Album of the Day

Labyrinth, by Kit Watkins (1981): Kit Watkins is perhaps best known as the keyboard player with pioneering American prog band Happy the Man. But he has had a long solo career once the band split up in the late 1970s (and then, like so many, reappeared in the Web-fueled prog underground), working in more ambient and world music influenced areas. Recently, Kit made a large portion of his back catalog (all that he owns the rights to, I think) available on his web site as free downloads. Entire albums, including artwork and liner notes.

That's what prompted me to download this album (and a couple of others), in which Kit is joined by percussionist Coco Roussel. It's less "ambient" and more like Happy the Man style instrumental prog in most places, which is a good thing, in my book. Kit is a terrific player and skilled writer/arranger, developing some really intricate tunes. Definitely worth a listen for free, yeah?