I Suoni I Una Sfera (74), Principe Di Un Giorno (76), Celeste II (??)

Only in print in Japan is Celeste's Principe Di Un Giorno or just Celeste as its released in Japan. A heavily atmospheric work like very mellow Per Un Amico era PFM, Celeste's lone release is a beautiful album with great sax and flute and is one of those dreamy albums that is perfect to doze off to at night.

An absolutely stunning band out of Italy. They only have three release to my knowledge, Celeste (also called Principe Un Giorno), Celeste II, and a soundtrack that I cannot recall the name of...yet is available from Syn-Phonic. This is a band that will not overtake you with virtuousity or dramatic statement....rather they will overtake you with beauty. Celeste is a record full of subtlety and texture.....a very rich dreamy quality. Definately with the symphonic range. Vocals are in Italian but they do not detract....rather they fit as merely one more instrument.

Celeste's first album, Principe di un Giorno (aka Celeste), is one of the most beautiful and pastoral Progressive albums to come out of Italy, ranking right up their with PFM's monumental Per Un Amico. For those of you who want the gist of the review in the first couple of sentences: get this album. The opening strains of lovely mellotron washes hint at the beauty about to unfold when acoustic guitar, violin and piano join in with soft vocal melodies to create a timeless elegance heard far too little in Progressive Rock. Songs range from a brief one minute closer to eight minutes in length for two songs. The closest comparison is to fellow Italians PFM and their classic Per Un Amico during the quieter moments. But where PFM venture off on moog solos, the four members of Celeste prefer to use the mellotron, violin, acoustic guitar, xylophone and flute to create stunning pastoral passages of aching beauty. Another quality that should be addressed is the Italian vocals. Often, Prog fans complain of the "harshness" of Italian singers. Though I can understand this complaint for a few singers, vocals for Celeste and PFM are very soft and quite enjoyable. If you think all Italian singers are "harsh" you haven't heard these bands. This album should be a part of anyone's collection.

Principe di un Giorno is a real "classic" of Italian symphonic rock. Its particularity is that the attributes are, not virtuosity but beauty, softness and subtlety of the music. Arrangements usually feature acoustic guitar, keyboards, flutes, bass, percussions and vocals. Mellotrons and flutes are used generously with sprinkles of saxophone, violin, xylophone and horn. Despite a very delicate sound, the music holds mysterious powers, definitely celestial. -- Paul Charbonneau

[See St. Tropez | Sistema, Il]

Mercury (??), Neptune (??), Jupiter (??)

Celluloid is not a band, but a person, one man with an army of Mellotrons backing him. Mercury has some vocals, but the definitive release is Neptune, which is entirely instrumental. It's often difficult to believe all the sounds on this album were produced by Mellotron, as there's such a tonal range to the music herein; from symphonic fanfares to all-out sound-collage freak-out. -- Mike Ohman

Septober Energy (71)

Released in 1971, Septober Energy is a one of a kind album. The music is composed by British pianist, Keith Tippets, and the lyrics are by his then wife, the then Julie Tippets, who is better known as Julie Driscoll for her work with Brian Auger. The album was produced by Robert Fripp. It's a big band jazz album performed by virtually everybody who was anybody in English jazz/rock in '71. Notable names among the cast of thousands: Sax: Elton Dean, Ian MacDonald, Dudu Pukwana, Alan Skidmore, Karl Jenkins, Gary Windo. Trumpet: Ian Carr, Mongesi Fesa, Marc Charig. Trombone: Nick Evans, Paul Rutherford. Drums: Robert Wyatt, John Marshall, Tony Fennell. Bass: Roy Babbington, Harry Miller, Brian Belshaw. Guitar: Brian Godding. Vocals: Julie Tippets, Maggie Nichols, Boz, Zoot Money. As you might notice, Islands-era King Crimson is very heavily represented, along with Assegai, Soft Machine and B.B. Blunder, whose Brian Godding contributes a really hot guitar solo. It's a jazz record overall, but it has lots of rock sensibility, mainly due to the fact that most of the electric bass playing on the album is done by Brian Belshaw from BB Blunder, and as a rock bassist he could only go so far into the jazz idiom. Rather than a limitation I think this works as a carefully delineated definition of what Tippets wanted. Musically, the album's closest counterpart I can think of is the Islands album by KC, not just because it has the same people but the same sensibilities, as well. The lyrics here aren't too great, as if I read them correctly they advocate nuclear destruction of most of earth's inhabitants as a sure way out of tyranny and speeding the way to a hasty rebirth of a better world. Um....yeah. Right. But the singing is quite good. Most of the record, though, consists of carefully orchestrated soloing within a pretty tight thematic structure. And most of the solos, duets, trios and the like, are very good. Nothing too bonky squeaky weird for people terrified of free music. It's all pretty straight ahead. The three drummer effect is very nice, an experiment which works. All in all, a most worthwhile album, one which most Fripp fanatics wouldn't have expected from him but there was a time, believe it or not, when he hung out with real live jazz musicians and got along with them, before he got attacked by Eno's "direct inject anti-jazz ray-gun." -- Kenneth Newman

Perhaps the only Prog "big band" ever conceived, Kieth Tippett's 55-member "Centipede" (so...it's true!) contained a cross section of Britain's prog scene (nearly all of Soft Machine, several members of Nucleus, Gary Windo, Ian McDonald, Brian Godding, Mike Patto and Boz Burrell, to name a few), many of Britain's finest jazz and avant-garde musicians (Mongezi Feza, Larry Stabbins, Alan Skidmore, Paul Rutherford, Harry Miller, and others), as well as a dozen or so musicians whom I have never heard of (...I won't name them). To my knowledge, one album was released (Septober Energy in 1974), a 2-record set produced by Robert Fripp which came out on RCA in the US. Most prog fans will be dismayed by the music on Septober Energy, as about half of it is very energetic avant-garde jazz, that is in some ways reminiscent of Sun Ra's more ambitious works. The rest of it riff-based jazz-rock, a bit like post- Wyatt Soft Machine or Nucleus, but more chaotic-sounding. Horn soloists dominate throughout. Personally, I think Septober Energy is great, but then again, I really like avant-garde jazz. Besides the jazz fans, perhaps those of you who enjoyed the really whacked-out bits of King Crimson's Lizard album might also like this. Anyway, Tippett later formed a similar aggregation (Kieth Tippett's Ark) whose sole album (Frames) was recently reissued as a 2-CD set on the British 'Ogun' label. -- David Wayne

Centipede was a fifty-person group organized by jazz pianist Keith Tippett, including in its host rock, jazz, and classical musicians. (Obviously, it couldn't last very long, and I'm sure was never expected to.) Robert Fripp produced the record, and the liner notes indicate that he did not play on the record because he was too busy producing. (Co-ordinating this lot must have been a hell of a task.) -- Dan Kurdilla

Melos (73)

Osanna parallel band that put out their only album, the classic Melos. Similar to Osanna or Citta Frontale.

This is a band that is very similar to Osanna (Corrado Rustici is a brother of Danilo Rustici who plays in Osanna). When the band split, Corrado Rustici went to play in Osanna and then Nova.

Cervello were an offshoot from the classic Italian band Osanna. The music ranges from heavy to spacey to pastoral and includes touches of jazz and classical influences. Instrumentation contains flute, piccolo, sax, acoustic guitar and vibraphones in addition to the usual electric guitars, synths, drums and bass. Vocals are in Italian. If you are familiar with Osanna, you'll be familiar with the sound of Cervello except I think this is a just bit more refined. Otherwise, if you like good Italian symphonic Prog with lots of heaviness (ala Osanna, Semiramis, Il Balletto di Bronzo, etc.) then you'll want to check out Cervello. Quite good and quite recommended.

[See Osanna | Nova]

Nadie En Especial (??), Suenas De Matal (??), possibly one more.

Mexican progressive rock band from the early 80's, featuring keyboardist Carlos Alvarado. Purportedly their sound is a fusion of Italian Classical rock influences and Genesis.

I bought a Chac Mool cassette in Guadalajara back in 1981. From what I recall, they sounded quite a bit like the Alan Parsons Project or Pink Floyd (only with vocals in Spanish), both of whom were very popular in the US at the time. -- David Wayne

[See Via Lactea]

In Concert (93), Dies Irae (94), Others?

In Concert and Dies Irae are two very different releases from Italian Paul Chain. The first CD is improvisational blues/metal while the other is dark electronics. In Concert is really beyond the realm of the GEPR but I'll cover it briefly as it is the first release on The Labyrinth label, the joint effort of The Laser's Edge in the US and Minotauro Records in Italy. The Laser's Edge catalog describes Chain as a "legendary doom metal guitarist." I suppose I have no idea what doom metal actually is because Chain's playing reminds me of many heavy metal/hard rock bands of the '70s. In fact, Chain thanks many of them and the list proves useful when trying to elucidate his style: Alvin Lee and Ten Years After, Johnny Winter, King Crimson, Deep Purple, Iron Butterfly, Budgie, Jimi Hendrix, Leslie West and Mountain, Black Sabbath, Frank Zappa, Led Zeppelin and Frank Marino. Mostly I thought of Sabbath, Deep Purple, Mountain and Marino's Mahagany Rush. Basically, the Paul Chain group consists of Chain on guitar and vocals (he doesn't sing very well), Baka Bomb on bass and Eric Lumen on drums. Sandra Silver gets credit as "live entertainer," akin to Hawkwind's Stacia, I reckon. Essentially non-stop heavy guitar, Chain and Co. take off for 10-20 minutes at a whack, playing scorching (and occasionally meandering) blues-based improvisations, the same as the heavy metal heros of the '70s did.
Next comes Chain's latest release, Dies Irae. Chain has moved into an entirely different genre, a work of dark electronics. Chain plays all instruments on the eight tracks, though Sandra Silver adds vocals to several cuts. Again, he thanks the bands and artists that have influenced this work: Aphrodite's Child (666), Klaus Schulze, Cream, Kzrysztof Penderecki, Gyorgy Ligeti, Olivier Messiaen and Pink Floyd. (That can't be the power trio Cream, can it?) The 21 minute opener is a brooding amalgam of rumbling moog, sinister organ and a variety of percussion and heavy electronics processing. This is darker than Jacula's Anno Demoni, which is already quite a possessed work. From here, we descind further into the pits of the inferno, as Silver contributes weird vocals to a strange and bizarre landscape of tortured electronics and processing in the 13 minute "Presence of the Soul's Forest." The booklet says that the language used by Silver is not real but purely phonetic. Whatever the case, her delivery is half speaking, half singing and half orgasmic. "Life Down" begins as a mixture of Schulzian textures and Floydian synth leads but soon mutates through heavy processing. "The Hope" treats us to a brief stint of acoustic guitar (no electronics at all) in a vein similar to Gilmour circa Meddle and Atom Heart Mother, though not as laid back and breezy; the playing is quite heavy for finger-style acoustic guitar, in fact. The title track was penned by the above mentioned Penderecki. This piece is very cosmic; it makes me think of Stanley Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey." with its haunted choral voices and deep synth textures mixed together. It's quite a stellar experience that my limited vocabulary can't describe. I'll leave the remaing three songs as an exercise for the reader, though I will say that Chain pulls out his axe for one tune.
Chain's Dies Irae is some of the darkest and gloomiest synth music I have heard. Thus, though I found it fascinating in a morbid way, I won't recommend it to just anyone. If you're into the dank and dark and gothic, this might be worth your while. If the darkest you've gotten is "Apocalypse in 9/8," I suggest you stay far, far away.

US band on the Cuneiform label, so musically in that vein. If you know the Cuneiform label that is NOT a vague description. Related to The Muffins through Paul Sears.

[See Feigenbaum and Scott | Muffins, The]

Chakra (79)

Pleasant symphonic prog from a Southern California band who only ever put out this one album. Very similar in style to the Syn-Phonic bands, and ought to appeal to fans of Lift, Pentwater, etc. -- Mike Ohman

One Small Chance (75)

Pure (90), Facing Gravity (92)

Great German band that is very much in the Marillion/Aragon style. Excellent Fish-like vocals. They have a single release out entitled Pure. Anyone who enjoys prog rock of this nature should have this in their collection!

Chandelier is generally touted as Germany's answer to Marillion. There is some merit to that general idea, especially between singer Martin Eden and Fish, but outside of that comparison, there are many other similarities as well. Pure is their first album, released in 1990, and is not bad for a debut album it offers although it doesn't really break any new ground. The playing is impressively tight, the songs are well written, the vocals (in English) are quite good, and the lyrics even stand on their own, it's just that they could be so much better if they were not so intent in following in the wake of others. Apparently their second album is out, but I haven't heard it yet.

One of the best of the Marillion clone bands. One release that I know of, Pure. Highly recommended to those of you who have already bought all the Marillion albums.

Warning, this is written by someone who doesn't get into Neo-prog as a general rule. I had heard from a few places that Chandelier were one of the better neo-prog bands so in my venture to become familiar with this style I decided to give Chandelier a shot. Well, the folks who claimed them as one of the better neos must also be Marillion fans. It would be very easy to think of Chandelier as the German version of Fish and Co. Being that I'm not a big fan of Marillion you would be correct to assume I'm not a fan of Chandelier, either. The emphasis is on the vocals and lyrical content both of which I rarely pay attention to. The solos are obligatory and not very exciting. The singer sounds very much like Fish though the lyrics aren't quite on par with the former Marillion front man. Within the realm of neo-prog, I have to give the nod to IQ and Jadis since they seem to be more Genesis influenced while Chandelier are obvious Marillion fans.

The Castle (91), Virtuality (93)

Fans of Edhels in the Still Dream period, this one will blow you away! Changing Images is the German Duo of Martin Kornberger on Keyboards and Bass and Volker Kuhn on Guitar and Guitar Synth. The music here is a blend of symphonic rock and modern progressive, with complex arrangements, tight interplay, and while the music is not "hard," there's plenty of fire. One might hear echoes of Jean Pascal Boffo or SFF in their sound, with a splash of the Enid.

Chapter Three (69), Volume 2 (70)

Early, much more progressive than Earth Band.

[See Mann's Earth Band, Manfred]

Japanese hard-fusion band with lots of pyrotechnic guitar riffs, not unlike some of Jeff Beck's better stuff.

Die Donnergötter (87), others?

Rhys Chatham is an American from New York who played mainly in France during the '80s. I have one of his records Die Donnergötter (German for Thunder of Gods) which is unique in my opinion in that six guitarists are playing at the same time (plus a bassist and a drummer) in the tune called "Die Donnergötter" (21 minutes of a thunderstorm of electric guitars with a drum solo in the background). The other side of the record, "Waterloo n°2," was written for solo percussionist, three trumpets and two trombones and keyboards, and sounds a little like Steve Reich. The album has been released in 1987 by a German publisher, Dossier Records (Prinzenallee 47b, D-1000 Berlin 65, Germany). -- Frederic Scheid

Sever Roots Tree Dies (88)

A rather noisy sometimes dissonant and hard-rockish US band that I've seen compared to Rush in catalog descriptions. To my ears these guys straddle the line between RIO and alternative, with some rather unusual vocals and the occasional introspective piano. Interesting but not pretty.

Cheiro de Vida (??)

Early 80s English Progressive band most noted for featuring Mark Kelly before he joined Marillion.

[See Marillion]

Cherry Five (74)

Another predecessor to Goblin, and infinitely superior to the grunge-rock Flea, was Cherry Five. Influenced much by The Yes Album, with grinding organ and Squire-ish bass. But Cherry Five use a greater variety of keyboards than Yes did at that point. Also the vocals are very different. Sung in English, but not quite as "broken" as many Italian bands. Here and there, they include an occasional "freak-out" that vaguely reminds me of early King Crimson. All in all, I believe this to be yet another classic of Italian progressive, and one I'd recommend highly. -- Mike Ohman

Here's a winner for Yes fans who are sick of bands that sound like Yes. Cherry Five combines Squire-esque bass and Wakeman style keys with a subtle rock-n-roll guitar feel and yes, a vocalist NOT trying to sound like Jon Anderson (finally!!) This is quintissential progressive music, if not very original. There are enough time changes and polyrhythmic interplay to keep a die-hard progressive fan interested while it is accessible enough for the casual listener to get into after only one or two tries. I really love the "fat" Moog synth playing...perfect early seventies style. Makes me wonder why hardly anyone ever uses that sound now.

Cherry Five is an Italian band that was a one-shot spinoff from Goblin. Having never heard that band, I can't attest to any similarities. The music, however, stands well on it's own. The main emphasis seems to be on keyboards, which includes Hammond organ, electric piano, mini-moog, and mellotron. Obviously, the band draws on many of their Italian contemporaries, but also from a wide variety of other styles including Yes, ELP, and a dash of Canterbury, but the music is blended into something quite unique. Excellent!

[See Goblin]

Chevalier (85), Tibet (86), Saarienne (87), Zantic le Jazzman (88)

Chevalier was guitarist with Magma in the Attahk through Retrospektiw period. His style is in a lighter jazz-rock vein, yet heavily influenced by the zeuhl sound. There are four albums: Chevalier/Eliard/Chevalier/Vandenbulcke, Tibet, Saharienne, and Zantic Le Jazzman. The first is the most intense and obviously Magma influenced, while the later ones further develop in the same style. All are exceptional. Start with Zantic, if only because it's on Musea and will be the easiest to find.

[See Magma]

Our Sunrise (74), Cherub Safety Match (75)

I have Cherub Safety Match. I guess I'd categorize it as light German rock/prog in the vein of Karthago, Randy Pie, Cry Freedom and the like. Like them, they include some progressive songs, like the 12-minute medley at the end and "Overture," the latter including the most keyboards (by Thor Baldursson, who has worked also with Amon Düül II, and Bo Born) alongside some decidedly un-progressive ones, like the country-rock "Catch The Train." There's also non-progressive songs incorporating progressive ideas, like the straight rock of "Adam And Eve," which incorporates a Gentle Giant-ish arrangement for recorders, and alternating bass and tenor voices. The mesmerizing "Choo Choo Train" with its droning organ and hypnotic vocal chants is the most typically German thing here. Overall pretty mediocre, nothing really makes you sit up and take notice. -- Mike Ohman

[See 2066 And Then]

Demos (9?)

Only heard a demo tape I had received as a dubbed copy of "Great Japanese band ranging from instrumental progressive to jazz." I have heard them compared to the Mahavishnu Orchestra, but I have never HEARD the Mahavishnu Orchestra, so I can not comment. The first piece on the demo, "Russia" reminds me of Red Queen To Gryphon Three era Gryphon for some reason, and the rest is quite jazzy and adventurous, but not in the same way that Henry Cow or RIO stuff would be; rather, it just sounds like a bunch of very competent musicians bashing out prog-jazz in a very fresh and inventive way. Oh yeah... the drummer's great. Plays a bit like Furio Chirico of Arti+Mestieri and The Trip, but a lot jazzier than the Trip stuff. He's fond of odd syncopations. Strongly recommended.

Christmas (70), Heritage (71)

Christmas developed out of Reign Ghost and was the precursor to The Spirit of Christmas. In fact, this is the core group that formed The Spirit of Christmas (minus vocalist Preston Wynn) and these guys show some of the hallmarks of the subsequent formation, including some fine drumming. Heritage was the band's second LP. The self-titled first is due out on The Laser's Edge sometime in the future and there are, I believe, plans to issue a previously unreleased live album. At more than 48 minutes, the LP was quite long by 1971 standards and the CD reissue contains an additional eight minutes in the form of two bonus tracks. Most of the songs are in the short 2-5 minute range but "April Mountain" is nearly 11 minutes and "Zephyr Song" weighs in at just over 13. Like the other two formations, Bob Bryden is the driving force as he wrote all the music and lyrics on this album. With a strong West Coast feel, you'll hear similarities to Grateful Dead, Quicksilver Messenger Service, early Steve Miller Band, etc; gone is the fuzz guitar. Guitarist Rob Bulger plays clean, clear, bluesy licks and even duels on occasion with Bryden's guitar. The sound is occasionally rounded out with miscellaneous keyboards, also played by Bryden. Christmas, despite their Canadian origins, would have been right at home at The Fillmore West. If you relish the hey-day of the Haight-Ashbury district, you'll do well to check out this album. Die-hard Prog fans need not apply.

[See Reign Ghost | Spirit of Christmas, The]

The Visitation (??), Alien Soundtracks (??), Half Machine Lip Moves (77), Third from the Sun(??), Inworlds (81)

Very alternative sounding bay area band, noisy and anarchic. Lots of albums. Beware of catalog descriptions that may lead you to believe otherwise.

Live at the Whiskey Au Go Go (75), Ima Wa Toki No Subete (75), Like A Message From the Stars (77)

Offshoot from Far East Family Band; cosmic keyboards and shimmering guitar leads.

[See Far East Family Band]

The Churchills (68)

Early psych from Israel, they moved to England and changed their name to Jericho Jones, then simply Jericho. They also changed styles. The Churchills' single album is said to be a psych classic, but I found it to be too silly in the lyrics department for my tastes. Though still not great, I prefered their later work as Jericho. Fans of early psych may really go for this album, though, so check it out.

[See Apocalypse (Israel) / Jericho | Jericho Jones]

Chute Libre (7?), Ali Baba (7?)

Cinelou brothers from this band joined Pierre Moerlen's Gong.

Cincinnato (74)

Rare Italian quartet, in the vein of PFM. Very good.

Cinema (??)

Circus (76), Movin' On (77), Circus All Stars Live (??), Fearless Tears And Even Less (??)

Quoted as being close to Van Der Graaf Generator, I was eager to hear them but surprised to find out that Circus' Movin' On sounds nothing like VDGG at all. In fact the only comparison to VDGG I could try and explain would be in the way Circus are similar to Aerosol Grey Machine or Least We Could Do... period VDGG, in the quiet phases. While I would never try and lower Peter Hammill, Circus' lead vocalist (and guitars and sax) is a far more confident and less "harsh" singer than Hammill, and has a deep voice with a bluesy feel to it. The music is definitely within early Crimson realms, yet is much more innovative (IMHO) than Crimson in the early seventies (pre Larks Tongue's). For one thing, there are no keyboards and instead we have a wide array of musical instruments, from an excellent drummer/vibes player, to flute, bass, sax, and 12-string guitar. These guys were really something special, and remain at least for me, the best band to come from Switzerland. Although there seem to be no plans, I hope their 1st, third and fourth albums get similar treatment!

Let's get the negative part out of the way first: the vocals. They're excellent. For the most part, Roland Frei's voice reminded me of a cross between Freddie Mercury, George Michael, and Preston Wynn of Spirit of Christmas, a rich tenor voice that is liquid smooth and distinctive. Vocals are present for about half the album and they are a pleasure to listen to, and I don't care for vocals. Well, if they excellent vocals are the worst part, then what does that say about the music? It smokes. Tight interplay between all instruments and a great rhythmic foundation can be found in the bass and drums. Each player, including the guitar player, is definitely very proficient on his instrument. Not readily comparable to anyone else (a compliment of the highest regard), Circus weaves a musical texture that is both melodic and intense. It's dynamic, melodic, instense, laidback, a must.

[See Blue Motion]

Circus 2000 (70), An Escape From a Box (72)

This 70's Italian band (vocals in English) employs some unique ideas in their sound, as well as some progressive tendencies, including rapid shifts from soft acoustics to hard rocking electrified guitar jams, etc. Some folk influences are also apparent in the sound, as well as typical late sixties psychedelic folk-rock type harmonies led by lead vocalist Sylviana Aliotta.

A classic Italian psych band. Both albums are similar, though An Escape From a Box sounds a little more mature. Psych fans should be sure to give them a listen. Overall, I like them pretty well, though it depends on my mood. Sometimes they sound a little too much the same. Pretty balanced between the female vocalist and electric and acoustic guitars. It grows on you, though.

The first LP was really commercial and the lyrics in english. The second LP was much better and the voice of Silvana Aliotta is wonderful.When the band dissolved, Franco Lo Previte went to Nova and then Kim and The Cadillac.

The First Goodbye (8?)

Cirkel was a Dutch band from the mid-eighties that hopped on the progressive rock band wagon. The First Goodbye was their debut album and this Musea reissue includes two bonus songs. The first thing I noticed on my initial listening was the similarity of Cirkel's vocals to Depeche Mode. Cirkel was apparently creating a hybrid of New Wave and progressive rock that sort of works, yet they could have tried harder for some originality. The bridge in the middle of A Song of Love and Hate is the main riff from John Foxx's hit single Miles Away and the chorus from Sea is a direct quotation from The Moody Blues' Nights in White Satin "and I love you, oh how I love you." It is even sung with the same emotional intensity! The First Goodbye does have its moments, the best being the final track Elfin. Elfin is the most inventive song on the album abounding with majestic themes, distorted vocals, and a musical tribute to The Moody Blues. If you ever wondered what it would have sounded like if the Moody Blues had been born 20 years later in Holland, you should check out this reissue.

Circus (69), Listen To The Band (70), One (71)

Early prog ala Cressida, Spring, Salamander, Moody Blues; Apparently changed spelling after first release; Mel Collins was in band before he joined with King Crimson.

The Citadel Of Cynosure (90)

Citadel is an american band led by Gary and Kiki Whitman, with a sound vaguely reminiscent of Starcastle (remember them ?). The Citadel Of Cynosure is a concept album from 1990, the story of "The Dreemurs," a peace loving nomadic people from another galaxy, and their struggles with the Affrage Pirates, who control their world. There's even a booklet insert for concept album junkies that explains all the background of the story, with lyrics and line drawings.

Serpents In Camouflage (92), Somewhere But Yesterday (94)

Absolutely brilliant Scottish Genesis-clone! If you like the sound of Genesis around the year 1973-4, and early Marillion, then this is the band for you. They do nothing new, just composing in the Genesis style: long songs, muted guitars, raw scottish vocals, and LOTS and LOTS of great MiniMoog solos!!

After a few minutes of listening to Somewhere but Yesterday, it becomes obvious that they draw their inspiration from the old Genesis of the seventies. The style of the vocalist as well as most of the arrangements clearly evoke the Nursery Cryme - Foxtrot era. In fact, only the use of synthesizers betrays the era. The band features vocals and flute, keyboards (lots of organ), guitars, bass and drums. The compositions show surprising bits of originality and the very appropriate production captures the essence of a now legendary sound. Only purists will be able to resist. -- Paul Charbonneau

El Tor (75)

Their magnificent El Tor is vocal progressive music at its best in which I cannot draw comparisons because of its uniqueness. The musicianship is superb and the only band that may have anything in common is Osanna!

Their El Tor album is a little overrated i think, sort of a hodgepodge, nice playing and definitely some great moments, but overall it lacks the direction required to make it a classic.

The A side of El Tor have a funky-jazz sound with a great Enzo Avitabile. The B side have an acoustic sound. The lyrics talk about social and political problems.

First (78), Der Taetowierte (79, aka City II), Dreamland (80)

City Boy (76), Dinner At The Ritz (77), Young Men Gone West (77), Book Early (78), The Day The Earth Caught Fire (79), Heads Are Rolling (80), It's Personal (82)

This Birmingham-based (West Midlands, not Alabama) folk-turned-art-rock sextet was quickly signed to Phonogram Records in 1975, presumably because of they sounded so much like 10cc. (Remember, this was about the time Godley and Creme split from 10cc to make the Consequences triple album. It was apparently feared that the band would break up.) In spite of the similarity, City Boy are not merely 10cc rip-off artists. Their stronger emphasis on hard-rock sets them apart immediately. Early on, strong identification with progressive rock and a couple of funk-orientated tracks give them further distinction. The self-titled debut is probably the one which will most appeal to prog-fans. The eight-minute "5000 Years/Don't Know Can't Tell" is a highly underrated slab of prog-rock, with fiery guitar, simmering synth and mellotrons galore. It's also carried over well by the dual lead vocals of Lol Mason and Steve Broughton, a distinctive feature of this band. The other outstanding progressive track on the album is the haunting "Sunset Boulevard." Here the whole of the song is anchored around the electric piano of keyboardist Max Thomas, while the dynamics are punctuated by lead guitarist Mike Slamer and the rhythm section of Chris Dunn (bass) and Roger Kent (drums). It's all too rare to find bands this tight. The rest of the album isn't really what I'd call "progressive," but I like most of it anyway. Highlights include "(Moonlight) Shake my head and leave" (crystalline pop), "The Greatest Story Ever Told" (an infectious 10cc-esque rocker) and "Haymaking Time" (a beautiful folkish ballad). Also of note is "Oddball Dance," which is just plain weird. The album would be perfect except for a couple of embarassingly dated-sounding funk-orientated songs ("Surgery Hours" and "The Hap-ki-do Kid") which smack of the dreaded D-word. The band's sophomore effort, Dinner At The Ritz, shows stronger 10cc influence, while expanding the band's stylistic pallette. Highlights include "Narcissus," a raunchy rocker with rolling Hammond organ and wailing guitar and an amazing middle section with guitar-and-synth unisons, and "State Secrets--A Thriller," which is a three-part satire on secret-agent films ending with a climactic instrumental section with synths and layered guitars. Elsewhere, there's some fine hard-rockers and a brace of shimmering pop pieces, notably "The Violin," which is an old-fashioned romantic tear-jerker complete with strings, autoharp and steel-guitar (by B.J. Cole). Also appearing: David Jackson and Peter Hammill from Van Der Graaf Generator on the title-track! Young Men Gone West seems to ditch any pretensions of being a progressive band, and just presents a set of rock and pop songs. Still good, especially the hard-rock numbers ("Dear Jean," "Bad For Business," "The Man Who Ate His Car"), and the album-closer, "Millionaire," which has a nifty arrangement for brass-band. Book Early brings them into the big-leagues-- commercially anyway-- with the big hit single "5.7.0.5," which caused a bit of controversy by spelling out the Mercury Records phone number out in touch-tone at the beginning of the song. (Thus, it's not surprising that their next two albums were issued on Atlantic in the U.S.) It also introduces us to the band's new drummer Roy Ward, who also sings co-lead vocals on "5.7.0.5" with Mason, giving the band THREE lead vocalists. The album is similar to Young Men... with its balance of rockers ("Summer In The Schoolyard," "Moving In Circles") and ballads ("Goodbye Laurelie," "Beth"). Again the climactic track is the last one, "Dangerous Ground." The band followed up this LP with "What A Night," a single not included on any album. [Editor's Note: "What A Night" has appeared at the end of side 1 of Book Early on at least some versions of the record. It may be a difference between US and non-US pressings.] Apparently they still had art in their system, hence The Day The Earth Caught Fire, a concept album of sorts concerning their fears about what the upcoming decade may hold, beginning with the orchestrally augmented, Supertramp-esque title-song, and culminating in the twelve-minute, four-part "Ambition." But three of the songs on the A-side (notably "Interrupted Melody," a Springsteen-clone, and the melodic pop of "Modern Love Affair") have nothing to do with the concept and break the album's flow. Still, "New York Times" (apparently a much older Broughton/Mason composition updated for vocals by Ward) is a stunning ballad with orchestral backing, while "Up In The Eighties" and "Machines" use synthesizers effectively to create a 1980's sound a year early. One of their better efforts. Broughton left to rejoin his brother Edgar's band, leaving Heads Are Rolling primarily Mason and Ward's show. It's their weakest effort, but there's nothing really wrong with it, it's just doesn't form as much excitement as previous efforts. Most of the rockers sound too forced and commercially-geared. Thus unlike earlier efforts, the best tracks are the ballads ("Speechless," "You're Leaving Me," "Life on the Balcony").

Clannad (73), Clannad II (74), Dulaman (76), In Concert (79), Craan Ull (80), Fuaim (82), Magical Ring (83), Legend (84), Macalla (85), Sirius (87), Pastpresent (89), Atlantic Realm (89), The Angel and the Soldier Boy (89), Anam (90), Banba (93)

New agey celtic folk-rock band. Their early album Fuaim is quite nice. I've heard that their newer stuff is more adventurous and progressive.

Started out doing traditional Irish and moved into writing their own material which drew on traditional and rock. Came dangerously close to schlock with Sirius, but Anam is a fine return to form. Recommended: Anam, Magical Ring or any traditional release.

Irish progressive celtic folk pop. Early albums fairly traditional folk and folk rock. Big with the Adult Contemporary crowd these days. Features siblings Maire (vocals, harp), Pol (guitar, mandolin, flutes, whistle, keyboards, vocals) and Ciaran (bass, keyboards, vocals) Brennan, and their uncles Padraig (mandolin, guitar) and Noel (guitar) Duggan. Albums Crann Ull and Fuaim feature the now famous Enya Brennan, younger sister of Maire, Pol and Ciaran, on keyboards and vocals. Started as a very traditional irish folk group, interpreted traditional irish music from their region of ireland, sung largely in gaelic and loosely blended with pop elements. Distinctive and lively. Later albums blend traditional irish folk instrumentation with ethereal keyboards and rock drums, and feature session musicians such as Mel Collins (who tours with them). Fuaim was the genesis of their current more progressive style, the first with strong keyboards and sax. Some jazz elements in evidence. Magical Ring continues the trend with more ethereal keyboards, more session musicians, more songs from Pol and Ciaran, more songs in English and the UK hit Theme from Harry's Game (now featured in Volkswagon commercials and in the film Patriot Games). Haunting. A great album. Followed by the beautiful soundtrack to the UK tv series Robin Hood, "Legend." By now songs are written almost exclusively by Pol and Ciaran. Followed by arguably their greatest album Macalla - an ideal blend of traditional and pop elements. Bono duets on "In a Lifetime." Sirius, produced in LA by Greg Ladanyi, also features great songs and guest Bruce Hornsby. Still very powerful, their most commercial effort. PastPresent is a compilation featuring songs from Magical Ring through Sirius and two new songs. A fine single "Hourglass" also released in 1989 (unavailable elsewhere). Atlantic Realm and The Angel and the Soldier Boy are mostly- instrumental ethereal keyboard soundtracks featuring mainly Pol and Ciaran, and no traditional instruments (half of Angel features a children's story narrated over Ciaran's music...). Pol left in 1990. Ciaran took control on the melancholy Anam, but they were beginning to repeat themselves. A fine album, but lacking impact. The American release of this album includes Theme from Harry's Game and In a Lifetime. Released a too-sweet version of Joni Mitchel's "Both Sides Now" as a duet with Paul Young in 1991; the song was featured on the soundtrack for the movie "Switch." In 1992, Maire released a solo album that, not surprisingly, sounds very similar to Clannad. Much more lively than Anam, it features three more Brennan sisters on backing vocals. Clannad's most recent album is Banba (1993), very similar to Anam - worthwhile, but treads water to some extent. "I Will Find You" from Banba also featured in the film "The Last of the Mohicans." Recommended: Fuaim, Magical Ring, Legend, Macalla, Sirius, Anam, Banba.

Clear Blue Sky (70)

Hard rock/prog power trio. Mostly guitar, some organ and flute. Roger Dean artwork on LP cover.

Symphony (75), Forever Blowing Bubbles (75), Les Contes Du Singe Fou (76), Visions (78), Messenger of the Son (85), Symphony II (90)

Actually, just Clearlight and basically Cyril Verdeaux and a million guests, most notably Steve Hillage, Didier Malherbe, and Tim Blake on Clearlight Symphony. All of them are great, but my personal favorite (at least for this week) is Forever Blowing Bubbles. Also great, is Clearlight Visions which features the incredible violin playing of Didier Lockwood and more sax by Bloomdido.

This legendary mid-70's French progressive-symphonic band was led by master keyboardist Cyrille Verdeaux, with help from guitarist Christian Boule, and Gilbert Artman on Drums. The sound is rich, full and colorful, truly symphonic, ofttimes spacy, with occasional psychedelic guitar flareups. This is not just another bunch of synth-art wannabees trying to sound larger than life. In addition, the early albums feature guest appearances by the likes of Steve Hillage, Tim Blake, and Didier Malhebre. Symphony and Symphony II are grand on a grand scale. Symphony II is a partially re-recorded version with a lot of extra material added. Bubbles is a little more rinky-dink, but still nice, with shorter tracks and no thematic concept. Has some guest appearances by David Cross (ex-Crimson), and Joel Dugrenot (ex-Zao). The later albums are purportedly very acoustic-piano oriented, less symphonic, poppier, and feature vocals. Start with Symphony or Symphony II.

Often this band is called Clearlight Symphony, but that's not correct. The band's name was Clearlight, and their first album was called Symphony. Cyrille Verdeaux is the band leader and composer. Their first album is excellent, somewhat styled after space-fusion Gong, particularly on "Symphony Part 1" which features several Gong members, including Steve Hillage. Symphony consists of two songs, while Forever Blowing Bubbles consists of seven shorter songs and more variety. Verdeaux's synth work is more pronounced and very nice. This makes a good starting album.

[See Boule, Christian | Delired Cameleon Family | Verdeaux, Cyrille | Zoo]

Hologram (91), More Grains of Sand (94)

Clepsydra is a new Swiss band in the neo-progressive vein, a-la Deyss et al. Their sound is close to Deyss, which is imitation Marillion, which is imitation Genesis, get the picture ? They have one album Hologram which features a cheesy hologram on the front of the booklet. The music is well executed and occasionally mildly interesting but gets low marks on originality.

Clepsydra are a new entrant into the field of neo-progressive bands, and serve up a more aggressive type of music, fronted by guitars and keyboards. As with early Marillion, the music is melodic in nature, alternating between quiet piano/synth passages and full-blown, symphonic workouts. The vocals are in English, albeit with a slight accent, which is not much in evidence except in a couple of the earlier portions of Hologram. Eight vocal tracks on the CD and the remaining five are instrumental. The music is probably closest to that of Step Ahead, a neo-prog outfit from France, whose re-issue is eagerly awaited by many.

This Swiss-based band shows the usual five-piece lineup: vocals, guitar, keyboards, bass and drums. The style on More Grains of Sand is also very typical of the melodic rock produced by British bands since the '80s (ex: Marillion, Pendragon, I.Q.). Despite a tired old style, they manage to produce a music that pleases instantly. The presence of both singer and guitarist are noticeable, the keyboards provide a rich symphonic texture and the rhythms are very precise. Simple compositions with expert performances et loads of emotion. A high quality production that compares favourably to its numerous equivalents. -- Paul Charbonneau

The Swiss band Clepsydra consists of: Aluisio Maggini (vocals), Lele Hofmann (guitars), Philip Hubert (keyboards), Andy Thommen (bass, bass pedals) and Pietro Duca (drums, percussion). Hologram, Clepsydra's debut release, is average neo-progressive fare that I can't get very excited about. Thirteen songs range from the 1:20 minute opener and closer ("Sunrise" and "Sunset") to the 7:40 minute title track. Most songs are 3-5 minutes in length. Four of the songs are instrumentals. Clepsydra take their cue from Marillion, Pendragon and other British neo-progressives. To my ears, however, Clepsydra sound like a watered-down version of the '80s originals. None of the songs sound very inspired to me. Rather, they follow the same format, plodding along during the vocals sections, with the obligatory and predictable guitar solos in the Steve Rothary vein. Hubert's keyboard playing has a minor role, adding only chordal atmosphere and a few incidental fills. Three years after their debut, the band followed up with More Grains of Sand, which received a favorable review by Christian Schmolzi and Tillmann Seidel in Gibraltar V5 #1. If you are a big fan of the entire neo-prog scene, then you'll want to give more weight to Schmolzi and Seidel's opinion than my own. The thirteen conceptually-related songs about love are in the same vein as Hologram, with a tad more emphasis on vocals. Only three songs, totalling about six minutes are completely instrumental. But, there are now more songs in the 7-8 minute range which allows for longer instrumental passages. I consider this a big improvement over Hologram. Hubert's keyboards come to the forefront more often during the extended instrumental sections, and Hofmann's guitar work still has a major role. Hubert's work is comparable to Martin Orford of IQ/Jadis, Clive Nolan of Pendragon, and Mark Kelly of Marillion. The seemingly added emphasis on vocals is a turn-off for me. While not a bad singer by neo-prog standards--but not a notable one, either--I found that Maggini's voice grated on my nerves as he hit and held the climax notes that led into the instrumental passages. The rhythm section is still less than invigorating, choosing only to keep the beat, rather than interacting in any dynamic way. While I consider More Grains of Sand an improvement over Hologram, neither album made me want to return for repeated listenings. Caveat: I'm not known as a big neo-prog fan, so, if you are, take my comments with so many grains of, erm, sand. -- Mike Taylor

Regina Astris (??)

The band Clivage released three albums in the late seventies. Some of the most fascinating progressive music defies description, and Regina Astris is certainly one of those. Clivage's music fits into the same mold as artists such as Third Ear Band, Between, Alain Markusfeld and Aktuala. The music is very Eastern influenced and holds much in common with those bands due to the raga like atmosphere. The instrumentation is quite diverse with violin, tablas (and related percussion), acoustic guitar, sax, and string synthesizer (not often common in similar musics.) Symphonic fans may not care too much about this, and it could easily be written off as being "new age," but this is far more innovative and unusual. The bands mentioned before are a pretty good pointer, chances are if you like them you'll like this. Excellent.

Clockhammer (90), Klinefelter (91)

Clockhammer was a Nashville based progressive rock trio. The sound was kind of jazzy thrash, featuring few solos, lots of tempo and dynamic shifts, and the voice of guitarist Byron Bailey. Their first release, Clockhammer, is fairly simple, dissonant stuff, owing a lot to Husker Du. Bailey's voice is a cross between Richard Thompson and Nick Drake; imagine the latter fronting Helmet and you approximate the sound of this initial release. Few solos, and a pulverizing overall sound with the exception of a very cool straight ahead reading of "Girl From Ipanema" that closes out the album. Klinefelter is the band's masterwork. Featuring a more sophisticated sense of dynamics and more complicated time and tempo changes than their earlier release, it has an eerie autumnal quality that I've seldom encountered in heavy rock. Bailey's voice is uncannily like Drake's here, and the wistful vocal quality and melancholy of the music combine to create an oddly timeless, floating, yet very heavy, set of songs. Solos, when they appear, are heavily distorted, John McLaughlin-like outbursts. This is a band that really has a sound all it's own. The solos have the McLaughlin like overdrive and intensity, but I wouldn't say that they have anything else in common with Mahavishnu Orchestra. The song structures really don't parallel much of anything I'm familiar with. Perhaps the best comparison would be Nick Drake's Five Leaves Left for the haunted quality of the music. Both releases are fine but Klinefelter is definitely the keeper of the two, though. -- Tim Schultz

Cluster (71), Cluster II (72), Zuckerzeit (74), Sowiesoso (76), Grosses Wasser (79), Curiosum (81)

I have three albums which are supposed to be representative of three different stages of the band. Cluster II was the second recorded as a duo, with the "C" spelling. There aren't any actual synthesizers, just organs, guitars and the like heavily distorted through cheap, audio lab equipment. Unlike Tangerine Dream and the like, the sound is quite hard-edged, proto-industrial electronics bleating out slowly shifting patterns. Surely not going to appeal to everyone, but those who like daring use of electronics will surely enjoy it. Sowiesoso is the cream of their middle period, a more melodic use of synths, pianos and percussion which sounds influenced by Eno, yet quite original. As before, working in slowly shifting patterns, but using beautiful melodies as opposed to stark drones and dissonances as before. One of the finest electronic albums of the 70s, worthwhile for the lovely and haunting "In Ewigkeit" alone. Grosses Wasser is rather similar, yet perhaps closer to Eno in style, with quirky short pieces, and the interesting side-long title piece. Not essential, but pleasant enough. -- Mike Ohman

[See Harmonia | Roedelius, Hans-Joachim]

Open Spaces (71), Space Cabaret (72)

I have Space Cabaret. The first 17 minutes of this album are fairly nice early British progressive with good mellotron work, and alternating male and female vocals, plus a folky bent that makes it appealingly British. The rest of the album consists of folkie music and psychedelia which was already dated sounding when this album came out, so you can imagine how bad it sounds now. Not necessary. -- Mike Ohman