Country of Origin: USA Format: 2CD Record Label: Radiant records Catalogue #: RA-008 Year of Release: 2000 Time: [enter time] Info: Spock's Beard

In July 1999 and July 2000 Neal Morse and Nick D'Virgillio of Spock's Beard went on a tour along some Irish pubs in Holland and Germany. At these concerts they played acoustic versions of songs by The Beard, as well as some covers of other artists and bands. The performances of these gigs - referred to as 'the Hairy Butt Tour' by Neal because the two had to share one bedroom - are very informal and tongue-in-cheek. Some of the songs played have been collected on Two Separate Gorillas, a title taken from the Spock's Beard song The Time Has Come. Neal plays acoustic guitar and keyboard, Nick plays percussion and acoustic guitar and both of them share the vocals.

The recordings come from three sources. Most of the songs come from a soundboard recording in Oldenburg. As you can imagine the sound quality is very good. Neverthless, almost all tracks suffer from 'skips' in the recording (little jumps in the music of less than a second) and because of the lack of audience noise the atmosphere is lacking a bit. The other tracks are relatively decent audience recordings (read: bootleg quality) where the music is of lower recording quality, but there is more atmosphere because the audience is audible. Because of the quality of the recordings the double CD has been released as part of Spock's Beard's 'From The Vault' series.

Country of Origin: Norway Format: CD Record Label: The Laser's Edge Catalogue #: LE1034 Year of Release: 2000 Time: 48:09 Info: Homepage

Sacrament is the third album from the White Willow repertoire, two years after the critically acclaimed Ex Tenebris. In two years there has been a total shake-up within the ranks of this group with only White Willow leader and guitarist Jacob Holm-lupo together with vocalist Sylvia Erichsen retaining their positions and Lupo being the only original member left. In come Brynjar Dambo on keyboards, Aage Moltke Schou on drums, Johannes Sćebře on bass and Ketil Vestrum Einarsen on flutes. In fact in Lupo's words this is the first stable lineup that White Willow have had in their history so far.

What should one expect to hear on this new release? First of all the fact that there is a permanent flutist within the lineup is already suggestive of an acoustic sound. There is a heavy leaning towards the progressive folk style that is symbolized by Jethro Tull, with many neo-prog influences, especially as regards utilization of the keyboards, as well as pure folk. A quick run through of the band's biographies as well as their major influences quickly confirms this with artists like Nick Drake and Joni Mitchell being mentioned alongside prog-greats such as King Crimson and Soft Machine. In fact what we get on this album is a fusion of all the styles that these musicians represent.

Anamnesis kicks of this album and my first impression was that here was a Scandinavian band doing its best to emulate British folk-rock bands such as Fairport Convention and Steeleye Span. In fact Sylvia Erichsen's voice is both rich and smooth; at times sounding uncannily like Sandy Denny or Maddy Prior. Only half way into the track does a certain momentum pick up with more of a prog-influence seemingly present. Erichsen's voice rises to a wail while the rest of the band are content to act as filler's in creating a backdrop for her voice. Even the instrumental passages remain soft and are interplays between the various instruments with neither musician overdoing it.

When seeing the title Paper Moon, I wondered if it was a form of tribute to the late Nick Drake, one of the major influences on the musicians in this group. Indeed Nick Drake must be the "Paper moon who came, and left too soon." On the other hand this track is much more intricate and features more than just a singer-songwriter and his guitar! In fact there is much less of the acoustic folky feel; we had been regaled to on the first track, with a sound bordering on the neo-progressive.

The Crucible is a true instrumental with the initial segments of the track having that medieval feeling courtesy of Einarsen's flute which takes over the reins of this track sounding somewhat like Gryphon or more lately Blackmore's Night. There is a dance-like touch to the rhythm here until half way through when the mood changes with the track picking up in dynamism to give a Jethro Tull feel to it.

Last Rose Of Summer, and I thought to myself that this was an album full of tributes (in this case Judas Priest), but I was wrong. What we have here is pure folk music. Sylvia Erichsen's voice is up there to compete with the best of British female folk vocalists, and here we even have a duet between Erichsen and Jacob Holm-Lupo.

Gnostalgia starts of in a similar vein to Last Rose with Erichsen sounding so much like Sandy Denny that I got gooseflesh. What seems to be a White Willow characteristic also applies here. Most if not all their tracks start off in a soft gentle acoustic manner to suddenly break into a rhythm-driven instrumental. The flute dominates this track during the instrumental section giving that air of melancholy.
The Reach is in my opinion the best track that we have on the album. The introduction is dark and foreboding with a feeling of impending disaster or tragedy. Nursery rhymes are sung in a tragic manner until this is picked up by the musicians. King Crimson meets Jethro Tull is what we have here on offer. The vocals are kept slightly in the background making them hard to discern creating more of an air of uneasiness. With a mixture of styles and tempos this track is the masterpiece of the album.

With this album it seems that White Willow have set their course. This is one for the lovers of the softer side of progressive rock and/or those who like folk-prog. It makes a very interesting listen and augers well for the future. I can understand why The Billboard Guide To Progressive Rock has hailed White Willow as "one of the most significant groups of the progressive era".

Conclusion: 7.5 out of 10.

Country of Origin: USA Format: CD Record Label: Botched Records Catalogue #:   Year of Release: 2000 Time: 66:47 Info: Homepage

It's been a long time since I have heard a power trio managing to combine heavy metal guitar with progressive overtones. Finally my wish has been granted. Hailing from the Bay Area of San Francisco, The Transmutations of Supposed Angels Or Beings That Were Once Angels (abbreviated as Transmutations from now on) is the group's second album, a full four years after their debut. The trio consists of Mark Bladek (guitars), Rich Duarte (drums) and Gustaf Fjelstrom (bass guitars) who also is the producer resulting in a beefy sound rich in bass.

Beware The Glabyglop opens this terrifying album and is a synthesis of what the group is all about. Hard, heavy-kicking riffs accompanied by a roving bass and drums together with the occasional midi-synth effect. The riffs present on this album would make many a Heavy Metal band blush and pale in comparison to what we have on offering here. Comparisons are varied and difficult to attribute. At times there is the cutting edge of metal groups such as Prong whilst at other times the sound  is reminiscent of early Rush.

What is definite is that the group posses a strong rhythm section that few bands can boast of. In fact the beauty of this group is their ability to convey virtuosism without any amount of self-indulgence. Yes, there are times when we get the occasional solo, but it is never too long to bore the listener yet long enough to impress!

Guitar riffs introduced Beware Of The Glabyglop while a tremendous bass line introduces Kuan Grade Mark Eleven Pennetration Program. Its hard to believe that all this is created by just three musicians and though I might be wrong, live they might tend to suffer a bit in that they could be unable to deliver the sheer power and force that they do in studio.

Jack Palance The Ninja has a lot in common with early Rush though the catchy riff is out of a Terrorvision tune, My Best Friend. Something that is also striking about this group is their ability to break from their hard hitting riffs and change melody and style within the same track almost effortlessly. Wedge Of Spite is a showcase for Gustaf Fjelstrom's bass playing which quite frankly is almost impossible to describe and HAS to be listened to to believe. Suffice to say that his idols are Geddy Lee and Stuart Hamm and his resume also includes playing with Enchant on their last tour.

Aura And Armament takes on a more relaxed style, just enough time to recover from the fury that we have witnessed in the first four tracks of this album. Swynchro immediately kicks off with some extricate drumming from Rich Duarte, who at times manages to sound like a cross between Neil Pearth (Rush) and Mike Portney (Dream Theater). Overall this track still maintains a Floydian approach to it, in that the emphasis is not so much on the rhythm but more on the ambient it is set in.

And Your Point Is? is more up-tempo yet still does not reach the heavy sound that the album started off with. Not that I am disappointed as it is on this track, as well as on the following track Client Weasel Tactics,  that the group come closest to resembling the Rush of La Villa Strangiato. With the tempo steadily increasing from track to track so does the riffage presented to us by Mark Bladek as well as the intricacy of the interplay between all three of these musicians. Sleep Hammer slows down the pace once again, only to break into the fast moving Bad Mind Does Does Not which is similar in style and pace to what we were presented with in the initial tracks of the album, progressive metal.

The closing two numbers of this album are essentially one track. Halation is basically narration with the instruments and sound effects forming a backdrop to enhance the story that is unfolding. Apparatus closes off the album as well as the story and is a showcase for Mark Bladek's guitar. Extremely interesting, this track is a most excellent curtain closer for this album.

As I said initially, it has been a long time since I came across a totally instrumental album that has managed to grip me in such a manner. It should appeal to all those who love to hear instrumentals by groups such as Dream Theater and Djam Karet and is a must for all those who are in agony waiting for the new Rush album.

Conclusion: 8 out of 10.