UNIFIED PAST-Shifting The Equilibrium

I like Progressive Rock. I like Yes. I like King Crimson, Flash & Gentle Giant. There is now a new band on the list. Unified Past, with their album Shifting The Equilibrium, is Progressive Rock the way I remember it.

The vocals are ethereal, delivering melody lines and lyrics that are seductively sublime. Pay particular attention to “Today Is The Day“. The bass lines come at you from places I have never been, just check out “Peace Remains In This World“, and the drumming is devastatingly powerful. The guitar work is brilliant, with riffs that surprise and excite, and the synthesizer rocks, particularly on “Smile“. The album is wonderfully melodic. There are exceptional changes, and some way cool harmonics on “Deviation From A Theme“.  Favorite track: “Etched In Stone“, with its sweet, acoustic guitar, and a wonderfully orchestrated medieval theme.

Shifting The Equilibrium has an amazing amount of stuff going on. Each listen allows you to hear more and more. Unified Past has the ability to construct tracks that come full circle, while taking you down several roads between beginning and end. And the CD comes with a lyric booklet!! This is some of the best Progressive Rock I have heard in a long while. Check it out for yourself here. Sit back, put on your headphones, crank up the volume, and prepare to be amazed! The only thing missing is the dry ice.

 

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PETER MURRAY-On Druckfarben, And More

I set out to do an interview on the progressive-rock band, Druckfarben. As I sat down with Peter Murray, bassist, I instead found myself immersed in his story. Not a bad afternoon at all.

We began by comparing notes about progressive-rock bands, from Yes, King Crimson, and Flash, to Rush and Kansas. We taked about Gentle Giant. We talked about music. We discussed the lack of airplay progressive-rock received in the 1980s and 1990s and how it could be considered underground. We talked.

Peter is an easy interview. Ask a question and he will talk. He has stories to tell. Stories from his days with Surrender Dorothy and the major label deal; stories of his singer/songwriter solo album; stories of his learning the bass line to Yes’ Close To The Edge, for the first Druckfarben gig . He is animated, and energetic. He has strong opinions on music, and the music industry. He is a musician, but foremost, he is a music fan. His interests cross all genres. If it is good, Peter appreciates and enjoys it.

We discussed The Beatles influence on progressive-rock, and queried whether Sgt. Pepper could have been the 1st progressive-rock album. As Peter sees it, progressive-rock is not so much a genre of music, but an attitude. An attitude that encourages experimentation. An attitude to do something that is not usually done. An attitude that impacts not only the song writing, but the instrumentation and arrangements as well.

We delved into bass players, and I asked about his favorite. In true Peter Murray style, he couldn’t or wouldn’t identify one. Instead, names started swirling around the table: Chris Squire, Geddy Lee, Mark King, Robbie Shakespeare, Stanley Clarke, to name a few. Paul McCartney came up, and it was agreed that he is perhaps the most under rated bassist around. It was here that I saw the true passion for music in this man. He told a story of how, as a writer for Bass Player magazine, he traveled to England to interview Colin Moulding and Mark King. With his face ‘lit up’, he spoke of spending an afternoon at Moulding’s farm house, drinking tea, and listening to the as yet unreleased ‘Apple Venus’.  Very cool.

We talked about Druckfarben, which grew out of  Classic Album’s Live. All of the band members have a love for progressive-rock. They enjoy playing and performing. Peter looks like a man who is having the time of his life. Bassist, song writer, teacher, author,  producer. This is an accomplished man, a Renaissance man, who shows no signs of slowing down.  Despite his impressive resume, there was no name dropping. An incredibly talented guy, who is kind, humble, and grateful.  Peter Murray is simply, a nice guy. A nice guy who just loves music. Hard not to like him.

 

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