Snowtorch Part One (Phideaux, 2011)

You'll find somewhere else in this blog my opinion about Phideaux Xavier, so I just say here I think he's one of the most interesting musicians in the current progressive rock scene. This suite, opening the same titled CD released in 2011, is a brilliant proof of that. This epic is divided into four movements ("Star of Light", "Retrograde", "Fox on The Rocks" and "Celestine") and framed into a longer concept based on the unusual parallelism between biology and sentiment.

Phideaux released nine studio albums from 1992 to 2011.

Full of vintage keyboards and modern sounds altogether, this long track is a mine of details and musical tricks, as always with Phideaux, and I'm glad to say that the sung sections are specially strong, something that non always occurred in this artist's previous works. In short, "Snowtorch - Part One" is a progressive treat, a bittersweet musical jewel I'm sure you'll enjoy if you didn't before.

Waiting for The Axe to Fall (Phideaux, 2010)

No doubt Phideaux Xavier is one of the most surpising and somewhat puzzling prog artists out there. This "Waiting for The Axe to Fall" suite, from the 2009 album "Number Seven" is an example of the eclectic and rich kind of music he makes. Please note this suite only exists in the 2010 remastered edition of the album, while in the original release you only had it as four self standing songs, following the opening theme of the concept CD. Classic prog, electronic pop, piano soul... how many moods and genres in just one song! And still, how clever Phideaux is in keeping the whole lot under control and in assuring a perfect coherence to the track...

Well... even the cover art is puzzling, isnt'it?

All those inspirations, all those musical worlds seem to flow naturally, as they were all born in the same era and from the same father. Unpredictable? Yes. Chaotic? Not at all. Each time I listen to this song I like it more. It seems to me Phideaux has so many feelings inside his soul and he likes to share them all with the listener, kind of a moving side of prog. Look at the piano work in "Waiting for The Axe to Fall": poetry, pure modern poetry. IMHO, of course.

Chupacabras (Phideaux, 2005)

This is what the Americans call an epic song. Basically, it's  a 20 minutes prog rock suite, and a very good one. Phideaux Xavier is one of the strangest characters in the proggy world, considering himself the one and only half-prog / half-punk artist. That said, I like his music very much, especially - of course - when his half-prog part is concerned. This is exactly the case with Chupacabras, kind of a prog anthology, filled with all the devices and sophistications we tend to love.

Xavier Phideaux: a ghostly presence from the American prog scene.

It's a classical prog, but also a state of the art XXIst century prog, updating virtually every standard in our genre and giving to the track its own spiritual, even eerie taste. Our friend Phideaux knows very well how to ally different moods and themes always skipping two dangerous foes: boredom and affectedness. So, don't worry if he's a little strange in haircuts or musical statements, Xavier Phideaux keeps everything under control. Amazed? Incredulous? Well, please listen to this and let me know.