Boud Deun ~ USA ~ Virginia

The Stolen Bicycle (1998)

The Stolen Bicycle is the 3rd, and as it turns out, last studio album from this fine Americana Jazz Fusion group from Virginia. For each album, Boud Deun increased the complexity in favor of melodic development. As with anything in life, when you move the lever from one side to the other, you hit upon a peak in the middle. And for Boud Deun that was clearly Astronomy Made Easy, where they balanced everything just right.

The album is certainly technically proficient, and there's much to absorb. However, the songs are somewhat interchangeable. Take the 14 part (yes, 14) 'Churches' as an example. Seems I could randomly program the entire suite, jumble them in any order, and have the same experience. There's just not much in the way of a composition with a purpose. It's 14 random jams - albeit tightly played and skilled. I thought my perception coming out of the 2024 listen may have been a bit too critical, but as I sit here and jot down some thoughts, I'm forming the conclusion what this album means to me. The other two have special time and place memories for me, while we hear a group growing together in an exciting way. The Stolen Bicycle is Boud Deun's day at the office. It becomes understandable, then, that the band may have felt the same way. They said everything they wanted to, and decided to hang it up.

I should stress it is a very good album, but is missing some key ingredients I listen for. ProgArchives has a different point of view, and rates this their highest. It is, for certain, more professional. If such things matter to you.

Ownership: 1998 Cuneiform (CD). Booklet with a children's story written by guitarist Shawn Persinger. Acquired in 1998.

1998; 2/22/24; 3/9/26 (review)
 

Fiction and Several Days (1994)

I waxed on below about Boud Deun for the Astronomy Made Easy album. The debut is a bit rougher and less focused, but no less pleasurable. Great guitar and violin work can be heard here, with some inventive songwriting. These guys were at the forefront of the 90s American progressive rock renaissance. As an aside, it appears this is two albums sewn together. Quite literally Fiction ...and... Several Days.

To add, I enjoy covers like this one, with the rusted farm equipment and a chicken on the back. Real America.

Ownership: 1995 E.H.P. (CD). Acquired in 1995.

1995; 6/18/20 (review)

Astronomy Made Easy (1997)

Boud Deun represents - for me at least - the optimism of the late 1990s. Both in life and in music. In particular, progressive rock had really found its footing again, and new and exciting bands were cropping up all over the world. Boud Deun's privately pressed debut was met with great enthusiasm, so much so that America's premier progressive rock label at the time, Cuneiform, scooped them for their roster rather quickly. Because of this association with the label, you'll often see Boud Deun tagged with the Avant Prog genre, but that is simply not the case here. Cuneiform, especially in those days, were promoting various kinds of progressive rock, beyond their core base. And it didn't hurt that Boud Deun were practically neighbors with the label, hailing from northern Virginia.

The regional note plays a role in their music as well. One can point to the Dixie Dregs as perhaps the blueprint for their sound, at least when The Dregs were focused on jazz fusion verse country rock. But it also becomes clear that Boud Deun had a knowledge of worldwide progressive rock. Their sound mixes in European styled jazz rock but with a touch of Appalachia. And a sophisticated kind of symphonic fusion, that we also find in Europe and Japan. Let's be clear: Astronomy Made Easy does not pull a single punch - it's very intense folks. But here's the kicker - it's also highly melodic, so that it does stay in the memory banks. Technical plus melody plus regional folk customs + rockin' out = success.

On a personal note, I brought along a pile of CDs before I was to be married in April of 1997. It was the long road trip from Denver (where I resided at the time) to Dallas (where I grew up). If I were to associate one album from that period of time - it's this one. So nostalgia plays a big role in my own subjective viewpoint. What's more interesting here for those reading this is... I hadn't heard the album in 22+ years since then. And guess what? I remembered much of it. It came back as each track unwound itself. I often read this is one of those highly technical albums that is academic overall. I beg to differ.

Ownership: 1997 Cuneiform (CD). Die-cut booklet. Acquired in 1997.

1997; 11/15/19 (review)

4/15/20 (new entry)

Wrathchild America - Climbin' the Walls. 1989 USA-Virginia

Here's a blast from the past. I bought this real time at a record store in Evansville, Indiana while touring through. In the mid 90s when I did the great LP purge (still no regrets believe it or not, made plenty of money for the collection, and most I could care less about), this was part of that. My opinion of this kind of metal has softened over the years, and when a local b&m had it on "their wall", I used some trade credit to nail it. Musically it belongs to thrash metal, but of the wordy kind. From the Virginia area, Wrathchild America (who appended America to avoid confusion with the UK glam group) had a few more ideas per meter than the average thrash band of the era. The style was already becoming a bit tired, and only the most inventive bands were keeping it alive. And they threw in a cover of Pink Floyd's 'Time', so it wasn't only Voivod looking backwards to a proggy past in 1989. Good one here. 

Ownership: LP: 1989 Atlantic. Single sleeve. Obtained as noted above.

2/26/21

Pentagram - First Daze Here: The Vintage Collection. 1972-74 USA-Virginia (archival)

Pentagram are a legendary band from the Washington DC area, who tooled around the 70s without much to show for it, other than a few very obscure singles. Finally by the mid 1980s, they got around to releasing their debut album. That debut album is considered a landmark in the modern doom genre. I've never heard it (I don't recall even reading about it back then, and I was a voracious student of metal at the time - it was that obscure), but at some point I hope to.

So what did the band do during the 70s? First Daze Here: The Vintage Collection is the answer to that question. For a group that seems like a bunch of aimless stoners, this archival album proves that they weren't that unorganized. And from a musical standpoint, I could see modern fans of the band shaking their heads a bit. And if you think about it, had one discovered Judas Priest in the 80s, then Rocka Rolla or even Sad Wings of Destiny would be most off-putting. And why is that? Because Pentagram were a band of the early 70s. Really the Black Sabbath-as-a-genre was still some 15 years away. And what that means is Pentagram isn't always heavy, and they're not always slow. It's 70s hard rock with elements of that thick wedgy Tony Iommi sound. In this way, Pentagram were more like a group such as Bang for example. Pentagram had the same influences as Black Sabbath themselves - the blues, psychedelic, and rock n' roll. This isn't the studied sound of Saint Vitus or Candlemass.

Once the mind is properly set, then Pentagram's 70s work is very good. The songwriting is intriguing, and the instrumentation is excellent. Just what you want from a raucous early 70s hard rock album. Be sure to pick up a version that includes the Macabre A/B single. This was Pentagram circa 1972, and definitely worthy of inclusion.

Ownership: CD: 2016 Relapse. Recent online acquisition. Superb archival release with copious liner notes, photos, etc.. Comes with a second mini-disc (full size though) of the Macabre 45. Interestingly, it does not include their 45s from 1973 and 74.

Corsair ~ USA ~ Virginia

One Eyed Horse (2015)

Corsair's blueprint comes from that exciting time when the late 70s hard rock movement first transitioned into heavy metal. It was a period where muscle and might met thoughtful compositions and progressive ambitions. And most importantly, melody was front and center, not an afterthought or an inconvenience. Where Corsair really shines is in their ability to write awe-inspiring breaks, followed by twin guitar melodies and further followed up with psychedelic solos. On this latter front, the band moves away from the 70's, and more into modern times, somewhat similar to the more sophisticated stoner bands emulating the late 60s, and who actually know how to play their instruments - for example a group like Colour Haze. The vocals are almost too soft affected for the music, bordering the indie style, but just enough grit to earn its 70s badge. In the end, the influences are wide ranging, and provides a different path than the usual metal revivalists. I'm not really sure of any other band that has the sound of Corsair - past or present. When looking at similar bands from the late 70s like Alkana, Legend, Granmax, Manilla Road, and Thin Lizzy, not a one of them really sound like Corsair. They have found a small niche inside a crowded field. Not sure what the market is, but I'm sure it should be larger than it is. This is the kind of music I wish I was hearing on the radio when still a teenager.

Ownership: 2015 Shadow Kingdom (CD). Acquired in 2017.

1/16/17 (review)

Also own: Ghosts of Proxima Centauri (2010); Corsair (2012)

2/10/17 (new entry)

Polyphony ~ USA ~ Virginia

Without Introduction (1972)

Polyphony were a complex and intense American progressive rock band from Virginia Beach, Virginia. Without Introduction brings forth an enormous amount of energy. Loud guitar, shredding organ, two hyperactive percussionists, and hazy psychedelic vocals is what you'll find here. ELP's Tarkus suite seems to be the main influence here, with a bit more of that American rough and tough edge, not to mentioned the heavy guitar presence. 'Juggernaut' is the pick of the litter, but the entire 37 minutes is well spent. I've always been a bit surprised this album isn't more revered, as I find it among America's finest progressive rock albums from the early 1970s along with Metaphysical Animation and Ram's Where In Conclusion.

Ownership: 1972 Eleventh Hour (LP)

1993 (first listen); 11//04; 11/12/11 (review); 10/13/16 (update)