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Progressive Rock CD Reviews

Mohamed Assani Wayfinder Review by Gary Hill I nearly landed this under "non-prog." It is very world-music based. The thing is, the very merging of that with things like electronic music and space rock makes this at least on a theoretical level share a kindred spirit with progressive rock. It is without question "progressive" music, even if it isn't necessarily progressive rock. Whatever you call it, this intriguing. This review is available in book (paperback and hardcover) in Music Street Journal: 2020 Volume 3. More information and purchase links can be found at: garyhillauthor.com/Music-Street-Journal-2020.

Track by Track Review

Awakening World music sounds bring this into being with a definite psychedelic edge. It grows outward as it continues. This is a dramatic and powerful piece of music.

Serendipity I love the overlayers of sound. The clapping loop or sample that serves as the rhythmic element is classy. The bass line is a bit psychotic and so cool. World music merges with hints of space rock on this piece, really.

Black Sugar While the usual suspects of world music and electronics are present here, so cool synthesizer sound lends a different dimension. One of longest cuts here, this has some definite hints of things like Vangelis, but tempered and flavored with the world music textures.

Lullaby for Guli A gentler piece at the start, there are hints of classical music and more built into this composition. This builds out into a fairly energized and involved piece of world music meets electronic.

Khusro’s Footsteps Not a big change, this piece is quite effective. It's a classy number that works well.

Darbari Dub There is an almost hypnotic feel to this cut. It's built around tasty world music. While there are still other things in the mix, in a lot of ways this is more purely just world sounds.

Transit This cut has some vocalizations that make me think of fusion turned world music. The cut has a great energy and vibe overall. It really gets into some great grooves.

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