GFreedom's Juke Box Nο.113

Hello all!
Today it is Saturday, therefore it's time to write down my Top - songlist for this week.
I'm usualy doing this in the morning, but today I was kind of busy, so I delayed it a bit.
During this week I listened to lots of music, and these are the 5 songs I chose as the best ones:
NOVALIS: Sonnenwende (4 parts) - (Brandung - 1977)
FISH: Plague of Ghosts (6 parts) - (Raingods with zippos - 1999)
GAZPACHO: Valerie's friend (Night - 2007)
APHRODITE'S CHILD: Rain & Tears (single - 1968)
CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX: No! (2 parts)  - (White Light Generator - 2014) 
And as usual I'll conclude this post by adding 2 videos with songs from my list, in order to listen to.
Enjoy the music, and have a wonderful weekend!
Thank you :-)

Blues Pills live in Athens. The setlist...

  A few days ago the Swedish band 'Blues Pills' gave a concert in Athens.
They are one of the "hotest" names right now, with a really good debut album, and lots of great reviews.
  I didn't go to see them although I was tempted to, because I don't like going to see a band with only one album in their discography. I did it a couple of times in the past, but not any more. So I will wait until they will release a second album, and then I will go see them live.
 As far as I read, the band gave a really good performance which lasted for almost an hour. (Because of the limited number of songs they have).
 Here you can see the concert's setlist:

High Class Woman
Ain't No Change
Dig In
No Hope Left For Me
The Time Is Now / Astralplane
Bliss
Elements And Things

Devil Man
Little Sun
ENCORE:
Black Smoke

In the following video you can watch the song "no hope left for me" from that concert.

Thank you for reading... :-)

 

Demis Roussos passed away...

A couple of days ago Demis Roussos passed away at the age of 69 in a hospital in Athens.
 He was one of the most known Greek singers in Europe, with a very big career since the '60's.
  He joined his first band named 'The Idols' when he was just 17 years old, before moving to Paris together with his friend Vangelis Papathanasiou. There they formed up 'Aphrodite's Child', and enjoyed a very big sucess with songs like 'Rain and Tears' 'End of the world' 'Spring Summer Winter and Fall' etc. The fame of Aphrodite's Child spread all over Europe very fast, and their songs climbed in many singles charts, selling over 20.000.000 records. Their last album was the legendary '666' on which they tried a musical turn into Progressive Rock, and it is considered as a "cult" and "must have" album, even today.
 After Aphrodite's Child were split, he followed a solo career with a very big sucess, giving a numberless amound of concerts, and selling over 60.000.000 albums worldwide.
                      R.I.P Demis, you will always be remembered...
 In the following videos you can listen to a couple of songs by Aphrodite's Child.

Prog & Roll radio show on 25/1/2015. The full playlist and more...

Hello all!
  Last night Prog & Roll was once more online, and here I am today writing a few things about it, together with the full playlist.
  Many people joined the show once more, but this time not so many from Greece, because of the importance of yesterday's elections I guess. Also, my co-host Nihal wasn't able to participate so I had to run the show by myself. I tried to do my best, and I hope everything went fine.
  Once more we had a music contest, and the winner was Florian Decros from France, or in other words "Prog & Roll's wonderkid". (That's a nickname that came to my mind yesterday). Florian is our youngest listener (he is just 13 years old), but his knowledge in music is a really great one! (For his age at least). So, congratulations Florian for winning (for the second time) in the music contest!
  When I was preparing the playlist I decided to play many classic Rock songs from the '70's, mixed with Prog and Neo-Prog ones, and for the end I kept a really nice 10-minute long medley by Dream Theater. Before the show I had in mind not to make an encore, but because there were many people gathered, and we were having nice time, I decided to play one extra song, which was Flash of the blade by Iron Maiden, mainly because there was a small conversation going on in the chatbox about this band.
  Concluding this piece I want to say that I believe it was a nice show in general, and I hope all those who logged in had some nice time with my music selections. 
Thank you all! :-)
Here you can check the whole playlist:

THE MOODY BLUES: I’m just a singer (in a Rock n Roll band) / COCKNEY REBEL: The Psychomodo / MIKE OLDFIELD: Tricks of the light / QUEEN: Keep yourself alive / ROXY MUSIC: Street life / ALICE COOPER: Elected / THE DOORS: The changeling / JANIS JOPLIN: Half moon / FREE: Fire and water / THE ROLLING STONES: You can’t always get what you want / PROCOL HARUM: Whisky train / GALAHAD: Mein herz brennt (Music contest) / INDUKTI: Shade / PFM: Celebration / PORCUPINE TREE: Blackest eyes / OPETH: In my time of need / RUSH: A passage to Bangkok / DEMON: Night of the Demon / JUDAS PRIEST: Diamonds & rust / THIN LIZZY: Massacre.

"Epic song": DREAM THEATER: The big medley 

"Encore": IRON MAIDEN: Flash of the blade.

GFreedom's Juke Box Nο.112

Hello all!
I've been really busy lately, so I don't have the time to deal with things like my blog for example.
But I can't stop listening to music. So once more I'll write down here my weekly Top-5 songlist for you, hoping that you'll like it.
So without further ado, these are my best songs for this week:
GALAHAD: Mein Herz Brennt (EP: Mein Herz Brennt - 2014)
STONE THE CROWS: The touch of your loving hand (Stone the Crows - 1970)
OPETH: In my time of need (Damnation - 2003)
KAYAK: She rules my world (Cleopatra the crown of Isis - 2014)
JEFFERSON AIRPLANE: Mexico (Early Flight - 1974)
I will add here a couple of songs from my list in order to listen to if you want.
Enjoy the music people, and have a great weekend!
Thanks for visiting my blog. :-)

GFreedom's 2014 Top-10 Rock & Prog albums list. (Part.3)

                                         SIENA ROOT: Pioneers

Siena Root is one of the greatest Swedish bands of our times in my opinion. Almost all their albums are of high quality, and 'Pioneers' is one of the best.
 Their style can be characterised as Heavy Rock, or Hard Rock, or Classic Rock of the 70's, with many Psychedelic and Prog influences. To be honest it is a mix of all those music styles. Their sound is dominated by the use of guitars and organ, and it is a totaly 70's revival. (Try to imagine a mix of Deep Purple with Mountain, and you will understand their style more or less).
  In their previous albums there were also many Anatolian/Indian influences (especially with the use of Sitar), but not any more. Here what we have is an excellent album with a solid Heavy Rock sound, and great compositions.
 The album includes 8 songs and has a total running time of almost 40 minutes. 'Pioneers' is the kind of album you put to listen, and you don't even skip a song before it finishes. All the songs are really great ones, but if I had to choose my most favorite ones I could say 'Between the lines' and the wonderful 'In my kitchen'. Recommended to all the fans of Rock music in general.
I'm adding here the official video from the opening song 'Between the lines' for you to listen and have a small idea.

                              THE D PROJECT: Making Sense

 'Making Sense' was one of the pleasant surprises of 2014, and I strongly recommend this album to the fans of Progressive Rock and Neo Prog.
 A few months ago I wrote a post on this blog, which was something between a review and a presentation, that's why I don't think I'll have to write everything again. If you are interested, take a look here: http://gfreedomathina.blogspot.gr/2014/07/the-d-project-making-sense-2014.html

      TRANSATLANTIC: Kaleidoscope (Special 2-cd edition)

 Starting this I should say I'm not a fan of Transatlantic. I like them a mildly, I respect them a lot as musicians, but that's all. When this album was released I wrote in this blog a review/presentation based on the listenings I was able to do at  the time, and I gave the album 3 out of 5 stars. Now, after having listened to it a lot more, I wouldn't say that it is a masterpiece, but I would give 3.5 - 4 stars instead.
 In case you want to read details for the album, here's the link: http://gfreedomathina.blogspot.gr/2014/10/transatlantic-kaleidoscope-2014.html

Prog & Roll radio show on 18/1/2015. The full playlist and more...

 Hello all!
 One more Prog & Roll radio show took place last night as usual.
  I believe it was a good one, judging by our listener's comments and reactions. Me and my wife who are hosting the show were in a very good mood, and altogether spend 2 very pleasant hours.
There were many people coming and going, and we saw many new people logging in, which is really great. As I mentioned in a previous post, we are really glad because in these last 4-5 months more and more people are listening to our show on a frequent basis, from many countries. When we started our show almost 2.5 years ago, the majority of our listeners was from Greece. But now we have people listening from many different places, and that gives us strenth to continue and try to become better and better. On last night's show for example we had people listening from England, N.Ireland, Greece, Turkey, Italy, USA, and France. And I'm talking about those who were active on the chatbox only. Because there were many more who were just listening, without participating in the chatbox, so I don't know where they were from.
 Here you can see the whole playlist:

BLUES PILLS: Astralplane / SIENA ROOT: Between the lines / QUARTERMASS: Gemini / MOUNTAIN: Flowers of evil / HIGH TIDE: Walking down their outlook / KAYAK: Goodbye Pharos / STEVEN WILSON: Drive home / GAZPACHO: Valerie’s friend / MARILLION: Market square heroes / BABE RUTH: The dutchess of Orleans / THE ANIMALS: Bring it on home / THE ROLLING STONES: Heart of stone / VAN MORRISON: Checking it out / DEEP PURPLE: Hush / RAINBOW: Self Portrait / ADVENTURE: A crack in the ice (Part.2) / THE FLOWER KINGS: Train to nowhere / AYREON: Time beyond time 

"Epic" song: KAIPA: A map of your secret world 

 Encore: BLACK SABBATH: Snowblind. 

 I want to thank all of you who joined Prog & Roll last night, hoping you really enjoyed it.

As for our next show, (on Sunday 25/1/2015), we are preparing something special once more.

Wait and you will see... ;) 

Thank you!

GFreedom's 2014 Top-10 Rock & Prog albums list. (Part.2)

                                IQ: The road of bones

After 5 years IQ returned with one of their maturest and "darkest" albums they ever released, 'The road of bones'. The title and the main theme of the album refers to the tragic story behind the R504 Kolyma highway in Russia, which is also known as the Road of Bones, as the skeletons of the forced laborers who died during its construction were used in much of its foundations.
  (The Kolyma highway was constructed during the Stalinist era of the USSR. The first strech was built by the inmates of the Sevvostlag labour camp in 1932, and construction continued with the use of goulag labour until 1953. The road is treated as a memorial, as the bones of the people who died while constructing it were laid beneath or around the road. As the road is built or permafrost, interment into the fabric of the road was deemed more practical than digging new holes to bury the bodies of the dead). 
 With such a tragic story as a main theme, it is normal that the album is 'dark' and gloomy, starting from the cover, and continuing with the songs in it. But the band's synthetic ability is at very high standards once more. Almost all the songs are excellent and rather complicated compositions, so the album needs a few listenings before it reveals all its hidden treasures.
 There are only 5 songs in the basic single-cd edition, most of them long ones. But I will recommend the double-cd edition with 11 songs, and almost 100 minutes of total running time.
 The road of bones is without a doubt one of the greatest releases of 2014 in general, and that's why I strongly recommend it to all Progressive Rock fans.
 I'm adding the song 'Ten million demons' here for you to listen to and get an idea.

 


                                     KAIPA: Sattyg                                       

  Kaipa is a Symphonic Prog band from Sweden. They started their career in the mid 70's when Roine Stolt (later The flower kings) was a member of the band. In the early '80's they were disbanded, but almost 20 years later they returned better than ever. Their new album is named 'Sattyg' and it is one of their best - if not their best - work so far. Their work has all those elements which make a nice Prog album. Equal doses of guitars and keyboards, of melodies and rhythmic riffs, and above all, very beautiful vocals performed by 2 singers. Especially the performance of Allena Gibson is a really great one! Her vocals are adding a lot to their music, giving a unique character to the songs. 
  The albums includes 7 songs, and it has a total running time of almost 62 minutes. And that is normal if you consider that there are 3 songs of almost 15 minutes length each one. 
  The album opens with the 15 minute-long 'A map of your secret world', and from the first few minutes you realise that you have something really good in your hands. And when the second song enters, then you know you made a great choice!
  It was released on the 10th of November, but I discovered it almost 3 weeks ago, and since then I haven't stop listening to it. And every time I find something new I haven't noticed before.  
I highly recommend this album to all the fans of Progressive Rock. You definetely have to add this album in your collection! 
I'm adding a song for you to listen to. It's the album's second track 'World of the void' 

                         KAYAK:Cleopatra the crown of Isis

  Kayak is a Dutch band, which shares many similarities with 'Kaipa'. They formed in the '70's for the first time, and disbanded in the early 80's. And twenty years later they were re-formed, and they are active since then. Their discography consists of 16 studio albums, and 7 of them were released between 2000 - 2014. 
  Their latest release is the Rock opera 'Cleopatra the crown of Isis' which as the title implies has an Ancient Egyptian theme. The albums consists of 2 cd's and has a total running time of almost 110 minutes. As you can understand in such a big project it is difficult to maintain high standards in every song, so there are some parts which are less interesting. But the overall result is excellent.
 For the recordings of the album 7 extra musicians were used and if we count the 7 members of the band as well we have 14 musicians in total. The impressive thing is that there are 7 singers in the album, playing the different roles, and that is something which gives a more theatrical style to the music, and I really do like it. In order to be able to fully appreciate the album you have to listen to it again and again, because there are many small details every now and then, and on every listening you will discover something new.
 I highly recommend the album to all the fans of Progressive rock, and to all those who are interested in Rock operas in general.  
  I'm adding a video here for you to have an idea, but my options in YouTube were very limited, that's why I couldn't post any of the songs I really like. 

                                
                                          SALANDER: Stendec

  A few months ago I hadn't even heard the name 'Salander', and now their latest album 'Stendec' in icluded in my 2014 Top-10 list. And why is that? Well, for many reasons! One of them is that I was really touched by the story and the efforts the 2 members of Salander are doing in order to make their dreams come true. Dave Curnow and Dave Smith are two friends who share a vision, and try to accomplish it on their own. So, they recorded the songs in their home, they did the mix of the album by themselves, and they uploaded it in Bandcamp. There are no record companies or managers involved here. Everything is home-made, authentic, and that is something they should feel proud of. And especially when we talk about an album like 'Stendec'. A very "gentle" and emotional album filled with a very beautiful sound.
  The album includes 7 songs and has a running time of almost an hour. Some of these songs are of the highest quality, and I'm really sure that if they could afford a company studio production the result would be a stunning one! But this doesn't mean anything really. Music is not only about technical means and money, but above all it's all about talent, feelings and emotions. And Stendec delivers it all!
 I highly recommend 'Stendec' to all of you, especially the ones who can appreciate a melodic and romantic album. In case you are interested, you can find it here: http://salander.bandcamp.com/
 I'm also adding a video of the really wonderful song 'Zeitgeist'. Enjoy it!