CROSSOVER PROG

The following day, I found myself in the South Bend airport, preparing to fly home for Thanksgiving. At the same time, roughly, Dr. Leary arrived to head to the next location on his tour. I couldn't resist the opportunity to shake his hand, and remark, "Dr. Leary, the Moody Blues were wrong, you're not dead . . . !" Not particularly amused, Leary responded, "Nice Suit."

Six years earlier, Mike Pinder, Ray Thomas, Graeme Edge, John Lodge, and Justin Hayward had issued forth their second musical deliberation regarding Dr. Leary, "When You're a Free Man" on "Seventh Sojourn." Their earlier "Legend of a Mind" on 1968's "In Search of the Lost Chord" contained a certain amount of satiric, but reverential treatment of Leary's propagation of LSD and psychedelics as a "shortcut" to spiritual, mystical insight.

In 1972, as Mike Pinder and The Moody Blues' "When You're a Free Man" emerged, Dr. Leary had endured any number of incarcerations for his advocacy of and promulgation of psychedelics and other prohibited pharmacological substances. Through the recent scientific studies of the efficacy of psychedelics, under carefully controlled situations, in the treatment of depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, some aspects of Leary's cause may be subject to reconsideration. Pinder's "When You're a Free Man" pays tribute to the once and future, "Give Peace a Chance" Leary, symbol, for Pinder and The Moody Blues, of a "love that will last an eternity."

I would also like to suggest that Mike Pinder's role on "Seventh Sojourn," not only in his two compositions, "When You're a Free Man" and "Lost in a Lost World," but also in his instrumental contributions bears recognition.

Since 1967's "Days of Future Passed," Pinder has fashioned a lead, almost mystical role for the Mellotron. On "Seventh Sojourn," with the addition of the Chamberlin, this function has intensified. In support, accompaniment, and accentuation, Pinder's Mellotron and Chamberlin dominate the proceedings, not only in his two compositions, but also in "You and Me" and "I'm Just a Singer in a Rock and Roll Band." Hayward and Edge's "You and Me," with its layered vocals of Hayward, Thomas, and Pinder, corresponds to Yes' contemporaneous "And You and I."

In addition to Mike Pinder's considerable contributions to this album at the Chamberlin and Mellotron, Thomas, Lodge, Hayward, and Edge all contribute substantially to each other's songs. "The Land of Make-Believe" begins and ends with Ray Thomas' flute; at certain points during "I'm Just a Singer in a Rock and Roll Band," I hear his saxophone. During this final song, of the original album, Hayward delivers a potent guitar solo, and Lodge performs an almost legendary bass line joined by Edge's dynamic, gradually forceful drums.

In "The Land of Make-Believe," Hayward exalts, "Fly little bird up unto the clear blue sky" in a fashion evocative of Yes' "sister bluebird" from "Starship Trooper."

How do you know but ev'ry Bird that cuts the airy way, /Is an immense world of delight, /clos'd by your senses five?

William Blake

"Seventh Sojourn" is the imaginative interregnum upon which the Moody Blues landed in 1972, drawing upon the musical tapestry established in their previous six albums. As with any collective effort, the five "Moodies" had attained a point in which their creative process had reached an uneasy path. However, the final product, this seventh "refuge" need not to have necessarily translated to the six year hiatus between it and 1978's "Octave." Hayward and Lodge's 1975 "Blue Jays" certainly functions as a de facto Moody Blues album. By the release of "Octave," Mike Pinder found himself no longer interested in touring, opening the door for Patrick Moraz's tenure with the band.

Dr. Leary may have passed away in 1995, but that "legendary" mind endures. Somehow, almost 55 years later, the voices of John Lennon, Yoko Ono, and Timothy Leary (among others) resonate from that hotel room in Montreal's Queen Elizabeth Hotel on June 1, 1969, proclaiming "Give Peace a Chance." Perhaps, today, this exhortation may be equally, if not, more important than in 1969 . . . .

A light and swaying acoustic guitar rhythm opens the eponymous track "Wall Of Eyes". It is around this rhythm that the group will develop its ideas, featuring a zig-zag harmonic progression and the support of strings trying to put everything back on the right path. Under a hypnotic and uniform aspect, the title presents a real complexity which seems to be the direction chosen on this record.

Arrival of the atmospheric electronic elements so characteristic of "Teleharmonic". Once again the group adopts an almost jazz attitude, based on great freedom of expression in a space of immense dimensions. Don't look for the verse-chorus-bridge format here, the codes are largely ignored.

A priori more traditional in format in the guitar-bass-drums vein, "Read The Room" combines an atypical rhythmic twist with a repetitive riff and freewheeling drums. I haven't mentioned it yet, but Thom Yorke 's voice is of course the element linking the whole, incredible in amplitude and expression, his forays into the bass in particular are remarkable.

In the same vein, "Under Our Pillows" is even more reminiscent of Radiohead, and Thom Yorke once again surprises with his ability to lay fluid and accessible singing over an ever-changing rhythm and harmony. The title gradually evolves towards a hypnotic turn which can recall certain psychedelic experiences from the time of Jimi Hendrix for example ("Third Stone from the sun").

"Friend Of A Friend" is one of the highlights of the record with its unusual start in low voice, joined by a piano and drums with a very rhythmic approach. The piece is also the subject of an orchestral crescendo which will of course recall "A day in the life", an inevitable reference on this kind of figure.

On the long lament "I Quit", a few electronic, percussive or orchestral elements seem to break the torpor of a development that is a bit too flat.

Second peak of the album (in my opinion), "Bending Hectic" is built in part around a vaporous guitar plan marked by a "bend" towards infinity adding tension to the velvety atmosphere. The title is enhanced by the orchestral arrangements, completely free drums, and singing that flies towards the stars (or rather towards the ground given the lyrics: "The ground is coming for me now"). The title ends in a saturated deluge that we didn't see coming.

The closing track "You Know Me!" sees the piano return as a central element accompanying Thom Yorke 's high-pitched vocals . This ensemble evolves towards almost Indian sounds with the support of the London Contemporary Orchestra, and thus closes this album on a new hypnotic note.

'Wall Of Eyes' is the testimony of a group, although recently formed, perfectly in control of the space it grants itself. He navigates freely between Rock, Jazz, Electro, Pop, and many other musical genres, to create a style of his own. Certainly, those nostalgic will find that the Himalayan peaks of Radiohead have not been reached, but The Smile drives home with this record the point of asserted independent creativity.

Review originally posted on www.progcritique.com.

I sold you some 80s synths...it's a failure on "Taste the Day" , a little melodic sweetness with an acoustic ambiance, which doesn't at all predict what's to come. And from "Showtime", we are there: synthesizers, bass, percussion, brass, etc? an impressive instrumental demonstration of the group's abilities to play complex music but which does not forget the melody. This title would have worked perfectly as theme music for an American series from the 80s like "Miami Vice".

Listen to this drum sound full of reverb that opens "Illusions Inside", I find a taste of "Drive", the hit by The Cars . And the rest of the title remains in this slightly nostalgic 80s vein served by synthesizer sounds, bass shots or very fitting choirs. We push the cursor again with the extraordinary "Esoterica" which is bathed in electronic madness supported by a very "straight" Rock rhythm. The beginning made me think (I will certainly be the only one to have this reference) of the crazy 80s electro punk of Sigue Sigue Sputnik . The title then develops on a "Genesis-ien" type terrain until leading to a pop/dance chorus worthy of the greatest hits of the 90s. It is constantly changing, whether in terms of sounds, rhythms or tones, but always falls back on these legs for a piece that is ultimately quite accessible.

What if Stock , Aitken and Waterman, rather than churning out sound mush on hits, had started a Progressive Rock band? Well it might ultimately have sounded like "The End in Mind", whose instrumental complexity (this bridge?) contrasts with the apparent simplicity of its vocal melody.

Return to instrumental music on "Digital Fear" which evokes Blockbuster Original Soundtracks from the 80s like "Blade Runner", and takes the form of a tribute to Vangelis .

A little leap in time with "Ghosts of You" which takes us to the end of the 80s, beginning of the 90s when the music scene was dominated by New Jack Swing sounds. The title is embellished with a Rock solo of the most beautiful effect, and can even recall Prince 's New Power Generation at certain moments.

The synths are largely out on "Liminal Space", again a 1986 hit released in 2024, on which we also find unexpected brass parts.

As in each of their previous albums, there is "Technology Killed the Kids". The "IV" this time, epic of more than 7 minutes which constantly varies the atmospheres. The most Proggy track on the record (along with the next one), fascinating to listen to, but impossible to describe... Of substantially similar duration, the last track "Have Hope" displays the same ambition: complex rhythms, fiery solos, demonstrations of instrumental mastery, refined melodies, for a result that is not immediately accessible but impressive.

In the same vein as what Voyager proposed with 'Fearless in Love' a few months ago, namely the successful marriage of synthetic pop and progressive metal, Kyros skillfully integrates Synth Pop elements very marked 80s to its Progressive Rock of an ambitious nature. The result at times evokes Yes , Frost* , Depeche Mode , Haken or Rush to name just a few groups, and more generally a whole section of popular music from the 80s, a period during which the synthesizer dictated its law. In the end, 'Mannequin' constitutes one of the nice surprises of the start of 2024, which will hopefully see many more.

Review originally posted on www.progcritique.com.

'All My Nights' organ from yesteryear, time when we took it, siren, slamming door, sound of footsteps; a fruity air of funky soft, jazzy, dark art-rock à la Sade; a soulful, plaintive voice, air flowing like a cloud of milk with a guitar solo à la Al di Meola. 'Disco' follows, danceable, fruity, on a herbie Hancock, trumpet in the distance, we imagine the sound coming out of a night bar now, from a soundtrack like that of Roger Rabbit; the throbbing sound and voice with the ambulance sirens in the distance, everything is diffuse, cottony like the mist over the city at the end of the night; atmospheric spleen psyche ambiance. 'The Child' has 10CC organ in the background, a metronomic tune, redundant like a musical spiral in which we are stuck, like an endless day; its haunting. 'Wave/Night' reminiscence of the DIY projects of Amarok and Riverside for a progressive approach, search for new sounds; violin and phrased then rapped voice that rolls, a choir that returns in waves; reverberant, shrill guitar, a musical oxymoron to challenge; vocal lament before the start of consensual rock, soft, illuminated, hypnotic.

'Nocturnal Lifestyle' river title, spatial flute, a Gilmourian guitar that of Pablo, the piece explodes suddenly with the cold electronic ambience, of linear Massive Attack in the background; moment to think about this city escaped by going to recharge your batteries in nature; reminiscent of Daft Punk, Japan, minimalist ambient music; contemplative like that of Lunatic Soul, helping to reflect on our society; final metronomic spatial more than atmospheric. 'Step Out of the City' interlude given the duration for the solemn dark ambient track; on a Lacrimosa then on the electronic flights of the 80s, note this purity of notes for the escapade outside the city and the benefit experienced. 'Splendid Solitude' with the song which denotes, like a film trailer title, the moment you raise the seat to go home, far from this teeming city, once again hypnotic and promoting regression. (3.5)

I was a a little surprised that I only heard that dusty old organ on the opener "The Truth, The Glow, The Fall" and it's not that there isn't anymore on this record but it doesn't lead the way or standout much either. Her vocals are in fine form with those theatrical expressions and yells every once in a while. We get crowd noise and applause. It was interesting hearing that second track "Pomporipossa" from "The Miraculous" for the first time as it so reminded me of PINK FLOYD the way the sounds cascade downwards.They close the concert with the other "The Miraculous" track "Come Wander With Me/ Deliverance" at over 15 minutes.

My top three are all "Dead Magic" tracks including the opener I already touched on but also "The Mysterious Electra" and Electra is one of Anna's middle names and my favourite "Ugly And Vengeful" a monster at over 19 minutes and the centrepiece here. It has it all. Interesting in the liner notes that they grouped the songs into three sections with "Ugly And Vengeful" having it's own section "II" and the first three tracks "I" while the final two are the "III" section.

A solid 4 stars and the art work is beyond cool as it conveys the style of music Von Hausswolff plays so well.

"Possibilities" symphonic entry with the organ, Philip's didgeridoo, Stefan's solo appetizer and the Floydian air; a gradual drift that flows smoothly. The Teutonic voice, you will have to get used to it; orchestral ambient break with rolling drums, latent bass for a sophisticated Oldfieldian moment before Pia's flute; of the crossover à la BARCLAY JAMES HARVEST. "Rain" a Hackettian arpeggio before the percussion entry and Dominik who gives it his all; the organ smells like that of BANKS; consensual ballad and chorus reminiscent of another from GENESIS second version; break which breaks the rhythm and sends on a tortured keyboard solo; flute and vocals for a soft return to the melody, a few touches of ALAN PARSONS and the airy, intoxicating chorus.

"A Spark of Ideas" the sound echoes, tune starting loud; the orchestration is meaningful, effective, a guitar solo behind it like TANGERINE DREAM did so well, bang oriental break, bluffing; the tune starts with a disconcerting bluesy guitar solo, warm with the Mellotron in the background; the nervous guitar brings the most, helped by Dennis' bass which keeps the direction; very good piece. "Old Buffoon" for the radio edit worthy of the BEATLES, the bucolic sound with Martin from BEGGARS OPERA on vocals, taking the tune to that of 'Seaside Rendez-Vous' by QUEEN, to the recognizable one of GENESIS, an Anglican title incidentally.

"An Island in Time" begins without waves; consensual tune, chorus by ALAN PARSONS; acoustic arpeggio and flute break, it smells of reminiscences of Mike OLDFIELD; the second break with a languorous Frippian guitar returns to the bewitching vintage sound; chorus with warm choirs then flute solo surrounded by roaring bass and metronomic drums; Stephan's guitar solo is complex, followed by a piano variation becoming the centerpiece playing with stereoscopic notes, crystal clear for the spleen moment; final tormented jazz-rock guitar solo à la AGUSA leading to "Contingency" with a PINK FLOYD tune; the flute appears supported by Dominik's demonstrative drums; tune from KING CRIMSON's 'Discipline' with Philip's languorous voice; title led by Pia to continue to captivate us.

Opening out with the smothering mellotron and electric piano work on "Circus" (the eponymous track) gives a very promising start to the album. Immediately, you can see that all of Ballard's influence has been relinquished from the band as they burst into a Floyd-ish jam. Suddenly a piano interlude from Argent leads into the lyrics about the concept of the album. Following the strong opening track, the 9-minute "Highwire" is an absolute highlight on the album. The song is predominantly driven by mellotron and Fender Rhodes once more (however there is also an underlying piano there the whole time). The vocals on this track as smooth as silk, and so are the harmonies (which are implemented very impressively by the band). At around the 5:40 mark the song takes are dramatic high octane turn, and becomes a high intensity jam by the band which sounds amazing. The band plays a more fusion-esque style with looser chords, yet it is somehow super tight as the guitar and moog trade solos. Closing with the main theme from the beginning, the song transitions in the final song on side 1, "Clown." I really don't understand all the hate this track gets from the prog community. Opening with vibrato guitar and solemn piano, the song paints the sad memoir of a circus clown. The harmonies between the band as Argent sings "And who can doubt this painted fool who walks upon this circus stage is just a clown?" are absolutely masterful. The moog solo that closes the song is also very cool and great work from Rod Argent.

Continuing the "Circus" theme on side 2, "Trapeze" kicks off with a guitar and organ riff which is swept into an extremely proggy 7/4 time signature. Its a really interesting song without too many vocals and to be honest I really like the cowbell and bassline that carries the song. My only issue overall would be that the band wanders aimlessly through a jam on the 7/4 section for way too long. After the soloing from Argent on the Rhodes, the main riff from the beginning carries the band into a grand bridge section that sounds really awesome with heavy organ...Then the 7/4 comes back. Great idea on this track, just a bit overplayed and repetitive. Subsequently, "Shine on Sunshine," is the band doing their best Queen impression with added mellotron. The harmonies here are very reminiscent of anything off "Night at the Opera" with a jazzier feel. It's a nice little mood change, as is 1-minute Rhodes interlude "The Ring." The album closes with "The Jester" which opens with a "Pinball Wizard" feel and also a very Queen-esque chorus again. I like this one a lot better than "Shine on Sunshine" though because the keyboard melody and moog work on here is super impressive from Argent.

I think this album is over-hated by Proggers and is jampacked with infectious melodies and real sleepers. There isn't any single "weak" track on here (not including the throwaway "The Ring") and despite change in vocalists I think the band didn't really miss a step. Unlike their classic era records such as "In Deep" and "All Together Now" this LP doesn't have any of those horrible Russ Ballard boogie woogie songs which is an improvement in of itself :) Awesome record here and definitely a highly recommended one for a chill listen.

They were most active in the 80's starting with their debut in 1980 and releasing six records during that decade including this one "Conquista" the sophomore release from 1981. They released a couple of more albums in the 90's and then a break, then two more in the 00's before the most recent 2023 recording. They became quite popular in the whole of central america singing about topics the locals could relate to and they became a hit on local radio stations despite not playing commercial music at least not on their first several releases apparently. This is consistently good, no weak songs and a large seven piece at this point with a few multi- instrumentalists. Violin and guitar tend to solo the most here especially the violin.

I like that the album's strength to me is the middle section even though the opener and closer are very good I like tracks three to five the most. The opener reveals a band who is extremely proggy as they show their chops and the complexity of the music. Track two is sentimental and really a beautiful piece with the soft vocals and sounds. The closer sort of combines the first two tracks and RPI came to mind in spades during the mellow bits. There's something special about that fourth track "Hoy" my favourite and while the song before it(which is the title track) is almost as impressive and in some ways more so I prefer "Hoy". I should have mentioned we get some sax on this record but more flute and three of them play keyboards too.

I'm still astounded at where they live but more impressed at the talent involved in this adventerous music. Easily 4 stars.

Arjen Anthony Lucassen is a Dutch songwriter, singer, multi-instrumentalist and record producer. Arjen started his career in 1980 in the Dutch band Bodine. His next band was Vengeance, a band formed in 1984. Arjen considers his time with them quite enjoyable. He had more freedom to do what he wanted and compose songs. After a successful tour in 1992, Arjen parted from Vengeance. A few years later, in 1995, Arjen released an album titled "Ayreon: The Final Experiment", in which he sang, wrote every song and played most of the instruments. The album leads to the creation of the extremely successful project Ayreon, which established him as a notable composer of rock operas. Following Ayreon's success, Arjen has been involved in many other projects. He is the creator of Star One, Guilt Machine, The Gentle Storm, the currently inactive band Ambeon, and of Stream Of Passion. In 2012, Arjen released "Lost In The New Real", his first solo album since "Pools Of Sorrow" and "Waves Of Joy". On "Lost In The New Real" he sang all leading vocals, wrote all lyrics and played almost all instruments. The album is better than his two first attempts as a solo artist.

The line up on "Lost In The New Real" is, besides Arjen Anthony Lucassen (vocals and instruments), Rutger Hauer (narration), Wilmer Waarbroek (backing vocals), Ben Mathot (violin), Maaike Peterse (cello), Jeroen Goossens (flute), Liesbeth De Weer (vocals and Hammered dulcimer), Ed Warby (drums) and Rob Snijders /drums).

"Lost In The New Real" is an album with two disks. The first one is a loose concept album and the second one feature songs that tie into the story but couldn't quite be worked in chronologically, as well as a selection of classic rock covers that are tangentially related to the themes of the story. It gives us an insight into how Lucassen tackles music by other people. His covers of Pink Floyd, Blue Oyster Cult, The Alan Parsons Project, Led Zeppelin and Frank Zappa are second to none. So, Lucassen proves himself in one more different role. The man is really a gifted and talented person.

The story of the concept follows the thoughts of a man known simply as Mr. L who, after being cryogenically frozen to prevent his body from succumbing to an incurable disease, awakens several generations into the future. After being cured, he comes down with the world's worst case of culture shock, and the story follows how he deals with the progress and changes, for both better and worse, that humanity has made. To help him deal with being thrown without foothold into this vastly different reality, he is assigned a shrink named Voight Kampff, played by none other than the also Dutch actor Rutger Hauer. Those of you more film literate no doubt already picked up on the film "Blade Runner".

"Lost In The New Real" isn't really wandering too far afield for this prolific Dutchman. I think that anyone who is a fan of the man's previous works will hear immediately who it is that has written this music. But, what Lucassen seems to be going for here is a strange and very referential mix of the melodic progressive rock with all the music and culture European, primarily English, but also American. Not counting the five covers on disc two, including of Led Zeppelin's classic "Battle Of Evermore", the references to the 60's and 70's rock are very thick, making of it a very eclectic album.

Musically, the first disc shows that Lucassen has lost none of his potency when it comes to writing strong and memorable music. There are lots of cool synth lines and guitar solos. But Lucassen is also able to surprise with a more back to basics approach. Thus, he honours us with moments of folk and Medieval music and even pop. In any case, the man doesn't shy away from any challenge and it came off for him marvelously, displaying his amazing ability to turn just about anything into gold. Besides the standard space rock influences we've grown accustomed to with Lucassen's projects, we are treated to a variety of other styles as well, like folk and Medieval music, pop, hard rock, metal and so on, as if this whole science fiction concept album was a tribute to the music of the past this traveler in time came from.

Conclusion: All in all, "Lost In The New Real" is really a wonderful conceptual album, a great mix of all of Lucassen's sounds, and a worthy follow-up to Ayreon, Star One and Guilt Machine. This is a very solid album from start to finish, full of inspired moments. The album is serious in its intention and execution, but Lucassen has a lot of fun with the music as well, making several amusing references to the music we all know and love. Aside from the dated references, "Lost In The New Real" is a remarkably enjoyable prog rock album from one of the brightest musical minds of our generation, highly recommended nearly and instantly as a classic album worthy of carrying on Lucassen's huge musical legacy. Whichever name he decides to go he can usually be relied upon to deliver the goods. The man still has the magic touch and we can only hope to hear more new music from him sooner rather than later. A special reference to Hauer's fantastic voice. Man, that guy had a great voice. A final mention should also go to the beautiful hardback book style packaging with Claudio Bergamin's stunning retro sci-fi artwork perfectly capturing the mood of Lucassen's work.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)

Like "Eldorado" there are two songs I recognize, probably from listening to FM classic rock stations. "Showdown" is one I really like but wasn't the biggest fan back in the day. Also "Ma-Ma-Ma Belle" is the other one I know and this rocks pretty hard, no doubt a good live track for these guys once upon a time. I can't believe Marc Bolan is playing guitar on this one along with the next tune "Dreaming Of 4000". Marc has been on some good Fusion albums and speaking of that check out the final 30 seconds of "Oh No Not Susan" with the Jerry Goodman-like violin.

Back in the day when I was 17 years old and finding my way musically I did check these guys out by buying "Out Of The Blue" for the very happy "Mr. Blue Sky". Interesting that the RYM site has the four straight albums beginning with "Eldorado"and ending with "Out Of The Blue" as their highest rated. And add "Time" from 1981. I'll take the "The Third Day" thankyou.