Concerto grosso (New Trolls, 1971)

One of the most successful classical-rock contaminations in prog history was undoubtedly this 4 movement and 16 minute suite by New Trolls. Please note this is also known as Concerto Grosso N. 1, because New Trolls got back to this title in 1976 (Concerto Grosso n. 2). More recently. with the band split in two different groups, they resumed the idea twice, with Concerto Grosso - The Seven Seasons (2007) and Concerto Grosso n. 3 (2013) not to mention a Concerto Grosso Trilogy Live (2007).  To be honest, this first Concerto Grosso is a two fathers' son, being the group and composer-director Luis Enriquez Bacalov equally involved in the project. The baroque atmosphere and orchestration is naturally completed by the band's rock instruments and vocal harmonies and this is the main reason of its huge success.

The original cover.

Every movement (or tempo) has got its own temper, so that the listener goes through the Allegro effervescence, the Adagio sweetness, the Cadenza - Andante con moto springy tunes, finally, the Shadows abandon and experimentations. This last movement, dedicated to the memory of Jimi Hendrix, is perhaps the most interesting passage of the suite, with all its early '70s flavours. I like the whole lot, every moment of it, every change, every musical stunt in it. Being a real masterpiece (Ok, IMHO...) it is surprisingly mild and friendly, like all the good ol' things are.

One of A Group (Cressida, 1970)

When I hear someone saying it's impossible to write and perform a prog song lasting less than five or six minutes I immediatly think of this excellent song by Cressida, a group that only released two albums and never got the attention they deserved. In 3'38" this proto-prog fivesome did and gave everything: a catchy melody including verse and chorus, two different instrumental passages, a guitar solo, a piano solo, a hammond organ intro, a very good vocal performance and all the inspiration sources you need, from classical to jazz music.

Cressida: just another obscure and long forgotten band?

To say the truth, all the first Cressida album is a treat, but if I had to suggest one single song from it as a taster, well, I'd say "One of A Group". This is not only for the above listed reasons, but especially for another capital point: that is invention. Yes, there is invention in this song, a creative strenght I rarely observed elsewhere, an optimism that perfectly represents the beginning of an era.

Xanadu (Rush, 1977)

This formidable 11 minute track is from "A Farewell to Kings", released by Rush in 1977. It desplays all you're expecting in a Rush song: power, sudden tempo changes, lush guitars, beating bass, plenty of percussions. I could roughly divide "Xanadu" in three parts, the first one being a 5 minute instrumental section - almost a track by itself - in which all the main riffs and themes are presented or sketched and many changes occur in tempo, instrumentation and mood. You'll find here atmospheric moments and also epic tunes, acoustic sounds along with electronic experimentations: this song introduced synths in Rush music, anticipating the band's further evolution.

 

One of the best Rush albums...

 ...and one of their strangest covers.

 

Then the sung segment comes in, with a very passionate Geddy Lee's performance, also graced by short and effective epic walls of sound. The last part begins with a long and beautiful electric guitar solo and ends up with a weird, slow tempo finale. I won't forget the lyrics - written by Neil Peart - inspired by Coleridge's opium influenced poem Kubla Khan, describing Xanadu, the summer palace of the famous Mongol king Kublai Khan. The band try to depict in words and music this fanciful place, in the wake of Romantic era symphonic poems, an attempt that will return in their following records. There's a bit of everything in this track, but even so you'll find an inner coherence and an original sound in it... in short, you'll find Rush in it. 

Pilgrims (Van Der Graaf Generator, 1976)

Van Der Graaf Generator's songs are hardly appreciated the first time you listen to them, but this song - the opening track of "Still Life" - immediately stroke me. Peter Hammill offers here a stunning performance, varying his voice's tone, volume and mood many times and perfectly melting his cries and whisperings with Hugh Banton's organ.

VDGG in a mid '70s photo.

Those two "instruments" (as we can really consider Peter's voice an additional instrument) keep going on up and down the scale, alternating soft verses and epic choruses. Of course, Guy Evans emphasizes all that with an increasing waterfull of drums and cymbals.  So, when David Jackson's sax replaces Peter's vocals, the songs is ready for its majestic finale. Even the lyrics are more optimistic than usual for VDGG, including weird notions like hope, future, awakening and union. An unforgettable end exciting experience... oh, yes, I forgot to add this: IMHO.

Jerusalem (Emerson, Lake & Palmer, 1973)

How many grandiose and technically awesome tracks ELP created in their career! How maany suites and rapsodies, revisited classical compositions, stunning experiments... but when it comes to choose just one song from their vast repertoire for my own pleasure, I can't help picking up this short and fascinating one, the opening track of "Brain Salad Surgery" album.

The iconic cover art for "Brain Salad Surgery".

Why is that? I think it's because there's a mysterious aurea in it, partly due to Keith Emerson's organ, partly to the lyrics, a William Blake's poem originally called "And did those feet in ancient time", partly to the music, a baroque hymn written by the victorian composer Hubert Parry. But there's something more, of course. The trio transformed this hymn without betraying its soul: they added a special strength and a martial pace, a devilish atmosphere, that's somewhat in tune with Blake's poem. Simply perfect, IMHO.

The Evening Wind (Satellite, 2003)

Some years ago a friend of mine, a classic prog fan, asked me about neo-progressive; he had just heard some Marillion and wanted to know more. I submitted this song to his attention and he was positively surprised. Satellite is a Polish band founded by members of split up Collage (there's somenting about them too in this blog), especially by drummer Wojtek Szadkowski, who also signs most of the new band's songs. Their music is exactly what neo-prog is or should be: lighter than pure synphonic rock but never trivial, never too easy or poppish. "The Evening Wind" opens the first album by Satellite, called "A Street Between Sunrise And Sunset" - wow, the title itself is a challenging one! - and is a 12 minutes well written and well performed track, obviously IMHO.

You can't be wrong: this is a Mark Wilkinson's art...

The vocal themes are pleasant and rather fast tempo, keyboards provide some anthemic riffs, often duelling with guitars, while the rythm section always sustains and diversifies the track pace. Some changes from fast to low tempo are very good and remind me of best IQ's songs, with a stronger accent on airy melodies. In addiction to this, there are intriguing lyrics about the difficult transitions from sorrow to hope we all experience sooner or later. This song is like a riviving whipping of chilly breeze, the Evening wind we sometimes welcome as an old friend at the end of the day.

The Prisoner (Eight by Ten) (Spring, 1971)

One of the bastions of early prog, Spring certainly were. Their only and self-titled album released in 1971 opens with this Majestic song, full of strong sensations and different inspirations. The vocal theme is rather r'n'b oriented, but the arrangements and the instruments involved are fully progressive, with that warm vibration so typical of the late '60s.

This was the Spring of prog...

Keyboards play a very important role in giving a profound and sometimes rough taste to the track, also graced by a splendid vocal performance by Pat Moran, owner of a deep and sensible voice. Some instrumental interludes enrich the song but never break its coherence. And above all, every time I listen to this track I breathe the sweet smell of progressive rock birth.