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Buffalo Springfield
Dewey Martin
Trommeslageren i Neil Youngs gamle band Buffalo Springfield døde av naturlige årsaker, i en alder av 68 år 31-01-2009.
Walter Milton Dwayne Midkiff, som var Dewey Martins fulle navn, ble
funnet av en som han deler leilighet med i Los Angeles. Martin, som var
en av Buffalo Springfield sine grunnleggere etter at han flyttet til
Los Angeles på midten av 60-tallet, er beskrevet som en sensitiv
trommeslager i biografien «Shakey» som er forfattet av Neil Young. ”Han
kan føle musikken, du trenger ikke fortelle ham hva han skal gjøre”,
skrev Young i boken sin.
Dewey Martis spilte trommer på de fleste av låtene på bandets tre
studioplater; «Buffalo Springfield» (1966), «Buffalo Springfield Again»
(1967), og «Last Time Around» (1968). På låten «Good Time Boy» fra
«Buffalo Springfield Again» er han i tillegg kreditert som vokalist.
Det er for øvrig påstått at det var Martin som forsynte Stephen Stills med LSD. Noe som inspirerte ham til å skrive bandets største hit For What It's Worth.I den første perioden etter at Buffalo Springfield ble oppløst, fortsatte Martin karrièren med nye bandmedlemmer under navnet The New Buffalo Springfield, men både Young og Stills satte seg i mot og gikk til søksmål, og han valgte da å droppe å beholde navnet. I 1997 ble Martin innlemmet i Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame i 1997.
Beggars Opera
Skotten har hentet navnet sitt fra en novelle av poeten John Gray 1685 –
1732. De utgav 7 album i perioden 1970 -1980, hvorav de tre første ”Act
One” fra 1970,
”Waters Of Change” 1971 og ”Pathfinder” er meget sterke album etter vår
mening, som nok mange vil ha stor glede av å lytte til. http://www.alexgitlin.com/npp/bo.htm
Birth of Progressive Rock
It all started in 1966 with the "Revolver" of The Beatles can be regarded only as "embrionic" period. The year was a turning point for the band, when, so tired of the Beatlomania, they gave up the concerts, and the studio works has showed their gigantic growth in comparison with the semi-pop period in the first half of of the '70s. All right, the merits of the Beatles should not be underestimated, for it was them who opened the door to a more complex music. In the second half of the decade the Beatles' style can be marked as an excellent Hard'n'Art, for sure, quite real Protoprogressive, but exactly the true Progressive Rock, two years earlier before the appearance of that genre as a separate flow in Rock Music, was performed by Pink Floyd. How much Syd Barrett, a drug addict, has paid for the creation of the new music, you're knows well. But it has happened. What was it - the will of Heaven? At all, this musician must have a serious Karma, though maybe this just is what his "earthly" design for? At any rate, it's a pity that Barrett's role in the genesis of Prog Rock is paid almost no attention to.
Within the atmosphere of the albums of that time "The Piper at the Gates of Dawn" looks like an alien body, so unusual is the music of the album. The "Planetary Mistycizm" intended by Barrett, or confided in him carried in itself something unearthly, mysterious, enigmatical. Up to now I listen to this disc with a great pleasure, and as time goes by it is loses none of its attractive power. The readers must excuse me, but I personally take "The Dark Side of the Moon" - "the Rock album of all times" for a rather simplified Hard'n'Bluese album with a very bright, but there are a psychedelic was typical for the first two albums, is reduces to a skillful usage of the sound effects only, but it is not so inhered in the construction of compositions. Strictly speaking, a psychedelic as it is was disappeared already after "A Saucerful Of Secrets" album mostly composed by Roger Waters under a strong influence of the debut album, and partially of Barret's ideas. A psychedelic looks partially through again on "Animals", though, on the whole, this is the most progressive album from Pink Floyd.
I don't insist, but merely advise, suggest: turn your look back, listen the first two albums once more. Can't such things as Interstellar Overdrive (1967) and the title track of 1968 to strike one's imagination? And who're else from the surrounding performers has approached then such a subtle compositions? The "Animals" and both these debut albums are remains for me till now the most valuable their works, although I would not to dispute a powerful impact of the beautiful albums of 1971,1973, 1975, and 1979 years, and also consider them almost a masterpieces. Each of them sounds symphonic ally yet very differently than previous one, with those the band has opened up a new horizons for Prog, as well as the new facets of its talents. Last year Prog turned 30... Now it's a grown-up and clever man, that experienced his hard transitional period in the '80s, now standing on his strong feet.
Besifring eller noter?
Det er to grunnleggende måter å angi at flere toner skal spilles samtidig.
Noter:
På et noteark kan det eksempelvis angis at tonene F Ab C Eb skal spilles. Det skal kun være en av hver. Disse skal spilles samtidig og ligge på hver sin helt bestemte tonehøyde.
Besifring:
Ved bruk av besifring angis tonene F Ab C Eb med et symbol system, og
akkordens grunntone F legges i bassen. Antallet samt hvor i tonehøyden
disse tonene legges er derimot ikke angitt.
Besifring symbolet for dette eksemplet er: Fm7.
Akkorder
Akkorder deles inn i grupper etter hvor mange samtidige toner akkorden består av. Det minste antall samtidige toner en akkord kan bestå av er tre, vanligvis: 1. 3. og 5. skalatone. Dette kalles en treklang.
Intervallet fra grunntone til ters og fra ters til kvint utgjør hver sin ters, og slik fortsetter videre oppbygning av akkordene. Akkorder bygges med andre ord opp av tersforhold. Det teoretiske utgangspunkt er følgende:
Treklanger er dur og moll:
1. skalatone, grunntone
3. skalatone, ters
5. skalatone, kvint
Firklanger er septim akkorder:
1. skalatone, grunntone
3. skalatone, ters
5. skalatone, kvint
7. skalatone, septim
Femklanger er none akkorder:
1. skalatone, grunntone
3. skalatone, ters
5. skalatone, kvint
7. skalatone, septim
9. skalatone, none
Seksklanger er undecim akkorder:
1. skalatone, grunntone
3. skalatone, ters
5. skalatone, kvint
7. skalatone, septim
9. skalatone, none
11. skalatone, undecim
Syvklanger er tersdecim akkorder:
1. skalatone, grunntone
3. skalatone, ters
5. skalatone, kvint
7. skalatone, septim
9. skalatone, none
11. skalatone, undecim
13. skalatone, tersdecim
Akkordomvendinger
En akkord angir også hvordan tonene ligger i forhold til hverandre. Eksempelvis kan en C dur, som består av tonene C E G, ha følgende stillinger:
C (1. skalatone) i bassen
E (3. skalatone) i bassen
G (5. skalatone) i bassen
Grunnstilling:
Akkorden er i grunnstilling når grunntonen (1. skalatone) er den dypeste
tonen i akkorden. Eksempelvis tonen C i C dur. Består av følgende toner,
lest nedenfra: C E G.
Første omvending:
Akkorden er i første omvending når tersen (3. skalatone) er den dypeste
tonen i akkorden. Eksempelvis tonen E i C dur. Består av følgende toner,
lest nedenfra: E G C.
Andre omvending:
Akkorden er i andre omvending når kvinten (5. skalatone) er den dypeste
tonen i akkorden. Eksempelvis tonen G i C dur. Består av følgende toner,
lest nedenfra: G C E.
Beste progalbum gjennom tidene.
Argentina
Her er de åtte utvalgte albumene fra leserne til progarchieves.com, som representerer mye virkelig god musikk, men en og annen viktig og betydelig utgivelse er utvilsomt ikke kommet med. Likevel er det ikke så "hakkende galt" annet at det gir en liten smakebit på hva gauchoenes hjemland har skapt av stor prog opp gjennom årene, selv om mye mer helt klart skulle ha vært med.
1.Bubu – ” Anabelas” - 1978
2.Crusis – ” Kronologia” – 1995
3.Nexus – ” Metanoia” – 2001
4.Crusis – ” Los Deliros Del Mariscal” – 1976
5. Nexus – ” Détras del Umbral ” – 1999
6.Nexus – ” Perpetuum Karma” – 2006
7. La Máquina de Hacer Pájaros – ” La Máquina de Hacer Pájaros” – 1976
8. Amagrama – ”Ciclotima” - 2004
Black Mountain
In The Future
Second album from this up and coming band from the Canadian Northwest.
Black Mountain pay homage the spirit of 70s psychedelic hard rock. The
music has some prog moves and the band is at their best when they jam it
out like on the 16 minute "Bright Lights". Hey they aren't afraid to
toss in lots of Mellotron either! Tangentially related to the
retro-school that bands like Wolfmother are mining but frankly these
guys are even better." - Ken Golden. Favorite psych-and-prog-spiritual
pioneers BLACK MOUNTAIN are back with "In The Future", their second
full-length album that resonates with the same epic ring, beloved deep
rock touchstones and genuine folk fragility that made their self-titled
debut full-length an instant classic. The new album possesses immense
breadth, seamlessly showcasing short and classic folk-pop gems along
with driving modern rock masterpieces, peaking with "Bright Lights", a
seventeen-minute multi-dimensional opus that gives Pink Floyd's "Echoes"
a run for its money.
The new album also demonstrates a compelling evolution. Black Mountain's first self-titled album was like being in sixth grade, when there's a few new kids in class who you know you're supposed to hang with. You're out of the gates, but you still stumble and shake when the teachers yell at you. "In The Future", ninth grade and summer vacation are over. You're heading back to high school to hang in the hallways with those same kids who now have wispy and dirty moustaches, long hair and breasts. The teachers don't scare you. The jocks are boring, and your record collection is more important than the prettiest girl at school. It's the first real taste of independence in the quest for absolute freedom.
Black Mountain is Matt Camirand, Stephen McBean, Jeremy Schmidt, Amber Webber and Joshua Wells. The band hails from Vancouver, British Columbia, and have been making music together since 2004. Their debut album garnered an impressive amount of critical acclaim, including Pitchfork's prestigious "Best New Music" tag, as well as being deemed by Uncut magazine as the 4th best album of 2005. The band has toured the world, playing the smallest of rock clubs and the largest of outdoor amphitheaters. And the broad appeal of their musical work is unique, in that even though they are championed by the more underground-minded record-collector type of music fan as well as by high-profile musicians such as Wayne Coyne of the Flaming Lips, Black Mountain's live performances and recordings also retain a very universal appeal, sticking readily to the ribs of most any garden-variety music fan.
Perhaps Black Mountain strive to make music that is uncompromising but inclusive. "In The Future", mostly produced by Black Mountain, was recorded at three different studios, and all but one song was mixed by John Congleton, known for his work with Explosions in the Sky, Modest Mouse, R. Kelly, the Polyphonic Spree and Erykah Badu, amongst others. "Stay Free" -- borrowed previously for inclusion on the Spiderman III soundtrack -- was recorded, mixed and produced by Dave Sardy, who has done work with the Rolling Stones, Wolfmother, Oasis and LCD Soundsystem.
Band Of Rain
Garlands
01) Ghost Town
02) Test Pilot
03) Voyager
04) All Moonlit Through .....The Trees
05) Magnetic South
06) The Flying Sorcerer
07) Lady Evening Star
08) Beneath My Tree
09) Sun On The ......Mountain
10) Garlands
11) Clouds
Produced by Chris Gill for Hollowhill Music. Music and lyrics by Chris Gill. Swiss Navy Productions artist Management, represaentation and Media Relations.
The Band Of Rain has a big heavenly orchestral sound and another example of pure Music - played and written at its heart. The guys on the band play an incredible Symphonic Progressive Rock music, adorned with Hard Rock textures, blending elements from many sources such as Electronic Space Rock, Heavy Metal and Classic Rock, and even modern chamber music into a cohesive whole. The musical elements are extremely well balanced, all the instruments are clear, audible, with delicate arrangements, the main highlights on the songs are the killer guitar sounds, sometimes symphonic and sometimes heavy, driven by precise and very dynamic rhythms, while the floating synthesizer and orchestral keyboards add a touch of symphonism to all songs. In fact, the members on the band are highly talented musicians, who do not focus on one style, but show on their works how versatile they are. It´s hard classify the influences from Band Of Rain but, I can say that, they sounding like a hybrid of "Pink Floyd", "Mike Oldfield", "Yes", "Flamborough Head" and "Porcupine Tree". Band Of Rain is definitely recommended to Progressive Rock fans around the world. Brilliant and magnify absolutely recommended discovery, highly recommendable...
The musicians on the Band Of Rain are:
Chris Gill - Writer, Multi Instrumentalist and Lead Guitar
Graham Elks - Lead Guitar and Multi Instrumentalist
Billy Fleming - Drums and Multi instrumentalist
Sarah Smith - Electric Violin, Guitar and backing vocals
Genever Morgan - Vocals and Multi Instrumentalist
Katrina Gill - Flutes and Keyboards
Melissa Jayne Smith - Multi Instrumentalist
Andy Fisher - Guitar and Vocals
Chris Gill - Writer - Multi Instrumentalist - Lead Guitar.
Chris Gill began playing guitar at 13, and learned like so many playing along to Hendrix and Cream records. He really got in to it after seeing The Groundhogs and more specifically Tony T.S.McPhee. It wasn't long before he had a school band together called "Gondolin" performing Groundhogs/ King Crimson/Free covers. Inevitably they split up after leaving school, and Chris played with various different bands in the then thriving Bedford U.K. music scene.Prowl, and The Eyes of Eleanor being 2 of them. He got invited to a Bath Arts workshop which was to introduce him to the world of improvisation. Chris, Mike Westbrook - Lol Coxhill (Kevin Ayers - National Health) and the mighty George Khan (Robert Wyatt) and members of the Global Village Trucking Company played non stop for about 6 hours, even through a Hawkwind gig that was going on in the next room, without playing the same thing twice. In fact when the Hawkwind gig finished, they came on stage and jammed along too. Chris saw a whole new way of making music through improvisation. He tried for a few years to recreate the magic of Bath but it never really worked. Chris played on the fringes of festivals such as Stonehenge (before it was stopped) Bath and occassionally Glastonbury jamming along with as many different types of musician he could find. This was where Chris preffered to be, as that was where "raw" music was being made, and, there were so many different influences. It was to prove a very fortunate learning curve. About this time the UK music scene had moved in to Punk, and so like many others he decided to try the USA. Having moved to Houston Texas he eventually found a club there called Carnabys in the bohemian Montrose area. Here he met a whole bunch of like minded musicians. They soon put a band together, and found themselves playing at various universities and clubs across the southern states. However after an accident at The University of Arizona in Tuscon, Chris stopped playing for a while as he had broken most of his fingers.He drifted in to Los Angeles, and made some "pocket money" coaching an actress (who will remain nameless) to talk with an English accent. However, he still found time to work with new bands that were trying to get off the ground. But it was no substitute for playing.He decided to move back to the UK and start again. He bought himself another guitar, and got his fingers working properly again. Add to this he found new inspiration after talking to Nick Mason and Adrian Belew, Chris put together what we know as Band of Rain. Because he wanted to try to make a new kind of music, he decided to take on the debut album "Deep Space" as a solo project, as he really wasn't sure which direction it would go in. Except for some help with vocals from good friend Andy Fisher, he played all the other instruments himself. His wife Katrina who is also a musician played the flute on "Casanova of the Cliff Dwellers". Deep Space has been out since September 2004, and has been very well received. There are already fans all over the world and word is spreading fast. 2005 will see another CD as well as the formation of a live band. Progressive Soundscapes Radio USA calls the music: "Incredibly complex and mesmerising..."
Graham Elks - Lead Guitar/Multi Instrumentalist.
Graham Elks has a vast array of experience with a range of instruments,
as well as being a sound recording engineer.He has written and recorded
4 prog albums of his own called : Kingdom of Rock - Time Traveller - 7th
Generation - and Meltdown. Plus another album with his fellow musician
Phil Crewe who played together for 5 years under the name of G2.
His lead guitar style is very much in the laid back but loud style of
Band of Rain, and we know that he will fit in seamlessly with the band
and will be a writing contributor in the future. His guitar work has
been described as " Breathtaking" so they are very happy to welcome him
in to the fold and hope that you will grow to like him as we will.There
will be more info here soon regarding Graham, and they should have some
pictures too.
Billy Fleming - Drums/Multi instrumentalist.
Billy Fleming was a professional drum technician from 1980 to 1994
working for such people as Denise Dufort [Girlschool], Simon Wright [AIIZ,
AC/DC ], Phil Taylor [Motorhead], Pete Gill [Saxon, Motorhead], Ginger
Baker [Cream], Peter Vanhook [Mike & the Mechanics], Danny Thompson [Hawkwind],
& Rod Morgenstien [Steve morse, Dixie dreggs, & Winger] and many more.
During this time Billy played live on occasions with Girlschool,
Hawkwind & toured with Dumpys Rusty Nuts. Billy retired from the music
business in 1994 & moved to Norfolk to settle down to family life, but
also picked up his drumsticks again & helped form DOGWOOD with Pat Rolf
which lasted until 1999. Then in 2000 Old friend Paul Samson was tired
of London & moved up to Norfolk asking Billy to find a bass player to
form a blues trio which became “METALLIC BLUE”featuring Nick Mallet on
bass. During this time Billy was to join the new line up of “SAMSON”&
record what was to be the final album for the band, as sadly Paul passed
away on the 9th of August 2002. Since then Billy has played for a
variety of bands including THE BARRY HOMAN BAND, EGYPT [Ex Groundhogs],
THE STONKING BLUES BAND, featuring Pete Cruikshanks [Groundhogs], The
Sean Webster Band [Blues Matters], & Gregg Wright [Ex Micheal Jackson
Guitarist]. Billy started THE MUSIC OUTPOST in 2002 teaching drums &
passing on the knowledge which he has gained over the years.
Sarah Smith Electric Violin/Guitar and backing vocals.
Sarah grew up on board her Moms tour bus, therefore Music has always
been a major part of her life. Sarah is a classically trained Violinist.
She holds improvisation workshops as well as being a Violin teacher.
She has toured Canada and Europe extensively, and now brings her special
talents to Band of Rain. Sarah can also be seen playing in a folk band
called "String Thing " with her husband Tim. In Band of Rain she will be
performing electric violin solos as well as playing some of the guitar
parts. We welcome Sarah in to the fold. "Best Young Performer" North
Country Magazine.
Genever Morgan - vocals/Multi Instrumentalist.
Genever is a trained musician which is a bit unusual for the Band of
Rain set up! Gen plays with various jazz bands around Wales as well as
perfoming classical music pieces. Her voice lends itself very well to
the kind of music we produce here, and Gen has agreed to come in to the
studio to do more vocals with us. It will remain to be seen if she plays
live with us, as she does have other commitments.We would really like to
get her on board as a full time member, but she has put her education
first and has gone to University. (they have no problem with that) and
so they will have to work together when they can.
Katrina Gill - Flutes/Keyboards.
Katrina as well as being a good photographer, plays some keyboard and
flute. She has also taken up Irish pipes and whistles. The haunting
flute at the start of "Casanova of the Cliff Dwellers was improvised by
Kat, and she will be featured more on the third album which has begun,
but as yet remains untitled. Katrina is married to Chris.
Melissa Jayne Smith - Multi Instrumentalist.
Melissa is a very talented trained musician who will be playing with us
quite a bit in the future. Melissa is also a multi instrumentalist, but
specialises in Double Bass and Guitar Bass. She has played with most of
the Jazz bands from our area, as well as sharing the same bill as Jackie
Dankworth, which if you know anything about Jazz, will also know that
the Dankworth name is like Royalty. Melissa has worked at Foel Studios.
Where some serious legends have been through the doors! She has also
recorded with Band of Rain. Currently studying bass and piano at The
Royal Welsh College of Music.
Andy Fisher - Guitar/Vocals.
Andy did some vocals for us on the Deep Space album. He performed "Search
for my Forgiver" and "A room where time stands still."
Andy came from Reading in the UK originally and having passed through
many bands along the way, found himself here in mid wales. Chris heard
him singing and invited him along for some sessions which ended in Andy
performing these songs. There may be more vocals from Andy in the future.
Big Big Train
The Difference Machine
Review one
Big Big Train seem to have been floating around prog circles without making that dramatic an impact for eons; I remember picking up their From The River To The Sea cassette way back in the early 1980s when the so-called new wave of progressive rock was at its peak. Over the years they have released four proper albums to various degrees of critical acclaim/disdain, a couple of which were on the Giant Electric Pea label where they were stable mates of IQ. This began a long association with IQ sound engineer supremo Rob Aubrey, a connection which continues to this day. Based around core members Gregory Spawton (guitars, keyboards, vocals), Andy Poole (bass), Steve Hughes (drums) and Sean Filkins (vocals) the group is supplemented by the appearance of some high ranking guests (and fans), namely Dave Meros and the ubiquitous Nick D'Virgilio from Spock's Beard, Pete Trewavas from Marillion, Tony Wright who was last heard of on a couple of IQ albums and Becca King who plays viola throughout the album and, as far I know, hasn't played with any other bands (sure it won't stay that way for long though!).
Previous BBT albums have all had their moments but have never quite managed to elevate the band to the next level or provide a thoroughly consistent reaction to draw widespread attention to their music. As someone who owns all their albums, along with several collections of demos, I have to admit that the albums are all an accomplishment in their own right but none have struck me as essential listening, that one is eager to return to again and again. However, the band have followed an upwards curve with each album being an advancement on the previous. With The Difference Machine, BBT may finally have made the album they have been promising all these years.
The album is basically four songs with three instrumental pieces linking or introducing the longer songs, the first of which, Hope This Finds You, perfectly combines Wright's alto sax, King's viola and Spawton's keyboards and occasional guitar in a mood setting and delicate beginning. The extended sustained ending is shaken away by some cutting guitar chords that hails the arrival of Perfect Cosmic Storm. Featuring the Beard's rhythm section only two of BBT actually appear on this track, yet it still maintains a lot of the characteristics of the BBT sound - dynamism, variety and a signature keyboard sound. However, this is BBT in an angrier and more adventurous mode. Wright's initial sax bursts bring forth memories of King Crimson at their most curious and even Van Der Graaf Generator in full flight. However, this approach could not be interestingly maintained over fifteen minutes and thankfully the band don't try to. With immense variety, the track proceeds, Spawton employing a whole range of classic keyboard sounds, D'Virgilio proving once again that he is a great drummer (and adding some fine backing vocals to boot) and the sax and viola providing more delicate moments that bridge the more intense moments. The Perfect Cosmic Storm certainly sets a high standard for the rest of the album to maintain as it is unquestionably one of the best, if not the best, pieces of music to be released under the BBT name to date.
The aptly named Breathing Space, a soundscape to clear the audio palette, leads into Pick Up If You're There featuring the same musicians as Storm with the exception of Pete T replacing Dave M on bass. Initially a simpler structure and more reminiscent of earlier BBT material, one wonders if the initial quality can be maintained. Fortunately it can. With some intricate weaving about, changes in mood and tempo, the song slips between time signatures driven by more great work from the rhythm section, Trewavas laying down his most intricate bass line in years towards the end of the song. Again Wright shines with his sax and flute adding textural emphasis and the brief appearance of King's viola being entirely complementary. I am sure there is also an un-credited female backing vocalist adding high harmonies, unless one of the male singers was wearing particularly tight pants that day!
Again, Spawton adds atmospheric linkage on From The Wide Open Sea into Salt Water Falling On Uneven Ground, a title that David Sylvian would be proud of! For the first time the whole of BBT appear together with Hughes and Poole proving to be every bit the match of their more illustrious guests. A more difficult piece to get to grips with, it is only on repeated listening that the nuances of the song reveal themselves. The only criticism is that perhaps, like with some of their earlier material, a degree of editing would have been of benefited in order to make the song rather more succinct. Being of a much calmer nature the piece is fairly slow with periods of minimal instrumentation allowing the vocals more room. Consequently the song does seem longer than the more energetic numbers. A minor criticism, and maybe not justified as overall the song is eminently enjoyable.
Summer's Lease starts as if it is a refined reprise of Salt Water with a gently picked guitar, prominent vocals and nice sax line. However, when the piano/vocal section starts one realises there is a different underlying melody with a higher degree of melancholic and regret at the ending of summer. With a reprise of the musical theme from Hope This Finds You, the album closes as it opened, having come full circle.
With the band already back in the studio recording material for the next album, English Electric, a collection of new and re-recorded older songs, and Nick D'Virgilio once again lending a hand, it looks like BBT's time might have come. If you have not heard any of BBT's previous albums or have been disappointed by what you have heard, then perhaps now is the time to discover this resilient band of English Boy Wonders.
Review two
The prog community has always had difficulty liking Big Big Train, especially on their first three albums Goodbye To The Golden Age Of Steam, English Boy Wonders and Bard where they mixed progressive rock with pure pop. These albums showed that BBT’s main man Gregory Spawton was a very talented composer still trying to find the right direction. But prog lovers seemed to find it a bit dull. With their fourth album Gathering Speed the Bournemouth based band made a step forward. The album told the story of a British fighter pilot during the battle of Britain. On the album they mixed their love for Genesis (circa Trick Of The Tail and Wind And Wuthering) with more modern influences like Oceansize and Mew. And now, three years after Gathering Speed they release The Difference Machine.
In the months before its release The Difference Machine was hyped somewhat on the internet. First there were the comments on the web log of Jem Godfrey (of Frost fame), who predicted that BBT could well be the 2007 dark horse of prog on the basis of what he heard of the new album on BBT’s MySpace site (see link aboove). And secondly there were rumours of Spock’s Beard and Marillion members guesting on the album. And now the album is released, is it any good? Yes it is! It is a very good album.
First; the album cover looks great with the beautiful paintings of Jim Trainer (Check out his myspace site), whilst lyrically the album is about, and I quote Gregory Spawton:
“The overall concept is influenced by the butterfly effect, which is used to illustrate chaos theory. All the songs take place within a moment of time where seemingly small events can have monumental effects”.
I did not get the concept - I thought that the lyrics dealt with more personal matters - but then; English is not my native language.
The album’s opener Hope This Finds You introduces the albums first two guests; Becca King on violin and Tony Wright (guest on various IQ albums) on alto saxophone and these two play an important role on this album. Hope This Finds You is a beautiful little instrumental with next to the two guests only Gregory Spawton on keyboards and guitars. The song reminded me a bit of Bowie’s Berlin period and Japan’s Quiet Life album. It’s a deceiving opening because after that the foot is on the gas and we enter full on prog territory with the brilliant Perfect Cosmic Storm.
An edgy guitar motif with distorted vocals opens the song and then we’re off with Perfect Cosmic Storm which has an incredible drive and, as the rest of the album, sounds confident. Dave Meros and Nick D’Virgillo of Spock’s Beard guest on bass and drums, with Tony Wright who plays an important role on the song, delivering a mad Van der Graaf Generator sax solo at one point in the song while playing a beautiful melody next. Vocalist Sean Filkins has a good voice while Gregory Spawton sings back up vocals, which results in some beautiful harmony parts. The song is a rollercoaster ride of moods. For instance; after nearly twelve minutes a Hammond driven section is followed by a jaw dropping edgy guitar section followed by beautiful harmony vocals. Wow. It’s BBT’s first perfect mix of old progressive rock and modern alternative rock music. It’s an instant classic!
After that we need some breathing space and the short instrumental with the same title provides just that. Then it’s time for the second longer song of the album to take centre stage; Pick Up If You’re There. This time, next to the other already mentioned guests, Pete Trewavas of Marillion replaces Dave Meros on bass. Pick Up If You’re There follows the same route as Perfect Cosmic Storm, less spectacular, but still there is plenty to enjoy, especially the extended instrumental break near the end.
Following the very short instrumental From The Wide Open Sea we come to Saltwater Falling On Uneven Ground, (Jem Godfrey raved about this song on his web log), and it’s the first song that features the other band members Andy Poole (bass) and Steve Hughes (drums). Keyboard player Ian Cooper doesn’t appear to be part of the band any more, leaving Gregory Spawton as the sole keys man. ‘Saltwater’ is a very modern sounding song and with its guitar effects, use of reverb and heavy and quiet passages, sounds very much like the earlier mentioned Mew and Oceansize. The album finishes very nicely with Summer’s Lease in which the first half shows BBT’s poppier side. A track that could have been a song off English Boy Wonders. After three minutes the song speeds up, finally returning to the melody of opening track Hope This Finds You.
The album has a great modern sound (producer Andy Poole did a great job with Rob Aubrey mixing), but what really draws the attention is the fact that BBT sound confident on this album as if they finally found their sound and direction. And that is giant step forward. And you know what; Jem Godfrey was right, with The Difference Machine, BBT have made a damn good album. One of the best progressive rock albums this year, at least for me.
Tracklist: Hope This Finds You (3:12), Perfect Cosmic Storm (14:40), Breathing Space (1:47), Pick Up If You’re There (13:39), From The Wide Open Sea (1:20), Saltwater Falling On Even Ground (12:38), Summer’s Lease (7:34)
Bedtime Stoty
Bedtime Story was established on January 2003 by Lior Havkin and Orpaz
Agranov in Tel Aviv, Israel. Acording some press, the band plays
eclectic rock music in English. Mainly influenced by 60’s-70’s
psychedelic rock, through Jazz, Classic, Ethnic and updated electronic
music and sound techniques.
Lior Havkin has been learning and playing music since He was 14 years old, performing from the age of 16 and writing music since He was 17. He was a member of a several unknown bands through the years which gave hin a lot of experience. He was influenced mostly by rock and blues of all kinds. He was always interested in other kinds of sounds which led hin to search and discover folk and ethnic music. He discovered other instruments like: sitar, tabla, mandolin and others. As He was searching for more – He ran into electronic music which He’s still exploring. He must admit it really made a great influence on his sound and music writing. He started using devices such as e-bow, talk-box and lots of effects which sometimes have very strange parametric settings. This genre also made hin change his keyboard playing habits and increased his interest in electronic sounds and programming. At the present he main studies are jazz and classical music. While Orpaz and Lior Havkin were working on “Bedtime Story’s” music and sitting so many hours in the studio while recording, editing, thinking and experimenting, He developed a deeper understanding about the meaning of production, which he really like to deal with (apart from writing and playing music). The final conclusion is: there is always more to learn, search for and more to discover.
Orpaz Agranov in retro-perspective, the event which changed his life, as weird as it sounds, was when a good friend of mine, Idan, gave hin King Crimson's 'Red' album and 'Close to the edge' by Yes. He kept feeding hin with good 70's classics, and opened my mind. In the year 2002 He moved to Tel Aviv, while He had no clue concerning his future. He started to explore music, getting into Jazz, Fusion, Progressive Rock and even Metal. Suddenly, He realized that music is the most precious thing life. His first piece of gear was the wonderful Korg-Triton-Rack module, which forced hin to become more professional. In the year 2003, He naturally knew that He want to be a Sound Engineer, to design sound and turn it into visions, with no limitation. He called Danny Koryto, the man behind "Record" sound engineering school, signed in, and started to suck knowledge. During that time, He met Lior. One day, He don't even remember why and how, he came to his apartment in order to record a few sketches. One thing led to another, and somehow, they started to work together every weekend, for 3 years. Slowly, step by step, He started to purchase necessary studio equipment, and built his own recording and production studio. "Pearl" was his first Mix. It took them 9 months to complete the creation. He continue to explore different genres of music and productions methods. Now, when He´s living in the music scene, He get excited almost every day by new musical discoveries. His ear became sharp enough, in order to divide what He hear, and learn from the conclusions. These days, He has a new studio, located in Tel Aviv.
Or Argash was born on October 15th 1981, in Israel. He started out playing the Piano and moved on to Drums when he was 15. Ever since then Drums became his main interest. Since He was 13 his music has been influenced by Queen and as He grew older He became influenced by more musicians and bands such as Iron Maiden, Megadeth, Kate Bush, Primus and then at the age of 17 He discoverd Chick Corea who opened a new musical world for hin. At that point He suddenly started being aware of the creative side of Drums and started listening to Jazz music. Since then He´s really into it. Throughout his life He didn't have too many interests besides listening to music and Drums were his main passion. At the age of 17 his parents bought hin his first Drum Set "Tama Rock Star". It was a cute one. He played in a few Bands and some Recording Sessions that really hepled hin learn about "playing discipline" and He became a more experienced Musician. He met Leon in the army and met Lior in a Cover Band of Queen. Lior asked hin if He know any singers for the band and Leon was perfect because of his great 70's style voice and some material of his that really fits the style. They played some jams together and then started working together too. These days most of his drumming influences are drummers like Virgil Donati, Tim Alexander, Dennis Chambers, Frank Zappa (and the drummers that played with him throughout the 70's)...etc. He plays as much as He can and He teach Drumming Techniques and Progressive Drumming.
Leon B was born on March 12, 1982 (Yud Zain be-Adar 5742) in Alma-Ata, Kazakstan. His relatives were mostly musicians and He was strongly influenced by classical music since his early childhood. At the age of 6 He has entered a musical school on violine and He had finished it when he was 13. That time his schoolmate have introduced hin a wonderful world of The Beatles and He has fallen in love with their beautiful melodies. Mostly He like George and his "Here comes the sun". Magnificent... In about a year a wave of Nirvana came to our place. Smells like teen spirit was the song that just "got" hin and He completely changed his mind about music. So powerful, so exciting it became... At the age of 16 He have moved to a Holy Land. He wanted to discover that "something" that had always pushed hin to come. And it took a while before He has opened and learned things that lead hin through his modern life. Meanwhile, He continued his studying music. He have entered the "Youth Aliyah Orchestra" conducted by Lev Arshtein as a viola player. First time in his life He has tried a guitar. He also started listening to more intelligent music, as "ELP", "King Crimson" and "Jethro Tull". After finishing his hi-school He have started practising Bass guitar. He was just playing along with his Bass greatest as Tony Levin and Flea and trying to catch their "feel". He was deeply influenced by King Crimson, and his favourite albums were THRAK (1996) and Absent Lovers (1984). It was a real pleisure for hin to play all those brilliant bass lines and to learn from them. He have met Or Argash, his good friend and excellent drummer, during his service in IDF. They used to play together here and there, and finally he had introduced hin to Lior Havkin and Orpaz Agranov. And then the Bedtime Story started.Now days I am studying at Jerusalem Academy of Music and dance, at the course of Jazz and modern music. Musical influences: His favourite band for today is "Yes" (Relayer, Tales From the Topographic Oceans). He passed through "King Crimson", "Genesis", "Jethro Tull", "Anglagard", "Porcupine Tree" and many many others. He also found of classical music (especially Bach and Beethoven) and Jazz (Miles and Chick Corea Electric Band). His favourite musicians are John Patitucci (The Electric Band), Tony Levin (King Crimson), Bill Bruford (King Crimson), Mike McCready (Pearl Jam), Alan White (YES), Eric Johnson (just Eric).
Comments:
Bedtime Story plays a kind of Progressive Rock using a variety of
musical styles and sources, combining elements from Symphonic Prog
Rock, Psychedelic Rock, Classic Rock and Jazz also, adding touch of
symphonism, strongly influenced by many old artists and bands from
60’s-70’s. Their music is very progressive, somewhere in the middle
between "Pink Floyd" (Meddle, Atom Heart Mother and Dark Side of The
Moon), using the symphonism of "Yes" adding the spacey and psychedelic
ingredients which are commonly found on the bands like "Hawkwind", where
the musicians don't hesitate to adventure themselves around hypnotics
instrumental passages, creating a sublime progressive music. Bedtime
Story have done a fantastic job with this album, all songs have the best
instrumental ingredients, the main attraction are, the strong melodic
vocal and also all atmosperic guitar solos, with beautiful keyboards
textures, where everything is done to lead us through this very special
musical universe full of rich, sweet and amazing melodies. You must
listen "Little Magic Mushrooms", "Land of the Dreams", "Pearl Chapter
I" and "Pearl Chapter II", there is something unreal and wonderful on
these songs. "Close your eyes.... put on your headphones.... Get ready
for a Bedtime Story". Brilliant, amazing, great, a fantastic band and
album, highly recommendable...
The musicians on the Bedtime Story are:
Lior Havkin - Guitars, keyboards and Ethnic instruments
Orpaz Agranov - Sound engineer, programming and Psychedelic effects
Leon B - Vocals, Bass, Viola and Cello
Or Argash - Drums and Darbuka
"Bedtime Story"
01) Little Magic
......Mushrooms
02) In A Cage
03) Land of the Dreams
04) The Irremovable
......Mask
05) Pearl Chapter I
06) Pearl Chapter II
Total playtime of 42 minutes. Arranged by Bedtime Story. Produced by Lior Havkin and Orpaz Agranov.
Also, you can read more informations about the musicians at the Band´s MySpace Site.
Would like any other information, questions or feedbacks about the band, please send e-Mail to Bedtime Story
Bjørn Lynne
Bjørn Arild Lynne (født 31. desember 1966) er en norsk komponist og musiker, tidligere kjent som Dr. Awesome. Han er bosatt i Stavern, Vestfold.
Bjørn Lynne viste en tidlig interesse for musikk. Hans musikkutdannelse er begrenset til å ha lært grunnleggende musikkteori og noter da han spilte i skolekorps («guttemusikken») i sine tidlige skoleår. Hans interesse nådde nye høyder da han i 1988 kjøpte en Amiga 500 hjemmedatamaskin, som han begynte å bruke til å skape egen musikk ved bruk av «Soundtracker»-systemet, som bestod av en slags programmering av sekvenser med lyd, som ble gjengitt av 4 lydkanaler med 8-bits samples.
Som skaper av musikk på Amiga computer ble han aktiv i den såkalte Amiga demo-scene hvor grupper av kreative utøvere (grafikere, programmerere, designere, animatører og musikere) skapte «demos» som hovedsakelig gikk ut på å imponere hverandre med sine kunnskaper og få datamaskinen til å fremføre mest mulig forbløffende multimedia-show. Det var vanlig å bruke pseudonymer, og Bjørn kalte seg på denne tiden for «Dr.Awesome» og var med i gruppen Crusaders, som bestod av kreative Amiga-eiere fra Skedsmo-distriktet. Dr. Awesome ble en av de mest kjente figurene i datidens data/musikk-kultur og i dag kan man enda finne hundrevis av Dr. Awesome-musikkstykker liggende fritt tilgjengelig på internett i soundtracker-format (MOD).
I denne perioden ga han også ut sin første CD-utgivelse. I samarbeid med finnen Seppo Hurme ble CD-en Hobbits & Spaceships selvfinansiert og selvutgitt i september 1992. Bjørn fulgte opp med musikk til et lokalt teaterstykke (Brave New Virtual World) og ga også denne musikken ut på en kassettutgivelse med samme navn. Deretter fulgte CD-en Montage, igjen selvfinansiert og selvutgitt, denne gang av Bjørn Lynne alene, i januar 1994.
I tillegg til alt dette spilte han også keyboards og sang i det progressive rockebandet Ab Intra. Bandet gjorde én profesjonell innspilling som ble med på CD-en This Is An Orange, en samle-CD over skandinaviske progressive rockeband i 1994. Bandet hadde også en konsert på Chateau Neuf i Oslo og gjorde en mengde amatøropptak av sine egne låter.
Bjørn Lynne flyttet i april 1995 fra Oslo til Wakefield i Storbritannia, og begynte der i stilling som komponist, musikkprodusent og lydprodusent for spillutviklerselskapet Team17 Software Ltd. Der ble en av hans første oppgaver å skape musikken og lydeffektene til det populære spillet Worms.
Samtidig var han heldig nok til å kunne bruke lokalene og utstyret til Team17 Software til sine egne private musikkprosjekter. Han fikk sitt neste soloalbum Dreamstate utgitt av Centaur Discs, et lite, uavhengig britisk plateselskap, i 1995. Deretter fulgte flere andre soloalbum, tidvis med noen gjestemusikere, men stort sett med Bjørn Lynne på alle instrumenter. Disse ble utgitt på forskjellige små plateselskaper, blant annet Mellow Records, Cyclops og Proximity Records.
I årene 1995–2005 skapte han musikken til et stort antall spill til PC, Playstation, Nintendo og XBox. Han ga også ut en hel del CD-er med musikk innenfor genrene progressive rock, elektronisk musikk, ambient, fantasy-musikk, avslapningsmusikk og techno-trance.
I år 2000 hadde Bjørn Lynne grunnlagt og startet den internett-baserte musikktjenesten Shockwave-Sound.Com[1]. Her tilbød han sin musikk til salg med «royalty-free» lisens, det vil si at et firma kan kjøpe musikken for rundt 200 kroner per sang, og denne prisen inkluderer en lisens til å lovlig bruke musikken i kommersiell sammenheng (for eksempel internett-side, video, tv-program, multimedia presentasjon, firma-CDROM, telefonsystemer, reklame, messefremføring, og så videre). Typen musikk som Bjørn hadde jobbet med viste seg å være godt egnet til dette formålet, og Shockwave-Sound.com oppnådde etterhvert nok suksess til at Bjørn kunne forlate sin jobb i Team17 Software og leve utelukkende av sin egen musikk, via CD-salg og lisensering av sin musikk til mediabruk.
Veien var dermed åpen for å kunne flytte tilbake til Norge, og Bjørn valgte å flytte til Stavern, etter å ha vært der på et lengre besøk i 2004. Han jobber nå i et eget studio i sitt hjem i Stavern, der han produserer musikk til royalty-free lisensering gjennom Shockwave-Sound.Com, sine egne solo-album og til andre små og store prosjekter.
Dreamstate (Centaur Discs, 1995)
Witchwood (Mellow Records, 1996)
The Void (Cyclops, 1997)
Wizard of the Winds (Cyclops, 1998)
Wolves of the Gods (Cyclops, 1999)
Revive (Cyclops, 2000)
The Gods Awaken (Proximity Records, 2001)
Offisielle, selvfinansierte utgivelser
Hobbits & Spaceships (1992)
Montage (1994)
Accelerator (2001)
Colony (2002)
Return to Witchwood (2003)
Soothe CD-versjon (2004)
Soothe 5.1 Surround Musikk DVD-versjon (2004)
Beneath Another Sky (2006)
Offisielle utgivelser under band-navnet Divinorum
Isms (1998)
Talisman (2000)
Power Liquids (2003)
Uoffisielle, «personlige» og mindre utgivelser
Alien Breed 3D Soundtrack (1995)
X2 Soundtrack (1996)
Decade (1997)
Seven Kingdoms Soundtrack (1997)
Seven Kingdoms II The Frythan Wars Soundtrack (1998)
Pig Detective Soundtrack (1998)
Worms 2 Soundtrack (1998)
Worms Armageddon Soundtrack (1999)
Statement (2004)
Bootlegs, kassett-utgivelser, begrensede utgivelser for spesielle formål, et cetera
Bjørn Lynne Demo-Tape #1 (kassett, 1991)
Hobbits & Spaceships, The Extras (kassett, 1992)
Brave New Virtual World (kassett, 1993)
Acoustic Adventures (samle-CD for promotion-bruk, 2001)
Ambient Sea (for lokal promotion, 2006)
Musikk til data- og videospill
Brat (Amiga, 1991)
Cubulus (Amiga, 1992)
Airline (Amiga, 1992)
Escape from Colditz (Amiga, 1992)
Fantastic Voyage (Amiga, 1992)
Project-X (Amiga, 1993)
Qwak (Amiga, 1994)
Worms (Amiga, PC, Mac, Playstation, Sega Saturn, Gameboy, SNES, 1995)
Dominion Storm (PC, 1996)
X2 (Playstation, 1996)
Dark Corona (Mac, 1996)
Seven Kingdoms (PC, 1997)
Addiction Pinball (PC, 1998)
Worms Pinball (Playstation, 1998)
Worms 2 (PC, Playstation, 1998)
Nightlong: Union City Conspiracy (PC, 1998)
Seven Kingdoms II: The Frythan Wars (PC, 1998)
Worms Armageddon (PC, Playstation, Gameboy, Sega Dreamcast, 1999)
Virtual U (PC, 1999)
Arcade Pool II (PC, 1999)
Phoenix: Deep Space Resurrection (PC, 2000)
Spin Jam (Playstation, 1999)
Siege of Avalon (PC, 2000)
Ford Racing (PC, 2000)
Stunt GP (PC, Playstation2, Sega Dreamcast, 2001)
Bomberman (PC, 2001)
Worms World Party (PC, Playstation, Sega Dreamcast, 2001)
Capitalism II (PC, 2001)
Worms Blast (PC, Playstation 2, Nintendo Gamecube, Nintendo Gameboy Advance, 2001)
Maximum Capacity: Hotel Giant (PC, 2001)
Restaurant Empire (PC, 2003)
Worms 3D (PC, Playstation 2, X-Box, Nintendo Gamecube, 2003)
Worms Forts: Under Siege (PC, Playstation2, 2004)
Blox Forever (PC, 2004)
Multiplayer Solitaire (PC, 2004)
Icy Spell (PC, 2004)
Blotto Lotto (PC, 2004)
Worms 4: Mayhem (PC, Playstation 2, X-Box, 2005)
Rock Around the Slots (PC, 2004)
Turbo Spirit XT (PC, 2005)
Bumpcopter 2 (PC, 2005)
Midnight Strike (PC, 2005)
Spinning For Gold (PC, 2005)
Worms Open Warfare (Sony PSP, Nintendo DS, 2005)
Lemmings (Sony PSP, Nintendo DS, 2006)
De fleste av disse er ikke bestillingsverk, men produsenten har kjøpt lisens til allerede eksisterende musikk komponert av Bjørn Lynne, og brukt i blant annet disse produksjonene:
BBC Meet the Ancestors
CBS 60 Minutes
Vampire Sisters (film)
The Oracle (film)
Granada Television UK: Uncovered
«Alwaleed - Businessman Billionaire Prince» (dokumentar)
«The Crashes that Changed Flying» (dokumentar)
«Power and Precision - an Introduction to Explosives» (dokumentar)
Virtual Van Cordtland Park og Virtual Chicago (treningsvideoer)
It Itches, It Burns, It Kills (uavhengig filmproduksjon)
Fordi Bjørn Lynnes musikk ligger tilgjengelig for hvilket som helst firma å kjøpe en lisens til å bruke hans musikk kommersielt, har den blitt brukt i bokstavelig talt tusenvis av produksjoner verden over, av store og små selskaper. Noen av de mer nevneverdige som har brukt Bjørn Lynnes musikk i sine produksjoner er:
MBNA Bank, Plc (musikk til telefonsystem)
London Planetarium
AOL, Microsoft, IBM, Yahoo, Prudential og andre (musikk til online reklame)
Raffles Hotel, Singapore (musikk til intern TV-informasjons kanal)
Starbucks
BBC, Granada Television, CBS (TV bruk)
«The Pocket and the Pendant» (lydbok)
Plasma Aquarium, Plasma art, Plasma nature, etc. (DVD'er for dekorativ bruk av flatskjermer)
Sky Television (bruk i interaktiv digital TV)
Blackmore
For de som vil lese mer om Ritchie Blackmore er dette siden http://www.blackmoresnight.no/
Siden er på norsk, og inneholder mye annet som bør falle i smak for de fleste musikkelskerne.
Brutal Prog
"Brutal Prog" was a term coined by Flying Luttenbachers leader Weasel Walter on the "avant-progressive" listserve in 2000 to delineate an aesthetic within the general idiom of progressive rock which is more focused on dissonance and intensity than traditional "prog". Brutal Prog is not an organized movement in anyway, but rather a term to delineate newer, more extreme bands from the traditional trappings of what is known as progressive rock. The posting from march 28, 2000 follows:member of avant-progressive: "I could also recommend the last Gorguts album, calle (sic) "Obscura", I've only heard one song off it, but is sounds interesting enough."response by weasel walter: "This gorguts album IS progressive rock from HELL. It is 60-minutes of total abstraction and incredibly (almost unbearably) intense. I don't think there's a bar of 4/4 on the whole album. The band acheives some really startling new timbres on the guitar - - this is no average death metal album. Not for the weak!!!! Highly recommended. I'm a fan of the more, uh, "brutal" prog a la Magma, Univers Zero, prime-Heldon, Massacre, Shub Niggurath, King Crimson 'Red'- era, Ruins, etc., so take it from me..."
The so-called brutal prog bands seem to have strong roots in or a likeness to one or more of the following historical aesthetics: DIY/punk attitude and aggression; the deconconstructivist/nihilistic "no wave" ethos; characteristics of the Rock in Opposition (RIO) movement from Europe; musical influence from some of the darker traditional progressive rock bands such as Magma, Present, King Crimson, Univers Zero; or the music of Japanese cult band Ruins (led by influential musician Tatsuya Yoshida). Other bands that predated the tenets of Brutal Prog include Cheer-Accident, Molecules, Dazzling Killmen, Doctor Nerve, The Muffins, Massacre
Ahleuchatistas
Despite adventurous attitudes towards structure and meter, many classic "prog" bands like Yes or Genesis focused on harmonic consonance, with diatonic tonality prevaling. Brutal Prog bands are generally more challenging harmonically, often engaging sophisticated approaches to dissonance. For many of the groups there is also an emphasis on speed or sonic extremity for its own sake. Audio fidelity is sometimes sacrificed in the name of rawness or urgency.
Major Bands:
The Flying Luttenbachers, Orthrelm, Upsilon Acrux , Grand Ulena , Zs, Yowie, Behold...The Arctopus, Hella,Cheval de Frise, Lightning Bolt, Ahleuchatistas, Ruins
Bloodbound
Nosferatu
Just a brief mention for this disk as it will undoubtedly be of interest to anyone who has followed the fortunes of Swedish band Tad Morose. Having been a great fan of that band's recent albums and especially having had the pleasure to meet and interview them after a festival performance in Sweden a couple of years ago, I was hugely disappointed when I heard that vocalist Urban Breed had quite the band earlier this year. The oft-quoted 'musical differences' being given as the reason.
New Swedish band Bloodbound was his chosen destination, which at first caused a bit of alarm. Image-wise they all dress up in gory costumes, painted faces and stand around crucifixes - more death metal than what I'm used to. Thankfully appearances can be misleading and the music on offer on their debut album is top-quality, melodic metal that owes a heavy debt to Iron Maiden. The guitar work is breathtaking in its simple effectiveness and each and every song has an instant lovability. Needless to say Urban's vocal performance is fantastic, showing again why he has a reputation as one of the best metal vocalists around. This will be an instant hit with fans of Tad Morose's last two albums, as long as you don't mind that there's not a progressive twiddle in sight.
As a rather ironic footnote - Urban Breed has now left Bloodbound - along with several other members. The irony is that his replacement is Kristian Andrén, who used to be the singer with - yes you've guessed it - Tad Morose. It's a small world.
Tracklist: Behind the Moon (6.27), Into The Dark (4.31), Nosferatu (6.23), Metal Monster (4.24), Crucified (3.50), Desdemonamelia (4.14), Fallen from Grace (4.45), Screams In The Night (4.40), For the King (3.49), Midnight Sun (3.51), On The Battlefield (5.57)
Beatles
Nytt Beatles album er klart.
Denne gangen dreier det seg ikke om noen ny best-of eller resirkulering av gammelt materiale, men ny-miksede låter til en kommende forestilling fra Cirque du Soleil. Albumet er mikset av ingen ringere enn Beatles` gamle produsent Sir George Martin og hans sønn Giles. Prosjektet har sin fulle støtte av Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr og Beatles-enkene Yoko Ono og Olivia Harrison.
Albumet får tittelen “Love” og skal være i salg i løpet av november måned. Cirque du Soleil-forestillingen har allerede hatt premiere i Las Vegas og spilles i mange måneder framover. I forbindelse med albumet uttaler George Martin: “The Beatles var alltid på utkikk etter nye måter å uttrykke seg på, og dette er enda et skritt fram for dem.”
Giles Martin fortsetter: “Vi har tatt alle Beatles-låtene fra bånd, fra de originale to-, fire- og åttespors opptak, og har skapt et helt nytt lydbilde. Det folk vil komme til å høre på albumet, blir en ny opplevelse; en måte å gjenoppleve hele Beatles’ musikalske vingespenn på”.
Cirque du Soleil er et slags moderne sirkus, som blander velkjente elementer som klovner og trapesartisteri med noe mer utradisjonelle sirkus-ting som opera, ballett og rockemusikk.
Brimstone Solar Radiation Band
Solice
Hvis Lynyrd Skynyrd hadde vært heltene i Hair, i
stedet for en gjeng dansende hippier, eller hvis Steve Earle hadde
sunget i Jefferson Airplane, ville kanskje utfallet hørt omtrent ut som
”Solstice”, The Brimstone Solar Radiation Bands andre album.
På første skive malte de himmelen oransje, på ”Solstice” har de gått løs
på resten av landskapet med et fargesprakende resultat. Cowboylandskapet
er like herlig tilstedeværende på dette albumet som på det forrige, men
det ligner mer på en scene fra Yellow Submarine enn Lucky Luke.
Solstice markerer både den lengste og korteste dagen i året, Brimstones
”Solstice” høres ut som en sann hyllest til den mest solrike dagen.
Bandet har vokst betraktelig siden sist, debuten var mer enn lovende,
men på denne skiva hører man et band som virkelig har funnet ut hva de
driver med.
Kort sagt trenger man ikke stort mer enn Brimstones ”Solstice” og en
gløtt med solskinn for å sikre at sommerferien blir en suksess.
Solstice was
released before summer solstice, which means this review is late, again.
I bought the album at the Big Dipper record shop, along with three other
albums; White Stripes' Get Behind Me Satan was one of them. The total
cost of the albums was 666 Norwegian kroner. Pretty diabolical and
scary, especially considering the latter title, eh? Next day I couldn't
remember what the word Brimstone meant and found some dictionary on the
Net. Fire and brimstone did I find out! In the process I downloaded some
fiendish virus and the computer went bananas. I didn't think I was
superstitious, but next time the amount adds up to the Number of the
Beast, I guess I'll find some nice extra single or something to buy too.
Anyway, the incident might be an excuse for the late addition of this
tasteful dish on our menu.
We've had brief encounters with the Brimstone gang here at the Kafè
earlier. Their debut album had a booklet held in white, brown and
orange. The new one has expanded with yellow, red, green and black, and
so has the music. And the band has expanded into a quintet. New recruit
Erling Halsne Juvik (who briefly guested on the debut album) plays
guitars, keyboards, banjo, mandolin and lap steel. Especially the three
latter instruments have moved Brimstone into new territories, with some
Nordic and British folk tendencies and even more folk/country feel from
the northern Americas.
Still, the main focus is American and British psychedelic rock around
the late 1960s and early 70s and the main attractions are the interplay
of two electric guitars and keyboards. Among lots of elements the first
tracks have picked something from vintage Pink Floyd albums (around
Meddle, the epic "Echoes" in particular), or vintage Porcupine Tree
(around The Sky Moves Sideways) for that matter. Especially those
gliding guitar licks of "Back In The Days" and "Norwaii Five-0" and
treated piano sounds of the latter are Porcupine Floyd inspired
delights, indeed. Towards the end of Solstice I find something from The
Doors around LA Woman (the electric piano of "Riders On The Storm" in
particular).
Some instruments like bouzouki and sitar might indicate an exotic
flavour and hippie associations. This is not the case; they are
integrated discreetly into the music. It's the total sound picture that
counts, not the individual members' instrumental skills. Great! In
addition, parts of "The Spirit Of The Airborne Hogweed" and "Back In The
Days II" include enough pop tendencies to prove Brimstone has talents in
the art of pop tunesmithing, too!
My ultimate favourite of the album is the sad, happy, snappy,
melancholic, humorous, folksy, dynamic and almost completely
instrumental "Norwaii Five-0" where guest musician Øystein Fosshagen's
violin really stands out. Btw., pop-connoisseur William Hut's vocals can
be heard on a couple of songs, too. As you might understand, Solstice
covers several different musical directions. I guess the hoarse voice of
main vocalist and multi-instrumentalist R. Edwards might not suit
everyone. It would probably have fitted better in a regular blues band.
If you can cope with that, most of those who've studied the history book
of rock to some extent will find several both well-known elements and
new combinations and gems of interest here. And don't you forget,
whether it has to do with favourite instrumentals or international
football qualifying matches: "Norwaii Five-0"!
Bo Hansson
A Brief History
With the recent release of the first of a trilogy of films related to Tolkien's Lord Of The Rings, it is only fitting that Forgotten Sons should take a good look at Bo (Bosse) Hansson, one of progressive rock's most famous multi-instrumentalists, credit mainly due to his adaptation to music of Tolkien's Lord Of The Rings, a piece of work still considered till this very day as one of the foremost works based on this epic tale.
Born in Stockholm in 1946, Bo Hansson's musical career took off in the late sixties when he was part of the duo Hansson & Karlsson who released three albums and managed to make a name for themselves on the musical circuit, both at home and in Europe. Such was the name that they made that the two also jammed with Jimi Hendrix for a marathon four hours, together with George Clemons (drums) and George Wadinus (guitar)(Blood, Sweat & Tears), a jam that was recorded and the tape of which has been kept by Hansson's producer Anders Lind. Furthermore, Hansson & Karlsson toured with The Experience as well as had the honour of having one of Hansson's tracks, Tax-Free, recorded by Hendrix.
The duo split up with Karlsson taking up an entirely different career as a comedian and TV host while Hansson persevered with his musical career. Whilst writing music, Hansson became fascinated with the works of J.R.Tolkien, especially The Lord Of The Rings and this would form the basis for his first solo work.
Recordings for the album took place at Bo Hansson's summerhouse (a remote island off Stockholm) on an 8-track recorder and at Studio Decibel, Stockholm with help from an entourage of musicians and friends who would aid him on most all of his solo albums. Production and mixing was entrusted to Anders Lind, who would also be responsible for the remastering of the album in years to come. The musicians who played on the album were Rune Carlsson (drums, congas, percussion), Gunnar Bergsten (saxophone) and Sten Bergman (flute). Both Lind and Carlsson would play on most of Hansson's albums.
The album was originally released as Sagan Om Ringen (Silence Records SRS 4600) in 1970 in Sweden, on Charisma (CAS1059) in 1972 in the UK, and on PVC (7907) in the USA in 1972. The album was an instantaneous hit on both sides of the Atlantic going gold in countries such as Great Britain and Australia.
An article by Tony Tyler from the New Musical Express of November 18, 1972 has Hansson "confessing" that "I originally intended to use voices - perhaps a girl soprano - on the tracks but when we contacted George Allen och Unwin (Tolkien's Publishers) they put a firm 'no' to the idea. So we had to use the term 'inspired' by Lord of the Rings' - and we had to keep it purely instrumental". Furthermore in the article Hansson admits to having wished to include a string section as well as more exotic instruments like the harp was not permitted to do so due to lack of finances resulting in the brunt of music having to be borne by the then still primitive keyboards, synthesizers and of course the moog.
By 1972, as his first album was being promoted worldwide to critical acclaim, Hansson had already recorded his second album titled, Magician's Hat or Ur Trollkarlens Hatt (in Swedish). Once again the Swedish release was entrusted to Silence Records (SRS 4615) with Charisma Records (CAS 1073) releasing the album a year later. This time round all recordings were at Studio Decibel, Stockholm with the services of Lind, Carlsson, Bergman and Bergsten retained from the Lord Of The Rings album. More importantly, the sound was further augmented with the introduction of a guitarist (Kenny Håkansson), whilst various guest musicians were utilised for the track The Sun.
A lot of hype was building around Hansson as can seen by the press release that accompanied the release of Magician's Hat.
Bo Hansson needs no introduction, everyone knows of his brilliant music from his time with Hansson & Karlsson and from his interpretations of "Lord of the Rings". Lord of the Rings has been much appreciated in Sweden, and has already sold 15000 copies, and it still sells. When it was released in England, there were thousands of advance orders and the first days it sold about 500 copies a day and this number is increasing. It will be released in the USA in spring. The interest for Bo Hansson in England was too big, New Musical Express flew an journalist over to Sweden for three days, to find out everything about Bo for the English readers. Melody Maker is on their way over here at this moment.
Bo Hansson creates his music in a different way. You can see this in the way it gets on tape and record. He has his own keys to the studio, and at night when the studio is empty, he goes down, connects all the machines, turns on his organ or guitar or moog synthesizer and sketches his ideas on an 8-track tape. When the ideas take form, Anders Lind (our technician and everything) comes to the studio. And a couple of musicians (good friends) comes in turns. Then they work together until the album is finished. Towards the end they work for 20 hours in a row, with the finishing touch and mixing of the work. All in all the process takes about four months. Everybody works as hard as they can, because the result must be great. "If people shall pay 32 kr for the album, they should have their money's worth."
Hansson's third album, which according to many music aficionados was his strongest in musical terms, was released in 1973 as Mellnväsen on the Silence Records label (SRS 4625). Charisma released the album as Attic Thoughts in the UK (CAS 1113) in 1975 while Sire Records (7527) were responsible for the release in the USA. Much of the album was recorded at Hansson's home which had become virtually a studio with much of the same line-up of musicians/friends who had played on Magician's Hat
With this album Hansson confirmed his maturity as a musical composer, managing to slowly build upon his body of works without losing that feeling of a fairy-tale atmosphere, his trademark sound which was essentially laid down on his debut album. By 1977, Hansson had conjured up his fourth album, this time round another album to be inspired by a novel. The novel in question is Watership Down by Richard Adams, a tale of five brave rabbits. Originally the album was released as El-ahrairah, The Prince With A Thousand Enemies, the clever rabbit folk hero about whom are written a number of stories within the novel. The novel was already used as a reference for a particular track on Attic Thoughts. Release in Sweden was once again on Silence Records (YTF 50350), Charisma (CAS 1132) and Sire Records (6044). Due to the lack of information regarding Bo Hansson, I must admit that it is an assumption of mine that Music Inspired By Watership Down and El-Ahrairah are one and the same album. I stand to be contradicted!
Strangely enough though inspired by Watership Down, the album does not feature references to the actual book but quotes snippets from various poets such as Keats and Pope. There seems to have a Best Of... album released in the seventies at least in Germany, on the Fontana label though it seems to be quite a rarity as I cannot find any mention of it anywhere in literature.
For some unknown reason, all seemed to go quiet within the Bo Hansson camp with a Swedish release in 1985 called Mitt I Livet his only album to date after the spate of releases in the seventies. Any comments I have read about this album have not been too complimentary especially when compared to his works in the seventies. Apart from the release of this album nothing else can be found regarding Bo Hansson though there have been reports that he has been ill and/or destitute, but I cannot confirm these reports.
Tracklist: Leaving Shire (3:28), The Old Forest/Tom Bombadil (3:43), Fog On The Barrow Downs (2:29), The Black Riders/Flight To The Ford (4:07), At The House Of Elrond/The Ring Goes South (4:40), A Journey In The Dark (1:10), Lothlórien (4:01), Shadowfax (0:51), The Horns Of Rohan/The Battle Of The Pelennor Fields (3:51), Dreams In The House Of Healing (1:56), Homeward Bound/The Scoring Of The Shire (2:54), The Grey Havens (4:57)
Bonus Tracks (on Remastered Version): Findhorn's Song (1:43), Before The Rain (1:31), Fylke(1:50), Playing Downhill Into The Downs (1:39), Wandering Song (3:13), Excursion With Complications (3:23), Rabbit Music, Attic Thoughts, A Happy Prank
Lineup:Bo Hansson (organ, guitar, moog, bass), Rune Carlsson (drums, congas, percussion), Gunnar Bergsten (saxophone), Sten Bergman (flute).
Recorded and Mixed by Anders Lind at Bo Hansson's summerhouse and at Studio Decibel, Stockholm.
All music produced by Anders Lind and Bo Hansson
All music composed by Bo Hansson.
Cover painting by Peter Lindholm on original issue). Further issues on the Charisma label utilised a sleeve design by Rodney Matthews.
Before delving into the details of this classic album one must stress the fact that the bonus tracks on the remastered edition of the album are not tracks originally intended for the LOTR album, but are tracks that would later surface on two of Bo Hansson's albums, Magician's Hat and Attic Thoughts.
As the name implies, the entire album was dedicated to the epic work of J. R. R. Tolkien, a timeless epic tale which was garnering interest in the early seventies because of the release of a film based on the book, much like today! Tribute to Tolkien is given not only in the title of the album but also with an insert that was included with the album (possibly just those on the Charisma label) which featured a photograph of J.R.R.Tolkien. The tale itself was sub-divided into six books, not all of which are given equal attention by Hansson. In fact he only dwells on Books I, II and VI with books III and IV completely swept by over a few seconds.
The album starts off with Leaving Shire, a track which immediately sets the mood and more importantly the tone that will be present throughout the whole of the album. There is a sort of Middle Eastern feel to the music as Hansson merges the characteristic wavy Hammond sound with the delicate nature of the Moog. The Old Forest/Tom Bombadil starts off in a spacey kind of mood with the first use of "sound effects" to appear on the album. If one listens carefully during the first (The Old Forest) section one can make out the cries of the Nazgul. The entry of Tom Bombadil creates an upsurge in tempo as the music takes on a more psychedelic twist with sounds reminiscent of early Pink Floyd.
Fog on The Barrow Downs has an extremely eerie sound to it, mainly due to the high-pitched moog with the sounds of various flying insects and wolfs filling in the background scenario. With a title as The Black Riders/Flight To Elrond, one can only expect the track to be fast paced. The style on the track is starkly different to the rest of the album with it's Latin Santana-like percussion, complete with guitar solo. As we reach At The House Of Elrond/The Ring Goes South the music loses its Latin touch becoming more plaintive and moody. The guitar plays an important role in the creation of the right atmosphere which blends in well with much of the previous tracks.
The second side opens with the short A Journey In The Dark with its dark foreboding atmosphere as the party enter the Moria mines with the sounds of Gollum groping in the background. This track merges into Lothlorien, which features a slight percussive touch, yet which seems to be a variation on the theme that has been played out on the first side of the album. The re-evocation of a horse, this time Shadowfax, Gandalf's horse, brings in the Latin flavour and guitar work.
The Horns Of Rohan/The Battle Of Pelennor Fields sees Hansson re-introducing various sound effects into his music via various instruments. At times one can sense the arrows flying through the air together with the clashing of swords as the Battle takes place, amidst various percussive rhythms. Dreams In The House Of Healing, features a mixture of two moods as the music toys between the idea of a healing place, thus playing out a spacey theme, interrupted by various unpleasant dreams characterised by the strong percussion.
Homeward Bound/The Scouring Of The Shire is similar to Dreams In The House Of Healing, in that one senses a mixture of emotions being played out. There is a sense of festivity (courtesy of the use of the congas) together with a sense of a feeling of disappointment. However, all this is negated with The Grey Haven, with its organ drifting in and out of the mix, much like the sound of the rolling surf.
Unfortunately one of the main drawbacks that this album tends to suffer from is the fact that the sound of the organ is totally outdated. Nowadays the modus operandi of keyboards and synthesizers is worlds away from the days of the Hammond organ and the Moog synthesizer. The lack of variety within the overall tone of the album does tend to afflict the listener. Nevertheless the album still remains one of the most contemplative works related to Tolkien's Lord Of The Rings and when one takes into consideration the primitive nature of the moog, it is actually impressive how Hansson managed to convey such a variety of emotions and variations in colour and one can only wonder what he would have conjured up if he had to redo his work with the armamentarium available today.
Tracklist:Big City (7:20), Divided Reality (6:17), Elidor (1:34), Before the Rain (1:31), Fylke (1:50), Playing Downhill Into The Downs (1:39), Findhorn's Song (1:43), The Awakening (2:43), Wandering Song (3:13), The Sun (Parallell or 90°) (7:07), Excursion With Complications (3:23)
Lineup:Bo Hansson (Hammond organ, guitar, syntheziser, slide bass), Rune Carlsson (Drums, conga, cowbell), Kenny Håkansson (Guitars),Rolf Scherrer (acoustic guitar), Gunnar Bergsten (Saxophone, flute), Sten Bergman (Flute), Bobo Svensson (Electric Piano), Owe Gustavsson (Bass), Pelle Ekman (Drums), Göran Freese (saxophone), Bill Öhrstrom (congas)
Cover Painting by Jan Ternald; Back Photo by Gunnar Naeslund
Recorded, mixed and produced by Anders Lind and Bo Hansson at Studio Decibel, Stockholm.
All tracks composed by Bo Hansson
Arrangements: Kenny Hankasson (Track 10), Gunnar Bergsten (Tracks 1, 4)
Bo Hansson's second album, another instrumental piece of work was a more full-blooded affair than his first attempt. The fact that all recordings took place inside a proper studio, unlike LOTR which had been partly recorded on 8-track at his summer home, allowed for a more polished sound. Furthermore the line-up was augmented to create a broader musical texture allowing for various musical sounds to permeate throughout the recording and thus do away with the relatively atonal nature of his debut album. The CD release of the album on Silence Records is said to have added previously unreleased six minutes to the first track (The City), something which I cannot however confirm as I only posses the vinyl version of the album.
Once again the majority of the themes on the album have a fairy tale/fantasy association and it has oft been said that many tracks on the album are actually pieces of music that were already in existence during the making of LOTR, yet which for some reason or another did not make it to the final cut.
The new jazzier approach to recording by Bo Hansson is immediately felt in the opening The City with a much fuller involvement from various other instruments especially the saxophone. Furthermore, the much improved sound allowed for the drums to come to the fore of the recording allowing one to appreciate continuously changing time signatures. Another interesting point of interest on this album is the use of voices in an acapella format within the track, the first piece of music from Hansson to involve vocals. Much of the track has a very easy listening jazz touch with a constant conga rhythm, so very commonly used in many B-movies of the seventies.
Divided Reality starts off with a much more dramatic approach with some strong vocal accentuations, reminding me of 666 by Aphrodite's Child or even Italian seventies prog-band Area. Following the strange introduction, the track takes on a more acoustic approach with some strong percussion playing alongside some strong acoustic guitar and of course Hansson's organ and keyboards. At times one is reminded of the LOTR album, but one cannot deny that the music is definitely more mature and possesses a greater degree of variability.
Following these two rater lengthy tracks, Side One comes to an end with four short pieces of music each having its own unique touch though all having the flute dominate musical proceedings. The flute gives the band a new dimension bringing them closer to bands such as Focus and possibly King Crimson Mark I and though the final track, Playing Downhill Into The Downes sees a return to the conga-driven beat that was also present on LOTR, the group never distances itself from this "new" musical path.
Side 2 opens with Findhorn's Song, which has a spaghetti western feel to it, much in the vein of Ennio Morricone! Awakening on the other hand shows a degree more of musicianship with the unlikely use of the harmonica whilst Wandering Song is the first track since Divided Reality which can really stand it on its own as an individual track. The guitar work has a Steve Howe touch to it with frequent use of harmonics though the track does tend to become a bit bland after a short while.
With The Sun (Paralell or 90°), Hansson has enetered the realm of many of the electric based bands that have come before him such as Traffic indulging in a lengthy track which just churns out what sounds to be a somewhat improvised tune as guitar and piano lead out one solo after the other. The album comes to a close with Excursion With Complications, one of three noteworthy tracks on the album (together with the first two tracks). The change halfway through the track shifting from the dramatic keyboard sound to that of a big band swinging along gives the album that light hearted touch that was much needed.
Stylistically Magician's Hat sees Bo Hansson exploring a broader musical territory than he did on Lord Of The Rings. However the rather vague feeling on most of the tracks, many of whom involve just snippets of musical ideas which had not been expanded on leave the listener with a sense of unaccomplishment. The improvement in terms of production and musicianship over Lord Of The Rings is there for all to see, however there still seems to be that special touch missing from Bo Hansson's music that envelops the whole of the album to be able to call it a coherent piece of work.
Tracklist:Attic Thoughts a) March b) Repose c) Wandering, Time and Space, Waiting..., Waltz for Interbeings, Time for Great Achievements, The Hybrills, Rabbit Music a) General Woundwort b) Fiver, Day and Night, A Happy Prank Lineup:Bo Hansson (Organs, guitars, bass, synthesiser, mellotron and special effects, Rune Carlsson (Drums), Kenny Håkansson (Electric guitar), Jöran Lagerberg (Bass and acoustic guitar), Gunnar Bergsten (Saxophone), Rolf Scherrer (Acoustic guitar), Thomas Netzler (Bass), Mats Glenngård (Violin)
Recorded now and then during 1974/75 - sometimes at Bo's home, but mostly in Studio Decibel, Stockholm, Sweden. Mixed at Systems Lab 800
Cover paintings by Jan Ternald.
Recorded, Mixed and Produced by Anders Lind and Bo Hansson
All tracks composed by Bo Hansson except for Waiting... (Hansson/Håkansson)
Though Attic Thoughts would not match the sales of Lord Of The Rings and Magician's Hat, it is without doubt Bo Hanssons culmination in terms of musicianship. The experimentation with a band that had taken place on Magician's Hat had culminated in the writing of the album, the first album one can consider to be a full blown band contribution. There is even the first track present (Waiting) in which Hansson shares songwriting credits!
The opening Attic Thoughts, immediately shows that the whole of the sound of Hansson's repertoire has been beefed up with all instruments joining in the fray with prominence given to various musicians and instruments. This thus allowed for the music to develop on an unprecedented level vis-a-vis Hansson's previous works. It is true that the organ/synthesizer still remained the dominant force within the music, but guitars and flute also responded to various licks whilst the drums and bass also seem to be brought forward in the mix. Furthermore, one is struck by the relatively more accessible melody lines which seem to have a definite beginning and ending on this album, something which was sorely lacking on Magician's Hat.
Time And Space is nothing but one of the usual short spacey interludes that Hansson tends to like introducing into his albums which merges into Waiting... The fact that one of the co-writers of this track is in fact Kenny Håkansson is a clear indicator as to why the whole nature of the track is very different from anything else on Hansson's albums. The music has a more dramatic element to it with constant shifts in time signature altogether with a much more powerful driving force and rhythm. The constant shifting in time signature is further upped with Waltz For Interbeings with as can be expected the waltz making its presence every now and again. At times the music takes on an almost folksy feel, possibly because of the inclusion of the violin as a solo instrument, something which never happened previously.
Side Two opens with Time For Great Achievements, and for the first time we get Hansson playing a bombastic style that is so very reminiscent of many keyboardists from the seventies such as Wakeman and Vangelis. The Hybills is just one of those fillers, much like Time And Space on Side One, though the two-part suite Rabbit Music is the confirmation that was needed to prove Hansson's continuing musical maturity within the progressive rock instrumental field. Apart from the impressive musical nature of this track, one should also make an important consideration regarding the two sub-divisions of this suite. Both General Woundwort and Fiver are two of the protagonists of the Watership Down novel, an indication that this novel was already of musical inspiration to Hansson, even before his album which was to be titled Music Inspired By Watership Down!
Unfortunately, just when the music seems to be growing in stature, along comes a track such as Day And Night which takes us back to the style present on the Lord Of The Rings featuring a totally unconstructed piece of music though A Happy Prank saves the day. Though shorter than most of the pieces on the album it features some delicate interplay between guitar and mellotron, creating a dramatic closer to what is essentially an excellent album.
Unfortunately Attic Thoughts does not get the mention that Hansson's previous two albums gets, though as I have already said, it is musically his strongest piece of work to date. This is the first album from Hansson's repertoire that can be pinpointed as a definite progressive rock album and is the one which in my opinion has best withstood the test of time.
Tracklist:Born Of The Gentle South - After dark vapor have opress'd our plains for a long dreary season, comes a day born of the gentle south, and clears away from the sick heavens all unseemly stains. (Keats)
Allegro For A Rescue - Oh Happy state! When souls each other draw, when love is liberty and nature law. (Pope)
Legend And Light - The intellect of the wise is like glass; it admits the light of heaven and reflects it. (Hare)
Trial And Adversity - In this wild world the fondest and the best are the most tried, most troubled, and distress'd. (Crabbe)
The Twice - Victory - A victory is twice itself when the achiever brings home full numbers. (Shakespeare)
The Kingdom Brightly Smiles - O Peace! And dost thou with thy presence bless the dwellings of this war-surrounded isle; soothing with placid brow our late distress, making the triple kingdom brightly smile? (Keats
All sonds written by Hansson except for Born Of The Gentle South and Legend And Light (Håkansson/Hansson)
For the second time in his career Bo Hansson returns to the inspiration of a novel to be able to translate his music. This time round it is the novel Watership Down by Richard Adams, a novel which had already been an inspiration on his previous album for the track Rabbit Music. However, apart from the titles of the individual tracks, little more can be attributed to the novel and even then each track is accompanied by a quotation from a poem from various poets such as Keats, Pope and Shakespeare.
The information pertaining to this album is practically non existent. Seemingly it was released on the Charisma label prior to being released in Sweden, where as for all other Hansson albums it was given another title, El-Ahrairah. The album itself is devoid of the usual information one tends to expect on such an album such as the various musicians that participated in the recording and the only certainty is that Kenny Håkansson was once again involved due to his sharing of some of the songwriting credits.
Musically the album once shows that with the progress of time, the production facilities available to Hansson were continuously improving though one also feels that on this album Hansson has moved away from the relatively complex structures that were building up with each subsequent album. From the opening Born Of The Gentle South one feels that Hansson seems to be losing the plot. The track itself features a mixture of influences and feelings. At times one can still sense the fabled sounds of LOTR still lurking amongst the keyboard sections yet at the same time Håkansson's influence seems to be growing in stature with his guitar taking centre-stage giving the music a new approach with a distinctive Middle-Eastern flavour. Another possible attribution to the shift in style as well as approach was the continuous development of the synthesizer and various keyboards which thus allowed Hansson to vary his sound somewhat, especially when compared to the primitive conditions he would have worked in for his first album. Born Of The Gentle South remains one of the most intriguing pieces on the album with variations from a space-rock style similar to Tim Blake's solo works to Håkansson's guitar licks and runs. Possibly one of the flaws on this lengthy track is the time it takes for rhythm section to show any form of variety and this does become a bit tedious after a while. What is definite is that on tracks like this, the music has taken on a definite rock feel and moved further way from the jazz influences that Hansson seemed to be more enlightened by earlier in his career. The short Allegro For A Rabbit is just one of those typical Hansson fillers with little or nothing noteworthy to comment on.
The second side of the album opens with Legend And Light which has an uncharacteristic (for Hansson) slow pace to it with little in terms of variety. There is a nice flute and guitar duet accompanied by moving crescendo though not much else to write home about. Trial And Adversity is one of the more adventurous tracks on the album with what could be considered the most avant-garde approach of all Hansson's compositions. Elements of musique concrete appear throughout with plenty of Floydian references, yet at the same time Hansson manages to maintain that characteristic trademark fablesque touch of his.
On the other hand The Twice Victory has Hansson reaching for an Eric Serra/Vangelis approach with a slow paced build up with lots of repetition with the crescendo taken right out of The Lord Of The Rings album. The album comes to a conclusion with The Kingdom Brightly Smiles, a piece written for solo piano and admittedly one of the better of the short filler tracks that Hansson has presented on all of his albums.
Music Inspired By Watership Down seems to be an under appreciated album, possibly because of the quality and style of the albums that Bo Hansson had perviously released. As an individual album it features some great music, yet to those who have come to love the first few albums Hansson had released, Watership Down involved too much of a break away from the "old" mould. Having said that, of Hansson's first four album sit is the one that has best stood the test of time.
This compilation of material from Bo Hanssons early albums does not show up on any of the main record labels and the only reference I have to the album is actually a picture of the album cover which clearly depicts the Fontana label logo at the side. Apart from that I have still to see a copy of this album or at least find some literature on the album!
The only information I have managed to find on the album is on the website of Silence Records who mention the album in passing. Apparently it involves ahnsson's music with other artists supplying vocals and lyrics, was entirely in Swedish and sounds completely different from anything else Hansson had done previously. Suffice to say it is the only album from Bo Hansson's repertoire not to have been released on CD, which is a pity for collectors (like myself!). A few comments about the album seem to suggest that it is of an inferior quality, especially when compared to the standards of Hansson's seventies albums. Nevertheless it is still unfortunate that this music cannot be appreciated today because of the unwillingness of a label to release material.
Birdsongs Of The Mesozoic
Biography
Birdsongs of the Mesozoic began in 1980 as a side project by Roger Miller and Martin Swope, half of Boston's now legendary Mission Of Burma. Miller and Swope joined forces with Rick Scott and Erik Lindgren for what was originally conceived as a recording project only. In 1983, they released a self titled EP, Birdsongs of the Mesozoic.
With the demise of Mission Of Burma at about the same time as the EP's release, Birdsongs of the Mesozoic became a full-time band for all involved. In 1984 they released their second LP, Magnetic Flip, and began extensive touring to support its release. A year later they released another EP, Beat of the Mesozoic, and again set out on tour.
Roger Miller left the group in 1987 to concentrate on solo projects and was temporarily replaced by saxophonist Steve Adams, who would in turn be replaced by current saxophonist Ken Field. Birdsongs' new lineup recorded Faultline, released in 1989 for Cuneiform Records. The follow up, Pyroclastics, appeared in 1992. Shortly afterwards, guitarist Michael Bierylo replaced Martin Swope, who moved to Hawaii. In 1993 a collection of previously unreleased material from 1980-1987, The Fossil Record, featured the band's first lineup. This release paid tribute to Birdsongs' early years not covered by the Ryko release, Sonic Geology, another compilation featuring tracks from the first three LPs. 1995 saw the release of Dancing on A'A, the first album to feature the current lineup of the group.
Birdsongs' instrumentation is as varied and striking as its music: two keyboards, guitar, and saxophone blend with electronic and acoustic percussion (including a Mercury Cougar hubcap and a paint can) to produce sound "as meditative as it is physical, as rooted in classical structure and jazz improvisation as it is in rock 'n roll" (The Boston Globe).
Since 1994, the members of Birdsongs have been Artists-in-Residence at Dartmouth College and Massachusetts College Of Art. Other recent notable performances have included the Knitting Factory in New York City, the Honolulu Academy Of Arts, and the Monadnock Music Festival in New Hampshire.
The band's latest and most likely best album, Petrophonics, was released in 2000 to widespread acclaim. The band has played quite a few dates in support of the album including two festival appearances (NEARfest 2001 and Guimarces Art Rock Festival in Portugal), as well as select NYC appearances at the Tonic, Knitting Factory and Triad Lounge. The band also celebrated its 20th anniversary with a concert in their hometown of Boston.
Sonic Geology
Sonic Geology is a near-complete collection of songs from Birdsongs' early 80s releases on Ace of Hearts (Beat of the Mesozoic, Magnetic Flip, and the self-titled EP). These albums were never released on CD, but this compilation contains 16 of the 21 songs featured on those early releases (as well as two previously-unreleased songs: "Pulse Piece" and "The Common Sparrow").
This early version of Birdsongs of the Mesozoic featured pianist/composer Roger Miller. Miller wrote about half of the material that appears on this compilation, and as such was an integral part of the band's creative nucleus (indeed, the band originally began as a studio project of Miller's). Miller left the band in 1987, a year before their first Cuneiform release, Faultline. This album is a snapshot of the Miller-era Birdsongs.
Compared to more recent albums from Birdsongs, the material on Sonic Geology is raw and perhaps could be described as "noisy". An eclectic (to put it mildly) brand of music mixing RIO prog with neo-classical/minimalism and avant-garde styles, Sonic Geology is difficult to pin down with labels. The band relies heavily on keyed instruments (three of the four members on SG are credited with either piano or synthesizer), but they also throw in anything and everything that they can get their hands on. The CD liner notes contain an exhaustive list of various other instruments (sometimes makeshift, such as "hubcap" or "chain on metal") used by themselves or a slew of guests.
The typical song on this album is three to six minutes long, and features a basic theme that is then twisted, turned, and generally deformed to create something delightfully different. Highlights of this compilation for me include "The Tyger", "Ptoccata", and "Pulse Piece". More importantly, there are no songs that I would complain about as being bad... one by one, every song on this 71+ minute compilation steadfastly refuses to suck. Not all are memorable, but none are terrible or out of place.
While the band has since released The Fossil Record (1980-1987) on Cuneiform, this album remains important. Out of the 18 songs on Sonic Geology, only two ("Sound Valentine" and "Pulse Piece") also appear on The Fossil Record. The Fossil Record mostly contains previously-unreleased material, as well as two songs from the early Ace of Hearts albums that didn't make Sonic Geology. As such, The Fossil Record is not a replacement for the now out-of-print Sonic Geology, but rather, the two compliment each other. Together, they offer a complete look at "early" Birdsongs of the Mesozoic.
For established fans of the band, purchasing this disc is a no-brainer. Despite being out of print, I picked up a copy of this CD from eBay (for a mere $2.25... some CD vendors just don't realize what they have). For people interested in hearing the band for the first time, however, I would suggest picking up a copy of Petrophonics or Dancing on A'A (but if you see Sonic Geology being sold somewhere, grab it - you'll thank yourself later).
1988, Rykodisc, RCD 20073
Roger Miller - Piano, percussion
Erik Lindgren - Synthesizer, rhythm machines, percussion
Rick Scott - Farfisa, percussion, piano
Martin Swope - Guitar, percussion
Guests:
Steve Adams - Saxophone, flute
Allan Chase - Saxophone
Tom Hall - Saxophone
Cercie Miller - Saxophone
"Taki" - Dono (African drum)
Michael Cohen - Roto-Toms, cymbals, snare
Leon Janikian - Clarinet
Karen Kaderavek - Cello
Peter Prescott - Tomtom
Steve Stain - Chain on metal
Shiny Golden Snakes - 3:03
2. Ptoccata - 3:17
3. Waterwheel - 3:54
4. Pulse Piece - 3:14
5. The Rite of Spring (excerpts) - 6:47
6. The Orange Ocean - 2:25
7. The Tyger - 3:19
8. Scenes From A... - 5:02
9. The Beat of the Mesozoic, Part 1 - 5:32
10. International Tours - 2:51
11. Drift - 2:37
12. Final Motif - 4:00
13. Theme From Rocky and Bullwinkle - 1:29
14. The Fundamental - 2:48
15. Sound Valentine - 3:17
16. The Common Sparrow - 4:54
17. Lost in the B-Zone - 4:29
18. Triassic, Jurassic, Cretaceous - 7:55
Petrophonics
Damn. Another excellent album from the Rock-in-Opposition/Avant-Garde wing of the progressive rock family tree. Although the group was described to me as RIO, Petrophonics was certainly not what I expected. The album is extremely melodic and beautiful, putting the listener at ease rather than jarring him with teeth grinding dissonance. Birdsongs of the Mesozoic play in a highly experimental style driven mostly by piano, synthesizer and smooth saxophone. The band combines traditional prog, RIO, jazz, electronic and classical music into a distinctive and thoroughly enjoyable blend. Electronic pulses and percussive textures quiver behind grand piano dashes, swelling synths and soaring, melodic sax. The band delves into intentional repetition and dissonant territories every once in a while, making the ethereal melodies all more powerful when they return. Definitely an inspired band that knows what they're doing.
Some of my favorite tracks include "One Hundred Cycles", with its enchanting rhythms and surprisingly effective turntable scratches. Another is "Birdhead", which uses a distorted drum track as the basis for its choppy piano rhythm, to fascinating effect. "Dinosaurs Theme" simply rumbles over you with its churning guitar riff, while "Gravity Theme" has a beautiful, lilting jazzieness to it that reflects a delicate compositional touch. My only problem with the album is that it runs a little long and tends to lose me if I attempt to take it all in one sitting, which would keep me from declaring it an unequivocal masterpiece. Other than that this is extremely original, inspired and definitely something different for me. Birdsongs of the Mesozoic is one of the jewels of current progressive music, and though I haven't heard their prior albums, Petrophonics is supposed to be their best yet. Definitely a must for fans looking for adventurous contemporary progressive outside of the symphonic realm
Babylon
Babylon
Babylon were an American progressive rock band formed in 1976. Like some of their contemporaries, think of Pentwater, Lift, Mirthrandir (who, not surprisingly, all have a CD out on Syn-Phonic as well), they liked and played complex progressive rock. There is a difference, though: Babylon are more into melodies than the others. Influenced by Yes and Gently Giant, Babylon also shows trace of Van Der Graaf Generator. Complex, but not unnecessary complex structures, they tend towards the melodic approach of Genesis as well. And there's the unique part as well. The combination of influences makes Babylon very interesting and refreshing.
Babylon's one and only LP was
released in 1978 (with a slightly different cover). In 1989, Syn-Phonic
released a live recording from 1978 on two LPs. This CD contains the
four original tracks from that one and only studio album. These songs
are also on the live LPs, by the way.
The late seventies were not a good time for progressive rock bands.
Maybe because of this, it produced some very fine bands. The biggest
problem is how to find them! Well, thanks to a man like Greg Walker
(what's next, Greg - Netherworld?!) you can enjoy the inventive,
artistic, refreshing music of a band like Babylon. Here's musicianship
at its best, don't look any further. This will offer you all you ever
need - diverse and alternating tracks with great solos and beautiful
changes in time and atmosphere. Forget the tyring and boring copying
that the Grey Lady Downs and Arenas of this Earth offer us. This is
simply essential stuff.
Tracklist: The Mote In God's Eye (7:00), Before The Fall (10:54), Dreamfish (9:12), Cathedral Of The Mary Ruin (7:38)
Beethoven
Beethoven døde trolig av blyforgiftning
Avanserte analyser av Ludwig van Beethovens hodeskalle har vist at
den store komponisten døde av blyforgiftning. Men forskerne vet ikke
hvordan Beethoven fikk i seg alt blyet.
Analysene er foretatt ved det amerikanske
energidepartementets Argonne-laboratorium sør for storbyen Chicago.
Ørsmå biter av bein fra den store komponistens kranium har vært gransket
med laboratoriets kraftigste røntgenapparat.
Resultatene bekrefter teorien om at Beethoven, som døde i 1827 i en
alder av bare 56 år, led av langvarig blyforgiftning.
-
Arvestoffet DNA viser at beinbitene virkelig stammer fra
Beethoven, og andre analyser at de har sterkt forhøyd blyinnhold, sier
forsker Bill Walsh.
- Beethovens personlighet forandret seg mens han var på slutten av
tenårene og tidlig i 20-årene, og på denne tiden led han også av
magesykdommer. Disse symptomene stemmer godt overens med blyforgiftning,
mener Walsh.
Enkelte musikkhistorikere har antydet at årsaken til blyforgiftningen
kan ha vært Beethovens vane med å drikke vin av blybegre.
Andre tror han gjennomgikk medisinsk behandling der medisinene inneholdt
mye bly.
-
Blue-ray
Ett av IT-bransjens lokomotiver, HP, har i det siste uttrykt skepsis til Blu-ray fordi de mener kopisikringen er for hard. Flere andre PC-produsenter har gitt uttrykk for det samme. Blant annet Microsoft, som har valgt å støtte det rivaliserende formatet HD-DVD.
Brukerfiendtlig
Microsofts konkurrent Apple støtter Blu-ray nettopp fordi kopisikringen
er så streng. Det samme gjør brorparten av filmbransjen, med så godt som
alle de store filmstudioene i Hollywood i spissen.
Hva er det Bill Gates og HP-sjefen Mark Hurd er så sinte på? Svaret er at Blu-rays form for beskyttelse av innhold kanskje er det mest brukerfiendtlige tekniske systemet verden har sett til nå. I sin iver etter å hindre at folk lager kopier av filmer i HD-format har filmbransjen etter manges mening gjort det tilnærmet umulig å spille av filmene lovlig.
Redsel for DVD-Jon
På IFA-messen i Berlin i høst ga filmbransjen uttrykk for en «nå eller
aldri»-holdning. De vil bruke alle krefter for å avverge at en mann som
DVD-Jon slipper katta ut av sekken og gjør kopisikringen til en vits,
slik som med dagens CD og DVD.
Om de klarer det, skal være usagt. Men her kan du i hvert fall lese hvordan kopisikringen er ment å virke.
Både Blu-ray og HD-DVD-leire skal bruke varianter av systemet AACS (Advanced
Access Content System), som ble utviklet i fellesskap av Intel, IBM,
Panasonic, Microsoft, Sony, Toshiba, Disney og Warner.
I korte trekk virker systemet slik at det endrer seg om noen forsøker å kikke det i kortene. Det finnes to varianter: Ett for stuespillere og ett for programvarespillere på PC og Mac. Både maskinvare- og programvarespillerne inneholder halvparten av en nøkkel som trenger den andre halvparten for å fungere. Denne halvparten ligger på lovlig produserte disker, men skal ikke kunne overflyttes til kopier.
Om du prøver å spille en plate uten den korrekte nøkkeldelen, vil
spilleren rett og slett slutte å virke. Skal du få den på beina igjen,
må du ut på nettet for å søke om ny autorisasjon for spilleren.
Systemet virker ulikt for programvarespillere og maskinvarespillere. Hver kopi av nøkkelen i en spillerversjon for PC eller Mac er i utgangspunktet identiske. Derfor endres de med jevne mellomrom. Slik systemet er nå, må du med en PC-basert spiller (stuespillerne trenger bare nettforbindelse når de er hacket) laste ned en ny nøkkel innen seks måneder etter at du har installert programmet.
Deretter kreves det nye nøkler hver 3. måned. Om du unnlater å laste ned
disse, vil du ikke kunne spille av filmene du har kjøpt.
I stuespillerne er de ene halvparten av nøkkelen lagret i internminnet. Hver del er unik. Ingen spiller er lik en annen, selv om det dreier seg om samme merke, serie og modell. Disse nøklene skal ikke kunne overføres til noe PC-medium. Den eneste måten å se dem på, er i følge utviklerne via et elektronmikroskop. Ingen maskinvare-nøkkel vil fungere i en programvarebasert spiller. Om likevel skulle kunne gjenskape nøkkelen utenfor stuespillerens internminne, vil den altså ikke kunne brukes på en PC.
Om noen prøver å klone innmaten i en stuespiller for å produsere hackede
kopier, slutter den originale spilleren (og dermed kopiene) å virke i
det man prøver å aktivere de kopierte nøklene. Siden nøkkelen aktiveres
ved å gå ut på Internett, vil det straks bli fanget opp at to identiske
nøkler blir forsøkt aktivert. Det tillates ikke, og den originale
nøkkelen blir deaktivert.
Teoretisk kan det tenkes at noen utvikler en måte å aktivere nøklene på i et «lukket rom», uten å kontakte produsentens nettsted. I så fall vil spilleren uansett ikke kunne spille nye disker etter at den kompromitterte nøkkelen er avdekket. Og på sikt heler ikke gamle disker, siden hver ny disk undersøker om nøkkelen er gyldig og modifiserer den mens filmen snurrer. Om programvaren på en film oppdager en nøkkel som er rapportert på avveie, vil den gjøre spilleren ubrukelig.
Skrekkscenarioet for Hollywood vil dermed være at noen klarer å få ta i
nøklene til et så stort antall spillere at nettrutinene ikke klarer å
følge opp. Resultatet kan lett bli at hele serier av lovlig kjøpte
spillere blir ødelagt, noe som utvilsomt vil gjøre kundene rasende.
Det er her striden står mellom grovt sett Microsoft og HP på den ene side og Apple og filmbransjen på den andre.
I AACS inngår en del som kalles SPDC (Self-Protecting Digital Content).
Denne programvaren snuser opp forsøk på å kompromittere systemet. Om
innbruddsforsøk oppdages, stopper spilleren. Brukeren får en feilmelding
med beskjed om å laste ned oppdateringer.
Det er denne delen - i Blu-ray-sammenheng kjent som BD+, som PC-bransjen ikke liker. BD+ og SPDC er ikke lagt inn i HD-DVD. Rett og slett fordi HP og de fleste andre PC/Windows-produsentene synes det ovenstående er nok ris til pirater, kopister og hackere.
De frykter at systemet skal bli så komplisert at det både vil bli
vanskelig å forholde seg til både for produsenter og forbrukere.
Andre vil kanskje si at alt det andre - også det som er med på lasset i HD-DVD - er komplisert nok...
I tillegg kommer overføringsformatet HDCP, som er lagt inn i DVi og HDMI-portene, slik at skjermen din nekter å ta i mot uatorisert materiale digitalt. Denne kopisperren ble tidlig cracket av kryptografen Niels Ferguson, og det tyske firmaet Spatz tilbyr allerede utstyr som setter den ut av spill.
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Fredrick Springsteen ble født 23. september 1949 i Freehold, New Jersey. Han vokste opp i en typisk arbeiderklasse famile, og dette har hele tiden preget arbeidene hans
Famililien var ikke spesielt musikalsk, men han har selv sagt at etter at han så "The Beatles" på "The Ed Sullivan show", var han ikke i tvil om hva han skulle drive med. Familien, spesielt faren, var ikke særlig begeistret for de musikkgreiene, og Bruce har kanskje sagt det best selv fra scenen: "In my house there were two things that were unpopular, one was me, the other was my guitar". Selv skildrer vel Springsteen oppveksten sin, i konstant opposisjon, best på introen til "The River" (fra "Live 1975-85").
Han begynte karrieren i "The Castilles", et band som spilte inn en singel. Bandet ble oppløst da trommeslageren omkom i Vietnam. Han fortsatte i "Steel Mill", et band som ble mektig populært på østkysten, de spilte en en slags tung bluesrock, en slags forgjenger til heavy-metalen. Det var på den tiden han begynte å samarbeide med Steve Van Zandt, en person som senere skulle bli viktig, både som samarbeidspartner og venn. Han begynte også nå å bli kjent som en meget dreven gitarist; "The fastest guitarplayer in Asbury Park".
Etter "Steel Mill" fulgte to kortlivede band først timannsbandet "Dr. Zoom And The Sonic Boom" deretter det noget nedtrimmede "Bruce Springsteen Band". Begge disse bandene besto av folk som senere skulle utgjøre "The E-street Band".
I 1971 møtte han Mike Appel, som ble mangeren hans, og han skaffet Springsteen en audition hos den legendariske talentspeideren John Hammond (kjent som mannen som oppdaget Bob Dylan). Det var han som signet Springsteen til Colombia. På denne tiden lette plateselskapene desperat etter en artist, som skulle bli den "Nye Dylan", og med sine ganske kraftige ordflomtekster passet nok Springsteen innunder denne betegnelsen. Dette var også det som nesten skulle bli døden på ham som plateartist.
I begynnelsen av 1973 kom debuten "Greetings from Asbury Park, NJ", en plate som var veldig preget av de nå hadde funnet den "Nye Dylan". Men selv med hjelp av Colombia's massive reklame kampanje og rimlig god kritikk, så floppet platen og solgte kun 25000 eksemplarer. Litt morsomt er det at det er en mengde kjente artister har valgt sanger fra akkurat denne platen til å spille inn covere av, deriblant David Bowie, og Manfred Mann's Earth Band. Sistnevnte spilte inn hele tre låter fra denne platen, der "Blinded By The Light" ble en kjempehit for dem.
Allerede ni måneder senere i November, kom oppfølgern "The Wild, The Inocent and the Estreet Shuffle". Denne ga et noe klarere inntrykk av hva som skulle komme senere, men den levde på ingen måte opp til konsertene, som nå begynte å bli hans varemerke. Denne platen solgte likevel ikke mer enn forgjengeren, og det var på denne tiden rykter om at Colombia ville droppe han, men i 1974 skrev den kjente rocke-kritikeren Jon Landau en anmeldelse fra en konsert i Boston, der han kom med den udødelige uttalelsen: "I have seen the future of rock'n'roll, and its name is Bruce Springsteen". På denne tiden tok Mike Appel Springsteen med seg inn i studio igjen for å spille inn en ny sang kalt "Born To Run". Ni måneder senere ville de slippe den som en singel, men Colombia mente den var for lang og ville ikke gi den ut. Mike Appel tok saken i egne hender og sendte taper til forskjellige radiostasjoner som begynte å spille den, og den ble en hit helt utenom "systemet". Dette gav Springsteen fornyet tillit, og i 1975 kom hans tredje album kalt "Born To Run".
Under innspillingen av denne, hadde det oppstått alvorlige gnisninger mellom Springsteen og Mike Appel, og når turnen var over, så saksøkte Springsteen sin manager, og hyret samtidig inn den nyfunnene vennen Jon Landau som manager og produsent. "Born To Run" var en hit, og turneen som fulgte, brakte Springsteen ut av den skyggen han hadde vært til da. Men det skulle drøye helt til 1978 før neste plate "Darkness On The Edge Of Town" kom ut. Og det var her hvor The E-street Band for første gang kom til sin rett i studio. Dette var også første platen hvor Steve Van Zandt ble involvert, og på neste plate, den doble "The River", som kom i 1980, var han en del av teamet som skulle gjenskape det unike soundet bandet hadde når de spilte live, men som de til da ikke hadde vært i stand til å gjenskape i studio. Det var med "The River" at Springsteen virkelig fikk sitt internasjonale gjennombrudd, og i kjølvannet av platen så fulgte også hans første verdensturne, som blant annet også førte han til Norge og Drammenshallen i 1981. Platen gav også Springsteen hans første singelsuksess med "Hungry Heart" som nådde sjette plass på de amerikanske hitlistene.
Da turneen var over, og det var på tide å følge opp suksessen, valgte Springsteen i stedet i 1982 å gi ut "Nebraska", en samling helt nedstrippede sanger spilt inn på en firespors opptaker hjemme på soverommet. Dette var en samling med sanger som han først hadde forsøkt å spille inn sammen med The E-street Band, men som han til slutt valgte å gi ut som den demoen det egentlig var.
De neste to årene ble tilbrakt i studio med den samme gjengen som produserte "The River", Jon Landau, Chuck Plotkin og Steve Van Zandt. Resultatet er en av verdens mest kjente og kjøpte rockeplater gjennom tidene "Born In The USA". Det var med denne platen at Springsteen virkelig ble superstjerne. Denne platen leverte hele syv singler, og gav han hans største hit noensinne "Dancing In The Dark" som nådde andre plass i USA (bare slått av Prince). Turneen som fulgte i kjølvannet var en av de største gjennom tidene. Turneen var en kjempesuksess, som blant annet førte ham til Gøteborg, der fansen presterte å knekke fundamentet på Ullevi under "Twist and shout". Denne platen viste Springsteen fra sitt mest tilgjengelige noensinne, og tittelsporet er vel den mest misforståtte sangene gjennom tidene, med sitt allsang vennlige refreng, men rimlig dystre verselinjer.
Det var før denne turneen at Steve Van Zandt forlot The E-street Band for å satse på en solokarieere under navnet "Little Steven". Han ble erstattet av Nils Lofgren, som blant annet tidligere hadde spilt med Neil Young.
Supersuksessen ble fulgt opp med boksen "Live 1975-85", som gikk direkte til topps i USA, selv om den inneholdt fem plater.
Først i 1987 fikk man en oppfølger til "Born In The USA". Da ble "Tunnel Of Love" utgitt, men for de som håpet på en oppfølger i samme rettning som "Born In The USA", ble meget skuffet. "Tunnel Of Love" var en rimelig lavmælt affære, med rolige sanger om relasjoner mellom menn og kvinner, et emne han egentlig ikke hadde skrevet om før. Sanger til stor del spilt inn i et hjemmestudio, hvor Springsteen spilte det meste selv, og medlemmene av The E-street Band ble brakt inn for å spille når det trengtes. Senere under turneen kom han til Norge igjen, men denne gangen solgte han ut Valle Hovin. Når "Tunnel Of Love Express" turneen var over, og en seks ukers turne med bl.a. Sting og Peter Gabriel, "Human Rights Now". Da ble det stille. Springsteen oppløste The E-street Band, og flyttet fra New Jersey til Los Angeles, der han giftet seg med en av kordamene, Patti Scialfa, og stiftet familie.
I 1992 kom albumene "Human Touch" og "Lucky Town", de debuterte på henholdsvis på andre og tredje plass på listene, og falt kjapt, og de ble heller lunkent mottatt av både presse og publikum. Men turneen som fulgte i kjølvannet viste at han fremdeles var relevant som konsertartist, og igjen besøkte han Norge og Valle Hovin.
I 1995 kom samle platen "Greatest Hits", som inneholdt fire nye sanger spilt inn med The E-street Band. Den platen solgte meget bra, men som etter sitt forrige gjennombrudd med "The River" i 1980 så gjorde også Springsteen "en Nebraska" denne gangen også. Senere samme år kom hans kanskje mest politiske plate noensinne, den heller rolige, men absolutt ikke kjedelige "The Ghost Of Tom Joad". Mye av inspirasjonen til platen (bl.a. tittelen) kommer fra John Steinbecks Nobelpris-vinnende bok "The Grapes Of Wrath" ("Vredens Druer" på norsk), og tar for seg bl.a. meksikanske innvandrere i Sør-California. Etter denne platen fulgte Springsteens første akustiske turne, der han fokuserte mer på tekstene ved å presentere nedstrippede versjoner av sine kjente låter, deriblant en rolig versjon av "Born In The USA", der teksten virkelig kommer til sin rett.
I 1997 kom fire-cd boksen "Tracks" som presenterte nærmere 60 uutgitte sanger fra hele karrieren. Den skal i følge Springsteen selv vise den alternative veien og ikke den han tok på platene sine. Mange fans er enige om at mye av materialet på "Tracks" overgår mye av det han har gjort som er gitt ut.
Høsten 1998 begynte ryktene å gå om at Springsteen hadde gjenforent The E-street Band, og våren 1999 kom beskjeden alle fans hadde ventet på i ti år, de skulle på turne. Turneen begynte i Spania i april, og dro gjennom Europa, før den endte i Oslo 27. juni. Etter det lå USA for tur, der den startet med 15 utsolgte kvelder på "Continental Airlines Arena" (ca 40000) i New Jersey, og endte med ti utsolgte kvelder i New Yorks "Madison Square Garden". Selv om man kan si at dette var en "cash-in" tur, så har han bevist at han fremdeles evnen til å provosere selv etter 35 år i bransjen. I mai 2000 greide han å erte på seg hele NYPD, med en sang "41 Shots (American Skin)". En sang som omhandler en ubevepnet immigrant som ble skutt av politiet. Så man kan vel kalle ham en legende som kanskje ikke virker så gammel allikevel.
The Estreet Band - past/present
Garry W. Tallent Bass 1972-
Danny Federici Orgel 1972-
Vini Lopez Trommer 1972-75
Clarence Clemons Saksofon 1972-
David Sancious Keyboard 1972-75
Ernst Carter Trommer 1974-75
Max Weinberg Trommer 1975-
Roy Bittan Keyboard 1975-
Steve Van Zandt Gitar 1975-83, 1999-
Nils Lofgren Gitar 1984-
Patti Scialfa Gitar, Vokal 1984-
