William's Song a Day Blog - est. September 2007

From: Raising the Mammoth ; Year: 2002; Genre: Progressive Metal/Symphonic Metal  This will be the last Explorers Club song I will be picking; only because I have already chosen ever other song from the band/project. Oh well, still got material from Trent Gardner's main band, Magellan to choose from.  This is the epic 21 minute instrumental extravaganza that closes this concept record out; an excellent piece to do so, indeed.    Hear the full album on YouTube. (Part 2 starts just after the 38 minute mark)        My song pick 1 year ago today: Red Rider - Power (Strength in Numbers)     My song pick 2 years ago today: Billy Squier - The Stroke     My song pick 3 years ago today: Marcus Miller - Be My Love   My song pick 4 years ago today: The Jimi Hendrix Experience - 1983... (A Merman I Should Turn To Be)   My song pick 5 years ago today: Toad The Wet Sprocket - Something's Always Wrong   My song pick 6 years ...

From: Age of Impact ; Year: 1998; Genre: Progressive Metal/Progressive Rock This is the fifth and final track from the epic concept album of the ultra supergroup Explorers Club. As you would expect from a band consisting of members of Dream Theater, Mr. Big, Yes, Asia, Frank Zappa, Alice Cooper and Joe Bonamassa to name a few, there is a lot of very technical and extreme music throughout. Sad thing is that their only other album, Raising the Mammoth , consists of two huge pieces and I have already chosen one of them, so only one track from this epic project to pick....   Hear Impact 5 – Last Call on YouTube.       My song pick 1 year ago today: Wilson Pickett - Smokin' in the United Nations   My song pick 2 years ago today: Jim Croce - Speedball Tucker   My song pick 3 years ago today: Steely Dan - Pretzel Logic   My song pick 4 years ago today: The Beatles - And Your Bird Can Sing   My song pick 5 years ago today: King Crimson - Industry ...

From: Age of Impact ; Year: 1998; Genre: Progressive Metal/Progressive Rock Picking up where I left off with this album after choosing the first three, here is the 4th track, or chapter? This is the one song apparently that features guitar great Steve Howe on acoustic guitar, who is best known as Yes' guitarist/songwriter as well as the band Asia and too many others to list. This piece in particular will take you through an aural journey through some amazingly written and produced music. Even though there are vocals, the music itself is so well written that it narrates as well as any orator.   Hear Impact 4 - Time Enough on YouTube.       My song pick 1 year ago today: Marcus Miller - Keep 'Em Running   My song pick 2 years ago today: Iain Matthews - Darkness, Darkness   My song pick 3 years ago today: Laura Branigan - Forever Young   My song pick 4 years ago today: Rhythm Machine - Lil's Place   My song pick 5 years ago today: Van Der Graaf G...

From: Age of Impact ; Year: 1998; Genre: Progressive Metal Explorers Club just happened to be on my mind yesterday, and after listening to this album again I thought I would pick one from it. This one comes in the middle of the five-song "opera"/concept album and at just over 8 minutes in length it is the briefest of the selections. As with the rest of the album, it features the many of the who's who of technically inclined musicians concerning hard rock and metal. Impact 3 is one of two tracks that features Dream Theater's James LaBrie on vocals; his bandmate John Petrucci also played lead guitar on the entire record.   Hear Impact 3 – No Returning on YouTube.       My song pick 1 year ago today: Bernard Wright - Mr. Clean   My song pick 2 years ago today: Lita Ford - Kiss Me Deadly   My song pick 3 years ago today: Neil Young & Crazy Horse - Human Race   My song pick 4 years ago today: Boston - My Destination/A New World   My song p...

From: Raising the Mammoth ; Year: 2002; Genre: Progressive Metal Here's one of two pieces of music from what is the last album from the Explorers Club. It consists of a 38 minute, three part track and a 21 minute second track; to say the least it is musically on the extreme end of the progressive genres with high-end musicianship, production, arranging, etc. The band this time consisted of two alumni from the band Kansas, Steve Walsh and Kerry Livgren, guitarist virtuoso Marty Friedman, John Myung and James LaBrie from Dream Theater, drummer Terry Bozzio from Frank Zappa's band, and Gary Wehramp from Shadow Gallery amongst others. Heck, they even had long time Rush producer Terry Brown mixing the record, so, yes, it is very much in the very extreme end of musical excellence, virtuosity, and deep, nerdy concepts. 😁   Hear Raising the Mammoth 1 and 2 on YouTube.       My song pick 1 year ago today: Black Sabbath - Solitude   My song pick 2 years ago today: Kle...

From: Age of Impact ; Year: 1998; Genre: Progressive Rock Been more than a year ago that I chose the first track from this prog/rock/metal project/supergroup featuring many of the big names of all music progressive and technical in the extreme. As you probably surmised, this is the second of five parts of this concept album and is actually the second-shortest song on it, clocking in at a meager 8:44.   Hear Impact 2 - Fading Fast on YouTube.         My song pick 1 year ago today: Jim Reeves - Distant Drums My song pick 2 years ago today: Brass Construction - Do Ya   My song pick 3 years ago today: Iron Maiden - Speed of Light   My song pick 4 years ago today: Midnight Oil - Dust   My song pick 5 years ago today: The Marshall Tucker Band - Can't You See My song pick 6 years ago today: NOFX - Bath of Least Resistance My song pick 7 years ago today: Rush - Seven Cities of Gold My song pick 8 years ago today: Carmen - Viva mi Sevil...

From: Age of Impact ; Year: 1998; Genre: Progressive Metal/Symphonic Metal Explorers Club's two albums are among those that I'd heard of and wanted to listen to, but just never go around to it. For me it was similar to my experience with Mike Oldfield's epic Tubular Bells and subsequent releases; as with it, Age of Impact had a very similar reaction when I first played it. I figured wot better place to make my first choice from it, but the opening 16-minute piece that acts not only as a overture, but a long, multifaceted epic that ends being taken to more or less its musical extreme.   Hear Impact 1 – Fate Speaks on YouTube.       My song pick 1 year ago today: Frank Zappa - No Not Now   My song pick 2 years ago today: Nocturnal Rites - Our Wasted Days   My song pick 3 years ago today: Soundgarden - Room a Thousand Years Wide   My song pick 4 years ago today: Morrissey - First of the Gang to Die My song pick 5 years ago today: Raspberries - I Wa...