On 08-10-97 CLARK RAY wrote to ALL... 
 
 CR> Kazumi Watanabe -- Kilowatt 
 CR> I don't like this.  It's not jazzy enough and the drums are BOORING. 
 CR> It's too much like a lead electric Rock guitarists solo album.  Blech. 
 CR> Can anyone recommend something I might like better? 
 
        I've always found his albums to be too cheesy for me, 
        polyester jazz. Feh. Life's too short for this. 
 
 CR> Spirit -- The Family That Plays Together 
 CR> Very good stuff, but I typically skip the first song, "I Got A Line On 
 CR> You," because I've heard it too much.  Neat stuff these guys do.  Why 
 CR> don't Prog fans talk about this more? 
 
        About once a year we have a spirited (heh-heh) discussion 
        about them. Let's put it this way. I have sealed LP and 
        8-track copies of _12 Dreams_ I'm saving for my 
        grandchildren. My fave is the (Carol Kane Doll with four 
        Eyes) compilation of the first two albums. 
 
 CR> David Bowie -- Aladdin Sane 
 CR> I bought this for the title track which for me is the best thing he 
 CR> ever did.  Great freaked-out, free-form, avant garde piano playing by 
 CR> Mike Garson and vocals by Bowie much like Peter Hammill. 
 
        Definitely the best thing Garson ever did (avoid his 
        cheese lounge music album he did with Stanley Clarke, 
        btw). On some of the boots from the Aladdin Sane tour 
        Garson really stretches that solo, too. Worth checking 
        out. Of course Tony Visconti's excellent production saves 
        that album from some potentially weak material. Garson 
        and Mick Ronson help a lot, too. 
 
 CR> Roxy Music -- Viva! Roxy Music 
 CR> A live set recommended to me by Stuart (he used to be here too) 
 
        Probably the only Roxy you need, though the first two are 
        ok. The tron on Viva is what makes it, imo. 
 
 CR> The Moody Blues -- Days of Future Passed, On The Threshold Of A Dream, 
 CR> To Our Children's Children's Children, In Search of the Lost Chord 
 CR> I used to not think that this band was Prog, but I was wrong. 
 
        These are great in quad.... 
 
 CR> Finch -- Glory of the Inner Force 
 CR> Oh my God, what a band!!  Kind of like a magnified and speedier Focus 
 CR> with bits of Yes here and there.  They jam and jam and jam some more, 
 CR> but they have a course and you can tell it's all written out.  It's 
 CR> controlled jamming, I guess you'd call it.  No vocals which is fine by 
 CR> me. 
 
        I love the album but I often find myself tiring of it 
        after ten or fifteen minutes, or at least beginning to 
        pay less attention. I'm not sure if it's their fault or 
        mine, or simply because they start so strong..... 
 
 CR> Ultimate Spinach -- III 
 CR> I bought this at a Rhino records outlet in L.A. because it was cheap. 
 CR> Stuart told me that they were suppossed to be Psych.  Well, it's not 
 
        They were pure hype back then and still are, like Moby 
        Grape. Yet people I trust swear by both bands. Go figger. 
 
 CR> England -- Garden Shed 
 CR> Damn, now we're talking! 
 
        This is an album I keep meaning to track down.... 
 
 CR> Gentle Giant -- In A Glass House 
 
        My fave Giant, and I love Giant. 
 
 CR> Kayak -- See See The Sun, Kayak, Royal Bed Bouncer, Starlight Dancer, 
 CR> Phantom of the Night, Periscope Life 
 
        An underrated band, IMO 
 
 CR> Kraan -- Let It Out 
 CR> A fusion band that I would compare to If, but they are actually better 
 CR> at it, in my opinion. 
 
        Oh, far and away much better than IF.... 
 
 CR> The first song here is kind of cheesy ("bandits 
 CR> in the woods, there are bandits in the woods so watch out") but the 
 CR> other songs are much better. 
 
        The bandits in the woods see the bandits in your mind, 
        Clark. I love that song. Give it a chance to grow on you. 
        I bet it will sink in. Kraan are a band you keep with you 
        for a long time, rather than a passing infatuation. 
 
                                Cheers, 
                                Kenneth 
 
 
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