Some favourites in different genres from within this blog...

The above is a painting/collage that I bought long ago and sits hanging above my turntable-computer set up and that, obviously, resembles the room full of books and records plus CDRs, DVDs, and backup hard drives it looks down upon.

Many many years ago, perhaps decades, perhaps in the nineteen fifties, the commenter asked me for my favourite blog posts.  It's a hard task to carry out, for the usual reasons: I barely remember what I did a week ago, what would you expect going back the 7 years I've done this crazy thing? But of course the biggest problem is that, as my wife said, it's the same album I just keep collecting over and over again.

Nonetheless it sure makes sense to close out this year of 2020, that so many have already said deserves to be entirely forgotten and erased from humanity's collective memory.

The other problem is that I've been more busy with work this year since the pandemic began and for this sadly I count myself lucky when I hear so many stories of people who have suffered through the opposite, particularly all those in the artistic and hospitality industries.  And no I don't work for amazon.com and the (new) emperor of the world Mr. Bezos currently with ownership of 70% of the milky way galaxy.

I will go by categories of which chamber prog (classical music-influenced prog), not surprisingly, is the longest.

It would be nice if people would assemble their own list of favourites, not necessarily from out of this blog, but secondly, post their final requests to close out the year.  More on that at the end.

I give you links back to the blog, but if there are missing uploads obviously I will repair and reup anything.  I don't mind having functioning links for all the music here, which will last hopefully a while, by god's grace, or rather, by the gods of silicon valley's grace.

PROGRESSIVE FUSION:

Don Mock's Mock One-- his speed of light was hugely underrated, I enjoyed that one immensely as well:

https://progressreview.blogspot.com/2016/06/don-mock-flying-at-mock-one-in-1978.html

Mike Santiago Entity:

https://progressreview.blogspot.com/2015/01/mike-santiago-entity-white-trees-usa.html

and the other Mike, Mike Warren and Survival Kit (posted in comments below)

Aussie First Light:

https://progressreview.blogspot.com/2013/12/the-first-light-from-down-under-in-1978.html

and Aussie Alpha Omega:

https://progressreview.blogspot.com/2019/10/alpha-omega-1976-by-request.html

Gulgowski's Soundcheck:

https://progressreview.blogspot.com/2016/04/rory-vincent-sings-music-of-wlodek.html

Of course, all the myriad and incomparables of Jun Fukamachi (multiple posts exist all over the place):

https://progressreview.blogspot.com/2018/04/jun-fukamachi-plays-on-completely.html

Impressionistic Masahiko Satoh a close second:

https://progressreview.blogspot.com/2019/12/yet-another-japanese-fusionary-genius.html

Fellow Space Traveller James Vincent (possibly the most referenced artist in my blogposts):

https://progressreview.blogspot.com/2016/10/the-remainder-of-james-vincents.html

Bright Sun's Fenyes Nap:
https://progressreview.blogspot.com/2014/01/bright-suns-fenyes-nap-from-hungary.html

German Nimbus, the most wanted album of the decade:

https://progressreview.blogspot.com/2018/03/happy-easter-and-nimbus-1980-by.html

LIGHTER FUSION:

Michel Madore

https://progressreview.blogspot.com/2020/02/michel-madores-le-komuso-cordes-from.html

Jukka Linkola
https://progressreview.blogspot.com/2014/03/jukka-linkola-octets-proto-funk-from.html

(And his Banana masterpiece which was ripped for pnf in the past)

The Three Simon and Bard:

https://progressreview.blogspot.com/2017/01/simon-bard-featuring-larry-coryell-in.html

College Kid Peter Berkow:

https://progressreview.blogspot.com/2013/12/heres-huge-pre-xmas-gem-for-all-you.html
https://progressreview.blogspot.com/2017/01/more-peter-berkow-with-thesis-from-1975.html

Fred Taylor's Court of Circe (note artist's appearance in the comments!):

https://progressreview.blogspot.com/2014/07/1982-usa-fred-taylors-court-of-circe.html

All the wonderful joys of Paul Winter and his Consort:
https://progressreview.blogspot.com/2017/10/the-early-years-of-paul-winter-consort.html

GENRE GRAND FUNK ROCK (i.e. not necessarily prog):

The best of 'em all Baby Grand:

https://progressreview.blogspot.com/2018/03/pomp-rockers-baby-grand-in-1977-and-1978.html

Ambush, my personal favourite:

https://progressreview.blogspot.com/2020/07/ambush-redux.html

Starbound Lady's Kickin' still:

https://progressreview.blogspot.com/2014/01/kickin-and-starbound-lady-usa-nebraska.html

Astoundingly prolific Raul Porchetto (really, prog):

https://progressreview.blogspot.com/2020/03/raul-porchetto-from-1972-to-1980.html

Daddy Warbucks, the tax scam man:

https://progressreview.blogspot.com/2015/07/daddy-warbucks-another-brilliant-tax.html

Crazy nuthead (turned preacher, recall) Karlos Steinblast & No. 1 hard rock:

https://progressreview.blogspot.com/2019/01/karlos-p-steinblast-compleat.html

Frank Robson's Two:

https://progressreview.blogspot.com/2014/05/frank-robson-st-1974.html

Fish Co., the most underrated unknown pop album ever made:

https://progressreview.blogspot.com/2015/09/fish-cos-1978-beneath-laughter.html

Sand's astounding West Coast rock (note artist appearance in comments!):

https://progressreview.blogspot.com/2015/05/us-west-coast-sands-1976-effort-head-in.html

The Exceptions - Simply Us, simply unparalleled:

https://progressreview.blogspot.com/2015/02/the-exceptions-simply-us-from-wonderful.html

GENRE TRUE PROGRESSIVE ROCK:

Level F (note the artists' commentary!):

https://progressreview.blogspot.com/2020/09/level-f-stitch-in-time-recorded-1975.html

Ginga Rale Band, of course:

https://progressreview.blogspot.com/2015/06/ginga-rale-bands-1980-wir-bedauern-true.html

Mo's First Time:

https://progressreview.blogspot.com/2015/09/the-amazing-mos-first-album-from-1976.html

Genre's Commercial Success:

https://progressreview.blogspot.com/2014/03/genre-commercial-success-from-1978-new.html

XALPH:

https://progressreview.blogspot.com/2019/05/french-zeuhl-band-xalph-1974-1981.html

The Individual's Trauma:
https://progressreview.blogspot.com/2019/02/the-individuals-trauma-usa-1980-minor.html

Gerardo Batiz's multiple oeuvres:

https://progressreview.blogspot.com/2016/07/isla-from-gerardo-batiz-1981-plus-bonus.html

Tommy Korberg plus Stefan Nilsson in Blixtlas (below).

https://progressreview.blogspot.com/2013/10/tommy-korberg-stefan-nilsson-blixtlas.html

An beautiful and ancient old post, Wisse Scheper Topaz:

https://progressreview.blogspot.com/2013/10/wisse-scheper-topaz-net-1972.html

Evergreen State College albums:
https://progressreview.blogspot.com/2015/07/the-evergreen-state-college-music.html

Melisma's Like Trolls (note again artist-related comments)

https://progressreview.blogspot.com/2015/04/next-masterwork-melismas-magnificent.html

And might as well include the two from Marie-Claire Seguin, though some will object:

https://progressreview.blogspot.com/2020/12/maire-claire-seguins-two-masterpieces.html

GENRE PROGRESSIVE CHAMBER or PROG-CLASSICAL, a personal favourite:

Doug Lofstrom's Music:

https://progressreview.blogspot.com/2017/01/doug-lofstroms-music-composition-from.html

Peter Wolf's Tutti:

https://progressreview.blogspot.com/2018/10/austrian-composer-peter-wolf-and.html

Joxifications, see below

Marco Antonio Araujo, RIP:

https://progressreview.blogspot.com/2017/08/beyond-brilliant-brazilian-composer.html

The wonderful commenter who found Nuevos Aires's 3:

https://progressreview.blogspot.com/2017/08/nuevos-aires-from-buenos-aires.html

Membrillar:

https://progressreview.blogspot.com/2017/06/membrillar-1984-argentina.html

Iviron (pnf) see below

Roger Kellaway's Cello Quartet, one of my favourite albums of all time, see below

Claus Ogerman in review:

https://progressreview.blogspot.com/2020/08/a-review-of-most-of-claus-ogermans.html

Thanks to the commenter who drew my attention to the recent CD Across the Crystal Sea which has brought me no end of joy in the last few months!

Rafiq Babayev, note there are 2 posts:

https://progressreview.blogspot.com/2019/06/azerbaijan-composer-rafiq-babayev.html

Yuri Chugonov, wow thanks a million to the guy who posted those!! Truly the single most underrated composer I've ever encountered:

https://progressreview.blogspot.com/2020/08/the-remarkable-lost-composerarranger.html

Igor Nazaruk's Forest Awakens (pnf), see below

Igor Brill's 3:

https://progressreview.blogspot.com/2017/08/the-amazing-igor-bril-or-brill-and-his.html

Lothlorien's 2:

https://progressreview.blogspot.com/2015/08/lothloriens-two-lps-st-1980-and-spaces.html

Marcia Meyer:

https://progressreview.blogspot.com/2015/01/marcia-meyers-magnificent-oeuvre-part-2.html

Albert Alan Owen's Keyboard and Strings Music

https://progressreview.blogspot.com/2019/04/albert-alan-owens-keyboards-and-strings.html

And a big surprise for me, not knowing anything about this, having only known his jazz efforts: Keith Jarrett's masterful progressive fusion orchestral work Luminessence (1975), see below.

GENRE THE BELOVED LIBRARY MUSIC:

Modern Sound Quartet's 3:
https://progressreview.blogspot.com/2015/07/flp-116-modern-sound-quartets-1976.html
Gianni Marchetti (multiple posts), of course:

https://progressreview.blogspot.com/2016/03/gianni-marchettis-stunning-work.html

Oscar Rocchi and Magic Keys, of course:

https://progressreview.blogspot.com/2019/02/oscar-rocchis-magic-keys.html

The two from Marco Persichetti:

https://progressreview.blogspot.com/2020/12/persichetti-part-two-noi-quattro-from.html

Luciani's Aspetti della Natura:

https://progressreview.blogspot.com/2015/03/an-upgrade-of-melchiori-and-lucianis.html

Brandenburg:
https://progressreview.blogspot.com/2016/03/the-rias-orchestra-cond-by-helmuth.html
Jean-Pierre Bouquet's Classique et Moderne, see below.

And of course, all the myriad of April Orchestra from 1 to 1095, which you can still look up if you forgot them.

An unclassifiable favourite is Haitians Gerald Merceron and Mushi Widmaier, who appeared multiple times here, but especially for Merceron's masterpiece in 1979:

https://progressreview.blogspot.com/2015/10/return-to-haiti-1978s-lenergie.html

And Mushi's lovely and beloved masterpiece from 1983:

https://progressreview.blogspot.com/2015/04/mushi-lakansyels-absolutely-genius-kote.html

This LP was rereleased, thank god, just after it was last seen selling in the hundreds of dollars.

I bought a copy for 60 euros back then in 2015.

And this Xmas I'm going to do something I've never done before.  I'm going to ask you to post requests and this time I will try to fulfill as many as I can: gods of prog, selfish vinyl collectors, and lossless lovers be damned.  Well, it may turn out I'll chicken out here and there, in order not to annoy those powers that be who have been so generous with me in the past. 

So I guess this will be on a case by case basis, as the corporate people love to say. We'll try to onboard as many of you as possible and empower you all so reach out to me to connect for some face time so we can leverage this post and I'll give 110 percent so we're all on the same page on improving our metrics on best practices and everyone really just try to think outside that box.  Because that box, of course, is completely empty.

Merry Xmas.  OOPS sorry I meant Happy Holidays.  

Oh well: it is what it is.