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Progressive Rock CD Reviews

Marcelo Paganini

B4Ever Now

Review by Gary Hill

The latest set from Marcelo Paganini, this is an intriguing disc. It's very short, though, running less than half an hour. The mix of sounds here is unusual, but works well. There are definitely elements of jazz at the core of a lot of this. Frank Zappa is a reference point at several places along the road. The vocals (Durga McBroom) lend a real soulful texture. Again, though, they don't feel far removed from something that might be on a Zappa disc. Zappa loved to play with that kind of sound. Gary Husband is another guest here providing the drums. The guitar work on this is impeccable and the whole disc really rocks.

This review is available in book (paperback and hardcover) form in Music Street Journal: 2018  Volume 4. More information and purchase links can be found at: garyhillauthor.com/Music-Street-Journal-2018.

Track by Track Review
Crying with a Smile
There is a mellow and rather odd bit that serves as the opening section here. The cut works out to a jam that has a real soulful groove. Yet there is a prog edge to it. It's a catchy jam, but also a little on the odd side. There is a lot of jazz in the mix here. There is some killer guitar work later in the piece as it turns more toward progressive rock. A sea of voices is also included on this song. The ending sees the instruments drop out completely leaving a wall-of-voices acapella section to close things.
Last Bart to San Bruno
The soulful voice on this is a cool touch. There is some smoking hot guitar soloing that drives it, but don't forget to pay attention to the bass work on this. It's pretty cool. There is a lot of Frank Zappa in the mix on this cut. I dig the organ solo later in the track.
B4ever Now
Again the soulful groove and Zappa elements are at play here. I dig the guitar soloing. This is a bit mellower number than the last one, slower and less intense. It has a lot of jazz in the mix.
2012 Space Traffic Jam
Jazz, bluesy elements and progressive rock all merge on this killer piece of music. Paganini gets plenty of opportunity to create some great guitar solos on this track. The vocals bring more of that soulful element as the track works forward, too. After that section this powers out into a killer prog rock excursion. They work through some great shifts as the number continues to evolve. This is without question the highlight of the set.
  
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