Flying Colors, for once in a long time prove that rock music can still be everything it's supposed to be in a landscape that constantly attempts to limit it.
Interview with Steve Morse from 2010 Audio of this interview is available in our members' area. Log in on the main page or sign up today - memberships start at just six bucks.
You have to respect Eagle for all they do concerning their artists’ current work and re-issues, as they have been on a serious roll lately in particular.
Neal Morse - ? Review by Josh Turner He did everything I would have asked of him and a whole lot more. This is his best album out of his most recent batches and one that rivals all the best from the year. More...
This is an intriguing disc from Dream Theater. It consists of one awesome 20 minute plus epic that’s a pure roller coaster ride and a series of cover tunes recorded live.
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...
This anthology of songs from John Wetton is quite strong. It’s not all progressive rock, and for the most par even when it lands there, it’s more in the AOR end of the spectrum.
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. More...
Spock's Beard - Beware of Darkness Review by Gary Hill The leanings on this album are widespread (Neil Young, Yes, Beatles, King Crimson), and the changes are so fast as to be difficult to keep track of at times.
Dream Theater - Bucharest, Romania 7/4/02 DVD Review by Greg Olma Dream Theater have decided to beat the bootleggers by releasing their own material and cutting them out of the picture. Now, I know that you can't do that completely because the band tours constantly and they only have a limited amount of product on their label Ytsejam Records.
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If I were to be asked if I thought this were among the best Dixie Dregs to be released over the years, I would have to reach for my soapbox and say “no,” for several reasons.
Dream Theater - Chaos In Motion DVD Review by Greg Olma I like being a Dream Theater fan. Not only do you get great music, but they tour a lot and lately, they seem to put out a visual record of every tour.
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Dream Theater - Dark Side of the Moon DVD Review by Bill Knispel In an effort to provide more material to their fervent fan base, Dream Theater created their own label, Ytsejam Records, to release a series of “official bootlegs.” These releases include interesting live shows, collections of studio demos, and “making of” collections that present works in progress for past studio album releases. More...
Day for Night is the fourth studio album from Spock`s Beard. The album is a departure from their earlier albums in that shorter numbers has replaced the fifteen-minute suites.
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? More...
Various Artists - Encores, Legends and Paradoxes Review by Gary Hill With a cast of players that reads like a prog "who`s who", this ELP tribute takes the classics and makes them fresh and new again. The result is an incredibly listenable piece of music that really entertains.
Dream Theater - Falling Into Infinity Review by Gary Hill There are those who feel that Dream Theater is not a progressive rock band. However, this album contains many factors indigenous to progressive rock. More...
Ian Gillan - Gillan’s Inn Review by Rick Damigella Setting convention and professionalism aside for one moment… I am a card carrying Ian Gillan fan. I have seen him live numerous times, have listened to countless hours of his singing from throughout his storied career, from the Javelins through multiple incarnations fronting Deep Purple to his stint as Jesus. More...
Dream Theater - Images And Words Review by Gary Hill Images and Words marked the debut of lead singer James LaBrie to the DT fold and his performance here showed him to be a powerhouse of talent. This disc is arguably the most metallic in the DT catalog, certainly fueling the prog versus metal debate in progressive rock circles. More...
Deep Purple - In Concert With The London Symphony Orchestra DVD Review by Gary Hill The whole nearly clichéd concept of doing a concert with a symphony orchestra is, thankfully, starting to fall out of style. Just you don’t misunderstand, there are some instances where it works really well, but more often than not it comes across as a gimmicky concept that falls pretty flat.
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Neal Morse - It's Not Too Late Review by Steve Alspach Neal Morse is showing that there are two sides to his musical persona - one as the leader of Spock's Beard, but another that shows that he is at home writing well-crafted rock numbers.
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This new album showcases a lot of cool Beatles covers from a number of artists. It's actually compiled of tracks previously released on a number of albums.
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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Dream Theater - Live At Budokan DVD Review by Greg Olma Dream Theater have always made a point of only releasing quality product. Whether you like it or not, you always have to admit that the recordings and videos were done in the best possible way.
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Dixie Dregs - Live at Montreux 1978 DVD Review by Gary Hill Anyone wanting to see what makes the Dixie Dregs so special would do well to check out this awesome DVD. This band is so tight and purely smokes! More...
Deep Purple - Live at Montreux 1996 Review by Gary Hill Deep Purple has always had a special place in my heart. When I first started getting into hard rock a friend turned me onto the In Rock album and I was amazed. More...
Deep Purple - Live at Montreux 1996 DVD Review by Gary Hill Sometimes it's all about the impression. I saw Deep Purple once quite a few years back, and frankly, I found them to be boring. More...
As a major fan of Deep Purple, I am approaching this with a more informative angle, to not only shed any overly biased factors, but explain a few things from within the Purple frame of mind.
Dream Theater - Live at the Marcus Amphitheater-August 24th, 1998 Review by Gary Hill Dream Theater proved that, even as an opening act, they are to be taken seriously in the prog world. In fact, they made a very strong argument for deserving to be placed at a higher point on the bill, meaning no disrespect to the other bands that performed at the show.
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Dream Theater - Live at the Riviera Theater, Chicago IL, August 12, 2000 Review by Steve Alspach Dream Theater were on their Metropolis 2000 tour, and they performed a number of songs from their latest album, "Scenes From a Memory", but they performed a solid two hour-twenty minute show that never let up in intensity. The band opened with "Metropolis" from their most recent album.
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It takes cajones to record an album consisting of your fifth or sixth performance ever as a band. But if you're as talented as the guys in Transatlantic, nerves are perhaps the only problem.
Dream Theater - Live in Boston, MA, August 2005 Review by Josh Turner Dream Theater was pretty good, but not excellent. With the exception of a couple songs, most of them have been performed untold times in past concerts.
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Spock's Beard - Live in Chicago IL, August, 2000 Review by Steve Alspach Opening for Dream Theater, Spock's Beard played a surprisingly short set. With their new album, "V" due out shortly, one would think that the band would have played a few songs from that album, but it wasn't to be.
Dream Theater - Live in Chicago, August 2009 Review by Greg Olma If you are a Dream Theater fan then you know Mike Portnoy takes a lot of effort in making sure that each time the band visits a city, they play a different show. More...
Dream Theater - Live In Chicago, February 13th, 2000 Review by Gary Hill When a band releases a concept album, there is always the temptation to come out on tour and do the entire album from beginning to end. Quite a few bands have tried it.
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Dream Theater - Live in Chicago, July 19, 2003 Review by Gary Hill As someone who has seen Dream Theater live quite a few times, let me say that this show has me a little perplexed. First, I was never one to fall into the bandwagon of their detractors who said that they were all about playing millions of notes with no passion or musical theme.
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This two disc set wasn't an easy pick between the three Transatlantic DVD's on the market, but ultimately I chose this one because I could review it at MSJ as it hadn’t been covered yet.
The Winery Dogs are back, and I couldn’t be more excited.It has been almost eight years since I saw them on stage, and I was lucky to catch them on this your for their latest release III.
Having not followed Neal Morse’s post Spock’s Beard and TransAtlantic career, you could imagine my surprise when I learned that Neal Morse has redirected his amazing musical talents towards promoting God’s word, “Prog Style.”
Deep Purple - Live in Portland, Oregon, September 2019 Review by Larry Toering Of all the Deep Purple tours of America in the past 15 years, this is only the second actual headlining tour I can think of, as I’ve attended all of them myself.
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Deep Purple - Live in Rockford, IL, 2005 Review by Mike Korn Deep Purple don't play all that many dates in the U.S. anymore, preferring to concentrate on the more lucrative foreign markets, so it was quite a surprise to see they got a gig here in Rockford. This is a band that got its start the same year that Led Zeppelin did and they have been prolific since that long ago year of 1968.
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Dream Theater - Live in Rosemont, IL May 13, 2008 Review by Greg Olma Dream Theater hit the road again but this time it is more of a tour package instead of the usual concert with a support group. Titled Progressive Nation 2008, Dream Theater headlined a four band bill that consisted of bands hand picked by Mike Portnoy.
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Dream Theater - Live in Rosemont, IL, August 2007 Review by Greg Olma I was surprised when I bought my ticket for this Dream Theater show. The past few tours that I saw them, they were the only band and it was billed as “An Evening with…”
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Deep Purple - Live in Ventura, California, August, 2007 Review by Rick Damigella Deep Purple stormed through Southern California in August as part of their current world tour, playing three shows from San Diego to Ventura over five days. I took in two of the gigs, the first being in Costa Mesa at the long underutilized Pacific Amphitheater and then the very next night at the Ventura Theater.
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Dream Theater - Made in Japan Review by Rick Damigella There are only a handful of bands with the boldness, chutzpah and talent to record and release a series of official live bootlegs where they cover another well known band’s album.
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Various Artists - Magna Carta Guitar Greats – Volume I Review by Gary 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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Steve Morse - Major Impacts Review by Gary Hill Steve Morse has come up with a very intriguing concept for an album in this release. The disc is an all instrumental excursion through his varied influences. More...
I suppose it makes sense that if Steve Morse can't really be pegged to any one style, it's because his influences can't be pegged either. On Major Impacts 2 Morse continues to pay respect to the musicians who caught his ear.
Dream Theater - Master Of Puppets Review by Greg Olma From the beginning, Dream Theater always gave the fans something special. When they go out on tour, if they have a 2 night stay at any venue, the second night becomes “cover” night. More...
Dream Theater never do anything half way.They created the masterpiece Metropolis: Scenes From A Memory and then decided to play the whole thing on tour.
It is still pretty early in the year, but I'll be surprised if this release doesn't make my "best of 2020" list. The mix of sounds here includes metal, good solid hard rock and plenty of progressive rock.
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.
Neal Morse - Neal Morse Review by Steve Alspach On "Day for Night," Spock's Beard songwriter, frontman, and head whisker Neal Morse said that he wanted to put emphasis on the songs rather than the long suites so prevalent on their first few albums. More...
Robby Steinhardt was probably best known as the violinist for the band Kansas. He was certainly a unique individual in the prog rock scene of the day playing that instrument.
Dream Theater - Once In A Livetime Review by Sean Faust For the past 9 years, progressive virtuosos Dream Theater (currently Mike Portnoy, John Petrucci, John Myung, James LaBrie and Derek Sherinian) have been blessing the music world with their highly textured (and sometimes ethereal) music and thought-provoking lyrics.
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Neal Morse - One Review by Josh Turner While Testimony is spoken in the first person, One is in the third. Neal has the knack for relaying meaning through song. He tells a smooth flowing story, yet it's nowhere near a monologue. More...
Steve Morse - Prime Cuts Review by Gary Hill Joining Magna Carta's Prime Cuts series is this release of music by Steve Morse. The majority of the material comes from three solo albums of his, Split Decision, Major Impacts 1, and Major Impacts 2. More...
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. More...
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. More...
Jordan Rudess - Rhythm of Time Review by Josh Turner Jordan Rudess is a virtual virtuoso. His must be an android based on the way that he plays. More...
Dream Theater - Scenes From A Memory Review by Vivian Lee Since 1985, the five-man outfit named Dream Theater has offered progressive rock fans thoughtful and emotional music that makes them marvel and ask, how do they do that? DT's brand of prog vividly shows eclectic, hard-to-place influences, which include jazz, neo-classical, and ethnic music forms. More...
Dream Theater - Score: 20th Anniversary World Tour Live With the Octavarium Orchestra DVD Review by Bill Knispel Dream Theater has heavily embraced the home video/DVD market over the years, releasing five full-length videos over the past 12 years. Their latest video release, Score, celebrates the band’s 20th anniversary with a full headlining set recorded live at New York City’s famed Radio City Music Hall on 1 April 2006. More...
The parallels are amazing. A band, noticed for its work in progressive rock, releases for its sixth album an epic tale of a young man making his way in the world, only to have the band's lead singer surprisingly pack it in and leave the band.
Who says progressive rock can't be serious and showcase a spirit of fun at the same time? Obviously anyone who says that has never seen Spock's Beard live.
Neal Morse - Sola Scriptura Review by Josh Turner This album is outstanding. If there was any stronger word to use in its place, I’d have chosen that instead to sanction my approval. More...
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. More...
Steve Morse - Split Decision Review by Gary Hill According to the liner notes, this album is named "Split Decision" because Morse had in mind two different albums, one a hard rocking collection and the other a sedate set of pieces. More...
Transatlantic - STMPE Review by Gary Hill and Steve Alspach When you talk progressive rock and the term "supergroup" comes up, this band will certainly come to mind. The band is made up of Roine Stolt of Flower Kings, Pete Trewavas of Marillion, Neal Morse of Spocks Beard and Mike Portnoy of Dream Theater. More...
After Steve Morse found himself in Deep Purple by way of Joe Satriani's rather swift exit due to contractual obligations, or so the story goes, this was one of his opportunities to continue in the fiery direction he was going in on his solo albums with Dave LaRue on bass and Van Romaine on drums.
Dream Theater - Systematic Chaos Review by Bill Knispel Dream Theater really needs no introduction. As perhaps the foremost and best-known proponent of progressive metal, they have forged a more than 20-year career. More...
Various Artists - Tales From Yesterday Review by Gary Hill A tribute to the music of Yes, Tales From Yesterday, features some very fine renditions of Yessongs performed by a variety of artists (including several past and present members of Yes). This is a mixed bag. Some of the tracks are quite faithful to the original, while others represent major reworkings. More...
Neal Morse - Testimony Review by Steve Alspach Neal Morse's first post-Spock's Beard album is a big pill to swallow - over two hours' worth of music that document Morse's conversion to Christianity. More...
Neal Morse - Testimony DVD Review by Josh Turner If there is one music DVD to get this year, I have the one for you. There is no doubt in my mind that I would choose Neal Morse: Testimony Live as DVD of the year. More...
Transatlantic - The Bridge Across Forever Review by Steve Alspach Prog's premier supergroup (Neal Morse, Roine Stolt, Mike Portnoy, and Pete Trewavas) strike again with this 2001 release. This album sounds similar to their first effort, but there are many differences that set this album apart.
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Dream Theater - The Dark Side of the Moon Review by Bill Knispel As a way of providing something different and special to their fans, Dream Theater began a series of cover shows in 2002. Whenever the band were scheduled to perform two nights in the same venue/city, they would dedicate part of their second show to a performance of a classic album, covered in its entirety. More...
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.
In a snap, Neal Morse took center stage behind his keyboards with an arsenal of guitars in tow. Modeled after most of his creations, the music began with an overture.
This band seem to be very pumped, and it could be coincided with the Morsefest coming on, as announcements have been going out about it while NMB are on tour.
The album, "Similitude to a Dream," is nearly two hours of seamlessly integrated music. The Neal Morse Band played it in its entirety with a single intermission where the discs split.
Dream Theater - The Number Of The Beast Review by Greg Olma Dream Theater has never been a band that does things without giving 110% effort and value. To beat the bootleggers, Dream Theater has created its own label to release live shows along with studio demos and assorted material otherwise unavailable to the public. More...
This album is a compilation of various progressive rock performances that were presented on the King Biscuit Flower Hour radio show. All of the outings are quite good, and the selection of artists is also.
Kansas - There’s Know Place Like Home DVD Review by Greg Olma I can’t believe that Kansas is 35 years old.I remember first getting Leftoverture when it came out and that is 33 years ago. More...
Dream Theater - Train of Thought Review by Gary Hill When I heard Dream Theater was releasing another album, this immediately piqued my interest. Dream Theater had been my gateway into the Progressive Metal genre. More...
Carmine Appice - Ultimate Guitar Zeus Review by Gary Hill An album like this could be a tricky venture. Essentially the concept is a series of songs with the same basic core band. More...
Dream Theater continues to release great CDs through their Ytsejam Records label.They have released live discs and demos but this one is kind of odd as it is a compilation of songs from different sources.
The fifth album from Spock's Beard shows them to be at the forefront of current progressive music. In this album the band is able to play exciting, adventurous music without ever becoming self-indulgent or pompous.
Dixie Dregs - What If Review by Steve Alspach What If was the second album by the Dixie Dregs, released in 1978. The band left Capricorn after one album and signed to Polydor (which may have been a good move - those who had never heard the band would not be blamed if they thought that this band from Miami, signed to Capricorn, would be another southern-fried boogie band).
Dream Theater - When Dream And Day Reunite DVD Review by Greg Olma Dream Theater is truly a prog band of the people, by the people, and for the people. I can’t think of a band that really has such a close tie with their fans.
Transatlantic - Whirld Tour 2010 Deluxe Edition – 2 DVD & 3 CD Review by Scott Montgomery This is ridiculous!Really!The degree of virtuosity, complexity, and sheer stamina involved in performing this music live is staggering…almost to the point of absurdity.
Various Artists - Working Man Review by Gary Hill One of the early Magna Carta tribute CD's, this one is definitely not one of their finest. It does have some strong points, though, and the main area in which it is lacking is vocals. More...
You'll find concert pics of this artist in the Music Street Journal members area.
