Genesis - Pop Shop - Belgian TV 1972

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 #Genesis #Peter Gabriel #Phil Collins #Steve Hackett #progressive rock #art rock #symphonic prog #theatrical rock #1970s #music video

In the early 1970s, legendary prog-rock band Genesis were at perhaps the first pivotal moment in the band’s long and storied career. The group — consisting at the time of core members vocalist Peter Gabriel, bassist Mike Rutherford and keyboardist Tony Banks — had hired a new drummer named Phil Collins in 1970 after placing an ad in Melody Maker. The band would also bring on guitarist Steve Hackett a year later. But adding future rock stars didn’t guarantee immediate success. Genesis struggled to gain footing in their native UK and in 1971 played their first overseas gigs in Belgium. Around the same time, Genesis began work on their third studio album, Nursery Cryme, which came out in November 1971. But the band’s penchant for experimentation didn’t sit well with UK crowds. Mainland Europe, however, was more receptive and the album did well in places like Italy where Genesis would subsequently tour to enthusiastic audiences. During the touring around Nursery Cryme, the band also returned to Belgium where they performed for a television program called Pop Shop on March 20, 1972. For their Pop Shop performance, Genesis offered up three songs from Nursery Cryme, the experimental epics — at over eight minutes — “The Fountain Of Salmacis,” “The Musical Box” and “The Return Of The Giant Hogweed.” “Twilight Alehouse” — which would later appear as the B-side to the band’s first charting single, “I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)” — fit into the second slot in the band’s four-song set.  From: https://www.jambase.com/article/genesis-pop-shop-1972

It’s been 40 years since Genesis recorded “Nursery Cryme,”, the album that cemented the early Genesis sound, and one considered by many to be among the greatest artistic achievements of progressive rock’s golden era. Along with contemporaries Yes, King Crimson, and Emerson, Lake and Palmer, Genesis pushed the boundaries of rock music both lyrically and instrumentally. All of the essential elements of what has since come to be known as “prog” were present on “Nursery Cryme”: fantastic, often bizarre lyrics; long, thematic songs; an obvious classical influence and departure from blues-based traditions; and unparalleled musical virtuosity.
The band married some of the heaviest jams of the day to acoustic, pastoral passages to create a tapestry of light and shade, which confused some American audiences at first, says guitarist Steve Hackett. “Our idea of a guitar-based tune usually meant that the 12-string [acoustics] carried it,” he says. “Often we would have three 12-string guitars playing at once — Mike, Tony and me — which created a sound like a harpsichord, and you couldn’t really pin down what you were hearing. Mike Rutherford was very into Joni Mitchell at the time, which also influenced our acoustic side. Unfortunately, we tended to get shouted down in America on our first tours during some of our quieter moments, because people wanted to hear boogie music.”
Members of Genesis drew their inspiration from classical and folk music as much as rock and blues, says Hackett, who began his musical journey as a blues harmonica player. “I grew up listening to the blues and Bach, and I never thought that they would meet and create a third thing,” he says. “The two styles seemed to be at odds with each other.” Although it’s hard to hear much overt blues influence in early Genesis, Hackett points out that most of the innovation sonically and musically on the electric guitar in the 1960s and early 1970s came straight out of the blues. Even the most eclectic rock guitar heroes of the day were still firmly rooted in the blues. The music of Genesis—and Hackett’s guitar playing in particular—offered an enticing alternative for rock fans who were becoming bored with standard beats and I-IV-V chord progressions. “Nursery Cryme” explored odd time signatures, modal compositions, and introduced a new technique to rock music that would redefine electric guitar playing in the next decade: two-handed tapping.
“I came upon the tapping technique when I was trying to play Bach’s famous Toccata and Fugue,” says Hackett. “I realized that I couldn’t play it the way I wanted to hear it using standard technique, so I started tapping onto the fretboard with my right hand. I used that technique all over “Nursery Cryme including parts of ‘The Musical Box’ and ‘The Return of the Giant Hogweed.’” Tony Banks sometimes harmonized Hackett’s legato lead guitar lines on the keyboard for dramatic effect, often using a distorted amplifier or fuzz box to achieve a similar sound. “We had a guitarist who was trying to sound like a keyboard player and a keyboard player who was very good at sounding like a guitarist,” Hackett observes.
Part of the reason that the English progressive rock bands of the early 1970s drew from such varied influences was the wide variety of music broadcast on British radio prior to the deregulation of the airwaves. “Radio was in very different shape when we were young, and I think that that helped to color the progressive music that followed,” says Hackett. “Today, many stations only play one style of music, and I suspect the people who grow up listening to this stuff may be subject to less-wide musical tastes than the ones that we had while developing our musical base. We were listening to blues, rock and jazz from America, and we were also hearing our European roots, all on the same station.”
An essential ingredient in the Genesis sound that was shared by other progressive rock bands is the use of the Mellotron, an electro-mechanical ancestor of the modern synthesizer, to achieve an orchestral sound. “We weren’t trying to sound classical, but the spooky, eerie quality of the Mellotron flutes and violins became a big part of our sound,” says Hackett. “I was in love with the sound of it for a very long time — although they were incredibly temperamental and took four men to lift, like pallbearers.” Gabriel also occasionally played flute with the band, adding yet another dimension to the sound.
Faux harpsichords and orchestras aside, however, there are musical passages on “Nursery Cryme” (e.g., the screaming guitar in the middle section of “The Musical Box”) that are as prototypically heavy metal as anything by Sabbath, Zeppelin or Deep Purple. To achieve those heavy guitar sounds, Hackett used his trusty Les Paul Custom through a Hiwatt stack with various fuzz boxes and an octave divider. He also used a volume pedal to precisely control the dynamics of his guitar to fit the album’s many moods. “Sometimes I’d be playing distorted rock guitar weaving through these delicate textures, so I had to play very quietly,” says Hackett. “I’d be playing pastoral rock guitar, if that’s not an oxymoron. Often I had to play almost like a reed instrument. At times, I even tried to sound like a synthesizer or like a voice.”
The complex music of Genesis required a team player approach from Hackett, which usually led him far afield of pure bombast. “With the core team of Mike, Phil and Tony forming the nucleus of the sound and turning out those dense, very beautiful textures, it was often difficult to be able to impose anything on the music that was relevant,” says Hackett. “So sometimes I’d beef up the bass line; other times I would highlight part of what was going on with the piano. I think that approach helped to create interesting textures, and it did enrich the sound. I was trying to think like a producer or an arranger, which has little to do with guitar heroics. I was very concerned with subtlety, perhaps more than I am today.”
Lyrically, Genesis usually shied away from “the mating ritual,” as Hackett dryly puts it, in favor of fairy tales and mythology — a direct contrast to the approach that the Rolling Stones and other English groups were taking at the time. Some critics complained that the band’s lyrical approach felt more like research than soul-searching. “It’s not that we weren’t writing romantic music,” says Hackett. “It was just romantic in a different way — we were romancing something else. Our lyrics were often third-hand and not based on personal experience, which is quite typical of the progressive approach. That’s not the approach I’ve taken post-Genesis — personal experience is much more in evidence — but these were early days, and we took a lot from literature.”
The “progressive rock” label did not exist at the time, Hackett points out, and the emerging style was often tagged “art rock” or “theatrical rock.” Indeed, Genesis was one of the first groups to combine rock and theater, a strategy that made the band’s surreal lyrics easier for audiences to digest. “Once we got our own light show and stage set and took control of the visual aspect of our performances, Peter decided that he wanted to be the literal depiction of the action,” says Hackett.
Gabriel’s thespian talents helped differentiate Genesis from the other prog acts of the day, and he used masks and bizarre costumes to bring the songs to life. “Peter had always approached lyrics rather like an actor, so it was a natural evolution,” says Hackett. “But it wasn’t a decision he ran through the band in committee. He just showed up one night and that’s the way it was on stage.” Audiences loved it, or at least paid attention. “When we were starting out, often we would be second or third on the bill, and people would be milling about, ignoring us, going to the bar,” says Hackett. “That changed as the show became more theatrical, with Peter acting out the parts.”
“Foxtrot,” the follow-up to “Nursery Cryme,” continued in the same musical vein and generated better sales as Genesis started to make a name for itself in the UK. By 1973’s “Selling England by the Pound,” the group had earned itself some high-profile fans. Hackett describes an enthusiastic Peter Gabriel bouncing into the rehearsal room after hearing that John Lennon had mentioned in an interview that he “loved” the new Genesis album. “We were incredibly proud of that,” says Hackett. “At a time when we could still hardly get a gig in the States, we had a good review from a great man. We thought, ‘Wow, maybe we’re good.’”
In hindsight, the group may have reached its creative zenith by 1973. “Selling England,” most critics agree, perfected the blueprint that “Nursery Cryme” had established two years earlier. The musicians were at the top of their game, and compositions flowed easily despite the stylistic shifts and challenging subject matter. “A song like ‘Dancing with the Moonlit Knight’ really runs the gamut stylistically,” says Hackett. “It goes from a Scottish Plainsong to English hymnal to jazz fusion to something we used to call ‘Disney,’ or more of a tone poem approach.” Although Genesis toured relentlessly, the band was not focused on success as an end game in its early years. “Our concern was quality, and we had a lot of support from our management and record company behind the premise that if we aimed for excellence, success would follow as natural consequence,” Hackett explains.
One common misconception about early Genesis is that Gabriel wrote all of the lyrics. This was not the case until his last album with the group, 1975’s “The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway.” “We all contributed lyrically, until Peter decided that he wanted to write all the words he would sing, and that’s understandable — things often tend to sound best when a singer is singing his own lyrics,” says Hackett. “I was quite happy to concentrate on being the guitarist. You have to be very flexible if you’re in a band, especially when it’s a band of writers; you’ve got to be prepared to wear certain hats and take the hats off, from time to time, to make room for someone else.”
“Lamb Lies Down” also marked a major change in the group’s sound, taking Genesis out of the English countryside and into more modern, chaotic, urban imagery. “It was a little closer to mainstream rock, and I was concerned about how that would go over in America — you know, taking New York to the New Yorkers,” Hackett recalls. He needn’t have worried, as the album still stands as one of the group’s most critically acclaimed works. “Of course, we had our equipment stolen and ransomed at the beginning of our U.S. tour in true New York fashion,” Hackett quips. “We had to fight for it every step of the way.”
Although Hackett would stay on to record two more excellent albums with Genesis, the now-classic “Trick of the Tail” and “Wind and Wuthering,” the band’s sound changed as Collins ably carved out his identity as lead vocalist. “Genesis spanned a lot of eras, and as the lineup changed, the sound went in an increasingly commercial direction,” says Hackett. “The earlier stuff was more idealistic, I feel, in that what we were trying to do was original music — and that’s what seems to turn on musicians the most. It’s been 40 years, and those early albums keep selling. I’m happy to have been a part of that history.”  From: https://www.goldminemag.com/features/the-classic-era-of-genesis-examined-1971-1975

 

Virgin Black - Lamenting Kiss

 #Virgin Black #gothic metal #doom metal #avant-garde metal #symphonic metal #Australian #music video

When I first heard the band name 'Virgin Black' come up in conversation I thought this had to be some sort of gothic metal band with all band members wearing long dresses and corpse paint on their face. An average metal band that 16-year old high school 'metal experts' listen to nowadays (no offense meant to anyone). And in a way these preconceptions were actually right!Virgin Black is indeed a band that could partially be categorized as a gothic metal outfit. Yet that banner would not do enough justification to this bunch of talented musicians, for they go beyond the boundaries of conventional gothic metal.
There's this new wave of progressive artists who seem to incorporate classical music into their compositions; think of the likes of Epica, Nightwish and most noticeably Swedish prog metal outfit Therion, but Virgin Black surpasses each and every one of them. Yes, all of them share that longing for operatic vocals, yet Virgin Black's music is not about the bombastic nature of songs. These five Australians make music without reaching out to conventional metal. It's not all about heavy metal riffs or pompous drumming. No, Virgin Black seem to enjoy minimalist moments as well; some segments are pure classical or operatic pieces of music, whereas other moments are pure acoustic brilliance!
Come to think of it, perhaps 'doom metal' would be a more appropriate tag for this branch of music. The dramatic vocals, either operatic or normal singing in low key, don't make the happiest of conditions to listen to music, but they do somehow manage to charm the listener. To give you an idea of what to expect: lead vocalist Rowan London's voice is a sort of compromise of those trademark high-pitched prog metal vocalists and low-key opera vocalists, whereas bass player Ian Miller's additional vocals are pure black metal in origin, i.e. he growls. Yet, his growling is not at all bothersome, mainly because most of the time when he sings, you hear London backing him up with his low and dynamic voice or visa versa.  From: https://www.progarchives.com/album.asp?id=14692

Renaissance - BBC Sight & Sound In Concert 1977

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 #Renaissance #Annie Haslam #progressive rock #British progressive rock #symphonic prog #classical #orchestral #1970s #live music video

Repertoire Records has previously dug out the De Lane Studios and Academy of Music concerts of Renaissance for official release. In comparison, this 'Live at the BBC Sight & Sound' package includes material that fans are well acquainted with. It draws from the previous BBC Sessions CD and adds, as the main attraction, video of the concert performed by Renaissance at the Hippodrome, London in 1977 as part of the Sight & Sound in Concert series.
I was excited as this was the only color footage taken from a live performance given by the band in the 70s. And it is a beautifully shot concert, way ahead of all of the band's DVDs including the recent ones in that aspect, covering the band from a whole variety of angles. However, when I saw the nervous look on Annie Haslam's face in the first close up shot in the concert as they perform Carpet of the Sun, I began to have misgivings. After a somewhat glaring misstep (hard to be too harsh when somebody's got a voice like that) towards the end of that song, her confidence seems to drop even more and she wears a kind of anxious and downcast look through the rest of the show, for the most part. The wide variety of giggles and grins sported by her in shows over the years attest to how unusual it is for her to be that aloof while performing. I didn't mind the show on the whole but I was also not overwhelmed and just said to myself that you can't have it all. Maybe best quality audio and video had to come at the (slight) expense of musical quality and show(woman)ship.
So I decided to play the audio CD version of the concert, just to see if the audio was better on it as compared to the DVD (it was). And I began to get a different impression of the concert, indeed of Annie's singing. On video, she looks tentative, perhaps weighed down by her perfectionist streak and perhaps also battling a throat that was protesting the workload she had imposed on it. But, on audio, I heard beautiful, confident and expressive renditions, as always. Yes, with those little missteps hither and thither, but it is much harder to notice when the sheer quality of her vocal delivery overwhelms you.
Turns out the Sight & Sound concert is another fine example of Annie's quiet resilience. Perhaps she may have been embattled by inner demons and may have completely abdicated the role of frontperson for this show to the more composed Jon Camp but she was still striving to give her best song after song and did not disappoint the eager fans who had turned up to watch the show. I could finally put in perspective the enthusiastic cheering from the crowd after every song. No, it is not that they were forgiving. It is that she and the band as such had truly mounted a wonderful show, in spite of the somewhat scripted quality these Sight & Sound shows have compared to less high profile performances by Renaissance (or other bands). My pick would be Ocean Gypsy but don't miss John Tout's wonderful piano work on Mother Russia. There are some fine, subtle variations in there that he's sneaked in unobtrusively without altering the spirit of the composition.  From: https://www.progarchives.com/album.asp?id=54564

 
Renaissance's history actually begins in 1969, when - after the breakup of the Yardbirds and a short stint as the acoustic group Together - drummer Jim McCarty and guitarist/vocalist Keith Relf were joined by classically-trained pianist John Hawken who had earlier played with The Nashville Teens, bassist Louis Cennamo and Keith's sister, vocalist Jane Relf. Actually, the original lineup started falling apart prior to the second album's completion, giving rise to personnel and style changes over the next year before reaching a stable lineup. McCarty hated to fly and left the band in 1970 when they were about to embark on a European tour; Keith Relf and Louis Cennamo left shortly after to pursue a heavier style, eventually forming Armageddon. Jane Relf quit after the tour completed in the fall of 1970 and was replaced by American female vocalist, Binky Cullom from late October to December 1970. John Hawken, dissatisfied with the new vocalist among other reasons, left to join Spooky Tooth and was replaced by keyboard player John Tout around the same time. Hawken later joined The Strawbs in 1973-1974 Louis Cennamo left to join Colosseum and played on the Daughter Of Time album.
Annie Haslam, a brilliant young singer with formal classical vocal training, a beautiful five-octave range and a vivacious personality, answered the Melody Maker advert and got an audition with the band where she met founding members Keith Relf and Jim McCarty. The lineup of Annie Haslam, John Tout, Terry Crowe, Neil Korner, Terry Slade and Michael Dunford toured Europe extensively leading to further personal and acoustic transitions. Danny McCullough, Frank Farrell and John Wetton each took their turn at bass during the period. Keith Relf and Jim McCarty were still very much involved in the direction of the band behind the scenes and while Relf eventually became disinterested, McCarty remained involved until 1973.
Renaissance are in important band in progressive rock - one which far outranks the bands actual sales in the peak years or their fame at the time. The band seemlessly blended classical, rock and folk in a symphonic progressive style that is almost at the center of this genre's description. Anne Haslam was one of the first females to front a progressive rock band and in many ways serves as the reference point for both a style of music and a description for other female vocalists in the progressive genre. Starting with the band's 2nd release with Haslam, Prologue, and running though 1975's Scheherazade and including large portions of the albums released surrounding this period, Renaissance delivered some of the most respected and fresh progressive rock in the classic period of the 70's.  Their live release from Carnegie Hall is one of the cleanest performances and records among the 'live' collections of the era.  Songs such as Ocean Gypsy, Ashes are Burning, Mother Russia and Scheherazade are often cited as classics of the genre.
Starting in the late 70's and early 80's, as the influence of directed radio grew, the band found it hard to get noticed and slowly migrated to a more conventional pop/rock sound leading to the bands effective closing the door by the mid-1980's. Meanwhile, in 1977, original members Jane Relf, Jim McCarty, Louis Cennamo, and John Hawken would go on to form a band and record under the name Illusion. Haslam has gone on to record a number of solo works of varying styles including progressive ones, and the band have reformed in various combinations in the years following including a kind of 'renaissance' (pun intended) in the 2000's with new music and live performances to the delight of new and long time fans.  From: https://www.proggnosis.com/Artist/247

 

Renaissance - A Song For All Seasons

 #Renaissance #Annie Haslam #progressive rock #British progressive rock #symphonic prog #classical #orchestral #1970s

The 1978 Renaissance album ‘A Song for All Seasons’ is the ideal entry point for showcasing the individual talents and collective chemistry of the band. Underpinning the whole piece is the glorious, soaring, five-octave ranged voice of protean singer and artist, Annie Haslam. In a decade replete with stunning female vocalists, Haslam can stand shoulder-to-shoulder with anyone, using her voice with the precision of a surgeon using a scalpel, yet maintaining the searing beauty in her delivery.
Haslam’s vocal talent notwithstanding, Renaissance are an accomplished collective of musicians. A Song for all Seasons boasts the considerable keyboard talents of John Tout. A classical pianist by inclination, his distinctive, layered style provides a crucial backdrop over which Haslam’s precision vocals can truly be enjoyed. With John Camp and Michael Dunford providing an intricate and layered guitar sound, and Terry Sullivan on drums, this album sees the recognized classic line up for Renaissance (if such a thing truly exists in a band with such a fluid membership).
The album itself is, therefore, an accumulation of collaborations, with the band calling on the production talents of erstwhile Genesis producer, David Hentschel and orchestral arrangements arranged by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra’s Harry Rabinowitz. All of these diverse musical elements are encapsulated in the spectacular opening track ‘Opening Out’, a piece which actually prefaces the direction of the album. Tout’s classical piano is eschewed in favour of intricate synthesisers, there is considerable orchestration and, of course, Haslam’s vocal prowess.
The rest of the album is a concoction of musical styles. ‘Day of the Dreamer’ and ‘Kindness (at the end)’ are clearly heavily rooted in progressive rock and would not have been out of place on an album released 5 years earlier. Despite this fused style the album manages to maintain an internal coherence. The acoustic-folk of ‘Closer than Yesterday’ sits comfortably alongside accessible tunes such as ‘Back Home Once Again’. The eponymous ‘A Song for All Seasons’ nicely rounds the original album off and provides a welcome reprise of their genuine prog credentials.  From: https://wearecult.rocks/renaissance-a-song-for-all-seasons-3cd-reviewed

Emerson, Lake & Palmer - The Endless Enigma

 #Emerson, Lake & Palmer #Kieth Emerson #Greg Lake #Carl Palmer #progressive rock #symphonic prog #art rock #hard rock #jazz rock #blues rock #electronic #modern classical #1970s 

The first thing you'll ever learn about Emerson, Lake & Palmer is that they were the first 'supergroup' of the progosphere. The second thing is that they made their living on hyper-fast semi-classical excursions on anything equipped with ivories, preferably connected to sci-fi modulators (courtesy of Keith Emerson), hyper-fast machine gun drumming on anything equipped with a skin (courtesy of Carl Palmer) and suspiciously mellow folk balladry about anything equipped with a vagina (courtesy of Greg Lake). Every now and then though, they got together around lengthy pieces aspiring to one-up just about any modern classical composer in existence and in the process came up with some of the finest prog epics known to man. You see, this is one band where prog initiation is all but obligatory for anyone to have a decent chance to get into them, and I don't really think that anyone with much more humble taste would have that much need for Lake's ballads alone. Not that they are bad or anything, quite the opposite, but we'll get to that in due time.
Anyhoo, they got together as a result of Keith Emerson's, freshly out of The Nice, ambition to expand the boundaries of three-piece bands in 1970. He teamed up with bass player/guitarist/singer Greg Lake, who was right in the midst of recording "In the wake of Poseidon" with King Crimson but decided ELP was a better shot, and drum ace Carl Palmer who was to be found in Atomic Rooster (which you by the way really should check out; Art metal began here) as well as being an Arthur Brown graduate. And I'm gonna take the opportunity to debunk a widespread myth here; Hendrix was not considered as a fourth member (which would have yielded the abbreviation "HELP") since Emerson was keen on preserving the trio format from the very beginning, and I've got at least one fairly recent in-depth interview with Carl Palmer in a magazine to back it up. From the very beginning they pulled out all the stops on their live performances with Emerson straddling his Hammond organ the same way that Hendrix straddled his guitar, making it scream and moan with feedback and all kinds of unholy noises, occasionally crowning it all with daggers between the keys. Trust me, you gotta see it if you haven't already! What he should be revered for though, is his classically tinged finger-flashing over the whole thing. He could pull out just about anything from his sleeve, from rag-time barroom piano to Bach fugues at the speed of light. Of course, he had already made a name for himself in The Nice, but it was in ELP that he rose to the sky really. And don't forget his toying with all those Moog synthesizers which he actually helped develop with Bob Moog himself at the time.
Obviously, Emerson was the center of attention, but do not forget that he was backed up by one of the finest rhythm sections in prog as well. Carl Palmer may not be the fastest drummer in the world, but he sure is the fastest drummer I know of that simultaneously could swing and deliver something more than just robotic noise. After all, he took his inspiration from such giants as Buddy Rich, didn't he? And then Greg Lake, a great bass player in his own rights who on occasion had to switch to guitar to fill in the gaps, and on top of that crowned the songs with one of the best voices in rock; bombastic but yet humane and delicate. Listen to what he does on tracks like "The great gates of Kiev" and compare it with "The sage" or "Living sin". Talk about versatility! And he was also responsible for the more melodic and accessible elements of ELP's output and all of their albums sport at least one stripped-down acoustic ballad courtesy of him.
So there, the scene is set. Now what? Full frontal prog that managed to write itself into the history books as one of the most bloated, self-indulgent, excessive and pretentious acts of the whole movement. That's what the critics will tell you whether they like it or not, but that's not the whole picture. They were never strangers to silly little send-ups (or the aforementioned acoustic stuff) either, to spice up the flow on their albums and those who claim that progsters took themselves much too seriously have obviously missed out on songs like "Benny the bouncer". Of course, none of the occasional detours would overshadow their main schtick which was the grandiose epics and Emerson's lengthy keyboard excesses. But that's alright with me, because they are among the greatest epics and keyboard excesses ever captured on magnetic tape. I just don't want you to forget they were much more multi-faceted than they normally get credit for.
From: https://www.musicbanter.com/album-reviews/54650-endless-enigma-emerson-lake-palmer-reviewed.html#ixzz7vud1uMYp

Renaissance - Mother Russia

 

#Renaissance #Annie Haslam #progressive rock #British progressive rock #symphonic prog #classical #orchestral #1970s

 

Renaissance were an English progressive rock band who developed a unique sound, combining a female lead vocal with a fusion of classical, folk, rock, and jazz influences. Characteristic elements of the Renaissance sound are Annie Haslam's wide vocal range, prominent piano accompaniment, orchestral arrangements, vocal harmonies, acoustic guitar, synthesiser, and versatile drum work.  From: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renaissance_(band)

 

"Mother Russia" is a tribute to dissident Russian writer Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. His well-known novel about Soviet oppression, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, inspired the lyrics. Clocking in at nine-and-a-half minutes, "Mother Russia" opens with a string-led introduction featuring intermittent piano accents. Annie Haslam's vocals enter about two minutes into the song, and the next three minutes contain four verses that detail Solzhenitsyn's struggles, interspersed with short string and acoustic guitar interludes. The song concludes with a five-minute section comprising a three-minute instrumental interlude with wordless vocals by Haslam, followed by a repetition of the final two verses.
Like many Renaissance songs, Cornish poet Betty Thatcher wrote the lyrics and the band's guitarist, Michael Dunford, composed the music. "Mother Russia" is the closing song on Turn of the Cards, which Renaissance released in July 1974. Five months earlier, the authorities had arrested and deported Solzhenitsyn from the Soviet Union after the publication of his book, The Gulag Archipelago.
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn was a Russian novelist, historian, and critic of Soviet totalitarianism. In 1962, with the approval of Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev, he published his first novel, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, which depicted Stalinist repressions. Solzhenitsyn was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature eight years later "for the ethical force with which he has pursued the indispensable traditions of Russian literature."
From: https://www.songfacts.com/facts/renaissance/mother-russia

 

Emerson, Lake & Palmer - Take A Pebble

 #Emerson, Lake & Palmer #Kieth Emerson #Greg Lake #Carl Palmer #progressive rock #symphonic prog #art rock #hard rock #classical music #jazz rock #blues rock #electronic #modern classical #keyboard driven #1970s #post-The Nice #post-King Crimson #post-Atomic Rooster #Beat-Club

Emerson, Lake and Palmer were one of Rock & Roll's earliest supergroups who were formed from members of three already successful bands, The Nice, King Crimson and Atomic Rooster. The Nice had enjoyed several minor hits and were beginning to build a following in the United States, gaining attention for their wild stage show that was a showcase for keyboard wizard, Keith Emerson. King Crimson had risen to fame after their debut album "The Court Of The Crimson King" had caught on with Underground Rock lovers. The amazingly tight LP had brought the band from obscurity to a major concert attraction in the UK, Europe and America in just a few months.
In the Summer and Fall of 1969, the two groups shared the bill at two major concerts in England. Inner turmoil had already begun to tear King Crimson apart and Keith Emerson was feeling that he'd taken The Nice as far as it would go. During a sound check, King Crimson's bassist, Greg Lake began to jam with Keith Emerson. After some discussion, the pair came away with the feeling that it was time to move on from their current bands. The final live performance for the original King Crimson took place on December 16th and the band returned home. The group still had contractual obligations and were desperately trying to re-build King Crimson with Greg Lake still at the forefront. Although he had already made up his mind to leave, Lake did stick around long enough to finish a second album, using studio musicians to fill in for band members who had already split. The album, called "In The Wake Of Poseidon", was released in March of 1970 and featured Lake singing on just three tracks. King Crimson made one final appearance on the BBC TV show, Top Of The Pops with Greg Lake on an acoustic guitar, later the same month.
Two weeks later, Britain's New Musical Express ran the headline: "Keith Emerson and Greg Lake to form new group", while the pair were busy holding auditions for a third member. Several drummers were considered, spoken to, or auditioned; among them were Coliseum's Jon Hiseman, Cream's Ginger Baker, as well as Mitch Mitchell from The Jimi Hendrix Experience. It was Cream's manager, Robert Stigwood, who suggested Carl Palmer, a 20 year old drummer who had worked with Atomic Rooster and The Crazy World of Arthur Brown. After a pair of auditions, Palmer was hired. Although Emerson wanted to keep the project a keyboard-bass-drums trio, there were serious talks about adding Jimi Hendrix to the line up. A jam session was set up with Hendrix for late summer, 1970, but Jimi died before it came together. The rumors of the potential band with Hendrix did leak out to the British music press, who began running articles saying the band would be called "Hendrix, Emerson, Lake & Palmer" or HELP for short. Before they even had an album out, the band began playing shows. Although most ELP fans believe their first gig was at the massive three day long Isle Of Wight Pop Music Festival on August 29th, the band has since revealed that their first gig actually took place six days earlier at a 3000 seat hall in Plymouth Guildhall. According to Lake, the band was paid $500. The show that ELP played at the Isle of Wight was spectacular. Keith Emerson played the Hammond organ, piano, and his custom Moog synthesizer. Since their first album had not yet been released, the audience was not familiar with their music, but responded with thunderous applause nonetheless.  From: https://www.classicbands.com/elp.html

Yes - I've Seen All Good People

 #Yes #Jon Anderson #Steve Howe #Bill Bruford #progressive rock #art rock #symphonic prog #hard rock #1970s #Beat-Club

You can’t go wrong unearthing old prog videos, but The Lost Broadcasts
 DVD from Yes is a real gem. From 1969, we get Tony Kaye leaning far into his organ and drummer Bill Bruford mugging through the group’s version of Ritchie
Havens’ “No Opportunity Necessary, No Experience Needed.” From this black and white Beat Club performance, we also get the previously unseen “Looking Around” and “Survival,” both from the first Yes album. The latter definitely was nodding to the future band we know and love. We jump to a 1970 lip-synched clip of “Time And A Word” with Peter Banks still on guitar. Though the band is obviously having a great time miming this semi-hit, Banks would be fired two months after this taping. We’re back to the Beat Club for the last four numbers. It was April 1971 when the band, now with new guitarist Steve Howe, laid down a blistering “Yours Is No Disgrace,” along with “All Good People.” For various reasons, the show needed these clips re-shot (we even hear someone tell bassist Chris Squire he was too far away from the microphone after one take), so we are treated to a trio of live rundowns.  From: https://vintagerock.com/yes-the-lost-broadcasts-dvd-review/

Renaissance - Can You Hear Me

 #Renaissance #Annie Haslam #progressive rock #British progressive rock #symphonic prog #classical #orchestral #1970s

 

Novella gets so deep into an era of a few centuries ago that I feel like I'm getting some kind of plague every time I play it. Not as accessible as most of their stuff, the orchestral arrangements are the dominant force for most of these songs, resulting in an album that is certainly progressive and with folk leanings, but the 'rock' factor is at a low ebb concerning their output.
I was never a fan of this... until now. It finally clicked for me, and I love it for being such an unabashed foray into olden day jive at a time when the new and modern was going wild in the music scene. Very classical at times, and not exactly a thrill-ride either. Rather somber and even dour at times, like living under the age of kings and churches. Novella is quite an evocative beast, complex in arrangements and led by Annie's graceful, heavenly yet traditional folkish voice. "Can You Hear Me?" is actually amazing, but at first I thought it was too steeped in orchestration, like a movie score with singing. Now I'm sincerely impressed with the chord changes and the sudden, quick operatic bursts. Pompous in all the right ways. The closer "Touching Once (Is So Hard to Keep)" is the other mega-track, and while it's not as vocally engaging as the opener, it's got some potent segues into numerous grooves that possess real bounce. And believe me, those groovy moments are needed when you have depressing old tales like the lyrics of "The Sisters" to contend with. There's a weight to this album, gloomy tales to dispirit kids. But Novella does it so damn well that I can only marvel at it’s successful embodiment of the album cover. And it's not all morose, as the music itself never settles for a singular mood.  From: https://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/renaissance/novella/

Renaissance were an English progressive rock band who developed a unique sound, combining a female lead vocal with a fusion of classical, folk, rock, and jazz influences. Characteristic elements of the Renaissance sound are Annie Haslam's wide vocal range, prominent piano accompaniment, orchestral arrangements, vocal harmonies, acoustic guitar, synthesiser, and versatile drum work.  From: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renaissance_(band)

Yes - Yours Is No Disgrace

 #Yes #Jon Anderson #Steve Howe #Bill Bruford #Chris Squire #progressive rock #art rock #symphonic prog #hard rock #heavy prog #German TV #Beat-Club #1970s

Nowadays, the progressive rock band Yes doesn't need an introduction, but at the end of the sixties, when this great band made their first TV-appearances outside the UK, many people were not aware of Yes. In November 1969, Yes performed at the legendary German TV-show Beat Club. At the time nobody would have believed that their progressive rock sound should become that famous a couple of years later. The band did two more live sessions for Beat Club. The clips of Yours Is No Disgrace and I've Seen All Good People are the most famous ones. Some of the German footage was released on various DVD's, but as far as I know never on one disc. In 2009, the DVD The Lost Broadcasts was released for the first time, one year later followed by the second release.
The disc starts with the aforementioned Beat Club footage of November 1969 shot in black and white. Yes start with a rearranged version of the Richie Havens' song No Opportunity Necessary, No Experience Needed from their second album Time And A Word which wasn't released at the time of this performance. This song was already a live favourite and became the opening piece for that album. The song is followed by two tracks from their eponymous debut album. The footage of Looking Around and Survival were previously unseen actually. Initially, they were not included for only one Yes song could be seen on TV. The next clip was shot at February 23, 1970 and features the title track from the second album in full-colour this time because the live show accorded with the available standards at the time. It's obvious to see that this is a playback performance. This footage shows Peter Banks on the electric guitar, but probably for the last time as he left the band just before the release of Time And A Word because of continuing tensions between Jon Anderson, Chris Squire and himself.
The final four tracks were all filmed at April 19, 1971. It starts with the second take of Yours Is No Disgrace. This take wasn't used for the TV-show because it was a bit faster than the version performed for the first take. In this clip Yes used the head and the chair we can also see on the cover of The Yes Album. This album was the debut for guitarist Steve Howe who plays a rather freaky solo on this long version of Yours Is No Disgrace with Jon Anderson on a keyboard. Tony Kaye, the band's main keyboardist, is almost unrecognizable since he's wearing a beard. The other three tracks are different versions of I've Seen All Good People. Three takes were needed before the band members were satisfied with the result. The first take is a mixture of two shots. First we see Bill Bruford playing the drums and then we see him clapping along with the music. The info on this DVD doesn't tell us which take was used for the actual broadcast on April 24, 1971. However, that really doesn't matter after watching this footage. The most important thing is that we can enjoy Yes in their early days. Most band members were still inexperienced and they hardly ever played in front of a TV-camera
From: https://www.backgroundmagazine.nl/DVDreviews/YesBroadcasts.html

Yes didn't invent progressive rock, but they helped bring it to mainstream audiences, steering the development and definition of the genre. Once their classic lineup of Jon Anderson, Chris Squire, Steve Howe, Rick Wakeman, and Bill Bruford locked into place for 1971's Fragile, the band crystallized all of the sonic and visual signifiers that eventually became synonymous with prog rock. Yes shifted between complicated time signatures, spliced pastoral folk, and Baroque classical in their muscular rock & roll, structured their songs as mini-suites, and wrapped the entire package in fantastical artwork by Roger Dean.  From: https://www.allmusic.com/artist/yes-mn0000685647/biography

Genesis - Looking For Someone

 #Genesis #Peter Gabriel #Phil Collins #Anthony Phillips #progressive rock #art rock #British prog #symphonic prog #theatrical rock #1970s

Definitely not to be confused with the happy-slappy Genesis of the 1980s by any means! Somewhere in the English countryside, circa 1970, five lads from a prestigious boarding school were hard at work in a small house (courtesy of gracious parents), recovering from wounds (namely having their debut album, From Genesis To Revelation flop and then nearly throwing in the towel altogether) and redoubling their creative efforts. Armed with a steely resolve, a recently acquired Mellotron, a contract with the fledgling Charisma Records label, a sympathetic producer in John Anthony and ambitious new material, Genesis set it's sights on upsetting the apple cart of ordinary music. No longer were they going to be pegged as "Moody Blues wannabes". What emerged was an important, yet largely unheralded milestone in the development of progressive rock as we know it. Here, the essential building blocks of the classic Genesis sound were coming to the fore, although they had yet to fully gel and integrate, but you could tell that even greater, more startling things were to come.
"Looking For Someone" leads off with a piercing Gabriel vocal and smoky organ, the protagonist looking for meaning and purpose in a world that doesn't seem to have any. The band charges in with full force, exercising newly found ambition and ability. Gabriel's slightly raspy and soulful singing carries this songs mood so strongly, supported by plaintive guitar statements from Anthony Phillips and frantic propulsion from Banks, Rutherford and drummer John Mayhew.  From: https://www.progarchives.com/album.asp?id=2448  

Genesis - Supper's Ready

 #Genesis #Peter Gabriel #Phil Collins #Steve Hackett #progressive rock #art rock #British prog #symphonic prog #theatrical rock #1970s

A cornerstone in the story of progressive rock, Supper’s Ready found this still developing genre reaching its apogee. There had been double-digit-length album tracks before - not least Genesis’s own 10-minute The Musical Box - but nothing quite as conceptually epic, as ambitiously executed as Supper’s Ready. Constructed from seven distinct parts that form a jagged musical whole, it instantly rose to become perhaps the most famous and influential musical adventure in a genre then bursting its creative banks with all-time classic tracks: the template for the ornate, classically influenced, lysergically-charged, heroically daft, peculiarly English variety of progressive rock that then ruled the world. According to keyboardist Tony Banks: “When we started it we thought we were writing a kind of follow-up to The Musical Box, and it was going along quite nicely. Then we had this pretty-pretty song, Willow Farm, on its own, and thought, what if we suddenly went from there into this ugly, descending-chords sequence? No one would be expecting it. And once we got into that, we thought, well, we’re here now, let’s carry on, with freedom, and see where it leads us. When we put the whole thing together and heard it back for the first time, we went: ‘Oh, this is actually pretty good.’” Genesis’ former guitarist Steve Hackett insists now, however, that he was not convinced it was a good idea at all: “I thought, no one’s gonna buy this, because it’s too long. The [lyrical] references are too far-flung. It’s totally ambiguous. I thought the first time [Charisma Records chief] Tony Stratton-Smith heard it he was gonna say: ‘Sorry, boys, game’s up, contract’s cancelled, you’ll be hearing from our lawyers.’” Instead it was Stratton-Smith who positively encouraged the band to take their music as far as it could go, according to Foxtrot producer David Hitchcock. Seeing his role as “essentially a facilitator” Hitchcock says his greatest contribution to the track was “explaining they didn’t need to play it all the way through to record it, that we could do it section by section, with cross-fades and edits, then put it all together later. That allowed them to concentrate for the three or four minutes of each section, and get the best possible performance, while also allowing them to bring in different sounds for each section, rather than playing it straight through with one long, homogenous sound.” The pressure was also on for the band to find chart success. “Not in the sense of making them sound more commercial,” says Hitchcock, “but in the sense of taking what they did as far as it could possibly go.” Tensions in the studio were rife. “Mainly between Tony and Peter,” says Hitchcock. “There weren’t big bust ups, just a lot of sulking.” When Gabriel began singing over the keyboard solo in the section titled Apocalypse In 9/8, Banks admits “I was pissed off. ‘You’re singing on my bit!’ Then I realized it now had all the excitement we’d been trying to create, especially the ‘Six Six Six’ section. You have a lot of drama in the chords themselves, then what he did on top just took it to another level. Yes, that half-minute or so is our peak.” The other big battle Gabriel won was over the lyrics. “We were all involved as lyricists on Foxtrot per se,” says Hackett, “but Pete insisted on writing all of the lyrics to Supper’s Ready himself.” The rumor subsequently spread that the core of the lyrical narrative was based on a ‘supernatural’ experience Gabriel had gone through with his then-wife Jill; that Gabriel had been convinced she was possessed, and brandished a makeshift cross out of candlesticks, to which she reacted violently. According to Hackett, however, the situation was probably more prosaic. “I believe there’d been some drug taking going on. I believe she was having a bad trip at one point, and that Pete and a friend managed to talk her round and get her out of the horrors or whatever it was. So that’s a part of what the song was about, but in a way there’s a kind of redemption implication that goes with that.” Gabriel later claimed other parts of the lyrics were inspired by a late-night sighting of seven shrouded men walking in his garden. There were also lighter moments like Willow Farm, which Hackett not inaccurately describes now as “part Teddy Bears’ Picnic, part I Am The Walrus.” Plus sideways mentions for topics as seemingly disparate as Winston Churchill in drag, firemen, New Jerusalem, and not forgetting: a flower. Whatever one took from the lyrics, Supper’s Ready immediately assumed the mantle of all-time showstopper at Genesis concerts, Gabriel going through several ever more outlandish costume changes before ascending to the indoor sky in a silver suit at its climax.  From: https://www.loudersound.com/features/the-story-behind-the-song-genesis-suppers-ready