CD-Charts Position 41
Average Rating:

Undertow

CD-Charts > Music > Progressive
by: Tool

Release Date April 06, 1993
I absolutely love Tool but I somewhat regret buying this LP. The light weight of the vinyl leaves me unsatisfied. Also, the labels look like they were applied by a three year old. The labels were sloppily pressed into the record, cut/torn and don't even feature any artwork (a little boring to look at).

CD-Charts Position 42
Average Rating:

Aqualung

CD-Charts > Music > Progressive
by: Jethro Tull

Release Date February 09, 1999
When people talk about progressive rock being dull and dated and pretentious, they surely can't be thinking of Aqualung. Jethro Tull's gospel-weary opus may be full of flute solos and lyrics about man's relationship to God, but it still rocks more righteously than anything Guns `N' Roses ever did. There's not a Moog synthesizer or an extended suite to be found (except for the title track, and it's not really all that extended), and pyrotechnical displays of instrumental prowess are kept to a tasteful minimum. Classical influences share space with strains of blues, folk, and a bit of gospel. The lyrics, even when they become abstract, make sense more often than not, and they're almost always poignant. The band even insists that it isn't a concept album, ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 43
Average Rating:

Broken China

CD-Charts > Music > Progressive
by: Richard Wright

Release Date October 14, 1996
"Broken China" came out in 1996, on the heels of Pink Floyd's "P*U*L*S*E*," and just like listening to any solo effort by any of the others, one can hear the ingredients he contributed to the Pink Floyd juggernaut. And here, he had help from fellow post-Waters Floyd bandmates Tim Renwick and Anthony Moore. Renwick played guitar behind Gilmour and Moore contributed to the writing as well.

On September 18th, I read about the September 15th death of Wright, and as usual, news like this jarred me. It's odd, some people you have never met, people like Wright, become a part of your life, and when they're gone, there is an emptiness where they once were. So I got out all my Pink Floyd recordings and had my own little mourning session. I knew he wasn't ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 44
Average Rating:

Tommy (1969 Original Concept Album)

CD-Charts > Music > Progressive
by: The Who

Release Date March 12, 1996
A clinical and seminal meditation on alienation, popularity-seeking, and the decline of Western man encased in a rock opera about a handicapped boy. Albert Einstein spoke of his own "retarded" youth, being withdrawn from the world, and how that aided him in opening new vistas in science. "Tommy" isn't so fortunate.
"Amazing Journey" shows the advantage of Tommy's "retardation" yet shadows of "normalcy" lurk. Pete Townshend's medicinal lyrics bring to mind the Christian sentiment that only one with a child's disposition can enter the Kingdom of G-d.
"Ten years old
With thoughts as bold as thought can be
Loving life and becoming wise
In simplicity

Sickness will surely take the mind
Where minds can't usually go ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 45
Average Rating:

The Very Best of Supertramp

CD-Charts > Music > Progressive
by: Supertramp

Release Date December 11, 2001
Actually, I ran across my dusty "Breakfast in America" album recently. Ordered a new Grado cartridge for my Technics turntable and ripped it to MP3. But nothing beats the original analog recording with all the pops and cracks of dirty vinyl. Nothing missing from the originals....and no download or CD compares.

I LOVE WITH VINYL AGAIN!

CD-Charts Position 46
Average Rating:

Christmasville

CD-Charts > Music > Progressive
by: Mannheim Steamroller

Release Date October 07, 2008
Full price for a cd that's not even 31 minutes long, and a half-hearted effort at that. Chip Davis and Co. are coasting big time on this release. I have listened to the cd one time and cannot think of a single reason to listen to it again.

CD-Charts Position 47
Average Rating:

The Best of Kansas

CD-Charts > Music > Progressive
by: Kansas

Release Date February 23, 1999
The best songs Kansas did, plus a few extra cuts. What more could you ask?

CD-Charts Position 48
Average Rating:

Low Spark of High Heeled Boys

CD-Charts > Music > Progressive
by: Traffic

Release Date March 19, 2002
I stumbled across this album late (1975) and recall being fairly floored at the time that I was not familiar with it (albeit that I had had John Barleycorn for years prior).

Simply put, Steve Winwood was a genius on the emotive and exploratory edge of electric guitar, something that seems entirely lost to multiple generations of guitarists and listeners. Listen, if you will, to the trailing guitar licks on Light Up or Leave Me Alone and tell me if you don't feel the presence of something 'bigger' than the rest of all the BS garbage guitar work out there these days. And yet listeners who don't, in fact, listen will have no idea what I'm talking about...

Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys (the song) sits at a level above Stairway, Gimme Shelter, and even ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 49
Average Rating:

Christmas Eve and Other Stories

CD-Charts > Music > Progressive
by: Trans-Siberian Orchestra

Release Date October 15, 1996
I borrowed this CD on a whim recently, and have discovered just how much fun most of it is. But let me warn you, this is like nothing else you've ever heard before.

This is a rock and roll orchestra Christmas CD. Don't know what I mean? Well, many of these tracks feature an orchestra backing up electric guitar, keyboard, and drums. And these aren't your parents' arrangements, either. The best example is "Christmas Eve/Sarjevo 12/24" which gives "Carol of the Bells" a heavy rock arrangement. And it is absolutely fun.

The disc is about half instrumental, and those are the best tracks by far. Another highlight is "A Mad Russian's Christmas" which includes themes from "The Nutcracker." But they aren't all hard rock arrangements. "The First Noel" ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 50
Average Rating:

The Best of the Moody Blues

CD-Charts > Music > Progressive
by: The Moody Blues

Release Date January 28, 1997
It can be frustrating when you want to buy a 'best of' collection from one of your favorite recording artists and there are several to chose from. You want one that contains all of your favorite songs, but has the right blend of early, middle, and late material. "The Best Of The Moody Blues" is such a collection. It contains songs from nearly every point along their long and successful recording career. For those of us who are 'baby boomer' age, listening to this collection of songs is like taking a trip back in time. There are even some songs that are not exactly Moody Blues songs, like "Forever Autumn" (from the musical "War of the Worlds") sung by Justin Hayward, and "Blue Guitar" from a Justin Hayward / John Lodge collaboration during a period of time when The Moody Blues was inactive. ... Read More: