TIGER MOTH TALES: The Depths of winter (2017). Something like a review...

 Tiger MothTales is the personal project of the English singer, composer and multi-instrumentalist Peter Jones. The Depths of Winter is his 3^rd release, that comes after Cocoon (2014) and Story Tellers Part.1 (2015).

  Some time ago, I wrote a piece about Story Tellers Pt.1, which I believe it was a really wonderful album. In case you are interested, you can find it here: http://gfreedomathina.blogspot.gr/search?q=tiger+moth+tales

  When I heard about his new work I felt really excited, and I couldn’t wait to listen to the new material. And when I finally got it, I was a little bit surprised by the overall style of the album, because it is more “serious” and more melancholic than the previous 2 albums. For that reason, I had to listen to it a few times in order to feel familiar with it. Especially in comparison with Story Tellers, a fun and rather happy album, the difference in the major style and sound is more than obvious.

  If I had to compare this album with his 2 previous ones, I would say that I would place it over Cocoon, and below Story Tellers. It includes some wonderful melodies, like for example Winter Maker; which I can’t stop listening to, or Hygge, with the strong Genesis influences. Another song that I have to point out is The Ballad of Longshanks John.

  There are 3 long (over 10 minutes) songs included here, all of them very interesting ones; Winter Maker, Exposure and The Tears of Frigga. But as I wrote above, Winter Maker is the best of them by far.

  Another very interesting point is that, despite that Tiger Moth Tales is an one-man-band, the sound is very rich, and not depending on keyboards like many other one-man-bands and projects. If you don’t know that, it's not possible to guess that every instrument here is played by only one person. And for that, it gains lots of points from me.

  I can’t say that I’m perfectly pleased or disappointed by that album, simply because I was expecting something very different. Well, maybe I’ll have to wait for Story Tellers Pt.2 for that.

But the truth is that, The Depths of Winter is a very serious and well-made piece of work. 

    And for those reasons I will rate it with 3.5 (out of 5.0) stars.

Prog n Roll's special 200th show, now available as podcast...

I would like to infrm you that since today, Prog n Roll's special 200th broadcast is available on the show's Mixcloud page.
That night we did a really good and interesting show, including parts from some selected older shows, from 2012 till nowadays; mixed with good music of course.
So, by clicking on the following link you will visit Prog n Roll's Mixcloud page, where you can listen to the 200th show, among others that are already uploaded there.
https://www.mixcloud.com/ProgandRoll/  
You can also become a follower and get informed about the shows that we will be uploading.
I hope that you will like it.
Enjoy!

Prog n Roll radio show including the Listener's Happy Hour. (26/11/2017). The complete playlist.

Hello all!
Last night, one more Prog n Roll radio show was online. Because it was the last show of this month, it was including the Listener's Happy Hour; during which, we are playing the songs that were requested by our listeners.
This time, we had not so many requests, but almost all the songs were very good choices, and from many different music styles and genres once more.
I believe it was a very pleasant show in general, and as it seemed, most of the people enjoyed it. 
Here you can check the complete playlist:

Part 1: STEVE WALSH: The piper / KANSAS: With this heart / STRAWBS: When the spirit moves / GANDALF’S FIST: The battle for Tannhouser gate. 

Part 2: TRAFFIC: When the eagle flies / FANTASY: Gnome song / CRESSIDA: To play your little game / NEWSCHWANSTEIN: Ice with dwale.

The Listener's Happy Hour:

Part 3: MOTORHEAD: Overkill (live) / IRON MAIDEN: Powerslave / THRESHOLD: Narcissus / DEEP PURPLE: Keep on moving.

Part 4: APHRODITE’S CHILD: The four horsemen / MARILLION: Forgotten sons / THE FLOWER KINGS: In the eyes of the world.

I would like to thank all those who listened to our show once more, and all those who participated in the Listener's Happy Hour with their requests.

Thank you very much!

GFreedom's Juke Box No.208

Hello all!
After a week's break, my usual Saturday Top-5 song list is back.
I listened to lots of music during this week, and I believe that the best songs are the following ones:
KANSAS: With this Heart (The Prelude Implicit - 2016)
IRON MAIDEN: The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (Powerslave -1984)
MARILLION: Fugazi (Fugazi - 1984)
CLIVE NOLAN: Stand Fast (King's Ransom - 2017)
GANDALF'S FIST: The Battle for Tannhouser Gate (A Day in the Life of a Universal Wanderer - 2017)
I will also add the YouTube songs for the songs in my list, so in case you are interested, just click on the links and listen to them. The only song I couldn't find was Clive Nolan's Stand Fast.
Enjoy the music!
Have a beautiful weekend.
Thank you!
KANSAS: With this Heart
IRON MAIDEN: The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
MARILLION: Fugazi
GANDALF'S FIST: The Battle for Tannhouser Gate

INFRINGEMENT: Transition (2017). My "review"...

  For those who don’t know them, I should inform you that Infringement is a quartet from Oslo, Norway. The band has been active for a couple of years now, and a few months ago, they released their debut album, Transition. The line-up is a typical Rock one, with Bass, Guitars, Drums and Vocals. For the needs of the recordings 6 more musicians were used, in keyboards, sax, percussion and vocals. From these “extra” musicians the name of Clive Nolan (in keyboards) is the one that “shines” the most.

  Their sound is a “typical” Neo Prog” sound in my opinion, including many mellow moments, mixed with guitar riffs and interesting turns. Also, the presence of keyboards in making their sound richer, and for that reason they should maybe consider having a keyboard player as their 5^th member.

  Their overall style and sound is bringing to my mind bands like Arena, Pendragon and Marillion mostly, but every now and then you can discover influences from other Prog band as well.

  Transition includes 9 tracks and has a total time of almost 50 minutes.  There isn’t any real epic included, and the longest track is the almost-10-minutes-long Patina, with Clive Nolan on keyboards. The second longest track is Adolescence, which, further than Clive Nolan on keyboards (again), it also includes some very nice guitar work. The guitar player’s performance is very good, and you will find many interesting and enjoyable riffs and solos throughout the album.

  If this was a vinyl album, I would say that I really like the A-side far more than the B-side; because the first 4-5 songs are all very good ones.

 This is a good and very promising debut album without a doubt. Especially the fans of Neo Prog will appreciate it. Give it a try!

Favourite songs: Conception, Infancy, Childhood, Adolescence, Passage.

                        My rating 3.5 (out of 5.0) stars.

PROG n ROLL'S 200th Broadcast! A small "review" and the complete playlist.

Hello all!
  Last night, Prog n Roll radio show was online once more, but this time it was different than usual.
  This was our 200th broadcast, and for that reason, we wanted to present something very special to our listeners; and I believe we did!
  We tried to make a small travel through time, and to our past shows, because many of our listeners never had the chance to listen to some of our older ones. So, we included parts from shows that took place during the 5 years that Prog n Roll is active; like for example the show No.5, which was a tribute to The Lord of the Rings, or the show No.24, which was including a tribute to the Rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar. We also included parts from shows that we had some guests behind the microphone, some others during which we made some special presentations and so on...
  Also, during the last weeks we asked from our listeners to record a short audio spot for us and/or the show, and many people responded to that; including many musicians as well. So, we gathered all the spots that we received, and played them last night.
  We had a very good crowd gathered, and the shoutbox was on fire once more. I believe that it was a very different and definitely interesting show, and judging by the people's reactions, they surely enjoyed it.
 Here you can take a look at the playlist if you want:

Part 1: GENESIS: Dancing with the Moonlight Knight / FISH: The Company / Part of PnR show No.114, incl. MIKE OLDFIELD’s Shadow on the Wall / Part of PnR show No.24, incl. What’s the Buzz from JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR. 

Part 2: Part of PnR show No.151 incl. High Ball Shooter by DEEP PURPLE / THIN LIZZY: Killer on the Loose / RAINBOW: Stargazer / Part of PnR show No.75 incl. Birthday song by SALANDER.

Part 3: Part of PnR show No.124 incl. Ambush by CLIVE NOLAN / Part of PnR show No.192 incl. Jinn by SOEN / DRIFTING SUN: Wings of Hope.

Part. 4: SALANDER: Aldri / Part of PnR No.5-Lord of the Rings tribute / BROCKEN PARACHUTE: Nine Miles to Babylon / INNERSPACE: Tree of Life. 

I would like to say a very big 'thank you' to all those who chose to listen to PnR once more, and to those who recorded and send us all these lovely audio spots. We are definitely proud for having such wonderful people in our audience!

We will "see" you again on Sunday the 26th, for the last show in November.

Thank you all and take care!

PROG n ROLL celebrates its 200 broadcasts with a special show! (19/11/2017)

Hello all!
  I am very happy to announce that tomorrow Prog n Roll will celebrate its 200th broadcast! 
It is a very big milestone for us, that's why we decided to make something special.
  So, tomorrow during the 2 hours that the show is online, we are going to play some parts from our older shows, that many of our new listeners have missed, mixed with songs of course.
 We also asked from our listeners to record a short spot for us, saying a few things about Prog n Roll. Many people responded, so tomorrow we are going to play their spots as well.
  In my opinion this is going to be a very interesting and fun show, and for those who don't know Prog n Roll yet, it will be a very good show to listen to. 
  Have in mind that, Prog n Roll is a live bilingual broadcast, and it comes online on every Sunday at 20.00 UK time.
In order to listen, just click on the following link tomorrow, at the time I mentioned above: www.justincaseradio.com
I hope to "see" you there!
Thank you.

GANDALF’S FIST: A Day in the Life of a Universal Wanderer (2017 reissue)

This is not a new album; but at the same time, it is! How is that possible? 

Let me explain…

  Once upon a time, Gandalf’s Fist was a duo, and with the help of synthesizers, they were doing everything by themselves; plus a drum machine.

  In 2013 they released this album, which was a concept one. It was a very good effort, but it needed something more in order to be characterized as a really good album. (Personally speaking, I am usually bothered by the sound of drum machines). But as it seemed, the sales went well, and finally the CD was sold out. So, instead of making a second pressing of the album, they decided to go into the studio and re-record it; and that was a very wise decision! Because the band now is more “mature” than before, and now they also have a real drummer instead of a drum machine. The addition of Stefan Heppe on drums, improved the band’s dynamic a lot without a doubt.

  But that’s not all. Almost all the songs are improved, a 11-minute-long epic is added, and I think that the production and the mix are better. I am not a studio expert, but this version sounds a lot better to my ears.

  On the top of everything else, the narration parts between the songs are lovely, and give to the listener a “massive” feeling. The band decided to repeat the “recipe” they used in The Clockwork Fable, and they succeeded!

  Another very important element of the album is that they replaced the keyboard-string parts, with real strings, like Cello and Violin for example.

If you have the 2013 version of this album, you should definitely try this one. It will sound familiar, but at the same time different and better by far.

  If you don’t have the old version, don’t even bother to find it. This new one is a wonderful piece of work, starting from the – new designed – cover, up to the last detail. I never rated the original version, but I think that I could give something like 3.5 out of 5.0 stars.

  As for this version, I think that I will give 4.5 stars.

  Favorite songs: The nine billion names of God, Stowaway to the mushroom planet, Somewhere beyond the stars, The battle for Tannhouser gate. (I like almost all the songs in the album, but these are the ones I like the most).

             Try this album, you will not regret it!