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Bozzio, Levin, Stevens
CD Reviews
Black Light Syndrome
Review by Gary Hill
This album by Terry Bozzio, Tony Levin and Steve Stevens is a very wonderful work. Combining elements of Red era King Crimson, jazz, and other sources,the musicianship is impeccable.
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Situation Dangerous
Review by Steve Alspach
 Red-era King Crimson's may claim to being the best guitar-bass-drums setup in progressive rock, but Terry Bozzio, Tony Levin, and Steve Stevens are more than willing to challenge that assumption with their latest work, "Situation Dangerous". The album shows three musicians at the top of their games.
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Tony Levin
Review by Bob Cooper
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Tony Levin
Review by Gary Hill
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Audio of this interview is available in our members area.
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Tony Levin
Review by Gary Hill
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Tony Levin
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Tony Levin
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Interview with Tony Levin from 2016

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Various Artists - A Life in Yes: The Chris Squire Tribute
Review by Gary Hill
I grew up as a Yes fanatic from the age of 12. As a bass player myself, Chris Squire was a huge part of my own growth as a musician.
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Various Artists - Abbey Road Reimagined - A Tribute To The Beatles
Review by Gary Hill
The whole get a bunch of musicians together and record covers of an entire album thing is something I really like.

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Stick Men - Absalom
Review by Grant Hill

Stick Men is a unique power trio. Founded by legendary and still cutting edge bassist / Chapman Stick artist, Tony Levin, Stick Men continues to expand the horizons of modern progressive music. With the departure of fellow Stick artist Michael Bernier, Austrian touch guitar master, Markus Reuter, has joined King Crimson band-mates Levin and drummer Pat Mastelotto for one of the most impressive forays into modern music. Absalom represents the first recorded portion of a planned longer CD release from Stick Men.

My impression of Absalom is that with the first listen, you’ll likely immediately be drawn into the expansive diversity of styles, sounds, and textures spread through this highly enjoyable and musically advanced EP. I have been listening to this collection for several weeks, and I can only say that the songs are growing even more on me. Each listen gives the opportunity to hear a different relationship of sounds I hadn’t noticed on the prior listen. This is very, very good music of our era. I highly recommend this album.


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Explorer's Club - Age of Impact
Review by Gary Hill
This album could well be the most important progressive disc of the decade for two reasons. Firstly, by the sheer magnitude of performers on this CD.
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David Young - and Friends - Love Wins
Review by Gary Hill
I initially had planned to land this under progressive rock. That was largely due to the appearance of Tony Levin and Jerry Marotta.

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Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman and Howe - Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman and Howe
Review by Gary Hill
In the late 1980’s Jon Anderson broke away from the Trevor Rabin dominated version of Yes to reunite with his former band mates, Bill Bruford, Rick Wakeman and Steve Howe to produce Yes type music.
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Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman and Howe - Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman and Howe Brother of Mine / Vultures in the City CD single
Review by G. W. Hill

This single from Anderson, Bruford Wakeman and Howe is out of print, of course, but these days, it’s not that hard (or sometimes expensive) to get your hands on something like this.


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Angelica - Angelica
Review by Larry Toering

In late 1997 (released in 1998) a thing of beauty was recorded between opera singers and rock guitarists called “Angelica.”


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Various Artists - Back Against the Wall
Review by Gary Hill
There are few people who haven't at least heard of Pink Floyd's The Wall. I would hazard to say that those who have never heard the album are in the minority as well.
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Peter Gabriel - Back to Front: Live in London BluRay
Review by G. W. Hill

Fans of the So album will especially want to pick this up.


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King Crimson - Beat
Review by Gary Hill
Of the trio of studio albums originally released by this version of King Crimson, this was the middle child. It was also a little less adventurous than either of the other two.
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Danny Brill - Better Late Than Never
Review by Gary Hill

Old school prog fans should find plenty to like here. That said, modern progressive rock aficionados will probably like it, too. .


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Bruford Levin Upper Extremities - BLUE Nights
Review by Gary Hill
This recording chronicles the live performances of Bruford Levin Upper Extremities from 1998. The disc showcases the band's unique blend of jazzy modes with Crimsonesque textures and, occassionally, just plain weirdness.
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Sarah Perrotta - Blue to Gold
Review by Gary Hill
I have to say that I have gone back and forth on whether this release fits under progressive rock. Ultimately, I made the decision to put it there.

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Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman and Howe - Brother of Mine / Vultures in the City (vinyl single)
Review by G. W. Hill

This single from Anderson, Bruford Wakeman and Howe is out of print, of course, but these days, it’s not that hard (or sometimes expensive) to get your hands on something like this.


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Bruford Levin Upper Extremities - Bruford Levin Upper Extremities
Review by Gary Hill
The musicians on this disc are Bill Bruford (Yes, King Crimson), Tony Levin (King Crimson; Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman and Howe; Bozzio, Levin, Stevens; Liquid Tension Experiment), David Torn (Mark Isham, Bill Bruford), and Chris Botti(Paul Simon, Blue Nile).
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Billy Sheehan - Compression
Review by Gary Hill
Billy Sheehan is a bass legend, and, of course the bass work on this disc is very very good. Interestingly enough, so is the guitar, drums and vocal work. Even more interesting about that is the fact that Sheehan is responsible for the majority of that as well.

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Steve Thorne - Crimes & Reasons
Review by Alison Henderson

Steve Thorne is one of the great unsung British prog heroes, a veritable one man band who has released a series of consistently well-crafted and thought-provoking solo albums, Crimes & Reasons being his fourth.


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UK - Danger Money
Review by Bruce Stringer
This being the only studio album from the scaled down, three-piece lineup of Eddie Jobson, John Wetton and Zappa alumni Terry Bozzio, there is so much to live up to and the obvious question is: does it?
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King Crimson - Discipline
Review by Steve Alspach
These were interesting times for Robert Fripp, ye olde scholastic of the progressive rock scene. In 1978 he had released Exposure, an album that he described as "A Day in the Life" for that period.
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Various Artists - Drum Nation Vol. 2
Review by Gary Hill
The concept is simple but unique: put together a number of tracks from various artists showcasing influential and potent drummers. This was the concept for Magna Carta's first drum nation CD, and they continue it here - why mess up a good thing?
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California Guitar Trio - Echoes
Review by Gary Hill
California Guitar Trio are certainly well known for creating unique progressive rock instrumental pieces.
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The Prog Collective - Epilogue
Review by G. W. Hill

This is quite a cool set. The main man behind this is Billy Sherwood, and I always like the stuff he does.


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King Crimson - Eyes Wide Open DVD
Review by Bill Knispel
Following two plus years as a “double trio,” and nearly two years of fractionalization through a series of ProjeKCts, King Crimson returned to active duty in 2000 as a streamlined quartet with the album The ConstruKCtion of Light. A second album in this newer “double duo” format titled The Power to Believe, followed in 2003.
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Various Artists - Fly Like an Eagle - An All-Star Tribute to Steve Miller Band
Review by G. W. Hill

Cleopatra Records loves doing these tribute albums, typically with Billy Sherwood in charge.


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Tony Levin - From the Caves of the Iron Mountain
Review by Gary Hill
This album is an incredibly unique work, beautiful and very difficult to categorize. The musicians on the album are Tony Levin, Jerry Marotta and Steve Gorn.
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Peter Primamore - Grancia
Review by Gary Hill
This is an intriguing CD. It does a nice job of straddling the fence between jazz and progressive rock.
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King Crimson - Heroes EP
Review by Gary Hill
This new EP from King Crimson is intriguing. It's bookended by their take on a David Bowie classic (the full version and a single edit). 

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Magellan - Hundred Year Flood
Review by Gary Hill
Taking their name from the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan, one should see this group as wanting to take us on a musical journey of exploration.
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King Crimson - In the Court of King Crimson written by Sid Smith
Review by Steve Alspach
Few bands in progressive rock have a more colorful past than King Crimson. As Sid Smith says in the preface, the history of King Crimson is the "triumph of spirit over adversity. And sometimes the triumph of adversity."
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The Lonely Bears - Injustice
Review by Gary Hill
The personnel on this album are Tony Hymas (Jeff Beck, Jack Bruce, Ian Anderson), Terry Bozzio (Bozzio, Levin, Stevens; Frank Zappa; UK), Hugh Burns (Gerry Rafferty, Steelers Wheel), and Tony Coe (Spencer Davis, Henry Mancini, Caravan).
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Tony Levin, David Torn, Alan White - Levin, Torn, White
Review by Gary Hill

There is certainly something to be said for truth in advertising. Looking at the group name and the album title, really sets the stage for the music within.


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Liquid Tension Experiment - Liquid Tension Experiment
Review by Gary Hill
Due to be released on March 10th, this album by Tony Levin (King Crimson, Peter Gabriel, Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman and Howe), Jordan Rudess (Dregs, Rudess Morgenstein) and Mike Portnoy and John Petrucci (both of Dream Theater), much like the Black Light Syndrome CD by Bozzio, Levin, Stevens was written and recorded over the course of six days (with the exception of some keyboard and guitar overdubs). This album is in fact rather similar to Black Light Syndrome, but with the musical changes being a bit more dynamic and possessing a generally higher energy level.
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Liquid Tension Experiment - Liquid Tension Experiment 2
Review by Gary Hill
If you are into prog, and buy only one album this year, by all means, make it this one. The first Liquid Tension Experiment album was wonderful, and this one is even better.
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King Crimson - Live in Birmingham, England in September 2015
Review by John Pierpoint

I had never seen the mighty King Crimson play live before - not surprising, as I was only ten years old when the band last played my home town in 1974!


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Stick Men - Live in Buffalo, New York, October 2011
Review by Grant Hill

The excellent “Two of a Perfect Trio” tour was a well-publicized and equally well received series of concerts featuring the bands of King Crimson legends Tony Levin and Adrian Belew.


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King Crimson - Live in Chicago
Review by Gary Hill

King Crimson has one of the most interesting and complicated histories in all of progressive rock. The lineup is one of the most dynamic, too.


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Tony Levin - Live In Chicago, 2002
Review by Gary Hill
Have you ever seen the Tony Levin band live? If not, what are you waiting for?
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Bruford Levin Upper Extremities - Live in Chicago, December 9, 1998
Review by Gary Hill
This was the last show of the latest leg of BLUE`s tour. If this band makes it back on to the road again, do whatever it takes to see them.
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Tony Levin - Live in Chicago-June 23rd, 2000
Review by Gary Hill
Tony Levin and company did two shows for Chicago on June 23rd. The set consisted mostly of material from his new release Waters of Eden.
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Liquid Tension Experiment - Live in Downey, CA, June 2008
Review by Michael Bader

Downey, California is best remembered for the spacecrafts, fighter jets and B-1 bombers built there over the past three or four decades.


More (and larger) photos from this concert are available in our members' area.



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Tony Levin - Live in Madison, WI, March 23, 2003
Review by Gary Hill
This band never fails to deliver a smoking show! They came into Madison on a mini-tour for their Double Espresso live album.
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Various Artists - Magna Carta Guitar Greats – Volume I
Review by Grant Hill
These Magna Carta sampler discs serve as a great way for people to sample a number of their releases without having to shell out the cash for each and every one of them. I'd have to say that as these things go, this is one of the better ones – and they are all quite good.
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Various Artists - Meddle Reimagined: A Tribute to Pink Floyd
Review by Gary Hill
Tribute albums like this are always interesting, but also often disappointing.

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Various Artists - Modern Drummer Presents Drum Nation Volume One
Review by Steve Alspach
If you want to know what the state of drumming is circa 2004, you would do well to check this CD out. These drummers are all at the top of the game, and the CD explores a rather wide range of styles and moods.
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Derek Sherinian - Mythology
Review by G. W. Hill

This Derek Sherinian disc is just getting the reissue treatment.


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King Crimson - Neal and Jack and Me DVD
Review by Bill Knispel
King Crimson’s ‘return to the throne’ in the 1980’s must have been viewed with a degree of skepticism. The band made a name for themselves in the 1970’s with their dark blend of symphonic grandeur and intense heaviness, mixed with an improvisational spirit that would drive them to push every song and performance into parts unknown.
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UK - Night After Night
Review by Gary Hill
The third, and final album by what was probably the first prog rock super-group (OK, other than ELP), this is a live album. Although Bill Bruford had left the band after the first album, his presence is still felt in the composition of a few of these tracks, but Terry Bozzio brings in his own style as the replacement.
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Various Artists - Nightclubbing: The Birth Of Punk In NYC DVD/CD
Review by Gary Hill
Here we have a documentary that really shines the light on some common misconceptions, while telling a fascinating, although often not so pretty, story.

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Terry Bozzio & Billy Sheehan - Nine Short Films
Review by Gary Hill
Terry Bozzio wrote the lyrics to this and provides all the percussion and keyboard textures. The majority of the guitar sounds on this CD are not truly guitar but keys that sound like guitar provided by Bozzio.
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Peter Gabriel - Peter Gabriel
Review by Gary Hill
With this disc Peter Gabriel continued to confound the record label by releasing it under just his name.

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Peter Gabriel - Peter Gabriel (aka "1" and "Car") (vinyl)
Review by Gary Hill
This was Peter Gabriel's first solo album after he left Genesis in 1975. This 1977 release was also the first to bear the title "Peter Gabriel."

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Peter Gabriel - Peter Gabriel (aka "2" or "Scratch") (vinyl)
Review by Gary Hill
This is Peter Gabriel's second solo album. It's definitely quite a bit different than the first one.

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Peter Gabriel - Peter Gabriel (aka Security) (vinyl)
Review by Gary Hill
I've listed this under the actual title, which was the ever more confusing "Peter Gabriel."

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Tony Levin - Pieces of The Sun
Review by Gary Hill
Tony Levin consistently puts out musically strong, artistically driven albums, and this one is no exception. Pieces of The Sun does differ in some ways from his previous releases, though.
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Various Artists - Popoff Archive 2: Progressive Rock written by Martin Popoff
Review by Greg Olma
The music world has many characters who work behind the scenes, from producers to engineers to marketing people (and many more). 

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Terry Bozzio - Prime Cuts
Review by Gary Hill
This disc by drum great Terry Bozzio is by definition a compilation album. Still it does include two previously unreleased numbers, one of which was recorded specifically for this CD.
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Mike Portnoy - Prime Cuts
Review by Gary Hill
Mike Portnoy now has his own entry in the Magna Carta Prime Cuts collection. This disc, as the rest of the series, features selected tracks from albums that the artist has contributed to, presented here as sort of a slice of some of the best of the work from him.
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Jordan Rudess - Prime Cuts
Review by Josh Turner
Jordan Rudess is "technically" the best keyboardist in the business. When you limit this contest to progressive rock, it's a no-brainer.
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Billy Sheehan - Prime Cuts
Review by Steve Alspach
Ever play a bass guitar? "Strings" are a misnomer - they use great big, fat, wires. You have to work up some muscle in your fingers to aptly play a bass.
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Various Artists - Prog Box
Review by Gary Hill

I've been looking to do a retro review of this box set for a while. I finally had the opportunity this time around.


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Explorer's Club - Raising the Mammoth
Review by Gary Hill
Explorer's Club is in session once again. This time Trent Gardner has assembled a different group of musicians that includes drummer Terry Bozzio (UK, Frank Zappa, Bozzio Levin Stevens), bassist John Myung (Liquid Tension Experiment, Platypus, Dream Theater), Kerry Livgren (guitarist for Kansas), Gary Wehrkamp (Shadow Gallery) and keyboardist Mark Robertson (Cairo).
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Jonathan Elias - Requiem For the Americas
Review by Gary Hill
I’ve wanted to review this CD for a while. The problem is, it’s been out of print.
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Tony Levin - Resonator
Review by Gary Hill
In terms of releasing consistently strong material, Tony Levin is one of the best musicians out there.

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Simon Apple - River to the Sea
Review by Gary Hill
So many people these days give lip service to this charity or that, but you really have to admire the people who put their money (literally) where their mouth is. Such is the case with Simon Apple as they are donating a portion of the sale of each CD to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.



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Frank Zappa - Sheik Yerbouti
Review by Gary Hill
Outside of Zappa fandom the big claim to fame of this CD (other than the controversy which we’ll get to shortly) was the song “Dancing Fool.”
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Peter Gabriel - So Classic Album BluRay
Review by G. W. Hill

So was clearly the album that broke Peter Gabriel into the mainstream.


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Various Artists - Songs of the Century: An All-Star Tribute To Supertramp
Review by G. W. Hill

I am a big fan of pretty much anything Billy Sherwood is involved with and I love Supertramp, so when I heard Sherwood was in charge of assembling an all star tribute to Supertramp, I was excited.


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Vapourspace - Sonic Residue from Vapourspace
Review by Steve Alspach
Here's an interesting concept - take songs from various releases from a progressive rock record label and let the music be transformed by a techno mix until it's nearly unrecognizable from the original source.
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Tony Levin - Tales From The Widow Jane Mine VHS
Review by Gary Hill
When Levin chose to record an album in the unusual venue of an old cave, it seemed a very strange choice. This video chronicling the process of creating that music goes a long way to making it look pretty obvious.
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The Lonely Bears - The Bears are Running
Review by Gary Hill
A new release in that it is only now being released in the US, this album has been available in Europe for quite some time. The Lonely Bears catalog is just now being released in America on the Magna Carta label.
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The Lonely Bears - The Best of the Lonely Bears
Review by Gary Hill
The personnel on this album are Tony Hymas (Jeff Beck, Jack Bruce, Ian Anderson), Terry Bozzio (Bozzio, Levin, Stevens; Frank Zappa; UK), Hugh Burns (Gerry Rafferty, Steelers Wheel), and Tony Coe (Spencer Davis, Henry Mancini, Caravan). T
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King Crimson - The Collectable King Crimson, Vol. 3: Live in London, Pts. 1-2 1996
Review by Gary Hill
I’ve never had the chance to see King Crimson live. I really regret that.
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Yes - The Definitive Rock Collection
Review by Gary Hill

Here is another compilation of Yes music. It is the first two CDs from The Ultimate Yes, repackaged.


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Various Artists - The Drum Pad's 20th Anniversary Show
Review by Gary Hill
Drummers and drum fans unite and purchase this DVD! It features a number of world class drummers and you just don't get any better than this if your musical passion is geared towards percussion.

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The Fusion Syndicate - The Fusion Syndicate
Review by G. W. Hill

What an amazing set this is.


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The Levin Brothers - The Levin Brothers
Review by G. W. Hill

Is this album progressive rock? No.


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The Lonely Bears - The Lonely Bears
Review by Gary Hill
Featuring modes that are both prog and traditional jazz, this is a strong CD by a talented bunch of musicians. The melody seems to be a very important part of the music on this album.
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Yes - The Yes Album (Expanded and Remastered)
Review by Gary Hill

The third album from Yes, The Yes Album was a transitional disc. 


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King Crimson - Thrak
Review by G. W. Hill

When King Crimson reformed after the 80s period, there were definitely elements of that period still present in their sound. 


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King Crimson - Three Of A Perfect Pair
Review by Gary Hill
When King Crimson reformed in the 1980’s to create the Discipline album the sound they presented was quite different from the classic Crimson of the 1970’s. While I liked all of the discs from this Belew, Bruford, Fripp and Levin lineup, I still preferred the “old school” stuff.
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Steve Hunter - Tone Poems Live
Review by G. W. Hill

This live album is pretty great. .


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Tony Levin - Tony Levin Band - Double Espresso
Review by Gary Hill
Tony Levin and his band tour fairly frequently, bringing their unique show to enthusiastic fans on a regular basis. It wasn't until recently, though, that those fans could have a musical documentation of that group at home.
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Peter Gabriel - Up
Review by Steve Alspach
Peter Gabriel has always been one to have a keen lookout on where music is, or where it's going.
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Jerry Goodman - Violin Fantasy
Review by G. W. Hill

This album is fully instrumental. It’s a great disc, too. Some of the music here has appeared elsewhere (although most of the time in different arrangements)


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King Crimson - VROOOM
Review by Bill Knispel
10 years following the dissolution of King Crimson following a trilogy of world and gamelan influenced albums, the band quietly rejoined forces in a small studio in Woodstock New York to create a new band and a new sound. Expanding beyond the quartet that created those 1980’s albums, the core group (Robert Fripp. Adrian Belew, Tony Levin and Bill Bruford) was joined by new members Pat Mastelotto (drums, formerly of Mister Mister) and Trey Gunn (Stick) to create what founding member Robert Fripp called a “double trio.”
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Steve Hackett - Watcher of the Skies
Review by Gary Hill
Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett has assembled a wide variety of musicians to rework many classic Genesis songs. The end result is quite interesting.
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Tony Levin - Waters of Eden
Review by Vivian Lee
Since the age of ten, bassist/stick-player Tony Levin has been a chameloid powerhouse in the world of music, having played with artists like Seal, Peter Paul and Mary, and Andy Summers; or with supergroups like King Crimson, Bruford Levin Upper Extremities and Liquid Tension Experiment.
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Alice Cooper - Welcome to My Nightmare
Review by Gary Hill
To many this classic album represents Alice Cooper at his theatric best. It is a loosely knit concept album that at times is a bit weak, at times a bit over the top, but in many ways a spooky masterpiece.
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California Guitar Trio - Whitewater
Review by Gary Hill
The first thing that I feel compelled to say is that I love the cover of this disc. It is arguably the best album cover of the entire year.

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California Guitar Trio - with Tony Levin and Pat Mastelotto-Live At The Key Club
Review by Steve Alspach
On February 3, 2001, the California Guitar Trio played in Hollywood's Key Club. Fortunately, they also had the stellar rhythm section of Tony Levin and Pat Mastelotto to accompany them.
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Tony Levin - World Diary
Review by Gary Hill
Featuring a large number of diverse musicians, this album is a considerably varied work. Released in 1995, jazz, art rock, and world textures dominate in this unique and intriguing CD, Tony Levin`s first solo album and the first release on his Papa Bear label.
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Frank Zappa - Zappa In New York
Review by Bill Knispel
The separation between live album and studio album has always been a fuzzy one when it comes to Frank Zappa. As so many of his “studio” albums were created through the use of individual instrumental tracks (or wholesale lifting of full band tracks) from live performance, it’s often difficult to tell on LP what was recorded in thew studio and what was recorded live.
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Frank Zappa - Zoot Allures
Review by Gary Hill

This 1976 release was Frank Zappa's only set on Warner Brothers Records. It has the usual type of Zappa weirdness you would expect.


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