Us And Them (Pink Floyd, 1973)

One of the most popular songs by Pink Floyd, "Us And Them" is also one of the most atmospheric ones. Taken from the sorldwide sensation album "Dark Side of The Moon", like the rest of the LP this track is graced by the neat, ful bodied sound provided by Alan Parsons' engineering. Dick Parry's sax adds a warm, deeply human touch to this song, that also displays a well found melody. Furthermore, a spacey arrangement emphasizes the relaxing mood of the track, carrying the listener in a suspended and loose dimension.

An edited version of this song features as B-side of "Time" single.

David Gilmour's guitar gives of course the final touch to such a picture, practically a legend by now. Just the time to mention Rick Wright's background keyboards, never too intrusive and always essential to the band's sound and here you are a five star and eight minutes addition to your proggy playlist. Enjoy it once again.

Go on My Way (Social Tension, 1989)

If you like keyboard-oriented prog and powerful trios, this track is for you. It comes from the album "Macbethia", by Social Tension, a Japanese band active between late '80s and early '90s, strongly influenced by ELP, but also liking up to date electronic devices. Mainly instrumental (but including some good sung melodies), this song isn't boring or monotone at all: many tempo changes and some original sounds catch the listener's attention.

This band released two studio albums.

As you can imagine, along with the modern samplings you'll find here some Hammond progressions by Nobuo Endoh and an excellent old style rythm section, provided by Suguru Iwasaki (drums) and Masahiko Õta (bass guitar). The classical influence is obvious, but the Japanese lyrics and the wall of sound climax give a rock opera taste to the song, something I usually don't like so much, but I actually appreciate here.

Lover's End Pt. III: Skellefteå Serenade (Moon Safari, 2012)

Here you are a very well set up suite by Moon Safari, released as a stand alone EP in 2012. Even if there are no credited parts, this is definitely a suite with recognizable sections, recurring themes, vintage instrumental passages and interesting vocal harmonies. Firstly, this third installment of "Lover's End" is by far the longest and more complex one, the longest epic by the band, actually. Secondly, it's an excellent one, if you ask me, mostly down tempo, but with many accelerations and some heavier (well, kind of...) moments.

 

A view over Skellefteå, I presume.

As usual with them, Moon Safari mix acoustic and electric instruments with the best taste you can imagine, and get a well balanced, round, pleasant blend, the sort of music you could pick out as a Serenade... a long, tricky, intriguing one, to say it all. As the cover art suggests, this is also perfect for a relaxing tea time. By the way, Skellefteå is Moon Safari's own town, in the North of Sweden.

Nürnberg (Hoelderlin, 1975)

Here you are a short, melodic, beautiful song with the right amount of German twist. This is "Nürnberg" by Hoelderlin, the shorter track from their 1975 self-titled album. If their first album, released three years before, was mainly a folk one, this time Hoelderlin surely set up a prog-folk work, with plenty of epics, original ideas, and instruments. "Nürnberg" is kind of a gentle interlude between two epic tracks, but I adore the way the band writed and played it.

This album includes five songs. All are excellent, IMHO.

This acoustic ballad is simply perfect, a nocturnal song full of poetry that never indulges in useless preciosity: just the sweetness you need, nothing more, nothing less. Such a balance is reinforced by the English lyrics about a short-lived love affair, so bare and essential. Enjoy.

Keep The Yellow Intact (Uphill Work, 2008)

Such a beutiful and unusual prog track, this "Keep The Yellow Intact" is. It comes from the album "Conterclockwise", the debut CD by Moscow based band Uphill Work, one of the most original Russian proggers I came across in recent years. The biting, ironic singing, the vaudeville rythm, the excellent piano bridges and the catchy melody are but a few of the strong point of this song. I also recommend the clever succession of sung and instrumental parts and the rather limited duration time, something useful if you want to amaze your listener.

An original cover art for an original band, I'd say.

And actually this song amazes me with his out of time mood, somewhere between a Victorian freak show and an industrial pop piece. Of course, this band also offer more traditional prog songs in their albums - always with an original twist, I must say - but I think this one is perfect to arouse my prog friends curiosity...

Obsolescence (Abel Ganz, 2014)

This is one of my favourite suites released during the '10s and surely is a most interesting piece of music. Divided into five different but perfectly matching parts, "Obsolescence" represents the Scottish band's new deal at its best. The folk and acoustic elements come with a modern and brilliant prog sound and the final result is worth the greatest attention. Not only there are excellent melodies and beautiful vocal harmonies, but the listener is overwhelmed by the flushing instrumental parts, bright and delicate, that's true, but also dense and colourful.

This self-titled album was the band's sixth studio work.

The different moods and the diversified rythmic solutions add a special value to the song, also enriched by graceful lyrics depicting the inner echoes suggested by the most intimate moments of a day, from dawn to dawn,. Close Your Eyes is the title of one of these song sections and I actually think one should close the eyes and follow the pure streaming of such a charming suite. The album including this pearl was released thanks to an Internet fundraising campaign... a very good reason to be grateful to the net, I daresay.

Ancient Afternoon of An Unknown Town (Ezra Winston, 1990)

Taken from the album "Ancient Afternoons", this 26 minutes suite is divided into nine parts bearing as suggestive titles as Magician's Words or The Dragon And The Ruby of Kos. I won't try to sum up the tricky narrative behind this assortment of wizards, dragons and battles, as I'm sure the music will be an enough good reason to listen to this track. The sung sections are just good, but the highlights here are the ever changing, magic, unearthly moods the band provide in the instrumental parts.

"Ancient Afternoons" was the second Ezra Winston's studio work.

There are some of the most praised Italian prog features, like the acoustic instruments (flute and guitar, plus a rich set of winds), the classical influence or the relaxed themes, but you'll also find some jazzy passages, a few medieval devilish dances, a recognizable folk reference, reminding me of the early Ant Phillips' songs and a symphonic setting not far from The Enid's example. Sure, this is not for heavy prog fans, but the rest of you should try this magical journey.