This is really confusing. The name of the project is "The Radio Hour," but the musician behind it is Tim Hort, yet the album title is Tim Hort, as well.
I landed this under progressive rock, but I can see people arguing with that. First off, let me say that it's more AOR prog or even prog pop than pure progressive rock.
Rama - Andy West With Rama-Rama 1 Review by Gary Hill For this album Andy West (Dregs) has compiled an intriguing bunch of musicians who join him at various points on the recording. Among those he has a cast of drummers composed of Rod Morgenstein (Dregs), Jonathan Mover (GTR) and Mike Portnoy (Dream Theater).
More
Before I got this set Rare Bird was an early prog band that I had heard of, but never actually heard. This classy six-CD box set gathers up their entire catalog in one handy collection.
I have reviewed quite a bit of music from this band. Their sound, with its almost raw garage-band edge applied to jazzy progressive rock concepts is unique and entertaining.
I've reviewed several things featuring Dennis Rea in the past, from his work with the band Moraine to his solo catalog. This new album is quite an intriguing and unusual one.
This new vinyl release from Reanimation includes the record (complete with lyric sheet as part of an inner-sleeve) along with a download code. The music on this has a lot of different textures.
I have no problem putting this disc under the progressive rock heading, but they definitely stretch beyond what many might consider the classic limits of that sound to be.
Perhaps this doesn't fit under progressive rock. The electronic vibe on this can be seen as almost a modernized, more fun-loving, take on acts like Kraftwerk.
Refugee released their only studio album in 1973. The band was considered a nod to the classic prog band The Nice, but I'd say there was more to it than that.
When one looks at the line up here (Xavi Reija on drums, Dusan Jevtovic on guitar and Bernat Hernandez on bass), it would be easy to assume this is a jazz trio.
While this is released under Xavi Reija's name, the full lineup here is full of exceptional musicians. Reija handles the drums while Tony Levin delivers bass, standup bass and Stick.
Renaissance - Novella Review by Steve Alspach Renaissance was a unique band, blending a rare combination of acoustic rock and classical music into a never-duplicated result. Like many others, I was a Renaissance fan in the 70s.
More
Renaissance - Renaissance Review by Steve Alspach Funny outfit, the Yardbirds. In their early days they were a blues-based band, and their renditions of old standards as "I'm a Man" and "Smokestack Lightning" were something to reckon. But they also knew the zeitgeist of the 1960s, delving into such psychedelia as "Shapes of Things" and "Happenings Ten Years Time Ago" before finally packing it in around 1968. More
Renaissance - Scheherazade and Other Stories Review by Gary Hill Renaissance is a band that I never really followed closely, but always really enjoyed. In many ways I've always felt that they are a lot like Yes, but rather than focusing on the harder rocking styles, they were more interested in acoustic and organic sounds.
More
This new reissue of a classic Renaissance live album is exceptional. You get the original album across two CDs (with a song from the show that hasn't been released on CD before).
Just paying attention to the songs from the original studio release, this is an exceptional album. It really captured the magic of Renaissance in all its splendor quite well.
The list is getting rather crowded, but this a contender for my best of 2018 list. Then again, you can pretty much count on The Residents for releasing music that works well for me.
When this was released in 1981 it was to be part of an ambitious project, the Mole Trilogy. It was to be an epic tale of two colliding cultures told through a series of albums.
The second album of a planned series that were intended to work as an extensive concept work, this is a bit more accessible than its predecessor. There is definitely more jazz in the mix, too.
The third (although it's called the fourth in the trilogy) in a planned series of albums from The Residents, this is my favorite of the three. It's much more vocal based (in fact, only one track is sans vocals), but the vocals are strange.
This new box set is really great. Over the course of several years in the 1980s The Residents set out to record and release a multi-album concept project.
In 1988 The Residents released a concept album titled “God in Three Persons.” This new edition is a three-disc set that includes the original album on the first disc with a couple bonus tracks.
To some degree you have an idea what you are going to get when you dig into a new Residents CD. I always land them under progressive rock, largely because of the experimental nature of their sound.
This new box set celebrates an interesting era in the history of the Residents. With three albums they brought their own flavor to three types of American music - or perhaps movements.
Markus Reuter in combinations with various musicians has created quite a catalog of intriguing instrumental progressive rock. This new collection with Tim Motzer and Kenny Grohowski is no exception.
This instrumental set is intriguing and powerful. It's got plenty of King Crimson-like sound built into it, but there are also hints of space music, fusion, jam band stuff and more here.
This is classical music, but not in the traditional sense. It’s more like the freeform classical that emerged in the early part of the 20th Century. Yet, it’s also ambient and space music. Is it rock? No, definitely not. It is, however, progressive music.
Robb & Pott - Once Upon the Wings Review by Gary Hill Here is a band that's sort of a spin off on the band Space Invaders and also Third Ear Experience.
This is an instrumental album that definitely fits under progressive rock. Within that heading it leans toward symphonic stuff at times, fusion at others and neo-classical at times.
Rocket Scientists - Oblivion Days Review by Gary Hill This is a very good album, no question about it. The disc covers a lot of musical territory and has a great prog sensibility. More
Rocket4357 Project - Flower Pot Hat Review by Gary Hill This disc is a strong debut entry from The Rocket4357 Project. In many ways it is a competent pop/rock album, but even in that mode, the prog influences show through.
More
This is a double CD that is essentially a concept album or rock opera, depending on how you look at it. It's packed full of great music that lands in the progressive rock zone.
I generally put Anthony W. Rogers under progressive rock, as I did this release. That's because of the experimental, sonically challenging aspect of the music.
Romislokus - Vinyl Spring Digital Autumn Review by Gary Hill Break out the Borsht and pour the vodka, Russian prog has come to the music scene. Romislokus is a project based in Moscow and their album was recently released.
More
Royal Hunt - Paradox Review by Gary Hill Although Royal Hunt are certainly no strangers to the international music scene (they are quite popular in many countries, and this is their 5th album), they are, thus far, fairly unheard of in the United States. More
In honor of the 50th Anniversary of Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells album, The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra working with the London Contemporary Voices Choir have created a new studio interpretation of the work.
RPWL - Stock Review by Gary Hill RPWL have created quite an interesting beast with this one. They have found a way to combine early prog stylings of bands like Pink Floyd and Genesis with a modern Europop texture and come up with a highly listenable CD.
More
RPWL - World Through My Eyes Review by Josh Turner The new album from RPWL arrived on my doorstep at the exact same time as a much anticipated copy of Spock's Beard's latest. I hadn't even realized RPWL was working on a new release.
More
This solo release by keyboard wizard Jordan Rudess covers a lot of musical territory, ranging from hard edged prog and neo-classical to classic era jazz and fusion. The result is quite an entertaining work.
Jordan Rudess - 4NYC Review by Gary Hill Jordan Rudess writes in the liner notes to this CD that the concert from which much of the material on this disc is from was set to raise money for the Red Cross in the wake of September 11th, 2001.
More
This would land under progressive rock under just about any circumstance at MSJ because of the fact that it's a project by Jordan Rudess. That said, while this is not rock music, it is progressive.
Todd Rundgren - Todd Rundgren's Utopia Review by Steve Alspach Okay, so you're Todd Rundgren. You've just released the two-record "Something/Anything" album that included some classic pop songs like "Hello, It's Me" and "I Saw the Light."
More
Let me say to begin that I think Todd Rungren is one of the greatest songwriters of all time. I’ve never seen him live, but I’ve heard (and I’ll bet) it’s a great experience.
Rush - Caress of Steel Review by Gary Hill Caress of Steel was sort of a crossroads for Rush, taking them from their more metal beginnings into the progressive directions that would characterize the next phase of their career. Much of this album is quite metallic, but with many strong prog leanings. More
Rush - 2112 Review by Gary Hill Where Rush's previous album, Caress of Steel first showed prog tendencies (arguably Fly By Night's Bytor and the Snow Dog was the first such hint) it leaned more to extremely progressive metal. This album is probably the one where they reversed that label to become metallic progressive rock.
More
Rush - A Farewell To Kings Review by Mike Korn It was 23 years ago when I first heard this album in its entirety. And now, many years and many journeys (musical and otherwise) later, it is still one of my most prized possessions. More
Rush - Hemispheres Review by Gary Hill While Rush started almost as a Canadian Led Zeppelin, as they moved forward they became more and more of a progressive rock band with each album.
Due to several personal tragedies in drummer Neil Peart`s life, Rush is currently on hiatus, and their future is uncertain. This album, chronicling the Test For Echo tour (primarily), could well be the band`s last effort.
Rush - Vapor Trails Review by Steve Alspach After a five-year hiatus, the Grand ol' Men of power trios return with their nineteenth studio album. And if you think that the layoff made them rusty, rest assured that Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, and Neil Peart have not lost a bit of their chops.
More
In 1978, Rush was riding high after two consecutive albums that pushed their presence into the prog spotlight.After a short break that followed a tour of the UK, the band went back to Wales to record this prog masterpiece.
In 1977, Rush were flying high with the success of their last studio release 2112.That was a “make or break” record, and when fortune finally hit, it gave the band a sense that the direction they were heading was the right one.
Rymo is a shortened form of Ryan Moran's name, and he's best known as the drummer for Slightly Stoopid. This solo album finds him joined by a number of musicians.