There's a mixture of the old and new in this edition of The Progressive Zone. On Live From The House Of Blues, Yes delivers a two-CD set combining tracks from their recent (and critically acclaimed) CD The Ladder with old favorites such as "And You And I" and "Roundabout." Porcupine Tree follows up their masterpiece Stupid Dream with the new Lightbulb Sun. While there are two extended tracks ("Hatesong" and "Russia On Ice"), the emphasis this time around is on shorter songs, most clocking in at five minutes or less. The Inside Out America label (home of The Flower Kings) brings us the latest effort from Enchant, a band that combines intelligent and tuneful songwriting with a powerhouse delivery. If you like "New School" Prog (as in the aforementioned F-Kings, Spock, etc), give Juggling 9 Or Dropping 10 a listen. The final recording from Roxy Music Mach II (the Eddie Jobson era), Viva is a live set featuring the talents of John Wetton on bass, most notably on the sledgehammer version of "In Every Dream Home A Heartache" from their second album For Your Pleasure. The good folks at Purple Pyramid bring us the double CD Hawkwind: The Stonehenge Collection. While the band has a well-deserved reputation for having one of the worst sounding catalogs in history, The Stonehenge Collection is a rare and welcome exception. Compiling two previously released albums (Zones and Do Not Panic: This Is Hawkwind), both discs feature key members Dave Brock and Nik Turner. Finally, Raingods With Zippos is a strong effort from former Marillion frontman Fish. The opening track "Tumbledown" sounds vaguely reminiscent of Peter Gabriel's swagger on "Lillywhite Lilith," but Fish is far from derivative. He displays a sense of renewed vigor and conffidence on this CD, making it a must-have item.


The above images are copyright © Inside Out America Records (Enchant), Roadrunner Records (Fish), Purple Pyramid Records (Hawkwind), KScope Records (Porcupine Tree), Beyond Records (Yes), and Virgin Records America (Roxy Music). All rights reserved. Any other use of these materials--including reproduction, modification, distribution, or republication--without the prior written permission of the companies listed is strictly prohibited.

Copyright 2001 Mike DeAngelis, SMF Productions. All rights reserved.