“Play with Fire is The Reign of Kindo’s third full length record,” (CandyRat Records). “… music that pinpoints the middle ground between a respect for past greats and a boldness to pave tomorrow. This is, quite modestly, the definition of The Reign of Kindo. Citing influences from Dave Brubeck to Ben Folds to Japanese composer Ryuichi Sakamoto to John Mayer, there’s not a degree of pomposity in this sound, just an honesty in the group’s craft to blend such diverse influences into an identity.”
Perhaps some of the highest possible praise for this eclectic indie/prog/jazz/rock/etc. band comes from Sputnik Music: “… me and my dad can listen together in the car without one of us saying ‘God, this sucks.'”
Starting in A minor, “The Man, the Wood and the Stone” (2013) is full of harmonic pivots. At 2:01, we’ve shifted to Db major; 2:19, C major; 2:30, A major … accelerating and building from there. Other than a difference in meter, the final melodic phrases of the album-closing track (3:24) mirror the first phrases of the opening track, “The Hero, The Saint, The Tyrant, & The Terrorist” — weighty bookends for a wide-ranging album.
Many thanks to uber-regular contributor JB for this submission! For anyone who was alive — and less than retirement age — in mid-1970s America, “Carry On Wayward Son” was nothing less than inescapable.
“I’ve always thought Kansas was an interesting hybrid of two different genres: Prog vs. ‘trad’ rock … I remember hearing a surprising amount of Kansas at frat parties during college, mixed in with the Stones and Lynyrd Skynyrd — you’d never hear Genesis or Gentle Giant in a frat basement, but there was Kansas, WAY more rhythmically and harmonically complex than the other hard rock songs … a sheep in wolf’s clothing, as it were.”
LouderSound reports that “the track peaked at #11 in the US (1976), helping to propel parent album Leftoverture to #5 in the Billboard Hot 100 … Four decades on, it’s become more even famous than the band that recorded it, its meaning almost lost to ubiquity. It was the second most played track on US classic rock radio in 1995, topping the same chart in 1997, and at the last count, having appeared in TV comedy shows and films that include South Park and Anchorman: The Legend Of Ron Burgundy, has logged up more than two million downloads during the digital era.”
After the tune begins in A minor, 4:14 brings a shift to E minor.
Best known for their hit “Whiter Shade of Pale” (1967), the UK-based prog rock band Procol Harum “developed a really new sound with two keyboards (piano and Hammond organ) and a guitarist extraordinaire called Robin Trower who was greatly influenced by Jimi Hendrix,”(ProgArchive). “They quickly became one of the precursors of progressive rock (along with the Moody Blues and the Nice), mixed in some classical influences, and sold millions of singles but also albums.” Anyone who’s heard “Whiter Shade,” which is likely a lot of people, would recognize the band’s sound immediately on “Repent Walpurgis,” the closing track on the band’s 1967 self-titled first album. The album also featured the track “Conquistador,” which became a hit single, albeit several years later).
JB, who contributed this tune, adds: “PH always managed to retain a rock sensibility, which kept them from crossing the line from melodrama into bombast, or even self-parody … one of the most under-rated bands of the 60s, in my opinion. It’s at least as progressive (at least along certain dimensions) as Pet Sounds or Sgt. Pepper. But even though nearly every self-respecting hippie that I was exposed to during that period seemed to have a copy of this album in their collection, PH never really broke through to the same level of success as Yes, ELP, or other bands mining the same musical vein. My guess is that PH was about 3-4 years too early to really hit the sweet spot of Art/Prog Rock, although arguably they were one of the principal progenitors of that movement.”
Built primarily around C minor, a big transition at 2:15 leads us through a peaceful patch — a melody-less accompaniment for the Bach/Gounod version of “Ave Maria” in C major. At 2:59, we return to C minor.
“Formed at the dawn of the progressive rock era, Gentle Giant seemed poised for a time in the mid-’70s to break out of their cult-band status,” AllMusic reports, “but they somehow never made the jump. Somewhat closer in spirit to Yes and King Crimson than to Emerson, Lake & Palmer or the Nice, their unique sound melded hard rock and classical music, with an almost medieval approach to singing.”
Going into detail on the tune “Free Hand,” released in 1975, AllMusic continues: “The title track stands out as one of Gentle Giant’s most completed efforts, with every aspect of their music coming into play … Derek Shulman’s jittery vocals offer up an erratic Jethro Tull-like resemblance throughout … Hectic and stirring yet well-controlled, “Free Hand” is one of the finest examples of Gentle Giant’s industrious progressive style, and the song serves as one of the band’s last wholehearted efforts before they lost their experimental edge.”
The track starts with an archetypical prog rock intro, falling into place with a deceptive gentleness. At 0:33, we land in F# minor; verse 1 sets us up with a strong 4/4 at 0:41. At 0:59, there’s a chaotic interlude in D# minor-ish, leading back to another verse 2 in F# minor at 1:11. At 1:28, a chaotic interlude leads into a new section at 1:37: the wheels start to fall off with a displaced verse 3, following the original melodic shape of the others but placed in what sounds like G mixolydian mode, in alternating bars of 4/4 and 3/4.
At 1:51, we have an all-bets-are-off instrumental interlude in 6/4, or 12/8 if you prefer. At 2:31, we’re briefly out of the rapids with another verse in F# minor. At 2:48, there’s a sign that reads ‘Beyond Here There Be Dragons,” with a vast multi-section, multi-meter, multi-key instrumental interlude. At 5:14, we’re back to the verse structure, again in F# minor. 6:09 brings us to a hilariously short, tongue-in-cheek mini-outro, given all of the sturm und drang which preceded it: a tiny version of the “chaotic interlude” originally heard at 0:59.
Our always-vigilant mod scout JB is responsible for this submission. We might thank him later for this one, but we need a stiff drink first.
The RIAA reports that “Yes are one of the most successful, influential, and longest-lasting progressive rock bands. They have sold 13.5 million RIAA-certified albums in the US.” In 1985, the UK band won a Grammy for Best Rock Instrumental Performance and received five Grammy nominations between 1985 and 1992. The band produced 21 studio albums in total.
“Not so long ago, a home stereo was a portal into a realm of hyper-sensory interstellar travel. One could drop the needle on the edge of the LP, turn up the volume, stare at the album cover’s colorful, hallucinatory landscapes, and let the music take you along galactic pathways to undiscovered planets.
Piloting such sonic voyages was a talented group of creative musicians who combined centuries-old musical traditions with the latest tools and an immense spectrum of sounds: symphonic strings, cathedral organs, driving rock drums, meticulous jazz improvisation, offbeat time signatures, dramatic rhythmic shifts. Over all soared vocal harmonies and mystical lyrics.”
Many Yes fans consider 1977’s “Awaken” to be one of the pinnacles of the band’s output. Starting at the intro (E minor), the tonality shifts with the addition of the lead vocal (E major) at 0:35, then returns to E minor at 1:30. Starting at 1:33 and returning intermittently, the real interest switches to the meter — 11/8! After falling to a brief D major at 4:54, we embark on a kaleidoscopic multi-key tour, initially based on the circle of fifths, which continues until it finally slows down like a wind-up toy losing juice.
At 6:34, we’ve returned to E minor in a restful 6/8. At 10:35, a shift back to E major lands and we’re back on another multi-key tour — but this time at a slightly slower pace and a buoyant major key fee overall, with the lead vocal added. The tumbling chord progression is more complex than a mere circle-of-fifths concept; with no idea where to plant our feet, we just go along for the ride. 12:14 continues the tour with a dizzying organ solo, joined by the full band at 12:31 — and throwing a soaring choir into the bargain. 13:20 brings a decisive cadence back to E major, then a return to the floating feel we bathed in at the start. Lastly — just because it was the 70s, and why not? — the tune closes with a guitar riff that wouldn’t be out of place in a country/western cover band!
Many thanks to our first-time contributor Mark Bain for submitting this epic tune!
“With pianist/composer Tigran Hamasyan,” reports the artist’s own website, “potent jazz improvisation fuses with the rich folkloric music of his native Armenia … he’s one of the most remarkable and distinctive jazz-meets-rock pianists of his generation … Tigran’s career has included an impressive number of accolades, including top piano award at the 2013 Montreux Jazz Festival and the grand prize at the prestigious 2006 Thelonious Monk Jazz Piano Competition … he was applauded by NPR Music: ‘With startling combinations of jazz, minimalist, electronic, folk and songwriterly elements … Hamasyan and his collaborators travel musical expanses marked with heavy grooves, ethereal voices, pristine piano playing and ancient melodies.'”
Our regular contributor Carlo Migliaccio has submitted Tigran’s tune “Drip,” performed here in 2018 with the Berklee College of Music Middle Eastern Fusion Ensemble. The tune combines elements of Middle Eastern music with metal — just for starters. Carlo hasn’t taken on the huge task of charting the tune out, but sends his initial findings: “The tune starts in B minor. The first modulation is at 5:03, which seems to ascend up a major third to D#, but it quickly drops down a half step in a modal shift. The tonal center definitely moves to D on a G harmonic minor scale … so is that D harmonic minor mixolydian(?) The second modulation is at 7:08 and travels briefly down a major third to Bb minor, a half step below the starting key. A few bars later, the final modulation takes it down another half step for an ending in A minor, a whole step below the starting key … I think. My ears are playing tricks on me with this one, but I’m now on a Tigran Hamasyan kick as a result of this tune.”
Maxime Cholley
Maxime Cholley, a French drummer and Berklee alum now based in New York City, has long been a proponent of Tigran’s work. Maxime performed on this track and recounts the session: “Working with Tigran Hamasyan was an incredible experience. He was very humble, patient, and thrilled to play with us and try new ideas on his own songs. At the end of a rehearsal, Tigran was working on a part and I joined him while the rest of the band packed up. As we played together, I clearly felt something that could be described as his ‘musical aura.’ His playing enhanced mine and both our sounds merged in the most satisfying way — as if each of his notes had some kind of sonic glue on it. His presence was absolutely mind blowing!”
Released on Genesis’ 1980 album Duke, “Please Don’t Ask” couldn’t have been a bigger part of the Western world’s cultural zeitgeist: with the longtime stigma against divorce lifting quickly, marriages were ending at rates which would have been unimaginable even a decade before. The lyric covers feelings of hurt, remorse, and ambivalence, as well as a splitting couple’s love and care for their children: a tall order indeed.
Duke likely marks the completion of Phil Collins’ ascendance as the second vocalist and frontman of the prog rock band, which moved towards a more broadly accessible focus after the departure of founding vocalist Peter Gabriel. As Collins’ first marriage ended in 1980, it’s hardly surprising that one of his songwriting contributions to this wide-ranging album would be so unflinching in its treatment of such a difficult subject. Classic Rock Review reports that Duke “was the first album by Genesis to reach the top of the UK Album charts and it has been certified Platinum on both sides of the Atlantic.” The book Genesis: Chapter and Verse quotes Collins as saying it’s “the most personal song I’ve probably ever written.”
The tune starts in F major, but its opening progression is a repeated ii -> iii, making the tonality tricky to pin down and somehow putting even more emphasis on the heart-rending lyric. Further, the first note of the vocal is an emphatic tension (an 11, when taken in the context of the ii chord), throwing the listener off the scent even more in terms of tonality. From 0:34 – 0:45, a jarring second section of the verse shifts to Eb major and back — and then again from 1:09 – 1:19. The plaintive chorus (1:20) is built around F minor/Ab major. At 2:14, the transition from the end of the chorus into the second verse involves a bruising tri-tone drop in the bass line. The tune ends with a relatively uncomplicated Ab major, although the protagonist seems to find no such easy resolution.
Many thanks to the wide-ranging mod plugger JB for suggesting this tune!
Reign of Kindo‘s music, according to AllMusic, features “the introspective Brit-pop influences of bands like Coldplay and Keane, but placing the piano front and center and mixing complex jazz harmonies and dissonances with the pop sensibilities of a Ben Folds.” The band has toured with a small central core of musicians, but makes its main impression with the sprawling instrumentation featured in this live recording session. Recording live in the studio, with no overdubs, is a feat on its own — but the band has also added the challenge of capturing the process on video.
The ensemble doesn’t fit neatly into a genre, sitting somewhere between the prog rock, pop, and jazz worlds. The band’s website explains: “It is piano-driven Alt-Jazz…Latin and R&B close by …since the debut EP hit #5 on the Billboard Middle Atlantic Heatseekers chart in 2007, this band has only just begun to emerge from their decade-long journey from rags to… better rags with resumes.”
Starting in C minor, an extended multi-key middle section runs from 1:40 through 3:19. At 3:19, there’s a clear return to C minor.
In its first iteration with Peter Gabriel on vocals, UK prog rock pioneers Genesis released the 1972 album Foxtrot. The album showed the group hitting its stride, including the 20+ minute long prog classic “Supper’s Ready.”
From AllMusic.com’s review: “Foxtrot is where Genesis began to pull all of its varied inspirations into a cohesive sound — which doesn’t necessarily mean that the album is streamlined, for this is a group that always was grandiose even when they were cohesive, or even when they rocked, which they truly do for the first time here…This is the rare art-rock album that excels at both the art and the rock, and it’s a pinnacle of the genre (and decade) because of it.”
“Can-Utility and the Coastliners” might as well be titled “Don’t Get Too Comfortable” … harmonically, at least. The track was primarily written by the band’s guitarist, Steve Hackett, whose site explains that the tune is “based on the legend of King Canute, who supposedly ordered the seas to retreat to mock the sycophancy of his followers.” It centers around D until 3:59; around F# at 3:59; and C from 4:56 to the end. Within each key center, the “tonic” chord can be heard as major, minor, compound … they’re all in the mix. In addition, short excursions away from those respective key centers abound, often accompanied by quick shifts and fillips in the meter. There are no epic modulations, but as this track respects no cliches whatsoever, it will keep listeners on their toes from start to finish. Thanks to MotD regular JB for this contribution!
Chalk up another mod for frequent contributor JB: According to AllMusic, the Nice “bridged the gap between mid-’60s psychedelic pop and 70s art rock, laying the groundwork for the entire progressive rock explosion in the process. It was with the Nice that Keith Emerson began his transformation from an unknown musician into an international rock star with Emerson, Lake & Palmer.” Over time, the band pulled excerpts from an eclectic range of composers including Sibelius, Janacek, Brubeck, Tchaikovsky, Bernstein, and more, including this 1969 tune featuring a J. S. Bach melody.
At 2:28, there’s a short bridge based on a quote from the Brandenburg Concerto #3; at 2:46, after a pause, the tune modulates up a whole step.
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