1970′s Looking On, the third album from The Move, came complete with yet another new member. Following the departure of chief vocalist Carl Wayne, Roy Wood, Bev Bevan and Rick Price were joined by Jeff Lynne. Lynne was an old friend of Wood’s and had even replaced the bearded bard in Birmingham beat group, The Nightriders, under whose stewardship they had transformed into toytown psychedelic curio, The Idle Race.

Another exponent of the more experimental side of music, Lynne’s arrival marked a change of direction for The Move, giving Wood a likeminded soulmate to spark against, as well as acting as the catalyst that would lead to the group’s drawn-out demise…

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album reviews, prog rock

As mentioned on Friday, there’s not only a new album by barking mad, 70′s progressive space rockers Gong, out on 21st September 2009, but they’re also embarking on a UK tour in November; featuring sometime Soft Machine member and founder of the group Daevid Allen, along with former core members Steve Hillage, Gilli Smyth, Mike Howlett and  Miquette Giraudy.

Gong formed in 1968 during the Paris student riots, giving birth to a wealth of weird and wonderful albums, overflowing with psychedelic and progressive flavours, most notably the Radio Gnome Trilogy, of which the new album 2032 is to be the next installment.

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news, prog rock, psychedelic rock

All This and More, a four-disc Procol Harum compendium has been announced by Salvo Records as part of their 40th anniversary reissue campaign.

To me, just from the scant information at my fingertips, it looks to be a dead cert for the Christmas list.

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news, prog rock, psychedelic rock

Following on from the August and September release schedule for prog rock reissue merchants, Esoteric Records, October continues in earnest with the following CDs possibly of interest to Head Full of Snow readers.

First up is the reissue of Genesis keyboard-noodler, Tony Banks’ 1979 debut solo album A Curious Feeling. Released at a time when the rot that was Phil Collins had truly set in, this solo outing retains a feel for the early progressive sound of that once proud band. Further details of A Curious Feeling can be found here.

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news, prog rock

Next month sees the release of a brand new album from bonkers 60s-70s experimental/psychedelic/space rock/progressive avant-gardistas of the Canterbury scene, Gong.

2032 is released on 21st September (2009) and sees Steve Hillage back in the recording studio with Daevid Allen for the first time since creative differences saw them part company following 1974′s You.

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news, prog rock, psychedelic rock

It’s a new look for the latest issue of Shindig, as the magazine “for people who want more” celebrates two whole years at the forefront of underground music reportage. Yes, it’s 12 issues down the line since the magazine’s glossy relaunch (Shindig is published bi-monthly) and what better than a brand new design?

Following the last issue, for which your humble host here at HFoS towers contributed a feature article on Chicago psychedelic band H.P. Lovecraft, the latest edition maintains the usual standard for lovers of psych, prog, garage and the just plain weird.

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Not to be confused with the superior The Yes Album, this self-titled debut by the progressive rock behemoths is a patchy affair, reasonable in places, boring in others. On a more positive note, it doesn’t reach the boredom threshold set by 1974′s Relayer, an album that really does test the patience.

Yes have always been a frustrating enigma for me. 1972′s Close to the Edge is prog perfection as far as I’m concerned but other releases just fail to match up to it, with only ’71′s Fragile coming close. These inconsistencies are evident on ’71′s The Yes Album and the less said about 1973′s self-indulgently flawed yawn-fest Tales From the Topographical Oceans (an album that prompted Rick Wakeman to pack up his Minimoog and jump ship), the better.

So with my stall firmly laid out with regards to the Yes situation, let’s get back to this album, simply titled Yes.

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album reviews, prog rock, psychedelic rock

“… it enforces the argument that the only place for children in Spaghetti Westerns is sprawled across the floor, riddled with lead …”

HFoS spreads its wings over at LateMag, once again waxing lyrical about Spaghetti Westerns with a review of Cjamango.

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Many has been the day when I have found myself deep in thought, pondering on what it is my life has been missing. I have endeavoured to seek solace within the realms of psychedelic and prog rock and it was through this that I found the source of my discontent was concept album based.

I have all manner of concept albums, sonically detailing topics as diverse as deaf, dumb and blind pinball players, alien invasions from Mars, the life cycle of a lad named SF Sorrow, poetry competitions, creepy old tramps and the bucolic lifestyle (Jethro Tull can lay claim to the last three) but what I didn’t have was a concept album about cricket! What’s more, I didn’t have a concept album about cricket that nodded towards the late seventies ELO sound.

Until now, that is. All hail the Duckworth Lewis Method, an album that not only ticks all the above boxes but also goes a long way to restoring my faith in ‘modern’ music.

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album reviews, progressive pop crossover

Esoteric Recordings, purveyors of fine prog and psychedelic rock reissues have announced their releases for August – okay, I’m a little late on this one, but things have been hectic of late – and September.

Esoteric really has some good stuff on its books, some of which hasn’t seen the light of day since the late sixties and seventies – the heyday of progressive rock.

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news, prog rock

Following the Salvo/Fly Records reissues of the first four Procol Harum albums earlier this year, the sterling work continues unabated with Salvo’s reissues of the next three albums in the Procol backcatalog, available now!

1971′s Broken Barricades carries on the tradition started on Home with a harder rock sound, Robin Trower’s guitar taking the lead in the absence of departed Matthew Fisher’s Hammond organ.

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news, prog rock, psychedelic rock