Änglagård - Viljans öga. 2012 Sweden

For years there was talk of a comeback. To the point of ridiculousness. It became something of a running joke. If not for the participation of actual band members on the various progressive rock focused chat boards, the whole thing would have been discredited. Then, seventeen years after Epilog had been released, another one of those tired announcements arrived: Änglagård has reformed and will have a new album out soon! Weee. Yawn. Heard that before.

Except this time it was real. The album cover was posted. The minute I saw it I just knew this was going to be special. Of course the naysayers were out in full force decrying the cover. Really? Where is the optimism of our planet anyway? To be honest, cover notwithstanding, I was still a bit skeptical. Spiritual leader Tord Lindman was no longer involved. And most importantly - 17 years is a long time. Really no band, in any era, is able to capture the spirit and angst of their youth. Anyone who has scaled challenging mountains, and the metaphoric equivalent in daily life, will tell their mighty tale on what a wonderful achievement it was - except the thought of doing it again is fatiguing. There's a price to pay for greatness. You have to exceed your mind, body, and spirit to accomplish it. And all of that is hard to regain, especially after going about the normal/mundane daily routine as we do.

But this is Änglagård, and they were always different. Personally, I'm floored by how great Viljans öga is. It sounds like classic Änglagård for certain, but it's still quite unique. They have changed some, and perhaps for the better. In fact, the two middle tracks 'Sorgmantel' (12:07) and 'Snårdom' (16:14) might be some the best compositions they've ever performed. Is it their best album? No, I'm not willing to say that. All three studio efforts are brilliant but I'm still partial to Hybris, perhaps the nostalgia factor wins the day.

So the question remains: Is this the bookend to a great era of progressive rock? Or are we about to embark on a new journey? I hope for the latter. Of course.

Ownership: LP: 2012 private. 2xLP. 45 RPM. Gatefold. Full sized booklet.

CD: 2012 private. Digipak.

CD: 2013 Arcangelo (Japan). Papersleeve edition. Part of a 3 mini-LP box set.

6/30/12 (first listen / review / new entry)

Anyone's Daughter - Adonis. 1979 Germany

The post-Genesis movement had gained some traction in Germany and Anyone's Daughter (named incongruously after a Deep Purple song from Fireball) was one of the more marquee groups to climb out of the scene (other more obscure references include Neuschwanstein, M.L. Bongers Project, Sirius, Ivory). Anyone's Daughter's music was one that had the good sense to watch the pop charts while infusing quite a bit of complication to the mix so as to maintain a certain musician integrity. Anyone's Daughter had anticipated the neo progressive movement by about 3 years, and actually did benefit financially (a little anyway) from the exposure, though they came at it from a right angle. 1980s era progressive catalogs would always include Anyone's Daughter as they were, along with Eloy, easily Germany's number #1 export in this category. Hoelderlin's Clowns and Clouds is another good benchmark. Adonis is a very good album and if you like the more melodic side of progressive rock, then Anyone's Daughter's debut should be considered a must for the collection.

LP: 1979 Brain
CD: 2010 Tempus Fugit / SPV

The Tempus Fugit CD is splendid. This CD, which restores the original cover art, features not only two lengthy extended progressive rock cuts that total close to 20 minutes ('The Taker', 'The Warship'), but also a cool video of the album opener. It also features a full-sized poster (from a cover they would later use for an album called Last Tracks), and a booklet with a full band history and unique photos. The second scan was the cover used for the first round of reissues.

Last listen: August 8, 2019

Cuprum - Musica Deposita. 2011 Czech Republic

With Cuprum what you get is good old fashioned hard rock meets progressive with loads of fuzzy guitar, Hammond organ and a little flute. Sure, it's retro 1971 England or Germany, and a sound you've heard from other modern bands like Wicked Minds (Italy), Seid (Norway), Siena Root (Sweden), Blood Ceremony (Canada), Hypnos 69 (Belgium) and a few others. But the Czech Republic has no such tradition, and hearing this style performed with the Czech language is quite interesting indeed. About the only band from 1970's Czechoslovakia that even came close to this sound was Flamengo and maybe Modry Efekt - both groups only at their most hard rocking selves. The songs for the most part are quite compelling, even though it does possess that been-there-done-that feeling. I think if Cuprum expands their instrumental palette, adds a few more ideas per composition, navigates the twisty road and turns on a dime capriciously and truly does "go for the gusto", then they will hit Masterpiece status. Even as it stands, I'm quite happy with what they accomplished on this most extraordinary debut.

Ownership: CD: 2011 private

6/11/12 (new entry)

J.E.T. - Fede, Speranza, Carità. 1972 Italy

There are few albums that open as strong as this one. The 11 minute title track is right there with the absolute best of the original Italian progressive rock movement - say primo Il Balletto di Bronzo. FAY DAY, SPA RAN ZA, CA REE TA leads right into the first couple of incredible minutes of 'Il Prete e il Peccatore' and then… ugh… the album breaks into a more typical Italian singer songwriter style. Well not exactly as dire as that, but the intensity of the first 13 minutes is never regained. This album usually gets listed as a disappointment by many because of this trend, but I think a lot of that has to do with the expectations that were delivered early on. I've always been partial to the dramatic 'Sinfonia Per un Re' and it sounds better now than ever (love those fuzz guitar solos and Hammond washes). And closer 'Sfogo' is a good - fun - energetic instrumental with wordless voices piece. Oh.............. but that first track - been listening to it for over 20 years and it still blows me away!!

Ownership: CD: 2005 BMG (Japan); LP: 1993 Si-Wan (Korea). The album was originally released with a die-cut textured chalice cover. The chalice itself is a pretty thick cardboard piece (I have a friend who owns a nice original copy). Missing from some online discographies is the next issue, which was both a CD and LP on the Crime label (each 1988 Japan). It is this 1988 issue that you'll commonly see two extra tracks for Side 2. These two tracks are both taken from a rare 45 and not on the original LP. I once owned this Japan CD, and can confirm. Also - the original LP does not list the final track 'Sfogo' on the back cover even though it's listed clearly on the label. The Japan LP from 1988 came with a perforated chalice, that you could detach yourself and paste into the gatefold. Obviously not the best option and doesn't truly replicate the original, but an interesting idea all the same. The 1993 LP from Si-Wan (Korea) features the original gimmix cover, but the cover is smooth and the chalice is a thin sliver not reminiscent of the original. It isn't until 2005 that the original LP is finally duplicated exactly with the thick chalice insert - in the mini-LP CD format from BMG (Strange Days), which I own as well.

Babylon. 1978 USA-Florida

Well it's quite apparent by reading many reviews, that a lot of folks (mainly progressive rock fans) aren't too keen on the sole studio Babylon album. Not to be a contrarian, but I like it immensely. The CD liner notes say that Babylon were influenced by Genesis, King Crimson, Gentle Giant, Van Der Graaf Generator, Happy the Man and "various European and American progressive bands". Yea, whatever. It's 98% Genesis circa 1970-1973 and 2% the rest and maybe Yes is 50% of the 2%. So they ape the sound of Trespass through Selling England By the Pound. Is that so bad? The songs are entirely original, but the style is ridiculously similar to Gabriel and crew. The US landscape of 1978 is filled with bands that mixed progressive rock with AOR styled pop rock. Not Babylon. This is progressive rock made by geeks to be listened to by progressive rock geeks (I'm guilty as charged). Personally I think 'Dreamfish' is their masterpiece and a song that perfectly fits their sound. It's like Genesis extract: Hyper, intense, dramatic and complex. A great album, and Tampa Bay's one sole contribution to progressive rock... long before they would become the Death Metal capital of the world.

Ownership: LP: 1978 Mehum Music. Single sleeve. Sealed. Greg Walker must've bought 500 of these.

CD: 1999 Syn-Phonic. Jewel case. Historical liners (light) and photos.

My first LP copy was purchased in 1993, probably from Greg as well.

1993 (first listen); 1999; 2004; 3/11/10; 6/10/12 (review / new entry)

Flamengo - Kuře v Hodinkách. 1972 Czech Republic

This is an extraordinary album given the time and place. Flamengo's music is similar to some early 70's UK underground bands such as Raw Material, Tonton Macoute, Web's I Spider, and especially Diabolus. It would be hard to imagine that Flamengo would know any of these albums, and thus came to a similar musical conclusion through a completely different lens. Sax, flute, guitar and organ are the primary solo instruments. Incredible songwriting with memorable melodies, that does remind the listener of the early 70s Italian scene (PFM, Celeste, QVL). Passionately sung in Czech, and I wouldn't want to hear it any other way. Also worth noting is the awesome production, which sounds like it was recorded in Germany or England. Too bad the oppressive governments of Eastern Europe didn't allow more artistic freedom in the early 70s. Flamengo's sole album gives us perhaps the best example of what could have been.

Ownership: CD: 2012 Supraphon; Of all their reissues, this CD trumps them all. What a magnificent package. It comes in a tri-fold digipak (with original album cover art) that fits comfortably into a cardboard sleeve. This version features 3 bonus tracks and all the Czech lyrics. The sound of the album itself is even better than the 1990 disc. I cannot stress enough how great the original production was for this album. It is truly up to Western European standards.

LP: 1972 Supraphon. Recent online acquisition (2019), and comes in a flimsy single sleeve. It's simply a trophy for me. The CD remains the primary.

6/3/12 (review / new entry); 4/7/14 (update);