Musea Records
Conclusion: 6 out of 10
Remco Schoenmakers
Michael Sobygge - Melodic Meltdown
 |
| Country of Origin: | Denmark |
| Format: | CD |
| Record Label: | MSP-Music |
| Catalogue #: | BMCD 972 |
| Year of Release: | 1997 |
| Time: | 42:48 |
| Info: | Homepage |
|
Tracklist: Prelude (1:29), Madness (3:39), Babylon (5:00),
Daydreaming(5:00), Rainbows (As Time Slips By) (4:17), With Love (3:14),
Andante (2:38), Stonehenge(5:13), The Road Home, pt. 1 (3:04), The Two
Friends (3:09), The Road Home, pt.2 (3:11), Zenta (Goodbye to a Friend)
(2:28).
A nice home production, no more, no less. Undoubtly, his friends and mom
are proud of him, but this home-baked CD will not appeal to the general
prog audience. Basically, it is 12 guitar pieces, some almost classical,
some heavily distorted. Guitar, bass and drums. No vocals, no keyboards.
A cool touch: the inevitable rain at the start of a ballad (in this case
the Rainbow track) was recorded live (like I said, no synths
used?)!
The net result is that you get the impression that you are listening
to scetches, the pieces are not finished yet. In a sense, this album is the
opposite of the Force of Light album (see elsewhere on this review):
emotional melody lines, especially in the "classical" parts (Zenta, for his
dog that died, is a very emotial piece), but no technical back-up to
complete the circle.
The booklet is nicely done, and according to the pictures he and his friends
seem a sympathetic lot. If you're into guitar playing and like to listen
to others to get some ideas, maybe give it a try.
Distributed by MSP-Music
Conclusion: 4 out of 10
Remco Schoenmakers
Michael Sobygge - No Words Needed
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| Country of Origin: | Denmark |
| Format: | CD |
| Record Label: | MSP Music |
| Catalogue #: | BMCD 981 |
| Year of Release: | 1998 |
| Time: | 44:08 |
| Info: | Homepage |
|
Tracklist:Awakening (4.43), Point of No Return (4.12), Illusions (4.05),
Spanish Interlude (3.55), Song of Passion (7.33), Hey Joe (1.13), Blessed
Among Silent Sons (2.57), Crossroads (2.19), I Don't Know Why? (4.50),
The Witch and The Warlock (5.35), Cadenza (2.46).
This Suite in 11 Parts is a typical guitarist solo album. In 44
minutes and 11 tracks Michael takes the listener through a wide range
of styles ranging from Spanish acoustics to heavy metal to blues. Michael
plays guitars, bass and piano (the latter especially on the nice intro to
Song of Passion) while Joe Clancy accompanies him on drums (he even
get's his own solo in Hey Joe). Influences - or should I say
similarities ? - seem to be as diverse as Metallica to Steve Howe.
Although the album certainly has its moments and Michael is a good guitarist,
as a whole this is not really my cup of tea. The music is fine and there's
indeed a very diverse range of styles, but besides the guitar and occassional piano
there's not much happening. Sometimes it feels to much like the stereotype
'heavy metal guitar player showing-off' album. If some of the music would be
incorporated in a full-band album it would probably work much better.
The four page booklet features a weird cover drawing of a mutant holding an
apple, some credits and three pictures of the two musicians.
Conclusion: out 5.5 of 10. Only interesting if you're really into instrumental
guitarist solo albums.
Ed Sander
Die A Tribe - Albatross
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| Country of Origin: | USA |
| Format: | CD |
| Record Label: | Contribed Records |
| Catalogue #: | None |
| Year of Release: | 1997 |
| Time: | 63:14 |
| Info: | None |
|
Tracklist:The Sound Scary (1:38), Choke (4:11), Ostrish (4:08),
Foreshadow (5:27), Neurotic Heart (5:24), Huck Friend (4:54), Tribal Spirit (6:52),
We don't see (6:46), Thicker (4:51), Gravity (3:26), Mighty Simba (5:57), Fear (5:11), Love's Majestic Promise (4:29).
Ehhh, well, is this prog, or underground or what? I don't know.
It isn't bad, it is very American, but it's not prog as we know it. It is funky
and groovy. But all the tracks have more or less the same the feel. Same guitar
sound, same vocals. Music to play in the car on a sunny day when you have a long
drive. The female vocalist has quality, no doubt, but her voice isn't
very powerful.
Neurotic Heart is the best song on the album, with nice
vocal lines and some variations and breaks. If they had just used some different
guitar sounds, things would have improved a lot already. I mean, they obviously
have plenty of good musical ideas, but not the instruments to work them out. Buy a
keyboard!
The cover is cool.
Distributed by Contribed Music
Conclusion: 4 out of 10
Remco Schoenmakers
Point of Ares - The Sorrows of Young Apollo
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| Country of Origin: | USA |
| Format: | CD |
| Record Label: | Arula |
| Catalogue #: | AR-99012 |
| Year of Release: | 1999 |
| Time: | 56:08 |
| Info: | Homepage |
|
Tracklist:The Sorrow of Young Apollo (3.05), Hypatia (8.00),
Dionysus (5.25), Pygmalion (6.10), Apollo in Picardy (3.38),
Leucothoe (9.07), Miranda (4.49), Cassandra (5.54), Cyparissus (5.42),
Asphodel (3.40).
Point of Ares was formed in June 1993 and after playing classic rock covers
for a while they decided to start writing own material in September 1995.
In 1997 they released their first album, Enemy Glory, which is now
followed by their second effort, The Sorrows of Young Apollo.
On this record the original 3 piece band has been reduced to the duo Karen and
Bill Michalson. This intellectual bunch now work their Dionysian/Apollonian
believes into a concept album full of dark atmospheres.
Karen must be one of the worst female vocalists I've heard in years.
Listening to her singing - actually it is more 'mumbling' and 'speaking'
most of the time - is sheer torture. The rest of the music isn't much
better either. Endlessly repeated themes, weak guitar solos, bad timings,
bad flowing lyrics, cheesy drum computers and a horrible production. Actually, I cannot find
a single good thing about this album ! It's got 'amateurs' written all over
it.
If you dare to listen to it, there's a couple of soundclips on their homepage.
Conclusion: 3 out of 10, avoid like the plague !
Ed Sander
Jeremy- Salt The Planet
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| Country of Origin: | USA |
| Format: | CD |
| Record Label: | Moonchild Records |
| Catalogue #: | MC30427 |
| Year of Release: | 1999 |
| Time: | 51:45 |
| Info: | Jeremy |
|
A synth album again. We have reviewed a couple of them, and most didn't appeal to us. This one may be different. Jeremy is an American and in his sleeve notes he
thanks everybody, from Julio Iglesias to David Gilmour to IQ to the Holy Ghost.
The first track Jungle (5:50) is based on an almost Floyd-like chord sequence. I was pleasently surprised when I heard this song, a combination between
Floyd and Vangelis. The same is true for the next song Waterfall (5:17),
in which the rhythmic section is formed by reversed cymbals and reversed bass, so
that you get an "underwater" sound. When the third track Whirlwind (4:50)
started, I got a bit annoyed: the same type of chords, rhythmics and DX-7 synth
melody on top of it all.
Heartbeat (5:47) (you've guessed right) : Floyd-like chords, New Age beat
+ DX-7 synth melody on top. Salt the Planet (11:07) starts a bit more
daring, with a sharper synth sound, some sound effects by turning knobs on an
analogue synth (or the digital equivalent). The middle section features a
different melody, more treatening. Later on, the same chords and synth as Camel's
Spirit of the Water are used, in a different arrangement, though, building
to a climax with a snare drum under it.
Earthquake (7.37) opens with disturbing sounds, moving into a darker
theme, with a heavy beat. Again, the top melody is played by what sounds like a
DX-7. This gets annoying after a while. Maybe he realized that as well, since later
the top is played by electric guitar. But the song is interesting, not your average
New Age. Lightyears (11:07) starts very Vangelis-like, complete
with the typical whoosh-sounds from left to right ear. Only after 9 minutes,
something changes and an electrical guitar sets in, to end the album.
Some tracks are good, some parts of tracks are excellent, but the general impression is that Jeremy relies on only a couple of tricks (which he masters well,
I must admit), making the album too much of the same. Too bad, since I really
thought I was going to like it after the first track! But if the same good
things happen over and over, it spoils the fun.
Distributed by Moonchild
Conclusion: 5 out of 10
Remco Schoenmakers
Neil Sadler - Theory of Forms
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| Country of Origin: | USA/UK |
| Format: | CD |
| Record Label: | Bleeding Arts |
| Catalogue #: | BA10012 |
| Year of Release: | 1999 |
| Time: | 55:43 |
| Info: | Homepage |
|
Neil Sadler is probably not well known to most progressive rock fans.
Although very progressive in nature, his music lies somewhere
between classical and jazz. As a classical percussionist and
keyboard player, he has worked with members of the
the London Philharmonic, European chamber orchestras, and made
appearances at various European jazz festivals.
Neil, born in England, moved to LA to work with numerous
American artists on this, his debut instrumental album.
Along with Sadler on keyboards and percussion, the band
features Mike Keneally (guitar) who has worked with both
Steve Vai and Frank Zappa, Bryan Beller (bass), along with
a slew of Frank Zappa horn alumni - Walt Fowler (trumpet,
flugelhorn), Albert Wing (tenor sax), Bruce Fowler
(trombone), Kurt McGettrick (tenor sax), plus Steve Fowler
(alto sax) and Joel Woods (bass). The level of musicianship
appearing on this album is second to none, easily out-doing most
progressive bands. However, musicianship alone does
not make the perfect album.
The CD bursts into life with "Jazz Bastards", a
very lively track, which immediately establishes the
ground for what is to come with unusual melodic scales,
and complex patterns. Perhaps surprisingly, the drumming
almost entirely straight 4/4, albeit decorated with
odd beats here and there within a conventional rock-style
drum framework. After a few minutes, psychotic trumpet
and sax solos burst in over a more conventional jazz rhythm,
making a blatant right-angle change in direction,
followed by some extremely expressive and experimental
lead guitar work (not surprisingly, reminiscent of some of
Steve Vai's work). Throughout the song, various atonal
motifs keep reappearing, which go some way to helping
maintain a sense of continuity through the mayhem of changes.
Track 2, "DNA for beginners", starts with some rather
ominous orchestral string parts, percussion and gongs,
which would probably work very well as film music.
This kind of style is probably much more familiar to
progressive rock fans, with its mysterious textures
and atmospheric feel. Before long, a very Fripp-like
lead guitar comes in with some very unusual synthy
percussion. The overall sound is a lot like much of
Zappa's work with synth percussion and strings. Later
on in the track, a more Eastern feel emerges, with
tablas and splashes (perhaps a faint Trilok Girtu
influence?) and far-Eastern guitar scales. At over
nine minutes of mostly soloing, with very little
overall structure or development, it's hard not to
make accusations of muso-pretentiousness, but some
hard concentration on what's going on really does
pay off, if you have the stamina!
The next track, "Suehiro", is virtually a pop song
by comparison, at four and a half minutes, with a
definite upbeat feel. No rest from the atonal scales
however. Suehiro is mostly a guitar/sax workout,
again mostly over surprisingly straight 4/4 drum
pattern. The song is mostly led by brass harmonies
and unison parts, along the same lines as some of
the material from Andy Sheppard's electric band.
The twelve and a half minute title track,
"Theory of forms" comes next, opening with more jazzy
unison melodies. Definitely no traces of prog here,
but nonetheless very progressive to the open mind.
Some lovely tension-building atmospheres with sound
effects follow, taking the pace down a notch, with
the distant feel of something bigger approaching.
Then, after several minutes of interesting layered sounds,
aggressive piano-like percussion patterns come in,
not unlike some Earthworks patterns, but with more
power and aggression. What begins as a nice track,
building up with direction, then moves on into minutes
of seemingly endless improvised soloing, in
different forms. Great for Zappa fans, but perhaps
a little too much for more mainstream prog fans.
"Sid Sings" comes next, opening with a muted trumpet,
piano and synth strings. After a relaxed start,
and a brief exploration into piano/percussion unison
lines, the pace chances with an upbeat jazz rhythm and
walking basslines from Joel Woods. Plenty of interesting
ideas packed into under six minutes in this song
ensures little excuse for distraction!!! Probably one
of the more accessible tracks on the album.
Next up is "RunRim", featuring very synthetic but
effective synth strings and some more quiet Fripp-like
guitar. Many of the tracks on the album throb along
over an undercurrent of unusual percussion, and this
one is no exception, with some beautifully indescribeable
sounds. A fairly dark, moody track, with jazz tendencies.
The last track, "wFb" could be an Andy Sheppard track,
very sax-led, with more brass harmonies and unison parts.
The drums on this track are extremely mechanical, almost
to the point of sounding like a very dull drum machine.
However, they do keep the momentum going, with various
layers of melodies weaving about on top.
All in all, a superly technical and experimental album,
with some very interesting ideas, particularly in the
percussion department. However, where there are
conventional "drum" parts, they tend to be very
standard, and not particularly innovative, which is
surprising considering the high level of percussive
experimentation elsewhere on the album. Lots of jazzy
sax playing, and impressive soloing, though perhaps
a little too much for many prog fans. The lead guitar
work of Mike Keneally ensures that the overall sound
doesn't stray too far into the jazz world, with
some very extreme and unusual sounds and solos.
Fans of Frank Zappa, Earthworks, or Andy Sheppard
will probably love it, but I think it would only appeal
to the more open-minded or jazz-friendly prog fans.
Overall: 7/10
Neil Durant
