Taojoe Original Compositions

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Reviews

I’ve been listening primarily to Progressive Rock lately. After years of thinking there was only a handful of bands - Yes, P. Floyd, Crimson - the staples of 70’s album rock - I’m finding that there are an incredible number of bands making beautiful music.

This page isn’t meant to be encyclopedic - there are many better sites for that (see links at right) - This page simply lists my current favorites.

Djam Karet
New Dark Age (2001)
An exotic blend of ambient progressive electronica that takes the listener to just this side of a strange place. The meticulously performed unique rhythms and rich snyth textures are infused with quality rock guitar leads by this California based quartet. An instrumental album that is different but never alienating, intellectual but not emotionless.

Live at NEARfest 2001 (2004)
Incredible live concert disc. A must hear. These performances have none of the stiffness of the studio versions. The band achieves a warmer and more human atmosphere with an even higher energy level than before. Listening to it gave me an ear-gasm! Link to Djam Karet’s Site

Nathan Mahl
NEARfest 1999 (2003)
A live recording of the band’s performance at the 1999 NEARfest. This is fusion by professionals. Their material is dense with melody and compositional complexity while remaining open and enjoyable. Listen for musical “quotes” throughout the set.

Ozric Tentacles
Arborescence (1994)
High-octane space prog - like aural caffeine. Smooth and sparkling with enough complexity to remain interesting after repeated listens. The vocal-less material is fast paced but not shredding or screaming. There is more here than just speed-of-sound synth work – the guitar, bass and percussion lines are also working overtime.

PFM (Premiata Forneria Marconi)
Per un Amico (1972)
This album is like a vacation in a quiet resort - for your ears. It is a melodic work with beautifully crafted songs sung in Italian. It is rock but these musicians have infused it with a classical music sensibility - creating an acoustic aural texture. There isn’t a grating note on the album.

Phish
Phish is not simply a band. They are a sum larger than their whole. They play like a single entity - four musicians - one musical animal. And they’ve created an apparently infinite series of improvisational, flowing, jamming sets that build off their enormous repertoire of original works and covers.

It is absolutely essential to catch them live - concerts are preferable but their extensive catalog of live shows - available online or on CDs will do just fine. Once you are familiar with the material nuances that are undetectable to the uninitiated ear will provide hours and hours of sonic rhapsody.

Phish has a very strong personality. Occasionally whimsical - they’ll cover entire albums of other bands or sing like a barbershop quartet or a cappella style - depending on their mood. Occasionally they’re out and out strange - playing while jumping on trampolines or extended experimental vocal segments. The weirdness is a form of relief from the incredible intensity they generate over the course of their sets.

Ignore the studio albums. For a reasonable taste try:
A Live One (1995)
Slip Stich and Pass (1997)

Porcupine Tree
Light Bulb Sun (2000)
Like all P.T. albums Light Bulb Sun is impeccably produced. Sampled sounds, voices and effects blend in with the music to provide a highly polished result. Smooth pop hooks are cleverly integrated with dark and brooding lyrics. The pop is balanced with almost metal-like guitar work. The band achieves a wonderful dynamic range of calm and turbulence, within songs and across the entire album.

Porcupine Tree’s work has become more and more polished with time but the same beautiful, dark heaviness flows through all their albums. The following are highly recommended:
Signfiy (1997)
Stupid Dream (1999)
In Absentia (2002)

Deadwing (2005)
In the days of vinyl this would have been one of those records where one side doesn’t resemble the other. It is a beautiful album but it suffers from some sort of identity crisis. The first two cuts are so metal heavy as to be jarring. They contrast so strongly against the rest of the material that one wonders what Steve Wilson had in mind. Was his aural vision flawed or is this release just a collection of disconnected songs? I have such a high regard for the band and the extreme quality that permeates the whole PT catalog that it’s difficult to accept anything an answer as ordinary as “just” a collection of songs.

Once underway everything relaxes and the band finds itself in comfortable and familiar Porcupine Tree territory - the harmonies, hooks and melodies flow and it’s as if the album finds its own voice.

There is a long running argument in fan circles: Does Porcupine Tree sound like Pink Floyd? P. Tree long ago created their own unique sound and it’s not a serious question but here’s a shot of gasoline to throw onto that fire. This album echoes Roger Water’s Amused To Death in several places and in several ways. There are lyric, musical and arrangement parallels. So much so that if you told me they shared a producer, (they don’t), I’d believe it. I make the comment with absolutely no negative implications but only as a fan of both artists eager to see if other fans have spotted this too. It’s almost like an inside joke, or a comedian winking at the home audience on TV.

The Mars Volta
De-Loused in the Comatorium (2003)
Ragged and mincing, the hard-edged music found here is tempered by thought provoking lyrics. While the quality of the singing is below that of the tight musicianship that fact doesn’t detract - it enhances the overall sense of edginess. Recurring elements hold it all together as the work progresses. There’s nothing pop about it yet these unlikely tunes will stick in your mind long after the disc stops spinning.

Spock’s Beard
V (2000)
A heaping helping of musical comfort food. The apparent ease with which they play creates a false sense of simplicity or even mediocrity. A few listens is all it takes to dispel those notions and recognize what solidly great music the Beard makes.

Luckily for the fan they are very consistent from album to album providing a wealth of quality material. Don’t miss:
The Light (1994)
Beware of Darkness (1996)
The Kindness of Strangers (1998)
Snow (2002)

The Thorns
The Thorns (2003)
Superior pop tunes smoothly performed without the usual feeling that it’s all done for the charts or commercial viability. Instead, the listeners gets a feel-good album saturated with pitch-perfect harmonies and an overwhelming sense that this is the way music ought to sound.

Other Favorites:
Here’s a list of over looked works that I strongly recommend:
Bill Bruford
One Of A Kind (1979)

The Flower Kings
Flower Power (1999)
Retropolis (2000)

Glass Hammer
Chronometree (2001)

Mostly Autumn
Heros Never Die (2002)

Billy Sherwood & Chris Squire
Conspiracy (2000)

Chris Squire
Fish Out Of Water (1975)

Transatlantic
SMPTe (2000)
Bridge Across Forever (2001)

UK
UK (1978)

Roger Waters
Amused To Death (1991)

Frank Zappa
Shut Up And Play Yer Guitar (1986)

Links

AMG All Music Guide
www.allmusic.com
Spend hours here. Search by band, artist, album or song. It’s all easily cross referenced and accessible. I don’t always agree with their ratings but this is too good a resource to miss.

Progressive Rock Ultimate Discography
www.progarchives.com
The focus is Progressive Rock. Great for narrowing your search in the specific flavors of the prog rock spectrum. Almost overwhelming list of bands.