Prog Rock Wednesdays (Page 21 of 24)

TF this is a great group of people. Enjoyed listening to them. The drummer had  tie on and that is also a first as good  as he was too.     

Premiata Forneria Marconi    "Chi Ha Paura Della Notte"    Lugano, 2001

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZmZ5-6yZ3s

"Who's Afraid of the Dark?" from Marconi's Award-Winning Bakery, is an other track from their 1981 album 'Come Ti Va In Riva Alla Citta" (loosely translated "How You Go on the Edge of the City"). PFM is one of Italy's greatest prog bands, with perhaps only New Goblin having had as much long term success. These guys ave been bringing energy to the European prog scene since 1970, still tour regularly, and have released their most recent album (Emotional Tattoos) in October 2017. They all have that performer's spark, and really "bring it" to their live performances. Enjoy!

Jethro Tull    "Roots to Branches"    Montreux, 2003

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4SzkXJJbeR8

Here's Ian and the band performing the title track from their 1995 vinyl album release, at the Montreux Jazz Festival. The album was later re-mastered and released in CD format in 2007. The entire DVD of this concert is also available, and the whole production is very professional and well put together. The one thing all long term Tull fans were noticing was the rapid deterioration of Ian's voice, which was happening due to age, heavy smoking, and several serious throat infections. That said, this is an energetic piece with some interesting timing (notice the constant visual cues between band mates). This was JT's 19th studio album, and featured a fair bit of Arabic / Indian influence in some of the music, which they pulled off very well. It's always interesting when a musician continues to add new influences into what they write. As always, Ian's stage presence manages to add his unique flair to this performance, while delivering a very good song.

Genesis    "Squonk"    London, 1980

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrMqH5dKbJY

Here's another "fairy tale" style of song, from Genesis' 1976 album "A Trick of the Tail". The basic story is about a rather clueless hunter, who has set out to capture an elusive creature called a Squonk. The creature is known for bursting into tears when afraid, and capable of completely dissolving to water in extreme circumstances ... silly but harmless whimsy. It's a fun song to play on guitar, but very difficult to sing and play at the same time, due to some awkward timing in places. Phil Collins does an amazing job on the vocals, while beating the tar out of his tambourine. I must admit a preference for Steve Hackett's original guitar work, as opposed to Daryl Stuermer's rendering here.

TF what a talented group of people and the audience looked  very large and that sees it all. Thank you for picking them in all their glory.     

Believe    "AA"    Katowicz, Poland, 2012

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CEyzr-f8tcY

This beautiful song is taken from Believe's 2009 studio album "This Bread is Mine". Believe's founder Mirek Gil (formerly of Collage) has been a brilliant guitarist in the Polish prog rock genre for many years, and this "temporary experiment" has ended up producing 6 studio albums to date. The young singer Karol Wroblewski is just 18 years old in this video, and his voice sounds far more mature than his years. Backed by haunting violin work by Japan's Satomi Watanabe, this is from their 2012 DVD "Seeing is Believing".

Magenta    "Anger"    Real World Studio, 2010

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97Apv7p18d0

Showing their softer side, this beautiful ballad is part of Magenta's 2010 DVD release "Live at Real World", Peter Gabriel's studio in Bath, England. This song is from their 2004 studio album "Seven", a concept album about what are traditionally considered "the seven deadly sins". With the music written by Rob Reed (playing piano in this clip) it is a true masterwork of composition, featuring singer Christina Booth's wonderfully expressive voice. Since beginning in Wales in 2001, Magenta have had a prolific career (over 30 releases) which still continues. Another live album (Now We Are Seven) was released this past October. Hope you enjoy this.

Cool!     

Glass Hammer    "Further Up, Further In"    Chattanooga, 2003

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmMpTdLibws

This song is from GH's 2002 album "Lex Rex", which I suppose if there was a "Prog Gospel" category, this is where it would be filed. Even though this was now their 6th studio album, founders Steve Babb (bass guitar) and Fred Schendel (keyboards) were still having some personnel issues, with the album featuring several different guitarists. The whole album is a terrific listen, and it's a shame that this and "One King" are the only songs I can find live recordings of on YouTube. "Further Up, Further In" was performed at the Rhythm & Brews Festival in Chattanooga, Tennessee, the band's home town.

I really enjoyed the music! Very reminiscent of the late Keith Emerson in places.  Too bad the lyrics didn't come through very clearly, but until the ladies geban to sing, I thought it would be just the 4 musicians. I bet they sound awesome in person.

Question: Would you consider EL&P to have been "prog rock"?

Thanks for the shae, TF. I'm a sucker for good organ music. Well... okay... keyboards, then. I'm just a huge fan of the Hammond B3. Lugged it around enough helping to set up the band in my drumming days.

Bill

Flying Colors    "Mask Machine"    Switzerland, 2014

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZld-SJrhmg

"Flying Colors" was brought together with a unique goal in mind, i.e., to take the typically complex musical style of Prog Rock, and make it more accessible to the general public. This was to be accomplished by bringing folk and blues musicians into the mix, and performance-based songwriting which worked well on stage. So here we see an eclectic mix of musicians who did 4 albums together and extensive touring from 2012 to 2014. This concert at the Z7 in Prateln, Switzerland in 2014, was recorded using 24 cameras and some ground-breaking recording / mixing techniques, and released on DVD in 2015. Flying Colors was never intended to be a long term project, and most of the band have gone back to their respective groups and genres. But for a couple of years, they made some great music like this ... enjoy!

Well, after watching this all the way through, and keeping in mind what you wrote about Akkerman maybe having what I used to call "Blackmore's Syndrome", I came away with the impression that "Yeah, he looks like he could be one."

Is that unfair of me? After all, I don't know the guy, right? Maybe what we heard was just a rumor?

Honestly, I'm going by "body language", so let's leave it at that, but I'd like to take "Blackmore's Syndrome" a little further.

If that inability to get along was what finally did Deep Purple in, then maybe Ritchie took his time with "Blackmore's Rainbow" and found some bandmates who'd "put up" with him. I only have one album of Rainbow, and it's a Christmas album done medieval style with a painting of a scene in my hometown in Germany. I like it very much.

But back to turmoil within a band: I guess the bandmate concerned has to be so super-fantastic that his bandmates are willing to grit their teeth and give him plenty of space (both literally and figuratively speaking). Where else is this happening? One example I know of is that of the Davies brothers - Ray and Dave. They admit to it and even sing a duet called "Hatred" on one of their albums and during their shows.

But I digress. The performance was awesome and one can tell they hadn't lost any of their timing since they last played together as a band. Although Thijs may have been excited to have Jan back for this show, I think he and the band are better off having Jan as a guest only.