Is it jazz? Is it rock? Is it “progressive,” and if so, what does that mean?
Glad you asked. Here are two releases that showcase altogether different sounds and musical approaches. Either can be and have been labeled progressive rock.
First, Tobin Mueller’s new album apparently answers a question nobody was asking. That is, what do you get when you put together a band featuring an eclectic multi-instrumentalist and a famed rock and blues guitarist, playing the music of Yes and Happy the Man alongside that of jazz masters John Coltrane, Weather Report and Herbie Hancock?
Well, we’re not quite sure either, but it might be Prestidigitation, which also throws in a side helping of Tower of Power and Sly and the Family Stone. Mueller has worked alongside everyone from Jon Anderson to Michael Hedges, Dave Brubeck and Ron Carter, and he’s obviously absorbed those and multiple other influences.
They all come to the fore on Prestidigitation, which kicks off with a medley of “Long Distance Runaround” and “Birdland,” mostly the latter. It starts innocently enough, with Mueller’s keys sounding like an off-kilter Rick Wakeman. After about 40 seconds, he segues nicely into a sparse version of the classic Weather Report tune. Woody Mankowski’s soprano sax stands in for Wayne Shorter’s tenor, while Mueller on keyboards and bass pushes things along, though there is some unfortunate noodling that slows things down. Mueller reverts back to Yes for the last 18 seconds.
Then it’s off to funk territory (sort of), with Tower of Power’s immortal “What Is Hip?” followed by Herbie Hancock’s “Watermelon Man.” Both are deconstructed in a manner similar to the opener, with Paul Nelson’s guitar galvanizing the former and Mueller’s (off-)keyboards standing in for the vocals. “Watermelon Man” is similarly recast but ultimately much more successful.
Elsewhere, there’s Sly Stone’s “Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin),” Happy the Man’s “Contemporary Insanity,” Chick Corea’s “Sorceress,” Trane’s “Giant Steps,” even Frank Zappa’s “King Kong.” All are rearranged in such a way as to remind the listener of the original while showcasing Tobin Mueller and company’s instrumental prowess, of which there’s plenty. Still, most are so far out there as to make the listener wonder why they had to be so weird. It may be “Superstition,” but it ain’t the way.
Then there’s Kansas. Their new three-disc set offers newcomers and casual fans a chance to get a taste of what devotees have been listening to for this classic prog-rock band’s half-century of existence. As such, it gives a taste of all the various vocalists the band has employed, from Steve Walsh and Robbie Steinhardt to John Elefante, David Ragsdale and Ronnie Platt, along with Kerry Livgren, Billy Greer and Tom Brislin.
As important and iconic as the vocals are, Kansas’s music is much more than just voices, layering guitars and keyboards throughout with the steady rhythms of founder Phil Ehart on drums and bassists Dave Hope and Greer. One of the best examples of the latter is “Fight Fire With Fire,” which opens disc two. “Windows” and “Hold On” from that disc demonstrate the way the band blends violin into the vocal stew as well. Other highlights include a brand-new version of “Can I Tell You,” and of course “Dust in the Wind.”
A couple caveats: The version of “Carry On Wayward Son” taken from the live recording Two for the Show is inferior to the studio version from Leftoverture.
Another criticism is the programming of the disc, which starts with the most recent recordings and then works backwards. It makes it virtually impossible to follow the progression of the band for those so inclined. And in the dereliction of duty department, it doesn’t include anything from Power or In The Spirit of Things, from the era featuring guitar-god Steve Morse.
Even so, three discs’ worth of music, a total of 39 songs, provides a pretty clear picture of an outfit that hit all the high notes in the late ’70s, then continued to write and perform for another three decades with success and panache. And they’re still going strong today.
Yet the question remains: Is Kansas really a progressive rock band? Should it be lumped in with the likes of Yes, King Crimson, Rush or Emerson Lake and Palmer? Well, there are more than occasional synthesizers, violin is often a part of the proceedings, and the band is familiar with the lengthy instrumental passages similar to those bands. But Kansas has always favored shorter songs rather than epics, and its vocal blend is similar to bands like Journey or especially Styx – another supposedly-prog-but-not-really band.
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