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With Understanding Comes Appreciation Take 5 jazz maestros from 5 different countries. Lock them in a studio together, crank them up to 11 & have them play as fast as they can and you get Mahavishnu Orchestra's " The Inner Mounting Flame ." Easily one of the most explosive albums of all time. Billy Cobham's drumming on this album is absolutely breathtaking. This masterpiece sits in my all time essential albums. It just doesn't get any better. When Jimi Hendrix died suddenly in 1970, connoisseurs of high decibel sounds unheard on the electric guitar were faced with a search for a new messiah. In virtuoso British guitarist-composer John McLaughlin, they found one. McLaughlin (b. 1942) arrived in America early in 1969 to join the pace-setting drummer Tony Williams and organist Larry Young in the Tony Williams Lifetime. This new venture fused jazz improvisational daring with rock'n'roll's sheer energy. After leaving Lifetime, McLaughlin became a disciple of the guru Sri Chinmoy, who began calling him "Mahavishnu" ...[CD liner notes].

With Understanding Comes Appreciation When you see the cover, you say: hey! This look like "Aqualung!" But will the inside be on par with the outside? Three years also separates "Minstrel..." from "Thick as a Brick." Could the Tull come anywhere near these masterpieces? The title of the album and the cover refer more to a traditional folkish collection of songs than anything else. The Tull completely mistified everybody: the critics (which they truely hate at this moment of their career) as well as their fans. COMPLETELY WRONG OF COURSE! Minstrel in the Gallery was Tull's most artistically successful and elaborately produced album since Thick as a Brick and harked back to that album with the inclusion of a 17-minute extended piece (" Baker Street Muse .") Although English folk elements abound, this is really a hard rock showcase on a par with —and perhaps even more aggressive— than anything on Aqualung. Minstrel in the Gallery , from 1975, is Jethro Tull's eighth album, and the product of a band at the height of its powers. All of the classic Tull elements are here: Ian Anderson's witty and occasionally risqué (if not downright salacious) lyrics, unique vocals, flute and sparkling acoustic guitar; Martin Barre's cutting, razor-edged electric guitar; the accomplished rhythm section of Barlow and Hammond on drums and bass, and the superb John Evans on piano and organ. Add to these essential components the lush orchestrations of David Palmer, imparting a finishing sheen of sophistication to the whole affair, and you've got the makings of another winner for Ian and the boys.

With Understanding Comes Appreciation Although latecomers, who boarded the Fusion train when it was already on cruise mode and some of its wagons already showed signs of fatal erosion, Brand X were more than a foot note on the genre’s history namely because of their illustrious member Phil Collins —who was probably and lucidly starting to question himself about the purpose of keeping his main band rolling (a mental soundness that wouldn’t last long as we all know…); I also belong to that group who believes that Collins reached his pinnacle as a drummer in this band and that this was his best career move after Peter Gabriel left Genesis; but although his future would mostly fill me with delusions instead of joys, he had both the merit of co-signing some very worthy moments for the genre’s catalogue —at least as far as this effort is concerned and which even if mostly derivative, intermittently evoking Return to Forever, Mahavishnu Orchestra or the George Duke/Billy Cobham Band among others, is mostly and basically an honest work— as he also provided John Goodsall (Atomic Rooster, The Fire Merchants) a visibility he’d never had and clearly deserved and was a launching pad for bassist extraordinaire Percy Jones, who’d soon be praised and lengthy featured on the pages of Guitar Player Magazine (there was no exclusively bass dedicated mags at the time so that was the best endorsement 6 and 4 stringed instruments’ players could get)

With Understanding Comes Appreciation In just a few short years, Peter Hammill’s Van Der Graaf Generator project had evolved from a de facto solo effort (“The Aerosol Grey Machine”) to an early progressive rock band (“The Least We Can Do Is Wave To Each Other”) and then up another few notches to one of the most innovative and boundary pushing pioneers within the prog world on “H To He Who Am The Only One.” And as if the world were coming to end in the foreseeable future, this outlandish quartet that consisted of Peter Hammill, Hugh Benton, David Jackson and Guy Evans went for the jugular on their fourth album Pawn Hearts , an album so gorged full of musical ideas that it seems like it’s ready to collapse under its own bloated grandeur in a shriveled heap of sonic sesquipedalian entropy. But it did not and instead created a beacon of complexity that would continue the arms race of proposing which band could compose the most challenging and daring music set in a rock context possible. The album’s title resulted from a humorous spoonerism where Jackson stated "I'll go down to the studio and dub on some more porn harts", meaning "horn parts.”

With Understanding Comes Appreciation This is one of the easiest reviews I will ever write. Do you want virtuosic playing? Do you want music that sounds "cool"? Do you want music that will challenge you, yet still not make you feel like nerd with non-jazz friends? Do you want a variety of instrumentation, styles and tempos on an album? If your answer to any of these is yes, then you simply need this album. When I first played it I can assure you that I was no less than astonished! Already from the initial blast-off of Cobham's rapid show-off drumming and Jan Hammer's fast paced Moog, I had to raise the speakers volume up to 11.

With Understanding Comes Appreciation This is Yes, and perhaps even prog-rock, at its finest. I truly appreciate this album for what it is: a prog-symphony in four movements. It is very much classical in design and composition. For those expecting more of Fragile or even Close to the Edge, you will be disappointed. For those who appreciate great classical music, be prepared to be blown away by perhaps one of the greatest masterpieces of music of our time. From the opening notes of " Revealing Science of God " to the final notes of " Ritual ," the music is made up of themes that are stated, explored, and restated in a similar manner those great symphonies of Beethoven, Tchaikovsky and the other masters. In order to understand the genius and fully appreciate the real beauty of this album, it must be listened to from start to finish. It may actually be the best musical composition of the twentieth century. Although Tales from Topographic Oceans received an absolutely horrendous reception from critics, and is often defended by prog fans as a result, I can on the one hand see where the bad reviews came from —and it's got nothing to do with the actual music. The fact is that that Tales from Topographic Oceans is one of the most incredibly uncommercial albums that Yes had produced at the time —not just in the format, although any double album comprising four side-long tracks is a daunting prospect, but in terms of the music presented therein.

With Understanding Comes Appreciation As a fan of Steven Wilson I was at the time very excited to hear that his newest work was going to be an album in the vain of the 70's prog rock. First of all I love good ol' progressive rock (King Crimson, Camel, Yes etc.), and when I saw the lineup SW had behind him, I knew this was going to be something special. Well, I was right. It was the most shining gem of the year 2013. If you really start to think about it, it is the best progressive rock album that has been made in ages, no kidding. We are used to the Wilson production and this is it at its finest. Porcupine Tree’s prog-prodigy Steven Wilson’s third solo album follows in the same vein of his previous musical work, but not in a literal sense. Staying true to the actual meaning of ‘progressive’, his approach to music and production remains to be in a perpetual, ever-changing state, so that each of his produced albums feature a slightly different and somewhat more matu red sound. As you can probably guess by now, I am a big fan of his work and his overall sound-ideas. But nevertheless, higher expectations might make it tougher for him to impress me. In his previous albums Insurgentes and Grace for Drowning Wilson managed to create sonically surprising and incredibly dynamic pieces of music that I have never heard or could even think of before. But, can he do it again?

With Understanding Comes Appreciation Mr. Edgard Varèse 188 Sullivan St. New York, New York Dear Sir: Perhaps you might remember me from my stupid phone call last January, if not, my name again is Frank Zappa Jr. I am 16 years old... that might explain partly my disturbing you last winter. The reason for my letter at this time is that I am visiting relatives in Baltimore and as long as I am on the East Coast I hope I can get to see you. It might seem strange but ever since I was 13 I have been interested in your music. The whole thing stems from the time when the keeper of this little record store sold me your album "The Complete Works Of Edgard Varèse, Volume 1." The only reason I knew it existed was that an article in either LOOK or the POST mentioned it as being noisy and unmusical and only good for trying out the sound systems in high fidelity units (referring to your " IONISATIONS "). I don't know how the store I got it from ever obtained it, but, after several hearings, I became curious and bought it for $5.40, which, at the time seemed awfully high and being so young, kept me broke for three weeks. Now I wouldn't trade it for anything and I am looking around for another copy as the one I have is very worn and scratchy. After I had struggled through Mr. Finklestein's notes on the back cover (I really did struggle too, for at the time I had had no training in music other than practice at drum rudiments) I became more and more interested in you and your music. I began to go to the library and take out books on modern composers and modern music, to learn all I could about Edgard Varèse. It got to be my best subject (your life) and I began writing my reports and term papers on you at school. At one time when my history teacher asked us to write on an American that has really done something for the U.S.A. I wrote on you and the Pan American Composers League and the New Symphony. I failed. The teacher had never heard of you and said I made the whole thing up. Silly but true. That was in my Sophomore year in high school. Throughout my life all the talents and abilities that God has left me with have been self developed, and when the time came for Frank to learn how to read and write music, Frank taught himself that too. I picked it all up from the library. I have been composing for two years now, utilizing a strict twelve-tone technique, producing effects that are reminiscent of Anton Webern. During those two years I have written two short woodwind quartets and a short symphony for winds, brass and percussion. Recently I have been earning my keep at home with my blues band, the BLACKOUTS. We have done quite well and in my association with my fellow musicians I am learning to play other instruments besides drums. I paint in oils and watercolor and last year produced a cartoon film in school by painting color directly onto a 250 foot reel of cleared 16 mm movie film. I painted on the color in such a way that I managed to closely, but not completely, synchronize their movements to your "DENSITY 21.5" and the second "movement" of "OCTANDRE". It brought about some amazing results from the audience and my counselors in the office allowed me to make a trip I had planned to Walt Disney studios with the film. Nothing ever came of my trip, but when I got back to school I was informed I had a chance to be skipped from the Junior year in high school to the Freshman year at the junior college which adjoined the school as an experiment. I went to the Jaycee and studied harmony and music appreciation and history for one semester and came out of it with A's and B's. I plan to go on and be a composer after college and I could really use the counsel of a veteran such as you. If you would allow me to visit with you for even a few hours it would be greatly appreciated. It may sound strange but I think I have something to offer you in the way of new ideas. One is an elaboration on the principle of Ruth Seeger's contrapuntal dynamics and the other is an extension of the twelve-tone technique which I call the inversion square. It enables one to compose harmonically constructed pantonal music in logical patterns and progressions while still abandoning tonality. Would you please reply as soon as possible because I will not be here much longer. My address here is 4803 Loch Raven Blvd., Baltimore Maryland. Phone Hopkins 77336. Thank you for your consideration. Sincerely, Frank Zappa Jr. This was the letter my all-time hero, master and genius Frank Zappa wrote to his all-time hero, master and genius Edgard Varèse at 16 years old, asking him for a meeting to know him in person, and (btw) to share him, among other things, new ideas on the principle of Ruth Seeger’s contrapuntal dynamics, and an extension of the twelve-tone technique which Frank called the inversion square. According to then 16-year-old Frank Zappa, the latter enabled (composers) to compose harmonically constructed pantonal music in logical patterns and progressions while still abandoning tonality. Not sure how many 16 year old kids (even older) these days are that interested in music theory as Frank was in the 50's. My guess? very few even with all the paraphernalia that comes with digital resources and internet. Anyways, these fresh compositional ideas from a self-taught in music and curious kid (among others), were crystallized later throughout his massive conceptual continuity work, which he baptized as his project/object. The rest is history. Frank became one of the greatest composers of XX century. Speaking for my self, when you see this passion (in this case) through a letter from your all-time hero at this very early age, there's no way you at least dig a bit, while trying to figure out how all those superb compositions which hooked you in the first place through the music of the genius, were influenced by no other but your hero's hero, and that's exactly what I'm going to attempt here; I will try to review one of the most iconic compositions that marked the direction of the career of Frank Zappa; the avant-garde classical music genius Edgar Varèse's masterpiece: " Ionisation ."

With Understanding Comes Appreciation The infamous comet-of-the-20th-century named Kohoutek that zipped by our planet in '73 and conceitedly ignored us was one of the most phenomenal flops in the history of astronomy. Conversely, the album that it inspired, Weather Report's Mysterious Traveller , is anything but. While that innocuous chunk of orphaned space ice failed to inaugurate the end-of-the-civilized-world events predicted by every pseudo-psychic and sideline soothsayer who could hijack a microphone, the LP that features on its cover that tiny orb's graceful (though grossly exaggerated) tail as it streaks through the early evening sky marked a distinct change in the musical direction of one of jazz/rock fusion's most innovative and influential groups. "Streetnighter," the excellent record that preceded it, offered sneak peek glimpses of the rich aural renderings they would unveil in full, wide-screen Technicolor on this disc but none of their fans anticipated the astounding depth and creativity that these tunes possess in such abundance. Few albums guide the listener through art galleries consisting solely of sounds like this one does. This, in the most elemental of definitions, is progressive music at its finest.

With Understanding Comes Appreciation Eloy's masterpiece, period. Ocean delivers shivers on your spine with that spacey rhythm the band is so famous for. Each track here contains a "chapter" of the story of a marine city's birth, rise and decay, an apocalyptical epic journey through layers of synths and powerful guitar notes that make it a mesmerizing and at the same time accessible album. This is one of the legendary prog albums that must be considered in the whole history of progressive music. Some 6 years into their career, Eloy came up with what is arguably their defining album. Ocean is a four track concept album of breathtaking beauty and refinement. When listening to the music here, it is all too easy to forget that it dates from 1977 since the sound is as vibrant and fresh today as it was then. The tale, which is based around the legendary city of Atlantis, is played out lyrically and instrumentally with spoken word and spacey sounds alternating with strong melodies and harmonic vocals. Hence we have an album which defies categorisation. At times this is indeed space rock, but it is also highly symphonic. On top of that, the album arguably represents one of the first examples of the genre now defined as neo-prog, its influences being apparent in the music of bands such as Jadis, IQ and Pendragon. In terms of influences on the music, the sound of Pink Floyd is strong, especially the "Wish You Were Here" era. The drifting synth background used to such great effect on "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" is apparent throughout, with the opening " Poseidon's Creation " being particularly partial to the nuances of that piece. The closing "" Atlantis Agony ..." on the other hand has a synth solo which is very reminiscent of "Welcome to the Machine." This however is not simply a WYWH clone album. The sounds and influences are taken and developed, then incorporated into what was at the time a highly original piece of music. Even today, Ocean has the sound and content of a highly accomplished album.

With Understanding Comes Appreciation It's funny how life works at times, but believe it or not, I was introduced to this band like 15 years ago or so, through a Red Sox forum (yes, a baseball board, and yes, I'm a Red Sox fan). Surprisingly, there's a thread (a very good one btw) about music, and one of the posters at the time suggested me, after exchanging each other some fav bands in the prog-rock realm, to try among then-unknown bands to me, Brainbox, Grobschnitt, Bo Hanson, Bullfrog, (and others I can't remember), and Jane. The rest is history. Jane all of the sudden became one of my fav bands of all-time, and this record, specially the opening track " Daytime ," was my entry into their very overlooked and underrated magnificent work and career.

With Understanding Comes Appreciation Jesus, Mary and Joseph, what a journey! It's the sound of a man's spiritual journey condensed into a half-hour of free jazz majesty, and it makes me feel a near-religious presence every time I hear it. And this is coming from a guy whose relationship with spiritual matters mean very little if anything. Everything about it is perfect. There are few albums that transcend genres, but A Love Supreme is without a single doubt one of those. I don't know if it is because John Coltrane actually poured into it his mind and soul and the tapes were fortunate enough to actually grasp them in physical format... or probably it was the fact that Coltrane, Tyner, Garrison and Jones did the impossible and for 33 minutes they were able to read each other's minds, blend together into one single being and became each other... or is it that God (Great Architect of the Universe, Jehova, Allah or whoever/whatever), acknowledging that this music was actually made, conceived and played for him — without intermediaries, interests of any kind, religions or bullshit in-between — magically converted the saxophone, piano, bass and drums into something divine so everyone hearing the sound blasting out of them would actually feel the essence of the universe in the form of music... ...or is it that it is just a fucking amazing album...