Gaodhal's Vision (77)

Irish Violinist. His album Gaodhal's Vision features an all-star lineup, the sound is jazzy and ethereal, with occasional outbursts of fusion, and may remind of Jade Warrior's Kites period at times.

The Surrealist (94)

This guitarist from Quebec offers an instrumental music based on guitar work. The arrangements on The Surrealist also involves carefully programmed parts of bass, drums and percussions. A guest on tenor saxophone also contributes a few furious improvisations. The result is an experimental music with shades of rock and free-jazz. Ther rhythmic base often includes bass, drums and vibraphone to which are added crisp sounding acoustic guitar and heavy electric guitar. A fairly intense music that flirts with dissonance. -- Paul Charbonneau

Ancient Dreams (85), Hit (??), Between Two Worlds (87), Rivers Gonna Rise (??), Eldorado (89), Indigo (??), Mix-Up (90), The Private Music of Patrick O'Hearn (91), White Sands (92)

Studio musician, member of Missing Persons and Group 87. Hit is just a bunch of pop trash covers, but Indigo shows off his versatility more. The guy can play just about everything. But his stuff is considered new-age. At least, that's where you'd find it at the record stores.

[See Group 87]

Product of Pisces and Capricorn (70), Amalgamation (71)

Prog.

Première Vision de L'étrange (77)

Prog.

Obscure. Ken Golden of The Laser's Edge says that A Triggering Myth reminds him of Ocean. To many, A Triggering Myth sound very Happy The Man influenced, so Ocean may also be in that vein. -- Mike Taylor

October (7?), After The Fall (??)

Symphonic prog rarities.

Boat of Thoughts (76), An Ocean of Rocks (77), Queen of Rocks (78), Rubber Angel (79)

I have Boat of Thoughts, which is a fine example of early melodic symphonic progressive from Germany. Guitars dominate the mix, but there is plenty of synth and mellotron work for the keyboard fan. The band sets up a good groove that was typical of many bands active during the early UK progressive scene but develop it in a somewhat symphonic style that was to later pervade much of the progressive scene during the mid-70's. The female vocalist will remind you a Janis Joplin without the "grit" in her voice. She's not a very powerful singer, but she's pleasant enough. It all comes to a head in a fantastic way with mellotron bursting through the guitar groove, followed by washes of synth. -- Mike Taylor

Thaerie Wiighen (81)

One of the rarest Scandinavian albums, possibly the most collectible album of the 1980s. The basic sound is bright symphonic prog with a Scandinavian feel. The vocals are rather nice, all in Norwegian, of course, with a pleasant lilt which is appropriate to the impressionist nature of the music. The musical base is a strong foundation of keyboards, mainly polyphonic synths, expressing the classically-inspired themes in a Rick Wakeman-esque manner. There seems to be a sonic similarity to some of the Italian bands. Drawbacks? There's one track with a funky beat that quickly wears out its welcome and goes on longer than it needs to. Also, the main theme could have been expressed more subtly, it recurs so much, it's like they're hammering it into you. Still, on the whole, a rarity worth searching out. -- Mike Ohman

Octopus (69)

There were several bands with this name, maybe even one for each leg of the real creature! I've got a 1969 release from this particular American version. It's nothing spectacular. The liner notes indicate the band went into a New York studio while tripped out on acid. The music isn't wigged out, as you might expect. As a matter of fact, there are two really nice blues jams. The other songs are attempts at politically aware psychedelia and aren't anything to write home about. It's your basic guitars, bass, drums quartet with occasional saxophone. I'd recommend against this particular album. -- Mike Taylor

Odin (72)

Somewhat ELP organ with heavy guitar.

Odissea (71)

Not a very interesting band.

Odmenn (70)

Blues-based psych, lots of acid guitar, some organ.

Moon Drive (96)

Odyssice's music is characterized by swelling string ensembles and long, driving guitar solos, with major infuences being Camel and Rush.

Saint Chrone de Neant (??), Traversion (79)

French-Canadian. Organ-based prog with light religious touches.

Offering I-II (86), Offering III-IV (90), A Fiieh (93)

Another outlet for Stella and Christian Vander.

[See Magma | Vander, Christian]

Tubular Bells (73), Hergest Ridge (74), The Orchestral Tubular Bells (75), Ommadawn (75), Incantations (78), Exposed (79), Platinum (79), Airborn (80), QE2 (80), Five Miles Out (82), Crises (83), Discovery (84), The Killing Fields (84), Islands (87), Earthmoving (89), Amarok (90), Heaven's Open (91), Tubular Bells Ii (92)

In the early (and in my oppinion best) period, he tended towards making long 50 minutes instrumental giga-works. (Tubular Bells, Hergest Ridge, Ommadawn, Incantations (lasting almost two hours), QE2 (shorter, more approachable tunes, like a cover of an ABBA song)). Unfortunately he began making pop-albums in the middle late '80s and is still doing a lot of poppish stuff. The only good thing from a prog rock-point of view is, that these albums always contain a long, instrumental prog rock composition on one side of the album, and a lot o poppish vocal things on the other. (Five Miles Out, Crisis, Discovery, Islands, Heaven's Open). Fortunately there is one exception to the pop, namely Amarok from 1990, which featured one tune, "Amarok," lasting one full hour and three seconds and featuring such diverse instruments as toy dogs, toothbrushes, feet, the contents of an airplane modeller's toolkit, etc. Highly recommended, which leads us to: Recommended albums: Tubular Bells, Hergest Ridge, Ommadawn, Five Miles Out, Platinum, The Killing Fields, Amarok. Albums to avoid: Earth Moving, Heaven's Open.

Tubular Bells is an absolute must, no two ways about it. Instrumental music with a wide variety of instruments. Some of his later stuff contains more marketable stuff. Islands, for example has a side long instrumental called "The Wind Chimes," but the other side is pop music with guest vocalists like Max Bacon (of GTR), Kevin Ayers, and Bonnie Tyler.

Tubular Bells transcends many genres of music: Progressive, new-age, jazz, symphonic, and was used as the theme to the movie The Exorcist.

I've always thought Tubular Bells was overrated but Tubular Bells 2 is incredible. It's amazing how many musical avenues he explores, listening to TB2 is an adventure. His originality and instrumental variety is great.

A musical genius, but his large output of pop songs is frustrating. Some of his pop songs are excellent but some are dreadful. It's the instrumentals where he really shines. Recommended: Tubular Bells II, Amarok, Incantations.

Discovery was, relatively speaking, one of Mike Oldfield's more obscure releases, and was recorded in 1984, as we all know, in the Swiss Alps, at 2000 metres, within sight of Lake Geneva on sunny days. This contained two "hit singles," the tracks "To France" and "Tricks Of The Light." The music is in the same vein as on Five Miles Out and Crises, with playful lyrics and catchy melodies. The last track, "The Lake," is a long, instrumental track, with echoes of the guitar sounds and mood changes that appeared on Tubular Bells and in many instrumental tracks thereafter. Mike Oldfield's soundtrack to The Killing Fields is orchestral at times, with much help from longtime acquaintance David Bedford. The compositions are also relatively dark and sombre, presumably to reflect the mood of the movie. The tracks are, as is typical of a soundtrack, very short and expressive, and, when taken together, offer up a pretty varied listening experience. Tubular Bells II is , for the most part, an updated version of his classic work, yet with enough variation to satisfy the listener.

Great at times, not-so-great other times. The more epic works are almost invariably the best. Tubular Bells is a must-have, no doubt. Hergest Ridge is also great. Tubular Bells 2 is also quite good, and is not just a re-make of the original. Not a bad starter, actually. Oldfield is a multi-instrumentalist whose best stuff contains no vocals (although his later albums are littered with vocal tracks). Powerful music that doesn't just sit there. Avoid Earth Moving, according to every Oldfield fan I have heard from.

Oldfield is one of those guys that's hard to pigeon-hole into any style. The multi-instrumentalist has his own rather unique style and it's changed from album to album over the years. His classics include Tubular Bells and Hergest Ridge which are conceptual works with one or two songs spanning the entire album. On these, the songs develop slowly with a few instruments stating the theme. As the song continues, additional layers of instruments join the mix and work out variations on the theme. In this regard, he is similar to band like Tangerine Dream, except Oldfield uses many different instruments instead of just synths like T-Dream. Albums he recorded later in his career, such as Earth Moving display a religious bent in well-crafted "prog-pop" songs. If I'm going to listen to pop, I'd rather listen to Mike Oldfield that anything on the radio. The songs are very engaging, though somewhat disappointing for diehard fans of his long works. Islands has one side-long cut and several shorter songs ala Earth Moving. Oldfield is a talented and unique musician and it's usually easy to select several enjoyable albums from his discography. -- Mike Taylor

Amarok is incredible. Tubular Bells is classic. Ommadawn is another great one. Tubular Bells 2 was pretty good too, but I thought it sounded like a cross between the first one and Amarok without much new ground being covered.

The Songs Of Distant Earth is a beautiful piece, based on a novel, so it flows like a soundtrack, all tracks connected and with recurring themes. Excellent mix of guitar, synth, piano, chorus, and percussion, much like Incantations but with much more energy. No lyrics, but a lot of background vocals, all very melodic. Nothing at all like Amarok. It sounds similar to Tubular Bells 2, but has a much more smooth flow to it. His best work. -- Kris Heber

[See Bedford, David]

Standing Stone (74)

Twisted eccentric prog.

Zelva (68), Handful (70), 4 (7?), Olympic (7?), Marathon (7?), Holidays On Earth (79), The Street (82), Rock and Roll (82), V Lucerne (83), Laboratory (8?), Hidden In Your Mind (??)

The most popular Czech rock band. Started in 1963 as a Beatles cover band. Their first LP, Zelva, is supposed to be a psych classic with a ten-minute track, "Psychedelic Pill". Rock and Roll is a bunch of covers of old '50s rock tunes. V Lucerne is their 20th anniversary live album, and includes an info-packed poster-sized insert. Holidays On Earth is the English-language version of a Czech-titled 1978 album and is the first installation of their sci-fi trilogy, volumes two and three being The Street and Laboratory. These are supposed to be the ones of only real interest to prog fans.

Hungarian Releases: Trombitás Fredí és a Rettenetes Emberek (68), Tízezer Lépés (69), Éjszakai Országúton (70), Élo Omega (72), Omega 5 (73), 6: Nem Tudom A Neved (76), 7: Idorablo (77), 8: Csillagok Utján (78), Gammapolis (79), Elo Kistadion '79 (80), X: Az Arc (81), XI (82), Jublium Concert (83), Babylon (87), A Fold Arreyhos Oldahon (8?), Arranyalbum 1969-1971 (??, comp.), 1968-1973 (??, 5LP box set)
Non-Hungarian Releases: Omega Red Star From Hungary (68), Omega (73), 200 Years After The Last War (73), Omega III (74), Hall Of Floaters In The Sky (75), Time Robber (76), Skyrover (78), Gammapolis (79), Live at the Kistadion (80), Working (81)

Hungarian band. This time a more typically "progressive" band, although on the later side of the scale. Not too bad, but not worth killing for. Several albums were released in Hungarian as well as English. Make sure you get the Hungarian version: their English is not fantastic. And besides, Hungarian is a wonderful language for singing.

In the Barclay James Harvest vein and active from 1967 until 1991. Go for Time Robber. After their first six albums, they ventured into space-rock.

Hungary's most popular band, starting with a psychedelic style on Red Star, then developing into a more progressive style derived from Pink Floyd, Eloy and the like. Nem Tudom A Neved is a pretty raw album. The title track is pretty good, other songs have the germ of an idea but come off as undeveloped. For a country's most popular band, they really could use some better production values. Hall Of Floaters is a good deal better, benefitting by being recorded in the west (England, in fact) and including some orchestrations. Most of the songs here were originally on Nem Tudom A Neved, the extended versions here are far more interesting. Unlike the other album, all vocals here are in English. -- Mike Ohman

[See Benko, Laszlo | Locomotiv GT | Presser, Gabor]

Songs Of Resignation (89)

This is more of an industrial thrash band than anything one might consider progressive. Songs Of Resignation does feature guest appearances by bassist Bernard Paganotti of Magma, but he's very much the fish out of water here.

Reino Rocoso (91)

Spanish folk-tinged fusion band on the Musea-Parallele label. A three-piece, their sound is fairly unique, doesn't compare to much else out there: sorta light and fresh, with plenty of sophisticated musical muscle, extremely tight playing, and a well-balanced sense of direction. Tends to be acoustically oriented, and should appeal to fans of Pat Metheny, Al Di Meola, and like that.

Open Air (78)

Three piece of keys, guitars and vocals, with guest musicians handling the drums and bass. Their sound is very melodic, but relatively simple and straightforward - and seems to be influenced by Machiavel and Genesis, maybe others as well, but generally substandard by comparison. Vocals are in English, but not that awe inspiring (certainly not the caliber of Machiavel's vocalist). Overall, I'd say it falls somewhere between OK and mediocre. A few tracks are good.

Spiritual Lovers (9?)

Current psych; spaced out guitar and keyboards.

Contre Courant (76), Serieux Ou Pas (89)

Excellent '70s Canadian symphonic fusion band that released one album and one posthumously. Excellent and classic music.

Introspezionne (74), Lord Cromwell Plays Suite For Seven Vices (75), Strata (87)

For the more avant-garde of the Gibraltar readers, Opus Avantra are more avant-garde than most. They combine operatic, neo-classical, and progressive/classical rock styles. Opus Avantra created a very interesting music that succeeded in their first of three Introspezzione but was less effective in Lord Cromwell Plays The Suite for Seven Vices. OA also made an album recently on the Artis label entitled Strata.

The sound of the band is a avant-garde (AVAN) and traditional (TRA) mix of music. These are two good LPs. Nowadays, Tony Esposito (percussion) is a famous soloist.

Italian avant-garde band featuring vocalist Donella Del Monaco. Their style blends elements of progressive, classical, opera, jazz and just plain general weirdness, using keyboards, bass, drums, violins, cellos, clarinet, flutes and other instruments. Because their style draws on such diverse influences, it's difficult to make any quick and convenient comparisons, but suffice to say that this type of music is definitely not for everyone. It may be too, say, aesthetically challenging for many. Still they are one of the all time best Italian bands. If you're up to it, start with Introspezzione.

[See Del Monaco, Donella | Katharsis | Nuova Idea]

Orange Peel (70)

Organ-based heavy prog, w/Peter Bischof (Emergency) and Curt Cress (Passport).

[See Emergency | Passport]

Ordinaires (85), One (86)

American big-band ensemble that mixes chamber-music with rock in an interesting way, using classical instrumentation (strings and horns) as well as rock. I've only heard one track, their take on the Led Zeppelin evergreen "Kashmir". It's surprisingly good. I only hope their originals stand up to it. -- Mike Ohman

Tone Float (70)

Predecessor to Kraftwerk.

[See Kraftwerk]

Oriental Wind (77), Zikir (79), Chila Chila (79), Bazaar (80), Live in Bremen (82), Live in der Balver Hoehle (83), Life Road (83), Sankirna (85)

German world-jazz group comparable with bands like Paul Winter Consort, Oregon, Embryo, and others. Many albums from around '79 to present. On one album Sankirna, they join forces with traditional East Indian musicians and vocalists for a stunning tour-de-force.

La Nature Vit (79)

Includes flutes, various synths, folk influences, poetic lyrics; symphonic with a slight hard edge.

Ad Gloriam (69), L'Aurora (collection) (70), Collage (71), Uomo Di Pezza (72), Felona E Sorona (73), In Concerto (74), Contrappunti (74), Smogmagica (75), Beyond Leng (collection) (75), Verita' Nascoste (76), Storia O Leggenda (77), Florian (79), Piccola Rapsodia Dell'Ape (80), Venerdi (82), Orme (90), Antologia 1970-1980 (93), Live (??, Japan only), Il Fiume (96)

For Emerson, Lake, and Palmer fans, who like the three man classical-rock format style will undoubtedly love Le Orme, who's Nice, ELP, Trace, and Ekseption similarities are evident. Although similar, in my opinion Le Orme were the best of the genre who mixed the pompous classical rock of the Nice with the elegance and sophistication of the Italians. Although their first two albums are rare '60s beat-music, Le Orme's best albums starting with Collage and the ones that followed, all featuring incredible statements for the three-man band format and are highly recommended to any lover of progressive music. Also great are their fourth through sixth including the classics Uomo Di Pezza, Felona E Sorona (who's English version had lyrics by Peter Hammill), and their opus Contappunti. Others are supposedly slightly inferior yet are all worthy of exploration.

One of the better known Italian bands, Contrappunti and Felona E Sorona are regarded by many as the band's finest hour. When comparisons are made, ELP is usually mentioned. I think they are kind of a cross between ELP (Hammond tones) and PFM (melodic content). Contrappunti is a very good album and gets better with each listening. Most of you would like this.

They started out with beat music and from the album Collage the sound become more prog. (like Quatermass and ELP). The album Felona E Sorona has an English version with the lyrics translated by Peter Hammill. After a bad album (Contrappunti), they recorded Smogmagica in California. The best album is (IMHO) Verita' Nascoste, which has a rocky sound.

Early albums (Collage to Leng) were based on the keyboard trio sound of bands like ELP, and while not being a copy band - Le Orme's sound was more folk influenced, and generally imaginative - the influence is unmistakable. Beyond Leng is a compilation of the best of their early stuff with English lyrics replacing the Italian. From Smogmagica, they began exploring a more varied sound with a four-piece lineup (guitar added), absorbing more folk, jazz, and classical influences and moving away from the power-trio sound. These feature much more varied styling, and some of the band's best work. From the early period, the place to start is Felona E Sorona, and from the later period go with Storia O Leggenda.

Ah, the cozy sound of keyboard, bass and drum. The many comparsions to ELP are valid, but these guys also have an identity of their own. Melodic Hammond and Moog symphonies that deserve a place among the progressive giants. Recommended: Contrappunti.

Italian progressive trio were one of the first to be able to shake off comparisons to ELP, mostly by being a good deal "classier." The ethereal organ reminds me much more of the "special-effects organ" on early Ange albums. Collage is supposed to be the first of the truly progressive albums. Uomo di Pezza and Contrappunti are supposed to be good, but the only album I've heard of the early period is the outstanding Felona e Sorona, which is one of the best Italian albums from this period. By alternating between intense synth-heavy classical-influenced works with melodic acoustic guitar-led tunes, they bring out the best tendencies of Italian prog. "Sospesi nell'incredibile," "Attesa inerte" and "Ritorno al nulla" are three standouts. After Contrappunti, the band added a fourth member on guitar and became far more conventional. Smogmagica was recorded in Los Angeles and is supposed to be terribly commercial. Verita Nascoste is probably the best from this period, the more rock-orientated guitar-based songs ("In Ottobre," "Vedi Amsterdam") tend to win out over the feathery keyboard-based songs ("Regina al Troubadour"). Not an outstanding album by any means, but very nice. Storia o Leggenda is the worst I've heard by them, very commercial and poppish, resembling Formula 3 circa La Grande Casa, though the closing instrumental is pretty good (but far too short). Avoid this one. Florian and Piccola Rapsodie dell'Ape are supposed to be much improved, all acoustic with lots of chamber-music influence. I haven't heard these. -- Mike Ohman

Salsa Catalana (7?), D'Oca A Oca I Tira Que Et Toca (7?), Mirasol Colores, La Boqueria (7?)

Latin Mass (70), 43 Minuten (72)

Arrow Head (72)

When the band split, Bob Callero went to play with Duello Madre and Il Volo. Marco Zocheddu went to play with Duello Madre. Interesting hard rock band and a little bit jazzy.

[See Duello Madre | Volo, Il]

L'Uomo (71), Milano Calibro 9 (Preludio, Tema, Variazioni, Canzona) (72), Palepoli (73), Landscape Of Life (74), Suddance (78)

Fusion in the sense of a fusion of many different styles of music in which this fantastic band move from genre to genre with ease. Their first three are masterpieces in their own right. The superb L'Uomo in which heavy rock and spacey jazz are only a few of the styles included. The soundtrack Milano Calibro 9 and their best, Palepoli, which is so bizarre and complex beginners may be too dazzled by the array of styles presented. Progressive (as opposed to popular) opinion warns me to stay away from Suddance although I haven't heard this either.

The first rock-sounding album is very good: the lyrics are in Italian and English. This LP was the soundtrack to the film "Grazie, Signor P.." The second LP was the soundtrack to the film "Milano Calibro 9." The last album was very bad. When the band finished, Lino Vairetti and Massimo Guarino went to play in Citta Frontale.

Time to let all my biases hang out. For my money one of the best progressive bands ever. Many might shy away because of the Italian vocals, but to do so would miss some incredible music. Palepoli is perhaps their best though I have not as of yet heard the most recent release of their material, Landscape of Life. If Osanna were to be categorized (and if any band defies that they are it) they could be called symphonic. Palepoli is an incredibly diverse album, full of ever changing moods. Honestly, I cannot find a true comparison or state influences, I find this band to be so creative and unique. An earlier release of theirs Milano Cabrano 9 is also quite good. However it is not quite as strong as Palepoli and is perhaps a little darker album. Definitely check this band out...you will not regret it.

Based on Landscape of Life, I don't see what all the fuss is about these guys, this album sounds like very average '70s Italian. I've been told that their album Milano Calibro is supposedly better.

I have their first three albums. The one thing that they have in common is music constantly shifts among different styles, ranging from acoustic guitar and tambourine to driving guitar and fluttering flute to jazzy passages and screaming sax. I think they cover all possible territory in between. Some comparisons could be drawn to early Jethro Tull (but heavier) and even Focus in one or two places. For the most part, they sound totally unique because they rarely settle into one style. This seems to be a problem for some people so you may want to try before you buy, if you can. Palepoli is a monster and the recommended starter. Stylistically, it is similar to Semiramis and Balletto di Bronzo in that there are many unpredictable changes in the music. At one time it well be laid back prog, then manic and frantic, then blues-rock, then off someplace else. The changes don't come as often, perhaps, than the other two bands mentioned, but they are probably more varied and cover a wider range of styles. Vocals are in Italian, but the instrumental sections dominate. Milano Calibo 9, the sound track to the movie of the same name, is also quite a good starting place though Palepoli is a tad better. -- Mike Taylor

Landscape Of Life is the fourth release of "hard" progressive rock with classical influences from the Italian band that is probably best compared to Jethro Tull and Focus.

I've only heard one album: Milano Calibro 9 (a.k.a. Preludio, Tema, Variazioni e Canzona). It's a very short but first-rate Italian prog album, mixing Pink Floydian music with jazz fusion, hard rock, symphonic, Jethro Tull, whatever. Lots of synth and mellotron, and great guitar work by Danilo Rustici. Elio D'Anna is a very forceful flute player, some of the variations feature some really fiery flute work (interjected with Can-like shouts), his sax playing is very good as well. Orchestrations by Luis Bacalov give this album a very full sound. I definitely hope to hear more by this band. -- Mike Ohman

[See Cervello | Citta Frontale | Jethro Tull | Luna | Nova | Uno]

Adonia (78)

Heldon-inspired, Richard Pinhas plays on this album.

[See Fluence | Heldon | Pinhas, Richard]

Osjan (82)

Instrumental prog.

Nightnoise (84), Something of Time (87)

Otherwise known as Nightnoise, Oskay and O'Domhnaill recorded several albums for the Windham hill label, the most interesting of which are the first two: Nightnoise and Something Of Time. These are acoustic driven with lots of violin and other traditional type instruments, introspective, in the new-age vein, but not the excessively poppy stuff that's given the genre a bad name. These are good.

O Katalina? (??), others?

From the Basque region of Spain. I'm not sure if they are truly Prog or not but I did see them on a list of Basque music right next to Itoiz, for what that's worth. Mike Borella described the music as "...stunning! Very lyrical, very emotional. Primarily acoustic, and with all kinds of possible origins: Scottish, Irish, Greek, Gypsy...." -- Mike Taylor

Ougenweide (71), All Die Weil Ich Mag (74), Ohrenschmaus (76), Fryheit (78), Liederbuch - Compilation 1971-1979 (??)

Ougenweide is a German band that performed roughly from 1971 to the end of the 1970s. Heavily influenced by German medieval verse, their music falls into the general Steeleye Span/Malicorne category, but with German lyrics. They range from faithful renditions of old songs to Fairport Convention-ish folk-rock, but may appeal to many progressive fans who enjoy folk and medieval/Renaissance music. Minne Graw's vocals are a definite strong point. There's a guy who sings as well who isn't bad, but it's very much like Maddy Prior and Tim Hart in Steeleye Span -- vocally, Maddy stole the show. The instrumentation is very good and varied (the instrument list is as full as on a Gentle Giant record), but some of the more "modern" sounding tracks have a tendency to sound dated. Overall, this is a fantastic folk band with many progressive touches. They sound unlike anyone I can think of, but with definite medieval ambience. Recommended album: All Die Weil Ich Mag. -- Piotr Dubiel

Wake Up (70), Out of Focus (71), Four Letter Monday Afternoon (72)

All I've heard is their self-titled release from 1971, another example from the German underground scene. The music is organ dominated with good doses of sax and guitar, and some flute. Many of the songs have a moderate psych/underground feel. Tracks are moderately long, with one 13+ and one 17+ minute tune. Overall the sound is decent but nothing really outstanding. There are some nice guitar solos in the long cuts, but the sax doesn't ever do anything exciting, though it does give it a kind of Soft Machine (and occasionally even a Secret Oyster) feel. Recommended to fans of the German underground scene and guitar.

Misty Moon (85), The Scene Of Pale Blue (87), Silver Apples On The Moon (87?), A Boy Playing The Magical Bugle Horn (89)

Very unique Japanese progressives with mindblowing covers on their albums. At times symphonic, but usually very hard to pin down. Odd vocals and occasional use of orchestration mark their albums

Their sound is varied, although there is strong King Crimson influence, especially on the album The Scene of Pale Blue, most of the tracks are predominantly instrumental, and most of the vocals (where there are vocals) are in English. Another excellent album is Misty Moon, again mostly instrumental with two vocal tracks, one English, one Japanese. The lineup is Keyboards, violin, guitar, bass and drums, with a full time lead vocalist. Silver Apples is a live set containing material from both of these, plus some new tunes as well. Their final album A Boy Playing The Magical Bugle Horn, is a more eccentric collection which, while very good, I would not reccomend for starters. Start with Misty Moon or Pale Blue.

I have the first two Outer Limits albums, Misty Moon and The Scene of Pale Blue. Though you hear brief passages that will call to mind one band or another (King Crimson, ELP, Moody Blues, Genesis, Minimum Vital, etc.) they sound unlike any of them or anyone else; thus, they are hard to describe except overall as symphonic. The sound of this six-piece band is characterized by violin, Robert Frippish guitar, synth and mellotron. The occasional vocals are in both Japanese and English (not in the same song). The band runs through several different time signatures and key changes to keep things interesting. Good stuff.

Finely crafted Japanese band of recent vintage. I'd classify their 1985 debut, Misty Moon, as neo-prog, but strides ahead of the scads of Marillion clone-oids. Most of the music reminds me a lot of UK, thanks to the prominent violin work, but there is also evidence of King Crimson, as well as some more overt symphonic influence. Especially on the instrumental "Prelude," which has a Ravel "Bolero"-type of drum beat with bombastic keyboard fanfares. Perhaps the most interesting track is "Spanish Labyrinth." With its flamenco guitars and castanets, it sounds startlingly like Carmen! The Scene of Pale Blue shows a great deal of maturity. I believe it to be one of the best Japanese albums of the past decade, perhaps second only to Ain Soph's A Story Of Mysterious Forest. The King Crimson influence is more evident here, I can also hear some Pink Floyd and possibly some Can (in Tomoki Ueno's increasingly Damo-esque vocalizings) entering their sound. The dissonance and experimentalism creeping into their sound shows a desire to grow beyond the realise of mere neo-prog. As before, violin plays a prominent role, with the previously rarely emphasized guitar coming to the fore. Keyboards mix the classic sounds of the mellotron and Hammond organ with latter-day digital synths, the end result sounding like nothing but themselves. The title song is 20-minutes long. They have a couple more albums: a live album and one more studio effort, apparently their last album. I haven't heard either.

[See Pazzo Fanfano di Musica]

Groovism (??), What Planet (??)

Their cassette release, What Planet? is great, but lacks the more broad instrumental sound they exhibited on their debut release, Groovism. The horns and extensive keyboards are gone, and their progressive sound is augmented by lots of latin percussion and odd chords. Great stuff.

The Lord of the Dark Skies (87)

Current psych; sister band to Bevis Frond.

The Human Machine (90)

Pathetic Italian neo-prog band on Musea, Saga wannabees. Gack! Awful!

Erpsongs (85), Tantric Obstacles (85), Live Ethereal Cereal (86), There Is Nothing (86), Sliding Gliding Worlds (88), The Bits Between The Bits (89), Pungent Effulgent (89), Erpland (90), Strangeitude (91), Afterswish (92), Live Underslunky (92), Jurassic Shift (93), Vitamen Enhanced (93, 6CD box set of first six cassette-only releases), Arborescence (94), Become the Other (95)

One of my personal favorites, the Tentacles have an absolutely unbelievable sound, in the same vein of fusion as Djam Karet, yet with bubbling spacey electronics, more keyboards and a Gong influence that takes that bands space fusion style and leaves their silliness behind. Yet again a band that has a virtual library of styles, Ozric Tentacles on the course of an album will move from intense high speed fusion, to incredibly atmospheric electronic music to a track that could only be described as a prog bands answer to reggae. Anything by these guys comes highly recommended, and I mean HIGHLY.

The music is virtuosic keyboard/guitar rock, anchored with a strong drum-bass rhythm, improvisational at times, yet always strongly executed. At times, the guitar work is reminiscent of Steve Hillage's work with Gong, with, as one reviewer put it, "...none of the metaphysical bullshit...." There is a strong improvisational element in their music, yet not to the extent of self-indulgent doodling. This band was hailed as one of the best bands of 1990, with Erpland. Live Underslunky was recorded at gigs played in November 1991. These guys manage to get their live pieces to live up to the standard of their studio material, and the result is a fine collection of "space rock" in the best traditions. All the favourites are here, including "Erpland," "Bizarre Bazaar," etc.

This is another band that has been raved about on the net in the past few months. What I've heard has been instrumental spacey stuff that is really difficult to classify, but I can hear strains of Hawkwind, Pink Floyd, and even Jethro Tull. Very heavy on the sound effects, solid bass lines. Worth a listen, without a doubt.

Ozric Tentacles is generally regarded as one of the best things to happen to progressive/psychedelic rock in recent years. I agree. They have developed quite a following in the U.K. and a cult following seems to be developing here in the States. Erpland is a non-stop psychedelic jam of the finest kind from start to finish. Erpland (and other Ozric music) is based around the incredible interplay between Ed Wynne's guitar and Joie Hinton's ethereal synthesizer. Hinton has the bubbling/gurgling synth down cold and I think the keyboard work on this album is some of the best space synth work in recent years. Wynne is an impeccable guitar player whose chops draw from the best of Steve Hillage. The obvious influence at work is Gong during their Planet Gong trilogy, though there isn't the silly fantasy themes that occasionally gets in the way of Gong's music (e.g., Angel's Egg) at times. There are no lyrics and the focus is on the incredible, mind-blowing jams with distinct mid-eastern influences that would feel right at home in any opium den. Titles such as "Tidal Convergence," "Mysticum Arabicola," and "Valley of a Thousand Thoughts" indicate the direction you'll head when listening to these, particularly if you recently visited that opium den. Songs like "Eternal Wheel" and "Tidal Convergence" highlight the intense fusion of Wynne's furious playing against a backdrop of celestial sounds from Hinton's keyboards. Others, such as "Toltec Spring," "Cracker Blocks," and "A Gift of Wings," use guitar, synth, and various percussion instruments to develop a wonderfully engrossing and meditative atmosphere. "Inscence" shows the band's exploratory style, which takes the space theory and overlays it on a reggae foundation. Unique, to say the least. Simply stated, this album gets my highest recommendation. Pungent Effulgent was actually released on LP before Erpland but on CD after Erpland. It is similar to Erpland though a both spacier and more experimental in many places. Wynne's trademark guitar is all over. Strangeitude is usually mentioned as a favorite by those who haven't heard Erpland, the most commonly cited fave. Strangeitude has a more aggressive edge relative to previous albums. Live Underslunky is an excellent live set though the "ambience" or "spaciousness" of their studio work is missing. Afterswish was a collection from their first six cassettes but its purpose is nearly negated by the Vitamen Enhanced boxed set which contains CD versions of the first six cassettes. Afterswish has a couple of new tracks, though, making it worthwhile for the Ozrics completist. Jurassic Shift finds the band treading familiar ground (ala Strangeitude) instead of breaking new ground. Start with Erpland or Pungent Effulgent. -- Mike Taylor

Top progressive instrumental band of the '90s from the UK. Erpland and Strangeitude are both excellent CDs full of consistently strong material and brilliant playing. As many have said before, Ozric Tentacles has just about everything you could want: a highly accomplished drummer with a huge sound, an aggressive bass player featured prominently in the mix, a guitarist worthy of praise, plenty of top-notch synthesizer work, and a flute player and two percussionists to boot. The sound is somewhat reminiscent of later Gong but much tighter.

Rather overrated psych-prog band. The only album I actually own is Pungent Effulgent, but if you ever associate yourself with other prog-heads, you can't help but be exposed to them. As for Pungent Effulgent, there are a few tracks with playing that will leave you spellbound ("Ayurvedic" and "Dissolution (The Clouds Disperse)," but especially "KIck Muck"). But for every "Kick Muck," there are two or three laborious "world-music" pieces that leave me bored. Their music has been compared to Gong, and indeed there is a similarity except that the Ozrics is all instrumental. I'd just as soon listen to Gong, or for something more modern, Djam Karet, who are much more original (they don't cop Hillage riffs, etc.). There is definitely some good music on all their albums, but overall they don't live up to their inflated reputation. -- Mike Ohman

Erpland and Pungent Effulgent are pretty good. Strangeitude and Jurassic Shift sound like progified dance music to me. Boring repetitive rhythms, endless jamming with no purpose. Yawn. Maybe if they took speed instead of pot they'd regain some of their intensity. -- Mike Borella

I find it a bit hard to listen to all two hours of Afterswish in one sitting, but so far my impression is fairly positive. The first 40 minutes or so is classic Ozric Tentacles. Killer psychedelic jamming reminiscent of very early Hawkwind. These guys can say more in an instrumental than most bands can say with words. However as the album progresses it goes a little bit downhill. In other words, from classic to just plain good. Great music for studying and/or sex. :-) Fans of Erpland will love the first disc while the second is more along the lines of Strangeitude. Maybe this isn't the best place to start with Ozric Tentacles, but it is a must for any fan.

I only have Afterwish, but it's enough to sell me on this band. Erpland is supposedly their best. Strong You-era Gong influence without the silliness. Very tight. Incredible, incredible, incredible band.

I have Erpland, Pungent Effulgent, and Live Underslunky. With all the raving, which is mostly deserved, I'm a bit hesitant to say this, but I'm not sure one needs to get more than one Ozrics album. The ones I have aren't distinctive enough (distinctive from each other, that is) for me to even think about which one might be my favorite. But I'd recommend checking the band out; it's wonderful stuff nonetheless.

This prolific British band plays in a style that dates back to the space-rock and psychedelic rock of the early '70s. The tracks on Arborescence consists essentially of guitar improvisations on a backdrop of groovy rhythms by the bass, drums, percussions and synthesizer sequences. The production is rich but retains a natural (live) feel that's perfectly suited for the spontaneity of the performances. Music with an energy that can transport you to far away places.... Every collection should include at least one Ozric! -- Paul Charbonneau

Afterswish is compilation from the six cassette-only releases (which are now out on CD).

[See Amon Düül | Gong]