The Pride (Martigan, 2002)

"The Pride" opens the German band Martigan's "Man of The Moment" album, released in 2002. Some say - turning up their nose - this is neo-prog. I call it good prog. It's a highly creative and also enjoyable music, exploiting the very good Kai Marckwordt's voice and a series of rythmic gmmicks, mixing up traditional and programmed drumming.

This was the third Martigan's album.

The vocals play the leading role, that's true, but the rest of the band do their best to improve this song's impact, adding some rock here and there. Each instrument find its own moment of glory, after all, but the inner and passionate side of the song finds its topping with the excellent final guitar solo. Nothing too bombastic here, nothing pretentious neither... just good music, excellent song writing and strong feelings. Isn't it enough for you?

Circus of Life (Magic Pie, 2007)

A suite lasting some 45 minutes... and if you think such a long listening will be tiring, well, yhou're wrong! This Norwegian band succeeded in building up a complex and ever changing musical architecture, including all kinds of prog rock and perfectly balanced, fit to catch your curiosity.  Ethereal atmospheres, heavy rock riffs, keyboard fast progressions, distorted guitars, floydian chords, beautiful sung themes, effective vocal harmonies à la Flower Kings... all is there. Nonetheless, this is not a mere succession of tracks, a miscellaneous display of sounds.

This album features the long title track and two more songs.

This is a suite, a real, coherent one. Those guys arrange very well the electric and acoustic moments and play even better with recurring themes and riffs. All those elements fit perfectly together and they all have the band's original trademark, made of airy melodies and transparent sounds, where vintage and up-to-date flow together. I liked their first album, but this title track from their second one definitely persuaded me that Magic Pie are worth their name: they're magic and, yes, they're a treat!

Good Days, Bad Days (Kenso, 1989)

Taken from "Sparta", the Japanese band's fourth studio album, "Good Days, Bad Days" is a very varied track. The first 2 minutes and a half are a dreaming guitar piece, slow and pensive, not far from Steve Hackett's style. Then the tempo rises up and we enjoy a short intricated prog-rock passage. The third theme is a slightly Oriental one, with a good amount of jazz inside, something Kenso used to like, and followed by a series of almost improvised guitar solos. Here I also appreciate the piano, leading the rythm section.

The album title is in Ancient Greek. Cool.

 

The finale is mostly an accelerated reprise of the first theme and the dreaming guitar finally comes back. This is a beautifully arranged instrumental track, with lots of tempo changes and several different moods and even different genres. The musicians' performance is really good, showing a strong, solid fusion taste, but also a pleasant melody skill, so that even those not liking jazz so much - that's my case - can enjoy such a rich composition.

The Great Gig in The Sky (Pink Floyd, 1973)

Who could possibly forget this track closing the A-side of "Dark Side of The Moon"? Clare Torry's vocal performance is simply stunning and the spacey atmosphere of the song takes the listener away from the Earthly world. The starting Rick Wright's chord progression opens the gates of another universe, then the soft, waving vocals begin. Clare Torry's performance had an interesting lawsuit, as the singer sued the band a royalty sharing, being his vocals a free improvisation and therefore kind of an instant writing. An agreement was reached between the counterparts and Clare features today as a co-author of "The Great Gig in The Sky".

                        

Clare Torry in 1973 and in 2003.

That said, this is one of the most moving Pink Floyd's songs and surely Clare Torry's contribution is essential. But the Hammond organ is also very effective, while the rythm section (drums and bass together, then only the bass guitar) dictates the flowing pace of the music. I also like the piano, appearing in the final and whispering section. Being strictly linked to the previous song "Time", that was about the shortness of life, "The Great Gig in The Sky" deals with life's end, that is death or better, after-life. Never listened to a sweeter depiction of such matters.

One Small Step (Saga, 1995)

This Canadian band, whose main quality is the eclectic approach to prog music, tried many times to release a fully enjoyable album and finally succeeded in 1995 with "The 13th Generation" intricated concept. This song, in particular, perfectly shows the group's rich and varied musical palette. The rock opera mood of this mini-suite including three movements is clear and underlined by emphatic vocals, very good guitar riffs and a variety of orchestral arrangements.

This concept album features 18 chapters.

Like in a film soundtrack, many different atmospheres follow one another, but the recurring themes and a clever architecture give to the track a merry and coherent personality. The vocal harmonies are also good as well as the always changing rythm. An unusual song, even for the unpredictable prog rock scene, but a very good one I appreciate more and more.

Miragem (Bacamarte, 1983)

This beautiful instrumental track belongs to “Depois do fim”, the only album of the Brazilian band Bacamarte, and a higly rated record by the International progfans core. This “Miragem” features virtually all the main points  of traditional symphonic rock: blazing keyboards, dreaming guitars, a creative rhythm section and – a welcome bonus – even an Arabic taste.

 

Bacamarte were born in 1974, but their sole record

was released ten years later.

 

The musicians’ performance is excellent and the band’s intricated plots and multiple interplays are simply stunning. There’s a scent of PFM and a taste of Yes, but also a vague and pleasant Southern colour, adding life and sun to the music. Last but not least, this track is a living testimony of the surprising and persistent worldwide diffusion of prog rock.

The Crucifixion (Aragon, 1987)

This 15:39 minutes epic by the Australian band Aragon is a beautiful specimen from the '80s so called neo-prog scene and one of the very few from Southern emisphere. Strongly influenced by the British models of its period, the song - taken from the debut album "Don't Bring The Rain" - has nonetheless its own character, combining in the opening section syncopated drumming reminiscent of IQ with passionate vocals à la Fish and lots of good musical ideas with no specific inspiration. The central part of "The Crucifixion", featuring a rarefied atmosphere and suggestive vocals is maybe my favourite one.

This was the first of six studio albums by Aragon.

Les Dougan really cries out its soul here, and Tom Behrsing's keyboards create a magic universe I still like, with a hint of lost childhood inside. The sound quality isn't perfect (oh, not at all...), but I get the feeling nonetheless and the final sorrowful instrumental brings on the typical kick inside good prog always gives to me. Later in their career, Aragon will grow a more personal style, but I'm grateful to those musicians for this early, easy, bittersweet song.