This Week's Top 5

The Top 5 Greatest Epics of All Time

In order to be considered an epic, the song must be very close to or over 20 minutes in length. It must show definitive structure throughout, and is not simply an extended "jam." The overall structure is very important, and should progress in stages (a unique opening, story, instrumental sections that compliment the content of the song, and a significant ending).The song's content should either explore a certain concept or tell a story.


1. "A Change of Seasons" - Dream Theater (1995)
Length: 23:09
Album: A Change of Seasons

In my opinion, this is the epic to end all epics. Instrumentally, we get some of the best classic Dream Theater material, plus the best vocals from James LaBrie ever recorded. The song is quite emotional, and it shifts through a number of different themes and atmospheres. The concept of the song is lightly based on the changing of the seasons, and the lyrics were written by Mike Portnoy in dedication to his mother who had just passed away. This song is the complete package, and it embodies everything an artist would strive to achieve in an epic piece.

2. "2112" - Rush (1975)
Length: 20:33
Album: 2112

Another masterpiece, and in my opinion the band's crowning achievement. With this song, Rush mastered the art crafting lengthy epics, and also salvaged their struggling career. The band is in top form; all three guys get plenty of room to show off their chops, and Geddy Lee's vocals are perfect. Overall, there's a lot of emotion and a lot of energy. The song has a futuristic concept, involving a man living in a world in the year 2062 being ruled by "The Priests of The Temple of Syrinx." This song is truly on of my favorite of all time.

3. "Thick as a Brick" - Jethro Tull (1972)
Length: 43:30
Album: Thick as a Brick

Yes, believe it or not, this is one song. It is an album in itself, yet it is a single song. The album catches the band in one of the best line-ups of their whole career, and the song has wonderful flow. The song received extremely positive critical praise, but this proved to be quite ironic. This album, and song, was originally conceived by band-leader Ian Anderson as a way to mock the prog rock genre. He despised being labeled as a progressive band, so he decided to spit in the faces of the prog-heads by making this album. No one had ever made a song that was the length of an entire record, and there's no doubt that it will go down in history as one of the crowning achievements of progressive rock music.

4. "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" -Pink Floyd (1975)
Length: 25:54
Album: Wish You Were Here

Although this song is split into two pieces on the album, I believe it was only split because they couldn't fit the whole thing on one side of a record (I think the maximum length for one side was 25 minutes). So, in my mind I view it as a single piece. Everything about it is fantastic, from the wholesome bluesy guitar-playing from David Gillmore, to the silky, languid keyboard work from Rick Wright, to the legendarily powerful harmonized chorus. The song is magical, and I get goose-bumps every time I hear it. The song was written by the band in memory of their ex-bandmate Syd Barret, who was slowly mentally decaying.

5. "Karn Evil 9" - Emerson, Lake, & Palmer (1973)
Length: 29:38
Album: Brain Salad Surgery

Another crowning achievement for the progressive genre, this multi-suite epic was also forced to be split on two sides. The music ranges from prog rock with classic rock influence, to extremely jazzy instrumental sections, to absolute insanity. This is definitely one of the craziest songs ever, but it fills the listener with awe and wonder. The song is based on some futuristic concepts. Kieth Emerson's keyboard work is exceptional, and highly varied in sound. This could easily be the greatest keyboard performance ever, as it shows extreme difficulty.
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Soon I will be making an entire page dedicated to a complete list of the greatest epics of all time.

Today's Listen (Part 2)

Frank Zappa - Roxy & Elsewhere (1974)

This album has been my favorite live Zappa album for a long time. It's quirky, complex, and highly entertaining. However, I'll let it be known that it would probably be a difficult listen to anyone who is unfamiliar with Zappa's ambitious live style. Like most of his music, it's chalk-full of humorous parts ("Dummy Up," "Cheepnis") and insane instrumental workouts ("Pygmy Twylyte," "Echidna's Arf (Of You)/Don't You Ever Wash That Thing?") that keep the listener quite mentally engaged with the performance. The band behind him is in exceptional form; the combination of Chester Thompson on drums and Ruth Underwood on percussion results in some of the most complex drumming I've ever heard. Napoleon Murphy Brock has the duty of lead vocals, and I must say I enjoy any Zappa record he his on because his voice is so distinctively awesome. Anybody who wants to experience some music that is really out of this world, check out this recording.

There's nothing from this album on YouTube, but you can listen to "Pygmy Twylyte" by clicking here. http://www.progarchives.com/mp3.asp?id=455

Today's Listen

Tal Wilkenfeld - Transformation (2007)


Tal Wilkenfeld is a very young, but extremely gifted fusion bassist hailing from Australia, and she composed and performed this album after just 3 years of playing bass. She has received a lot of respect in the jazz world, performing with the likes of Jeff Beck, Herbie Hancock, and Chick Corea. I have Jeff Beck's Live at Ronnie Scott's, during which she is also in stellar form. On this album though, she gets much more room to stretch out, and at times I find myself forgetting that she is the bassist because she often deliver solos that are nearly in the league of Jaco Pastorius himself. The band with her is also in good form, and the music itself turns out to be much more on the jazz side of the fusion spectrum. I definitely recommend this to anyone interested in bass.



This next video is from the Jeff Beck dvd. Tal gets a really nice solo at about 90 seconds into the song.

Today's Listen

Ozric Tentacles - Erpland (1990)


This music is insane, and it's exactly what I've been craving. To me, it's a meeting of musical spirits, in the sense that these guys combine numerous styles and sounds to make one hell of a mind-blowing instrumental experience. The music has many layers, and I'll try to describe it: start off with a top-notch group of fusion musicians (a kickin' rhythm section, with a very forward bass presence, crafty guitar), add a heavy dose keyboard/synthesizer effects, and continue rotating between different genre themes (rock, world, ambient, jazz, dance). This all culminates into a brand of music that I have never heard of, nor could I imagine. Many parts are quite trippy and spacey, which allows your imagination to take control. For added emphasis, there are no vocals (always a treat for me), so it's very easy to get caught in a trance during the spacey sections, but only until there's a shift in sound that sends you plummeting back to full awareness. To sum it all up, it's a blissful journey.

I've been looking through their extensive discography, and it's evident that these guys make very similar recordings. Find their best few albums and you have all you need.

Today's Listen (Part 2)

Hawkwind - Warrior on the Edge of Time (1975)


A few years ago I tried to listen to this, and to be honest it was really difficult, and I didn't like it at all. Since then, my ears have been exposed to a great deal of progressive rock, so this time around I understood this album much more. It falls into the category of psychadelic/space-rock, drawing its influences from from bands like Pink Floyd, The Soft Machine, and Yes. The music is injected with heavy doses of synthesizer effects, which allows the listener to seemingly float through some very spacey soundscapes. The band explores numerous moods throughout their songs, ranging from quiet swirling spacey sections to hard rockin' spacey sections. There's a lot of keyboard effects used, but there's also a number of other brass, wind, and string instruments used as well, which end up making for some pretty trippy arrangements. Highly recommended.

Today's Listen

I know comedy albums aren't exactly music, but I think it should be well known that Jim Gaffigan's work is hilarious. I like his stuff a lot because I share so many of the same feelings he expresses, especially when it comes to food. And I'll let it be known, he talks a lot about food, ranging from bacon, to hot-pockets, to spray cheese, etc. He uses his voice in a variety of clever vocal tones to really set the scene of whatever he's talking about. I have his two most recent recordings Beyond the Pale (2006) and King Baby (2009), and both are very funny, but if you had to pick just one I would suggest the latter.

Today's Listen

Dream Theater - Awake (1994)

Dream Theater's second studio album is nothing short of a masterpiece. I have listened to this many times, and with each listen its power continues to grow. Although the album tends to lean more to the metal side of things, it's still highly progressive. The three-song suite "A Mind Beside Itself" is the best highlight on the album, containing the nearly 7-minute roller-coaster instrumental opener, "Erotomania," which segues into the epic "Voices," and finishes with soft, emotional acoustic ending "The Silent Man." Mike Portnoy is in stellar form throughout (check out the odd-time-signature opening beat on "6:00"), and John Petrucci slings killer riffs with one hand (check out "The Mirror" and "Lie") and screaming solos with the other ("Erotomania," "Voices," "Scarred"). James LaBrie also delivers some of his most sensational vocals ever recorded. The album is a must have for any fan, and is a good place to start off for new listeners.

Today's Listen (which led to a binge)

BLACK SABBATH

Usually I just talk about one album per day, but for the past few days I've been playing an enormous amount of Black Sabbath, so I couldn't pick just one of them. These 6 albums are based off of the original band lineup of Ozzy Osborne (vocals), Tony Iommi (guitars), Geezer Butler (bass) and Bill Ward (drums). In my opinion, these guys were the true pioneers of heavy metal; the two components that make this abundantly clear are Ozzy, who today is still known by many as "the Prince of Darkness," and Iommi, who is nearly unanimously hailed as the greatest metal guitarist of all time. MTV named Sabbath as the greatest metal band of all time, and VH1 ranked them as the 2nd greatest band of all time, just behind Led Zeppelin.

All of these albums have roughly the same kind of sound to them because after all, they were essentially creating a genre. But don't let that dissuade you, for what we have here is some remarkable material. The music is very heavy, driven by Iommi's extremely sludgy, pummeling riffs. That, in combination with the often bleak, gloomy atmosphere, and the desperate, wailing cries from Ozzy, makes for a very dark and doom-ridden soundscape. But hey, their name is Black Sabbath isn't it? Despite the darkness of the music, it's never depressing, in fact it's quite gripping, and a lot of times quite energizing. You can truly feel the groove to many of the riffs, and it's easy to become mesmerized by Iommi's firey solos, which are crafted with grace, versatility, and an emotion that is strongly connected to the evil world down below. Every now and then, the band does come up for some air and spits out a song that sounds more like the era's stereotypical radio-friendly rock song, which isn't a bad thing at all.

The music is heavy metal at heart, but it shows that there is some progressive learning because many of the songs are often very complex in terms of structure and sound (specifically, the album Sabbath Bloody Sabbath demonstrates a lot of this, and even has a special guest appearance from Rick Wakeman on one track); these guys rarely stick to the boring verse, chorus, verse, chorus monotony. The band shifts through multiple tones and time signatures in most songs, and almost always leaves room for some nice soloing. Butler and Ward get a few brief moments of solo spotlight, whereas Iommi gets about as much space as he wants, but that's not to say that the bass and drums are not existent. Butler's bass is a very crucial force in the band, and it often drives the songs hand-in-hand with the guitar. The bass work is about as original and creative as it could get for a heavy metal outfit. Bill Ward is fantastic on the drums, and provides countless rhythms that are simply fascinating. The drums are usually high up in the mix, but never more so than on Paranoid. To put it short, these musicians are all masters at what they do, and they all played a very important role in pioneering a specific sound on each instrument for the heavy metal genre.

I could really go on forever about these guys, but for the sake of time I shall personally rank the albums based off of my own opinions. Keep in mind that all of these albums are important, if not fantastic.

Paranoid -1970
Sabbath Bloody Sabbath - 1973
Master of Reality - 1971
Black Sabbath - 1970
Sabotage - 1975
Vol. 4 - 1972

Today's Listen

Alice in Chains - Dirt (1992)

This album came with high recommendation from a friend, for good reason. The music has a unique flavor because it falls somewhere between heavy metal and grungy alternative. Since I don't have much experience in the grunge genre, the vocals often remind me of Curt Cobain, but the band here rocks much harder than Nirvana, due to the metal influence. All of the songs here are good if not great. I had an immediate attachment to the album's opener "Them Bones" because it was featured in Guitar Hero 2, and I recall loving to play it. Highlights include "Rain When I Die," "Down in a Hole," "Rooster," and "Would?" I've only listened to the album once through, but I can already tell I'll be playing it many more times to come.

Today's Listen

Dream Theater - Systematic Chaos (2009)

This is the band's ninth studio album, and it continues their streak of highly complex progressive metal. Often seen as one of their weaker albums to date, I could not help but agree for a long time. Today, however, I decided to throw on this album while I was working out in my basement and it sounded fantastic. It's definitely an underrated performance for these truly fantastic musicians, and I feel stupid for overlooking it for so long. The album contains some of the band's most technical compositions, and would be an extremely difficult listen for anyone new to metal. Drummer Mike Portnoy gives an all-star performance as usual, and delivers one of his most insane rhythms on "Constant Motion." The albums epic "In the Presence of Enemies" is split into two parts, and it demonstrates the band's ability to make metal as progressive as possible. "The Dark Eternal Night" is a nice showcase of the band flexing their muscles of technical musicianship. This album should be a great listen to any fan of heavy metal.

This Week's Top 5

Alternative Rock Albums



1. Foo Fighters - There is Nothing Left to Lose

Plain and simple, this album is by far my favorite Alt-rock album. Foo Fighters in general is just one of those bands that defines the genre, and this album is their crowning achievement, despite their most recent albums. This is just one of those rarities when every track is great, if not fantastic.

2. Green Day - International Superhits

Under normal circumstances, I would never dare to include a compilation album in a list of albums that define a genre. However, this album is by no means your everyday greatest hits album. They manage to squeeze 21 tracks onto this disc, and I must say they're all superb. The spirit of Green Day is very accurately portrayed on this superb compilation.


3. Pearl Jam - Ten

This was the band's debut album, and today it still remains their best album. Another record that defines the genre, with vocals from Eddy Vedder that absolutely reek of Alt-rock spirit. What makes this album special for me is the fact that it oozes with classic rock influence, and the album simply rocks from start to finish.


4. Red Hot Chili Peppers - Blood, Sugar, Sex, Magik

When RHCP released this album, they were already rock veterans, and it shows in the best of ways. Here they refined their sound, with Anthony Kiedas singing as energetic as ever, John F. plays some of his best guitar licks to date, and the rhythm section of Flea and Chad Smith could not be any more funky. In short, it's a perfect record from on of the most important bands of the '90s.


5. U2 - Achtung Baby!

U2 had already achieved great commercial success from their famed albums The Joshua Tree and The Unforgettable Fire, but here they propel themselves into the '90s with a record that would push them to truly legendary status. If you don't believe me, go listen to "Mysterious Ways" or almost any track from the album. And to those who have an abnormal hatred for Bono, do me a favor and go screw yourself, because you don't know what the hell you're talking about.

Today's Listen

Band of Skulls - Baby Darling Doll Face Honey (2009)

This album is from a relatively new and unknown alt-rock trio from London. It has a really bad-ass sound to it throughout. Female bassist Emma Richardson shares lead-vocal duties with guitarist Russell Marsden, but don't be discouraged by it. The duo's vocals are surprisingly similar, which results in some very cool harmonies in many of their songs. Drummer Matt Hayward fulfills his job nicely, providing an excellent beat to all the songs, except for a couple solo acoustic moments. The band's sound could be described as bluesy garage rock that often recalls bands like The White Stripes, The Raconteurs, and even some moments that make me think Fleetwood Mac. I highly recommend this release to any fan of rock music.