The artist at hand, Bernd Scholl, is a German composer and synthesist, a disciple of the Tangerine Dream sound of the late 70s, a smooth and gentle style featuring bright splashes of tonal color...
» Read moreThis CD is by one of the more pedestrian rock groups that seem strangely prevalent on the Garden of Delights label. While Ice doesn’t have the overt amateur tendencies that many of the...
» Read moreListening to the 1980 album of Rascal Reporters after such a long time is a fascinating glimpse into the beginnings of a weird and (usually) wonderful musical world populated by exactly one band....
» Read moreTypically Roy Harper doesn't fall into a progressive rock vein, preferring to create an English version of Bob Dylan's never ending hippie dream. But in 1980 he amassed several friends...
» Read moreAnyone's Daughter was one of a group of late 70s German symphonic bands who brought forth a highly melodic rock, colorful and saturated with emotion. Their vocal harmonies were strong, and...
» Read moreOne hears the term Rock in Opposition quite often in music today. Many current bands are labeled with an "RIO" style. The Italian group Stormy Six is the basis for this style termed...
» Read moreAmber Route was an electronic / rock duo from southern California featuring Walter Holland on guitars and synthesizers, and Richard Watson on woodwinds, piano, and synthesizers; both share vocal...
» Read moreLol Coxhill and Morgan Fisher are two musicians whom you wouldn’t think had crossed paths before. Coxhill’s resume consists of an early stint with Kevin Ayers and Mike Oldfield in The...
» Read moreThis is one of the year’s most anticipated reissues, an album in the zeuhl family by a French / Algerian ensemble with bassist Gérard Prévost. A late 70s group, Rahmann combined...
» Read moreAnd what great years they were. Never heard any Ashra? Buy this! Sorry, I am biased, this is great stuff. If you don't know, Ash Ra is Manuel Göttsching, a phenomenal guitar player and...
» Read moreMy first impression of this Russian trio's single, long improvisation (nearly thirty-five minutes) was that this was some vile attempt to do an Irish jig, using recorders and ocarina to begin...
» Read moreThis fine Austrian band released their first, self-titled album in 1971, then perhaps more psychedelic rock than the symphonic progressive that they evolved into by their second album One...
» Read moreRarely does one uncover psychedelic music from the late 70s or early 80s, so when one finds a pair of albums as anachronistic as these, and as good as these, one is obliged to wax superlative....
» Read moreAfter Mussus Beastly split up (for the nth time) in the fall of 1979, bassist Norbert Dömling, keyboard player Burkhard Scmidl, and drummer Marlon Klein, who had just joined Missus Beastly...
» Read moreReleased in 1978 and 1980 respectively (though recorded earlier), when acoustic music was anything but in vogue, the first two Private Parts & Pieces collections set the tone for much...
» Read moreThis outstanding Brazilian instrumental five-piece recorded only this one album in the early 80s, and then disappeared. Their sound combines the best elements of the European progressive sound with...
» Read moreWho would have thought that Exposé would one day publish a review of disco music? Certainly not I. Be that as it may, this CD arrived in the same package as the Trigal album from...
» Read moreMichael Bundt began his career as a bass guitarist and founder the obscure Krautrock band Medusa, which morphed into the second incarnation of Nine Days Wonder. After leaving Nine Days Wonder,...
» Read moreAdelbert van Deyen is a Berlin-based electronic musician who was very active in the late 70s and early 80s. Atmosphere was his third release, issued in 1980 and now reissued on Bureau B....
» Read moreAs the 70s slipped towards the 80s, progressive rock bands found their style of music increasingly unpopular, so most of them that stayed active tried to maintain relevance by making music more in...
» Read moreFor my money, SZamla incarnation number two was their prime and despite the fact we have to pay Japanese prices for Swedish CDs (all done by Silence) these are extremely well worth the...
» Read moreSuns of Arqa started in the late 70s, first gaining notice as the touring band for reggae star Prince Far-I. Bassist / multi-instrumentalist Michael Wadada has been a constant in the band which has...
» Read moreIf symphonic rock is defined by keyboard sounds that sit in for groups of strings and larger groups then it might be arguable if Crossing the Line truly fell in that category due to the...
» Read moreBreathtaking instrumental progressive from Japan. From the really short, Mahavishnu-type fusion rifferama of "Crossfire" which opens the album, you know you're in for an enjoyable...
» Read moreIn their gold-panning expeditions for largely undiscovered old South American bands, Progressive Rock Worldwide recently unearthed this little nugget. Agnus hail from Argentina, consisting of a...
» Read moreOne of the few bands from Brasilia, Brazil's capital, Tellah recorded one legendary album in 1980, then disappeared. A three-piece band of guitar, bass, and drums, two members of whom also play...
» Read moreThe early 80s were a musical dance phenomena as well as a signpost for radical changes in the echelons of music taste and fashion. The times dictated 'in with 4/4 rhythms, out with the extended...
» Read moreRevisited Records has taken on the mammoth task of reissuing the entire Klaus Schulze back catalog, and these eight albums are what has been reissued so far this year. In addition to using...
» Read moreRevisited Records continues its reissue of the Klaus Schulze back catalog with another 12 CDs. I haven’t quite figured out their rationale, but they are releasing 12 a year covering the...
» Read moreHerr Schnitzler is probably the most prolific synthesist (we might as well say musician) on the planet. He has been around since the early days of Kluster and Tangerine Dream (he was a member of...
» Read moreShingetsu was one of the classic Japanese symphonic bands, and their self titled Shingetsu album from 1979 is highly regarded, and often compared to classic period Genesis, if only for the...
» Read moreFrom the ashes of Charisma, the duo of Mutsuhiko Izumi and Kenji Konishi – both on guitars and synthesizers – released two albums during its existence. Their 1978 debut, entitled...
» Read moreReleased in 1985, Mythes et Légendes, Vol. 1 is essentially a condensed overview of the Kobaïan story. It features extracts from several early compositions tracing the...
» Read moreUpon the demise of Delivery (Phil Miller's quartet augmented by Janis Joplin stylized blues vocalist, Carol Grimes), Grimes moved off to join another blues-based, less improvisational group,...
» Read moreIn the middle of his work as a keyboard player (with Queen, Mott the Hoople, and others) and as a producer (Allan Holdsworth), Morgan Fisher came up with two albums worth of oddities called...
» Read moreListening to these recordings, which date from the late 70s, is kind of a strange experience now. That was a time when stripped-down punk rock was in the ascendant and complex progressive rock was...
» Read moreMcLatchey's Second Tier
Before ECM got ahold of this and stuck one of their generic covers on it, Steve Tibbetts' second album had a much more
Here we have the welcome reissue of two great albums by Residents’ cohort and collaborator guitarist Snakefinger (AKA Philip Charles Lithman). Many of the songs on these albums were cowritten...
» Read moreSlight changes in style between albums is common for most all groups, but Picchio dal Pozzo is not like most groups. Upon listening to their second CD after hearing the first, I did a double take...
» Read moreNow that CBGB's has finally closed its doors in New York City, it's a good time to explore the reissued back catalog of one of the few valid early inductees to the Rock and Roll Hall of...
» Read moreThis is a long overdue re-issue of Branca's first LP, before the days of the army of guitars, but well past his punk days. On this album, Branca was joined by three other guitarists, a bassist,...
» Read moreBy the time of their second album, Ezekiel, the lineup of this Basque band had grown from five members to seven, now including saxes, mandolin, electric piano, and even violin when...
» Read moreLost Vinyl has a knack for unearthing rare Basque rock groups. The only catch is that you have to be careful to check out what axis they fall in. For all intent and purpose, Enbor is a straight...
» Read moreMcLatchey's Second Tier
While ambient electronic music came to prominence starting in the mid 80s and came to something of a peak in the late 90s and early 00s, there were...
» Read moreFinally Watkins' first two post-Happy the Man/Camel solo albums have received the proper digital treatment. These are two very formative albums that offer a logical bridge between the music of the...
» Read moreFor anyone not yet familiar with the name of Pekka Pohjola, he is a Finnish composer, bandleader, and bassist among bassists primarily, but also fluent on piano, synthesizer, and trumpet as well....
» Read moreSubtitled Original Soundtrack and Sessions Anthology, this four disc set contains everything that was recorded for the Kenneth Anger film, whether used in that film or not. The...
» Read moreThese seven titles by the legendary Ange represent part of Musea's big score from absorbing the Baillemont label late last year. Although most of these have been released on CD before — not once,...
» Read moreGentle Giant was at its best when adding polyphonic arrangements to aggressive rock music. Determining who was responsible was merely a scan of the writing credits, where "Shulman, Shulman and...
» Read moreMoving Gelatine Plates is another obscure French progressive band from the early 70s given new life on CD by Musea. MGP consisted of Didier Thibault on bass and vocals (later with Gong), Gerard...
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2021-02-14
SoundQuest Fest 2021 –
SoundQuest Fest, first experienced as a live festival in Tucson Arizona in 2010 was created by ambient music pioneer Steve Roach. This 2021 event will unite a worldwide gathering of artists and audience members together for a 3-day online event unique in the realm of ambient music. From March 26-28th a continuous flow of streamed performances, audio-video wonder worlds and deep immersion zones will burn bright on Roach’s YouTube channel. »
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2021-02-10
Chick Corea RIP –
The sad news has reached us that Chick Corea has Returned to Forever, so to speak. The innovative keyboardist and composer died on February 9 at the age of 79. With a career that spanned from the 60s until shortly before his death, Corea touched many listeners with the incredible variety of music he produced in his lifetime. »
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2021-01-18
Asia Minor Third Album on the Way –
On January 29, AMS records will be releasing the long-awaited third album by classic Turkish-French band Asia Minor. Released last year in Japan, this will be the widespread debut of Points of Libration. The album features original members Setrak Bakirel (vocals, guitar) and Eril Tekeli (flute, guitar). »
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2020-12-09
Harold Budd RIP –
Harold Budd, one of pre-eminent American composers of avant-garde and minimalism, has died of complications from the coronavirus. Budd came to prominence in the 70s, championed by Brian Eno on his Obscure Records label, with music that blended academic minimalism with electric jazz and electronic music. Much of Budd's best known work was done in collaboration with other artists, including Eno, Daniel Lanois, Robin Guthrie, Andy Partridge, John Foxx, Jah Wobble, and many others. »
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2020-11-20
25 Views of Worthing Finally Gets Released –
A while ago, we wrote about the discovery of a "long lost" Canterbury-style gem by a band called 25 Views of Worthing. And now we're pleased to find out that Wind Waker Records has released their music on an LP. »
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5uu's - Hunger's Teeth – Here's a really unexpected surprise. The 5uu's used to be the epitome of overlyrical RIO mediocrity, a quirky semi-political group influenced by the Henry Cow / Art Bears sphere. While their... (1994) » Read more
Five Fifteen - Death of a Clown – Over the course of Five Fifteen’s previous albums, there has been a series of songs dealing with a character we can call the Golden Boy, a rock star going through the usual rock star things.... (2003) » Read more
Amorphis - Am Universum – Back when I was in my early teens, I went through a phase where I liked heavy metal. Black Sabbath’s Paranoid was my favorite LP. That phase didn’t last very long, and I haven’t... (2001) » Read more
Gentle Giant - Under Construction – Gentle Giant was at its best when adding polyphonic arrangements to aggressive rock music. Determining who was responsible was merely a scan of the writing credits, where "Shulman, Shulman and... (1998) » Read more
JPP, Troka, Loituma & Frifot - History, Smash, In the Moonlight & SummerSong – Here we have new releases by some of the more traditional of NorthSide’s Scandinavian artists, three from Finland and one from Sweden. You’ll find no electronic textures on these discs,... (1999) » Read more