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Progressive Rock CD Reviews

The Galactic Cowboy Orchestra Zombie Mouth Review by Gary Hill I love this band. They are just so cool. Their blend of psychedelic rock, progressive rock and more just works incredibly well. Add some awesome female vocals to the mix, and you’ve got an idea of why this is so great. I still haven’t started figuring out my “best of 2014” list, but this one is a contender. This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2014 Volume 5 at lulu.com/strangesound.

Track by Track Review

So Long I love the bass line driving this thing. The vocals have a great psychedelic rock vibe and some of the guitar that weaves across reinforces this. As it gets more melodic later we get more of a prog rock element at play. There are some backwards tracked guitar lines that are so well done that they make me question whether they are really backwards or not. This has such a great sound. . They drop it back for a short full on psychedelic instrumental section mid-track. This song really rocks out like crazy at times.

Wrong Shui The violin adds a lot to this track. The piece is very much a fusion number. It’s an instrumental with some pretty amazing shifts and changes. There are sections of this that definitely make me think of King Crimson. It shifts to some freeform Rock in Opposition styled stuff and then works out to a real hard rocking sound that’s more like jam bands. Still, that gets tempered with some Crimsonian elements.

In to You This is an acoustic guitar solo. It moves from a classically tinged intricate section to more rocking elements. There are definitely hints of Robert Fripp at times on this. It’s a great solo.

Floating, Pt. 1 This is just a short piece. It’s made up of just some weird processed vocals.

Floating They fire out into a jam that definitely makes me think of King Crimson. A more straightforward rock sound is heard for the verses. After the verses that Crimson-like jam returns. The tune keeps getting reworked as they continue. There are a number of shifts and changes as they go along. A melodic section combines prog and psychedelic elements.

Going Nowhere Fast This instrumental features violin, or perhaps I should say “fiddle.” It has a very downhome bluegrass vibe to it. Still, some prog and psychedelia are heard, as well.

All or Nothing Rising up gradually, this merges psychedelic rock with prog and more. It’s another instrumental and includes some RIO-like freeform moments. There are also sections that make me think of early King Crimson.

Not At All Combining psychedelic rock based pop rock with something a bit like King Crimson at times, this is another great tune. The instrumental section at the end of the track is particularly Crimson-like. It’s also particularly powerful.

Galacticty This instrumental definitely reminds me of mid-period King Crimson – say Larks’ Tongues… era. There are a number of shifts and changes and this is quite a cool number.

Zombie Mouth Some cool psychedelia opens this and the track moves out from there into a killer prog rock groove. As this jam continues it goes through several shifts and changes. There’s a bass dominated movement that takes it into some seriously funky territory. It’s quite a tasty instrumental.

Sleep Space rock sounds open this and continue with an almost metal riff drives it. The vocals come in and we’re into some seriously hard edged, but very prog oriented jam. This is a real powerhouse.

Broken Marionette This is a very cool jam. It has some more proggy sections (again KC is a valid reference at times). There are segments that land closer to fusion and yet there is some classical music in the mix, too.

Give Me More With a lot of the prog we’ve been used to here in the mix, this has an extended introduction. There are definitely some jazzy elements in the later sections of the cut, too. It’s another great rocker on an album full of great music.

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