Music Street Journal - Music News & Reviews

It could be said that Mabel Greer's Toyshop became Yes. In fact, that's essentially what happened.

This is quite an interesting album, but it’s not for everyone.

Those coming here expecting to hear faithful versions of Jimi Hendrix songs probably don't know much about Machine Mass. These guys are a fusion turned avant-garde prog outfit.

Machine Mass, in various formations, produces unusual music time and time again. This new album is no exception.

When I'm getting ready to do a new issue of Music Street Journal, I listen to some short snippets of songs from each CD to decide where they fit (prog, metal and non-prog).

Joe Macre came to fame as the bass player for Crack The Sky. I previously reviewed another of his solo albums and landed that one under progressive rock, in part because of that connection.

A concept album, this is mostly progressive rock, but there are some other things here, as well.

First, this is not the band from the UK. This Magenta is based in Norway.

Magma is an odd beast. They are also pretty amazing.

I don't think that these guys will ever have a huge following. Their music is too strange for the masses.

For many fans, this 1985 offering is Magnum’s greatest album.

Magnum’s third album was a breakthrough of sorts.

This instrumental set is dramatic and intriguing. It has quite a wide range of sounds from jazz oriented to more pure prog and even some other things.

This is quite an interesting set. I think arguing that it doesn't fit under progressive rock would be quite valid.

This single bears the same title and cover as the album from which it comes. This was released as sort of the preview for the album.

I previously reviewed another set from this act. I liked that one a lot, something that this one shares.

I have previously reviewed two albums from Mahogany Frog. Neither prepared me for this. An instrumental album, this is often dark.

Each track here, taken by itself, is quite good.

The main claim to fame of this 1971 disc is the fact that it was Patrick Moraz' first band (at least in terms of first band with a release). The thing is, the music holds up really well as early progressive rock by itself.

This act is considered jazz, but honestly, if any jazz group fits under fusion, it's these guys. The music seems like a paradox.

All the songs here are compositions originally by Leonard Bernstein. You probably got that from the title, though, right?

This is a reissue (with two bonus tracks) of Yngwie Malmsteen's 1992 release.

I have never heard this album before, even though it’s a remaster/reissue thing.

This is instrumental music in terms of a very general description. It also lands under progressive music, but there are a lot of varying flavors and concepts presented here.

This release lands in the area between progressive rock and jazz.

I’ve heard this billed as folk prog.

Harvey Mandel might be a world renowned guitarist, but that's not a definition in terms of limitations. Indeed, he plays everything on this instrumental album.

This is filed under progressive rock because there is enough prog here to put it there.

I previously reviewed another set from this act. I put that one under prog, despite the band being considered more pop music. I made the same decision this time around.

I’m guessing plenty of people will argue with me putting this under the progressive rock heading.

This is an unusual set. Ciro Manna is an Italian guitarist known for his jazz styled sounds.

While Phil Manzanera might be best known in some circles for his time in Roxy Music, he's had quite an interesting solo career over the years.

This live album is pretty impressive.

These guys always deliver exceptional albums.

Marbin is a progressive rock outfit based in Chicago, my home territory. There music is often jazz-oriented, but they seem to stretch their sound and influence from album to album.

You know, Marillion post Fish is a very different beast than Marillion of the Fish era.

In our quest to start filling some of the holes in our archives, I decided to review this Marillion disc.

Marillion are now a band that does not need to pander to any record label or current trend. In fact, they create a sound that I can’t compare to anyone else.

Marillion were the prog darlings of the UK music scene in the early 80s. After four successful albums, the band split with charismatic front-man Fish.

Marillion took a turn in 1994 by releasing this concept album during a time when the music scene was really into grunge.

I don’t know why I always look at Somewhere Else as a companion disc to Marble, because they are very different releases. Marbles flowed from one song to the next whereas Somewhere Else has a more eclectic vibe.

In 1986 Marillion were riding high in England, but here in the United States, they were relative unknowns.

Marillion have been on a roll lately and their newest An Hour Before It's Dark is the perfect follow up to F.E.A.R. While the latter was a more somber and “glass half empty” affair, this new is a more positive and uplifting release.

With world music, jazz and more in the mix, this is a great modern prog album.

Well, this might not be progressive rock. I’d argue that it’s progressive music, though.

John Martyn was clearly part of the folkier side of the prog movement, and that's part of why I've landed this set under the "progressive rock" heading.

I'm sure most of you are familiar with folk prog.

I reviewed a previous set from Rob Massard a while ago. I landed that one under progressive rock, and said that it was mostly folk prog.

Perhaps this doesn't precisely fall under progressive rock. It's essentially electric guitar led arrangements of classical music pieces.

The core of this group is Pat Mastelotto (King Crimson drummer) and his wife Deborah. They are joined by a whole host of musicians here.

I really love this album. The mix of sounds here is extreme.

This is an unusual release. Parts of it are full-on progressive rock.

Not everything here is progressive rock. There are clearly some songs here that fit into that category.

Brian May is, of course, best known for his work as the guitarist in Queen.

This album was really a supergroup meeting of the fusion minds. I have to say that it lands too far into the freeform, Rock In Opposition type territory for my tastes.

Weather McNabb has produced a particularly powerful release with this EP.

This album from Laura Meade is a unique and intriguing pleasure. It's hard to really pin down to a musical style, beyond the vague "progressive rock" heading.

Perhaps Laura Meade is best known as the lead singer in the progressive rock band Izz, but I previously reviewed one of her solo releases, and this is her latest.

This is a brand new 30^th anniversary edition of this classic Meat Loaf album.

Let's make one thing clear at the start: this is really not progressive rock. It's very much progressive music, though.

This is an unusual set. It includes a brand new studio album from Nicolas Meier World Group as the first disc.

I can see people arguing with this landing under progressive rock.

The most dramatic thing about this set is the vocal presence.

Kurt Michaels just keeps releasing cool albums. This new disc often bridges a gap between more mainstream rock and progressive.

This new disc is pretty interesting stuff. It is not a perfect fit under the "progressive rock" banner, but I'm happy enough putting it there.

I reviewed a previous set from this act and liked it a lot. It didn't prepare me for this, though. This album is a masterpiece that really lands under folk prog more than it does pure folk music.

The acoustic music here might not be the most obvious choice for progressive rock inclusion.

This is an intriguing set that feels like it could be some kind of concept album. It's a progressive rock set with a lot of emotional and intensity variety.

This debut set is quite impressive. The music here brings all kinds of differing musical styles together and blends them into a powerhouse progressive rock tapestry.

I want to make this clear right out of the gate, this album from 1969 is not a progressive rock disc. It is however, very much proto-prog, and there are moments that are prog.

I’m not sure if this really fits under “progressive rock.”

I made the decision to put this album under progressive rock. It could just as easily have gone under heavy metal, though.

Marco Minnemann is a unique artist. His music is always creative and innovative.

I always enjoy Marco Minnemann’s work.

This instrumental album is a strictly guitar duet kind of thing.

Here is one of those releases that kind of borders between the prog and non-prog heading. We usually put fusion under prog.

I can definitely see people arguing with this landing under progressive rock. The thing is, prog is a rather expansive heading to me.

MJ12 gets their name from a supposed organization called “Majestik 12” which was supposedly convened in the 1940s to investigate UFOs.

I can see people arguing with this landing under progressive rock.

This is such an intriguing set. Not everything here is progressive rock.

This is an intriguing set of instrumental music. Perhaps it fits better under the non-prog heading as pure jazz.

This is the second release from Mobius Strip.

Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon album is one of the most iconic discs in history.

I’m a big fan of Modest Midget, so I was looking forward to this CD.

It’s getting to be a pretty full crowd, but this album is a contender for my best of 2014 list.

Although I’ve landed this under progressive rock, I can see some people arguing about that. Let me say that I’ll stand by that label.

This is an intriguing CD. It's one track that is almost 34 minutes long. This is a reissue of a digital only release.

The packaging on this is a little gimmicky.

This is quite an intriguing set. It's fully instrumental. I've put it under progressive rock, but it probably would have fit just as well under the non-prog category.

This is a cool live album. It's not progressive rock, but it is definitely fusion, and we generally land that under prog.

This is the new single from Monks of Melonwah.

I usually like Mooch albums a lot. I like this one, but not as much as I expected to like it.

This twelve inch single from the Moody Blues is out of print, but you can certainly find it online and most likely at a decent price.

I’ve always liked this album a lot.

For the fiftieth anniversary of the release of this album, it’s been reissued with a lot of bonus tracks.

In 2017 The Moody Blues album Days of Future Passed turned 50 years old. It's hard in retrospect to understand just how much of a game-changer that album was, merging symphonic music and rock into a concept album.

I recently saw a list of most disappointing albums, and this was on it. I decided to do this retro review as sort of my rebuttal to that.

This album from the Moody Blues probably falls in the middle of the road of their older stuff. There are a few exceptional tracks.

I know a lot of people disregard these later Moody Blues albums. I happen to have a special attraction to them because Patrick Moraz is on them, bringing a Yes connection.

I don’t know if this is progressive rock.

The music on this album is unique. There is an ancient quality to it, but it's also modern.

This instrumental album is cool. There is a range to it, but a lot of if it lands in the vicinity of Tangerine Dream, really.

This is quite an intriguing set. The nearest comparison is to Nox Arcana, and that's actually pretty close.

Many know Michael Moorcock as a science-fiction writer. He's also a musician, though,

This is an unusual act.

The mix of sounds here is pretty amazing.

Patrick Moraz is probably best known for his stints as the keyboard player for Yes and The Moody Blues.

The first solo album from Patrick Moraz, this is getting a cool remastered edition. This features two bonus tracks and restored art.

The first solo album from Patrick Moraz, The Story of i (also reviewed in this issue), was released in 1976 as part of a group effort from members of Yes to release solo albums.

I’ve liked Neal Morse’s music from all the way back in the Spock’s Beard days.

This new live set from Neal Morse includes the double disc CD set and a bonus DVD. The performances are powerful.

In 2015 Neal Morse put together Morsefest. It was a two night event. On one night of the show, he performed his ? album, while the second night they did Solo Scriptura.

This brand new release from Neal Morse finds him moving from his usual Christian lyrical territory into slice of life stories that seem poignant and personal.

This new disc from Tim Morse should appeal to fans of melodic progressive rock. While most of it leans toward older textures, there is a modern edge to it.

This compilation set from Tim Morse is classy. I like the mix of sounds here.

This disc fits under progressive rock because that's where fusion generally goes at Music Street Journal.

This is a cool live album. It’s got the Fillmore performance plus several songs from a different show and a short interview with Bev Bevan.

The Move were the band that came before Electric Light Orchestra. Quite literally, they transitioned into ELO.

Let’s get one thing out of the way right off the bat, this album itself is not prog rock.

This is a reissue of an album from The Move. This is pre-Jeff Lynne days.

The original of this was a mono EP released in 1968. That’s presented in its remastered entirety at the end.

This is quite a cool release. Even if all you got was the CD, it would be worth having, but that's sort of just the beginning.

The main man behind this project is René van Commenée.

I would argue that some of Alice Cooper’s music leaned towards progressive rock. I’d also argue that this outfit are prog rock.

This is a particularly strong album. It can be tough to pull off an instrumental disc that never really falters or feels redundant, but that's just what we have here.

Sacha Mullin is a Chicago based musician. In addition to other work, he's been part of the band Cheer-Accident.

This is an intriguing release. I have to say that I wanted to like it more than I did.

I previously reviewed another set from Mark Murdock. I said that that one was excellent song to song, but a little samey as a whole.

First of all, a little confession: I was not a fan of Muse in their early years, but a work colleague kept on trying to persuade me how good they were and loaned me copies of their first few albums.

This is instrumental space rock.

Not everything here is progressive rock, that’s for sure.

This might not be the most obvious choice for progressive rock, but really, I don’t see how it fits anywhere else.

Fans of Kraftwerk will dig this album. It’s a reissue of the 1972 disc.

I always dig the electronic music of Mythos.

The previous album from Mythos was the first musical look into the works of Jules Verne.

I've reviewed quite a few releases from this act over the years. This latest continues the electronic music concepts of recent albums.

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