The Fusion Reactor #89 - Heads Up

The odd thing about this show (you will have figured it out by the end) is that there's not too much fusion. Only a few songs. Well, that happens occasionally. Here are the songs though:

Echolyn Fountainhead: a) Dominique b) Howard Roark c) The Banner 02:57
Ghosts of Pompeii Seven Heads of the Hydra 03:10
Phil Keaggy Headlines, Part II 03:13
Phish Fluffhead 03:24
Phish Fluff's Travels 11:39
The Who Is It In My Head 03:44
Atomic Opera My Head 03:59
Birdsongs of the Mesozoic Birdhead 04:00
Garage a Trois Hard Headed Rio AKA Rio Cuca Dura 04:14
Umphrey's McGee Bullhead City 04:32
Ritual Moomin Took My Head 04:32
King's X Over My Head 04:47
Joe Satriani The Mystical Potato Head Groove Thing 05:10
Kate Bush Heads We're Dancing 05:21
Charlie Hunter Bullethead 05:34
Iona Beach Head 05:46
The Watch Shining Bald Heads 05:55
Soundgarden Head Down 06:09
Spiral Architect Fountainhead 06:30
Jordan Rudess Screaming Head 07:19
IQ Headlong 07:41
Schleigho Head 09:29

The Fusion Reactor #88 - Sandwiches

There, I titled the show "sandwiches." Why? Because I like sandwiches. That really doesn't have anything to do with the show though. Someone told me once that you can almost always connect two disparate things, so let's see. Sandwiches are tasty, and so are the songs I played. Weak, I know, but I'm just getting started. Sandwiches are easy to make, and so was this show. With only seven songs, I can even comment on each one without taking up my entire evening.

But the show is not like sandwiches in a lot of ways too - these don't really have the same thing at the beginning and the end, and if a sandwich takes you sixteen or more minutes to eat, that's quite a big sandwich. There's no way you could fit seven of those sandwiches in a two-hour period though.

Frank Zappa Big Swifty 17:23
Believe it or not, this was the first Frank Zappa disc I ever bought. I had no idea what to expect, but the jazz-rock sound of it blew me away. I was immediately drawn to the complex arrangements and changing time signatures. Someone requested this song a while back and I'm just now working it in.

Ajalon On The Threshold Of Eternity 16:06
What a nice song. Randy George plays with Neal Morse's band as well as with Ajalon, and so it works nicely to have Neal sing a bit on this one.

Billy Cobham Spanish Moss - A Sound Portrait 16:55
Remember when epics took up the whole side of a record? This one is transferred over from my vinyl edition of the album. Mmmm, tasty.

Salem Hill The Future Me 18:54
When on one list someone brought up this song as an example of Carl Groves being a "reluctant prophet," he responded by flatly denying it. Whether or not that's a sign of his humility or reluctance is up to you to decide, but check this song out. It's good stuff.

Miles Davis Spanish Key 17:30
From the Album That We Shall Not Name, but is one of Miles' best. If D minor is the saddest of all keys, which is the most Spanish? I pick E Phrygian. Agree or disagree?

Neal Morse The Separated Man 17:59
This has one of the best middle instrumental sections I've heard since... ever. It moves through so much territory in such a (relatively) short span, it really moves the album along effectively.

Gilgamesh You're Disguised 17:58
I sort of get the impression that this early recording from Gilgamesh was later split into different songs. I don't know if that's the case or not. Just my impression. Again, amazing jazz-rock that is the epitome of what The Fusion Reactor is all about.

The Fusion Reactor #87 - Themeless and Bible Black

Just a bunch of cool songs without any distinguishing thread between them. Other than the fact that they're all good.

Passport Daybreak Delight 04:39
French TV Look At the Bears! Look At the Bears! Look At the Bears! 08:11
Gongzilla Gongzilla 06:36
Niacin Soul Diversion 05:04
Overhead Beginning To End 20:19
Schleigho Sumo 09:46
Bill Bruford Up North 05:28
Eric Johnson High Landrons 05:46
Finnforest Paikalliset Tuulet 04:22
De Fenestra Abrasive Shuffle of the Scarlet Tortoise 06:44
Eloy The Light From Deep Darkness 14:40
Secret Oyster Mindmovie 09:16
KBB Discontinuous Spiral 08:46
Sunny Day Real Estate 5/4 03:33
Tony Williams Lifetime Snake Oil 06:30

The Fusion Reactor #86 - Ones All Over the Place

This is a show about singularity. Exclusivity. One.

Don Caballero ones all over the place 09:01
I occasionally wonder if this is one of the few Don Cab song titles that means something. It's possible that it accurately describes the time signature overlapping going on in the song.

Bill Bruford One Of A Kind, Parts 1 and 2 06:25
I guess it's a little odd to have multiple parts in a show about singularity. Which part is the One of a Kind part then? I don't know.

Kerry Livgren Just One Way 05:45
From the Seeds of Change album, Kerry pulls no punches with this one, making it clear where he stands. Just One Way...

Hillsong United One Way 04:07
More on that same topic here. Jesus is the only way, like it or not.

Niacin One Less Worry 04:12
This one also doesn't fit in completely - if there's one less worry now, I guess that would mean there were multiple worries before. Unless before there were only two, and now there's just one...

Joe Satriani One Big Rush 03:26
Joe's playing is always a rush, not just once. Perhaps the added up effect of all his songs makes for one big rush.

John Scofield & Pat Metheny One Way To Be 05:49
Whether or not this goes along the lines of the Livgren and Hillsong songs is up for debate.

Glass Hammer One King 06:12
Does a live version and a studio version of One King make two kings?

Rush One Little Victory 05:09
Perhaps Rush is aiming too low. Wouldn't One Big Victory be better? But sometimes a small victory can turn the tide, bringing about the larger one.

Miles Davis One And One 06:09
Yeah, it equals two. I checked.

Echolyn One Voice 05:20
Then why the harmonies?

Charlie Hunter Trio One For The Kelpers 06:32
Who are these kelpers and why are they satisfied with just one?

Genesis One For The Vine 10:01
"I am the vine and you are the branches" but this song doesn't seem to completely subscribe to that point of view.

Lake Trout Another One Lost 03:32
A song that has some special meaning and connotation for me.

Mahavishnu Orchestra One Word 09:57
It must be a long word if it takes almost ten minutes to say.

Michael Manring One Mo' Thing 02:54
And what would that be?

Jack DeJohnette One For Eric 09:43
Eric said he appreciates it.

Birdsongs of the Mesozoic There Is No One 03:47
Oh yeah? Are you sure? I thought I saw someone.

Pink Floyd Cluster One 05:59
Numbering things like that points to the notion that there is more than one cluster. Or in Star Trek lingo, multiple singularities. I'd like to see Data wrap his brain around that one.

Carlos Santana Oneness 05:44
All this oneness is starting to get cramped. I guess it's good then that the show's over.