Ozric Tentacles – Arborescence (94)

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1 Astro Cortex
2 Yog-Bar-Og
3 Arborescence
4 Al-Salooq
5 Dance of the Loomi
6 Myriapod
7 There's a Planet Here
8 Shima Koto


Ozric Tentacles carries its mainly instrumental version of the Gong experience forward to new heights with 1994's Arborescence.

Instrumental prowess abounds.

Ed's guitar can best be described with two adjectives: swirling and Hillage-esque.

Drummer Merv and bassist Zia lay down odd-meter rhythms with confidence and energy, and the way they mutate some of these long grooves is one of the most entertaining things about this record.

In fact, this is one of the things that Ozric Tentacles does best in general: creating legitimate, memorable song structures out of very little purely melodic material.

On only a few occasions on Arborescence does the band provide the listener with some sort of melodic hook, with one notable occasion being the Arabic-themed melody to "Al-Salooq."

Rather, they prefer to insinuate grooves under your skin while guitars, flutes, and synthesizers dance gleefully around the rhythms.

It is ambient music crossbred with alien dance music, and it is marvelous stuff.

If any complaint can be mustered against this record or Ozric Tentacles in general, it can be said that some of the drum patterns become a bit tired and repetitive.

One tom-tom fill in particular really must have the love of Merv, because he uses it every four bars (this is admittedly hyperbole, but not as much as you might think).

The Gong nods also may be a bit too obvious for some but, to those who don't mind, the OT experience is a trippy one indeed.

Spicy, evocative, and hypnotic, Arborescence is an unpredictably joyous record.

Jade Warrior - Breathing The Storm (95)

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1 Gaia
2 Breathing the Storm
3 Over Ice and Water
4 Gift of Wings
5 Songs of the Air
6 Memory of the Deep
7 Reflecting Stars
8 Asa No Kiri
9 Circle of Wisdom

After a lengthy hiatus of almost ten years, Jon Field put together a new version of Jade Warrior and recorded Breathing the Storm.

It was released in 1994 on the European label Red Hot and was deleted shortly afterward.

In 2001 Blueprint reissued a remastered version with new artwork.

Breathing the Storm marks a departure from earlier material.

The death of founding member Tony Duhig prior to the recording sessions led remaining founder Jon Field to drop the exotic percussion side of Jade Warrior.

Some light drum programming was used, but otherwise very little percussion is involved, a change fans will notice immediately.

The music on this album was inspired by chaos theory, which states that the smallest disturbance can cause much bigger effects. Synthetic and airborne, it glides softly.

The instrumentation includes mainly keyboards, Field's flutes and EWI, Colin Henson's MIDI guitar, and Dave Sturt's fretless bass.

Some bird and wind recordings add to the already existing new age colors.

If Jade Warrior was once a progressive rock outfit, Breathing the Storm has very little to do with the genre, except for its polished arty quality.

All tracks segue and there are no disrupting moments.

It's a well-produced album full of soothing melodies, but no surprises.

It will please fans of Gandalf. Prog fans will find something more substantial on the band's subsequent release Different Echoes.

Bill Nelson - Deep Dream Decoder (98)

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1 Things to Come
2 God Bless Me
3 Rise (Above These Things)
4 Snowing Outside
5 It's All True
6 A Head Full of Lights and a Hat Full of Haloes
7 The Girls I've Loved
8 Amazing Things
9 Deep Dream Decoder
10 Dissolve
11 Year 44 (The Birthday Song)
12 Wing & A Prayer
13 Dreamnoise and Angel
14 Tired Eyes
15 Golden Girl
16 The Spark


Originally released as part of the My Secret Studio box set, Deep Dream Decoder compiles songs composed and recorded between 1988 and 1992 in one or the other of Nelson's home studio set-ups, including the apparently ad-hoc arrangement he calls "tape recorder cottage."

During this four year period, Nelson was undergoing some major life changes, ranging from a legal war with his former manager, divorce from his second wife, and his eventual third marriage.

Rather than falling into a funk and losing the ability to create, Nelson tends to go the opposite direction and create more than ever.

The result is a collection of fully-formed songs, often quite densely arranged, with some splendid guitar work.

Keyboards tend to be utilized for texture (although very Nelsonian textures, it should be said) and vocals get somewhat short shift, as usual - which is a shame, because Nelson has a distinct and interesting voice, and often comes up with fascinating lyrics; here, much of his writing relates to the conditions of his life, and the affirmation of hope for a better tomorrow.

This is definitely an album that should investigated by more than the usual brigade of Nelsonian faithful.

Art Zoyd - Marathonnerre II (93)

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1 Métaphase
2 AKA Jour de Pluie
3 La Belle et la Bête
4 Anamorphose 1
5 Anamorphose 2
6 Anamorphose 3
7 Porte de Châtillon
8 Azpp
9 Mariée À la Nuit
10 2. Zwischenspiel
11 Tournoi
12 2ème Expérience de Vol
13 Le Lac des Signes
14 3ème Expérience de Vol


The second volume of Art Zoyd's music for Serge Noyelle's interdisciplinary piece Marathonnere differs from its companion, which was released simultaneously.

It features the same lineup and is still genuine '90s Art Zoyd, but the music comes closer to the group's early sound.

More anthemic, with the snare and bass drums taking a larger part, it will appeal to fans of Phase IV, despite the fact that the music is dominated by keyboards.

The mechanistic approach found on the other album (and most of the group's output) is reinforced. Gérard Hourbette's three-part suite "Anamorphose" is a definite highlight, so are Zaboïtzeff's haunting "Le Lac des Signes" and "Mariée de la Nuit."

The latter features one of Hourbette's meanest viola solos of the decade. With this volume it seems the music stretches out of its utilitarian role to take on a life of its own.

It lacks the leitmotiv of the first Marathonnere, but yields more rewarding separate pieces. Released in 1993, Marathonnere II was later repackaged as the two-CD set Marathonnerre I & II.

Marillion – Fugazi (84)

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1 Assassing
2 Punch and Judy
3 Jigsaw
4 Emerald Lies
5 She Chameleon
6 Incubus
7 Fugazi

At the conclusion of the Script for a Jester's Tear tour, Marillion decided to give drummer Mick Pointer his marching orders, replacing him momentarily with Camel's Andy Ward and later by American studio whiz Jonathan Mover.

Mover's recruitment proved to be short-lived, as Fish ushered in Steve Hackett's drummer/percussionist, Ian Mosley, whose spot-on drumming was the perfect foil for Marillion's meticulous musicianship.

With Mosley, the band set out to record its sophomore effort.

The first track to emerge from the Fugazi sessions would be "Punch and Judy" (which EMI released as the album's first single).

In hindsight, this wasn't a smart move — the single quickly vanished into chart oblivion.

As the sessions turned into a grueling and at times exasperating multi-studio juggling act (ten different studios were used for the tracking/mixing of the record), Fugazi proved to be a somewhat disjointed follow-up to the classic Script for a Jester's Tear.

Despite its superlative arrangements, the album lacked its predecessor's cohesion and focus, but all was not lost: Buried in the album's murky mix are three Marillion classics.

"Assassing," "Incubus," and especially the album's title track showcase the band at its melodramatic best.

The cryptic "Fugazi" was a highlight of the band's live set for many years to follow.

In 1998, EMI issued a remastered version of Fugazi featuring a bonus disc full of oddities and demos, including "Three Boats Down From the Candy," a 12" version of "Cinderella Search," and four of the album's original demos.

The remastered version goes a long way toward restoring the album's original sonic aesthetic (lost somewhere along the way in initial vinyl and CD pressings).

This is a normal version.

Marco Antonio Araujo – Lucas (85)

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MÚSICAS DO DISCO
- LEMBRANÇAS
- CAIPIRA
- LUCAS
- PARA JIMMY PAGE
- BRINCADEIRA (bonus track em CD)
- CAVALEIRO (bonus track em CD)
- 3rd GYMNOPÉDIE *ERIC SATIE* (bonus track em CD)

MÚSICOS PARTICIPANTES
MARCO ANTÔNIO ARAÚJO (violões)
ALEXANDRE ARAÚJO (guitarra)
EDUARDO DELGADO (flauta)
JAQUES MORELEMBAUM (violoncelo)
JOSÉ MARCOS TEIXEIRA (sintetizadores)
MAX MAGALHÃES (piano)
IVAN CORREA (contrabaixo)
LINCOLN CHEIB (bateria)
NANDO CARNEIRO (arranjo e gravação dos sintetizadores em "Lucas")


Para homenagear o nascimento do seu segundo filho, MARCO ANTÔNIO ARAÚJO lançou em 1984 aquele que viria a se tornar o seu derradeiro disco: LUCAS.

Contando novamente com a participação do grupo MANTRA, onde fez, também, uma emocionante homenagem a um de seus ídolos, o guitarrista JIMMY PAGE, do LED ZEPPELIN.

Após o lançamento desse disco, pôs-se a excurcionar por diversas cidades brasileiras, em sua primeira "tour" nacional, realizando mais de 50 apresentações, que contribuíram para uma maior penetração e divulgação de seu trabalho.

Marco Antonio Araujo - Entre Um Silencio e Outro (83)

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­¦

MÚSICAS DO DISCO
- ABERTURA Nº 1 (bonus track em CD)
- ABERTURA Nº 2 (bonus track em CD)
- CANTARES Nº 3 (bonus track em CD)
- FANTASIA Nº 2 (ROMANCE)
- FANTASIA Nº 3 (FOLHAS MORTAS)

¦

MÚSICOS PARTICIPANTES
MARCO ANTÔNIO ARAÚJO (violões)
PAULO GUIMARÃES (flauta)
MARCIO MALLARD (violoncelo)
JAQUES MORELEMBAUM (violoncelo)

¦

Com o apoio cultural de um banco, MARCO ANTÔNIO ARAÚJO produziu e lançou o seu terceiro LP em 1983 : ENTRE UM SILÊNCIO E OUTRO.

¦

Dessa vez, sem a participação do grupo MANTRA e contando com a participação dos celistas JAQUES MORELEMBAUN e MÁRCIO MALLARD, e do flautista PAULO GUIMARÃES, formando um quarteto de câmara.

¦

Era o seu disco mais elaborado, premiando o lado mais erudito de sua formação musical, sendo dedicado "in memorian" a sua professora ESTHER SCLIAR, onde a capa trazia uma belíssima gravura do artista plástico CARLOS SCLIAR, inspirada em sua música.
¦

Virar as noites compondo já fazia parte de sua realidade há muito tempo.

¦

Para muitos, MARCO ANTÔNIO ARAÚJO era um louco, um obcecado pelo seu trabalho, sendo essa a única maneira de se conseguir alguma coisa nessa época em que o artista só conseguia superar as dificuldades pela necessidade extrema de criar.

¦

Leger De Main - Second First Impression

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Leger de Main is : Chris Rodler on Acoustic & Electric Guitars, Guitar Synth and Keyboards, Melissa Blair on lead & Harmony Vocals and Brett Rodler on Drums.


Additional Musicians :Kevin Hultberg on Fretless bass guitar and five string bass solo on track 5, Dave Rasicci on Bass Guitar on track 6, Mike Ohm - Guitar solos, George Jordan - Guitar solos, John Gratto - keyboard score for track 2 performed by C.Rodler.


The tracks are :
1 Running Interference (2:08)
2 Silent Monster (6:27)
3 Changes With The Day (11:15)
4 Some Shall Search (12:20)
5 Do Whispers Die ? (8:18)
6 The Story (9:20)


The opening track is 'Running Interference', which is a multi-keyboard instrumental with very haunting sounds.


The next track 'Silent Monster' is another instrumental.

This is a stunning track that is constantly changing direction, mood and tempo.

Lots of heavy guitar, great keyboards and superb drumming.

The style reminds me quite a lot of King Crimson in that some of it sounds very improvisational.


Track three 'Changes With The Day', is the first track in which you hear Melissa's vocals and I think they're superb.

Melissa shows that she has quite a wide range in vocal style and that she has a very powerful voice.

At times a little reminiscent of Annie Haslam (Renaissance ), but I don't mind that, again the music changes direction quite a lot.

The main part of 'Changes With The Day' has quite a catchy melody.

The drum sound is on this track is superb, there's a mixture of acoustic guitar parts and heavy guitar parts and some stunning keyboard work.

The track is quite complex at times , but easily listenable.


The next track is 'Some Shall Search', starts with some stunning guitar work, very reminiscent to King Crimson style.

Brett's drums then come in at a furious pace. Once again Melissa's vocals are superb.

Chris's guitar work throughout this track is just stunning.

Once again lots of changes in direction, tempo and mood.'Do Whispers Die ?', great vocals, great keyboards, great guitar, Great track!!.

There's also a great bass solo from Kevin.

The final track is 'The Story', another superb track, great vocals from Melissa again showing what a powerful voice she has.

There's some stunning guitar work and lots of changes in direction, mood and tempo.

Once again superb guitar, drums (boy, can this guy play!!), great keyboards.I just love this album.


But I would say this album is for progrockers who like their music a bit more on the heavier side.


If you like good music you'll love this CD.All I can say is GO OUT AND BUY THIS CD!!!


Released by Progressive Music Management.
6802 Helena
Dr. Erie.PA16510.
USA
Email : lenrod@aol.com

Jean-Luc Ponty - Individual Choice (83)

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1 Computer Incantations for World Peace
2 Far from the Beaten Paths
3 In Spiritual Love
4 Eulogy to Oscar Romero
5 Nostalgia
6 Individual Choice
7 In Spite of All


Here is Ponty's radical break with his past, one that further tightened his control over his craft while ironically liberating his muse.

In laying out his attractive new music on synthesizers and sequencers, emphasizing revolving ostinato patterns, Ponty rejuvenated his melodic gift, and as a result, even in this controlled setting, his violin solos take on a new freshness and exuberance.

Except for two tracks, Ponty does without a formal rhythm section — and on two other tracks, he goes it completely alone. Indeed, he does best of all when he has no one but himself to play with on "Computer Incantations for World Peace" and the lovely mood piece "Eulogy to Oscar Romero."

Guest interloper George Duke (a fellow refugee from Frank Zappa's band) contributes a Minimoog solo to ""In Spiritual Love," where Ponty provides his own percussive backing on rhythm computer. Even if one grumbles on principle about the reduction of spontaneity in Ponty's music over the Atlantic years, the musical end here absolutely justifies the means.

Don't miss it.

Genesis – Genesis (83)

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1 Mama
2 That's All
3 Home by the Sea
4 Second Home by the Sea
5 Illegal Alien
6 Taking It All Too Hard
7 Just a Job to Do
8 Silver Rainbow
9 It's Gonna Get Better


Moments of Genesis are as spooky and arty as those on Abacab — in particular, there's the tortured howl of "Mama," uncannily reminiscent of Phil Collins' Face Value, and the two-part "Second Home by the Sea" — but this eponymous 1983 album is indeed a rebirth, as so many self-titled albums delivered in the thick of a band's career often are.

Here the art rock functions as coloring to the pop songs, unlike on Abacab and Duke, where the reverse is true.

Some of this may be covering their bets — to ensure that the longtime fans didn't jump ship, they gave them a bit of art — some of it may be that the band just couldn't leave prog behind, but the end result is the same: as of this record, Genesis was now primarily a pop band.

Anybody who paid attention to "Misunderstanding" and "No Reply at All" could tell that this was a good pop band, primarily thanks to the rapidly escalating confidence of Phil Collins, but Genesis illustrates just how good they could be, by balancing such sleek, pulsating pop tunes as "That's All" with a newfound touch for aching ballads, as on "Taking It All Too Hard."

They still rocked — "Just a Job to Do" has an almost nasty edge to its propulsion — and they could still get too silly as on "Illegal Alien," where Phil's Speedy Gonzalez accident is an outright embarrassment (although in some ways it's not all that far removed from his Artful Dodger accent on the previous album's "Who Dunnit?"), and that's why the album doesn't quite gel.

It has a little bit too much of everything — too much pop, too much art, too much silliness — so it doesn't pull together, but if taken individually, most of these moments are very strong, testaments to the increasing confidence and pop power of the trio, even if it's not quite what longtime fans might care to hear.

King Crimson - Epitaph - Live 1969 (97) Duplo

Volume 1
Volume 2


1 21st Century Schizoid Man
2 The Court of the Crimson King
3 Get Thy Bearings
4 Epitaph
5 A Man, A City
6 Epitaph
7 21st Century Schizoid Man
8 Mantra
9 Travel Weary Capricorn
10 Improv: Travel Bleary Capricorn
11 Mars
12 The Court of the Crimson King
13 Drop In
14 A Man, A City
15 Epitaph
16 21st Century Schizoid Man
17 Mars


This two-disc archival set includes live performances from the short-lived incipient 1969 incarnation of King Crimson.

After months of arduous sonic restoration — or what Robert Fripp (guitar) refers to as "necromancy" — the results are well worth the painstaking processes involved.

The first volume contains material from three different sources — BBC Radio Sessions, the Fillmore East in New York City, and its Bay Area counterpart, theFillmore West.

The second volume consists of nearly another hour-long set from the latter venerable San Francisco venue.

Joining Fripp are Ian McDonald (flute/sax/mellotron/vocals), Greg Lake (bass/vocals), Michael Giles (drums/percussion/vocals), and the only non-performing member, Peter Sinfield (words/illuminations).

They single-handedly fused electric rock music with jazz in a way that no one else has done before or, arguably, since.

Each of the respective series of recordings incorporates their genre-defining debut LP In The Court Of The Crimson King (1969) as well as a selection of well-chosen and adeptly executed covers ranging from the full frontal assault of Holst's "Mars" — which became the zenith of the group's live shows — to the alternately free jazz worked into their wigged-out interpretation of Donovan's "Get Thy Bearings."

Although the cuts from the album are pretty close to their studio renderings, there are a few notable differences — such as the alternate early lyrics to "Epitaph," and the absence of the second coda of feedback during the end of "21st Century Schizoid Man."

Conspicuously missing from the disc are concert versions of "I Talk To The Wind" and "Moonchild" — the latter of which is rumored to have never been performed by the band at all. Words fail when attempting to describe the frenetic synergy that these musicians share.

At times the music seems to play the participants in a tidal wave of communal inspiration.

There are more instances of that interaction than not, and Epitaph Live In 1969 (1997) consists of over two solid hours of these incendiary moments.

Interested parties should note that two additional volumes are available via the Discipline Global Mobile website — http://www.disciplineglobalmobile.com.

These are no-fi audience tapes from the 1969 Plumpton Festival (August 9, 1969) and the Chesterfield Jazz Club (September 7, 1969) respectively.

King Crimson – Red (74)

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1 Red
2 Fallen Angel
3 One More Red Nightmare
4 Providence
5 Starless


King Crimson falls apart once more, seemingly for the last time, as David Cross walks away during the making of this album.

It became Robert Fripp's last thoughts on this version of the band, a bit noiser overall but with some surprising sounds featured, mostly out of the group's past — Mel Collins' and Ian McDonald's saxes, Marc Charig's cornet, and Robin Miller's oboe, thus providing a glimpse of what the 1972-era King Crimson might've sounded like handling the later group's repertory (which nearly happened).

Indeed, Charig's cornet gets just about the best showcase it ever had on a King Crimson album, and the truth is that few intact groups could have gotten an album as good as Red together.

The fact that it was put together by a band in its death throes makes it all the more impressive an achievement.

Indeed, Red does improve in some respects on certain aspects of the previous album — including "Starless," a cousin to the prior album's title track — and only the lower quality of the vocal compositions keeps this from being as strongly recommended as its two predecessors.

Red was reissued on CD in the summer of 2000 in a remastered edition that features killer sound and an excellent booklet, containing a good account of the circumstances surrounding the recording of this album.

King Crimson – Beat (82)

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1 Neal and Jack and Me
2 Heartbeat
3 Sartori in Tangier
4 Waiting Man
5 Neurotica
6 Two Hands
7 The Howler
8 Requiem


Beat is not as good as its predecessor (1981's Discipline), but it's not too shabby, either.

The '80s version of King Crimson (Robert Fripp, guitar; Adrian Belew, vocals/guitar; Tony Levin, bass; and Bill Bruford, drums) retains the then-modern new wave sound introduced on Discipline.

The band's performances are still inspired, but the songwriting isn't as catchy or strong.

The moody love song "Heartbeat" has become a concert favorite for the band, and contains a Jimi Hendrix-like backward guitar solo.

Other worthwhile tracks include "Waiting Man," which features world music sounds (thanks to some stunning bass/percussion interplay), and "Neurotica" does an excellent job of painting an unwavering picture of a large U.S. city, with its jerky rhythms and tense vocals.

With lots of different guitar textures, bass explorations, and uncommon drum rhythms present, King Crimson's Beat will automatically appeal to other musicians.

But since they're fantastic songwriters as well, you don't have to be a virtuoso to feel the passion of their music.

Jethro Tull - Thick As A Brick (72)

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1 Thick as a Brick 22:37
2 Thick as a Brick 21:03


Jethro Tull's first LP-length epic is a masterpiece in the annals of progressive rock, and one of the few works of its kind that still holds up decades later.

Mixing hard rock and English folk music with classical influences, set to stream-of-consciousness lyrics so dense with imagery that one might spend weeks pondering their meaning — assuming one feels the need to do so — the group created a dazzling tour de force, at once playful, profound, and challenging, without overwhelming the listener.

The original LP was the best-sounding, best-engineered record Tull had ever released, easily capturing the shifting dynamics between the soft all-acoustic passages and the electric rock crescendos surrounding them.

Renaissance - A Song For All Seasons (78)

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1 Opening Out
2 Day of the Dreamer
3 Closer Than Yesterday
4 Kindness (At the End)
5 Back Home Once Again
6 She Is Love
7 Northern Lights
8 A Song for All Seasons


The last gasp for the group as anything resembling a band with an international following, A Song for All Seasons was Renaissance's last record to get any serious exposure.

The material lacks any of the life that resonated from their early-'70s releases, and even the classical pretensions now seem dullish if pretty.

Marshall Law - Warning From History – Remastered (99)

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1 Foregathering
2 Victory at Last
3 Locked and Loaded
4 Remembered Forever
5 Harbinger of Doom
6 Blood on Blood
7 Crucified
8 March of History
9 Pray for Deliverance
10 Godking
11 Retreat
12 Storming to Power


Marshall Law had been slogging it out on-stage and in-studio for over a decade when they unveiled 1999's Warning From History, but with little to show for it.

Often likened, both favorably and not so favorably, to their hometown heroes Judas Priest (unfairly, it must be said, they were anything but doppelgängers), the group had found it hard staking their claim during a difficult decade for metal.

And since their style was simply not extreme enough to connect with the genre's still thriving death/black underground, new song titles like "Remembered Forever," "Storming to Power," and "Victory at Last" were misleading to say the least (actually, it may have been another song, "Retreat," that said it best of all).

At least the latter boasted a hooky chorus to die for, and along with the grandly marching title track, probably struck a chord with most fans of melodic power metal.

By comparison, the repetitive, seemingly interminable "Godking" is as dull as metal gets, and the shorter "Blood on Blood" only manages to better it slightly.

All around, this is one of those solid, well-produced, but remarkably lifeless heavy metal albums, ultimately fit for few other than Marshall Law's pre-established fan base.

Lonely Bears - Lonely Bears (99)

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1 Our Red Sea
2 Zugzwang
3 Eastern
4 Oka
5 The Freedom of the Wind
6 Trois Tambours de Abed
7 Canterbury Song
8 Sartre
9 The Alpes as We Knew Them
10 Chanson du Bonhomme
11 Alarums
12 ...and Excursions
13 Nana


This 1999 effort finds the Lonely Bears foursome navigating a forest of textural improvisation.

One might expect Bozzio, the most famous of the group, to take center stage, but the players are, in fact, on very equal footing throughout.

Coe's credited solely on saxes, but he also plays clarinet, bass clarinet, and, on "Trois Tambours de Abed," some sort of fife or recorder.

Burns sticks mainly to atmospheric, distorted wails and subtly placed arpeggios.

Hymas creates synth washes, startling electronic effects, and a few lovely acoustic piano moments.

And Bozzio takes an expansive, highly musical view of the drum set, sounding like both a drummer and a percussionist within the same song, sometimes within the same moment.

Hymas wrote the bulk of the material, but Coe contributes a beautiful soprano sax/piano duet called "Canterbury Song," and Bozzio delivers the frantically complex "Sartre."

The rest of the material is either collaborative or based on traditional songs. "...And Excursions," a duet for drums and acoustic piano, provides the clearest glimpse into Bozzio's improvisational concept.

The record takes a little while to get going, however: The first few tracks have a certain monotony. But stick with it and you'll likely warm to this group's electro-acoustic exotica.

Gong - Camembert Electrique (71)

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1 Radio Gnome
2 You Can't Kill Me
3 I've Bin Stone Before/Mister Long 4 Shanks/O Mother
4 Mister Long Shanks: O Mother/I Am Your Fantasy
5 Dynamite/I Am Your Animal
6 Wet Cheese Delirium
7 Squeezing Sponges over Policemen's Heads
8 Fohat Digs Holes in Space
9 Tried So Hard
10 Tropical Fish: Selene
11 Gnome the Second


This is a classic, the epitome of the band's early Daevid Allen phase with Ph.P.'s (pothead pixies) in full, blazing glory.

In its infancy, Gong was a unique prog rock band that branched out in all directions at once while most other prog bands chose simply one path or another.

Camembert Electrique is a testament to that.

The band's eclectic "electric cheese" rock is a mixture of psychedelic rock, spacy atmospherics and lyrics, and doses of jazz often presented with a pop sensibility, yet always intense.

From the first cut on Camembert, you are transported to planet Gong via the voice of a "radio gnome" who drops in intermittently to remind you you're not in Kansas anymore.

Daevid Allen leads the band through several compositions musically (not lyrically) reminiscent of, and possibly influenced by, early King Crimson — a hard, raw-edged sound propelled by a strong guitar-sax-percussion combo. Drummer Pip Pyle played on only a few Gong sessions; he is a major figure here, as is saxophonist Didier Malherbe.

Both are up front on the wailing progressive rocker "You Can't Kill Me," which also features guitarist Allen in top form.

Allen's declarative "I've Bin Stone Before," the first part of an inventive three-song medley, is of particular interest; introductory church organ and avant-garde sax make this another unique Gong experience.

But the real gem on Camembert is "Tropical Fish: Selene." This jazzy composition is the most involving and intricate piece on the recording.

The band moves tightly through several progressive movements and Gilli Smyth scores with her trademark "space whispering."

Camembert Electrique remains undated after almost 30 years and hovers "strong and steamin'" over most of the Gong catalog.

Titãs - Cabeça Dinossauro (86)

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1 Cabeca Dinossauro
2 AA Uu
3 Igreja
4 Policia
5 Estado Violencia
6 A Face Do Destruidor
7 Porrada
8 To Cansado
9 Bichos Escrotos
10 Famili
11 Homem Primata
12 Dividas
13 O Que


Lançado em 1986, o álbum veio para afirmar o Titãs no cenário nacional e romper barreiras com faixas que trazem letras agressivas, diretas e sem a menor preocupação com a censura.

A primeira impressão sobre o disco é que se trata de um álbum de música punk, pela temática. Mas os caras foram além.

A começar pela embalagem do disco: uma capa dupla para um vinil.

As ilustrações da capa e contracapa são de Leonardo Da Vinci e o encarte traz uma bela sequência de fotos dos integrantes da banda.

Apesar da atitude “punk”, o disco mostra que o grupo paulista transitava bem em outras sonoridades como o reggae e até o funk. Basta ouvir músicas como Família, O Que, Xingu, Estado Violência e Bichos Escrotos pra perceber que o Titãs estava indo além do puro e simples rock e com um parceiro de peso: o renomado produtor Liminha.

Nas letras e títulos, o Titãs deixava claro que o disco era uma provocação. Vários temas ‘sérios’ e evitados por muitos foram abordados no disco.

Polícia (de Tony Belotto) bateu de frente com os excessos da classe, questionando se ela servia mesmo para proteger.

Outros exemplos de músicas com letras contestadoras são Igreja, Porrada, Estado Violência, Aa Uu, Dívidas e Homem Primata.

Mas o grande sucesso do disco era Bichos escrotos, canção que o Titãs tocava desde 1982 e que só pôde ser gravada neste disco devido à censura.

Mesmo assim, a faixa foi proibida nas rádios por conta do verso "vão se foder”. Mesmo assim, algumas tocaram e pagaram multas ao tocar a versão completa de Bichos.

O Titãs sentiu a força do LP já no show de estréia no Projeto SP, quando o público cantou todas as músicas, numa época em que as rádios ainda se recusavam a tocar o repertório ousado do disco.

O álbum já tinha garantido o primeiro disco de ouro dos Titãs, quando as emissoras se renderam.

Uma confusão no show do Rio, em 1987, onde o público, eufórico com as letras acabou destruindo parte das cadeiras da platéia do Teatro Carlos Gomes, colocou o Titãs na linha de bandas contestadoras, com ar de rebelde, dando o gás que a banda precisava para seguir no rock depois de dois discos mais “travados”.

Entre a banda, a opinião é unânime: com Cabeça... o Titãs conseguiu fazer o que sempre quis, e levar para o disco o clima que eles apresentavam no palco, mais pesado e livre de regras.

Cabeça Dinossauro bateu a marca das 300 mil cópias vendidas e caiu nas graças da crítica.

O disco ficou no topo das principais listas dos melhores daquele ano e até hoje é apontado com um dos mais importantes da história do rock brasileiro, daqueles que não dão paz aos tímpanos e neurônios.

Ano: 1986
Gravadora: Warner
Produção: Liminha. Vitor Farias e Pena Schmdt

Integrantes: Charles Gavin, Nando Reis, Marcelo Fromer, Toni Bellotto, Sérgio Brito, Paulo Miklos, Branco Mello e Arnaldo Antunes.

Taste - Live Taste (71)

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1 Sugar Mama
2 Gamblin' Blues
3 I Feel So Good, Pt. 1
4 I Feel So Good, Pt. 2
5 Catfish
6 Same Old Story


Before becoming a solo star, Rory Gallagher fronted the blues-rock trio Taste, which experienced reasonable success in the U.K. in the late '60s and early '70s.

Taste was molded very much on the model of Cream, adding some folk, pop, and jazz elements to a blues-rock base, and featuring a virtuosic guitarist.

They weren't in the same league as Cream, particularly in the songwriting department, and were (like Cream) prone to occasional blues-rock bombast.

But they weren't a bad band in their own right, exhibiting a lighter touch than most British blues boom outfits.

Roger Glover – Snapshot (02)

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1 My Turn
2 Burn Me Up Slowly
3 Beyond Emily
4 Queen of England
5 No Place to Go
6 The Bargain Basement
7 What You Don't Say
8 Nothing Else
9 Could Have Been Me
10 The More I Find
11 When It Comes to You
12 Some Hope
13 If I Could Fly
14 It's Only Life

Even though he has produced bands and guested on other artists' records over the years, bassist Roger Glover will forever be best known as a member of Deep Purple.

Purple had been his main focus for some time come the early 21st century, but somehow Glover also found the time to issue a solo album, Snapshot, in 2002.

Despite hard rock/heavy metal having long been Purple's musical preference, Snapshot turns out to be a major left turn for Glover, as a variety of non-headbanging styles are included — funk (the album-opening "My Turn"), reggae ("Burn Me Up Slowly"), folk-meets-soul-rock ("Queen of England"), and blues ("It's Only Life").

Although the album is credited to Glover, vocalist Randall Bramblett is really the main focus throughout, as he sings on nearly all of the album's tracks — and has no problem adapting to the various styles.

Once upon a time, a solo album by a member of an established rock band usually meant a collection of tunes that didn't exactly fit in with the bandmember's renowned style.

And that's exactly what Glover opted to do with Snapshot.

Pretenders - Learning To Crawl (84)

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1 Middle of the Road
2 Back on the Chain Gang
3 Time the Avenger
4 Watching the Clothes
5 Show Me
6 Thumbelina
7 My City Was Gone
8 Thin Line Between Love and Hate
9 I Hurt You
10 2000 Miles

Chrissie Hynde took a long, hard road to rock & roll stardom, but when her band, the Pretenders, finally broke through in 1979, they wasted no time, growing from promising newcomers on the British music scene to major international stardom with a pair of smash albums to their credit in a mere three years.

But the Pretenders' meteoric rise came to a crashing halt in 1982, when drug abuse claimed the life of guitarist James Honeyman-Scott and forced Hynde and drummer Martin Chambers to dump bassist Pete Farndon, who would also succumb to an OD in April 1983.

Hynde was forced by circumstance to reinvent the Pretenders for their third album, 1984's Learning to Crawl, but if the new edition of the group lacked some of the spark of the band that made the first two LPs, through sheer force of will Hynde created a masterpiece.

While Hynde hardly held back in her emotionally potent songwriting in the Pretenders' early work, on Learning to Crawl there's a gravity to her lyrics that blended with her tough but wiry melodic sense and streetwise intelligence to create a set of truly remarkable tunes.

"Back on the Chain Gang" is a touching tribute to her fallen comrades that still sounds bitterly rueful, "Middle of the Road" is a furious rocker that explores the emotional and physical toll of a musician's life, "Time the Avenger" is a taut, literate examination of a businessman's adulterous relationship, "My City Was Gone" deals with the economic and cultural decay of the Midwest in a manner both pithy and genuinely heartfelt, and "2000 Miles" is a Christmas number that demonstrates Hynde can be warm without getting sappy.

As a guitarist, Robbie McIntosh brought a simpler and more elemental style to the Pretenders than Pete Farndon, but his tough, muscular leads fit these songs well, and bassist Malcolm Foster's solid punch fits Chambers' drumming perfectly.

Three albums into her recording career, Chrissie Hynde found herself having to put the past to bed and carve out a new beginning for herself with Learning to Crawl, but she pulled it off with a striking mixture of courage, strength, and great rock & roll; with the exception of the instant-classic debut album, it's the Pretenders' finest work.

Led Zeppelin - Houses Of The Holy (73)

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1 The Song Remains the Same
2 The Rain Song
3 Over the Hills and Far Away
4 The Crunge
5 Dancing Days
6 D'Yer Mak'er
7 No Quarter
8 The Ocean

Houses of the Holy follows the same basic pattern as Led Zeppelin IV, but the approach is looser and more relaxed.

Jimmy Page's riffs rely on ringing, folky hooks as much as they do on thundering blues-rock, giving the album a lighter, more open atmosphere.

While the pseudo-reggae of "D'Yer Mak'er" and the affectionate James Brown send-up "The Crunge" suggest that the band was searching for material, they actually contribute to the musical diversity of the album.

"The Rain Song" is one of Zep's finest moments, featuring a soaring string arrangement and a gentle, aching melody.

"The Ocean" is just as good, starting with a heavy, funky guitar groove before slamming into an a cappella section and ending with a swinging, doo wop-flavored rave-up.

With the exception of the rampaging opening number, "The Song Remains the Same," the rest of Houses of the Holy is fairly straightforward, ranging from the foreboding "No Quarter" and the strutting hard rock of "Dancing Days" to the epic folk/metal fusion "Over the Hills and Far Away."

Throughout the record, the band's playing is excellent, making the eclecticism of Page and Robert Plant's songwriting sound coherent and natural.

Led Zeppelin – Coda (82)

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1 We're Gonna Groove
2 Poor Tom
3 I Can't Quit You Baby
4 Walter's Walk
5 Ozone Baby
6 Darlene
7 Bonzo's Montreux
8 Wearing and Tearing


An odds-and-sods collection assembled after John Bonham's death, Coda is predictably a hit-or-miss affair.

The best material comes from later in Led Zeppelin's career, including the ringing folk stomp of "Poor Tom," the jacked-up '50s rock & roll of "Ozone Baby," and their response to punk rock, the savage "Wearing and Tearing."

The rest of the album — sadly including the Bonham showcase "Bonzo's Montreux" — is average, despite the presence of some stellar playing, especially on the early blues-rock blitzkrieg "I Can't Quit You Baby" and "We're Gonna Groove."

Kraftwerk - Radio Activity (75)

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01. Geiger Counter - 1'08
02. Radioactivity - 6'42
03. Radioland - 5'53
04. Airwaves - 4'55
05. Intermission - 0'14
06. News - 1'31
07. The Voice Of Energy - 0'55
08. Antenna - 3'43
09. Radio Stars - 3'34
10. Uranium - 1'27
11. Transistor - 2'15
12. Ohm Sweet Ohm - 5'39

Formação:
Ralf Hütter - voz/sons eletrônicos/bateria e teclados
Florian Schneider - voz/sons eletrônicos/bateria e teclados
Karl Bartos - programações
Wofgang Flür – programações

História:
Estamos no ano de 1968, dois amigos de longa data (Ralf Hütter e Florian Schneider) fundam o Organisation, a primeira banda a fazer o som que se conclamaria de Krautrock.

A banda gravou um único álbum, dando lugar ao grupo que seria aclamado como Kraftwerk.

A banda galgou aos poucos o posto de mais importante em suas experimentações eletrônicas e espaciais.

Cada dia mais o som era desenvolvido com pesquisas tecnológicas, ainda mais quando em 1973 foi fundado o Estúdio Kling Klang, única e exclusivamente para pesquisas.

Com o disco Autobahn de 74 a banda atingiu um ponto alto em sua carreira, que durou e dura já a muitos anos.Um marco da experimentação na música eletrônica.

O disco que apresento é todo baseado em um rádio, o que ele apresenta, como isso é apresentado etc.

Gong - You (Radio Gnome Invisible, Pt 3) (74)

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1 Thoughts for Naught
2 AP H.P.'s Advice
3 Magick Mother Invocation
4 Master Builder
5 A Sprinkling of Clouds
6 Perfect Mystery
7 The Isle of Everywhere
8 You Never Blow Yr Trip Forever

Conveying more advice from AP H.P., You emerges thematically as the third part in the Radio Gnome Invisible series, though not titled as such.

Overall a fair release, the album seems somewhat poorly planned and insubstantial, with brief tunes punctuated by several long jams.

Guitarist Steve Hillage's role in Gong had become quite prominent, to the point of overshadowing founding member Daevid Allen.

You marks Allen's last stand with the band, at least until his quasi-return many years later. The album opens with three light, ethereal pieces.

Among the short tunes, "Perfect Mystery" is the standout, a fun but very advanced jazz-oriented composition.

The lengthy, epic-like structures on the album are generally solid (though at times uninspired), jazz-tinged progressive rockers, with the instrumental "Isle of Everywhere" taking top billing.

Each piece features Pierre Moerlen's hot percussion, and each bandmember steps up front at one time or another.

The awkward moments occur in the final cut, the jazzy "You Never Blow Yr Trip Forever."

At times early in the song Allen's vocal presentation and lyrics seem at odds with music which dares to outdate him, making some of the most progressive music on the recording.

Emerson, Lake & Palmer - Brain Salad Surgery (73)

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1 Jerusalem
2 Toccata
3 Still...You Turn Me On
4 Benny the Bouncer
5 Karn Evil 9: 1st Impression, Pt. 1
6 Karn Evil 9: 1st Impression, Pt. 2
7 Karn Evil 9: 2nd Impression
8 Karn Evil 9: 3rd Impression


Emerson, Lake & Palmer's most successful and well-realized album (after their first), and their most ambitious as a group, as well as their loudest, Brain Salad Surgery is also their most electronic sounding one.

The main focus, thanks to the three-part "Karn Evil 9," is sci-fi rock, approached with a volume and vengeance that stretched the art rock audience's tolerance to its outer limit, but also managed to appeal to the metal audience in ways that little of Trilogy did.

Indeed, "Karn Evil 9" is the piece and the place where Keith Emerson and his keyboards finally matched in both music and flamboyance the larger-than-life guitar sound of Jimi Hendrix.

Pete Sinfield's lyrics, while not up to his best King Crimson-era standard, were better than anything the group had to work with previously, and Greg Lake pulled out all the stops on his heaviest singing voice in handling them, coming off a bit like Peter Gabriel in the process.

The songs (except for the throwaway "Benny the Bouncer") are also among their best work — the group's arrangement of Sir Charles Hubert Parry's setting of William Blake's "Jerusalem" manages to be reverent yet rocking, while Emerson's adaptation of Alberto Ginastera's music in "Tocatta" outstrips even "The Barbarian" and "Knife Edge" from the first album as a distinctive and rewarding reinterpretation of a piece of serious music.

Lake's "Still...You Turn Me On" is his last great ballad with the group, possessing a melody and arrangement sufficiently pretty to forgive the presence of the rhyming triplet "everyday a little sadder/a little madder/someone get me a ladder."

Dream Theater - When Dream And Day Unite (89)

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1 A Fortune in Lies
2 Status Seeker
3 The Ytsé Jam [instrumental]
4 The Killing Hand
5 Light Fuse and Get Away
6 Afterlife
7 The Ones Who Help to Set the Sun
8 Only a Matter of Time

Dream Theater's first official release gave an indication that this was a talented band that combined the styles of Yes, Rush, and Queensrÿche.

The latter seemed to be too big of an influence at this stage of their career.

Vocalist Charlie Dominici's voice is not powerful enough to carry out the band's otherwise convincing intensity, and his attempt to sound like Queensrÿche's Geoff Tate was unsuccessful.

The music here is not as heavy as it would become in the '90s but could still be classified as progressive metal.

Guitarist John Petrucci and drummer Mike Portnoy established themselves as competent musicians, but their individual styles were not yet refined.

The band's originality does shine through on "Light Fuse and Get Away," "The Ones Who Help to Set the Sun," and "Only a Matter of Time."

The odd-meter measures and numerous time changes gave the group a complexity that hadn't been experienced for an entire decade in the rock genre.

"YTSE Jam" was essentially their answer to Rush's "YYZ" and became a staple in the band's live set.

The session was marred mostly by subpar singing, too many metal clichés, and poor production.

There is, however, enough interesting playing to make it a worthwhile listen for fans of this genre, and is certainly essential for Dream Theater fans.

Doobie Brothers - Takin' It To The Streets (76)

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1 Wheels of Fortune
2 Takin' It to the Streets
3 8th Avenue Shuffle
4 Losin' End
5 Rio
6 For Someone Special
7 It Keeps You Runnin'
8 Turn It Loose
9 Carry Me Away

The group's first album with Michael McDonald marked a shift to a more mellow and self-consciously soulful sound for the Doobies, not all that different from what happened to Steely Dan — whence McDonald (and Jeff Baxter) had come — between, say, Can't Buy a Thrill and Pretzel Logic.

They showed an ability to expand on the lyricism of Patrick Simmons and Baxter's writing on "Wheels of Fortune," while the title track introduced McDonald's white funk sound cold to their output, successfully.

Simmons' "8th Avenue Shuffle" vaguely recalled "Black Water," only with an urban theme and a more self-consciously soul sound (with extraordinarily beautiful choruses and a thick, rippling guitar break).

"Rio" and "It Keeps You Runnin'" both manage to sound like Steely Dan tracks — and that's a compliment — while Tiran Porter's hauntingly beautiful "For Someone Special" was a pure soul classic right in the midst of all of these higher-energy pieces.

Tom Johnston's "Turn It Loose" is a last look back to their earlier sound, while Simmons' "Carry Me Away" shows off the new interplay and sounds that were to carry the group into the 1980s, with gorgeous playing and singing all around.

Dixie Dregs - Night Of The Living Dregs (79)

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1 Punk Sandwich
2 Country House Shuffle
3 The Riff Raff
4 Long Slow Distance
5 Night of the Living Dregs
6 The Bash
7 Leprechaun Promenade
8 Patchwork

One of the top jazz-rock fusion ensembles ever, the Dixie Dregs combined virtuoso technique with eclecticism and a sense of humor and spirit too frequently lacking in similar projects.

Guitarist Steve Morse and bassist Andy West played together as high school students in Augusta, Georgia in a conventional rock band called Dixie Grit.

When Morse was expelled from school for refusing to cut his hair, he enrolled at the University of Miami School of Music, where he met violinist Allen Sloan, who had played with the Miami Philharmonic, and drummer Rod Morgenstein.

The three decided to form a band, and Morse convinced West to come to Miami and join. The Dixie Dregs completed their lineup with keyboardist Steve Davidowski.

David Cross – Exiles (97)

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1 Exiles
2 Tonk
3 Slippy Slide
4 Duo
5 This Is Your Life
6 Fast
7 Troppo
8 Here

David Cross's Exiles is an album of progressive compositions spotlighting Cross's violin virtuosity.

It features guest appearances by King Crimson's John Wetton and Robert Fripp, as well as Peter Hammill of Van Der Graaf Generator.