This Italian act have produced a strong album here. The mix of metal and prog sounds is quite intriguing. They move toward space music and much more at different points.

This album from Jeff Berlin is a tribute to Jack Bruce.

This CD collects the two albums released by Bethlehem Asylum onto one CD.

I really wish I'd gotten this CD a month or so earlier. It would have been a perfect fit in our October issue because it definitely has a spooky angle to it.

The third studio album from Kate Bush, I tend to feel this was the one where her sound started to move into more dramatic and cinematic territory.

Jeff Cotton was formerly the guitarist for Captain Beefheart. If you know that, you'll have an idea of what kind of music you are going to get here.

I previously reviewed a set by the Erik Dahl Ensemble, but this is a solo set. I landed that one under prog, although it wasn't a slam dunk.

This outfit is apparently billed as techno-pop. I consider them more instrumental prog.

This is apparently the second release from this act. I never heard the first one.

This is Peter Gabriel's second solo album. It's definitely quite a bit different than the first one.

This is a long lost album from 1970. It's one of those things that is only known about by a select group of people, but that group is enthusiastic about it.

This is an intriguing release. It's an instrumental set featuring piano (Laszlo Gardony) and 36-String Double Gontraguitar (Kevin Kastning).  

I never thought I'd include a Lillian Axe album under progressive rock, but honestly, that's where this fits.

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.

This is a Danish act, and they are considered jazz. This doesn't land under prog for fusion, though, although there are a couple points where it does get near to fusion.

This 1978 release from Queen, still has a very classic sound, but they were experimenting with some new directions. It had several hits, and also quite a bit of meaty music.

This album is pretty amazing. It defies classification, really, but fits under prog for a number of reasons.

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 have enjoyed Royal Hunt's style of merging heavy metal with symphonic prog since I first heard their Paradox album when it came out.

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.

The music here, like on the previous release from Cory Smythe I reviewed, is decidedly freeform and experimental.

This album chronicles a lot of the early progressive rock scene in Germany. It's a double disc set and has some great music.

This act is not precisely a progressive rock outfit. They are definitely art rock, though.

You might expect, from the name of this act, that it's a solo artist. That's not true.

This release is made up of a lot of freeform jazz compositions.

This live album from Yes is a couple years old. It has some interesting songs that aren't often performed by the band.

Released in 1970, this was the third solo album from Frank Zappa. The disc saw the debut of Turtles members Flo and Eddie as part of Zappa's band. 

While Anthea doesn't reinvent the wheel, their version of symphonic and progressive metal is an intriguing blend of sounds.

This act is a metal band from Sweden. I have seen them billed as melodic metal, but I tend to think of that style as more AOR mainstream stuff.

While this gets a little technical at times, I think it lands more along the lines of bands like Accept, AC/DC and Saxon a lot of the time.

I have to admit to not being the biggest fan of extreme metal. Yet, sometimes it really works for me.

This album has a great classic metal sound. It has s lot of symphonic and epic metal in the mix.

This recent vinyl album from German doom metallers Wheel would have probably made my "best of 2021" list had I heard it last year when it was first released.

This is the first CD release of a previously self-released cassette from Anti-Flag. The music here is tastefully raw.

This is the third album from Fred Argir that I've reviewed. Like the others it is a good, but not great release. 

This album is quite entertaining and intriguing. If there is one complaint, it's that at times it seems to be all over the place in terms of styles.

Home-made folk music is probably the best description of this music. I would say that the music works better than the vocals for me, but your mileage may vary.

This is very unusual. There is a real artsy quality to much of this.

This EP from Los Angeles band Captain Danger is so cool. It has a lot of funk, but that's not the only thing here.

This new set from Conner Cherland seems to me as a set that would benefit from a little shuffling around of songs. The first four tracks here are a bit samey, landing in the zone of 80s music.

This is a compilation disc gathering up two releases from this band and assembling them all on one CD. The group have a sound that walks a fence between alternative rock and punk.

Cleveland Crochet was a Cajun fiddler who had a hit with "Sugar Bee" in 1961.

This CD gathers together two trio albums released by Tennessee Ernie Ford. The first batch of songs are decidedly less fully arranged, while the second set are a bit more involved.

It's probably no surprise to those who read Music Street Journal regularly that I'm not the target audience for modern pop music. I often find it to be lacking.

Davey Johnstone is probably best known as the guitarist in the classic Elton John Band. In fact, he's been part of that band for decades.

I was under the impression that Guy King was a blues guitarist. That is one part of his picture. He's also a jazz musician, though.

This is quite an interesting album. It sits firmly in the alternative rock zone, but there is a good range within.

This collection of music from Charlie McCoy covers a lot of territory. I really like parts of this a lot, particularly the more rocking stuff.

Apparently I'm in the minority as someone who loved this album from the day I bought it, and that was the day it was released.

This album was released last year. I didn't get a copy in time for our December issue last year, so I've been hanging onto it until now.

I have to admit at the beginning of this review, I didn't get the Beatles for many years and I still don't really get the early years of the band.

This is an album that is hard rocking and at times leans toward progginess. It's psychedelic, alternative and fun.

This set has quite a range of sounds. I suppose roots music is an underlying element throughout, but this is nothing close to monolithic.

This massive collection of music from Scottish punkers Skids gathers up five live recordings and one acoustic studio release. It's all included in a cardboard clamshell box.

The mix of sounds on this album is great. There is a real classic vibe to much of this.

You can always count on Bear Family for quality products. This new record is a fine example of that.

As you can probably gather, this is a collection of songs held together via a loose thematic thread of being winter-related. There is a very wide range of styles here, although all are retro.

This is a compilation album featuring music from Junior Wells. The singer and harmonica player is something of a legend, hence the title.

I am a huge fan of Gordon Lightfoot. I got to see him live and meet him a little over a decade ago.

I have to admit to having more knowledge of rock music than I do jazz. Additionally, my tastes in jazz, and consequently my knowledge of it, leans more toward the instrumental variety than the vocal.

I reviewed a CD set with a similar cover and title in this issue of Music Street Journal.

I mentioned in my review of the Abbey Lincoln video from this series that I am not all that familiar with a lot of jazz singers. Nancy Wilson is clearly one of the exceptions.

Interview with Jeff Berlin from 2022