Those looking for actual progressive rock will probably want to steer clear, but there are a few moments that come really close. We generally land fusion under prog, so that's why this is here.
James LaBrie - Elements of Persuasion Review by Josh Turner Whether or not you like this album probably hinges on how you felt about Dream Theater's "Train of Thought". This one has a tad more melody and quite possibly a bit more noodling.
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In a lot of ways this makes me think of Dream Theater. Of course, when you’ve got heavy, progressive music with James LaBrie singing, that makes sense.
For the sake of full disclosure, with the exception of the closing piece, this album was previously released as “Live on the King Biscuit Flower Hour.”
Lands End - (d)rainage Review by Gary Hill The latest Lands End disc is an intriguing chronicle of a very promising prog band. More
Lands End - Natural Selection Review by Gary Hill Lands End is Mark Lavallee, Fred Hunter, Francesco Neto and Jeff McFarland. This album is a wonderful piece of music which deftly combines elements such as Pink Floyd, Marillion, Genesis and Yes and comes up with an original and very intriguing work. More
Lands End - An Older Land Review by Gary Hill Lands End`s music combines textural layering with emotional intensity and progish arrangements in a wonderfully original combination that really pleases. This album features Jeff McFarland, Francisco Neto, Mark Lavallee and Fred Hunter.
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Lands End - Pacific Coast Highway Review by Gary Hill This is a strong entry from prog rockers Lands End and includes The Last Word, a standard of the California based band.
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Lands End - Terra Serranum Review by Gary Hill Considered by many to be one of the best Lands End albums, this is a very strong prog rock work. Influences that can be heard on the CD are King Crimson, Hawkwind, Genesis and others. More
Lana Lane - Lady Macbeth Review by Gary Hill Lana Lane has now been in the business for ten years, and in commemoration of that anniversary she has delivered her newest release - a rock opera based on the Shakespeare play "Macbeth."
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Lana Lane - Return to Japan Review by Gary Hill This, the first live album from Lana Lane is a very good two disc set. It features a lot of material from various albums recorded on various tours.
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Lana Lane - Covers Collection Review by Gary Hill Lana Lane has one of the best voices in prog rock, and her band seems to do a better job of combining prog and harder textures in a palatable and accessible melange of sound. Here the group turns their attention to nothing but covers, and it is a mixed bag.
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Lana Lane - Project Shangri-La Review by Gary Hill In the liner notes to this album Lane says that she and Erik Norlander (her husband and main musical cohort) were just starting work for this album when the tragedy of September 11th, 2001 occurred. She goes on to speak about how hard it was to start the project in the midst of all that.
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Lana Lane - Secrets of Astrology Review by Gary Hill Lana Lane has a spectacular voice. Honestly, any review of a CD of hers, could at least start with, if not consist almost entirely of that statement. More
Lana Lane - Winter Sessions Review by Gary Hill This album by Lana Lane features a number of originals and several covers. She and the band even reach back to cover some old jazz cuts, and show that they can do just about anything as they pull it off with a completely convincing style.
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Lana Lane - Ballad Collection Special Edition Review by Gary Hill A two-disc set, this one includes both ballad collections (volume one and two). The album features a number of great prog ballads and several interesting cover renditions. More
Huw Lloyd Langton - On The Move Review by Gary Hill This album by Hawkwind alumni Langton is a great rocking release. It has no weak material and quite a bit that is very strong. More
This single from Minneapolis artist Monica Laplante is pretty amazing stuff. I've put this under progressive rock because it's very much art music, and it has a lot of prog vibes going on.
Laserdogs - Frankenclown Review by Gary Hill The last time we caught up with up with Greg Lounsberry he was working under the name of Rocket4357 Project. This time around, he comes at us with his Laser Dogs project and Frankenclown the CD.
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Featuring Tobias Ralph (Adrian Belew Power Trio, The Crimson ProjeKCt) on drums and Lucas Lee on guitars, bass and keys, this lands thoroughly into modern progressive rock territory.
This newest release from Lucas Lee continues his brand of progressive rock. It is often King Crimson-like, but has plenty of other leanings in place, too.
It seems that as the decades tick away in the history of the bands we know and love that the story becomes ever more common. Two (or more) versions of the core band wind up out doing the music of the group.
Lemur Voice - Insights Review by Gary Hill Lemur Voice certainly drew comparisons to Dream Theater, and somewhat rightly so. Indeed the main elements of this group surely seem to call to mind that sound.
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Frédéric L’Épée is probably best known as part of the bands Shylock, Philharmonie and Yang. We've reviewed a couple of those acts here at MSJ in the past.
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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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. More
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. More
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. More
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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While possibly "progressive jazz" might be a better description of this disc than progressive rock, there are enough prog influences and an overall experimental air to put this one into the prog rock category for me.
I've heard this band referred to as cross-over prog or AOR or any number of other things that describe a sound that's prog, but not quite. Or at least that's my interpretation of those labels.
There is a concept called "the sophomore jinx," which says that no matter how strong a debut album is, there is a good chance the follow up won't be as good. To some degree I think that's true here.
Liquid Scarlet - Liquid Scarlet Review by Josh Turner The debut of Liquid Scarlet should appeal to friends and relatives of the Parmenter family. Discipline's Matthew Parmenter and Eyestrings' Ryan Parmenter would certainly feel welcome within the confines of this release.
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Liquid Tension Experiment - Liquid Tension Experiment Review by Gary Hill 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).
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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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I know there are those who will argue with this landing under progressive rock. This kind of shoegaze meets alternative rock post punk stuff really is progressive, though.
This is unusual as "best of" sets go. For one thing, many of the tracks are not John Lodge solo numbers, but rather numbers he wrote for and recorded with The Moody Blues.
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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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). More
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. More
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. More
I've landed this under progressive rock. Perhaps that's not the right choice, but honestly, I think there are definitely prog elements in pretty much everything on the disc.
If you haven't been following music closely for the past decade or so, you might think that punk rock and progressive rock are about as far apart as you can get.
