Discography

Grace (79) Grace Live (81) The Poet, The Piper, and the Fool (91) Pulling Strings and Shiny Things (94) Poppy (96) Gathering in the Wheat (98)

Reviews

Very simplistic neo-prog, their only CD is decent but nothing really new creatively. Very English/folk sounding, some nice melodies. For some reason they sounded much better live, more unique and sinister than their studio sound.

I've heard Grace described as Celtic prog. They're not; at least not if you want to compare them to the ranks of other prog musicians who have explored traditional Celtic music, such as Fairport Convention, Jethro Tull, Mike Oldfield, Dan Ar Braz, Alan Stivell, or Horslips. In truth, Grace plays neo-prog that sounds most similar to that played by other neo-prog bands If you like Pendragon, IQ, Galahad, Aragon, Twelfth Night, Jadis, etc., you'll probably like these guys. That said, they do have occasional passages that sound vaguely reminsicent of British folk music. So, Grace isn't just another Marillion clone, although the Marillion influence is undeniably omnipresent (especially in the keyboard- playing). The band does seem to be trying to come up with it's own distinct sound through an exploitation of folk music, although I don't think they've found it quite yet. Neither of their two albums really stands out, IMHO, but with some better song-writing, I could imagine them doing interesting things in the future. -- James Chokey

Grace's second release. Pulling Strings and Shiny Things is considerably stronger than their first offering and brings out the band's stage ability to create moods and spin stories, reminescent of Nursery Cryme-era Genesis. They also know how to rock - kinda makes you want to hop about on one leg. A thoroughly enjoyable album. Poppy is a rather disappointing album overall after the excellent Pulling Strings. Poppy is a rather apt description of this collection of 12 tracks, each 4 to 6 minutes long. The first three songs are somewhat tongue in cheek and show Grace's irritating unwillingness to take themsleves seriously which is a pity because they could be a really class act. There are some sparks of excellence in songs such as "Emily" (where lead singer Mac Austin does a creditable impersonation of Brian Ferry) and "Secret Garden" and the hallmark folk-rock rhythms are present in several tracks. Overall it might have been better though if the band had extended the work on some of the better songs (such as the one commenting on the Federal building bomb) and dispensed with the three or four rather silly fillers. -- Richard Barnes

Gathering in the Wheat (Cyclops CYCL 065) is a 1997 2-CD recording of a live-set that chronicles the career of British neo-progressive group Grace from their 1979 debut to the three albums of their second wind in the 1990s. As a recording it is raw: quality is acceptable, but the audience is very upfront and none of the long announcements and onstage banter has been edited out. Perhaps this is intended to better capture the vibrancy and humorous vibe Grace have been credited with. Certainly they have their distinguishing marks: while their basic constitution is similar to other 1980s heroes such as Twelfth Night, they have an overall uncomplicated, upbeat approach that eschews the more bombastic and melodramatic trimmings of the likes of Arena and lyrically maintains certain levity and level-headedness even when occasionally venturing into the "mythical" regions (e.g. "Mullions" and "Molly Leigh"). Their playing is good, though technical challenge is hardly its point, and in Mac Austin they have a confident singer whose melodious voice with a considerable vibrato nicely avoids the most prevalent progressive and metal stereotypes. Grace's actual hook is their "folk" influence, which comes mainly through in the use of flute, whistle and saxophone alongside keyboards and guitar, but also in the infectious chorus of "Hanging Rock" and the Jethro Tull-like flute solo break of the anthemic "The Fool", both of which owe some of their rhythms and intervals to English folk music, or the Big Country-style Celtic rock feel (march rhythms, a bagpipe-like repeating melodic motive used as a "riff") of "Rain Dance". It is a nice spice when it appears, but hardly as integral an element as sometimes advertised. In fact, even "progressiveness" sometimes seems as just one device the band call up when needed rather than an integral part of the music. It is often the kind of hackneyed cutting and pasting typical of too many neo-progressive bands where a straight-forward song is split in two with some incongruent section that serves as a temporary diversion, not as a vehicle for contrast or thematic development. The ponderous ballad "Architects of War" is a perfect example of this approach, not a bad song as such but it benefits little from the structural detours imposed upon it. Actually, in many cases the songs are just pop-rock with familiar progressive keyboard and guitar licks applied as a surface varnish, not an untypical phenomenon with neo-progressive either. Grace at least have the necessary melodic substance to allow the songs work on those terms most of the time, which certainly is untypical for many worst-of-both-worlds bands. At least I find the fanfaric art-pop of "Buccaneer" and the catchy, driving "The Square", with Genesis-like guitar arpeggios and some Gabrielics inserted in the soft A-part for good measure, more gratifying upon repeated listens than the more diagrammatically "progressive" "Mullions". So all in all, Gathering in the Wheat probably yields best results if taken as rock first, progressive second. Other way round it may strike as quite unremarkable. -- Kai Karmanheimo

Links

Click here for Grace's web site

Gracious! (70), This Is ... (71), Echo (96)

I know this will sound pretentious, but Gracious!' debut (of two) albums was probably the most progressive album that was released in 1970 (albeit VDGG, Soft Machine, and KC were close.) Why would I say this? Listen to it!

Lots of Mellotron.

A great early 70's band. Sort of psych but not much with more than a smidgeon of early Gentle Giant in there. Roger Dean did the artwork for This Is ... and it is notable in that it looks nothing like a Yes album cover! I think I prefer their debut overall, mainly for the track "Hell" which has a riff that Crimson would have been proud of. Very eclectic with great songwriting. Get their debut, you won't regret it!

Grail (71)

Prog.

Discography

Hablo de Una Tierra (75) España, Año 75 (76) Valle del Pas (78)

Reviews

Excellent Spanish progressive rock band from the mid seventies who released three albums, all that found eventual reissue on the Fonomusic label. Remind me a lot of early Iconoclasta, and of course Spanish bands like Triana or Coto En Pel. The British influences of Yes, Tull, and other Italian bands also abound.

Spanish mid-70's instrumental band, very melodic and jazz-influenced, with strong folk overtones. Occasionally they do symphonic stuff as well, but that's the exception to the rule; more often than not they sound like Spain's answer to Soft Machine with some Camel and Spanish folk thrown in. Two of their best albums España Año 75 and Valle Del Pas were reissued on 1 CD. Very worthwhile, does take a few listens though.

Espana Ano '75 is some fine fusion in the Canterbury vein. Not too impressive on first listen, but it gets better with subsequent hearings. Valle de Paz is a more symphonic offering, some tracks consisting solely of dramatic orchestral passages! They also add some Spanish folk music (but not flamenco) to their sound, using pennywhistles and gaitas (Spanish bagpipes) to create a totally original sound, not likely to be confused with anyone else. -- Mike Ohman

A spanish band very much in the vein of Iconoclasta. Strong keyboard and guitar dominated instrumentals. However where Iconoclasta presents the stronger guitar sound, Granada has more of an emphasis on keyboards.

Granada were an excellent Spanish band from the mid to late '70s, which was the hey-day for Spanish Prog. While Italy was winding down, Spain was gearing up to unleash some excellent Prog on the world. In addition to Granada, other "must haves" from this time include Gotic, Mezquita, Crack, Triana, Atila, Iceberg and Iman. I have two Granada albums, Espanda Ano 75 and Valle Del Pas. Both are excellent examples of Spanish progressive and strongly recommended. Granada's emphasis is on keyboard (including an abundance of moog and a fair amount of Mellotron) and guitar, though I'd say keyboards dominate. Sounding like a blend of fusion and symphonic ideals, I am reminded mostly of the excellent Mexican progressive band, Iconoclasta. I suppose the common cultural influences of these two bands also accounts for some of the similarity. However, there are also several classical flourishes on Espana Ano 75 ranging from string sections to oboe to xylophone and vibe. Granada jump back and forth between spacy and intensity with ease. Both of the albums I have have several shorter (4-5 minute) and a few longer (7-8) minute songs so there are no side-long epics just solid instrumentals all around. While I feel Gotic, Mezquita, Atila and Iceberg are better bands, certainly Granada ranks up there with Triana, Iman and Crack. All of these bands are essential to any symphonic collection. Definitely check them out. -- Mike Taylor

Discography

In the Middle, On the Edge (98) Tricks of Time (02)

Reviews

Grandstand - Michael Rank Jensen (guitars, vocals), Olov Andersson (keyboards, vocals), Tomas Hurtig (drums, percussion), Göran Johnsson (lead vocals, keyboards, bass, percussion) The first impression of In the Middle, On the Edge (G S E Records GSCD001) is that someone has sequenced a handful of Genesis tunes and recorded them with his MIDI workstation. Actually, what drummer Tomas Hurtig and keyboard player Olov Andersson have done is record an album of instrumental compositions full of sections that sound frighteningly like something out of various Genesis albums from around 1972 to 1981. Additional inspiration has been scoured from Rutherford's Smallcreep's Day, some of Collins' drumming from his solo work, and even Yes or Pink Floyd. Some licks do sound like they are just one note away from a plagiarism suit, but though they give lot of incentive to play the game of Name That Riff, the band don't actually seem to steal anything, just rewrite things in the spirit of the originals. Most of the time they do it well, too, with only a few places where the arrangements make you feel the mixing engineer must have accidentally muted the lead track during final mixdown. The almost completely digital instrumentation gives the album a bit shallow, home studio sound, and will certainly have the Analog Orthodoxy screaming heresy, but the sampled Mellotron tones generally work okay. All in all, I have to say I like In the Middle, On the Edge. It has no breath-taking production values and should be issued with a "No originality included in the package" sticker, but the writing is good and playing shows real enthusiasm, certainly much better than most copy bands. If you like old Genesis and can accept the aforementioned defects, then try it out. You can always put it down to guilty pleasure. The band have subsequently acquired a full-time guitarist and bassist, and do live work as well. I know they did a (surprise, surprise) Genesis tribute concert in Helsinki in 1998, with Ageness' Tommy Eriksson doing the Gabriel impersonation (minus the dress and the fox head). It would probably be a safe bet to say that their second album (not yet released when this was written) will show some Genesis influence. -- Kai Karmanheimo

Links

[See Ageness] Click here for Grand Stand's web site

Una Citta' Possibile (72)

An uninteresting rock band.

Granfalloon (89), Ca-Co-Pho-Nia (90, w/ other artists)

From Detroit, Michigan. Influences of '80s King Crimson and early Genesis.

Discography

Anakin Tumnus (02)

Reviews

Anakin Tumnus, Gratto's debut (and sole) album, is short ... only about 36 minutes in length. And that's the worst thing I can say about it! This is a spectacular release which almost never saw the light of day. The prog world would be poorer if these three long cuts had not been found, finished up and released by Chris Rodler of PMM (Progressive Music Management). Gratto is both the band's name and the keyboardist/vocalist/composer's name. Gratto was auditioning as keyboardist for Leger de Main, and this is how the Rodler brothers met up with him. They decided to not use him for Leger de Main, but continued to work with him for three years in the late '90's, eventually adding RH Factor's keyboardist Gary Madras (he plays bass on Anakin Tumnus ... keyboards were his second instrument!) as well. After three years of off-and-on composition and recording, Madras split and the group fell apart. But a tape of the sessions still existed, and was found "stuffed between last year's Christmas ornaments and discarded baby clothes" in 2001. Chris Rodler brought it to the studio and added a few finishing touches, and has now released it on his own PMM label. Listening to the album, I hear touches of Tull-like melodies, Zappa-ish polyrhythms and Gentle Giant type counterpoints (in the instruments, not the vocals) here and there, though the similarities evaporate just about as soon as you recognize them. This music isn't very derivative of anything. It's great symphonic prog with a lot of prog-metal influence from the brothers Rodler (on guitar and drums), but not so much that you think of Dream Theater (though I do occasionally think of Rush, circa 2112). The compositions are intricate, melodically and metrically complex and diverse in mood throughout. It's amazing to me that there's no synthesizers on this album (only piano and organ for keyboards), but I don't miss them a bit! Gratto's philosophical vocals, with heavy studio processing on them in most places, adds greatly to the overall story of a man who's jaded and fed up with everything. Gratto is a fan of C. S. Lewis and Neil Peart's lyrics, and these influences are readily apparent. This is a wonderful album, and especially at a mere $10.00, you should have it in your prog collection by all means. This one's going to be getting a lot of spin time on my CD player, even now that I'm done with the review. One of the most important releases of 2002, in my humble opinion. Too bad it looks like it will be a one-off album. I could definitely go for more of this. I guess I'll need to check out Leger de Main next! Though it will be missing Gratto's stamp ... -- Fred Trafton

Links

[See Leger de Main | Mythologic] Click here for Gratto info on PMM's web site, or to mail-order Anakin Tumnus Click here to order Anakin Tumnus online from Syn-Phonic Music

Gravy Train (70), The Ballad of a Peaceful Man (71), Second Birth (74), Staircase to the Day (74), The Dawn Years (??)

The flute draws the obvious Jethro Tull comparisons, and indeed, some of the music does reflect such influences, but I can't say that this band is predominantly Tull-influenced. The rhythm section is more based in early British blues with some progressive influences in the longer cuts. The vocals are also a far cry from Anderson stylings, again being more in the UK rock and roll line. Though it is the flute that draws the Tull comparisons, the style here is also non-derivative of Anderson. It's as if this band got some good ideas from Tull's This Was and decided to carry on in that tradition while Anderson and Company explored other avenues. Plenty of extended bluesy guitar jams. This early UK prog band is definitely worth a listen.

I got the opportunity to preview (A Ballad Of) A Peaceful Man, and am I ever glad I did, I might have bought it! Musically it's pretty mediocre, just bluesy rock with the odd long track and lots of flute. Sort of like Jethro Tull before they were good, but not as good. Notorious for having one of the absolute worst singers in rock history! Honestly, this guy will shred your eardrums. Other albums are said to sound like Uriah Heep, and you know what that means--stay WELL away!!! (A Ballad... is called a "classic" of British prog. Obviously their standards aren't too high. -- Mike Ohman

The Dawn Years is Japanese compilation from Staircase and Second Birth.

Feeling Gray? (72)

Ex The Trip.

[See Trip, The]

Horizons (70), The Going's Easy (70), Greatest Show on Earth (75)

Brass/Prog Rock. The self-titled album is a double LP containing both previous albums.

Discography

Kew. Rhone. (77, w/ Peter Blegvad, as Greaves-Blegvad-Herman) Accident (82) Parrot Fashions (84)

Reviews

Bassist, vocalist, keyboardist John Greaves has played with two seminal Canterbury bands: Henry Cow and National Health. Greaves' solo efforts are nothing like the work of either band, however. Kew. Rhone. is the most unusual of these, and features jazzers Andrew Cyrille on drums, Mike Mantler on trumpet, and Carla Bley on vocals. Other vocalists include Greaves, Blegvad, and Lisa Herman. Musically, Kew. Rhone. is a bit Cow-like in spots, but has a looser, jazzier feel and some of the melodies really stay with you. The lyrics, by Blegvad, are loaded with palindromes, anagrams, ironic twists and other verbal hijinx. A truly fascinating album which demands, and rewards, repeated listenings. Both of Greaves' subsequent solo albums were more accessible and poppish, albeit with many dark moments and ironic lyrical twists. Accident has a real "solo album" feel, (Greaves plays bass, guitar, keyboards and sings) with appearances by the likes of Pip Pyle, Pascale Son (Cos), Yochk'o Seffer, and Geoffrey Richardson on various cuts. Parrot Fashions continues in the twisted pop vein, but with more of a "band" sound. The band on Parrot Fashions includes Mireille Bauer (Gong), Francois Ovide (Gwendal), and Denis van Hecke (Aksak Maboul). If you are expecting music in the vein of Henry Cow, or National Health, both Accident and Parrot Fashions will disappoint. Nevertheless, both albums have their charms. -- Dave Wayne

John Greaves (ex Henry Cow), Peter Blegvad (ex Slapp Happy) and Lisa Herman put together this project [Kew. Rhone.] in 1976. Their single LP was recorded in New York with the help of Michael Mantler. The music you find here is quite similar to the former bands of Greaves and Blegvad, experimental, jazz-like rock (British RIO) with strange female singing of Herman (a bit like Dagmar Krause) and some Canterbury influences. Michael Mantler's trumpet is clearly a nice addition, so that I dare to say that every friend of Henry Cow, Slapp Happy or Art Bears will like this one very much. -- Achim Breiling

Links

[See Blegvad, Peter | Henry Cow | Slapp Happy | Michael Mantler | National Health]

Discography

The first albums from 1969-90 were all released on LP. Re-released on CD as shown Grechuta & Anawa (69) Korowód (71, re-released on CD 1991) Droga za widnokres (73, re-released on CD 1991 & 1993) Magia Obloków Pronit (74) Supraphon (74)[Supraphon may be the record label, not the album title, in which case the album is simply Grechuta & Anawa] Szalona Lokomotywa (76) Piesni do slów Tadeusza (80) Spiewajace Obrazy (81) W Malinowym Chrusniaku (81) Wiosna, Ach To Ty (86) Krajobraz Pelen Nadziei (88, re-released on CD 1991) Ocalic od Zapomnienia (90, re-released on CD 1991) From here on, these are CD releases Zlote Przeboje (90) Dziesiec Waznych Slów (93) Jeszcze Pozyjemy (94) Zlote Przeboje 2 (98) Zlota Kolekcja (99) Serce (01) Piosenki Dla Dzieci I Rodziców (01)

Reviews

Marek Grechuta Marek Grechuta is one of the most appreciated artists on a Polish music scene. He worked out so good reputation among music journalists and critics that nobody dares to criticize him. I think that Grechuta fully deserves regard which is given to him. He is a very talented and versatile artist - he writes music and lyrics, sings and paints. And all what he do is up to scratch. His music is an unusual, magic prog rock with a jazz influence (violin and piano improvisations) and poetical aura. Grechuta is so unique that it's hard to find similar artists. Generally I recommend him to all jazz-rock fans, from Frank Zappa through Mahavishnu Orchestra to Soft Machine. I must warn you against choosing a bad album to start with Grechuta. There is a strong DANGER of such mistake in case of this artist, because some of his albums are dominated by poetry not music (so knowledge of Polish is needed). If we reject mentioned albums, only three essential records remains. I mean Korowod, Magia Oblokow and Droga za widnokres. All of them are great but in my opinion Magia Oblokow is the best - most jazzy and most powerful. -- Pawel Annonim

Links

Click here for a Marek Grechuta discography

Strings And Pottery (90)

Norwegian ethnic music duo, some of the tracks are upbeat, others are very low key - almost new agey. Reminds me of some of the early 80's Shadowfax albums, or the new Ragnarok. Interesting but nothing to get excited about.

Behind (90)

Very poppy french neo-prog band. Some good moments, but usually too commercial and mainstream for my tastes. Like some of the later Atoll albums (Rock puzzle, Ocean) but with neo-influences.

Discography

Greenslade (73, recorded in 1972) Bedside Manners Are Extra (73) Spyglass Guest (74) Time and Tide (75) Live (00, Live, recorded in 1973-75) Large Afternoon (00) Greenslade 2001 - Live (01, Live 4-track promo CD) Greenslade 2001 - Live The Full Edition (02, Live 12-track CD)

Reviews

Dave Greenslade, the leader of the group that bears his name, was the keyboardist for the ProgressiveBluesJazzRock band Colosseum, each of whose members went on to subsequent high-quality projects. Greenslade was the most oriented toward the budding symphonic-progressive style, and eventually produced five releases. Four of these have now been issued on Japanese CD, and cover the group's output very well. The self-titled album was recorded in late 1972, and is very representative of the organ/guitar dominated UK progressive rock of that period, comparable to bands such as Fields, Cressida, etc. The accent on Greenslade's organ-work also brings to mind The Nice. This, and the next release, Bedside Manners Are Extra, had sleeves drawn by Roger Dean. Bedside Manners Are Extra was released in late 1973, and featured a more polished style and a more visible Mellotron presence (always a big seller with me!). The next year, Greenslade released Spyglass Guest, carrying on in the spirit of Bedside Manners Are Extra, with the classical symphonic progressive rock style, with Dave Greenslade borrowing his keyboard/organ solo styles from ELP (Keith Emerson). Certain passages are slightly "jazzier" in nature, yet the overall effect is well within the confines of "rock." The fourth release, Time And Tide, released in 1975, was their most accessible work, featuring shorter compositions, yet maintaining the melodic sensibilities of their prior output.

One thing I noticed immediately about Greenslade's first album were Dave Lawson's shrill, whiny, strained vocals. Ooh boy, this is going to be difficult, I thought. Fortunately, there is some fine music here. Naturally, the instrumental passages are the best, and being frequent enough to make the album bearable. The dual keyboards are somewhat ELP/Egg influenced but original, consisting mostly of Hammond organ, Mellotron, and various electric and acoustic pianos. No guitar, but multi-tracked bass on a few tracks (most notably the instrumental "Melange") makes an excellent substitute. Ex-King Crimson/Fields drummer Andrew McCullough does some good percussion work here. "Sundance" is a great instrumental. -- Mike Ohman

I've been a fan of Greenslade's work since Bedside Manners Are Extra (and Dave Greenslade's solo album Cactus Choir, so I was both excited and skeptical when I heard that he had reformed the band for a reunion in 2000. How would it stack up against the old Greenslade stuff? Dave Greenslade and former Greenslade bassist Tony Reeves recruited a new keyboardist, John Young and set about creating a new Greenslade album, Large Afternoon. This was a critical success, so they took the band out on a small tour. The performance for the Classic Rock Society in 2001 was recorded and became two different live albums, Greenslade 2001 - Live and Greenslade 2001 - Live The Full Edition. The former is a four-cut promo CD, while the latter is a 12-cut full-length CD that contains the bulk of the entire evening's performance. Both versions (at the time of this writing) are available for sale on keyboardist John Young's web site. I've heard only the promo version. I would say this is a pretty good recording of some pretty good pieces. The new stuff from Large Afternoon is represented by "Cakewalk", then a waltz down memory lane with "Feathered Friends" from Greenslade and "Joie De Vivre" from Spyglass Guest. The final piece is a new composition, "Wherever I Go", which has not been released on a studio album yet. I only say this is "pretty good" because the pieces all sound a bit more Muzak than I remember Greenslade to be. Just a little too easy-listening, if you know what I mean. The musicianship is all superb, and newcomer John Young does a great job replacing John Lawson on both keyboards and vocals. Still, it left me wanting something. Even so, I enjoyed this CD. It's great to hear the old tunes being played again in the new millenium, and hopefully Greenslade has more in store for us on a few new studio albums, and as I've said before, I've mellowed a bit with age myself. If I need something more brash, I'll spin up Dream Theater or something. If I want to mellow out to some complex yet easy to listen to music, this CD would be more in tune. -- Fred Trafton

R&B-influenced, high energy progressive group, similar to Fields in style. In my own mind, one of the best prog groups ever. They were formed in '72 by ex-Colosseum / ex-Wes Minster Five members Dave Greenslade and Tony Reeves. To the lineup was added ex-Web / ex-Samurai Dave Lawson and ex-King Crimson / ex-Fields Andrew McCulloch. The lineup was thus: Dave Greenslade (organ and other keyboards), Tony Reeves (basses and double bass), Dave Lawson (miscellaneous keyboards and vocals), and Andrew McCulloch (drums and additional percussion). The group dynamics included the two Daves dueling on the keyboard work, Dave G and Tony's brilliant interplay setting the groundwork for Andrew's remarkable fills, and Dave L's warlock-ish vocals riding over the amazingly strong rhythm section. The keyboards most prominently used in the group's first period (1972-5) were organ, piano (electric and acoustic), ARP synth and clavinet, while their second period (2000-present) relies on the Korg Trinity and DX7. Their stuff focuses mainly on instrumental work. Contrary to what is sometimes said elsewhere, Dave Greenslade is NOT, and has never been, the leader of Greenslade. The focus is on group performance, and on most of the albums the arrangments were done by the group as a whole. Greenslade, Bedside Manners Are Extra and Time and Tide are to my ears among the best albums in the annals of music. Greenslade is a work of immense beauty, from the post-apocalyptic "Feathered Friends" with its breath-taking intro and searing mellotron solo, to the 9-minute "Sundance" which, from its perfectly beautiful and peaceful beginning moves into an rhythm-and-blues onslaught that overwhelms the senses yet remains perfectly unpretentious. Though 5 of the 7 tracks are Dave G compositions, one of the best is a Tony-conceived suite titled "Melange". "Melange" smoothly transists from mood to mood, sporting unbelievable bass, percussion, and keyboard work before climaxing in the album's emotional apex. Dave Lawson's "What Are You Doin' to Me" is one of the two weaker tracks -- which doesn't say much. It sports the dark and witty music and lyrics that are Dave L's trademark style. Superb drumming and bass solos, and the quirky ending, save the day for the track. "Drowning Man" is a phenomenal gothic tune filled with emotional instrumental pieces alternating between some of Dave G's strongest solos. Bedside Manners Are Extra is in a darker mode. Dave L's vocals were often poorly handled on Greenslade; here, they are pure genius and well reflect the spirit of the album. Every track is a classic. "Bedside Manners Are Extra" is a piece of outwardly soft and beautiful harmonies with sinister undertones. "Pilgrim's Progress" is an epic roller coaster bouncing from ecstasy to vicious fury, while "Time to Dream" is a timeless chunk of pure, diabolical evil that permeates everything from the unnatural pounding on the organ to the dark lyrics to the Dave G clavinet solo that seems to overflow with madness. An eastern styled finish brings it to a malicious close. "Drum Folk" has two minutes of drum solos in surprisingly good taste and a lengthy organ solo that is unmatched, thanks largely to the bass and drums support. "Sunkissed You're Not" is Dave L's best composition for Greenslade, dominated by fascinating ARP work and augmented by top-notch bass. Tony's "Chalkhill", surely one of the most beautiful instrumentals ever, finishes the album on a bright note with a R&B style cadenza that is pure fun. The two Daves really shine with the solos. Spyglass Guest is the weakest; it seems the two Daves were having trouble collaborating and the group was using sessionists. It also features an inordinate number of Dave L compositions. One of the better pieces is Dave G's "Spirit of the Dance", based on an Irish jig. Tony and Andrew play brilliantly, and the final two minutes (which, curiously, are omitted from live performances) contains lovely electric piano work. The best piece, however, is the religious epic "Joie De Vivre". The group collaborates brilliantly in the cadenza to create a work of energy as well as beauty. Dave G also contributes an irregular, heavily classical instrumental, "Melancholic Race". Dave L gives some interesting vocals and melodies on his "Little Red Fry-Up"; however his other songs are more mellow and not up to the Greenslade standard. The album's still worth getting if you're a Greenslade fan. At this point Tony left the group and was replaced by ex-Mandrake Paddlesteamer songwriter/guitarist Martin Briley. Though no one could ever replace Tony, Martin handled the transition from guitar to bass with remarkable gusto. He also added some excellent guitar playing and decidedly odd backing vocals. Time and Tide saw Greenslade regain the group unity that they had lost on Spyglass Guest. The (music-Dave G/lyrics-Dave L) team returns, and though Dave G appears on neither of Dave L's compositions, the album has the feel of a group effort rather than a collection of recordings. Though by far their shortest album, it is certainly one of their best. The focus is much more on the compositions. In that department Dave G pulled through and then some, while Dave L produced an interesting, now-melancholy-but-now-pained-but-now-fearful, keyboard-oriented effort called "Doldrums". At 5 minutes, "Catalan" is the only song longer than 3:30, and is the album's high point: a fast-paced, surrealistic instrumental with an intense clavinet solo. "Waltz For a Fallen Idol" features Dave L's best vocals ever, while Dave G handles both keyboard instruments: beautiful electric piano and a tear-jerking crummer stringman solo. This bitter and clever lament is joined at the hip to "The Ass's Ears", a swiftly flowing and brilliantly composed piece with mind-blowing organ, guitar and percussion work. None of the songs on Live are quite as phenomenal as their originals, with the exception of certain parts of "Red Light" and "Spirit of the Dance". Yet they are all quite interesting, in particular "Bedside Manners Are Extra" and "Sundance '74". The latter is almost an entirely different song from the original; it is Greenslade at their most relaxed and unpredictable. After breaking up in '75, Greenslade was finally reunited in 2000 and recorded their first album [Large Afternoon] in 25 years. It is rather disappointing that only half of the original members made it to the reunion; however, while Andrew McCulloch's absence is an inconsolable loss, Dave L has found a fresh and exciting replacement in ex-Asia / ex-Qango keyboardist John Young. The new lineup was Dave Greenslade (synthesizers), Tony Reeves(bass), and John Young (synthesizers and vocals). On the album, mixer Chris Cozens provided drums (mostly electronic). John Trotter (ex-Manfred Mann's Earth Band) took the drum seat for the subsequent tours but left in 2002. The album itself is disappointing in ways. The bass is produced at a cruelly low volume, the drum machine is a bitter letdown after Andrew McCulloch, the relative lack of variety of keyboards results in a somewhat slick and occasionally over-extravagant synth sound, the mood is overly optimistic, and all 47 minutes is written by Dave G -- no Tony Reeves or John Young compositions whatsoever. Still, there are plenty of highlights. In particular, "Large Afternoon" (an elegantly composed and dramatic instrumental with a number of movements, each enlighteningly emotional) and "On Suite" (a lengthy, punchy, powerful work) make it clear that Greenslade have plenty of creative steam left, even if "Lazy Days" and "Anthems" are boring filler, and "In the Night" is almost absurdly old-fashioned. Falling neatly in the middle are clever instrumentals like "Cakewalk" and the hauntingly beautiful vocals and piano on "No Room-But a View"(excellent lyrics by Dave). John Young's vocals are much more gentle and profound and less reckless than Dave Lawson's, qualities that make him both better and worse as a vocalist. His keyboards are more intense and ambiguous, and less quirky-same comment. Large Afternoon can be tentatively recommended to fans of modern prog. The Live 2001 album, I am sad to say, should be avoided by all but obsessed Greenslade fans. The group has always been stronger in the studio than live, and from what I've seen, the album captures one of their weaker performances. Rather than get the album, I suggest you go see them live yourself. They have added material onto songs such as "Catalan" and "Joie de Vivre", and on the whole their shows are quite an experience. Though usually classified as "elitist", for those who can appreciate Greenslade's work, the stuff is 80% fun and 95% genius. Highly recommended for those who think they might enjoy highly complex, r&b-influenced prog. If you like more sadistic stuff like King Crimson or Air Conditioning-era Curved Air, try something from the early period (preferably one of the first two albums). If you feel you need something more soothing, start with Large Afternoon. -- Robert Orme

Links

[See Asia | Colosseum | Fields | Greenslade, Dave | King Crimson | Samurai | Stackridge | Web, The | Young, John] Click here for Greenslade's page on Mystic Records, where you can order Large Afternoon, or Live (the 2000 release of the '70's band) Click here to order either version of the Greenslade 2001 - Live CD

Discography

Cactus Choir (76) Pentateuch of the Cosmogony (79, 2LP & art book) From the Discworld (94) Going South (99)

Reviews

I can't believe nobody in previous GEPR entries has ever commented upon Dave Greenslade's 1979 release with artist and fantasy writer Patrick Woodroffe named Pentateuch of the Cosmogony. This is one of the classic albums of the '70's, a double concept album packaged with a 50ish-page LP-size book of incredible artwork. I've heard that this was re-released on CD in a box set, but somehow a CD-size version of the book just ain't going to cut it. If you can ever get your hands on this, it's a treat for both your eyes and ears, though I've heard it's now a "minor collectible", so it probably won't be cheap. Used copies on the Gemm web site go from $30.00 to $65.00 depending on condition (and seller whim). -- Fred Trafton

Famed keyboardist/songwriter of Greenslade, Colosseum, the Wes Minster Five, and the Thunderbirds. Though his solo work is usually considered in the same breath as Greenslade's, this is a misconception. While his debut includes both Greenslade logos on the cover and has Tony Reeves on bass on half of the songs, the content is completely different. As a solo artist, Dave has largely abandoned the R&B influences of Greenslade and switched from using mainly organ and electric pianos to a vast assortment of synthesizers, creating an intensely surrealistic sound that dominates his albums. His debut, Cactus Choir, is his solo magnum opus. This one is loaded with endlessly imaginative atmospheres that create a brilliantly surreal soundscape; the Roger Dean cover actually gives you a pretty good sense of what the interior is like. Dave doesn't rely on all style with no substance, however. He dishes out everything from waltzes to classical to blues and throws in odd rhythms, fascinating progressions, and other surprises. My personal favorite tracks are "Country Dance", which shows an amazing variety of sounds and incredible riffs on just clavinet and electric piano, and "Swings and Roundabouts" with its weird ups and downs and mysterious percussion finale; but this is one of those albums where everyone has their favorite, and there are no throwaway tracks. After Cactus Choir, Dave's solo albums are all instrumental concept albums, and get progressively worse. Penateuch of the Cosmogomy, while much less aesthetically pleasing than Cactus Choir, is a monumental triumph of surrealism. Though Dave apparently didn't know when to stop (the last three songs are boring throwaways), most of the album is quite good. Phil Collins and John Livingston each play percussion on a few tracks and Dave throws in some church organ and even tubular bells, but all 21 tracks are unquestionably synth-dominated. The vast majority are 3 or 4 minutes long, and while there are three lengthy pieces ("Three Brides", "Mischief", and "Miasma Generator"), there are none that go past 6 minutes long. Highlights are "Three Brides" with its classical tones, complexities, and smooth transitions; the breathtaking surreal beauty of "The Minstrel"; the religious ballad "Baracole"; the poignant "Lament For the Sea"; and the intense "Miasma Generator". Though the album suddenly dies after climaxing in "Miasma Generator", it's well-worth getting for the lover of rich and imaginative synthesizer explorations. I've only heard snippets of From the Discworld, so I can't say much about it. It seems to be worse than Penateuch, but still better than Going South. The latter is a concept album following the adventures of a flock of birds in their desperate quest to reach the warm south before winter falls, and is entirely written, arranged, and produced by Dave. Except for the latter, this is not unusual for Dave, but except for piano on 3 songs, the album was recorded using only synthesizers. It's almost unquestionable that Going South is a pretty lousy album, Dave's worst. It's frankly boring and stretches for a band sound when all that's available is a few keyboards. But a close listen reveals that the album is rife with excellent riffs, and that the problem is misdirection, not lack of talent or motivation. For that reason, I would actually recommend this album to fans of Dave G. There are even a few highlights on the album: "Going South" is an interesting composition with some great solos, "Crane Dance" is a surprisingly aggressive tune, and "Piano Flamingo" is an old-fashioned jazz piece dominated by a spectacular piano solo. The best tune, however, is the finale, "South Revisited". It flips between eerie tones and swirlings and hopeful riffs, then breaks into another distinctive Dave Greenslade solo with some lovely piano. On the whole, though, Dave's genius as a composer has only been finally put to good use again in the reformed Greenslade. It is pretty obvious that a solo career was never in Dave Greenslade's destiny, and he himself seemed rather uncomfortable with the idea. Despite that, however, his first two albums are excellent and are recommended, especially to fans of the surreal. Anyone who doesn't like keyboard-oriented prog should shy away from his work, however, and Greenslade and Colosseum fans are not advised to buy his solo albums for the sole reason of his membership in those groups (if you must blindly pick one up, though, go for Cactus Choir). -- Robert Orme

Links

[See Colosseum | Greenslade | Fields ] Click here for Dave Greenslade's page on Mystic Records, where you can order Going South

Cold Cuts (71)

[See Khan]

Cities In Fog (85), Places Of Motility (86), Timbral Planes (87), Changing Skies (89?), Ear-rational Compilation (90?), Crossing Ngoli (91?, W/Angus), Lost Terrain (92), In Another Place (93)

Ambient ala Eno, but darker.

Discography

Songs of Leaving (93, EP) Further On (94) Eventide (97) Painted Pictures (98) One Day Soon (98, Live) If I Was (00, EP) A Little Voodoo (02) Grey Eye Glances Live (03, Live)

Reviews

Grey Eye Glances - Dwayne Kieth (keys/vocals), Eric O'Dell (bass), Jennifer Nobel (guitar/vocals), Brett Kull (guitar) and Paul Ramsey (drums) Grey Eye Glances is a folk-rock band formed in the early '90's with guitarist/vocalist Jennifer Nobel, keyboardist/vocalist Dwayne Keith and bassist Eric O'Dell. They were quite literary, and chose to play mostly at Border Books stores. They recorded their 1993 EP Songs of Leaving to sell at shows, and followed up with Further On in 1994. Here they would have languished in obscurity (at least as far as an entry in the GEPR is concerned), except that they were then joined by then-ex-Echolyn members Brett Kull (guitars) and Paul Ramsey (drums), with whom they released their subsequent albums. Kull and Ramsey continue to perform and record with Grey Eye Glances even though Echolyn is once again together. -- Fred Trafton

Links

[See Always Almost | Echolyn] Click here for Grey Eye Glances' web site

Discography

The Crime (94) Another review Forces (95) Live - The Official Bootleg (97, Live, Limited edition of 497) Fear (97) Another Review The Time Of Our Lives (98) Star-Crossed (01)

Reviews

Grey Lady Down 2001 - Sean Spear (bass), Phill Millichamp (drums), Julian Hunt (guitars), Mark Westworth (keyboards) and Martin Wilson (vocals) These guys are a newer band on the UK scene, frequently opening for bands like Jadis and Pendragon, and have recently release their first album. The sound centers around the keyboard of Louis David. He only uses a few boards, mostly analog, which, along with the unpolished production, can evoke an 80's retro sound to my ears. However, they probably weren't on a huge budget. David also makes some use of some analog type sequences on a couple songs for a unique flavor. He also makes frequent use of the Mark Kelly sawtooth type Minimoog sound. Julian Hunt provides able guitars, making good use of effects, and the warm distortion rhythm guitar used by Andy Latimer and Nick Barrett. The drummer seems capable. The bassist? I have no idea, as there is not much low end. The vocalist is a pleasant suprise. One is that he has a great voice and two is not trying to be a Fish or Gabriel clone, which ruins the originality of many a band. In fact his vocal stylings have more in common with Michael Sadler of Saga. The opening track, 12:02 starts out with a rousing minimoog type line reminiscent of "Market Square Heroes." Mostly an upbeat and positive tune, it makes a good opener, but stronger material is yet to come. In the middle of the tune, the guitarist uses some wah-wah rhythm, which to my ears sound a little funny. But maybe that's just me. "All Join Hands" starts out with a cool arpeggiator/sequenced line which drives the song, with a Pendragonish Chorus. I like this song a lot. The third track, "Thrill of it All," starts out with a Greg Lakeish acoustic guitar bit, with the first part of the tune being an acoustic ballad. After the second chorus, the singer hangs on a note, and it kicks into a 3/4 Marillion type feel (like the feel on "Garden Party") with an analog lead driving the track. It then switches into a psuedo-reggae(!) type feel, then returns to the "Garden Party" type feel and eventually fades out. Another good tune. "The Ballad of Billy Grey" is the first of the "epic" tunes. It opens with another cool analog type of sequence with some long filter sweeps, then kicks into gear. This track has a slightly darker feel than the previous ones. Another Kelly type analog lead sets up the tune, which settles into a Marillionesqe minor chord progression ( like "He Knows You Know"). Three verses follow in this format, gradually building and adding more orchestration. The latter part of the tune kicks into more of an upbeat Pendragonish feel. A very satisfying tune. "Circus of Thieves" opens with a delay guitar line, with keyboards coming in with a Clive Nolan-like lick (whatever that means). This tune sounds like it would be at home on Pendragon's The Jewel. Next comes "Annabel," which a little more rockish at the start. It then contrasts this with a softer verse going into a Pendragon-like chorus. The closing track, "The Fugitive" is the other longer epic track, which is another great tune. It opens with just an eight note keyboard figure and simple drums, then moves into a Pendragon type chord progression. After repeating this figure, it states the main keyboard theme driven by the rhythm guitar. I am reminded of Saga here. Great feel. It settles down into a slower verse without rhythm, like a slower Jadis tune. It picks up with another great minimoog type line again. Mark Kelly fans who miss his use of Minimoog will sure appreciate this. The slower verse then returns, followed by a dramatic Genesis-like section. This eventually segues back into the beginning feel of driving rhythm guitar and keyboards carrying out to the end. Although these guys are not overly complex, I found the music to be very satisfying. Their main influences seem to be the bands I have mentions, but combine that with some of their own traits to have a sound to their own. As this is a debut album, perhaps for future releases they can continue to diversify themselves and get some better production (can we hear the bass next time?). That could certainly put them over the top. -- Alan Mallery

Grey Lady Down had evidently split up or taken a long hiatus before returning with a "new debut" album in 2001, Star-Crossed. I hadn't heard any of this band before, but with the wildly differing opinions I heard about them on the Internet, I wanted to hear some to decide for myself. So I contacted them and requested their newest CD for review in the GEPR, which they were kind enough to send me. Star-Crossed is, in my opinion, an excellent album in the vein of what many seem to call "neo-prog". As I've said in other reviews, I don't really get this whole "neo vs. not-neo" prog thing, but most proggers seem to feel that "neo" stands for "not excessively ornate". If so, then calling GLD "neo" seems unfair ... the complexity of these cuts is pretty high, though they are all relatively accessable in their tone. No blasts of dissonant Univers Zero noisiness or huge quantities of notes played at 200 miles an hour. Instead, these are songs, melodic, symphonic and hard-driving with loads of good keyboards and guitars. The emphasis is on composition and ensemble rather than being particularly flashy. I wasn't certain at first whether or not I liked vocalist Martin Wilson's voice, but on repeated listenings I've decided I like his style a lot. This is good, since the music is pretty vocal heavy. His style sounds a bit like Fish or Gabriel, and he has that breathy, tremulous, gravelly, "almost out of tune but not quite" sound like these two. It took me a little getting used to, but now that I have I'm enjoying it. He always sings all by himself with no vocal harmonies at all. The other gripe I've heard about this band is that they're "derivative" and "unoriginal". It's true that they use a lot of studio techniques that will remind you of other famous prog bands. The attack-suppressed electric guitars and acoustic guitar picking will remind you of Steve Hackett and Anthony Phillips respectively. The distorted Hammond sounds like Emerson and the synth solos sound like Banks. There's even a song ("Shattered") that has a muted echo slapback guitar intro that will remind you of Pink Floyd. Yeah, so what? You're in pretty darn good company if you can sound like these guys and do it convincingly, and Grey Lady Down pulls it off quite well in my estimation. There's nothing startlingly new here, but it sounds comfortably progressive and it rocks with the best of them. I can recommend Star-Crossed with no hesitation. I still haven't heard any of their earlier albums. -- Fred Trafton

Links

Click here for the Grey Lady Down web site

Grime (79)

Grime were a French band similar to Ange, Mona Lisa, and the like, for the dramatic nature of their presentations, both vocally and musically, though I detect an additional influence from UK groups of the mid-seventies, including Greenslade and Genesis. The CD contains six live bonus tracks.

Grime was a French art rock band formed in the mid-seventies. Intended for sale at their concerts, their first and only album was a privately released limited edition LP of 1000 copies. Consequently Grime received very little notice in the press and outside France. Now thirteen years later this Musea CD reissue contains their original LP Grime with six live bonus songs recorded at the "Panespo Club" in Neufchatel, Switzerland on 12 December 1981. Conceived as a concept album, Grime tells the story of a man on a subway who discovers that he can no longer get off. After falling asleep he awakes and looks outside to find the train stranded on a beach. This confusion between dream and reality is the departure for a musical odyssey to worlds of the fantastic. In the end the man wakes to find that he is still on the train in the same dull world. Grime was Didier Morando: drums, percussion, and vocals; Thierry Duval: keyboards, and lead vocals; Nick Vicente: bass, piano, and vocals (studio); Didier Duval: 6 and 12 string guitars, acoustic guitar, and vocals; Marc Nion: alto sax, flute, vocals, and sketches; and Michel Munier: bass (live). Didier Duval chose Grime as their name because in Greek theater it signifies an actor made up as an old man. This image intrigued Didier and he tried to incorporate it in their live performances. Grime's music is an example of French progressive rock with a subtle blending of poetry, music, and theater. Their music is a mixture of complex melodies, vocals, and instrumentation similar to other popular contemporary progressive bands: Camel, Genesis, H. P. Lovecraft, King Crimson, Le Orme, and Supertramp. Only the brutal opening song "Cauchemar" (Nightmare) stands apart from the rest of the music. This punk influenced song opens with French shouting representing the trapped man's awareness of his dilemma. The live music recorded 2 years later documents their growth as musicians and as a band. Grime's music is great. They give good sax but no violins! I commend Musea for resurrecting this lost masterpiece from obscurity.

Fool's Mate (70)

Features Carol Grimes (vocals), Phil Miller (guitar), Steven Miller (piano), Pip Pyle (drums), Roy Babbington (bass) and Lol Coxhill (saxophones). Said to be a great early prog jazz-rock album with excellent lyrics and singing.

[See Ayers, Kevin | Caravan | Coxhill, Lol | Gong | Hatfield and the North | Matching Mole | Nucleus | Soft Machine]

Discography

Autumn Flowers (91, Cassette only) Exotic Blend (91) Grimskunk (94) Meltdown (96) Autumn Flowers - Rerolled (97, re-recorded version of 1991 release, on CD this time) Fieldtrip (98) EP 2000 (00, 4-song EP, limited edition of 3000) Seventh Wave (02)

Reviews

Grimskunk - Franz Schüller, Joe Evil, Peter Edwards, Alain VadeBoncoeur, Marc St-Maurice They sing in French and English. A lot of their stuff sounds like Jethro Tull circa Passion Play or Il Balleto di Bronzo. They also do some searing thrash metal (but then again, so does Happy Family) and even a ska number or two now and then. I'd love to find out what they are like live. -- Kenneth Newman

This unique band from Montreal is famous in Quebec for their impressive live performances (they actually sound better in show then on disc). They give LOTS of shows all across the province. They have a very eclectic sound and are difficult to categorize. Their music is kinda punk, kinda metal, kinda ska ... but with 70's keyboards omnipresent. Albums like Meltdown and Seventh Wave are definitely not progressive, and really not my cup of tea, but the other albums all contain some progressive influences, especially the self-titled Grimskunk, which is, in my opinion, their very best work. You have to give this one a spin! It has an epic feel to it, but never overdone or pretentious, with killer songs "Circle Square Triangle", "Watchful Elms" (what a masterpiece!) and "Bach in the Moors of Mars". Grimskunk is quite hard to compare to other bands, but I guess it has some elements of Liquid Tension Experiment, Deep Purple, and Uriah Heep (there's even a cover of "Look at yourself" on Grimskunk). At times Franz Schüller's singing is somewhat reminiscent of Peter Gabriel's in early Genesis, but that's a long shot ... Joe Evil's keyboards and organ playing is furiously fast, the drummer, Alain VadeBoncoeur, is very strong and almost flawless, and the two guitars do their job (the accent is really put on the organ). Plus the singers (Franz Schüller and Joe Evil) have great voices and a good sense of rhythm. The lyrics are also interesting. Grimskunk has an epic yet modern sound that any progressive adept must hear. On other albums, check out these songs: "La Légende d'Overhead", "Rhinocéros" and "Vikings" on Autumn Flowers; "Nursery Rhyme" on Exotic Blend; "Overture in E Minor" and "Colorblind" on Meltdown; "Mahmoud's Dream" and "Ya Basta!" on Field Trip. The rest is not bad, but not really progressive. If you have only one album to buy go for Grimskunk's Grimskunk; download the song "Watchful Elms" and you'll see what I mean. -- Mathieu Melançon

Links

Click here for Grimskunk's web site in both French and English

As the World Grits (93, recorded '72-'76), Rare Birds (97, recorded 76)

Because this band follows the vocal verse-chorus format, it can't really be described as "progressive." But let's cast off those restrictive prog criteria for a moment and look at what's really going on here. Yes, this is a band that tried (hard) to "make it." Too bad they did it with thoughtful, intricate songs and flawless musicianship, or they might have "made it" after all. Grits created a cerebral jamming sound combined with extremely personal, savagely bitter, and often hilarious lyrics. Imagine Flo and Eddie-era Mothers crossed with Crown of Creation-period Jefferson Airplane, and you should have a good idea what this album sounds like. Yet this comparison is far from superficial: Tom Wright's guitar work emulates Zappa yet becomes his own; Amy Taylor's vocals recall Grace Slick, but the feelings and nuances expressed are hers alone. Composer and keyboardist Rick Barse reveals himself as an eloquent yet tortured artist. For what this album lacks in complexity or unorthodoxy, it makes up for with guts and sincerity.

Grobschnitt (72), Ballermann (74), Jumbo (75), Rockpommel's Land (77), Solar Music Live (78), Merry Go Round (79), Volle Molle (80), Illegal (81), Razzia (82), plus several more during the 80's

Grobschnitt had many elements that made them so special - a great dual guitar sound, good keyboards, and a strange drummer/effects man (Eroc) who brought an element of silliness and humor to the group (one of the things that made Gong so fascinating in their heyday.) Their first five albums are all classics and are for various different reasons. Deriving from early seventies space rock and the best of Santana, Grobschnitt's first album (self- titled) is a fantastic album that builds and releases tension in style and may be one of my personal favorites (I am a huge Santana fan - this band is way too overlooked in progressive circles.) A change of style into more symphonic realms occured on their double second (reissued on 1 CD) Ballermann which featured one record of varying length symphonic songs and one record that contains the cosmic suite "Solar Music" Maybe their least immediately accessible album, subsequent listens reveal this album's majesty. Moving to a more "accessible" sound on their third LP Jumbo, Grobschnitt moved into the realms of Yes-styled symphonic progressive while remaining very German. Funny voices (by Eroc) permeate the album on the minute long cuts which balance the epics (especially "The Excursion of Father Smith") quite well. A German version of this album exists as well. Maybe the one Gibraltar readers will like the most is the band's fourth, Rockpommel's Land that moves even closer into the Yes realms, featuring a beautiful Roger Dean-styled cover. Four tracks here, including a 20 minute same-titled, epic, this concept album is basically about a young boy and a hugebird (the maraboo) that consistently helps him and bails him out of trouble. This album is also very symphonic and has more of a keyboard presence than the first three. In my opinion, a landmark in space/cosmic rock is Grobschnitt's fifth, a live rendition of the classic "Solar Music" from Ballermann - Solar Music Live. This album is almost wall-to-wall guitar solos that shimmer and glide along a space rock backdrop - absolutely amazing music. I haven't bothered to find any of these guys later albums - sources say they fall short of these five - but their sixth Merry Go Round can't be much worse than Solar Music Live can it? Rockpommel's... and SML have both been reissued on CD as well as Ballermann and are all musts. I hope to see the first and third get the same treatment.

This classic Germand band produced a long string of great and not-so-great albums during the 70's and early 80's. Their sound is characterized by fairly original overall style, colorful melodies, and a very unique lead voice. Most of their albums have some bizarre clowning-around on them. Lyrics are sometimes in german, sometimes in english, but never mixed on the same album. Jumbo comes in both english and german versions. Rockpommels, Ballermann and Jumbo are three of the more dynamic, colorful and typically progressive of their albums. Solar Music is a more spacey and experimental live album. Illegal and Merry Go Round are mixed bags, both with a somewhat harder edged sound, and both get very strange at times. Their second live album Volle Molle pretty much sucks all around, and their first album is classic german hard rock, not all that progressive. The indespensible ones are Ballermann and Rockpommel's Land.

German band which seems to have been *very* symphonic, and of the worst pretentious kind. At least their Rockpommel's Land is of that kind and is no fun at all. On their 1981 effort Razzia they are, like so many other bands, oriented towards more straighter rock is much better. (It's not straight without a twist, though.) Although you'd better not know German when you listen to "Wir wollen leben."

Excellent, sometimes kooky German band. Comparable to Yes in many ways, my favorite is Solar Music Live which is one power break after another. "Solar..." reminds me a lot of Steve Howe's solo in "Yours is No Disgrace" from YesSongs - except it's about 40 minutes longer. Great stuff.

Grobschnitt were one of the crop of German bands that fell into the Krautrock category, mixing progressive rock influences with improvisational elements and humour to create a very compelling brand of music. The irreverence was evident in their music, but not at the cost of technical and compositional proficiency. All the musicians were masters of their instruments, and created cohesive albums that showcased their talents. Ballermann is a prime example of this music. Recorded in 1974, it featured keyboard/guitar-based progressive rock delivered with intensity, but interspersed with quiet, melodic passages, and anchored by the drumming of Joachim Ehrig (Eroc), who went on to further fame with his solo releases. This work also contains 33 minutes of "Solar Music," a Grobschnitt concert staple. This is a very adventurous piece that moves through a variety of musical moods, with enough room for all the members to display their respective talents. The vocalist, a gentleman nicknamed "Wildschwein" adds a further Arthur-Brown-like dimension to the music, which, in turn, adds to the unpredictability. However, his appearance is quite limited, and the music dominates through most of the 73+ minutes of this CD. Illegal, Rockpommel's Land and Solar Music Live are all from their middle period, where they were at their best. Their music is keyboard/guitar oriented, with standout drums and percussion by a gent who went by the name of Eroc. Illegal is the most improvisational of the bunch and recalls the somewhat psychedelic sounds of groups such as Amon Düül II and the like. Rockpommel's Land is a "concept" work, about the fantasies of a boy lost in a strange land. For those who enjoy lengthy, symphonic works, this would probably be the best recommended. The music has a backdrop that recalls bands such as Genesis, but the ability of the musicians in this band to improvise adds something more to the sound. Solar Music Live is a live recording that captures the musical virtuosity of the band very well. Volle Molle also contains live recordings by the band which offers proof of the power of the group to improvise and put together a powerful performance. The music is raucous at times, but mostly fast-paced progressive rock with long instrumental passages driven by guitar, keyboards, and drums.

I have two Grobschnitt albums, Solar Music Live and Rockpommel's Land, two very different albums, both excellent. Solar Music Live is incredible. Grobschnitt apparently went through several phases, nearly one for each album, so SML can hardly be considered representative. It can be high recommended though. Shimmering guitars over a mesmerizing backdrop, this album is considered by some to be one of the best space rock albums of all time. The album is nearly 60 minutes of flowing musical thought, with a little bit of silliness thrown in for fun. Judging by the CD cover, they must have had an interesting stage show. Rockpommel's Land is a concept album and much more symphonic in nature. If you've heard Novalis's classic Sommerabend, you'll have a feel for this album. The concept is of the travels of a boy and a strange bird. Some have said this album is very Yes-like but I think it's a little more similar to Novalis than Yes, plus they have their own quirkiness and sense of humor. Perhaps it's just my ears. Though I prefer the spacey texture of Solar Music Live, this album is well worth a listen, particularly if you are a symphonic fan.

Grobschnitt are one of the better Brain-label bands. Ballermann, originally a double LP, includes the 33-minute guitar-prog classic "Solar Music". Lots of people will want it just for this, great keyboards too! "Magic Train" is another great long piece, with varying dynamics in the different passages. "Nickel-Odeon" is pretty good, even though there is a chord-progression that blatantly rips off Yes' "Yours Is No Disgrace" in the middle. "Drummer's Dream" is a nice softer, acoustic tune. And "Sahara" is a weird piece with fine guitar work and slowed down vocals by drummer Eroc (On the spoken intro, he reminds me of Sgt. Schulz from "Hogan's Heroes"!) Rockpommels Land is a concept album, apparently about a young boy who rides a giant bird to the land of stone-people, or something like that. The story notwithstanding, there is some fine music on this one, with more excellent guitar playing and more keyboards than Ballermann. Yes is strongly in evidence, but this reminds me even more so of the McDonald and Giles album, especially the side-long title track, which is not unlike "Birdman". Excellent stuff. Solar Music Live is, as the title indicates, a live version of the title song, but extended out to about 50 minutes, with odd experimental tricks by Eroc and great slabs of dual guitar jamming. I, who normally don't care too much for live albums, really love this album. The experimental tendecies first explored here were further developed not only on Eroc's solo albums, but reportedly also on the next couple of Grobschnitt albums: Merry-Go-Round and Illegal. Keep that in mind when you find these. Razzia was recorded without Eroc, and apparently was the first of their lame neo-prog LPs. I have a couple of these: Kinder and Narren (1984) and Fantasten (1987). The first is a concept album, both are comparable to Genesis of the same period, i.e. pretty pop orientated and boring. The live Last Party is supposed to be the only worthwhile document from this period. -- Mike Ohman

[See Eroc | Reichel, Hans]

Discography

Why Didn’t You Tell Me?! (71) Behind The Sounds (72, w/ Mathi Caspi) Kzat Aheret/Nonames (75 w/ Shlomo Ydov & Shem Tov Levy) Live (80) Cotton Candy (82) Family Album (83, w/ Shem Tov Levy) Behind The Sounds 84’ (84 w/ Mathi Caspi) Mood and Entertainment (84, w/ Jonathan Geffen) My Mother Always Wanted Her Son To Be On TV (85) Because Of The Mango (88) Insomniac (88) Netto Live (91) Shlomo Gronich With The Sheba Choir (93)

Reviews

Shlomo Gronich at the piano Gronich (b. 1949) one of the most important Progressive musicians of Israel, is the son of a musician, he was a prodigy who made his first appearance as a classical pianist at the age of 7, He discovered the Beatles as a youth and was deeply influenced by them. After serving as a keyboardist in a military band he began composing and arranging for others. He became professional in 1970 and released his first and revolutionary album Why didn’t you tell me?! in 1971, the album though not very focused is considered by many as the first Israeli Prog album ever, it comprised Bach, traditional Jewish music and prog and was a very unique album for it’s time (and still is today). Latter works by Aphrodite’s Child, Slapp Happy or Art Bears can be compared to it. By 1972 he had collaborated with another talented Israeli musician Mathi Caspi and recorded an album with him Behind the sounds which is considered a milestone of Israeli Prog, it featured Gronich on piano and voices and Caspi on guitar and voices and contained some tracks which became classics since then. After the album and the tour, Gronich wrote and arranged for others and composed music for ballet, television and theatre. By 1974 Gronich had teamed with two more Israeli talents, Shem Tov Levy and Shlomo Ydov with whom he formed one of the first Israeli Prog bands Kzat Aheret (Nonames) the self titled album which came out in 1975 was another classic of Israeli prog, this time comprising influences of the Beatles, Bach, Gentle Giant, Genesis, The Mahavishnu Orchestra and Israeli and oriental folk, yet remaining highly original and excellent, the standout tracks were the three instrumentals and the groups adoption to the Israeli folk song "Two Chinese" the album also contained two songs which became immediate classics of Israeli music; "Pink skies" and "The Little Prince". After the album and the tour, Gronich moved to USA where he tried to break through but failed. While being there he composed an opera entitled "America" which was based on the work of Franz Kafka and worked with an avant-garde band called Ramsses. By 1979 he came back to Israel to compose a film soundtrack and renewed his career. The Live album marked his return as a recording artist and comprised live version of his opera and of several new and older songs, after this he collaborated with several artists as session musician, composer or arranger. By 1982 he released Cotton Candy which was his strongest and most focused album and also the most recommended for those who seek the progressive aspect of his work. At 1983 he collaborated once more with Shem Tov Levy and recorded Family Album with him this was the last progressive recording by him. He reunited with Mathi Caspi in 1984, toured with him and released a second Behind The Sounds album which was much weaker than the original version. After this during mid eighties up to the late nineties he was involved in various projects including ballet music, modern classical music and music for theatre, cinema and television as well as recording several more solo albums and collaborations. The well-known American jazz flutist Herbie Mann has recorded one of his songs "Nueba". Gronich is a unique and talented musician who deserves much more appreciation than he received in his hay days. -- Gil Keltch

Links

[See Kzat Aheret (Nonames)]

Discography

Ultramarine (00) Enigmatic Elements (03) Darkclubing at Tavastia (Still awaiting release as of 1/4/05, Live)

Reviews

Ultramarine (Mellow Records MMP399) is symphonic progressive rock in the 1970's style, and it's not often that today's bands manage to make something this good within that genre. The Finnish quintet Groovector introduce themselves with 64 minutes of slowly evolving, often mellow, almost cinematic instrumental music, where flute and keyboards weave out enchanting melodies over rich keyboard layers and a rock-steady rhythm section. Groovector's sound is shamelessly retro, especially in the keyboard department where you get Hammond B-3 smears, clinkety Fender Rhodes comping and buzzing analog synthesizer solo lines (there is especially one drilling Micro Moog patch that is featured heavily). Electric guitar appears on just two songs to provide bluesy, melodic leads and solos. If comparisons are required, Focus and, to a lesser degree, Camel would do, largely because of the instrumentation and melodic qualities, but Groovector don't really sound like either of them. In the same way, the lyricism during the more delicate moments (especially the short acoustic guitar piece "Berceuse") might remind of the 70's Italian prog sound, but the at times melancholy, at times rhapsodically bittersweet melodies and impressionistic arrangements bear greater family resemblance to Scandinavian folk (in the way of Bo Hansson, for example) than they do to Mediterranean romanticism. There are some more familiar-sounding bits and bobs here and there (e.g. a very Genesis-like organ riff at the middle of "Walzwerk"), but when you put it all together, you end up with something that sounds like no other symphonic band, even if it may remind of many such bands. Like the best of those bands, Groovector concentrate on building and developing strong themes with good use of dynamics and contrasts in tone colours, rather than indulging in flashy, drawn-out soloing. Take "Selangor" as an example: it opens with a strong, slightly downcast theme played on acoustic guitar against an almost loungey backdrop of Rhodes and scuffling, jazzy drums; the music then gets louder with heavier drumming, bass and an intense synth solo with a hard, sustained tone resembling overdriven electric guitar; finally the music starts winding down and returns to the initial melody, now developed on the synthesizer until the piece closes. The beat is largely streamlined (even mundane), the harmony steady and there is nothing very fast or complex about the playing, but the excellent melodies and dynamics carry the song throughout. The band are capable of negotiating odd-time rhythms and virtuoso keyboard episodes, as show on "Melange" and the album closer "Elegie", but for most part the focus is on gradual thematic development with the aid of dynamics, timbre shifts and subtle variations in melody and arrangements. Classical influences abound flute/keyboards duet where a strong and concise melody is nicely orchestrated with piano, Hammond and harpsichord, and in the flute work in general, as it stays within Mel Collins-like warm and pastoral tones with only a few concessions to a more breathy sounds in the manner of Ian Anderson or Thijs van Leer. My few regrets are that the band tend to lock themselves too much on to the mid-to-slow tempo range and that some more lead space could have been assigned to guitars and keyboards instead of the flute to give the music more range; as it is now, the music sounds plodding at places. Still Ultramarine is one of the most interesting and successful takes on old-school symphonic rock in years. None of these qualifiers applies to Enigmatic Elements (Mellow Records MMP442), which departs significantly from the debut in three respects. First of all, the flautist has left, and the unremarkable performances by the guest saxophonist on half the tracks do not entirely fill the void. Second, low-key vocals have been added to four songs, but they neither distract from nor add any significant interest in the musical structures they adorn. Third and most crucial, the band have abandoned the straight retro-symphonic approach by emphasising the cool jazz aspects of their sound and bringing in a few decidedly modern sonic touches. Most of the latter are flaunted on the opener "Remember" in the form of lightly applied synth effects, sequences and drum loops that clearly derive from turn-of-the-century electronic dance music. The flirtation with these devices doesn't really go further than that, but the groove is definitely more central to the music, taking its cues from the jazz vocabulary the band draw from so eagerly. At best this jazziness injects a bit of Camel-like warmth and fire into the laidback impressionism familiar from the first album. At worst it means meandering solos over structures that aren't interesting enough to hold them up, something that the first album was never quite guilty of. This comes through clearest on the aimless "Rain On", as the saxophone invites the band to spin out of control for a big ensemble-cacophony blowout, but its huffing and puffing fails to excite them into a necessary frenzy. Hence the song comes across as a collection of unrelated solos that joggles along for awhile without a proper fulcrum and then simply collapses. Other tracks are much more successful, especially the most traditionally symphonic "Never Growing Old" that concludes with a suitably emotional guitar solo, but the overall effect is unimpressive. The symphonic sound is too watered down for retro fanatics, the electronica experimentation still too tentative to make a difference, and the jazz aspect pleasant but unable to bridge the gap between disparate elements. At least Groovector are making progress with this album, even if their direction seems to be unclear. -- Kai Karmanheimo

Links

Click here for Groovector's web site Click here to order Groovector CD's from Mellow Records

Grosso Autunno (76), Almanacco (77)

Not very good players.

Discography

Ground Zero (93) Null and Void (95) Revolutionary Pekinese Opera (95, also remixes subtitled Version 1.28 and Version 1.50) Consume Red (97) Plays Standards (97, re-released by ReR, 2002) Conflagration (97) Consummation (98) Last Concert (99, Live)

Reviews

Ground Zero's Otomo Yoshihide About Consume Red: Not your typical prog by any means, Consume Red is welcome apparatus for those who'd like to clean their brain from time to time and remain closer to prog standpoint as opposite to clean ears and brain with Merzbow. From manufacture of Otomo Yoshihide, guitarist, turntablist and musical terrorist. One track. Starts with one riff and ends with four - layered upon each other. Volume level is constantly heightened. Until at around 52 minutes everything explodes. Indispensable. For somebody. -- Nenad Kobal

Links

Click here for Otomo Yoshihide's web site

Discography

The Group (78)

Reviews

Pekka Pohjola's group just before releasing his first solo LP.

Finnish all-instrumental progressive/fusion band featuring Pekka Pohjola (bass), Olli Ahvenlahti (keyboards), Vesa Aaltonen (drums) and Seppo Tyni (guitar). Very similar to Pohjola's solo records (most of which featured various combinations of his bandmates in The Group), albeit a bit looser, jammier and more solo-oriented. Tyni's rough-edged, rock guitar sound provides a welcome contrast to Ahvenlahti's mellow electric piano and synth. A decent record. Tyni later joined drummer Ippe Katka's group (Katka is another ex-Pohjola sideman) which made one gloriously twisted avant-garde fusion LP in the late 1980s. -- Dave Wayne

Links

[See Made in Sweden | Pohjola, Pekka | Uni Sono | Wigwam]

Agemos Trip to Mother Earth (68), Paradise Now (69), Polyandri (74), others?

Very obscure band who somehow had their first and 1969 album reissued on the German SPM label. This album is one of the most innovative of its time, and while verging psychedelic very often, there are enough surprises to keep everyone happy!

The master tape for Polyandri (74) was lost, so a transcription for the CD reissue was made from an LP. The sound quality is not too good but the music is excellent! One of the most floating psychedelic albums I've ever heard. -- Andras Sumegi

Discography

Group 87 (80) A Career In Dada Processing (84)

Reviews

Never heard this band, but since its roster is VERY similar to that of the studio musicians in Mark Isham's Castalia album (including MI), I think they're New-Age. BTW, anyone know where to find their stuff (CD or LP)?

Falling somewhere between lightweight new-age fusion and proto-techno-pop, this instrumental group featured Peter Maunu (guitars, keys and violin), Mark Isham (brass, keys), Patrick O'Hearn (bass), and guesting Terry Bozzio (drums) on some tracks. Comparisons mught be made to Jerry Goodman's Ariel or some of the later solo projects by any of these guys. Overall pretty good.

Basically an all-star, all-instrumental progressive rock (not fusion!) band with ex-Zappa bassist Patrick O'Hearn, guitarist Peter Maunu (ex-Jean Luc Ponty and Billy Cobham), and multi-instrumentalist Mark Isham. O'Hearn's -Zappa bandmates Terry Bozzio and Peter Wolf guested on drums and keyboards on the first album which could be described, in retrospect, as "heavy-metal new-wave New Age". Seriously. Maunu's guitar has teeth, O'Hearn's bass growls, and Bozzio is his slammin' self. But all of the tunes have a polished LA sort of bright, poppy sincerity which I associate with people who wear crystals and take their horoscopes very seriously. There are also lots of herky-jerky, vaguely machine-like rhythms which I associate with bands like Devo. The difference is that these guys play their asses off. In a few spots, the music reminds me of German bands like SFF and Passport. A Career In Dada Processing has Maunu and Isham, but percussionist Peter van Hooke (who was with Isham in Van Morrison's band) has replaced O'Hearn. Although 4 years had elapsed since the first album was recorded, A Career ... is very much in the same vein as the first album, albeit with a more purely "electronic" sound. Maunu's guitar buzzes, rather than screams. Not bad stuff at all, but already sounding a bit anachronistic. Isham, O'Hearn (who later joined Missing Persons) and Maunu have all gone on to do solo records in an overtly New Age vein, with Isham's being the most palatable by far (check out Vapor Drawings). Isham has also done some interesting work with David Torn (Cloud About Mercury on ECM), a decent "return-to-my-jazz-roots" type of recording (Blue Sun), and is of course a very famous movie soundtrack person. Isham currently leads the "Silent Way Project", a group that specializes in cover versions of Miles Davis' electric music from the early and mid-70s. -- Dave Wayne

Links

[See O'Hearn, Patrick]

Skoklan (74)

Electronics.

Discography

Atlantis (99) Digitalive (00, Live, CDR) Melatomania (02, due to be released in June)

Reviews

Group Therapy - This is the best band photo from their web site, and it still doesn't show all of them. The members are (not in photo order): Hiroyuki Kitada (Electric Guitar, Guitar Synthesizer), Hidetoshi Inque (Soprano Sax), Keido Igarashi (Trombone), Takashi Kawasaki (Electric Guitar), Yasunori Yoshida (Electric Bass), Atsushi Mukai (Drums), Shingo Tsuji (Electric Guitar) Melatomania is the second studio release from this six-piece Japanese band playing a rock-flavored jazz. They sound sort of like the Saturday Night Live band playing backup for the Blues Brothers (but all instrumental). I might also say it reminds me of Chicago without vocals or perhaps a movie soundtrack for some hardboiled detective flick. It's hard not to like this music, as it is very well recorded and performed and has some pretty nice soloing in it from all the members. But there isn't much compositional intricacy here. The songs all follow a rather simple formula: start off with an eight bar chord progression, then have each band member do a solo over it (or sometimes even a guest musician), then a quick bridge to a new chord progression and everybody takes a solo again. Sometimes they will then reprise the original progression again and sometimes not. It's easy to listen to and the soloing is actually not bad, but this just doesn't seem particularly progressive to me. I would label this music as improvisational jazz before I would call it prog. Still, a nice effort by this sextet and an enjoyable listen. -- Fred Trafton

Group Therapy's debut album Atlantis (which was also released by "Mellow") was among those first few CDs that I received especially for my review back in the spring of 1999. I'd like now to remind you my view on the term Jazz-Fusion, which is one of the five main genres of Prog. Talking about Fusion I mean the true sense of this word: the confluence of different musical genres, sub-genres, etc. Of course, concerning "our" genre, I understand Jazz-Fusion as the confluence of anything related to jazz music (Jazz-Rock, first of all) with various forms of progressive music (Progressive Rock, first of all, of course). You can regard the latter definition of the term of Jazz-Fusion as a brief description of the music of Group Therapy. Especially precise, it sounds with regard to the band's second album Melatomania. The final version of the complete Melatomania album is so amazingly different even from the five-track demo of it, not to mention the band's debut album Atlantis, that I need just forget of that demo and delete the review on it as well. No Fusion (as it was on Atlantis) nor even Jazz-Fusion (as it was on Digitalive), but Classic Art-Rock with the elements of Jazz-Fusion and Prog-Metal is what I hear on the band's second studio album. All of the album's basic structures and most of the arrangements are typical for Classic Art Rock, though only the chords of keyboards, that Hiroyuki Kitada elicits from his guitar synthesizer, have a clear symphonic sound. While all of the fast solos of both of the brass, no matter whether they were improvised or composed (which is most likely in my view), - are, on the whole, typical for Jazz-Fusion, most of the fast guitar solos (which are rather harsh and at the same time very masterful) squeal like "natural children" of Prog-Metal. Each of the compositions, that are featured the album, including both of the short tracks, contain a lot of the so called progressive ingredients such as: rich and diverse arrangements, changes of themes, tempos, and moods, tasteful and virtuosi solos, parts, and interplay between the varied soloing instruments, etc. Beginning with "Incidents In Damascus", which is filled with Arabic flavours, all of the remaining tracks on the album also contain the Eastern melodic colours - at least in places. "Sekiwake" (track 6) is especially rich in specific Japanese motifs. Melatomania is radically different from all of the previous works by Group Therapy. Despite the fact that all of the tracks of the band's new album are wonderful, I still regard "Incidents In Damascus" the best composition on the album. But the words of praise I used before just with regard to "Damascus" are now worthy of Group Therapy's second album as a whole. Melatomania is so astonishingly unique that can change the "average" attitude to Jazz-Fusion rather radically. This is not only a real Prog-killer: this work is incredibly innovative from the first to the last note - even in the approach to implantation of the 5-tone Eastern parts to the traditional compositional structures. Masterpiece is the word. In addition, I'd like to say I won't wonder very much if with the next album Group Therapy become the band of Progressive's Fifth Element (which for the time being is the "genre niche" for those performers whose music doesn't fit any of the first four genres of Prog). -- Vitaly Menshikov

Links

Click here for Group Therapy's web site Click here to order Atlantis (now) or Melatomania (soon) from Mellow Records

Out Off (72), Frrrrrigidaire (73)

Keyboard-based prog. Out Off is a instrumental soundtrack.

Discography

Av Bara Farten (83) Vildhonung (85) Utan Sans (88) Månskratt (90, w/ Lena Willemark) Imeland (95) Groupa 15 years (98, Compilation) Lavalek (00)

Reviews

Mats Edén (fiddles), Sofia Karlsson (vocals), Terje Isungset (percussion), Jonas Simonson (flutes), Rickard Åström (keyboards) Groupa is a Norwegian progressive folk band that started in 1980, combining Swedish and other Scandinavian folk music with newer instruments including synths, saxophones, and roto-toms. Their 2000 album Lavalek continues their trend of fresh takes on Scandinavian folk - a must-listen for all folk-prog fans. -- Joel Shaver

Links

Click here for Groupa's web site

Discography

Mess (??) Hingus (Breath) (81, reissued on CD 2000) OM (88, reissued on CD 2000)

Reviews

Mess was actually Grünberg's band, and their single album release is currently out of print. Breath and OM are solo albums and have been recently re-released on the Russian Boheme label. Grünberg is an electronic artist who recorded in Talinn, Estonia. His style is very similar to Edgar Froese's solo albums (like Aqua and Epsilon in Malaysian Pale), but he doesn't really go off on the rhythmic sequencer arpeggios like Froese. Instead, he uses percussion, though there is no attempt to make it sound like "real" drums; he simply uses interesting percussive synthesizer timbres. The other point of reference here is Isao Tomita ... the synth patches (particularly on OM) sound as if they were stolen right from Tomita's studio! The vibrato'ed whistling and phased string timbres sound just like Tomita's versions of Pictures at an Exhibition or Snowflakes are Dancing. These sounds fit well into this spacey Tangerine Dreamish sound. Hingus (translation: "Breath") begins with Parts I thru IV of the "Breath" suite, and at a total of about 23 minutes was obviously a "side-long" piece on the original LP. This whole CD really recalls Rubycon-era Tangerine Dream, with its echoed organ washes, reverbed Mellotrons (or is it String Ensembles?) and watery background sounds. Grünberg, however, has a bit more melody and composition in this work than TD, who leaned more heavily on free-form improvisation. This allows the instruments to occasionally play composed harmonies with each other and not just the occasional happy accidents that happen when everyone is jamming independently in the same key. Don't get me wrong ... I love Tangerine Dream, which is why I also think Grünberg is great ... I'm just pointing out one of the minor differences between two albums which might otherwise be twins. Well, siblings at least. OM starts out with Part V of "Breath", begun on the Hingus CD, though the first four parts were recorded in 1979-80, while this part was recorded after 1985, so it was probably not originally part of this suite. As a matter of fact, it stylistically doesn't bear much resemblence either. This album in particular contains a lot of the Tomita sound influence, and two of the songs, "Reflections" and "OM" also contain some Japanese traditional sounding music, reminiscent of Japanese Koto music. But Grünberg stays out in space the whole time, even the Japanese sounding parts are drenched with reverb, echo and spacey synth drones. It is interesting that Grünberg would name this album OM given that I can hear no Indian influence at all ... oh well ... For fans of (especially) the German school of Space Rock (Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schulze and the like), I can highly recommend these two albums. -- Fred Trafton

Sven Grünberg is, perhaps, the most famous "Solo-Pilot" from the USSR / CIS. Being always surrounded by the most modern synthesizers in any period of his activity, this "keyboard" composer and musician, apart from two albums reviewed here (earlier they have been released by the only Soviet recording company - monopolistic major "Melodiya"), has several soundtracks and other musical works to his credit. Breath, the first Grünberg's album, shines with a variety of sounds the maestro elicites from the "clever" electric keyboard instruments called synthesizers (and each such instrument had some typical "computer" data even in the beginning of the 1980s). Grünberg always successfully used all the varied conveniences of synthesizers to create his own, quite original, "spacey" compositional structures. As for the convenient spacey forms that enjoyed a great popularity especially in the end of the 1970s - early 1980s thanks to the French band simply called Space, Grunberg had never anything to do with them. Already in the very beginning of his musical activity Sven worked more in a serious "spacey way", being inspired by a whole bunch of German bands, from Tangerine Dream to AshRa to all the other Ra Temples, and created that "spacey" musical style long before Space appeared. Grünberg's imagination can be easily called unrestrained, as this Estonian "solo-pilot" of musical spaces was guided primarily by his own original ideas. So, those into thoughtful and really expanding spacey electronic music with lots of charming suites, backed with wonderful special effects, will experience bliss a number of times, as if dissolving in the endless "space spheres" of the Breathe album, especiallly listening to the material with head phones. Like any serious 'headphones' album, Breathe hides plenty of "secret corners" that are peculiar to music of this kind. It's not so easy to get into this music after a couple first listens even for the experienced "voyagers to the spheres of musical spaces". -- Vitaly Menshikov

Hingus: Recorded in Tallin in 1980 this record is a one man's work. By playing all instruments himself as well as having composed the music Sven Grünberg offers us the essence of his music; from the cycle "Breath/Hingus" in 4 movements where the organ is the main actor and to the symphonic poem in 6 movements "Flower of Light" in a more electronic vein, the thread could be the title of the remaining tune completing the record: "Journey". Minimalistic, sequential, programmed with diverse algorithms and instuments interventions, this is a music close to Glass, Riley or alike. Om is a multilevel symbol for the wholeness and unity of existence itself, the universe and the individual, macro and microcosms. Combining the use of traditional instruments with electronics is the way Estonian composer Sven Grünberg chose for materializing the emerg