Things I am currently listening to...

Just a quick post this balmy (well, soon to be balmy) Saturday morning to list a few things that have caught my ears of late...

Beardfish - Sleeping in Traffic: Part Two. The sequel to 2007's highly regarded album, SiT2 sees the band more vividly showcasing some of the Zappa-isms that have endeared them to their fans. It is by and large a heavier, somewhat darker side of the band, and one that I look forward to digging deeper into over time. In depth review to follow in all the usual places...you know where to look!

Caamora - She. Clive Nolan's latest rock opera...no, call it a rock Broadway musical. Alan Reed, Christina Booth, John Jowitt and Mark Westwood all guest or play throughout this 2-CD/1 DVD release. The studio album is enjoyable, the DVD more so. Good staging, great performances...I could see this show successfully mounted on Broadway. Based on the classic novel by H. Rider Haggard, this work bodes well for future full-scale projects from Caamora. If you like your prog with a healthy dose of drama and theatrics, check it out. Who said big stage shows can't work in prog?

Opeth - "The Lotus Eaters." Yes, tracks are starting to leak from the band's forthcoming ninth studio album Watershed. This is about as far from what I'd expect from Opeth, and that's maybe a good thing. Baroque elements battle with blast beats, layered, harmonized clean vocals with classic Akerfeldt death grunt. Add in a trippy psych/jazz vamp in the middle and you have one of the most atypical, technical Opeth songs ever. Looking forward to the rest of the album. (BTW, there will be an official track download available at Classic Rock's website on Monday. Click here for details.)

Bruce Springsteen - The Rising. Yeah, it's not prog, but Danny Federici (long time organ/accordion/glockenspeil player) died this week, he's from Flemington (just up the road from where I live), and being a life-long Jersey boy, Springsteen holds a special place in my musical upbringing. I think I prefer Springsteen's newest (Magic) to this release, but Danny's got some great playing on this one (his organ coda on "You're Missing," for one). He'll be missed. Rest well, Phantom Dan...