Review: In the pantheon of prog rock landmarks, none come bigger than The Dark Side Of The Moon. Pink Floyd's magnum opus struck the perfect balance between grandiose vision and universal appeal, carrying relatable themes alongside innovative production and providing the fuel for any psychedelically-minded listener to trip out on a precision crafted trip. As the album celebrates its 50th birthday, this stellar recording of a full live performance of Dark Side... from Wembley in 1974 is seeing its first pressing on vinyl. It's faithful to the album in Floyd's exacting way, but it's also a revelation to hear such a wide scope of sound recreated on stage, not least the likes of 'On The Run'. A fascinating insight into the legacy of a towering, seminal work in the history of modern music.
Review: In 2005, Jan Jelinek "pitched" his electronica/kosmische vision to the potent collective fan by way of ten ecosystemically-informed, prepared ambient numbers. Spanning Bibio-esque reversy guitar and sloshing exotica, this one existed for an inordinate period as a digital download, in which much time elapsed until now, its 20th anniversary - at which point we hear it available again, arriving for the first time on vinyl. Modelled on the sonic prototypes of his German rock forbears, this early electronica work from Jelinek amounts to a fearsomely intricate revue, expanding on krautrock's organic textures and unremittingly restless feel.
Trial Of Tears: I) It's Raining/II) Deep In Heaven/III) The Wasteland
Review: Dream Theater's 1997 recording finds the band balancing their complex progressive roots with a newfound accessibility. The intricate instrumental passages and shifting time signatures remain intact, but the melodies lean towards a more streamlined approach, offering a sharper focus on hooks and emotive delivery. There's an underlying tension between technical virtuosity and a desire to connect on a broader level, creating a record that feels as exploratory as it is deliberate. The production captures the weight and precision of their sound while adding a polished edge, making for a deeply layered yet approachable listen.
Review: Now celebrating its landmark 50th anniversary, Pink Floyd's seminal The Dark Side Of The Moon remains a timeless masterpiece and is a groundbreaking fusion of progressive rock and psychedelic soundscapes. This iconic album, known for its conceptual brilliance and sonic innovation, continues to captivate with its introspective lyrics and haunting melodies half a century on and this 50th Anniversary Edition pays homage to the monumental work on some very special vinyl pressings and packaging. With its celestial tapestry of sound and thought-provoking themes, his record is often cited as one you need to hear before you die, and you really do.
Review: Originally released in 2003 as the companion piece to the preceding year's equally acclaimed Deliverance, the seventh full-length from renowned Swedish progressive death metal auteurs, Opeth, would mark their first unashamed wade into the waters of retro prog-rock, whilst opting to eschew essentially all metallic machinations. Embracing primary songwriter Mikael Akerfeldt's lush clean vocals, while sonically delving into delicate atmospherics elevated by the prominent use of a mellotron, Damnation has grown in the two decades since its initial release to become a much lauded fan favourite, with many being able to appreciate the sharp turn the group took while noting the reflective balance contrasted against its much more macabre sister album. From the opening notes of essential cut 'Windowpane' onwards, you're pulled into a frosted world of depressive romanticism where the only way out is through. Celebrating its 20 year anniversary with a long overdue reissue, this is a work designed to be spun and absorbed in all its haunting majesty.
Review: Back in the depths of the global Coronavirus pandemic, Nick Hoppner and Alex Kassian decided to join forces to record an album, one that would set aside their club credentials and instead focus on their collective love of krautrock, ambient and 'guitar-driven music'. The result is The Big Melt, the duo's first missive as H.A.N.K. Beginning with the immersive, enveloping sound world that is 'Cruise' - a slow-build, effects-laden dreamscape that offers nods to classic Tangerine Dream, shoegaze and 1990s ambient electronica - the album bobs along attractively, with exotic rhythms and intoxicated electronics ('A Useful Fever') sitting side by side with shuffling Balearic instrumentals ('Azul's Garden'), kosmiche epics ('Jag Aar Jag'), sitar-laden wonders ('While My Tar Gently Weeps'), and analogue-rich nods to Neu!, Can and Dunkelziffer ('No Harm').
Review: Marking their first album in five years and follow up to 2019's criminally overlooked In Cauda Venenum, Swedish progressive death metal legends Opeth return with their fourteenth full-length The Last Will & Testament. Marking the return of vocalist/guitarist/primary songwriter Mikael Akerfeldt's signature death growls; the first project to feature the inhumane bellows since 2008's Watershed, the work is the band's first concept album since 1999's Still Life, with the narrative based around a wealthy, mysterious patriarch in the post-World War I era whose death leads his family to congregate at his estate to learn horrific secrets as his last will and testament is unveiled. Whilst retracing some of their gloomier, more macabre sonics, musically the compositions continue to embrace the 70's psychedelia of Heritage and Sorceress yet with a notable rediscovery of their harrowing, frosted death metal origins. Pressed on limited marbled 'rough seas' vinyl 2xLP..
Review: The Tiger Rock long player from Tiger B. Smith roars back into circulation here thanks to a vinyl reissue that will please fans of heavy sounds. The album marked the band's 1972 debut and is an archetypal work from the German heavy rock trio. It takes some obvious inspiration from the electrifying energy of Jimi Hendrix and adds to that plenty of raw and powerful kraut-psych sound. It features the standout nine-minute epic 'To Hell' which is a real thrash delight with gritty riffs and rhythms all showcasing their fearless approach to heavy rock. Tiger Rock captures the spirit of experimentation and intensity that defined the Krautrock era.
Review: Grover Washington Jr's Hydra makes its debut on 45, showcasing the jazz legend's saxophone brilliance over an irresistible groove, arranged by Bob James. Originally released in 1975, its iconic drums have been sampled over 100 times, including by ATCQ and Biggie, with Black Moon's How Many MC's featuring the famous bass hook. On the flip, Seals & Crofts' Sweet Green Fields also appears for the first time on 45. The duo's Californian soft rock sound is underpinned by a catchy bassline sampled by Busta Rhymes for his 1997 hit Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See.
Review: Given that it is the fourth biggest selling artist album of all time, with some 45 million copies in circulation, you'd be forgiven for questioning the point of this 50th anniversary edition of Pink Floyd's most celebrated work. Yet, like the various Beatles albums that have been remastered and remixed in recent years, there is certainly a point to polishing the sound using modern technology. Put simply, 'Dark Side of the Moon', an album that's famously sonically detailed and was painstakingly recorded at the time, has never sounded better. With its mix of ambling progressive rock epics and memorable songs, it has always lent itself to listening on headphones; now, thanks to a sparkling and stunning 2023 mix, it's a more immersive and enveloping listening experience than ever (and that's before we get to the separately available surround sound and Dolby Atmos versions).
Review: The Dark Side of the Moon Tour by Pink Floyd, which is one of the most famous in all of rock, started on January 20, 1972, at the Brighton Dome in the UK and ended almost two years later in November 1973 at London's Rainbow Theatre. The tour spanned the UK, US, Europe, and Japan, with two separate legs promoting the album and in all, it involved 128 shows. By late 1971, Pink Floyd had developed a basic structure for Dark Side of the Moon, performing it at nearly every show and to recreate the album live they added saxophonist Dick Parry, female backing singers, enhanced visual effects, and improved quadraphonic sound. The tour first reached the USA in April 1972 for a month, with a second stint in September, and one of those dates is presented here having been recorded and broadcast by WNEW FM.
Reise Durch Ein Brennendes Gehirn (Journey Through A Burning Brain) (12:21)
Kalter Rauch (Cold Smoke) (10:42)
Asche Zu Asche (Ashes To Ashes) (4:00)
Auferstehung (Resurrection) (3:30)
Review: Cult German electronic outfit Tangerine Dream made an indelible impression with Electronic Meditation, their first big release and first grand studio project. It was rebased in 1970 and is a thrilling fusion of Krautrock, experimental rock, psychedelia and electronic rock that utterly belies the times in which it was made. It is also the only LP to feature the line up of Edgar Froese, Klaus Schulze and Conrad Schnitzler and was recorded using just a two-track Revox tape recorder. At times haunting and tense, at others more dreamlike and contemplative, it is a uniquely freeform style of music.
Masai Morning: Casting Of The Bones/The Hunt/A Ritual Of Kings (6:38)
Windweaver (3:50)
Dragonfly Day: Metamorphosis/Dance Of The Sun Spirit/Death (7:42)
Petunia (3:30)
Telephone Girl (1:20)
Psychiatric Sergeant (4:52)
Slow Ride (3:11)
Sundial Song (7:49)
Telephone Girl (first version - bonus track) (4:16)
Review: Trading Places have blown the dust off a wondrous curio this time, bringing our attention onto the uniquely slanted acid prog psychedelia of Jade Warrior. The project came from percussionist and flautist Jon Field, who had previously worked with Mike Oldfield's producer and in cult psych outfit July, and bassist Glyn Havard. The pair might not have garnered that much attention for their work back in the day, but it was a thing of rare beauty, fusing acoustic passages with searing rock-outs and percussion from other cultures to usurp the dominance of the Western drum kit. It's a record full of surprises, and it sounds in great shape on this impeccable reissue.
Review: Prolific Pink Floyd record producer and engineer James Guthrie once again has his 2018 remix album for the band's 'Animals' reissued, this time on limited LP wax. A five-piece meditation on Floyd's penchant for animalism, Guthrie's reinterpretation yanks the Orwellian structure and themes of the original album and hurls them back into an electronic prog rock prayer, with many of the new versions impressively breaching 10 minutes. In true Floyd fashion, this is window-closed, record-sleeves-on-the-floor, bong-hitting stuff, but with an extra Guthriean darkness lended to it. Clock the pig oinks littering the mix too.
Review: Originally released in 2009 and celebrating its 15th anniversary with this half-speed remaster on lush red marbled vinyl, Night Is The New Day serves as a genre-bending meander through progressive Scandinavian metallic sonics whilst pulling on elements of gloomy doom rock and synth-laden coldwave. Often spoken in the same breath and with equal credence paid to the likes of Opeth, Ulver and Porcupine Tree, the album is a work of sublime, depressive beauty with ever-shifting pieces like the bombastic-turned-mercurial 'Forsaker' offset by the post-folk vulnerability of 'Idle Blood', leading many to consider the eighth full-length in the Katatonia catalogue to be the finest summation of their expansive vision. The work would also notably be the last to feature the Norrman brothers handling rhythm guitar and bass duties.
Review: If the name Vangelis conjures images of new age music or the overplayed 'Chariots of Fire', you might be surprised by his earlier work. Before his solo fame, Vangelis was a member of Aphrodite's Child, a rock band from the late 60s to early 70s. While the band was based in France due to political unrest in Greece, they produced music far removed from Vangelis's later style. Another well-known member was Demis Roussos, who also had a later solo career. Initially, Aphrodite's Child released two psychedelic pop albums, Rain and Tears and It's Five O'Clock, reminiscent of Genesis' early work on From Genesis to Revelation. 666 marked a significant shift toward progressive rock, blending Greek ethnic influences with experimental sounds. Highlights include 'Loud, Loud, Loud,' featuring a spoken word piece by a young Greek diplomat's son, and 'All the Seats Were Occupied,' a lengthy jam that samples the album's other tracks. The notorious, untitled track featuring actress Irene Papas caused discomfort at their label, but it solidified the album's status as a groundbreaking work in progressive rock. Despite the musicians' later mainstream personas, 666 remains a bold and innovative album.
Review: Machine Head is the 1972 sixth LP from Deep Purple, best known for its pandora's box-style unleashing of one of the best-recalled rock riffs in the world: 'Smoke On The Water'. Now Warner and Rhino honour the album's boisterous legacy with a comprehensive reissued version, with new mixes and previously unreleased live recordings all in tow. The new indie exclusive mainly recalls such intensive wildouts such as 'Never Before', 'Lazy' and 'Highway Star', all of which betray the tightest of tight early heavy metal playing, as the genre transpired gracefully outwards from the groundwater spring of rock & roll in the early-to-mid 70s; in fact, the band and album were considered somewhat responsible for the development for the heavy metal genre as a whole; no wonder Machine Head was their most successful album.
Review: An extensive jaunt through the earliest years of prog giants Genesis, with tracks culled from their debut From Genesis to Revelation - the band reportedly having been advised by producer Jonathan King to imitate The Bee Gees - and their breakthrough album, Nursery Cryme, figuring among the extensive tracklisting. The period is much loved by hardcore prog fans, and Peter Gabriel's idiosyncratic vocals remain era-defining, a far cry from the slcik pop crew they eventually evolved into. 'The Musical Box', included here, did however remain in the band's live set for several decades after, proof of its enduring nature as well as the special part it plays in the heart of the Genesis massive.
Review: The legendary Talk Talk was one of a kind. Not only did they craft exceptional studio albums rich in melodic details but they were top in the live arena too. This sublime broadcast from 1984 finds them in Utrecht in the Netherlands playing for a live FM Broadcast recorded at the Muziekcentrum Vredenburg on 27th May. The group formed by Mark Hollis is in dynamic form and they worked through all their hits to date alongside cuts from the two albums which they had already put out at that time. Experimental rock, jazz and free improv all defined this most artful band.
Review: It's not easy to pick out obvious hits from Frank Zappa's frankly intimidating musical legacy, but 1969's Hot Rats must surely be one of his most widely adored albums. As such, this special archival project is the stuff of dreams for his devotees, of which there are more than a few. Much has been said about the reams of unreleased material hidden away in his vaults, but now an attentive team have pored over sessions recorded in 1970, not long after Hot Rats was released, and they've pieced together a whole new album of songs never previously heard by anyone bar those who were in the studio at the time.
Review: Yes are back with its second collection of singles release with yessingles2. Progressive rock, known for its complex compositions and fusion of jazz and classical elements, has always maintained a cult status, challenging mainstream tastes. The genre's elaborate, lengthy arrangements often clash with the commercial demands of record labels. As a result, studio engineers and producers frequently faced the task of trimming down ten minute epics into radio-friendly, four minute versions. For many new listeners, this serves as an accessible introduction to the world of prog rock. Yessingles 2, released as part of Rhino's Rocktober series, offers a collection of these radio-friendly edits from the legendary band Yes. While diehard fans might prefer the original, uncut versions, this compilation provides a convenient entry point for those looking to explore Yes's intricate soundscapes without committing to the full-length compositions. It's a nod to the balancing act between artistic integrity and commercial appeal that has defined progressive rock since its inception.
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