Aural Moon - Progressive Rock Discussion - Show 57 - An instrumental moment, a hippie moment, and a Magic moment!

Hello everyone, three full-length discs again...

We have a classic from 1971, sandwiched by two great releases from 2005:

Djam Karet - Recollection Harvest

The California boys score again with a great disc. "Recollection Harvest" is the subtitle of the first five tunes, and "Indian Summer" the subtitle of the second six tunes. This is done to showcase the two sides of Djam Karet, the heavier unique brand of fusion and the ambient textures of their mellow side. A 71-minute treat, continuing the greatness of "A Night For Baku" and challenging "The Devouring" for their best work.

The March To the Sea Of Tranquility 7:18
Dr. Money 7:12
The Packing House 11:11
The Gypsy And the Hegemon 9:20
Recollection Harvest 10:06

Indian Summer 4:10
Open Roads 4:57
The Great Plains Of North Dakota 3:13
Dark Oranges 3:44
Twilight In Ice Canyon 5:16
Requiem 4:16

A Program Director approved CD!

Aphrodite's Child - 666 (1971)

I just got a CD copy of this...my friend Jeff is an absolute music library and we've been swapping music for a while now. I hadn't heard this in soooo long. The brainchild of Vangelis Papathanassiou (yes, that's the Mr. Chariots of Fire and Jon Anderson collaborator), this one is a true journey. In the liner notes, it says " recorded under the influence of sahlep"...wheee! I will only play sides one and two...the 20 minute piece on side four is a replay of the prior themes, and side three has a song that is a five-minute triple orgasm accompianed by timpani (I am NOT kidding). Have to play that one sometime.

"The Four Horsemen" is a classic. Love that tune, Demis Roussos' charmingly wretched vocal notwithstanding. "The Battle of the Locusts" and "Do It" are jammed out, and "Ofis" is one of the strangest things you'll ever hear.

The System :23
Babylon 2:51
Loud,Loud,Loud 2:37
The Four Horsemen 5:57
The Lamb 4:34
The Seventh Seal 1:30
Aegian Sea 5:25
Seven Bowls 1:25
The Wakening Beast 1:07
Lament 2:55
The Marching Beast 2:00
The Battle Of The Locusts :56
Do It 1:45
Tribulation :32
The Beast 2:33
Ofis :17

Been wanting to play some oldies for a while, but too many new things keep popping up. Sometime soon we'll get an entire show's worth....

Salem Hill - Mimi's Magic Moment (2005)

Move over Little Atlas (not too far), we've got my vote for CD of 2005 here. All the power of "Be", compacted into four incredible arrangements. Had the pleasure of hearing most of this played live before hearing the studio, which is usually not my preferred method. But I heard this in the heavy rain riding north on I-75, and it just felt right.

The Joy Gem 15:03

What a nice song. Neal Morse steps in for a monster vocal performance. Not that they need it. All four band members have great voices. There's a nice back and forth with Morse and bassist Pat Henry in the midsection. As usual, Carl Groves handles the main parts. David Ragsdale is all over the tune, as fine a performance as he gave in ''Sweet Hope Suite" several years ago.

All Fall Down 7:14

Michael Dearing has most of this song, with his signature vocal and main writing credit. A pretty melody reminiscent of "Nowhere Is Home" from "Be". Carl Groves tacks on a manic few minutes at the end to highlight contrast.

Stolen By Ghosts 21:30

Mike Dearing again shines vocally in this one. An unforgettable performance, an absolute powerhouse of a song. The musical and vocal tradeoffs between Dearing and Groves are excellent, with drummer Kevin Thomas filling in the gaps.

The Future Me 18:53

This could be already my favorite Salem Hill song, and there's plenty to choose from. Carl Groves shows his not from this planet musical talent by writing a classic. Starts off with a quickly paced first 5 or 6 minutes, then calms down to the main theme. The closing 7-8 minutes is pure rapture.

Hope you can join me, you'll not want to miss this one:lurk: