New stuff:
CD's:
Mellow Candle _Swaddling Songs_
A legendary folk-rock album.  Not really High Prog, but fits under
the big umbrella nicely.  Sounds a bit like a slightly less proggy
companion to Renaissance's first album, before the heavy
orchestration.  Piano/g/b/d and *2* female lead singers, who duet
(and harmonize) throughout most of the album.  They have a very
strong presence, and at times (esp. when they are "scatting") they
achieve a hard rock vocal effect that is very impressive, analogous
to the way "Eleanor Rigby" and early ELO used violins etc. for the
same effect.  The instrumentation is top-notch, too.  This isn't just
folk with rock touches or rock with folk touches, it's a true fusion. 
The vocalists jam with each other, and the instruments play songs
varying from ballads to fairly "folky" to fairly "rocky".  The piano is
fairly pronounced, too.  The pianist (also one of the female singers)
actually played with (shudder) Thin Lizzy once.
No frantic soloing or maniacal chord changes, but this lives up to its
billing.  The sound is pretty good, too.  Apparently the LP is worth
big bucks these days, and didn't sell at all originally.
Message _From Books and Dreams_
This one is occasionally billed as being better than their first (_The
Dawn Anew is Comin'_), a Nektar-influenced album that falls much
closer to conventional hard rock than Nektar's first 2, at least.  It
sounds pretty good in a heavy-70's stoner music sort of way, with
lots of Nektar/early Man-type jamming.  Some really stupid lyrics (I
always say that, but these are worse than most):  "Dreams are
remembered by the few who forget/the sandman is perverted, and
not a lovable bearded saint".  That's NOT the worst...
Still, as Novalis sounded like a mellower version of Nektar, this is a
more straight hard rock-y version of Nektar.  I haven't had time to
compare this with _Dawn_, but it seems to be as good, at least.  Not
as good as Nektar's first 2, but similar in content.
Wigwam _Nuclear Nightclub_
Haven't had time to listen to this one much.  Doesn't appear to be
very popular with fans...
Colosseum II _Strange New Flesh_
You've got "Dark Side of the Moog" on your Magma
_Attahk/_UW_ tape.  It seems to be the best track on the album, but
I haven't had time to hear this much yet.  Some singing that really
threw me off, compared to the "Dark Side" song (which REALLY
cooks).
Epidermis _Genius of the Original Force_
Only heard this once, turned down.  Lots of harmonies, but I don't
remember it very well.
I'd like to point out that this is a pretty gnarly wad of music for one
day's buying...
LP's:
Oregon
_Our First Record_ (a posthumous release of a 1970 album)
_In Concert_
_Winter Light_
_Music of Another Present Era_ (the 1st release)
This must be most of their early stuff (along with _Distant Hills_). 
I paid *FOUR DOLLARS* for these...haven't heard any of them yet.
Argent _Ring of Hands_
Their 2nd.  The song "Lothlorien" from the Rhino box set is off of
this, and it's a classic Early English Prog Song (in a Late Psych sort
of way), amazingly enough.  I like "Hold Your Head Up" (their big
hit) but it doesn't score very high on the Prog-o-Meter.  Hope the
rest of the LP is as good as "Lothlorien".
Ronnie Montrose _Open Fire_
Considered prog enough to have made it into the GEPR.  I heard a
Montrose (the band) album once, the one with "Bad Motor Scooter"
and Sammy Fucking Hagar singing, and it was awful.  I'm hoping
this is better than that was...
The above 2 albums are notable failures of mine, as far as finding
the CD's.
0'sProgR---
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