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Progressive Rock CD Reviews

Kevin Ayers

Falling Up

Review by Gary Hill

I have to say that if I was basing classification strictly on the musical style, it's unlikely this would have landed under prog. Kevin Ayers is generally known as a psychedelic and proggy artist who was at one time part of Soft Machine. This album has more of a mainstream angle to it, but it does get proggy at times. The CD I'm reviewing here is a reissue of the album.

This review is available in book (paperback and hardcover) form in Music Street Journal: 2023  Volume 5 More information and purchase links can be found at: garyhillauthor.com/Music-Street-Journal-2023.

 
Track by Track Review
(Another) Saturday Night (In Deya)
There is a really bouncy texture to this tune. It has a lot of R&B type sounds to it. This reminds me to some degree of Roxy Music. This is a fun, but not all that unique.
Flying Start
This Mike Oldfield composition this has more of a psychedelic meets prog edge, but also some more of that more mainstream, R&B sort of sound.
The Best We Have
With a lot of funk in the mix, this is an energetic romp.
Another Rolling Stone
A mellow tune, this has a proggy angle to it. It's also jazzy and quite effective. This is one of the highlights of the disc for me.
Do You Believe
While this tune has some funk in the mix, it's one of the proggiest things here. It's also a great groove. It's another that reminds me of Roxy Music to some degree. The sax really wails on later parts of this.
That's What We Did (Today)
A piano and vocal excursion at the beginning, this is another that's more decidedly prog. Other keyboards come in near the halfway point. This has a complex and intriguing vocal arrangement and a lot of style. Other instruments join probably around three-quarters of the way through the song.
Night Fighters
Some trippy sounds bring this cut into being. It has a bluesy angle thanks to some slide guitar later. That said, it's probably closer to psychedelia merged with prog overall. This has a mainstream edge, but it's also decidedly art music based. It's an unusual and unique piece of music.
Am I Really Marcel?
This is a bluesy sort of groove. It's classy stuff, but far from the proggiest thing here.
  
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