Porcupine Tree - Deadwing (2005)

If any band leads the charge, bringing progressive-rock back to the great unwashed masses, it may well be Porcupine Tree. For almost a decade and a half, the English band, led by singer, songwriter and guitarist Steven Wilson, has forged a career by tempering prog-rock tendencies with hard rock sensibilities. Unlike other leading lights in the modern prog movement such as Spock’s Beard or the Flower Kings, bands that take their cue from ‘70s-era progmasters like Yes or King Crimson, Porcupine Tree instead follows a path more similar to Pink Floyd. Throw in a strong measure of NWOBM reliance on startling guitar riffs; add elements of lush, ‘90s-vintage 4AD label atmospherics and stir well with Wilson’s self-taught musical genius and you’ll have the sound of Porcupine Tree.

The eighth studio effort from Porcupine Tree, and only the band’s second album to receive any sort of significant stateside distribution, Deadwing is a magnificent collection of songs with easy appeal to both the mainstream music fan and the diehard prog-rocker. The album opens with the nine-minute-plus title cut, a stunning musical tour de force that never loses steam no matter how many twists and turns the song takes. Infected with an overall moody ambience, Wilson’s somber lyrics are supported by taut leads and blazing riffs, tribal drumbeats and Richard Barbieri’s magnificent keyboard wizardry. The wiry guitar solo in the middle of the song is provided courtesy of Adrian Belew, a well respected fretmaster with credentials from both the prog-rock and art-rock worlds.

Deadwing gets a little heavier with “Shallow,” a riff-happy rocker that edges into industrial territory, swinging back towards sanity before Trent Reznor comes knocking at the door. Alternately both brutally electric and gently melodic, the song’s theme of technological alienation stands in stark contrast to “Lazarus,” a pastoral composition with fine vocal harmonies and beautifully constructed instrumental passages. “Halo” ventures into horror-rock territory, echoed vocals and monster rhythms counterbalanced by a harmonic chorus with its roots in hard-rocking ‘90s-era grunge.

The band is at its most progressive with the twelve-minute “Arriving Somewhere But Not Here,” the song’s breathtaking instrumentation incorporating elements of swirling psychedelica, Eno-styled ambient electronics and classic, ‘70s-vintage prog-rock song structure. The punchy “Open Car” may be as close to a single release as Deadwing ventures; with its monstrous riffing and larger-than-life vibe the song sojourns into prog-metal territory and would fit perfectly into a modern rock radio format.

Handling vocals, guitars and some secondary keyboards, Wilson’s talents are abundant. Every wunderkind needs players to push them towards greatness, however, and Porcupine Tree offers an impressive collection of instrumental virtuosos. Richard Barbieri, who cut his teeth with groundbreaking ‘80s-era new wave art-rock band Japan, brings a classical element to the band, his keyboard and synth creations providing the underlying structure for Wilson’s complex, extravagant compositions. Bassist Colin Edward is more than mere background scenery, his fills and occasional leads providing the band’s sound with a heavy bottom end while drummer Gavin Harrison brings an explosive hard rock mentality to the material. Altogether, the band’s musical chemistry is quite impressive, the foursome creating a tapestry of sound and emotion that is ambitious in scope and invigorating in its results. Poised on the brink of U.S. stardom, Porcupine Tree is ready for you…but are you ready for Porcupine Tree? (Atlantic Records)

(Click on the CD cover to buy Deadwing from Amazon.com)

Spock's Beard - Gluttons For Punishment (2005)

The remaining members of Spock’s Beard had a lot to live up to when founding member and songwriter Neal Morse left the band a couple of years back. The major architect of the trademark Spock’s sound, Morse’s departure forced the other band members to step up and take the reins of the popular prog-rock trailblazers. With drummer Nick D’Virgilio assuming lead vocal duties and underrated guitarist Al Morse stepping into the spotlight more often, the band took on a harder, rock-oriented edge with its two post-Neal albums, Feeling Euphoria and Octane. The band developed a collective approach to songwriting that took advantage of their individual strength’s, bringing in friend John Boeghold for lyrical assistance where needed.

All that was missing was for the “new” band to establish its identity as a top-notch performance outfit, a questionable goal they seem to have rapidly achieved. After all, this is basically the same batch of guys that recorded such classic modern prog albums as The Light and Beware Of Darkness. Morse’s abdication changed the band’s sound and, perhaps, its focus but the talent and instrumental creativity remained in place. As documented by Gluttons For Punishment, the first live set from Spock’s Beard, version II, any questions about the band’s performance skills were absurd from the beginning.

Recorded during Spock’s Beard’s Spring 2005 European tour, Gluttons For Punishment, Live In ‘05 effectively recreates the recent Octane album almost in its entirety and in virtually the same running order as the studio original. Although it’s unusual for a band to release a live disc in such close proximity to a studio album, the clamoring of fans evidently tipped the band’s hand. There is some embroidery provided the studio versions of the Octane songs, albeit very little, and although the performances are dynamic and multi-layered, one can’t help but wonder what a little more time might have added to these songs in the way of instrumental interpretation.

The band all but ignores its recent Feeling Euphoria album, covering only two of that disc’s songs in “The Bottom Line” and “Ghosts Of Autumn,” alongside a sparse selection of songs from earlier Spock’s releases. “Harm’s Way,” from 1998’s The Kindness Of Strangers, provides an ample dose of keyboard wizard Ryo Okumoto’s mad riffing while also offering an excellent showcase for Al Morse’s understated and elegant fretwork. V’s “At The End Of The Day” kicks off the second disc, D’Virgilio’s vocals taking the song in different directions than Morse’s original reading, the tune benefiting from some improvisational jazz-rock fusion styled passages. Since taking over as the band’s frontman, D’Virgilio vocals have steadily improved, the talented drummer also forging a distinctive vocal identity around the band’s evolving sound.

Nowhere is D’Virgilio’s confidence more evident than on the album-closing, nearly twenty-minute revisiting of “The Light” from the very first Spock’s Beard album. The vocalist stretches his talents to their limits in recreating the roller-coaster highs and lows and dangerous curves of the song’s lengthy and varied performance. Given new muscle by the various players’ more aggressive direction, “The Light” is both a reminder of the past and a bridge to the band’s musical future. Spock’s Beard remains one of the most intriguing and innovative bands on the modern progressive rock landscape, a wonderful match of talents and musical chemistry that has continuously moved forward for over 20 years. Gluttons For Punishment, Live In ’05 is a fair snapshot of this moment in time for Spock’s Beard, an entertaining and exhilarating performance from one of the guiding lights of the current prog-rock movement. (Inside Out Music)

(Click on the CD cover to buy Gluttons For Punishment from Amazon.com)

Trey Gunn Band - Live Encounter (2001)

Multi-instrumentalist Trey Gunn made his bones as a student in Fripp’s League of Crafty Guitarists and subsequently became a member of King Crimson in 1995. Since then, the master of the enigmatic Chapman Stick has developed a following of his own through a handful of adventuresome albums with his Trey Gunn Band. Although his work with King Crimson has no doubt exposed Gunn’s considerable instrumental prowess to a larger audience, it is his personal work, such as Live Encounter, which has earned the artist a solid reputation.

Culled from tours in September 2000 and February 2001, Live Encounter revisits previous Gunn compositions in a live setting, allowing the band members to stretch out and experiment. A new song – “Hierarchtitiptitoploftical” – is sandwiched in between four songs from Gunn’s 2000 album The Joy of Molybdenum and his 1996 release The Third Star. For listeners unfamiliar with Gunn and company’s considerable chops, Live Encounter serves as an excellent introduction. Playing a 10-string Warr guitar, a remarkable instrument created by California designer Mark Warr that allows a skilled user to play both percussive rhythms and straight melody (if I understand correctly), Gunn creates a rich tapestry of sound.

The instrumental sound sculptures crafted by Gunn are complimented by the efforts of collaborators Joe Mendelson on 8-string Warr guitar, Tony Geballe on electric and 12-string acoustic guitar and percussionist Bob Muller. Together the foursome create a magnificent noise, incorporating Eno-inspired ambient passages and Eastern-influenced rhythms with an electric jazz/rock fusion undercurrent that draws as much from King Crimson as it does John McLaughlin and Carlos Santana. Defying musical genres and critical pigeonholing, the Trey Gunn Band are gamblers taking music to the edge, challenging the boundaries of live sound much as jazz artists like Miles Davis and John Coltrane did half a century ago. Making music that is both entertaining and thought provoking, Trey Gunn and crew solidify their reps as instrumental virtuosos with the amazing Live Encounter. (First World Records)

(The Live Encounter disc also includes a pair of Quicktime videos that you can view on your computer, including a full-length performance of “Kuma” that allows you to see these incredible instrumentalists at work.)

(Click on the CD cover to buy Live Encounter from Amazon.com)

Wetton-Manzanera - Wetton-Manzanera (1998)

As the driving instrumental force behind Roxy Music's biggest hits, Phil Manzanera developed a reputation as a top-notch axeman. Bringing a fluid, melodic musical current to play beneath Bryan Ferry's often bittersweet lyrics, his contributions to that band were acclaimed critically but sadly overlooked when the pundits were crowning the next big guitar hero. As shown by this decade-old effort with fellow Roxy alumni John Wetton, Manzanera is a superb pop songwriter.

The Britpop tunes collected on Wetton Manzanera are full of the sort of wonderful six-string flourishes that the guitarist brought to Roxy Music's material. Manzanera's clean lines and flowing chords breathe life into Wetton's light-hearted romantic lyrics, providing a musical backbone for the material. A small part of the legacy of one of rock's most accomplished guitarists, the reissue of this self-titled collaboration is worth another look if only for a glimpse of the soul and talent of Phil Manzanera. (Renaissance Records)

(Click on CD cover to buy Wetton-Manzanera from Amazon.com)

The Strawbs - Concert Classics, Volume 6 (1999)

Progressive rock, or "prog-rock' to its many fans, never really went away at the close of the '70s – it merely went underground, where it continues to ensnare adolescent males with its fusion of folk, psychedelic rock and classical influences. In any discussion of prog rock as an art form, the same names are always thrown about – Pink Floyd, Yes, King Crimson, ELP...even obscures ones like Atomic Rooster – but seldom will the Strawbs' name be brought up.

With relatively little chart success in the United States, Strawbs did somewhat better in their British homeland, marking up a succession of hit singles during the early-70s. With a sound that derived more from the folk side of the prog rock equation, Strawbs had a rich history, counting among its early members a pre-Fairport Convention Sandy Denny and a pre-Yes Rick Wakeman. The band released better than a dozen original albums from the late-60s into the mid-80s, a recording legacy that is in sad disarray. The band has mostly disappeared from the musical landscape, a sad situation only partially addressed by the domestic release of Concert Classics Volume 6 by Renaissance Records.

The lively performance captured by Concert Classics Volume 6 is not credited as to date and venue, but I'm guessing that it's from a late-70s show, judging from the tracklist, and possibly taken from a radio broadcast. It serves as a solid introduction to the magic of Strawbs, the band delivering a strong acoustic-based set. Originally formed as a bluegrass trio called the Strawberry Hill Boys by guitarist David Cousins, the band went through several changes in members and artistic direction before solidifying as Strawbs in 1969. Cousins could be considered a minor visionary, an adventuresome artist who pioneered the blending of folk roots and hard rock. Concert Classics Volume 6 showcases this musical style, with Cousins leading the band through eight songs drawn from at least five different albums that I can find. A few of the cuts here were bonafide hits, including the grand, eclectic "Hero And Heroine;" the powerful, hard-rocking "Heartbreaker," with its rapid-fire keyboard washes; and the eerie "Ghosts." The more pop-influenced "Simple Visions" is a stand-out track, sounding as fresh today as it did almost twenty-five years ago, Cousins' jangly guitar sound and sing-along verses a precursor to a lot of the college radio rock that would follow in the '80s.

As mentioned above, the entire Strawbs catalog is in significant disarray, with only this live disc and a couple of various greatest hits retrospectives available domestically. Strawbs were an important part of the prog-rock movement, an original and unique band that sounded like nobody before them and nobody since. If you're into progressive rock, you owe it to yourself to check out a different facet of the genre. Strawbs' Concert Classics Volume 6 is as good a place as any to begin familiarizing yourself with the band. Also, a handful of the band's original albums are available as import CDs from England, Germany and Sweden, among them their 1973 breakthrough album Grave New World, 1975's Ghosts and a twofer that combines Deep Cuts and Burning For You from 1976 and 1977. A fair amount of their recorded output can be found on vinyl, however – if you're interested, check your local used record store. (Renaissance Records)

(Click on the CD cover to buy Concert Classics, Volume 6 from Amazon.com)

Adrian Belew - Side One (2005)

Latter-day King Crimson guitarist and former Zappa sideman Adrian Belew hasn't released a solo album in nearly eight years, preferring to work with Robert Fripp as part of legendary prog-rockers Crimson, and with his own band, the Bears. When he hits the studio to do a little solo work, Belew does so with a vengeance, recording three -- count 'em -- three solo albums for release this year. Side One is the first of these efforts, a magnificent showcase for Belew's original and highly unique six-string skills. To put it bluntly, Belew's jagged guitarwork has more sharp edges than a broken bottle.

Belew recruited Les Claypool from Primus and Tool's Danny Carey to accompany him on several cuts, including the Hendrix-flavored "Ampersand," composed of syncopated rhythms and angular riffs, and the funky, distraught "Writing On The Wall." Belew's breathless vocals on the dreamy, drifting "Matchless Man" are supported by a fluid lead with a Moroccan flavor while "Madness" offers exactly that, a descent into darkness with cacophonic, swirling guitars and recurring riffs. The experimental "Elephants" uses found vocals and plodding, heavy leads approximating an elephant's cries to describe the plight of this endangered animal.

There are few vocals on the album, Belew preferring to let his guitar do the talking for him. At a mere thirty-three minutes, Side One may seem a bit brief, but the songs here are complex and quite intense. Side One is the work of an innovative instrumentalist not the least bit above experimenting with sound and composition. (Sanctuary Records)

(Click on CD cover to buy Side One from Amazon.com)