Actually, they were already dead. Even dead as a doornail. After two albums that sold as well as soap-flavoured chocolate and, according to guitarist/singer Roger Hodgson, didn't sound much better, the chapter Supertramp seemed to be over in 1971 - because everything really went wrong. The band, which at that time consisted of Kevin Currie, Frank Farrell, Dave Winthrop, Rick Davies and Hodgson, fell apart after a disastrous Scandinavian tour.
AC/DC the members go out: The rhythm guitarist suffers from dementia, the drummer has been arrested by the New Zealand police - the Australian megastars have certainly imagined their fortieth anniversary of service differently. But despite the adverse circumstances: Mastermind Angus Young does not think of an end to the hard rock institution. AC/DC will go on a world tour in 2015 with their new album "Rock Or Bust".
Where Neil Young's story with his new album "Storytone" will fit into, we can't say yet. One thing is certain for now: the reactions to the record once again oscillate between astonishment, head shaking, amazement and respect. With large orchestral arrangements this work could be one of the most beautiful records of his long and not exactly poor career in terms of releases, but with his fragile and meanwhile amazingly limited voice the old bard makes sure that a feeling of relaxed grace never arises.
For prog fans who appreciate music with unusual instrumentation, Univers Zéro is very popular. In 2014, the frequently reshuffled band, which was influenced by modern classical and medieval music, celebrates its 40th anniversary - an admirable achievement, as their early albums in particular present a real challenge to the untrained ear. Time for a look back at a group that belongs to the Kammerprog or the Prog subgenre Rock In Opposition (RIO), but in later years also struck more minimalist notes.
He wanders between two worlds, two hearts beating in his chest. This becomes clear when Mariusz Duda answers the phone: "Hello, here is Mariusz from... ah... Lunatic Soul or Riverside". Short confusion on the Polish side of the line, followed by a short laugh on both sides. It's about Lunatic Soul this time - and about the new album, which presents itself with dark, trance-like art rock.
eclipsed: "Walking On A Flashlight Beam" is the first Lunatic-Soul album with a colored cover and a real title. Does that symbolize that you've opened a new chapter?
Pendragon belong since the middle of the eighties to the inventory of the neoprog scene. The formation, founded in 1978 as Zeus Pendragon, has presented itself stylistically broader and more modern with the albums "Believe", "Pure" and last but not least "Passion" in the last few years and has thus re-established itself as a relevant band. Guitarist, keyboarder and singer Nick Barrett, keyboarder Clive Nolan, bassist Peter Gee and the new drummer Craig Bundell record some of this freshness on "Men Who Climb Mountains", but at the same time they remind us more of earlier albums.
When a band from the Range U2s plays in front of an audience of electric market customers and private radio listeners and - exclusively - lets itself be looked over the shoulder by the tabloid press, then something is rotten in the state of Denmark, then rock'n'roll has lost its teeth and claws, and the artist makes himself the executive organ of institutions with which he should have nothing to do. And in the case of U2, it's already the second fat cell within two months.
The psychedelic clan Gong delivers a masterpiece with "I See You". With a completely new line-up it should be presented live in Germany in autumn. But Mastermind Daevid Allen fell seriously ill. The band still wanted to play, but some promoters waved away: Gong without Allen? No way! So the whole tour was cancelled - and "I See You" from a wonderful old work to a legacy. At least that's how Allen's statements can be interpreted.
For Ian Anderson, "Warchild" is an important album despite all the prophecies of doom. As with its predecessors, Steven Wilson carried out the sound restoration work here. The recently hyperactive Tull leader is once again enthusiastic about his abilities as a studio tinkerer, but expects to soon have to look for a new remastering partner, as he reveals in a good mood.
The short career of Nick Drake serves the topos of the wistful poet who died early. During his lifetime no more than a breath in the roaring turmoil of the music business, his manageable work increasingly found the deserved recognition after his death. Numerous biographies and entries in best lists have contributed to bringing his melancholic, intense music to a new audience. Nicholas Rodney "Nick" Drake was born on 19 June 1948 in Burma, where his father had gone for professional reasons.
