Progressive Rock? It Still Lives

A host of recent releases makes the point that decades after its heyday, prog is very much alive and well, thank you. Discs by two of the genre's progenitors makes the point.

Yes's Fly From Here reunites the core band - Steve Howe, Alan White, and de facto leader Chris Squire - with Drama-era keyboardist Geoffrey Downes (also the main man for the post-Drama all-star group Asia with Howe, John Wetton and Carl Palmer). Also on board is vocalist Benoit David. Originally assumed to be a short-term sub for a then-ailing Jon Anderson, David is now the band's official lead vocalist.

That's a change many fans have had a difficult time grappling with. As when Trevor Horn replaced Anderson for the Drama album and tour, a large percentage of Yesaholics won't stand for anyone standing in. That's too bad, as both Horne and David have their strengths.

David's are evident on Fly From Here. He sounds comfortable with the material, and less like Anderson than onstage. That's good and bad. There's less strain and less direct comparison. But there's also less Yesness. In fact, you could easily make an argument that this is among the least Yes-ish albums ever. Drama, 90125, Union - all sounded like a different Yes, and Fly From Here continues in that vein.

But is it any good? Well, yes (lowercase y). The title suite is all grandiose and properly dramatic, with sweeping keyboards, heavy bass from Squire, and the requisite three-part harmonies. The lyrics are less cosmic than Anderson's, and many are comparing the disc favorably with Drama. If you can get past David's vocals, Fly From Here casts Yes as the reigning prog heavyweight once again.

Another of the original era's heavyweights was King Crimson. And if Yes switched personnel regularly, the comings and goings from Crimson were a dizzying procession of bassists, vocalists, keyboard players, and percussionists. Somehow the band survived, emerging after long hiatuses with new players and new sounds. That's the case with A Scarcity of Miracles by Jakszyk, Fripp and Collins. Though it's dubbed a King Crimson ProjeKct - a fraKctalization, as Fripp likes to put it - this is Crimson in everything but name. Fripp, bassist Tony Levin, and percussionist Gavin Harrison of Porcupine Tree are all current Crims.  Saxophonist Mel Collins was a member of the band in the early 70s, and Jakko Jakszyk (guitar & vocals) is the son-in-law of original Crimson drummer Mike Giles. Moreover, both Jakszyk and Collins were charter members of the 21st Century Schizoid Band, the Crimson alumni group that performed music the current aggregation had abandoned.

The music here is more melodic and less aggressive than that of the last couple decades of Crimson. It harkens back to Lark's Tongue- and Starless and Bible Black-era KC, with a healthy helping of Frippertronics. Jakszyk's vocals are easier on the ear than those of current Crim vocalist Adrian Belew, and the music is moody, melodic and mysterious. Bravo!

Also noted: Ben Craven's Great & Terrible Potions, slightly metallic prog with lots of guitar and a grooving Roger Dean cover; Pendragon's Passion, still resisting my attempts to like it; and Wobbler's Rites at Dawn, all dreamy soundscapes and woodwinds before the retro keys and guitars chime in. More fun to come!