new album
exclusive!
IN BIG hBereIG’s deTfiRnitAely
JON ANDERSON
“I was the Obi-Wan Kenobi to Chris Squire’s Darth Vader!”
SCOTT WALKER
A tribute to the 60s crooner turned avant-garde explorer
“T arpe diem a feeling of hcole album.” across the w
ZAPPA
THEN & NOW
“Sheik Yerbouti and Joe’s Garage remind me what a giant he was.” Terry Bozzio and Adrian Belew remember Frank PLUS: Ahmet and Dweezil Zappa on the hologram tour
LONELY
ROBOT
John Mitchell brings his astronaut trilogy to a close with Under Stars
GONG Invoking the spirit of Daevid Allen and the 70s on new album The Universe Also Collapses
prog 98
HAKEN ROY HARPER DREAM THEATER GIANCARLO ERRA QUEENSRŸCHE BANCO DEL MUTUO SOCCORSO
MOSTLY
AUTUMN
Honouring a fallen friend on their majestic new album White Rainbow
Contents Issue 98 03.05.19
it’s on here
RB/Redferns/getty images
if it’s in there
Zappa believed that he could get people’s attention and make them think through laughter.
Frank Zappa p 38 Hologram tours, family feuds, and Sheik Yerbouti and Joe’s Garage at 40…
FEATURES Scott Walker________
REGULARS
BLOODY WELL WRITE pg 10 Missives, musings and tweets from Planet Prog.
THE INTRO
pg 12
King Crimson celebrate their 50th anniversary, plus all the latest news from Rosalie Cunningham, Thenighttimeproject, Cave In, Nad Sylvan and more…
record collection pg 30
pg 34
Prog pays tribute to the late 60s superstar-turned-avant-garde explorer.
Jon Anderson________pg 50 The former Yes singer returns with a surprise, star-studded solo album.
Louise Lemón________pg 54 The Swedish singer explains the concept of her death gospel sound.
Steve Sullivan’s the man behind the new Frank Sidebottom documentary Being Frank. But his record collection’s a lot proggier than that.
Lonely Robot_______ pg 56
Q&A
Giancarlo Erra_______ pg 60
pg 32
Bassist to the stars Tal Wilkenfeld talks us through her new solo album.
OUTER LIMITS
pg 74
With solo album-turned-band project I Trawl The Megahertz, Paddy McAloon’s made an astounding album. But, as with the rest of Prefab Sprout’s catalogue, is it prog?
THE PROG INTERVIEW pg 92 Jordan Rudess looks back on a career that started out at New York’s prestigious Juilliard School and ended up in arenas with Dream Theater.
THE MUSICAL BOX
pg 98
Big Big Train’ new Grand Tour album grabs the top slot this month, plus reviews of Jon Anderson, Bjørn Riis, Daniel Tompkins, Gong, Be-Bop Deluxe, Katatonia, Utopia, Roy Harper, Popol Vuh, Aeon Zen, Deckchair Poets, Earth and more…
TAKE A BOW
pg 118
This month we’ve been to see Prognosis Festival, Dream Theater, Soen, Haken, The Pineapple Thief, Roadburn Festival, Roy Harper, Lazuli and more…
my prog
pg 130
Kyros guitarist Joey Frevola takes a break from his new solo album to tell us about his prog world, and why Los Angeles is calling his name…
John Mitchell brings his space trilogy to a close with Under Stars. The Nosound man opts for a minimalist classical sound on his first solo album.
Big Big Train_________pg 64 The British septet are back with Grand Tour, their latest opus.
Banco del Mutuo Soccorso____________pg 70 The Italian prog legends deliver their first new studio album in a quarter of a century.
Mostly Autumn______ pg 78 The loss of a former bandmember fuels the passion-filled new album White Rainbow.
Gong_______________pg 82 Back for their second post-Daevid Allen album, The Universe Also Collapses.
Queensrÿche________pg 86 The prog metal pioneers hit form with new album The Verdict.
Rainburn___________ pg 90 Introducing the latest prog metal wonders from the Indian continent.
“I don’t want to deride anything else I’ve done, but Lonely Robot is closest to my heart because it represents everything I like in music.”
tom barnes
John Mitchell
progrockmag.com 7
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Jerry Ewing - Editor
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ast issue we were paying tribute to late Talk Talk singer Mark Hollis, this issue it’s 60s pin-up turned avant-garde experimentalist Scott Walker. I do hope next month I’m not called upon to comment on the passing of yet another amazing musician taken from us too early. Some of you may not have listened to Walker’s music beyond his time with The Walker Brothers, with whom he found initial fame, and may be wondering why we’re paying tribute. I’d direct you to any of the man’s solo albums from 1984’s Climate Of Hunter onwards (or indeed 1969’s Scott 4), which show an increasingly progressive and experimental attitude from the man to his music. Even better is 2014’s Soused, his collaboration with drone outfit Sunn O))). A fascinating and mercurial talent, I hope that, if you’d not discovered his oeuvre previously, it helps widen your own musical palette somewhat. Another unique and distinctly progressive musical visionary graces the cover this issue. There are few artists as singular as the late Frank Zappa. And with the much-talked-about hologram tour rolling into the UK this month, we decided to explore that, as well as cast our minds back 40 years when, in 1979, Frank released two extraordinary albums in Sheik Yerbouti and the triple Joe’s Garage. Of course there’s a great roll call of prog in here, too: Big Big Train, Jon Anderson, Banco del Mutuo Soccorso, Lonely Robot, Gong and more. Something, we hope, for everyone. Enjoy…
ne
Ed’s Letter
Letters
Send your letters to us at: Prog, Future Publishing, 1-10 Praed Mews, Paddington, London, W2 1QY, or email prog@futurenet.com. We regret that we cannot reply to phone calls. For more comment and prog news and views, find us on facebook.com under Prog. Tears are falling Nice reference on the spine to Rick Wakeman’s critical review of Union. He called it Onion as it made his eyes water? Any good, or (I’m guessing from your readership) am I amongst thousands who got that? Justin Coad Prog 97’s spine art. Did you get the reference?
stuart wood
and arranging. And it showed in their performance. This was clearly a separate band – not just Anderson and his regular backing band under a different name. Suddenly, Tull had become a band to be in – a stepping stone to a rosy career, like having played in Zappa’s band or Miles Davis’ band. Something to be proud of in your CV. Furthermore, it seemed like this was a band with a future. If need be, come the day when old Mr Anderson decided to hang up his flute – the band
Mike Portnoy
tweet talk Follow us on twitter.com/ progmagazineUK 10 progmagazine.com
nick beggs
Nick Beggs
@NickBeggs I think my wife is pissed off with me cos I’m in Hawaii. So just to make her feel better here’s the view from my hotel window.
could possibly carry on, with his blessing, keeping the music alive, rather in the way that Gong and several other bands have. Some fans, of course, would not tolerate this. Some, for whom the music was the most important thing – absolutely would. And so would I. Then I woke up. The PC was still on, in front of me, playing some old YouTube clip of Tull/Anderson at a festival performing Thick As A Brick. The band looked bored. The singing was
@MikePortnoy Every one of these NMB shows in Europe so far have been INCREDIBLE!!! Honestly, each & every night has been an incredibly powerful musical and emotional experience… Thank You, Merci Beaucoup & Danke Schon to everybody that has come out!!!
mike p[ortnoy
Tull tales I thought I’d share with you, this post I sent to Jethro Tull’s Facebook page, where it quickly disappeared into a hole of apathy: I’d been thinking about how Ian Anderson always says he disliked the name Jethro Tull. I believe he thought people would be confused, that maybe they’d think Jethro Tull was the bloke jumping around front of stage with the codpiece and tights. But now he’s brought about the exact situation he feared, where even diehard Tull fans can’t tell the difference between Jethro Tull and Ian Anderson (and his band). Martin Luther King style, I had a dream. I was at a gig watching Jethro Tull. But I didn’t recognise the bandmembers. Ian Anderson was there of course, marshalling the troops, playing acoustic and flute, the occasional backing vocal. But the main singing duties had been handed over to some new frontman, who could do justice to the material. In fact, all the band was quite young – made up of cherry-picked stellar new talent, recruited from YouTube. And there was new music. Because these guys could not only play the old stuff with verve and vigour, they could write in the Tull style too. It had become a collaborative band; Ian took his ideas to the band who arranged them to his liking. Likewise, the band came up with their own musical ideas, and if they got the thumbs-up from the boss, they got included. Suddenly, it was a proper band again, and this was reflected in the live performance. These weren’t just some hired hands plodding though the show to pick up their pay cheques – these guys were Tull fans, in their dream job, properly invested in the music, because they’d been involved in the writing
Ian Anderson: not known for taking a back seat.
I letter
was reading the great story on the ABWH saga [the Prog 97 cover story], and everyone involved looks back to 30 years ago and remembers why it happened… the music. Yes, as the world now know them, were always a complicated partnership. But they wrote, recorded and produced some of the greatest music in the last 50 years. And isn’t that the only thing that really matters? Jon Anderson was saying he needed to write and record that music, despite all the problems. In 2019, Rush are now
finding themselves in the same place as Anderson was back in the 80s. The great Neil Peart no longer wants to be part of anything and yet, Alex and Geddy are still eager to write, record and tour new music. So here’s the plan: Mike Portnoy, a huge fan, takes the chair and we have a new supergroup called LLP: LIFESON,LEE & PORTNOY Hell, even the name sounds like the other supergroup made up of three musical geniuses from the 70s. Now wouldn’t that be great? Mario Germain, Montreal
This issue’s star letter wins a goodie bag from The Merch Desk at www.themerchdesk.com. not the best. The crowd weren’t paying much attention, chattering amongst themselves. Oh well. This may or may not be true. Steve Vaughan The record deal Simon O’Connell’s piece [Paper Late, Prog 96] arguing for the merits of vinyl was an interesting read. Like many of your readers I used to have a huge vinyl collection, sold most of it at some point when I was impetuous and broke, and ended up buying most of it (and a lot more) again on CD. I’ve resisted the vinyl revival for two reasons: 1. I remember what my house was like when I had vinyl and 2. I would end up taking out my pension pot and spending it on vinyl. A friend offered me quite a nice turntable for free as he was emigrating and I had to tell him that I couldn’t afford it. Whether you like vinyl, CD, 8-track or download I would like to make an appeal for the album as an art form. A few years ago I wrote a blog piece on the subject. An edited version is pasted below as it still stands true. Those of you who are of a similar age to myself, i.e. you remember when there was no internet and you had to talk to actual people, will likely have fond memories of saving up your pennies to go to the record shop and buy an album. In those days albums came on vinyl or cassette, or even 8-track cartridge. We relished the album as a piece of art, the gatefold sleeve of vinyl was often taken beyond its standard form and
Vinyls > CDs, in Prog 96.
craig blundell
joe payne
Editorial Editor Jerry Ewing Deputy Editor Hannah May Kilroy Art Editor Russell Fairbrother Production Editor Vanessa Thorpe News Editor Natasha Scharf Reviews Editor Jo Kendall Online News Editor Scott Munro Editor in Chief Scott Rowley Contributors
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Cover image Camera Press/Lynn Goldsmith Advertising Media packs are available on request Commercial Director Clare Dove clare.dove@futurenet.com Advertising Manager Kate Colgan kate.colgan@futurenet.com Account Manager Jason Harwood jason.harwood@futurenet.com Account Director Helen Hughes helen.hughes@futurenet.com International Licensing Prog is available for licensing. Contact the Licensing team to discuss partnership opportunities. Head of Print Licensing Rachel Shaw licensing@futurenet.com Subscriptions Email enquiries contact@myfavouritemagazines.co.uk UK orderline & enquiries 0344 848 2852 Overseas order line and enquiries +44 (0)344 848 2852 Online orders & enquiries www.myfavouritemagazines. co.uk/PROG Head of subscriptions Sharon Todd Circulation Head of Newstrade Tim Mathers Production Head of Production Mark Constance Production Project Manager Clare Scott Advertising Production Manager Joanne Crosby Digital Editions Controller Jason Hudson Production Manager Keely Miller Management Managing Director Aaron Asadi Commercial Finance Director Dan Jotcham Editorial Director Paul Newman Head of Art & Design Brad Merrett Printed by William Gibbons & Sons Ltd Distributed by Marketforce, 5 Churchill Place, Canary Wharf, London, E14 5HU www.marketforce.co.uk Tel: 0203 787 9060 ISSN 2045-2260 We are committed to only using magazine paper which is derived from responsibly managed, certified forestry and chlorine-free manufacture. The paper in this magazine was sourced and produced from sustainable managed forests, conforming to strict environmental and socioeconomic standards. The manufacturing paper mill holds full FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certification and accreditation. All contents © 2018 Future Publishing Limited or published under licence. All rights reserved. No part of this magazine may be used, stored, transmitted or reproduced in any way without the prior written permission of the publisher. Future Publishing Limited (company number 2008885) is registered in England and Wales. Registered office: Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All information contained in this publication is for information only and is, as far as we are aware, correct at the time of going to press. Future cannot accept any responsibility for errors or inaccuracies in such information. You are advised to contact manufacturers and retailers directly with regard to the price of products/ services referred to in this publication. Apps and websites mentioned in this publication are not under our control. We are not responsible for their contents or any other changes or updates to them. This magazine is fully independent and not affiliated in any way with the companies mentioned herein. If you submit material to us, you warrant that you own the material and/or have the necessary rights/permissions to supply the material and you automatically grant Future and its licensees a licence to publish your submission in whole or in part in any/all issues and/or editions of publications, in any format published worldwide and on associated websites, social media channels and associated products. Any material you submit is sent at your own risk and, although every care is taken, neither Future nor its employees, agents, subcontractors or licensees shall be liable for loss or damage. We assume all unsolicited material is for publication unless otherwise stated, and reserve the right to edit, amend, adapt all submissions.
Craig Blundell
That Joe Payne
@thatjoepayne Oh, LOOK! It’s @DorisBrendel and I, having a gay old time backstage in Bristol last night! Thanks to all who joined us at the @exchangebristol. We love you!
became something to explore whilst listening to the music. Take Led Zeppelin III, for example, with its revolving insert or Yessongs, which stretched to a full four feet. Most importantly though, the album was something that you listened to in its entirety. You put the needle in the groove at the beginning of side one and listened to all of it, then you flipped it and did the same with side two (and three and four quite often). You made the time to listen to the music and let it sink in, you stopped what you were doing and gave your time to the music and because of that, you appreciated it all the more. You couldn’t, for instance, dip into The Dark Side Of The Moon, play one track, then randomly skip to something else; it has to be all or nothing. Downloads, shuffles, random plays, streaming, YouTube, Spotify. All these guys have done their best to destroy the album as a work of art, but for many of us its importance is still right up there. Now that vinyl is making a strong comeback (for some inexplicable reason) I want to make an appeal to readers to revisit the album and appreciate its value as an entire work. This evening, stop what you are doing, switch the telly off, put your computer, tablet and phone to one side, get a nice cuppa or a bottle of beer, sit in front of the fire with your slippers on and your feet up, dig out one of your favourite albums and just listen to the whole thing, let it soak in, let it envelop you in its beauty and creativity. Andy Long
Future PLC, 1-10 Praed Mews, Paddington, London, W2 1QY Email prog@futurenet.com twitter.com/ProgMagazineUK You can also find us on facebook.com under Prog
@craigblundell As a 15 year old I listened to this stuff without a care in the world, I “air drummed” naively on my paper round, ffwd a few years and with a vague idea what’s going on, it’s a reminder and remarkable mastertouch of the genius of PC. Scary as hell to play but exciting as it gets
Future plc is a public Chief executive Zillah Byng-Thorne company quoted on Non-executive chairman Richard Huntingford the London Stock Chief financial officer Penny Ladkin-Brand Exchange (symbol: FUTR) www.futureplc.com Tel +44 (0)1225 442 244
progmagazine.com 11
INTRO
if it’s out there, it’s in here
Crimson Tide: King Crimson At 50 Robert Fripp and co announce box set plans, tease secrets and offer more details about their golden anniversary documentary.
9000
“Life is messy,” was the message at the start of a press day like no other. DGM’s Media Event on April 6 at Bloomsbury’s October Gallery spanned nine hours, with notoriously media-wary King Crimson leader Robert Fripp taking centre stage to talk for four hours about King Crimson at 50. Fripp’s talks were split into two sessions; one to start the day and one to end it. He’d prepared a TED Talk-like chart presentation but was also accepting questions from those present, drawing names from his hat so everyone got an opportunity. Guitarist-vocalist Jakko Jakszyk was on hand to field Fripp’s asides and deal with in-depth one-on-ones. Under ‘personal aims’ for this 50th year, Fripp stated, “To present KC to innocent ears: those who have never seen KC in live performance, to escape received opinion and shared journalisms.” Here he elaborated on Crimson’s strength in the live realm, mentioning the 51 dates around the globe that would see the band play some of their biggest shows, and the Dr Music Festival where Crimson will play three nights alongside acts such as Underworld, Primal Scream, Christine & The Queens and Texas. Having been burned by the media before, Fripp made light of being called ‘The Yoda Of Progressive Rock’, recalling when the band were reviewed early on as “prog rock pond scum set to bum you out”. Long-time collaborator Theo Travis was confirmed as an eighth member, on keyboards, while Bill Rieflin remains at home in the US due to family matters. Fripp called the current KC line-up “the first to embrace the repertoire as one whole body
12 progmagazine.com
Holding court: Robert Fripp presenting during the King Crimson 50th Anniversary event.
“Unlike the rest of the industry that’s been telling us that physical is dead, we’ve had rising physical sales for probably the last 10 years.” – David Singleton