Hello all!
Another Saturday came, and it is time to post here my weekly Top-5 songlist. Last week I didn't write my usual "Juke Box" post because I was very busy. So, after a week's absence 'GFreedom's Juke Box' is back.
I've listened to lots of music this week once more, and again it was hard for me to choose only 5 songs for the list. Even now I'm not so sure that I picked the 5 best ones... :P
And without further ado, here's my weekly Top-5 songlist: ARENA: Sirens (Pride - 1996) CURVED AIR: Stay Human (North Star - 2014) VAN DER GRAAF GENERATOR: Childlike Faith in Childhood's End (Still Life - 1976) RIVERSEA: Wiser (Out of an Ancient World - 2012) TIM BUCKLEY: Pleasant Street (Goodbye & Hello - 1967)
I will conclude this post by adding 2 videos with songs from my list. So, enjoy 'Stay Human' by Curved Air's latest release, and the classic 'Pleasant Street' by Tim Buckley. Have a great weekend everybody, and thanks for visiting... :)
Salander consists of two musicians: Dave Smith
and Dave Curnow, who are work colleagues, and with a very different musical
style in their likings. Dave Curnow is more on Rock and Blues, whilst Dave
Smith in more on the Progressive Rock of the ‘70’s. (Maybe this difference in their music tastes gives that unique "flavour" in the band's sound).
Dave Curnow was looking for
music for his big collection of stories and poems, so they decided to form a band
on 2013. In one year they released no less than 3 albums, with ‘Stendec’ being
their latest and more "mature" one.
The album consists of 7 tracks, and has got a
total running time of almost 65 minutes. As you can understand most of the
songs are long, and the only exception is ‘Hypothesis 11/8’ which is under 5
minutes. Also, there are 3 songs which exceed 10 minutes in length.
The music style can be characterized as modern
Progressive Rock which is flirting with Pop on some occasions, maybe because of
the many electronic instruments which are being used in the album. In my
opinion the most important elements of Salander’s music are the very nice
melodies, and the beautiful guitar sound which gives a different “color” on
each song. The only minor disadvantage to my mind is the absence of a real drum kit. Electronic drums are good, but there can be
no comparison with the sound of an actual drum kit. (Always in my opinion and according
to my music likings).
The album opens with the 13 minute-long ‘Pearls
Upon a Crown’ which is one of the album’s highlights, and up to the 6th
minute I was sure it’s an instrumental one. But I was wrong finally. Another
highlight is the 3rd track ‘Even After’ which is a very beautiful
melody, and my second most beloved song here. But the absolute highlight of the
album is the closing song, the 8 minute-long ‘Zeigeist’. A really great composition
for which I believe both Daves should feel proud for. (As far as I know
lately they did a re-mastered version of ‘Zeitgeist’ which now became even better, and it is
going to be released as a single).
Concluding this review I should say that
Salander definitely deserves more attention and recognition, and they are
recommended to all of you who are fond of a modern sound, “painted” with beautiful
guitar riffs and melancholic and romantic melodies.
You can find their music in bandcamp, and if I’m
not mistaken you can download some songs for free, so give them a try! Check
here: www.Salander.bandcamp.com
I hope you
find this post interesting and informative.
P.S: In the following video you can listen to 'Ever After' in order to have a small idea about Salander and their music. As for 'Zeitgeist', well... you will have to search for it... (And do, because is really worth it!) :)
Thank you for reading..
Recently we started uploading some selcted radio shows as a podcast in order for you to be able to listen to them whenever you want to.
One week ago I uploaded the first Podcast, and today comes the second one.
It is the radio show we did on Sunday 5/10/2015. If you want to can take a look at the post below to check the playlist beforehand.
As for the Podcast, you can listen by clicking here: Prog & Roll radio show (05/10/2014)
Enjoy the music, and thank you! :)
Hello all! Last night one more 'Prog & Roll' radio show was on air, and here I am today in order to write down the full playlist, together with a few info on the show. There were really many people who were listening, and many of them were active on the chatbox as well. From time to time there were some interesting conversations going on, and in general the chatbox was really active once more. As for the playlist, we tried to make a rather different one this time, by including many bands and artists which we were playing for the first time in our show. We also changed a bit the structure of the playlist, by moving the fast and noisy songs in the end instead of the start. I believe that in it was a good show in general, and our listeners seemed to enjoy it. We also had a music contest, and the winner was Dave Smith from the band 'Salander' who logged in for third time in a row in order to listen and chat with us and the other people in the chatbox. It was a very pleasant night, and the 2 hours passed really fast. As for the 'Epic' song which is closing our shows usualy, this time we chose Iron Maiden's 'Rime of the Ancient Mariner'. Here you can see the whole playlist in order to so see which songs we played:
KAIPA: First
Distraction / MIDLAKE: Acts of Man / ECHOLYN: Headright / RISHLOO: Freaks &
Animals / TOOL: Sober / INDUKTI: Shade / PINK FLOYD: What do you want from me /
THE D PROJECT: Making Sense / MARILLION: The Damage / GAZPACHO: Valerie’s
Friend / MAVARA: Period of Innocence / MANFRED MAN’S EARTH BAND: Redemption
Song (Contest) / CROSBY STILLS & NASH: Cathedral / NEIL YOUNG: Cinnamon
Girl / THE ROLLING STONES: Stray Cut Blues / MAN: Life on the Road / JUDAS
PRIEST: Victim of Changes / DIO: Egypt / IRON MAIDEN: Rime of the Ancient
Mariner.
I want to thank you all who logged in and listened to the show, participated in the chatbox etc, and we will "see" you again on next Sunday the same time.
Starting this post I should make clear that I'm not a fan of 'Transatlantic'. I believe they have some very good moments, but I can't say I'm fond of their music in general.
As some of you know already, Transatlantic is a Prog-Rock side-project which can be easily characterised as "supergroup" because of the really great musicians which are participating in it. I'm talking about Mike Portnoy on drums, Pete Trewawas on bass, Neil Morse on vocals, keyboards and guitars, and Roine Stolt on vocals and guitars. A few more musicians participating as well, playing a few more instruments, like cello for example.
Now, let's take a look at the album: You can find it in two versions: Normal (1 cd), and Special Edition (2 cd's). For those who are interested, I strongly recommend the Special Edition, because the second cd is including only cover versions, and it's a great one!
The Cd opens with the 25 minute-long Epic song 'Into the blue', on which the members of the band are making a demostration of their musical skills. It is a compex song, with many turns and rhythm changes, but not so much of inspiration in my opinion. Next comes the rather mellow 'Shine', a Neil Morse's composition, which is a good one but there was no reason to take it up to 7.30 minutes I think.
Next comes 'Black as the Sky' on which Roine Stolt in singing, and the small keyboards intro brings to mind Marillion's early works. The song overall is a very good one, with nice melody, and a very tight rhythm. 'Black as the Sky' is followed by 'Beyond the Sun' which is the shortest song of the album, and it is a very sweet and nice melody, with Neil Morse on vocals. The album closes with one more 'Epic' song, the 32 minute-long 'Kaleidoscope'. Again a very complex song, with many style and rhythm changes, and also many jazz influences. If I had to compare the 2 'Epics', I would say that 'Kaleidoscope' is better in every aspect than 'Into the Blue'. These 5 songs are included in the Cd, which have a total running time of almost 76 minutes. And now let's take a look to the second Cd, which as I mentioned above you can find it only in the Special Version.
It contains 8 songs, and all of them are cover versions. But most of them are really great covers, totally worth to give some extra money in order to buy the Special Edition. So here, Transatlantic covers songs from Procol Harum, ELO, Yes, Elton John, King Crimson, The Moody Blues, The Small Faces and Focus. The second cd has a total running time of almost 40 minutes, which gives us an altogether running time for both cd's close to 2 hours. If I had to give a rating I could give 3 stars out of 5. (Of course that's according to my personal opinion and music likings).
Here you can see the whole tracklist for both cd's: CD 1 1. Into The Blue (25:13) 2. Shine (7:28) 3. Black As the Sky (6:45) 4. Beyond The Sun (4:31) 5. Kaleidoscope (31:53) CD 2 1. And You And I (Yes cover) (10:45) 2. Can't Get It Out Of My Head (ELO cover) (4:46) 3. Conquistador (Procol Harum cover) (4:13) 4. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (Elton John) (3:20) 5. Tin Soldier (Small Faces cover) (3:22) 6. Sylvia (Focus cover) (3:49) 7. Indiscipline (King Crimson cover) (4:45) 8. Nights In White Satin (The Moody Blues cover) (6:13) Yesterday I uploaded two songs on my channel in youTube, and I'm adding one of them here in order to listen if you want to...
A few days ago, the ex-singer and former member of the Norwgian band 'Madrugada' gave 2 sold out live shows in Athens.
Madrugada happens to be very famous in Greece, and now that they are separated, their singer is following a solo career, and his visits in Greece are rather frequent.
Being a fan of Madrugada since their first album (1999), I was lucky enough to see them on stage 5 times, and after their disbanding I saw Sivet Hoyem performing live twice. So I had no need to go once more to the concert. But as far as I heard and read, it was a very good one. The only bad thing for me is that he doesn't play enough songs from Madrugada anymore, and the playlist is based on his solo albums. (Which is logical).
Here you can see the whole playlist from the concerts:
Majesty
(Madrugada)
Give It A Whirl
Red On Maroon
Endless Love
What's On Your Mind? (Madrugada)
Ride On Sisters
Into The Sea
Görlitzer Park
Honey bee (Madrugada)
Wat Tyler
The Hour Of The Wolf (Madrugada)
Inner Vision Encore:
Where Is My Moon
Return To Nothing Special
Prisoner Of The Road
The Kids Are On High Street (Madrugada)
Moon Landing
Yesterday was Prog & Roll's second birthday, so we decided to make a special show in order to celebrate it. First of all we planned an extended show, which lasted more than 2.5 hours, and it included the participation of some other producers from the radio station. We had some surprises in the playlist as well, which at some parts included songs from the very first show. Also we played a birthday song which 'Salander' recorded especially for Prog & Roll and send it to us, which was something very thoughtful and touchy. As for the people who logged in, well... we had many people in the chatbox and many many more who were just listening. Both members of 'Salander' joined us in the chatbox and listened to the whole show, and I think it was a very friendly and fun atmosphere in general, with the comments and everything. A characteristic of last night's show was that for the first time we even did an encore! Yes yes, at the time we were finishing, people were asking for more, so we played one extra song for them. We felt like Rock Stars! hahaha As some of you know already, for this year we named the last part of the show as 'The Grand Finale" or "Epic Part", on which we will be playing at least one very long song. On our previous show we played JethroTull's 'Thick as a Brick' Part 1, and last night was Marillion's turn with 'Grendel'. If you are interested to see the full playlist, it is here: Part 1: MOUNTAIN:
For Yasgur’s Farm / STONE THE CROWS: Sad Mary / ERIC CLAPTON: Little Wing /
JIMI HENDRIX: Red House Part 2: Birthday
spot by SALANDER / GENESIS: Dancing with the Moonlight knight / WILL-O-THE WISP: Elbereth /
THE MARS VOLTA: Widow / SALANDER: Out of the Wreckage
Part 3: PORCUPINE TREE: Sound
of Muzak / QUEEN: Brighton Rock / CAMEL: Nimrodel / PROCOL HARUM: Conquistador
(Live)
Part 4: RUSH:
A Farewell to Kings / UFO: love to Love / THIN LIZZY: Massacre / KANSAS: On the
Other Side / PAVLOV’S DOG: Late November.
Part 5 (Epic):LIFE
LINE PROJECT: Dusk / MYSTERY: The Silent Scream / MARILLION: Grendel
Extra Song: ELOY:
Future City I want to thank you all for joining our show last nught, and especially the 2 members of 'Salander', Dave & Dave for joining our show twice in a row, and of course for making this wonderful birthday song for us. Prog & Roll will be online again on next Sunday 5/10, at the usual hour. (20.00 UK time) Thank you very much! :)
Hello everybody!
One more Saturday is here, therefore it's time for me to write down myTop-5 songlist for this week.
During this week I listened to lots of music, because I was preparing tomorrow's special Prog & Roll radio show. I listened lots of Progressive Rock, Claassic Rock and Hard Rock mostly. But this time my list is eclusively including Progressive Rock songs, with only one exception as you will see by yourselves.
So, these are my best 5 songs for this week: MARILLION: Grendel (EP B-side - 1982) THE DOORS: When the Music's Over (Strange Days - 1967) JETHRO TULL: Baker Street Muse (Minstrel in the Gallery - 1975) GENESIS: Dancing with the Moonlight Knight (Selling England by the Pound - 1973) PROCOL HARUM: Conquistador (Live) (In Concert with the London Symphony Orchestra - 1971)
As usual I conclude this post by adding 2 videos with songs from my list, for you to listen to. On the first video is the wonderful 'Conquistador' recorded live with orchestra & choir, and on the second one you can listen to the really famous 'When the Music's over' by The Doors.
Enjoy the music, and have a nice weekend! :)
Hello all!
Many people from time to time asked if it could be possible to upload our shows as a podcast, in order to be able to listen to them any time they want.
Truth is that I had no idea what a podcast was, and how it works.
Together with my wife we made a small research, and finally we did it!
So now it is possible for everybody to listen to our show whenever he/she wants.
In this first podcast we uploaded the show we did on Sunday 21/9/2014.
If you are interested to see the playlist behorehand in order to listen to the songs you like, or you don't know, take a look here: http://gfreedomathina.blogspot.gr/2014/09/last-nights-prog-roll-radio-show-full.html
If you like our show, spread the word people!
In order to listen just click the following link: Prog & Roll radio show on 21/9/2014
Thank you!
UFO: Lights Out (1977) UFO are one of the pioneers in the English Hard Rock scene of the '70's. They were formed in 1969 by the singer Phil Mogg, the guitarist Mike Bolton, the bass player Pete Way and the drummer Andy Parker.
They took their name from the famous UFO club in London where they were spotted by the agent Noel Moore, who brought them to the 'Beacon Records' label on which they signed their first contract. They were lucky enough to recruit the guitarist Michael Schenker from Scorpions in 1973, who at the time was only 18 years old. Together they recorded some of the band's most wonderful and successful albums such as: 'Phenomenon', 'No Heavy Petting' and 'Lights Out'.
'Lights Out' was released in 1977, and it was the band's 6th studio album. It includes a cover version of Love's famous song 'Alone Again or', which is a very good one! Further than that, all the other songs are original compositions. 'Lights Out' is the band's first album to feature some extra string arrangements, alongside with more complex songs than their previous albums. Their producer at the time Ron Nevison brought in Alan Mc Millan to handle the string and horn arrangements.The most notable song to feature the orchestal coloring was 'Love to Love', which became one of the band's most successful hits.
The album contains 8 songs and has a total running time of 37.00 minutes. All 8 songs are very good compositions, and it's an album which the listener can enjoy from the first till the last song without becoming boring at any point.
For all of you who are fans of the classic Hard Rock sound, beautiful guitar riffs and solo's, combined with beautiful and "catchy" melodies, then this album is for you! Here you can see the tracklist of the album: 1. Too hot to Handle / 2. Just Another Suicide / 3. Try Me / 4. Lights Out / 5. Gettin' Ready / 6. Alone Again or / 7. Electric Phase / 8. Love to Love. In the following videos you can listen two songs from the album and have an idea...
Hello all!
