Off On Another Tangent

I got a phone call during the week.  I know, this is hardly an interesting thing, until you factor in that the caller was Ian Oakley and he was ringing to let me know that the new The Tangent album, Not As Good As The Book, was finished and … would I like a copy?  Well, thoughts along the lines of bears and woods sprang to mind!  I didn’t want to appear too eager so I waited at least 500 milliseconds before as I stuttered my thanks.  It seemed like an eternity but I managed to keep my cool and I think I got away with it!

So, what’s it like?  That’s sort of a hard question to answer, and yet it’s also very easy.  You see, this is probably the best album they’ve made to date, but it is also quite different as well.  So how do you start to compare it?  Against their previous works?  Okay then, musically it has the trademark Tangent sound which exudes the Canterbury style we have all experienced in their previous albums.  It has the trademark vocals from Andy that make it distinct, along with Guy’s recognisable contributions both musically and vocally.  But it also has elements that come straight from Jakko, the new guitarist, providing extra layers and depth that lift this album in many ways.  He has a good voice and a wonderful ability to interpret the music via his playing so that it feels like every note is necessary and without it the music would not be the same.  But when you are playing alongside Andy Tillison, Guy Manning, Theo Travis, Jamie Salazar and Jonas Reingold you have to be good to fit in, and Jakko Jakszyk (pronounced jak-check) is certainly this.  They all approach the music on this album with an artisan’s ear and a perfectionist’s attitude.  Each track is an elegant construction that fits the album like a jigsaw piece does the overall picture.  However, on that same vein, each track is a unique composition and, without stretching the metaphor of the jigsaw too far, does not provide the full picture of the album when taken in isolation.  For example, Bat Out Of Basildon is a tongue in cheek song that proves you can have a sense of humour within progressive rock.  It is a jaunty, bright and light track that would be at home on any pop style of record.  Yet, Four Egos, One War delivers a darker, more intense atmosphere that at times takes the breath away.  Together they fit and complement each other making this double CD offering an album that should be approached in one sitting.  I almost feel as if playing the album on my show would be doing it a disservice because of the necessity of taking the tracks and airing them in isolation.  After all, studying an individual brick means you will never appreciate the beauty of the whole cathedral.  Sometimes you have to stand back and admire the entire thing, which is something I am doing with an intensity at the moment.  It won’t stop me playing more tracks in future, though.  I’ll just have to be careful to set the scene before I press play.

And it comes with a book!  Which I have yet to see so that’s something else to look forward too.

Speaking of playing, what tracks were on the show on Saturday the 12^th of Jan?  Okay, here’s the full playlist:

Artist : Album : Track

Magenta : Home : Joe

Dead Soul Tribe : A Lullaby For The Devil: A Lullaby For The Devil

Sylvan : Presets : Presets

RPWL : World Through My Eyes : Roses

Chinese Firedrill : Circles : Rock Paper Scissors

Anglagard : Hybris : Kung Bore

The Tangent : Not As Good As The Book : Ethernet

Spock’s Beard : Feel Euphoria : The Bottom Line

Spock’s Beard : Feel Euphoria : East of Eden, West of Memphis

Sylvan : Artificial Paradise : Artificial Paradise

I promised a few people that I would play some more of that great German band Sylvan on the show and I kept my word.  I took a track from their latest album, Presets, and one from what I think is their first album, Artificial Paradise.  Two very powerful tracks that really show the versatility of this band to the full.  The last track I played, the epic Artificial Paradise, is a moving piece of music that drips with melodies and is awash with wonderful performances from each member of the band. It’s a shame that one of the founders, Kay Sohl, has recently left the band but it is also good to hear that Jan Petersen will be joining to take on the role of guitarist.  If I had my way I would play more of their music on the show.  What am I saying?  I do have my way!  Hmmmm … I’ll have to see what I can do, eh?

A bit closer to home, no pun intended, was Magenta with a track from their new album Home.  Now, I had better be careful here as they have a new album out soon.  Okay, I say soon, but all I know is that it will be during the early part of this year.  The album is getting a final buff and polish in the recording studio and I’m hoping that there will be a few tidbits thrown to people like me to pass on to you.  I’ll keep you posted.

Dead Soul Tribe are one of those bands that takes the idea of heavy rock and merges it with progressive rock to proffer a sound that drives like a tank through any tunes you happened to have in your mind at the time.  They remind me of Pain Of Salvation at times with their distinct sound and metal approach.  I only have two of their albums and I suppose I should play them more often.

Spock’s Beard got another chance last Saturday.  A lot of people were critical of the album Feel Euphoria, saying that they had lost their edge with the departure of Neal Morse prior to the making of this album.  I, however, think that this is a good release and return to it on numerous occasions.  I think one track on the album lets it down, but on the whole it is a good release and proves that there was life after Neal.  What track lets it down?  Well, that’s for me to know and for you to guess!

RPWL have featured on my show a few times in the past, and this track in particular, Roses, has received some attention.  Notably, when I had the pleasure of the author Neal Asher on the show.  Neal was quite taken with the band and I hope I managed to convert him.  This is another band that I would love to play more of but I’m always afraid the show will degenerate into a personal top 10 and just go round in circles.  Speaking of which, Chinese Firedrill hit the air again last Saturday.  This is a solo album with Joey Vera doing everything with the exception of the drums.  I like this album for what it is.  It is a pleasure to hear a multi-talented musician really let themselves go and produce a glorious, rocking, album with overtones of Rush and OSI and the like.  Funny, really, because Joey was involved with the second OSI album.  Everything’s a circle, eh?

Anglagard are a retro sounding prog band that take me back to the good old days when progressive rock was new and naïve.  Shame they aren’t around anymore as I’m sure they would have been one of the top sellers in most countries.  Ho hum.

Well, that’s it for me for this week.  I only hope that next week doesn’t see the same technical problems that beset my show last week.  You see, just as Holly Black was finishing off her show just before mine, the main streaming computer crashed.  That meant I was without an Internet stream for the first couple of minutes of the show while I rebooted and kicked the various streams back into life.  And then, right at the end of my show, the main playout computer, the one that keeps the music going over night after my show has finished, died as well.  It couldn’t have happened at a more inopportune moment if it had been planned.  I was just ending with the old “Thanks for listening and I’ll see you all next week …” when it went belly up.  So, out came the inane waffle from me as I attempted to reboot the machine and load the playlist again.  I did it, but I sweated I’ll tell you.  The one thing any radio presenter fears is dead-air, that long moment when everything goes silent.  I had about ten seconds of this before I managed to win control of the system and get a jingle out.  Then I managed in the thirty seconds of the jingle to get a track into the playlist and from there I managed to get the whole thing reprogrammed over the next twenty minutes.  I got home late but the beer tasted all the much sweeter for it.

So, until next Saturday, keep well and I’ll see you on the show.

All the best,

Dave.

Making Saturday night worth staying in for.

www.myspace.com/daveoprogshow