Reviewer Bio - Terry Jackson

Terry Jackson (speciality: classic & modern progressive rock)

My name is Terry Jackson and I am a General Manager at a unit of a very popular family dining restaurant chain. I�m married to a lovely lady that I met while doing live theater in the mid-80s. We have always had a dog but no children. I was born on Halloween. My main interests are comic books like Sandman & Astro City and music in general but prog in particular. Early Genesis with Peter Gabriel is IMHO the best music ever made. Yet, I am of the belief that the appropriate Genesis record to start a novice who�s curious about that sound is �Trick of the Tail.� My favorite album of all time is Queen II, the one with no hits. There are two disparate artists, that if you put their music on, I am forced to dance. They are James Brown and Oingo Boingo.

I had a profound, life changing experience in 1975 when I first heard �The Musical Box� by Genesis. After years of listening to AM radio pap, I could not believe that music of this beauty, density and texture actually existed. I immediately picked up all the Genesis, Yes, Gentle Giant and similar records I could get my hands on.

I was a lead singer for a rock band called Evidence in the early 80�s. The lead guitarist (Tony Cinquini) and I wrote around a hundred songs, one of which was a 25 minute long epic. Our main claim to fame was we could play Rush songs impeccably. We knew the entire 2112, but would rarely play it outside of our studio space. I�m still singing and playing my guitar, but mostly for myself and friends. Tony and I still get together occasionally and play and write in his home studio. You can find some of our (definitely not prog) meanderings on anthonycinquini.com or Broadjam under T�n�T.

I have always been a big collector. Through my college years, you could find me at anyone of several used record shops on an almost daily basis. I took a retro Motown listening detour through the mid-80�s and early 90�s when I thought prog was dead. (It wasn�t, it was only sleeping) I discovered Spock�s Beard and the Flower Kings around 1997 and have now amassed an incredible (yeah, incredibly large) collection of symphonic progressive rock music. You can usually find me at many of the west coast prog festivals or concerts. I also have a fondness for groups like Jellyfish, Del Amitri and Bourgeois Tagg. As a vocalist, sweet harmonies and memorable melodies are what gets me the most.

There are some artists and albums I think are vastly underrated in prog circles: Kayak - Royal Bed Bouncer, Ambrosia�s first two records, Crack the Sky - Animal Notes, John Miles� Zaragon, Be-Bop Deluxe�s Sunburst Finish, 10cc�s How Dare You, Bruford�s Gradually Going Tornado and Utopia�s Ra. I figured since I already bared my soul thus far, it wouldn�t hurt to throw a little more gasoline on the flames. Additional current prog favorites include Magenta, Marillion, A.C.T, Sylvan and Izz.

This is enough about me to decide if you will be able to trust my reviews and recommendations. Please enjoy my reviews!

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