Soft Machine - 1972 - Fifth

In the Rock music world there are recordings that have become landmarks; decades may pass over its original production but a consensus perdures on its exceptional qualities, even among those that may have born long after. In other cases the consensus does not exit, by one reason or another, an outstanding work can push the limits in such a way that it alienates part of the listeners spectrum. It is one of these records I would like to board today: Fifth by Soft Machine.

Soft Machine was on of the bands emerging in Canterbury in the late 1960s towards international recognition. They took a particular approach to Rock, embedding elements of Jazz, in what would become known as Jazz-Rock. In spite of being one of the unavoidable precursors of the genre, Soft Machine remained for a few years well ahead of its peers, avoiding any fall into stereotypes. These first few LPs evolved around the trio composed by Mike Rutledge (organ), Hugh Hopper (electric bass) and Robert Wyatt (drums), later with the important addition of Elton Dean (alto sax). This core line up featured in the first four LPs of the band, each time diving further into Jazz, composing what are today its most appreciated recordings.

Nektar - 1972 - A Tab In The Ocean

If you're into Space Rock, like me, one day you'll end up bumping into this band called Nektar. In my case it took a few years but I eventually got there. There are all sorts of oddities about Nektar, starting with the fact of this being a British band based in Hamburg. They were well into the German progressive scene of the day and were of one of the first bands working with Dieter Dierks, along side names like Embryo, Gila, Wallenstein and Tangerine Dream. Naturally this has lead some folk to simply classify them as a Krautrock band; a closer look reveals otherwise.

Their second LP, A Tab In The Ocean, was recorded in 1972, with Dierks already well established as a master of the Krautrock scene. It proposes a surprising and exhilarating voyage through some futuristic landscapes never explored before. All wrapped in a recording very particular of its place and place. The strident sound of the guitar and especially some drum elements may make it a though hearing for some, especially those used to Hi-Fi quality. But with some effort the melodies eventually emerge and overwhelm the listener.

Thomas Zwijsen - 2013 - Nylon Maiden

Oh no! not another Iron Maiden tribute. That's the case but there are great differences between this tribute and previous works that make it deserve this highlight. First of all it is not issued by a collection of old school rock bands trying to boost their retirement, nor a mangle of unknown wannabe tribute musicians. Neither does it come from established musicians in other genres that want to venture into the rock world and cash in dividends. And in second place because this LP avoids being the same boring parcours through the old school radio hit list.

Thomas Zwijsen is a very young classical guitar student that happens to be an Iron Maiden fan. He has studied Flamenco, Jazz and Classical, already achieving remarkable technical capacities. About one year ago he started producing arrangements of his favourite songs for the classical guitar; he uploaded some home recordings to YouTube and showed to his friends. A couple million views later he decided to go to studio and record these tracks properly; the end result is Nylon Maiden, released earlier this month and reviewed below.

Obituary - Huw Lloyd Langton

I learnt yesterday that one of my favourite guitar players passed away. Huw Lloyd Langton got notorious through his work with Hawkwind, a collaboration that spanned a good number of decades. Master of spacey reverbs and long improvisations, he could create dense atmospheres but still produce songs for more straightforward listeners. I never had the opportunity to see Huw playing live, and now I'm sure I never will. Folk that worked with him paint a personality of kindness and openness, someone pleasant to do music with. Good bye Huw, you'll be missed.

Muse brings Peak Oil to the mainstream

Muse is a modern British progressive rock band, one of an handful that has harnessed commercial success during the past decade. They rank 9th in my Last.fm top, although time wise they just nearly make it into the top 25. The band released a new LP, the sixth of their career, about 2 months ago. So far I've been too busy to lend any attention to it, although friends already referenced it as well worth listen.

Thanks to our galician friends at Véspera de Nada I found out today that this LP is actually a reflection on the energy sustainability of modern society. Here's the trailer of The 2nd Law

A very rare concert

I found this by chance a few days ago. It is the most interesting video I've seen in quite some time.

Something new - Dive

Once in a while I like to listen to dotcomradio. Not only because it is a creation of a friend back from Portugal, but also because if features mostly simple and soothing vibes that go very well with work and certain states of mind. The music there is mostly new stuff, but always outside the main stream, making it even the more interesting. But this week the unexpected happened, out of the blue came this song that forced me to leave everything else I was doing and search relentlessly for its title and author. The offending track is below the fold.

Still On Chocolate Kings

Below is a rare video of PFM performing live, soon after the release of Chocolate Kings. This was recorded at the BBC programme “Old Grey Whistle Test” at a time when TV was open to music in whatever forms and lengths. Unfortunately the video is delayed to the audio and there's some noise during the first minute of the song. Still a precious document of the bands live performance at this time, 1975, with Lanzetti fully integrated in the group. Interesting how he seems so unease; he even plays a guitar that you can't hear as an antidote to the usual front-person dilemma of “what do I do with my hands?”. All in all I feel he was a real plus to band, I'm glad they decided to take him in; too bad it would all come to an end abruptly (musically wise, that is).

PFM were not only one of the best rock bands in the world at this time, they are also making rock history.

Premiata Forneria Marconi - 1975 - Chocolate Kings

There are two clear epochs for progressive symphonic rock in the 1970s, one during King Crimson's reign and a second after King Crimson. The second half of the seventies is marked by the adoption of new technologies that relegated the mellotron and greatly improved the quality of studio recordings. Chocolate Kings by Premiata Forneria Marconi (PFM) was one of the first records to clearly enter into this second progressive symphonic phase. This was also the first PFM record I ever listened to, and while much appreciating their earlier discography this is the one I continue to listen most frequently.