The Flower Kings: Stardust We Are

 

"Stardust We Are" is the third studio album (fourth?) from prog-rock great, The Flower Kings. It is also their first double studio album. There is a lot to digest here, but I think if you sit with an open mind, and really get to know the music, I think you'll find plenty to love here. I know I did.

The album kicks off with "In the Eyes of the World", and this was the very first Flower Kings song I heard in full, actually performed by the band. There is so much to love in this song. The instrumentation, and performance are both intriguing, and incredible. There is some fantastic keyboard work, a blistering guitar solo, and the vocals are, to my ears, top notch. If you don't like this song, I'm not thinking you'll like the rest of the album, as it really does set the mood, and feel of this album. And for the next two discs, each song is a constant reminder of how great this band truly is. 

"A Room With A View" is a fairly pretty, and brief, instrumental, and leads into "Just This Once", a song that kicks off extremely chaotic, and ends up being a really nice tune, with some crazy twists. This leads the listening into "Church of Your Heart", which may be in my top favorite songs of all time. This song is a melodic, progressive rock beauty. Clocking in at just over nine minutes long, this tune is my favorite song on an album full of great songs. The vocals are just beautiful throughout (with some really fantastic vocal harmonies), and the music sets a mood that makes this nine minute song just fly by.

"Poor Mr. Rain's Ordinary Guitar" is another brief instrumental track, with some pretty acoustic guitar played over a pleasant sounding rain storm. Less brief, but still instrumental, "The Man Who Walked With Kings" is another melodic tune, with some really cool ideas, and sections woven throughout. It's a very pretty song, and one that creates a great vibe. 

"Circus Brimstone" is another sort of chaotic tune, with some really cool bass, and guitar work. Once again it's an instrumental (Well, mostly. There's some backwards talking stuff, and a laughing sound that haunts my dreams to this day), and a very good one at that. There are many moods and feels to this one, and it's a lot fun (and an almost sort of King Crimson vibe at about the midway point), before segueing into another brief instrumental, "Crying Clown". At less than a minute, it's just a fun little breather after that last roller coaster. "Compassion" ends the first CD of the album, and it's a very melodic, and moody track, with one hell of a guitar solo. This tune is a great way to set up a sort of breather from the cacophony of the rest of the first part of this album, as you put in the next disc. Just don't change the CD too soon, or you'll miss the weird space battle section. And is it just me, or does it feel a bit... "karn evil"?

Disc two kicks off with the brief "Pipes of Peace", which introduces the melody of the albums epic title-track, on an organ. It's a very peaceful tune. "The End of Innocence" is a mid paced melodic-rocker, with some fantastic guitar work, and Roine's wonderful vocals. "The Merrygoround" picks the pace up quite a bit, and as definitely a nice prog-rocker. Lots of great music, and sounds going on here. It's just a really fun tune. The instrumental section here is a great showcase for all of the instruments, but the drums in particular were pretty great. "Don of the Universe" starts with a short percussive intro, and leads into a fun sort of instrumental with a middle-eastern flair, that also gives a sneak peek of the title-track.

This album sure loves the quick sort of instrumental interludes, and "A Day At the Mall" is another one of them. Not much here. Just a sort of keyboard track, with people talking in the background. One would assume they're at the mall, just before seeing "Different People". This tune is another great, melodic tune. I think it's the vocals that really shine on this track. It's definitely a sing-along. "If28" is another brief instrumental piano interlude, foreshadowing the theme of the title track. "Ghost of the Red Cloud" is a fine, up beat number, with a fantastic bass line, and some really good vocals. 

"Hotel Nirvana" is the final instrumental interlude of the album, a short guitar piece, before the epic title-track that closes out this amazing prog-rock rollercoaster ride. The final 25 minutes of the album are devoted to one of the band's biggest, and most known songs, "Stardust We Are". This track has everything that I love about progressive rock: expansive intstrumental sections that aren't afraid to do a bit of exploring, soaring vocal melodies, and a little bit of everything to showcase the talents of each member of this wonderful band. And while I love the entire suite, it's the third part of this track that really shines. In fact, it's even been re-recorded, and used on the band's compilation album. This really is the best way to end an album. 

"Stardust We Are" has long been one of my favorite albums from The Flower Kings, and I can't see that changing any time soon. Oh sure, there are those that will think the album is too long, or even certain songs are too long, but I'm not one of them. I love every moment of this album, and will have a huge smile on my face every time I play it. This is top notch stuff, and I love it.

Steven Wilson: Hand. Cannot. Erase

Released in 2015, this is the fourth studio outing for Steven Wilson. When this first came out I think I played it endlessly for days. The concept is about a woman who dies, and nobody notices that she's gone. It's actually pretty depressing. Just perfect for a Steven Wilson album. This one is pretty fantastic from start to finish, in my opinion.

The album kicks off with the brief two minute instrumental, before moving into "3 Years Older", and if this tune doesn't draw you in, then you might not be paying attention. There are some fantastic musical moments here, and a killer instrumental section, that makes this tune one of my favorites from the album. The third track, the title track, is quite a beautiful tune. From the music, to the lyrics, I love every aspect of this melodically wonderful tune, but it's the vocal melody that gets me every time.

"Perfect Life" has some female narrative, about the protagonist having a sister briefly, before pushing her deep inside of her mind. Lyrically, there isn't a lot here, but the track is an atmospheric beauty, and one I like quite a bit. "Routine" has this hauntingly beautiful section in it, with mellotron, that I absolutely love. The vibe between the mellotron, and acoustic guitar creates a great tone, for the rest of the band to come in for a very cool instrumental section. This one features also features vocals from Ninet Tayeb, and she sounds fantastic. The song has moments of beauty, total chaos, and is another favorite on the album.

Elsewhere on the album, I really enjoy "Home Invasion", which has some of the heaviest moments on the album, and an excellent vocal performance. This tune segues directly into "Regret #9", which kicks off with some fantastic keyboard work, that calls imagines of Pink Floyd's "Animals" to mind... at least for me. Though there are no vocals here, between the keys, and a killer guitar solo, this song may be a favorite of mine. But then again, I am a sucker for a well written instrumental tune. 

"Ancestral" is another great song, that goes through many different moods, and changes. An epic song that embodies the term "progressive rock". There are some absolutely wonderful instrumental moments (including some very King Crimson-y flute playing), some goose-bump worthy vocals, and overall another amazing track, on an album already full of them. At 13+ minutes, this one is the longest track of the album. This one is prog-metal at its finest.

The last full track on the album, "Happy Returns" is a melodic beauty, and if you know me, you know that this is the kind of track that I live for. With some beautiful acoustic guitar, lovely piano work, and emotionally drenched vocals, this tune is my absolutely favorite song from the album. I love the heavy stuff, but a melodic rocker is always going to be my favorite. I just love this tune. 

This album still stands as my favorite Steven Wilson solo album. I know the word "masterpiece" is thrown around a lot, but to me, this album is a beautiful masterpiece. There are so many facets to this wonderful piece of music, that I hear something more to love each time I put it in. And to be honest, now that it's done playing, I kinda want to play it again. Great stuff, and definitely worth checking out, if you are a fan of fantastically well written progressive rock music.

Eloy: Ocean / Ocean 2: The Answer

 

Tonight I'm playing two of my very favorite Eloy albums.

The first "Ocean" album was what got me into the band. Released in 1977, the album is a concept album based on Plato's "Island of Atlantis". Musically, I think there is a lot of music here that could rival any of the better known prog material of the 70s. In my opinion, there's not one wasted moment during the albums 44 minutes (spread over four tracks).

"Ocean 2: The Answer" is obviously a follow up to the original album. Musically, the band had strayed a lot from the sounds of their 70s output, so obviously the vibe is different here, but I think they did a pretty great job following up the classic first album. Like the previous, the music here definitely deserves more attention than the band ever got.

Honestly, in my opinion, you can't go wrong with any Eloy albums. Though they have gone through many changes, I can't fault any of their albums. That said, these two are my favorite. What are yours?

Helmet: Meantime

 

Here's one I haven't played in a very long time. At least a couple decades. It's crazy how much of it that I still remember. When many bands were jumping on the grunge wagon, I feel like this album did something different, and I don't care for the comparisons to Nirvana. 

Some favorites here are "Unsung" (I mean, of course this one is a favorite, it was many people's intro the band), album opener "In the Meantime", "Ironhead (this gets the nod for that guitar solo alone), and "Turned Out". But honestly, you can't go wrong with any of these tunes. This album is heavy, and a great listen. Hopefully I don't wait another twenty years to give it another listen.

Yes: My Two Favorite Albums

 

Yes have been one of my favorite bands for years. One of the pioneering progressive-rock acts, it's hard to deny their sheer brilliance, and musicianship. For me, I love all of their albums, and every style of music that they dabbled in, but if I'm being honest with myself, these two albums are my favorite. 

"Close To the Edge", and "Relayer" have a lot in common. Stylistically, they have a very similar feel. At least, in my (possibly flawed) opinion. Both albums start with epic tunes, each taking up the entire first side of the album. And they both have two tracks each on the reverse side, both tracks also being pretty epic, in both length, and in composition. 

"Close To the Edge", the title track to the band's fifth album, is just under nineteen minutes long, and is essential prog-rock listening in my opinion. The album goes through many changes, and is broken down into four sections, "Total Mass Retain" being my favorite part of the tune. Side "B" is made up of two classic prog tunes as well. "And You And I", and "Siberian Khatru" are both every bit as good as the first side. It's easy to see why this would be a favorite, not just for me, but for many fans of the band.

"Relayer" kicks off with the nearly twenty-two minute epic, "The Gates of Delirium". This is my second favorite Yes tune of all time (the first being "Mind Drive"). The keyboard player is different than "Close To the Edge", and he brings a little something different to this fantastic track. "Soon", the closing section of "Delrium" was also issued as a single, but to me, it just doesn't do the track justice. This song needs to be heard in full. "Sound Chaser", and "To Be Over", each at over nine minutes long, close out the album in fantastic fashion. 

For a while I tried to pick between the two, in case anybody were crazy enough to ask me what my favorite Yes album was. As I get older, I think I realize that I don't have to pick between the two. And generally when I play one, I play the other. I just have to. They need to be heard together. And after these, maybe I'll play "Drama", which is my third favorite Yes album. Who knows?

10 Years: (How To Live) As Ghosts

 

This is one of those albums that somehow get better with every listen. Everything about this album is just fantastic, but I've always loved Jesse's vocals. "Novacaine" was the lead single, and a killer tune, "Ghosts" is also pretty amazing. "Phantoms", and "Lucky You" are a couple favorites. But honestly, I love the entire album. 

Meat Loaf: Bat(s) Out of Hell

 

If you listen to rock music, there's a very good chance you've heard music from Meat Loaf. And chances are that the song you heard was on either the first "Bat Out of Hell" album, or the second album, "Back Into Hell". Either way, you've heard the genius of Jim Steinman, the man responsible for writing some of the greatest theatrical rock in history. 

The first "Bat Out of Hell" album was released in 1977, and stands as one of the best selling albums of all time. Most of us have heard "Two Out of Three Ain't Bad", and if you have ever been to a karaoke party, you have heard "Paradise By the Dashboard Light". But it's the songs that haven't been played to death that shine most bright for me. The album kicks off with the progressive bombast of "Bat Out of Hell", and introduced the world to the vocals of Meat Loaf in such a grand, and fantastical way. The song is chaotic, and heavy, and one of the greatest rock songs ever written, in my opinion (of course it's "in my opinion", as I am the one writing this). On the opposite side of the album, we close with the absolutely beautiful track, "For Crying Out Loud". With those bookends, it's no wonder that this album is such a huge release.

Fast forward many years (and several albums), and Meat Loaf and Jim Steinman reunited for my favorite of the "Bat Out of Hell" albums. "Bat Out of Hell 2: Back Into Hell" was released in 1993, and fueled by the success of the lead single, "I Would Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That)", the album finally brought Meat Loaf (and Steinman for that matter) back into the public eyes. The album is heavier than the original, and just as diverse. For my money, there is not one note out of place on this perfect album. Sure there are the songs that were big hits for the album, like "Objects In the Rear View Mirror May Appear Closer Than They Are", and "Rock And Roll Dreams Come Through", but it's the tunes that weren't on the radio that I love the most. "Out of the Frying Pan (And Into the Fire)", and "Good Girls Go To Heaven (Bad Girls Go Everywhere") (both released on Steinman solo albums previous to this) are two of my very favorite Meat Loaf songs.

Meat Loaf and Jim Steinman would reunite, and work together on another full album one more time in their lives, but it was not for the "Bat Out of Hell III: The Monster Is Loose" album. Instead, amidst some legal battles, the third disc collected some previously written Steiman songs, and some songs from outside writers, and closed out the "Bat" trilogy. This album takes a lot of unfair crap, as I think it is a phenomenal release. The album kicks off just as the previous two did, with a lot of crunch, and bombast. Written by two current members of Motley Crue (John 5, and Nikki Sixx), and Desmond Child (who hasn't he worked with?!), "The Monster Is Loose" is sure to convert any hater of the album, if they just give it a fair listen. Elsewhere, "Blind As A Bat" is a beautiful tune, and the Steinman tracks "It's All Coming Back To Me Now" (a song previously recorded by Celine Dion... which I LOVE), "If It Ain't Broke, Break It", and, the phenomenal "Bad For Good", "Seize the Night" are all particularly fantastic. In fact, this entire album is amazing. 

If I had to put the three "Bat Out of Hell" albums in order of my favorite to least favorite, I would put "Back Into Hell" (the second one) at the top, "The Monster Is Loose" in the middle (also a fantastic album), and the amazing debut at the bottom (that's not to say I don't love it). Whatever order you prefer these albums, I find it best to play them all back to back, and just enjoy the ride into, and out of hell, with a monster on a motorcycle.

Rest In Peace to both Jim Steinman, and Meat Loaf. You were both huge influences, and positive role models in my life Wherever you are, I hope you're putting on one hell of show.

Rush: Test For Echo

Released in 1996, "Test For Echo" is the 16th studio album from Rush, and one of those that seemed to be overlooked the most. Maybe it's just me, but I don't see this one get name checked nearly enough. To be honest, I don't understand why, as I find this to be a solid album from start to finish. 

This time around, it really seemed like the band decided to stick to a more melodically driven sound, and I think it really shows in songs like "Half the World", "The Color of Right", "Totem", "Dog Years", and "Resist". Even the songs with a little more punch, like "Driven", and "Time And Motion", are still very melodic in nature. 

The band's playing here is nothing short of phenomenal. Geddy plays some of the best bass moments of their career, especially in the song "Driven". Alex is trying some new things that I just love (check out the instrumental track, "Limbo"!). And Neil had finally sat down and took some drum lessons before recording the album, and it really shows. Okay, Neil has always been the world's best drummer, but you can definitely tell there are some changes to the way he plays here.

Overall, while this may not be my favorite Rush album, it's one that I come back to fairly often, as I love each and every track here. It was a time in my life, it was a place in my life, it was certainly a test for echo. 

Rush: The First Four Albums

 

Rush has been my favorite band for as long as I've been alive. My mom was dragged to a stop on the "Hemispheres" tour while she was pregnant with me, and I was told that I was kicking all night long. As a result of that show (somewhere in Nebraska), the band gained another life-long fan. To me there are no bad Rush albums, or songs for that matter. As a result, there is a wealth of material for me to listen to, and I listen to Rush a lot. So to start this work week, I decided that rather than picking one album, I would just play the first four studio albums.

The debut, simply titled "Rush", is the only album in the band's catalog (unless you count the 1973 single) to feature a drummer other than powerhouse Neil Peart. On the first album, and from the birth of the band, John Rutsey filled out the drum throne, and he did a fantastic job of it. His work on this album is a perfect fit for these songs. The music is very Led Zeppelin Jr., and the entire band play songs that range from very bluesy, to outright metal. The music is raw, and expertly written, and performed. "Here Again" is my favorite tune on this album, and features one of my all time favorite Lifeson guitar solos. This album closes with perhaps one of Rush's most well known songs, and the tune that got the ball rolling for the band, the epic metal song, "Working Man". Without that tune, maybe Rush wouldn't have got very far over the US/Canadian border. Who knows? For me, there's not a bad note on the disc. And to think that it only got better from here!

On Geddy's 21st birthday, the "new guy" joined the band. Neil Peart become the final piece of the puzzle for this legendary band. And while the band had a tour of the US to perform, they also needed to follow up their first album. Much of the writing for "Fly By Night" was done in a car, as they drove all around the United States. The sophomore album was a fantastic step in the right direction for the band. The songs were a little more epic, a little more melodic, and though the writing was a lot faster, the songs are all better (with an exception or two) than the debut. This is the album that held Rush's first multiple sectioned song, as "By-Tor & the Snow Dog" had four sections to it (and one of those sections, "Of the Battle", was broken in to several parts itself!). The album closes with "In the End", which is both melodically beautiful, and a scorching rocker. 

Fueled by the moderate success they were gaining from their first album with Neil, Rush did something a bit daring, and recorded what I might consider one of the very first prog-metal albums of all time (though the previous record definitely dabbled in the prog). "Caress of Steel" is an album of only five songs, the fifth taking up the entire side B. And for some reason, which still completely confuses me, the album was not well received at the time. The style is very much heavy like "Fly By Night", but two of the songs were epic masterpieces, that I guess the typical buying public just couldn't fathom sitting through at the time. The disc starts of with the absolutely blistering track, "Bastille Day", which would remain in the bands setlist for a few years beyond the other tracks from the album. "The Necromancer", at a short twelve and a half minutes, and "The Fountain of Lamneth", clocking in at just under twenty minutes, are both favorites of mine. Sadly, the album did not do well, and it left the band questioning their future. This album still remains one of my very favorite Rush releases. 

The final studio album in the first chapter of Rush is the album that, while it didn't get the band mainstream success, it gained them enough of a following, that the label finally backed off, and let the band do their own thing. Though the label had insisted that the follow up to "Caress of Steel" be a more commercial sounding album, and no more of that side-long epic business, Rush decided to ignore their demands and turn in another side-long epic, and this time it would be on side A. The title track, "2112", is a seven part epic about a dystopian future where music has been eradicated by the so-called "Priests". The story is a fascinating one, and the music is as heavy as anything anyone was doing at the time. Though the band were worried how well the album would go over, as it turns out, there was no need to worry. The fans loved it then, and they still love it now. I've got into an argument or two over whether or not "2112" is a concept album. Let me say that it is not. While the entire side A is just one song, side B has five tracks that are not connected to each other, or the opposite side of the album. All six songs on the album are amazing, but this  is not a concept album. Phew. Glad I cleared that up.

After a live album ("All the World's A Stage"), Rush would change direction into something slightly less metal, and much more prog. This next chapter in the band's catalog would go down as their most popular, but this first chapter needed created first. and for my money, I love every moment of it.

Black Sabbath: Anno Domini (1989-1995)

 

I am not the world's biggest Black Sabbath fan. In fact, it may shock many to know that Ozzy was not my favorite singer to front the band. The Ronnie James Dio years are my favorite. To me, those three albums (four if you count "The Devil You Know") are perfect from start to finish. And still, there are entire albums that I have only heard maybe once. The Tony Martin era albums are all albums that I just do not know. So when this box set was announced, it immediately piqued my interest. I could finally hear these albums in a listenable way (I had them previously, but in a box set that I'm not sure is legit at all, and there were some annoying issues with the Tony Martin CDs). 

First of all, if I have one gripe about this set, it's the title. First of all, you know that this is the Tony Martin era collection. And yet, "The Eternal Idol" isn't here. It's a record company thing. So I guess it's good that they didn't title it "The Tony Martin Years", or something similar. What they did do though, is give you the years "1989-1995", however they Dio fronted "Dehumanizer" was released in 1992. And even if I knew what I was getting here, there may be folks that don't do their homework, and they may be surprised to find the album not included. Again, a small gripe, and one I find to be just odd.

Musically, I really enjoyed "Headless Cross". There were some great tunes there. I found myself enjoying it far more than any of the Ozzy albums. The music was heavy, and melodic. And vocally, I really found myself enjoying Martin's voice. He sounds phenomenal to my quickly aging ears. By the end of the album, I found myself excited to put in the next one. Some stand-out tracks include the epic "When Death Calls", "Nightwing", and album closer "Cloak And Dagger". That said, I didn't hear a bad track on the disc. Amazingly solid album.

"Tyr" starts off with a song called "Anno Mundi", and I swore I was listening to "Children of the Sea" at first. Luckily it quickly switches gears, and becomes its own fantastic, melodic song. This tune is a great way to start the album. As the album played on, I found myself loving every song. This was such a talented, and fantastic line-up. I wouldn't rank this album above any of the three Dio albums, but I definitely found myself enjoying it more than the Ozzy stuff. "Feels Good To Me", "Jerusalem", and "Odin's Court / Valhalla" (those vocal melodies just give me goosebumps!), however, I might put up against many of the Dio songs. These tunes were just fantastic!

"Cross Purposes" starts off with the title track, and I swear this album never lets up. After listening to "Tyr", I was looking forward to this one. I remember really enjoying it the other time I heard it, even if the disc I had was extremely flawed. This remaster sounds just perfect. "Cross of Thorns" is a heavy, melodic rocker, that immediately hit me as a favorite, and another that could rival some of the Dio years material. How did this line-up not get a hell of a lot more attention? It's just so damned good! "Virtual Death" has such a great Alice In Chains vibe, one has to wonder how the song wasn't a huge hit. "Cardinal Sins" is such an epic tune, and it calls visions of Black Sabbath meet Led Zeppelin. So damn good! In fact, there wasn't a single track that I didn't love here, even if "Dying For Love" was a completely different vibe, I still really enjoyed it (it's a beautiful track). This album is a 10/10.

With "Forbidden", I have gotten a lot of mixed reports on the quality of the album. A lot of people say that this version sounds much better than the original, but I don't know the original. That said, I decided to play this one twice in a row to really soak it in. Sometimes a hated album is just a bit misunderstood. The first play through, I was picking out plenty to love, but I wanted to be sure, so a second play was necessary. Upon second listen, I still think the album isn't quite as good as the previous three in this set, but I still found a lot that I liked. To be honest, there weren't any songs I didn't like. The album is edgier, and the vocals are different than the other Tony Martin albums (at least in some places), but overall I enjoyed "Forbidden". There were even some songs I loved ("I Won't Cry For You", "Can't Get Close Enough", "Guilty As Hell", "Shaking Off the Chains", "Rusty Angels", and the title-track).

Overall, I would say that this box set has definitely made a believer out of me. I liked these albums more than I liked most of the Ozzy fronted albums. This stuff was melodic, heavy, and just a fantastic listen, from front to back. Annoying title aside, this set was definitely a good value for the money. From the four albums, to the poster, "Headless Cross" tour book replica, and the beautiful done book included, this set gets two ginger-thumbs up from me!