Shout Out! #1 Bill Bressler - A Second Past

 

Shout-out #1:

Bill Bressler - A Second Past

(Series info)

I don’t mean to come across as bragging, but I am being offered many albums to review these days.  Unfortunately, I am not in a position to give the full “Song by Song” treatment to all of them, as I do work full time as a music teacher in a public school. (So many albums, so little time!)  Believe me, if reviewing music and writing about prog bands plus conducting and editing video interviews would pay the bills, I would do it full time!  Sadly, that is not the case.  So, I have decided that there are some albums that I still want to give some recognition to and am beginning a series called “Shout-outs!” with less detailed reviews, but still giving these worthy artists their due.

I have just listened to this wonderful album by American (New Jersey) multi-instrumentalist/vocalist/composer Bill Bressler called “A Second Past”.  He released the album in October of 2024, and he has been very patient in allowing me to get caught up enough in my other commitments to give his album a fair listen. And I am glad I did!  He and a plethora of guest musicians (below) have crafted a fantastic set of prog tunes!  

- Bill Bressler / keyboards, synthesizers, guitars, drums, Percussion, Optical theremin, vocals (as Mr. McGee) (6,10), backing vocals, vocoder

With

- Jeremy Abbate / acoustic & electric guitars

- Rebecca Farnham / vocals (as the Girl From Salem) (8), backing vocals (9)

- Stephen Goldberg / lead guitar (1,3,6,8,9)

- Jacob Holm-Lupo / bass (5) (He also mastered the album)

- Peter Jones / vocals (as Mr. Jones) (5)

- Stian Larsen / lead guitar (10)

- Vin Tabone / bass (1-4,6-10), guitar (4)

- John Wilkinson / lead vocals (as Maxwell Severin and the Narrator) (1-7,9), backing vocals

- Quinn Bressler / claps (4) 

The album is a conceptual piece involving time-travel and a scientist called Dr. Maxwell Severin.  He brings three passengers with him, chosen by lottery.  However, unlike most time-travel sagas, he encourages his guests to bring back souvenirs; surely, nothing wrong with that? (Or is there…)  

To my ears, the biggest influence is Genesis but he blends a mix of classic prog styles with modern influences to create an enjoyable listening experience.  I’ll give this a 4.5 out of 5 stars.  Definitely worth checking out.  I’ll post the Bandcamp link below.

So a big shout-out to Bill Bressler for making a great album!

https://billbressler.bandcamp.com/album/a-second-past

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