Prog

Discovering Jadis Jadis were part of the original neo-prog movement in the early 80s, when they supported IQ and Pendragon, and later opened for Marillion on their Clutching At Straws tour. Since then, they’ve recorded 10 studio albums and have released a further five live and rarities CDs. The band are relentless in their quest to continue playing and recording, despite many personnel changes over the years. Their current line-up – comprising Gary Chandler (guitar, vocals), Martin Orford (keyboards, backing vocals), Stephen Christey (drums) and Andy Marlow (bass) – has been in place since 2012, although they’ve known each other for much longer. Chandler first met Orford in 1979 when they were both queuing overnight for Steve Hackett tickets at the Gaumont in Southampton. At the time Orford was in…

1 Asleep In My Hands Taken from Live Snapshot 2 Do You Know Taken from More Questions Than Answers 3 Everything We See Taken from More Questions Than Answers 4 Just Let It Happen Taken from No Fear Of Looking Down 5 There’s A Light Taken from Medium Rare 2 6 What If I Could Be There Taken from See Right Through You 7 Nowhere Near The Truth Taken from See Right Through You 8 Standing Still Taken from Photoplay 9 The Great Outside Taken from Fanatic 10 Where In The World Taken from Understand 11 Batstein Taken from Somersault 12 In Isolation Taken from Across The Water 13 The Beginning And The End Taken from More Than Meets The Eye 14 Sleepwalk Taken from More Than Meets The Eye…

Hello and welcome to the latest issue of Prog. A new Jethro Tull album is always something that fills me with excitement, having been a fan of the band for almost as long as I can remember. Curious Ruminant brings with it a sound that harks back to those heady days of the mid-1970s, too, something that all Prog writers who’d heard it seemed to comment on, and it’s something James McNair discusses with Ian Anderson in this issue’s cover story. It’s also an album of reflection, something it shares with 1975’s Minstrel In The Gallery. That album celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, so we took Ian on a trip down memory lane, too! Time is rarely on your side when trying to piece together a magazine, and so…

LEVIN’S THE BEST! I’m a bass player and thought it very unfair (and stupid!) that Tony Levin only came fifth in the Prog Readers’ Poll [Prog 157]. He’s a master of our instrument. You don’t need a poll for the obvious: Tony Levin is the best bass player in prog music ever. Period. Nick Beggs is great but Tony Levin is just… Tony Levin! Vincent Tessaire, via email TOP OF THE BOX I just wanted to share how much I’ve been enjoying an epic new track called The Choice from Nova Cascade’s forthcoming album (which will sadly be their last) Box Man. Over the course of half an hour, this instrumental track soars and excites, soothes and stimulates, and the 30 minutes fly by in the joy of such incredible…

NEAL MORSE AND CHESTER THOMPSON ANNOUNCE NEW PROG SUPERGROUP COSMIC CATHEDRAL The pair are joined by guitarist Phil Keaggy and bassist Byron House. Their highly anticipated debut album is due this spring. New supergroup Cosmic Cathedral will release their debut album, Deep Water on April 25 via InsideOutMusic. Former Spock’s Beard man Neal Morse put the band together after meeting renowned drummer Chester Thompson (Genesis, Frank Zappa, Weather Report) at a Steve Hackett gig in Nashville in October 2023. “It was one of the best prog concerts I’ve ever seen, and I loved listening to Steve and Chester chat afterwards because they go back so far,” says Morse. “Driving home I had this strong sense that I should do something with Chester without yet knowing if it was possible or…

After two matchmaking albums, Randy McStine (Porcupine Tree, Steven Wilson) and Marco Minnemann (The Aristocrats) are returning with their third album as McStine & Minnemann – and the training wheels have come off for a “beautiful rock album”. Self-releasing via Bandcamp on April 4, III finds the multi-instrumentalist pair honing in on the accessible but progressive sound they’ve slowly moulded in their image. McStine says they “were truly getting to know each other through each song,” on their debut LP, while Minnemann says their follow-up benefitted from “a very clear path.” “The third,” he adds, “is the perfect combination of both. It has the widest palette and it isn’t shy about being experimental. It’s far out!” What results is a colourful sparring of ideas as the two musicians continue to…