Albums 2017
Christopher Franke – Pacific Coast Highway
Tortoise – The Catastrophist
Blackfield – Blackfield V
Jean Michel Jarre – Waiting For Cousteau
Vancouver Sleep Clinic – Winter
The Flaming Lips – Oczy Mldy / Dark Side Of The Moon
Mike Oldfield – Return To Ommadawn
Elbow – Little Fictions
Klaus Schulze’s USO – Privee
Tim Bowness – Lost In The Ghost Light
Devin Townsend Project – Ki / Ghost/ Deconstruction / Addicted
Vennart – Target 15
Thundercat – Drunk
O.R.K. – Soul Of An Octopus
The Mute Gods – The Tardigrades Will Inherit The Earth
Max Richter – The 3 Worlds Of Virginia Woolf
Stars of The Lid – Complete Discography
Everything Everything – Man Alive / Arc / Get To Heaven
Klaus Schulze – Androgyn
ANOHNI – Paradise ep
Vancouver Sleep Clinic – Revival
Ulcer – The Assassination Of Julius Cesar
Physics House Band – Mercury Fountain
Big Big Train – Grimspound
Max Richter – Four Seasons
Lonely Robot – The Big Dream
Tinariwen – Elwan
Riverside – Lost N Found Live In Tilburg
KingCrimson – Tour Box 2016 / Tour Box 2017
Anathema – The Optimist
Max Richter – Out Of The Dark Room
The Police – Regatta De Blanc / Zenyatta Mondatta / Ghost In The Machine
Roger Waters – Is This The Life We Really Want?
Radiohead – Ok Computer OKNOTOK
Tackhead – The Lost Tapes vol 1
Unkle – The Road pt.1
Big Big Train – The Second Brightest Star
Public Service Broadcasting – Every Valley
Wishbone Ash – Wishbone Ash / Pilgrimage / Argus
Public Enemy – Nothing Is Quick In The Desert
Ride – Weather Diaries
Jean Michel Jarre – Discography
Gaudi – Magnetic
Marillion – Misplaced Childhood (Deluxe)
Animal Logic – Animal Logic / Animal Logic II
Peter Gabriel – So 25th Anniversary Deluxe
Steven Wilson – To The Bone
Everything Everything – A Fever Dream
Neal Morse – One / Lifeline
Pain Of Salvation – Entropia / One Hour By The Concrete Lake / The Perfect Element pt. 1 / Remedy Lane / 12:5
Everything Everything – A Fever Dream
Tim Bowness – Songs From The Ghost Light
Queens Of The Stone Age – Villains
Tears For Fears – Songs From The Big Chair / The Hurting
Tori Amos – Native Invader
Prophets Of Rage – Prophets Of Rage
Foo Fighters – Concrete And Gold
Seal – System / Human Being / IV
Klaus Schulze – Royal Festival Hall vol 1 / vol 2 / The Dome Event
Vangelis – Invisible Connections
Max Richter – Taboo
Koyo – Koyo
Level 42 – Level 42 / The Pursuit Of Accidents / True Colours / World Machine / Running In The Family
Mark King – Influences
Tangerine Dream – Quantum Gate
Robert Plant – Carry Fire
Lunatic Soul – Fractured
St. Vincent – Masseduction
King Crimson – Live In Chicago
Beck – Colours
Future Sound Of London – Environment Six / Environment 6.5
Tangerine Dream – Green Desert
Roxy Music – Live
Fever Ray – Plunge
Bryan Ferry – Olympia
Go Go Penguin – Man Made Object
Tangerine Dream – Rockoon
Von Hertzen Bros – War Is Over
Nordic Giants – Amplify Human Vibration
Tangerine Dream – Quantum Key / Cyclone / Patrolling Space Borders / Melrose / East (live) / Jeanne Du Arc
U2 – Songs Of Experience
Roger Waters – In The Flesh (live)
PNVIII
Prog Night Eight (PNVIII) ProgN8 The Tangerine Dream Special
(no lizards were harmed in the production of this event)
In contrast to the previous Prog night – Flat Sky and Pete Cheers arrived via train without out too much ado. Yes Flat decided to help out by sending Pete photos that had Pete followed them would have led him a merry dance in the direction labelled ‘wrong’, but by 1600 everyone was in situ and beveraged, ready to get their prog on…..
the Fez Of Choosing dispensed the following:
- Vangelis – Rosetta (PC)
- Tangerine Dream – Tyger (FS)
- Mike Oldfield – Return To Ommadawn (PC)
- Tangerine Dream – Firestarter OST (PC)
- Tim Bowness – Lost In The Ghost Light (UT)
- Genesis – Foxtrot (FS)
- Marillion – Fugazi (PC)
- Neal Morse Band – The Similitude Of A Dream [disc 1] (FS)
- Haken – Affinity (FS)
- Tangerine Dream – Tangram (UT)
Left in the Fez Of Choosing –
- Mike Oldfield – Return To Ommadawn (UT)
- iamthemorning – Lighthouse (UT)
It became obvious that Uncle Mike’s RTO was going to get played at all costs! And rightly so – it’s the album we never thought would happen but always hoped would.
At which point our heroes called it a night and retired
Post Prog Night Sunday Special (PPNSS)
Breakfast was taken alongside the sounds of
- iamthemorning – Lighthouse
- Big Big Train – Grimspound
After those two crackers the Post Prog Night Yomp occurred in delightful sunshine and a rather large amount of pollen. Troopers Hill made it’s first appearance and on the return journey we picked up a few provisions (ICE CREAM!) and I discovered I have a Screwfix within 10 minutes walk of Thangcentral – which is great because they
I’ve been told by Snetterton that this is not the forum for an outpouring of Screwfix love so I’ll get back to the prog. Ahem.
We lunched in the garden (oh please do come they say) with
- Nordic Giants – A Seance Of Dark Delusions
before returning inside for
- Max Richter – The Three Worlds Of Virginia Woolf.
At this point Thangcentral bade farewell to Flat Sky and myself and Cheers carried out an experiment involving an A3 glass picture frame, a height and a thrown towel. Smashing.
- Marillion – Out Of The Box [disc 3 singles night]
started the AV section of the day before we moved on to the
5.1 Special
- Mike Oldfield – RTO
- Yes – Perpetual Change, Heart Of The Sunrise, And You And I
then it was back to the DVDs for
- Yes – Symphonic Live
we only got halfway through this before we switched to You Tube for
- Yes – Union
- Yes – The Lost Broadcasts.
Points to note – The 5.1 of RTO really works, Steve Howe needs to stop now.
Yes Union live is pretty bloody amazing – they are tearing the place up
The early stuff (’69,’70+’71) was an eye opener not only in terms of how much ‘balls’ the young Yes had but also how tripped out German music TV shows were – excellent!
Before you know what happened Monday morning appears and Pete Cheers takes himself back to Brighton via a less than optimal train journey – a fate suffered by Flat Sky the day before….oi trains, sort yourselves out!
That wraps up PNVIII, next is PNIX which if memory serves is a Rush Special – get your Geddy out!
Now if you’d excuse me I have a lizard to touch…..
PNVIII / ProgN8
The Tangerine Dream special…
What goes into the Fez Of Choosing?
What comes out of the Fez Of Choosing?
Will Flat Guy and Peter Cheers (he’s in your ears) make it to Thangcentral using the country’s rail service?
Will the aforementioned man like Cheers come up with another cunning plan that involves stopping for a couple of hours to allow for a ‘nice cup o’splosh and a bacon sarnie’?
Join us as we find out……
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….
- Big Big Train – Folklore (PC)
- Steve Janson – Tender Extinction (RW)
- Riverside – Shrine Of New Generation Slaves (FS)
- Rush – Roll The Bones (FS)
- Vangelis – The City (PC)
- Jon Anderson – In The City Of Angels (FS)
- Marillion – F.E.A.R. (RW)
- Jon Anderson – Animation (RW)
- Gaudi + Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan – Dub Quwwali (PC)
Remaining in the Fez –
- Anderson/Stolt – Invention Of Knowledge (PC)
- Jon+Vangelis – Private Collection (RW)
- 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.
Soon….
God you know he wears a blue t-shirt, with ‘god’ inscribed in heaven on both sides.
#PNVII
#WOJ
PNVII
The ‘Word Of Jon’ special.
Any four albums that feature the divine presence of Jon Anderson go into the Fez Of Choosing.
Then there is a Choosing.
A Rejoicing.
A Oneness.
Can there be a more fitting time for a collective appreciation of and basking in, the works and wonders of Jon?
I think not.
#WOJ
#PNVII
Long Time No Banana
Playlist and Ponderings
I’ve been meaning to do this for a while and just haven’t got round to it. Now that the nights have turned up early and the darkness is bigging itself right up, I figure now is as good a time as any to start this nonsense.
And nonsense it will be….
So, pull up a screen and ponder why the dickens am I listening to that….
In no particular order…..
ANOHNI – Hopelessness. Equally beautiful and brutal at the same time. One of those rare albums where I find myself playing it straight again afterwards.
Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds – Push The Sky Away / Skeleton Tree. Had the opportunity to see the film ‘One More Time With Feeling’ and it prompted another flurry of listening to Mr. Cave and friends latest offerings. Brilliant songs and stunning noises from Warren Ellis and the posse.
Anderson/Stolt – The Knowledge Of Invention. It’s Jon! Yay! And the man is on form here. This album really does show just how poor the last Yes album really is, but don’t get me started on that. Suffice to say this is as good as you want it to be and better.
Radiohead – A Moon Shaped Pool. This lot can’t really put a foot wrong can they?!
Iamthemorning – Lighthouse. Thanks to Flat Sky for the heads up on this one. Winner of the Prog Mag’s Album of the year award a few months back and featuring a guest spot from Marius of Riverside. Proper Prog this is. Looking forward to what they do next.
Marillion – F.E.A.R. I’m not going to say anything other than this is as good an album as I wanted and hoped it would be. I’ll be the first to admit I’m a card carrying Marillion fan so here is not the place to be looking for any bad reviews of their work. Seriously though – it’s bloody good. Nuff said.
Steve Jansen – Tender Extinction/Slope. This is one of those lovely examples of sticking your neck out and having a punt only to discover that it’s marvelous! I had seen Steve Jansen’s Slope on the Burning Shed website and even received a postcard of the album cover popped in with a disc I bought from them (one of the delights of using Burning Shed – they always pop a postcard of some sort in with your delivery – ace!), then Tender Extinction was reviewed in Prog Mag and I decided to see what this Steve Jansen bloke was about. Turns out aside from being the drummer in Japan, he is a crafter of delicious musical morsels. Perfect for chilling out, or walking, or reading, or just being.
I think that is enough to be going on with – but let us not forget that we are fast approaching the event of the season – PNVII! Prog Night Seven – The Word Of Jon special. Quite how I am supposed to decide which Jon featuring albums I’m going to put in the Fez Of Choosing I don’t know. There may have to be a bit of ‘well I think THAT will be chosen by someone else so I’ll choose THAT’, but then that can go horribly wrong can’t it…..
We shall see.
Until then……Prog On.
Prog Night VI Aftermath
The dust has settled and Snetterton has found his missing jigsaw piece, all that is left now is to quickly run through what occurred. Please note the names have been changed to protect the innocent.
PNVI adhered to the now time honoured methodology of four albums each into the Fez Of Choosing, one (or more) of which was to be an album by Mike Oldfield (Uncle Mike). The Fez worked it’s magic and the following came out…
- Big Big Train – The Underfall Yard (UT)
- Uncle Mike – Songs Of Distant Earth (FS)
- Jon Anderson – Olias Of Sunhillow (PC)
- Uncle Mike – Incantations (PC featuring Dr Matt Pope)
- Rick Wakeman – Journey To The Centre Of The Earth (PC)
- Bruce Soord – Bruce Soord (UT)
- Yes – Keys To Ascension 2 [Disc 2] (FS)
- Leftfield – Leftism (FS)
- Uncle Mike – Amarok (UT)
That left everyone feeling hahahahahahappy so the next morning after some completely unnecessary wake up music (Uncle Mike’s Innocent) there was a breaking of fast followed by the Sad Cosmic Pixie Chasers’ Outdoor-a-thon.
Having returned from the sunny but blowy exterior the Prog continued with some added visual elements …..
- ABWH – An Evening Of Yes Music Plus (Exit FS)
- Marillion – Unconventional
- Yes – 9012 Live
- Marillion – Brave 2013
At which point the weekend was brought to close by Uncle Mike’s Discovery.
The next day Pete Cheers broke the rail network.
Prog Night Six (PNVI)
It approaches like a winged piano.
#PNVI
Post PNV Post
As the Fez Of Choosing is returned from whence it cameth, here for those of a bent mind is the list of what came out, what didn’t come out and what never went in……
OUT OF THE FEZ (in order of appearance)
Vangelis – Spiral
Marillion – Misplaced Childhood
The Neal Morse Band – The Grand Experiment
Gong – You
Marillion – Season’s End
Rush – Grace Under Pressure
Gazpacho – Tick Tock
Jethro Tull – Thick As A Brick
Tangerine Dream – Underwater Sunlight
Steven Wilson – Hand. Cannot. Erase.
LEFT IN THE FEZ
Yes – 90125 (Although it got played Sunday morning – Cheeky!)
Tangerine Dream – Le Parc
Tangerine Dream – Underwater Sunlight (yep – two calls for Underwater Sunlight – RIP Edgar)
Rush – Permanent Waves
North Atlantic Oscillation – The Third Day
Shearwater – The Golden Archipelago
Interesting notes of a fashion, no Mike Oldfield anywhere near the Fez Of Choosing, in fact after some discussion, it would seem that Mike has never featured anywhere on a Prog Night. PNVI perhaps?
Good to see lots of TD requests in memory of Edgar Froese and a prime slab of Gong for David Allen.
(editors note – I dinnae put any Marillion in – how restrained was I?)
Ear fillers
It’s been a great start to the year with new releases from Steven Wilson and The Neal Morse Band already. Both of which have been getting loads of air time here at Thangcentral.
Other noticeable listens include –
Rishloo – Living As Ghosts With Buildings As Teeth
Public Service Broadcasting – The Race For Space / Inform Educate Entertain
Tangerine Dream – Hyperborea
Edgar Froese – Aqua / Pinnacles / Stuntman / Epsilon In Malaysian Pale
(Which reminds me – Edgar Froese and TD have some of the best titles for tracks – Mysterious Semblance At The Strand Of Nightmares is a prime example).
Haken – Restoration
Shineback – Rise Up Forgotten, Return Destroyed
Lonely Robot – Lonely Robot
King Crimson – Vroom Vroom
I’ve also been injecting some excitement into my morning regime by listening to Stewart Copeland ‘Equalizer’ soundtrack in the shower. It puts a spin on the day and no mistake.
As far as what’s coming out later on in the year, I’m getting moist at the thought of new stuff from Living Colour, Faith No More and an EP from Big Big Train.
Laters
New Night
A night of listening to music that had either come out in the last twelve months or ‘been discovered’ in the same period (OED).
The hard part was getting the list down to just four albums to go into the fez of fun (later to be selected at random).
So many top slabs of soundage appeared in the last year! Anyhow the list of those that made it into the fez and the made it back out again is as follows (in the order that they were played, just for the detail freaks out there – or as I like to refer to them – me)……..
The Black Keys – Turn Blue
King Crimson – The Elements (disc 1)
Anathema – Distant Satellites
Big Big Train – English Electric pt1
Tangerine Dream – Pergamon
First Aid Kit – Stay Gold
Kirsty Hawkshaw – Meta-Message
Gazpacho – Demon
A pretty well rounded collection of tunes, vearing into a wee bit of, dare I say, Country (!) I dare.
Anyhoo the next day bought yomping in rather warm sunshine followed by a ‘good lord just how good are Rush’ viewing of the Clockwork Angels tour dvd which led us nicely into the Vangelis doc ‘Journey To Ithaca’. How do you follow that? Well you slap on the final ‘absolutely no more I’m seriously not tweaking this again ever’ cut of Bladerunner.
Then and only then do you retire to bed, replete and looking forward to what the people on the street are already calling ‘Prog Night Five (PNV)’.
Post Field Listening
Snetterton and I recently spent a week in a field along with some rather impressive stages and the such like.
Having recovered and rinsed whatever that was out of the sleeping bag, the below have been bouncing off the walls here at Thangcentral –
The Black Keys – Turn Blue
Jack White – Lazaretto
Bruce Soord and Jonas Renske – Wisdom Of Crowds
The Pineapple Thief – All The Wars, Someone Here Is Missing, Tightly Unwound
Patrick Moraz – The Story Of I
Sanguine Hum – Live In USA
Coming soon to a letterbox nearby and causing no end of excitement and in the case of the latter, a wee touch of apprehension, new albums by Robert Plant and Yes.
Until then – get outside, if only to get the washing in before it rains.
Soundage
Well, since we have tickled the underbelly of some decent weather and then got thoroughly drenched in the downpours that followed, I thought I’d post about some of the sounds that have been thrusting their rhythmic way into the listening holes at Thangcentral.
Living Colour – they be back out on the road and prompting a re-listen of the catalog, which reminded me that I bloody love Living Colour. The album ‘Time’s Up’ is just cracking!
Cream/Eric Clapton – ‘Badge’. For some reason I became hooked on this tune and for about a week was listening to it at least five times a day. No idea what was wrong with me but I think it’s safe to say I’ve recovered now.
Stevie Wonder – the five albums he popped out in the mid 70’s feature some amazing songs, amazing grooves and moments of WTF! For example, what is the woofer? And why would it be bad if it got you?
Fish – this is no doubt a hangover from seeing the big man live a few months ago, but either way his recent album has been impressing itself into my head like a thingy on another thingy.
Matt Stevens – ‘Lucid’. Excellent recent solo album from The Fierce And The Dead axe wielder, in parts Fripptastic but always melodic and interesting, it’s one of those instrumental albums that makes you wish more singers would shut up every now and then.
The Pineapple Thief – again another hangover from HRH Prog. Having acquired some more of TPT, I’m a flag waving, card carrying fan and eagerly awaiting new material.
Talking of new stuff, I’m excitedly watching the post box for new albums by Anathema, Mastodon and I’ll admit that I’ve preordered the new Yes album. But let’s not open the can of worms marked ‘Yes rant’ and instead slap on some Living Colour and stare in wonder and envy at Vernon Reid’s live pedal set up.
HRH Prog Fest
Well it’s a week since I found myself on the other side of Snowdonia staring down the prospect of finally seeing Fish live, what with him parting ways with Marillion before I saw them the first time (The Forum, London on the Brave tour – needless to say they was well good bruv).
So I thought I’d post a wee summation of fings wot I saw and did be hearing wid me own earshaped listening holes.
Thursday evening saw Synaesthesia and Credo getting the weekend off to a cracking start. Even if numbers were a bit low – most people would be attending Friday/Saturday we thought.
Friday morning was taken up by a wander down to the beach followed by the time honoured act of pebble skimming. The tide was coming in so I only managed six bounces, but I was happy with that. It ought to be noted that the facilities at Pwhelli Haven holiday camp were perfect, everything you needed was to hand and the beach was a five minute walk if that.
Once we’d wandered back from the beach and warmed up a bit having been caught by one of the weekend’s ninja rain showers (the only one to catch us luckily), it was off to the venue which was less than five minutes in the opposite direction to catch The Custodian. Turns out his was their first gig and it was a goodie. I’d been looking forward to seeing them since I got hold of their album (having heard then on the prog mag radio show on teamrockradio.com). The acoustic flavour of the set worked well and although it would have been nice to see more people there, I guess that’s the problem with the early slots, it got a thumbs up from the UT contingent.
Next up were The Physics House Band, now I knew nothing of this trio of young chaps but they impressed on a scale that normally gets used to measure the distance between planetary bodies. They quite simply blew my mind, and this was before lunch you understand. Lashings of math rock, heaps of energy and song lengths of girth, not to mention some of the best banter heard all weekend ‘we’ve got mini discs and diagrams of tracks’ – brilliant. I’m looking forward to more from this lot.
Chimp Spanner filled the ‘none of these guitars have the correct amount of strings on’ quota and for fans of Animals As Leaders and the like this was manna from heaven. Lovely.
The Pineapple Thief delivered the kind of set that had the UT posse turning to each other and uttering the phrase ‘dude, gotta get some more Pineapple Thief’, quality stuff and Mr Soard, if you’re reading this don’t worry about the 20p! Ark ark.
At this point let me point out that one of the great things about the festival was that a lot of the musicians who played hung around for the whole weekend, which led to the 20p incident and a lovely discussion with one of The Custodian guitarists on the pros of playing a Parker Fly guitar. Yep that’s right a Parker Fly. I spotted two during the festival, which is unheard of in my books!
Anyhoooooooo Focus popped up next and I must admit I was thinking ‘oh yes, hocus pocus, yodelling, this should be a laugh’ what I didn’t expect was a tour de force of groove. Which is what landed, with aplomb. The venue suddenly contained twice as many people as it had earlier (or so it seemed) and Focus laid down the kind of heavy grooves you only get from the 70’s. It was a masterclass. I take my hat off to them, put it back on and then take it off again. Awesome.
Following that was going to be tricky and The Flower Kings seemed to suffer from a diminishing crowd. However their set was enjoyable featuring as it did a medley of some of their classics as well a great rendition of numbers. They may have been the headline act but I think Focus stole it.
Sunday started in the soft prog rock vibe with Crimson Sky and Panic Room, the later seemingly achieving what the former we’re aiming for. Then around teatime The Hawklords appeared and injected the day with some well needed space lunacy. Watching these guys navigate the twisted corners of their own consciousness or is it my consciousness, am I me or me am I?
Sorry flashback – in short – brilliant, as out of this world as you’d expect them to be and more besides.
Not to be outdone in the brilliant stakes, Arcane Roots threw enough energy in your face to cause you to throw up (in a good way). Think of a three man The Mars Volta. Ace.
Now hear at Thangcentral we’d never heard The Enid, but heard, seen enough mentions of them to know that they were something pretty special. As more and more equipment got hauled onto the stage, including tympanies and a stupidly large bass drum, you got the impression this wasn’t going to be straight forward. Sadly the midi wind instrument caused issues but once that got sorted they embarked on a symphonic prog work out which was darned impressive. Mr. Enid’s comments regarding dynamics and loud not necessarily being good, suggesting to these ears that he hadn’t enjoyed Arcane Roots as much as we had!
So to the headline act – Fish.
The fact that he played ‘Script For A Jester’s Tear’, ‘Assassing’ and ‘White Feather’ amongst tracks of the new album, recounted a great story about the writing of the track ‘Script’ whilst in a hovel in Wales, led a few singalongs, got up close and personal with the crowd, demonstrated the kind of stage craft most acts dream of and was just generally awesome (have I mentioned that as a teenager I viewed him as some kind of god?). It may have taken me roughly 25 years to see Fish live but it was worth it.
What goes in the ears
Recently enjoyed at Thangcentral –
Big Big Train – The Underfall Yard
Sanguine Hum – Weight Of The World
Mike Oldfield – Man On The Rocks
Propaganda – A Secret Wish
Airbag – The Greatest Show On Earth
Jethro Tull – Heavy Horses
Sound City – Real to Reel
Eagerly awaited –
Matt Stevens – Lucid
Gazpacho – Demon
Snetterton has noted the days are getting longer – roll on the sun.
Sounds Of Thangcentral
I won’t mention the weather if you don’t.
Cool.
So what’s been pricking up the ears at Thangcentral this past month or so?
Well first off the bat has to be Gazpacho. They’re from Norway you know. A member of the KScope label, it was through the KScope podcast that I heard them (although to be honest I should have known they would be good, they’ve appeared at Marillion Conventions for goodness sake), for the record, the KScope podcast and the Burning Shed newsletters should be avoided if you want to keep hold of the contents of your wallet. Both are liable to cause outbreaks of ‘ oooh, that looks nice’ and ‘Yoinks, I’d forgotten about them’, followed by a rash of ‘must have’. Leading inevitably to your postman having to have time off due to a back injury.
Gazpacho then – progalishious (?) and on the mellower side of the tracks. Recommended if you like No-sound and the like.
In a few days I’m off to see ‘The Aristocrats’ and I’m pretty sure that that will be off the hook. I missed Minnerman playing with Steven Wilson (had Chad Wackerman instead so please don’t think I’m complaining!), hence a fevered anticipation for a gig which will no doubt break the EU regs for notes per bar in the first bar. Suffice to say I’ve been listening to both albums ready to fail to nod along!
The recent showing of Sound City on BBC4 led to the acquisition of accompanying album and the conclusion that Dave Grohl, Josh Homme and Trent Reznor need to make an album now!
No I didn’t make any of the Prince in a shoebox gigs – gutted.
There’s been a lot of Tull floating around. Never really got into old Jethro as a youngster but the last few months have seen a serious immersion in the classics of the cannon. Goes without saying that Aqualung, Thick As A Brick and Songs From The Wood are gems, a recent delivery of Heavy Horses is getting some proper playage as well (once I’d dispatched Snetterton to repair the letterbox).
Until next time 🙂
End of year lists
Love them, hate them, use them as toilet paper or merely fold them up and jam them under a leg to stop the pub table wobbling. End of year lists.
Now I must admit I do like a good list, shopping lists are always handy, favourite fish puns – love that list, recently added ‘overgill’ to it, brilliant.
Notice how I stopped before that turned into a list eh eh?
ahem.
So of course at the end of the year there was an over stuffed Uncle’s worth of best of this, best of that, best of other lists floating around. Some people weighed in with the comment that best ofs are divisive and aren’t we above all of that now.
Well, ok, so best ofs can be seen as divisive, as as soon as someone puts your favourite underneath their favourite in a top 20 of the year you can take Tunbridge (Wells or otherwise) and fill their comments stream with a river of ‘what? you’re talking shit’ and so forth. As if that is going to matter?
But the purpose of this post is not to rant about the small minded pee stains that fill comment streams with bile (as a rule I don’t read comments, my own internal dialogue is retarded enough as it is thank you). No, the purpose of this post is to thank all of those who put out end of year lists recently.
I have read them.
I have enjoyed them.
More to the point, where someone has listed 20 albums and I have and enjoyed 10 of them, I go looking for the other 10. This has led to me finding and enjoying Airbag’s Greatest Show On Earth and the frankly amazing Sanguine Hum. How it’s taken me this long to catch up with SH I don’t know, however if it hadn’t been for various people’s end of year lists, I’d still be in the dark and frankly I’m enjoying the light, it’s doing wonders for my skin tone.
In summary – Thank you end of year listers and now playingists. Your recommendations are appreciated.
Now on with the contenders for best use of a knitting needle within a violin tuner’s handbag.
Start At The Begining
Some say it’s a very good place to start. This is often followed by spinning round in unnecessarily wide skirts before placing one’s hand on one’s brows and professing a desire to sit down. Or run up a hill for more singing. It’s way more Julie Andrews than Kate Bush.
Actually that’s worth pursuing more, to wit, in life I find it often helpful, nay advantageous to be less Julie Andrews and more Kate Bush.
But that’s not what I had in mind when I hoisted myself in front of ye olde writer of type.
Not at all.
Prompted by the appearance of a lyric from Marillion’s Grendel as here this morning I have embarked on a listening voyage. I have afixed two of my best ears to my head, squeezed a goodly amount of coffee from the bean plant in the study and curled up in the listening pod for a concerted intake of Mariilion.
No massive change there then, the sounds of Steves Hogarth, Rothery and colleagues often ring out in the fair orchards of Thangcentral, but for this listening I have returned to the roots. The Fish Era.
I can remember where I was when I first heard that Fish had left Marillion. My fine friend and fellow Fish fan, Matt (no link to the old guy in the hat) Pope broke the news as we met before attending a house party that was shut down by the Police after a rather nice house was trashed by a large number of drunk 16 year olds.
Point of note. Inviting a shit load of kids who have just done their GCSEs to a party because your parents are away is never a good idea. Adding an at the time, essential need to get pissed into the equation is a recipe that in this case ended with the bathroom sink being pulled away from the wall and a dodgy Polaroid of what was reported to be the host’s mother’s lady garden being circulated, to the delight of the drunken hoards.
Where was I?
So early Marillion – in times gone by (i.e. those referred to above) I would have strongly denied that Marillion sounded anything like Genesis. Genesis was Phil Collins and shiny suits Marillion were nothing like them, what the fart are you talking about, get away from me demon. Which just goes to show that I knew chuff all about what I was talking. l’m now much further along the path of Prog enlightenment and can admit without stuttering or breaking out in a sweat that one section in ‘Grendel’ does sound a bit (!) like a section from the Genesis classic ‘Supper’s ready’. There, I’ve said it, and the world is still spinning. Ah with age comes wisdom and the need to shave ones ears.
So, ‘Script For A Jester’s Tear’ eh. Healthy dose of widdly widdly keys from Mr. Kelly, Rothery showing some guitar work which hints at his impending deification, Fish is hitting the ‘I’m confused, tortured, misunderstood’ button hard (ah the heady internal dialogue of the 16 year old, one could almost call it quaint) and Pete Trewavas is as rock solid as ever. Which bring us onto the percussive work of Mick Pointer. Well as we all know he was replaced eventually by Ian Mosley, so let’s not dwell on any short comings shall we. When I was first listening to Fish and the boys I didn’t notice any, so there.
Well, since I’ve been scribbling this the sun has crawled above the parapets and I’m now part way through ‘Fugazi’.
And what an enjoyable experience it’s been. I do enjoy diving back into albums that you know back to front and inside out but haven’t listened to for a few years. Suddenly you get this familiarity mixed with a dose of ‘oh i never noticed that before’. Always recommended. The only issue is that you have to spend a lot of time listening to it in the first place and then a lot of time not listening to it. But as they say, ‘Garden Centres now sell breakfasts and bedding plants’. It has to be said I’m very much looking forward to ‘Misplaced’ and ‘Clutching’, by this point I really think the boys had hit their stride. Then Fish left.
I can remember where I was when I first found out……..
It isn’t going to change the world
Now far be it from me to stand in the way of tradition (I am in fact, at the moment, sporting a delicious set of mock Tudor eaves supported on a combination of Roman Pillars and Greek Columns – after all if you are looking for quality support that’s pleasing to the eyes, it’s hard to do better than the classics), so here is the UT round-up of what’s been plugged in to the listening holes at Thangcentral over the last 12 (ish) months. It must be said that this is in no order (although I have tried to make the words sit next to each other in a way that makes sense to someone other than my cat).
- Big Big Train – English Electric (Full Power). Parts one and two of this frankly astounding piece put together in a hardback book with a new running order and extra tracks. I cannot express in words (which makes this utterly redundant) how much this album has got under my skin this year. Just when I think I’m over it and don’t listen to it for a while, it manages to slip like a curling kettle into the cd player and before you can say ‘songs about dodgy painters’ I’m sat there, amazed once more. I think it’s fair to say this will be treated as a classic in years to come.
- Haken – The Mountain. I have to repeatedly put my hat on in order to take it off again in the direction of the Haken fellas, an album that actually had me laughing the first time I heard it. Laughing in a good way that is.
- Riverside – Shine Of New Generation Slaves. Prog from Poland (insert gag about Polish rockers and how this is in fact referring to rockers from Poland and not an instruction to polish rockers, as that will not end well for Granny, or indeed the home help she lands on) (decide gag is poor and remove before final draft).
- Lifesigns – Lifesigns. Featuring Nick Beggs – the go to bass man for British prog who also appears on –
- Steven Wilson – The Raven That Refused To Sing (and other stories). The animations for Raven… and Drive Home both reduced me to tears the first time I watched them. Which I figure means that either they are immensely powerful on a deeply emotional level OR I need to pull myself together.
- Yes – Close To The Edge. Steven Wilson waves magic wand over what is probably the ultimate Prog album.
- King Crimson – Red. Steven Wilson waves magic wand over the album that is the ultimate Prog album for people who don’t think that CTTE is the ultimate Prog album.
- Von Hertzen Brothers – Nine Lives. Another album that keeps finding itself in the cd player, looking at me with a knowing eye.
- Queens Of The Stone Age – Like Clockwork. Rather than an fan fiction take on the last Rush album, a cracking collection of tunes that you find yourself humming in the paint aisle at B&Q, but we’ll gloss over that fact.
- The Fierce And The Dead – Spooky Action. For some reason I find myself playing this in the bathroom. No idea why.
No doubt I have forgotten many and may well come back to this and add them when I do remember. Unless it’s dark of course.
What has fueled many an acquisition this year has been Prog magazine http://www.progrockmag.com and the accompanying radio show on teamrockradio.com . Every Sunday night (work permitting) I now settle down ready to note down new and old bands I’ve never heard of but now have a deep-seated NEED to research etc. Oh that reminds me, The Custodian – Necessary Wasted Time. See! I knew I had forgotten some. Oh this could go on for pages, so in the interests of brevity and the desire to imbibe a cup of Lady Grey, I shall call this Donald and end it here.
On the throne
While I wait for the alleged file to appear in my opera files, I thought I would put this up as a place holder.
There you go folks, a place holder.
Thank you.
Unclethang 
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