADUS) (23:14) Not used to hearing this Swedish band with vocals--and now I understand why they've been reluctant to use them much before. Still, this is a band of very skilled musicians who do a fair job putting this song together. Unfortunately, from this critical reviewer with my high standards, it could have been more inspired [and original], more fully-developed, and definitely more polished. (38/45) B-

CD 2 (79:25) 4. "Come Vento Tornero" (MAD CRAYON) (25:05) full marks: you can tell that this band--a seasoned quartet led by long-time prog stalwart and keyboard wizard, Alessandro Di Benedetti--literally put their hearts and soul into this very symphonic piece. The result is that it's a piece that's very hard to find fault! (47.5/50) A

5. "Lords And Knights" (VELVET DESPERADOS) (24:51) a group of talented Finnish youth who only worked together for a very short period, 2003 to 2007, releasing only one album of their own and then contributing to two of these Musea/Colossus projects: this one and 2007's Treasure Island. I really like their eclectic sound: the keyboards of Pink Floyd's Richard Wright, the rhythm section of an early Nektar or even earlier psych-rock band and a lead singer that sounds like a cross between Jim Morrison, Arthur Lee (LOVE), and Geoff Mann (TWELFTH NIGHT), but more, this band employs horns! In fact, an entire four-piece horn section! The music definitely has the feel of a band from the late 1960s, even earlier when they go into their blues-rock style (as in the most excellent section from 12:30 to 15:45--a sound and stylistic blend that I was not expecting!) Another most excellent passage can be hear from 15:45 to 18:50, this one sounding like an early, soulful BILLY JOEL. Wow! Again: I was not expecting this! The next section is led by some very Brian May-like guitar. The vocalist (and his second-track of harmony vocals) is most excellent--exceptionally effective at relating this story with theatricity, skill, and genuine feeling emotion. The song closes down with the same horn-led fanfare as the beginning. Again, the musicianship and compositional skill are top notch. I thoroughly enjoyed this and look forward to repeated listens in the future. And, whatever happened to these guys? I'd really like to know! (48/50) A

6. "A New Dawn" (REVELATION) (29:26) opens with some bombastic music that is definitely prog--probably more like NeoProg--and they have a good singer in Arcadelt's Pierfrancesco Drago. A lot of the opening motif (which is six minutes in length) feels and sounds like NeoProg in the vein of STEVE HACKETT GENESIS. The next, slowed-down section is far more GENESIS Trick of the Tail-like with Hammond organ, deep sustained bass notes, thick Mellotron chords, strumming 12-string guitars, and a early-Nick Barrett-like gentle male singer to tell the tale. At 14:15 we ramp back up to a more dynamic passage--not far from being a continuation of the previous motif, just different uses for each of the instruments and, of course, full involvement of the drum kit. The instrumental passage that follows around the 18-minute mark is totally from the GENESIS playbook--almost lifted from the end sections of "Supper's Ready," but this is cut short by a solo classical guitar interlude that starts right at the 20-minute mark, which does set up a heavy Wind and Wuthering passage 45-seconds later. A nice Steve Hackett-like guitar solo ensues for the next minute before an electrified acoustic guitar takes us into a different more-IQ-like passage. Pierfrancesco rejoins, now singing in a forced-sounding voice in a higher register over the thick low end-filling bass, pounding drums, crashing cymbals and bouncing Hammond chord play. The electrified acoustic guitar is used several times to bridge between verses and then to a new motif that contains picked 12-string guitar and flute along with Pierfrancesco's return to his more comfortable vocal range. This part has a sound palette and feel more similar to that of 1980s Pendragon. Overall, a very nicely constructed, performed, and rendered piece. (53.5/60) B+

Total Time: 156:26

B+/4.5 stars; a collection of one disc of excellent prog epics (CD 2), and one disc (CD 1) of somewhat under-developed or under-inspired pieces, thus, giving the Colossus/Musea project masters yet another early win in their intrepid effort to resuscitate the veritable symphonic "epic" of the "Classic Era." Highly recommended.

Marco Bernard made the concept for this project, and invited many exceptional bands to execute it. The booklet is worth summarizing. a) 32 pages that tells a bit of Lovecraft life and work; b) has all the lyrics, the instrumentation/members; c) has one photo of each group. As I predicted before buying this triple CD, many tracks are different one from another. Generally speaking, I don't expect such effort as able to conceive a firm and good concept album. For my surprise, it has a bunch of songs with enough similarities on the mood and proposal, giving the work a considerable cohesion; specially on the first CD. That's essentially why it's the Colossus/Musea project (there are others: Dante's Divine Comedy, the Decameron trilogy, etc) that I most like from the one I've heard.

Most of the groups search for a tenebrous mood. In this regard, I higlight the tracks 1, 2, 3 from CD1, 1 from CD2, and 2 from CD3. Anyway, this is pursued in other parts of this accomplishment. Some executions are more sunny, for instance what Ars Ephemera and Atillio Perrone achieved. The bands that transforms the vocal(s) in a storytelling are more succesful on making the listener dive into the music. Samurai of Prog does it brilliantly, and Sithonia makes it very well.

On CD2, there are three sung languages (two in english, one in spanish and one in italian) that don't match very well. But fortunately this isn't a big problem, because most of the music on this disc is instrumental. Note: I didn't pay attention nor read the lyrics.

Musically, there are only three weak tracks. To my satisfaction, the last ones. On the other side, there are some outstanding tracks. IMO. I prefer not to comment them, only exceptionally; I'll just rank the tracks from 0 to 10.

The Samurai of Prog ? The Case of Charles Dexter Ward ? 10.

Glass Hammer ? Cool Air ? 9.5.

Karda Estra ? The Haunter of the Dark ? 9.3.

Unitopia ? The Outsider ? 9.5 (superb vocal harmonies).

Simon Says ? The Wailing Wall ? 8.7.

Jinetes Negros ?Hypnos ? 8.

Blank Manuskript ? Beast in the Cave ? 8.5.

La Coscienza di Zeno ? Colofonia ? 7.3 (the recording quality isn't good).

Guy Leblanc ? Beyond the Wall of Sleep ? 8.4.

Ars Ephemera ? The Other Gods ? 7.4.

Attilio Perrone ? Topi nel Muro (what a nice surprise!) ? 9.2.

Ciccada ? The Statement ? 7.

D'accorD ? The Doom that came to Sarnath ? 6.8 (a better vocalist would fit well).

Sithonia ? I Gatti di Ulthar ? 7.7.

Daal ? The call of Cthulu ? 7.5 (starts genius, but gets repetitive and too long on the second half.

Kate ? Dream: quest to the unknown Kadath ? 7.5 (could be shorter).

Nexus ? The Colour out of Space ? 7.

Safara ? Calendimaggio ? 5.5.

Aether ? Mountains of Madness ? 4.5.

GOAD ? At the Mountains of Madness ? 5.2.

In a scale of 5, I give the whole effort a 4.1.

Review Nº 725

"Progressive Rock Anthology" is a DVD with a collection of ten progressive live concert clips. Eight of them are "old" and are taken from eight bands of the 70's, and the other two, included as bonuses, belong to two "new" prog bands.

So, "Progressive Rock Anthology" has ten tracks, eight regular tracks and two bonus tracks. The first track "Take A Pebble" is a live version of a song of Emerson, Lake & Palmer from "Emerson, Lake & Palmer", released in 1970. It's a very rare film from an early 1971 film just after Emerson, Lake & Palmer had finished recording their debut studio work. This is an edited extract from a live version that runs to sixteen minutes with the full piano improvisation in the original film. The second track "For Richard" is a live version of a song of Caravan from "If I Could Do It All Over Again, I'd Do It All Over You", released in 1970. It was captured live in a concert in Central Music's Nottingham studios, during 1990. It features the classic Caravan line up, Pie Hastings, David Sinclair, Richard Sinclair, Richard Coughlan and Jimmy Hastings. The third track "Vivaldi" is a live version of a song of Curved Air from "Airconditioning", released in 1970. It's an excerpt taken from a Belgian TV live show, in 1972. This is the classic Curved Air line up featuring Sonja Kristina, Daryl Way, Francis Monkman, Mike Wedgewood and Florian Pilkington-Miksa. The fourth track "The Weaver's Answer" is a live version of a song of Family from "Family Entertainment", released in 1969. This live version was filmed for RTBF, a Belgian public television, in 1971. This is one of the most popular lines up of the group, featuring Roger Chapman, John 'Charlie' Whitney, Poli Palmer, John Weider and Rob Townsend. The fifth track "Hocus Pocus Medley" is a live version of a song of Focus from "Moving Waves", released in 1972. This is the classic Focus line up featuring Jan Akkerman, Thijs Van Leer, Bert Ruiter and Pierre Van Der Linden. The sixth track "Desolation Valley" is a live version of a song of Nektar from "A Tab In The Ocean", released in 1972. This is a very interesting and amazing film that intercuts live material taken from a 1972 live concert with footage shot thirty years later of the same song. The seventh track "Journey To The Centre Of The Earth" isn't really a live version of a song from "Journey To The Centre Of The Earth", released in 1974. In reality, it's a live version of a medley of two original songs from "The Six Wives Of Henry VIII", released in 1973. This film shows Rick Wakeman captured in action with the English Rock Ensemble, in 1990. The eighth track "Mockingbird" is a live version of a song of Barclay James Harvest from "Once Again", released in 1971. This is the highlight of a unique live concert filmed at London's Town and Country Club, to mark the 25th Anniversary of Barclay James Harvest. It features only three of their founder members, John Lees, Les Holroyd and Mel Pritchard.

As I mentioned above, the ninth and tenth tracks are two bonus tracks. The ninth track "Mother Nature" is a live version of an original song of Mostly Autumn recorded on their third studio album "The Last Bright Light", released in 2001. The tenth track "Heaven Can Wait" is a live version of an original song of Karnataka recorded on their second studio album "The Storm", released in 2000. I must confess that when I bought this DVD, I think in 2005 or 2006, I wasn't familiar with these two bands yet. In reality, I had never heard of them before. So, this DVD became very important to me because somehow it has become my baptism to them. And thanks God that it happened. I really love both bands, particularly Mostly Autumn, which is in my opinion, one the best and one of my favourite British prog bands nowadays.

Conclusion: "Progressive Rock Anthology" is a very interesting DVD. It represents a good introduction for those who aren't accustomed to progressive rock music, with songs from bands that go beyond the general knowledge. As I wrote before, it's focused in the early 70's with the exception of the two bonus tracks. Relatively to the "old songs", I must say that "For Richard" of Caravan and "Desolation Valley" of Nektar are two perfect live performances and are the two highlights on it. "Take A Pebble" from Emerson, Lake & Palmer and "Hocus Pocus Medley" from Focus represent also two good live performances with some funny moments. However, it's a pity that "Take A Pebble" has been cutted. "Vivaldi" of Curved Air represents also a great musical moment especially the performance of Daryl Way which is unforgettable. However, the intrusion of images of tropical fishes is completely inexcusable. The live performance of Rick Wakeman is delightful and shows why he is considered one of the best and most gifted keyboardists ever. "Mockingbird" of Barclay James Harvest shows also a good live performance of the group, but "The Weaver's Answer" of Family represents the weakest point of the DVD. The live performance and the release aren't good and the quality of the sound is very poor. In relation to the "new songs" I love both, and the quality of image and sound is irreproachable.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)

Why do we need this collection of post-70s UK prog and art rock tunes? Didn't the 80s suck for prog??

You won't find any Genesis, Yes, or Asia in this collection but you will find solid proof that even after the seeming collapse of the progressive musical empire of the 70s- brought on by the rise of an upstart punk rebellion- prog lived on! Even if it did go underground. In fact, we even learn that punk and prog could form surreptitious collaborations.

I wish I could have been best friends with Steven Wilson during the golden decades of music in the UK, but unfortunately, I grew up in a boring old place called Canada. However, thanks to this new collection of rare prog- tinged tracks from 1979-89, I can feel like I have been transported to Steven's rec room, where we are surrounded by albums on a shag carpet while he plays me his favourite tracks.

This is a massive little collection Steven curated in collaboration with Demon Music Group. The collection I have is a 4 CD set with an exceptionally beautiful and well-designed small hard-cover book (It's also available in vinyl format). It's loaded with carefully curated songs released out of the UK. There are about 14 songs per disc. I have to say even just cracking into the first disc has been more impactful than I expected. I only got as far as 10 tracks into disc one in my first listen. Same thing happened in the next two listens, but happily so. There was so much there to absorb and enjoy, and I was only getting started! The logic of events have proven to me this is probably the most practical way to attack this selection - piecemeal and spread out over many listening sessions.

The book that houses the CDs is top quality. The articles (technically called liner notes) about each song and well written, and accompanied by photos of the original album artwork. There's also a substantial introduction by Wilson. Listening and enjoying this set has been a revelation and a pure pleasure, even if is a bit of a project because it's so vast and diverse. Each time I sit down to tackle some more songs, book in hand, I feel like I'm walking slowly through a modern art gallery, guided by a knowledgeable docent.

Some of the tracks are even remixes by Steven himself.

There's a few artists I knew well, like Tears for Fears, Japan, Kate Bush, David Sylvain...but out of about 50 selections, they were only a tiny slice. Steven avoided picking obvious tracks and dug for the more unique music.

I highly recommend this set for several reasons. Firstly, it features a collection of inspiring music that is truly remarkable. Secondly, the liner notes, written by James Nice, are deserving of a Grammy Award, and provide valuable insight into the music and its creators. Lastly, the packaging of the set is exceptional, making it a beautiful addition to any music collection. It's a trip though some of the best that the 80s had to offer but most mainstreamers will consider obscure and weird- God bless 'em. Six tracks didn't make it to the finish line due to legal or permission issues, but Steven lists them off for you to search out on your own.

Before making a decision, it might be worth reviewing the track listing to avoid redundancy. However, I would be surprised to find anyone other than Steven Wilson who already owns the majority of these tracks.

Oh hey, Steven... I would love to see a future curated collection of 80's art-rock and prog-tinged music released from other parts of the world. It would be highly intriguing and I am definitely interested in hearing what you would come up with.

Steven Wilson, donning a brown Indiana Jones Fedora hat, has unearthed and dusted off significant musical treasures of post-70s prog and alternative rock from the UK. The accompanying well reasearched book makes this a university course-worth of material- a gift that will keep on giving for the prog-curious and then some.

Review Nº 702

"Rock Legends: Progressive Rock" is a DVD with a collection of eleven progressive live concert clips. All of them are focused about the classic progressive rock bands and all songs belong to the prog rock repertoire of the 70's. The clips are taken from different times being some of them taken from old live tapes and others from more recent live shows.

However and unfortunately, "Rock Legends: Progressive Rock" has no information about the places, the dates and the artists that played on the tracks. So, it was very difficult for me to have some information about them. Still, after several researches, I got some information about them. Anyway, I apologize for any inaccuracies that perhaps exist in some.

The first track "Starless" by John Wetton is a live version of a song of King Crimson from "Red", released in 1974. It seems to be a track taken from John Wetton's debut video "Live In The Underworld", released in 2003. Besides John Wetton, the band consists of guitarist John Mitchell, of Arena, keyboardist Martin Orford, of IQ and drummer Steve Christey of Jadis. The second track "Catherine Parr" by Rick Wakeman is a live version of a medley from "The Six Wives Of Henry VIII", released in 1973. This film shows Rick Wakeman captured in action with the English Rock Ensemble, in 1990. The third track "Eruption" by Focus is a live version of a song from "Moving Waves", released in 1972. This is a track taken from their DVD "Live In America", released in 2003. The fourth track "Barbarian" by Emerson, Lake & Palmer is a live version of a song from "Emerson, Lake & Palmer", released in 1970. It was taken from a very rare tape from an early 1971 film just after the group has finished recording their debut studio work. The fifth track "Vivaldi" by Curved Air is a live version of a song from "Airconditioning", released in 1970. It's an excerpt taken from a Belgian TV live show, in 1972. This is the classic Curved Air line up featuring Sonja Kristina, Daryl Way, Francis Monkman, Mike Wedgewood and Florian Pilkington-Miksa. The sixth track "The Weaver's Answer" by Family is a live version of a song from "Family Entertainment", released in 1969. This live version was filmed for RTBF, a Belgian public television, in 1971. This is one of the most popular line ups of the group, featuring Roger Chapman, John 'Charlie' Whitney, Poli Palmer, John Weider and Rob Townsend. The seventh track "Poor Man's Moody Blues" by Barclay James Harvest is a live version of a song from "Once Again", released in 1971. This is a track taken of a unique live concert filmed at London's Town and Country Club, to mark the 25th Anniversary of the group. The eighth track "Clocks" by Steve Hackett is a live version of a song from "Spectral Mornings", released in 1979. Apparently, the track was taken from Steve's DVD "Live Legends", released in 2004. It seems that the DVD version doesn't contain the whole concert Horizons, recorded live in Nottingham Central TV Studios, in October 1990. The band consists of Steve Hackett, his brother John Hackett on flute, guitar and Moog Taurus pedals, Julian Colbeck on keyboards and Pendragon's Fudge Smith on drums. The ninth track "Tale Of Taliesin" by Soft Machine is a live version of a song from "Softs", released in 1976. The line up of the band on this video is John Etheridge (guitar), Karl Jenkins (keyboards), Roy Babbington (bass) and John Marshall (drums). Allan Holdsworth and Mike Ratledge both were gone from the band by this time. The tenth track "Theme One" by Van Der Graaf Generator is a live version of a song from "Pawn Hearts", released in 1971. The track didn't appear on the UK releases but appeared on the US releases. I think this is a track taken from their live DVD "Godbluf Live 1975", recorded for the Belgian TV, on 21st March of 1972 and was released in 2003. The eleventh track "Paradise/The Spell" by Uriah Heep is a live version of two songs from "Demons And Wizards". This track was taken from their live DVD "The Magician's Birthday Party" released in 2002. It has also the participation of Ken Hensley.

Conclusion: Today, you can get no end with DVD's gathering the sounds of the past. Some are poorly edited and put together almost by chance than knowledge of the bands or the time. Still, this is one of the better, with a good selection and some really good performances all over it. So, "Rock Legends: Progressive Rock" is a very interesting DVD and it represents a good introduction for those who aren't accustomed to progressive rock music, especially with the bands from the 70's. However, it seems to me that we can't say that it's an essential musical document and an excellent addition to any of us. Particularly in this case, since that many of the names of some of the prog bands here aren't the most known for the public in general. So, and despite be an excellent musical live document for the beginners, this isn't really essential for most of us. The bands represented here for a prog head are so important, that is essential to have some of their DVD's in our progressive collection of music, that we can't content ourselves only with this kind of stuff.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)

— First review of this album —

This is one of a series of four (that I know about so far) from Cherry Red offering "the British progressive pop sounds of" a given year (we've had 1970-1973 so far - and I gather these are the sequels to compilations of the "psychedelic sounds of the three previous years). My remarks here relate to all four.

It's somewhat of a buyer beware statement.

Having been alerted to Cherry Red's new compilation "Round And Round: Progressive Sounds of 1974", I went searching for earlier entries in that series - and got distracted and I would say a bit misled when all the "British progressive pop" compilations appeared in my search. So I must inform the prog-centric listener that 'progressive pop sounds" in this context does not necessarily mean progressive rock as most of us here would define it, and certainly doesn't mean you're going to hear any 10 minute epics. These are compilations of basically 3-minute pop songs. A very stylistically diverse collection of pop songs, it must be said, and some excellent pop songs - but pop songs nonetheless. I guess they've used the 'progressive' descriptor to distinguish these songs from the more middle of the road fare that came to dominate top 40 singles charts in the early 1970s. Indeed, there are several bona fide Prog bands represented - on the 1971 compilation you will find Curved Air, Atomic Rooster, Barclay James Harvest and ELP among others - but they are represented by their shorter, more accessible songs, not necessarily the songs most loved by the hardcore prog audience. (How many ELP fans would pick "Are You Ready Eddy" as their favourite?)

There's very little music here that I actively dislike - I would take any of it over the top 40 music of today - and there are songs that I absolutely love. On its own merits, three stars would be more appropriate. But since this is Prog Archives, two stars seems more appropriate.

For those who were looking for the authentic prog rock compilations - the more interesting series started as "Underground sounds of" whatever year (beginning with 1968), switched to "underground and progressive sounds" for 1972, and "progressive sounds" thereafter. The mix is still not 100% prog rock, but is much more tilted in that direction - and this time, they're not afraid to include tracks with running times that stretch beyond ten minutes. Plenty of favourites, and plenty of bands that were new to me and worthy of further exploration.