VA. After the Storm (A Benefit Album For The Survivors Of Hurricane Katrina) (2005). CD-1. Progressive Rock.

1 echolyn– 15 Days Bass, Backing Vocals – Tom Hyatt Drums – Paul Ramsey Electric Guitar, Percussion, Backing Vocals – Brett Kull Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals, Lyrics By – Ray Weston Mastered By – Paul Abbott Organ [Hammond Organ], Electric Piano [Fender Rhodes], Synthesizer [Nord Synthesizer], Electric Piano [Wurlitzer] – Chris Buzby Recorded By, Mixed By – Brett Kull (0:00) 5:10 2 Happy The Man– Ibby It Is (Live) Bass – Rick Kennell Drums – Joe Bergamini Guitar – Stan Whitaker Keyboards – David Rosenthal, Frank Wyatt Mastered By – Bill Plummer Recorded By – Mike Potter Stage Manager – Geoff Logsdon (5:10) 8:17 3 FM– Random Harvest Drums – Martin Deller Electric Violin – Ben Mink Vocals, Bass, Keyboards – Cameron Hawkins (13:28) 4:38 4 Camel– After All These Years Bass – Colin Bass Drums – Denis Clement Guitar – Andy Latimer Keyboards – Guy LeBlanc (18:06) 5:53 5 Mike Keneally– Time Table Bass – Bryan Beller Drums – Toss Panos Engineer – Dino Maddalone III Guitar, Vocals – Mike Keneally (24:00) 6:16 6 Spock’s Beard– Shining Star (Live) Bass Guitar, Backing Vocals – Dave Meros Drums – Jimmy Keegan Electric Guitar, Backing Vocals – Alan Morse Keyboards – Ryo Okumoto Lead Vocals, Acoustic Guitar – Nick D’Virgilio (30:16) 5:53 7 IQ – Chemical Rain Software Instrument [ProTools Plug-ins: Atmosphere, Stylus RMX And Trilogy] – Michael Holmes Vocals [Vocals Sampled From The IQ Track “Subterranea“] – Peter Nicholls Written-By, Producer – Michael Holmes (36:10) 5:26 8 Kraan– Silver Buildings Bass – Hellmut Hattler Drums – Jan Fride Engineer – Jürgen Schlachter Guitar, Vocals – Peter Wolbrandt Keyboards – Ingo Bischof (41:37) 4:41 9 Mostly Autumn– Ghost In Dreamland Bass – Andy Smith Drums – Andrew Jennings Guitar – Bryan Josh Keyboards – Ian Jennings Recorder [Recorders], Flute – Angela Goldthorpe Slide Guitar [Slide Electric Guitar] – Liam Davidson Vocals – Heather Findlay (46:17) 3:12 10 IZZ–My River Flows Drums [Acoustic Drums], Electronic Drums–Brian Coralian Drums [Acoustic Drums], Percussion–Greg DiMiceli Electric Guitar–Paul Bremner Electric Guitar, Vocals–John Galgano Keyboards, Vocals, Bass–Tom Galgano (49:30) 5:28 11 Nektar–Phazed By The Storm Bass, Backing Vocals–Randy Dembo Drums, Percussion, Backing Vocals–Ron Howden Keyboards, Piano, Organ, Mellotron, Backing Vocals–Taff Freeman Vocals, Guitar–Roye Albrighton (54:59) 9:23 12 Sean Malone–Grace (Live) Fretless Bass–Sean Malone Recorded By–Brett Kull (1:04:22) 7:10 There is a very good chance that you haven’t heard 17 of the 24 songs that are on this two disc set. The vast majority of these songs were previously unreleased. I have to say that the music impressed me so much that I seriously considered giving this a 5 star rating. Yes, it’s that good ! And there is so much variety, most of the Prog genres are represented. Disc one starts off with ECHOLYN’s “15 Days“, it was written specifically for this compilation. Great lyrics as you can imagine as well as some terrific hammond organ is a powerful song man. HAPPY THE MAN is up next with “Libby It Is“ recorded live at ProgDay 2005. This is a previously unreleased instrumental, and it’s wondrous. FM’s “Random Harvest“ from “Surveillance“ had not been released on cd when this compilation was put together. Ben Mink on electric violin is great, as are the vocals and backing vocals. CAMEL’s “After All These Years“ was originally released on the Japanese version of “A Nod And A Wink“. The guitar solos from Latimer are both beautiful and emotional. Up next is Mike Keneally and he covers both “Time Table“ and “Apocalypse in 9/8“ from GENESIS in this song. Some amazing guitar late in this one. SPOCK’S BEARD does “Shining Star“ live. The original version is on “Feel Euphoria“.The guitar really stands out on this one. IQ gives a song called “Chemical Rain“ and this really is the work of Michael Holmes who wrote and produced it. He sampled Peter Nicholls vocals from “Subterranea“ and did the rest himself in what is an atmospheric IQ song like you have never heard before. KRAAN adds a new song called “Silver Buildings“ from there latest album called “Psychedelic Man“. I will be searching for this album because this song is so good. Hendrix sounding guitar, with some mellow passages. MOSTLY AUTUMN does an uptempo song with female vocals called “Ghost in Dreamland“ from “Storms Over Still Waters“. IZZ follows with a song called “My River Flows“ the title track. The lead guitarist can flat out play, as evidenced here. Some ripping guitar solos. From “Evolution“ NEKTAR does “Phased By The Storm“ which has some good organ play and Gilmour like guitar solos. The mellotron doesn’t hurt either. Sean Malone performs a song called “Grace“ that was recorded live at NEARfest 2004. I can only imagine how emotional it must have been to hear and see this played is a beautiful and tender song folks. Review by Mellotron Storm