COTM - #130 - Alan Parsons, Banco and Tai Phong

[OverHillandDale(Admin)]

Corner for the Mooniversie - Feature #130 - Alan Parsons, Banco Del Mutuo Soccorso, and Tai Phong.

Welcome my friends to another edition of my Corner of the Mooniverse, where you will find not necessarily new music, but hopefully new to you.

This week's feature albums showcase the Symphonic Prog of 1976. The artists represent the U.K., Italy, and France. It is an interesting mix of styles, yet they share many similarities. They are distinctively their own entity embracing a universal sound.

Starting off is a master craftsman in progressive rock, Alan Parsons. Originally an engineer in Abby Road Studios where he influenced such artists and projects as The Beatles, Paul McCartney, Al Stewart, Ambrosia, and The Hollies. But perhaps his biggest contribution to progressive rock was his work with Pink Floyd on the penultimate album Dark Side of the Moon. His first venture as a musician came with his formation of The Alan Parsons Project. He released his first album in 1976 and that will be our first feature album. The album is a concept album rendering the works of Edgar Allan Poe. It is entitled Tales of Mystery and Imagination. It is a memorable beginning for him that would continue for decades. In fact, he recently finished a project as an Engineer with Steve Wilson.

Up next is Banco Del Mutuo Soccorso. I think one can safely say that they are one of the top 3 Italian symphonic prog groups along with PFM and Le Orme. They formed in 1969 but did not release an album until 1972. Their sound is centered around the keyboard playing of Vittorioand Gianni Nocenzi. Guitarist Marcello Todaro was also a major contributor. The line-up would shift over the decades with Vittorio being the soul of the group to this day. From 1976 we find the 2nd of two releases that year, Come In Un'ultima Cena (the first being Garofano Rosso).

The third feature group this week is from France. The Asian name, however, comes from the founding brothers of the group, Kahn and Taï Ho Tong, who are Vietnamese. Perhaps the most apt description is "France's answer to Barclay James Harvest." The band was formed in 1972 but it was fraught with contract, legal and artistic disputes with record label executives. It was not until 1974 that they would be able to finish the work they started in 1972. They released two albums successfully, their eponymous debut in 1975 and this week's feature, Windows. After this album the members would start solo and side projects and slowly fade away after one last album titled Last Flight before disbanding. They did reunite in 2000 for a new release titled Sun.

I do hope you enjoy this week's line-up. I'll see you on the Moon.

dale

[mailotron]

Great Job Dale, merci :-)

[mailotron]

"The Asian name, however, comes from the founding brothers of the group, Kahn and Taï Ho Tong, who are Vietnamese "
Taï Phong means litteraly 'Big' Wind ... let's think of 'typhoon' in english , typhon in french or Taifun in german ;-)