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Fountains Of Wayne’s back catalog really isn’t big or broad enough for a rankings list—or at least, that’s the premise that kept me away until now. But when a group is so talented they can literally write a Top Ten-worthy single about nothing at all—the melodic earworm “Someone’s Gonna Break Your Heart” is 3:54 of random, novelistic non sequiturs clustered around a fragmentary chorus (“Someone’s gonna break your heart / One cold grey morning”)—it’s hard to resist any opportunity to talk about them. From the strip malls of New Jersey FOW emerged in 1996 as wise-cracking suburban songwriting savants. Chris…

Perfect Beings: Johannes Luley, Chris Tristram, Jesse Nason, Dicki Fliszar, Ryan HurtgenThe next wave of progressive rock is here, and Perfect Beings is among the acts riding it like a champion. Based in Los Angeles, but with roots all over the map, the quintet made one of the notable prog albums of 2015 in their sophomore album II, melding classic prog influences such as Yes, Pink Floyd and Genesis with a diverse sonic palette encompassing and embracing jazz, hard rock, and even a touch of flamenco. The resulting music is dynamic, engaging, and often compelling.The roots of Perfect Beings trace…

This is a big one, in more ways than one. In addition to being one of the most significant figures of the rock era, and one of my favorite artists of all time, Bruce Springsteen has a substantial catalog to cover, and one that has been written about extensively over the years. In addition to revisiting some old friends, while developing this column I also found myself thinking often about the tendency for the best-known tunes on these albums—both singles and long-popular album tracks—to overshadow less well-known songs on each release. As a result, I’ve added notes to each capsule…

Rush has been a lot of things over the years, from their early days as a youthful heavy metal act to their rise into giants of progressive rock. They embraced the ‘80s with more success than any classic rock-era band this side of Genesis (and unlike Genesis, they didn't have to sell out to do it). They've lasted through the ‘90s, the ‘00s, and are still going strong into the ‘10s, all while regularly releasing new records and touring around the world. Their longevity and staying power has led to them becoming known far beyond the scope of prog-rock fan-circles,…

It’s been a hell of a year for Billy Sherwood, in more ways than one.The peripatetic multi-instrumentalist-vocalist-composer-producer was more or less minding his own business this spring—working on three albums of new music at once in between outside production and mixing jobs—when he learned that his longtime friend and mentor Chris Squire, bassist and harmony vocalist for progressive rock pioneers Yes, was seriously ill.Billy’s association with Yes stretches back three decades and includes writing songs with Squire for 1991’s Union and YesYears releases, touring with Yes in 1994, producing the Keys To Ascension albums in 1995-97, and joining the band…

Ever since I was about seven years old, I have been a massive Primus fan. They’ve always been one of those bands that I get super excited about when a new album gets announced. They’re one of the most interesting bands I’ve ever seen live – even being surrounded by annoying hippies the whole time couldn’t diminish their impact. And they are always one of the main bands that I go back to time and time again. Some people really do feel that Primus sucks, but they really don’t understand the band. I understand that some feel that not everything…

It may have been a school night (even for me, the Vault’s resident grad student), but last Tuesday night, three bands on their final stop of their tour rocked the Music Hall of Williamsburg ‘til after midnight to an equally raucous crowd. Headliners Atlas Genius wouldn’t even hit the stage until just before 11, ceding it first to two up-and-comers: New York’s own Mainland and DREAMERS, who both kept our attention, albeit with wildly different sets. First up, the indie quartet Mainland whirred through a set of upbeat, punky-pop tunes, each sassier than the next. They opened with “Not As…

The Doors’ career burned brightly for five years and then died along with Jim Morrison. The band held on for a couple of years after, but the magic was gone. With Jim Morrison, the band only released six studio albums during their existence. Add in two post-Morrison albums and one that was cobbled together in 1978 and you have a total of nine studio albums from a band that left a lasting legacy on rock music. There are five albums that that are virtually interchangeable. Depending on my mood, any of them could be ranked number one. What is certain…

The Beach Boys’ career has passed the half-century mark and I have been a fan almost that long. A number of their songs have become a part of American culture and Brian Wilson is acknowledged as a musical genius. Many fans know the band only through their hits and compilation albums, of which there are dozens. If, however, you want to get at the essence of the band, there are several dozen studio albums available. I have ranked them in order and have mercifully included a few shortcuts.   1. All Summer Long (1964) You can keep your Pet Sounds…

Do I really need to expand on that title? Of course I do, if only to speculate for a moment on what it is about the pioneering British progressive rock ensemble whose very name declares the affirmative that inspires the passions of its fans like no other. I have observed flamewars between conservatives and liberals, atheists and evangelicals, San Francisco Giants fans and Los Angeles Dodger fans, but nothing north of Hades could approach the sheer, oxygen-depleting heat of two Yes fans arguing about—well, anything, really. You could start a thread about whether Jon Anderson should have dyed the grey…