Friday, October 27, 2006

Sickness strikes again!

Well I hate to say this but it seems as though the germs have won once again. Yes indeed, I have been hit heavy with the coughing sneezing sore-everything bug and I can't seem to shake it. What this means is that I couldn't record a show this week with Mr. C0ops. Don't worry friends, all hope is not lost. I may find a guest host to fill in for this week and at least get all the news out of the way while I rest up for next week. Keep an eye open this Saturday night for what should be something that seems to be episode 4.

While you're at it mark Tuesday, Noverber 7th in your calendars as Genesis release a post-Halloween suprise and let all the details about their upcoming tour out of the bag. The Prog Rock Blog ProgCast will be your number one source as we will dig the details and bring it to you in a special edition all-Genesis ProgCast the following day. Keep your MP3 player locked on your favorite source for ProgNews the Prog Rock Blog ProgCast.

Saturday, October 21, 2006

ProgCast - Episode 3

Download MP3 here.

News
Sample New Spock's Beard songs.
Chris Squire says 'stay away' from new Syn album Armistice Day.
Details from Mike Portnoy on new Dream Theater album.
Genesis tour details.

Album Reviews:
Steve Howe - Natural Timbre

Debate:
Lyrics in Prog, a waste of time?

REVIEW: Steve Howe - Natural Timbre

This album marks a bit of a turning point for me as an album reviewer (review-ey?, review-writer-type person?) Up to now I've either written about an album that I've had little to no emotional connection to and have given it a mediocre-ly decent review, or I've written about an album that is really close to my heart and have given it a much deserved high rating. The following review may be a bit of a challenge for me as it's an album that is really close to my heart, but I cannot justly give it a perfect score. Allow me to explain why.

When Steve Howe released his Natural Timbre album in 2001 it seemed to go by without much of a blip on the Prog Rock scene's radar. It was considered essentially just another release by Howe in these, the later days of his career. It seemed to flicker by without a hoot or holler. It barely sold anything. It was, at least in commercial terms, a flop. I find this to be a tragic occurrence indeed.

When I happened upon this album, it was in a used CD shop here in Toronto. I was in this store with my girlfriend and she was the one who first noticed it. The rare occurrence of finding an album by such Prog Rock giant that we've never heard before seemed to be justice enough to pick it up for ten bucks. And a worthy purchase it was. The first thing that should be noted of this album is that it is entirely acoustic. No electric amplified guitar is found anyway on the entire disc. This is a noteworthy fact considering that Howe is probably best known for his electric guitar pyrotechnics that can be found on epics like Awaken and such. The trick here is to not think typical Howe. It is not an album filled with his acoustic 'solo' pieces such as Clap or Mood for a Day. These are complex layered acoustic guitar pieces with the occasional solo guitar track sprinkled in for taste.

Using modern recording technology to it's fullest, Howe as created a full guitar ensemble by overdubbing himself many times on each track. What this means is that each track is layered with a plethora of guitars each providing a layer to what turns out to be a very dense pieces of music indeed. Not dense in the sense that they're hard to listen to, but in the sense of depth of sound.

The range of guitars that Howe plays include banjo, bass, dobro, mandolin, percussion, autoharp, twelve string guitar, koto, mandola, mandocello, Hawaiian Lap Steel guitar and of course the traditional six string acoustic and Spanish guitar. Any number of combinations of these guitars can be featured in the same song. Backed by his son Dylan Howe playing a perfect drum part as well as the occasional inclusion of Anna Palm on Violin, each track is a true treat.

The last few tracks are noteworthy because Howe has done acoustic renditions of some Yes classics. Your Move, To Be Over and the middle section Starship Trouper are all arranged in a beautiful way, featuring all the layers of acoustic guitar and even lead guitar parts playing the role of lead singers.

The hardest thing for me is not giving this album a perfect score. For me personally this is an amazing beautiful album. I love it more then most albums I own in my vast collection, but this is not true for most Prog Fans. It is not a traditional Prog album as it is completely acoustic, which alone may drive away some hardcore Howe fans. However if you want to hear this amazing Prog legend in a stripped down setting and want to hear one of his own personal favorite albums he's ever been a part of then you should check this out. What you might find is a truly gorgeous album filled to the brim with fantastic melodies and jaw-dropping musicianship. I highly recommend this to all Yes fans who want a laid back acoustic album with all the talent that is Steve Howe

8.5/10

Video: Banco Del Mutuo Soccorso - 750.000 Anni Fa...

This is really magical footage of the legendary Italian Prog band. The beauty created with just piano and voice is amazing. Please enjoy this and share it with anyone who loves life.

Friday, October 20, 2006

About Podcasting

It's fair to say that we've launched the Podcast version of our site without really explaining what Podcasting is exactly. A TV show from France called "Plein Ecran" (or 'Full Screen' in english) has done an excellent mini-documentry on why some people believe that Podcasting may soon replace the way we consume TV and Radio. If you visit our site and have stayed away from our Podcast, then I highly recomend you take 15 minutes to watch this. Although the program was originally in French, it has been translated to English.

Thursday, October 19, 2006

Have no fear, a new episode is nea....um..well soon!

We have finally got around to recording episode 3 and it will be out by Saturday Afternoon (Toronto Time). It should be a pretty good episode too so be excited!

Wednesday, October 11, 2006

No ProgCast this week.

Mr. C0ops and I did begin recording the show last night like we planned, although things eventually proved to not work out. We were half way through the show when my MacBook (which was recording the show at that time) decided to crash, losing what was recorded up to that point. Since both C0ops and I are in the middle of mid-terms at school this week we felt it best to simply hold of the show for this week and put together a better, more planned-out episode for next week. We hope you understand our difficult situation and please bear with us. In the mean time, if you have any news, reviews or opinions you'd like us to share with everyone else, please send us an email at progrockblog@gmail.com and we'll post it right here on the blog for all to read and comment on.

Thanks for all your loyalty and understanding.

Wednesday, October 04, 2006

Video: Steve Howe - Sketches in the Sun

Just came back from watching this man live here in Toronto. Full review will be featured in this week's ProgCast.

Enjoy this video in the meantime.