Moonshine (Collage, 1994)

"Moonshine" is the title track of Collage's work released in 1994 and it's also a very good way to discover why this Polish band is so higly rated by many prog fans. This track is extremely dynamic, driven by aerial keyboard effects and a crystal wall of sound. But you'll also find some quiet and atmospheric passages, announcing the subsequent rushes and rythmic progressions. The main melodies are well found, catchy but never trivial, and the instrumental passages aren't mere bridges between two verses, as they disassemble and reassemble each theme, magnifying the symphonic pattern of the song.

Collage played a lead role in the '90s Polish prog renaissance.

That's why I like each second of these 12:30 minutes of progressive rock, and I often come back to this song. The fact is that such a magniloquent clockwork never sounds artificial or redondant and the music flows naturally from the band to the very heart of the listener. Probably it's only me, but I see bright stars in the sky at midday when "Moonshine" is there.

Bohemian Rhapsody (Queen, 1975)

Queen aren't exactly prog rock knights, are they? Even so, they were strongly influenced by prog and one of their most known and loved songs, "Bohemian Rhapsody", bears all the marks of our genre. Deliciously varied and complicated, plainly classical and still so deeply rock, this is a song to fall in love with. And so many fell that it sold millions as a single and definitely improved the commercial success of the album "A Night at The Opera". Being a rhapsody, the track includes several disparate sections, suach as a piano and voice intro, an Opera section, a hard rock passage, an impressive wall of sound and also a famous electric guitar solo by Brian May. The choral arrangements are one of the finest features of "Bohemian Rhapsody", with the strong Freddy Mercury's voice supported by the rest of the band performing in a falsetto register.

This was the original UK single cover of the song.

Mercury is also the credited author of both music and lyrics and also his words are a collection of literary and musical quotes: you'll find the likes of Scaramouche, Galileo, and even the devil Beelzebub from the Bible and the first word from the Qur'an. Is such a mess, some critics find deep meanings about life in general and Freddy's childhood in particular. I think most of the words are there just for their evocative sound, and anyway the author never explained his song. What really matters to me is the devastating emotion I get each time I listen to this track.

Tesla (Unitopia, 2010)

Unitopia come from Australia and they play a good, both traditional and unpredictable progressive rock. This "Tesla", taken from the album "Artificial" is a perfect starter for Unitopia's music with its 13 minutes or so of duration time. You'll find a thousand different influences here, from Golden Era bands to neo-prog heroes, so that the mood, the rythm and the tempo constantly change. The listener is engaged in a furious trip across the progressive universe and more: electronics, fusion, melody, ethnic flashes, classical piano, traditional rock... kind of a musical roundabout!

"Artificial" was the third studio album of the band.

Still, all those elements are so pleasantly linked and so well played that they seem to come to us naturally. Unitopia follow the widespread path of bands like Flower Kings and Spock's Beard, but their speedy and lush composition way only belongs to them. There are solid melodies, well found arangements and a clever architecture in "Tesla" that Nikola Tesla himself would find... electrifying! Sure, Unitopia pick up things we all know too well, but they do so in style, I daresay, and they constantly improve. A good omen.

Buscando sombras (Chaneton, 2010)

"Buscando Sombras" ("Searching for Shadows" in English) comes from "Sombras distantes" ("Distant Shadows"), the third studio album of a very interesting prog band from Argentina, called Chaneton, that's their founder and guitarist's last name. This musician is also known for being a member of Mandragora, an internationally praised local band. You'll immediatly recognize the Genesis, Fish era Marillion and also Pendragon inspirations in this song (not only here, to be honest), but also its strong emotional content.

This band debuted in 2000 and also released a Genesis tribute CD.

Not so many neo-prog musicians know how to move the listener and how to avoid useless technicalities and a cold display of spacey atmospheres. Chaneton fill their songs with something I'd like to call the human touch and they succeed in communicating inner feelings and warm sensations. Of course, Alex Chaneton's guitar solos are their best feature, but the rest of the band isn't a mere filler: they all play well and earnestly. That will be more than enough for me.

Al otro lado (Asfalto, 1978)

A classic, enthralling keyboard driven prog track by one of the most important and prolific Spanish bands ever. "Al otro lado" ("To The Other Side", in English) is a '70s up tempo song, coming from the album bearing the same title. If Jorge Walter García Banegas and his keyboards play the lead role here, all the musicians do their best to create a lively and diversified piece of music. All the long intro is an instrumental track of its own, then a short and melodic sung section comes in, adding an atmospheric moment to the track.

"Al otro lado" was the second studio proof of this seminal band.

The up tempo prog comes back soon after with a jazzier vein and another pulsing sung theme. This is a Yes-oriented passage, with a very good bass guitar, IMHO. The instrumental finale takes the shape of a powerful wall of sound and also includes some excellent elevctric guitar flashes by Julio Castejón. As you may imagine, the final result is a sparkling kaleidoscope of sounds and moods, one of the richest (and proggest) arrangements in the whole Spanish rock scene of the Golden Era.

Möbius Slip (Sound of Contact, 2013)

I must admit I waited longer than originally planned before posting this intro to Sound of Contact's suite taken from their debut album "Dimensionaut". I had two good reasons for that: firstly, the rest of the album was definitely pop oriented, though not bad at all; secondly, Simon Collins (Phil's son) is the leader of this band and I could be suspected of partiality. So I listened to this track many times and I'm now sure it deserves your attention. These boys really found a good balance between old and new prog, enriching the current post-prog vein with sounds pertaining to the history of our favourite genre. "Dimensionaut" is a concept album based on parallel Worlds and dimensional shifts, but I'm not enough good in physics to understand, let alone to explain this.

"Dimensionaut" also features this beautiful art by Taavi Torim.

I better like music and this is great music, IMHO. Not only the melodies are excellents and the arrangements are varied and rather unexpected, but the musicians play their instruments very well. And yes, drumming is particularly good. The suite is divided into four parts and the passages from each of them to the following one are actually among the best features of the song. Other ones are the alternate use of thick and ethereal atmospheres and the acoustic guitars touch here and there. The wall of sound is solid and still crystalline, while some key effects are suspended and highly suggestive. Last but not least, Collins' voice is... Collins' voice.

First Distraction (Kaipa, 2012)

When Kaipa came back with their new "Vittjar" album, I was pleased by their somewhat surprising new songs. They were getting back to folk roots and on to new, harder sounds. This strangely titled song perfectly illustrates both directions. It begins with an acoustic section, featuring Aleena Gibson's beautiful voice, then the electric guitars come in and the rythm rises up for a few moments. A third mid-tempo section features two sung verses divided by a guitar driven instrumental part and ends up with an enthralling violin solo by guest musician Elin Rubinsztein.

"Vittjar" was the 11th studio album by Kaipa

and the sixth one after their reunion in 2002.

The following violin - electric guitar interplay is one of the best moments of the track and the abrupt reprise of the first theme is also excellent and closes such a multi-coloured song. A bit of this and a bit of that, but also a clever pattern, increasing the main theme value and its unpredictable variations. Javisst!