CDs of the Week

It's a while since I splurged on CDs; but since two of the albums were cheap in HMVs sale, all three cost me less than the Fleischmann Sgns that I decided not to buy.

Two of them were by Yes, Fragile, which I only had on vinyl, and Tormato which I didn't own at all. Fragile, from way back in 1972, is as good as it ever was, one of the classics of 70s prog rock. No other band quite matched Yes at their peak; a quite frightening instrumental complexity topped by Jon Anderson's choirboy-on-acid vocals, with his wonderfully surreal nonsense lyrics. Of course, after a generation of hippies tried and failed to find the deep and profound meaning, it wasn't until years later they admitted that the words were nothing more than stream-of-consciousness gibberish.

Tormato on the other hand is really an album for completists only. It's the sound of a band in the throes of disintegration; five talented musicians all pulling in completely different directions. A few decent songs emerge from the murk, such as the single "Don't Kill the Whale" and "Onward", but overall the album pales in comparison to it's predecessor, "Going for the One". It's hardly surprising that the band split after a year later.

The third album I bought is by a band who I don't think were even born when Fragile first appeared. De-Loused in the Comatorium by The Mars Volta is an album I've read several good reviews on Blogcritics, so I thought it worth the risk. It's what I would call "Nu Prog". It's got a lot of the good elements of progressive rock; instrumental complexity, lengthy tracks, one clocking in at 12 and a half minutes, soaring vocals, and song titles like "Drunkships of Lanterns". But it's not the straightforward pastiche of 70s Yes, Floyd and Genesis you find in many other 'neo prog' acts. In some parts, the aggressive guitar based sound is reminiscent of Muse. Other parts echoe mid 70s King Crimson; one guitar solo in particular sounds very Fripp-like. But there no Mellotrons in sight.