My personal Top-10 Prog- Orientated Rock albums of 2013. (Part.2)

Yesterday I wrote the first part of my Top-10 Prog-orientated Rock albums of 2013, and now it's time for Part.2. I want to remind you that there is no order in the list, it's just the10 new albums which I think were the best from all those I've listened during the year.

 STEVEN WILSON: The Raven that Refused to Sing
 Steven Wilson is one of my most favorite musicians/composers in the last decades, as a solo musician or with any of his bands (Porcupine Tree, Blackfield etc). This year he released his third album as a solo artist entitled 'The Raven that Refused to Sing'. Here Steven Wilson is surrounded by some excellent musicians, and the result is really impressive! The performance of this line-up really does miracles at some parts. The album inludes 6 songs, and has a total running time of almost 55 minutes. It is highly recommended not only to the fans of Steven Wilson or Porcupine Tree, but to all those who can enjoy a really well-structured album with a very high quality in all kinds of technical aspects.

COMEDY OF ERRORS: Fanfare & Fantasy
The story of the Scotish band 'Comedy of Errors' starts way back in 1984. Their first period was not worth mentioning with only a couple of demo's before disbanding. But they re-appear in 2011 with the very good album 'Disobey' which was actually their first official release. This year they released their second album entitled 'Fanfare & Fantasy' which is a really excellent work! Their style can be categorised as Neo-Prog, with many melodic lines, and strong influences from Marilion's first period, but also Pendragon among others which comes to mind upon listening to the album. But that doesn't make 'Fanfare & Fantasy' less enjoyable to the ears of the listener. It is a wonderful album filled with beautiful melodies. Highly recommended to the fans of Neo-Prog, but also to all those who like soft & melodic compositions, but without being cheap and cheesy! 

VERBAL DELIRIUM: From the Small Hours of Weakness
 And here's another Greek band in my Top-10, which was again a huge surprise for me. Although 'From the Small Hours...' is Verbal Delirium's second album I have to admit that I had never heard of them before. But from the first moment I understood that here we have a very serious piece of work, from a group which most probably will have even more to offer in the future. The style of the album fits its cover very well. It is dark, melancholic and romantic on many occassions.(But in some other cases it can be characterised as experimental).
 The jewel of the album is without any doubt the song "Sudden Winter" which is one of the best songs I've heard in the last years. There is enough pluralism when it comes to the organs as well, with Trumpet, Saxophones, Flutes and Mandolines being some of them. (Except of course the 'classic' guitars, drums, bass and piano).  In a few words, I believe it is an album worth buying to say the least! 

MOON SAFARI: Himlabachen Vol.1 
Re-discover the child in you! This surprisigly good album comes from the Swedish band 'Moon Safari' and it's their 4rth work since their debut album 'A Doorway to Heaven' which was released in
2005. Since then the band "grew up" musically, and this last work of them can be concidered as one of their best. They always were in close terms with another (famous) Swedish band, 'The Flower Kings', and this album was mixed and mastered by Flower King's bass player. The difficult-to-read title is the name of the hill close to the place which the members of the band grew up. The album open with the song 'kids' which most probably will make you think of your own childhood.
Their strongest aspect in my opinion is the vocals, which are rather mellow, and  match their melodic sound perfectly. Another very important aspect in their sound in the use of keyboards, and especially the unique sound of organ and 'Moog' synth.
 Moon Safari's album was another big surprise for me, and that's why I included it in my list.

TRIDDANA: Ripe for Rebellion
And my top-10 list will close with the less Prog band of all. But I was long expecting this album to be released, and when it did, it was as good as I was excpecting it to be.
There are many intersting facts about this band. Fact No.1: They are from Buenos Ayres (Argentina). Fact No.2: They sound like Braveheart, assuming that he was a Heavy Metal musician and not a Scottish hero. Fact No.3: It might sound like blasphemy, but the singer's voice is the closest voice I could ever imagine to the great Ronnie James Dio.
 So, what we have here is an Argentinian band which is playing a very heroic and powerful Heavy Metal, filled with the sound of  bagpipes, and a really great singer who knows how to use his voice.
 So if you are into heroic tales, or intriqued by legendary battles, then this band might be perfect for you! :)

My personal Top-10 Prog- Orientated Rock albums of 2013. (Part.1)

Hello all!
2013 is reaching to its end, and I thought it could be a good idea to present here my top-10 Prog-Orientated albums of this year. Don't forget that this is a personal list, therefore some of you may disagree with it. Also, the bands and their albums are randomly written, and not in any specific order.
2013 was a very productive year for Progressive Rock and its subcategories, with over 100 new releases. As you can understand, it was impossible to listen to all those albums, but I listened to enough of them to form my opinion.
This post is the first part. Part.2 will follow in the next two days.

CAMEL: The Snow Goose (Re-recording)
Yes, its true. Camel decided to re-record their legendary album which was released for the first time in 1976. This new recording is quite similar to the old one, but with significant changes to the production and the mixing. But that's not all. There are many changes to the compositions and the organs which are used. If you listen to it you will find many small changes all over the album.
I think it deserves a spot in my top-10 list, because it's a real masterpiece!

RIVERSIDE: Shrine of New Generation Slaves. 
Another excellent album from the Polish Prog-Metal band Riverside. This is their 5th album, and
certainly their most mature one. During these last 10 years Riverside changed a lot, and the changes can be seing in every new release of them. In this album their sound is heavier than their previous ones, the compositions are more complexed, and they seem to have left behind their "Tool-like" period for good. This album is a 'must' for all the fans of Prog-Meal & Heavy Metal, but it is highly recommended to all those who would enjoy an album with excellent production, and some really strong compositions and guitar riffs.

WE.OWN.THE.SKY: The Glass/Nails (EP)
This 5-piece band was one of the surprises of 2013 for me! They are a Greek band and they released one of the best Post-Rock albums I ever listened. A couple of years ago they released their first demo, and now it was time for their first official release which is an EP. It includes 6 songs, and has a running time of almost 33 minutes. It was released in a limited number of 100 copies only, therefore it will be very hard to find. If you want more info on the band and their songs, please visit:
 http://weownthesky.bandcamp.com/music You might be surprised!

AYREON: The Theory of Everything
 Ayreon is the personal project of the Dutch multi-instrumentalist/composer Arjen Lucarssen, and his only purpose is to release Rock Operas every now and then. 'The Theory of Everything' is his 8th Rock-Opera, and surely one of the best. It includes some really great musicians and some of them are the following: Cristina Scabbia (Lacuna Coil), Marco Hietala (Nightwish), Rick Wakeman (Yes), Keith Emerson (Emerson Lake & Palmer), Jordan Rudess (Dream Theater), Steve Hackett (Genesis), Troy Donokley (Nightwish), John Wetton (Asia & King Crimson) etc... This double album consists of 4 main long tracks, which include many small parts in them. You can find many different kinds of music in this album, from Heavy Metal to Folk-Rock, and it surrely is a very interesting record to say the least!

NEMRUD: Ritual
This is the second album by the surprisingly good band Nemrud from Turkey. The album includes only 4 tracks, and it's a concept one. (Exactly like their first album 'Journey of the Shaman'). Nemrud have a more Psychedelic approach and their music reminds that of Eloy in some cases. They have a rather Space and Hypnotising tempo into their music, with very interesting turns. I really recommend this album to those who enjoy long tracks with many turns and not so many lyrics. (For those who might wonder, I should mention that the lyrics are in English).

Here ends the first part of my Top-10 albums of 2013. I hope you found it interesting and informative.
Part.2 will follow in a couple of days.
Thanks for reading! :)

GFreedom's Juke Box Nο.73

As many of you know already, every Saturday I'm choosing the best 5 songs from all the songs I've
listened during the week.
This week I've listened to lots of music again, so once more it wasn't very easy to pick only 5 songs.
But after some thought, I decided that my best 5 songs are the following:

Peter Hammill: Autumn (Over - 1977)
The Kinks: Death of a Clown (Something Else - 1967)
Aphrodite's Child: The Four Horsemen (666 - 1970)
Genesis: Anyway (The Lamb lies Down on Broadway - 1974)
Mystery: Behind the Veil of Winter's Face (Behind the Veil of Winter's Face - 2007)

I will conclude this post by adding a couple of video of songs which are in my top-5 list.
On the first video you can listen to 'Death of a Clown' by The Kinks, and on the second one the song 'Anyway' by Genesis.
Enjoy the music folks, and have a great weekend all!
Thanks for reading! :)

                                             

                                     

JUST IN CASE PROG RADIO Presents: A Music Marathon!

Hey everybody!
I'm writing this post in order to inform you that tomorrow 27/12/2013 Just in Case Prog Radio is preparing a special event, in order to close the year with the best way possible! A Music Marathon!
 Which means that almost all the producers will gather up, and present you a veeery long program, with many great songs, and a few surprises as well... ;)
 You will listen to new releases, classic songs, many old and forgotten ones, etc. We are planning to cover almost all the categories of rock music, from the '60's 'till nowadays.
 GFreedom Team will of course participate in the event, and we are already planning our playlists... :)
The Marathon will begin at about 14.30 CET (16.30 Greek time), and will last for as long as we are are able to continue...
 So, tomorrow tune in for some great songs, and some fun company.
Thank you all in advance! :)
You can listen by clicking this link: www.justincaseradio.com

Seasons Greetings...

  Since we reached the day before Christmas, I think now it's a good time for some season greetings and wishes.
  I'm wishing you some beautiful warm and peaceful holidays with your beloved ones.  
I hope Santa will bring you everything you hope for... ;)
 (Assuming you were good kids of course) :P

               MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Prog & Roll's 50th radio show on 22/12/2013. The Full playlist...

Last night we had the 50th Prog & Roll radio show, which was also the last one for 2013.
 We had some good songs in the playlist, but furthermore (as we had announced), we played whole parts from Saturday's DJ Set which we recorded, for our audience to listen.
  This was the last show of this year, because on next Sunday (29/12) we will not have a radio show. Instead, we will participate in the Music Marathon that Just In Case Prog Radio is preparing on Saturday the 28th of December, together with (almost) all the producers of the radio station.
  Here you can see the whole playlist from last night's show. (In the parts from the DJ Set, I will write into brakets the songs which were included)

Prog & Roll's 1st Half-Hour: THE BEATLES: Tomorrow Never Knows / CAMEL: Never Let Go / ELOY: Inside / LOVE SCULPTURE : In the Land of the Few  
2nd Half-Hour: [DJ SET (From 10.30 - 10.45) (The start of the program):(ELOY: Intro from 'Live'+ PINK FLOYD: Shine on you Crazy Diamond (together with) ELOY: Intro from 'Atlantis Agony', + THE MOODY BLUES: The Word (together with) MARILLION: Lavender]
CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX: Rise up & Fight / DREAM THEATER: Burning my Soul.
3rd Half Hour: DJ SET (From 23.45 - 24.00) [MONTY PYTHON: Sit on my Face / SOUTHPARK: Blame Canada / RIVERSIDE: Out of Myself / GALAHAD: Empires Never Last / RUSH: Tom Sawyer]. DJ SET (From 00.15 - 00.30) [THE TEA PARTY: The River / HAWKWIND: Hassan I Shahba / APHRODITE'S CHILD: The 4 Horsemen]
 4rth Half-Hour: PAVLOV'S DOG: Fast Gun / DJ SET (From 2.10 - 2.30): [THE MOODY BLUES: In the Beginning (Together with) AYREON: The Theory of Everything / BLIND GUARDIAN: Nightfall / KANSAS: On the Other Side] WISHBONE ASH: Phoenix.

 Thank you all for listening and participating on the 50th Prog & Roll. We will be with you again on the 5th of January 2014.
 Merry Christmas everybody!

Overnight Sensation (21/12/2013) The Update...

Good morning all!
  As some of you know already, on Saturday (21/12) GFreedom Team were the hosts in the big party in order to celebrate Prog & Roll's 50th broadcast. The Party was held at the bar 'Aitna' in the center of Athens, and as it turned out it had a great sucess!
 To be honest I was expecting a lot of people to show up, but I could have never guessed the crowd which finally gathered. At the peak of the night, (about 23.30 - 1.00) the place was really packed with people. I even saw people coming in and leaving because they were not able to find an empty spot.
  The DJ Set which we were preparing for this night started at almost 10.30 and finished at 03.30 in the morning, and as far as one can tell, from the people's reactions it was a very succesful one.
 There were many different styles included such as Rock, Hard Rock, Heavy Metal, Symphonic Prog, Krautrock, Neo-Prog, Folk Rock, Progressive Metal, etc...
  Many of the producers of Just In Case Radio were there as well, stayed 'till the end of the night, enjoying the music, socialising, etc...

  After the sucess of Saturday's event, we are thinking of doing more events of that sort in the future, so have in mind that starting from 2014 more special nights will follow. With special DJ Sets, and even unplugged live sets from local or international bands.
  GFreedom Team wants to thank all of you who joined us on Saturday night, and we hope you had some great time.
Thank you all! :)
P.S: In the picture you can see some of the producers of Just In Case Prog Radio at the party...

  

GFreedom's Juke Box Nο.72

Hello folks!
  This week I really dealt a lot with music, because of tonight's party and tomorrow's radio show.
I can't calculate the hours I have spend listening to songs, albums, making lists etc, in order to chose songs mostly for today's DJ Set. So as you can understand this time it was very difficult to choose only 5 songs for my list. And even now I'm not sure if these 5 songs are the best... :P
   So, for this week here's my Top-5 songlist:

 Queen: My Fairy King (Queen - 1973)
 Iron Maiden: Phantom of the Opera (Iron Maiden - 1980)
 Rush: Tom Sawyer (Moving Pictures - 1981)
 Genesis: Dancing of the Moonlight Knight (Selling England by the Pound - 1973) 
 Rainbow: Stargazer (Rising - 1976)

   And as usual I'll conclude this post by adding a couple of videos from my Top-5 list.
On the first video you can listen to Queen's 'My Fairy King' , and on the second one Rainbow's epic song 'Stargazer'. Enjoy the music, and have a great weekend!
   Thank you for reading :)

                                        

GFreedom Team celebrates the 50 Prog & Roll Radio shows...

Hello folks!
 As the title of the post indicates, this Sunday we will celebrate the 50 Prog & Roll radio shows on Just In Case Prog Radio.
  We are happy of being able to reach this number, and we are preparing a special weekend in order to celebrate it.
  At Saturday night (21/12/13), we are preparing a party at a bar in the center of Athens, and all of you who are able to come are welcome! (You can find more details about this event a couple of posts below). GFreedom Team is preparing a really special DJ Set, which we hope it will blow your mind!
  Further than that, on Sunday's Prog & Roll we will have a special playlist ready which will be a combination of really great songs, mixed with some parts of Saturday's DJ Set.
  So all of you who weren't able to participate to this event, if you log in on Sunday night, you will be able to listen to whole parts of the party's program.
  We did put a lot of effort on both the party and the radio show, and we hope many people will respond and show up or log in. But the most important is to have a great time.
  That's all for now, I'll see you tomorrow night at the party, or at Sunday night in the radio show.
Thank you all in advance!

P.S: Prog & Roll's broadcasting is in English and Greek language, and you can listen to it every Sunday night at 20.00CET at Just In Case Prog Radio. You can log in by clicking to the following link: Just In Case Prog Radio

20.000 pageviews

Hello folks!
Since yesterday, my blog reached the number of 20.000 pageviews!
It is a great milestone in my opinion, and I want to thank you all for your visits, and your support as well.
 I am trying to make this blog a friendly and informative place, and I hope I am doing a good job.
Be sure I will continue trying to do the best I can.
Thank you! :)

PROG & ROLL Radio show on 15/12/2013. The Full Playlist...

Good morning all!
Last night we had the 49th Prog & Roll Radio show, which means that on next Sunday we will prepare a really magnificent show in order to celebrate the 50 radio shows.
  On last night's playlist we had 19 songs in total, from many different music categories.
You can check which songs we played here:

PETER GREEN: Slabo Day / SANTANA: Black Magic Woman / STEELY DAN: The Boston Rag / CHICAGO: Questions 67&68 / GENTLE GIANT: Funny Ways / KING CRIMSON: In the wake of Poseidon / VAN DER GRAAF GENERATOR: Every Bloody Emperor / GENESIS: Counting out time / YES: America / QUEEN: Let me entertain you / THIN LIZZY: Massacre / LED ZEPPELIN: Misty Mountain hop / IRON MAIDEN: The rime of the Ancient Mariner / MERCURY REV: Holes / PORCUPINE TREE: Collapse the Light into Earth / MOSTLY AUTUMN: Things that we notice / EDISON’S CHILDREN: A million miles away / DREAM THEATER: Anne Lee / BLACKFIELD: 1000 people .

Thank you all for listening to our show, and we promise you a really great show on next Sunday. 

Take care! :)

GFreedom's Juke Box Nο.71

Hello everybody!
One more Saturday morning is here, therefore it is time to write down my Top-5 songs for this week.
I listened to lots of music through this week, because I was preparing tomorrow's Prog & Roll radio show, but further than that,  because I'm already preparing the playlist for next week's DJ Set for the party I announced yesterday from this blog.

  Anyway, without further ado, here's my top- 5 songlist:

Roxy Music: Do the Strand (For your Pleasure - 1973)
Galahad: Empires Never Last (Empires Never Last - 2007)
Iron Maiden: Rime of the Ancient Mariner (Powerslave - 1984)
Dulcimer: Sonnet to the Fall (And I Turned as I had Turned as a Boy - 1970)
Ayreon: The Theory of Everything Part.1 (The Theory of Everything - 2013) 

And as usual, I'm posting  couple of videos as well for you ti listen. On the first video you can listen to 'Empires Never Last' by Galahad, and on the second one I chose 'The Theory of Everything Part.1' by Ayreon's new release. Enjoy them!
Have a nice weekend all, and thanks for reading! :)

GFreedom Team Presents: OVERNIGHT SENSATION

Hello all!
I'm writting this post in order to inform you about a special event we are preparing for next week.
The event will take place in Athens, therefore I'm writting it in Greek.
  Θελω να σας ενημερωσω οτι την επομενη Κυριακη 22/12, η εκπομπη Prog & Roll κλεινει τα 50! Δηλαδη συμπληρωνουμε 50 εκπομπες στο Just In Case Prog Radio. Γι αυτο λοιπον, σκεφτηκαμε να κανουμε κατι διαφορετικο ωστε να το γιορτασουμε ολοι μαζι. 
   Με μεγαλη μου χαρα λοιπον σας ανακοινωνω οτι το Σαββατο 21/12 θα κανουμε ενα παρτυ στο μπαρ Αιτνα που βρισκεται στην οδο Εμμ.Μπενακη 83 στα Εξαρχεια, για το οποιο ετοιμαζουμε ενα σπεσιαλ DJ Set με μουσικες απο τα '60'ς μεχρι και τις μερες μας. Θα παιχτουν πολλα ειδη μουσικης, με ιδιαιτερη εμφαση σε πιο εντεχνα και προοδευτικα στυλ, χωρις ομως να λειπουν κλασσικα και γνωστα ακουσματα. Εχουμε βαλει την ωρα προσελευσης στις 9, ωστε να εχουμε λιγο χρονο να γνωριστουμε και να πουμε δυο κουβεντες πριν αρχισει το DJ Set.
   Θελω να πιστευω οτι καποιοι απο εσας θα βρουν την ιδεα ενδιαφερουσα, και θα μας τιμησουν με την παρουσια τους. 
   Εμεις θα ειμαστε εκει, μαζι με ολους τους παραγωγους του σταθμου, φιλους αλλα και ακροατες, και θα βαλουμε τα δυνατα μας ωστε να περασουμε ολοι μαζι ενα πολυ ομορφο βραδυ.
Ελπιζω να τα πουμε απο κοντα.
Σας ευχαριστουμε! :)

Tales from the Progressive Oceans Part.13

THE ALAN PARSON'S PROJECT: Tales of Mystery & Imagination (1976)

   Alan Parson was a sound engineer since the end of '60's involved with many famous

albums such as: 'Abbey Road' and 'Let it Be' by the Beatles, and the 'The Dark Side of the Moon' by Pink Floyd, to name a few. But he always wanted to make a band of his own, and when he met with Eric Woolfson in the canteen of Abbey Roads studios this idea became reality.Woolfson was a songwriter, composer and a session musician, working at the time to a personal project which was a concept album based on the works of Edgar Allan Poe, the famous American writer.

   The new band was named The Alan Parson's Project, and their first album was 'Tales of Mystery and Imagination (Edgar Allan Poe)' which was released in 1976.

The title of the album is taken from a popular title for a collection of Poe's macabre tales of the same name, Tales of Mystery & Imagination, first published in 1908 and reprinted many times since. The lyrics are taken from horror stories writen by Edgar Allan Poe, such as 'The Raven' 'The Cask of Amontillado' 'The Fall of the House of Usher' etc. 

   Many known mucisians were involved in this album, such as Arthur Brown, (The Crazy World of Arthur Brown), Terry Silvester (The Hollies), Francis Monkman (Curved Air) etc...

   The lyrics as it is expected were inspired and in many occasions copied from the original stories of Edgar Allan Poe. And as for the technical side, Alan Parson did a really great work. In this album were used many new techniques, with the use of 'vocoder' for the first time in history of music being one of them. (You can listen to Alan Parson singing through vocoder in 'The Raven').

   The reception of the album was mixed, and the music critics were confused by the new sound and the music style of the album. But because of its theme, it gathered a cult audience who bought and worshiped it.

   The original version of the album consists of a double cover, and in the middle it contains a few pages with pictures, lyrics and info on the album. I consider myself lucky for being able to have this version, which is really very beautiful.

 Concluding this post, I will add a couple of songs so you can listen and have an idea…

                                            

PROG & ROLL Radio show on 8/12/2013. The Full Palylist...

Hello all!
Last night we had one more Prog & Roll radio show, and it was the first one after almost a year on which we didn't play the 'grading of the songs' game. This happened because our Annual Top-10 is complete, and also because we fealt that playing this game for almost a year was enough. We had lots of fun from time to time, but everything must come to an end at some point. Now we will have to think of something else for next year.
   That's why you will not be seing any Top-5 songs from now on. I will be writing a small review, and I'll be adding the full playlist. 
   On last night's show we started with 3 bands with oriental roots. On the frist half-hour we played Myrath from Tunis, Mavara from Iran, and Nemrud from Turney. On the second half-hour we played only bands and artists from the '60's and the '70's, and we added a strong Folk-Rock flavour. 
At the start of the 3rd part, we had our music contest, and once more we had a winner very fast. We continued with a couple of very famous Hard-Rock bands, and after that we slowed the rhythm a lot.
   I believe it was a nice show in general, and the people seemed to enjoy it.
As for the full playlist, you can see it here:

MYRATH: Madness / MAVARA: Endless Illusion / NEMRUD: Journey of the Shaman (Part.2) / VELVET FOGG: Yellow Cave Woman / BEGGAR’S OPERA: Open Letter / RAMASES: Children of the Green Earth / DONOVAN: Catch the Wind /SANDY DENNY & THE STRAWBS: Sail Away to the Sea / PENTANGLE: Hunting Song / RUSH: The Seeker (Music Contest) / BLACK SABBATH: A National Acrobat / BLUE OYSTER CULT: Veteran of the Psychic Wars / MARILLION: He Knows you know / ARENA: Medusa / SUPERTRAMP: Lord is it mine / CRESSIDA: Summer Weekend of a Lifetime/ CICCADA: Epirus-A mountain Song / ASTRA: Drift / STYX: Lords of the Ring /THE MOODY BLUES: Isn’t Life strange?

  

I will conclude this post by adding a couple of videos from last night's playlist.

On the first video you can listen the song 'Isn't life Strange?' from The Moody Blues, and on the second video the song 'Madness' from the Tunisian Prog-Metal band Myrath.

Enjoy the music, and have a great week everybody! :) 

  

        

                       

GFreedom's Juke Box Nο.70

Hello all!
Since another Saturday morning is here, it's time to write my top-5 songs for this week.
Although I had a very difficult week, I found the time to listen to music as always.
But this time my options were limited, therefore it was not so hard to pick my best songs.
So, without further ado, here's my Top-5 songlist for this week:

Elf: Nevermore (Elf- 1972)
Strawbs: Tears & Pavan (Bursting at the Seams - 1973)
Black Sabbath: A National Acrobat (Sabbath Bloody Sabbath - 1973)
The Tea Party: The River (Splendor Solis - 1993)
Ramases: Children of the Green Earth (Glass Top Coffin - 1975)

And as usual, I'm concluding this post with two videos from my top-5 list.
On the first video you can listen to the excellent and not so famous song 'Nevermore' by Elf, (R.J Dio's first band), and on the second video you can see the video clip of 'The River' by the Canadian band The Tea Party.
Enjoy the music folks, and have a great weekend!
Thank you for reading... :)