What is quite good for those who do not know the afore-mentioned bands is that the songs tend to be shorter varieties of their originals. This makes the tunes accessible to the neophite. I would recommend watching the interview on the history of the group as its quite interesting.
Pendragon are a very English, well with that name what do you expect, prog act of some age. This DVD is to celebrate the release of The Jewel their debut, 21 years ago.They never have quite made it to the level of Marillion or Yes but they deliver solid prog music with talent and tenacity. Pendragon and prog fans will lap this DVD up and its good to see Metal Mind putting so much effort into this release.
Finally we have Andromeda who are not English. Listening to this band, of whom I had not heard any tracks, reminded me most of Dream Theatre at their most accessible. This is power prog played with oodles of talent and attention to detail. Tracks like "The Words Unspoken" really shine on here and might prompt those new to the band to seek out their studio work. Great stuff from a talented band.
Rick Wakeman: Amazing Grace
Rick Wakeman has produced a lush DVD/CD set of inspirational instrumental versions of popular hymns. The bonus vocal track is sung by his daughter Jemma Wakeman with the English Chamber Choir. The DVD is rather unusual. Instead of the normal live performance of his twiddling with his keyboards we see pastoral scenes that are meant to be relaxing. The DVD part of this CD is meant to be not only background music but visuals as well.
The CD that included has even more hymnal tracks as well as yet another version of Amazing Grace. I am sure most of you know who Rick Wakeman is, but in case you don't let me remind you. Wakeman is former keyboard player with the prog powerhouse Yes. He began his keyboard rise to stardom with The Strawbs. The man is prolific and continues to work and release music when most people are happy in their retirement. There is no doubting his talent and its all on show here.
While instrumental versions of hymns might not be the regular fare of most of the people who read my columns or normal reviews you can't fault the quality of this release. Its nicely packaged and you get quite a bit of music for yer money. Futhermore this would be a great present for your favourite religious Christian. And lets face it, a rousing redition of Jerusalem always does one good.
Article comments
1 - Chris Beaumont
I gotta get my hands on the Iced Earth EP, been looking forward to it....
Ozzy, another one I need to get ahold off. Tesla... ditto.
I was very impressed with the Andromeda DVD, I read that it was recorded the same night as the NEO and Pendragon disks, they were on tour together.
Right now I am kind of hooked on the new Dream Theater, which is their best in years.
2 - Marty Dodge
I must get that new Dream Theater.