Show 139

[Rick and Roll]

Sunday, July 22 from 8-11 PM EST and Monday, July 23 from 1-4 PM EST

I could think of a hundred names for the show this week, but it wouldn't encompass everything, so we'll leave it untitled.

Anekdoten - A Time Of Day (2007)

The Great Unknown
30 Pieces
King Oblivion
A Sky About To Rain
Every Step I Take
Stardust And Sand
In For A Ride
Prince Of The Ocean

Another week, another great Swedish band. The prog renaissance of the early 90's brought Echolyn, Marillion, IQ, Discipline, many others. At the top of the list is Anekdoten. They're capable of blending beautiful melodies with dark soundscapes and raw power. They've changed over the years, becoming more polished and honing their sound. "Kind Oblivion" is even a bit catchy! Seeing them at Progscape in 1995, near DC in 98, and again at Nearfest was excellent. I have to get their debut "Vemod" up on the Moon.....

Neal Morse - cuts from Sola Scriptura (2007)

The Door
(Introduction, In The Name Of God, All I Ask For, Mercy For Sale, Keep Silent, Upon The Door)

The Conflict
(Do You Know My Name?, Party To The Lie, Underground, Two Down One To Go, The Vineyard, Already Home)

Brilliant Neal Morse scores again with another epic. The above is 54 minutes of music - there's also two more songs which we will not hear. It's not up to par with "?" or "One", but it's nearly as good as "Testimony". The man sets the musical bar high. The usual trappings are here - acoustic passages, a calypso-inflected song, the big epic passages. But there's some metal in here, too. Mike Portnoy and Randy George as usual hammer out the drums and bass.

I think the lyrics are more interesting than the usual fare. Even before his conversion, his writing in Spock's Beard was kind of fluffy and a bit vacant. Here there's a lot of depth, regardless of how you feel about his views.

Roine Stolt - from Wall Street Voodoo (2005)

The Observer
Head Above Water
Unforgiven
Sex Kills
It's All About Money
Everybody Is Trying To Sell You Something
People That Have The Power To Shape The Future

Seven of the eleven songs from the ultimate prog hippie. This record is very different from the Flower Kings records. Very heavily guitared in an intentionally 60's to early 70's vein. There's "Victor Woof" on bass and "Slim Pothead" on keys. I think it's Reingold and Bodin, but in researching it it seems Roine insists it's not them and they cannot be named due to contractual reasons (I still think it's them). No problem...it's great music, with the best Roine leads. The lyrics are quite depressing, a heavy dose of realism.

Along with the obvious Neal Morse connection, there is another - Neal sings on two or three songs (we'll hear two) and playes a superb Hammond lead in "Head Above Water". This record rocks.

Connecting Roine to the next artist is the song "Sex Kills". This Joni Mitchell song has the best lyrics, very powerful. I have included both versions in this show because they are very different. Roine's version is longer and the focus is on extended solos. Joni's is punctuated by the acoustic guitar and the vocal delivery.
Believe it or not, I'd committed to playing some songs from both records before I realized that they both contain the same track.

Joni Mitchell - cuts from Turbulent Indigo (1994)

Yvette in English
Turbulent Indigo
Borderline
Sex Kills

As was the case last week, we'll ease towards the finish with some slower music. And there is a connection with last week also - David Crosby co-writes the first song. Not jazzy like some of her later material, but still compelling.

I will be away and completely afk Saturday until Tuesday, so let's hope the play goes off as planned and chat up a storm in my absence!