Wakeman, Rick (UK)
Myths and Legends of King Arthur and the Knights
of the Round Table; Prayers; The New Gospels; Can You Hear Me?; Return to the
Center of the Earth, etc.
Former Yes keyboard player Rick Wakeman cranks out bucket loads of music every year, but most of it falls short of the "prog rock" category. A few of his titles fall into that genre though, most notably the ones listed above. Return certainly fits that bill, with narration by Patrick Stewart, and guests such as Justin Hayward (Moody Blues), Trevor Rabin, and Ozzie Osborne (who sings, "Why should the devil have all the best tunes?" on Buried Alive). Musically it combines the London Symphony Orchestra with Wakeman's patented noodling keyboard solos. It's a lot longer than the original journey, and the production is better too, although not as jammingly progressive as the original. It's a keeper and ranks right up there with some of his earlier works. Myths and Legends, my all time favorite Wakey album, contains a lot of themes of faith and redemption, fittingly so since it was inspired by T.H. White's The Once and Future King, a classic historical fantasy novel with lots of Christian themes. For sure progressiveness, Six Wives and Criminal Record are Wakeman's most brilliant acheivements. The New Gospels and especially Can You Hear Me are supposed to have Christian lyrics mixed with proggy keyboard solos, etc. I haven't heard those two myself, but the Wakeman list recommended them. I have The Gospels, and it's purely classical music with narration. Not my cup of tea. Still one of the greatest keyboardists ever, he hasn't lost a step over the years although he recently turned 50. {dt}
Rick Wakeman sure has put out some progressive / symphonic rock since becoming a Christian. His album Can You Hear Me is the one that would fit best into the category of Christian Progressive Rock. It is a revision of Prayers, including only the songs from Prayers and adding three more new songs. Two of the songs are small masterpieces in my opinion (Hymn of Hope and I Can Hear You), but I like their original version (from Prayers) somewhat better because I prefer that sometimes out of tune choir that he uses on that album. Prayers is more philosophical and contemplative, half of the tracks are readings of different prayers and verses from the Bible accompanied by discrete keyboard background music. It is a VERY nice album, but not 100% progressive as you can figure. The New Gospels is more classical in style, a modern oratorio as Wakeman calls it. It too is very nice and worthwhile, with enough variations and creative touches to make it worth-while, but perhaps not exactly what I call progressive. {joseph garvi}
David Wallimann (FRA)
Deep Inside the Mind (06)
Looking for a French progressive guitar virtuoso that is sold out to Jesus Christ? Well, if you aren't, you should be. Mostly instrumental with a dramatic mostly spoken word story line, Deep Inside the Mind tells the story of a young man's adventure of discovery, from the exposing of his fallen nature, to the emptiness of self loathing, to the discovery and embracing of a higher power. From Wallimann's web site:
Deep inside the mind is the story of a man meeting Jesus. Everyone’s confronted at one time in his life with the idea of God. Some reject the idea and rather try to live their whole life without God. But God is love and loves all of us so much. He talks to us in very different ways, but he does talk. In the deepness of the mind he whispers to our hearts his words of love and truth. This is what’s happening to the hero of In the deepness of the mind. The first part of the album describes the struggle of a man against that voice. He thinks he’s going insane and tries to forget about God’s call. But as the album advances, the voice gets more and more clear. Our friend finally understands that Jesus is the only way to get to God. All he has to do is to believe in him and to ask for forgiveness. This repentance starts the second part of the album.
The album reminds me most of Todd Rundgren's Utopia, playing like an extended version of Singring and the Glass Guitar. Picking up the guitar at 13, David Wallimann won several contests as he got older, including one that got him an Ibanez endorsement and another that enabled him to graduate from a music school. This guy is the real deal. Classical sensibilities, taste, and chops, his solo album showcases some amazing virtuosity and is flat out fun to listen to. It also doesn't pull any punches with regard to Mr. Wallimann's faith. It also features some incredible bass and drum playing. The album was recently released in the U.S., see http://www.thundersongs.org for more info. To hear some clips, go to: http://music.download.com/wallimann/3600-8433_32-100102083.html or you can find more info and clips at David's personal site at: http://www.wallimann.new.fr/ . Do yourself a big favor and check him out. {dt}
To Chase Away the Birds; Live at the New Earth
Don and Lori Chaffer's band was heavy hippie/psych jam band before they got married and turned to a pop/folk/worship style on the later Sink or Swim and Everyone's Beautiful (not that those are bad albums, - just not progressive). Nice tasty guitar leads, off kilter song structures, and a potent message for the lost and lonely make these two album worth having. They reminds me of Blues Traveller or Phish in places. To Chase Away The Birds is Waterdeep's best studio album, and songs like The Razor Light cut to the quick lyrically and musically. The highly recommended live album contains lots of B-3 organ riffing and drum and bass soloing, the band is quite tight and obviously having fun doing a set of all their best tunes. {dt}
Tales of Wonder; Highlands
Put here as a footnote, CCM rock band Whiteheart flirted with early Styx or 90125 era Yes AOR/Prog with these two releases, which they admitted were influenced by Trevor Horn's production of 80's Yes albums. Many of the songs are standard rock, but there are a few proggy ones such as Unchain off of Tales of Wonder or Change the Way and The Cry off of Highlands that make you wish they would have steered more heavily in the prog direction with more of their tunes. {dt}
The Good King's Highway (04); Deep Calls 2 Deep (07); Symphony of Light (10)
Guitarist extraordinaire Greg Wollan once upon a time played as a session musician in Nashville, and performed with such luminaries as Steve Taylor and Doug Powell. Now he's a worship pastor and solo artist, and his progressive roots shine through. The Good King's Highway is Wollan's foray into smart contemporary Christian music. The album is progressive and jazzy, with lush arrangements and vocal harmonies that are too creative for the mainstream. Lyrically, the songs deal with grace, love, and redemption, and illuminate the lives of biblical characters such as Hannah, Samuel, Luke, and Jacob. While the album starts off with definite pop leanings, the last third takes off in a much more progressive direction. Top notch musicians, stellar production, good songwriting, and a progressive flair. What more could you want in an album even your wife would enjoy? For fans of Neal Morse, Phil Keaggy, Kerry Livgren, and Iona. To purchase or sample, go to: http://www.gwollan.com/index.html
Greg Wollan's Christian progressive tour-de-force album, Deep Calls 2 Deep is a mixture of gorgeous melodies, virtuoso musicianship, lush arrangements, and anointed spiritual encounters. Wollan is a world-class musician making music for the glory of God. On the liner notes of the CD, he states "I sensed a call to operate at the highest musical level that I was/am capable of. Since I am not a classical or jazz musician, I began to revisit a passion I had for progressive rock in its heyday, in the 70's." Deep Calls 2 Deep evokes some of the finest moment of that era, with better production and a more positive spiritual bent than most. Wollan is an exceptionally skilled guitarist, and he uses his fine sense of melodic feel to coax passion from his instrument much the way David Gilmour, Andy Latimer, and Phil Keaggy do. He's also a capable keyboard player, and he has a wonderful singing voice to boot. This album is a must for any Cprog collection. To purchase or sample, go to: http://www.gwollan.com/index.html
Greg Wollan, former guitarist for quirky CCM artist Steve Taylor, has released another gorgeous symphonic progressive rock solo album in the vein of Deep Calls 2 Deep, this one entitled Symphony of Light. It is difficult sometimes to describe music that has no immediately obvious derivatives, which is odd because most classic prog is a mish-mash of jazz, rock, and classical, much like Symphony of Light. Greg Wollan is a very talented guitarist (and keyboardist) blessed like Phil Keaggy with the versatility to excel at multiple styles from classical and jazz to searing electric leads. His high and pure vocals even sound like a blend of Phil and Jon Anderson of Yes. It is safe to say if you enjoy either of those artists, you will enjoy Greg Wollan, but his music doesn’t really sound like theirs. Wollan’s thoughtful songs are full of lush instrumental interludes orchestrated with piano, strings, horns, fretless bass, his ever-present acoustic and electric guitars, along with the occasional synth or organ solo. Lyrically, he sings about deeper spiritual things such as allowing God to play beautiful music through you (Instrumentality), the battle between flesh and spirit within us all (The Raging Sea of Self) , learning to listen to the comforting, beckoning voice of the Spirit (That Sweet Refrain). Never preachy, the vocals often become just another beautiful instrument adding counterpoint to the intricate arrangements. Instrumentality is the showcase tune, a nearly 13 minute epic with the standard prog trimmings, but apart from several hauntingly beautiful acoustic guitar solo pieces (Morning’s Glory, In Memory of Tim), all the songs on Symphony of Light breathe and stretch and meander wonderfully with delicate and passionate virtuosity woven into a wonderful symphonic tapestry. No, the album doesn’t really rock out, but many of my favorite progressive bands from the 70’s didn’t either. I’m thinking of bands like later Camel, Jade Warrior, Clearlight Symphony, PFM, Trace, Passport, Soft Machine, Bruford, and others. Symphony of Light certainly holds up to many of those band’s albums, and is, to my ears anyway, one of the best progressive albums released in 2010. Highly recommended. For more information, samples and digital downloads, go to Greg’s website at http://gwollan.com/index.html {dt}
Ghosts and Spirits
Ghosts and Spirits is a progressive/alternative rock concept album based on C.S. Lewis' book The Great Divorce. I sampled a few songs, and its definitely on my want list. Smartly produced music that mixes a more legible Radiohead with classic folk-prog stylings. Woodward has a great voice, and writes really thoughtful, literate lyrics. Listen to samples and find links to CD Baby for purchase at http://www.ghostsandspirits.net
Progressive metal from the Glass Hammer guys, I was pretty impressed by the sound sample I heard. If you like Dream Theater, you'll like Wyzards. They've been described as Queensryche meets Emerson Lake and Palmer, and that seems fitting. Order it from http://www.glasshammer.com {dt}