Recreation - "Music Or Not Music" {Belgium} [1972] (Prog/Fusion)

to enjoy the album more, it is better to listen all of the tracks in order. here is the copy/paste: Ladies and gentleman, please attach your seatbelt as we expect a storm of madness, a hurricane of notes and a typhoon of progressive rock for the duration of the flight disc. Please note that there are no parachutes aboard this plane and you can jump but at your own risk, however for those brave (or crazy enough) to hang on till the dénouement, we have a one way ticket to the Hotel Progifornia - you will never want to check-out and leave your wallet to the first bum on the street.

Right from the first track you will know that you are in a special ride with the classical being superseded by a screaming Zeppelin-esque guitar. Some 15 short tracks (only three of them above the 3 minute mark and them three just barely over 5 min), most of them linked to each other will take you in a gigantic swirl of sounds, an endless barrage of tempo changes and strange time signatures.

While not really RIO or not being jazz-rock either, the feel is somehow a bit Canterbury (the humour certainly is), but I chose to place them in Avant-prog. To actually tell you which track are the best or most representative is almost impossible as all these tracks are fairly de-structured (it is still relatively simple when you have a CD at hand, but I pity the ones having bought the vinyl, trying to find out where the hell they are on the album. Clearly the structures evolved Zappa’s Mothers albums even if they do not sound the same. Only the relatively structured Last Train To Rhythmania can actually give you a hint of how the album is progressing. The aptly titled “….And The Producer Got Mad” (I think I can understand why even if I could eventually guess is the he WENT mad ;-) is simply awesome, Glove Story finding the punch, to knock you on your arse. Nothing’s Holy is another aptly titled track and might just be considered as the centrepiece of the album (a bit of Strauss) and the other stand out is War Business with its deadly bass line (and good guitar improvs) and short national anthems as interludes. Remember these guys, although a KB-lead trio, sound NOTHING like ELP, but a lot more towards Egg.

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for flying, know you will be back and now welcome to Insanity Beach and it is only a very short swim to the desert island, where this album will be on your top ten. (Review by Sean Trane taken from progarchives)

Links in comments..

muSic fOr yOUr DoG..