90. One for the Show, by Echolyn
(As the World, 1995)
There is little to add here to what we already wrote earlier about that other Echolyn song Entry 11-19-93 (#121): it is an absolutely wonderful track that practically demands to be played in succession with the next song on the same album As the World, called One for the Show. Combined, these two make one hell of a ten-minute sequence for the listener. Shuffle plays must have somehow separated these two great songs on the list but here is the other one at last: every bit as good as the first one. Don't miss them.
89. Random Summer, by Múm
(Yesterday Was Dramatic - Today is OK, 2000)
The Icelandic group Múm has already appeared once on the list, with their wonderful Green Grass of Tunnel (#118). This second appearance of theirs looks likely to be the last: Random Summer is arguably the group's greatest masterpiece from their 2000 debut album. A wonderfully breezy, somehow airy instrumental, it marks one of those moments in music history that transcends all definitions and pre-defined genre limitations. We don't know what it is, but is is lovely. Like a colorful butterfly flapping its wings around us for a brief moment.
88. Hello, by Blackfield
(Blackfield, 2004)
For a short while in the mid-2000's, Blackfield was easily Steven Wilson's most successful side project outside Porcupine Tree. His talent, combined with that of Israeli singer-songwriter Aviv Geffen produced stunning results bordering between art rock and regular mellow pop. Hello was the first single taken from the duo's near perfect debut album, and was therefore also graced with an official music video, embedded above. Wilson and Geffen were major favorites of ours at the time of the introduction of the iPod, so it can be deemed an absolute certainty that there will be several other songs of theirs further up on the list.
87. Hyvinkää, by Sister Flo
(The Healer, 2007)
Now here is something that truly moving - for us, at least. One of the best Finnish pop / rock songs ever has been dedicated to ProgActive's home town of Hyvinkää. We found Sister Flo only about two or three years ago, but that has been enough to give this masterpiece of theirs a reasonably good ranking of #87 on the list. The band Sister Flo was actually from a neighboring town in the north, Riihimäki, about 15 kilometers away. They have however disbanded since the release of The Healer, their 2007 album that contains this beautiful song.
86. Drag Ropes, by Storm Corrosion
(Storm Corrosion, 2012)
Another side project by Steven Wilson, Storm Corrosion released their self titled debut album two years ago and immediately got our attention - in fact, we named Storm Corrosion's opening song Drag Ropes the best track of that year. Here's what we wrote back on New Year's Eve, 2012: "Anticipating a heavy prog metal album and then hearing this as its opening track was one of those all too infrequent moments that are the artistic equivalent of being hit on the head with a large wooden board." The musical masterpiece is complimented by Jess Cope's masterful video, embedded above.
85. Song for a Dead Friend, by Kevin Gilbert
(Thud, 1995)
Ah, this is the beauty of getting higher and higher up on the list. Every song is a masterpiece already. Song for a Dead Friend is one of the most beautiful sad songs ever written and recorded, and the reality of what happened makes it all the more heartbreaking. First, the American singer-songwriter composes this song in remembrance of his real life friend Danny. Then, in less than two years, he tragically dies himself. Knowing about these events of course affects the listening experience, but makes this song no less a masterpiece it is.
84. Crawl from the Wreckage, by Engineers
(Three Fact Fader, 2009)
At the time of this writing, Engineers' new album Always Returning has come out five days ago and sounds like a significant improvement over 2010's In Praise of More. Still, it is nowhere near matching the towering greatness of Three Fact Fader, filled with minor classics. Crawl from the Wreckage is one of them, and hardly the last on this list. It exemplifies all that is great about Engineers: an easy to remember, catchy melody combined with powerfully designed instrumentation.
83. Olisitko sittenkin halunnut palata, by Regina
(Katso maisemaa, 2005)
Already a second Finnish track in this group of ten, this one is a real anomaly on the list. We don't even know how it has come to remain this high up. But yes, this quirky pop song used to be a big favorite of ours in 2006 and there's no denying that we have some kind of a fetish when it comes to grown up women singing in a little girl's voice. Nothing to do with progressive rock, but very entertaining nonetheless. Regina has never recorded anything even remotely as good as this later on and we aren't sure if they are even active today.
82. Wonderland, by Frost*
(Experiments in Mass Appeal, 2008)
Wonderland is yet another song we have already covered back when listing the Top 20 Long Prog Masterpieces. Here is what we wrote about it back in June, 2012. It reached #18 there, and also has a pretty good position on this list. The song itself is a schizophrenic one: its first part is a hard rocking Frost* song which is then followed by the "hidden" second part that completes the track as well as the entire album Experiments in Mass Appeal with calmness and exceptional beauty, ending in an extremely slow, unforgettable fade out.
81. Soft Shoulders, by No-Man
(Flowermouth, 1994)
Already the third side project of Steven Wilson in this group of ten alone (!) No-Man is the oldest one of them all and was in fact active as a real group even before Porcupine Tree. The lovely Soft Shoulders is located somewhere between art rock and pop, very much like Hello discussed above. Flowermouth was released at a point when the violinist Ben Coleman had left the group that had only two remaining members: Wilson and singer Tim Bowness. Following this release, No-Man would take a sharp turn from pop to genuine art rock, and has continued as a duo to this day.
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