The Avatar/Roger Dean Taste Test

Here's a side-by-side comparison of Roger Dean's art and the Avatar counterparts. Hrmmmm....

THE CRIMSON KING Gets a Makeover

Listening to the remastered 40th anniversary of In the Court of the Crimson King by King Crimson, and loving it. If ever there was an album in need of such a remaster, it was this one. Steve Wilson of Porcupine Tree knocked it out of the park. The bass on "21st Century Schizoid Man" sounds incredibly springier, and the sound overall is much sharper, fitting the feel and threat of the album in a way that befits the foreshadowing tone of what was to come after the "Summer of Love." I don't own a surround sound system (bit of overkill for me), but just comparing it to the old version, it is WAY better now. Good job. Can't wait to hear Red, and to a lesser extent, Lizard...sorry, that's a tough one! Gordon Haskell's vocals were just wrong for KC. But supposedly, Lizard is one of Wilson's favorites, and I hear he took extra care, while making the argument that a 5.1 treatment will do wonders, because the album is pretty dense, and will stretch it out a bit:

For personal reasons one of the very first albums I wanted to revamp was Lizard, which is the one album in the catalogue that tends to divide the fans between those that love it and those that find it almost unlistenable. I’m one of those that adore it, and could make a pretty good case for it being one of the most adventurous rock albums ever made. But I also knew it could work better in 5.1, as it’s almost as if there is too much information bursting out of the tracks to be contained in mere stereo. This is not the case in surround sound, where everything has the space to breathe, and the genius of Lizard’s progressive avant-garde jazz rock experiment finally blossoms in all its glorious folly.

Well, it's got me intrigued, anyway. I do like the moments of the album enough to give it a chance.

Anyway, Wilson has more to say on the remixes, and you can read the full interview at roadrunnerrecords.co.uk.

New Video: "A Thousand Years of Solitude"

"A Thousand Years of Solitude" from Earth and Exile...

In which the Spaceplayer finds solace in his exile on the moon by paying homage to Stanley Kubrick:

Beyond the Music: The Art of Marco Djurdjevic

Before music won out, I was pursuing my dual love, the possibility of being a comic book illustrator. I wasn't up to the task, skillwise; the speed wasn't there to meet a monthly deadline. And I thought Alex Ross had no competition...his work was everything I wanted to see and do, so I left it to the experts...

Then I saw The Marvel Art of Marco Djurdjevic, a collection of covers by this rising star of the comic book world. Marco takes the realistic stylings of Alex Ross and combines it with the current innovations in graphic design (my other aspiration), bringing to maturity the artistic concepts started with Dave Gibbon's work on Watchmen and the design sensibilities of George Perez. Definitely eye candy on par with some of the great gatefold covers of classic prog.

Here's a sample of my favorite pieces; I love his webbing on Spider-Man, his work on Magneto is particularly moving, and the rest are simply striking in their use of design space. As it's been said, music is the space between the notes, and Marco's visuals certainly carry that principle forward in his art.

Spaceplayer: EARTH AND EXILE available

Following the past releases of Return of the Space Cadet

and Yet Another Final Frontier is Earth and Exile by

Spaceplayer. “Mental Instrumental to fill the Floydian Void”,

with a dose of Eno/Bowie, Jean Michel Jarre, Vangelis, and

William Orbit.

Track listing:

Earth and Exile

A Thousand Years of Solitude

Soma (3 For Dark Eternity)

Sense of Doubt

The Last Revolution

Worlds Apart

The Lost Revelation

By Our Love/Ascend the Stars

Available now on iTunes and amazon.com

EARTH AND EXILE available on Amazon.com (9.1.09)

Now available on iTunes and amazon.com! Official press release.

"A New Life Awaits": Earth and Exile

New album is ready to go! Earth and Exile by Spaceplayer, available on iTunes September 2009. Mental Instrumental to fill the Floydian void, with a dose of Eno/Bowie, Jarre, Vangelis, William Orbit. In a turbulent world, sometimes you need to fight; other times, you just need to get away..."A new life awaits you in the off-world colonies..."

Track listing:
Earth and Exile
A Thousand Years of Solitude
Soma (3 For Dark Eternity)
Sense of Doubt
The Last Revolution
Worlds Apart
The Lost Revelation
By Our Love/Ascend the Stars