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Progressive Rock CD Reviews

Wide Hive Players Turnstyle Review by Gary Hill I really love this instrumental album. I’d consider it progressive rock because I think there is enough rock to land it there, but I could see people putting it in fusion. These guys know how to play and they manage to keep it interesting by varying it quite a bit from song to song while still maintaining a consistency. This band is made up of nine musicians, but guitarist Calvin Keys is of particular interest because I’ve reviewed one of his solo albums in this same issue of Music Street Journal. This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2013 Volume 6 at lulu.com/strangesound.

Track by Track Review

All the Right Wrong Notes Suitably dissonant piano opens this. The group work out to a slow moving jam that seems to combine an old time jazz sound with something similar to Traffic.

Left Coast Sangria Acoustic guitar is the lead instrument on this. The piece has a cool chamber music meets fusion meets prog element to it.

Changing Times The jazz groove to this one is awesome. It definitely has more of that Traffic kind of element.

Turnstyle Somehow the rhythm section on this makes me think of Larks’ Tongues in Aspic era King Crimson. The rest of the arrangement has jazz and funk and a lot more. At times I think of early Pink Floyd here. Somehow, some of the guitar playing later makes me think of Steve Howe just a bit.

Winding Up I love the rubbery rhythm section on this. Some of the jamming is more freeform here. This is a cool tune, but not really a standout.

Suddenly Overcast Now, this soaring jam is magical. It’s got plenty of jazz and plenty of dreamy prog in the mix. It’s a great piece of music.

Winding Dub There is a lot of reggae in the mix here. Yet, it’s still get jazz in the mix. In keeping with the title, it probably lands in the area of Dub Step. It’s a decent tune, but the weakest thing on show here.

Stained Glass Tribal Mask As this opens it feels a bit like space rock. More jazzy elements join and the two seem to blend as they continue here. There are some cool trippy moments in this piece.

Stacking Wax The groove on this one is smoking hot. It’s got a bit of a start stop approach and some great guitar soloing.

Where the Sidewalk Begins Some funk is detected on this killer fusion piece. It’s another effective jam that’s melodic and very cool.

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