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Progressive Rock CD Reviews

Seconds Before Landing III: Now That I Have Your Attention Review by Gary Hill I've reviewed a couple other discs from this act in the past. It seems that every time they release something new, it's much stronger than the previous album. That's true here, as well. This lands in the neighborhood of moody modern prog rock, but there is a lot of electronica in the mix, too. It's a cool set that seems to be a concept album. This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2017 Volume 6 at garyhillauthor.com/Music-Street-Journal-2017.

Track by Track Review

Intro Odd music serves as the backdrop for a soundbite of a man talking about paranormal experiences.

4 A.M. Coming in mellow and a bit strange, there is radio chatter about UFOs on the cut. There are some operatic female non-lyrical vocals that are perhaps a sample here and there. Spoken theatrical vocals are heard. Then around the four minute mark it powers out into the first real rocking prog sounds of the disc. There is a bit of Residents turned Primus turned symphonic prog element to this cut. The instrumental section later in the cut it powerful and very intriguing.

You're Giving Me a Headache This cut feels to me a bit like Rush meets The Police in some ways. Mind you, that's not the full picture. The harder rocking stuff later is particularly classy.

Wandering Soul This cut aligns along the territory of folk prog. It has both male and female vocals. It's slower and rather gentle. There are hints of world music here, too, particularly through the non-English vocals.

Head Down Low This is catchy and rather pop-oriented. It's electronic, playful and quite cool.

Things Somewhat bouncy, this lands more thoroughly in the prog rock zone. It has some killer musical elements and a solid vocal performance. I love the melodic guitar soloing on this piece. There is definitely a bit of an AOR vibe here.

Come Back to Me As saxophone carries the opening section, this has a very jazzy vibe to it. There is a melodic prog groove with a lot of piano in it near the end that is particularly tasty. This is a killer, smooth prog jam.

Feels Good This is a killer powerhouse tune. It has some elements of jazz. It is predominately electronic. There are things here that remind me of early Captain Beyond. The flute brings a bit of a world music and fusion element to it.

Can I See You Now The opening here is quite mellow. It gets a shift toward strange and harder rocking with a section that feels like a proggier Queensryche in some ways. This is a dynamic and diverse cut, working through a lot of different sections. There are bits of symphonic prog built into it parts of it, too.

Moment in Time Tentative and a bit trippy at the start, this moves forward to a mellow prog ballad type sound for the vocals. There is a dark, moody vibe to it.

In the Name Of This is very trippy electronic stuff. There are both male and female voices on this. It's moody and quite cool. It's actually one of the standouts here.

Without Your Soul The first section of this is mellow with a clip from a film, a monologue. From there it works out to more powered up progressive rock. That doesn't hold the cut long, as this is just less than two minutes in length. It serves as a great closer to the disc.

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