Ark - The Dreams Of Mr Jones (1988)

Working, as I once did in a previous incarnation, at one of the UK’s top rock venues back in the 80s with live bands on 3 – 4 nights a week occasionally a band really made you stand up and take notice . . . and I mean occasionally . . . and there are also bands for whom the term ‘underrated’ doesn’t even come close: Ark more than ably satisfied the criteria for both categories. Hailing from the West Midlands, Ark walked the dangerous line between prog-rock and commercial rock with ease, producing a succession of musically adroit and lyrically meaningful tracks at a time when the music world was by and large turning ‘cock rock’.

In 1987 the band entered the Edward’s Rock Complex Battle of the Bands competition – on which i was a judge on some of the rounds – and won, securing time at Birmingham’s Rich Bitch recording studios for the following year which was utilised to record their debut album The Dreams of Mr Jones.

The album opens with Gaia, a powerful up-tempo track that personified Ark’s sound with twin guitars played with a twist. On the one hand was Pete Wheatley’s distorted rock guitar and on the other Steve Harris’ guitar synth playing which added power to some of the tracks with a traditional guitar sound and more than ably filled-in for keyboard melodies and solos as required. The mid-section of Gaia is particularly interesting as it features vocalist Anthony Short on flute for a half-time instrumental break.

Next-up is the slow ballad Through The Night which is tender without being cheesy and features Steve Harris playing ‘piano’ throughout on the synth guitar. The track speeds-up for the latter quarter featuring a solo from Pete Wheatley and whilst one of Ark’s longer tracks on the album at just over five and half minutes, holds the interest throughout with strong vocals and melody coupled with the instrumentation.

Kaleidoscope follows which is again a very strong composition and it’s about here you begin to realise that there is something of a revelation about The Dreams of Mr Jones in that there’s no filler at all, each track is equally as strong as the others and follow a principle I always admire in that they contain several distinct segments that hold the interest and demonstrate the band’s compositional abilities to good effect.

Echoing the band’s concerns about terrorism, and the IRA at that time, Powder for the Gun is a powerful piece of prose set to a mid-tempo, bass-driven track:

“Like the glint of a weapon with no hint of surprise
He’s naked in the bright interrogator’s light, there’s no disguise
With a foot in the graveyard and a hand on his heart
An actor for the cause in romantic civil wars, he plays the part ”

With lyrics such as this, Powder for the Gun is a bold statement and conveys its message with skill and prowess!

Mabeline – no not a Chuck Berry cover – tells the tale of a lady of, shall we say, low moral fibre, and provides a lighter respite between the power of Powder from the Gun before Nowhere’s Ark kicks-in.

Nowhere’s Ark closes the album and is a belter of a track with an up-tempo triplet feel throughout and a strong instrumental mid-section with a semi-mediaeval feel too it – particularly in the vocal harmonies and flute section over the pounding tom toms. However, don’t think this is done in a pretentious manner as it still sounds very contemporary in its approach and lyrically explores the emotions as a nuclear holocaust beckons which, as with many of the lyrics, shows a distinct maturity and distance between Ark and a fair proportion of prog bands. Musically the track builds into a powerful set of guitar solos thus maintaining a powerful rock feel to the track overall and the syncopations at the end of the track are again of an English folk flavour but really end the album on a high note.

My only criticism of this album which is now nigh-on impossible to purchase on CD, is that at 6 tracks and lasting only 29 minutes it’s way too short. Ark certainly had plenty of strong material at that time so I can only assume that constraints on studio time dictated the album’s length which, if correct, is a great pity. With the Gabriel-esque vocal styling of frontman Anthony Short and a musical style mixing the likes of Marillion with a touch of folk and hearty dose of powerful rock – along with a great live presence – I always thought they’d found a winning formula but alas I was wrong and Ark never really hit anywhere near the heights their talents deserved but if you can get hold of a copy of The Dreams of Mr Jones I’m fairly confident you’ll come to the same conclusion.

• Anthony Short – Vocals/Flute
• John Jowitt – Bass
• Dave Robbins – Drums
• Pete Wheatley – Guitar
• Steve Harris – Guitar Synthesizer

Magnum - Kingdom Of Madness (1978)

Hailing from my hometown of Birmingham, prog-AOR rockers Magnum have had a long and somewhat chequered history which is beyond the scope of this review of their debut album Kingdom of Madness other than to say they started out, as here, as a 70s semi-prog rock band (a tick) and then got caught up in the 80s commercial rock boom (a big red cross) and unfortunately their popularity favoured the latter approach! But back to the album in hand, their 1978 release features a set of strong tracks, many of which had been developed on the live circuit for a number of years prior to securing a record deal, and trod a delicate path – immediately post-punk – between prog rock and blues rock with a hint of commerciality akin to the more Uriah Heep end of the rock spectrum at that time.

In the Beginning, aptly enough, is the opening track on the album and opens with quite a dramatic chord sequence which then dissipates into a strummed acoustic guitar overliad with a synth and a stabbing bass and drum pattern. Then we’re off with an upbeat triplet beat and some seriously 70’s synth work leading into the verse – interspersed with more synth! Not that there’s a chorus as such but the mid-section between verses is of a heavier style with a really strong vocal melody from Bob Catley – always a strong point for Magnum – and the track really rocks along nicely and features a double-tracked harmony guitar break from Tony Clarkin. Mid-way through the seven and a half minute opus the theme changes and tempo drops – with more synth – to a more acoustic ballad feel then, all of a sudden, a return to the opening phrases with some vigour reappears over which Clarkin solos. As a track this has it all – strong vocals, several interesting segments, strong musicianship and works extremely well.

Next-up is Baby Rock Me (not the most inspiring of titles) and is verging on the Kiss side of run of the mill rock fair – although Richard Bailey does his best to interject a bit of prog-style synth work into what would otherwise be a filler rock track. Once again, however, mid-way through the track provides an interesting instrumental segment with some good interplay between Clarkin and Bailey before returning to the chorus until close.

Universe fades in as Baby Rock Me fades out and opens with a phased keyboard and piano to a very mellow, slow-paced track that – a few years before – I get the distinct impression a Mellotron would have been utilised as opposed to the synth that heavily dominates the backing track and would have given a more interesting feel to the number which flirts with Moody Blues musical territory.

The title track is up next and is a classic piece of prog/hard rock – very much a product of its time but it still stands-up very well. Opening with Clarkin on acoustic and some flute a la Jethro Tull before Clarkin cranks up the guitar for a dampened, strummed riff with the band providing stabs over which Catley sings the opening verse . . . there’s even Hammond organ here for added power! The chorus, however, drops to quite a mellow segment before the track really fires-up for the next verse – interestingly, if you ever hear the live version of this track the chorus is played more in-keeping with the verses and is overall a much heavier proposition. There are, once more, multiple segments to Kingdom of Madness which all fit perfectly and keep it interesting throughout . . . there’s even a Queen-style high harmony on the later chorus for good measure!

All That Is Real is mellow piece around a simple keyboard melody with some cleverly worked multi-tracking of the vocals for the verses and an AOR-leaning chorus before leading-off into an instrumental passage with the overall feel being one of Yes combined with ELO: an interesting proposition.

The Bringer again follows a more AOR vain and is more than a match for Styx and the other largely US-based AOR bands of the era whose success vastly outstripped that enjoyed by Magnum.

Invasion, which was a single from the album, opens with a brief return to the Kingdom of Madness chorus before thundering away with an up-tempo shuffle overlaid by a Clarkin guitar melody. This is one of the heavier tracks on the album with a relenting pace but again Bob Catley preserving the melodic dominance with the vocal line and Clarkin’s extremely melodic guitar work . . . not a shred in sight (or sound for that matter).

Lords of Chaos opens with a very doom-laden keyboard intro with Kex Gorin playing around the kit before settling into a rather funky mid-tempo track with Clarkin skanking away on a clean guitar and is one of the few largely one-dimensional tracks on the album, albeit a pleasant one.

The album close with the tender piano and vocal intro to All Come Together which gradually builds with the rest of the band coming-in to take the track up-tempo and featuring a strong riff between guitar and piano in sections and some good flourishes from Clarkin and Richard Bailey along with some strong vocal harmonies to add drama.

Kingdom of Madness is a great debut from Magnum but . . . yes, there usually is a ‘but’ . . . much to the detriment of the band achieving the recognition they undoubtedly deserved, everything felt a little directionless. Unfortunately for the band, much of the work was done for the album in 1976 when prog was king but by the time it was finished punk had been (and largely gone) and prog was no more and thus the prog leanings of a number of the tracks was somewhat of a hindrance to mass appeal so you can’t help feeling the band had had the rug pulled from under their feet somewhat. Secondly, the album is a conjoining of the aforementioned prog with a US-influence of Kansas, Styx, Boston etc – a conjoining that leads to the album being neither one style nor the other which again I feel hindered Magnum in finding their audience with the album which is a pity. I really like Kingdom of Madness and think Magnum were a heavily underrated band of strong songwriters and performers but they never quite found their niche until a brief flirtation with success with a concentration on the AOR/commercial rock side later in their career. However, if you’re a fan of mid-70s rock – with the odd prog flourishes and Korg/Moog twiddles here and there – along with very strong vocals and melody, Kingdom of Madness is definitely worth checking out.

• Bob Catley – Vocals
• Tony Clarkin – Guitar
• Wally Lowe – Bass
• Richard Bailey — Keyboards
• Kex Gorin – Drums

Yes - Fragile (1971)

It’s difficult to know where to start with Yes’s 1971 Fragile. Not only is it their ‘classic’ album, the band (and album) are something of a Marmite entity: the mention of them either sends people running to the hills or people are really fanatical about it! Yes were, of course, one of the behemoth’s of the prog rock genre and oft-cited as a major driving force behind the emergence of punk in an attempt to recapture music for the ‘ordinary person’ from a semi-classical, middle class musical style. However, if we set that stigma aside, Fragile is what it is: a defining album (love it or loathe it) containing 10 tracks that pioneered and shaped the prog rock era and has influenced many bands at the time and since.

Fragile is the first Yes album to feature what is widely regarded as their strongest, most creative lineup with ex-Strawbs keyboardist Rick Wakeman (yes, him from Countdown and Grumpy Old Men) being drafted-in in place of Tony Kaye who appeared on the band’s three previous studio offerings (and was to return again later in their career). Wakeman’s conservatoire musical education brought a classical influence to the band’s already progressive and exploratory leanings and thus completing the elements that created the archetype ‘Yes sound’ during the early 1970s.

The album itself largely takes the form of a selection of group numbers interspersed with solo pieces showcasing the various abilities of each member of the band and kicks-off with, at that time, the band’s biggest ‘hit’ Roundabout, which reached the top 20 in the US and received significant airplay throughout the UK thus raising the band’s profile. Roundabout is about as close to a ‘commercial’ track as you will find on the album and features a powerful solo from Wakeman.

Next-up is possibly the weakest – both in terms of production and interest – track on the album, Wakeman’s solo Cans and Brahms, an interpretation of Brahms’ 4th Symphony in E Minor. We Have Heaven follows which is largely a Jon Anderson mantra repeated ad ininitum and as with Cans And Brahms, is heavily self-indulgent and is probably one best left for the Yes purists.

Fortunately, things really start to pickup from here on in with South Side Of The Sky opening with a ’stumbling’ intro from Bruford leading to a strong Howe/Wakeman/Squire melody and some nice runs from Howe. As with many a Yes, and indeed prog, number, there are various sections to this track including a piano piece by Wakeman that cleverly segways back into the main theme.

Another solo track follows with Bill Bruford’s Five Per Cent For Nothing, a 30-second track based around a syncopated offbeat pattern featuring Wakmen, Howe and Squire. As a drummer I quite like the piece and spent many a happy hour working out and practicing the pattern in my youth – although I doubt the track has much appeal beyond musicians.

Another classic is up next with Long Distance Runaround – opening with an upbeat melody from Howe, with which the band all join after the opening bars leading to the main melody with Anderson sounding unusually gravel-voiced (well, for him at any rate) and this is certainly one of the more accessible numbers for non-Yes aficionados. However, things taper-off a bit towards the end with a repetitious loop which leads into Chris Squire’s harmonic-driven The Fish: not one of the more outstanding numbers, merely comprising of a repetitive riff with some solo noodling overlaid until fade when there are some vocals added.

Mood For A Day is up next and is Steve Howe’s solo piece which combines Spanish and classical guitar styles very delicately. At 3 minutes there are enough segments to the piece to hold a listeners interest and I would argue it is by far the highlight of the ’solo’ pieces on the album.

At just over 11 minutes, Heart Of The Sunrise could have gone horribly wrong if it had been allowed to drift into an Anderson mantra affair. However, the track is a really aggressive (well, for Yes) Howe riff-driven piece with fine accompaniment from the rest of the band – Bruford in particular turns in a strong performance here. The track was even used as a recurring theme throughout a Christina Ricci film, Buffalo 66 in 1998!

Once the opening, frantic pace has built to a crescendo the whole track drops in intensity to a new Steve Hackett-style guitar melody accompanied by Anderson which appears to be descending into a somewhat mellow affair – but then there are repeated syncopated flourishes now and again to keep the listener on their toes before eventually sliding back into the opening riff. Of course, never wanting to be upstaged by instrumentation, Anderson concludes the piece with a repetitious mantra until fade.

All-in-all this is a strong album that really showcases the abilities of the musicians involved and whilst I’m never overly-enthusiastic about Jon Anderson – firstly as I prefer prog rock to be instrumental and secondly, as Anderson’s stated approach of treating the vocals as an instrument and creating ’soundscapes’ and thus, any lyrics that enabled an appropriate ’soundscape’ to be created were utilised, nonsensical or otherwise – he turns in one of his best performances on this album with Fragile marking a real highpoint in the early Yes career and one which I would recommend everyone listens to so at least they can decide if they like it or not and not just dismiss Yes out of hand.

• Jon Anderson: Vocals
• Bill Bruford: Drums
• Steve Howe: Guitar
• Chris Squire: Bass
• Rick Wakeman: Keyboards

ELP - Emerson Lake & Powell (1986)

When I originally heard that ELP were to reform but with Cozy Powell on drums my heart sank – I was a big ELP fan and especially a fan of Carl Palmer’s flamboyant and technically astounding drumming on their early albums. Unfortunately Palmer was busy with Asia and so Emerson and Lake had had to seek out another drummer for the new album but I couldn’t quite understand why they settled on Cozy Powell – admittedly he’d done some reasonably nice stuff on the early Jeff Beck albums but the vast majority of his output was at best sadly lacking in finesse and technical merit and if, rumours of the band seeking a drummer with a ‘P’ for a surname had any foundation, I was hoping for Ian Paice!

Looking back, what I hadn’t taken into account was that ELP had changed – the complex time signatures and frantic instrumentalisation had gone and, furthermore, that Carl Palmer had really lost his way . . . in a BIG way . . . and no longer played in the style of his earlier ELP days. To his credit, Cozy Powell actually turns-in a good performance on this album throughout (and his interpretations of early ELP pieces are also worthy of note for those who’ve heard the Sprocket Sessions rehearsal tapes) and certainly stronger than Palmer’s when he returned to ELP subsequently – but I digress!

The album opens with the the unremarkable The Score, Learning To Fly and Miracle which, as was to be increasingly the case with ELP, are largely Greg Lake tracks backed by E and P without much scope for the old-style improvisations that abounded in their early releases.

Track 4, Touch And Go, is a real diamond in the rough however, and whilst of a relatively ‘radio-friendly’ style – featured a powerful riff from Emerson with Powell’s pounding drums really adding to it’s impact (the track was also a single from the album).

The album then drifts back into Lake-led mediocrity with Love Blind. Fortunately, Emerson provides a jazz-piano based number next in Step Aside which swings nicely and has the odd glimpse of the musical ability of Emerson – along with a very subtle performance from Powell. However, just as you think things are looking-up, the blandness returns with avengence on Lake’s Lay Down your Guns which wouldn’t be out of place on a Barry Manilow album!

Finally, a return to their early inspiration is rediscovered with an interpretation of Holst’s Mars The Bringer Of War which is mediocre but, by when you’ve endured the album thus far, is quite a standout moment! And then, at last, some cacophonous chord bashing from Emerson with attacking drums and uptempo instrumentalisation for The Loco – Motion . . . great! But alas, it suddenly turns into the Gerry Goffin and Carole King-penned Locomotion played on the cheesiest keyboard sound ever and is absolutely catastrophically bad . . . really, really bad!

It is with some relief that Vacant Possession arrives to close the album – an average AOR affair from Lake – but after The Loco – Motion, it is relatively enjoyable. In fact I think if I’d penned a song to follow The Loco – Motion it wouldn’t have seemed half bad by comparison . . . although Vacant Possession does have an awfully out of place keyboard solo in it.

I have to confess that listening to this album again some 20 years after I last heard it has really brought back the horror of just how bad it was/is: in actual fact, such is it’s awfulness (just a percentage point above ELP’s Love Beach album) that the only real positive was Cozy Powell which, when considering my opening comments, is something of a revelation – I feel quite sorry for him having to provide backing to such tripe. Consider buying it just so you can have the pleasure of throwing it away!

• Keith Emerson – Keyboards
• Greg Lake – Bass/Vocals
• Cozy Powell – Drums

Focus - Moving Waves (1972)

Whilst I can appreciate that the prospect of listening to a yodelling Dutch prog rock group may not be particularly appealing, you’d be missing a trick if you were to dismiss Focus based purely on amusing snippets of Moving Waves’ opening track, Hocus Pocus, as a novelty act. Moving Waves, the band’s second studio album, achieved great success on its release on both sides of the Atlantic and a listen to the entire album with an open mind will reveal why.

Opening track Hocus Pocus is possibly the most famous piece from Focus (albeit most probably the majority of people would recognise Sylvia and House of the King, amongst others) and sets off at a frantic pace with very the underrated Jan Akkerman driving the central riff hard. The bone of contention with Hocus Pocus will always be the yodelling interludes from keyboardist Thijs van Leer (although the accordion in the last break is equally ‘odd’) which always raise an eyebrow when heard for the first time. However, if you see any footage of the band playing Hocus Pocus, there’s usually a wry smile on their faces and they too see it as a ‘bit of fun’ but don’t let that distract from the high calibre of instrumentation that carries the track.

Le Clochard follows which is a mellow classical piece featuring some nice acoustic work from Akkerman which leads into the flute-driven Janis and then into Moving Waves which begins with an unaccompanied piano section and some subtle orchestration from the rest of the band. Whilst classically-inspired pieces are now something of a cliche, put yourself back in the early 1970s and this was breaking new ground!

Next we move into Focus II which showcases Akkerman well and moves the sound of the band to a more almost lounge-jazz style and takes the listener through several changes of tempo.

What was side 2 of the vinyl release features Eruption – a 16 movement piece based on the opera Euridice and is a real prog classic featuring all the essential elements: classically inspired – check, drum solo – check, mellotron – check, lashings of guitar soloing – check, frequent tempo changes – check, Hammond/guitar runs – check. Akkerman even sneaks in a brief reprise of the Hocus Pocus riff for good measure!

Joking apart, this is a really strong album and it is unfortunate that a bit of yodelling has stigmatised what were an undoubtedly talented group of musicians – I can never understand why Akkerman in particular never got the credit he deserved – and would suggest that anyone interested in the development of rock adds this album to their collection and I’m sure if you do, you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

• Thijs van Leer – Keyboards/Vocals
• Jan Akkerman – Guitar
• Cyril Havermans – Bass
• Pierre van der Linden – Drums

Rush - Moving Pictures (1981)

Over their 30+ year career Canada’s Rush have always kept their fans on their toes by shifting their musical style every few albums whilst consistently delivering the highest standards of musicianship and writing ability. For their 8th studio album, Moving Pictures, Rush had continued their move from the hard/prog-rock stylings of their early albums to produce a real tour de force marking a halfway point between their guitar-oriented previous material and their synth-oriented material that would increasingly begin to dominate for many years in their following albums.

Certified quadruple platinum in both the US and their native Canada, and attaining the number 1 slot in Canada and number 3 in the US and UK, Moving Pictures was also to be their most successful album and upon listening to the 7 tracks presented it is not hard to hear why. The album manages to combine heavy guitar and synth orchestration with impeccable drumming, intelligent lyrics, melody and technical instrumentation all in one which is no mean feat!

The album opens with Tom Sawyer, soon to become an essential staple of Rush’s live set, followed-up by Red Barchetta, an outstanding track featuring great light and shade and use of tempo and intensity twists. Track three brings the instrumental YYZ – based upon the pulse of the Morse code signal for Toronto airport – played as a 5/4 percussion motif by Peart around which the track is woven. The track also features some impossibly tight breaks from Geddy Lee and Neil Peart (and live led into Peart’s drum solo).

The following tracks, Limelight and Camera Eye, give the listener a chance to pause for breath as, whilst still of a very high calibre musically, are more straightforward rock numbers with the former being a single release from the album. However, part-way through the 10 minute Camera Eye the band take off once more with a complex movement of instrumental pieces before returning to the opening theme.

Just as you feel the album is moving into a more mainstream approach, the eerie intro to Witch Hunt begins leading to a grinding riff from Lifeson and then eases into Vital Signs, a Geddy Lee-driven straightforward, well at least when compared with some of the other tracks, rock number.

If you’ve never heard Rush, I’d recommend Moving Pictures as a starting point as it contains all the elements that make them a phenomenally talented band in equal measure and whilst Geddy Lee’s vocals may be an acquired taste, here he plays it straight and avoids some of the high-pitched warbling that marred some of their earlier work (although I think he’s great). Andy finally, if you’re a drummer, you could do no better than listen to Peart here to see what can be achieved in a rock environment with the wide variety of fills and rhythm patterns he deploys in largely straight 4/4 numbers: a must have!

• Neil Peart – Drums
• Alex Lifeson – Guitar
• Geddy Lee – Bass/Vocals

Emerson, Lake & Palmer - Black Moon (1992)

After calling it a day during the anti-prog sentiments of 1978, and after the awful Love Beach album, this was the band’s first studio album in 14 years to feature the full lineup of Emerson, Lake and Palmer and, having been a fan of their early work – and mildly pleased with their 1986 Emerson, Lake & Powell release – I waited with some anticipation for its release date. I guess it was fair to say that I was disappointed and happy in equal measure upon obtaining a copy!

Gone were the lengthy instrumental pieces and complex drum/keyboard interplay that made their early compositions sometimes breathtaking in their musical dexterity and in had come a heavily Greg Lake-led approach. Now, I’ve got a lot of time for Greg Lake but, whilst an integral part of ELP, for me it was Emerson and Palmer who held centre stage and really defined their ’sound’ but here it is Lake who largely relegates Emerson and Palmer to something of a backing group.

There are some really good tracks here – Paper Moon in particular is a cracking number, even a bit of Hammond sneaked is there for old time’s sake on a strong composition with Lake in rather ballsy form vocally. But for that, there’s Affairs Of The Heart and Footprints In The Snow which are insipid acoustic Lake numbers and even where there are instrumentals, things are not as great as they once were: Burning Bridges for example has a trademark Emerson keyboard approach but ends up in part sounding like a piece from some 80s film soundtrack.

And to make matters worse, there’s Romeo And Juliet – taken from Prokofiev – which I get the distinct impression was added as a result of a conversation to the effect of “we used to always have a classically influenced piece on an album, let’s think of one and put it on” and it is of very little musical merit.

The most disturbing part for me overall, however, is Carl Palmer’s apparent lack of interest throughout. For a drummer of Palmer’s undoubted ability and flair, he plays it straight here – and I emphasise STRAIGHT – being reduced to a metronome of staggeringly uninspiring proportions!

Not an album I’d recommend to be honest – if you wish to dip your toes in the waters of prog rock and/or ELP, go and get Tarkus and hear them in their prime – give a wide birth to their 1990s Prog-AOR pretensions.

• Carl Palmer – Drums
• Keith Emerson – keyboards
• Gregg Lake – Bass/Vocals

Atomic Rooster - In Hearing Of (1971)

I always felt that, particularly at their peak, Atomic Rooster were in something of a quandary: on the one hand they had ELP-style prog rock pretensions and on the other, more soulful, song-based Uriah Heap stylings. This 1971 release does nothing to clear-up things either featuring both Hammond-driven instrumentals and more commercial vocal-based numbers.

However, the above doesn’t mean the album is not without its merits, far from it there are many, but just that the juxtaposition of the two conflicting styles doesn’t make for the most consistent of listening experiences when listened to from start to finish.

The album opens with an uptempo eighth note piano riff overlaid with keyboard that builds, with the introduction of the drums, up to a quite a riff including guitar and vocals. Track two is based around a simplistic guitar riff and vocals and does little to stick in the memory – similarly track 3, Decision/Indecision, whilst a pleasantly melodic piano/vocal based number does little to inspire the listener.

Where things really begin to pick up is with A Spoonful Of Bromide which is a belter of an instrumental allowing drummer Paul Hammond to loosen up and Vincent Crane to provide some great Hammond and keyboard soloing built around a central motif to which it repeatedly returns.

The following Black Snake is uneventful but then Head In The Sky returns to the instrumental mode with a guitar-driven piece containing once more some good drumming and Hammond twiddling, but in this instance there’s a vocal track crow-barred into it to but, thankfully, this subsides into a lengthy soloing section.

The Rock is also a strong instrumental piece featuring both Crane and John Du Cann laying down a selection of solos. The album closes with The Price, again a vocal-based number of little merit.

I really wanted to like this album when I first purchased it many years ago, and indeed there are flashes of genius throughout but sadly whilst the band were aware of their undoubted abilities, they didn’t seem aware of their limitations with their songwriting, as opposed to instrumental writing, ability passable at best and for me, John Du Cann was perpetually attempting to punch above his weight.

All-in-all, a disappointing album from a talented group but worth a listen, if just for A Spoonful Of Bromide!

• Vincent Crane – Keyboards
• John Du Cann – Guitar
• Peter French – Vocals
• Paul Hammond – Drums

King Crimson - Red (1974)

This posthumous release from King Crimson – Robert Fripp having disbanded the group several months prior to its release – is, as with all early Crimson albums one of juxtaposition between Fripp’s penchant for grinding, plodding riffs being somewhat at odds with naively melodic vocal compositions by, in this instance, John Wetton.

The standout tracks for this album fall heavily into the former category with the opener, Red, being a 6 and a half minute soaring instrumental with Fripp’s trademark chops very much in evidence: the production on the album also really stands out with the album sounding as fresh today as it did 30 years ago. The clarity and quality of the production also allows for ex-Yes drummer Bill Bruford’s percussive style to really shine through.

Whilst the second track, Fallen Angel, is largely woven around a Wetton vocal, One More Red Nightmare provides a heavy, doom-laden riff with some intricate playing from Bruford – although once more incongruous verses are crow-barred into an otherwise impressive number but fortunately fail to diminish the power and prowess of the piece.

After building up hopes, Providence dashes them on the rocks and is basically experimental noodling and sound effects and a pointless addition to the album. The final track, Starless, is a 12 minute behemoth beginning with the familiar Crimson Mellotron backing leading into a vocal section. Fortunately, Fripp’s ability to compose an endless stream of malevolent riffs doesn’t escape him here and half way through Starless things start to pick up with a shift in time signature to a dissonant distorted bass melody over which Fripp noodles, gradually building intensity and tempo into an impressive climax.

In my opinion the five tracks of Red could have been quite easily cut to three but those three tracks – Red, One More Red Nightmare and Starless – more than make up for the inadequacies elsewhere. Whilst with a firm foot in the prog rock genre, don’t expect frantic soloing here: Crimson were all about creating mood pieces, albeit heavy and frequently ominous in tone, and of all their early albums, Red is the most approachable and consistent.

• Robert Fripp – Guitar
• John Wetton – Bass/Vocals
• Bill Bruford – Drums

Emerson, Lake & Palmer - Tarkus (1971)

Whilst prog-rock may today be a dirty word and the kiss of death to any hopes of commercial success, back in the early 1970s it was one of the most popular musical forms and no-one exemplified all that is both good and bad about the genre than Emerson, Lake and Palmer.

Tarkus was the second studio album from ELP who, at the time where phenomenally popular with the album going to number 1 in the UK charts and catapulting the group into the super league.

For my money, Tarkus was a particularly strong album from the group with all three band members giving 100% throughout – something that can’t be said of some of their later efforts. As a drummer, after hearing this album Carl Palmer became my ‘hero’ – and I was fortunate enough to be taught by his brother who was a very gifted player too – and the breadth of his rhythms, fills and syncopations on Tarkus still thrill me to this day.

The album opens with a rather eerie sound effect that builds into the opening Eruption which has an odd time structure and heads off at a ferocious pace with Emerson wringing all he can from the Hammond. From then-on in the tracks blend seamlessly together on what was side 1 of the vinyl release with Gregg Lake providing the odd vocal passage and plenty of complex musical interludes, mostly played very uptempo.

Whilst side 1 provides a ‘concept’ (another dirty word), side 2 contains a varied collection of standalone tracks, the standout for me being the rapid Bitches Sin in 3/4 time with Carl Palmer providing a very jazzy pattern to carry the piece along at break-neck speed.

There are even a couple of ‘comic’ tracks with Jeremy Bender and Are You Ready Eddie? – the latter being a tribute to their sound engineer and is the musical low-point of the album, although I’m sure it seemed like a fun idea at the time!

Whilst ELP would go on to make some really poor albums later in their career and their name become synonymous with overblown self-indulgence, Tarkus was ELP at their greatest and I’d urge anyone to put their preconceptions and anti-prog prejudices to one side temporarily and give this album a listen and I’m sure the undoubted abilities of the musicians involved, if not the music itself, will provide for a rewarding experience!

• Keith Emerson – Keyboards
• Greg Lake – Bass/Vocal
• Carl Palmer – Drums