Babysitters Beware (2009)

2009 four CD antology from the British Jazz/Prog/Art Rock band. Pieced together with the active assistance of band leader Jon Hiseman, Morituri Te Salutant features extended highlights from Colosseum's original albums as well as numerous previously-unissued studio and live outtakes, including BBC session material, the aborted late '60s single `Tell Me Now' and a host of alternative recordings from the tour that was immortalised on what many admirers believe to be the band's definitive work, Colosseum Live. Lavishly packaged with hitherto unpublished photos and a 10,000 word essay, Morituri Te Salutant is the final word on one of the most individual and iconoclastic British bands to emerge from the musical and cultural revolution of the '60s.

Few atonal piano compositions are so amenable to generate new meaningful, extremely sombre soundscapes as ‘ Triadic Memories’, according to different modalities of execution some would call rendition. This one execution, excruciatingly slow, generates aural hallucinations in the guise of rational insights. Beware of the illusion of order, this Feldman classic piece proves that that is way more harmful, as in pathetically alienating, than the illusion of depth..

27 years after their debut album UK veterans IQ show that they are still a band with the capabilities to create solid albums. This 2009 release is quite listenable, and the influences that have served IQ well in the past (including Yes, Pink Floyd, and pre-1980s Genesis) continue to serve them well on Frequency. This is, for the most part, a very moody album, but it is also very accessible - and appealing tracks such as "One Fatal Mistake," "Closer," "Stronger Than Friction," and "Life Support" are easy to absorb even if one isn't a seasoned prog rock listener. It should be noted that IQ have had their share of personnel changes along the way; on Frequency, their 2009 lineup consists of Peter Nicholls on lead vocals, Michael Holmes on guitar, John Jowitt on bass, Mark Westworth on keyboards, and Andy Edwards on drums.

Over the years, trying to determine what is true "prog rock" and what is not has become an increasingly tricky proposition. In the early '70s, it was easy - any band that performed "suites" that extended across entire album sides and dressed in capes and/or cloaks was a dead giveaway. However, when the early '80s rolled around, most former prog rockers trimmed out the fat from their compositions (and exchanged their medieval wear and kimonos for what looked like sports coats). Ever since, there have been bands that have aligned themselves to either of the aforementioned prog rock approaches. But along came Porcupine Tree, who somehow have found a way to incorporate both into their 2009 effort, The Incident. Set up similarly to Rush's 1978 classic, Hemispheres, The Incident is comprised of a single long song - the title track - that features many different movements…

Best known in the U.S. for their hard rock material, Golden Earring have been the most popular homegrown band in the Netherlands since the mid-'60s, when they were primarily a pop group. The group was founded by guitarist/vocalist George Kooymans and bassist/vocalist Rinus Gerritsen, then schoolboys, in 1961; several years and personnel shifts later, they had their first Dutch hit, "Please Go," and in 1968 hit the top of the Dutch charts for the first of many times with "Dong-Dong-Di-Ki-Di-Gi-Dong," a song that broadened their European appeal. By 1969, the rest of the lineup had stabilized, with lead vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Barry Hay and drummer Cesar Zuiderwijk.

Five CD box set containing a quintet of original albums from the Hard Rockers: Back For The Attack, Beast From The East, Breaking The Chains, Tooth And Nail and Under Lock And Key.