BitterJalapenoJr
HalapenYo
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Reviews 31
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Last Active 01-06-23 10:12 pm
Joined 07-09-21

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 Lists
03.01.25 March & April: IDM Immersion02.01.25 February: A Black Metal Bath
01.04.25 January: A Prog Descent01.22.24 Chilli Man's 90s Travels ♦
12.31.23 A mildly spicy 2023 ♦10.18.23 Hidden/Forgotten Gems vol. 1: Alternati ♦
11.18.22 Jalapeno's 101 discography challenge ♦

January: A Prog Descent

This year, I intend to dedicate each month to broadening my horizons by checking 20 albums. Some months, I’ll plunge myself into unfamiliar territory and other months, I’ll focus on diving deeper into genres I enjoy already. To kick things off in January, I have turned my attention to a genre that I’d consider myself comfortable with – PROGRESSIVE ROCK. I’ve been an unabashed fan of prog rock (mainly 70s) for two decades now but the 10 albums below, I’ve yet to hear. I’m looking to Sput to recommend me an additional 10 albums (1 rec per user). I have heard a lot of 70s stuff so please check ratings first. Thanks in advance and a happy new year to you all.
1Traffic
John Barleycorn Must Die

Before hearing this, the only Traffic album I knew was its follow-up, “The Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys”. “John Barleycorn Must Die” is the less “proggy” of the two but is certainly no less fun. It’s very much on the more accessible side of the genre and its relatively short run-time, stellar musicianship and strong songwriting all ensure the album is concise and consistent. Groovy piano stomps, smooth saxophone licks, autumnal acoustic chords, ripping electric guitar solos and jazz-inspired organs and flutes all combine to create a very enjoyable serving of easy-going prog rock, with generous helpings of folk, jazz, blues and psychedelia.

Rating: 4

Highlights: John Barleycorn, Glad, Freedom Rider
2Renaissance
Scheherazade and Other Stories

Renaissance makes effective use of structure with two lighter tracks in the middle, bookended by two epic progressive beasts. Opener “A Trip to the Fair” really is quite the emotional journey. Dramatic piano provides tension that builds massively before melting away into undulating fever-dream about visiting a deserted fairground. It’s almost like a mushroom trip condensed into 10 minutes. The two middle pieces are nice folk-rock offerings, nuanced by orchestrations. The ending “Song of Scheherezade” suite is another smorgasbord of orchestration. Stand out performances are on piano, bass guitar and of course, the fucking vocals. Overall, a staggeringly creative collection of songs that I love already while still being fully aware that it needs many more listens to fully appreciate.

Rating: 4.3

Highlights: A Trip to the Fair, Scheherezade
3Caravan
For Girls Who Grow Plump in the Night

“In the Land of Grey and Pink” was my only knowledge of Caravan prior to this month. Plump in the Night does not seem as whimsical initially. The first track starts a sense of building anticipation which eventually it erupts into a driving rocker (think Wishbone Ash) which oozes Canterbury nonchalance from every pore. Both guitar and bass provide tons of melodic hooks throughout this easy-going prog affair and while it’s a breeze to get through, some tracks are overlong and forgettable. The album is held up too much by its delightfully upbeat opener and mammoth jam of an ending.

Rating: 3.6

Highlights: Memory Lain, Hugh/Headloss, “L'auberge du sanglier / A Hunting We Shall Go / Pengola / Backwards / A Hunting Shall We Go (Reprise)”
4Birds And Buildings
Bantam To Behemoth

I’d advise anyone checking this for the first time to buckle up. This an utterly wild ride when consumed as a whole. Combining elements of high-energy zeuhl, classic symphonic prog, jazz-fusion and flamenco, there is quite a variance of styles on offer, but it all comes together with seamless cohesion. This is further aided by the clever structuring of the tracks into grouped suites, each relating to the others in an all-encompassing concept with motifs and themes that intertwine throughout. The musicians here display the highest imaginable degrees of compositional skill and technical proficiency. A gargantuan album that pays homage to a wide range of the genre’s best known ambassadors.

Rating: 4.3

Highlights: Birds Flying Into Buildings, Tunguska, Battalion
5Van der Graaf Generator
Pawn Hearts

This is a definitive example of “classic prog”, rich in organs, synths and extensive, theatrical compositions. It has a very similar flamboyance to Gabriel era Genesis, but it seems somewhat forced here in comparison. That could just be down to me being a long-term Gabriel fan and new to this. Interesting to see that Wikipedia says it was released the exact same day that Charisma also released the Genesis’ opus “Nursery Cryme”. Lots of deliciously unabashed prog moments to enjoy but I’m not getting masterpiece vibes from it yet. Could see me growing to love it more in time. Perhaps my rating below is unfair? CONFUSED

Rating: 3.6

Highlights: All tracks have their own highlights hidden within their proggy depths
6Anglagard
Viljans Oga

A highly accomplished, classically structured, symphonic prog rollercoaster from musicians who, at all times, show breathtaking levels of musicianship. While its staggeringly impressive from this respect, the end product is a victim of its own success and to me, it sounds too sterile and over engineered. Almost like the music is not coming from human beings.

Rating: 3.7

Highlights: Sorgmantel, Snardom
7Transatlantic
Bridge Across Forever
8Soft Machine
Third
9Shamblemaths
Shamblemaths 2

This is chaotic as fuck and leans heavily towards the avant-garde. Myriad influences can be heard. At times it sounds like King Crimson’s “Red” and at other times, it sounds like King Crimson’s “Islands”. There are parts that sound like video game soundtracks and parts that sound like a horror film score. It’s so dense that I need way more listens to fully grasp but for now, my take home interpretation is a repeating onslaught of churning saxophones and brutally thick, overdriven bass grooves interspersed with moments of calm but creepy material. Not for the faint of heart.

Rating: 4.2

Highlights: Knucklecog
10Discipline (USA)
To Shatter All Accord

I must be missing the point with this one as despite it being widely lauded, I find it beyond dull and a massive effort to get though without wanting to turn it off. I’m not a fan of the classic rock/grungy style of the vocals nor the slow pace of the album. Nothing technically wrong with the music, it just bores me to death as it painfully trudges along. Even the 24-minute “epic” takes a while to get going and when it does build up, its unfortunately too little, too late.

Rating: 2.5

Highlights: Rogue
11Rush
Clockwork Angels

Recommended by: AnimalForce1

Before checking Clockwork Angels, I couldn’t say anything about Rush’s material after Moving Pictures but jumping forward 31 years certainly wasn’t a disappointment. The riffs are powerful as fuck, the song structures are complex, and the musicianship is as virtuosic as you would expect from a classic Rush album. It might not quite compare to albums like Hemispheres but considering these fuckers were in their fifth decade together at the time of its release, it really is remarkably close. Tru masters of their craft. Completing the Rush discography is now back on the agenda.

Rating: 3.8

Highlights: Carnies, Headlong Flight, Caravan
12Amorphis
Tuonela

Recommended by: Hawks

I can’t comment on the melodeath material preceding this one but this is a nice enough slice of progressive metal even if it lacks a certain x-factor. I like the middle eastern influences in the guitar playing although Amorphis are hardly the only band to use such sounds. The music has a good level of energy but unfortunately, I find the vocal delivery a let-down in this department. Although strong in atmospherics, it is a tad too repetitive and has a surplus of filler tracks. Decent album but nothing to special for me, personally. A few small differences could make it excellent.

Rating: 3.2

Highlights: Morning Star, Greed
13Circus
Movin' On

Recommended by: CugnoBrasso

A progressive rock album without electric guitar? Sure. A progressive rock album without electric guitars AND keyboards? Hmm…. Exactly that is what this little-known Swiss band have produced, and the lack of these instruments certainly isn’t to the album’s detriment. In fact, it could be said that the decision to omit them was progressive in itself. Flute, saxophones, vibraphone, acoustic guitars and electric bass are arranged together so dynamically that listeners may not initially notice the absence of the instruments they expect and at points, may think they actually ARE hearing them. Beautiful sonic textures all round.

Rating: 4

Highlights: Movin’ On, The Bandsman
14Univers Zero
Heresie

Recommended by: porcupinetheater

I know next to nothing about the Rock in Opposition movement but as a fan of dissonance and soundscapes that allegedly sound “unpleasant”, this was an instant hit. Heresie is up there with some of the most suffocatingly oppressive material I’ve subjected myself to. It’s disorienting, nauseating and at points, terrifying with cataclysmic levels of abrasive noise. Very much suited to my musically masochistic mind.

Rating: 4.5

Highlights: Everything
15Aphrodite's Child
666

Recommended by: someone

A mind-bending voyage into progressive psychedelia that’s every bit as impressive as it is fun. There are parts that are purely psychedelic rock like “Babylon” and “Do It” but there are also portions that lean to the sounds of Funkadelic such as the groove-laden “The Beast” and the numerous spoken word sections. Needs more listens to fully appreciate but it’s certainly a blast.

Rating: 4

Highlights: Do It, Babylon, Altamont, Alltamont, All The Seats Were Occupied
16Universal Totem Orchestra
Mathematical Mother

Recommended by: e210013
17Sweet Smoke
From Darkness To Light

Recommended by: foxxxy

Sweet Smoke’s second album is quite the melting pot of sounds and influences. The vocal harmonies are akin to what you’d hear on early Steely Dan and while there is also a generous helping of jazzy influences, the overall vibe of the record is very much hippy in nature. The centrepiece is the epic “Kundalini” which gravitates from a triba/Indian inspired vibe to a psychedelic jazz jam over the course of thirteen minutes. Quite a unique mix overall.

Rating: 3.7

Highlights: Kundalini
18The Moody Blues
Days of Future Passed

Recommended by: Dedes

I have been utterly ignorant of The Moody Blues and the role they have obviously played in the rise of progressive rock in the late 60s. I have never heard an album that fuses such a wide range of classical orchestrations with experimental rock quite like this. The abundant symphonic sections are rich in idealistic whimsy (think classic Disney films) while the rock sections are dripping in a Syd Barrett style psychedelic wonder. Add a large helping of post-Rubber Soul Beatles in for good measure and you get a combination that sounds WAY better than you’d ever imagine it did. It emulates a dreamlike state and when I’m there, the last thing I want to do is wake up.

Rating: 4.5

Highlights: Should be enjoyed in full every time with no exceptions
19Harmonium
Les Cinq Saisons

Recommended by: e210013
20Hermann Szobel
Szobel

Recommended by: e210013

I would call myself a near novice with jazz and jazz-related music but my interest in it is growing rapidly. What a delight it was to be recommended this offering from the elusive Hermann Szobel. I won’t pretend to know what I’m talking about but what I can tell you is that I am all for hearing more albums like this. I love that its eclecticisms are akin to Gentle Giant. I love how the tenor saxophone bleeeeeds out sultry portions of melody over the moody basslines in the slower sections. I love how the percussion constantly battles Szobel’s piano parts for the top prize in virtuosity in the faster sections. The level of sophistication this work has attained is such that it would be a masterpiece coming from anyone, let along being arranged and produced by an eighteen-year-old.

Rating: 5

Highlights: Everything
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