Aquael Anthology and Prog 50

Artist, illustrator, author and musician, Maurizio Galia was born in Moncalieri (Turin) Italy, on the 28th May 1963 and studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Turin, from 1978 until 1986, under the direction of Francesco Tabusso, Enzo Sciavolino and Sergio Saroni. From 1982 he worked for various agencies and specialized as visual designer and illustrator for comics and books.

Galia is also the leader of Aquael, a prog rock band founded in Turin in October 1979 that was amongst the last wave of Italian Progressive Rock of the Seventies. As a solo artist Galia recorded Ziqqurat nel Canavese (1997) and Eccitazioni Neoclassiche (2005), although both albums were recorded with Aquael bandmates, and using Aquael tracks. Aquael's Anthology has the best from those albums and a selection of previously unreleased tracks as a prelude for future Aquael albums. "if you enjoy melodic symphonic and neo-prog bands with a bit of the Italian flavor ... you may be richly rewarded for tracking this down."

Galia's Prog 50: Progressive Rock Around the World in Fifty Years is an illustrated reference hand-book where the complete list of world-wide Prog artists of the musical genre are finally given their rightful place in History. With a Foreword by Peter Gabriel, this is a first true encyclopedia collecting over a thousand musicians, most of which have been forgotten over time, and more than two thousand images of sometimes very hard to find records, for the first time ever presented all together in the same book. The tangible proof that Progressive Rock is still alive and kicking even after fifty years.

This book has revived memories of seeing After the Fire and Neal Morse in concert, of listening to King Crimson and Rush and of discovering the music of Geoff Mann and Twelfth Night. Here are more recommendations:

Reviews:

"Even ardent fans will find artists in here he or she will never have heard about, and those not all that familiar with the genre will have a field day or decade) looking up all the artists referenced here. The book itself, and all the artists referenced, makes this production a good starting point for progressive rock fans though, and a hard copy alternative to websites such as Progarchives." - Olav "Pros messor" Bjornsen: April 29th, 2018

"Last year when we reviewed an Italian-language breakdown of the 100 best prog albums, we had one wish: put it all into English. Curated by Italian prog collector Maurizio Galia, Prog 50 does precisely that, and with five other reviewers, along with a foreword by Peter Gabriel, it gamely tackles a huge task. Broken up with artwork and photos, although all in black-and-white, the text is clear, with notable references in bold, and a discography to go with each entry. The wizard hat goes off to translator Christine Colomo for making the content highly readable." - Prog 14 June 2018

"This book is stunning! Really recommended to everyone who wants to know everything about Prog Rock. Peter Gabriel's foreword is the best endorsement for this work. The English language is very good, modern and open to a light reading full of humour. It's almost impossible to count all the artists reviewed into this book. Groups, Songwriters and Bands from all the different corners of our planet. A fantastic 'Interstellar Overdrive' to the Prog Universe!" Baltazar Gloves, Reviews 2017

"In his foreword for this book, Peter Gabriel doffs his cap to a genre which doesn't follow the normal conventions on composition. He describes progressive rock as a rich and quirky vein of music that, at least in his own experiences was born out of letting our musical minds wander far and wide and straight out of any boxes we were thrown in. These words echo throughout PROG 50's deep-drive into the old genre brave enough to incorporate elements of them all, dissecting key artists by country in order of importance (ranging from Kings, then Knights to finally the more obscure Troopers) with notes on their triumphs and releases. It's no surprise the English, Italian and German sections are substantial brimming with names of defiant rule-breakers, many of whom have been forgotten over time though what makes PROG 50 such an invigorating study is its dedication to the visionaries hailing from further afield. Aditus from Venezuela, anyone? While some of the descriptions are perhaps a bit basic, it certainly leaves no stoned unturned in its quest through prog history." AMIT SHARMA, Planet Rock Magazine

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Aquael - Murat Begins.

Prog 50

Prog 50: Progressive Rock Around the World in Fifty Years by Maurizio Galia is an illustrated reference hand-book where the complete list of world-wide Prog artists of the musical genre are finally given their rightful place in History. A first true encyclopedia collecting over a thousand musicians, most of which forgotten, and more than two thousand images of sometimes very hard to find records, for the first time ever presented all together in the same book. The tangible proof that Progressive Rock is still alive and kicking even after fifty years.

From talking with Maurizio about this book we've shared memories of seeing Neal Morse in concert and I have discovered the music of Geoff Mann and Twelfth Night. Here are more recommendations: 

Reviews:

"Even ardent fans will find artists in here he or she will never have heard about, and those not all that familiar with the genre will have a field day or decade) looking up all the artists referenced here. The book itself, and all the artists referenced, makes this production a good starting point for progressive rock fans though, and a hard copy alternative to websites such as Progarchives." - Olav "Pros messor" Bjornsen: April 29th, 2018

"Last year when we reviewed an Italian-language break¬down of the 100 best prog albums, we had one wish: put it all into English. Curated by Italian prog collector Maurizio Galia, Prog 50 does precisely that, and with five other reviewers, along with a foreword by Peter Gabriel, it gamely tackles a huge task. Broken up with artwork and photos, although all in black-and-white, the text is clear, with notable references in bold, and a discography to go with each entry. The wizard hat goes off to translator Christine Colomo for making the content highly readable." - Prog 14 June 2018

"This book is stunning! Really recommended to everyone who wants to know everything about Prog Rock. Peter Gabriel's foreword is the best endorsement for this work. The English language is very good, modern and open to a light reading full of humour. It's almost impossible to count all the artists reviewed into this book. Groups, Songwriters and Bands from all the different corners of our planet. A fantastic 'Interstellar Overdrive' to the Prog Universe!" – Baltazar Gloves’ Reviews 2017

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Twelfth Night - Love Song.

The Temple of the Living God

In this evening's service at St John's we reflected on the place of the Temple in Christianity following readings from Haggai 2. 1-9 and John 2. 18-22.

Extracts from the writings of Margaret Barker led into a song by Neal Morse from his ? album:

“A temple stood in Jerusalem for over a thousand years. According to the biblical account, the first temple was built by Solomon about 950 BCE and was severely damaged by the Babylonians about 350 years later. It was rebuilt towards the end of the sixth century BCE by people who returned from exile in Babylon, and was rebuilt again by Herod the Great at the end of the first century BCE. The structure was finally destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE, but the influence of the temple and its world has far outlasted its physical existence.

Jesus would have known Herod’s temple and he prophesied its destruction. Not one stone of it, he said, would be left standing (Mark 13. 2). From this we might assume that Jesus was opposed to the temple, but in fact … the world of the temple was the world of the first Christians, and they expressed their faith in terms drawn almost exclusively from the temple. Jesus and his followers opposed what the temple had become; they identified themselves as the true temple, with Jesus as the great high priest.

When Jesus was arrested by the temple authorities, one of the charges brought against him was threatening to destroy the temple and to rebuild it in three days (Mark 14. 58). Another was claiming to be the Messiah (Matt. 26. 63-64). These were two aspects of the same charge, as can be deduced from the Book of Enoch, a text which the early Christians regarded as Scripture. The Book of Enoch described the judgement of the fallen angels, and then how the Lord of the sheep would carry away the old temple and set up something greater in its place (1 Enoch 90. 28-29). This is the reason for the two questions at Jesus’ trial: Did you claim that you would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days? Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One? This same passage accounts for the exchange between Jesus and the Jews recorded in John 2. 19-21: ‘Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?”’ Later reflection led the evangelist to add, ‘But he spoke of the temple of his body’. Jesus was claiming the prophecy of Enoch, that he was the Lord of the sheep who would destroy and rebuild the temple …”

“The Temple was a model of the creation, and the liturgy of the temple preserved the creation. Genesis 1 was not an account of the historical process of creation, but a record of the great vision granted to Moses and others of how the world is made. In the six days when Moses was on Sinai, before the LORD called to him (Exod. 24.16), he saw the six days of creation, and was then told to replicate these when he built the tabernacle …

The holy of holies represented Day One, the state of the angels … The veil of the temple represented the second day, and the table with bread, wine and incense was the third day, when the plants were created. The seven branched lamp represented the lights of heaven created on the fourth day, the altar of sacrifice represented the non human creatures, and the High Priest was the human, male and female as the image of God … The Second Adam [Jesus] was the Great High Priest, and if we are the body of Christ, we all have this high priestly role.”

“Jesus was … [the] great high priest (Heb. 4.14) … raised up by the power of an indestructible life (Heb. 7.16) who had offered the final atonement sacrifice to fulfil and supersede the temple rites (Heb. 9.1-14).” Atonement was the ritual self offering of the Lord to renew the eternal covenant and thus heal the creation. This is what Jesus’ death achieved and is the covenant renewed at the Last Supper.

In this way the New Testament reverses the story of Eden and brings Christians back to the original Temple meaning that the “kingdom of which Jesus spoke was the state of the holy of holies, the unity at the heart of all things which secured the eternal covenant … This must be the original context for ‘Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven’ and for ‘This is my blood of the covenant, poured out for many for the putting away of sins’ (Matt. 26. 28).”

Inside His Presence

And in this place of gold [1 Kings 7:50]
The ancients walked this road
There is no death [2 Tim 1:10]
There is no time [Ecc 3:15]

There is a love unknown [1 Pet 1:8]
There is a scent of home
A rainbow wreath [Rev 4:3]
A blazing throne

From a grave of stone to a world unknown
From the smoke and ash comes true life at last [Isa 61:3]
Among earth and sod
the very life of God is here [Rom 8:11]

From a list of laws seeing all our flaws [Rom 8:3]
To the blind, the lame, we are all the same [Acts 10:34]
Our High Priest has come to make us all as one in Him [Gal 3:28]
The temple of his throne [Acts 7:48]
Is now not made with stone

Your very heart is now his home [1 Cor 3:16]
He will come and live if you’ll only give [John 14:23]
Him a place inside that the world can’t buy
And the Holy Place is now face to face in Christ [Heb 9:24]

When he died and was born the temple walls were torn [Mat 27:51]
And God’s Spirit poured out to all the ones without
Now the temple of the living God is you [Eph 2:21]
The temple of the living God is you [Rev 3:12, 1 Pet 2:5]

The Temple of the Living God

And then after all with our backs against the wall
We seek the temple of the living God
And now that it’s done the heart of every one [2 Cor 6:16]
Can be the temple of the living God
Can be the temple of the living God [Rev 21:3]

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Neal Morse - Solid as the Sun.

Scripture in rock

The first half of 2007 has seen two mainstream rock albums released dealing explicitly with scripture and its themes.

Neal Morse is a US prog rocker who first made his mark in the band Spock’s Beard and then formed the prog-rock supergroup Transatlantic. Following his conversion to Christianity in 2000, he left both bands and has since produced a substantial and well-regarded body of solo work exploring different aspects of his faith. At the turn of the year, and thanks to Paul Harcourt at All Saints Woodford Wells, some of us in the Chelmsford Diocese were able to be at a service led by Neal. It would be great to see him return when he next tours European Churches. In March this year he released his fourth solo prog rock album Sola Scriptura which, across four tracks and 76 minutes (this is prog rock we’re talking here!), tells the story of Martin Luther and the Reformation. Morse says, “The point of it is to point us … toward the light of God's truth which is laid out wonderfully before us in the scriptures. Of course, this is a lofty goal for a mere CD, but, with God anything is possible!”

The latest album from Rickie Lee Jones, The Sermon on Exposition Boulevard, is directly inspired by the sayings of Jesus. Rickie Lee’s friend and collaborator, US photographer Lee Cantelon, published in the 1990s a thematic collection of Jesus’ sayings called The Words and then followed this up by planning a spoken word edition set to music. Rickie Lee was invited to read one of the spoken word pieces but instead improvised a song to the musical backing and continued improvising until she had the songs that form the current album. Musically reminiscent of the Velvet Underground, this is a challenging listen both musically and lyrically but one that is already connecting with many outside of Church. The in-concert response to the song 'Where I like it best', which riffs on Jesus’ words from Matthew 6. 5-13, has led her to comment that “people are longing to pray” but have been “damaged by their brush with religion.”

Artists and albums like these challenge us to think how our use of scripture connects (or doesn’t connect) with those outside of our congregations.