(Progressive/Eclectic Prog) Kurt Rongey - Book In Hand - 1991, FLAC (image+.cue) lossless

From www.gepr.net:

From the opening chords of Book in Hand, the influence of prime-era-Tony Banks is evident in the musical portfolio of Kurt Rongey. This is his first release and is a sophisticated and mature work that sounds like a restrained version of A Curious Feeling. Yet, the underlying compositions are all very well constructed, with numerous little nuances and non-standard time signatures that are very compelling and satisfying. The mood of the music is generally low-key, but at moments the tracks are punctuated by ominous piano chords and moog-like keyboard leads that recall some of the more adventurous passages of mid-period Genesis and Yes. At other times, the influences of the "ambient" crowd, such as David Sylvian, creep in, making for a very varied listening experience. The CD is accompanied by a book that contains the lyrics amidst a variety of abstract illustrations by Rongey. In many cases, well composed music is ruined by self-indulgent vocalists, but in this case, the vocals are subdued and pleasant enough to add positively to the overall effect.
Rongey's Book in Hand caught me totally by surprise...described as a Tony Banks meets Kit Watkins keyboardist's solo album, I wasn't inclined to bother. At first listen I found the Tony Banks comparisons accurate. And since I don't care for Banks' style I didn't particularly care for the first couple of songs though I noticed that his rhythm section was more interesting than Banks' efforts. However when I heard the third song's rolling keyboards and inspired synth leads I perked up. After many listens I have to say that I like Rongey a lot. His style has grown on me. While a couple of tracks couldn't be considered progressive except by the most liberal definition of the word, several bring a unique touch to the genre. The title track (10 minutes) is particularly good. Rongey is an independent US musician who could use support.
Kurt Rongey is a solo keyboardist and drummer who has released just one album to date, the excellent Book in Hand. All music is played by Rongey with the exception of a bit of electric guitar on one song played by Bill Pohl. The song are very thoughtfully composed and arranged. His compositions and textures sweep you over dark, haunted moors; carry you playfully across sunny meadows; and walk you down shadowy corridors of odd time signatures and eerie atmospherics. I get the feeling this is what fans wanted from Tony Banks' solo albums. To be sure, Rongey's style reveals the influence of Banks but Rongey's artistic vision is much darker. He also uses counterpoint extensively on several songs. Quite frankly, I think Rongey is the better composer, at least when compared to Banks' writings since about 1976 or so. Rongey pays much more attention to detail and nuance which I think lacks severly in Banks' solo material. And that's just the keyboard work. Rongey is also a tasteful (and VERY good) drummer who showcases this particular talent on "Indefensive Emblem" and a couple of other tracks Otherwise, he uses his drumming know-how to program the drum machine to good effect. Rongey sings on several tracks in a quiet and unassuming style. Sometimes the vocals could use a little more "gusto" but usually it fits the moody nature of the music very well. The CD comes with a glossy 8.5 x 11 booklet with the lyrics scrawled amidst impressionistic or abstract sketches, also by Rongey. Definitely worthy of any good prog collection; highly recommended.
Book in Hand has been adequately covered above, so I'll concentrate on Rongey's new release, That Was Propaganda. It was finally released in 2000, though the original recordings were done in '91 and '92. At that time, Rongey was unable to get a mix he liked, and shelved the project. With the advent of digital signal processing, he was able to salvage most of these recordings, all but two songs which he re-recorded for this release. That Was Propaganda was conceived during the Russian coup of August 1991.
To put it mildly, this album kicks serious progressive butt! First of all, to all those above who complained about Rongey's vocals on Book in Hand, give a listen to this album. They have improved dramatically! Actually, Rongey's vocals sound a lot like National Health except for a couple of places where they're a dead ringer for Peter Gabriel (come on, Kurt, are you really affecting an English accent just to increase the illusion? Good job!). My only complaint is that they aren't up enough in the mix in a couple of places.

The keyboard playing is smoking, mostly very Canterbury style (like Dave Stewart during his Hatfield/National Health days), with occasional sections that sound like Eddie Jobson or (ahem) Igor Stravinsky (don't go looking up his name in the GEPR!). Rongey's cohort from The Underground Railroad, Bill Pohl contributes some of his signature Holdsworth-esque guitar to this album as well. The drumming is a mix of Rongey's playing and some really excellent drum machine programming ... it never sounds repititious or boring. Rongey's precision is so good that it's hard to tell which parts are "real" drums and which are drum machine.

I can't recommend this album highly enough. It's easily one of the best progressive releases of the year, maybe of all time. No kidding. This album doesn't have a bad song on it ... though I must say that some of the neo-classical pieces don't shine as brightly among the stupendous prog rock songs as they would on another CD. But that's just because the other songs are so incredible. Order this CD now! If you like complex symphonic keyboard work, I think you'll agree with me that this is the greatest. -- Fred Trafton

Kurt Rongey - everything

Bill Pohl - electric guitar on (4)