Gyöngyhajú lány (Omega, 1969)

In the wide and never enough explored proto-progressive galaxy, this song deserves a special place. Firstly, it's an East Europe band's track, not as usual a location as it is today for a prog rock group. Secondly, this was a huge success both in its original language and in translated or cover versions. Omega is a real monument in Hungarian rock history and this song comes from their second album, called "10000 lépés" (in English, "10000 steps"). The song title means "The girl with pearly hair" and it's a long, slow ballad with a slightly synphonic arrangement, soft keyboards and a psychedelic electric guitar and a very good vocal performance, featuring strong volume variations.

 

The original "10000 lépés" artwork.

 

The catchy chorus has an inusual strenght and a gypsy taste. I highly recommend the album version, including a short but good instrumental interlude and some more choral variations of the main tune. This song proves how the musical and cultural background of the late '60s, that was soon to give birth to prog rock, was widespread and not only in the Western countries.

Il tempo, una donna, la città (Pooh, 1975)

There's a never endig debate about Pooh in Italy: are they or have they ever been a prog band or are they just an easy listening group (maybe the most successful one in their country)? Well, as usual I'm not specially into musical controversies and I better like to listen to music instead of quarrelling about it. So, please, listen to this and give me your advice. Anyway, if this wonderful group and orchestra rhapsody isn't prog or prog related, I don't know how else I could label it. When it comes to the form, this 10 minute track, taken from an album called "Un po' del nostro tempo migliore" ("A Bit of Our Best Time"), is composed of a succession of six short ballads plus an orchestral finale. You'll also find some instrumental guitar driven bridges.

            

            

           

                    Some of the old fashioned pictures illustrating the album booklet.

 

As usual with this band, the strongest points are the sung melodies and Dodi Battaglia's electric and acoustic guitar performances. But in this case, there's something more: the surprising and pleasant transitions from each ballad to the following one and a mysterious aura supported by the somehow arcane lyrics about a woman (or the ghost of a woman) hiding herself from life after the tragic loss of her lover and finally delivering his body (or its supernatural shape) to the narrator. The title "Il tempo, una donna, la città" ("Time, A Woman, The Town") includes the three main elements of the story. Well now, my friends, it's up to you: what do you think of this song?

Le vieil arbre (Le Temps, 1975)

I like very much old sweet folk-prog songs and the 70s Québec scene was particularly generous in this genre. This band, for example, was one of the best in the wake of Harmonium and friends. The opening track of their first self-titled album, called "Le vieil arbre" ("The Old Tree"), is a fine specimen of their production, made of gentle ballads graced by instrumental interludes.This song is also introduced by countryside effects like thunders, birdsongs and children's voices. Then the acoustic guitar leads on the instrumental intro accompanied by a chamber orchestra till the first verse begins.

The original artwork of "Le Temps".

It's a relaxing music, full of optimism, and I usually put it on my CD reader when I'm stressed and I'm in search of a calm and old fashioned break. Also try it when in a traffic jam. But you'll find more than this in this band, if ever you accept my invitation and taste the happier side of prog with Le Temps...

Rhayader Goes to Town (Camel, 1975)

"Music Inspired by The Snow Goose", based on a Paul Gallico's novel published in 1941, is a whole instrumental album, one of the best records of this kind and a recognized masterpiece by Camel. "Rhayader Goes to Town" perfectly represents the main features of this work and even if it isn't the most popular song from the album it certainly is one of the best in the lot. Its 5 minutes and more are full of unpredictable and still enjoyable music, including keyboard progressions and a stunning floyd-esque electric guitar solo. The music describes how the citizens react when the eccentric artist Philip Rhayader, one of the main characters of Gallico's book, comes to town.

Camel's line-up in 1975.

The sweetness of the song is also enriched by a good deal of humour, some acid sounds and a creative drumming, so that I always considered this song as kind of an anthology of prog rock main characters. Even so, "Rhayader Goes to Town" has its own distinctive style and is a quintessential Camel song, that's to say fresh, tasty, pure music juice!

Poseidon's Creation (Eloy, 1977)

Beyond its grandeur and its bombastic arrangements, this track reserves many good surprises and emotions. First of all, the usual Floydian (and not only) inspiration is melted with other significant progressive styles, giving to the whole song a full and round sound. Then, I appreciate very much the chenges of tempo, with speedy progessions flowing into relaxing and liquid largos.

The impressive cover for "Ocean" by Wojtek Siudmak.

The sung part of the song's like a ballad, a slightly acid one, followed by a long instrumental coda, maybe the best section of the track, with original musical solutions and a suggestive drum background, with the final choral line in the 70s mood. The whole song hasn't lost its charms today and almost represents a bridge between the classic prog years and the neo-prog era, and the album "Ocean" is a landmark in Eloy's discography, as the recent "Ocean 2" definitely proves.

The Great Nothing (Spock's Beard, 2000)

This long suite (more than 27 minutes) is a peak in Spock Beard's career, IMHO and comes from one of their best albums, "V", obviously the fifth in the band's catalogue. It comprises six movements ("From Nowhere", "One Note", "Come up Breathing", "Submerged", "Missed Your Calling" and "The Great Nothing") and I couldn't say wich is the best one. All melodies are good, there's a perpetual change in arrangements, instrumentations, tempos, moods and a well structured architecture, too. The instrumental passages and the sung themes are always pleasant, but never trivial.

Spock's Beard: their line up for "V" (2000).

Music and words are by Neal Morse and we find here many of his favourite elements, such as the acoustic guitar solos and the piano bridges, but also the spiritual subject in lyrics. In short, this is the quintessential Spock Beard, including the grand walls of sound, some country rock hints and, last but not least, the choral vocal arrangements. With such a programme, those 27 minutes seem to pass in one breath. A breath of good prog, of course.

Widow's Peak (IQ, 1985)

Taken from "The Wake" album, this is one of the most inspired and well structured neo-prog songs of the 80s, IMHO. After an atmospheric keyboards driven intro, the track lives on a series of rock gusts where drums and guitars are in the foreground. A slow mid section just prepares the return of the rythm, also thanks to Peter Nicholls' voice. Peter deserves a special mention for his performance on this song, a very difficult one, obliging him to run after the other instruments during the faster passages and to fill the blanks between those rushes with more intimate accents.

"The Wake" was the second album of the band.

He performs both tasks very well. This contributes to the final effect, that's to say a perfectly balanced track, swinging from melody to rythm, increasing the value of each member of the band. The dramatic use of all the instruments, both in slow and fast passages, gives an electric charge to the song, so, please, don't resume that old story of Genesis influence, 'cause I'm listening to a good piece of music and, really, who cares?