Mysteries of the Revolution. 2007 England

Their website says "MYSTERIES OF THE REVOLUTION features BB Davis of the legendary Red Orchidstra and virtuoso French virtuoso keyboardist Dan Biro. Influences range from Miles, Hancock, Zawinul, George Duke, Roland Kirk, Corea, Coltrane, Mahavishnu, Lifetime to Hendrix, Zappa, Led Zep, Doors, Steely Dan to neo-classicism and psychedelica all dished up in a sweaty, heady brew of heavily jazzified, passionate, funked up, blissed-out, head-on grooves with a whole dash a' finesse n' panache - yeah, really."

Yea, really. And no kidding. Damn. Here's a band that not only is current, but is already completely obscure. C'mon, this isn't fair! I think part of the problem here is it appears the band is being marketed to a jazz audience. And while that's not entirely wrong to do, I think the progressive rock buying public would perhaps be more interested in Mysteries of the Revolution.

Mysteries of the Revolution combine instrumental retro Hammond and flute driven rock with a modern jazz approach. On this latter point, despite the analog instrumentation, one can hear the crystal clear production and modern percussion ever so slightly calling out St. Germain for example. But by no means is this a techno jazz album. Just listen to The Crunch and you'll swear it's from a 1971 English proto-prog album. And they use a regular drum-kit. About the only group I can think of in this space is the Norwegian band Elephant9, but Mysteries of the Revolution are more varied and not quite as much in "Hammond overdrive" as Elephant9 are. Let's hope this isn't all we're going to hear from these guys, as they've shown tremendous potential here.

Highlights: 2. The Crunch (10:16); 3. Storius Sensorius (5:58); 7. Secret Fire (5:34)

Ownership: CD: 2007 Blue Serene Focus

4/25/11 (new entry)