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October 2012 - Issue 96
Progressive Rock CD Reviews
A Is For Atom - A Is For Atom
Review by Gary Hill
I’ve included this in the progressive rock section of Music Street Journal.
Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman and Howe - Live at the NEC October 24th, 1989
Review by Gary Hill
I saw Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman and Howe on this tour and it was purely magical.
Babylon Mystery Orchestra - Poinum Cherem
Review by Gary Hill
I really like everything from Bablyon Mystery Orchestra.
The Beatenpath - Solace
Review by Gary Hill
Sisters Lena Boone and Gwen Beyer come by musical talent through their DNA.
Big Big Train - English Electric 1
Review by Alison Reijman
Big Big Train is an English band, who, as their name suggests, have been gathering speed and momentum over their 22 year career.
Black Country Communion - Afterglow
Review by Larry Toering
First of all, this has been a band I’ve supported heavily over the last three years or so.
Bouquiniste - Bouquiniste
Review by Gary Hill
The mix of sounds presented on this album is both unusual and quite effective.
Corvus Stone - Ice King (Digital Single)
Review by Vivian Lee
The first official release from young prog rock band Corvus Stone stands out from the less serious releases from them I've heard here and there, that showcase their influences in easy fun ways.
The Electric Family - Ice Cream Phoenix – Resurrection
Review by Gary Hill
There is quite a mix of sounds here from psychedelic to space rock, RIO, country and R & B.
Eloy - Metromania
Review by John Pierpoint
This was the first studio album to be released by Eloy after the pairing of Planets and Time To Turn.
Eloy - Planets
Review by John Pierpoint
The early 1980s was a period when rock music seemed to slide into the doldrums, with pop fashion favouring low-brow, synthesizer-heavy, dance tunes.
Eloy - Time to Turn
Review by John Pierpoint
This is the sequel to Eloy's stunning 1981 tour-de-force Planets, continuing the story of the cosmic journeys of Ion from the planet Salta. 
Keith Emerson - Band – Three Fates Project
Review by Larry Toering
After The Keith Emerson Band did the Moscow CD/DVD, I knew I had to follow what was to come.
Gandalf's Fist - From a Point of Existence
Review by Gary Hill
When I reviewed the last disc from Gandalf’s Fist, I heaped some high praise on it.
G. W. Hill - Earth Part One
Review by Scott Montgomery
The entirety of Earth Parts 1 and 2 consists of 24 Impressions. 
G. W. Hill - Earth Part Two
Review by Scott Montgomery
This is the second part of a lengthy, double-CD tone poem meditating upon environmental crisis and the Earth’s fate in humanity’s hands.
G. W. Hill - Missile Hay Knee Us
Review by Greg Olma
Gary Hill has compiled a number of tracks from his younger days to release this eclectic CD.
G. W. Hill - The Music of Erich Zann (Digital Single)
Review by Jason Hillenburg
The track is a pulsing swirl of ambient sound.
Steve Hillage - Live at the Gong Unconvention 2006
Review by Gary Hill
I’ve reviewed the DVD version of this release in the current issue of Music Street Journal.
Il Troubadore - Songs from the Empire: Ridged for your Pleasure
Review by Gary Hill
So, I’ve included this thing in the progressive rock section of Music Street Journal because it’s adventurous.
Legend - Cardinal Points
Review by Gary Hill
This is quite a tasty album
Magma - Felicite Thosz
Review by Gary Hill
I have to admit, despite wanting to hear them for a long time, this is the first time I’ve gotten to check out Magma.
Tak Matsumoto - Strings of My Soul
Review by Gary Hill
While not everything on this album is progressive rock, there is a lot of prog here.
Neal Morse - Momentum
Review by Grant Hill
When I first saw the official video of the title cut, I became pretty excited.
Bill Nelson - Live at Metropolis Studios London
Review by Gary Hill
For some reason when I looked at the name, I figured this was going to be an oldies set, you know 1950s music done by one of the originators.
Derek Nicoletto - Champion (Digital Single)
Review by Gary Hill
This cut powers in with a sound that seems like it could go in any number of directions from hip hop to industrial or progressive rock.
Nth Entities - Nth Entities
Review by Gary Hill
This disc features the talents of Phil Manzanera and Anna Ledoes.
Odder Than 3 - Things Out of Place
Review by Gary Hill
I liked this outfit the first time I heard them.
Opium Symphony - Blame It on the Radio
Review by Gary Hill
What an intriguing blend of sounds we get here
Markus Reuter - Kopfmensch
Review by Gary Hill
Markus Reuter is involved in a lot of projects, these days.
Riversea - Out of an Ancient World
Review by Gary Hill
This is quite a tasty release.
Riverside - Out Of Myself
Review by Larry Toering
This is one of two Riverside releases I'm reviewing this issue, and they're both amazing prog albums.
Riverside - Second Life Syndrome
Review by Larry Toering
This is the second helping from Riverside, and if you liked their first, I'm sure this one would please all the more.
Saga - 20/20
Review by Alison Reijman
Saga have always been one of the most intelligent and musically adept bands in a career spanning 35 years which has seen more than its fair share of highs and lows along the way.
Sailor Free - A Spiritual Revolution
Review by Gary Hill
The mix of progressive rock sounds here is quite diverse.
SH.TG.N - SH.TG.N
Review by Gary Hill
The mix of sounds on this disc is pretty crazy.
Sha's Feckel - Greatest Hits
Review by Gary Hill
Lots of eras of King Crimson are represented here, but that’s not the only musical reference.
Sherbs - Defying Gravity
Review by Larry Toering
The Sherbs are a long lost wonder from Australia, and this is their second and final helping, sadly.
Rie Sinclair - Bee Sides
Review by Gary Hill
There are only four tracks here, but based on the strength of the music, I’d love to hear more.
Julie Slick - Terroir
Review by Grant Hill
I’d been waiting to get my hands on a copy of Terroir since Julie Slick announced she was working on it many months ago.
Sound Behavior Troupe - Metamorphosis Shaman
Review by Gary Hill
Instrumental music can be a tough sell for some listeners.
Space Mirrors - Cosmic Horror I: In Darkness They Whisper
Review by Gary Hill
Space rock is the main musical theme here, with a lot of this feeling a bit like Hawkwind.
Syndone - La Bella è la Bestia (The Beauty is the Beast)
Review by Gary Hill
The music here runs the gamut from fusion to fusion based progressive rock, Italian prog and more pure jazz.
Steve Thorne - Crimes & Reasons
Review by Alison Reijman
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.
Sally Tomato's Pidgin - Planets
Review by Gary Hill
The quickest explanation would be “progressive rock,” but within that heading, this covers a lot of material.
Van der Graaf Generator - Live at Metropolis Studios London
Review by Gary Hill
I really have a lot of trouble with the vocals on this thing.  
Various Artists - Songs of the Century: An All-Star Tribute To Supertramp
Review by Gary 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.
Metal/Prog Metal CD Reviews
Bang OK Bang - Chemicals
Review by Gary Hill
I’d love to hear more than just four songs from these guys.
Dublin Death Patrol - Death Sentence
Review by Mike Heitzman

Most of these guys, if not directly related by blood, have known each other since 1980 when they used to hang out in Dublin, California

Sunflower Dead - Sunflower Dead
Review by Gary Hill
There’s kind of a mainstream hard rock sound here and at times it wanders towards progressive rock
Testament - Dark Roots of Earth
Review by Mike Korn
Testament made a great, hard-hitting comeback with The Formation of Damnation four years ago.
Non-Prog CD Reviews
Alice Sweet Alice - Mandala
Review by Larry Toering
Take the romantic pop 80s and mix it with alternative 90s sound and that is what Alice Sweet Alice are all about on Mandala.
Rich Batsford - Mindfulmess
Review by Bruce Stringer
Rich Batsford is a very talented musician and writer, whose vocal harmonies are arranged as an art form, and - in some ways – it is possible to listen to this album as one big song with various compositional themes and arrangements.
Blade of Grass - Radio Sampler EP
Review by Gary Hill
This four track EP features music that’s entertaining and mainstream, but also quite varied.
Bullfrog - Second Wind
Review by Gary Hill
I really dig the blend of classic rock sounds heard on this set.
Clark Colborn - Featuring Melissa Ridgeway - Superstition (Digital Single)
Review by Larry Toering
A classic Stevie Wonder tune gets the full-on transformation into a different realm here as far as I'm concerned.
Albert Cummings - No Regrets
Review by Larry Toering
This is the first I've heard of Albert Cummings, but I'm glad to have made the connection.
The Michael Des Barre Band - Carnaby Street
Review by Gary Hill
Michael Des Barre has always been a pop rocker in classic style.
D.O.A. - We Come In Peace
Review by Eric Meli
We Come in Peace is D.O.A's 14th studio album in their 35 year history of putting out fine hardcore punk rock.
Duran Duran - A Diamond in the Mind (Live At The MEN Arena, London, England / 2011)
Review by Gary Hill
I reviewed the video companion product to this in the previous issue of Music Street Journal and really enjoyed it.
Faithful Breath - Rock Lions/Hard Breath
Review by Gary Hill
This combines classic rock with NWOBHM in a mix that’s good, but seems overly derivative a lot of the time.
Dave Fields - Detonation
Review by Gary Hill
This thing really rocks.
Hannah & Maggie - Muscle & Bone
Review by Gary Hill
Folk music is one of the main concepts on hand here.
Jackopierce - Everywhere All the Time
Review by Gary Hill
Alternative rock meets pop rock like the Beatles on this effective set.
Etta James - Live at Montreux – 1975 – 1993
Review by Gary Hill
This is the audio companion set to the new BluRay I reviewed in this very issue of Music Street Journal.
Rich Layton and the Troublemakers - Tough Town
Review by Larry Toering
The Northwest has quite a few unique acts, some blues, some Americana and some both.
Peter Link - Goin’ Home
Review by Gary Hill
Progressive rock, jazz and funk merge with things like gospel into a great blend of sounds.
Mastamind - The Mastapiece
Review by Gary Hill
There is a lot of spooky sound on this, meaning some of it would fit well with Halloween music.
Joe Matera - Creature of Habit
Review by Bruce Stringer
Aimed at the fans of Satriani and “instrumental melodic rock,” this is Joe Matera’s first full-length solo release and follow-up to his previous CD EP, Slave to the Fingers.
The Midtown Men - Sixties Hits
Review by Gary Hill
This act got started as four members of the Broadway original cast “Jersey Boys.”
The Offspring - Americana
Review by Kat Heitzman
The Offspring has been one of my favorite bands for years.
Graham Parker and the Rumour - Live at Rockpalast 1978 + 1980
Review by Gary Hill
The comparison to Elvis Costello is quite obvious here.
Mitch Ryder - Live At Rockpalast 1979 + 2004
Review by Gary Hill
First off, this is a massive three-CD set. It’s also at times very strong.
The 71s - We Are The 71s
Review by Gary Hill
Here’s a disc that’s likely to make its way into my “best of 2012” list.
Jason Sinay - Ape & The Wall of Questions
Review by Gary Hill
Jam band sounds along with progressive rock and Americana and even folk are merged on this set.
Jeremy Spencer - Bend in the Road
Review by Gary Hill
Jeremy Spencer has definitely been a fixture of rock music since his rise to fame in the 1960s for his work in the early days of Fleetwood Mac
Surrender The Fall - Burn In The Spotlight
Review by Larry Toering
Look out Saliva, it appears you have some good competition when it comes to Surrender The Fall.
The Toadies - Play.Rock.Music
Review by Larry Toering
The Toadies are finally back with an album that for once in too long now, begins and ends with a fresh pallete of an abstract, yet amazingly fresh version of their sound laid down in the studio.
Elijah Tucker - Saturn
Review by Gary Hill
This is quite a cool release. The style of the disc is hard to pin down, unless you want to just give it a generic label of “fun.”
Various Artists - PDX A Go-Go – Making Waves Up North
Review by Gary Hill
While the main influences here are psychedelia and surf music, it certainly doesn’t end there.
The Charlie Wheeler Band - Line ‘Em Up
Review by Gary Hill
This album is just plain great.
WiltMan - Lo-Files 01
Review by Gary Hill
While the majority of the set is instrumental and the guitar dominates the mix, this is not really a guitar hero type sound.
The Zombies - Live In Concert At Metropolis Studios
Review by Gary Hill
I’ve always liked The Zombies, so I looked forward to this live release.
DVD/Video Reviews
Alice Donut - Freaks In Love DVD
Review by Eric Meli
Freaks in Love is a video documentary of the punk band Alice Donut and their 25-year career in underground rock.
The Beatles - Their Golden Age DVD
Review by Gary Hill
This documentary basically chronicles The Beatles from the start of their era as superstars through to the end, with a little bit of coverage of the post Beatles lives of each member.
Blackmore's Night - A Knight In York – DVD
Review by Larry Toering
This DVD comes in a few formats, the other two being CD and DVD Audio (which contains both the CD and BluRay versions).
Captain Beefheart - Lost Broadcasts DVD
Review by Gary Hill
Captain Beefheart fans will certainly love to get their hands on this set.
Bob Dylan - And the Band - Down In The Flood
Review by Gary Hill
This documentary is pretty interesting. Looking back at the whole thing with Dylan working with The Band, it’s easy to forget all the controversy involved.
Steve Hillage - The Steve Hillage Band: Live at the Gong Family Unconvention DVD
Review by Gary Hill
Anyone who digs Steve Hillage or Gong really needs to pick this up.
Etta James - Live at Montreux 1975-1993 BluRay
Review by Gary Hill
Etta James passed away in 2012, and now Eagle Rock is releasing this BluRay as a celebration of her life and talent. I’ve reviewed the companion CD in this issue, so be sure to check that review for more details about the audio performance.
Freddie Mercury - The Great Pretender BluRay
Review by Gary Hill
I’ve always been a Queen fan. I’ve always thought that Freddie Mercury was an exceptional talent, possibly the greatest rock front man of all time.
Erik Norlander - The Galactic Collective Definitive Edition DVD
Review by Gary Hill
This set is quite cool.
Erik Norlander - The Galactic Collective: Live in Gettysburg DVD
Review by Gary Hill
What can you say about Erik Norlander?
Graham Parker and the Rumour - Live at Rockpalast 1978 + 1980 DVD
Review by Gary Hill
I’ve reviewed the audio of this DVD in the current issue.
Alan Parsons - Eye 2 Eye: Live In Madrid DVD
Review by Larry Toering
Alan Parsons live is a rare treat, and this is only the second time he has recorded live for public release.
Pendragon - Out Of Order Comes Chaos DVD
Review by Larry Toering
Pendragon last toured in 2008, with songs from the Pure album to promote.
Queen - Greatest Video Hits DVD
Review by Gary Hill
Wow, what an amazing collection this is.
Mitch Ryder - Live at Rockpalast 1979 + 2004 DVD
Review by Gary Hill
Mitch Ryder is presented live in concert from two different periods of his career.
Staind - Live from Mohegan Sun BluRay
Review by Gary Hill
Staind is quite a cool band.
Various Artists - Space Rock Invasion DVD
Review by Gary Hill
I had to miss this tour due to unforeseen circumstances, but now I can check it on this DVD. 
Various Artists - Spokanarchy DVD
Review by Eric Meli
Spokanarchy is an hour and 20 minute journey into the 1980's punk scene in Spokane Washington.
Whitesnake - Live At Donington 1990 DVD
Review by Greg Olma
This DVD has been a long time coming.   
Interviews
Gunnelpumpers
Interview by Gary Hill
Interview with Douglas Johnson and Randy Farr of Gunnelpumpers from 2012
G. W. Hill
Interview by Larry Toering
Interview with G. W. Hill from 2012
Joe Matera
Interview by Bruce Stringer
Interview with Joe Matera from 2012
Riversea
Interview by Gary Hill
Interview with Marc Atkinson of Riversea from 2012
Six Elements
Interview by Larry Toering

Interview with Misha Shengaout of Six Elements from 2012

Julie Slick
Interview by Grant Hill
Interview with Julie Slick from 2012
Space Mirrors
Interview by Gary Hill
Interview with Alisa Coral and  Martyr Lucifer of Space Mirrors from 2012
Concert Reviews
Blondie - Live in Ridgefield, Washington, September 2012
Review by Larry Toering

First of all, what can be said about Blondie and Deborah Harry that hasn't already been said?

Devo - Live in Ridgefield, Washington, September 2012
Review by Larry Toering

Seeing Devo in the biggest setting for miles around was all one could ask for.

Rich Layton and the Troublemakers - Live in Portland, Oregon, August 2012
Review by Larry Toering
This is a North West band featuring Rich Layton. 
The Offspring - Live in Rockford, Illinois, August 2012
Review by Mike and Kat Heitzman
When we first arrived at Davis Park in Rockford for The Offspring show there were very few people there, but as show time came closer it seemed to fill up around us. 
Styx - Live in Albany, Oregon, August 2012
Review by Larry Toering
Getting out to see Styx did not come easy, as this concert at the Oregon Amphitheater was during the Arts and Air Festival, and it was free, so it was actually packed beyond capacity.
The Yardbirds - Live in Portland, Oregon, August 2012
Review by Larry Toering

I have to hand it to the Yardbirds for doing what they do, because it takes a lot of guts to put on such an authentic showing with only one remaining original member in the band.

 
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