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Review excerpts:
Cold Coming review by Mark Hughes Dutch Progressive Rock Page DPRP.net
Sixth album from the hardy fellows
hailing from Chicago who are currently a trio comprising
Fred Faller (drums), newcomer Andrew Bunk (bass) and the
writer/arranger/producer Perry Merritt (vocals, guitar,
synthesisers), ably assisted by former members Marcus
Padgett (saxophone) and Matt Gunsaulus who plays
keyboards on a couple of songs. All five previous albums
by the band have been recommended releases on DPRP, so
expectations are high for this long-awaited new album.
The band's last album, Private
Shangri-La, was some five years ago but the group
pick-up proceedings as if it was just last year. Cold
Coming is the most full-on prog release by the
band, even extending to being a concept album telling
the tale of the adopted child, Marie, who suffering
abuse at the hands of her adoptive father, turns to drug
abuse and a life on the streets. The cover of the album
cleverly references parts of the tale within its general
darkness, which is fitting given the dark subject
matter.
One of the defining features of Zip
Tang has always been the saxophone that is incorporated
into the mix, and it is great to hear that despite
Padgett no longer being a member of the band, his
presence is heard on this latest release.
The opener, Another Time,
is most resemblant of the band's signature sound, with
the latest recruit Bunk laying down a heavy bass vibe
with Padgett's sax interlocking with Merritt's guitar.
As befits a concept album, there are a variety of styles
to suit the lyrical subject matter. Sorry, an
acoustic number, has a beginning and ending with the
vocals manipulated to sound as if they are coming
through an old radio. This contrasts with the more lush
central section, which faintly resembles Echolyn; more in the singing than
the music.
There is a much greater depth to
the music on Cold Coming, with some gorgeously
melodic slower songs, pitted against heavier rock pieces
such as Under The Viaduct and Rains Fall.
But even within these heavier pieces there is light and
shade. Incidentally, it is these two songs that feature
the keyboard work of Gunsaulus and so have a stronger
affinity to previous albums than perhaps some of the
other songs. Both are well constructed and contain some
great electric guitar work from Merritt,
Of the slower songs, Moonwater
and Stars Sing in particular beg to be heard,
the latter song being a glorious piece of music that
concludes the album perfectly,
A couple of more atmospheric and
unconventional pieces are also included. The brief Surrender
is a dark, haunting and faintly-evil number, while Transmigration,
the first part of the title track, has an air of
cinemascopic mystery, with previous melodies heard
faintly in the background. Cold Coming as a
whole piece perfectly transitions between the
nightmarish introduction, through a more acoustic
section, perfectly succinct guitar solo and harmonies of
Mary Jane Lane and into the less tumultuous
than one might expect closing of The Storm.
The title track may be one of the best new prog songs I
have heard all year.
Zip Tang had a very high standard
to live up to and I am happy to say they have exceeded
all expectations. A band that can consistently deliver
the goods and maintain an exceptionally high quality
throughout is worthy of more attention. If you are not
familiar with the band, then do yourself a favour and
head over to the group's Bandcamp page and grab a copy
of Cold Coming. You won't be disappointed.
9 out of 10 stars!
Cold Coming review by Siggy
Zielinskibabyblaue-seiten.de translated from German The sixth album by Zip
Tang from Chicago has "finally" become a concept album
in the band's history. This time the point is not to
touch on as many styles as possible in the music and to
present as many surprising twists as possible in one
piece. No, this time there is a story to tell.It's a story about Marie. Her mother died
early, and Marie was adopted, suffered abuse and became
a drug addict. The artwork of "Cold Coming" as well as
the song title "Under the Viaduct" suggest that Marie is
currently living under a bridge, lonely and abandoned by
everyone. In the lyrics, the hard life of Marie is
described or sung about. Zip Tang convey that Marie's
life aptly reflects the time we live in.
Appropriately, the music seems gloomy and thoughtful
over long stretches. However, there are no signs of
melancholy boredom. Rather, Zip Tang always know how to
use virtuoso grooving or subliminally aggressive song
themes, so that the thoughtful and the gloomy regularly
alternate with the crisp, driving US prog. As in the
polyphonically arranged “Another Time”, recorded with
the support of the guest saxophonist, which turned out
to be spirited and dense as the opener. A little in the
footsteps of Gentle Giant, equipped with a subtle
avant-prog list, I would almost say. Confusingly,
“Another Time” isn't necessarily typical of the whole
album. This becomes clear as soon as it is followed by
the ballad-like “Sorry” arranged for acoustic guitar and
voice, which would fit Roger Waters lyrically. “Run
Away” can be categorized as a rousingly played US Prog
that I would expect from Neal Morse.
You can tell which first-class musicians are at work
here. The creative outgoing rhythm troupe and the
imaginative soloing guitarist ensure pure listening
pleasure, especially in the non-singing parts. I have
rarely come across an album with such a melodically
thundering bass guitar. Hard rocking guitars stand on
"Cold Coming" next to the jam-like or jazzy-oriented yet
well-composed ideas. Then there are the soulfully
designed ballad-like pieces, which remind me of an album
with a very similar theme: the so-called Window Album by
Echolyn. The leading theme of which is probably that the
American dream is over for most.
In the first part of the title track, electronic effects
create an eerie atmosphere. So it is not difficult to
put yourself into the nightmare that is life for Marie
with the lines of text "On the run / My nightmare’s
begun".
Zip Tang can't help but diversify their albums. If you
always have to compare slightly dark prog with saxophone
contributions with Van der Graaf Generator, then I can't
avoid this comparison today. In any case, “Cold Coming”
offers the very exciting execution of Progrock, which
includes acoustic protest ballads, groovy rocking
compositions, jazz-rocking excursions, some very
cleverly composed ideas of the retroprog category as
well as the dark moments owed to the sad story of Marie.
Cold Coming review by Joachim Brookesrocktimes.info translated from German
Zip Tang mastermind Perry
Merritt has written, mixed and mastered all ten songs of
"Cold Coming". After Private Shangri-La, the combo has
taken some time for the successor.
Andrew Bunk is the new bass player in the ranks of the
Progessive Rock trio. In the past, saxophonist Marcus
Padgett was part of the band line-up. Just like
keyboardist Matt Gunsaulus, the two musicians are listed
as guests.
Since Luminiferous Ether, RockTimes has been following the
history of the Chicago-born band Zip Tang. Musically, of
course, Chicago is naturally associated with the blues.
Zip Tang is a prime example of how The Windy City also
produces other music. If you look at the cover of "Cold
Coming", you have to look carefully to discover the red
rose or, on the far left, the elderly lady. To the right
of the rose is a girl and on an advertising space it says:
"She Sleeps Beneath The Fullerton Bridge".
This line of text comes from the composition
"Moonwatcher". Dreamy, if not to say lyrical, the acoustic
guitar opens the door to the present track as well as to a
piece of music, the arrangement of which leaves nothing
else to be desired. If you join the acoustic six-string
which also includes flute sounds, one is quite moved. This
is also the case with choral singing, which later
transitions into a Perry Merritt solo phase. Melodic and
rocky, the song finds an appropriate conclusion. Listen!
With the starter "Another Time" the new bass man Andrew
Bunk introduces himself perfectly.
In general, this is about the three and a half minutes of
violently progressive-rocking. Marcus Padgett and his
saxophone are perfectly integrated into the band's sound.
He also plays himself into the foreground, although the
electric guitar is in charge here. High-quality opener!
"Sorry" can be described as the back of the Zip Tang
Medal. It's time for a ballad relatively early. Once
again, the acoustic guitar comes to the fore. Perry
Merritt's vocals are embedded in sonic effects and this
number is also wonderfully melodic. Great contrast to the
first piece!
The title track "Cold Coming" is divided into three
sections. The threatening 'Transmigration' is at the
beginning of the longest track on the record. The
ballad-like 'Mary Jane Lane' begins with the vocals. The
rocking part sets exclamation marks and when the
composition passes into 'The Storm', the Zip
Tang-Progessive Rock stirs up dust in the truest sense of
the word. Highlight!
The combo has remained true to its reputation for
constantly taking a look at jazz.
It's not just the saxophonist, Matt Gunsaulus plays a role
in this context. "Under The Viaduct" and "Rains Fall" are
his playgrounds. Especially with the latter title, the wow
effect comes into play. Progressive Rock goes Fusion. A
song that you can listen to again and again. With this
number, Zip Tang easily achieves reaching the mountain top
of the album. Another highlight!
If you don't know how stars sing, you can confidently
dedicate yourself to the dynamically extremely varied
"Stars Sing".
This release is a concept album: »[...] Cold Coming is the
story of Marie. Born on the near west side of Chicago to a
single mother who couldn't care for her. Orphaned,
adopted, abused, and addicted, she finds herself alone and
forgotten. A reflection of our times. And that's where her
odyssey begins... [...]«
Zip Tang delight the listener with very mature Progressive
Rock, which also skilfully thinks outside the box.
Stay healthy and make time to enjoy good music as a
distraction.
Cold Coming
review by Uwe Zickelprogarchives.com
If you're
looking for entertaining progressive rock music, Chicago's
ZIP TANG are a recommended choice indeed. Definitely
experienced, since this will be album number six in the
meanwhile, wow. Although, after all, their first concept
album on the other side. 'She Sleeps Beneath The Fullerton
Bridge' advises the cover illustration, provided yet again
in a somewhat surreal, collage-like layout. Hence this is
dealing with 'the journey of a girl from the near west
side of Chicago, born of a mother of no means, in dire
straits and with little hope of making it out of her
circumstance', like the band sums it up. So this is taken
from the middle of life somehow, this especially given the
current times of pandemic, growing poverty and lack of
perspective. As the named bridge indeed exists, even may
show some real references.
Concerning the line up we will hear
Fred Faller on the drums again with a solid contribution
as expected. Due to Andrew Bunk though they are having a
new bassist in the ranks. And his first dedication is to
offer a punchy bass line for the ultimate lift-off.
Perry Merritt, as usual, rules with all the other
necessary duties, which also includes song writing and
the sound mix. Eh, if I'll get it right, Marcus Padgett
does not appear as an official band member anymore,
since 2015 at least. But he can't release, you may see
it like that. Or, the other way round, they can't make
the next move without having him involved. Anyhow, it's
a benefit either way, he will add some nice jazzy
glimpes to the fold with his saxophone, that counts.
Now, continuing the opened story, Marie finds herself
alone and forgotten. And that's where her odyssey begins
... The lyrics are encrypted, overall formatted in
rhymes, which makes it rather difficult for me when it
comes to this part of the show.
Transmigration - one or two may
feel the 'Cold Coming'. Physically, winter in Chicago is
said to be rather heavy. As well as mentally in the same
way. According to the conceptual context this is quite a
challenge, I mean to deliver enjoyable rock music songs
anyhow. Though it works, really. Divided in three
sections, the brilliant title track proves that, rounds
it all up. Please reserve enough time for this
masterpiece especially. Beware of Dystopia! Surrender?
No way! I'm losing my fear, as long as such albums will
appear on the scene again and again. 'Cold Coming' marks
a wonderful Heavy Prog work, melodic moments all over
the place, but also provided with enough rough edges.
Stylistically let's say similar to the band Tiles, if
you're asking for some reference. Definitely
recommended, easily to check on their bandcamp page.
Private
Shangri-La review by Artur Chachlowskimlwz.pl via Google
Translate
...Zip Tang, as a trio (apart from
Merritt including Fred Faller (dr) and Ruda Wolfe (bg)),
...presents a new album of eleven songs. The personnel change did not bring the
essential stylistic volt. Well, maybe apart from the
lack of saxophones in the instrumentarium. So it's more of a correction,
not a revolution.
This fact will probably please listeners who are
afraid of change.
Music Zip Tang is still quite an eclectic (prog) rock
with numerous sound breaks and frequent changes in
tempo and signatures. Perry Merritt is more
than a competent singer who has a natural gift to
sense where to put accents, when to sing louder, when
quieter ... In a word, he knows how to use his voice. He introduced in a rather
chaotic sounding band music a bit more harmony,
refreshing and ordering the structure of individual
songs. He
gave some of them the character of good rock songs
that can quickly be memorable. In this respect, Zip Tang's
music has been simplified on "Private Shangri-La." Less Zappa, more of Pain of
Salvation or Symphony X, less improvisation, more
harmony, less fusion, more precision and order. It's all just subtle changes. So those who, years ago, have
liked the previous achievements of this Chicago-based
band, certainly will not be disappointed. "Private Shangri-La" is a
good, reliable and, most importantly, convincing
album.
Private Shangri-La review by Joachim
'Joe' Brookesrocktimes.de via Google Translate There were only three musicians left. Zip Tang's keyboarder and
saxophonist Marcus Padgett has left the band
stage. The
sounds of the woodwind instrument are missing, but not
the keys. Is the Chicago-based progressive rock trio now
limited in its abilities?
...If you think that
just because a saxophonist is not on the starting
line, Zip Tang would have removed the jazzy
digressions from his offer. The guitar by Perry
Merritt can also be this genre. In addition to
many breathtaking, musical-winding serpentine journeys
into ever-thinning air layers, there are also moments
of contemplation and inner peace. Down-to-earth rock of
the imaginative kind and with a lot of drive phases of
the sound world of an acoustic guitar almost
inevitably provide an obvious breeding ground and
special spotlight.
Perry Merritt is busy. He serves guitars as
well as synthesizers and sings. Exceptions also confirm on
"Private Shangri-La" the rule. In "Plastique Hey-Zeus"
bassist Rick Wolfe raises his voice. Hard beat and pumping bass
open up a rocking happening. With a change of rhythm, Perry
puts Meritus guitar in scene and following the
trio builds up a scenario of tempo variations.
...From the bed of the
Blues develops in "Phantasmagoric Haze" Zip Tangs
Progressive Rock. The
bass drum initially offers a taste of the upcoming
groove. The
guitar lends itself to a few runs from the blues genre
and in the midst of it comes to a wonderful
quiet-melodic part, which is called later as a kind of
flash more often. The
lively Progessive Rock of "Phantasmagoric Haze" is in
the sign of the 12-stroke.
"Cigarette Burns" has
more of the musical dimension of a cigar. Gentle-energetic bass tones
are superimposed by dust-dry guitar riffs and already
shows how effectively Perry Merritt can handle
the synthesizer.
Impressive!
Zip Tang in
2015 still rocks in a complex way and finally the use
of the acoustic guitar, which already makes itself
useful in the opener, should not be missing. The wonderful song
interlude "Lines" is only proof of that. First, "Big Crunch" floats in
higher spheres.
From the space-glider ambience develops gradually a
downright psychedelic mood. So the formation from Chicago
with their crazy style mixes is a real alternative to
many other bands of the genre. The fan of the style shows
open-mindedness, because this melange is challenging.
"Private Shangri La" ends with
another short track.
"Iterum" is a coherent kind of sound collage with
vocals and choir. Almost two minutes of synthesizer use
without drums and bass. A great ending to an album...
Private Shangri-La review by Siggy
Zielinski babyblaue-seiten.de via Google Translate
...The change to a classical rock trio consisting
of guitar, bass and drums has of course meant that the
music is a bit more direct and that all three musicians
act on an equal footing. Zip Tang's main inspirations now
include The Who, Rush, Cream, Pink Floyd, Porcupine Tree
and King Crimson. Maybe
I would take Echolyn, Neal Morse and The Beatles. I can not hear Pink Floyd here,
and the rather subtle and occasional influence of King
Crimson may not be realized until you read it on the
band's website. So on "Private Shangri-La" are melodic
elements (which one would expect from US-Prog) alongside
rocking passages that really seem to lie between The Who
and Rush. The compositions still
remain varied enough to playfully switch between
progressive rock and the elements of mainstream rock. "Big Crunch" surprises
in addition by the lush arrangements, which - rather
untypical for this album - go in the space-psychedelic
direction. "Phantasmagoric Haze" starts out as a
boogie-rock track, then comes up with complex
transitions and surprising twists. Nice to hear how this is
playfully put together, what does not really belong
together.
"Plastique Hey-Zeus" combines exciting rocking grooves
with imaginative arrangements. "Delete the Hole" shows the
listener how sophisticated rock compositions can be both
blues-rocky and progressive-demanding at the same time. To broaden the Spartan sound
palette, guitarist and singer Perry Merritt uses
acoustic guitars and accompanying keyboard instruments,
as well as multi-track recording techniques. He also likes to elicit
unusual sounds from his guitars. "Private Shangri-La" offers a
fresh and well-made mix of US prog and spirited
mainstream rock that fans of such combinations should
not miss.
Private
Shangri-La review by Christian Rode babyblaue-seiten.de via Google Translate
The reduced to a trio band still plays a melodic,
American, modern prog, but rocking heaviness is more in
the foreground, even if the music is already pretty
playful proggig. Right on the opening track "Cigarette
Burns", the Americans make one on "Punk Floyd." The
closeness to the rock dinosaurs is not only evident in
this piece, but also in the electric guitar solo, while
the alternative rock scene lulls it The Prog of Zip Tang
sometimes comes closer to the late King Crimson, while
the harmony vocals can evoke associations with CSN
("Knowing"). Here and there are some beautiful crimsoid
bumpy riffs and some psychedelic palpable ("Maniacal
Calliope" Sometimes it rocks more straightforward
("Phantasmagoric Haze"), sometimes alternative-proggiger
("Plastique Hey-Zeus"), but these are just influences
that enrich the bands already quite unique sound-cosmos. In
the big picture, rocking hardness in all its variations,
harmonious vocals and intelligent arrangements nicely
balance each other out. The songs are kept rather short,
which supports the power rock impression. Those who appreciate the
combination of intelligent hard rock and melodic
alternative skirt should check in to this "Private
Shangri-La".
Private Shangri-La review by Phillipp Roettgers
betreutesproggen.de via Google
Translate One year ago Zip Tang from
Chicago released their fifth studio album "Private
Shangri-La" in their own distribution. The band has become a trio ( Perry
Merritt on vocals, guitar, synths / Rick
Wolfe on bass and vocals / Fred Faller
on drums) and blends their rock roots with progressive
bonds, taking the album one step further than previous
releases. 'Cigarette
Burns' starts with spacey sounds and robot voice. The
song creates a dark, threatening atmosphere that has a
little bit of Dio s Black Sabbath .
However,
the acoustic guitar and the voice are more reminiscent
of Roger Waters, the following hard part has something
tricky about Porcupine Tree -like. The
song lays the foundation for the rest of the album. A mix of progressive, rocking,
jazzy elements. 'Knowing'
is complex and rhythmically interesting, as something
King Crimson.
The
beginning of 'Big Crunch' is fantastic, one of the
highlights of the album. If
you want to compare, then maybe a little too Pink
Floyd . But
only maybe. The
fact that the band has shrunk to a trio is - as often
in the history of music - no evil. On the contrary! She acts so creative and
virtuoso that one can already look forward to the
successor of "Private Shangri-La".
Private Shangri-La
Review by Rivertree @ Progarchives.com
Knowing
... what?
Due to their ambitious approach I once was
pleased with the 2008 'Pank' album, though lost
connection after that for what reason ever. Just right
now in August 2015 the Chicago based band have a new
album ready that shows them reduced to a trio - yet
for the first time missing former keyboardist and
saxophone player Marcus Padgett. Okay, where does the
new ZIP TANG 2.0 expedition take us now? Hah! Easily
to imagine really, when you're going to consider the
album title. So much for the obvious knowing, or what?
Eleven songs are offered, provided with a lot of
twists and turns. They are extending a quite
unpredictable workout - yes, that stays even after
several listening sessions. So I had to rewrite this a
few times, since I occasionally faced problems to pin
down the album for some mysterious reason. In any case
they don't take it too seriously overall, well, this
is not lacking of subtle humor ... just taking the
album cover into account for example. Don't have the
lyrics at hand, but in between I can hear them
searching for the Plastic Jesus, oh yeah.
So let me pick Big Crunch to
start with - maybe ambiguous, maybe freaky - musically
the opposite of a crisis because my favourite excerpt
- though possibly has a cosmological meaning too.
There's certainly a psychedelic flavour to state on
this occasion. Surprisingly I could detect a few
references to other bands here at the very start -
placed with intent or not - like Fates Warning's
'Still Remains' or 'Zoombiance' by Rinse, Repeat. And
other diffuse reminders which I can't name until now.
Food for thought, still. On top of it this just is
part of a declared song couple.
Which means the acoustic guitar driven Lines
comes prior. An excerpt provided with nice polyphonic
vocals and yep ... inviting to sing along. You might
sense it in the meanwhile - this album instantly won't
be that accessible, like a pop oriented album would
come along of course. A jazzy component takes a
backseat (no sax, lesser keys) to the benefit of a
more hard & heavy rocking attitude. It's Perry
Merritt who has an important impact more than ever,
due to the lead vocal and keyboard/synthesizer task,
plus the whole guitar dominance, the latter often
double- or even multi-tracked (rhythm and solo), also
taking the acoustic part into account.
Rick Wolfe (punchy bass) and Fred Faller (lively
drums) are suitable companions moreover, and this
altogether - based on many overdubs - will guarantee a
really lush and vibrant sound. Not a 'live in the
studio' result with other words, I'm quite sure
concerning the mix it took a bunch of hours to come to
a final solution. Is it my pure imagination, or are
they provoking a lot of references and relations? Some
more examples needed? When the Cigarette
Burns Perry counters with siren alike
guitar. And they will offer us the opportunity to Delete
The Hole via head banging. Or
alternatively, is there anybody out there to stop the
Maniacal Calliope?
Bang! Brilliant! Their private Shangri-La is a
well thought out curiosity, which needed some time
getting used to. Based on my experiences gradually the
wonderful melodic contours come to the fore more and
more, weirdness turns into trickiness. Shortened to a
three-piece affair ... so what, this does not imply
limited opportunities quite naturally - no, not
necessarily. They compensate this with virtuosity and
creativeness, and last but not least they are
definitely able to rrrrrock the house! 4.5 stars so
far!
ROCKTIMES - CD-Review /
Zip Tang – Das Reboot (English Translation)
July 20, 2013
Chicago-based Zip Tang have stayed true to themselves,
at least as concerns their independence. "Das Reboot" is
their 4th album, and the quartet is continuing to stay
clear of record labels and contracts. This
self-determination also lies at the root of their
unconventional and partially obscurity-free music.
In my view, Zip Tang is the other progressive band whose
freaky Frank Zappa references allows them to score
points for their remarkable constancy. The twelve songs
specified in the track list of "Das Reboot" vary from
Zappaesk music to a parallel field remotely evoking Pink
Floyd. Zip Tang not only features gorgeous layers of
keyboards, but also different types of saxophones
performed by Marcus Padgett. Originality is the keyword
on this album.
Three of the four musicians employ their vocals
remarkable effect. Adding to the exquisite lead vocals,
the choirs help building dream castles of another kind.
Even excursions into a cathedral are allowed, such as in
middle section of "I'm Still Here". Brilliant! This
interlude creates a vocal bridge between the dreamy,
floating beginning, crunching rock featuring noisy
guitar riffing and a massively arranged final section
that threatens to rip the entire act from its moorings.
Especially the guitars and the saxophone work out on a
weighty level.
What happens in-between the opening track "Grain of
Sand", featuring experimental approaches, and the
above-mentioned final track "I'm Still Here" features
numerous highlights. If you’re not familiar with Zip
Tang, be warned that this album too delivers once again
a ticket for a frantic roller coaster ride. And as is
well known, once you’re in, there’s no going back during
the ride, and during Zip Tang’s "Das Reboot", you will
be taken through many unforgettable moments. But be
warned... the quartet can be quite demanding on the
listener. Open-mindedness is a basic assumption.
Seven and a half minutes is how long "Butterfly Tattoos"
takes. And if you think this is going to be something
dreamy, you’re wrong. There’s hardly time to breathe or
calm down. The band also uses powerful dynamics and
double leads to create violently rocking music. Using
distorted vocals, Zip Tang serves "10,000 Nachos",
featuring a naughty-sounding saxophone playing by Marcus
Padgett. But rather than satiating you, ingesting this
track will make you seek out a liquid capable of
alleviating its musical heat. Hasta la vista! And here
they go again, tickling our auditive tubes.
Zip Tang are unpredictable. "Das Reboot" is like a
powerfully stretched bow, but these four artists never
go so far as to stretch things beyond the breaking
point. The band never seems to leave its own, ample
universe. Apart from down-to-earth music, the listener
is taken into worlds of sound whose existence one didn’t
know of. On the whole, the band stays off beaten paths,
walking a tightrope over a deep chasm. Don‘t ever look
down! Zip Tang possess the equilibrium it takes to cross
the abyss. Even after their 4th album, the band shows no
faltering in fitness. "Das Reboot" is a melting pot.
Stunning! We’d love to see them play in our country ...
or at least experience through an equivalent sound
medium.
Joachim 'Joe' Brookes
The North
American band Zip Tang was founded in 2003
in Chicago, by Perry Merritt
(guitar, vocals) and Rick Wolfe
(bass, vocals). The line-up was completed with Fred
Faller (drums) and Marcus
Padgett (saxophones, keyboards, synthesizers and
vocals). Under the name of "RPM", the band
started out playing covers of "Steely Dan", "Santana",
"The Allman Brothers", "Jeff Beck", and "Yes"
- influences that are still present in their work. They
changed the name for Zip Tang and released a
debut album “Luminiferous Ether” (2007),
which received excellent reviews from the specialized
press.
The second album - “Pank” (2008) - was
nominated for the “Just Plain Folks 2009 Awards” in
the categories of “Best Prog Rock Album” and “Best
Prog Songs” (with “Footprints” and “Katy”).
A righteous nomination, indeed, for “Pank”
rises above the level of excellence. It represents a step
farther in the evolution of this talented quartet that
must be reckoned for their high-quality musicianship.
Although this album seems more “jammed” than
the first work, the band is by no means retreating, but
refining their style and originality.
The ever-changing rhythmic base is supported by drums that
go from ethnical beats to Jazz and Experimental, and bass
lines that may do strange mixtures of Heavy Metal, Jazz,
Rock and Latino – remembering bands like "Frank Zappa",
"King Crimson", "Traffic", "Steely Dan",
"Yes", "Santana', "Return To Forever"
and even "Primus". Guitars go from Jazz-Rock to
Blues, including some heavier riffs, adding influences of
"Cream", "Jeff Beck", "Allman Brothers",
and "John Lee Hooker". Unusual passages of sax lead
to inevitable comparisons with "Van der Graaf Generator",
but genuine jazzy moods are also present in sophisticated
passages, remembering the work of "Miles Davis" and
even "Burt Bacharach". Different textures of
keyboards cover the songs with a progressive air. Vocals
by Marcus are mainly ironic, in the manner of "Zappa",
or melancholic like "Pink Floyd".
“Pank” brings 11 tracks. The sound of
inverted guitars and ethnical beats in the introduction of
the opening track - “Footprints” - is a sign
that Zip Tang is still warming up and great things
are yet to come. In fact, many Pink Floydian
melancholic vocals, psychedelic instrumental sections, and
jazzy saxophones will be heard on tracks like “It’s
in my Head“ and “One Last Beautiful
Motion“ - the later brings a fantastic guitar
solo – hovering, nostalgic and beautiful. One of the
nominated songs - “Katy“ - is one of the
best tracks. It is built over a heavy and tense bass line,
ending on long passages of jazz and blues. The creative
talent of "Robert Fripp" and the musical
irreverence of "Frank Zappa" are ever present,
celebrated on tracks like “Leaving Nothing“
and “Cicada Jam“ – both stuffed with
experimental sounds and percussion, bringing that
mysterious feeling of entering an exotic jungle. Zappa‘s
irreverence is still present on the craziness of “Deitrich
Crashed my Enzo“ and “You Call This Art?“,
the later is trespassed by Hard Rock riffs and Blues solos
– influence of "Jeff Back". Differing a bit from
the rest of the album, “The Years“ is a kind
of ballad that joins the acoustic guitars of "Allman
Brothers" with the sax of "Van der Graaf".
The remaining songs, “Pank“ and “Goodbye“,
bring back the seventies in that jazzy-funky-Latin fashion
of "Steely Dan", "Santana", and "Return
to Forever", featuring many improvisations of bass,
guitars, drums and sax. Particularly on “Goodbye”,
the closing sax solo sounds like a farewell melody.
But please, Zip Tangers, don’t say goodbye – come
back with a third! Zip Tang is highly recommended
for lovers of Rock of the 70’s and fans of modern
Progressive bands like "Flower Kings", "Neal
Morse", "Spock’s Beard", "Black Bonzo",
"Tiles" and so on…
(Comments by Marcelo Trotta - Progressive Rock Brazil
E-zine)
Nowadays, the best expressions and
attitudes of progressive rock are able to form eclectic
mixtures, yet they mostly embrace independent striking
values, being either classic, new-waved, drenched,
alternative, powerful or sensible, underground or
mainstreamed, artistically rooted or experimentally
diluted. Up this kind of a scale, ZIP TANG, a four-piece
band from Chicago, prefers to play something from the
classic influences, the nice modern art and the bit of
indispensable jam and "new music" - in a manner that,
currently, gets optimistic praises, plus in a musically
attractive empathy that can score, further on, more and
more important progressive qualities.
The band is made of four musicians, all with both
old-school and new-manner rock qualities. Marcus Padgett
is vocalist and keyboardist, but most impressively he
plays the sax. He mainly perfected, over years, a music
of New-Age, Rock and Jazz wind-ups. Rick Wolfe, bassist
and vocalist, played instead in a lot of bands, finding
a good edge in hard rock. Perry Merritt is the third
vocalist in ZIP TANG, but he essentially plays the
guitar, under a style of moods and grips. Fred Faller is
"only" a drummer, yet his bigger passions (culminating
in soft Avant-Garde or pure Fusion) do reflect the
essential precision.
Thanks to a powerful debut, called "Luminiferous Ether",
which was heavily worked, produced and refined in 2006
and finally released in 2007, their music seems to
approach "the irreverence of Frank ZAPPA with the
majesty of KING CRIMSON and the vocal harmonies of YES".
The band members also like to believe in the influences
of artists like Steely DAN, PORCUPINE TREE, Kevin
GILBERT or PHISH. The character of some pieces tend to
be of an independent style and flash - thus, one or two
such compositions work on a space rock tendency (or deep
fantasy), PINK FLOYD being commonly referenced, others
on fusion sound - and so. Finally, there is a clear
sense of classic prog rock, since the band covers
curiously, but strongly, EMERSON, LAKE & PALMER's
"Tarkus", as a bonus treat to the entire album.
The modern rock air of ZIP TANG is essentially fresh,
interesting to hear and slippery as art. Their great jam
reminds, occasionally, of pure rock and new art. The
firm classic influences are nice and beloved, but also
rapid, carving ZIP TANG as both original and alternative
in progressive rock's deep stream.
Some band sent me a link to
their CD on CD Baby and it's classified as alt/prog. I
listen to a few samples and it sucks. Big surprise
yeah? Let me remind you,… I'm a prog snob. I don't
like neo-prog or prog-metal, so I'm certainly not
going to like alt/prog. I don't even like alternative
rock that doesn't have progressive pretensions. Well,
now that this is established, I feel much better and I
can go on now. For some reason I keep looking at other
listings from alt/prog bands and I see this listing
for a Chicago band called Zip Tang. That's an
amusing name I think, and I click on their disc Luminiferous
Ether. I check out the song titles and
their lengths. Only nine tunes mostly about six
minutes long, here's one that's ten minutes long
and………aaahh! I see those six little letters. Take my
glasses off and stick my nose real close to the
monitor, yes, it does say "Tarkus." I start listening
to a few samples and it's good, it's all good, not
just "Tarkus," but all of it. Wasting no time, I send
them a message, get the disc and… here we are.
I tend to fall head over
heels in love with a band every now and then, and I
also tend to go a bit far with the hyperbole and
usually regret it later. I'm going to try to limit my
hyperbolic ranting this time, but if anything I've
heard recently deserves to be raved about, it's Zip
Tang.
If anything, Zip Tang is a
fun band (and the lyrics are occasionally funny, too)
and that is something that is very unusual in the
music I listen to. In caps now……FUN! Zip Tang is also
cerebral enough to satisfy any real prog fan as well.
Their cover of "Tarkus" alone should demonstrate that
well enough. Think Red Hot Chili Peppers and Ben Folds
meets Echolyn, Izz, King Crimson and Pink Floyd.
Vocals are handled by sax/keys player Marcus Padgett
(whose voice sounds to me like Echolyn's Ray Watson)
with brief appearances from bassist Rick Wolfe and
guitarist Perry Merritt. The songs are all group
efforts and the musicianship is top notch all
throughout the album. Next to Padgett's great sax
playing and his all too brief keyboard work, the real
musical star of Luminiferous Ether is
drummer Fred Faller who plays much like a cross
between the Chili Peppers Jack Irons and Dream
Theater's Mike Portnoy…. well, what Portnoy would
sound like if he could keep his ego under control and
if he had any taste (I must mock DT and Portnoy at
every opportunity). The liner notes say the disc was
recorded at ZT (Zip Tang?) Studios which is probably
one of the band members garage, yet it is the best
sounding self-released album I can ever remember
hearing. If they told me that this was recorded at the
Record Plant or Electric Ladyland studios with Jack
Douglas behind the board I would totally believe it.
Suffice it to say the sound is incredibly good. The
lyrics are clever and well written and some show a
healthy concern for food and drink. If you (like me)
spend a lot of time listening to bands whose lyrics
delve into karma, life before, during and after death,
ragging about religion and exploring the various
adventures of Orpheous, Salmacis or Odysseus you might
even find them a refreshing change of pace.
by
Tom Karr -
ProgressiveWorld.net
Zip Tang is yet another Chicago area band that is
treading new ground. By fusing elements of vintage
progressive ie:(King Crimson/Pink Floyd/Camel) with a
hint of Frank Zappa's humor, perhaps a bit of the old
Canterbury scene, as well as modern rock sounds giving
them a hip and modern sound. They consist of a four
piece, of bass, guitars, drums and a multi-musician that
does saxes, keys and vocals. The band plays a variety of
styles as indicated, and more with an attitude of
edginess and fun. While the band features a strong
musical backing, the songs are vocal based, yet the
backdrop of instruments beckons to be heard. Much in the
way Zappa's vocals were merely another addition to the
instrumentations that were constructed.
The sax of Marcus Padgett plays a prominent role in the
band, in a way the older progfans may remember hearing
from Ian MaDonald of Crimson, or even with Mel Collins
on his contributions to progressive music, and of course
Dick Parry's contributions with Pink Floyd. So the sax
doesn't flavor the music overtly in a jazzy way, but
simply adds a unique voice to the music, making for some
memorable moments. Perry Merritt is the bands'
guitarist, he has a retro feel about his playing,
squarely cut from the hard rock sounds from the golden
era, he provides many of the bands moods, with hard rock
leanings and melodic sensibilities, the band never
strays too far from their harder edged style, but will
offer up some moments of mellowness. Merritts is not a
fusion or metallized style whatsoever, he will remind
you of the days where speed and articulate fretboard
navigation were not in vogue for guitarists, but bends,
hammer ons and offs, and squeezing a good sustain were
important parts of a guitarists repertoire.
Is Zip Tang an important newcomer to the progressive
scene? This is a question that many progressive rock
fans ponder with many new artists, but in the end, it's
always a matter of tastes, and a few matters of fact,
one being, is the band doing something new? The answer
here is, yes. Zip Tang is doing something new, by having
an ear for the past and an eye on the modern attitudes
of alternative music. They have managed to be both
accessible and radio unfriendly, while most of the
reflective glances in the sake of referencing the band's
roots for inspiration are that of older bands, they
certainly do not sound like a retro band whatsoever,
they are very contemporary sounding. And are only
bringing elements and hints of the retro vibe into their
sound. MJ
Brady - Proggnosis.com
Zip Tang is a Chicago-based
band playing an extremely tight progressive jazz-rock.
Their debut CD, Luminiferous Ether is incredible,
especially considering this is their first recording.
It's pretty obvious these guys are seasoned musicians,
their playing is precise and perfect, and they trade
melodies from one to another as if they are all part
of a mentally-linked hive mind (or as if they've
listened to some Gentle Giant before). Luminiferous
Ether is a collection of fine songs, with some
Zappa-jazz feel, a fair bit of hard-edged Fusion, an
occasional dash of blues and a whole lot of classic
rock'n'roll in the mix. There's not a song on the
album that's not really good, and several are just
plain spectacular, including the Zappa-influenced
album opener "Tower of Tuna".
If you're
looking for entertaining progressive rock music, Chicago's
ZIP TANG are a recommended choice indeed. Definitely
experienced, since this will be album number six in the
meanwhile, wow. Although, after all, their first concept
album on the other side. 'She Sleeps Beneath The Fullerton
Bridge' advises the cover illustration, provided yet again
in a somewhat surreal, collage-like layout. Hence this is
dealing with 'the journey of a girl from the near west
side of Chicago, born of a mother of no means, in dire
straits and with little hope of making it out of her
circumstance', like the band sums it up. So this is taken
from the middle of life somehow, this especially given the
current times of pandemic, growing poverty and lack of
perspective. As the named bridge indeed exists, even may
show some real references.
Knowing
... what?