News: Alex Torres's Favorite 'Desert Island' CDs - Sea of Tranquility - The Web Destination for Progressive Music!

Main Menu

News:

Alex Torres's Favorite 'Desert Island' CDs

Posted on Thursday, June 19 2008 @ 00:13:40 CDT by Duncan Glenday

Barclay James Harvest : Time Honoured Ghosts - by the time of this 1975 album their main "proggy" days were over, but it's a gorgeous Beatles-influenced rock album with just a whiff of prog.

Camel : Moonmadness - similar soundscape to Snowgoose, but with vocals on some compositions - dreamy and sublime!

Caravan : In the Land of Grey and Pink - another faultless gem that everyone should own. The true masters of the Canterbury sound at the very peak of their game. As usual for Caravan, As usual, suffused with a very English sense of humor!

Renaissance : A Song for All Seasons - the last album from them with any real progressive content: they went off the rails after this as far as I am concerned. Perhaps one of their earlier albums would be a more orthodox choice, but I love the mix of progressive and popular influences on this.

Van der Graaf Generator : H to He Who Am The Only One - Peter Hammill is a genius and still prolific today of course, but on balance I prefer his VDGG work to his solo output. H to He has some good up-tempo rocky moments and Killer has always been a big favorite track of mine.

Hawkwind : Hall of the Mountain Grill - as a teenager, most of my friends hated Hawkwind and I loved nothing better than to tease them by playing them Hawkwind tracks "in secret", then to surprise them when they admitted to liking it by revealing the band's identity!

Mostly Autumn : Storms Over Still Water - fans who had followed the band from their earliest days weren't all too keen on this, their most up-tempo and rocky album, but it was precisely that which I loved about it. A progressive rock album oozing with melody and gorgeous singing that rocks. Yes!

Neal Morse : Sola Scriptura - Music of this calibre makes it really worth putting up with the religious lyrics, even if you're upset by Christian indoctrination. I love all of his solo albums but this is the best. Stunningly brilliant!

Muse : Black Holes & Revelations - I love the way Muse approach their music! What a sound those three boys can make! Wow! Black Holes is wonderfully inventive, even at time getting into distinct progressive rock territory.

Dream Theater : Scenes From a Memory - you know you're getting old when it's your kids that give you the insights into great music! I first heard Dream Theater when my daughter was playing this! I really was behind the times some years ago but have now caught up a little!

Porcupine Tree : Up the Downstair - this early PT remains my favorite, despite some excellent recent albums.

Riverside : Second Life Syndrome - Who needs innovation when you can combine the best of Pink Floyd and Porcupine Tree, ending up sounding like Riverside? Bring it on!

Thin Lizzy : Live and Dangerous - I'm not a huge fan of live albums in general but make an exception for this stupendous album of rock from these Irish lads.

Puccini : Turandot - I don't recommend to anyone listening to an opera (or even watching a DVD) without first having seen it live - only then can you experience the drama of the crucial theatrical element first hand, to replay in your own consciousness when you later hear the music at home. The 25 minutes or so of Act 1 of Turandot are to die for - totally fabulous! The first time the Mrs. and i saw this I turned to her at the end of Act 1 and said "that's it - I can die now!". And it was no exaggeration - it's that good.