Friday Random Ten

Yep, it's friday again. Interestingly strange mix this week; more than a bit jolting to listen to because of the harsh transitions. But it ends awfully well.

1. Marillion, "Runaway". Marillion is really a great band; this is off of their album Brave, which I think is one of their best.
2. Darol Anger and the Republic of Strings, "Evening Prayer Blues". Darol Anger is an incredibly versatile violinist who performs classical, jazz, bluegrass, oldtime, and folk music. The RoS is one of his newest groups, and it's got country, bluegrass, oldtime, and jazz all mixed up.
3. Dream Theater, "About to Crash". Progressive metal, bit of a harsh transition from Darol Anger, but good stuff anyway.
4. Harry Bradley, "The Ballroom Favorite #2/The Belle of the Ball". Very sparse traditional Irish music, by a truly amazing flautist. Now, if only I could play my flute like that, I'd be a happy man.
5. King Crimson, "The ConstruCktion of Light".
6. Dan Zanes, "Mingualay Boat Song". Dan Zanes is a guy who used to be part of the Del Fuegos. Now he's gotten very into doing music that's aimed mainly at children, but that adults will enjoy too, instead of the usual pap that people write for children. I think he's OK; my kids worship the ground he walks on. But since most music recorded for kids makes me want to jab my ears with rusty skewers, that makes him pretty good.
7. Gordian Knot, "Redemptions Way". Instrumental progressive rock with an amazing lineup of musicians. It's led by a guy named Sean Malone, and each track has a slightly different band. A snapshot of performers includes Bill Bruford, Trey Gunn, Steve Hackett, Jim Matheos, Sean Reinert, and John Myung. This is seriously fascinating music: you can listen to it 100 times in a row, and still hear something new on the 101st listen.
8. Peter Gabriel, "Darkness". The first track from Peter Gabriel's newest album. It's a great album, but it's one of his least accessible in a long time. I consider that a good thing; the last couple were starting to get a bit too poppy for me.
   
9. Trey Gunn Band, "Tekhele Madde". Trey Gunn is a touch guitar/stick player who's part of the latest version of King Crimson. The inventor of the stick described Trey as the first person to really play stick to its full potential. Technically, the playing on this album is quite good, but the composition is rather dull. Trey's better when he's either improvising or playing stuff written by someone else.
10. Bach, "Ich Will Bei Meinem Jesu Wachen". Part of St. Matthew's Passion, recorded by Herbert von Karian and the Berlin Philharmonic. St. Matt's Passion is, in my oh-so-humble opinion, one of the finest pieces of music ever written. Magnificent. There just aren't words to describe music like this.