PROG RELATED

A lot of the music is much more rock based, with Lana taking a step away from the prog camp and much more into the mainstream AOR market. That is not to say that this is an overly commercial release, just that the edge has changed. In some ways it is a much more polished release than I have heard from him before, with favourite "Raining" proving yet again what a superb voice she has. It is a very complete album, and kicks off in a fine manner with a powering rock instrumental.

If you have never heard Lana before then this is a very good album to begin with, although to hear her at her best I would still point to the superb 'Live In Japan' with the awesome "Symphony Of Angels".

Originally appeared in Feedback #58

Queen II is a real Rock Gem, an album that influenced a lot of the most respected musicians in the rock scene (not necessarily main stream) including Billy Corgan (Smashing Pumpkins), Arjen Lucassen (Ayreon), Cristopher Jhonson (Therion) among others. (I choose these because I also love their music). So, if you think Queen is just "Radio Ga Ga"," We are The champions" or "we will rock you" you have to listen to this album and you will find what Queen were capable of during the early 70´s!

Just two lengthy instrumental tracks over this EP (lasting just about a half-hour), but both of them are divided in four or five movements. Opening on Headroom (giving the album's other name), the trio embarks on a breakneck speed movement, where Billy Cobham would not disown Deller's drumming. Yes, the feeling is very much JR/F during the Tyra movement, but as soon as the composition calms down the Reflections movements, the mood goes spacey (but not cosmic), but once the tempo picks up, it gets jam-like, notably in the closing movement Scarberia (a nickname for the eastern-county Scarborough, extending the Toronto city limits way out east). On the flipside, Border Crossing also reaches towards JR/F sonics, Mink almost pulling a Santana-like solo around 2:30. More spacey effects (sometimes dissonant) are happening during the second movement, The only time vocals are to be heard, they're muffled in deeply in the mix at the start of the third movement, but this doesn't mean that the track comes back to a sense of normalcy. Indeed, when FM crossed that border, there was no turning back, but the trio almost loses itself two thirds of the way into their cosmic expedition. Once they finally find their way, it's a slow jazzy violin (between Ponty and Lockwood) return to base.

This limited-number release DTD album had become quite rare (I lost my vinyl copy somewhere crossing the pond), because it had never seen, a reissue, beit in vinyl or on CD, until early 2013, when Esoteric finally released it, along with the splendid Black Noise and the band's following two albums (also never released legit), still with Ben Mink. Personally, if DTD/HR is absolutely essential, I find that both Surveillance (79) and City Of Fear (80) fail to maintain the level of their first two albums, so unlike this essential album, they're quite expandable, partly because they hold shorter AOR-formatted songs. In the meantime, despite the change of violin/guitarist (always a big gamble), DTD is definitely worthy of the excellent debut Black Noise.

Well, Vai may have made a pact with the Devil that in turn gave him exceptional skills on the guitar, but he got seriously shortchanged - as it may happen when you deal with an entity of the kind. He forgot to bargain for skills for composing tunes that would befit his virtuostic abilities on his chosen instrument. I find it somewhat bizarre that he named this album "The Story Of Light".

Now, I have long given up on Vai's solo releases after his first few albums. Some good solos encased in poor and sometimes even immature tracks. There are moment when he gets it right - as if by mistake - only to ruin a potentially great piece half-way through. Yes I am referring to "For The Love Of God" from the album "Passion And Warfare" as an example here.

Reading some encouraging comment on this album, I decided to proceed with another - and perhaps final - try before my remaining Vai albums are permanently retired via EBay. At first listen "The Story Of Light" appears only marginally - if at all - better than earlier works. It's the same old approach to some nice licks on the guitar "supported" by rather ordinary compositions that are closer to average Hard Rock/Metal than thoughtful and well designed tunes.

As usual, there is the odd glimpse towards something that could have been developed into a pleasing number. That however is not sufficient to captivate my attention. Boredom sets in with me early in the piece and honestly, I could hardly wait for the closing note on the album. I very much doubt that it would grow on me in future, so it's another album that won't gather much dust at my place.

The festive mood of "Black Dog" is carried on to "Rock and Roll", providing a great album opening. Then, the album gets mystical with "The Battle of Evermore", a very unusual Led Zeppelin song (it has guest vocals by Sandy Denny and a dazing mandolin by Page). The next song, "Stairway to Heaven", while not my favourite song on the album, has the title of being the greatest, most perfect and epic rock song of all time. It is the centerpiece of the album, for sure.

On the B side we have "Misty Mountain Hop", a trippy trip, one of the three first Led Zeppelin songs I ever heard and "Four Sticks", the weakest track on the album in my opinion, but still a major example of Bonham's drumming skills. Closing the album are "Going to California", a calm, gentle song that contrasts with the aggressive "When The Levee Breaks", the other perfect song in the album, a legendary drumming performance.

If you're coming to this straight from listening to Yes you may find it a bit jarring, because whilst you can here echoes of the Yes sound here and there for the most part it's in a sonic universe of its own, but for my part I think this one is a real grower. It took a while before it grew on me, in fact, but now the mysteries of Moorglade are opening up to me I think it's a fine piece of work.

For the longest time I have tried to "force" myself to like Steve Vai's albums, until one day I just said screw it and pretty much just abandoned the prospect of ever really enjoying vai. So much of what he does is very "out there" and I have never really been able to get into him fully besides a few songs here and there. Well, I am happy to say that the day has come where he has created an album just for me in the Story of Light.

This album feels so inspired and accessible. A perfect combination. Each song is diversified and engaging to the point where I pretty much enjoy the entire album from beginning to end. To anyone who has ever struggled to get into Vai's music, I would recommend starting here.

Being a kid, it was the only job I could get, and the only way to earn some spending money.

Iron Maiden holds an unfavourable memory from those times. In those days I was not a Maiden fan, and the friend who gave me a lift to and from the farm took particular delight in blasting Dicko and co at an ear-splitting volume as we sped away of an afternoon. His car stereo was utterly terrible, and suffice to say the only thing it really output at that volume was something akin to white noise. After toiling out in the sun all day, and with a raging headache coursing through my eyeballs more often than not, this was the last thing I wanted to experience.

And so, for me, Iron Maiden became firmly categorized in the 'do not ever listen to this band again' genre.

Fast forward to a number of years later, and I heard Maiden under far more salubrious conditions. I very quickly dispensed with my former predisposition and eventually embraced most of their catalogue.

My favourite of all their albums is Powerslave. It really is an album that has everything. There's classic metal numbers such as "Aces High" and "Two Minutes to Midnight", an epic in the form of "Powerslave" and a prog masterpiece in "Rime of the Ancient Mariner". The musicianship is phenomenal. There are so many classic riffs that it's hard to believe they all fit on one album.

Bruce Dickinson is in fine form with some great ideas on every track. When many contemporaries were singing about sex, drugs or the devil, Dicko gives us fighter pilots, ancient Egypt and a song based around a seafaring poem. It's a refreshing change.

Steve Harris gallops along with the precision we've come to expect, and the duo of Murray and Smith, a major factor in the golden years of the band, give us amazing lead breaks and a plethora of classic metal riffs. The lead on the title track "Powerslave" in particular includes some of my favourite lead moments from any band.

Iron Maiden did all this in a period where they were cranking out an album and accompanying world tour just about every year. One wonders how they generated such energy and creativity on such a schedule.