Prog Contest 2021 Round Two: The Quarterfinals

Our friend Friday, out of necessity, threw us a curveball this year. In the past, this round has continued the tradition of matching two LPs against one another. However, because this is apparently his last contest, this year, Friday had a dilemma as the result of having allowed 20 participants instead of the usual 16. So this time, the old rules went out the window.

Here were Friday's instructions for us:

This Elimination Round will be different. I want you to give me (in one single comment that makes clear you are voting) your top 4 ranking out of these ten. So if Procol Harum was your favorite, followed by Jordsjo, Pendragon, and Seru Giran, you would say "1. Procol Harum, 2. Jordsjo, 3. Pendragon, and 4. Seru Giran." I will weight the number 1 spot over number 2, etc.

Voting ends next Thursday, August 5th.

So where I had expected my Procol Harum album (which won the first first-round matchup) to be matched directly against the Jordsjo LP (which was the winner of the second first-round matchup), instead we got a free for all.

Here were the ten survivors from the first round:

Procol Harum
Live with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra

"This was Procol's best selling album ever. The pluses include live performances of some of Procol's proggiest material ever, including their 19-minute opus classic 'In Held 'Twas in I', and the acknowledged best version of their song "Conquistador" (much better than the studio version on their first album). The LP is also historic as being one of the earliest collaborations between a symphony orchestra and a rock band. The only real minus in that their great guitarist Robin Trower was no longer with them, and organist Matthew Fisher had also long since left the band. But Dave Ball and Chris Copping do a fine job in their place, and Procol lyricist Keith Reid makes an appearance on 'In Held 'Twas in I' during the spoken interlude that begins, 'Held close by that which some despise'. Overall, this was one of the classic live albums of the 1970s, and a highlight the career of one of my favorite bands." - Divaman

Youtube playlist [album only first 5 tracks]: https://tinyurl.com/vdw69bex

Jordsjo

Nattfiolen

"A sweet piece of bingeable Norweigen prog. Replete with synth and flute there’s no hiding the influence of Jethro Tull, but it’s truest ancestry lies in the melodicism of early Camel and Swedish instrumentalist Bo Hansson. For me, good prog tricks the listener into feeling like he’s hearing something playful but familiar while still pushing the experimental boundaries and Nattfiolen is one of the finest examples of that in recent memory. Headphones are the only way to listen, as some of the stereo effects really bring the fairy tale to life." - Inoculaeted

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/54Ooribd5hSPdl2keRxLBT

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qPeIJkyf84

Pendragon
Love Over Fear

"A neo-prog gem from one of the most underrated bands in the entire genre who’ve been at it for decades.
Is it a tad cheesy, a bit over produced and lacking a certain something? Yes but I’ll be buggered if it’s not one of the greatest albums of the last few years." - zakalwe

Bandcamp" https://pendragon3.bandcamp.com/album/love-over-fear

Seru Giran
La Grasa de las Capitales

"One of the many projects by Charly Garcia, one of the biggest names in latin rock. La Grasa de las Capitales is a slow, bluesy prog album with what feels to me like a very nocturnal and urban vibe. Also a lot of jazz fusion into it, and your classic argentinian vocals!" - MrSirLordGentleman

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zm6Qzilw5Cs&ab_channel=Ser%C3%BAGir%C3%A1n

Yolk
Solar

"Incredible fluid layering of sounds with a tricked-out, almost krautrock approach to rhythm. Playful vocals and vibrant atmosphere, whole thing sounds like a wonky prog forest. And they keep it tight, under 40 minutes long, praise be." - porcupinetheater

Bandcamp: https://yolkmusic.bandcamp.com/album/solar

Hermann Szobel
Szobel

"Child prodigy Hermann Szobel composed and produced one album at the age of 18 before he disappeared from the music world completely. The album has a Frank Zappa vibe, with emphasis on piano (Szobel's instrument), percussion, and vibraphone. It was obscure even when it was released in the 70s, but a 2012 reissue has given us a second chance to enjoy it." - TwigTW

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/2VUcwcNH6YbFCPfntYcYdG?si=iBz1ZcHoRta7TNbKOWMizg

youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWb59xaXahQpnZs7AjlHhCQ

Regal Worm
Pig Views

"Modern prog band featuring a multi-instrumentalist experimenting avant gardist music. Band is injecting Medieval and psychedelic touches in their weird kind of prog that contains start and stop patterns and eccentric turns. Alternance of punchy and pastoral ambiences give tonus to the mix. It's generally sophisticated and simple in the same time. It's really melodic, and vocals serve as an instrument. Good use of mellotrons, organs and many more keys and synths. Kinda Beck on acid, making prog." - Jethro42

On Bandcamp: https://regalworm.bandcamp.com/album/pig-views
[also on Spotify]

Ibio
Cuevas De Altamira

"Really cool 70s release, blending in spanish folk music and progressive rock which works astonishingly well. There are great compositions on here and I didn't know before that prog sounded so sweet with the spanish language." - farmerobama

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/7JHzOcKxQZVRAeAHIHjjSn?si=A8sjXPI8S7uFUpY7bEtLkw&utm_source=copy-link

Quiet Sun
Mainstream

"I love the Canterbury prog style. As a real contestant for the first time, and it seems the last too, I needed to choose one of its albums and Mainstream is one of the best albums to that of the '70s. I love the album and Manzanera guitar style." - TheIntruder

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/6WUzJONHD1qkuMhbqJfgsD?autoplay=true
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQsmzpFVXkM

Kollektiv
Kollektiv

"Jazzy krautrock mit flute. More effects pedals than your Dad's favourite band. Viele spass fur alles. 2 votes just doesn't cut it. This write-up is short, but this album is long." - MiloRuggles

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4YXHLIh6mo

So we'll see how it goes. As I write this it's now Wednesday, and the voting is scheduled to end at the end of the day on Thursday. So this will give us out final four.

I'll be back to tell you who I voted for and how it all worked out in a couple of days.

Prog Contest 2021: Round 1 Match 10 Results

 Oh crap, I didn't realize that I forgot to post this last week! Sorry guys! (They say the mind is the first thing to go, and they might be right. Damn the bastards!)

This one was close for a little while, before the eventual winner pulled away in a late landslide.

Here's what I had to say:

Might be just me this year, or the fact that the first round is longer than usual, but I'm not feeling a lot of these albums as much as I usually do. In any event:

The Collegium Musicum album really isn't my style. I already mentioned that I didn't like a lot of the way they used the keyboards throughout (and I usually love keyboards) - for example, the harsh, church organ part. I also wasn't thrilled with the vocalist. There were little flourishes here and there that I enjoyed, but by and large, this LP just wasn't for me.

The Kollektiv LP also had long passages that went right by me. (There is a lot of jazz in both of these albums.) But it felt more varied. (In this case, the extra length might have actually helped.) And I liked a lot of the little flute flourishes. I also liked some of the Allman-Brothers-sounding guitar parts on the track at about the 54-minute mark. On the whole, I enjoyed it more.

So my vote goes to Kollektiv.

Apparently the majority of my fellow participants agreed with me.

Final Result: Collegium Musicum 5, Kollektiv 12.

July 2021 Song of the Day

This was kind of a weird month for SOTD. On the one hand, I can at least provide you with a full YouTube playlist for the month, whereas last month, due to the theme, I was only able to link about two thirds of the songs in the playlist. On the other hand, the level of participation was a little disappointing for July. I'm not sure if this had to do with month's theme and most Users' reaction to it -- more on that later -- or if it was simply a function of the fact that the month was July, and a lot of our normal participants were away and/or otherwise occupied.

Anyway, for new readers, this blog entry refers to the monthly Song of the Day list on the Sputnik Music website. Each month, one User hosts the list and names a theme. Everyone then recommends songs in line with this theme, and people rate the various song recommendations. The list of July songs can be found at Sputnik Music Song of the Day - July 2021.

1. The theme for the month was Overlooked/Underrated Soundtrack Compositions. It was a good theme. (I think so, anyway.) But weirdly, maybe because it's a generational thing (most Sputnik Users are young 20-somethings, or sometimes even younger), or maybe because the Host set the tone with by opening the month with one, the vast majority of Users decided to rec a videogame soundtrack. This led to a number of comments by the end of month about how tired people were of videogame music, and I think it at least contributed to the lower participation this month.

2. Because of the lower participation, I got to make two recs this month. The first was a track called "Charly the Kid" from Tangerine Dream's wonderful Firestarter soundtrack (which I've reviewed here previously). This one nearly won the month, but was nudged out on the very last day. (Sigh.) The second was a little gem called "Dig", a track performed by The Who on Pete Townshend's LP The Iron Man: The Musical. (This might have been cheating a little bit, as this was a soundtrack to a film/show that was never actually made, but whatever. I love this song and really wanted to give it some exposure, and it was close enough to fulfilling the theme requirements to get away with.) Both tracks were well received, and all the more so because they were two of the only songs rec'd for the month that weren't from videogame soundtracks. Tangerine Dream - Charly the Kid; The Who - Dig.

3. My highest rated song for the month was a track from Angelo Badalamenti's classic soundtrack for the original Twin Peaks television show, "Audrey's Dance". Angelo Badalamenti - Audrey's Dance.

4. And amazingly enough, I picked a winner for once, as the highest rated song for the month was also "Audrey's Dance". But even when I win, I lose, as A. "Audrey's Dance" barely beat out "Charley the Kid" to win the month, and B. What really hurts is that by the end of the month, participation had gotten so low that only 4 Users bothered to rate this song. (And I was one of them, so my own high score actually contributed to my own defeat.) Even "Charly the Kid", which was featured on the 8th day of the month, was only rated by 7 Users. (And in fact the highest participation we ever got in July was 9 Users for the first two days of the month.) Now participation is always heavier for the first few days of the month than for later on, but 4 ratings in pretty bad. Is interest in SOTD winding down? I hope not, but maybe. We'll see. Angelo Badalamenti - Audrey's Dance

5. Here's the full playlist for the month, a total of 33 songs (which includes two bonus tracks). July 2021 Song of the Day YouTube Playlist

See you guys next month.

Prog Contest 2021: Round 1 Match 10

 So here it is, the last match up of the first round of this year's mega prog contest. (We usually only allow 16 entrants, but this time, because it might be his last one, Friday allowed 20.)

Here's how it looks:

Collegium Musicum - Collegium Musicum

"When Czechoslovakia did not allow foreign band names except for Latin, these four Slovak composers, music theorists, jazzmen and experimentators chose a Latin name meaning "music collective" and set out to teach the world (but mostly Czechoslovakia) the extents of musical possibilities. In a society that is being drilled into its head that the only good musical genre is classical music and all that rock and jazz is just the Western usurpers trying to undermine the good communist morale, these absolute mad lads pretty much put the whole musical propagandist idea on its head, delivering rock music composed as classical concertos, elaborate jazz pieces and that sweet professional-educated-musician spiel that knocks the heathens outta park babey! Their influence is strongly felt on Czech and Slovak music scene today including various legendary bands like Blue Effect or The Plastic People of the Universe." - someone

Youtube: https://youtu.be/oKXg4PILseU

vs.

Kollektiv - Kollektiv

"Jazzy krautrock mit flute. More effects pedals than your Dad's favourite band. Viele spass fur alles. 2 votes just doesn't cut it. This write-up is short, but this album is long." - MiloRuggles

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4YXHLIh6mo

So there you have it - two experimental prog albums, both of which flirt with jazz from the early '70's. The first is Czechoslovakian, the second German. (Btw, when Milo says "2 votes just doesn't cut it", he's referring to the fact that at the start of the prog contest, the Killektiv LP only had two ratings on the Sputnik Music site. Remember that these are all supposed to be relatively obscure LPs - in order to nominate an album, it had to have had less than 30 ratings on the site (which is why no one nominated Close to the Edge or Thick As A Brick). I feel like I caught a real bargain with my Procol Harum album (which had something like 21 ratings when I nominated it, although now it has 33. I think it got overlooked because it's a live album, and Procol itself has somewhat been forgotten by time, at least with the younger generations.)

Anyway, this should be an interesting contest. And next week, we'll start Round 2.

Prog Contest 2021: Round 1 Match 9 Results

 Hmm. Well this one wasn't as close at looked, and it didn't look very close. The first six votes all went to the eventual winner, and after that, it was pretty much a foregone conclusion.

Here was my vote:

Neither of these albums is perfectly in my prog sweet spot, but one is closer than the other.

Colosseum II has several different sounds, but there's a clear Chick Correa kind of jazz going on for at the early part of it, and something close to soul towards the end.

Quiet Sun is a more traditional prog album, although even after three listens, there wasn't anything that strongly jumped out at me.

Nevertheless, while I hate to pile on, my vote goes to Quiet Sun. (Apologies to my friend Wham.)

The last few votes were split pretty evenly, but like I said, by that time, it was much too late. 

Final Result: Colosseum II 5, Quiet Sun 12.

One more match up to go in the first round.

Prog Contest 2021: Round 1 Match 9

 For this matchup, Friday chose to pair two albums that he felt epitomized excellent guitar music, pitting Gary Moore of Colosseum II against Phil Manzanera of Quiet Sun. Here's what it looks like:

Colosseum II - Wardance

"In the mid 2000's when my wife and I were DINKS (dual income no kids) there was an old record store within walking distance, with 1000's of records, the guy made everything without a name on it (Beatles/Stones/etc.) was either $1.99 or $3.99. I would spend hours in there and come home with armfuls twice a week. I got good at picking unknown stuff that fit my ear. I was stocking my shelves with perfect inclusions for this album years before there was such a wonderful thing. Which is where Colosseum II comes in. It probably caught my eye because of the inclusion of Gary Moore of Thin Lizzy fame. I promise you it will not sound like Thin Lizzy Instead this sounds like a awesome progressive jazz fusion band that makes it all work somehow. Every band members influences are on display throughout. A most fun album with changing styles coming in and out of focus." - wham49

Youtube playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLPcvSmtCsrhc9CF7KjmCqGxilbZN56nQE

vs.

Quiet Sun - Mainstream

"I love the Canterbury prog style. As a real contestant for the first time, and it seems the last too, I needed to choose one of its albums and Mainstream is one of the best albums to that of the '70s. I love the album and Manzanera guitar style." - TheIntruder

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/6WUzJONHD1qkuMhbqJfgsD?autoplay=true
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQsmzpFVXkM

Let's see how it plays out.

Prog Contest 2021: Round 1 Match 8 Results

Whew, sorry I'm late again! This was another matchup that was so close it required an extra day to complete the voting, and after that, Denise and I were upstate all weekend (Where my $700-for-2-nights room at Turning Stone Casino gave me a picturesque view of the Mohawk Valley that was mostly dominated by one wall of the parking garage. Sigh.)

Anyway, here was my vote for this contest: 

I'm ready to vote.

This was a pretty tight decision for me, as I liked both of these albums.

I liked a lot of what Tarantula did with the synths, and I definitely heard a bit of a King Crimson influence in parts. This is definitely classic prog rock. I didn't always love the vocals, but they weren't horrible.

I liked Ibio's prog rock twist on Spanish music a lot. I also loved the way they used their synth.

Like I said, it was a tough choice. But my vote goes to Ibio.

I think I just found the Ibio entry to be the more colorful album, and I loved the Spanish folk influences. 

In the end, after a very back-and-forth battle, the majority agreed with me. The final tally: Tarantula 8 votes, Ibio 9 votes. 

This means there are only two first-round matches left to go. Lets see what our friend Friday has for us next.