Wobbler - Hinterland (2005, 2022 Reissue)

I first came into awareness of Wobbler a little over a year ago. Maybe more. But, it was recently, especially considering the age of the band. But, it was with the release of their fantastic Dwellers of the Deep album that I found them, so during their most recent album. 

Recently, their label Karisma Records was able to get the rights to the first three Wobbler releases for reissue. So, the obvious course of action to take is to buy the blasted things. 

For those unfamiliar, Wobbler is a Norwegian progressive rock act. They are of the symphonic version of prog, so expect lengthy pieces that border on the classical side, rather than the jazz side. However, they draw from enough influences that they dabble in all aspects of prog. We get a little classical at times, and a little jazz at times. But, regardless of the exact version of prog, they are sticking to a 70s influence, and even try to stick to the vintage instruments of the time. 

All of that being said, I am only really familiar with their two newest albums. Although all of their material is available on Apple Music, I never spent much time digging into the earlier albums. I do believe that the first two (one of which is what I am about to write about here) sticks even more true to the vintage ideals. The first two albums also feature a different lead vocalist and lead guitarist than the two albums I had previously. 

So, how do these compare to the two newest albums? The band, according to the liner notes inside Hinterland, seems to feel that the first album shows a band that was still earning the ropes, a band that didn't know what to do in the studio. I have to say they are dead wrong. From their perspective it might be full of amateurish ideas and studio abilities, but to this listening, this is some fantastic music!

Even on this, their first, they manage to throw everything into the mix. One thing about Wobbler is that they are a very high energy act, and that goes all the way back to this era. They don't play mellow. They definitely play around with dynamics, but for the most part, everything is extremely hard hitting. Bass and drums pound away, while the guitars and keyboards whirl around series of notes and passages that cause your head to swim. 

Vocally we are in the same territory that we were in with a lot of bands during the 90s and early 2000s. Borderline Fish/Gabriel style vocals. During this time period a lot of bands were doing that vocal style. That's not to say one will think this might be either of those gentlemen, but it is of that style. We aren't talking operatic heights of vocal acrobatics, its more about the emotion, with the exception of a portion of "Rubato Industry" where we definitely hit some high notes that would make King Diamond smile. 

The bass and drumming. Holy smokes! Brilliant work on both accounts. This is a special part of Wobbler today, and it is great to hear it all here. 

The only area that I would possibly say that they are correct about the amateurish side, would be in possibly being over-indulgent in their song writing. They might get carried away with passages and the amount of notes they throw in, but this is also what will endear them to many prog fans. Wobbler is a prog band for prog fans, no doubt about it at all. 

4 songs. Well, really, 3 songs. "Serenade For 1652" is a short instrumental piece. Otherwise we have 3 long numbers that rock. Don't be fooled by the mellow start to "Clair Obscur." The gentle nature of the beginning does not last very long. 

This is a fantastic record, one that deserves to be in the collection of any prog fan. 

Chromatic Aberration - The Trial of the King (2021)

 I will agree that it is a little odd that the first "return" post I am making right now is actually for a digital download. But, in my defense, I have always said that the most important thing is not the media that I am collecting, it is all about the music. I am not a person who will buy up a massive lot of albums being sold just because they are a good price. I would rather spend a large sum on that one piece of music I have been hunting, than on a bunch of albums I will never listen to, no matter how long they are in my collection. Music is what I love, the media I love it on the most is vinyl, but if there is no other option, I go for the music. 

Which brings us to the new release, possibly technically the true debut, from Chromatic Aberration. 43 minutes of progressive rock indulgence, created by two guys living across the country from each other, who somehow managed to finish off a project during this pandemic we are existing in right now.

I say "possibly" a debut because there is one other release on Bandcamp from the duo called The Nomad. However, in their short Bandcamp bio, they refer to an earlier demo, which is what The Nomad could possibly be. Song one on The Nomad is "Fortune Hunter," which is what kicks off The Trial of the King. The version on The Nomad does indeed sound more "demo" like than the version we find here.

Whatever the case might be, what we do have here is a very strong offering, especially when we consider this is two guys creating this thing from across the country. The duo (with help from a few friends on vocal duties) play a form of symphonic prog (lush instrumentations, heavy on composition, almost orchestral, often times featuring longer song lengths, for those unfamiliar with the term). In their own admission they call out an obvious love for Rush (yeah, they get really close to lifting straight from the catalog, or brains, of Lifeson and Lee, I can't figure out which), but one also hears Yes and Genesis in their music. For Yes it is in instrumental composition choices at times, whereas Genesis comes into play with the guitar tones at times, and some of the solos. 

Vocally, however, they are totally different from those bands, and it works quite well, especially on track 2, "Lord of the City." I have always felt that the vocals are either the final winning touch to a Prog outfit, or the death knell. In this case, the vocals work in their uniqueness, and in their ability. 

The band, Joe Rubio (guitars, bass and keyboards) and Steve Chait (drums, percussion, and something vocals), definitely seem more interested in catchy songs with meaningful parts, than they do with extreme flash. In these ways they carry their love of Rush. Strong musicianship, but nothing that ever feels like showing off, or being flashy for the sake of being flashy. Everything fits in its place. 

The album does end with the 21 minute epic "The Trial of the King," and I give them credit for having the guts to go down this path. However, normally these epics are the highlights of the albums. In this case I am not walking away thinking that it is the highpoint. It definitely has some serious highpoints, such as the beginning, which is a complete collision of Rush and Genesis in every single way. But, I think "Lord of the City" is my favorite track at this point. But, as I type this I am listening to "The Trial of the King," and am still finding all these parts that I do love (the section around the 12-minute mark is just wonderful). A great song, but I expect that if these two keep going, they still have their best work ahead of them, and I don't want to build too much hype up yet. 

So, this is the third brand new, released in 2021, album that I have listened to so far this year. At this point this is my favorite release of 2021. Do I expect it to remain number one? No. Do I anticipate it moving out of the top 10? Well, it is kind of a win-win for me here. If it does fall out, then that means there have been 10 amazing releases this year. If it remains, that means it has endured the year, which means it is as good as I feel like it is right now. 

One more thing, this is available on Bandcamp. If you don't have an account on Bandcamp, get your head out of your butt and sign up. It is the best place to buy music from bands, especially on the artist Friday thing they do. The first Friday of every month Bandcamp waves their fees so that the artist makes 94% (or so) of the money. That was the day that I bought this one. This album, by the way, will set you back an entire dollar. You can stream it on Apple Music, but don't be a shmuck. At the very least go and pay the buck for this thing. I threw in a few extra dollars, as every album on Bandcamp is a "this is how much we are charging, but you can pay more if you want" thing. But even if you do just send a buck, that is cool. But, seriously, this is worth more than that. Plus, the more of us that buy it, the more there is a chance that maybe, just maybe, these guys will do a vinyl release for this. If they do, I will gladly throw more money their way. Hell, I will even do a pledge fund for that. 

A great release here! 

Eloy - A retrospective, part 1

It seems that every year I find myself going into a progressive rock mindset. It almost never ceases to fail. The winter comes and I find myself listening to more and more progressive rock than at other times during the year. I'm not sure what it is, whether the music just fits with the cold and snow, or if I am just more willing to take the artistic side of the music and nestle on in with a good tale spun to a lengthy piece of music.
More times than not, the band I usually spend the most time with is German legends Eloy. The Mighty Eloy, as a lot of us fans refer to them.
For this year the launch of my progressive infatuation came when my daughter bought me the second part of their The Vision, The Sword and the Pyre concept albums. 7 sides of the history of Joan of Arc told through music. While this might not sound like the most enjoyable listening experience for some people, for fans of progressive rock and Eloy, there is a chance that this is a form of Heaven on Earth.
For me, it re-launched my Eloy love.
I first got hooked on Eloy way back around 1988 or 1989. Maybe even 1987. The exact year is now fuzzy. I believe that the most current album from them was Ra, which many consider a particularly rough time for the band. But we will get to that later.
I can't say it was instant love. One of the issues many people have with Eloy is Frank Bornemann's voice. Frank is the main man, the driving force, behind Eloy. He sings in English, but his German accent is extremely thick, and Frank doesn't really have the most beautiful voice one will ever hear.
But, in all honesty, through the year I have found that weak, or annoyingly overly dramatic vocals are a standard within progressive rock. If there is going to be something to turn people away from prog, more than the lengthy composition times, it is usually the voice.
But, I digress.
In the early days of my spending time with Eloy I was also guilty of struggling with Frank's voice. But over the years, I have found, that each subsequent time I return to Eloy I grow more and more find of Frank's voice. It gets to a point where it is an endearing quality to the band. One of the aspects of the band that one needs to hear. Indeed, when the recent album, The Vision Part 2, reached its final song and a voice other than Frank's started singing, I was heartbroken. The years are getting on, Eloy is not a massively successful band, there is obviously a chance that this is the final album from the band. The idea that the very last bit of new Eloy music I am going to be hearing for the last time is a voice other than Frank kind of brought me down a little bit.
My plan here is to do a little retrospective on all of the Eloy releases. Starting from the beginning and wandering on up to the most current release. One of the unique things about Eloy is that they have been a perpetual revolving door of members. The line-up has rarely been the same, with only two members being the actual key to the sound: Frank Bornemann (vocals and guitar) and Klaus-Peter Matziol (bass). Yet, even with the constant changing of members and constant changing of styles, the Eloy sound has remained incredibly consistent. Digging through some interviews with the Frank Bornemann I think I understand how it is that the band has remained consistent, and exactly how they operate.
In an interview with Bornemann he states the importance of the band, and everybody in the band contributing and being an actual band. The comment made me realize that for Bornemann it truly is about being a band. I get the impression that he hires people to being in the music, with somebody contributing an idea, and then everybody building on the idea. Then, considering this is Eloy, and Bornemann's project, he then "tweaks" everything into taking on what we all know as the "Eloy sound." He adds the touches to make sure it all starts to take on the sound that we come to expect.
Due to the many changes the band goes through, the idea here will be to tackle this retrospective in chunks. The first one will just look at the first album. This needs to be addressed on its own due to it being completely unlike the rest of the albums.
The next group will be the second and third album, mainly for stylistic reasons.
I am going to lump album four, The Power and the Passion, in with the classic trilogy (Dawn, Ocean, Silent Cries and Mighty Echoes). While The Power and the Passion is the same line-up as albums two and three, and Dawn through Silent is a different line-up (though the same for those three albums), the musical style is the same. So I am going by style over the members. I believe that The Power and the Passion was the true birth of their direction, even if I do prefer Inside (album two) and Floating (album three) possibly the better albums. Frank's vision was finally realized.
When possible I will be using vinyl as my choice of listening medium. Sadly, for the first album I will more than likely be using a streaming site of some sort. I do not have the debut album, and an original copy is might expensive. I will eventually be buying the re-release. For now, however, I am using my money to replace CDs I parted with a few years ago (the 90s albums are only available on CD, except for insanely priced promos) and vinyl I never had before.
I will try to add a little bit of factual information to these articles, but this will prove difficult. Eloy never achieved much success over here, nor in many English speaking countries. They never even made it to the US on a tour, and I believe their live shows have always been fairly sporadic. But due to this there amount of information out there on Eloy is pretty light. So, I will do my best and I will revise any articles with new information, if I find or stumble on to anything.
So, until I get the next piece written, ALL HAIL THE MIGHTY ELOY!!!