Spudman
January 14th, 2011, 10:41 AM
20 Ranjit Barot - Bada Boom
You may have already heard drummer Ranjit Barot performing on John McLaughlin's 2008 album "Floating Point". McLaughlin returns the favor by making a guest appearance on this album as well. Barot grew up with one foot firmly planted in traditional Indian music and the other in Western Jazz Fusion. Although he plays a traditional "drum kit", he never loses touch with his Indian roots. Excellent fusion of Jazz and Rock, East and West!
19 Pain Of Salvation - Road Salt One
Pain of Salvation surprised everyone in 2010 with an album that shed their metal influences… (Yes, I said shed not shred...) finding their inspiration in classic 1970's blues-rock, funk and prog rather than metal.
18 Pat Metheny - Orchestrion
Pat Metheny pushes the limits of live guitar performance with what he calls Orchestrionics. Using guitar and various pedals to trigger a myriad of sounds, the result is astoundingly personal and organic. This has really grown on me and I feel ashamed that I didn't help it place higher in the rankings.
17 Roswell Six - Terra Incognita: A Line In The Sand
Composer, producer and all-around keyboard wizard Erik Norlander (Rocket Scientists) works in collaboration with bestselling sci-fi writer Kevin J. Anderson to release prog concept album & original novel companion set "Terra Incognita: A Line in the Sand"! Of course, Norlander invites his wife, Lana Lane (vocals) to the party. Other star participants include James LaBrie (Dream Theater), Michael Sadler (Saga), John Payne (Asia), David Ragsdale ( Kansas ) Martin Orford (IQ) and more.
16 Seventh Wonder - The Great Escape
While the music on Seventh Wonder's fourth album remains every bit as prog-metal as that of their their contemporaries (Symphony X, et. al.), a greater emphasis on hooks and melodies inspires a measure of restraint, resulting in a more complete album (IMNSHO of course)...
15 stOrk - stOrk
Shane Gibson (guitar/KoRn) taps, sweeps, picks, riffs and generally shows off his guitar prowess like never before on this collection of hard rock instrumental gems. Drummer Thomas Lang impeccably drives the music forward.
14 Spiritual Beggars - Return to Zero
Stoner hard rock that turns the audio-clock back to the classic sounds of Deep Purple and Uriah Heep. You just gotta love it... or not! ;-)
13 RPWL - The Gentle Art Of Music
2 CD retrospective set from German group spans the first decade of their career. On CD #1 hear the band grow and mature as they venture from their Pink Floyd tribute roots even while retaining the spacious, breathtaking style that inspired them in the first place. CD #2 affords the band the opportunity to reinterpret previous works with gentle, ethnic, stripped back, and even acoustic arrangements.
12 Yezda Urfa - Yezda Urfa Live NEARfest 2004
Yezda Urfa's - A curious blend of Gentle Giant's compositional complexity and quirkiness with melodic and vocal stylings more often associated with the band Yes. Their cosmically comic lyrics actually make Jon Anderson's musings appear imminently intelligible! This prog underdog waited over a decade before getting discovered by Syn-Phonic records. Live NEARfest 2004 affords newcomers the opportunity to hear some of their most revered compositions lovingly and faithfully recreated in the live setting. Long-time fans will enjoy hearing both the maturity and vitality of the band on these live recordings which in many respects sonically surpass those of the original low budget studio albums.
11 Steve Hackett - Out Of The Tunnel's Mouth
Yet another high quality 21st Century prog album from the ex-Genesis guitarist. While Hackett was always an excellent guitarist, his songwriting and vocals often left something to be desired. But Hackett seems to have found a comfortable vocal space lately, one which plays particularly very well on this album. Female vocals add a nice touch as well. Although songwriting may never be his strongest point, there is no denying palpable improvements in this area as well. Previous Genesis alumnus Anthony Phillips contributes 12 string guitar. Chris Squire also makes a couple of guest appearances on bass.
10 Dean Watson - Unsettled
Progressive Jazz Rock Fusion from Canada. There is a general rule of thumb about being wary of self-produced "one-man bands". No matter how visionary or creative the individual, far too often something integral to the final result (production, mixing, drums, songwriting) inevitably suffers. How Dean Watson managed to avoid such a common trap seemed like an mystical puzzle until the truth finally emerged. This was NOT a "one-man-band" after all! Rather than settle for whatever rhythms he could bang out, Watson was wise enough to invite drummer Barry Connors to the sessions, making the drums truly come alive on his first solo album. I - for one - am glad he "Unsettled"! (Ancient Chinese secret, huh?)
You may have already heard drummer Ranjit Barot performing on John McLaughlin's 2008 album "Floating Point". McLaughlin returns the favor by making a guest appearance on this album as well. Barot grew up with one foot firmly planted in traditional Indian music and the other in Western Jazz Fusion. Although he plays a traditional "drum kit", he never loses touch with his Indian roots. Excellent fusion of Jazz and Rock, East and West!
19 Pain Of Salvation - Road Salt One
Pain of Salvation surprised everyone in 2010 with an album that shed their metal influences… (Yes, I said shed not shred...) finding their inspiration in classic 1970's blues-rock, funk and prog rather than metal.
18 Pat Metheny - Orchestrion
Pat Metheny pushes the limits of live guitar performance with what he calls Orchestrionics. Using guitar and various pedals to trigger a myriad of sounds, the result is astoundingly personal and organic. This has really grown on me and I feel ashamed that I didn't help it place higher in the rankings.
17 Roswell Six - Terra Incognita: A Line In The Sand
Composer, producer and all-around keyboard wizard Erik Norlander (Rocket Scientists) works in collaboration with bestselling sci-fi writer Kevin J. Anderson to release prog concept album & original novel companion set "Terra Incognita: A Line in the Sand"! Of course, Norlander invites his wife, Lana Lane (vocals) to the party. Other star participants include James LaBrie (Dream Theater), Michael Sadler (Saga), John Payne (Asia), David Ragsdale ( Kansas ) Martin Orford (IQ) and more.
16 Seventh Wonder - The Great Escape
While the music on Seventh Wonder's fourth album remains every bit as prog-metal as that of their their contemporaries (Symphony X, et. al.), a greater emphasis on hooks and melodies inspires a measure of restraint, resulting in a more complete album (IMNSHO of course)...
15 stOrk - stOrk
Shane Gibson (guitar/KoRn) taps, sweeps, picks, riffs and generally shows off his guitar prowess like never before on this collection of hard rock instrumental gems. Drummer Thomas Lang impeccably drives the music forward.
14 Spiritual Beggars - Return to Zero
Stoner hard rock that turns the audio-clock back to the classic sounds of Deep Purple and Uriah Heep. You just gotta love it... or not! ;-)
13 RPWL - The Gentle Art Of Music
2 CD retrospective set from German group spans the first decade of their career. On CD #1 hear the band grow and mature as they venture from their Pink Floyd tribute roots even while retaining the spacious, breathtaking style that inspired them in the first place. CD #2 affords the band the opportunity to reinterpret previous works with gentle, ethnic, stripped back, and even acoustic arrangements.
12 Yezda Urfa - Yezda Urfa Live NEARfest 2004
Yezda Urfa's - A curious blend of Gentle Giant's compositional complexity and quirkiness with melodic and vocal stylings more often associated with the band Yes. Their cosmically comic lyrics actually make Jon Anderson's musings appear imminently intelligible! This prog underdog waited over a decade before getting discovered by Syn-Phonic records. Live NEARfest 2004 affords newcomers the opportunity to hear some of their most revered compositions lovingly and faithfully recreated in the live setting. Long-time fans will enjoy hearing both the maturity and vitality of the band on these live recordings which in many respects sonically surpass those of the original low budget studio albums.
11 Steve Hackett - Out Of The Tunnel's Mouth
Yet another high quality 21st Century prog album from the ex-Genesis guitarist. While Hackett was always an excellent guitarist, his songwriting and vocals often left something to be desired. But Hackett seems to have found a comfortable vocal space lately, one which plays particularly very well on this album. Female vocals add a nice touch as well. Although songwriting may never be his strongest point, there is no denying palpable improvements in this area as well. Previous Genesis alumnus Anthony Phillips contributes 12 string guitar. Chris Squire also makes a couple of guest appearances on bass.
10 Dean Watson - Unsettled
Progressive Jazz Rock Fusion from Canada. There is a general rule of thumb about being wary of self-produced "one-man bands". No matter how visionary or creative the individual, far too often something integral to the final result (production, mixing, drums, songwriting) inevitably suffers. How Dean Watson managed to avoid such a common trap seemed like an mystical puzzle until the truth finally emerged. This was NOT a "one-man-band" after all! Rather than settle for whatever rhythms he could bang out, Watson was wise enough to invite drummer Barry Connors to the sessions, making the drums truly come alive on his first solo album. I - for one - am glad he "Unsettled"! (Ancient Chinese secret, huh?)