The huge uprise in prog music has heralded Classic Rock magazine to produce prog’s own rag: ‘Classic Rock presents… Prog’. Suddenly bands like ‘Gentle Giant’ and ‘Egg’ are being whispered.. no spoken.. about again! Prog is back and it would seem in a big way, what with bands like Marillion (who have always flown the prog flag) having a resurgence and
new bands like San Diego’s ‘Astra’. ‘Astra’s’ 2008 album on Rise Above Records:
The Weirding
is quite something to behold, both sublime and bold, and taking in all of the elements of what makes a great prog rock album in-between, without it ever sounding too overblown. Tracks like ‘The Rising Of The Black Sun / The weirding’ which opens the album up in true epic style, building and building until the climatic ending of the song, and a widescreen guitar sound that bends and shimmers around the beautiful melody. That is of course once you get to the melody of the song… in true
prog fashion it takes a while for the track to open up with it’s envelope of sound, but it’s a true wonder leaving behind it a sonic assault on your ears! Astra are playing The Scala in April and it’s going to be great to see how the band re-create ‘The Weirding’s’ offerings live. Having said all of that about Prog and please don’t get me wrong, I’m thoroughly
enjoying Prog Rock’s big come back but at the same time I have a confession… friends and family all think that at work I have a sneaky listen to ‘Yes’ on Spotify or come home and put some hours into listening to ‘Space Ritual’ but really I’m becoming increasingly more addicted to…
well… Gordon Lightfoot… There I said it, said his name and I don’t feel bad at all! Who would have thought though that there would ever be a point in time when it would be more credible to say you are into Prog, then Gordon Lightfoot? Anyone out there that is already a fan will tell you that he is such an amazing tunesmith, he just seems to have slipped off of the musical radar. You never know, just like Prog there may be a resurgence in Gordon Lightfoot’s work, maybe we could make it happen? Perhaps if we all start buying his albums again people/record labels will take note. A great one to start on is his album: 1974’s
Sundown
(Reprise). It’s available from Amazon if your time for hunting down albums is limited, as is
The Weirding, and like 'Astra’s' first offering
Sundown has much to offer with an atmosphere to it that evokes mellow dusky evenings. Gordon's next album saw him cross over to more electric instruments but this is acoustic fare of top quality… let the renewed
interest in Gordon Lightfoot begin!
http://www.classicrockmagazine.com
http://www.astratheband.com
http://www.riseaboverecords.com
http://www.lightfoot.ca/
Next Blog: Another Gordon!
