70. False Start, by OSI
(Blood, 2009)
OSI, the American prog metal outfit led by Fates Warning guitarist Jim Matheos and original Dream Theater keyboardist Kevin Moore has been a ProgActive favorite for several years already. We failed to discover the group until after the release of their third album Blood, which we think remains their finest effort to date. Released in late April of 2009, the album features Porcupine Tree drummer Gavin Harrison, with Mikael Åkerfeldt of Opeth and Tim Bowness of No-Man as guest musicians. Talk about a stellar lineup! False Start is our favorite track on the album, but there are several other excellent tracks on it as well. It is a short, three minute prog metal masterwork.
69. Music in the Typewriting Room, by Jem Godfrey
(2001?)
Now here is a true rarity. We originally found this gem at the web site Frost* used to have around 2008 - this song and several others - that was closed soon after and the tracks stored there went missing. Now, Music in the Typewriting Room can be found in YouTube! What begins as a rap track soon turns into a massive progressive rock masterpiece with an enjoyable time signature, whatever it is. Whoever uploaded this to YouTube claims that it is a Frost* track but if our memory serves right - and we're quite certain it does - , it was credited as having been recorded in 2001 - years before Frost* was even formed. So, we believe it is Jem Godfrey who deserves the sole credit here.
68. Locust to Bethlehem, by Echolyn
(Echolyn, 2012)
American symphonic progressive rock group Echolyn has already appeared on the list a few times. Their most recent album came out in June 2012 and was already their second self titled release. We feel it is their second best following the unbeatable Mei (#95) that came out a decade earlier. From this recent release, longer tracks Island (#125) and Speaking in Lampblack (#202) have already appeared on the list but it is this shorter song that made it a lot higher up than those other two. Locust to Bethlehem is a five minute work of art that deceptively begins like a country song, then transforms itself to full progressive bloom with a lovely string section in the background.
67. Vapour Trails, by The Pineapple Thief
(Variations on a Dream, 2003)
Another group that has also appeared a few times on the list by now is The Pineapple Thief. They have successfully navigated the borderlands of guitar driven art rock and genuine symphonic prog for the best part of two decades. Vapour Trails is from their 2003 album Variations on a Dream which we feel still remains their best. There have been two other songs from the album already listed further down: Remember Us (#113) and Resident Alien (#206). Vapour Trails is very reminiscent of the downbeat sounds of those two, although it isn't actually a sad song; only melancholy.
66. In Search of Peter Pan, by Kate Bush
(Lionheart, 1978)
The second track from the second album by British singer Kate Bush has always been ProgActive's number one favorite in her entire recorded output. No wonder then that this stunningly lovely song has climbed this high. This is Kate's first appearance on the list and this song being a favorite of ours, it would seem quite unlikely that there will be others further up. Still, let's not rule it out yet. In Search of Peter Pan displays the vocal acrobatics that made the singer such a smash less than a year earlier. In places, the vocal work reminds us of Kate's breakthrough single Wuthering Heights.
65. Little Hands, by Yasushi Yoshida
(RUFS, 2008)
Further down on the list, we have already discussed two of Japanese composer Yasushi Yoshida's tracks called Picture of Three Life (#72) and Parade (For Closure, #149), both taken from his 2006 debut album Secret Figure. Little Hands was released two years later, on a compilation album with several various artists appearing, called RUFS. It closes that album in a memorable fashion: one of the most beautiful piano compositions ever recorded, Little Hands used to play all the time at ProgActive and it is actually a small surprise that it isn't any higher up on the list than this.
64. Said and Done, by Engineers
(Engineers, 2005)
The songs on the list are getting greater and greater. Engineers has already appeared on the list a couple of times. Said and Done is taken from their self titled, full length debut album that was released back in 2005. This particular album has appeared on the list once before: Come in Out of the Rain (#134) is a rather similar, beautifully calm and extremely beautiful pop song that, like Said and Done, is as soothing and mellow as they come. This masterful British group is almost certain to appear again higher up. Could be quite a lot higher, actually.
63. Toys, by Frost*
(Experiments in Mass Appeal, 2008)
The British group Frost* might just be ProgActive's number one favorite contemporary artist. We are still eagerly waiting for their third full length album and hope that some day it will materialize. Before that actually happens, we will have to be content with the earlier works and the occasional individual new track (The Dividing Line, Fathers, Heartstrings). Toys is from their second album: a short but powerful track that runs for a little over three minutes, displays complete control of symphonic / neo-prog, then ends. It is not as noticeable as some of the group's more massive works but a small gem nonetheless.
62. Say Goodbye, by Fleetwood Mac
(Say You Will, 2003)
This beautiful, even downright moving song about the end of love is taken from Say You Will, which is still American group Fleetwood Mac's last full length studio album - released eleven years ago. The song was written by long time member Lindsey Buckingham and was obviously about him finally letting go of fellow band member Stevie Nicks - although the former couple had already split in the seventies, during the making of their greatest hit album Rumours (1977). The autobiographical angle makes the song all the more touching. Many of the most moving love songs are about its end; not the romantic beginning.
61. Harmony Korine, by Steven Wilson
(Insurgentes, 2008)
So begins Steven Wilson's solo career. We mean officially; the first Porcupine Tree albums in the early nineties were already his de facto solo albums. In 2008, however, Wilson released Insurgentes under his own name; this is the first track of that first official solo work. And it is quite a start: well written, easy to remember melody and some hard rock riffs form a very impressive whole. There would also be a single release, as well as a music video which has been embedded above. Wilson has been busy with his solo work since; it is anticipated that his fourth one will be coming out next year. So far, so good.
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