Prog Rock at the Atmosphere's Edge By Matt Howarth Special to SPACE.com posted: 02:38 pm ET 23 August 2000
RARE BLEND: Cinefusion (CD on Tough Stream Music ) (www.-----------
Progressive rock has always
looked ahead of current trends, pursuing muses that are often as stirring
as they are puzzling. The music is usually of the soaring variety, often
frantic of pace and intense of performance.
Besides this forward-thinking,
there are key sonic elements found in most prog rock. Powerful guitars
and explosive percussion and nimble keyboards are guarantees among this
elusive genre.
In the mood for strong progressive
metal rock cut in the vein of Deep Purple, Rush, or Queensryche? Then you've
found gold with this 51-minute CD.
Commanding drumming lashes
out, with rapid guitar riffs flying like rainbow beams through clouds of
energetic keyboards and thundering bass. The vocals are a fine blend of
modernized Rush and flowing Metallica, bouncing playfully between frantic
rock chorales to lilting, contemplative crooning. The guitar is rich and
definitely momentous, etching memorably powerful notes deeply into your
cranium. The demanding percussion rarely strays from overtly epic construction.
Often, the keyboards begin with deceptively delicate melodies before spilling
their sparkling moods into the maelstrom of the hard-edged tuneage.
Dali's Dilemma has achieved
a striking debut record with this release, proving their blinding speed
abilities and hard rock mastery. While the band's "Manifesto for Futurism"
is deeply rooted in emotional appraisal of the human condition and our
struggle to meet the unexpected strangeness of tomorrow with the resolve
of conquered yesterdays.
The CD cover art and package
design by Dave McKean achieves a slick and moody 21st Century Salvador
Dali effect.
One of the best respected
progressive rock bands in America, Happy the Man have been inactive for
many years. This 54-minute CD features previously unreleased material from
the band's classic 1974-76 days, with the legendary line-up of Dan Owen,
Frank Wyatt, Kit Watkins, Stanley Whitaker, Rick Kennell and Mike Beck.
The majority of the CD is
taken up by the 38-minute title track, an epic aural journey into symphonic
prog rock. The music is complex and cerebral, burning with the furious
glow that is unique to Happy the Man's cheerful yet intense sound.
The guitars and keyboards
duel for dominance of the music. Pleasingly shrill and delightful guitar
rushes, intricate and blinding of velocity. Keyboards that are rich with
drama and melody. Complex and inventive percussion frolics in the auralscape.
Liquid basslines seep through the mix, deceptive but integral with their
contribution to the music. The presence of flute and other woodwinds produces
an ethereal quality to the powerful music.
The vocals are classic prog
rock: plaintive yet delicate with power. The lyrics relate a tale of discovery,
realization of the linkage between humanity, heart, and soul in the definition
of godliness.
HUGH HOPPER & ALAN
GOWEN: Two Rainbows Daily (CD on Cuneiform
Records)
This CD release of a 1980
prog rock classic is enhanced with 62 minutes of live material from the
same year.
Perhaps best known for his
seminal Canterbury band Gilgamesh, Alan Gowen was also integral to National
Health's unique progressive sound. The late Gowen (who passed away a year
after recording this album) possessed a keyboard style that injected a
equal sense of drama and gaiety to the melodies. This joyful sound is excellently
found on "Two Rainbows Daily". The tunes flow, building in celerity and
complexity.
For his part, Hugh Hopper
is best known for his tenure in the pioneer free-form progressive band
Soft Machine. He has since released numerous solo records, and collaborated
with the likes of Carla Bley and Stomu Yamashta. His guttural style of
bass playing is individual, a testament to the rumbling vibrations and
compelling call of the instrument.
This collaboration between
this pair of Canterbury legends is a thoroughly breathtaking experience.
The music is passionate and thoughtful, creating celebratory soundscapes
of intellectual and emotional interest.
"Two Rainbows Daily" features
duets of keyboards and bass, while this sound is augmented on the live
tracks by the drumming of Nigel Morris.
Niacin is keyboardist extraordinaire
John Novello, bassist Billy Sheehan (who has played with David Lee Roth),
and percussionist Dennis Chambers (who has played with Chic Corea, Steely
Dan, Parliament/Funkadelic and James Brown).
No guitars here. The music
is dominated by keyboards, especially the rich tremble of a Hammond organ.
Otherwise rounding out the band's cooking sound are rumble bass and powerful
percussion. Okay, there's a guest appearance by guitar (and vocals) on
one track, wherein the music mutates into blues for a emotional rock-out.
The overall tone for the
rest of the 66 minutes is instrumental, hot progressive jazz with a hard
edge that pounds its way into rock territory. The presence of such a hot
jazz version of Van Halen's "Mean Streets" song produces an amusing contrast
as Niacin's deep fusion sound attack a hard rock classic.
This dynamic debut CD sports
67 minutes of flowing prog rock in the vein of Yes with a touch of Kansas
and Roy Harper.
Lyrically, the songs revolve
around emotional pivots, introspection dedicated to spiritual growth. Musically,
the tunes soar with ascendant chords and epic construction. Under the Sun's
music is unapologetically intellectual, with enough rhythmic kick to sire
an instinctual dance response in the listener.
Piercing guitars cavort with
atmospheric and pulsating keyboards to generate a vibrant auralscape. Expect
numerous guitar solos that shimmer and thrash. The steadfast and authoritative
percussion is counterweighted by the subliminal bass (which often surges
forth with popping fury). Add vocals that tremble with clarity and strength,
belting out powerful lyrics of a cathedral-ceiling nature.
Lace with spacey effects
and you have a thoroughly entertaining dose of prog rock.
Rich vocals front a band
of slippery guitar, sultry bass, serpentine drums, and versatile keyboards.
The application of a slide to the guitar often elevates the jams into quite
astral territory. The percussion is attractively soft but compelling. The
bass is a rumbling foundation. The keyboards alternate from progressive
sweeps to delicate piano strains. All of this gels, transforming into a
splendid sound that is rich with power and mesmerism. The band truly shines
during these inspired moments, and numerous they are too on this 1998 release.
Although mainly an introspective
album of relationship-oriented energetic slow rock, the music on this 64-minute
CD possesses a spacey quality, sparkling with a Grateful Dead edge. This
aspect is most noticeable during the instrumental riffs which frequent
the lyrical content.
And while the lyrics are
going on? There's a strong boogie and country influence in the songs, fused
with a sense of good-time rock 'n' roll.
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