{"id":12909,"date":"2023-12-31T14:23:07","date_gmt":"2023-12-31T14:23:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.progradar.org\/?p=12909"},"modified":"2026-08-21T16:09:40","modified_gmt":"2026-08-21T15:09:40","slug":"john-wenlock-smiths-best-of-2023","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/progradar.co.uk\/index.php\/2023\/12\/31\/john-wenlock-smiths-best-of-2023\/","title":{"rendered":"John Wenlock-Smith’s ‘Best of 2023’"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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This is a list of the albums that have made a big impression on me this year. They are not in any order although several marked are my favourites and I will nominate one as my album of the year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here is the list:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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1.Orion<\/strong>– The End Of Suffering<\/em> – This came out of nowhere and it is a testament to one man\u2019s vision and willingness to create music that he wanted to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The End of Suffering | Orion (bandcamp.com)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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2. Tribe 3<\/strong> \u2013 Self Titled- This recent release most definitely impresses with its progressive, inspired take on fusion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CD Tribe3? | Tribe3<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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3. John Greenwood<\/strong>  – Dark Blue<\/em> ? This arrived, again largely unnoticed, but what a brilliant release, thoughtful, emotional and an utterly captivating listen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

DARK BLUE | John Greenwood (bandcamp.com)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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4. Material Eyes<\/strong>  – Inside Out<\/em> excellent prog from the North East of England.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Inside Out | Materialeyes (bandcamp.com)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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5. The Michael Dunn Project<\/strong> – Bridge Across The Years<\/em> \u2013 Canadian musicians superb debut release, 40 years in the making.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Michael Dunn Project<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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6. The Drinking Club<\/strong> – Really? <\/em> \u2013 Very Marillion<\/strong> like in places, another great release.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

…really?!? | The Drinking Club (bandcamp.com)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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7. Pryzme<\/strong> – Four Inches<\/em> – Superb French band release excellent album with a fondness for Rush<\/strong> stylings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Four Inches | Pryzme (bandcamp.com)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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8. Hats Off Gentlemen It\u2019s Adequate<\/strong> – The Light Of Ancient Mistakes<\/em> \u2013 Amazing next adventure for impressive North London duo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Light Of Ancient Mistakes | Hats Off Gentlemen It’s Adequate (bandcamp.com)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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9. Downes Braide Association<\/strong> – Celestial Songs<\/em> \u2013 Excellent new album of epics from the DBA Team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Downes Braide Association: Celestial Songs, CD Edition – Cherry Red Records<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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10. Nova Cascade<\/strong> – The Navigator<\/em> – A musical tribute to Eric Bouilette<\/strong> after his passing, beautifully done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Navigator | NOVA CASCADE (bandcamp.com)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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11. Southern Empire<\/strong> – Another World<\/em> \u2013 A strong return for Australian favourites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another World CD \u2013 GEP<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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12. Ruby Dawn <\/strong>– Beyond Tomorrow<\/em> ? A deeply emotional album from Wokingham’s finest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beyond Tomorrow | Ruby Dawn (bandcamp.com)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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13. Tiger Moth Tales<\/strong> – The Turning Of The World <\/em> Deeply Personal album from Peter Jones<\/strong>, largely acoustic but very satisfying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tiger Moth Tales (whiteknightshop2.co.uk)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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14. Nick Fletcher<\/strong> – Quadrivium<\/em> ? My album of the year. Fusion for today, an album forging forward and beyond while embracing the past.Unbelievably fine music that is beautifully realised.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ONLINE STORE | Nick Fletcher Guitar (nickfletcherguitarmusic.com)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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15. Pattern Seeking Animals<\/strong> – Spooky Action At A Distance<\/em> – Fourth excursion from some-time Spock\u2019s Beard<\/strong> men along with John Boegehold<\/strong> and a further step forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spooky Action at a Distance (lnk.to)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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16. Cyan<\/strong> – Pictures From The Other Side<\/em> \u2013 Second album from Rob Reed’s <\/strong>excellent young project, with Peter Jones<\/strong> and Luke Machin<\/strong> firing on all cylinders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

tigermothhosting.co.uk\/CYANCD2023\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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17. The Emerald Dawn<\/strong>  – In Time<\/em> \u2013 – Beautiful album themed around time and memories and how we perceive them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Time | The Emerald Dawn (bandcamp.com)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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18. Dave Foster Band<\/strong> – Glimmer<\/em> \u2013 The year’s ‘grower’ album that just gets better with every listen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Glimmer | The Dave Foster Band (bandcamp.com)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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19. Damanek<\/strong> – Making Shore<\/em> – A splendidly exciting album from the early part of the year, epic, melodious and really strong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Damanek – Making Shore \u2013 GEP<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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20. Swan Chorus<\/strong> – Achilles and The Difference Engine<\/em> – My favourite vocal led album of the year, especially the wonderfully poignant track Being There<\/em><\/strong> about Peter Sellers, a beautiful song.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Achilles and the Difference Engine | Swan Chorus (bandcamp.com)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s been a tremendously fine year for music. A post-covid boom has inspired some stalwart activities with some excellent and impressive releases, here’s to an even better 2024!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

John Wenlock-Smith.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This is a list of the albums that have made a big impression on me this year. They are not in any order although several marked are my favourites and I will nominate one as my album of the year. Here is the list: 1.Orion– The End Of Suffering – This came out of nowhere […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12912,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_wpcom_ai_launchpad_first_post":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1614,2,1],"tags":[4461,2264,2560,3988,5327,3950,5352,4336,3368,5280,3967,15,5085,5224,1060,5464,5245,5156,2527,5269,95,5525],"class_list":["post-12909","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-best-of-year","category-reviews","category-uncategorised","tag-cyan","tag-damanek","tag-downes-braide-association","tag-hats-off-gentlemen-its-adequate-2","tag-john-greenwood","tag-john-wenlock-smith","tag-materialeyes","tag-nick-fletcher","tag-nova-cascade","tag-orion","tag-pattern-seeking-animals","tag-progradar","tag-pryzme","tag-ruby-dawn","tag-southern-empire","tag-swan-chorus","tag-the-dave-foster-band","tag-the-drinking-club","tag-the-emerald-dawn","tag-the-michael-dunn-project","tag-tiger-moth-tales","tag-tribe3"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/phnn7q-3md","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/progradar.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Screenshot-2023-12-31-at-13.40.08.png?fit=1026%2C624&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/progradar.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12909","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/progradar.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/progradar.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/progradar.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/progradar.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12909"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/progradar.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12909\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17981,"href":"https:\/\/progradar.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12909\/revisions\/17981"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/progradar.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12912"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/progradar.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12909"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/progradar.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12909"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/progradar.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12909"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}