Island - Pictures (1996 The Laser's Edge) 1977

Biography The only album by legendary Swiss group Island has recently been re-released by The Laser's Edge for the benefit of the current generation of prog fans. The biggest influence for Island definitely seems to be Van der Graaf Generator, and the band certainly approaches progressive rock from the darker end of the spectrum. In a similar fashion to VdGG, the group relies on saxophone and other wind instruments for heaviness rather than guitar, and goes for a quirky, sometimes dissonant, but strangely melodic feel. Unfortunately, the fire behind VdGG was always Peter Hammill's seething lyricism and incredible voice, as well as that band's ability to effortlessly build up into moments of raging apocalyptic fury. Island just doesn't go the distance the way their heroes do, preferring to meander along with well executed arrangements, and a merely acceptable vocal delivery. The band also evokes Gentle Giant in many of their more overtly complex moments, which can be superb at points but cold at others. While compositionally solid and often quite interesting, this isn't a release I find exactly bursting with intensity, and sort of loses me if I'm not making the conscious effort to listen attentively.

"Pictures" is the album centerpiece, and an expansive, intriguing track at that. Some very addictive themes weave in and out occasionally, along with tasteful playing throughout, but it is also bland at points. "Herold and King/Dloreth" is another long track that demands basically the exact same description as "Pictures". Ditto with "Here and Now" which opens with a nice piano solo, but then drifts back into familiar territory. Pictures does have some great moments however, but all the cuts start to blend together and start sounding the same. I found myself having to skip to each track independently to really focus on what was going on. Once delved into and examined closely, the songs begin to reveal themselves more, the problem is that I still didn't find them all that enjoyable. It demands more of a casual "Oh yeah, that bit's cool" reaction rather than invoking an emotional response, or a need to play the album repeatedly to pick up on its subtlety. Of course, this album is very highly regarded, even dubbed a true classic in come circles, so there's probably quite a few of you out there who can really get into this one. To me, it's a dense and impenetrable work without a hell of a lot of payoff for my investment of time. allmusic.com

Tracklist

01.Introduction 1:26

02.Zero 6:13

03.Pictures 16:51

04.Herold And King (Dloreh) 12:14

05.Here And Now 12:16

Bonus track

06.Empty Bottles 23:31

Line-up

Benjamin Jäger - lead vocals, percussion

Güge Jurg Meier - drums, gongs, percussion

Peter Scherer - keyboards, pedal-bass, voices crotales

René Fisch - sax, flute, clarinet, triangle, voices

Circus - Movin' On (2017 Big Pink Music) 1977

Biography This is a true overlooked gem of progressive rock by a highly distinctive and original band. As other reviewers have pointed out, in 1977 the music industry was obsessed with the punk and disco bandwagons so a largely acoustic prog band from Switzerland were unlikely to attract much attention.

The sound of Circus is highly distinctive, probably because they have neither a keyboard player or a lead guitarist. At times they sound like Gentle Giant, particularly the use of tuned percussion and wind instruments, whilst the bass and sax interplay is reminscent of Kraan. The shorter songs could almost be by a band like Supertramp - mid atlantic accents, strummed acoustic guitars and tasteful sax breaks, while the longer tracks call Zappa, King Crimson and VDGG to mind. For all of that, Circus have a sound and style that is very much their own. The first three tracks are pleasant enough acoustic rock songs. The playing and arrangements are very imaginative, but the material itself is rather ordinary and an album of material like this would be nothing to get excited about. Track 4, Dawn, is the only entirely instrumental piece on the album, and it is on this 8 minute composition that the album really comes to life. At times this could be an unplugged version of Zappa's early to mid 70s MOI with Ruth Underwood and Napoleon Murphy Brock, featuring John Wetton and Bill Bruford as the rhythm section. The whole thing is played with a surprising lightness of touch, and never becomes dark and dissonant although it does get quite avant garde. The real meat, though, is the 22 minute title track, that stands up well against any of the better known side long epics from the golden era of prog. This track has an almost Canterbury feel, shifting from section to section with a logic all of its own. It's largely instrumental, with some wordless vocals sung in dazzling 3 part harmony and an almost conventional rock song buried somewhere in the middle. The playing is exemplary throughout, and each member shows off his multi instrumental skills without too much pointless noodling.

There's something on here for fans of just about any sub genre (with the possible exception of prog metal), so I would urge every member of the forum to get a copy and give them some long overdue recognition. progarchives

Tracklist

01.The Bandsman 4:30

02.Laughter Lane 4:14

03.Loveless Time 5:37

04.Dawn 7:56

05.Movin' On 22:25

Line-up

Marco Cerletti - bass, basspedal, guitar

Andreas Grieder – flute, alto saxophone, tambourine, vocals

Roland Frei - vocals, 6-,12-strings acoustic guitars, tenor saxophone

Fritz Hauser - drums, vibes, percussion

Circus - Circus (2017 Big Pink Music) 1976

Biography Formed in 1972 in Basel, Switzerland - Disbanded in 1980. Coming from the NW Switzerland on the language border between the Alemanics and the Romands, this unusual quartet of musicians has a strange line-up. Hauser is one of the better percussionists (still playing but in jazz bands nowadays), and bassist Cerletti (the only non-Alemanic in the band) is certainly excellent plays also acoustic guitar. The other two, Fri and Grieder, share the wind instruments with the vocals. That's it! No KB and almost no el. guitars, at least on the first two albums. This group is one of the real gems still unknown to most progheads, developing a fusion between classical and rock much like early MANEIGE did but also includes some influences from VDGG (mostly the sax but sometimes also the singing) and also KING CRIMSON to a lesser extent. While having some success locally, they only managed three studio albums of which the first two are now on CD. Of those two albums "Movin' On" is their best but their debut is also excellent. CIRCUS is certainly recommended to everyone who loves great interplay between musicians and to progheads not afraid of a little adventure in their musical endeavours. progarchives

Tracklist

01.Stormsplinter 2:54

02.Nowadays 10:52

03.Sundays 6:59

04.Dawntalk 5:13

05.Room for Sale 15:03

Line-up

Marco Cerletti - bass, basspedal, guitar

Andreas Grieder – flute, alto saxophone, tambourine, vocals

Roland Frei - vocals, 6-,12-strings acoustic guitars, tenor saxophone

Fritz Hauser - drums, vibes, percussion

Sahara - Sunrise 1974

Sahara is a mid-70's act that produced two albums, but prior to that they'd worked and released another as Subject ESQ. The music is rather typical early 70s proto-prog with elements of Jethro Tull (for the flute-guitar interplay), early YES, and the occasional saxophone riffs remind of early Van Der Graaf Generator. There are some spacier and/or symphonic parts that recall Nektar, Genesis (around "Trespass"), and maybe early Eloy. With the arrival of ex-Out Of Focus Hennes Henring on keyboards, the band continued under the new name Sahara after this album. Sunrise has been a minor classic , especially for its sidelong epic title track. Their second album, "For All The Clowns", is straighter with an overdose of progressive influences, notably Focus, Yes and Caravan and a potpourri styles. progarchives.com

Tracklist:
01.Marie Celeste 7:37
02.Circles 4:42
03.Rainbow Rider 8:41
04.Sunrise 27:12

Sahara:
Henner Hering - keyboards
Michael Hofmann - woodwinds, Moog, Mellotron, vocals
Alex Pittwohn - harmonica, tenor saxophone, vocals
Harry Rosenkind - drums, tuned percussion
Stefan Wissnet - lead vocals, bass
Nicholas Woodland - guitars