The Tangent – Songs from the Hard Shoulder (2022)
This is the latest album from this UK based progressive rock band and is one of the best in their catalgoue. As usual, we are treated to some very long songs, political commentary, social commentary…
Opinion
I thought it might be fun to place all my music, book and tech type reviews under one banner. Hence OPINION. Use the main menu to find specific sections you might be interested in.
Pure Reason Revolution – Above Cirrus (2022)
First album in a couple of years from this most interesting of bands. Always had a soft spot for them since hearing the Bright Ambassadors of Morning and buying it on CD Single! Anyway, they…
Scheming Streaming
I keep getting asked why I don’t subscribe to Spotify, Amazon, Apple Music etc. The answer is simple . . . . . I’d rather own what I listen to. Furthermore, at least 40% of…
James LaBrie – Beautiful Shade of Grey (2022)
This is the 4th solo album from the current Dream Theater vocalist and, I must say, by far his best. I was not too keen on his previous works, but he has nailed the heavy…
Porcupine Tree – Closure-Continuation (2022)
As everyone must know by now, this is the first PT album in years. To say it was long awaited would be an understatement. Anyway, here it is and what is it like? The easy…
Reading Time
This week, I have been reading A NEW DAY YESTERDAY: UK PROGRESSIVE ROCK & THE 1970s. It had been on my reading list for a while, so thought I would take it for a spin.…
Remastering Process
Now that I have finished remastering another album, I thought it might be fun to share a few things that go into the process. As you know, The Story of Our Lives is a single…
Kindle Oasis Review
I am a voracious reader: mostly tech magazines, biographies, sci-fi and some philosophy. I tend to do most of my reading on my mobile phone or computer. I use the Kindle app on there, and…
How I Remaster the Ancient Relics!
As several of you have expressed an interest in the remastering process, I thought it would be cool to share with you how I went about it for the 2020 / 2021 remastering campaign. DISCLAIMER:…
The Progressive Underground, Vol 2
The Progressive Underground Volume 2 is out now and continues author Kevin Rowland’s deep delve into this marvellous genre. This volume covers demo and album reviews by artists from I to S. Here are the…
Neewer Studio Monitor Isolation Pads for 8 inch Monitors
I’ve been recording music for many years and I have never invested in any isolation pads for my monitor speakers. The main reason being that I had some serious heavy duty spiked stands / isolation,…
How Music Got Free: What happens when an entire generation commits the same crime?
This book is all about how the mp3 file format for compressed audio took over the world, eventually leading to music becoming, effectively, free. On the surface, this may sound like a dull topic. However,…
The Progressive Underground, Vol 1
The Progressive Underground Volume 1 is a new series of books starring the progressive music scene as seen through the eyes, ears and pen of noted reviewer Kevin Rowland. It covers the years 1991 through…
Belly Dancer: a Lost Classic
Many years ago, more than I care to remember, I heard a song on the radio called Belly Dancer. I loved it straight away and managed to record most of it to cassette. DJs being…
Public Service Broadcasting – The War Room (2012)
I saw this band in concert on the BBC a few weeks ago and I was severely impressed. They were a trio playing various guitars, drums, keyboards and DJ type stuff. The only ‘vocals’, if…
Spock’s Beard – Live At Sea (2014)
Here we are with yet another entry in the Beard’s live album discography. This differs from the others as it was recorded on a boat(!): the so-called Progressive Nation at Sea cruise and also features…
The Wrong Object – After the Exhibition (2013)
Belgian band The Wrong Object have released a new album entitled After the Exhibition. It is very much cast in the mould of Soft Machine around the time of Bundles and Softs, both of which…
Syd Arthur – Moving World EP (2012)
Just discovered this band and picked up the EP at Bandcamp (where else?!). There are four tracks and you could describe it as Psychedelic/Canterbury inspired prog rock. Sort of. Regardless of what you choose to call…
Big Big Train: Make Some Noise EP (2013)
Big Big Train have re-released their previous two albums English Electric Part One and English Electric Part Part Two (both unmitigated works of genius) as one album called English Electric Full Power with 4 bonus tracks…
Blood Ceremony: the Eldritch Dark (2013)
This is the Canadian band’s third album and, I think, their best. Fusing seventies hard rock with some progressive flourishes – like a mixture of Black Sabbath, Jethro Tull, Curved Air and a dash of Fairport…