Pink Floyd - Just Warmin' Up (Rehearsals In Tampa)

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01 - Shine On You Crazy Diamond
02 - High Hopes
03 – Breathe
04 – Time
05 - The Great Gig In The Sky
06 - Loss For Words
07 - Wish You Were Here
08 – Money
09 - Us And Them

Peter Gabriel – So (86)

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01 - Red Rain
02 – Sledgehammer
03 - Don't Give Up
04 - That Voice Again
05 - In Your Eyes
06 - Mercy Street
07 - Big Time
08 - We Do What We're Told (Milgram's 37)
09 - This Is The Picture (Excellent Birds)

Paul Rodgers - Muddy Water Blues (93)

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01 - Muddy Water Blues (Acoustic Version)
02 - Louisiana Blues
03 - I Can't Be Satisfied
04 - Rollin' Stone
05 - Good Morning Little School Girl (Part 1)
06 - I'm Your Hoochie Coochie Man
07 - She's Alright
08 - Standing Around Crying
09 - The Hunter
10 - She Moves Me
11 - I'm Ready
12 - I Just Want To Make Love To You
13 - Born Under A Bad Sign
14 - Good Morning Little School Girl (Part 2)
15 - Muddy Water Blues (Electric Version)


Paul Rodgers' tribute to Muddy Waters is not a return to Waters' electric Chicago blues, but a continuation of the blues-rock of Rodgers' old bands, Free and Bad Company.

Taken on those terms, Muddy Water Blues: A Tribute to Muddy Waters works only when Rodgers is matched with a good blues-rock guitarist.

Jeff Beck, Buddy Guy, and Gary Moore all play well, while Richie Sambora, Neal Schon, and Trevor Rabin all sound a bit lost; the rest, including David Gilmour and Brian May, fall somewhere in between.

Nektar - Dream Nebula (Best Of 1971 To 1975) (98)

Disco 1

01 – Prelude
02 - Astronauts Nightmare
03 - Warp Oversight
04 - The Dream Nebula (Part 1)
05 - It's All In the Mind
06 - A Tab In The Ocean
07 - Do You Believe In Magic (Single Version)
08 - New Day Dawning
09 - Wings (Single Version)

Disco 2

01 - Cast Your Fate
02 - King Of Twilight
03 - Remember The Future (Part 1)
04 - Oop'S (Unidentified Flying Abstract)
05 - Fidgety Queen
06 – Recycle
07 - Cybernetic Consumption
08 - Recycle Countdown
09 - Auomation Horroscope
10 – Recycling
11 - Flight To Reality
12 - Unendless Imaginations

Progressive rock is one of the most misunderstood and maligned styles of popular music.

Its sound has been defined by a few of the most popular artists of its brief early-'70s heyday, including Yes, Emerson, Lake and Palmer, and Genesis.

This has not only caused prog-rock to become a love-it-or-hate-it subgenre, but also overshadowed the contributions of many less commercially successful groups who created their own distinctive sounds.

Mathematicians - Irrational Numbers (95)

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01 - Spanish Main
02 - Dance Of The Nile
03 - Orlando Furioso
04 – Quadari
05 – Frontiers
06 – Rain
07 – Shellshock

╝╗

This Midwestern quintet leans toward the rock side of jazz-rock fusion on Irrational Numbers.

Lana Lane - Garden Of The Moon (02)

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01 - River Of The Stars
02 - Destination Roswell
03 – Season
04 – Moongarden
05 - Evolution Revolution
06 - Under The Olive Tree
07 - Eternal Waters
08 - Dream Of The Dragonfly
09 - Garden Of The Moon

Born in Concord, CA, Lana Lane is both a solo artist and a guest on projects by quite a few other musicians. She works closely with husband Erik Norlander on many of his projects.

Lane's main instrument is her remarkable voice, but she also plays guitar.

Aside from her solo work and work on Norlander's album, she has appeared on albums by such artists as Ambeon, Ayreon, and Rocket Scientists (Norlander's band).

She first began her solo career in 1995 with Love Is an Illusion.

The following year she released its successor, Curious Goods. 1998 would prove to be the next year that the world would see releases from Lana Lane, and it would be a virtual avalanche of music.

Jethro Tull - Living In The Past (72)

Parte 1

Parte 2

01 - Song For Jeffrey
02 - Love Story
03 - Christmas Song
04 - Living In The Past
05 - Driving Song
06 - Sweet Dream
07 - Singing All Day
08 - Witches Promise
09 – Inside
10 - Alive And Well And Living In
11 - Just Trying To Be
12 - By Kind Permission Of [Live]
13 - Dharma For One [Live]
14 - Wond'ring Again
15 - Hymn 43
16 - Life Is A Long Song
17 - Up The 'Pool
18 - Dr. Bogenbroom
19 - For Later
20 – Nursie

Jean-Luc Ponty – Storytelling (89)

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01 - In The Fast Lane
02 - Tender Memories
03 - Spring Episode
04 - Pastoral Harmony
05 - The Story Teller
06 - The Amazon Forest
07 - After The Storm
08 - A Journey's End
09 - Prelude No. 20, Op. 28

When this CD came out, it was violinist Jean-Luc Ponty's strongest in several years.

Most of the originals have dense ensembles full of rhythmic patterns set by the keyboards for Ponty to play over.

With the exception of "Chopin Prelude No. 20" (a violin improvisation in which the violinist is backed by just Clara Ponty's sober chordal piano), this date falls into the funky fusion area.

The enthusiastic high energy playing, colorful solos (Ponty is in splendid form) and catchy melodies make this a very worthwhile session; Grover Washington (on soprano) and keyboardist Patrice Rushen make guest appearances.

Iron Butterfly - In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida (68)

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01 - Most Anything You Want
02 - Flowers And Beads
03 - My Mirage
04 – Termination
05 - Are You Happy
06 - In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida

With its endless, droning minor-key riff and mumbled vocals, "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" is arguably the most notorious song of the acid rock era.

According to legend, the group was so stoned when they recorded the track that they could neither pronounce the title "In the Garden of Eden" or end the track, so it rambles on for a full 17 minutes, which to some listeners sounds like eternity.

But that's the essence of its appeal — it's the epitome of heavy psychedelic excess, encapsulating the most indulgent tendencies of the era.

His Name is Alive - Ft. Lake (98)

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01 - Don't Glue the World
02 - Everything Takes Forever
03 - The Waitress
04 - No Hiding Place Down Her
05 - Can't Always be Loved
06 - Wish I Had a Wishing Ring
07 - Red Haired Girl
08 - Spirit Needs a Spirit Tool
09 - Up Your Legs Forever
10 - How it's Gotta Be
11 - Always Turn Me On
12 - Rock 'n' Roll Girl from Rock 'n' Roll City
13 - Last American Blues

His Name Is Alive's fifth 4AD release, Ft. Lake, is their most complex and accomplished, pulling together the dreamy experimentalism of their early work with the poppy, soulful tendencies of Stars on E.S.P and Nice Day, and adding a few new twists.

"The Waitress" adds drum machines and keyboards for a new wave sheen, while the slinky "No Hiding Place Down Her" has enough soul for a dozen Top 40 R&B singles.

As on the Nice Day EP, Lovetta Pippen's voice sounds wonderful, whether she's dueting with Karin Oliver on "Everything Takes Forever" or taking center stage on the epic, Hendrix-inspired "Wish I Had a Wishing Rin.

Grand Funk Railroad - On Time (69)

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01 - Are You Ready
02 - Anybody's Answer
03 - Time Machine
04 - High On A Horse
05 - T.N.U.C.
06 - Into The Sun
07 – Heartbreaker
08 - Call Yourself A Man
09 - Can't Be Too Long
10 - Ups And Downs

Grand Funk Railroad's 1969 debut is a wildly uneven affair.

Although the exuberant energy and power-trio theatrics that would fuel their 1970s hits are in place, the group's songwriting and arranging abilities are very much in their infancy.

The biggest problems in terms of songwriting are the often-amateurish lyrics: "Anybody's Answer" is a sincere but muddled attempt at a message song that expends a lot of energy without ever focusing on a particular target and "Heartbreaker" is a love lament that is content to trot out a series of well-worn heartbreak clichés.

Gillan & Glover - Accidentally On Purpose (88)

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01 - Clouds And Rain
02 - Evil Eye
03 - She Took My Breath Away
04 – Dislocated
05 - Via Miami
06 - I Can't Dance To That
07 - Can't Believe You Wanna Leave
08 - Lonely Avenue
09 - Telephone Box
10 - I Thought No
11 - Purple People Eater
12 - Cayman Island
13 – Chet

Anyone that hadn't paid close attention to the post-Purple careers of Ian Gillan and Roger Glover may have been shocked by the sound of their 1988 reunion, Accidentally on Purpose.

In fact, many Purple fans might be shocked as well, since Accidentally on Purpose is hardly reminiscent of any of the group's records, relying almost entirely on synthesizers, pop melodies, introspection and breezy rhythms.

It's state-of-the-art album-rock for 1988 that manages to incorporate homages to their roots while illustrating that they had a broader stylistic sweep than anyone expected — a hat trick that is the last thing most observers would have expected from two dyed-in-the-wool hard rockers.

What's even more surprising is that it's easily one of the most charming recordings either musician has made, especially in the latter half of their careers.

Deep Purple - Deep Purple In Rock (70)

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01 - Speed king
02 – Bloosucker
03 - Child in time
04 - Flight of the rat
05 - Into the fire
06 - Living wreck
07 - Hrad lovin'man

The cacophony of sound (spearheaded by Ritchie Blackmore's blistering guitar solo) introducing opener "Speed King" made it immediately obvious that the band was no longer fooling around, but the slightly less intense "Bloodsucker" did afford stunned listeners a chance to catch their breaths before the band launched into the album's epic, ten-minute tour de force, "Child in Tim.

Anyone's Daughter - Neue Sterne (83)

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01 - Der Plan (... Und Das Eis Zerschlagen)
02 - Neue Sterne (Des Poppers Unglückliche Liebe)
03 - In Zerbrochenem Glas
04 - Wieder Weiter
05 - Das Puppenspiel
06 - Viel Zuviel
07 – Konsequenzen
08 - Illja Illja Lela
09 - Cafi Einstein
10 – Reprise

Anyone's Daughter was a late-'70s, early-'80s symphonic prog rock band heavily influenced by Genesis as well as by German bands such as Elroy and Grobschnitt.

After breaking up in the mid-'80s, the group reformed in 2000.

Annie Haslam - Blessing In Disguise (95)

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01 - Blessing In Disguise
02 - Pool Of Tears
03 - Love Lies Love Dies
04 - Can't Turn The Night Off
05 - In Another Life
06 - Raindrops & Leaves
07 - Whisper From Marseilles (for Julien)
08 - I Light This Candle
09 - What He Seeks
10 - See This Through Your Eyes
11 - The Sweetest Kiss
12 - The Children (of Medellin)
13 - A New Life
14 - After The Oceans Are Gone

10,000 Maniacs - MTV Unplugged (93)

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01 - These Are Days
02 - Eat For Two
03 - Candy Everybody Wants
04 - I'm Not The Man
05 - Don't Talk
06 - Hey Jack Kerouac
07 - What's The Matter Here
08 - Gold Rush Brides
09 - Like The Weather
10 - Trouble Me
11 – Jezebel
12 - Because The Night
13 - Stockton Gala Days14 - Noah's Dove

When it was recorded, nobody knew that MTV Unplugged would be 10,000 Maniacs' last album with Natalie Merchant.

As it stands, it's a quiet, gentle way for her to bow out, offering no new revelations but several solid versions of the group's signature songs (mainly concentrating on Our Time in Eden) and a cover of Patti Smith's "Because the Night."

It's nothing new, but for fans it's a graceful way to say goodbye.

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.