Tag Archives: Prog
TAKING THEM TO TARKUS
There is nothing like a great three minute single. A song that grabs you, thrills you and then is gone. It’s been the staple of rock and pop music for over sixty years and shows no sign of becoming extinct, as we saw recently with the success of the Nuggets fiftieth anniversary box set. Yet […]
JOIN THE YES UNION
The orchestral strains of Stravinsky’s Firebird ease into a smooth wash of synthesiser chords as the musicians take their places. A caped Rick Wakeman strokes the keyboard producing those electronic strings. Bill Bruford sits at a Simmons electronic drum kit, dressed for judo. Steve Howe is wearing a silky, brightly hued shirt while Jon Anderson, […]
LOCKDOWN LISTENING: A RANDOM-ISH PLAYLIST
Last Sunday I posted photos of my day’s listening on social media. It was an odd experience; noticing how my choices were influenced by an awareness of that sharing. The variety of delivery methods was pure theatre (and fun). Here are the pictures. * Terje Rypdal & The Chasers — Blue [ECM 1987] Excellent album […]
THEN WE TAKE BERLIN
Getting from concert stage to home stereo was so quick for Øresund Space Collective—astral travellers who specialise in totally improvised space rock—that some patrons were still driving home from the gig when the CD was released. Live in Berlin album was recorded on the final night of their recent European tour, June 2nd, 2018. It […]
DUNE, CHAPTER FOUR
This Dune music series is longer than a deep desert worm. That odd opening sentence might cause some to wonder about a book producing such a welter of creative musical responses. How could Dune be described? Dune. The planet Arrakis. No rain but plenty of sand. What, though, is Frank Herbert’s novel about? Power and politics […]
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The thing with progressive music is, it’s a bit more complex and structured. Which means, depending on what prejudices you bring to the argument, that it is either (a) music for wanky poseurs, or (b) something to spend a bit of time with before passing judgement. No surprises that, as a card-carrying wanky poseur, I […]
2016 REPORT FROM THE FIELD — PART 1
Top Five Secondhand Record Purchases It is revealing that there was more than enough material in the acquisitions book to produce a Top 50 list of secondhand records entering the Vinyl Connection domain during the past twelve months. We are talking fifty highlights, by-the-by, not gap-fillers, pass-markers and also-rans. So much good music and such […]
DARK SIDE OF THE VALLEY
When you think about the world-straddling colossus they became in the latter half of the 70s, it is easy to forget that Pink Floyd started life as just one spray of colour in the kaleidoscope of Swinging London. Like many bands of the 60s, Pink Floyd embraced side projects and commissions. After all, it was […]
PERFECTION OF CIRCUMLOCUTION
What do we make of a new release by a rock veteran? As stars drop from the sky with numbing regularity, do we celebrate the simple act of survival inherent in creating new music? Perhaps triumph is tempered by a niggling disquiet. What if, Bowie-like, this is a last hurrah; a pre-planned final chapter for […]
OUT OF JUICE
Here are some albums I’ve been enjoying recently. * YMO (Yellow Magic Orchestra) – After Service Alfa Records, Japan 1984 Live double LP set from Japanese electro-pop solid state survivors, featuring Ryuichi Sakamoto. * Hatfield & The North – Afters Virgin Records 1980 Odd afterthought compilation from Canterbury scene English proggers, featuring chunks of the […]
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