Best Bands of 2006-07

This has been an interesting and successful year; I graduated from university and obtained a great full-time job. Along the way, I’ve managed to discover some great new music. Here are the best artists I’ve found during the past year.

[01] Wishbone Ash, a four-man band from Devon, England, combines elements of progressive rock, pop, and the blues. Led by the talented, if underutilized, bassist and singer Martin Turner, Wishbone Ash is one of the most unjustly forgotten rock bands of the seventies. Ash features dual lead guitars, which allows them to create intricate, interlocking riffs and solos. The band has a diverse range of songs in its repertoire: in addition to a large number of catchy, well-written blues-based rock songs, their catalogue includes long, melodic jams (“Phoenix”, “Handy”), aggressive proto-metal anthems (“Warrior”, “Queen of Torture”) and peaceful, atmospheric ballads (“Lullaby”, “Sometime World”). I haven’t heard any of the band’s post-1970s material, but I’d strongly recommend Wishbone Ash’s classic period (self-titled debut through “There’s the Rub”) to fans of Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple.

[02] Focus, a four-man Dutch progressive rock band, composed some of the genre’s most elaborate and halcyon music. The quartet is best known for the truly unique hit single “Hocus Pocus”, which features a fast, heavy guitar riff and verses packed with incomprehensible whistling, yodeling and gibberish singing. However, the song’s energy and aggressiveness is atypical for Focus; most of their songs are peaceful, mellow and primarily instrumental. Most of the emphasis is on Thijs van Leer’s flute and organs, and Jan Akkeman’s guitar. The band’s compositions range from concise 2-minute songs to 26-minute epics. Mellifluous and sublime, Focus is recommended for fans of Camel and Pink Floyd.

[03] Hailing from Canterbury, England, the Soft Machine was one of the most daring and creative artists of the sixties. The band started as a quirky, psychedelic rock group that enhanced their catchy pop tunes with bizarre lyrics and creative, chaotic jams (“Hope for Happiness”; “Why Are We Sleeping?”). The band’s style changed dramatically with their aptly titled “Third” album, when they composed long, atonal jazz fusion pieces (“All White”; “Slightly All the Time”). This style persisted through the rest of their catalogue. It’s unfortunate that the band gave up writing pop tunes altogether, given how catchy and clever they were. Despite the band’s somewhat schizophrenic nature, they played pop, psychedelic and jazz fusion at a level that most bands could never hope to obtain. Recommended for fans of Pink Floyd (Syd Barrett era) and Miles Davis ("Bitches Brew” era).

[04] Colosseum was a British jazz/fusion band that wrote complex, lengthy instrumental pieces and (usually adequate, occasionally brilliant) pop songs. The band’s five members were all technically proficient (though none possessed elite talent); they used their considerable musical skills to perform dark, jazzy instrumental pieces. Colosseum’s biggest flaw was their inability to write catchy pop songs, which they attempted to play roughly as often as instrumentals. The majority of the band’s output is pleasant and enjoyable, but only a few songs stand out (“The Kettle”, “Walking in the Park”). Given their inconsistency, it’s not surprising that the band only released one classic album (“Valentyne Suite”), though there is more solid material in their catalogue if you’re patient enough to find it. Recommended for fans of Caravan or Cream; start with “Valentyne” and progress from there.

[05] Known for their unique combination of pop, classical, folk and progressive rock, Curved Air was an experimental British band that peaked in the seventies. The group is unique for several reasons. First, Curved Air is arguably the best prog rock band with a female singer (although the competition is not especially tough). Sonja Kristina Linwood has a pleasant voice and is able to change her style to suite the band’s eclectic repertoire. Second, the band is well-known due to Darryl Way’s extensive use of the electric violin. He used the instrument in lead and supporting roles, and demonstrated that the violin could be a significant asset to a progressive rock band. Third, Stewart Copeland, best known as the drummer for The Police, started his career with Curved Air. He appeared on two of their albums in the mid-seventies. Despite the band’s high potential, their career was marred by inconsistency, most likely due to frequent line-up changes and no clear direction or style. The band’s progressive influences are most prominent on songs like the complex “Marie Antoinette”, an epic song about the 18^th-century French ruler, and “Vivaldi”, where Way plays numerous lightning-fast violin riffs and solos. The band’s best pop songs include “Back Street Love”, “Woman on a One Night Stand” and “Day Breaks My Heart”. I’d recommend the album “Midnight Wire” for beginners; it’s one of the band’s least innovative, but features the best songwriting.

Other notable artists that I discovered this year include Khan (a melodic, jazzy Canterbury scene band), Queensryche (an American metal band with solid songwriting and a considerable progressive rock disposition) and Renaissance (an English folk-rock band with beautiful vocals and a strong classical influence).

I already liked jazz & fusion icon Miles Davis and metal band Iron Maiden a lot prior to this year. However, I’ve learned to appreciate their music even more during the past twleve months.