The full title of this limited edition CDR documenting ST 37’s 2009 tour is Awkward Moments Tour Live: True Stories From The Untold. What the “true stories” refers to is the 6-page tour notes that accompanies the disc and includes such crazy accounts as that of Joel Crutcher being thrown out of the Hallandale Beach, FL Crowne Plaza Hotel pool after being mistaken for a homeless person, and Bobby Baker attempting to pee in a poorly ventilated and recently used restroom and vomiting on his… well… the title is, after all, Awkward Moments. But it’s more like the fun little tidbits that are all part of a rock band on the road.

Wow, ST 37 and their brand of Space Rock/Psychedelic/Punk have been around for getting near 30 years now. That’s real longevity in the underground. The CD consists of 11 tracks, is well over 70 minutes, and features a good cross-section of what ST 37 are about. The set opens with Number One Fan, a 12 minute excursion that ranges from Hawkwind Space Ritual styled alien effects to acidic psychedelic intensity. After the first 4 minutes the bass and drums develop a sense of rhythmic propulsion, though overall this is an exploratory spacey freakout piece through-and-through. Similar tracks include I Was Looking For My Digital Underground Grandpa Tape, a relatively short stoned freakout piece. One of the highlights of the set is Solaris, a track from the 2004 Insect Hospital album. Inspired by Andrei Tarkovsky’s film of the same name, this is 12 minutes of cinematic, theme-driven, white-knuckled space rock, something that ST 37 are no strangers to, having created their own soundtrack to the classic silent Metropolis and performed it on several occasions to screenings of the film. Another standout is Grandpa’s Birthday, from the 2010 High And Inside album, which is a down ‘n dirty, brain-splattering, space rocking acid-punk-metal rampage.

We’re also treated to live versions of ST 37 songs I’ve always enjoyed. Ghosts Of Tempera Nymphs, from the 1992 Invisible College album, is a tune I’ve played several times on Aural Innovations Space Rock Radio. From the 1997 Spaceage album, Concrete Island is dark and ominous but deep in space. This is an excellent version, capturing the combination of melodic flow and pounding intensity of the song, and has killer manic soloing psych guitar. Future Memories is another monster live performance, this one being the title track from the 2005 album of the same name, and is a kick-ass slab of stoned, metallic, acid-psychedelic mind-fuckery. Maroons, also from High And Inside, is a slow and mesmerizing song that’s both stoned and metallic and peacefully hypnotic, with beautiful mind-bending guitar licks alongside acid-metal guitar, all building up to a high intensity yet trance-inducing explosion. Another winner! These veterans STILL got it!

And just to show that ST 37 aren’t easily pigeonholed, we’ve got the short and nasty punk song The White Comanche, yet another from the High And Inside album, the blazing space-punk song Watch The Bile Come Out, from 2006’s And Then What, which would be right at home on an early Chrome album, and rounding things out nicely is Just You, a romantic 50’s doo-wop song served up ST 37 style.

In summary, HIGHEST recommendation to ST 37 fans, AND I recommend it as an introduction to the band is you’re a newcomer. Better hurry though because it was released in an edition of only 100 copies.

Awkward Moments is available from Reverb Worship at: http://reverbworship.com
Visit the ST 37 web site at: http://www.st37.com
Visit the ST 37 Bandcamp site at: http://st37.bandcamp.com

Reviewed by Jerry Kranitz

After their amazing debut It’s Medication Time, in 2006, I was a little disappointed in the follow-up second album, a couple of years later. They had replaced their amazing guitarist Lewis Turner with a young talent that did not float my boat, excactly, to handle the guitars on their second Voiceprint label CD, The Truth About Us. Well, in 2013, it looks like Pre-Med have taken their prescribed LSD tabs since, and come back in full form with Alan Davey and Danny Thompson from Hawkwind doing all the bass and battery, like on It’s Medication Time, the original Pre-Med 2006 mindblowing artifact of a Spacerock CD. I reviewed this album very favourably for the norwegian newspaper “Gateavisa” in 2007 as well as playing Man Eggs From Mars on my FM Radio show for the Christmas 2006 special I hosted.

Now then, here are two fine examples of a band that Danny Faulkner from the band Starfield, who put out a fine Hawk-ish debut CD, some 10 years ago, and later went on to form Pre-Med to great success mid way through the Millenium’s first decade. So here I have the Live CD and “Einstein’s Day Off” CD proper studio album to review. For one, Einstein’s Day Off is very psychedelic both lyric-wise and music-wise. Alan gets to rawk his beefy bass solos in breaks of spaceyness with metallic guitars chugging on choppy riffs in the background. The songs flow nicely. Abit of Acid manefesto and current Science references to God Particles and Big Bang Theory, and such, and to Tabs of LSD, and all medication you need for a New Age. Alan’s bass is very dominant, and the guitarist from The Truth About Us, Eamon O’Neill has amply, and for the better, been replaced by Phil Oates. Actually, Eamon does some tasty work on the Live CD so I would not slag him, but I did not like his work on The Truth About Us.

Both discs chug away like Trio-era Hawkwind, with those nice electronic bits as breaks or as guitar / bass added FX, the way Hawkwind used to do in the early 90’s, and still do to an extent (not so much anymore as Hawkwind have Tim Blake handling synths, so Dave or Niall needn’t trigger synth sounds from their guitars) I would assume. Alans presence with his monsta bass could very well make Pre-Med a project much like his Bedouin or Gunslinger bands, in fact it is because Alan and Danny being involved in the first Pre-Med CD, I bought it and was blown away, yet had it not been for the Faulkners, Martin and Danny, handling lyric writing, and singing, in that order, so to say, if Alan did vocals and songwriting, which he does not, it would be a lot like a new Bedouin with Thompson. He is merely the bassist though, much like his work with The Meads Of Asphodel. The Live disc has material from the first two Pre-Med CDs and clocks in at just under 30 minutes with 5 songs. These CD’s are self released and feature the fine artwork of Kevin Sommers who has provided his talents on Alan’s solo stuff as well. Often, being an artist myself, and having created CD covers for a few bands, I find Sommers work to be mindblowing but much too cluttered and over worked digitally in some cases, but not always. It gets abit tedious, to look at. Like composition? Out the window dude! But it works for these bands very well, they all seem to think so, as well as the fans too, anyway. And I agree 80%. I generally don’t like medication BTW. At least not the kind given to me by men in white coats!

Go forth to http://premedmusic.com

Reviewed by Christian Eric Mumford

Emerson, Lake & Metal? Golden boy Wilson, everything he touches turns to Gold. His new solo CD came in like 4 or 5 formats, and I went for the CD/DVD version. I like it right off the bat, just like the previous solo stuff, be it studio or live, I tend to like it better than his current Porcupine Tree material. He uses EMS and Mellotrons here, with a HEAVY nod towards ELP (a derided band he might make a tad more likeable for me, as ELP are my LEAST favorite Prog band… I call them Orchestral Woo Woo music with no soul but a few strange stoned moments like Brain Salad Surgery, which is not Progressive, its Orchestral Woo Woo music, well that track may pass as “good” Prog if Prog was all about doing things the Wrong Way). Well, Steven Wilson has re-mastered the early Crimson, Tull and ELP works nicely, he has struck it rich. Back in the 90’s he produced Fish and Marillion albums, as well. Progdoms Most Wanted, Progdoms bespectacled blonde Saviour. I say this half seriously, the man is Jesus, he could be bigger than Lennon. Enough trying to define the genius Steven Wilson and his fat bank account.

This is an album for diehard musicians, people who pick out notes, scales, chords, tap their fingers to Tarkus or A Sailor’s Tale, maybe to pick up their guitar and play it as best they can. There is alot of Crimson and ELP going on here, gone metal, much like Voïvod did as young experimentalists in the 80’s. The lyrics are desperate, dark, almost deriding to his array of strange nightly characters he chronicles on this album. The album opens with a heavy rocker, imagine ELP with alot of airy flutes, as played by a thrashmetal band like Voïvod. Most of the songs go wildly astray and back again, with their progressive twists and turns, it is wondrous to listen all the way through. It is not as low key, Van Der Graaf Generator-stylistic or floating Floydian as the previous SW albums, more chunky ELP-symfo and Crimson-odd time signature style. But I like it. The sound on this CD is so hi-fidelity and clear, it sounds amazing. Wilson & crew know what they are doing here, folks.

Theo Travis plays wonderful flute and sax and clarinet, Wilson himself plays guitars, mellotron, keys and bass on one track. Nick Beggs handles bass. Guthrie Govan lead guitar, Adam Holzman Fender Rhodes, Hammond, Piano, mini Moog, and Marco Minnemann does drums & percussion on the album.

If you liked (like I did) Insurgentes thru Grace For Drowning, and the live Get All You Deserve, then you will fall flat on your ass in amazement on this album. It really is an amazing piece of prog, that is “mock-dated” even in a sick pimply stoned ELP way I love. Maybe I am sick. Maybe SW is sick. Maybe we are all sick. But we can be sick together, and overcome. A solid 9 out of 10 points for this monster album from muso SW. Buy with confidence.

Visit the Kscope Music web site at: http://www.kscopemusic.com

Reviewed by Christian Eric Mumford

Here, are two Voïvod discs I wasn’t aware of, that I just recently ordered from the http://www.irongang.com site with a great book on Away’s artwork, which I assume is on the way soon as well, to my mailbox. This is a band that paved way, along with conceptualists Celtic Frost, for progressive influenced music that existed in its early form in a realm blurring the boundaries between blackmetal and thrashmetal, progressive rock, punk, and even spacerock.

To The Death 84 has been released on Jello Biafra’s “Alternative Tentacles” label, and it goes to show how immensely influental early Voïvod was to bridge punk, progressive and metal genres. Recorded in January 1984 just prior to the release of the War And Pain debut, it sounds tremendeous to be recorded audience style with two mics – it has been re-mastered to CD/digital very well. It sounds like a soundboard recording. Most of the material is from the first album and second album, as well, plus some covers of Mercyful Fate and a couple of Venom tracks. This recording is a treasure for fans of old Voïvod, with classics like Live For Violence, Nuclear War, Black City, etc. etc. An essential effort for anyone who wants to hear historical True Metal. Fantastic purchase with lots of great early photos, and old Away art inside.

Warriors Of Ice is a 2009 Live recording with the Chewy/Blacky/Snake/Away lineup and it is a blitzkrieg of ferocious Voïvodness, from beginning to end. Chewy imititates Piggy’s guitar work nicely, Piggy used an odd signature like fast jazz, like a scale with timed breaks even, which gave Voïvod that King Crimson feel, as if played by early Chaos UK or The Exploited if one can imagine that. They do material from Angel Rat, which is always welcome to my ears, as I also have the demos for that lovely prog album, and I have recordings of the late 90’s Eric Forrest lineup doing Angel Rat tracks like The Prow and Panorama, thrashing it up all over with melody intact. They do those two signature Angel Rat tracks here. The CD also has early stuff like the opener Voïvod, being the band’s anthem, and Nuclear War from the War & Pain album as well. The excellent Floyd cover from my least favorite Voïvid album, 1989’s Nothingface, but the Astronomy Domine version here is great. Additionally, some stuff from Infini, the album of that year, which was the last to feature ex-Metallica Jason Newsted on bass, so here are some good tracks from that underrated CD. Also included are a couple of tracks from the blistering cyberpunk-thrasher 3rd LP, Killing Technology, like Tornado and Overreaction. It is definitely not for the faint hearted, this band, but I like to review their stuff here at AI, as the SF themes, concept LP’s, and general prog referential nods toward Rush, Floyd and Crimson, they are still the best band in Canada, unless you somehow count the “R”-name band…

For more information visit the Voivod web site at: http://www.voivod.com

Reviewed by Christian Eric Mumford

For some twelve years now, the Vermont based hippie collective MV & EE, centered on the duo of Mark Valentine and Erica Elder, have been making a wide mark across the New Weird American landscape. Whether it be their out of space and time folk songs, off-kilter Neil Young and Crazy Horse inspired rockers, their self-described “lunar ragas”, or their live extended ambient explorations, they show no signs of stopping, having released over 30 albums since 2001, rivalling Acid Mothers Temple for prolificacy. Their first album of 2013, Fuzzweed, arrives close on the heels of their last album of 2012, Space Homestead.

Fuzzweed builds on the laidback rural psychedelia of Space Homestead, but takes it further out, into the netherlands between the rustic peaks of the Green Mountains that run through the duo’s home state to the edges of something indefinable and not quite of this world. Opening cut, Environs, true to its name, seems to conjure up images of a passing countryside, but one seen through the eyes of someone tripping out on something decidedly hallucinogenic. It’s a little instrumental that’s a lovely, low key way to start the album. The pace doesn’t pick up much for the next song, Turbine (this is a seriously laidback album, folks), but it does inject a weirdly out of place electronic percussion track (similar to their classic song East Mountain High) which only adds to the otherworldliness of the song. It’s like walking from green summer fields into the fairy realms of the British Isles, but cast with a distinctly American mythology. Bridging the gap between the old, weird settings of the American countryside with a modern landscape of rundown, rusty roadside gas stations and trailer parks, Trailer Trash is nonetheless a sweet journey with strumming acoustic guitars, beautiful ghostly vocals, and acidic electric guitar soloing courtesy of Valentine (who’s vocals and guitar style both seem influenced by Neil Young’s). Jacked Up is just as laidback as the rest of the album, but with its random harmonics, like sparkling diamonds on golden ocean waves at sunset, it has a bit more of warm, West Coast vibe underlying it’s sound.

But it’s the 20-minute long Poor Boy Excursions that really define that ‘caught between this world and the next one over’ sound. Comprising pretty much all the aspects of their style, it starts with some dusty, acoustic slide guitar and Erica Elder’s distant, dreamily sung vocals, as the duo runs through a version of the old blues standard Poor Boy Blues. Pure and simple, it’s as rooted in the earth of the American landscape as one can get. There is, however, an ominous organic drone that slowly builds underneath, leading the listener onwards into the next section of the piece titled Long Way From Home, suggesting we are now getting further and further away from the rural countryside where we began. The title comes from Poor Boy, Long Ways From Home, the sometimes alternate title of the opening blues number, but the blues are left behind here as space guitars, strange voices, wandering bass and tumbling percussion begin to weave a vast psychedelic tapestry of sound. Perhaps we’re now sitting atop Mount Mansfield, the highest point in Vermont, caught between the earth and the cosmos, and we’re ingesting some hallucinogenic substance, preparing ourselves for a journey beyond. And that’s exactly where the last part of Poor Boy Excursions, its title of Environments echoing the opening track, takes us. Environments is actually a piece the duo, along with members of their collective, often play live. This is the band in their lunar raga mode, with rambling Indian percussion and sitars balanced out with droning, lyseric guitars and spacey synths. Here, recorded in the studio, Environments takes on a new crispness as every note and microtone comes out. The sonic quality is deep and expansive, and if the listener closes his or her eyes, then, like its title suggests, it envelopes you, surrounding you in a new cosmic environment where anything seems possible.

Fuzzweed is not the kind of psychedelic music to get up and dance to, it’s the kind to sit back and relax to, letting your mind and spirit wander. Burn some incense, but instead of the exotic scents of sandalwood and patchouli, try some distinctively earthy and American ones like sage and cedar, and take the journey.

For more info, visit: http://threelobed.com/tlr/ and http://www.facebook.com/pages/MV-EE/162854533776883

Reviewed by Jeff Fitzgerald

When someone chooses to name their band/solo project after a fear “of wanting to explain all of the particles and fundamental forces of nature in one theory by modelling them as vibrations of tiny supersymmetric strings” (see Wikipedia for further details), you can imagine Dropout being one of those albums that acts as a soundtrack for researching a Masters in Astrophysics. However, fear not; you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to get absorbed by the pulsing beats, hot electronics and razor sharp guitar lines of Superstring Phobia, the brainchild of Leeds-based David Sanderson, who plays and programmes every sound on the album.

Dropout comes across as an intriguing mash-up of Ozrics-style spacefunk, krautrock, and techno, as opposed to the more brain-thumping and bass-heavy school of traditional spacerock (yes, that is Hawkwind I am talking about!). The album opens with Lunar Descent, which features a jarring beat that brings to mind Kraftwerk’s Musik Non-Stop for a few seconds before a series of processed guitars swoop down from above. After a brief Steve Hillage-style lead break, the layers of electronics return, weaving in and out of the guitar lines to form complex layers of sound that could be a highly funked-up version of Throbbing Gristle. The title track, with its funky intro and underwater electronics owes an obvious debt to Ozric Tentacles (think Sploosh!), and is certainly none the worse for it. This is definitely spacerock that would not be out of place on the dancefloor. With that in mind, the following Haunted Dancefloor is three and a half minutes of synthesized electro-beats, almost closer to dubstep than spacerock. The way the different layers of electronics fit together in such cosmic patterns is quite amazing. Highly processed guitars return for Funk Implant, with the jerky rhythm sounding a little like Shriekback’s Pretty Little Things, before a soaring rock guitar solo (again reminiscent of Hillage and perhaps Ed Wynne) rises above the electro soundscape. Outer Space Rock doesn’t exactly rock, but rather squeezes its insidious way into the senses like a spacier version of The Prodigy, while lightening fast guitar lines skate across the electronic beats. This is followed by the nine minute Sonic Guru, providing further variations on the guitar/synth network theme. Inside The Kaleidoscope Mind slows the pace with an off-beat rhythm that almost sounds like it is tripping backwards over itself. An epic, almost melancholic, rock guitar solo rises above the swamp of electronic noise on Psychic Stream. The album concludes with New World Orbit, a medium-paced workout of interstellar guitar and beats.

Other than the artists namechecked above, Superstring Phobia reminds me of guitar-meets-electronics bands like Space Mirrors (but without all the dark bits) and Psy Corps; it doesn’t so much rock as overwhelm you with layers of sound. All-in-all, a great album from a visionary multi-instrumentalist. Also worth a listen is his trans-Atlantic project Nebulous Amphibians with San Franciscan Jon Drukman, again in awe of Ozric Tentacles and accessed via the link below. (CLICK HERE to read the Nebulous Amphibians review we posted)

For more information visit Superstring Phobia at: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Superstring-Phobia/135604409923480
David’s work on the Nebulous Amphibians can be heard on http://soundcloud.com/nebulous-amphibians
Email David Sanderson at: info@echostun.com

Reviewed by Pat Albertson

Bahrain are the Austin, Texas based quartet of D. Boone on guitars, Colleen Gugan on bass, keyboards and vocals, Mel on drums, and Scott Telles (ST 37) on bass, keyboards and vocals. The latest from the band is Rest, a 19 track set of live performances, demos, improvs and cover tunes recorded between 2000 and 2005, with some new overdubs, mixing and mastering in 2010. The group actually disbanded in 2005 but reunited for one show in 2012 to promote the release of this CD.

Among the live cut highlight are two tracks from 2004, Audio and The Death Of Magellan, which have a raw acoustic feel, along with steady choppy bass and drumming and simple but catchy keyboard melodies. Vocals on Audio are handled by both Colleen and Scott, and when Scott is on his distinct vocals instantly bring to mind ST 37. The Death of Magellan is similar but darker and I like the dissonance of the vocals and keyboard melody. There are also lots of improv tracks on the album that cover a range of territory, from the raw rock of Drone Sweet Drone, to the spaced out strangeness with lots of crazy keyboard and electronic fun of Reel Gone Loop, and the easy paced rocking alongside rapid-fire organ of Cosmic Descent Odyssey. Backstairs is a highlight, being a pretty cool 9 minutes of dark, moody, dissonant, jamming noise-psych, which also includes a simple but intense keyboard backdrop. We’re also treated to the very first Bahrain rehearsal from 2000, which is a raw jamming rocker. Monkey Calls The Tune is from a rehearsal later the same year that features screechy punk with adventurous rhythmic and instrumental gymnastics and cool keyboard embellishments. This is one of my favorite tracks of the set.

The CD also includes several cover songs, some by bands I’ve never heard. Wonder Boy sounds familiar but I’ve never heard of The Mind Splinters. Bahrain are faithful to the original on New Order’s Dreams Never End. Prog-God Peter Hammill pre-dated Punk with his 1975 Nadir’s Big Chance, and Bahrain do the song kick ass justice. Yesterday Box was the title of a 1986 cassette album by Scott Telles’ 80s band The Elegant Doormats, which Bahrain cover here. It’s steady driving punky rock with a noisy edge but solid melodic hooks and great vocals from Scott, who I think has a damn good and instantly recognizable vocal style for this kind of music. And Roky Erickson’s I Walked With A Zombie is always a fun song no matter who’s doing it.

If you’re not already familiar with Bahrain, but you’re an ST 37 fan then there’s lots to enjoy here, though newcomers may not care for the less than stellar quality of many of the live and rehearsal tracks.

There is a Bahrain Myspace page at http://www.myspace.com/bahrain
Rest is limited to 100 copies so anyone interested should contact Scott Telles at scotttelles@yahoo.com

Reviewed by Jerry Kranitz

Anthroprophh is the solo project, and this is the first solo album, by The Heads guitarist and vocalist (and audio generator operator) Paul Allen. The Heads are a UK band formed in the early 90’s. Initially inspired by emerging stoner rock bands of the time like Monster Magnet, albeit with a heavier dose of noise thrown in, on later albums like 33 (2004) and Dead in the Water (2005) they began to explore longer form, more experimental rock. For his debut album (released on vinyl and as a download), Allen has taken inspiration from his own band’s later albums, but tempered it with the rhythms of Krautrock for some truly inspired, mostly instrumental psychedelic rock. Opening cut, Hermit, is a churning, LSD soaked electric voyage, from its sea of wah wah’d distortion opening, through its stormy, acidic guitar work and pounding Can-inspired rhythms to its swirling, hallucinogenic coda. These tracks aren’t as long as some of 20-minute monsters found on the above mentioned Heads LP’s, the shortest one being the solo electro-acoustic Discretion Shot (clocking in at 1:09), but their sound is focused, each piece developing its own distinct sonic snapshot, whether it be the tribal intensity of Precession, the droning space journey of Ende or the mind-altering, bad trip British garage rock meets alien landscape of We. Allen does break into longer form exploration with one track on the album though, the 16 1/2 minute Entropy. This one is a sonic buffet for kosmiche loving ears, all intense, part machine, part human rhythmic minimalism married to guitar atmospherics and bubbling, cosmic electronic noises. Allen shows supreme control over his guitar here, slowly developing the ambience, weaving it in and out of the driving tempo of the percussion. The piece ever so slowly builds in intensity over its course, as Allen subtly introduces more and more sounds, finally cutting lose on his guitar for some hypnotic, spiralling soloing only when the tension can’t take it anymore. Mesmerizingly brilliant!

For more info, visit http://www.rocketrecordings.com and http://www.facebook.com/pages/Anthroprophh/198430260241315

Reviewed by Jeff Fitzgerald

Multi-instrumentalist and producer Billy Sherwood must have a pretty impressive Christmas card list, if the guest stars on this album are anything to go by. Earlier in the year, he pulled together a dream lineup of talent from the likes of Yes, King Crimson and Gong for a project called The Prog Collective. Just a few months later, the cast list is even more staggering on The Fusion Syndicate, the second of a one-two riff on beloved (or derided, depending on which side of the fence you are on) musical genres from the early ’70’s. Name any significant fusion or progressive band or artist from that era, and the chances are that someone associated with them will be on this album. From Yes, Mahavishnu Orchestra, King Crimson, Genesis, Hawkwind, Gong, Weather Report, Soft Machine and Brand X, to sidemen for Frank Zappa, Chick Corea, John McLaughlin and Allan Holdsworth (not to mention … ahem … Billy Idol), all the boxes are well and truly ticked. Each guest appears on one track only with Sherwood acting as the glue that binds it all together, conceptualizing, writing, producing and playing all the instruments (keyboards, guitars, drums) not handled by the guest list on any particular track.

Ever wondered what a super-session featuring members of Hawkwind, Yes and Mahavishnu might sound like? No? Album-opener Random Acts Of Science gives a clue, with solos taken in turn by Nik Turner (proving he can play it straight, rather than just employing his usual blow-and-hope approach), Rick Wakeman and violinist Jerry Goodman, plus Sherwood sounding sharp on guitar. John McLaughlin’s electric work is probably the closest touchstone for this track. On Stone Cold Infusion former pop-punker, but undercover progfan, Steve Stevens provides lead guitar, while former King Crimson saxman Mel Collins and Dream Theater’s Jordan Rudess trade solos over the solid bass work of Porcupine Tree’s Colin Edwin and drums of Billy Cobham, who’s 1973 Spectrum album could be accused of bringing fusion into the mainstream in the first place. As is the case throughout the album, the standard of musicianship here is just astounding, but rarely feels forced, with nobody trying too hard to steal the show. Billy Sheehan’s bass is prominent on Molecular Breakdown, playing some crazy scales and time signitures, while Jay Beckenstein (Spiro Gira) blows a mellow sax, making it sound more like a violin at times, and Billy Sherwood brings out the occasional guitar shred; Porcupine Tree’s Gavin Harrison provides drums. Larry Coryell’s electric and acoustic guitars are prominent in Particle Acceleration, while Sherwood pulls some Jeff Berlin-style bass tricks out of the bag. Chick Corea-sideman Eric Marienthal adds some tasty sax, which brings to mind David Sanborn albums from the 1980’s. Dixie Dregs and Deep Purple Blackmore-replacement Steve Morse takes a few uplifting guitar solos on At The Edge Of The Middle, Randy Brecker adds some trumpet, and Percy Jones puts in some fat and slinky basslines, while jazz pianist Jim Beard tinkles the ivories with tasteful manner and blinding speed. Atom Smashing combines the talents of guitarist John Etheridge, periodic Yes keyboardist Tony Kaye and Zappa-drummer Chad Wackerman for a convincing jazz-funk workout. Closing track In The Spirit Of … combines the guitar of Steve Hillage with keyboards from Scott Kinsey (Tribal Tech), sax from Theo Travis (Soft Machine Legacy) and Tool’s Justin Chancellor on surprisingly jazzy bass.

Each of these tracks is about seven minutes in length, and with few real hooks, the songs start blending together after a while, something which is not necessarily a bad thing. As an updating of the classic fusion sound from the ’70’s, The Fusion Syndicate delivers in spades, and will appeal to fans of all the jazz names (if not the rock artists) here, while the standard of virtuoso musicianship will leave listeners gasping for breath and grasping for more of the same. As Rick Wakeman says, “[It’s] always a pleasure to work with Billy Sherwood and all the other musicians he chooses. Add some great music and the combination is complete”.

The Fusion Syndicate is available from Purple Pyramid records and can be ordered at http://cleorecs.com/store/shop/the-fusion-syndicate
For further information on this and other Cleopatra/Purple Pyramid releases, go to http://cleorecs.com.store

Reviewed by Pat Albertson

A bit of background information is called for prior to reviewing this album. Purple Pyramid is the prgressive/psychedelic division of Cleopatra Records, the far-out label that brought us some stunning spacerock back in the 1990’s, including re-igniting the careers of ex-Hawkwinders Nik Turner and Simon House, while also releasing a range of covers albums (Pink Floyd, King Crimson, Brian Eno, Hawkwind) of variable quality. Billy Sherwood, multi-instrumentalist producer and associate of the 1990’s Yes, also has a long history of organizing tribute albums – XYZ – A Tribute To Rush, Return To The Dark Side Of The Moon, Dragon Attack – A Tribute To Queen – using a stellar cast of musicians from such bands as Yes, Deep Purple, Hawkwind, Gong and King Crimson. Nektar, on the other hand, just have a long history full-stop (going back to their first release Journey To The Centre Of The Eye in 1971), plus a revolving door of musicians, none of whom can claim the distinction of having played on every single Nektar album. The combining factors of updating progressive rock glories, cover versions and high profile guest stars are key to the release of A Spoonful Of Time. Although released under the Nektar brand name, and featuring long time band members Roye Albrighton (vocals and guitar) and Ron Howden (drums) – the contributions of current the Nektar keyboard player being hard to gauge behind a host of keyboard-toting guest artists – the very existence of A Spoonful Of Time owes as much to Sherwood (who mixed the album and plays on almost all the tracks) and Cleopatra as it does to Nektar. The appearance of a covers collection this late in a band’s career hints at burned out creativity, but at least provides some new music beyond yet another live album or collection of material from their own archives (to be fair, Nektar have got a brand new studio album – Time Machine – in the works for 2013, which would fly in the face of burnout accusations).

Anyway, that is enough background history and speculation, now on to the music itself. Cover or tribute albums generally seem to take one of two divergent paths, either that of complete destruction and reconfiguration, or of faithful homage to the original tracks. In this regard, Nektar and Sherwood have taken the latter, and safer, path. A version of Rush’s Spirit Of The Radio, for example is almost note perfect in its backing track, with only Geddy Lee’s unreproducable vocals, and parts of the guitar solo providing any notable difference from the original. Probably the greater amount of risk-taking is in the actual choice of who and what to cover. A few of the songs – 2000 Light Years From Home, Riders On The Storm, Can’t Find My Way Home – predate the career of Nektar, and could therefore be seen as being an influence on the original members of the band, as well as being fan-pleasing favorites. Others, like Toto’s AOR workhorse Africa, The O-Jays’ For The Love Of Money, and aforementioned Spirit Of The Radio are frankly quite baffling as far as song selection is concerned. Prog-lite favorite Sirius (originally done by The Alan Parsons Project) serves as a reasonable entree, with some fine guitar work from Albrighton. Steve Miller’s Fly Like An Eagle gets a kind of soul-funk workout, sounding a little like The Neville Brothers’ cover, and featuring (unlikely as it might seem) Brainticket’s Joel Vandroogenbroeck on keys and flute, with additional keyboards by Geoff Downes (Buggles/Yes/Asia). Pink Floyd chestnut Wish You Were Here is played pretty straight, and could actually fit right into the greater Nektar canon; Tangerine Dream’s Edgar Frose supplies keyboards and Albrighton takes a sizzling guitar solo. For The Love Of Money is one of the more unlikely tracks to appear on a prog-related album, but it works really well, with a decidedly funky rhythm track laid down by Sherwood and Deep Purple’s Ian Paice, and surprisingly tuneful sax from Nik Turner, pretty much a compulsory addition to these types of projects. Can’t Find My Way Home, featuring members of Yes, Dream Theater and King Crimson, neither adds nor subtracts from the Blind Faith original, although Steve Howe’s delicate acoustic picking is worthy of mention. As far as The Rolling Stones’ pioneering spacerock masterpiece 2000 Light Years From Home is concerned, it would seem nigh impossible for any version of this song to be anything other than superb, and the welcome addition of Hawkwind’s Simon House on violin is just the icing on the cake. ’80’s bass shredder Bill Sheehan and The Zombies’ Rod Argent add significant punch to Riders On The Storm, the latter bringing his signature Hammond sound along for the ride. Ginger Baker’s appearance on Blinded By The Light is unexpected but unremarkable, but the song takes a strange Nektarised turn with a lengthy guitar solo, a Chopsticks-style piano line from Opeth’s Joakim Svalberg. Simon House is back on violin for Roxy’s Out Of The Blue, while King Crimson’s David Cross takes his turn with a bow on the prog-folk version of Neil Young’s Old Man (another unlikely but well executed selection). Klaus Henatsch nails Gary Wright’s keyboard parts on Dream Weaver, while Mahavishnu violinist Jerry Goodman also puts in a good performance. Like Nik Turner, Rick Wakeman is generally on the guest list for these Billy Sherwood projects, and he appears on a lounge-lizard version of I’m Not In Love; Jan Vandroogenbroeck returns with flute and sitar, a million light years from his Cottonwoodhill origins. He is also on Africa, which features Patrick Moraz (Yes/Moody Blues) on keys and former Toto vocalist Bobby Kimball (who also sang on the original recording). It is perhaps an unfortunate choice of closing number, as its AOR sheen is unlikely to appeal to the progressive rock fans who would be the usual target audience of Nektar.

So there you have it. A non-essential but pleasant and occasionally exciting album of covers featuring a vast array of talent. Not a good first point of entry for Nektar’s catalog perhaps, but there is plenty here that will appeal to the less-purist progressive rock aficionado.

For further information visit the Cleopatra label web site at http://www.cleopatrarecords.com

Reviewed by Pat Albertson