| # | Artist | Song (click to play) | Album | Year | CD label |
| 1 | Pageant | L'Enfer Des Poupees | La Mosaique de La Reverie | 1989 | King Record (Japan) & Musea |
| Good symphonic with female vocals in Japanese. It is quite good for the neo/symphonic mold, but, I find this style usually does not do much for me, because it is somewhat predicatable. Or - an anology that comes to mind, is that the melodies take the path of least resistance. | |||||
| 2 | Far East Family Band | Tenkujin | Tenkujin | 1977 | Nippon Columbia |
| Another great Pink Floyd inspired album. Perhaps similar to Eloy's take on the PF sound. Me likey. There supposed best album (which I cannot seem to a copy of) is Parallel World. | |||||
| 3 | Ataraxia | Plug Cord II | Adolescence of an Ancient Warrior | 1986 | Made in Japan Records |
| Genesis/Marillion type music, but, perhaps a cut above other neo-prog bands of the same ilk. Except that the vocals are absolutely dismal. The CD is not widely available, and the LP is probably likewise very rare. This album is worth having for the fantastic artwork on the front cover. | |||||
| 4 | Kenso | Sora ni Hikaru | Kenso II | 1982 | King Record |
| Well... I am not sure what I can say aboout this album, other than not only is it one of the best Japanese prog albums, but, also one of the top progressive albums from any country. Stellar playing, inspired compositions. This is only available as an expensive import, but well worth it. The music has a strong fusion element, but, is much more developed compositionally than 98% of other fusion albums. | |||||
| 5 | Mr. Sirius | Super Joker | Dirge | 1990 | King Record |
| A very good symphonic album, that I find much more compelling and interesting than Pageant. A diverse album of quiet moments with acoustic guitar and flute, lush grandiose symphonic sections, and all out driving guitar rockers. This a real good one. _Barren Dream_ is also reportedly very good. | |||||
| 6 | Bi Kyo Ran | Double | Bi Kyo Ran | 1982 | King Record (Japan) & Spalax |
| Alot of people talk about how derivative they sound of King Crimson. On this album, you can hear alot of familiarities from the 3 Bruford/Wetton era KC albums. But, it is pretty damn great none-the-less. The band is extremely talented, especially the guitarist, who plays the most difficult of the Fripp styled guitar lines with lightening speed and flawless perfection. There is also plenty of tremendous solo/jam sections. I only have 2 albums by them - but, from what I have heard so far, it is likely I will be getting all of them. | |||||