Exposé Online » Reviews of releases for 1997

Shylock - Île de Fièvre

Recording their second album in 1978, Île de Fièvre, Shylock finished their musical career with a tour de force. The six tracks from the original LP are a collection of...

Shylock - Île de Fièvre

Finally, this reissue has arrived. Rumors of Musea releasing this French symphonic masterpiece can be traced back to as early as 1992. When Shylock's first, Giarlogues, was reissued a...

Autumn Tears - Love Poems for Dying Children​, Act 2: The Garden of Crystalline Dreams

A Gothic Opera? This is some trippy stuff, my friends. Autumn Tears is Erika and Ted; Erika sings, Ted plays keyboards. Being an opera of sorts, there is a story with several characters. Erika is a...

John Coltrane - 1961 Village Vanguard Recordings

Going to knock off three with one go here. So I think the first Coltrane I heard that grabbed my attention was the double LP The Other Village Vanguard Tapes, and then of course from there...

Stinkhorn - Stinkhorn

Stinkhorn is a Seattle jazz group with more than a little rock in their stylistic bag. Not quite as much as Kilgore Trout (

Satoko Fujii & Natsuki Tamura - South Wind, Looking out the Window & A Song for Jyaki

Pianist Satoko Fujii and her husband, trumpeter Natsuki Tamura, belong to a new genertaion of jazz performers and composers whose holistic approach to music seeks to expand the technical resources...

Satoko Fujii & Natsuki Tamura - South Wind, Looking out the Window & A Song for Jyaki

Pianist Satoko Fujii and her husband, trumpeter Natsuki Tamura, belong to a new genertaion of jazz performers and composers whose holistic approach to music seeks to expand the technical resources...

Satoko Fujii & Natsuki Tamura - South Wind, Looking out the Window & A Song for Jyaki

Pianist Satoko Fujii and her husband, trumpeter Natsuki Tamura, belong to a new genertaion of jazz performers and composers whose holistic approach to music seeks to expand the technical resources...

Mugen - Sinfonia della Luna

Originally released in 1984, a pretty dark time for all types of prog, this Japanese symphonic outfit put out a release that shines like the moonlight its title refers to. Mellow, smooth, and...

Cos - Viva Boma

The first Cos album, Postaeolian Train Robbery, was rereleased by Musea several years back. With its zeuhl-inspired sound, offbeat jazz sensibility, and the amazing vocal talents of...

England - Garden Shed

At last, one of the last touchstone albums of British symphonic prog makes it to CD. Oh, there was a bad vinyl transcription on the Japanese Edison label a few years ago, but now the master tapes...

Doctor Nerve - Every Screaming Ear

Guitarist / bandleader Nick Didkovsky's latest Dr. Nerve offering is something of a live retrospective of the band's various musical personalities. While many of the tracks on Every...

Fred Frith Guitar Quartet - Ayaya Moses

The quartet of Frith, René Lussier, Nick Didkovsky, and Mark Stewart is one of high interest to the RIO enthusiast — all are big time players here. Lussier's old Quatuor...

Mats / Morgan - The Music or the Money...

This Swedish duo may be known to some for their featured participation in the 1991 Zappa's Universe performance. On this new 2CD set, Mats Öberg, on keyboards, and Morgan Ågren, on...

Hoppy Kamiyama - Juice & Tremolo (The Works of Chamber Music)

After having released the last real Ruins album in early 1998 (the incredible Vrresto featuring a new bassist and even more craziness), this young French label issues another true...

Bittová & Václavek - Bílé Inferno

There is something eminently fascinating about East European culture, where the simple human voice in their command becomes a monolith — transmitting the pathos of an entire civilization (one...

Sadhappy - Good Day Bad Dream

Sadhappy has been one of Seattle’s quietly active units for the last few years. The group has undergone some famous personnel changes (in particular the departure of key saxophonist, Skerik...

Nathan Mahl - Parallel Eccentricities

One of the better English Canadian progressives, this one has had a lot of attention amongst progressive collectors for its rarity and quality. I had heard that there were going to be bonus tracks...

The Doors - Box Set

The Doors, you ask? Can one appreciate modern rock poets like Peter Hammill and the Fish-fronted Marillion without acknowledging the influence they received from the charismatic vocalist Jim...

Sabah Habas Mustapha - Jalan Kopo - The Sunda Sessions

Sabah Habas Mustapha is (so the story goes) the Western-educated younger brother of the more famous (at least within Indonesia) 3 Mustaphas 3. He’s basically a singer / guitarist / songwriter...

The Reptile Palace Orchestra - Hwy X

An unusual fusion of musics from across a wide variety of influences, The Reptile Palace Orchestra seem an anomaly for an American band. They draw their repertoire of melodies and stylisms from...

Teru's Symphonia - Do Androids Dream of Electric Camel

Teru's Symphonia is a Japanese band lead by guitarist and composer Terutsugu Hirayama, but it's the vocals of Megumi Tokuhisa that get your attention. She's a great singer. On...

Anekdoten - Live EP

Recorded one night in Cozmoz, Sweden in 1996, this short EP is a solid testament to the raw power Anekdoten exude in the live setting. Four tunes are included: "Nucleus," "The...

Kate St. John - Second Sight

When I reviewed Channel Light Vessel's recent disc, Excellent Spirits, I...

Jeff Greinke - Cities in Fog

Albums this peripheral and ambient are rather rare in my opinion. Roach and Rich have both done albums in this vein, the latter in his early days, and of course Brian Eno did his pioneering work in...

Pauline Oliveros - Alien Bog / Beautiful Soop

Born in 1932, accordionist / musical philosopher / teacher Oliveros has been hailed a champion of the avant garde in America, ever since instigating the field of meditative music. Founding the Deep...

Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan & Michael Brook - Remixed: Star Rise

Prior to Khan’s death last year, several artists were at work remixing several groundbreaking pieces that Khan and Brook together had recorded on their last successful album from 1996,...

Virgil Moorefield - The Temperature in Hell Is over Three Thousand Degrees

Forget that you ever heard of Virgil's last Cuneiform outing Distracions on the Way to the King's Party, because this album simply has nothing to do with that whatsoever. Virgil is...

Gong - You Remixed & Hawkwind - Future Reconstructions

It's a prog chill-out! Phew! I made it. The disc is over! God be praised! What we have here is a techno / ambient version of Gong's masterpiece, You. 16 different "bands"...

Quarkspace - Spacefolds 3

Space-rockers from Columbus, Ohio, Quarkspace are back with volume three in their Spacefolds series. This four track EP, while rooted in traditional space rock a-la Hawkwind nevertheless...

Amber Asylum - The Natural Philosophy of Love

For quick reference you might call this "Gothic Ambient". Amber Asylum is Kris Force (Swans), Martha Burns, and Annabel Lee, but Force is the major songwriter. Several other musicians...

Various Artists - Area 51 - The Roswell Incident

Cleopatra keeps churning out these space compilations — they are getting a lot of mileage out of their acts and property. Area 51 features all the same bands you've seen the...

Escapade - Obscured Dialogues

Those who have checked out Escapade’s previous two releases, Searching for the Elusive Rainbow and Inner Transluscence, may have some idea of what to expect from this...

Popol Vuh - Shepherd's Symphony

Those of us who grew up listening to Popol Vuh in the 70s recall a sound that was at times haunting and other times shimmering and uplifting. Regardless of the album, Popol Vuh created atmospheres...

Lars Hollmer - Andetag

Hollmer has been producing solo albums long enough to garner him attention beyond that of being Zamla's keyboardist and one of their main writers. His music still, after all these years, defies...

Idiot Flesh - Fancy

Sadly this will probably be the band’s swansong, as they played their final concert on March 13, 1998 (yes, Friday the 13th) in San Francisco. But if all one ever knows of this band is their...

Holger Czukay - Moving Pictures

If Holger Czukay continues to bring forth projects of the caliber achieved here, he will continue to keep my attention. For Moving Pictures is much more delicate on the sensitive ear than...

Lydia Domancich - Regard

Lydia Domancich is a pianist whom most zeuhl fans around the world should be acquainted with. Sister of Sophia Domancich (who leads an intimate post-Coltranian jazz trio), Lydia formed this quartet...

Hoahio - Happy Mail

Have you ever heard Japanese cult band After Dinner? Not another (neo-)prog oriented band from Japan, I reassure you, but one of the most simply beautiful melodic RIO and avant-garde groups from...

Nekropolis - The Awakening: Nekropolis Live '79

A new Peter Frohmader release is always a welcome event, but this is one which is rather special; it features live performances of his group Nekropolis, which recorded one live album, released...

Strawbs - Halcyon Days

Perhaps Strawbs is one of the most widely misunderstood bands that ever confused and confounded fans for not conforming to preconceived (and often wildly inaccurate) expectations. When Yes fans...

Alan Stivell - Zoom 70/95

Thanks a lot — trying to sum up Alan Stivell's career in a paragraph is like summing up World War II in a book — there’s too much to say and where do you start? I have all...

Brian Hopper with Beggars Farm - Brian Hopper with Beggars Farm

Here's one of the latest of the Canterbury music resurrections. Brian Hopper, brother of former Soft Machine bassist Hugh, was a key member of the "original" Canterbury band, The...

Procol Harum - 30th Anniversary Anthology

Hard to believe it's been 30 years since the Summer of Love, and also since the lone greatest single in the history of Procol Harum, "A Whiter Shade of Pale," but it's sadly true....

Santana - Live at the Fillmore '68

There were three CDs floating around as imports of early Santana recordings entitled Persuasion, Latin Tropical, and Acapulco Sunrise which were roughly of the same...

Iona - Heaven's Bright Sun - Live

Iona have lately been receiving a lot of attention from the prog community, particularly due to their association with such luminaries as Robert Fripp and Rick Wakeman. But that is not to say that...

Cos - Viva Boma

Here we have Musea’s reissue of the second Cos album, recorded in 1976. In addition to the original album Musea included four bonus tracks recorded in Cos’ rehearsal room on a 4-track...

Versus X - Disturbance

Versus X is German guitarist Arne Schafer's band. Schafer was known for his solo album, The Border of Awareness, on Musea in which he delivered a thoughtful music maybe a bit in the...

Magus - Traveller

After the opening track, "You Know The Way," a rather commercial sounding Alan Parsons like song, this writer wasn't really expecting a whole lot from the rest of the disc by this...

Gerard - Pandora's Box

Seems like just last issue we reviewed Gerard's latest, The Pendulum, and already there's a...

Marillion - This Strange Engine

Right from the beginning you will realize this is not the same Marillion we've heard on the previous two albums. "Man of a Thousand Faces" opens with a simple three-chord acoustic...

Ziff - Sanctuary

This is the second time out for this German neo-progressive four-piece, operating in a similar territory as their debut Stories from a couple years ago. At the heart of their sound is a...

Cromwell - Burning Banners

Angular is a German based arm of the Musea label, specializing in a more commercially viable neo-progressive sound, and unlike WMMS — which seems to have trouble staying focused —...

Fish - Sunsets on Empire

Fish’s fourth studio solo album is out (as an import, domestically available sometime in July along with the new Marillion as well) and this is the one he has promised his fans for a long...

Saga - Pleasure and the Pain

This year marks the 20th anniversary of Saga. Pleasure and the Pain marks their 12th studio album, and in many ways is an apt title. This release marks a return to the 4-5 minute rock song...

Ten Jinn - Wildman

Judging from the information on their web page, Southern California-based Ten Jinn has been through several changes in the last few years. Happy the Man fans might recall that former HtM guitarist...

Amanita - L'Oblio

Six long tracks and a sound that could pass for mid-70s, this writer had to do a double-take on the liner notes to confirm this is indeed a 90s band. Six they are, from Italy — a dedicated...

Amoeba - Watchful

Amoeba is a side project by Robert Rich with Rick Davies on bass and guitar. Rich told me several years ago that Amoeba was a project that fell in line with some of his influences in the industrial...

Third Ear Band - Magic Music (1997)

There was a Materiali Sonori CD of the same name by the Third Ear Band in 1989, a disc that's kind of hard to find and one I've never heard unfortunately. I do know, however, that this has...

Cluster - First Encounter Tour 1996

I’m truly listening to live recordings from the nearly legendary inventors of German minimalism on their first tour of America? I’m truly dumbfounded! It was hard for me to grasp that...

Trap - Beyond the Status Quo

The swirling multicolored psychedelic booklet cover belies the playful avant strangeness of this, the first release on Gazul, Musea's new side-label for more 'challenging' music. Trap...

Forrest Fang - The Blind Messenger

Forrest Fang is a musician who's been around for a while releasing albums that vary in focus, yet rarely in quality. His newest shows Fang moving in a much more esoteric direction than before,...

Amorphis - My Kantele

This Finnish six-piece definitely has some idea where they are going. The five songs on this 22 minute EP include three originals, a Hawkwind cover ("Levitation") and another, "And I...

Bozzio Levin Stevens - Black Light Syndrome

There’s been a lot of speculation and internet chatter leading up to the release of this one. Certainly, with three musicians of this caliber one might be inclined to expect something special...

Brand X - Manifest Destiny

Once upon a time there were a bunch of session musicians with too much time on their hands, having some fun between gigs, among them drummer Phil Collins during a period when Genesis' future...

Scott McGill - The Hand Farm

Those who are looking for great guitar chops in a free form jazz-rock format need look no further than this new release by New Jersey guitarist Scott McGill and his trio; a casual listen to any of...

Steve Hackett with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra - A Midsummer Night's Dream

Here I am beset by another serious classical work by guitarist Steve Hackett on the new classical label, Angel (which also released Jon Anderson's Change We Must and Ian Anderson's...

Michael Brook - Albino Alligator

Make no doubt about it, this is a sound track album for Kevin Spacey’s stylish modern film noir of the same name. I’ve not had the fortune to check out the flick playing at my local...

Five Fifteen - Psychedelic Singalongs for Stadiums

Scandinavia continues to be a fertile breeding ground for outstanding musical endeavors and talented musicians. Last issue we brought you The Last James' Kindergarten from Norway. This...

Erratica - Erratica

Erratica is essentially the solo project of multi-instrumentalist David O'Neil, one third of San Jose trio Industrial Soup. Much of the madness of that band's Flagrant Display of...

Valarie Morris - Transformations

Like an artist's sketchbook; that is, in essence, what Transformations presents itself as. Most of the titles were written for small groupings of winds, piano, etc., but are rendered...

Masahiko Hosokawa - Like Shimmering of Hot Air

Belle Antique have really come full circle now, with this release — a solo keyboard work from Hosokawa, a native Japanese composer. The album consists roughly of six solo piano pieces,...

The Last James - Kindergarten

Is this Magical Mystery Tour Vol. II? Kindergarten is a brilliant concept album of intense psychedelic pop, loaded with Mellotrons, great vocal harmonies, song-to-song musical...

Renaissance - At the Royal Albert Hall with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

It is with great pleasure that I announce Renaissance live at the Royal Albert Hall with Orchestra. Recorded live on the King Biscuit Flower Hour on October 14, 1977, this is a far better...

Renaissance - At the Royal Albert Hall with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

It is with great pleasure that I announce Renaissance live at the Royal Albert Hall with Orchestra. Recorded live on the King Biscuit Flower Hour on October 14, 1977, this is a far better...

GTR - King Biscuit Flower Hour

1986: a transitional year when two frustrated but previously successful English guitarists decided they would pool their talents and start a new project. The focus for this group would be on two...

Il Segno del Comando - Il Segno del Comando

After a minute or so of chanting, wind-sounds, and church bells, the mighty Hammond organ casts its spell, followed by dual guitars, drums, and bass, marching onward into the title track (named...

Area - Chernobyl 7991

Hmmm? A new release from Area? Yep. Fariselli, Capiozzo return with bassist Paolo dalla Porta for one of the strangest releases in a long time. Tic & Tac this is not, but it has a...

Quarkspace - Spacefolds 1

While the material on Quarkspace's CD release (see review in issue #11) has more of a song focus, these...

Haco - Haco

After an almost seven-year hiatus since Paradise of Replica (After Dinner's last, and only second full studio release), songstress and presumptive After Dinner leader, Haco resurfaces,...

Koenjihyakkei - Viva Koenji!

Need to get rid of unwanted in-laws? Need to lose all the listeners of your radio show? Want to clear a party that's gone on too late? Enter Koenji Hyakkei, the royal family of bombast, the...

Koenjihyakkei - Viva Koenji!

This tight Japanese zeuhl band is led by none other than Yoshida Tatsuya (drums, keys, vocals), leader of the zeuhl punk band Ruins since the early 90s. I have to say that although Ruins invited...

Koenjihyakkei - Viva Koenji!

Tatsuya Yoshida is one busy dude. In addition to being one half of the constantly-touring constantly-releasing Ruins, working in several collaborative musical units, being the drummer for Japanese...

Peter Banks - The Self-Contained Trilogy & Be Well, Be Safe, Be Lucky... The Anthology

A founding member of Yes, guitarist Peter Banks was unceremoniously dismissed after two albums and replaced by Steve Howe. Banks’ creative muse was still on the rise, however, and soon there...

Hughscore - High Spot Paradox

Ex-Soft Machine bassist and composer Hugh Hopper steps out again in another of his many group collaborations, this time with Portland based Caveman Shoestore (Elaine de Falco, Fred Chanelor). This...

The Hosemobile - Six Foot Hater

This heretofore unknown four-piece from Cookeville, Tennessee, employs sophisticated (brilliantly so) rock driven compositions with plenty of mood shifts, meter changes, and insanely clever...

Shigekazu Kamaki - Magatama

Some may remember Kamaki from his days as the finger-blistering axeman in Mr.Sirius, others from his own jazz-rock band Kehell — still together and gigging fairly regularly. Magatama...

Grok - Bubbles

Grok is a rather interesting product of the ever-interesting New Zealand music scene. My first reaction to this album was that it reminded me of Sonic Youth (one of my all time favorite bands), but...

Melodic Energy Commision - Moon Phase Compendium

Rarely 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....

José Luis Fernández Ledesma - Extractos

Expose #12 featured a review with background information of the worthwhile, if a bit patchy, previous outing by Ledesma, Motivos para Perdere. This time around the former (?) Nirgal Vallis...

Steve Roach - On This Planet

The last time I had the pleasure of seeing a Steve Roach live show was late in 1996 in Sacramento. Steve's continuous two-hour long set was one of his finest moments for me; the finale of the...

Banda Elástica - Catálogo de Tiraderos

Banda Elástica seem to have been working largely in a genre of their own making down in Mexico; only the short-lived Nazca was anywhere close to what this band was doing. I say...

Fred Frith - The Previous Evening

Fred Frith has always been a very highly respected innovator and collaborator in various new music endeavors, and lately his talents have been sought out more and more for an ever broadening array...

Yochk'o Seffer - Magyar Etno

Magyar Etno is a collection of mostly solo pieces by this renowned jazz saxophonist. Seffer creates melodies in the folk style of his native Hungary, and uses these as starting and...

The Spacious Mind - Garden of a Well Fed Head

Good things are supposed to come to those who wait, and that is certainly the case with this, the fifth release from Sweden's Spacious Mind. Originally recorded in 1996, this LP-only issue...

Chrome - Retro Transmission

After a lengthy hiatus, Helios Creed has returned with a new Chrome album. Having never heard a Chrome album before I cannot say if this is representative or not. I can tell you one major influence...

Pink Filth - Seventeen Bubblegum Smashes!

Um. This is not Pink Floyd, it is Pink Filth. The name is not only a clever pun to fool high school stoners into buying the album (if they could find it in any store on this planet) but it also is...

Hawkwind - Distant Horizons

This is the first Hawkwind album with the new band and sets the tone for Hawkwind's entry into the next century (am I profound or what?). Fans will know the band has been losing members of...

Robert Fripp - The Gates of Paradise

Here is the next installment in Robert Fripp’s ongoing Soundscapes series, except this one is surprisingly dull. Here we have a full length disc on which Fripp explores precisely one (1)...

Yolk - Die Dritte, Die Vierte, Oskivinis, This Is Syd & Fuenftens

This excellent Swiss band has been kicking around since the early 90s (not to be confused with another Yolk from NYC – we reviewed one of NYC Yolk’s live shows back in issue #11) but...

Various Artists - Giant for a Life - A Tribute to Gentle Giant

The second of two tributes to rock's most misunderstood progressive band is another hodgepodge of tracks from the Gentle Giant catalog. Most bands seem to adopt the policy of covering the...

Emerson, Lake & Palmer - Once upon a Time in South America

During ELP’s heyday they never made it to South America, though they had a relatively huge fan base there. 23 years after forming and well past their prime, ELP made their first tour to South...

Tony Geballe - Native of the Rain

I was lucky enough to catch Geballe in his opening slot on the recent California Guitar Trio tour. Just one man and his twelve string guitar, an abundance of creativity and invention, and some...

Discipline - Unfolded Like Staircase

The last time I played this CD wasn't too long ago, around the time the band's long awaited (and fantastic) To Shatter All Accord came out. Unfolded Like Staircase is...

Spirit - 1984

Be warned, this is not an authorized release — not even close. What we have here is (a) one track ("1984") recorded live in Bremen in 1969 (no further details...), (b) the entire...

Ground Zero - Consume Red

One could say without stretching the truth too far, that Consume Red (part one of the three part Project Consume) is basically an hour of pure thrash / noise experimentation,...

Sea Level - Sea Level, Cats on the Coast, On the Edge & Long Walk on a Short Pier

The Allman Brothers in their prime were no doubt one of the best American rock bands of the early 70s, covering a little bit of everything and doing it all extremely well — never a shortage...

Sugarwood - Catch a Breeze and Fly & Love, Loss & Carparks

Sugarwood have been kicking around parts of the UK for a few years now, and seem to have gathered a following (if internet activity is any indication). They fit in more or less with the current...

Steve Gorn, Tony Levin, Jerry Marotta - From the Caves of the Iron Mountain

Take a woodwind player and the early 80s rhythm section for Peter Gabriel (circa Security), put them together in a cave and you'd be surprised what they come up with! The second...

Mother Gong - The Best of Mother Gong

I suppose there's a large segment of the record-buying public (not many Exposé readers among them) for whom the concept of The Best of Mother Gong would be a strange...

Richard Thompson & Danny Thompson - Industry

Most people who are aware of Richard Thompson would probably not consider his music 'progressive,' and they would probably be right on most occasions. To be sure, he was a key player on...

Nukli - The Time Factory

Nukli are a psych-rock band who have a fairly long history peppered with only a few, rare releases. Having spent a good part of the 80s gigging in England on the festival scene with the likes of...

Die Anarchistische Abendunterhaltung! - Die Anarchistische Abendunterhaltung!

Much activity has been transpiring in Belgium as of late. First there was Univers Zero, Julverne and Present. There followed a whole slew of groups in the chamber/neo-classical/jazz-rock vein...

Mormos - Great Wall of China & The Magic Spell of Mother's Wrath

In some ways, Mormos can be seen as an American equivalent to the Incredible String Band. They have a similarly free-wheeling take on folk music, infusing it with flower-power enthusiasm and...

Mormos - Great Wall of China & The Magic Spell of Mother's Wrath

In some ways, Mormos can be seen as an American equivalent to the Incredible String Band. They have a similarly free-wheeling take on folk music, infusing it with flower-power enthusiasm and...

Chöying Drolma & Steve Tibbetts - Chö

Fans of Steve Tibbetts, especially those who prefer the world-beat master shredder of Exploded View (1986) or The Fall of Us All (1993), might be a bit put off by this set, a...

Birth Control - Birth Control

Birth Control have been around a long time, beginning in 1970. They produced 17 albums and, along with Amon Düül II, are one of the more prolific bands from Germany. The first Birth...

Klaus Schulze - Revisited Records Reissues, Part 1

Revisited 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...

Klaus Schulze - Revisited Records Reissues, Part 1

Revisited 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...

Klaus Schulze - Revisited Records Reissues, Part 1

Revisited 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...

Legendary Pink Dots - Ancient Daze

Since forming in the early 80s, The Legendary Pink Dots have been quite prolific in their recorded output of 60+ releases. Initially they were part of the cassette culture releasing quite a few...

Final Conflict - Stand Up

Stand Up nicely sums up the Final Conflict modus operandi. Out front are the dual lead guitars and vocals of Brian Donkin and Andy Lawton (who I swear is Sean Bean’s long lost twin...

Manœuvres d'Automne - Manœuvres d'Automne (AKA Un Peu d'Air!)

From Switzerland, Manœuvres d'Automne is essentially the project band of Gilles Rieder (Débile Menthol, L'Ensemble Rayé), with help from Laurent Viennet and Serge...

Cast - Angels and Demons

I've been reading about Cast for a while in Exposé, but the arrival of this disc marks the first time I've actually heard them. So going into it, I knew they were a...

Various Artists - Ambiances Magnétiques Volume 2: Hourra pour la Bastringue

French Canadian label, Ambiances Magnétiques released a second sampler of their diverse artist's work in 1997. The disc focuses on various combinations of personnel ranging from solo and...

XfactorX - XfactorX

Wasn't XfactorX the name of some Marvel comic way back when? Anyway, this album would be progressive metal if it were progressive. As it is, XfactorX has the typical hard rock/ heavy...

Oliver Wakeman - Heaven's Isle

Oliver is the eldest of the Wakeman boys, and seems to have appeared on the scene virtually overnight. He first appeared with Clive Nolan on the Jabberwocky album. Heaven’s...

Various Artists - Vae Victis I & II

So here are two samplers chock full of French hard rock and heavy metal. Why should you care? Well, I guess cuz it comes from Musea’s hard rock offshoot label, Brennus. But then again, a...

Various Artists - Strange Daze '97

The inaugural event which was covered in Exposé issue 14 is captured here on 2 CDs. If you have any aversion to space rock at all, keep away. The Gaia Avatara, Red Giant, and...

STS - Système Solaire

Jannick is back... The monstrous and legendary bassist of the 1973, 1974 and 1976 Magmas issues his first solo effort, after years of session-work with variety singers and composing film scores....

Tombstone Valentine - Hidden World

Could this be a flashback to 1972 Berlin? Nope, it's actually 90s Indiana. But this two-woman, three-man combo certainly have that classic, droney Krautrock sound down pat. It could be the...

Jeff Tarlton - Astral Years

I would bet money that Jeff Tarlton sleeps with a book of Kirouac's poems in his arms and Morrisons Van and Jim on his turntable (c'mon folks, it is so hip to have vinyl). Tarlton...

Syrius - Rock Koncertek A Magyar Radio Archivumabol

As best I can tell (my Hungarian is a little rusty) this release is an archive recording from 1975 that was originally a Hungarian radio broadcast. The band has a "big band" line-up,...

Saviour Machine - Legend Part 1

I first glimpsed a newsletter by this band at Progfest 95 (or was it '96?), and to be honest I thought it was some form of hate group and didn't give it another glance. The singer was bald,...

Dave Russell - Paradox

Paradox is entirely composed and performed by Dave Russell with the exception of a guest drummer on a few of the tracks. Most of the sonic landscape is painted with a variety of keyboard...

Rova - Bingo

For 20 years now, California's Rova Sax Quartet has been unrelentingly pursuing the ambitious task of inventing new music from the most traditional instrumental family in jazz history –...

The Quiet Room - Introspect

This takes me back to 1987! Long live big hair! Introspect by The Quiet Room is a teasingly good CD. Sans the reference to 80s-style grooming, "teasingly good" is a serious...

Praise Space Electric - Mushroom Jazz

This is progressive rock with a groove. The title Mushroom Jazz is actually a pretty apt name, as this is not too stylistically far away from Acid Jazz. Weird analog synth sounds, funky...

Niacin - Niacin & High Bias

The cover of the first Niacin shows the venerable Hammond B3, a creature of legend. So you get an idea what you are in for. Who is Niacin? I think this would be called a "pet project"...

Mongol - Doppler 444

How this one was missed by Exposé’s radar when it first came out is still a mystery to me, having only been brought to our attention earlier this year. The six tracks herein...

Micro-Ritmia - Micro-Ritmia

Despite the supposed 1986 release date on this, it must have languished in total obscurity for several years. The first this writer ever heard of this duo was on the Margen sampler, reviewed a...

Masque - Third Ear/Third Eye

Third Ear/Third Eye is this brazen Japanese quintet's first CD release (following a couple of cassette releases in the late 80s, plus contributions to the Canterbury Edge and...

Ivanhoe - Polarized

Can't get enough of that Iron Maiden? Check out Polarized. There is no doubt, as musicians, Ivanhoe are first rate. The singer, Andy B. Frank is very good, if he's a German singing in...

Irrgarten - Home and Sanctuary

Irrgarten is part of the new wave of Québec prog that surfaced in the 90s, and will be familiar to those who attended ProgEst 1997, where they were one of the eight bands performing. This is...

Gavin Harrison - Sanity and Gravity

With Sanity and Gravity UK session drummer Gavin Harrison steps up to the lead role with his very first album. Harrison is known for accompanying many divergent artists such as Iggy Pop,...

G.P. Hall - Marks on the Air

This recording serves two masters. First, it presents soundscape artist G.P. Hall live on stage, and secondly, it demonstrates the binaural recording process. Binaural recording places two small...

John Greaves - Accident & Little Bottle of Laundry

Two additional albums from John Greaves' European catalogue are now available from Voiceprint. Accident is his first solo album from 1982 and features literally a bizarre set of songs...

John Greaves - Accident & Little Bottle of Laundry

Two additional albums from John Greaves' European catalogue are now available from Voiceprint. Accident is his first solo album from 1982 and features literally a bizarre set of songs...

Morgan Fisher - Hybrid Kids 1 & 2 + Miniatures

In 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...

Morgan Fisher - Hybrid Kids 1 & 2 + Miniatures

In 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...

Lindsay Cooper & Charles Gray - Pia Mater

Lindsay Cooper has been well known for her obtuse compositions (including the acclaimed The Gold Diggers and Oh Moscow projects) as well as her groundbreaking work with Henry Cow....

Clepsydra - Fears

Swiss quintet Clepsydra sport your typical neo-prog lineup of vocals/guitar/bass/keys and drums and on Fears they hold true to the neo-prog sound. Early Marillion comes to mind, especially on the...

Andy Summers - The Last Dance of Mr. X

What's this? Former Police-man Andy Summers fronting what is essentially a power trio? And with a backing band consisting of monster bassist Tony Levin and Gregg Bissonette on drums? Perhaps...

Ancient Curse - The Landing

The strains of an acoustic guitar, a soft vocal, then comes the barrage. If I were to contain this review to only word, it would be: Metallica. Ancient Curse do not appear to make any claims at...

Cherno - Missing Illusion, Trigonometric Reactor & Slight Trick All Around

At its core, Cherno is the duo of Shin Sugawara (sax, wind synth) and Junichi Kishimoto (guitar, guitar synths, drum programming), sometimes joined by other players, track and disc depending...

Land - Archipelago

In the 70s (or was it the 60s? I can't remember...) Jon Hassell came up with his Fourth World Music concept. Soon after, other folks began to carry on in the same general terrain. Michael...

Akritas - Akritas

One of the few Greek progressive bands that were on a fairly big label, Akritas (the English spelling) was in spirit probably closest to the rich and fertile wave of the 70s Italian scene. Close to...

Porcupine Tree - Metanoia

This hard-to-find treat was released after the live album Coma Divine but prior to the latest album Stupid Dream as a limited edition gatefold double 10" vinyl-only release....

John St. Field - Control

This 1975 release by Scottish folkster St. Field was released only in Spain, originally on the renowned Movieplay label. I don't know if St. Field actually lived in Spain (all the musicians are...

Tabula Rasa - Ekkedien Tanssi

Ekkedien Tanssi was the second album by this Finnish five-piece who created a type of mellow, melodic prog not unlike the music of Camel. Indeed, this album is comparable in both style and...

Harmonia 76 - Tracks and Traces

1976 was a transitional year where Brian Eno changed his context for working with electronics to an ambient perspective. This was due in part to his meeting with synthesizer duo Cluster (Moebius...

The Allman Brothers Band - At Fillmore East

McLatchey's Second Tier

I remember that back in the day you could find this LP in used record stores pretty easily but not so much in perfect quality as everyone who owned one...

Miles Davis - Live-Evil

McLatchey's Second Tier

Sporting another brilliant Mati Klarwein gatefold, this is another of the great electric Miles albums and the one where Hermeto Pascoal's short...

Manuel Göttsching - Die Mulde, Concert for Murnau & E2-E4 Live

As 2005 neared its end, Manuel Göttsching released three new CDs: Die Mulde, Concert for Murnau and E2-E4 Live. Die Mulde is a composition Manuel recorded...

When - Prefab Wreckage & Gynt

When is essentially a solo vehicle for Lars Pedersen (half of The Last James duo) in which he explores dark ambient realms. It's pretty hard to believe that this is the same guy who worked on...

Hoenig / Göttsching - Early Water

More Experience - From Acid Dreams

Outer Limits - Misty Moon

Musea continues to unearth the most unknown and rare albums from the annals of obscure progrock history. Outer Limits were a pretty original Japanese band from one of the darkest times in prog...

Dreamworld - On Flight to the Light

Anthony Moore - Reed, Whistle and Sticks, Out & Flying Doesn't Help

Before hooking up with Peter Blegvad and Dagmar Krause to form Slapp Happy, Anthony Moore was experimenting with some very innovative musical techniques. Reed, Whistle and Sticks is one of...

Silver Apples - Silver Apples / Contact

Silver Apples - Silver Apples / Contact

Silver Apples - Silver Apples / Contact

Flyte - Dawn Dancer

Bill Nelson - Buddha Head & Weird Critters

Sahara - Sunrise & For All the Clowns

Formed from the ashes of Subject Esq., Sahara got lost among the mass of other mid-70s German prog groups (Grobschnitt, Novalis, SFF, et al.) in spite of their good distribution, though they didn't...

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...

Mike Keneally & Beer for Dolphins - Sluggo! Deluxe

Visible Touch - Forgotten Land & Vienna

Various Artists - A Bead to a Small Mouth

Each track on this compilation integrates spoken text and sound manipulation, with results both mysterious and captivating. On "A New Dress" Nurse with Wound layers shifting, hypnotic metallic...

Edgar Froese - Ages

I know what you may be thinking: Froese's parent group hit the skids ten years ago. But have no fear as Ages is a 1978 classic-TD-era release. So where's all the rejoicing? I feel pretty...

Jörg Thomasius / Lars Stroschen / André Ruschkowski - Tonart Fünf

Cliffhanger - Not to Be or Not to Be

Outer Limits - The Silver Apples on the Moon

Sensitiva Immagine - E Tutto Comincio Cosi...

Lili Haydn - Lili

The Smell of Incense - Through the Gates of Deeper Slumber

Breathe deep the gathering gloom, watch lights fade from every room, and for the next 50 minutes The Smell of Incense will transport you to hidden and fantastic realms! To speed you on your journey...

The Smell of Incense / Ethereal Counterbalance - What Do You Want?/Magick Brother b/w Plug

Meira Asher - Dissected

Stinkhorn - Stinkhorn & Tunguska

Alejandro Lomelin - Luz de Intenso Azul

Luz is the instrumental solo project of keyboardist Alejandro Lomelin, of the Mexican band Caja De Pandora. For the most part this is a work of simpler repetitive piano figures and...

Radiohead - OK Computer

Eleanor Hovda - Coastal Traces

Leo Küpper - Electro-Acoustic

Laren d'Or - War of Angels

St. Mikael - Visions of the Unknown

Simon Phillips - Another Lifetime

Elka Atanasova - Winds of the Rhodopes

Jorge Reyes - Ek Tunkul

I must have been sleeping at Best-of-'97 voting time as this old favorite managed to slip right out from under my nose. Ek Tunkul was Jorge Reyes' very first (and best) solo recording from...

Tuatara - Breaking the Ethers

Box of Crayons - Colorblind Chameleon

Haystacks Balboa - Detoxified

This one came out around 1970, a one-off by a New York based band whose members weren't even listed on the LP jacket, and were never heard from again, so far as this writer knows. For some unknown...

Bill Bruford with Ralph Towner and Eddie Gomez - If Summer Had Its Ghosts

When Bill Bruford is on break from his drum duties with King Crimson, what would you expect him to do? Should he go on vacation or work in another less hectic, but rewarding mode? If Summer Had...

Hans Reichel & Eroc - The Return of Onkel Boskopp

Herbe Rouge - Herbe Rouge