Album Notes

The ProgDay '95 double CD set is strictly limited to 1,000 copies and is now completely sold out. Please check with other independent progressive rock dealers as they may still have copies in stock.

This CD contains fifty minutes of echolyn's final performance (and a *smokin'* performance at that!), nearly 50 minutes of Discipline (containing several songs that are not on either of their CD's), 25 minutes of Timothy Pure (one of the best American neo-prog bands), 10 minutes of Ozone Quartet (performing at the time as Cloud Nine), and 7 minutes of Bon Lozaga's bizarre sonic soundscapes.

Mixed down from the original 24-track ADAT's, the sound quality is simply amazing -- when you listen to this CD you'll have to keep reminding yourself that there were no 'studio tinkering' or overdubs! From the Liner Notes: During the late 1960's, rock music began a new phase.

The Beatles presaged this change with "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band," a conceptual album that went beyond the accepted conventions of popular music.

Other bands quickly broke with tradition: The Moody Blues married symphony orchestra to rock music with "The Days of Future Past" and King Crimson forged new ground with complex arrangements on "In the Court of the Crimson King." The era of progressive rock was born.

The first half of the 1970's became the Golden Age of progressive rock.

Bands like Yes, ELP, Genesis, and Pink Floyd defined the sub-genre of art-rock (the mixing of theater and rock) while space rock developed through Gong, Hawkwind and Can.

The Canterbury region of England gave birth to such bands as Caravan, Hatfield and the North and Camel.

For a time progressive rock enjoyed the limelight.

Songs like "Bohemian Rhapsody," "Aqualung," and "Tubular Bells" were hitting the charts.

And yet, around 1975 progressive rock seemed to have reached its peak.

Albums like "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway," "A Passion Play" and "Tales from Topographic Oceans" confused and bewildered rock critics at the time, but are considered classics by many of today's prog fans.

The reaction against the complexity, dexterity and structure of progressive rock sparked the Punk Revolution.

Once the Sex Pistols hit the music scene, progressive rock pretty much disappeared as a music genre supported and cultured by majoy record labels.

Established bands like Yes, Genesis and Pink Floyd continued to record and even to fluorish...but only through streamlining their song writing and simplifying their melodies.

Newer bands like Happy the Man, Nightwinds or Cathedral tended to record and release one or two albums independently and then disappear into obscurity.

Progressive rock virtually disappeared from the airwaves.

In 1982 English bands like Marillion, IQ and Twelfth Night helped define the neo-progressive rock movement.

A more modern approach was taken with the music -- no longer were 6- and 12-string guitars and lutes and harmoniums used to create an almost medieval-like sound for progressive rock.

Keyboards and synthesizers were cheaper and more flexible; neo-prog bands relied heavily on the synth-laden sound of the 80's to shape their music.

The five piece (bass, drums, keyboards, guitar and vocalist) became a cliche' for the neo-prog band.

Songs more often reflected working class problems or concerned the changing world situation.

During the late 80's the digital revolution began to have it's affect felt on progressive rock.

The technology for home-recording suddenly became affordable for an independent band.

CD's could be produced and manufactured for a few thousand dollars.

Die hard fans of progressive rock quickly realized the potential and record labels like ZNR, Syn-Phonic, and The Laser's Edge were created.

Hand in hand with the cheaper recording technology was a new instrument of contacting progressive rock fans directly: the internet.

It is the internet which firmly established the term "progressive rock" to describe this genre of music.

Like most of the composers of New Age music, most bands abhor the term progressive rock.

There is a stigmata attached to the term that conjure images of self-indulgence, extended jams with little melodic structure, and performers concentrating so much on creating complex music that they barely acknowledge the audience.

Thus bands like Dream Theater,Queensryche and Phish eschew the term.

In 1993, Greg Walker (founder of the Syn-Phonic label) organized ProgFest, the first major festival featuring the new breed of progressive rock.

Despite the financial losses, Greg continued the tradition and helped spawn a host of other festivals throughout the world.

More than anything, prog festivals are a labor of love.

They are organized by fans who wish to provide these bands with ideal performance conditions.

As each year goes by, more and more people outside the progressive rock universe are exposed to these bands and these festivals.

And each year new fans are incredulous that radio stations and major record labels ignore such a rich and diverse group of musicians.

But prog fans are used to this; they in fact embrace the challenge of supporting and cultivating this genre of music.

When I began ProgDay two years ago, I had no idea what I was getting myself into.

Even going into its third year, ProgDay is still largely overlooked by the mainstream media.

It's crowd of 300 or 400 seems hardly newsworthy.

And yet, that crowd is composed of fans who travel from across the States and across the world.

ProgDay is considered one of the most famous and well-respected festivals of progressive rock.

Fans who make the trek out to Storybook Farm often compare the experience to something like Woodstock; no other festival have they ever seen the amount of cooperation and support as at ProgDay.

I consider myself very lucky to be a part of this event and proud to bring to fruition ProgDay '97!