Basil Francis: Hello John! Thank you for speaking to the Progressive Aspect. I first heard the term “New Wave of British Heavy Metal” (NWOBHM) whilst reviewing the Holocaust Vol 1 boxset, which was released back in 2023. Tell me about…
View More John Mortimer – Holocaust
This is my 7th Nektar review for TPA and 9th overall, if you count my old DPRP reviews. That’s how committed I am to charting the tale of Nektar, in whatever haphazard order the reissues will come. This time around,…
View More Nektar – Magic Is A Child (Remastered & Expanded 3CD Edition)
Whenever I write a retrospective review of an album that means a lot to me, I try to make sure that it’s an album that has not had its horn tooted over the years. In this case, I think I’m…
View More New Trolls – Concerto Grosso No2
Welcome to another article, dear reader. Like you, I was also lured to this release by Anthony Phillips’s well-known name, but what exactly is it? Let’s break it down. First of all, you have to discover the Ant Band, who…
View More Vera Osina – Ivory Moon: The Romantic Piano Music Of Anthony Phillips ~ Live In Concert
Lemon, a Cherry Red label, has appeared to have got hold of the Cleopatra Pink Floyd Tribute albums (a few of which I reviewed back in the summer of 2023) and is now reissuing them in 3CD boxsets. The first,…
View More Various Artists – Animals Against The Wall: A Tribute To Pink Floyd Volume II
Three years ago, I was introduced to the Scottish heavy metal act Holocaust through their 6CD box set that compiled their complete early 80s recordings. With their debut EP and LP, they managed to make a splash in the new…
View More Holocaust – Dance Into The Void: Complete Recordings Vol.2 1989-2003
No, this isn’t déjà vu; we did review The Turn of a Friendly Card three years ago. But that was Esoteric’s four-disc edition. Now, in their infinite wisdom, the powers that be have sought to re-release this album – along…
View More The Alan Parsons Project – The Turn Of A Friendly Card (Expanded Edition)
If progressive rock is the barmy, eccentric uncle to popular music, then Tales from Topographic Oceans, Yes’s landmark sixth album originally released in December 1973, is surely the barmy, eccentric uncle to progressive rock. No other album in prog history…
View More Yes – Tales From Topographic Oceans (Super Deluxe Edition Boxset)
My Nektar collection has looked rather like a piece of Swiss cheese recently, but slowly and surely, Esoteric has been plugging the gaps. The reputation of each Nektar album is uncannily similar to that of the Star Trek film series,…
View More Nektar – Down To Earth: Remastered & Expanded [4CD Edition]
Music cannot be divorced from its context; if Starcastle had released their debut album a decade earlier, in 1966, they would be hailed as prog-rock visionaries and not Yes clones. Procol Harum, named after their friend’s cat’s pedigree name, may…
View More Procol Harum – Procol Harum (Vinyl Edition: LP & 12″ EP)