The Golden Mean of ELO’s “Eldorado”: Prog Review #43
Upon hearing the distorted and looping vocals that give way to a grand orchestral sweep in the “Eldorado Overture,” I knew I was in good hands with Eldorado.
Choosing None of the Above with Meshuggah’s “Destroy Erase Improve”: Prog Review #42
A whole lot of yelling, thrashing, pounding.
Warming Up to Amon Düül II’s “Yeti”: Prog Review #41
It was a wonderful surprise that I was into Amon Düül II’s Yeti (1970) from moment one.
Halfway to Soft Machine’s “Third”: Prog Review #40
There’s something unfair about this entire project of listening to an album with the purpose of generating content, a review that both forms a judgment of the artist and some pithy observations about music, culture in general, or myself.
Facing Porcupine Tree’s “Fear of a Blank Planet”: Prog Review #39
Porcupine Tree’s Fear of Blank Planet left me in fear of a blank page.
“You” is Gong Wringing Out New Sounds: Prog Review #38
… while I typically find all these sounds and subjects uninteresting or off-putting, there’s still lots for me to love here.
Marillion Keeps Prog Alive Through “Clutching at Straws”: Prog Review #37
But what a showcase of how 80s production and themes can go right!
“Si on Avait Besoin d'une Cinquième Saison,” on L’Appelle Harmonium: Prog Review #36
I did not expect to see a French Canadian band on the Rolling Stone list, but I did expect to love it
Banco del Mutuo Succorso's "Io Sono Nato Libero" is a Sound Investment: Prog Review #35
Banco del Mutuo Succorso translates as Bank of Mutual Relief; not as whimsical as Premiata Forneria Marconi, (Award-winning Marconi Bakery) and the same can be said for the music. PFM's bakery is full of sundry delights, while Banco's staid offerings are all money.
Feeling Euphoric with Caravan "In the Land of Grey and Pink": Prog Review #34
Freedom and silliness and musical bliss are what this album is all about.
Counting on TOOL's "Lateralus": Prog Review #33
Out of the filth emerges an immaculate human spirit.
Ruminating on Kansas's "Leftoverture": Prog Review #32
Familiar, satisfying, and brilliant: the lead track from Kansas's Leftoverture sets up high expectations for the rest of the album. Does the rest of the album deliver?
"Ashes Are Burning" is a Renaissance Affair to Remember: Prog Review #31
The opening two-and-a-half-minutes of Ashes Are Burning (1973) are glorious.
OK with U.K.'s "U.K.": Prog Review #30
With this incredible pedigree of musicians, U.K. should be something special…
Raising the Curtain on Dream Theater's "Metropolis, Pt. 2: Scenes From a Memory": Prog Review #29
Histrionic, emotional, deeply serious, optimistically spiritual, Metropolis Pt. 2 is so much of what I'm not, and therefore so much of what I love in the music I listen to.
An Exhausting Stroll Through Opeth's "Blackwater Park": Prog Review #28
After a few days with Blackwater Park, I turned off the album while driving, and Metric's "Now or Never Now" was just starting. I immediately wanted to move and sing, and I felt joy from the music I was listening to. That feeling cemented my thinking that I should just give up on Opeth.
Reinvestigating Supertramp's "Crime of the Century": Prog Review #27
Progressive ideas may not be the point of Supertramp, but the band uses those available options to turn half-finished song ideas into amazing compositions…. It's damn near perfect.
A recipe for Van Der Graaf Generator's "Pawn Hearts": Prog Review #26
Van Der Graaf Generator's Pawn Hearts is a peculiar dish - at once overly familiar and an acquired taste. Full of familiar and tired prog ingredients thrown together in a stew, Pawn Hearts retains a distinct, if somewhat confused, character.
Bugging Out to The Mars Volta's "Deloused in the Comatorium": Prog Review #25
"Now I'm Lost" keens Marcel Rodríguez-López on the chorus of Inertiatic ESP. I share his sentiment
The Harmonic Tremors of Magma's "Mëkanïk Dëstruktïẁ Kömmandöh": Prog Review #24
There's a musical statement here: a garbled, manic, exuberant statement.