Mini album review: Yes

Yes - Union

Like I mentioned in the previous Genesis mini album review, I'm a prog guy. So of course, I love the music that Yes created in the 70's, progressive rock's early glory years. That's a given. But I find myself among a rarer species who continued liking their music through their transformation to better fit the 80's trends. This happened to many of the 70's prog bands - either that, or they just split up or disappeared (sometimes to re-surge in the new millennium, for better or for worse). But instead of hating them for it, I tried to appreciate it. And sometimes their presence in the pop-rock world stood out from others because of their background and musical talent, which unfortunately was not the case for all 80's-born bands. Because of that, for me, these bands made some of the best sounding pop and rock music in the 80's and 90's. A lot of these albums I still listen to today, and of of these is Yes' Union.

Union seems like it was not a very popular album. Most of the people who like their 70's material did not like it (because it was another pop-rock sounding album), and even those who liked them in the 80's, with popular songs like Owner of a Lonely Heart in 1983 and Love Will Find a Way in 1987, did not remember they still existed, so they probably were not even aware that album came out. But personally, I think it's an even better album than Big generator, and on par with 90125. There are many contributors on this album. I think the entire Yes cast of past and present (that "present" was 1991) played on at least 4 tracks. There are no tracks with all nine of them playing together though, but that's probably a good thing - more musicians at once is not necessarily better in rock bands... I think the reason is that there was in reality two "outfits" of the band making up songs - one for a second ABWH release, and one for a Yes album. They decided to put all the created songs on a single album (although some versions of some songs also appeared on the Squire/Sherwood Conspiracy album, which I have mini-reviewed here), thus the title of Union, and created an awesome record. Every single track is strong, and there is enough variety to satisfy the music lover in me. I would say it's their last great album they did to date.

My rating: * * * * ½

Mini album review: Genesis

Genesis - Wind and Wuthering

Being a fan of the Progressive Rock genre, I, like many others, am a fan of the 70's Genesis. I was not old enough to know them back then (I was born in 1972 actually), but in the late 80's, a friend of mine introduced me to Genesis, which was my first step into the prog world. And like all prog fans who like Genesis, their best period was when Peter Gabriel was their lead singer. That's the way we identify that period: the Gabriel-era. But for me, it was not the Gabriel-era, it was the Hackett-era...

Yes, in reality, Genesis really turned away from prog when Steve Hackett left the band, not when Gabriel did - although I do agree that a major piece was lost when Gabriel left... but for me, and if you would listen to that album carefully, it was Wind and Wuthering that was the last of Genesis' glorious prog album library. It does not sound like Foxtrot for sure, but nonetheless is an excellent progressive rock album.

So if your Genesis prog collection stopped at The Lamb, Gabriel's last effort with the band, maybe you should take a peek at W&W, and even Trick of the Tail (although I prefer W&W). Or you might have heard it before, but put it aside because you were too used to Gabriel's voice, or for other reasons. Try it again, you might enjoy it ;-)

My rating: ****½

EDIT: they now have released the special version of this album, which now includes a DVD-Audio disk, with a 5.1 remastered mix of the entire album. Wow, now it sounds even better than ever!!!

Mini album review: Ayreon

Ayreon - Into The Electric Castle

Ayreon is one of multiple "projects" by Dutch musician Arjen Anthony Lucassen. With Ayreon, A. A. Lucassen covers a lot of musical grounds, allbeit all in the Rock department... And that's why I like the Ayreon albums so much. It would seem like Arjen has very similar influences as I, ranging from 80's Hard Rock and Metal bands such as Iron Maiden and Judas Priest, to classic rock of the 70's, such as Led Zeppelin, Rainbow, Deep Purple and David Bowie, some 60's with The Beatles, 70's prog scene with Pink Floyd and Jethro Tull. There is even some folk in there, along with the album-length story, like a rock opera is written, with multiple singers, each with their own "role", or "part".

How he does it I don't know, but it all ties in very nicely. In my own opinion, he creates masterpieces. And my very favorite of these masterpieces is Into the Electric Castle. It is probably the one that most represent what Ayreon is. I'll just quote what's written on the Ayreon web site about the album:

"Into the Electric Castle' tells the story of 8 stereotypical characters from different periods of time who suddenly find themselves in another dimension. A Highlander, Knight, Egyptian, Indian, Barbarian, Roman, Hippie and Futureman each try to understand where they are and what they are supposed to do. It is then that a voice rings out from the sky to tell them that the dimension they have arrived in is built on dreams and fears. In order to find their way back to their own dimension and time, they must go in search of The Electric Castle. During the search every character is forced to confront his or her innermost fears, and not everyone survives the treacherous journey to the Castle.

At the end of the journey those that successfully dealt with their personal demons find out that the voice belongs to an alien named 'Forever of the Stars', a member of an alien race living in a distant galaxy. These aliens created planet Earth and its people as an experiment so they could study, and hopefully one day experience emotions, as they themselves lost feelings eons ago."

My rating: *****

Mini album review: Rush

Rush - Snakes & Arrows:

Rush is one of my all-time favorite bands. They have many albums which I like entirely, from beginning to end (A Farewell to Kings, Hemispheres, Permanent Waves, Moving Pictures, etc). For that reason, I will always have some Rush which I'm "In the mood" for (gratuitous reference to a track on their first album). Let's face it: Rush is surely THE most influential Canadian band on the prog scene, and one of the most influential of all in general. And quite frankly, I have yet to hear another band of the present that sounds like them.

I even like the more mainstream albums they released, like Grace Under Pressure, Power Windows and Hold You Fire. My interest stays strong up until Counterparts, with Presto and Roll the Bones having some "lows". Since Counterparts though, they have failed to amaze me with a full album. They have very good tracks here and there, but no entire albums. Actually, I would only take 2 or 3 of the best tracks of Presto, T4E, and Vapor Trails, and even Roll the Bones, and make one great compilation. But that's it.

But now, Snakes and Arrows has put a halt to this. YES! Finally, Rush IS BACK!!! What a fresh sound, that resonates the good vibes of the 80's, that reminds me of Power Windows and Grace Under Pressure, but with a harder edge in parts, and a little bit of experimentation in others. No it's not the prog sound of the 70's and early 80's - don't get overly excited... But I think fans of Rush will find that this is the album they have been waiting for for a long time.

My Rating: ****½

Mini album review: Spock's Beard

Spock's Beard - The Light (The Artwork Collector’s Series)

I was fortunate enough to put my hands on this little jewel. The Light is Spock's Beard's first studio album, and a classic of progressive rock work. Neal Morse, the lead member at the time, has been greatly influenced by the 70's prog rock bands, and you really feel that on this album. Although it still has a modern feel to it. So without a doubt, any prog fans who like the old Genesis, Jethro Tull, Gentle Giant and the like, will probably like this album.

Now, what makes this a jewel? The package is part of what is called The Artwork Collector's Series, and is a limited, numbered edition. In addition to the remastered album, there are extensive liner notes for each song, a poster of the album cover, and some postcards. All this in a triple fold, enlarged CD case. The whole thing simply excites the music geek in me ;-)

I never heard the original release of this album, so it's hard for me to say if the remaster makes a big difference, but it sure sounds amazing!

My rating: *****

Mini album review: Steve Hackett

Steve Hackett - Momentum

I've been acquiring a few albums from Hackett's catalogue. I've been very curious about his solo work - for some reason, even though I'm a big fan of Hackett-era Genesis, I had not explored his work until recently. It started with Please Don't Touch, which I only bought because it was very cheap at a favorite record store, and I loved it instantly. Then I bought some more of his albums (some of which I will probably talk about in future mini reviews), and I was rarely disappointed.

This brings us to Momentum. Another shock! But again, very pleasantly surprised. This album is entirely classical guitar, and most of the time in solo. I had heard bits of him playing classical guitar on a documentary video I had (and still do actually, on good ol' VHS), but I always wondered if he recorded some of it. Well, not only did he record some, but if I'm not mistaken he now has three entire albums such as this one.

The mood all through the album is very calm. I would not hesitate to put this on to help a child or baby sleep. And I'm not saying that because I think it's boring, but because I think it's soothing. It's a good feeling - although some might find soothing is boring... but I digress. So of course, if you don't like classical music, you won't like this album. But if you like Hackett, then you like prog, and if you like prog, then you must have at least an appreciation for classical music, as part of prog's roots are in there. So good chance you would like this album, although you, as myself, will probably not put it on every day, but will come in very handy on a day where calmness is needed.

My rating: ***½

Mini album review: Chris Squire / Billy Sherwood

Squire / Sherwood - Conspiracy

This album was released in 1990, and went straight through my Yes radar unnoticed! And what a shame, because I've been missing out on a very good, fresh-sounding pop-rock Yes-type album (lots of dashes in there o.O). I have heard a couple of tracks of their second album The Unknown, mainly the track Conspiracy, which brought in some confusion about the first album - for me The Unknown was their first album since I hadn't heard of Conspiracy, so when I first saw the album cover of Conspiracy, I thought it was an earlier version of The Unknown, using Conspiracy as the title track. Obviously I was wrong...

Like I mentioned, this album is in the pop-rock range, similar to the sound of Yes in the late 80's and early 90's. One of the reasons the sound is so similar is probably because Sherwood was also part of Yes (as a co-writer at first, then as a co-writer and band member) - oh and, in case you don't know, Chris Squire is one of the permanent members of the band Yes. There are even tracks on the album that are different versions of some Yes songs that were actually released on Yes albums, alongside, of course, of other original tracks. So after all, I was pleasantly surprised, and I'm always happy when this happens :-D

My rating: **** (out of 5)