This review may seem well overdue, given that my review of Quantum Jump’s self-titled debut was published in January. Esoteric did not have Barracuda in stock at the time. Fortunately though, there has been a re-pressing (is it called a…
View More Quantum Jump – BarracudaAuthor: Basil Francis
Eyes Of Blue – Crossroads of Time / In Fields of Ardath
Esoteric certainly know where to look when choosing content to reissue. These two releases from Welsh outfit Eyes of Blue come from 1969 – the dawn of the progressive era – and show the band pioneering the infantile genre. The…
View More Eyes Of Blue – Crossroads of Time / In Fields of ArdathPrincipal Edwards – Round One
… It turns out that Exeter University spawned yet another fascinating prog offering: Principal Edwards Magic Theatre. Forming a little earlier than Fuchsia, this band moved to Kettering, Northamptonshire, in their early years. Astonishingly, I have links to Kettering too,…
View More Principal Edwards – Round OneFuchsia – Fuchsia
Fuchsia might just be one of Esoteric’s most intriguing releases! Formed in 1971 at Exeter University, this prog folk outfit was made up of six students in total, three boys and three girls. The boys played on rock instruments while…
View More Fuchsia – FuchsiaThe Samurai of Prog – Lost and Found
This is my second encounter with The Samurai of Prog, the first being three years ago when I reviewed their second album, Secrets of Disguise, largely a cover album which didn’t bring very much to the songs it covered. Indeed,…
View More The Samurai of Prog – Lost and FoundHawkwind – The Flicknife Years (1981 – 1988)
Hawkwind are a band that really need no introduction, but if you’re looking for one, this 5CD boxset ain’t the place to start. Hawkwind – The Flicknife Years (1981 – 1988) is Atomhenge’s rather neat solution to release all of…
View More Hawkwind – The Flicknife Years (1981 – 1988)Haken – Affinity
Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock this decade, you’ll have no doubt heard of Haken, the latest truly progressive band to take the world by storm. Despite being able to be broadly categorised with the humdrum tag of ‘prog-metal’,…
View More Haken – AffinityDream Theater – The Astonishing
What can I say? I am surely not the first (nor the last) to admit that I am indeed astonished by Dream Theater’s latest oeuvre, but the effects of this album go well past the shock factor that the band…
View More Dream Theater – The AstonishingAccordo dei Contrari – AdC
Accordo dei Contrari are Italy’s latest way of showing the rest of the world they are still at the top of their game in prog. AdC is their third opus – released on the ever-brilliant AltrOck label – after 2007’s…
View More Accordo dei Contrari – AdCQuantum Jump – Quantum Jump
I’ve gotta say, I was pretty disappointed when I heard the opening notes of Captain Boogaloo, the initial track on this album. Cheesy, saccharine and utterly inane as this funky bit of fluff was, I really thought I’d picked up…
View More Quantum Jump – Quantum Jump