S/T (75), Moj Svet (78), Paviljon G (79)

Prog.

Crystallization (78)

Sadistic Mika Band (74), Black Ship (75), Hot! Menu (75)

Black Ship has four true progressive songs on it, but what songs they are! The nine-minute "Sumie No Kuni E" moves through three discrete sections. It opens with carefree solo electric piano resembling the tolling of wind chimes. Next is a ballad-like section featuring a man singing and narrating the same text simultaneously. The track concludes with a heavy section with some amazing soloing, ending finally with an echo of the e-piano intro. Fantastic! But even this is overshadowed by the great "Black Ship (Second June, Third June, Fourth June)," which starts off as a fine prog epic with good guitar and mellotron which gives way to some hot rock jamming with guitar and piano punctuated by wild shouts and then climaxes with a dramatic Floydian/symphonic postlude with some guitar playing that will have you screaming "Encore! Encore!" There are two more tracks worth mentioning, "Four Seasons"-- a keyboard-heavy kitchen-sink slab of symphonic prog-- and the sleepy, minor-chorded album-closing "Sayonara." If only all the songs on this album were like this, but... Well, to be fair there are only two tracks on the album which are really bad, the proto-disco of "Suki Suki Suki" and the unbelievably tacky Japanese rock of "Time Machine," both the only two tracks to feature vocals by Mika Katoh, who gets top billing here. Mika comes to deserve her status as star on the third album, Hot! Menu, performing lead vocals on two tracks and duetting with husband Kazuhiko Katoh on three more. (he sang on most tracks of the first album) Surprisingly, it begins with two instrumentals: "Time To Noodle," a jumping fusion type of jam session with a bit in 15/8 (!) and "Mummy Doesn't Go To Parties Since Daddy Died," which is centred around harpsichord-like arpeggiated piano and blissfully plucked guitar with a constant background of kindergarten-sounds. The band takes its first stab at English lyrics on "Hi Jack (I'm Just Dying)" and "Style is Changing," the former uses the old Western "Oriental music" cliche as its central riff, the latter is a heavily phased guitar-rocker. "Funkee Mahjong" is a much more credible stab at funk than "Suki Suki Suki" from the first album. And I really don't know what to make of "Tokyo Sunrise," for which Mika gets sole songwriting credit. In it, an obviously stoned Mika mumbles about how she wants to make a "tequira sunlise" to a background of a Japanese music-box, two guitars (acoustic and electric) and stand-up bass. Weird. Start with the first album, in spite of its peccadilloes it's worth it. Although Hot! Menu avoids the embarrassing low points of the first album, it likewise fails to include the stunning high points which made the first one so essential. -- Mike Ohman

Sadistic Mika Band doesn't have much in the way of "progressive rock". A few tunes are hard pop-rock with strange interludes, like "Typhoon" on Black Ships, while the rest is straight-ahead pop with country, reggae and rock'n'roll influences here and there. Probably best to skip it and go straight to Black Ships. -- Michael Walpole

[Black Ship was released in the US without a title. So, if you find an album by them with a pink cover on the UK Harvest label showing the band in samba outfits posing before a tropical backdrop, it's Sadistic Mika Band. If it has a blue cover on either US or UK Harvest showing the band members in apparent free-fall, it's Black Ship, the one you want.]

Saffron (74)

Saga (78), Images at Twilight (79), Silent Knight (80), World's Apart (82), In Transit (82), Heads or Tales (83), Behaviour (85), Wildest Dreams (87), Beginner's Guide to Throwing Shapes (89), The Works (91), Security of Illusion (93), Generation 13 (95)

Canadian band who got off to a great start, and have tailed off quite a bit recently. Saga, Images at Twilight, Silent Knight and Worlds Apart are all classics combining multiple keyboards and great lead guitar work. Later albums are more pop based or straight rock and often cliched. Wildest Dreams is especially cliched. Security of Illusion reunites the orignal lineup, but the results are still in the AOR vein. Steven Negus does some *excellent* drumming onthis album, BTW.

Saga was/is possibly the first neo-prog band. Their music has two distinct faces - a progressive sound derivative of Yes and perhaps a little Genesis, and a fairly unique pop sound which seems to be their own. The early albums balance these two sides nicely, offering songs that are both accessible and interesting. This balance held until the overtly low key Behaviour, which followed some personnel changes. With Wildest Dreams they were down to a three piece and sporting a new, punchy techno-metallic sound, which carried through to Beginners Guide, which is where I lost interest in them. The new album Security Of Illusion allegedly features the original five piece lineup. Best albums -Silent Knight, Worlds Apart, Heads Or Tales.

The Works is a double-disc compilation of this Canadian progressive rock group. Also featured are three new tracks, all of which are, thankfully, a return to their earlier sound in terms of style. One of these is a cover of Peter Gabriel's "Solsbury Hill"! This is the only Saga compilation that I know of, and covers their career quite well, without emphasis on any particular period. All their staples, including "Humble Stance," "Wind Him Up," etc. are featured, and this could well serve as a good introduction to the band.

The band's debut may be classified as the first neo-prog album. Marred by two disco-ish songs, still, there's some fine German-styled synth work here though. The track "Ice Nice" may be one of the band's best songs ever. Michael Sadler's faux-Anglo voice may get on some people's nerves. Silent Knight is probably the best, opening with the memorable "Don't Be Late". Their albums are solidly in the neo-prog mould, but the playing and writing are of high quality. -- Mike Ohman

The Canadian group is back with Generation 13, an ambitious production that marks a return to a more progressive development of themes. The five piece band is the same as the one we were used to. The G13 concept, developed in 25 scenes, is inspired by a book dealing with the anguish related to the turn of the century. Musically, the sound is much the same as the one we knew except for a heavy production, with numerous effects, that adds quite a bit of drama to the treatment of the concept. A strong comeback that will please those who knew them and surprise those who didn't. -- Paul Charbonneau

Sagrado Coracao Da Terra (85), Flecha (87), Farol Da Liberdade (91), Grande Espirito (94)

I heard great things about Sagrado Coracao De Terra from numerous people, so was obviously looking forward to hearing them. Their leader, the late Marcus Viana is an absolutely excellent violin player and is also good on keyboards and vocals as well, but I was less than impressed on first listens. These guys are very accessible and melodic, almost to the point of sounding close to soft rock. Further listens, and they grew on me extremely and are now hard to get of the record player! I think everyone here would appreciate them - the blend of classical and cultural elements with Viana's knack for songwriting make their LPs (self-titled) and Flecha musts for prog fans of all sorts. Beautiful and haunting, gliding and ethereal, I can't get enough of them.

Their sound is very symphonic with allusions to South American folk and pop. Driven by the violin of leader Marcus Viana, the music is very emotional in a very classical sort of way, with many dynamic interludes. Female/male vocal harmonies make for some truly beautiful passages. btw/ they are from Brazil and most of the vocals are in portuguese.

About Grande Espirito, it's a new style, with a excellent singer named Bauxita (male), with a powerful voice. Grande Espirito is aimed for the foreign market, since two songs are in English, one in Tupi (Indian language) and an instrumental song, plus four songs in Portuguese. Most of Sagrado's song lyrics are about counciess (?), forest preservation, and spiritual uplift (kind of New Age).

Yes, they have a violin player. No, they don't sound like PFM! I find their music very commercial sounding and lackluster. I would suggest trying some of the other bands from Brazil before these guys. -- Mike Ohman

This band, led by the excellent violinist (keyboards, vocals and arrangements) Marcus Viana, that also includes keyboards, guitars, bass, drums, flutes and choir. Flecha is a light melodic rock that relies on rich symphonic arrangements. The tracks are usually text-based (in Portuguese) and show classical influences through violin and keyboard arrangements. The sustained use of electric instruments (violin included) insures a rock sound but the music often shows a soft romantic touch. For fans of soft, light symphonism. The line-up on Farol da Liberdade also includes guitars, keyboards, bass, drums, flutes, voice (in Spanish) and choir. In fact, the participation of the various instruments is well balanced and their rich symphonic arrangements dominate. The style stays true to rock with a mostly electric sound (violin included), solid rhythms and simple writing. On the other hand, melodies and arrangements show classical influences that are commonly associated with Italian bands. -- Paul Charbonneau

Sahara (73), Subject (73), Sunrise (74), For All The Clowns (76)

Free-flowing electronic prog, compared to Novalis.

[See Subject Esq.]

Sailor (74), Trouble (75), Third Step (76), Check Point (77), Greatest Hits (78), Hideaway (78), Dressed To Drown (81)

Roxy Music-soundalike.

[See Affinity]

Sailor Free (92), The Fifth Door (94)

Sailor Free is a current Italian act delivering heavy acid rock in the vein of Black Sabbath, Jericho and so forth. A four-piece of guitar, bass, drums, vocals and keys, the focus is on the heavy hooks of the guitarist, known simply as The Hook. The first of the 11 songs on the 51 min. The Fifth Door is quite deceiving. Called "Intro II," it's an atmospheric mix of synths, mellotron and a variety of percussion. (Sonically, this disc is *very* nicely recorded. This is demonstrated by the percussion of "Intro II," which have real impact.) I knew that these guys were supposed to be hard rock/psych but when I heard "Intro II," I thought they might go off like a heavy dose of Tangle Edge. That idea is put to rest when The Hook goes "Wild," the second song. This sets the stage for the next few songs, hard rock with a touch of the psychedelic. Vocalist/keyboardist David Petrosino lyric delivery alternates between smooth and gritty, depending on what the music calls for. Though the heavy hand and wah-wahed solos of The Hook dominate, Petrosino's use of mellotron, organ and even VCS3 add extra depth, particularly in the later tracks. "Safe Havens," one of the hard rockers ends with a contrasting violin solo played by guest Barbara Barbatelli. This end heralds the arrival of the stronger psychedelic presence, as the band lays back on the heavy hooks. But first, the band gives one more dose of heavy riffing, sustained power chords and a mind-bending wah-wah solo on "Revolution is at Hand." Then comes "The Fifth Door," replete with tabla, Vox organ and guest vocalist Devi harmonizing with Petrosini. The psychedelic flower come to full blossom with this track, reminding me of an incredibly heavy version of The Moody Blues' "House of Four Doors." The mellotron is put to use against a sax solo and a heavy-handed guitar solo on "Fairy Queen," extending the lysergic journey. The remainder of the songs balances the hard rock and psychedelic acts. There is an unlisted eleventh track, a variation on the opening introduction, to close the disc. If you're heavy into the heavy acid rock scene of the late '60s, Sailor Free should not fail to please.

Saint Just (73), La Casa Del Lago (74)

The only thing I know is that they are a vangard band.

[See Sorrenti, Jenny | Verde, Antonio]

Icarus (78)

Icarus may not be one of the best CDs I have acquired recently, but it is certainly one of the most interesting/surprising ones from the standpoint of my expectations prior to hearing it. Purportedly an offshoot of the band Celeste; I think these guys are in reality Steve Hillage and Miquette Giraudy recording another solo album under a pseudonym :-). But really, St. Tropez is indeed an offshoot of Celeste, formed by synthesist/percussionist Ciro Perrino with the help of Giorgio Battaglia and Francesco "Bat" Dimasi on bass and drums respectively. Icarus was recorded in 1977/1978, and for the recording they recruited a guitarist, Alex Magazzino, and a female vocalist named Lady Mantide, who is credited with "space voices." If that sounds suspiciously like the "space whisper" of Gong, then you are starting to get an idea of their sound. But to call this simply a Gong or Hillage sound-alike album is not entirely accurate. The CD clocks in at a healthy 75 minutes, and as there is no mention of bonus tracks anywhere, I assume this was originally a double LP. Thus the 10 songs found here provide Perrino and Co. a bit of room to move beyond the spacey synth/modal guitar sound that dominates the album. The guitarist does sound more like Steve Hillage than Hillage himself at times, and the synths are very much in the Tim Blake/Miquette Giraudy vein, but as the album progresses the sound takes on a more recognizeably Italian character. At times this evokes the sound of their fellow countrymen Sensations' Fix, with droning synths and acoustic guitar ostinatos supporting psychedelic vocals or instrumental soloing. There are even a few moments where the sound aproaches that of someone like Banco or PFM. Nevertheless, the music of St. Tropez is pretty much your Canterbury variety of space-rock/electronic-psychedelia, with passing similarities to not only Gong/Hillage but also bands like National Health or Camel. And though I have so far been unsuccessful in acquiring Celeste's Principe Di Un Giorno album, I had the impression that Celeste, and therefore St. Tropez, would sound something along the lines of PFM or Locanda Delle Fate; needless to say Icarus came as a bit of a surprise! So thats what they sound like, but is it any good? Well, to continue the comparison to Hillage, Icarus stands perhaps a notch below the classic Fish Rising, but better than anything else the Octave Doctor created after leaving Gong. The length of the album might tend to make it susceptible to excessive repitition and "sameness," but St. Tropez do a surprisingly good job of varying the sound enough within and between songs to make the entire 75 minutes engaging. This may not be one of *the* essential Italian progressive albums, but it is certainly a unique anomaly of the Italian '70s scene that might be a welcome respite if you've had too much PFM or Osanna styled prog. Icarus was rereleased by Mellow Records in 1992 and is available from Syn-Phonic.

[See Celeste]

Bitzitako Gauzak (78)

Basque prog band whose sound is different from most. There's no real folk influence, and it's primarily keyboard-based rather than guitar based. The sound is something more akin to Castilian bands like Bloque, Asafalto or Goma. It's sort of symphonic prog with keyboard and guitar jams here and there. Sometimes average, but often exciting, reaching a sort of peak with the climactic closing track "Bilatzea," which has a most memorable theme, one of many on this excellent album. -- Mike Ohman

Gikyokuonsou (90)

Sakuraba was the keyboardist for the japanese trio Deja Vu. His solo album is an instrumental smorgasbord of keyboard wizardry, with bass and drums backing. The overall style leans toward fusion, with some symphonic, and ELP influenced tendencies; the overall spirit of the music here often reminds me of Edhels, especially on the more "orchestrated" sounding cuts. Excellent.

Motoi Sakuraba was the keyboardist for Deja Vu. He also contributed his keyboard talents to the excellent King's Boards collaboration of several Japanese Prog keyboardists. His solo album, Gikyokuonsou is a trio of drums, bass and, of course, keyboards. Sakuraba's keyboard arsensal consists of piano, organ and a battery of synthesizers. Despite the keyboard trio format, Gikyokuonsou rarely compares to ELP, Le Orme, etc. Sakuraba's style is more refined than Emerson's "in your face" aggressiveness. Sakuraba, like Emerson, shows many classical (and sometimes jazz) influences but I think Sakuraba draws from a different body of classical material than does Emerson. Whereas Emerson draws a lot from 20th century composers, Sakuraba's refined style sounds to me like he draws more from classical or romantic periods. Whatever, Sakuraba certainly has a flair for the keyboards. The drummer draws the same analogy to Carl Palmer. He's very good but shows more restraint than Palmer. There are no vocals or guitar. If you like keyboard Prog but find ELP a little too pompous or bombastic, check out Sakuraba's release.

[See Deja Vu | King's Boards]

The Ten Commandments (71)

From the opening strains of "Prelude," you'll be reminded of the Moody Blues, except not as good. Salamander is an early UK psych band that attempts to create symphonic progressive by using a rock quartet with an orchestra, ala Moody Blue's Day's of Future Passed or Deep Purple's Concerto For Group and Orchestra. I don't think Salamander succeed as well as either of them. Organ abounds, as does guitar and vocals. The Ten Commandments, as the title suggests, is a conceptual album with each song dedicated to one of the commandments. For me, the orchestra detracts from their musical statement. It might have been better served had they focused on the interplay between guitar and organ. There are a few nice moments, but alas, they are few and far between. Mediocre.

Seduto Sull'Alba A Guardare (74), Dopo Il Buio, La Luce (78)

[See Salis, I]

Sa Vita Ida Est (71)

A family band and a little commercial.

[See Salis, Antonello]

Saluki (76)

Norwegian fusion band.

Samadhi (74)

Easier to the ears, and related to RRR above, Samadhi created a very interesting style of progressive and at times tends to be very symphonic. Again, a variety of styles are experimented with and again it flows very well. This one I found much easier to get into than RRR.

A vangard-jazz album with a great singer.

[See Raccomandata Ricevuta Ritorno | Teoremi, I | Uovo Di Colombo, L']

Sameti (72), Hungry For Love (74)

Prog, w/members of Amon Düül II and Between.

[See Amon Düül II | Between]

Samla Mammas Manna (71), Måltid (73), Klossa knapitatet (74), Snorungarnas Symfoni (76). As Zamla Mammaz Manna: För äldre nybegynnare/Schlagerns Mystik (78), Familjesprickor (80) As von Zamla: Zamlarannama (82), No Make Up! (84)

Band that was always experimenting with silly voices, fast, odd beats, improvised song parts, unusual instruments, and occasional blazing guitar solos. Worth to check out is their drummer Lars Hollmer's (hope I got his name right) solo work, especially the album Tolv sibiriska cyklar (Twelve Siberian Bikes) which is loaded with wacky virtuoso world music.

Ah, one of the best Swedish bands. One of the few bands the Swedish "prog" from the 1970s who really deserved the label. Playful, humouristic music, mainly instrumental with occassional vocal numbers. You might want to be careful with For aldre nybegynnare which contains only improvised numbers which is not easy digestable. Samla Mammas Manna became Zamla Mammaz Manna which derived into von Zamla. The later von Zamla album is a bit wilder than the rest. A year ago the "classical" combo of Samla rejoined, although I don't think a new album is in the works. However, their second album has been released on CD.

Ostensibly a Swedish folk band, their sound quickly picked up rock, jazz, classical and RIO influences and blended them all together into a unique sound totally their own. On their second Maltid, these widely diverse influences are not yet fully integrated into one cohesive sound, and thus the album is a little patchy, but nonetheless enjoyable. Snorungarnas Symfoni is a collaboration with composer Gregory Allan Fitzpatrick, an album of four long pieces, all extremely diverse with very complex yet melodic arrangements, the result being a positively brilliant album that defies categorization yet defines the word progressive. Familijsprickor was their final album, and by far the most intense, both for its edginess and general chaotics. Warning - these guys can get pretty bizarre at times, and may not be for everyone. Start with S.Symfoni. Von Zamla was keyboardist Lars Hollmer's attempt to resurrect the band in the mid-80's.

I love asking people how to pronounce this band's name. I highly recommend Maltid for the experimental listener. It falls well into the "progressive weirdness" category that Gong, Area, and Pell Mell are part of. While some of the many short tracks have a considerable about a "noise" (screechy vocals, strange sounds), the band has, not unlike Gong, a killer musicianship that makes Maltid a listenable (and enjoyable) offering. From Sweden (I think) Samla put out a bunch of albums in the early to mid seventies. Supposedly Maltid is one of the worst, which really makes me look forward to hearing the rest. The bassist and drummer are enormously talented, while the guitarist shreds through songs with a unique, distinct style. I can't say much else. Fans of the Radio Gnome era of Gong will love this. The rest of you should approach with a certain amount of caution.

I've only heard the first album, which with its silly voices, jazzy soloing and heavy use of electric piano sounded like something from the German or French jazzrock underground. Not unlike early Magma or Moving Gelatine Plates, but with more of a sense of humour. -- Mike Ohman

[See Apetrea, Coste | Bodin, Tomas | Ensemble Nimbus | Flower Kings, The | Triangulus]

Are You Samson? (71)

Organ/guitar dominated prog/psych.

Samurai (71)

Prog, w/Dave Lawson pre-Greenslade.

[See Greenslade/Web, The]

Golem (74)

Head In The Sand (76)

Prog.

Sandrose (72)

Sandrose's debut and last is one of the best French prog albums. Similar to Earth and Fire, they play a great prog variant with lots of mellotron, a superb guitar player in Jean-Pierre Alarcen and an overall very beautiful sound. A must.

Early French progressive band featuring guitarist Jean Pierre Alarcen and powerful female vocalist Rose Podwojny. lots of mellotron and lengthy instrumental passages, this is one of the better of the classic early French progressives, one not to be missed.

Outstanding French one-shot whose self-titled release was an excellent album for 1972. The guitar work and atmospheric development is top-notch. There are also plenty of organ solos and washes of mellotron. The female singer sings in English but the long instrumental sections are the norm. Comparable to later, symphonic Earth and Fire, both in singing and style. Singer Rose Podwojny's voice is very similar to Jerny Kaagman of the Netherlands band. Musically, the strong presence of guitar, organ and mellotron in both bands gives them a similar feel. Definitely worth having!

[See Alarcen, Jean-Pierre | Eden Rose | Suzan, Alain]

Take Off (78)

Very vangard sound. An instrumental album (the keyboard is the only instrument).

Desert Places (74), Lost Mankind (75), Whalecome Live (77), As a Keepsake (77), Die Faust in Der Tasche (79)

Good German semi-progressive that border pop when they aren't jamming.

[See Pappnas]

Heavy Turbulence (72), Fire Up (73), Live at the Keystone (74), Blues from the Rainforest (??)

Blues From the Rainforest Merle's a fixture on the S.F. R&B scene, and has played keyboards in the Jerry Garcia Band, but this particular album will blow you away. (He was surprised when it topped the New Age charts). While his other work excels, it ain't "progressive."

Savage Rose (68), In The Plain (68), Travellin' (69), Your Daily Gift (70), Refugee (72), Pop History Vol. 15 (72), Dodens Triumf (72), Babylon (73), Wild Child (73), I'm Satisfied (7?), En Vugge Af Stal (??), Solen Var Ogsa Din (77)

Savage Rose are a Danish band from the late '60s and early '70s. Apparently they released several albums but I only know of two, which are the two I have. In the Plain, released in 1968, is drenched in the psychedelia typical of that time, though there is some foreshadowing of the progressive revolution that was to begin full-force the following year. There are three keyboard players who play piano, organ and harpsichord. There's also recorder, accordion and steel guitar in addition to acoustic and electric guitar. Lead vocals are provided by Annisette who somehow manages to sound like a sexy and diminuitive wildcat! Actually, I'm reminded just a bit of Cindy Lauper. Her vocal styling gives the music drive and energy as she gives her all. There are also some softer moments of piano and vocals giving a folkish quality to some songs. Your Daily Gift follows along the same lines but is both more mature in style and folkier in influence. Annisette's voice is also more powerful than ever. Highly recommended if you are a psych fan but I don't think the Sympho/Prog crowd would like this very much.

This Danish band was quite popular in Scandinavia. It's said their first album was outsold only by the concurrent Beatles release. They certainly posessed a sound all their own, and while the overall style of In The Plain is definitely psychedelic, it has elements that can be described only as progressive. Masterminded by brothers Thomas and Anders Koppel, and starring the soulful voice of the diminutive Annisette, who has been stylistically compared to Janis Joplin but really sounds like no one I've ever heard before. Her high-pitched voice may sound grating and shrill to the uninitiated, but one would hardly expect to hear such an impassioned singer in a Scandinavian band. The band had a very distinctive line-up, bass, guitar, vocals and drums along with piano and organ, played by Thomas and Anders, and harpsichord played by Thomas' wife Ilse. The sound created by the three keyboards interacting is quite original. The band also experiments with auditory landscapes on the dreamy "God's Little Hand" and the beautiful "I'm Walking Through The Door." The rest of the album is psychedelic rock-soul of the highest order, with the odd folkie touch; as on "Evening's Child," which has Thomas playing a Persian santour (hammer-dulcimer). The closing track, "A Trial In Our Native Town" with its laborious Vanilla Fudge tempo, gurgling cathedral Hammond organ, roaring guitar and Annisette's aching vocals, is one that is sure to make psych fans salivate. The other album I have, Your Daily Gift, is more folk-prog than psych-prog. Ilsa Koppel took maternity leave from the band, reducing the line-up to a six piece. Some of the tracks are pretty lame and dated sounding, like "Listen To This Tune From Mexico," with its inane lyrics and Vegas-lounge organ. But "Speak Softly" is a beautiful R&B oriented ballad, one of Annisette's best vocals performances. "Tapiola" is a seven-minute free improvisation, pretty interesting stuff. "Unfold" is a sort of country-rock-folk mix with slide guitar joined by harpsichord! The title song closes the album appropriately, the bright, optimistic lyrics neatly contrasting with the sad, gloomy tone. The minor-chorded piano, and brushed drums work well for this song, the use of accordion adds a creepy element.

Waiters on a Dance (69)

Savarin is a British multi-instrumentalist. Waiters on the Dance, apparently based on the book of the same name (subtitled "Lemmus: A Time Trilogy") also penned by Savarin, is surprisingly progressive sounding for 1969. The sound is dominated by fuzztone-guitar and some fine Hammond organ, but is also spiced with mellotron and some lovely piano. The sound is rounded out by some supplemental string-arrangements. This album is often recommended to Renaissance fans on account of female vocalist Lady JoMeek, who sings on all tracks but one (the instrumental "Dance of the Golden Flamingoes") and has been compared stylistically to Annie Haslam. I can't really think of who to compare this album to, perhaps like a heavy version of Cressida with female vocals, although that doesn't really describe it adequately. (I think I did that already, anyway.) Savarin apparently played all the instruments (except strings) himself, even bass and drums. He made an album under the name Julian's Treatment entitled A Time Before This the following year, which is also supposed to be worth searching out.

Julian Jay Savarin was (is?) a British science fiction writer. In 1969, he released Waiters on a Dance which, along with King Crimson's In the Court of the Crimson King and Colosseum's first two albums, stands as the earliest progressive rock albums. Parts of this album (five songs) were released on the CD issue of A Time Before This by Julian's Treatment. These five songs are similar to the Julian's Treatment album. Savarin plays nearly all the instruments and organ (occasionally guitar) is the primary instrument. A female vocalist handles the singing. She reminds me of Jerny Kaagman (Earth and Fire) or Silvana Oliotta (Circus 2000), kind of a medium or high tenor, I suppose. I believe this album is also based on some of Savarin's writings. Waiters on a Dance sounds a bit dated now but is essential for progressive rock historians interested in following the development of the genre.

[See Julian's Treatment]

SBB 1 (74, aka Gruppa SBB), Nowy Horyzont (75), Pamiec (76), Ze Slowem Biegne do Ciebie (77), SBB (77, aka "Slovenian Girls"), Follow My Dream (78), SBB (78, West German, different from 1977 title), Welcome (78), Memento z Banalnym Tryptykiem (80), Live 1993 (93), Live in America (94)

SBB came into being in 1971 as Silesian Blues Band founded by Jozef Skrzek. (Skrzek was classicaly educated as a pianist but by the time of Silesian Blues Band he was a bassist renowned for his work with Breakout, the famous (in Poland, of course) Polish blues group.) The other members of the band were Jerzy Piotrowski (drums) and Apostolis Antymos (guitar). The trio made some radio recordings but it was very hard for them to break through into the Polish musical market. However, they were noticed by Czeslaw Niemen. (Nieman was sort of "king" of Polish rock. He became extremely famous in Poland in 60's, when he was performing pop and soul songs. In early 70's he turned to the experimental, progressive music balancing on the edge of rock and jazz. I can heartily recommend his 70's stuff. It is a truly progressive and original music). As a result, they joined him in the NIEMEN group, taking part in his artistic explorations and making music, which can be best described as 'impressionistic' and 'aleatoric' . Together they recorded Requiem dla Van Gogha (Requiem for Van Gogh) and Marionetki (Puppets), two records with truly unforgettable music. In 1974 they parted with Niemen and begin to play on their own.
They shortened the name of the band to SBB, which they explained as Szukaj, Burz, Buduj (Search, Break & Build). It was their musical credo: to search for the new possibilities in music, break the barriers and build the new music. They became very popular, mainly because of their concerts which were without any parallels in Polish rock of 70's. Suites with lots of improvisations incorporated hard jazz-rock Mahavishnu or Hendrix-like pieces as well as more soft classical ELP-like Skrzek's piano entries and masterful drumming from Piotrowski (which can be compared to that of Billy Cobham). They were surrounded by a cult of fans, became a symbol of young generation revolt (Apostolis had at that time probably the longest hair in Poland :-). Their first longplay (SBB 1) is a recording of a concert from April 1974 and is an impressive document of early live SBB. The second album,Nowy Horyzont (New Horizon), is a kind of musical manifesto, a sort of musical collage, combining bits of modern harmonies and Ravel with strongly rhythmic guitar and synth improvisations and naturalistic dissonance effects together with masterful piano cadenzas. "The music is everywhere," Skrzek was saying, "in Bach fugue, rock song or whistling. We like to play music, that's all. We don't care for borders and barriers, they are artificial. We want our music to be free, that's why we are never playing according to any program." Their third album,Pamiec (Remembrance) is much more stylistically clear than the first two. One may say that the logic and construction is joining the musical freedom here resulting in (in my opinion) the best SBB longplay. Skrzek's dreamy vocals are at their best. (The lyrics are writtem by the poet Julian Matej - full of metaphores and mystery). The fourth album, Ze slowem biegne do ciebie (I am coming to you with a word]), is quite different from the previous album. It is more symphonic-rock like and 'spacy' (one may think about Gong as a parallel) with lots of synths (although Apostolis guitar is still here and well). There are only two pieces on this LP, each one about 20 minutes and a good example of music played by SBB at this time. During concerts they created a sort of a 'continous form,' music with no ending or beginning, full of fragmentary impressions, different paraphrases and frisks with sound. In 1976-79 SBB was trying to conquer foreign audiences. They played in Austria, West Berlin, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Finland, West and East Germany and Hungary. They recorded 4 LPs abroad, two in West Germany, one in East Germany and one in Czechoslovakia. The two released in West Germany were Follow My Dream and Welcome. The music presented here is much more compact and clearly SBB is trying to make their compositions more accesible for the listener. They are producing shorter forms (songs than suites), the music is a bit more commercial and poppier. Lyrics are in English and are not written by Julian Matej any longer (which is a shame, as far as I'm concerned). Nevertheless their music remains to be very unique and its still full of new musical ideas and innovations.
Despite all these efforts, SBB failed to conquer western markets; after all the disco and punk era in West was beginning. So, for Memento z Banalnym Tryptykiem (Memento with a banal tryptych), there was no more the desire to attract Western listeners. Julian Matej is back again with his mystical lyrics and Skrzek returned to the ideas from before Welcome. The record sounds in a way like a continuation of Pamiec, although some new elements are here, as well as an additional guitarist, Slawomir Piwowar (who played before with the jazz group Paradox as well as with Czeslaw Niemen). This album could well be a good beginning of a new phase in SBB history, but it turned out to be their last album before the breakup in 1981. Since then, Skrzek continued to compose and perform. It is impossible not to mention here the album Ojciec Chrzestny Dominika (Dominic's Godfather) - his absolute opus magnum. Skrzek is playing over 30 instruments here as well as singing (Matej's lyrics, of course) and, in my opinion, it is one of the best Polish LPs ever recorded. His other works include, among others, music for Piotr Szulkin's film "Wojna Swiatow" (The War of the Worlds), the heaviest album that he ever recorded; Jozefina [Josephine], with English lyrics and original SBB lineup; and Pamietnik Karoliny (Caroline's Diary). He has never stopped performing and I will always remember his light-and-sound shows at Silesian Planetarium. The other SBB ex-members were very active too. Piotrowski became the most wanted drummer on Polish musical market and played with several groups, Apostolis turned to jazz and in mid 80's moved to NYC, where he worked as a session musician, recording with many jazz and rock bands including Pat Metheny as well as composing his own music.
It didn't seem very probable that they will ever play together again so it came as a great surprise when it was annouced that they will give a charity concert in 1993. It was a great show (documented by the album Live 1993) and after it they decided they would try to reactivate SBB. "We told each other that we have to play, because there is still some potential inside us. And, besides, we simply like each other," Skrzek said in an interview. The new SBB lineup features, apart from Skrzek, Piotrowski and Apostolis, Hryniewicz (vocal and acoustic guitar) and Rusek (bass). In this new incarnation Hryniewicz became a kind of new frontman and Skrzek is singing less, concentrating on his keyboards. They gave several concerts in Poland, which were in a good old SBB style featuring mainly the old material with some new pieces and, of course, lenghty improvisations. This year they went to USA, where they toured and recorded an album Live in America. -- Piotr Szymczak

Szkuaj, burz i buduj, or Search, Breakup and Build isn't that a name that suits a "progressive" band? Still this Polish trio is not so fantastic. Well, they are not that bad, but their music is a bit generic, even though they are in the "progressive" vein. Like other bands they became straighter with time, but SBB got more disco-like. They started their career in Czeslaw Niemen's band which is not a bad start on the Polish scene.

Mahavishnu and Nucleus with vocals? Best ones are Nowy Horyzont and Pamiec. Lyrics are in Polish except for Follow My Dream and Welcome. The first album is very jazzy.

Polish progressive outfit with several albums to their credit. Welcome is the only one I've heard, and while good, I could easily think of a lot of stuff that's much better.

Polish prog trio, regarded by many as the apex of progressive music in Poland. The band consists of keyboards, guitar and drums, the bass parts all being synthesized. Ze Slowem Biegne Do Ciebie, apparently their fourth album, (no date appears anywhere on the LP) consists of two 19-minute tracks. The basic sound consists of spacy multiple synthesizers highlighted by fusoid guitar and drums. I hear many different influences: Gong, Le Orme, Magma, Kraan, Mahavishnu Orchestra and others are hinted at, but the band has a sound uniquely its own. Fans of the aforementioned should have no trouble enjoying this album.

I have one SBB album, Ze Slowem Biegne Do Ciebie, that is their best by most accounts. The music on this album is best described as spacy fusion. My first comparative thought was to the Danish band Secret Oyster without the sax, or maybe the French Carpe Diem. Other comparisons would be to Mahavishnu Orchestra without the energy and violin, a bit of Gong circa You or Shamal and even a hint of Pink Floyd. Occasional vocals are sung in Polish, naturally. For a trio, these guys create a spacious rather than stark atmosphere. Instruments are moog, mellotron, piano, clavinet, guitar and a variety of percussion instruments. "Bass" chores are handled by the moog which makes for a nice, fat analog bottom end. Not bad though check with Secret Oyster or Carpe Diem first. -- Mike Taylor

[See Niemen, Czeslaw | Skrzek, Jozef]

Janne Schaffer (73, aka The Chinese), Andra (75, aka 2nd Album), Katharsis (77), Earmeal (79), Traffic (86)

Swedish guitarist operates in a fusion frame, sometimes in a more acoustic low-key mode, other times with a full electric band, often all within the same album. Generally melodic, structured, sometimes goes for the dramatics; comparisons might be made with Tolonen, Almqvist, and others. The best I've heard is his 76 LP Katharsis. His last CD Traffic is not bad, either.

Tales (??)

Japanese harder-rock progressive. Very good, very heavy at times. The vocalist reminds of Ian Gillan sometimes. One CD for sure, plus they appear on a lot of the compilation discs.

Le Carnival des Animals (78), Heart Of The Universe (84)

Ex-Kayak/Camel keyboardist.

[See Camel | Kayak]

Symphonic Pictures (76), Sunburst (77), Ticket To Everywhere (79), The Collected Works of SFF (1976-79) (93)

Schicke, Führs and Fröhling made three excellent albums of instrumental, highly electronic progressive rock, that were all released in the late seventies on the eminent German label, Brain. Schicke left the group after that, and Führs and Fröhling released a trio of albums of similar music.

The Collected Works of SFF combines the original three SFF releases (on the Brain label) with two live bonus tracks. With an arsenal that included two mellotrons, two moogs, two string ensembles, acoustic and electic pianos and guitars and a variety of percussion, SFF's all instrumental music is at once symphonic and celestial, completely unique and nearly always compelling. Were comparisons to be made, I would have to say they are closer to the spacy symphonics of Novalis circa Sommerabend than to Eloy, another spacy sympho band. But that just doesn't cover it all. Some cuts, such as "Wizzard" (from Sunburst) is very fusionesque while "Artificial Energy" (from the same album) is an amalgam of Popul Vuh atmosphere with Frippish ambient guitar. Within and across albums, SFF explored different textures and styles that hybridize Berlin electronics with symphonic lushness that prohibits simple categorization and comparison. Across all albums, the songs range from about 3.5 minutes up to the 16 minute "Pictures" on their debut. Speaking of, "Pictures" is one of the best tracks in the set, with ample time for thematic development and changes, covering haunting mellotron choruses, floor-shaking moog ostinatos, atmospheric strings synths and blazing guitar. For a very striking comparison, listen to the beginning mellotron two minutes into "Pictures" and at one minute into Anglagard's "Jordrok." Coincidence? You decide. Ticket to Everywhere shows a slight weakening of content. Some of the rhythms and drumming (e.g., "Song from India") show hints of the dance craze of the late '70s. That's not to say this is a disco album. Far from it, in fact, but still the sound is a bit more accessible. But, songs like the eight minute "Slow Motion" are trademark SFF from start to finish. The bonus live tracks are an excellent addition. "Every Land Tells a Story" is a four minute track of dancing synths and piano with acoustic guitar that was not released on any of the three LPs. The second is a ten minute medley of "Explorer/Wizzard" from the second album and it's an excellent working with a great drum solo. Percussionist Eduard Schicke is a fine drummer who has a touch of fusionesque drumming in his playing. He balances between laid back with the groove and driving forward with constant licks on the snare and high-hat. The original LPs are pretty hard to find but now all three are available on the 2CD set

[See Führs and Fröhling | Hoelderlin | Spektakel]

Samtvogel (74), Uberfallig (79), Kinder in der Wildnis (??)

Dreamy acid psych guitar. Samtvogel was originally issued in a tiny private pressing (100 copies). It was reissued the following year on Brain.

Wuivend Riet (87), Zoo of Tranquility (88), White Out (90)

White Out is an absolute masterpiece and is many times better than what Tangerine Dream has put out since he left. No I know why I liked Tangerine Dream so much when he was a member. White Out ranges from the introspective to the emotional. Anxiously awaiting his next release. Recommended: everything.

Destruction of Harmony (71), Die Schachtel (71), A Day's Lullaby (71), Meditation (74), Windows (74), Bali Agung (76), Bastien und Bastienne (77), Der Schauspieldirektor (77), Trance Formation (77), The Book (78), Flash Back (78), Video Magic (78), Video Flashback (79), Events (80), Video Magic (81, diff.), Spurensicherung (83)

German synthesist. His album Bali Agung is a collaboration with a Balinese gamelan orchestra, plus guitar and western percussion. Very spacey and magical.

German keyboardist who recorded a string of solo albums in the late '70s and early '80s. Video Magic features Sting (bass, vocals) and Andy Summers (guitar), along with Schoener (keyboards), Olaf Kubler on saxophones (affiliated with Amon Düül II) and Evert Fratermann on drums (also with Volker Kriegel's Mild Maniac Orchestra). Video Magic is a decent progressive rock record which sounds nothing like the Police. Instead, Schoener seems strongly influenced both by later Pink Floyd (i.e., post- Dark Side of the Moon) and Tangerine Dream (circa Rubycon). Andy Summers provides most of the musical high points with several soaring guitar solos, although Sting's screechy and overwrought caterwauling is a distinct liability. -- David Wayne

Die Schachtel features Jon Lord and David Coverdale of Deep Purple.

What A Night (78)

Keyboardist formerly in Victor, Gipsy Love

[See Gipsy Love | Victor]

Irrlicht (72), Cyborg (73), Picture Music (73), Blackdance (74), Timewind (74), Moondawn (76), Body Love (77), Mirage (77), Body Love II (77), X (78), Blanche (79), Dune (79), ...Live (80), Dig It (80), Trancefer (81), Rock On (81), Elektronik Impressionen (82), Audentity (83), Dziekuje Poland Live (83), Aphrica (84), Drive Inn (84), Angst (84), Inter*Face (85), Dreams (86), Babel (87), En=Trance (88), Miditerranean Pads (90), Dresden Performance (90), Beyond Recall (91), 2001 (91), Live at the Royal Festival Hall (92), Silver Edition (93), Klaus Schulze Goes Classic (9?, aka MIDI Classic), Totentag (94), Le Moulin De Daudet (9?)

A pioneer who is still blazing new and unfound trails as we speak. It's not easy to find an individual who after making music for over 20 years professionally is still putting out excellent, uncompromising music. Royal Festival Hall is an interesting mind trip featuring exotic sounds and rhythms in the style of his later releases.

Cyborg was released in 1973 as a double album, and marks the point at which Klaus Schulze started involving a greater degree of musicality into his synth experiments. It was recorded with an orchestra, but the focus is still on the sweepy wavesounds of the VCS3 and other machines of that time. This will appeal to those who enjoyed Timewind and other works of the mid-70s, but not, perhaps, to those who prefer his beat-laden material of the 80s. Body Love 2 is the second part of the soundtrack that has been released on CD. The music carries on in the same vein as its predecessor, containing a blend of spacy rhythms and sequential electronic melodies. On this occasion, Schulze is aided by the able Harald Grosskopf (ex-Wallenstein, Ashra) on drums and percussion, adding an understated, yet useful aspect to the music. The prominence of changing bass-lines throughout most of the music makes this comparable to vintage Tangerine Dream, though at times, the arpeggio- driven melody lines and background bleeps sound much like Oxygene-era Jarre. High praise indeed! Royal Festival Hall Vol.1 and 2 are from London performances by Klaus Schulze. All the tracks are long and full of the sequential rhythms of the style of Beyond Recall and Dresden Performance. With close of 70 minutes of music per CD, this set offers up a pretty heavy dosage of Berlin electronics by one of the founders. X is his legendary analog keyboard masterpiece from the early seventies.

The original electronic cosmonaut. Schulze has continuously expanded the boundaries of electronic space music through his entire career, whether with bands such as Tangerine Dream and Ash Ra Tempel, or through his own solo work and vehicles, such as Richard Wahnfried. His work is too varied to really describe and interested parties should try to explore a cross section of his entire output, solo and group. Particularly recommended solo works include Mirage and Timewind, as they were some of the most influential space albums of all time. Other good albums include X and the recent live works, Dresden and Royal Festival Hall.

2001 is a sampling of Schulze's unique electronic music spanning his career from 1972 to 1990. It is not a greatest hits album, but a collection of 4 to 7 minute excerpts from 15 classic Schulze works: "Gewitter," "Voices of Syn," "Totem," "Mindphaser," "Blanche," "Crystal Lake," "Ludwig II. von Bayern," "Weird Caravan," "Amourage," "Silent Running," "Pain," "En=Trance," "The Beat Planante," "Miditerranean Pads," and "Percussion Planante." This amount of music stretches the CD format to its limit. Spanning almost 20 years of music from his earliest analog efforts to his present digital compositions, Schulze expertly selected and combined these extracts to produce a CD that sounds like one long continuous composition. The only piece missing is Klaus' explanation of why he chose these particular passages. A bit of rationale and historical perspective would go a long way in making 2001 a perfect package. 2001 is a great way to experience this music without suffering through those overlong compositions that have plagued his recent releases. While this unique approach to sampling a musicians work is intended for completists, 2001 is a tasty appetizer sure to whet the newcomer's Schulze appetite.

I have Timewind, which is very innovative synthesizer music. Schulze uses slowly building patterns surrounded by warbling sound-effects overall creating unique, textural music that is unlike any other e-musik. Other good albums are supposed to be: Moondawn, Mirage, X. -- Mike Ohman

Totentag is an opera written and performed by Schulze with German singers. The libretto is about the suicide of Georg Trakl (austrian poet) in 1914, in Krakow, in a psychiatric clinic. Music in the style of Wagner. -- Andras Sumegi

[See Ash Ra Tempel | Richard Wahnfried | Tangerine Dream | Yamashta, Stomu]

Ballad Of A Simple Love (72)

Prog/Rock, w/Chris Spedding.

Site Anubis (96)

[Features Lol Coxhill on soprano sax and Bill Laswell on bass. Other members include Raoul Bjorkenheim (guitar), Alex Buess (clarinets), Julian Priester (trombone) and Dirk Wachtelaer (drums).]

James Gordon's Story (93)

Schwarzarbeit are a German quartet consisting of Klaus Schroder on electric and acoustic guitars and bouzouki, Jo Post on keyboards, Ralph Hubert on bass and Jorg Michael on drums. James Gordon's Story is an instrumental concept album about the life of a fictional musician, James Gordon. Basically, the story is Gordon becomes a depressed hermit dwelling in a small room atop a movie theater, burnt out on his musical career. Somehow, by hearing the same ol' movie soundtracks repeatedly, Gordon is inspired to create new music and can once more venture out in the world. Yes, well, I'm glad they kept this instrumental 'cause that doesn't sound like it would make for good lyrical content. Anyway, the music, somewhat comparable to recent Camel (Dust and Dreams), is very melodic and features electric, and a good deal of acoustic guitar against a backdrop of sweeping, digital synths. While James Gordon's Story certainly won't blow anyone away, it's more original than many of the neo-prog bands flooding the market. The CD contains three bonus tracks.

Scope (75), II (75)

Sea Level (77), Cats On The Coast (78), On The Edge (78), Long Walk On A Short Pier (79), Ballroom (80)

Sea Level was formed by Chuck Leavell, Lamar Williams and Jaimoe Jai Johanson, all ex-of the mid-70's Allman Brothers lineup, in an effort to produce a less commercial jazz based funk-fusion, and, along with the Dixie Dregs, were the hopeful stars of the Capricorn label, before it went belly-up. Their songs were about split between vocal tracks and instrumentals, and transcended the normal boundaries of fusion/funk through a very diverse range of influences. In many ways they might be compared to the later output of the german group Kraan, both in energy level and musicianship. Unfortunately, this brilliance lasted only through the first three albums, the last two suffered from what seems like an increasing turn a more commercial direction. Best album to start with is their self-titled first, or the third, On The Edge.

Mirrored Image (78)

Prog on tiny private label.

Four Moments (76), Windchase (77)

Australian mid-70's four-piece who started out with a sound that was close to Yes with some pointers to the Floyd/Nektar axis. The sidelong suite "Four Moments" is pretty nice, but a little derivative at times. The second album offers much more originality, power and development, and IMHO the better of the two. Two of these guys went to Windchase (the group)

Sebastian Hardie is an Australian quartet who released a couple of albums in the mid '70s. Both are characterized by a side long suite and a couple of medium (8-10 minutes) length songs. The music is dominated by melodic guitar and also a bit of keyboard. Both Four Moments and Windchase are very nice albums though not outstanding. The closest comparisons I can make for the guitar is Steve Howe in tone and Steve Hackett in style. The music is Genesis influenced to a degree but I'd say Sebastian Hardie are more melodic, ala Camel. The melody is carried by guitar while keyboards are used for chordal backdrops, though there are occasional synth solos. Sometimes the music drags on a little, usually while they're singing, but some of the guitar solos are nice, though again, nothing spectacular. Just very melodic. There is plenty of variety within each side-long song though so it doesn't ever really stagnate. On the whole, it's not bad at all if you like melodic, symphonic Prog with pleasant guitar. Start with either one.

The two sides of the debut by this Australian band show two different aspects of the band's sound. The A-side is composed entirely of the four-part "Four Moments" suite. Influenced most apparently by the better parts of Yes' TFTO album. This one spotlights the awesome keyboard talents of Toivo Pilt, with lots of mellotron and inspired Moog solos. The other side is a showcase for guitarist Mario Millo, who is strongly influenced by Dave Gilmour and Andy Latimer. Brilliantly melodic music carried over by Millo's delicious lead guitar. An album which really grows on you. -- Mike Ohman

[See Millo, Mario | Windchase]

Reality (69), Death May Be Your Santa Claus (71)

The guys from Seventh Wave got their start in this band. I heard a few tracks from Death. Heavy prog not unlike other bands of the time (Quatermass, Beggars Opera, Web and the like). Some copies of Reality use the band name Moving Fingers. -- Mike Ohman

Reality is strange psych music. -- Andras Sumegi

[See Seventh Wave]

Blind Man's Mirror (76), Movements (7?)

German prog in the Eloy/Octopus/Tibet mould, but with sax and other woodwinds adding an odd touch. The singer has a limited range, and as a result the melodies are fairly repetitious. There are some strong moments (e.g.: the exciting instrumental "Shanghai"), but overall it's pretty forgettable. -- Mike Ohman

Tutto Deve Finire (72)

A vangard-jazz album. Every cover of this LP is different.

Dreamin' of my Past (94)

On Dreamin' of my Past, Beppe Crovella (veteran Italian keyboardist) surrounds himself with four surprising young musicians on bass, drums, guitar, flute and vocals. This work features his compositions and performances which assure loads of rich keyboard sounds in the context of pieces with lengthy developpements. This format implies various roles for the band members. For example, voice and flute (both occasional) are mostly used with mellotron or piano, while rhythms usually get busier with the addition of organ and synthesizers. A rich production of symphonic rock which, as suggested by the title, will surely evoke classics of the style. -- Paul Charbonneau

[See Arti E Mestieri]

Secret Oyster (73, aka Furtive Pearl), Sea Son (74), Straight to the Krankenhaus (75, aka Orlander?), Vidunderlige Kalling (75, aka Astarte)

Secret Oyster is probably my favorite Scandanavian prog band (they're Danish) and also in my top twenty bands overall. Formed by members of Burnin' Red Ivanhoe (Karsten Vogel on sax, Jess Staehr on bass), Hurdy Gurdy (Claus Bohling on guitar) and Coronarias Dan (Kenneth Knudsen on keyboards, Ole Streenberg on drums; Bohling was also a member of Coronarias Dan at one point). Unfortunately, I've only had the pleasure of listening to one Burnin' Red Ivanhoe album from early in their career (W.W.W.) but Secret Oyster seem a logical extension to the jazzy prog of BRI. I have four Secret Oyster albums, their eponymous first, Sea Son, Straight to the Krankenhaus and Astarte. A broad comparison for all albums would be something like Soft Machine meets Pink Floyd. Secret Oyster play a very spacious blend of fusion, jazz and prog that calls to mind bands like Carpe Diem, Edition Speciale, bits of Thirsty Moon and, of course, Burnin' Red Ivanhoe. Secret Oyster (released in the USA as Furtive Pearl is their first release and it's an auspicious debut. Bohling's guitar is featured heavily along with Vogel's saxophone across a backdrop of organ. While Hurdy Gurdy was a blues-rock trio, Bohling demonstrates his adept chops in a progressive style with occasional blues references. However, the strong guitar presence gives Secret Oyster a much more active, rockier feel than later albums. The opening cut has organ, sax and guitar simultaneously playing licks of blazing speed. Other times they trade licks round-robin fashion. I wish this were the case for the entire album but it is not so. Many songs feature Bohling's electric excursions while organ and sax take a secondary role. On some of the extended instrumental workouts, the band falls into improvisational jams over a single chord. Despite the excellent playing, this lack of rhythmic diversity gets to be a might tedious. On the 10+ minute "Public Oyster" we are treated to some spacy improv that would become prevalent on later albums but again there's the "one chord jam" problem and no interplay among instruments. It's organ, sax, guitar, each in turn. The closing track calls to mind the first half of Pink Floyd's Saucerful of Secrets with horn. In all, Secret Oyster is a very good album if a bit primordial. Sea Son came next and shows the band advancing the style developed on their flagship release. The writing is more mature and Bohling's guitar, though still very evident, is better balanced against the other instruments. The nine minute "Mind Movie" is another long guitar feature though with slightly more interesting chordal work behind it. There are more acoustic moments (piano and guitar) and better dueling of guitar and electric piano ala Chick Corea's Return to Forever. While "Mind Movie" would fit on the previous album, most of the other songs show a stronger fusion aspect. "Black Mist" begins with an excellent but brief moog section before sax breaks in across the top. Up to this point, the keyboards had been organ and electric piano. The use of the moog synth adds more depth and dimension to their overall sound which they would exploit on later albums. The presence of a string quartet on "Painforest" is a beautiful juxtaposition of classical music and spacy fusion over soft waves of deep moog. The final eight minute track is an excellent duel among sax, moog, electric piano, guitar and guest trumpet by Palle Mikkelborg. Sea Son is a definite improvement over their debut. I haven't yet heard the next two albums, Vidunderlige Kalling and Orlander. Because Straight to the Krankenhaus is a development of the first two albums, I would guess that those middle two albums are similar in style to the Oyster's other releases. Straight to the Krankenhaus, while a step on from their first two albums, is also a return to their jazzy roots. The writing is stronger, the tenor sax is brought to the front more often, string synths have been added to the arsenal and Bohling turns in some of his most expressive solos to date. Comparisons to Soft Machine, Nucleus or Isotope would not be far off the mark here. "My Second Hand Rose" and "High Luminant Silver Platters" show signs of Mahavishnu Orchestra and Return to Forever in the funk-influenced fusion grooves, while the eight minute "Delveaux" shows influences of Pink Floyd's Wish You Were Here in a quiet jazz format, as well as a very emotive moog solo. Speaking of solos, while there are many the band focused much more on overall atmosphere which is part of the reason I feel this (and Astarte) are stronger albums than their first two releases. Last comes Astarte, their final album if I have the order right. Like Straight to the Krankenhaus, the album is chock-full of excellent progressive/fusion though a couple of tracks are a little weak. This album is apparently a soundtrack to a movie somehow based on the Goddess Astarte. "The Stars in the Street" reminds me of Jan Hammer"s "The First Seven Days" with its atmospheric synth work. On the title track, it is as if Elton Dean and Ravi Shankar has guested on Hammer's album. The sitar is played by Bohling. There are also more Mahavishnu Orchestra references both in the funk groove of "Bellevue" and the McLaughlin-styled picking at the opening of "Astarte." The quiet "Solitude" is an introspective acoustic piano piece while "Tango-Bourgeoise" is a short, light-hearted...you guessed it...keyboard tango. Finally, "Outro" is a restatement and expansion of the "Intro" theme. Again, there is good balance between group composition and individual solos. The music on all four of these albums is very much the sound of Secret Oyster. They have drawn from other styles and genres and crafted them with their own vision. I suggest starting with either Astarte or Straight to the Krankenhaus. If you like what you hear, then seek out the others. -- Mike Taylor

This is incredible stuff. To my ears they sound like a more psychedelic Happy the Man with some early Gong thrown in, more guitar oriented than HTM though. There are also some folk influences, eastern stylings (incl. a long track with droning sitars), and like most scandinavian bands they do an occasional waltz or tango track, altho they do it progressively.

Secret Oyster is composed of members of three other bands: Burnin' Red Ivanhoe, Hurdy Gurdy and Coronarias Dans. The liner notes to Sea Son state that their sound is a distillation of these three bands. From what I've heard of Secret Oyster, these early bands may be worth searching out. The first album was issued in 1973, as Furtive Pearl in the U.S., self-titled everywhere else. I haven't heard this. Sea Son is progressive jazz-fusion, with saxophones, no less. They seem rather Soft Machine and Nucleus influenced, but the result is more like later-period Canterbury fusion bands like Hatfield and The North. The tracks range from circular chord-cycles in variant time-signatures to energetic one-chord jams, energized by the strength of the musician's improvisational skill and ability to colour the music with dynamics. The players are: Claus Boehling (guitars), Ole Streenberg (drums), Karsten Vogel (saxes, organ), Kenneth Knudsen (piano, moog) and Jess Staehr (bass). On a couple of tracks, notably the beautiful "Painforest," they are augmented by a string quartet, guest players on trumpet and percussion make appearances as well. The next album, Straight To The Krankenhaus, began a more decidedly jazz-fusion-y feel, with a greater emphasis on Vogel's reeds. Knudsen is lashing out on a greater deal of keyboards (clavinet and string synth mostly), and the songs are on the average shorter in length. The best tracks include "Delveaux," a dreamy drum-less improvisation heavy on the synth and guitar, and "Traffic and Elephants," an urgent fast number with fine sax blowing by Vogel. Another high-quality jazzrock album, their others (Vidunderlidge Kalling, Orllaver, Astarte) are supposed to be good as well. (Postscript note: in 1978 Staehr was in a band with ex-Savage Rose drummer Ken Gudmand. They recorded an album called Vogt Dem For Efterligninger, Danish for "Watch Out for Imitations." The bands name? The Starfuckers! No joke! A few members of Secret Oyster, notably Kenneth Knudsen, appeared in the 1980s sometime on an album by Indian violinist L Subraniam.)

[See Burnin' Red Ivanhoe | Coronarias Dan | Day of Phoenix | Hurdy Gurdy | Starfuckers]

We Hope To See You (74)

Prog.

Magyar-Io (76), Delire (76), Ima (77), Ghilgoul (79), Chromophonie 1: Le Diable Angelique (82), Chromophonie 2: Le Livre De Bahir (84)

[See Zao]

Selena Moor (90)

Dedicato A Frazz (73)

Put out their sole album in 1973, a masterpiece entitled Dedicato A Frazz. Maybe one of the best Italian albums, Semiramis were incredibly dynamic and heavy and showed a prowess that many one-shots were hard pressed to match. The songs could be slightly redundant to some of you, but this is part of the magic. A tension is created and rarely let up through the course of the album.

A classic heavy symphonic band, yet the trademark Italian lyricism is evident throughout. It is a darkly intense album like Metamorfosi, but in a different style. The intensity starts immediately and doesn't let up to the very end. Intense moog and guitar interplay that creates and releases tension throughout the entire album. There is more guitar than on Metamorfosi and some melodic interludes like only the Italian bands can do. If the Metamorfosi sounds interesting (or you like them) then get this one as well. An excellent album.

Dedicato A Frazz may well be one of the crowning glories of Italian prog. Perhaps the ultimate album to offer those who want a compromise between the heavy intensity of Il Balletto di Bronzo and the gentle melodicism of P.F.M. Not only is there great guitar and keyboard work on this album, but also the band's drummer plays a mean vibraphone, fast and accurate. The songs are short (all under six minutes) but to good effect. -- Mike Ohman

Makes heavy use of those classic synthesizers we all know and love, and features numerous time changes to keep things interesting. An essential release if you're into the Italian stuff.

Here's a relatively obscure Italian band that deserves a good word. While the vocalist may grate on the nerves of the unprepared, the musicianship is impressive enough to warrant a positive review. The band uses a fast,"play, modulate, repeat, change" style through most of the cuts that reminds me of a fusiony Bach interpretation. I haven't listened enough to say much more except that this is yet another worthwhile 70's Italian offering.

Semnal M (7?)

Prog.

Essais (72)

Experimental/avant-garde prog.

Fragments Of Light (74), Portable Madness (74), Sensations' Fix (Bonus for the radio only) (74), Finest Finger (76), Boxes Paradise (77), Flying Tapes (78)

An Italian prog band that doesn't sound like an Italian prog band. Originally a trio (later expanded to a quartet) led by guitarist/synthesist Franco Falsini. Fragments Of Light is supposed to be the best. It's definitely the least vocal orientated. Tons of Germanic synthesizer are infused in the mostly short tracks. Highly filtered guitars, both electric and acoustic, are also used, sometimes together. Quite unlike anything else you'll ever hear. Finest Finger is more vocal orientated (as before, all English lyrics), but pretty much in an identical style. -- Mike Ohman

[See Falsini, Franco]

Shingenma Teisen (84)

Japanese prog band led by keyboardist Hiroyuki Namba, who played on the third Kenso album.

[See Kenso]

Fields Unsown (96)

The promotional literature included with the Fields Unsown CD says that Senses are a "progressive rock/rock band" influenced by "Yes, King Crimson, ELP Jethro Tull, The Who and Led Zeppelin" as well as "several jazz, new age and classical artists such as Copland, Holst, Vivaldi and Bernstein." The six songs on this don't really call to mind any of those bands or classical artists. In fact, for four of the six songs, I think mostly of the Canadian Rock band Triumph. Leader, singer, keyboardist Joan Morbée sounds just like Rik Emmitt. These songs are in the 3-6 minute range and radio friendly, both in length and substance. The longest, most Progressive song ("In Light of the Moon/Reflection/High Tide") is nine minutes and is a neo-proggy Triumph meets Asia. Another band I was reminded of was Castanarc. -- Mike Taylor

E Tutto Comincia Cosi... (late 70's, released 92)

Lush symphonic prog.

Liturgia Bezumia (92)

Guitar-based prog/complex power rock.

Things To Come (75), Psi-Fi (76).

Mid 70's technoid pop duo with some ever-so-slight progressive tendencies, their music was ahead of its time in that it sounds like much of the early 80's techno-pop, but in general it could hardly be considered progressive. Beware: the album covers are very cool and have a definite "progressive" look.

A duo which made two albums around 1973. The first was called Things to Come and was one the first "real" albums I bought in my life. This was when it still was enough to have lots of Moogs and ARPS on your album to be flashy. And "progressive." But should we be honest, this was not at all pop-unlike.

From the ashes of Second Hand (an early 70's British prog band in the vein of Web, Beggars Opera, etc.) comes Seventh Wave, whose real claim to fame was being the first synth duo, presaging everyone from O.M.D. to Soft Cell to Erasure. But Seventh Wave made genuine efforts to make progressive music, they weren't always successful. Ken Elliott plays all manner of keyboards and synthesizers and sings, while drummer Kieran O'Connor contributes lots of orchestral percussion (tympani, chimes, xylophones and such). Besides this, Things To Come is problematic. Four of the tracks are uninteresting pop-rock with banal lyrics, the arrangements (especially on "Old Dog Song" and "Fail To See") sound like "Hungry Heart"-period Springsteen gone synth-mad. Several other tracks are mere sound-effects. Just try to find a trace of melody in "Premonition," which sounds like the audio track (not the incidental music) from a "Doctor Who" episode. Still, they manage to create some worthwhile listening, notably in the beautiful multitracked solo synth piece "Smog, Fog And Sunset," which sounds like Larry "Synergy" Fast in his more inspired moments, while the four short instrumental tracks at the end (beginning with "Communication Skyways") form a nice seven-minute suite. When Psi-Fi arrived, signs of improvement were apparent. The ersatz Phil Spector Wall-Of-Sound on the straight rock numbers was ditched in favour of a more streamlined sound resembling some Bowie or Roxy Music. Elliott seems to have lost his desire to noodle unnecessarily with his synths. But the REAL reason to own the album are the two fine, long progressive numbers at the end of the album, "Camera Obscura" and "Star Palace of the Sombre Warrior." The former especially far outshines all their previous, and then-current work. Also of interest: "Manifestations," a spacy piece with a guest-starring role by Hugh Banton of Van der Graaf Generator, "Aether Anthem" and "El Tooto," both short, merely fanfares but pleasant enough. Both LPs have been reissued on CD on the German Line label, but you'd probably be better off looking for used copies in cutout bins.

[See Second Hand]

Vozvrasheniye (92)

Symphonic, synth-based prog, compared to Gorizont.

Zalmoxe (78)

These guys are from Romania, and Zalmoxie is one of those albums that grows on you the more you listen to it (at least for me), which is odd considering it is not overtly complex. Still there is a lot going on and a lot of variety. Some excellent synth work, both in the sounds and the playing, give the music a very full, lush sound, that with the guitar can get quite dark and aggressive at times. The synths are the main instrument, but they manage to avoid sounding neo-proggish in their omnipresence. Very good vocals and vocal harmonies on a few tracks. I can't really think of anyone to compare Sfinx to (though I haven't heard much Eastern European prog yet), which I guess is a bit of a complement. Zalmoxe was originally released in 1978. The songs all flow together in what appears to be a concept, though you would have to understand Romanian to know what it is.