Record Reviews

GROOVECTOR ~ ENIGMATIC ELEMENTS MELLOW 442 ~ FINLAND ~ Progressive Rock Recorded: 2002 Released: 2003 2nd album by Finnish Prog band GroovectorFind albums by this artist, which continues the splendid tradition of Prog in that country. Basically an instrumental quartet (some limited vocals – in English - are present), with guitarist Rauli ViitalaFind albums by this artist, keyboardist Mikko HeininenFind albums by this artist, bassist Teemu NiemelaFind albums by this artist and drummer Kalle AaltoFind albums by this artist, the band abandons the Symphonic sound of the 1970s, which dominated their debut album, and moves almost completely into Fusion influenced Prog, with great instrumental parts. Several guest musicians also participate to add to the album´s overall sound. The compositions are all excellent, with well developed melodies and tasteful arrangements. This album should appeal both to Prog and Fusion fans, and the quality of the music deserves to be noted. Highly recommended!

CD 1 Recommend To A Friend

NIEMEN ~ ENIGMATIC MUZA 356 ~ POLAND ~ Progressive Rock 4th album from 1969. After 3 enormously successful albums with his group (Akwarele), Niemen decided to disband the group and start a new venture. He turned to his buddies in the Polish Jazz circles and soon recruited a stellar cast including the cream of the Polish Jazz players, such as Czeslaw BartkowskiFind albums by this artist (drums), Zbigniew NamyslowskiFind albums by this artist (sax) and even Michal UrbaniakFind albums by this artist (sax & flute). Strangely enough the resulting album is not a fusion album but a fully developed Prog album of rare beauty, complexity and awe-inspiring power. This time Niemen uses only poetry as his texts and each of the 4 long suites is designed to complement the lyrics perfectly. For non-Polish speaking public the lyrical part is sadly lost, but even so this is some of the most powerful Prog music ever recorded.

Updated: 19/09/2018Posted:

CD 1 Remastered Recommend To A Friend