Fireballet - Two, Too... (1976 Passport)

Imagine combining Zappa and Yes and if you think you would like it add still a pinch of Gentle Giant and Genesis and you get Fireballet. "Two too" is vainly put and left in the shadow of their first and better known album. Maybe someone would say "Two,too..." is a collection of rip-offs from English prog bands and Zappa and even Stravinsky (on "Carroon" great guitarist Ryche Chlanda occasionally even plays his guitar in the style of Frank Zappa) but actually this album is much deeper in many ways than one can imaging at the first sight or hearing. I hate AOR and this basicly is something like it but they don't take themselves and the music too seriously and that can be heard too, even their playing sounds constant fireworks and endless twiddling. I'm not sure if they do this somewhat tongue in cheek or not and it does not matter after all. For me this album is one of the few (AOR oriented) pomp-prog albums made after 1975 that i like. Great musicianship, very talented group.

Ryche Chandla seems to play with Rennaissance nowadays. http://renaissancetouring.com/2013/02/renaissance-announces-new-guitarist/

This keeps me in good mood and it seldom happens that i smile when listening to music but this makes me do it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fy57LXRVjBQ

In addtion to previous: I got their first album "...Bald Mountain" yesterday (thanks to Jukka) and after listening it a couple of times for now i find it mostly a bit dilute mellotron and moog gruel except the 18 minute long main track "Night on bald Mountain" which is very good (even occasionally maybe too ELP/Genesis/VDGG-esque) classic prog rock.

To sum up: "Night on bald Mountin" is a serious and ambitious prog effort from young musicians and McDonald behind them. Unfortunately they sound too much like their idols in English progressive rock ELP, Genesis etc.. On "Two, too" they seem to relax and go nuts without losing any of their musicianship and with that attitude they manage to reveal some funny side of serious prog rock. The attitude is a bit like Zappa's in some of his works and at the same time get reminiscences of such as Sparks and Todd Rundgren too.

I just found a term ZOLO concerning a music genre that descries such tracks on "Two, too..." as "Chinatown Boulevards", "It's about time" and "Carollon". They make the backbone of the record and "Flash" is interesting too. It makes me think if there is some self irony by them as "serious" progressive rock musicians in the lyrics of "Flash". "Flash" discreetly and boldly culminates the whole naive and cosy New Age filosophy of the most of the early prog rock.

ZOLO: The term "zolo" was first coined by Terry Sharkie via his "Zany Zolo Muzik Hour" radio show to describe a cross-section of bands and artists with similar approaches to music. Zolo is characterized by hyper, jerky rhythms, synthesized bleeps and boings, polka-dot percussion, chipper falsettos, zany imagery, and aZappa-esque sense of humor. While Zolo contains elements associated with Progressive Rock or New Wave, Zolo itself is a creative thread that runs independently of both of these genres.