Combination Head – Museum

After phenomenal, ELP-ish, self-titled album (“Combination Head”) and very solid “Progress?”, Paul Birchall & his fellows released their 3rd studio disk called “Museum”. Just as I liked their previous albums very much, I have to say that this one isn’t even half as good as them. It’s not a total disaster but it has a huge amount of flaws which don’t let me enjoy “Museum” as much as I expected. Especially drifting towards more mainstream sounding pop/soft-rock & electronics (which already began in their 2nd output) isn’t a good choice.

Let’s describe those songs and instrumentals one by one:

1. “The Curator” – already first track shows significant weaknesses of this record: too many artificial sounding synthesizers and repetitive, drum-machine like percussion. Because of these factors this instrumental sounds too lifeless. Of course we have some Hammond runs and nice electric guitar leads, but boring drums beat and annoying electronic noises (I suppose they were intended to be “spacey”) ruin our pleasure. Not a complete flop (as I said organ & guitar melodies are rather decent) but near.

2. “Particle Zoo” – another track begins even much worse! Lots of silly electronic loops and “atmospheric” synth effects sound like taken from some bad J.M. Jarre or Klaus Schultze recording. To make things worse after a while we’re forced to listen to very boring vocal section which reminds me Depeche Mode or something like that. Thankfully after less then 2 minutes Birchall rides his trusty Hammond organ again and tempo speeds-up significantly. Even vocal becomes more aggressive, not so lifeless like in the beginning. Using of acoustic piano & some acoustic guitar is also a plus. Overall not so bad, one of the best track on “Museum” (if not this silly “intro”).

3. “Turn me Down” – quite good track with catchy organ chops but very poppy vocals. All in all much more AOR than prog (very “American” feeling I would say). My favorite part of the song is lengthy Hammond organ solo…which is the only organ solo on the whole album! If you remember their fully Hammond-oriented debut it must be a shock for you. Thanks to this solo and electric guitar one, second part of this track is more proggy.

4. “Thyrotron” – the biggest offender on “Museum”. Extremely boring synth/electronic fest which lasts for whole 2 minutes. Paul listened too much Tangerine Dream recently or what? From 2nd minute Gareth Moulton starts to play some not bad hard rockish guitar solos but it’s not enough to change my mind about this turkey. I have to add: this repetitive synth “plumping” which keeps wandering through-out this track is horrible!

5. “Truth Seeker” – finally almost completely satisfying composition! Truly symphonic sounding composition with melodic guitar riffs and pianos/synthesizers. Real goodie with only slight soundtrackish feeling. Less bombastic than ELP or UK, but still enjoyable instrumental.

6. “Consumer Fool” – wrong! Seems that Paul Birchall spent too long time with pop-stars a la Cher or Geri Halliwell and he became infected with some pop virus, because most of this song is such bubble-gum mainstream pop. Thankfully in the middle we can listen to some nice, Pink Floyd-ish synth soloing but it’s still can’t save “Consumer Fool”. Truly bad.

7. “Museum” – half-baked instrumental + soul female vocal harmonies which sound completely out of place in prog-rock context. Some nice guitar/Moog/organ interludes but that’s all.

Overall “Museum” is a disappointing experience if you expected high quality prog-rock music like on first 2 albums of this formation. Too many pop/AOR elements, overuse of digital keyboards, artificial sounding drums, sometimes repetitive compositions – all of these are main sins of the record. However I can’t say that it’s a total turkey which should be flushed into the toilet. There are still many enjoyable symphonic-prog fragments, some great keyboards solos or memorable parts.

Overall I hope that it isn’t Combination Head’s swansong ‘cos I really hope they will come back to organ-driven, ELP-like format from their debut album.

Tracklist:

1. The Curator (3:59)
2. Particle Zoo (6:26)
3. Turn me Down (6:35)
4. Thyrotron (3:50)
5. Truth Seeker (5:25)
6. Consumer Fool (6:18)
7. Museum (4:25)

Line-up:

* Paul Birchall / keyboards, backing vocals
* Dominic Finley / bass, backing vocals
* Gareth Moulton / guitar, backing vocals
* Bryan Hargreaves / lead vocals

Links:

www.myspace.com/combinationhead

Three Monks – Neogothic Progressive Toccatas

Three Monks is a new Italian band which dares to push the limits of mixing progressive rock & classical music further than anybody before. For sure we can find few examples of using pipe organ in rock in 70s, but these were mainly only experiments, not an idea for the whole sound of a band. Of course there was also a band called Jacula (which later re-formed as Antonius Rex) where church organ sound occupied dominant role, but Jacula never really sound like real progressive rock, mainly because of lack of a real rhythm section (but don’t get me wrong, despite these flaws and awful “evil seed” context, I really like Jacula’s music!). Anyway Three Monks is the only band I know which uses this very original idea: symphonic prog-rock trio with only pipe organ, bass guitar and drums. To be honest I always dreamed about such project and my dream came true!

Let’s check their compositions from their debut album “Neogothic Progressive Toccatas”:

1. “Progressive Magdeburg” – great track with thundering drums, deep bass lines and – the most important – glorious pipe organ layers. Extremely energetic & furious performance. If you can image ELP with cathedral organ instead of Hammond…this is exactly such staff.

2. “Toccata Neogotica # 1″ – the longest compositions begins very calm with only pipe organ sound, something you can easily hear in your local church (if they have good organ of course), but after a while Roberto Bichi & Maurizio Bozzi join to add splendid rhythm section. Just like the whole album: magnificent music full of overwhelming church organ waves. Half-way between Keith Emerson and J.S. Bach. That’s what I like in my music!

3. “Neogothic Pedal Solo” – surprisingly this track begins with monk chants (rather artificial than real thing here, but still sounds OK). After that we can witness very long but not very dragging bass guitar solo. In the middle of the track Paolo Lazzeri starts to “attack” as again with dark organ chops. From this moment the rest of “Neogothic Pedal Solo” sounds more like real church music or horror soundtrack. I can also say that it’s the most Jacula-like composition becasue of lack of drums.

4. “Herr Jann” – furious drums come back in “Herr Jann” to provide phenomenal support for powerful church organ layers. Simply: another mind-blowing, ear-shattering piece of art.

5. “Deep Red (Profondo Rosso)” – it’s just an amazing adaptation of Goblin’s classic theme from Italian giallo movie – “Profondo Rosso”(great movie anyway!). Goblin’s original was also mainly played on pipe organ, but I have to admit that this pipe-organ only (+ drums & bass) version is equally fantastic, and maybe even better! My favorite tune on the album.

6. “Profondo Gotico” – superb continuation of previous theme with many classical variations. Heavy organ floods rule as always!

7. “Toccata Neogotica # 7″ – last piece is a bombastic culmination of all rock & classical influences. Storming drums & grandious cathedral organ which will cause a goose bumps on your shoulders. Tremendously thrilling experience. Like crazy Bach after big dozen of LSD or hallucinogen mushrooms, who listened too many ELP’s albums (or something like that .

Conclusion? You really ned this album, I have no doubt about it. If you always liked church organ sound and you wondered how it could sound together with powerful drums & bass guitar, you have your answer here. The only two artists I can compare with Three Monks are Jacula/Antonius Rex & Marco Lo Muscio. But addition of rhythm section gives completely new dimension to Three Monks’ music, much more “rock” here (and lack of Jacula’s “evil seed”, sinister occult lyrics is also a plus for me).

“Neogothic Progressive Toccatas” is surely one of the best and for sure the most innovative prog-rock album of 2010. If music critics won’t notice it, it means that music critics are deaf or plain stupid.

(In fact I can only find one flaw on this release. After listening to this album couple of time I read interview with Three Monks keyboardist and he said that the whole album was recorded using…synthesizer not real pipe organ. Unfortunately this info took some “magic” away… I used to think that there was some vampire-style, bent organist raging on cathedral-style organ, but now I see that there was only a guy pushing plastic keys and staring at computer monitor. Doesn’t sound too “atmospheric” for me…)

Best tracks: “Deep Red (Profondo Rosso)” & “Toccata Neogotica # 7″

Tracklist:

1. Progressive Magdeburg (8:22)
2. Toccata Neogotica # 1 (11:25)
3. Neogothic Pedal Solo (5:03)
4. Herr Jann (6:33)
5. Deep Red (profondo Rosso) (4:22)
6. Profondo Gotico (4:07)
7. Toccata Neogotica # 7 (10:14)

Line-up:

* Paolo Lazzeri / pipe organ, composition
* Maurizio Bozzi / bass, sound engineer
* Roberto Bichi / drums (2-4-5-6)
* Claudio Cuseri / (1-7)

Links:

http://www.myspace.com/the3monks

Gerard – Ring of Eternity

After long (6 years!) break Toshio Egawa & Co. comes back to life with another fantastic album – “Ring Of Eternity”. This time he took on board 2 new members: drummer Kenichi Fujimoto & lead vocalist Yasuo Sasai, and Gerard’s veteran Atsushi Hasegawa on bass duties.

Whole album has 7 compositions and only one can be considered as a weak misstep. Let’s look at them one by one:

1. “Ring Of Eternity” – album begins with mysterious space rockish synthesizer sounds similar to cosmic moments of Erik Norlander’s solo output. After a while music suddenly stops…and Egawa hits us with brutally powerful Hammond chops! I don’t remember when last time I’ve heard so heavy organ attack! Probably only Toshio and his Japanese fellow Keiko Kumagai from “Ars Nova” know how to produce such horrifying sound. Whole track is a highly dynamic instrumental with blazing organ and soaring synthesizers.

2. “Night Before Revolution” – this song starts very lame with some horrible, vocoder modified voices (like “Daft Punk”!), but don’t be afraid it’s only 3 seconds long section and soon after band shows us their full force again. This composition – just like previous one – is driven by mighty Hammond chops and very good, hardrockish voice of Yasuo Sasai who seems to be perfect replacement for Alex Burnori and Robin G. Suchy which sounded slightly too poppy for me. Yasuo has good English accent (I’m not native English speaker too, but I really think so) and can sing very well in high-register, screaming parts. Very fast but also melodic organ solo in the middle of the track is truly splendid and seems to be inspired by the best moments of Keith Emerson work in 70s.

3. “Justice And Faith” – another great tune bordering between Deep Purple, Rainbow and early ELP. Toshio delivers another aggressive attack of swirling organ and Yasuo sings in great, catchy manner. Take note fiery solo synthesizer built on phenomenal organ “base”.

4. “Dawn After The War” – first epic of the album starts with violent and a bit repetitive synthesizer/organ attack. Then tempo changes and Egawa begins to play smooth, ballad-like melody based on beautiful mellotron samples and acoustic piano. Vocalist sing in hymn-like style here and it suits him very well. After this mellowish part tension starts to grow again and Toshio comes back to his trustful Hammond & Korg synth groove. After high-pitched synthesizer section with some mid-east influenced motifs, keyboardist presents us another fascinating wild organ solo full of mind-blowing outbursts and noises. After this energetic moments band calms down again in 3-minutes “outro” of this mini-suite.

5. “Long, Long Way To Your Soul” – one of my favorite in this album. I really like the main motif played by Toshio on some keyboard which sounds like something between piano & clavinet/harpsichord. Together with standard organ bashing it gives great, 70′ feeling to the whole song. Vocal is clear and truly rocks here, and during middle section we can hear breathtaking synths solos (including guitar-like one).

6. “Land Of The Dead” – second epic of the album starts to simple piano chops before Hammond and crazy Moog-like synthesizer kick in with powerful fury. Later vocalist join the party with rather dramatic but surely suitable singing. But around 4th minute real thing begin: constant orgy of organ & various types of synthesizers. I especially like second Hammond solo where Toshio goes mad again! Only the ending of this composition is rather poor (acoustic guitar sounds, some synthesized flute and horrible, annoying moaning of the vocalist).

7. “Love Save The World” – unfortunately Gerard decided to finish this great album with this oddity. IT starts with very soft synthesizer layers and later changes into very lame, over-sweet pop ballad about saving the world with love… Man, what a horrible disaster. I can’t imagine worst song to end a progressive rock album. It’s good that near the end of the song Toshio takes harder approach and deliver couple of tasteful synth solos.

In general this is another fantastic recording of Gerard, where mixed are symphonic prog, neo-prog and melodic heavy metal influences. I especially like that Egawa decided to use even more analog sounding gear (Hammond, piano, Moog-like and mellotron-like synths) then ever before. It’s another gem for all keyboard-laden prog fans out there. Along with Gerard’s “The Pendulum”, “The Ruins Of A Glass Fortress” and “Sighs of the Water” this in another perfect album for me.

Best tracks: “Dawn After The War” and “Land of The Dead”

Tracklist:

1. Ring of Eternity (4:35)
2. Night Before Revolution (5:25)
3. Justice and Faith (4:29)
4. Dawn After The War (10:47)
5. Long,Long Way To Your Soul (5:34)
6. Land of The Dead (12:08)
7. Love Save The World (5:45)

Total time 48:43

Line-up:

* Toshio Egawa / keyboards
* Atsushi Hasegawa / bass
* Kenichi Fujimoto / drums
* Yasuo Sasai / vocals

Links:

http://sound.jp/gerard/

www.myspace.com/gerardjapaneseprogressiveband

Aisles – The Yearning

There’s been no denying that the progressive rock scene has since spread beyond the confines of North America and Western Europe to the rest of the world. In fact, in recent years, some of the best progressive rock has emerged from the new wave of global proggers. One such nation that seems to have been picking up some speed with their scene is Chile, which may not be the first place someone would go to when looking for strong modern symphonic prog rock. However, Chilean neo-proggers Aisles prove with their debut ‘The Yearning’ that they are a band that deserves to be recognized on the international scene. While possessing a familiar sound of melodic prog in the vein of Marillion or Genesis, Aisles do what they do very well, and the result is ‘The Yearning’, a highly capable debut record that makes up for its lack of innovation with beautiful melodies, arrangements and performances from all involved.

Although the pursuit melody in music is certainly not at the top of most proggers’ lists in terms of importance, the highly harmonious songwriting that Aisles works with this album works to their benefit. The lyrics are nothing special in terms of wordplay or derived meaning, but the vocals of Sebastián Vergara feel as if they contribute alot not only to the sound, but the composition as well. The other two Vergara brothers (keyboardist Luis and guitarist Germán) drive the rest of the music, often playing off of each other. The effect is one of beautiful harmony between instruments.

The songwriting is not as consistent as I may have liked, but from the first track- ‘The Wharf That Holds His Vessel’- onwards, it should be clear that the band can write a very good piece of prog rock. By the latter half of the album, it does feel as if Aisles begins to stretch out their musical ideas a little too far, leading to one too many lackluster moments, most notably ‘The Shrill Voice’ and the plodding final epic ‘Grey’. The best music here rests with the opener, the melancholic ‘Clouds Motion’, and the sixth track ‘The Scarce Light Birth’, which has hints of flamenco acoustic guitar, hinting at their cultural roots.

Of course, Aisles has not developed any measure of groundbreaking album or revolution in prog rock. Often, the band will sound a little too close to British neo-prog legends Marillion for my personal liking, but based on its own merits, Aisles’ ‘The Yearning’ is a very good debut. Melody, strong songwriting, admirable performances, and enough details in the music to be worth going back to quite a few times makes the album an unlikely winner.

Tracklist:

1. The Wharf that Holds his Vessel
2. Uncertain Lights
3. Clouds Motion
4. The Rise of White Sun
5. The Shrill Voice
6. The Scarce Light birth
7. Grey

Line-up:

* Marco Prado – drums
* Alejandro Sarmiento – bass
* Sebastián Vergara – vocals, flute
* Germán – guitars
* Luis – keyboards

Guest musicians:
* Alejandro Meléndez – keyboards, piano
* Rodrigo Sepúlveda – guitars

Links:

http://www.aisles.cl/

Lalo Huber – Lost in Kali Yuga

Lalo Huber is a very skillful keyboardist well-known from Argentinian band “Nexus”. His first solo album is quite similar to music presented by his main group which is dynamic symphonic rock with neo-prog tendencies. Just like in “Nexus” music is loaded with Hammond organ and synthesizers (both digital & Moog). However there are 2 differences:

- no electric guitar

- Lalo adds more electronic music elements in his solo album

But it doesn’t change a thing that “Lost In Kali Yuga” should be listened by all fans of “Nexus” as a good addition to this band’s collection.

1. “All Computers Die” – unfortunately album doesn’t start too well. We can treat it as an atmospheric intro to this record…but it’s still boring. Floating synthesizers, no drums or bass. It’s very near to electronic prog a la J.M. Jarre, Vangelis, Brian Eno or Klaus Schulze and bring me memories of Don Airey’s “Light in the sky” album (which I’ve reviewed few days ago). However Don included few such tracks which were about 1 minute long, while “All Computers Die” is more than 3 min., and it’s not easy to keep an attention so long time listening such ambient music (anyway for me).

2. “Universal Legion” – fortunately next track is a really splendid instrumental very much in the vain of “Nexus” best staff. Pompous synthesizers flights, dynamic percussion and – the most important – sharp as razor Hammond organ runs. If you already like “Nexus” you know what you can expect here, if you don’t I can explain to you in one simple sentence: Keith Emerson meets Keiko Kumagai (“Ars Nova”) meets Toshio Egawa (“Gerard”)…

3. “To Play and Die” – it’s the first composition where we can listen to Lalo’s voice (all lyrics are sang in English on this album)…and it’s not too impressive to be honest but quite suits mellow atmosphere of the song which blend neo-progressive rock with (again) some electronic noodling. Lots of sting-like synthesizers, a little organ in the background (not too audible) and quite lazy drumming style (of Lalo’s friend from his band – Luis Nakamura). It’s not very bad, but 4 minutes instead of 8+ would be enough.

4. “The Entangled World (Lost in Kali Yuga Part I)” – after sleepy last song, Huber comes back to what he does the best: ELP-inspired, high-speed symphonic instrumental suite. Ultra fast organ runs with typical for this keyboardist percussion effect (which brings resemblance to “Tarkus”) very well “melt” in synthesizers solos and leads (it seems from time to time instead of modern keys we can also hear some good-old Moog in this composition). Lalo Huber surely proves that he’s nowadays master of Hammond & real successor of 70s symph-prog tradition.

5. “Still I Sense Your Hand” – this one is very similar to song “To Play and Die”. The pace of the song is very mellow/relaxing and vocals are also “lazy” and they seem to be heavily electronic transcoded. However I like this one a bit more because keyboards emulate more interesting sounds here. We have no Hammond at all, but Lalo’s synths are varied from flute-like to pipe organ & strings imitations or eternal sounds similar to mellotron. Not bad but just like the previous neo meets electronic song (“To Play and Die”) too long and repetitive.

6. “Last Trip in Buenos Aires” – this track is the only real surprise on the album. It breaks “equation” of soft song/dynamic instrumental/soft song (and so on) structure of the album ‘cos this is…jazz-rock composition. It seems it’s the first time we have occasion to check out Huber’s electric piano skills! The beginning of the song really reminds me of Brian Auger’s instrumentals, in 2:30 minute synth (Moog?) solo joins the party which seems to be out of place…but in fact isn’t. After several seconds another surprise…harmonium solo. I don’t know when last time I’ve heard this instrument (probably in last Beardfish’s album “Destined Solitaire”). In the middle of the track Hammond organ kicks in again and doesn’t leave as until the end of the “Last Trip in Buenos Aires”. This 3 minutes organ spot is really fantastic and shows that Lalo is very talented keyboardist who can perfectly sounds jazzy and symphonic in the same time.

7. “In the Labyrinth (Lost in Kali Yuga Part II)” – jsut like “Universal Legion” & “The Entangled World (Lost in Kali Yuga Part I)” this is another progressive rock delight. As usual ELP, Triumvirat, Collegium Musicum, Ars Nova, Gerard, Social Tension influences are obvious, however I’d like to stress that in this suite music the most reminds me of Russian band Little Tragedies, especially “busy”-sounding synthesizers are very similar. In general: swirling Hammond all over the place!

8. “Failed to Feel (Lost in Kali Yuga Part III)” – after highly exciting last epic, Lalo comes back to more electronic sounding music full of eternal synthesizers, digital sounding piano and decoded vocal with echo effects. I can’t say that it’s bad song. Some arrangements are even very enjoyable for my ears (like simple acoustic guitar licks played by Lalo himself) and calm synthesizer (Moog?) solo in the middle is very atmospheric. But as I said before, if it was a bit shorter, would be better.

9. “The Hecatomb (Lost in Kali Yuga Part IV)” – as title suggests this is a real BOMB. The longest composition is again an instrumental one…and it’s a good one too. High pitched synthesizer leads and backings (think “Little Tragedies” again), but mainly heavy organ riffs and solos with this incredible percussion effects makes it the real highlight of the album. It’s a real heaven for keyboards-oriented prog! No time for boring moments here, Lalo shows that only few artists these days can keep up with his technical skills. When you listen to this epic you’ll surely believe in all these stories that Lalo often leaves blood on his Hammond during “Nexus” concerts…

10. “Back to Dust” – church bell is followed by massive, digital synth sound and we know that we reached farewell track of “Lost in Kali Yuga” album. This is another mix of mellow electronic & neo-prog. Eternal synthesizers, slow tempo, strange-sounding voice, this kinda staff. Near the end of the song J.M.Jarre/Vangelis/Tangerine Dream mood appears again. So the circle of the album is closed.

It’s difficult to summarize this album because tries to mix 2 completely different styles (IMHO..): dynamic, organ driven symphonic prog rock in the best 70s tradition with electronic music, and additionally he also puts some inch of neo-prog for good (?..) measure. Quite clear formula of the album: one slow song with mainly mellow synthesizers “landscapes” and pianos, after that fast one with organ and more aggressive synths and again soft one, reminds me another Huber’s project called Subliminal and their (only) album called “Limbo Experiment”. Similar concept of building albums has Japanese prog keyboardist Motoi Sakuraba which is especially evident on his album “Tales of Series Battle Arrange Tracks”. Who I can recommend this album? Many people! Especially I can recommend it to fans of “Nexus” and “Subliminal”, and it’s obvious. But in general I recommend it too all fans of modern keyboards oriented prog with clear 70’s sympathies like Gerard, Ars Nova, Social Tension, Little Tragedies, Motoi Sakuraba, Par Lindh Project, Ryo Okumoto (solo), Don Airey (solo) and so on. I’m sure that people who only listen to “traditional” seventies staff like ELP, Triumvirat, Refugee, The Nice, Collegium Musicum, Le Orme, UK or The Trip will also find a big please while listening to Lalo Huber’s solo effort.

Best tracks: “The Hecatomb (Lost in Kali Yuga Part IV)” and “In the Labyrinth (Lost in Kali Yuga Part II)”

Tracklist:

1. All Computers Die (3:18)
2. Universal Legion (6:10)
3. To Play and Die (8:32)
4. The Entangled World (Lost in Kali Yuga Part I) (9:56)
5. Still I Sense Your Hand (6:34)
6. Last Trip in Buenos Aires (5:50)
7. In the Labyrinth (Lost in Kali Yuga Part II) (9:04)
8. Failed to Feel (Lost in Kali Yuga Part III) (9:05)
9. The Hecatomb (Lost in Kali Yuga Part IV) (11:30)
10. Back to Dust (8:04)

Total time 78:03

Line-up:

* Lalo Huber – vocals, Hammond, piano, synthesizers, acoustic guitar, bass
* Luis Nakamura – drums, percussion

Bondar & Wise – A Live Legacy

Bondar & Wise is an obscure American duo which seemed to gain some sort of recognition as a live act in mid 70s. However from one reason or another they weren’t able to record any album back then. So it’s a really happy information for organ-dominated prog fans that in 2009 CD with their material was finally released. “A Live Legacy” is an album including band’s live performance from 1972 and it’s a damn good concert I can tell you. Music of Bondar & Wise is often compared to Emerson, Lake & Palmer and The Nice but I can also find some Hansson & Karlsson or Brian Auger’s & The Trinity influences in their few more jazzy fragments. Definitely you can expect full-blown, restless Hammond organ slaughtering all the way through this LP, so if you prefer melodic symphonic prog, you have nothing to look for here. But if you’re in love with busy, bombastic & technical music, these two guys should fully satisfied your needs.

Let’s check out all of these instrumentals one by one:

1. “Quintessence” – it’s just a quintessence of organ-led madness! Unbelievably fast, blasting organ & high-pitched, noisy analog synthesizer solos are truly spectacular here. References to ELP’s flashy style are obvious here.

2. “Sin” – from this track we clearly see what’s the main problem of the album: horrible bass pedals sound. I suppose that it’s some kind of recording fault, not a real mistake of Allen Bondar but it doesn’t change a fact that this ultra-loud, booming & distorted bass sound is a sheer horror for listeners’ ears. It’s a pity. However overall “Sin” is a truly spectacular (albeit short) piece as usual dominated by lightning-flash speed organ riffing.

3. “Man” – in the beginning our ears are devastated by blasting bass pedals sound (again…) but later isn’t so bad with it. I love this marching-style drums making perfect background for thrilling, doomy Hammond solos. Somehow similar to German proggers from “Tyburn Tall”, “Sixty-Nine” or “Amos Key”.

4. “Woman” – this one begins with untypical slow-moving, very gloomy melody (a bit like Atomic Rooster’s “Black Snake”) which is at first very calm but becomes louder & more “oppressive” as the track proceeds. Brief description: “Quatermass” meets “Trikolon”. Near the end there are truly up-beat organ runs in the vain of another legend of Hammond-driven rock – “Beggar’s Opera”.

5. “Psychic Necessity” – surprisingly this track is much more synth-oriented and Hammond stays mainly in the background. Allen Bondar’s ARP 2600 sounds really spacey here, so I can compare it to “Eloy”. However “Psychic Necessity” is more dynamic than most of Eloy’s space rock period material.

6. “One More Time” – the most jazzy composition with clear references to Brian Auger’s output but more rocky & “out there”. I can also think about “Hardin & York” or “Tetragon” while listening to this staff. Synthesizer fragments sound a bit out of place here (I think piano would be more suitable for jazz-like track) but in general it’s a really good piece. As the time goes on, “One More Time” starts to sound more aggressive and then Atomic Rooster comparisons become more precise.

7. “Midnight Ride” – first minute of this track is a galloping drums beat taken almost directly from “Rondo” which was popularized by Emerson’s “The Nice”. But the rest of the track is equally impressing showcase of ARP & Hammond furious playing. Middle part with bagpipes-like sounding synthesizer is really hilarious! Nice Scottish element.

8. “Indecision” – “A Live Legacy” finishes with another wild, organ-driven track in a truly ELPish tradition style. Wow, these guys surely had ADHD . Jazzy fragment in the middle is another highlight of the album.

To sum up: Bondar & Wise’s sole album is a solid prog-rock record which can be easily recommended to fans of the genre. The only real problem of “A Live Legacy” is this horrible bass sound, but it’s not played all the time so it’s bearably. This material is especially directed towards fans of such organ-based groups like: “ELP”, “The Nice”, “Triumvirat”, “The Trip”, “Collegium Musicum”, “Trace”, “Refugee”, “Trikolon”, “Amos Key” and so on. I can even find clear parallels to Allen Bondar’s style in Toshio Egawa’s (from “Gerard”) flashy keyboard playin’ (but I don’t think Egawa ever had a chance to listen to these guys in fact…). And of course Bondar & Wise is a must have for duo bands collectors, who like such 2-people-only formations like: “Twogether”, “Magma”, “Attila”, “Hardin & York”, “Bondar & Wise”, “Rustichelli & Bordini”, “Hansson & Karlsson”, “Atlantis Philharmonic”, “Sound Express”, “Sixty-Nine” and “Bootcut”.

Best tracks: “Quintessence” & “Man”

Tracklist:

1. Quintessence
2. Sin
3. Man
4. Woman
5. Psychic Necessity
6. One More Time
7. Midnight Ride
8. Indecision

Line-up:

* Allen Bondar – Hammond B3 Organ, Bass Pedals, Arp2600
* Bob Wise – Drums

Links:

http://www.myspace.com/bondarandwise

After the Flood – Musings on the Future of the US Progressive Rock Scene

Now that the dust has settled, and life is slowly getting back to normal for the ‘prog community’ after a lengthy wound-licking session, it is time to draw some conclusions, and see if there is any way forward for the whole scene after such a traumatic, unexpected event – or else, if we have to consider the possibility that NEARfest’s cancellation might spell the genre’s upcoming demise. The many thoughtful responses to my original article go to show that this unfortunate occurrence had a strong impact on the far-flung community of progressive rock fans. However, it is probably much too soon to gauge if this impact will have a destructive effect on the prog scene, or rather help people to understand that nothing can be taken for granted, and that the music which we all claim to love should be cherished and nurtured.

When the full import of the cancellation finally sank in, some long-time NEARfest attendees reacted as if they had experienced the loss of a loved one, or, at the very least, of something precious and unique. Some, believing that the festival (like the Titanic) was unsinkable, and would always break even, had been completely blindsided the situation. Others, conversely, stood by their conviction that the organizers had somehow ‘asked for it’ by assembling a weak line-up, and claimed their right to bail out if the programme was not attractive enough. All in all, it was not a particularly pretty sight.

Those outside the core group of stalwart festival-goers had rather different insights to provide. While the news made no one happy, most of the ‘outsiders’ contested the motivations that had led the organizers to their decision, and – almost unanimously – laid the blame on the lack of support on the part of the community. After a few days from the announcement, people’s façades of goodwill and equanimity began to slip. Instead of pulling together, the community showed that the cracks were deepening, and none more noticeably than the one between the two main ‘factions’ – those still steeped in nostalgia, and those who choose to look forward. It feels like, to paraphrase Rudyard Kipling, the twain shall never meet, at least not for some time.

One of the biggest implications of the whole débacle is that the prog scene has been left with a metaphorical black eye – even if now, some two weeks after the fact,  everything seems to be back to ‘business as usual’ in the extensive network of prog-related sites. With prog fans’ long-standing reputation for elitism and ‘living in the past’, this is not going to do them any favours with the rest of the underground music scene. In spite of the negative comments that had accompanied the announcement of their headliner status, the members of Umphrey’s McGee had been looking forward to performing for the NEARfest audience, and  the statement posted on their own website after the cancellation made their disappointment quite obvious.

Unfortunately, in their stubborn close-mindedness, many prog fans do not realize that even a relatively successful band like Umphrey’s McGee might be glad to be involved in something that might expose them to a new audience and pose them a challenge of sorts. Caught up in endless, hair-splitting debates about the nature of prog, and obsessed with putting a label on everything they hear, they seem to forget that in their beloved Seventies the music scene was much more open and accepting. It was normal at the time to see bands as diverse as ELP, Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, The Eagles and Earth, Wind and Fire share a stage at California Jam without people having hissy fits –a trend that seems to have made a comeback in recent years, as proved by last year’s High Voltage festival in London. Many festival-goers also seem to have forgotten about the “Art Rock” present in the NEARfest acronym in their cries of woe over the booking of anything that does not fit their own narrow definition of progressive rock.

Indeed, the adventurous spirit of the late Sixties and early Seventies seems to have deserted a large slice of the prog community, in spite of the almost idealized portrait painted by last year’s documentary Romantic Warriors. To paraphrase Genesis, far too many fans seem to know what they like, and like what they know – and, in times of severe economic crisis, this has made them even more suspicious of leaving their individual comfort zones. Therefore, the need for ‘big names’ (a musical equivalent of designer labels) in order to draw the crowds, even when they do not necessarily mean better quality. The 2010 edition of NEARfest was headlined by Eddie Jobson and his Ultimate Zero Project (an impressive collection of gifted musicians), which, against all expectations, left a good part of the audience cold, when not positively frustrated. Indeed, the complaining about the band coming on stage late (with accusations of ‘star behaviour’ liberally thrown around), or just not delivering from a musical point of view, went on for days – just like any discussion brimming with negative comments about Yes’ latest incarnation or Phil Collins’ alleged destruction of Genesis usually does.

Yet, it seems the lesson has not been learned. At least here in the US, any ‘vintage’ band will always have the edge over modern bands, no matter how good the latter may be. The comments that I have often come across about bands or artists not being as good live as they are on CD are quite revealing of this suspicious (for lack of a better word) attitude towards anything new. Moreover, bands or artists who try to publicize their activity on discussion boards may end up being accused of ‘spamming’ – not to mention the deplorable attitude that seems to consider ‘international’ acts the only ones worth spending money on. Apparently, for quite a few prog fans, so-called ‘obscure’ bands are interesting only as additions to their already extensive CD or vinyl collections.

At the time of writing, only three of the major US prog festivals are still standing. ROSfest (which mainly appeals to a more ‘conservative’ audience) will be taking place on the third weekend of May, and has indeed has taken advantage of NEARfest’s cancellation by attracting at least some of its ‘orphans’ (including myself and my husband), especially those living in the Northeast. The ProgDay lineup seems to have already been finalized, though only two bands have been announced so far; while the future of CalProg is still uncertain. In the meantime, Europe, in spite of the economic crisis, is teeming with prog and other music festivals, most of them featuring up-and-coming bands.

As I observed in my opening paragraph, my original essay received a lot of feedback, both from artists and fans. Interestingly (though not surprisingly), the points of view of these two groups often differ quite sharply. While the fans displayed a range of feelings that went from censure to disappointment and even outright sadness, the musicians’ attitude as a whole expressed worry about the future of the scene, especially as regards opportunities for live performances. Having met many of those people in the past few years, and knowing about the constant struggles they face in order to get their music to be heard, I have no qualms in stating that I am completely on their side – even if I have never played a note in my whole life. Here are a few of the points that have emerged from the discussion of the past two weeks.

• Promoters and independent label owners are growing disenchanted with the overall attitude of the fandom. Bringing international artists to the USA is neither cheap nor fast, and a snag in the visa process may cause a cancellation of a band or artist’s appearance (as it already did several times in the past). Moreover, those who work behind the scenes are quite likely to sustain financial losses in the event of a cancellation, as well as damage to their reputation of reliability – on top of the inevitable practical headaches. Promoters have already started wondering whether is worth going through all that hassle in order to bring bands to the US with the looming risk of seeing  an event evaporate if their prospective audience do not find their names appealing enough.

• Home-grown acts are growing increasingly frustrated with being relegated to the status of stopgaps to fall back on when international names defect – ignoring the struggles they have to go through in order to find gigs outside the narrow borders of their home states or regions. Some of the comments about last year’s amazing ProgDay line-up being second-rate because of the lack of international bands were rather enlightening, as well as profoundly depressing. The US are currently home to a large number of exciting acts, ranging from the retro-oriented to those of a more avant-garde bent.  Quite a few of them have also produced genuinely challenging music, which does not deserve being dismissed so offhandedly. It is not like any of those bands are able to perform every weekend somewhere around the country. Such a blinkered attitude is not only deeply unfair towards those talented, hard-working musicians, but unmotivated as well. The oversaturation of the market that I so often mention in my reviews does not help either, as it causes a staggering number of bands or solo artists to compete for a handful of live spots.

• A number of interesting suggestions have come from the ranks of the artists, who in some cases have had direct experience of organizing events. The almost unanimous advice was to stop catering solely to a niche audience, and consider the idea of multi-genre festivals, like the above-mentioned High Voltage, Reading Festival and other lower-profile events taking place in Europe and on the American continent. In spite of the jaded, world-weary attitude of many members of the community, who blithely foresee the death of live performances, people still enjoy live music quite a lot, and multi-genre events have the advantage of offering something to everyone. While most musicians would welcome the opportunity to perform at a festival covering a broader range of genres, they are also aware of the often unbending mindset of many fans. There is a clear disconnect between the two camps, with the fans standing their ground and claiming their right to support only the music they find worthwhile, and musicians feeling increasingly marginalized and taken for granted.

• The disconnect between the organizers and their prospective audience also played a large role in the festival’s demise. Having been able to rely for years on end on a core of regular attendees, the organizers put too much faith in them, and were caught off guard when support dropped as sharply as it did this year. Practically no efforts were made to reach outside this restricted group, and the tools offered by the Internet were not deployed to their full effect. Not only did the organizers neglect to advertise the event on other progressive sites than their privileged channel (a US-based forum), but they declined to use the three public Facebook pages dedicated to the event, or even their own board. The latter has been down for over a year, and their dedicated mailing list is only accessible to those who register from the event’s website – not as visible as the social networking sites of which other events make widespread use. Since patron sales were the festival’s cornerstone, no efforts should have been spared to gain new supporters – possibly among forward-thinking people who would have jumped at the opportunity of seeing the bands on the bill, instead of turning up their noses because they were not famous or not ‘prog’ enough.

• A number of NEARfest attendees (including myself and my husband) have often been left with the feeling of intruding on a private club meeting. Some have felt definitely rebuffed, and complained about a borderline hostile atmosphere – an impression that the core community has tried to refute in every way, even to the point of denying the evidence. In my humble opinion, when organizers rely so heavily on patrons’ donations in order to keep the festival going, they cannot afford to give part of the audience the impression of a high-school-style clique that keeps interlopers at bay. Last year’s incident with my review made me briefly consider not to attend in 2011, no matter how much I liked most other aspects of the festival. Other people had decided to stop attending altogether after one snub too many. Unfortunately, it seems that the members of the core group are either unaware of their attitude, or have decided not to care about other people’s opinions.

• Some people from both camps have also suggested alternative methods of funding events, such as using funding platforms like Kickstarter or CrowdFund – as well as scaling back the size of the events, at least until the economy recovers. Indeed, as illustrated by the previous paragraphs, it is not wise to rely too much on the goodwill of patrons, especially when such reliance implies damaging the prospects of younger bands in order to craft a more attractive line-up. This might be a viable option to pursue in a country like the US, where public funding for the arts is not as widespread as in Europe and other Western countries.

To be perfectly honest, many of the reactions I have come across in the past two weeks do not bode well for the future of the US progressive rock scene. Thanks to the Internet, bands and artists would still be able to get their material across to interested listeners – but the opportunities for live performances would get even more scarce than they currently are, which would favour those bands who are chiefly studio-based projects. The frustration may eventually put an end to the existence of many bands, and the competition for the very few remaining live slots may well become unsustainable. Even worse, many of the more cutting-edge bands that in the past few years have been welcomed under the prog umbrella might decide to seek greener pastures, and disassociate themselves from the scene. That would leave prog as the preserve of those bands that, with their conservative, even ‘regressive’ approach,  are still capable of attracting crowds. The gap between ‘Prog’ and ‘progressive’ would inevitably widen, and become almost impossible to bridge – as a few enlightened people realize. Anyway, even if it is probably too soon to give in to pessimism, as long as the majority of the fans are unwilling to step out of their comfort zones, the future of the scene looks anything but bright.

Duncan Mackay – Chimera

Duncan Mackay is a sadly forgotten British keyboardist who recorded two solo symphonic prog rock albums back in 70s along with few disks together with such little known bands like Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel & 10cc, while in 80s he joined Camel to record “Nude”. It’s a pity that his discography usually isn’t so well known for prog lovers ‘cos he’s surely one of the best keyboard players out there.

Anyway his debut album “Chimera” is undoubtedly the best and most representative record of Duncan Mackay. I still wonder why he didn’t become as big as Keith Emerson, Rick Wakeman or Patrick Moraz, because “Chimera” is a truly remarkable statement of pure & powerful symphonic prog rock which should be checked out by all keyboard-driven music fans!

Duncan’s debut is a wet dream of all ELP and The Nice fanatics who always wish to find more Hammond drenched staff. Maybe in 1974 this kind of music starting to become a bit out of dated (you can check synth-led albums of “Yes” or “Genesis” from this time) but I don’t care at all. Prog-rock dominated by blasting organ sounds is always a great pick for me and “Chimera” is definitely one of the best albums I’ve been ever listening to.

This LP originally included only 3 long suites:

1. “Morpheus” – first epic track is the only one which featuring more vocal parts & I’m really surprised why Duncan didn’t decide to sing more, ’cause his vocal abilities are not much worse than his keyboards skills. Really nice, “British”-style voice. But of course singin’ isn’t the most important factor on this epic, the main entertainment value is the HAMMOND ORGAN! Sometimes joyful & rhythmic, sometimes dirty and gritty, sometimes wild & unstoppable but always highly entertaining. Except organ Duncan also use ARP synthesizer & sparkling piano, all of them in suitable doses to not overshadow incredible B-3 solos & mean riffs. His ability to often change between symphonic passages and more pop or jazz oriented fragments but still keep everything in proper order is astonishing. References to ELP, Refugee and Trace are obvious, but I can also hear some Caravan influences, especially in Mackay’s vocal delivery.

2. “12 Tone Nostalgia” – this instrumental is called “12 Tone Nostalgia” but only in the beginning we can hear a little nostalgic tones, while later it became a groundbreaking symphonic prog composition almost completely dominated by muscular Hammond organ passages. I really love Mackay’s style, especially those flashy slide effects which reminds me about Terry Howells, little known organist who played with art rock formation Still Life. Currently Lalo Huber from Argentinian group Nexus seems to continue bombastic style of organ playin’. Brilliant!!

3. “Song For Witches” – the longest, 20 minutes mastodon track begins with rather psychedelic, enigmatic piano & organ performance, but after a while Duncan proceeds to long, jazzy piano part. Very similar to Patrick Moraz’s style on “Refugee” album or some Keith Emerson piano instrumentals. About 7th minute Hammond organ comes back to life to entertain us with another bunch of memorable, classical-like melodies in the vain of Alan Park from “Beggar’s Opera”. In the middle there is a short vocal fragment, which sounds really good too. Especially clavichord, synth, organ & piano rich background for Mackay’s voice is splendid. Near the end we can also witness crazy, Emerson-inspired (a la “Pictures at an Exhibition”) synth soloing with many wild, dis-harmonic noises and squeaks. This madness is followed by another one, this time Duncan seems to make an attempt on destroying his Hammond organ by hitting it, stabbing and God only knows what else! Simply: highly recommended for ELP geeks.

Bonus from 2009 remastered CD:

4. “The Opening” – remastered CD finishes with track recorded in 1990 which completely doesn’t suit the rest of this album. It’s a very electronic sounding piece dominated by modern, high-tech synthesizers & some saxophone. However one fragment with jazzy piano is not so bad. Anyway I don’t count it as a proper part of “Chimera” at all.

I can summarize this review saying that “Chimera” is a really obscure gem, forgotten white crow in progressive rock world. If you consider yourself as keyboards-driven rock aficionados, you simply need to listen to this album. It’s highly recommended if you also like such formations like: ELP, The Nice, Trace, Triumvirat, Collegium Musicum, Refugee, Le Orme, Beggar’s Opera, Amos Key and so on. But I can also add that “Chimera” bare many similarities with later prog-rock LPs, like Quill – “Sursum Corda”(1977) or Covenant – “Nature’s Divine Reflection”(1993). Both seemed to be inspired by this Mackay’s debut.

Best track: “12 Tone Nostalgia”.

Tracklist:

1. Morpheus [11.29]
2. 12 Tone Nostalgia [8.23]
3. Song For Witches [19.56]

Bonus track

4. The Opening [7.03] recorded 1990

Line-up:

* Duncan Mackay – Vocals, piano, Hammond B3 organ, Denon electric piano, clavichord, ARP synthesizer
* Gordon Mackay – Violin, electric piano, piano
* Mike Gray – Drums

Links:

http://www.myspace.com/duncanmackay

Jack Dupon – Démon Hardi

Just like Jethro Tull and Pink Floyd (“by the way, which one’s Pink?”), Jack Dupon is not a solo artist, but a French quartet whose debut album, L’Echelle du Désir, was released in the second half of 2008. It is also the name of the fictitious character whose picaresque stories are told in the band’s songs and live performances. Formed in 2001 by three school mates, Arnaud M’Doihoma, Gregory Pozzoli and Thomas Larsen (now in their late twenties), in 2004 Jack Dupon was joined by an older, more experienced musician, guitarist Philippe Prebet.  In September 2010 the band embarked on their first US tour, playing in venues such as the legendary Orion Studios in Baltimore, as well as the ProgDay Festival Pre-Show – their quirky, theatrical performances leaving a strong impression on American audiences.

My first contact with Jack Dupon occurred in 2009, when I reviewed L’Echelle du Désir, and was left with mixed feelings. While I could not help appreciating the band’s eclecticism and the undeniable impact of their music, I also felt they had been overambitious in recording an album that clocked in at nearly 75 minutes, and opened with a 30-minute epic. It seemed that the members of Jack Dupon, as talented and inventive as they obviously were, had not yet learned the valuable lesson that sometimes less is more – with the result that the album, after a while, overstayed its welcome. This time around, however, they seem to have heeded the advice of most reviewers, and gone for a relatively pared-down offering, slightly over an hour long, and avoiding the over-indulgence of L’Echelle du Désir’s two sprawling epics.

Unlike other bands placed under the RIO/Avant umbrella (a subgenre that is much more diverse than its detractors might think), Jack Dupon use a very traditional rock instrumentation – which means no strings, no woodwinds, no saxes, and even no keyboards. Indeed, their configuration (two guitars plus rhythm section) closely resembles King Crimson’s in the Eighties and onward – and Fripp’s crew, together with Frank Zappa, are clearly one of the main inspirations behind Jack Dupon’s output. However, the theatrical bent of the band, as well as the ‘mythology’ on which their music is based,  possess an unmistakably European flavour. While their French origins bring to mind concept-based bands like Magma and Gong (as well as Ange, a clear blueprint for the vocal department), some Italian bands of the Seventies are also evoked, especially those that, like Jumbo and the short-lived Pholas Dactylus, pushed the dramatic element at the forefront of their sound.

One of the biggest obstacles for people who approach Jack Dupon’s music are undeniably the vocals, mostly handled by bassist Arnaud M’Doihoma with the assistance of his bandmates. Harsh, grating and exaggerated, reminiscent of Ange’s Christian Descamps or even Jumbo’s Alvaro Fella, M’Doihoma’s singing style fits the music like a glove, but is likely to put off those who like a more traditional approach. Personally, I see the vocals very much as another instrument.  From the instrumental point of view, though there is plenty of razor-sharp riffing, Jack Dupon’s sound hardly ever suggests the heaviness of metal, but rather the angularity of King Crimson – with interlocking guitar lines very much in Fripp/Belew style, insistent to the point of occasional monotonousness, and frequent surges followed by pauses of relative calm that create sonic peaks and valleys. The undercurrent of zany, Dadaist humour running through the album (also reflected by the titles, as well as by the nonsensical lyrics and distinctive artwork suggestive of German Expressionism) – echoes not only Zappa, but also Gong (whose flying teapots are referenced in “Le Château de l’Eléphant”), RIO/Avant bands like Samla Mammas Manna and Höyry-Kone, and borderline progressive bands like Primus and Les Claypool’s Frog Brigade.

The tracks on Démon Hardi (“Bold Demon”), with the sole exception of the Middle-Eastern-tinged instrumental “Sombre Trafic Sur le Nil”, an unusually melodic, guitar-driven piece, are all over 6 minutes in length, though this time the longest number is strategically placed at the album’s close. The remaining tracks are prevailingly similar in structure, with an ‘ebb and flow’ movement that alternates slow, almost ominous passages and frantic ones, the vocals used sparingly but forcefully to add further intensity to the musical texture. The Zappa influence clearly surfaces in the more upbeat sections, as in the almost cheerful “Le Château de l’Eléphant”, a veritable drum tour de force with a classic rock feel in the guitar parts and occasionally funky touches. “Cravate Sauvage”, on the other hand, is somber and somewhat monotonous, spiced up with effects-laden guitars seemingly ‘conversing’ with the drums in the style perfected by King Crimson in their Eighties period; while “La Marmite du Pygmée” drags a bit at times, but features some outstanding guitar work. The longer tracks (such as opener “Le Labyrinthe du Cochon” or the jazz-meets-King-Crimson “Jeudi (de) Poisson”) offer plenty of changes, even though an impression of patchiness may occasionally emerge – as on closing track “Oppression, Dépression, Les Valeurs du Cool” (at 13 minutes the longest track on the album), whose riff-driven intro hints at metal and is then followed by a sedate, melodic section with a bluesy guitar solo, then climaxes with a choppy, funky passage.

As other reviewers have pointed out, Jack Dupon’s music seems to be tailor-made for the stage – which means that its effectiveness is not always as strong as one might expect when heard on CD. While the vocals are undeniably an acquired taste, they go hand-in-hand with the music and the concept behind it, and it is not hard to imagine that a live setting would increase their impact exponentially. The somewhat repetitive, jam-like nature of the music, with its often hypnotic pacing, also seems to be much more suited to live performance than more or less ‘passive’ listening. On any account, even if clearly not everyone’s cup of tea, Démon Hardi is definitely an interesting album, and Jack Dupon a very promising band that have obviously grown a lot since their debut. Though their musical offer may not be to everyone’s taste, and needs the right disposition on the part of the listener to be appreciated in full, they manage to deliver a product in which the various influences are reworked in a genuinely personal manner. At the time of writing, Jack Dupon are about to embark on a European tour, and are scheduled to appear at the 2011 edition of the Rock in Opposition Festival (Carmaux, France) in September.

Tracklist:

1. Le Labyrinthe Du Cochon (9:15)
2. Jeudi (De) Poisson (10:34)
3. Sombre Trafic Sur Le Nil (3:40)
4. La Marmite Du Pygmée (8:55)
5. Le Château De L’Eléphant (6:26)
6. Cravate Sauvage (9:27)
7. Oppression, Dépression, Les Valeurs Du Cool (13:37)

Line-up:

* Arnaud M’Doihoma – bass, vocals
* Gregory Pozzoli – guitars, vocals
* Thomas Larsen – drums, percussion, vocals
* Philippe Prebet – guitars, vocals

Links:

http://www.jack-dupon-rock-progressif.net/

The Triumph of the 16 Deadly Improvs

This is a based project that has produced 5 records over the last 15 years. This CD was put together from one 2½ hr session on June 28^th, 2008. While it is not totally improvised, there are no bass or drum overdubs, mainly vocals, some guitar on tracks 12 and 15 and piano (track 6) and Glock on 13, otherwise it is what was recorded. They also inserted some public domain samples as well.

Some of the 16 tracks are long and some short like the first track, which is under a 2mins and starts as if you are ending a concert!

Spirit or Matter is next and a cool songs with some beautiful melodies and male and female singing as the track glides along and the spacey keyboards melt into the melodic guitar playing.

Torpedo is mainly lead by a cool bass line and Talking Heads like rhythm guitar while a quite space lead guitar takes the lead part in this cool instrumental track.

Bugbear Blues is just what is says, a short jazz blues rock track with some very melodic and very jazzy lead playing.

Invincible Pole Fighters has a sort of darker thread to by one guitar and the other plays a more melodic line. It is quite a surprise when the vocal sample cuts through.

Into another Time is a slow track with some special keyboards, singing and a good chance compared to the other tracks. The melodic guitar line is quite spacey and has some nice delay. It gets quite dreamy at the end.

Gargantua is another one with a kind of dark theme with a keyboard that sounds like a haunting voice as the guitars play more melodic lines. I should mention that the drum and bass playing is very solid and I like the drum sound.

Sand Palm V is a under 3 min piece that sounds like it came at the end of a longer jam but is pretty intense to start and I like the sound sample and the heavy almost doom guitar riff they use at the end, while the other guitar is very spacey.

Dear Me has a flangy guitar and the vocals tell a short story. The drumming is more uptempo and contrasts the slow pace of the rest of the track. You’d make a lot of Money, one of the few tracks over 5 mins, and has some really cool guitar playing that is once again quite jazzy but with some effects on it and pushed to the right corner speaker before the other guitar trys to come in from the left side as they both solo away, making for a cool track.

Death to Disco starts with an uptempo bass line and drum that some spacey keyboards float into the soundscape before the guitar player really enter the picture. The guitar player on the right plays some great leads while the one on the left makes a lot of far out sounds. It makes for an interesting contrast.

Mag 3 has a funny hop to it and some spacey stuff and cool xylophone like parts and word samples.

The Burrowers Beneath is nearly 9 mins and is slow and spacey track unlike anything else on the CD.

Fading of my memories is the last of the person moments before the Sand Palm Vi and heavy ending track that takes us back to the beginning of the this album and has a quite hard and heavy sound and riff. Interesting CD…

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