Speak (I And Thou, 2012)

This is the 12 minutes opening track from English musician Jason Hart's musical project and album of the same name. This guy is a current (2013) member of Renaissance's latest incarnation, played in Rufus Wainwrigth's band and gathered some good musicians for this CD, including Marillion's Steve Hogarth covering a Wainwright's song.  This project really is a Multi-National one, as most of the musicians involved are well known American session men. I was really impressed when I first came to listen to this record. It reminded me the Alan Parsons Project, but with a more prog band twist. This song, in particular, is based on an excellent sung melody and the eventual instrumental variations show how much Jason learned listenting more and more to his '70s and '80s models and how much he created his own trademark anyway.

 

A colourful waterfall: the art and the music are one.

And it's a painting by Annie Haslam...

 

One of the best features in "Speak" is the bass work, by John Gargano, supporting and enriching Jason Hart's piano and assorted keyboards. Another winning point is the neat and round sound, so deep and definite, just like a scented spring evening. This isn't an adventurous song, nor an experimental track, but we all need sometimes a little musical rest. And this is the best one I can imagine for me.

Shadows of The Past (Neverness, 2009)

This is the 11 minutes closing track from Neverness' third album (the first one in English), titled "The Measure of The Time". Those Spanish boys treat me with a spacey up and down tempo song, floating on an ocean of keyboards and featuring in the first part a pleasant distorted guitar, something not so easy to do, but then this is my own opinion... and I'm not at all into metal. The sound is neat and deep, the tempo changes are as surprising as they should be and the main theme is very good.  Of course, I adore their atmospheric passages, where Javier Nieto shows a bouquet of guitar effects.

This cover's not so original, but the music inside has its own taste.

There's also a sweet piano & voice section between minutes 8 and 9, flowing into a bombastic and still melodic wall of sound, a perfect finale for the song. Two more special mentions go to Nieto's vocals, not mighty maybe, but always perfectly tuned to the lyrics and to  Víctor Pérez, whose keyboards provide a mixed background, reminiscent of the '70s and also not so far from some Dream Theater's solutions. A good track for the ecstatic minds.

Don't Forget Us (Flamborough Head, 2009)

Taken from their album "Looking for John Maddock", this 8:21 minutes instrumental includes all the best qualities I recognize to Flamborough Head. Mostly, there's a real passion for melodies, something they never forget and they always put as a foundation stone in each song of theirs. Take the flute intro of this track: sweet and essential, this theme works as a fil rouge all along the song, even when the keyboards come in to twist it.

"Looking for John Maddock" was the sixth FH's studio album.

Even then, that melody is there and you know it will no doubt reappear, sooner or later. In fact, it comes back magnificently via the final dreaming guitar solo, and this seems like a fulfillment, a glorious prog seal closing the track. Soft but never sweetish, mostly down tempo and still varied, brilliant and modern in its sound, nonetheless reminiscent of the '70s, I do think this song is a perfect way to approach this band's music and also to start a new day.

Ammonia Avenue (The Alan Parsons Project, 1984)

One of the most progressive songs from Alan Parsons and Eric Woolfson and one of the best melodies in their career, IMHO. The inspiration for this 1984 title track  was provided by a Woolfson's visit to an impressive ammonia plant in Billingham (North East of England), then owned by Imperial Chemical Industries. The huge succession of metal pipes, somewhat replacing the trees along the main avenue crossing the site, suggested to Woolfson a concept about scientific development and its impact both on the Earth and on human culture. Interestingly, this same plant allegedly inspired the SF novel "Brave New World"  by Aldous Huxley, who visited its construction site in the late 1920s.

Billingham ammonia plant... definitely a forest of pipes.

Now, for the track itself. The first half is an intimate Eric's vocal performance, lead by piano, enriched by a discreet orchestration and followed by a beautiful instrumental section, beginning with acoustic guitar and growing up like a fully prog keys / guitar / orchestra interplay. The sung theme comes back around minute 4:50 flowing to a bombastic chorus and a final fading arpeggio. I think this is a cleverly arranged track, based on a solid composition work and really, really British too, for what it's worth.

A Kid Called Panic (Moon Safari, 2010)

Taken from Moon Safari's third studio album "Lover's End", this rather long song (some 13 minutes) has everything I like in this band's music. Catchy and choral sung melodies, excellent instrumental passages, a fresh and joyful mood, in short: the strength of youth. Despite its title, this song is a light trip into colourful realms, with a touch of proto-prog era and even - now and then - a Beatles-like composition and arrangement.

A fresher face for symphonic rock. That's what Moon Safari is.

All the rest is pure symphonic rock, with enthralling keyboard / guitar interplays, a creative drumming, a discreet but effective bass line and an overwhelming fantasy throughout the track. When listening to this, I feel my faith in prog rising up and I need to press the back button on my CD player to restart the song. Should I say more?

Chronologie Part 2 (Jean-Michel Jarre, 1993)

Famous for his musical and entertainment records and unusual challenges, widely celebrated for his pharaonic shows featuring tons of strange instruments, Jean-Michel Jarre is the most recent incarnation of the French grandeur, the heir of the Belle-époque science heroes like Jules Verne or the Lumière brothers (he's from Lyon too, after all). But he also happens to be a great musician and a highly creative composer. The "Chronologie" album, in particular, is a brilliant piece of symphonic music as this "Part 2" proves perfectly well.

Jarre & his best friends...

The majestic sounds and the bombastic keyboard riffs are arranged in a series of breathtaking crescendos and breaks, making up an almost visual kind of music, an enthralling, powerful wall of sound. The live version of this track, included in the "Hong Kong" album (1995), is even better, with a whole (prog) band playing like hell. That's why I daresay that Jarre's flaws also are his strength. By the way, let's draw a veil over his recent love affair with DJ music... it may be great, but it's not my cup of tea.

Melrose (Tangerine Dream, 1990)

Tangerine Dream's discography is simply exceeding, more than a hundred titles, including studio albums, live recordings and original soundtracks, not to mention reissues and compilations. I beg that's why some of their albums are seldom neglected. Unfortunately, this is the case with "Melrose", whose title track I'm introducing here. As this song demomstrates, this early '90s version of TD isn't mere ambient music at all: you'll find here two fully developed themes, a keen work on programming and a clever choice of warm electronic sounds.

 

Paul Haslinger left the band after this album in 1990.

 

The human factor is also important, as the second theme is played on sax by guest musician Hubert Waldner and, believe me, this is a real emotional peak. As usual, Tangerine Dream mix electronic paraphernalia and melodic skills in a special trademark blend going over the decades and the unavoidable ups and downs of such an overwhelming activity. Each time I listen to Melrose, I feel something good going up my spine and I remember how grateful we should be to this bunch of old boys over there...