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Poco: One Night in Nashville
by Doug Collette
What at a glance looks like a lost treasure, Poco's One Night in Nashville, is in fact a re-release of a title available on CD/DVD around the time of its recording in 2004. It has existed under different titles in the interim and this reissue (with its own seemingly varied cover graphics) actually exists on both compact disc and vinyl LP. But this reissue certainly doesn't qualify as merely mercenary: its roughly seventy-five minute duration certifies the longevity of a ...
read moreDavid Cross: Crossing the Tracks
by Glenn Astarita
Violinist extraordinaire David Cross made a significant impression during his early 1970s tenure with King Crimson, performing on three seminal albums: Larks' Tongues in Aspic (Island, 1973), Starless and Bible Black (Island, 1974) and Red (Island, 1974). Other than some gaps, Cross has been active via his David Cross Band that has issued several albums, in addition to his numerous collaborations with a diverse mix of ensembles, and his 2018 pairing with ex-Van Der Graff Generator saxophonist David Jackson on ...
read moreBrainticket: Past Present & Future
by Glenn Astarita
In 2015, Cleopatra Records reissued fabled experimental Krautrock band, Brainticket's 1973 album, Celestial Ocean. However, keyboardist and flutist Joel Vandroogenbroeck has abided by a slow pace when releasing subsequent material for mass consumption. Known as a risqué unit that mirrored some of the avant musings evidenced by fellow 70s ensembles, Can and Amon Duul, the musicians are back in action with a rather urbane and radiantly produced musical statement. Highlighted by thrusting grooves, layered electronics, and ethereal flute ...
read moreXNA: When We Changed You
by Glenn Astarita
The handsome packaging is a bounded cardboard book with artwork, photos and lyrics to instill or perhaps reinforce that this newly formed neo-progressive rock band, cherishes the artistically minded era of the olden days of yore. It's not a shabbily produced set by any stretch. With a few understated quotes and inferences to vintage Genesis and an all-encompassing prog rock trajectory, the band seamlessly fuses the old with the new. The production coalesces memorably melodic comps with the artists' impressive ...
read moreWilliam Shatner: Ponder The Mystery
by Glenn Astarita
Fundamentally, the notion of actor William Shatner reciting his poetic verse atop progressive rock compositions--performed by many of this genre's elite--including solo spots by Rick Wakeman (keyboards), Steve Vai (guitar), and Edgar Froese (guitar) may seem like an anomalous concoction. It doesn't end there. Jazz-fusion icon Al Di Meola (guitar) amid county music and rock stars such as guitarist Vince Gill and saxophonist, keyboardist Edgar Winter lend their talents, Yes multi-instrumentalist, producer Billy Sherwood lays down the core bass, guitar, ...
read moreSons Of Hippies: Griffons At The Gates Of Heaven
by Glenn Astarita
This trio merges remembrances of black-light rooms, bong pipes, and cries for peace with a modern psychedelic vibe, leaning heavily toward Indie-rock as a catalyst for its overall game-plan. They craft a massive but fluid sound via crunching chord developments, weighty backbeats and Kathleen Kelley's willowy vocal delivery, tinted with beatific overtones. Indeed, it's a transcendental experience. Yet the group funnels a sense of antiquity into a modern looking-glass. Aided by multi-instrumentalist Billy Sherwood's (Yes) vintage mellotron and Moog synth ...
read moreBilly Cobham: Compass Point
by Glenn Astarita
Few if any jazz-fusion drummers have been more influential than Billy Cobham, along with his modern jazz drumming for legends such as Freddie Hubbard, McCoy Tyner and other notables. Yet touring has its trials and tribulations, noted in the album liners on this previously unissued 2-CD set, presenting live material from the drummer's 1997 show at the Compass Point Hotel in the Bahamas. With impending storms on the horizon and the only piano tuner in the vicinity not showing up ...
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