COTM - #249 - Andy Powell & Pierre Van Der Linden

[OverHillandDale(Admin)]

Greetings Moon Friends!

So, what do Pierre Van der Linden and Andy Powell have in common? Yes, both musicians and progressive rock artists. Well, they also share a birth date, February 19. Pierre in 1946 and Andy in 1950.

For those of you who do not already know who they are, Pierre Van der Linden is a drummer from the Netherlands and was part of Brainbox and Focus. Both with guitarist Jan Akkermann. Andy Powell was the founding guitarist of Wishbone Ash, best known for his V guitar. But he was much more than that. As his career went into the 80's and 90's he branched out more as a composer, arranger, and producer.

To showcase these two artists we will focus on the early 70's. I open with an epic track from Brainbox and their 1970 self-titled album. The track is Sea of Delight and features some great guitar work from Jan Akkermann as well as solid drumming from Pierre. The two of them would break off from Brainbox after this album to join Focus.

Up next will be an example of Andy Powell's Producer side. He helped resurrect Kansas in the mid 80's. After two fairly disastrous albums in 1982 & 1983 Kansas broke up. In 1986 a 2nd generation of Kansas came together. Back was Steve Walsh, Rich Williams and Phil Ehart. Still gone was Kerry Livgren and Robby Steinhardt. New to the group was guitarist Steve Morse of Dixie Dregs and bassist Billy Greer. Certainly the album was not a big success, but it helped them continue to improve and move on. The album I will be playing is the 1986 release Power.

I do still believe that Andy's best work is still behind that infamous V guitar. Certainly the early 70's were his most progressive work, and typically the favorites of Wishbone Ash Fans. But there have been other highlight releases as well, despite the early 80's rash of sub par material. Three excellent albums were 1996's Illuminations, 2002's Bona Fide and No Smoke Without Fire from 1978. That will be the 3rd offering for this week's show.

To close out the show I have another epic song which is backed by Pierre Van der Linden. This come's from the 2nd album by Focus, Focus II. The epic track on that album is Eruptions.

I hope you'll enjoy this very diverse show from two hinge pins of 70's progressive rock.

See you on the radio.

[Siberian Khatru]

I'll try and catch this Dale. Have seen Andy and Pierre live recently. Cheers

[mariocc]

fantastic DALE amigo,, saw Focus couple of years ago and impressive show,,and impressive drumming