PNVII

Prog Night Seven (PNVII) The Word Of Jon Special

Public transport, where do I start…..well, both Flat Sky and Pete Cheers came via the train and in both cases had trains cancelled on them, Flat ended up walking from Bristol Temple Meads and Pete ended up in a kidney costing taxi ride from Westbury. Shocking.

Anyhow, once Flat and myself had taken part in a Pre Prog Night listening of all 3 discs of King Crimson’s ‘Radical Action To Unseat The Hold Of Monkey Mind’ and Pete Cheers had navigated his way across country, we were all in situ and ready to start pulling albums from the Fez Of Choosing.

The albums that came out were….

1. Big Big Train – Folklore (PC)
2. Steve Janson – Tender Extinction (RW)
3. Riverside – Shrine Of New Generation Slaves (FS)
4. Rush – Roll The Bones (FS)
5. Vangelis – The City (PC)
6. Jon Anderson – In The City Of Angels (FS)
7. Marillion – F.E.A.R. (RW)
8. Jon Anderson – Animation (RW)
9. Gaudi + Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan – Dub Quwwali (PC)

Remaining in the Fez –

1. Anderson/Stolt – Invention Of Knowledge (PC)
2. Jon+Vangelis – Private Collection (RW)
3. Ozric Tentacles – Strangeitude (FS)

Interestingly enough no one put Jon’s ‘Song Of Seven’ in, perhaps because we’ve all heard it quite a lot, or maybe thinking that someone else would have put it in. Also no Yes albums – but as we discussed, it would be kinda cheap to put a Yes album in when there is so much other Jon around.

Post Prog Night Sunday Special (PPNSS)

The Neal Morse Band – The Similitude Of A Dream’. The first listen for this rather large body of albumage. A double disc of a doozy, each one over 50 minutes. suffice to say that we all agreed that on the first listen it got a thumbs up but would really need more plays to get amongst it fully. At this point in the proceedings Flat Sky departed, heading south on the cycle path towards the train station.

Talking of getting  amongst it, Cheers and myself took a wander up the Bristol/Bath cycle path ‘nothing major, just a spot of fresh air’. Ahem.. some two hours later we returned having wandered further than we initially intended, the extra mileage prompted by some pondering of where the original tracks would have laid and did they merge here, well looking at the back of the houses and the gaps there, yes I think they may have, look at the bridge footings there, oh look a platform…..

Anyway, having finally returned slightly chilled we enjoyed …

Big Big Train – ‘Stone And Steel’ Blu-ray

The Making Of Peter Cheers ‘He’s In Your Ears’ Limited Edition Digital Download

Yes – The Making Of ‘Fly From Here’ DVD

Yes – ‘Songs From Tsonga 35th Anniversary Concert’ DVD

At which point it was time to call it a day.

I sit typing this while the vinyl of Jon’s Animation spins on the Thangcentral deck. A masterpiece of an album and a reminder that we all need Jon in our lives.

I would go so far as to say if more people had Jon in their lives the world would be a much better place…….

Before I sign off, a massively huge enthankingment to Flat Sky and Pete Cheers for braving the trails and tribulations to get here, as ever there was lashings of awesome sauce! 

May the Word Of Jon be with you.