PROG & ROLL Radio Show on 30/3/2014. The Full Playlist...

Hello folks!
Last night we had one more Prog & Roll radio show, as usual.
We had in our playlist songs from many different music categories, such as Electronic music, Prog Metal, Progressive Rock, Symphonic Prog, etc...
Again we separated the 2-hours show into 4 half-hour parts, and on each part we played songs from different music styles. For example, in the first half hour we played songs from different music categories but with their sound being based on the keyboards. In the second part we played Prog Metal and Heavy Metal, etc...
As for the full playlist, you can see it here:

KRAFTWERK: Spacelab / J.M.JARRE: Magnetic Fields 2 / HIDRIA SPACEFOLK: Ad Astra / CAMEL: Cloak & Dagger Man / MASTODON: Divinations / TOOL: Stinkfist / METALLICA: The Call of Kthulu / DREAMSCAPE: Led Astray / FAR OUT: Too Many People / MAGIC PIE: Pointless Masquerade / BACAMARTE: Ufo / ANUBIS: Weeping Willow / BIG BIG TRAIN: Hedgerow / CURVED AIR: Back Street Luv / FRUUPP: Prnce of Darkness / TEMPUS FUGIT: The Sight / RENAISSANCE: Trip to the Fair.

As for next Sunday, we are preparing a special playlist, only wih cover versions. We believe that our next show will be a very interesting one, so try not to miss it! ;)

GFreedom's Juke Box Nο.86

Hello all!
Another Saturday morning is here, so it's now time to write down my Top-5 songs for this week.
I listened to lots of music during the week, and many different kinds and styles, so my Top-5 is kind of mixed up...
Without further ado, these are my best songs for the week:
LOVE: The Red Telephone (Forever Changes - 1967)
JETHRO TULL: Thick as a Brick Part.1 (Thick as a Brick - 1972)
ADVENTURE: The Swan (Beacon of Light - 2009)
ARLO GUTHRIE: City of New Orleans (Hobo's Lullaby - 1972)
RENAISSANCE: Trip to the Fair (Scheherazade & Other Stories - 1975)
And as usual, I'll conclude this post by adding 2 videos with songs from my list.
On the first video you can listen to 'The Swan' by the Norwegian Progressive Rock band Adventure, and on the second video something very different. The Folk-Rock ballad 'City of New Orleans' by Arlo Guthrie.
Enjoy the music everybody, and have a great weekend!
Thank you for reading :)

Tales From The Progressive Oceans Part. 15

                    RENAISSANCE: Scheherazade & Other Stories (1975)
  When the term 'Symphonic Prog' comes to my mind, this album is always the first one I think of.
Maybe because of the really very good classic-like arrangement in the songs, or maybe because of the 24 minute-long epic 'Song of Scheherazade' which covers all the B-side of the album (In the vinyl version of course), with a whole orchestra participating in it.
 "Scheherazade and Other Stories" is concidered if not the best album of Renaissance, then definetely one of their 2-3 best releases in their long career. The classic line-up is present here, including Annie Haslam in vocals, Jon Camp on bass and vocals, Michael Dunford (who recently passed away) on guitars and backing vocals, John Tout on Keyboards and backing vocals, Terence Sullivan on drums and backing vocals, and Terence Cox who does the orchestral arrangements.
  The album is separated in two main parts in my opinion, and that's more obvious in the vilyl version. The first part which is the first side of the album, and contains 3 wonderful songs, and the second part which is the epic 'Song of Scheherazade' in the second side of the album. Contrary to popular belief 'Song of Scheherazade' is not based on Nikolai-Rimsky Korsakov's "Scheherazade" but there are a few music motifs that might bring to mind his work. The lyrics are based on the famous Arabian tale "1001 nights" as you can easily understand, and tells the story of Schererazade and the Sultan.
  It's rather unfair in my opinion that many people when talking about this album seem to forget the rest of the songs here, and concentrate only to the 'Song of Scheherazade'. This is really pitty, because the first side includes 3 songs, and all of them are top notch! The albums starts with the wonderful 'Trip to the Fair' with the almost 3-minute-long piano intro, which is about Annie Haslam's first date with the musician & composer Roy Wood. Second song is 'The Vultures Fly High' which is another wonderful song, and for sure one of their best works. The first side of the album is closing with 'Ocean Gypsy', which is one of their most famous songs ever.
  I stronly recommend this album to all those who are intrigued by Progressive Rock, and most especially by 'Symphonic Prog'. It's a "Must Have" album without a second thought!
 If I had to rate it, I would give 4.5 out of 5.0 stars easily!
In the following video you can listen to 'Ocean Gypsy' from this album...

TV Series: BREAKING BAD (All 5 Seasons)

Very recently I watched the complete series of Breaking Bad.
  I watched all 5 seasons in a marathon of  2.5 weeks, and here's my review on the series.
First of all, I must say that for some reason I used to refuse to watch 'Breaking Bad', despite the fact that I had the complete series a long time ago, and almost everybody around me was suggesting that I watched it. I knew the general idea of the scenario, and it didn't seem to be so appealing to me. At last I decided to give it a go, resulting in a non-stop 2.5 weeks of Breaking Bad .

  The main scenario entails the two-year-long story of Walter White, a peaceful High School chemistry teacher, who is diagnosed with lung cancer, and the doctors give him a few more months to live. In the first season we get to know some of the main characters, and see how Walter White's life takes a drastic turn because of the cancer. He starts to follow a treatment, and at the same time he tries to find a way to secure his family's financial situation before his death. He finds the solution to this problem when he teams-up with one former student of his, Jesse Pinkman, and together they decide to produce Methamphetamine (or Meth). Because of his chemistry knowledge, Walter White achieves to produce the best Meth ever produced. And that's the point where the story really starts!
  In the following seasons we will be watching how Walter White slowly slowly sinks deeper and deeper into the Meth producing business, whilst Jesse Pinkman tries to sell it. But that's not the most interesting part in my opinion. What's really interesting is to observe how the main characters are changing with time and they are finally transformed into something really different than they were before. For example Walter White is being transformed to a really evil character, instead the peaceful family man he was before. There are many interesting and unpredictable things that are happening as the story continues, but I don't want to get into details in order not to spoil the surprises that are parts of the scenario. Another interesting point is the style of the show changing as the story commences while sinking into the depths of drug hell. Simultanously so does the style: From an almost Coen-esque black comedy it will turn into a Tarantino infested bloodbath. 

  The story takes place in the city of Albuquerque New Mexico, and as far as I know all of the filmings made there. The main characters are: Walter White (Bryan Cranston), Jesse Pinkman (AAron Paul), Skyler White (Walter White's wife, played by Anna Gunn), Walter White JR (Walter White's son played by RJ Mitte), Hank Shrader (Walter White's brother in-law who is also an DEA agent, played by Dean Norris), Marie Shrader (the sister of Skyler White and the wife of Hank Shrader, played by Betsy Brandt), and... Saul Goodman (who is a total cartoon-like lawyer character, he appears later on in the series, and is being played by Bob Odenkirk).

  Breaking Bad won a big number of awards of any kind, including 10 Primetime Emmy Awards, Outstanding lead actor, Outstanding Support actor, Outstanding Drama series, and so on... Further than that, Guinness World Records called 'Breaking Bad' the highest-rated TV Series of all times!
 I must admit I really enjoyed watching it, and if I had to give a rating it would be something like 9.00 - 9.50. By the way, IMDB has a rating of 9.6 according to almost half a million voters!
  I hope you found this review interesting and informative.
Thank you for reading! :)

GFreedom's Juke Box Nο.85

Hello All!
Another Saturday morning is here, so it's time to write here my best 5 songs for this week.
Hadn't had so much time to listen to music this week, so my options were kind of limited.
But I think this Top-5 list has some really wonderful songs in it all the same...
So, these are my best 5 songs:
RENAISSANCE: Trip to the Fair (Sceherazade - 1975)
XII ALFONSO: Physics & Hunting (Charles Darwin - 2012)
GENESIS: Get 'Em Out by Friday (Foxtrot - 1972)
TRAFFIC: John Barleycorn (John Barleycorn must die - 1970)
BIG BIG TRAIN: Hedgerow (English Electric Part. 1 - 2012)

In the following videos you can hear two songs from my list if you want.
Enjoy the music, and have a nice weekend! :)

PROG & ROLL Radio Show on 23/3/2014 is cancelled...

I'm writing this post in order to inform you that this Sunday's Prog & Roll Radio Show will be cancelled, due to a short holidays. We will be back online on next Sunday 30th of March, at 21.00 CET, as always.
Thank you... :)

The 'Genesis Archive' Documentary Vol.2 (1976 - 1992)

A few days ago I posted here the first part of this wonderful documentary about the story of Genesis.
Today I'm posting the second part, which covers the years between 1976 and 1992.
I hope you'll find both parts enjoyable to watch and informative.
Enjoy! :)

 

PROG & ROLL Radio Show on 16/3/2014 (The Full Playlist)

Hello all!
  On last night's Prog & Roll Radio Show we divided the 2-hour-program into 4-half-hour parts, and on each part we played a different style of music.
  On the first part we played some classic Progressive Rock artists and bands, but this time we chose to play some easy going songs. On the second part we played songs from Progressive Metal bands, on the third part we had a tribute to KrautRock, and on the fourth and last part we played songs from Neo-Prog bands.(With the only exception being the song from Crippled Black Phoenix).
  I think we played some good music in general, because our audience seemed satisfied, so that's what counts the most.
 If you want to take a look at the whole playlist, here it is:
Part 1: THE MOODY BLUES: The Story inYour Eyes / STRAWBS: Stormy Down / MIKE OLDFIELD: Moonlight Shadow / CAMEL: Refugee / BARCLAY JAMES HARVEST: In My life / GENESIS: Robbery Assault & Battery.
Part 2: SHAMAN: For Tomorrow / DREAM THEATER: Burning my Soul / QUEENSRYCHE: Eyes of a Stranger / FATESWARNING: Chasing Time / OPETH: Hope Leaves.
Part 3: AMENOPHIS: Sun Tower / AMOS KEY: Escape / BIRTH CONTROL: Gamma Ray / ELECTRIC SANDWICH: Devil’s dream / CAN: Vitamin C.
Part 4: COMEDY OF ERRORS: Remembrance / I.C.U: A Pair of Hands / FISH: Raingods Dancing - Wake up Call / CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX: The Heart of Every Country / GALAHAD: Memories of an African Twin .

Thank you all for joining and listening last night's show. I hope you spend 2 nice hours with us and the music we chose to play... :)

GFreedom's Juke Box Nο.84

Hey all!
One more Saturday came, therefore it's time to post my weekly Top-5 songlist.
It was a very busy week this one, but I found the time to enjoy some music, not as much as I would love to, but still...
And without further delay these are my 5 best songs:

FISH: From 'Plague of Ghosts' Parts 5 & 6: (Raingod's Dancing / Wake-up Call). (Raingods with Zippos - 1999)
COMEDY OF ERRORS: Fanfare for the Broken Hearted (Fanfare & Fantasy - 2013)
DAVID COVERDALE: Only my Soul (Northwinds - 1978)
SIENA ROOT: We Are Them (Different Realities - 2010)
KANSAS: On the Other Side (Monolith - 1979)

I'll conclude this post by adding a couple of videos from my Top-5 list as usual.
On the first video you can listen to the really great "We Are Them" by Siena Root, and on the second one 'Only my Soul' by David Coverdale.
Enjoy the music folks, and your weekend as well...
Thanks for reading :)

 

The "Genesis Archive" Documentary Vol.1 (1967- 1975)

On these last days I'm making a research on the internet, in order to find any documentaries available about some Rock bands or Rock music in general.
 Except of the documentary about the '60's which I posted a few days ago, I found some other very interesting documentaries about many bands, and I will slowly slowly upload them here, in this blog.
 So, today's documentary happens to be an excellent one. It concerns one of my most beloved bands, which are Genesis. Vol.1 refers to their story in the years with Peter Gabriel in their ranks, which in my opinion was by far their best and most productive period.
 The documentary has a running time of almost 45 minutes, so sit back and enjoy the story of Genesis! (As for Vol.2, I'll post it here in the next days).

TV Series: MAD DOGS -The 4th (and last) season...

   Here you will read a few things about the 4th and last season of the English TV Series 'Mad Dogs'.
(If you care to read my reviews about the first 3 seasons, you can check these links: Mad Dogs Season 1&2 - Mad Dogs Season 3)
   Let's say a few things about the series first. Well, in the first 3 seasons there were 4 episodes of about 40-45 minutes lenght in each one. For some reason in this last 'season' there were only 2 episodes.
Further than that, Season 1 started very good, with sufficient doses of suspence & humour, and a very interesting plot. Season 2 continued in the same way more or less, but then season 3 came out, which was the worst of all 3 by far. After watching season 3 I read a few things about the forthcoming season 4, and the producers and actors of the series stated that the 4rth season would be the last one, and they promised a breathtaking finale.
  So, as soon as Season 4 came out I rushed watching it and see what this breathtaking finale was...
First surprise: There were only 2 episodes. 'Oh well' I thought, "maybe they made 2 long ones instead of 4 short ones". Nope! Just 2 episodes with the usual 40-42 minutes lenght.
 So I watched them both in one evening, and when it came to the end, I couldn't believe how dissapointed I felt. It was maybe the biggest let down of the latest years (tv-wise).The impression it gave me is that they just wanted to conclude the series very fast and they didn't care much for the rest. And it is really pity, because the whole story started very good and it seemed as a very promising series. But seson 3 was kind of dissapointing, and then came season 4 to strike the last blow.
 There are not really many things I can write on this last season, because I am really very dissapointed. My major disappointment did not stem from the half-cooked scenario of season 4, but more like, it stemmed from the fact that it was rushed as if to say: "Alright, lets get this over with."

So, I will conclude this post by adding my personal rating:
Season 1: 8.00, Season 2: 7.30 - 7.50, Season 3: 6.50 - 6.70, and Season 4: 6.00 (max).
 Here you can watch a short trailer for the 4th season...

PROG & ROLL Radio Show on 9/3/2014 (The Full Playlist)

Hello all!
On last night's Prog & Roll Radio show we decided to play songs from some not so famous bands, or bands which we rarely play in our show. Of course we did some exceptions, as you will see in the playlist that folows:

CICCADA: A Child in the Mirror / MASTERMIND: Tokyo Rain / OMEGA: You Don’t Know / QUARTERMASS: Black ship of the Family / CARAVAN: Place of my Own / FAMILY: Spanish Tide / HAWKWIND: Quark Strangeness & Charm / FRUMPY: Indian Rope Man / JOHN LORD: Caprice / TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA: What is Eternal / WHITE WILLOW: Storm Season TRANSATLANTIC: I Need You / ASHBURY: Vengeance / BLACK MOUNTAIN: Tyrants / GHOST: Ritual / BOC: Black Blade / AYREON: Magnetism / BEARDFISH: Sunrise / ELECTRIC LITANY: A Dream worth Dreaming / PINK FLOYD: Fletcher Memorial Home / VDGG: Still Life. 

Thank you all who joined our show last night, and I hope you enjoyed the music and our company :)