Reviews of Prog Rock, Classical Music, Art Rock and Jazz
Friday 6 May 2022 O₂ Apollo Manchester Nick Mason's band are more than just an echo of the past ***** Pink Floyd's drummer Nick Mason announced that the band shared a stage in Manchester with Jimi Hendrix 55 years ago in 1967. It seems unlikely that the original band will ever tour again, not least …
Continue reading "Nick Mason’s Saucerful of Secrets – Live Review"
Steven Wilson is known as ‘The most successful British musician most people have never heard of’. So how did I find him? (updated April 2022) Steven Wilson and Nick Holmes at a book signing in Manchester in April 2022 In February 2009, Steven Wilson did something uncharacteristically violent; he destroyed five iPods. He shot the first …
The Bridgewater Hall, Manchester Tuesday 22 February 2022 Prog rock band still generating sparks in Manchester over 50 years on **** In one of those lovely disambiguations on Wikipedia, Van der Graaf Generator the rock band are not to be confused with the electrostatic machine the Van der Graaff Generator. Both are capable of creating …
The Apollo, Manchester Saturday 27 November 2021 Classic Pink Floyd songs brought to life with an Australian twist **** The last time Pink Floyd played an indoor concert venue in Manchester was nearly 50 years ago at the Palace Theatre on 10 December 1974. It seems unlikely that the three surviving members will ever play …
Continue reading "The Australian Pink Floyd Show – Live Review"
Nick Holmes’ Porcupine Tree On Track provides an astute analysis of all Porcupine Tree’s studio albums and EPs and provides an illuminating insight into the band’s music for existing and new fans alike. (Burning Shed) "Holmes' book is a thoroughly entertaining and informative read for anyone with a lively interest in progressive rock, and an essential purchase …
Excellent songs that didn't make the final cut Some very strong songs were left off Porcupine Tree's studio albums for reasons of space, changes of style ... or in at least one case due to what the band's leader Steven Wilson now regards as a mistake on his part. The Sound of No-One Listening This …
Continue reading "Porcupine Tree – Hidden Treasures You May Have Missed"
***** New Prog supergroup bring joy in fragmented times Drummer Craig Blundell, keyboard player Adam Holzman and bass player Nick Beggs began playing together on Steven Wilson's Hand. Cannot. Erase tour in 2015. They also joined Steven on his To the Bone tour in 2018 and 2019. When Steven went off for a cup of …
The band's 2007 classic album ***** Lasse Hoile's striking cover image for Fear of a Blank Planet Within Porcupine Tree's canon of eleven studio albums, their 2007 album Fear of a Blank Planet has a similar status to Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon in the Pink Floyd catalogue, a cohesive and deeply-satisfying concept …
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**** Achingly beautiful music in troubled times In those distant days before the world was gripped by the hands of a virus that forced us all into lockdown, I was on my way back home on a train from London. I was doing some research on my laptop into the Prog Rock band Porcupine Tree …
Continue reading "All That I Am and All That I Was by Ms Amy Birks – Album Review"
John Wetton, Bill Bruford and Robert Fripp Part III of How I learned to listen to King Crimson King Crimson's 1974 album Red is a challenging listen, partly because it refuses to be categorised. It's progressive rock, heavy rock, proto-metal, jazz, contemporary classical, full of terrible beauty and actual beauty. The musicianship is of the …
Continue reading "Red (1974) by King Crimson – Album Review"