Giona

A record like this, where the eternal duality that constitutes the very essence of Italian progressive rock is repeated: colorful music full of formidable ideas and a voice with overly melodramatic tones, lavishly employing grandiloquent lexical terms more suited to writing than to the lyrics of a song (overlooking the singing abilities as such, with which it’s inevitable to come to compromises, as rightly pointed out by the reviewer). As for the effectiveness of the instrumentation, I am of the opinion that, with the right perspective, it’s possible to create excellent progressive music armed only with a stool, a toothbrush, and a rich set of crutches.

That "what it means to listen to prog" is the key to the dilemma, as it is not feasible to appreciate or even endure this genre of music passively, without using it as a "portal" towards states of mind and reflections that inspire and nourish the mind, but also require an almost "philosophical" approach to a message that is otherwise destined, sooner or later, to fall into nothingness. Diluting it in the aforementioned formulas is like sharpening a double-edged sword: on one hand, it trains the ear to ambitious and unusual sounds, but on the other, it mystifies the underlying identity of the original Progressive Rock, giving it that unattainable aura and “for connoisseurs” that often ends up alienating even those who would naturally be inclined to understand it.

Fedezan, I truly appreciate your enthusiasm, but I have learned that when a cultural movement ceases to be a mass phenomenon, all its subsequent productions will always and inevitably be regarded as creations born out of time and therefore superfluous, destined to a small band of initiates. Condemning this conception, no matter how misguided, is easy for a devotee of the genre; however, it is fair to admit that the progressive thickets are difficult to traverse for those who lack the instinct for exploration and the devotion to the cause necessary to navigate its winding paths. Without the right motivation, it is inevitable to surrender before the seemingly impenetrable walls of a demanding and austere style, yet capable of unparalleled generosity towards its adherents. For the aforementioned reasons, I am not interested in how many people choose to comment on these writings, which have the sole ambition of translating for the interested wanderer those distant echoes, those inexplicable whispers from the thicket.

Thank you so much to the last passersby as well. @Gabriele: If you appreciate Canterbury jazz, absolutely yes. I imagine many shops will still have the 1995 Spalax edition despite Esoteric Recordings releasing an excellent reissue of “Another Fine Tune…” in 2009, as well as the first two albums by National Health, which explore similar territories. “Arriving Twice,” while very valid, I feel I can only recommend to those already familiar with the two studio albums, as it offers alternative versions with a rather raw sound of quite convoluted tracks, which is helpful to know first in their soft “official guise.”

Thank you very much, Jargon. While I recognize a certain affinity between my gloomy character and the funeral march atmospheres of "Here," I can't say I've ever concentrated on a specific track. For quite some time now, I haven't been able to shake the idea that an album is similar to a painting or a book, so listening to just a piece would be like fixating on a detail of a canvas or reading a chapter of a story, without being able to place them in their context and consequently losing sight of the very identity of the work. Certainly, in your case, your knowledge of the record, for example, "Nucleus," will be so thorough that often revisiting a certain section won't change the overall perception you have of it. Yet if I do that, the piece I extract immediately appears stripped of its value and meaning, thus preventing me from appreciating it as it truly deserves. Probably at the root of all this lies my chronic inability to listen to music just for fun, without evoking that sense of gratitude and deep reverence that arises whenever I immerse myself in the mystical horizons of the progressive world.

Thank you all. I have decided not to use links for this cycle, relying solely on the suggestions of the initial image, but I am surprised to note that the wonderful Editors thought it preferable to introduce some for clarification purposes, so I thank them for their contribution. However, I must warn you that the twelve reviews I have planned will be structured around an exotic intertwining of Royo's cards, classical thought, and Scandinavian progressive rock, guaranteeing some space for figures (who are anyway very famous) of philosophers and poets, for whom I admit I did not think to indicate further sources of information. @Cappio: It’s my incurable aversion to the dry heat that prevails in summer. Asking for asylum with the whale seemed like the best solution at the time, but today I don’t know if I would do it again, with the rheumatism and merciless aches that come with age. P.S. I take advantage of Fede and Prog's votes to clarify that my judgments are based solely on the progressive quality of a work, particularly considering the personality of the contributions brought to the scene. For these reasons, some evaluations may seem rather unconventional, but I believe that the high degree of recognizability of a sound (whether created from scratch or obtained by modifying an existing one) is the primary and indispensable goal of any formation aiming to scale the magnificent Olympus of Progressive Rock.

Of course, I will also have space for them. The distance of our judgments, even regarding this latest Swedish quintet, will then be found in a substantial difference in methodology, considering that my evaluations are based on almost exclusively progressive categories. I believe that, in fact, the term "progster" may define me quite accurately...

The "outline" I'm following for this cycle, of which I've already written most of the material, intersects with various thematic elements that often make it impossible for me to choose the album based on my personal preferences; not coincidentally, the review of "Cirkus" will be based, unlike this one, on mostly critical considerations. I noticed, while quickly skimming through some of your comments regarding Nordic rock, certain discrepancies between our viewpoints that will be interesting to compare and discuss, always in the spirit of progressive and the personal impact it has on each of us.

No, the next one.

Thanks also to the newcomers in this first stage of a long journey through the Scandinavian progressive of the last two decades, which I will strive to consistently illustrate the salient aspects (or those I consider such), hoping that my long-term plans do not conflict with the publications of other esteemed reviewers.