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EZRA[neoprog][musicrequest]

In 1990, a progressive band from South Wales was formed by the name of Ezra (name taken from a Jewish scribe and prophet of the 5th century b.c., who with Nehemiah led the revival of Judaism in Palestine). 
The main band consists of Andy Edwards (vocals & guitar), Gareth Jones (vocals and bass) and Darren Jospeh (drums). Ezra's music sounds more like guitar rock than prog rock; more towards the style of bands like Therapy and Soundgarden.
Very powerful and energetic though. Nevertheless, the music of Ezra has also been compared to Rush, Saga and It Bites by their label. 

With influences ranging anywhere from Genesis and Pink Floyd to Ben Harper and Neil Young, it's no wonder that Ezra grabs different traits and combines them into their own special blend of progressive music. 
They put together their first demo, New Horizons, and the follow-up, A Thousand Days, before producing their first full length album a couple of years later. 

1994 gave us Shapes, which has been compared to It Bites. The core band of Edwards, Jones, and Joseph intact, they also added Rob Reed (of Cyan and Magenta), Sue Manley, Steve Hughes and The Red Hand Band. 
In 1999, Big Smiley Sun was released. Again, Rob Reed comes in to lend a hand, and although the music is sturdy, many complain about the bad mixing. In some tracks the guitar or vocals are so far in the background that they 
can hardly be heard. With better mixing and some more keyboards the sound would really improve.

The band didn't record again until 2006's Songs From Pennsylvania. With the addition of Colin Edwards on keys, the album was met with mixed reviews. 
Tom De Val of DPRP writes, "The major downfall of the album is probably the fact that the songs are rather overstretched in terms of length which, given the lack of complex song structures 
and the aforementioned mid-paced nature of much of the set, leads to a feeling of samey-ness which means the attention starts to waiver around the halfway point. In addition, whilst there`s some good harmony work on the album, 
the lead vocals (courtesy of Edwards) are not the strongest you`ll hear, and thus fail to carry the weaker material (such as the rather aimless closer Lazy) over the finishing line."

Ezra have yet to make a substantial splash in the world of progressive music; however, they are still making music.

Neo-Prog 
1994-2011
United Kingdom
MP3
tracks
320 kbps
2:45:03

1994 Shapes (57:45)
1999 Big Smiley Sun (54:38)
2006 Songs From Pennsylvania (52:39)
2011 Uncle Black (32:26) 320 kbps