UNDER THE SOFT

Where have I heard this before?

That's what consistantly comes to mind when I hear this album. Not that it's bad. Darryl Way is to fine a musician for the album to be a complete waste. But from the opening track, where the melody is vaguely reminiscent of Japan's Gentlemen Take Polariods, to And The Walls Came Tumbling Down (a title that suggest a song nowhere near as placid as this one is) that sounds like some song by, of all people, The Carpenters, at times, when it's not sounding like Way's Vivaldi, to Crocodile Tears that has passages that sound like the theme song from the TV series "S.W.A.T.", to Allegro Vivace that once more recalls Vivaldi, it just seems like Way is borrowing from too many sources.

But the album is still good. Way is a good violinist (not one of my favorites, but he is no slouch), and his choice of Stewart Copeland on drums helps build the sound. The album is a set of interesting instrumentals, that makes the game of "spot the reference" entertaining.

The reason I give this 5 stars is I have never heard violin played more beautiful.

If prog violin means playing something intricate and hard to play one of those difficult Paganni pieces that Ywiyne J Malsteam, Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, and other guitar shredders and their albums are a found of playing, and full of such tunes, this is not one of these recordings.

Rather, think of the Lark Ascending by Vaughan Willams or even some other Paganni pieces where it is often more difficult to play one note than 50 to a 100 and still get a great emotion out of it,. then this recording is for you.

Combined with brillant backup from Pete Haycock Stewart Copeland and Diesal Martin, you could basically consider to have a classical masterpiece, since many prog recording are classically based, such is my reasoning