Focus 11 is, of course, the celebrated Dutch band’s 14th album (or 15th, depending on how you count them) and focuses on what they do best: melodic, guitar-driven instrumentals, sometimes fast and frantic, sometimes stately and formal, mixing jazz fusion…
View More Focus – Focus 11
The Tangent tick all the boxes for me. Eclectic, melodic progressive rock with a generous injection of jazz? Check. Lyrics that really mean something, sometimes personal, sometimes political, but with the edges smoothed off by irony and self-effacing humour? Check.…
View More The Tangent – Proxy
In this update we feature: > Alchem – Viaggio Al Centro Della Terra > Hollowscene – Hollowscene > Goad – Landor > Una Stagione All’Inferno – Il Mostro Di Firenze > Ancient Veil – Rings Of Earthly… Live CIAO. And…
View More L’aspetto progressivo (A Different Aspect #21): New Italian Prog II
Does the world need yet another live recording from Fairport’s annual Cropredy festival? Well, the answer on this occasion is: Yes, indeedy! Last year’s gathering marked the band’s 50th anniversary and this collection shows the current line-up – with a…
View More Fairport Convention – What We Did On Our Saturday
The former Caravan keyboard tinkler is far from Canterbury these days – he lives in Japan – and pops out a solo album every four or five years. He was sacked from Caravan some time back over musical differences but,…
View More Dave Sinclair – Out Of Sinc
With the anniversary of the Manchester Arena attack not far behind us, this might be a good time to review the Tangekanic live release. Not to trivialise the atrocity in any way but because the album contains the most powerful…
View More Tangekanic – Hotel Cantaffordit
Sax player Danny Markovitch and guitarist Dani Rabin have, until now, worn their ethnic origins fairly lightly. Based in Chicago, their previous albums have been blistering jazz-rock fusion workouts with influences ranging from the Mahavishnu Orchestra and Jeff Beck to…
View More Marbin – Israeli Jazz
Heavy Horses was the first Tull album I bought after seeing their live broadcast from Madison Square Gardens in 1978. Second in the so-called ‘folk-rock trilogy’, it’s darker than Songs From The Wood but not as dark as Stormwatch, in…
View More Jethro Tull – Heavy Horses: New Shoes Edition
In this update we feature: > Universal Totem Orchestra – Mathematical Mother > Muffx – L’Ora Di Tutti > Il Cerchio D’Oro – Il Fuoco Sotto La Cenere > L’Albero Del Veleno – Tale Of A Dark Fate > Panther…
View More L’aspetto progressivo (A Different Aspect #17): New Italian Prog
John Wenlock-Smith A new live 2CD/DVD set from Steve Hackett, recorded at Birmingham Symphony Hall in May 2017, Steve and his band celebrating 40 years since the release of Genesis’ Wind And Wuthering album, alongside solo material taken from his…
View More Steve Hackett – Wuthering Nights: Live In Birmingham