Space Bandits

Third collaboration from Steven Wilson and Aviv Geffen. Mr. Geffen wrote all of the material except for one track. Musically speaking its a very different animal than Porcupine Tree. Its much more laid back with a heavy emphasis on orchestration. I'm reminded a bit of later Pink Floyd and also Roger Water's solo works. Not a lot of pyrotechnics and really not much in the way of heaviness. Its almost as if Mr. Wilson has taken a supporting role as opposed to equal stature to Mr. Geffen. If you are looking for Porcupine Tree's quasi psychedelic metal look elsewhere. Blackfield presents you with (well recorded) art rock that targets your emotions rather than your thought process.

Yet another brilliant work from this Norwegian prog band.  The Greatest Show On Earth is the band's third effort.  While the first album Identity delved into alternative/prog realms bearing similarity to Radiohead, their second album All Rights Removed was full on Pink Floyd worship.  This latest effort carries on in similar fashion.  There are parts of the album that were written with tracing paper.  It evokes the mood and feel of Dark Side Of The Moon, Wish You Were Here, and maybe even a bit of The Wall.  This isn't to say the band doesn't inject any personality of their own - they do.  There are contemporary elements, its just that when they go into full on Pink Floyd mode its so apparent and so well executed that it blinds you to everything else that is going on.  What Bi Kyon Ran is to King Crimson or The Watch is to Genesis, Airbag is to Pink Floyd.  Original?  Truth be told not really.  It doesn't matter, its so well executed that you will just immerse yourself in the listening experience.  Highly recommended.

This one has been out of print for many years but recently brought back in limited quantities by Cuneiform. L'Ethique is a great album from what was at the time The Richard Pinhas Band. It featured members of Magma plus a number of musicians that had floated in and out of the Heldon/Pinhas axis over the years. It rocks out mightily in a King Crimson direction interspersed with Pinhas' sheer sound treatments. One of the best albums of the 80s!

"The Flaming Lips have a flair for making other artists’ music their own. Their versions of T. Rex’s “Ballrooms of Mars,” Queen and David Bowie’s “Under Pressure,” and Madonna’s “Borderline,” a song they recorded with Stardeath and White Dwarfs, who also appear on the literally titled The Flaming Lips and Stardeath and White Dwarfs with Henry Rollins and Peaches Doing the Dark Side of the Moon, all show what they took from those artists and what they gave back. Though the Lips always seemed more indebted to Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd, they put their own stamp on Dark Side’s paranoia and moody atmospheres. They performed this version of Dark Side of the Moon at their 2010 New Year’s Eve celebration, capping a triumphant 2009 that included the release of their revitalized-sounding Embryonic. While the Lips recorded that album on their own, it’s still easy to hear how this album is symbiotic with Embryonic. The same wildness permeates these songs, giving them a feel that’s more primal than the original’s polished reflections. “Speak to Me/Breathe” opens the album with short-circuiting keyboards and raw, vaguely Latin-sounding percussion immediately tying it to the Lips’ last album, while “Time/Breathe (Reprise)” rides on the driving, fuzzed-out bass that was Embryonic’s spine. However, …Doing Dark Side of the Moon feels more focused than its predecessor -- of course, the familiarity these songs have helps -- with its rawness providing contrast instead of adding an intentionally primordial feel, as it did on Embryonic. Elsewhere, The Flaming Lips and guests are just as faithful to Dark Side of the Moon as they need to be, using Peaches as a stand-in for Clare Torry on “The Great Gig in the Sky” -- although Peaches’ super-saturated howls are far more odd and jubilant. As on the original, some of the best moments are the spookiest ones. “Us and Them” sounds like a conversation held across a kitchen table instead of in deepest space, regardless of the synths whooshing around Wayne Coyne’s vocals, and tender guitars underscore its unique intimacy. “Brain Damage” is even more stripped-down while remaining true to the original’s air of eerie knowingness, of being just sane enough to know you’re going crazy. As always, The Flaming Lips approach this tribute by exploring how they can serve the songs, without worrying about the legacy or image of the artist they’re covering. The only time this backfires (slightly) is on “Money,” which has a cleverly tinny drum machine that sounds like coins piling up, but its heavy vocoders and stiff beats lose too much of the original’s jaded swing. Despite the sheer number of musicians playing on it, The Flaming Lips and Stardeath and White Dwarfs with Henry Rollins and Peaches Doing the Dark Side of the Moon is a distinctly non-bloated treatment of one of rock’s most epic albums. While it might be more fun than impressive, fun has always been a vital part of The Flaming Lips’ best music." - Allmusic Guide

· A DELUXE 2CD SET OF THE CLASSIC 1973 LIVE ALBUM BY HAWKWIND· NEWLY REMIXED FROM THE ORIGINAL MASTER TAPES BY STEPHEN W TAYLER· ALSO INCLUDES AN ILLUSTRATED BOOKLET Atomhenge, the home of Hawkwind’s back catalogue, is proud to announce the release of a deluxe 50th anniversary remixed edition of HAWKWIND’s legendary live album SPACE RITUAL. Recorded on the band’s UK Tour of December 1972, which followed the release of the band’s recent studio album DOREMI FASOL LATIDO. The live show was a continuous performance linked by poetry recitation by ROBERT CALVERT and was a complete audio-visual experience. Featuring the dancers Stacia, Miss Renee and Tony Carrera, the concerts also featured an elaborate light show by famed lighting designer Liquid Len. The Space Ritual tour followed the huge success of the Silver Machine single (although the song did not feature in the live set) and three concerts were captured on tape by the Pye Records mobile unit. The resulting double album was adorned with memorable artwork by designer Barney Bubbles and was a Top Ten hit in the UK upon its release in May 1973. This 50th anniversary 2 CD set features a stunning new mix of the album by Stephen W Tayler, from te original 16-track master tapes. The set includes the complete unedited versions of Brainstorm and Time We Left This World Today and the encore of You Shouldn’t Do That. With a illustrated booklet with new essay this new release is the ultimate tribute to this legendary album.2CD TRACK LISTDisc One: Space Ritual 50th Anniversary Stereo Remix by Stephen W Tayler1. Earth Calling (new stereo mix)2. Born to Go (new stereo mix)3. Down Through the Night (new stereo mix)4. The Awakening (new stereo mix)5. Lord of Light (new stereo mix)6. Black Corridor (new stereo mix)7. Space is Deep (new stereo mix)8. Electronic No. 1 (new stereo mix)9. Orgone Accumulator (new stereo mix)10. Upside Down (new stereo mix)Disc Two: Space Ritual 50th Anniversary Stereo Remix by Stephen W Tayler1. 10 Seconds of Forever (new stereo mix)2. Brainstorm (new stereo mix)3. Seven by Seven (new stereo mix)4. Sonic Attack (new stereo mix)5. Time We Left This World Today (new stereo mix)6. Master of the Universe (new stereo mix)7. Welcome to the Future (new stereo mix)8. You Shouldn’t Do That (new stereo mix)

"Progressive rock and boy-band pop seem like natural enemies at first. The former's fascination with ornate, elongated passages of finger-exhausting musicianship is in almost every way the opposite of the latter's emphasis on catchiness first; it's hard to imagine turn-of-the-millennium hits like "Bye Bye Bye" with extended guitar and keyboard solos. Yet ever since A Doorway to Summer, their 2005 debut, Moon Safari has put to rest the notion that progressive-minded songwriters can't make pop that's as hook-driven as it is ostentatious. Grandiloquent epics like "Other Half of the Sky," from the 2008 double album Blomljud, weave together widescreen arrangements with the band's signature five-part vocal harmony, a feature unmatched by few groups in any genre, anywhere. It's easy to isolate the audience with solipsistic soloing and obtuse orchestrations, but from day one Moon Safari has made prog that—assuming the layperson were more amenable to songs that run upwards of thirty minutes—could lead them to something like a pop crossover hit.But while the union of hook-heavy vocal interplay and '70's prog stylistics gives Moon Safari an unmistakable, unique sound, it also handicapped them in a significant way for their first two LPs. The group's accessibility on A Doorway to Summer and Blomljud, along with its technical prowess, is unassailable, but the high-fructose sweetness of its style leads to a diabetic rush when stretched out onto songs that span ten to thirty minutes. For example, "Other Half of the Sky," the titanic thirty minute showstopper off of Blomljud, has so many memorable hooks that by the time it's run its time out, it's hard to remember all of them. The classic problem of "too many voices leads to a noisy room" was the defining problem of Moon Safari's otherwise enjoyable sound for some time. All that changed, however, in 2010 with the release of Lover's End.It is no exaggeration—even as the decade remains young—to say that Lover's End is one of the finest progressive rock records of the '00's. Hell, it's not even crazy to say that it's one of the finest pop albums of the '00s; anyone, even those turned off by prog's eccentricities, can find something to love on this mellifluous collection of songs. From the a cappella charm of "Southern Belle" to the hook-loaded "New York City Summergirl," Lover's End is chock full of goodness from beginning to end. What explains its genius is that in contrast to A Doorway to Summer and Blomljud, the songs are given exactly the amount of space they need, and not a second more. Some songwriters may feel hamstrung by the verse/chorus structure, but it's a perfect fit for Moon Safari's joyous approach to music.With their newest studio outing, Himlabacken, Vol. 1, Moon Safari continue the refining of their sound, and while this isn't the breakthrough that Lover's End was, it nonetheless attests to the brilliance of this group. Whereas the latter was bound by a loose concept (love and heartbreak), Himlabacken Vol. 1 is less a lyrics album than its predecessor. The cost of this is that the music is less distinct in its cohesiveness, but there are no shortage of catchy passages and amped-up solos. "Mega Moon" comes off as a tribute to musical theatre, with "The Very Model of A Modern Major General" vocal delivery interweaving with Queen-esque bombast to an impressive effect. "Too Young to Say Goodbye" sees and matches the polyharmonic beauty of "Lover's End (Part One)." By sticking to concise song formats—the longest cut here runs nine and a half minutes—Moon Safari ensures that things never run out of steam, an essential quality to any good progressive rock band.If nothing else, Himlabacken, Vol. 1 proves that there's one thing Moon Safari can't be accused of: being unaware of themselves. Grand finale "Sugar Band" is as much a statement of identity as it is a slice of epic pop: "Sweet and saccharine are we," they declare, followed by "syrup's the blood in our veins." (Less successful is the clumsy Katy Perry innuendo of, "suck our big candy canes," which is thematically consistent but tonally off.) Both "Sugar Band" and "Little Man," one of the few Moon Safari songs to feature a solo vocal, are emblematic of the mushiness that might turn some prog fans away from their music. The latter, while obviously a touching document of a father's love for his son, does feel a bit out of place in how deeply personal it is; part of the strength of this group's sonic is the universality of its pop appeal, and the intimacy behind "My Little Man" makes listening to it an almost voyeuristic experience. "Mega Moon" and "Sugar Band" are better at capturing the convivial spirit of the band that's accessible to all.As with past outings, even those drawn to vocal harmonies might find it hard to stomach all of the sweetness of Himlabacken, Vol. 1. But what ultimately makes this LP successful is its unpretentious commitment to fun. Moon Safari are a rare collective that prove daunting musical chops aren't anathema to accessibility, and with Himlabacken, Vol. 1 they've made a recording that, while not the magnum opus that Lover's End was, is as true a capturing of their ethos as there could ever be. Sating a sweet tooth brings to mind the phrase "guilty pleasure," but there's no guilt involved with music as first-class as this. Who knew being in a boy band could sound so classy? " - Sea Of Tranquility