This month in 1971 saw the release of Ram, the second solo album from Paul McCartney and the first to be released after the dissolution of The Beatles. And now, fifty years on, the album has been re-recorded, or rather ‘reimagined’, by a group of different artists, and has been given the blessing of McCartney..
LANGAN, FROST & WANE – Langan, Frost & Wane (Goldstar Recordings)
This is an album four years in the making and recorded by three guys, all of whom have come out of different musical backgrounds, but who’ve combined their talents to put together an album very different from their norm. Brian Langan is a veteran of the indie scene in Philly, playing in bands like The..
T2 – Will things finally work out in Boomland?
T2, along with a few other late '60s/early '70s bands, enjoy the kudos of having released an album regarded by many as a gem, but which failed to elevate the band to the heights it was assumed they’d achieve. Few bands in rock history have ever released a debut album as good as T2 did,..
T2 – It’ll All Work Out In Boomland (Esoteric / Cherry Red)
One of the underrated classic albums of its time, Boomland finally gets the 3CD treatment from Esoteric records, who’ve gathered together all the music recorded by T2 in the early seventies and put it together in a 3 CD set, with the original 1970 album on one disc, songs in varying states of readiness recorded..
NAD SYLVAN – ‘Interview With The Vampirate’
Nad Sylvan... Hugh Erik Stewart to his parents... is an American-born Swedish vocalist and multi-instrumentalist who, despite his relatively recent high profile as the vocalist in Steve Hackett’s band, has actually been around for some considerable time. Born in LA in June, 1959, he’s been making music since the 1970s. At 16 he fronted a..
NAD SYLVAN – Spiritus Mundi (InsideOut)
Following on from the success of the ‘Vampirate Trilogy’, Nad Sylvan has followed his muse, his own ‘Spiritus Mundi’, and along with co-collaborator Andrew Laitress, decided to write an album around the words of Irish poet W.B. Yeats. The lyrics for the track The Lake Isle Of Innesfree on The Regal Bastard were also by..
MARIUSZ DUDA – The Soul Of The Shaded Woods
Mariusz Duda began his extraordinary musical journey back in the late nineteen nineties, as a member of bands such as Xanadu before, in 2001, joining the band with which he’s become better known for fronting, atmospheric progmeisters Riverside. The band were started by Piotr Grudzinski (guitar), Piotr Kozieradzki (Drums) and Jacek Melnicki (keyboard), and the..
RIVERSIDE – Lost ‘n’ Found: Live In Tilburg (InsideOut)
Previously only available as a limited edition fan club release, and as a bonus disc on the reissue of Anno Domini, High Definition, Live in Tilburg features Polish progmeisters Riverside giving an outstanding performance on their 2015 'Towards the Blue Horizon' tour, which this reviewer was fortunate enough to see. There was always going to..
LUNATIC SOUL – Through Shaded Woods (Kscope)
Lunatic Soul is the side project of Mariusz Duda, bassman and vocalist with Riverside, who’ve established themselves as one of the most important and highly regarded prog bands in the genre, and with this he’s able to go into areas and explore ideas, themes and concepts Riverside aren’t able to. As he says, 'one band..
PURE REASON REVOLUTION – The Dark Third: Reissue (InsideOut)
Pure Reason Revolution (PRR) are a kind-of crossover Indie / progressive rock band supposedly comparable to bands like Porcupine Tree and, more recently, Anathema; bands who’ve at least attempted to give the genre a new twist. After releasing Hammer And Anvil in 2011, PRR went their own way, but the band reunited in 2019 -..