IQ

Welcome back fellow progheads and thank you for making 2013 a fun year for blogging about progressive music.  My time spent here in the music closet has been well spent; it has been an absolute blast discovering so many new, innovative, and exciting prog bands and their music.  I started down the "prog rabbit hole" in August and have not looked back since.  I'm not sure what amazes me the most; the fact that there are so many fantastic prog bands or that I have been aware (prior to this blog) of so few of them.  Ultimately it does not matter because this journey has opened my eyes, ears, and mind to some truly great sounds...and I do not want to end that streak just yet...

This week I decided to look around in the darker corners of the closet for a band that has been lurking for years but for one reason or another never got the recognition they deserved.  I wanted to find a band that struck a nerve with the classic prog side of my brain as well as the adventurous, push-the-prog-envelope side...and then I found IQ sitting in a bin just minding their own business...

Walking slowly to the buffet line I make my first selection, "Harvest of Souls."  This song takes me to memories of Genesis, Yes, and Spock's Beard...I also detect a hint of Atomic Rooster in there...this is quite an interesting band.  In typical prog style, the listener is urged to keep up with the musicians as they create a piece of music with so many moving parts.  Extremely tight and well produced, this song is from the 2004 release "Dark Matter."  As the song plays out there is a build up of guitar and keyboards that leads you through a battlefield built first on principle and ultimately on the whim and fancy of those truly in power...a 24-minute journey a true prog fan will definitely appreciate.

With my appetite whet I mosey back to the buffet for a second helping and find "The Wrong Side of Weird." Once again the connection to the roots of prog slams me in the frontal lobe.  IQ is a band that studied at the School of  Classic Prog, yet has found a way to channel their intellect and energy into a sound that is all at once unique, deep, dark, and probing.  "The Wrong Side of Weird" opens with a subtle crescendo if you will; a building burst of energy tempered with calculated excitement...then the vocals break through and the puzzle pieces that are the song fall together like so many brush strokes on a vinyl canvas.  Drums lead guitars while being led by keyboards only to have the caravan change direction and suddenly the guitars are leading, then the vocals...think ELP crashes a Pink Floyd concert and you start to get the image. If this is the wrong side of weird, please get me a chair because I believe I will be staying for a while...

Liner Notes...IQ is Paul Cook on drums, Neil Durant on keyboards, Tim Esau on bass, Mike Holmes on guitars, and Peter Nicholls on lead vocals.  IQ started in 1981 with the demise of The Lens.  A few line-up changes--as most bands inevitably go through--led Pete to leave and re-join the band.  Add Neil Durant to replace original keyboardist Martin Orford (not exactly small shoes to fill), and you have IQ; a progressive band that has been pushing the envelope and raising the bar for over 30 years.  IQ has an impressive library with over 40 studio and live albums, collections, and film to their credit.  Unlike other prog giants, however; IQ has managed to do all of that while remaining friends and staying out of court.

OK, back to the music...choice number three is a song called "The Narrow Margin."  In what I can only describe at this point as typical IQ style, the song opens with a sound menagerie as percussion comes into focus with keyboards and it all gets tied together with impressive vocals.  Guitars come in soon enough with the drums to clear a path IQ seems to be very comfortable taking the proverbial machete to.  IQ moves through time and tempo changes like Rick Wakeman moves through capes--smooth and seamless.  Thirty years of playing together has enabled IQ to hone their craft in much the same way an artisanal vintner makes wine...the head knows but the heart leads.

The selection I chose for this week's post is a song called "Outer Limits."  From the band's 1985 release "The Wake," I chose this song deliberately to give you a peek at the early stages of IQ...these guys were tight 28 years ago and have only gotten better.  While I get a sense of Peter Nicholls channeling his inner Peter Gabriel, IQ is a band that occupies their own corner of the prog world.  Learn more about IQ at their website http://www.iq-hq.co.uk

Well fellow progheads, I have reached a minor milestone with this post; the end of the first leg of my journey.  As 2013 winds down to a 14 day end-of-year celebration of Christmas and the beginning of 2014, I will take a brief hiatus.  That will give me time to search out more innovative, exciting, and amazing progressive music to listen to, appreciate, and blog about.  To paraphrase Friedrich Nietzsche, "Without progressive music life would be a mistake."  I feel like the bar has been set fairly high thanks to so many incredible bands and musicians.  Progressive music has changed and grown over time, and as with many a living thing there have been life lessons learned and growing pains endured along the way.  Yet I am glad to say that I believe the world of prog is all the better for it and the music is thriving.  Please stay faithful and I will be back in January with another installment...I hope you will join me.  Stay safe and stay prog...until next month...