Although progressive rock's popularity peaked in the '70s, it continued to enjoy a cult following in the 21st century - and one of the noteworthy prog rock bands that came out of Europe in the 2000s was Sweden's Beardfish.
Sleeping in Traffic: Part One (2007) is Beardfish's third album, but the Swedish outfit's first for a major progressive rock record label, namely InsideOut. Even though the album went by rather unnoticed, prog rock fans should take note of it. Beardfish do not break new ground, but their take on the genre has a lot of balls and feeling. Blending an occasional Gentle Giant influence with a strong Genesis background and a deep-running blues basis, the group is particularly successful in the melody department, without devolving into ersatz melodic hard rock. In other words, these Swedes strike a very fine balance between prog complexity and sincere feeling…
Rock Bottom, recorded with a star-studded cast of Canterbury musicians, has been deservedly acclaimed as one of the finest art rock albums. Several forces surrounding Wyatt's life helped shape its outcome. First, it was recorded after the former Soft Machine drummer and singer fell out of a five-story window and broke his spine. Legend had it that the album was a chronicle of his stay in the hospital. Wyatt dispels this notion in the liner notes of the 1997 Thirsty Ear reissue of the album, as well as the book Wrong Movements: A Robert Wyatt History. Much of the material was composed prior to his accident in anticipation of rehearsals of a new lineup of Matching Mole. The writing was completed in the hospital, where Wyatt realized that he would now need to sing more, since he could no longer be solely the drummer…
Heaven, a Progressive/Jazz Rock group from Portsmouth, burst forth onto the British rock scene in 1970 when they appeared at the legendary Isle of Wight festival sharing a bill with The Who, The Doors, Jimi Hendrix et al. Making a stunning debut, the band (now managed by festival organiser Rikki Farr), soon secured a recording deal with CBS Records who signed the band for a large advance. The resulting double album 'Brass Rock 1' appeared in 1971, adorned in a lavish fold-out sleeve. Well received critically, the album failed to achieve the expected success and Heaven soon disbanded, leaving behind a fine example of classic jazz rock. Officially released on CD for the first time, this Esoteric Recordings reissue is digitally re-mastered from the original master tapes and restores the artwork of the album in full.
When we refer to the "Bach Double," most classical music aficionados know what's being discussed: Johann Sebastian Bach's Concerto for two violins in D minor, BWV 1043. Apart from reconstructions, it's his only double concerto for two violins. With Antonio Vivaldi, such an abbreviated designation is impossible, as he has 27 – count 'em – 27 double concertos for two violins.
One of Michael Haydn's symphonies was taken for Mozart for a long time, and a good deal of their music is linked by its Salzburg roots. The sacred music on this disc, however, either postdates or predates Mozart and sounds very little like him. Included are four short masses for the Lenten season (all but one lacking Glorias, like some other masses of the period) and a charming Graduale for Palm Sunday. All but the concluding Missa Sanctae Crucis were written in the 1790s, after an ecclesiastical reform mandated simple, syllabic settings of liturgical texts, and the Missa Sanctae Crucis is a simple, youthful work. The music is accompanied only by a small continuo group.