That being said, over the past few months a number of bands and individuals have kindly sent me sample of their work. Some of it I’ve had the opportunity to review but some of it doesn’t fall into the progressive rock genre. In point of fact the music on these more or less independent releases is very much progressive but not in the genre sense we’ve come to accept.

I want to depart from the regular editorial stance and take a couple of lines to acknowledge the efforts of some of these artists here.

Honey Barbara released their second CD entitled I-10 & West Avenue. This marvellously packaged concept CD features a rhythmic avant-garde style with lots of unusual instrumentation and tape loops and processing. This trio comes from San Antonio, Texas and as I listened to their work, mostly short moody episodes, I was constantly reminded of David Lynch, in that like his movies this CD has an underlying sense of foreboding. Their bio says, “Honey Barbara’s music defies normal conventions.” Check them out on Émigré Records (émigré.com)

Another San Antonio based band, Dreamland released their first CD earlier this year entitled Underwater. Dreamland fit into the ambient-trance category building synthesized soundscapes using not only electronic instruments but also things like Native American flutes. As expected the compositions here are long and fluid. As their bio says “Underwater is meant to be not just an album, but an experience.” If you are a fan of bands like Tangerine Dream this will certainly appeal to your senses. Check them out at Uncle Buzz Records (unclebuzz.com)

From the Pacific Northwest, Portland, Oregon to be exact comes Greg Segal who’s released a couple of solo CDs, the latest of which is called In Search of the Fantastic. Segal is a multi-instrumentalist whose music is also in the ambient or experimental department, but as he indicates also contains elements of space, psychedelic and progressive rock. But the emphasis is clearly on creating ambient tone poems that are anywhere from one or two minutes in length to seven or eight minutes. Segal is primarily a guitarist and that is the instrument that is most prominent, although at times it is mixed in with so many effects it’s hard to pick out. Check him out at gregsegal.com

A side project for Segal is a two-piece (drums and guitar) called Jugalbandi. As far as I can tell from the three recordings, their music is done live and is primarily rock/jazz fusion, although the compositions are spacey long drawn out affairs that can clock in at 13, 14 or even 25 minutes. Given the fact there are only the two of them, there’s lots of room to manoeuvre sonically. Check them out at jugalbandi-music.com

It was a pleasant surprise to discover that one of my favourite eighties progressive rock bands, Anyone’s Daughter was still around. Their latest CD arrived by mail from Dirk Jacob at Tempus Fugit a while back and while the band has moved away from a prog style, their compositions are as strong as ever. Their latest CD is called Danger World and if you want to listen to some well-crafted contemporary style songs with solid musicianship this CD fills the bill. They’ve added an American vocalist and he brings a nice touch. It’s nice to see they’ve kept the original band logo. Check them out at anyonesdaughter.de

Also in the “modern rock” category is the new CD solo project for guitarist Rudi Buttas entitled Rudy’s Journey. Buttas, already a well known name in his homeland, Germany has put together an album with English vocals sung by a variety of well known individuals including, Michelle Young, Michael Sadler (Saga) and David Hanselmann (Triumvirat). With most of the tracks in the four-minute range you’ll find plenty of melodic, anthemic rock radio-ready compositions. Check it out at rudys-journey.de

Perhaps the closest progressive rock recordings in this fascinating group of CDs belongs to a group called Canvas. Canvas started out as a solo project by Matt Sweitzer back in 1995. Over the years Sweitzer has added more individuals to the Canvas sound and each of the four CD’s has tended to be influenced by different elements. On one there might be more of a country influence on another a little more jazz and with the latest 2002 demos there’s a strong almost funky Steely Dan approach. This is not overly complicated prog, but it is well crafted, melodic and easily listenable over and over again. When I’m stuck with what to listen to, I’ve found myself more times than not randomly picking a Canvas CD and being pleasantly surprised. Check them out at canvasproductions.net

I never cease to be amazed at how much great music there is out there, that never even comes close to the mass-media radar. It’s a shame there isn’t more opportunity for artists like those listed above to be allowed to have their music heard by more people. Perhaps as the Internet grows and more people begin accessing music on the web, this will change. As we wait for that to happen, keep those cards and letters coming in. And thanks. Email me anytime. Cheers.

About the Author:
Jerry Lucky is the author of the book The Progressive Rock Files, now entering its 5th edition. Please feel free to send feedback to Jerry at www.jerrylucky.com.