Progressive Mind

                  
                Review by
               
                    Gatot
               
                (Gatot Widayanto)

[Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator]
               
   
               Posted 9:54:18 PM EST, 5/28/2006
               

               
               When earthquake hit Yogya yesterday (27 May 2006), I suddenly remember “Pompeii” by
Triumvirat. That’s why I spin this CD again after having been vacuum not playing it
for, I think more than 2 years, may be more. The fact is that this album is still
enjoyable as the first time I listened to it at the first time, couple of months
after its release. In this record the band has added vocal with Barry Palmer with his
excellent vocal.

The opening track “The Erthquake 62 ad” (6:17) is very ELP at the beginning part. It
moves nicely with pulsating keyboard by Jurgen Fritz and Barry Palmer’s vocal.
“Journey of A Fallen Angel” is a melancholic song performed in relatively slow tempo
with melodic vocal line. “Viva Pompeii” is an excellent instrumental piece with rich
textures especially resulting from combination of dynamic keyboard sounds and
drumming. “The Time Of Your Life” (4:35) is my all-time favorite because I love
Barry’s vocal quality and nice melody resulted by this music. Piano and keyboards are
used interchangeably here, accentuated with string section and dazzling drum work.

“Rich Man and The Carpenter” (5:54) offers a combination of classical-influence piano
touch at the beginning with pop rock, accentuated with string section and dynamic
drumming. The music moves away from what ELP had ever done before; so this is a song
unique by Triumvirat with relatively minimum influence from other bands. The
structure gives variety of styles and breaks and all make this track enjoyable.
“Dance On The Volcano” (3:30) starts silent with keyboard sounds followed with
marching drum work which moves in crescendo forming an excellent instrumental piece.
Keyboard takes the role as melody. There is a very strong influence from ELP
especially in the way keyboard is played as well as the rhythm section.

“Vesuvius 79 ad” (6:33) starts with drum solo followed with relatively complex music
which gives drummer to perform its best combined with sound effects from keyboards.
Vocal is suddenly entering the music with melodic vocal line. It’s an excellent track
with operatic singing style.  The concluding track “Hymn” is a nice song in mellow
style. This song was once a radio hit in my country.

Overall, it’s an excellent addition to any prog music collection.

Peace on earth and mercy mild – GW, Indonesia

Notes : Again, this review represents a series of write-ups I
have prepared so far as condolence for brothers and sisters who were killed on
earthquake at 5.9 on Richter Scale which hit Yogya and surroundings on Saturday, 27
May 2006, 5:30 in the morning.
 
My other article on Thoughts Leadership: ValueQuest
 

                  
                Review by
               
                    Gatot
               
                (Gatot Widayanto)
               
       
[Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator]
               
   
               Posted 8:00:37 AM EST, 5/28/2006
               

               
               This is the last Supertramp album that I purchased at the same time with “Breakfast
In America” and “Paris” last year as previously I had only cassette version, and only
one album: “Paris”. In term of musical approach “Crisis? What Crisis?” is different
with “Breakfast In America” as the music is a bit more prog here with this album. I
might conclude that Supertramp was initially a prog band and I’m now curious to
purchase the band’s legendary “Crime of The Century”. I would definitely have to
collect Supertramp albums.

The album opener “Easy does It” (2:17) does not seem to be an easy listening tune but
it projects a sense of complexity even though it’s not that complex really. The
matter even better with the next song “Sister Moonshine” (5:15) which proves the
band’s effort in composing a prog tune ven though it’s probably too straight-forward,
structurally. “Ain’t Nobody but me” (5:12) indicates excellent composition with
powerful combination of piano and vocal. There are segments that demonstrate prog
approach. Vocal quality is truly excellent.

“A Soap Opera” (4:50) which I knew for the first time through the band’ live concert
album “Paris” is another excellent composition. It starts wonderfully with an ambient
music and people chatting at the background followed with melodic combination of
vocal and piano. One must be impressed with how the melody of this song is built
especially as the music moves forward with keyboard background reminiscent of
symphonic music. Yes, I have to admit that the vocal quality is top notch and it fits
my taste.

“Another man’s woman” (6:20) is another excellent song with dynamic piano work and
vocal line at the beginning. The tempo is upbeat with various breaks demonstrating
piano and some sound effects. I really enjoy the piano solo in the middle of the song
which sometimes produces jazzy style – a bit. A song worth enjoying especially when I
look at the structure that brings the music in multi moods. It’s definitely a
progressive approach.

“Lady” (5:24) provides another nice combination of piano and vocal at the opening.
“Pour Boy” (5:08) explores piano and unique chanting style combined with woodwind
work. “Just a Normal Day” (3:59) is a nice mellow track with dark mood. The power of
this song lies in its melody and excellent lyrics.  This is one of my favorite
tracks. I love it, especially the melody during singing style with bluesy rhythm
section enriched with string section at the back. It’s really an excellent track and
it has excellent woodwind (clarinet) solo. “The Meaning” (5:21) is another good track
with accentuated vocal line. “Two of Us” (3:29) concludes the album in ballad style
with nice melody.

Overall, this is an excellent addition to any prog music collection. Supertramp
offers powerful songwriting and musical concepts combined with excellent musicianship
and tight composition. I can see the influence (or similarity?) in nuance with those
music by Alan Parsons Project – in some segments. Who influence who, actually? Well,
I don’t know. But for sure Supertramp has influenced a band from Sweden named as
A.C.T. – another great band. Keep on proggin’ ..!

Peace on earth and mercy mild – GW

As a matter of Notes:
By the time I’m listening to this album, my country is having a severe earthquake
at 5.9 Richter’s Scale where all buildings are collapsed in Yogya and Bantul (Center
Java), killing approx 3,000 people. “Just A Normal Day” by Supertramp suits the
situation my brothers in Yogya are facing, currently. The album title also fits the
situation: “Crisis? What Crisis?” – Rest in Peace for those who die.
   
For my other article on Thoughts Leadership: ValueQuest
   

JRENG!

Tadi malam, 24 Mei 2006, sebuah hajatan yang merupakan serangkaian soft launching dari i-Rock! – sebuah wadah bagi pecinta musik rock tanah air dari segala macam genre dan sub genre dan sub-sub-genre nya – digelar di BB’s Cafe Menteng dengan suasana sederhana tapi sungguh GEGAP GEMPITA, menggelorakan SEMANGAT!!!!! (Liat dong jumlah tanda penthungnya yang menyatakan bahwa ini bener terjadi dan “It really rocked!”). Gw sendiri gak nyangka bahwa acara yang diset mendadak ini ternyata bisa mendatangkan crowd yang banyak sekali sampek bener2 full house dan tempat duduk was totally sold-out! Memang uediyan tenan ini acara. Yang gw seneng sebenernya adalah, meski acara ini cuman dipersiapkan dalam 3 hari namun pada saat penampilan tadi malam justru tidak ada keliatan terkesan dadakan, semua panitia tampil prima sesuai job desc nya masing-masing. Gw salut dah sama orang-orang yang namanya Adhie Nursetyo, Andre Solucite, Icann, Rustam, Mamak, Zul (angkat topi buat Zul yang bikin logo keren dan nyiapin 2 banner besar tadi malam. Salut tenan aku!), Eric, Setiawan … pokoknya semuwa bala kurawa i-Rock! (sori kalo gw gak sebutin satu persatu). Yang jelas, yang gak dateng udah pasti rugi dan pasti mereka ini bakalan PRE-ORDER DVD yang rencananya akan di launch dalam waktu dekat – bila memungkinkan – bertajuk ”An Evening with i-Rock!” dan setelah menonton DVD gw yakin mereka bakal meneteskan air mata decak kagum lantaran begitu meriah dan memorable nya kejadian tadi malam yang termasuk ”kejadian luar biasa” itu.

Acara dibuka dengan JRENG! tanpa basa basi dengan gebukan drum dari manusia ganteng bernama Boyke dan raungan gitar sangar nyeruduk rembulan dari manusia bernama Epi. Gebukan drum nan menendang jiwa dan merontokkan langit-langit atap BB’s cafe disertai raungan gitar menusuk yang membuat suasana menjadi hingar bingar tersebut kemudian disertai dengan pencetan tuts keyboard panjang dari Mando dan alunan olah vokal Syahrul dan Hendra menereakkan ”Lay Your Hands On me …” Yeeeeeaaaahhhh …. It’s rocking baby …!!!! Dengan Harto pada bass gitar, maka lengkaplah personil dari home band i-Rock! yaitu STUPA band. Begitu meriahnya gebrakan awal mereka tersebut sampek abang2 yang berjualan nasi gila di depan Keris Gallery sampek salah bikin resep nasi gilanya- jadi nasi gemblunk, ikutan gemblunknya manusia2 edan di dalam BB’s cafe pada malam tadi. Abang2 tersebut dilaporkan pada ikutan jingkrak-jingkrak sambil jualan. Edan gak sih? Begitulah kalo wong edan pada ngumpul …. Rock music is damn contagious man!

Stupa band membawakan sekitar 9 repertoire dan sangat adil dalam pemilihannnya karena ada rock 70an, 80an dan 90an tanpa pandang bulu. Tapi lha wong dasar gw wong pitung puluhan, begitu mereka ini bawain ”Heartbreaker” nya Led Zeppelin – gw langsung mbrebes mili dan ikut nyanyi penuh bakaran gelora jiwa yang membara (catatan: gelora musik rock itu baranya bisa jauh lebih dahsyat dari gelora asmara Sampek Engtay, menurut gw gitu. Jreng!). Tapi meski gw orang tuwek, gw juga suka banget waktu mereka bawain lagu2 80an kayak ”In The Still of The Night” nya Whitesnake. Biyuh!!! Stupa band ini kinerjanya sungguh meningkat sejak gw liat mereka main pertama kali kira2 sebulan lalu. Uediyan! Mereka semakin kompak dan bersih mainnya. Gw juga menikmati lagu Saigon Kock, Lenny Kravitz (moga2 gw bener, karena gw gak tahu lagu siapa aja yang dibawain. Gw sering nyenggol mas Eric tanya lagu siapa yang dibawain. Maklum, generasi gw 70an sih ye …). gw juga menikmati Bon Jovi – karena gw suka grup ini juga. Heran, kok TOTO gak dibawain ye tadi malam? Terlalu lembek ya? Next time kudu ada ”Hold The Line” nih. Tapi jangan Rosanna ye …

Setelah Stupa, giliran gw naik panggung sebagai MC gadungan yang ditunjuk karena i-Rock! kagak punya pilihan lain, kesiyan ye … padahal gw

kan

bukan MC dan gak pernah sekalipun dalam hidup gw jadi MC. Amit2 dah. Dengan persiapan apa adanya (baru dikasih tahu kemarinnya – kebayang gak sih?) gw anggap aja semua penonton temen gw. Ha ha ha ha … Acara break ini diwarnai dengan interview di atas panggung dengan Chairman i-Rock! dan juga Chairman IPS – Om Andy Julias. Salut buat Om Andy Julias yang dengan usaha keras sudi kiranya (uiiihh … bahasa gw kok jadi formil kayak orang Kecamatan aja …) hadir dalam acara tadi malam, padahal beliau ini sedang sakit. Bravo Kumendan Andy Julias! Acara dilanjut dengan bagi2 door prize yang buanyak banget ampek gw capek manggilin orang …. he he he he …

Setelah itu acara lebih gila lagi digelar yaitu dengan tampilnya band ”Tanpa Nama” yang membawakan repertoire METALLICA. Band ini main luar biasa kerennya sampek gw yang gak suka Metallica jadi suka dan mau beli CD2nya (gak tahu mulai dari mana). Keren pokoknya band ini. Gw menikmati banget! Acara ini sebetulnya format jamming sehingga siapapun boleh main. Yang gw kaget, si Adhie naik pentas dan langsung jadi lead vocalist membawakan ”Enter Sandman” nya Metallica. Dahsyat! Bravo Adhie!!! Setelah 3 lagu Metallica dibawain secara apik dan kompak oleh grup ini, giliran mas Delly drummer professional naik panggung. Terjadilah jemming … Seru pokoknya. Si Rustam juga bisa main gitar dan enak pula mainnya. Salut dah!!!

Acara tadi malam sungguh luar biasa dan kita semua tetap semangat sampek acara usai dengan ditutupnya anthem kita ”Rock and Roll” nya Led Zeppelin dimana semua hadirin pada ikut jingkrak-jingkrak di panggung. Yang juga menarik adalah tampilnya musisi2 handal seperti Kadri Makara, Bakar (drum) Seven Years Later, mas Rory, dan pmain Hammond organ atraktif dari Jaque Matte (bener gak nulisnya?) bernama Arya. Wuih dia ini main kibornya doahzyat pol!!!

Pokoke satu deh … : YANG TADI MALAM GAK DATANG udah PASTI NYESEL SELAMANYA dan cukup hanya puas melihat dvd nya yang rencana akan dirilis dengan label InsideOut ini. Jangan lupa tanggal 3 Juni ada Family Gathering dan juga bulan Juli akan ada acara puncak INAUGURASI i-Rock! di hard rock cafe. Yeeeeaaaahhhh ….!!!!

Long Live i-Rock! Long Live i-Rock! Long Live i-Rock! i-Rock! i-Rock!!!!!!!!

JRENG!

                  
                Review by
               
                    Gatot
               
                (Gatot Widayanto)
               
       
[Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator]
               
   
               Posted 9:42:52 PM EST, 11/8/2004
               

               
               I heard the band quite sometime ago around year 2000 when some friends of mine
were engaged in local classic rock FM radio in my city. I saw the covers of the band’s
first two albums but I got no chance to enjoy their music because at that time I was in
neo prog kind of mood and did not really favor metal. Last year I bought this CD from
our local secondary market for one reason: it’s cheap (because it’s a used CD, I think)
and I heard the band name many times from my metal friends (some of them are
proggers too). When most of my prog friends made a noise that the band’s front man
Daniel Gildenlöw were joining The Flower Kings, it really struck my mind. Long before
I’ve seen the performance of this guy supporting TRANSTLANTIC Live in Europe that I
watched through a DVD.  He must be “someone”  because even TFK invited him to join.
And .. having enjoyed the Flower Kings’ “Adam and Eve” album, I devote my time
listening the only CD that I have from Pain of Salvation. Well, I hate rap music but this
band is excellent!!

Despite symphonic prog opening of the first track “USED”, my initial reaction to the
band is that they play the music that I hate: rap. But I don’t know for some reason, I
like the atmosphere created by the symphonic music at the background from keyboard
sound. The guitar riffs remind me to progressive metal kind of music but the main body
of the music itself creates “symphonic” nuances. It’s really a wonderful track. The solo
electric guitar is performed stunningly during interlude. The singing style, luckily, turns
to normal rocking style having gone thru the opening style that is a bit growling.

All tracks featured in this album are excellent, well positioned and performed in
relatively medium tempo, sometimes even mellow. So, if you expect the band would
perform speed metal like DREAM THEATER, you are wrong.

It continues seamlessly to the second track “IN THE FLESH” with simple guitar fills and
voice line (very nice!). The guitar fills sound repetitive at beginning while accompanying
the vocal; but it then flows to different guitar fills style when the music turns to a faster
tempo. Great vocal quality and stunning guitar work. The inclusion piano and acoustic
guitar at the end of this track have enriched the track. Great musical flow!

“ASHES” kicks off with, again, simple guitar fills / rhythm with clear voice of  Daniel at
low tone in the beginning part. The music turns up with a higher, bit distorted, vocals.
This track is really accessible and does not sound metal – it’s more symphonic
psychedelic than metal. I like the way Daniel sings. This track is a true KILLER!

“MORNING ON EARTH” starts with a guitar fills that reminds me to the intro of “AND
YOU AND I” of Yes. But when the voice enters the scene, it’s different kind of music.
The opening voice is really heavy and theatrical, I would say. It’s a nice mellow track
with stunning acoustic guitar, dynamic bass line and great violin.

The music turns into a faster and rocking tempo with “IDIOGLOSSIA”  (track 5). Its
nuance is in the vein of symphonic metal with nice psychedelic touch. This track has a
strong melody and tight composition, high energy. It continues with “HER VOICES” in a
slower tempo. It’s a kind of ballad tune with symphonic background.

“DEDICATION” starts with simple acoustic guitar fills accompanied with dynamic bass
line. It’s a melodic and mellow track with nice piano touch and electric guitar effects. I
can sense the influence of jazz in this track. It flows to my all-time favorite track
8: “KING OF LOSS”. I like the tasty melody here, it’s really cool. Again, Daniels
demonstrates his powerful singing style especially when the music turns into higher
tone (the metal part). He sings from his heart, I believe. The piano and guitar fills are
really excellent.

“RECONCILIATION” opens in relatively fast tempo with great guitar and keyboard. It
flows up and down with a wide variety of singing style. The music then turns to a silent
part on track 10 “SONG FOR THE INNOCENT” with acoustic guitar and piano at
background. It actually reminds me to early Genesis style (guitar-wise). It then turns to
a rocking mood with great lead guitar work.

“FALLING” demonstrates electric guitar work in the vein of PINK FLOYD. It sets the
welcoming tone for the concluding track “THE PERFECT ELEMENT” that opens nicely
with guitar fills. The last track is really a great track with truly symphonic style. It has a
tight composition and touchy melody. Again, I have to admit that Daniel’s singing style
is so powerful. The interlude part, exploring acoustic guitar and violin works, is really
amazing especially when combined with high tone voice of Daniel. The ending part of
this track when the drum is played dynamically – really amazing! (reminds me to PETER
GABRIEL’s “The Rhythm of The Heat” percussive on his 4th album “Security”.) What a
great climax!

Well, I cannot afford not to give this album with well rounded five star. Tight
composition, excellent strong writing, flawless music delivery by the musicians and good
production. Minor advice is on the sonic quality: need some more bass sound. Mid range
and treble are okay. Symphonic music requires more bass sound, I think. Rating 5/5.
GW, Indonesia.

                  
                Review by
               
                    Gatot
               
                (Gatot Widayanto)
               
       
[Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator]
               
   
               Posted 4:16:52 AM EST, 3/28/2006
               

***** (5/5) It Will Go into Top 5 Prog Albums of 2006!

Oh what kinda musical taste that I have? It’s too broad, I think … and it’s probably
undefined. After having reviewed what so called prog met album from Andromeda,
now I’m moving into different kinda music which is totally different than the
Andromeda kinda thing. Oh taste taste taste … what kinda taste? It doesn’t
matter, really, as long as the music is okay with my ears, I would go ahead enjoying
the stream of music produced by different bands with different styles. That’s the
beauty of having no preconceived mind about certain type of music. But … there is
another part of the coin: so many wish list that I’ve made for good CDs that will
create serious dollar from my pocket. Never mind! I have to work very very hard
(of course with prog spirit) to finance my needs for good CDs. What is work for
prog man? To purchase CDs!

Yeah, let’s get started with this great album by The Tangent. Roine Stolt, one of
the best prog musicians we have nowadays, is out from The Tangent in this record.
But, the music of The Tangent is still great- even it’s much better than their second
album “The World That We Drive Through”. One thing, Roine Stolt is great, but the
band still demonstrates excellent musical quality even after he is not involved in the
project.  Like its previous predecessors, this album offers you great prog music
combining musical styles of Canterbury music like National Health, Hatfield and The
North, Egg with Return To Forever music and also some flavors of rock music. It’s
definitely an album that no one who claims himself/herself as prog lover miss it.
Yeah, it’s powerful full stop.

It kicks off softly with great jazzy piano and heavy vocal section in “In Earnest”
(20:03). You might be wondering that this long duration track will get you bored –
it’s not at all. It’s terrific! There are multitudes of styles and tempo changes with
great textures of organ / keyboard sounds and solos, plus powerful vocal line. The
music sometimes turns complex with all instruments play difficult chords with some
solos: piano, guitar and keyboards. Oh yes, if you love Canterbury, this track is
definitely yours. No doubt. I can sense sometime the music resembles a style of
Brian Auger but also a bit of ELP.  Krister
Jonsson who plays electric guitars also demonstrates his solo stunningly in the vein
of classic rock music. It’s an awesome song with great composition and structure. I
know the track is long but I always repeat the track whenever I listen to it.

“Lost In London” (8:08) opens up in jazzy style combining vocal, flute, drums and
bass. Flutes play in some lyrical segments wonderfully with high energy. This track
might favor those who love jazz music. Even though there is practically no
complexity offered in here, I do enjoy this track. I can see the positive energy cast
by Andy Tillison when he sings this song. You can hear beautiful organ sounds along
the track. Wonderfully composed!

“DIY Surgery” (2:16) pushes the music further into a bit of avant-garde style,
maintaining the original sound of Tangent. The singing style is also different.
Saxophone solo is really great in the middle of the track. Well, actually I do not
favor sax, in general, but this track offers an attractive sounds and style.
Drumming is also top notch!

“GPS Culture” (10:07) has different style in terms of rhythm section composition
but it’s similar in terms of singing style of track 1 and 2. Pulsating organ sounds
combined with guitar work make the music is rich in textures. Oh yeah … you might
love how the organ is played at the back. Awesome! There are some riffs that
remind me to Kansas’ “Carry On wayward Son” followed with acoustic guitar work
close to the middle of the track. The intertwining work of organ and guitar, played
by Dan Watts of Parallel or 90 Degrees is truly stunning; especially when it’s
combined with silent part using flutes as interjecting sounds. Oh man … this is really
cool ….!!!

“Follow Your Leaders” ( 9:21) starts off with dynamic organ punch followed with
good guitar rhythm, augmented with dazzling drum. The music is presented
differently than other tracks with relatively fast tempo. Andy’s vocal quality still
proves to be a good enjoyment thing of this one. Oh yeah … I never mention the
basslines yet. Yes, it’s a great bass guitar playing by The Flower Kings’ Jonas
Reingold. This tracks offers relatively long keyboard solo combined with flute. It’s
better playing this album in relatively high volume at your power amplifier.

“The Sun In My Eyes” (3:44) is like a poppy music with heavy brass section – it
sounds like R&B music. But .. again, the singing style of Andy Tillison has made this
song is different from any other pop songs. I even view this track serves as
a “break” after enjoying wonderfully crafted and a bit complex composition. It’s a
disco song, but it’s dynamic and it’s nice … it’s okay for a break. Why not? It does
not jeopardize the cohesiveness of this album. Good.

Now we enter the album title track “A Place In The Queue” (25:19) which serves like
an epic that concludes the album. It starts with music using sax as its solo,
performed in medium tempo. When the silent part enters with beautiful acoustic
guitar fills and rhythm, the clarinet (or alto sax) takes the lead melody very nicely –
touchy, indeed. Vocal enters in ambient style in a bit of bluesy texture. The
keyboard solo at approx min 6:00 combined with saxophone is well laid out in the
whole structure of this epic track. One must pay attention to this part which in my
case has made me “nggeblak” (sorry, am using my local language which means: my
mind is totally paralyzed listening to this music segment and cannot think sane
anymore. Scary isn’t it? Well, am not exaggerating …). At approx minutes 10:00 the
music changes dramatically in terms of style as the tempo moves quickly. Oh, I love
the guitar rhythm at this part. The ending part of this track brings the music back
to the intro part with saxophone as main melody, in relatively slow tempo.

What can I say after penning a long review about this album? In fact, I can make
the review as long as a novel. But I’m sure, you’re not gonna read it. Hey, you
don’t need to read this review actual, just take a recognizable action: buy
this CD!. Oh by the way, the artwork is great! The sonic quality is
excellent!

Peace on earth and mercy mild – GW

Review by Gatot (Gatot Widayanto)
[Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator]
Posted 3:15:42 AM EST, 5/15/2006

An Album Difficult To Digest

Phew …Having spun the CD eleven times I could finally digest the album in its entirety. Well, this is definitely one of prog albums that have taken a very long time for me to digest. It reminds me to the days when I first listened to YES “Relayer” and “Tales From Topographic Ocean” that took me a relatively long period to fully understand the music. But, the challenge I’m facing now is totally different when it was 35 years ago when not so many prog albums releases. Currently, I have a stack of CDs ready to digest as well. So I got to “conquer” this “Paradox Hotel” before I move on to another prog CD. I almost gave up at 7th spin because so far I have implemented a “policy” to enjoy prog music by spin number 8. Even when I reached 8th I still could not understand what the band is trying to do with this latest release. So I did some variations by playing CDs of Van Halen (who says that I’m only enjoying prog CDs?), Roine Stolt “Wallstreet Voodoo”, The Flower Kings “Stardust We Are”, Riverside “Out of Myself”. I broke my rule and went ahead with another try before deciding to resell the CD. Spin number 9, nothing happen, 10 still nothing happen even though I could grab a bit.

The key is to conquer “Monsters and Men”

Since day one I spun the CD I knew the main problem: it was track number two “Monsters and Men” which presumably serves as opening track as track 1 “Check In” is basically a narration. I guess if the band did not put this “tough” song as opening, I probably could digest the music quicker. Say, instead putting track 4 “Hit Me With A Hit” as opener (track 2) I were pretty damn sure that I could nod my head right away at first spin. That’s for sure. But it’s not the case because the band has conceptualized the story started off with “Monsters and Men” which unfortunately offers a music that I could not understand at all. For this, I have to put all my due respect on the band’s creative piece. Or, probably Bodin and Stolt tried to test our limit as prog lovers into how far we could reach the unreachable. Oh yes, this track is very very difficult to understand because in terms of structure and notes chosen, they are not something that I could easily emulate. Unpredictable – that’s probably the correct term to use. It starts off with piano touch that I’m not familiar at all with the notes used followed with weird mellotron sound and marching drums. In a way it reminds me to YES’s Mind Drive (but only on the marching drums, not the composition). When all instruments form the music in a flow that I could not predict, it confused me further. Even when the vocal part enters the music, I still could not understand it. When I continued to other tracks, I could see the beauty of the composition but I still got stuck with track no. 2 “Monsters and Men”.

At 11th Spin …

When I reached 11th spin, I said “Yes!” to myself as now I could fully enjoy “Monsters and Men” really well and I admire the tight composition despite no memorable melodies produced by this track. How did I conquer this track? It’s basically I let my mind and my ears being totally open with no expectations at all on how the music should sound nicely to my ears. By doing so, starting from spin number 8 (I think), it grew on me and I could finally enjoy track 2 in its entirety at 11th spin. And it’s true, after I could accept track 2, the rest sounded very easy to digest – nothing compares to track 2 in terms of complexity and weird melodies. Track 2 is an epic with three major movements with transitions among movements are done excellently through relatively long instrumental. As a matter of comparison, “Monsters and Men” is similar with what I experienced the first time enjoying YES “Gates of Delirium” which at that time I was not familiar at all with the melody that sounded weird to my ears.

Great Music, Great Musicianship

Once I could enjoy track two, I could then see the overall music theme that connects one track to another from disk one to disk two. The music flows wonderfully from opening to end with various styles and tempo changes. The composition and songwriting are very tight and powerful, successfully adding up the album into a cohesive whole.

I’m not gonna review on track by track basis but I need to emphasize that track number 8 “Self-Consuming Fire” is a killer! Its melody is truly wonderful. The music starts off wonderfully with Stolt and Hasse nylon string acoustic guitar after the ambient end of “Bavarian Skies”. Stolt sings wholeheartedly with powerful voice while Hasse also plays percussion in addition to nylon string guitar. The opening part reminds me to STING’s “The Shape of My Heart” (oops! This is not prog music, but I listen to it as well – what’s wrong?) in terms of nuance but “Self-Consuming Fire” is much darker. The use of mellotron-string has enriched the dark nuance. Oh .. the music flows wonderfully in medium tempo with a bit of jazz and bluesy style. I enjoy very much when Stolt sighs “Ah ..ah ..ah ..etc.”. So wonderful! The interlude part with rocking guitar solo (reminiscent of classic rock music) makes the music much powerful. Jonas Reingold plays his bass guitar dynamically. On “Mommy Leave The Light On” the vocal line is using a distorted distant vocal technique accompanied with mellotron sounds and guitar fills which reminds me to Hackett with Genesis.

Disk One concludes beautifully with “End on A High Note” (another excellent track). Disk Two material are generally much easier to digest compared to disk One. It starts off with paradoxical title “Minor Giant Steps” followed with mellow “Touch My Heaven” in distant vocal style. The rhythm section reminds me to the music of Peter Gabriel or Carptree. “The Unorthodox Dancing Lesson” is a nice instrumental. There is music riffs which are very similar to King Crimson (at minutes 1:00). In here you can enjoy how excellent Marcus (the new drummer) is playing his kits. The title track “Paradox Hotel” is a straight forward composition.

Overall, this is a great music with great musicianship. I urge you to own this album. If you find problems to accept the music, you might need to follow my path as I mentioned above with patience and open mind. Let the music flows – don’t expect the music “should be” like this or like that. Especially, don’t play around with the melody. The Flower Kings has pushed the envelope further, to create music beyond what the have done so far. Oh by the way, the sonic quality is excellent. Cover art (by Andres Valle) and CD package are great – really prog package! The album is produced by Roine Stolt and assisted by Tomas Bodin. Roine Stolt is a genius! On the basis of this album and Roine’s last solo album, I decide myself being the fan of The Flower Kings. Keep on proggin’ ..!

Peace on earth and mercy mild – GW

Review oleh: PURWANTO SETIADI

Dimuat di KORAN TEMPO Sabtu 20 Mei 2006

Sebuah album bagus sering sudah terasa sejak awal, tapi kita baru bisa menyimpulkan sepenuhnya setelah beberapa kali menyimak isinya. Bolehlah disebut alot. Karya terbaru grup progressive rock asal Swedia ini adalah contohnya. Lagu pembukanya yang berdurasi 21 menit, Monsters & Men, memuat cuplikan-cuplikan melodi yang indah, beragam variasi tempo, keyboard yang kaya, serta solo gitar yang menawan dan menaklukkan, tapi tidak seketika membawa pendengarnya ke tujuan yang memang hendak dicapai. Butuh konsentrasi penuh dan beberapa kali putar barulah bisa terasa bagai bunyi klik.

Memang secara umum begitulah karakter album-album The Flower Kings. Tapi album ini, karya studio yang kesepuluh (lagi-lagi sebuah double album), sekaligus mengukuhkan posisinya sebagai grup yang memang patut dipujikan–salah satu yang terbesar di genrenya sejak 1990-an. Materi di dalamnya sangat beragam dan kuat, dari unsur bebunyian, instrumentasi, hingga aransemen, yang semuanya berpadu menjadi satu kesatuan yang unik. Ibarat sebuah masakan, ini bukan jenis yang ada di setiap restoran.

Beberapa lagu, pada melodi dan tata suara instrumennya, akan mengingatkan kita pada grup-grup besar pada masa 1970-an, misalnya Yes, Pink Floyd, dan King Crimson. Tapi semua itu berada dalam resep bermusik yang sama sekali berbeda. Gitaris Roine Stolt, sang leader, membawa rekan-rekannya menjelajah ke dalam tema mengenai kehidupan manusia di dunia ini, yang dia ibaratkan sebagai hotel. "Kita mendaftar, kita menggunakan barnya, membayar tagihan–tak ada yang gratis–dan kemudian pergi lagi," kata Stolt.

Tema yang menarik dengan musik yang elok. Ditambah produksi yang rapi, unsur-unsur itu cukup untuk menjadikan album ini setara dengan karya-karya terbaik dalam katalog The Flower Kings.

Catatan GW:

Top markotop! KORAN TEMPO ngeprog abiszzz!!!! Bravo Mas Pur! Keep on proggin’ ..! Prog is still alive and kicking …!!!

(**** )It’s definitely an EXCELLENT live set!

Another live set DVD from Marillion containing 4 discs. Disc One contains material which I have reviewed under CD record of “Popular Music” at this site. It’s funny, after I wrote that audio CD review I realized that I got the DVD version because actually when I ordered the DVD I was not aware about its content. I was very happy knowing that I got the DVD version because I really enjoyed the audio CD very much. Disc Two contains two sets: Setlist Bingo which was recorded 6th April 2002 at Bear Sands UK, one day after the great Brave Live performance; and Acoustic Sunday which was recorded on 7th April 2002 at the same place. What a tiring concert, I think, because three days in a row the band played every night. Disc Three and Four are not really concert video as they respectively contain “Support” and “Weekend Wonderland”.

Disc One is a great performance by the band as I mentioned during my previous review of “Popular Music” audio CD. If during the CD review I mentioned how excellent the performance of the band, now I can see with my own eyes how Hogarth sings excellently as well as how he gives way to the crowd to sing along during Fish era songs. Well, I don’t need to mention in great details on how the performance of the band makes up the night. One word that I can say: excellent! All members of the band contribute with practically no visible errors at all.

Disc Two is Bootleg Bingo which basically a Live By Request kind of thing with predetermined setlist menu displayed at the backdrop of the stage. Just before the band plays, someone picks up a number which associates with certain number in the track list. It starts off with dazzling and atmospheric bass lines which remark the start of “King of Sunset Town” from the band’s first album with Hogarth as lead vocalist “Seasons End”. As I’ve never seen this track performed live I find this one is very rewarding and I really enjoy it very much. It continues excellently with “Quartz”, “Separted Out” and “When I Meet God” of the Anoraknophobia album. There are Fish era songs as well which were performed wonderfully by the band. Awesome. The concert was done in a relax manner with thousands of crowd. Just before Garden Party, Hogarth and Trewavas called Ian Mosley to come up at front of the stage to show the kind of T-shirt he was using. It’s something (if I’m not mistaken) printed like: Ian Mosley for President. It’s a relaxing break. “This is Garden Party!” said Hogarth and Mark Kelly punches his keyboard that remarks the start of dynamic and legendary track of the band from its debut album “Script for a Jester’s Tear”.

The second set of Disc Two is basically a Marillion “unplugged” or something similar to Live at The Walls. The atmosphere is more relaxing than the first set as in the beginning it starts with Pete Trewavas having trouble in tuning up his instrument for acoustic set. There are eight tracks performed acoustically. Overall it’s an excellent set with key songs like Rare Bird’s “Sympathy”, “The Space” and “Map of The World”. Oh .. I love piano work of Mark Kelly at the intro part of “The Space”. Hogarth sings wonderfully!

Overall this is an excellent DVD set. It’s a must for Marillion freaks. I review on the basis of Disc One and Two because I think the other two discs are just bonus discs. Keep on proggin’ ..!

Peace on earth and mercy mild – GW

For other PROG REVIEWS by GW please click: Gatot Widayanto - ProgArchives Special Collaborator

Keep on proggin’ ..!!!

Well, tonight is the show for TOTO. Congratulations for those of you will be there at the venue (JHCC). Having gone through some thoughts finally I decided not to go for the show. Why? I think it’s due to couple of reasons. First of all, it’s not really my fave band that I have to watch the show - it’s more on because of it’s a bit of rock band that sometime I play their music (not quite often - ehm I realize now that some CDs of the band I have not played it more than 3 years now, already, I think). Basically, it’s not the band that I’m very keen to see. Oh yes, I know that Steve Lukather is one of great guitar players planet Earth has.

Whatever the reason, I will not be there for the show. For those of you who will be there, ENJOY!

My other blog on thoughts leadership: ValueQuest .

Keep on proggin’

Oh yes, I am now waiting for my CD - The Flower Kings "Paradox Hotel" to arrive at my address. The post office did send me the notification that I can pick the package at Tebet Barat Post Office but when I checked with Pak Agus of Tebet Barat Post Office he said that he hadn’t received it yet - it’s probably still at Fatmawati. SO, I’d check it again sometime today. Hope I’ll get it today. For the time being I listen to the band’s "Stardust We Are" album - which is also great.
Oh by the way, I just posted my review of a book BUILT FOR GROWTH (featured at KORAN TEMPO last 30 April 2006), you might want to check it out. It’s about STARBUCKS man! Pelajaran Bisnis dari Kedai Kopi .

Cheers,
Gatot