Review: Best known as - but not restricted to being - the singer from 1970s prog behemoths Yes, Jon Anderson embarked on an American tour in 2023 after the universally (by the band at least) despised Union album. This time he was not backed not by his famous bandmates but by The Band Geeks, a bunch of musicians who meticulously recreated the music of the greats of the 1970s. "They sound just like the classic Yes of the seventies," he commented at the time, "the Yes that I know and love." Therefore this live collection sees him employing his distinctive, almost unfeasibly high and pure tones to a number of classics from the band's earliest days, with 'Starship Trooper', 'Your Move - I've Seen All Good People', 'Yours Is No Disgrace' and the ever triumphant 'Close To The Edge' among the list of undeniable crowd pleasers. It may be two decades on from these songs' initial inception, but Anderson and the aforementioned Geeks do a pretty good job of rolling back the clock here.
Review: Ash Ra Tempel's fifth and - in most ways of judging it - final album was really also a swan song for the late, great Manuel Gottsching. Recoded at Studio Dierks, in the small, picturesque and windmill-happy German village of Stommeln by none other than Scorpions studio chief Dieter Dierks, there's a lot happening on Starring Rosi. And all of it really pretty damn good. It's funk, it's epic. It's moody, it's upbeat. It's steeped in an air of Krautrock and space rock, yet also wouldn't sound out of place providing the slap bass and guitar licks for a 1970s movie trailer. Simply put, it's Ash Ra Tempel, from the cosmic warmup and gradual build go 'Laughter Loving', through the folk-ish serenity of 'The Fairy Dance' and warbling, warped cacophonies on 'Schizo'.
Review: Ash Ra Tempel's 1973 album Starring Rosi, led by innovative guitarist Manuel Gottsching, showcases a more accessible sound compared to their earlier cosmic explorations. Rosi Muller, Gottsching's then-girlfriend, contributes spoken word passages, adding a unique texture to several tracks. The album opens with 'Laughter Loving', a cheerful, wah-wah guitar-driven track with hints of country-rock and droning synths. 'Day-Dream' features a stoned, two-chord acoustic sequence, paired with gentle lead guitar and dreamy vocals. Instrumental track 'Schizo' offers a detached, spacey atmosphere, while 'Cosmic Tango' delivers a funky groove, reminiscent of Gong's space-whisper style. The nearly nine-minute 'Interplay of Forces' starts in a psychedelic, space-rock vein before evolving into a guitar and drum-heavy jam. The album closes with 'Bring Me Up', a bluesy, funky track that spotlights Gottsching's masterful guitar work. The album's reissue on 180-gram coloured vinyl further highlights its timeless, genre-blending appeal.
Review: Recorded for BBC Radio In Concert during Can's 1973 UK tour, this exceptional live performance showcases the cult favourite band at their peak. The five-piece group did their usual trick of expertly weaving together repeating themes and riffs while responding to each other in real-time. The dynamic interplay between keyboards from Schmidt, guitar from Karoli and Suzuki's vocals is driven by the powerful Czukay and Liebezeit rhythm section. Featuring comprehensive sleeve notes and full recording details, this release includes all tracks written by Can members Czukay, Karoli, Liebezeit, Schmidt and Suzuki, all of which were captured live at The Paris Theatre, London on February 19th. A great bit of Can history.
The Continuum I: Welcome To Forever, Mr Nobody (3:43)
The Continuum II: The Flood (6:20)
The Continuum III: Tethered Together (4:32)
The Continuum IV: So It Goes (5:18)
The Omni-Voice (22:44)
Review: Talk about universe building - Coheeed & Cambria have written their own science fiction odyssey, realised it visually, and then used this as inspiration for their music. Creative self-indulgence or self-dependence, either way it's made for a compelling back catalogue of prog-leaning post-hardcore and emo-infused heavy rock bordering on metal. The Father of Make Believe is the latest episode this epic journey. And it's fully fledged Coheed & Cambria - so instantly gratifying there's a case for this as rock-pop, the slow jam 'Corner of My Confidence' perhaps taking that idea to the furthest point, although even the main stage juggernauts like 'Someone Who Can' seem to be equal parts geek-out six string solo and polished to perfection. In other hands, this might feel plastic, but the skill with which they pull their sound off is nothing but authentic.
Review: Recorded in October 1997, but lost and rediscovered two decades later by digital artist Gvoon Arthur Schmidt, GVoon: Brennung 1 is one of countless gems nestling in the sound archives of the late, great Holger Czukay. Described as a "futuristic sound meditation" by remastering engineer Dirk Dresselhaus (better known as experimental electronica producer Scheider TM), the single, expansive piece was created by Czukay at a point in time when he was happily working with German techno and electronica producers (Westbam included) while exploring the potential of digital music-making and production technology. The results are typically immersive, enveloping and off-kilter, sounding as far-sighted and ahead-of-their-time as they no doubt did when the piece was originally recorded in 1997.
Review: After a period of roughly three decades, German soundtrack artist and onetime Karlheinz Stockhausen apprentice Holger Czukay shares a surprise trove of lost tapes, which are said to have been once recorded by the artist for "free disposal" and which were presumably forgotten about at the time. Now available, all of said material is said to date back to at least the 1990s, and marks the forward thinking and "ahead of its time" (as remarked by fellow producer Schneider TM) approach to cold Kraut and experimental wave that informed Czukay as he experimented freewheelingly with beatmaking while in the company of further fellows Dr. Walker and Air Liquide. Also evolving in temporal conjunction with an experimental live show involving body tracking tech, fashioned by mixed media artist Arthur Schmidt, there are implicit themes of virtual reality and haptic sound control here. Way ahead of its time indeed.
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