PLP DVD 2C

As I have finally been able to sit down and watch Pär Lindh Project's (PLP) latest offering, Live in Poland, the verdict is simply that few lovers of adventurous music (or progressive rock (or neo-baroque as Pär calls it)) will regret doing the same.

This is pure Pär, in a set of great instrumentals with William Kopecky on bass(es), and Svetlan Raket on drums. While he is not as daringly modern in his choice of classical influences as Keith Emerson (and definitely not as wild), he is a head and shoulder or two above most of today's keyboardplayers.

Subtle elegance and carefull electronicity, or in short Rick Wakeman meets Jordan Rudess. Pär mentions in an interview Bach, Beethoven, Mussorgsky & Wagner as the classical composers he finds closest to prog, and it shows in his performance.

It is fun and rather impressive to see how much he enjoys playing Hammond, synths and piano (and moving quickly between them, not to mention the classic Emerson stunt of playing one with each hand while looking straight ahead). Not to mention a good ragtime thrown in for fun. No knives or daggers, though.

While the opening number may be a bit hard to get into (especially if you're not familiar with Mussorgsky), the rest of the show flows along with the neo-baroque flame kept very strongly alive.

The track list:

1. Night on Bare Mountain (incl. The Black Stone)
2. Baroque Impression
3. Mundus / Veni Vidi Vici Medley
4. Suite in Progress
5. Montagues & Capulet
6. Bill's Solo
7. Gradus ad Parnassum

There is also an interview with Pär. And a deluxe edition with a CD as well.

Some snips here.

Pär's homesite is well worth a look - make sure to check out the interviews (including the stuff about The Nice and Keith).

Go get!

Wakeman's Treasure Chest

Rick may not quite be my fav rock composer (aorund 10th position), still he ranges high on my list of keyboard players (number 2 or 3, depending on my mood). However, as entertainer and stand up musician he is definitely #1. Noone tells stories like Rick, or performs more tongue in cheek. That is one reason he has become such a household name on British Television.

And he was the artist I saw most often in concerts in the 70's (3 or 4 times). One reason, of course, was that ELP never attacked Norway.

Now it is possible to relive his 70's and 80's prog and circumstances, even the iconic, not to say excessive, King Arthur on Ice Show from 1975. With skaters and the full scoobie gang.

As Rick mentions in the video interview on this Treasure Site where you can order the set, the critics slammed the Arthur show even before it had been done. As it went for three sold out nights at Wembley, there was hence no need to provide any press tickets.

No journalists (outside the growing prog press) will line up for these DVD's, either. That makes it easier for the rest of us.

The Return of Prog?

That meek and modest magazine, Terrorizer, has recently started a series on "The Return of Prog".

While prog never really left the building, it disappeared in many a journalists' eyes for the flashy and fashionable, not to mention the frenetic hunt of highly selcted parts of the underground scene for for the Next Big Bang. Which makes one gratefull for the return of prog in music magazines the last decade.

Another good thing is that publications like Terrorizer have not fallen for the standard media myth. It however still speaks volumes that the magazine feels obliged to mention that

"Rock fans growing up in the 80's were regularly informed that punk rock destroyed prog rock forever. This is of course utter nonsense. In fact, throughout punk rock's brief flash of tabloid infamy and chart-topping ubiquity, the behemoths of prog rock - Pink Floyd, Genesis, Yes and ELP in particular - marched on, largely impervious to the impact of a cultural phenomenon that was far more significant in terms of its later influence than it was dominant at the time".

That cultural phenomenon was little else than a new generation arriving, more fond of straight and simple music, raw and romantic, beer and beat, than something that needed engaging the intellect. In short, Prog rarely got you broads.

Looking at Terrorizer is a welcome breath of sanity (and dare I say honesty?) from more mainstream magazines. And despite the ritual reprimanding of ELP, Terrorizer is obviously in even more awe of that band than of other behemoths.

We are invited to a general and generous feature article, as well as several pages on Rush, Sean Maline (Cynic), the influence of Prog on Metal, Van der Graaf, Ian Anderson, Zombi and Steve Hackett. And great photos of Keith and Rick.

Next issue is already in the kiosks (though not in Norway) and deals with stuff like Prog Art (capital letters needed, of course), Dream Theater, "forgotten prog" (hopefully they'll mention the forgotten fact that even Bowie and Elton John were influenced by prog in the early 70's), and Davy O'List (guitarist of early The Nice).

Rolling Stone Magazine and Q will in no way the next decade or two admit that Prog didn't "lose" to punk or retired (in the 80's prog related bands and artists sold more than most, while hundreds of new prog bands emerged - a trend which has only accelerated the last decades). Still, it is promising that niche magazines like Terrorizer are out of the cupboard.