Malibran are Giuseppe Scaravilli - vocals, electric and acoustic guitar, flute, bass and keyboards; Giancarlo Cutuli - flute and saxophone; Jerry Litrico - electric lead guitar; Alessio Scaravilli - drums and percussion; Benny Torrisi - piano and keyboards and Angelo Messina - electric bass. Two tracks from each of their albums apart from a single excerpt from their first album “The Wood of Tales” (1990), a vinyl release are included on this compilation. ‘Trasparenze’ apparen

Gracious! supported The Who on tour in 1968. Touring with King Crimson prompted them to purchase a mellotron and change to a more progressive style. Their prospects were not boosted by the plain white ‘wallpaper’ image on their Vertigo debut in 1970 and their second album ‘This is Gracious!’ is often the more highly acclaimed of the two due to its variation in style incorporating rock, blues alongside symphonic prog as well as the interplay between the mellotron and electric

It’s hard to believe this album is 50 years old. Its core is in two parts bookending the album. It’s entitled ‘Shine on You Crazy Diamond’ in tribute to founder member Syd Barrett. On part one Dave Gilmour re-establishes himself as an incisive and inventive guitarist while part two veers into jazz funk territory – well, Nick Mason did call the album “the descendent of “Meddle”. The title track has become a busker’s standard. Apart from that are two songs which take a dig at t

“The third and final volume in the 'Before the End' series; a collection of non-album tracks and assorted songs brought together from the years 2022 to 2025. Like the previous instalments, everything here has been carefully remastered and sequenced to work as a cohesive album in its own right.” ‘Just Another Goodbye’ begins the album with “a touch of fusion”. The vignette ‘Project B’ sounds unfinished, electronic in style along with the more substantial ‘Project A’. All instr

“Underground Sounds of 1968” has an eclectic mix of music during a very creative period; some will be familiar, others not. CD one has big hits like ‘Fire’, ‘This Wheel’s on Fire’ and ‘I’m the Urban Spaceman’ rubbing shoulders with an obscure Genesis track (‘One Eyed Hound’) and nearly made it bands like Dantalian’s Chariot (‘World War Three’ and ‘Soma (Parts One and Two)’, Eyes of Blue and Tomorrow. Of course, the musicians from many of these bands went on to greater things.

This is one of my favourite albums, period. While there is no more keyboard dualling (Graham Field has left to form Fields. Mark Ashton has also gone to be replaced by Fred Kelly on drums), there is plenty of guitar interplay to make up for it. It’s hard for me to spot a weakness on Rare Bird’s first of three albums for Polydor and the single, an EP really,  that is included is the icing on the cake; outstanding songwriting, singing and playing throughout. Personal relationsh

Rare Bird was increasingly sounding like an American band on a rather lightweight album, far from their more progressive roots. Nothing wrong with that and they do it rather well. Taken for what it is, the desultory reviews were a bit unfair. Rare Bird remain great song writers. ‘Diamonds’ is a good funky example; the music is easy on the ear. This song and ‘Last Tango in Beluah’ (over long perhaps?) made it into their live act. (Also ‘Lonely Street’ and ‘All That I Needed’ –

An alternative sleeve, no longer gatefold, 200g vinyl. The ‘Cirkus’ track sounds very different to the original and was produced and mixed from the original tapes by David Singleton and Alex ‘Stormy’ Mundy. In extremis ‘Happy Family’, the track that inspired the name of a Japanese prog rock band, is presented as an instrumental. A lot of liberties are taken with the drums and percussion as well basically to demote them to either not being there at all or much reduced in volum

RARE BIRD – BEAUTIFUL SCARLET: THE RECORDINGS (1969-1975) EPIC FOREST (Esoteric Recordings) (CD boxset) (the third album) This is one of my favourite albums, period. While there is no more keyboard dualling (Graham Field has left to form Fields. Mark Ashton has also gone to be replaced by Fred Kelly on drums), there is plenty of guitar interplay to make up for it. It’s hard for me to spot a weakness on Rare Bird’s first of three albums for Polydor and the single, an EP really

‘What You Want to Know’ is a strong opening ballad. The mono single is also included. The replica gatefold sleeve is also much appreciated and, of course, the informative booklet and poster. The four part ‘Flight’ takes up the whole of side and this signals the more progressive approach taken. The keyboard palette has changed with what sounds like a harpsichord on ‘Down on the Floor’. ‘Hammerhead’ could have been a Van Der Graaf Generator song and was released as a mono singl

Rare Bird existed for just six years but what a six years! Each album provided something unique, labelled under progressive rock but not so easily pigeonholed. The bittersweet ‘You Went Away; finishes with a short drum solo (Mark Ashton), for heaven’s sake. It is 1969 and Rare Bird would enjoy success with ‘Sympathy’, later covered by Marillion. They also had two keyboard players: David Kafinetti (piano. Synth) and Graham Field (organ). Steve Gould was the bassist/ vocalist,

FROM THE ARCHIVE I have been reviewing the prolific improvisational space rocker Øresund Space Collective . Going back to “Ode to A Black Hole ” (2016), also by is very different. The synths take centre stage to a backdrop of heavy toms recalling the feel of Pink Floyd ’s early space explorations, guitar making an appearance later on in the second (long) piece, in a kind of Tangerine Dream  way. Mind you, it’s more of a tranquil, trippy experience than a being ripped apart as

THE MUSIC: Caravaggio is an Art Prog band with a Mediterranean flavour. A classic rock lineup – INSTRUMENTS:  electric guitar, bass and drums – meets traditional Mediterranean instruments such as accordion, bouzouki, mandolin, percussion, jigsaw WHAT’S IN IT FOR PROG LOVERS?: A distinctive sound that explores the boundaries between art rock, hard rock, world music, and progressive rock COMPOSITION:  Unconventional chords, ethnic melodies and jazz harmonies are frequently used

‘ Running in the Gutter’ is BABAL’S 13th album, as we enter an “immersive world of intense lyricism and musical ideas” in “a beautifully crafted selection of hypnotic and rhythmic pieces, each delving deeply into the world we think we know.” The lyrics and strident vocals are in the DNA of the music with room for improvisation. “Could it be argued that Crass are joining forces with Cardiacs to deliver a Beefheart take on Byrne?” the press release asks. Kevin Rowland says the

The Swedish-based duo Us and Them’s stock in trade is vocal harmonies and strong melodies with elements of folk, psychedelia and baroque pop. Their “Introduction To” (also on Fruits de Mer) was a sell-out. Britt and Anders of the band explain the intention behind this somewhat introspective release: "While working on it, the songs were pulling in two directions, partly towards the pastoral and idyllic - a kind of escape from reality and a denial of the world that is going on

Featuring Paul "Sandy" Davis (lead vocals, 12-string guitar), Alan Cowderoy (lead guitar, vocals), Martin Kitcat (Mellotron, organ, piano, vocals), Tim Wheatley (bass, vocals) and Robert Lipson (drums), the band first came to prominence in 1968 when they supported The Who on tour. They recorded a single for Polydor Records before a support slot for King Crimson in 1969 led to them purchasing a mellotron and changing style. In 1970 their debut self-titled album appeared on the

Fans of the band's proto-metal-prog will find much to appreciate in this music with a dark, modern edge, Notwithstanding that the 'sole survivor; Steve Bolton is joined by a band of keen apprentices, the new Atomic Rooster are undertaking a UK and Europe wide tour to promote the album, in the true spirit of the Rooster.

How this for a list? King Crimson, U.K., Asia, Roxy Music, Family, Uriah Hepp, Wishbone Ash. The box set had been curated by the Wetton estate culled from live performances. To name just a few of the highlights 1) Heat of the Moment 2) Easy Money 3) In the Dead of Night 4) Starless and Bible Black 5) The Night Watch 6) Book of Saturday 7) Sole Survivor Need I go on? There is quite a bit of repetition in set lists spanning Tokyo (1997/1999) and quite a few surprises such as gu

Gary: 'Composed by Alexander Shulgin the mainstay of material was for solo and double tracked acoustic piano. A special request came from Alexander to involve a special guest performer of my choice for composition number 13! Since I had a vaguely Indian flavour to my arrangment of this piece (in a count of 7 beats) I decided acoustic guitar would be pretty 'nice'. The response from Bandcamp has been striking as another little gem emerges. Credits: Gary Husband - Piano, Arrang