Finisterre - Storybook (2001)

Finisterre have been one of the leading bands in the resurgence of 70s styled symphonic bands in the 90s. This high energy set, recorded live at the ProgDay festival in 1997, draws from their first two albums, the self-titled Finisterre as well as In Limine. The retro sound of the band is created through solid composition, the analog styled keyboards of Boris Valle, and full time flautist Sergio Grazia. There is a slight jazzy bent to the songs, due in large part to the Fender Rhodes piano borrowed from Volare for this set. At times the music is reminiscent of Camel, as on the opener, "In Limine", with soaring leads from Marelli and the strong flute presence. The sound quality of the recording is excellent and many of the songs are extended during the live performance, with one even containing quotes from Genesis and King Crimson ("Phaedra").

"Orizzonte Degli Eventi" is more along the lines of classic Italian symphonic rock, opening with a romantic acoustic guitar and flute lead section, building up to more epic proportions. As hinted at by the title, "Hispanica" is a Latin influenced piece wherein breezy acoustic guitar and flute dominate. "Phaedra" stars out as a rocking track, with aggressive guitar and pounding drums, then levels off into a more atmospheric, keyboard driven piece. After the five minute song is over, the band breaks into a long jam while introducing the band members, interspersed with quotes from "21st Century Schizoid Man" and "Firth of Fifth". "Canto Antico" closes out the set with a mellower atmosphere and occasional bursts of soaring guitar and energy.

Storybook differs from the previous release of this performance, the Live at Progday '97 album, in that it contains the PFM cover, "Altaloma". Also, although the liners indicate that this is the same mix as the former album, I find it to be sharper than the Proglodite Records release, especially regarding the sound of the Fender Rhodes. This has everything a great live album should, outstanding sound quality, spirited performance, and a different feel from a band's studio work. This comes highly recommended to any fans of symphonic progressive rock. - Mike Prete [June 2001]

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Fire Ballet - Night on Bald Mountain (1975)

Fireballet was an American band that played full blown symphonic progressive in the mid to late 70s. Basically this was a recipe for disaster as far as commercial success, and the group apparently went downhill fast (read: pop) after their first album, Night on Bald Mountain. The album is considered something of a cult classic (only bootleg versions are available on CD), and has its share of devoted fans. The album fits squarely into the Yes/Genesis mold, grandiose arrangements, swirling synths and melodic vocal passages. For me, it's a little too derivative to make much of an impression. Not that being derivative in of itself is a bad thing, other bands like England where able to pull of the Yes/Genesis cloning and still keep things interesting. For my money though, Fireballet just isn't that talented, instead relying on even more clichéd and obvious material that just doesn't live up to the greatness of their heroes. The music is very reliant on the keyboards, which are okay, but the drumming and vocals in particular strike me as weak points. The keyboard and guitar, while competently played, do not display anything particularly mind blowing, just typical "proggy" type themes that aren't the least bit original.

"Centurion" is an all right song, featuring a more aggressive vocal part, but "The Fireballet" just reeks of inferior Yes-cloning, especially in the vocals. Fittingly, the next track "Atmospheres" is a carbon copy of early Genesis, complete with pastoral Anthony Phillips like guitar and Gabriel-esque intonation. Who's left? Why, Emerson Lake & Palmer of course. Fireballet throws in a classical adaptations of Debussy and (of course) Mussorgsky into their (of course) token 20 minute epic. To be fair, this one is actually the best track on the album, with some very nice keyboard themes and the best vocal performance. Overall, I'm fairly unimpressed. There is nothing here that hasn't been done better elsewhere, and as far as cloning goes, I'd pry rather hear Neuschwanstein or England do it right. - Greg Northrup [April 2001]

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Fred Frith - Pacifica (1998)

Long after his work with Henry Cow and Art Bears, Fred Frith is still composing music. A good portion of it is "classical," i.e. traditionally scored and played by other people, but even those of you who find contemporary classical music forbidding should find plenty to enjoy here, as his work is largely no less accessible than Cow's more complex works.  Admittedly, Pacifica doesn't sound much like his rock-oriented solo work (Gravity et al) -- for that you'd want the jazz-inflected, Messiaenic Freedom in Fragments.  This is an altogether quieter affair, and I recommend it to those with a taste for subtle, very slowly developing, mostly-instrumental music.  It's also largely more tonal than a lot of Frith's music.  When I first heard it, I was surprised to hear him so diatonic.  Still, you'd never mistake it for a product of a previous era; its structure, melodic contour and harmony are wholly modern.

The piece opens with some quiet, crackling electronics, over which the marimba plays one-note tremolos, accompanied by occasional accordion chords and whispered female vocals.  As it progresses, it gradually settles into an extremely slow "groove," the piano and marimba leading the other instruments in an extended exploration of a complex harmonic area, with quiet, gurgly percussion and tape noise lurking in the background.  Eventually, the rhythms begin to increase in complexity and the music becomes more dissonant and thicker-textured -- but very, very slowly.  Vocalist Margareth Kammerer comes in to sing bits of Neruda every now and then, but only sparsely, at least until more than twenty minutes in. It's only at about the twenty-eighth minute that the music really starts to lose its hold on tonality in a noisy, polyrhythmic, but still surprisingly slow-moving climactic passage.

In the last third or so of the piece, the piece returns to a faster version of its opening, the piano's wandering, angular lines now swinging a bit.  Slightly more jagged rhythms start to come out of the mix.  The general mood is still quiet and contemplative, though, so it never achieves any kind of propulsive momentum. Instead, the vocals come back in the last few minutes, still wonderfully vibrato-free, and more often than not set off against spoken male narration (also Neruda) in a way that recalls the beginning of Luciano Berio's Laborintus 2.  Finally, the piece trickles off into a sort of ambient chamber music, occasional pitches wafting through the nearly-inaudible texture behind the spoken text.

Then, for some reason, there's a three-minute piece for marimba. It doesn't seem out of place stylistically -- it's just a single fourteen-note phrase, also slow, repeated over and over again until it fades out.  I'm not sure exactly what Frith's motivation was for putting that there; the piece would probably better without it.  But still, the main part of the piece is really beautiful, and certainly accessible to any avant-prog fan.  Highly recommended. - Alex Temple [September 2002]

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Frogg Cafe - Frogg Cafe (2001)

Long Island quintet Frogg Cafe's debut is a strong slice of uniquely American progressive rock. The band's main acknowledged influence is Zappa, originally having been a Zappa cover band, and even quote the main theme to "Inca Roads" in "Questions Without Answers". At other times, the strong lead violin sound is reminiscent of the band Hands. Atop this is a strong jazz-based undercurrent. The band alternates from light and airy piano or violin parts to darker and more intense guitar dominated passages, creating a nice dynamic contrast. The unique addition of trumpet adds interesting tonal colors not usually associated with symphonic prog.

At times the music can be a rocking, fast paced fusion like in "Old Man", or at others a more mellow and traditional jazz sound like "While You Were Sleeping". Most songs tend to combine both aspects to create a successful end product. The vocals aren't exactly a strong point, but are not distracting in any way. Occasional harmony vocals are used to good effect. The majority of the songs are instrumental and emphasize the player's strengths. Fans of symphonic fusion looking for something a little different will most likely enjoy this one. - Mike Prete [October 2001]

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Fusioon - Minorisa (1975)

One of the most widely adored albums out of Spain, Fusioon's Minorisa is indeed a fine album, but one that didn't impress me quite as much as some other albums from the country, such as those from Gotic, Mezquita or Crack. It's basically impossible to pin down exactly what Fusioon is going for here. The album is highly varied, featuring everything from electronic soundscapes, to Yes and Gentle Giant-like symphonic fare, to laidback, jazzy sections. Generally, the music is based around the excellent keyboard and bass playing, is overwhelmingly instrumental, and builds around fluid melodic themes.

The album is made up of three compositions, the first two being primarily instrumental, slightly jazzy symphonic prog (for the most part), while the third, "Llaves del Subconsciente" ventures off into electronic experimentation and sounds like a completely different band. The title track is far and away the highlight of the album for me. It's condensed enough to remain interesting, and packed with fiery, memorable melodies. Absolutely superb. "Ebusus" is the real epic here, and makes up the bulk of the album. Although definitely a nice track, it does lag at points. Occasionally, it catches fire, but much of the time it strikes me as slightly detached and, for lack of a better term, unemotional. Nice playing, but dry and lacking intensity to my ears. The final track is a complete departure from the previous two, featuring primarily ambient electronic sounds and effects. While this piece is interesting at points, but I usually stop the CD after the second song. For an album under 40 minutes, the 8 minutes of "Llaves del Subconsciente" prove too much to squander. Overall, Minorisa is a nice album, but not as consistent as some other stuff from Spain. - Greg Northrup [June 2001]