THE TANGENT

Is there a discussion possible about the individual taste of music? I hope not. Is there a discussion possible about the added value of a release. I hope yes, since I sincerely can´t see any reason why this album was ever released. I bought the record because so many people were enthousiastic. And although one knows tastes differ, this time I feel fooled. The music meanders through a meagre landscape with little idea of direction. Sometimes it gives a jazzy feel. But hey, was jazz not meant to be energetic, to lift the spirit and to feast? Well, jazz in the meaning of Andy Tillison is a bleak kindergarten party with tasteless cookies. And on top of the absence of enjoyable music comes the voice which is really hard to digest. This is not singing, but merely muttering texts! I like many styles of music, also outside the scope of progressive music. This release, despite the effort put into it by the musicians, must be regarded as superfluous.

You've got more people here than Sweden, but it's the loneliest place in the world

...Lost in London is one of those tracks that might stick to your head forever: a heavy dose of irony surrounded by a jazz fusion/blues atmosphere and polished with a few heavy prog riffs.

A Place in the Queue is definitely an eclectic hearing. My first impressions of THE TANGENT were very positive a few years ago when I listened to some of this album's tracks on prog radio. While there are some quite ''mainstream'' prog tracks like GPS Culture, Follow your Leaders and The Sun in my Eyes (almost pop), the overall sound of the album is highly eclectic - to my ears this is the case here because of the jazz/avant-garde atmosphere, the highly ironic lyrics and singing approach and the weird arrangements that take place in various points in the record.

KING CRIMSON, YES and VAN DER GRAAF GENERATOR are the obvious influences in the music of THE TANGENT. However, the mood is closer to that of YES and less to that of the ''dark'' representatives of the eclectic genre. The moments that the atmosphere gets a bit gloomy can be found in the short instrumental-based DIY Surgery and the two epics: In Earnest and the title track. The other thing that can be said with certainty is that the level of musicianship and virtuosity remains at high standards - surely prog fans of complex arrangements and bizarre melodies will enjoy the moments in this album.

One interesting thing that occurred to me is that this album sounds highly ''English'' to me... especially the lyrics and the vocals may appeal to friends of ''traditional'' eclectic prog.

Best moments: Lost in London, GPS Culture and A Place in the Queue. The latter is particularly recommended to prog fans.

I don't feel this is a masterpiece and the rating I assign applies only to the level of my personal enjoyment. I mainly felt that the queue could be much shorter... However, there are moments that are mind-blowing. For friends of eclectic prog, half or one extra star makes absolute sense.

A very nice piece of music that I did not expect. The only reason I even looked at the Tangent was the fact that Roine Stolt was with them, (I'm a huge fan of his work,) and when I saw that he wasn't in this album I almost didn't buy it. But then I noticed that Salazar and Reinhold were still on this album so I went ahead and tried it out. Little did I know I was going to get an album like this! A concept double-album Not As Good As the Book tells the story of a hippie who was waiting for the world to get better like he read in books but he ended up finding it wasn't going to happen. On the first disc, pretty much each song has almost a funk induced sound. The lyrics aren't as bad as I expected vividly describing the concept all the way through. Celebrity Puree could've been a hit back in the seventies and is an amazing song. It's kind of lost in our time almost like the hippie in the concept. The second disc contains two epics that aren't all what people expect. They're okay tracks they just not the best epics I've ever heard (certainly not a Gates of Delirium or Echoes). All-in-all a very good album not at all expected though.

So foolish I was, I though that 4 stars would be enough for this good album. Such wrong, this is masterpiece for me. But it's strange, even after one year of listening (which is quite long in my 1.5 years prog history) I'm overwhelmed by feelings when listening this. Not inspirating ones as with Blomljud, but with those that mute (severe your hands off) and you can't say (or type anything, instead you would try to write something with your blood and severed hand, creepy thing though). I always gives damn good reasons for so high rating, but not today. Just few of them.

""For some strange reasons we decided to talk about ... (sex)"" isn't it hard to say this kind of words ? Singer wasn't surprised at all, not stunned by shame, he just said it. I wouldn't be able to do it I think. "Lost in London After 25 Years". It goes so slowly, without ANY obstacle in the way. And yet you know somehow, deep inside your heart, that this is not some pop sound, not easy demanding music. Very hard for me to rate.

Not as good as I they say.

I never really understood the all the hoop-la behind the Tangent; in my opinion not being far from the Flower Kings or Moon Safari, they are not as exciting as the last one. Okay, they are prolific. Okay, they play quite well. Okay, some segments really swings. But this is my first attempt at knowing the band better, and I frankly didn't heard anything new, sorry.

The Tangent is probably a band that a majority likes, but that I don't fancy. I sometimes wonder why I'm not into the recent super-bands like The Tangent, Transatlantic and such....I really wanted to be a fan, but I just find them too flat. I just the same recipe again and again: intro, organ, solo, speech, little keyboard solo, then guitar solo, then time changing, then repeat ad nauseum. I mean, it's been done SOOO many times these last 10 years! It's like Spock's Beard, but with 20 minutes songs! (include loud fading sigh here).

Good in general, but not fresh enough for me.

Not as good as I thought.

Andy Tillison of The Tangent commented in the liner notes of A Place in the Queue that his album was inspired by Yes's Tales from Topographic Oceans; I don't quite understand that- "In Earnest" and "Lost in London" are the spiritual descendants, as it were, of The Final Cut, and I personally think Tillison's voice is very similar to that of Roger Waters. He shares the same sentiment as Waters, it would seem, that of war being unnecessary most of the time. The sound is closer to The Flower Kings (even with Roine Stolt's absence, but then again, Jamie Salazar and Jonas Reingold provide the solid rhythm section). All said, this is a terrific album and should please most progressive rock lovers. This album could have been a five star deal, but the weaknesses of the twenty-five minute epic (and a few of the disposable tracks) keep this excellent work from being essential.

"In Earnest" Rather than begin with a bang, the opening epic has some melancholic, jazzy piano and sad lyrics. Every time I hear the line spoken, "I was a pilot in a war long ago," I cannot help but think of the people in uniform doing battle on the civilians' behalf- my behalf. It isn't until nearly three minutes in that full-blown symphonic progressive rock happens, with heavy drumming, loud organ, and all manner of instrumentation. The vocal melodies are stunning all throughout the piece, ever-changing, sometimes recurring, and appropriate for the lyrics at all times. The tone of the synthesizer lead is not unlike that of Rick Wakeman's on "The Revealing Science of God," so in the limited respect of instrumentation, there are some similarities between this album and Yes's four song epic. The piece incorporates stereotypical jazz seamlessly at one point, making the listener wonder how he suddenly was hearing it. My favorite section (if I had to choose at gunpoint) is the section that starts just before the ten minute mark. To me, it sounds like music from the video game Sim City 3000 or Sim City 4. The bass eleven minutes in, which plays over a stunning organ solo, just moves swiftly, never content to stay on one note for more than a moment. The "Sim City" segment gets a progressive rock treatment later in the song, loaded with bouncy bass, heavy organ, and that Wakeman-like synthesizer alluded to earlier. There's a little bit of what sounds like improvisation, but after a few listens, it sounds completely natural. The lines, "He's in the way when we order our drinks. He's there every night of the week," always gets to me, making me think about the loneliness and isolation of somebody who has seen and experienced horrors many of us never will. The climax of the song is simply astounding, carrying the peaceful plea of the beleaguered veteran who has seen enough.

"Lost in London" Jazzy and with undertones of Jethro Tull, this song has more of a repeated vocal melody and is less dynamic than the previous song. The lyrics are somewhat nostalgic, about protesting wars. The synthesizer is extremely pleasing. As with the previous track, there is some improvisation, only this time it's more extended. There's a pleasant flute solo over the verse chords before Tillison begins singing again. The last line attempts to be politically powerful and relevant: "And though a million voices tell us not to go and take Iraq, we still went in and we will still haven't come back." This again bolsters my claim that this album is in the spirit of Pink Floyd's last album with Roger Waters.

"DIY Surgery" A weird throwaway track, this one is really a poem recited through effects and over inharmonious music.

"GPS Culture" Kicking off with an exciting organ riff, over which bass and acoustic guitar play a short melody, this is the best "short" song on the album (although I use that term loosely, since this one is over ten minutes). The synthesizer introduction is also great, and this is probably the closest to Yes the band gets, especially with the vocalizations thrown in. One electric guitar riff sounds suspiciously close to the main riff of "Carry On Wayward Son" by Kansas, but it could be just a passing similarity. The second half of the song employs some well-done improvisation, followed by more Yes-like vocalizations. Perhaps it sounds more like something from The Flower Kings when they are at their best.

"Follow Your Leaders" Again starting off with a heavy organ riff, this is a fast, jazz-tinged song about absent-minded conformity. There are some patchy spots, but for the most part, this song is highly enjoyable, the synthesizer and bass work in particular (both of which get some soloing in). The section featuring the guitar solo is tad boring, but not unpleasant listening. The final two minutes are very mellow, with music quite unlike what came before; it really makes me think of the last several moments of Genesis's "Dancing with the Moonlit Knight."

"The Sun in My Eyes" This song often gets written off as candy-coated "disco music," and with very good reason. I don't know if Tillison was attempting to be ironic, since the lyrics refer to his angst as a youth regarding his preference for Yes instead of the more popular acts of the day.

"A Place in the Queue" While not a bad track, it's length is something of a downside, because some of the parts don't flow as well as they did on "In Earnest," and there's a long instrumental section that just does little for me. For the most part, the vocal melodies are some of the weakest on the album, not being very memorable at all. The transitions are some of the weakest I've ever heard. That said, there's so many satisfying parts to this track. There's a lot of jazzy sections, particularly in the drumming and the heavy use of the saxophone, and the subtle guitar work is very good. As always, the keyboard solos are fantastic, and the guitar work here is a little bit more creative than on previous tracks. The refrain just before fifteen minutes does happen to be one of the best parts of the album.

Bonus Disc: I do not normally review bonus tracks or additional material added on subsequent releases, but I feel compelled to add some brief remarks about the bonus disc. I come up short when I try to produce a good reason that would explain the absence of "Promises Were Made" from the main album. Maybe because it's decidedly heavier, or because it would have gone over the time constraints of a CD- either way, this song (with the amazing female vocalist who provides some great counterpoint) should not have been excluded. I would have gladly traded both "DIY Surgery" and "The Sun in My Eyes" for "Promises Were Made." "The First Day at School" reminds me of Pink Floyd's The Wall on so many levels. For that reason, I'm glad it was left off the main album. It isn't bad, but it's piano-driven and lengthy for being so. Like much of Pink Floyd's The Wall and The Final Cut, the music takes a backseat to the lyrics. With "Forsaken Cathedrals," I shrug my shoulders. The music has a good groove, but it is best that it is relegated to the bonus disc as well. As for the extended version of "The Sun in My Eyes," I can't see anyone wanting to subject themselves to nine minutes of Saturday Night Fever-infused progressive rock. The instrumental tracks, "Grooving on Mars" and "Kartoffelsalat im Unterseeboot" are quite different from what is on the main album, but do make the bonus disc worth having; the former is a laid back jazzy jam session, and the latter is a spacey exploration of varying sounds (which really could have been music for Sim City).

Hitting the right keys to my heart.

I have not failed to notice that a lot of people says or very strongly hints that the music of The Tangent has hit their heart and mind. Is therefore The Tangent a commercial prog rock band ? Well, they hit the right notes and their music is very stylish. So the answer is probably yes. But there is nothing wrong with pleasing the prog rock community.

This is the missing piece in my The Tangent collection. I got all their albums after their last album hit me like a tonne of bricks and gave me another reason to live. I got their other albums and I loved them too. I was pondering for several months if I was bothering to get this album. But luckily, there was an Ebay seller who wanted to get rid of it for a fraction of the price The Tangent's webshop are charging and I bought it. The reason for my reluctance to get it is that I already have the other live album. Two live albums is one too many. But I eventually gave in.

What do we get here ? The last gig from the original The Tangent lineup. So what ? I am not that interested in who plays the tone two minutes into a song or who are doing what. I am only in it for the music, to paraphrase Frank Zappa.

The songs on this album is mainly the same songs from the first The Tangent albums. This is a superb album. The live versions is slightly jazzed up and more lively. The band is really enjoying themselves and so is the lucky ones who witnessed this gig. Unfortunate, the band has included a stupid version of ELP's Lucky Man. I am not the biggest fan of ELPs version, but The Tangent's version is far worse than the original. That's the only negative gripe I have with this live album. If you can get hold of this live album, go for it. Is this an essential album ? No. But it is close, very close to a four star. It is a very nice album.....

3.75 stars. .......... Oh never mind !! It is 4 stars then.

If Dave Stewart has a musical heir, it has to be keyboardist Andy Tillison. He gives much due credit to other Prog deities as Jon Anderson - indeed 'A Place in the Queue' is, according to Tillison, a direct result of hearing Tales back in 1973 - but between the talent, nerdy state-issued spectacles, unkempt 'fro and sheer ambition, it is Stewart whom Andy Tillison seems to most emulate. Previous 'The World That We Drive Through' was very good. This follow up honors the promise shown on that 2004 release and surpasses it by a few lengths and though Mr. Tillison's voice is an acquired taste, wasn't Jon Anderson's too?

Five medium-length cuts bookended by two twenty minute+ dreadnoughts, the record is a thunderstorm of ideas that does reflect Yes's benchmark 1973 release complete with the delusional vocal that introduces 'In Earnest'. The band is more than happy to wear its classic prog influences on its sleeve and the entire album is an intentionally challenging, Anglocentric movement demonstrating a firm grasp of all Western musics that few of the nu progsters have. It reminds us why we love the stuff, rekindling the romance and scolding us for any infidelities. Why prog rock is what it is, or was, and why music that internally changes course without getting lost at sea holds greater value than its inert relatives. Tillison's perfectly recorded organ, Moog and pianos are always the heart of the music and considering he penned ninety percent of the material, it is clearly his baby, the theme being about "Following orders, traffic signs, religions...". Ticks of bossa nova drop in and out but it's never long before the concept transcends all that and we start to feel as if it *is* 1973, hearing symphonic rock fusion in its heyday with the help of Tillison's time machine-- killer organ runs, devastating synth squalls, jazz angularity, intentionally absurd polyrhythms. 10-minute 'GPS Culture' says hello with a Tony Banks organ phrase, Guy Manning's well-placed Flamenco guitar and a manic National Health-style vamp. And 'Follow Your Leaders' just rocks the house down, a walking synthjazz fury that longs for days past, conjuring the best of Egg, Rick Wakeman, early Tull, and Camel. 'The Sun in My Eyes' is a funny commercial spoof with swelling disco arrangements circa 1977, horrid Love Boat strings, the vintage click of a limply wah-wahed guitar, and hysterical prog period tendencies. The huge title track closes the show and does have some draggy moments. But so does almost every great prog escapade, and at 25 minutes I guess every second can't be gold. The most open of the songs, it churns along gradually with an almost Wall-like lumber, wakes-up about halfway through and satisfies most of our expectations, bassist Jonas Reingold and drummer Jaime Salazar stealing the show and Tillison with tons of classical ivories and space age drama. A bonus disc is included in the special edition comprising material unused during the session and though holds some good moments, hats off to the band for not pushing their luck by incorporating too much into the main release.

Atavistic in the best possible way, one of the finest items of 2006, and recommended with much happiness.

A change in line-up, a change in style.

Yes, yes, so The Tangent had never had a stable line-up to this point anyways. Notable absence on this offering from the band, however, is The Flower King himself, Mr. Roine Stolt, who had been around for the first two releases by the super-group. While this clearly was no problem for the band they've made a substantial shift in style with this release. Whether the absence of Stolt is exactly what caused this change we may never know, but fans of the first two albums be warned: this is a very different album. All the elements that the Tangent have previously used are still kicking around, a very prominent keyboard along with an excellent guitar and a slew of other instruments and voices, but this album feels a lot more eclectic than the previous releases. Surely this is the reason the band is under the ''eclectic'' category of this site, but it sometimes feels as though the direction of the album is scattered.

Style wise we have a lot to chose from here. From the Canterbury flavored Lost In London with it's lush flutes and fun beat to the disco inspired The Sun In My Eyes, a fun tune telling the tale of a prog-nut growing up with some very comical lyrics. Some people may like the extreme mix of things, while others may find a little bit more consistency to be a bit more comforting. A couple of excellent pure symphonic-prog moments do exist on the album and they still manage to take up the majority of the album's running time. The album starts with one of the band's token epic cuts, In Earnest is usually proclaimed as the band's best song to reach the 20-minute mark, and while it certainly has its moments, it still has thick competition with songs like In Darkest Dreams or more recently Four Egos, One War. Still, it's an emotional thrill ride telling the story of a war vet who flew Spitfires and who is now nothing more than ''some crazy old man'' who sits at the end of a bar. Some wonderfully spine chilling moments include the first synth hit that almost bring about the feeling of a plane launch. GPS Culture is a quick favorite among all The Tangent's songs, its joyous keyboard opening really leaves a mark and the melodies throughout the song really can't be beat. The lyrics are snide and yet so true (''Through seas of countless choices I'm chosen once again, to fill the air with crafted sounds/you give me space, in your space, a window in your time, at a level which your soul allows''), and the solos are quite impressive.

Some of the album is not quite as strong as the rest, however. For a band who often gets attacked for their vocals they really made a bold move with the choice of vocal style for DIY Surgery. The spoken word mixed with the bleating of sax in the background is often cacophonous and it makes for a strange two minutes, especially after following a blissful tune like Lost In London. Another song that fails to make waves in some cases is the heavy Follow Your Leaders. While the lyrics are once again completely true the music comes across as quite harsh - not to say that the music is too harsh to support the lyrics, but it's quite a lot heavier than a lot of Tangent's material and it really seems to come out of left field here. A good song by all standards, this one simply has a hard time competing with some of the other tunes on the album. The biggest letdown on the album, however, is likely the title cut. A Place In The Queue is The Tangent's longest song to date and also the most drawn out. While the song experiments with some great ideas (including some wonderful jazz moments) they ultimately miss out on taking any one of those ideas and really running with them. The slow pace of the song is a little bit hard to deal with when hoping for another winding epic like In Earnest, and some ideas really could have worked if they were used more often. That robotic, dark and evil chanting voice used near the beginning of the song demands repeated use - it's just so cool! But they dispose of it and move on. Still, in terms of epic songs, this one is good, just not exceptional.

Often times A Place In The Queue is The Tangent's most acclaimed album, but while it's good, they've certainly done better. The album does sport some amazing artwork on both the inside and out, and there's a nice write-up from Tillison on the inner-notes that will make any prog fan proud, but in general this one feels less consistent than the band's other works. The follow up to this album, Not As Good As The Book would prove this new direction to be a good one, but wait for a bit until you reach for this album on the shelves. Go for The World That We Drive Through or The Book first - you won't be disappointed. As for this album: 3.5 stars for a very good album with some classic moments.

This is one of my favorite releases on this side of the millenium. The Tangent came out of nowhere from me, after hearing of them on this site I decided to give them a try. I was unable to find Not as Good as the Book and had to make due with this album. Not knowing that fate had played a wonderful trick on me.

The Tangent play a sort of juicy 70's Progrock coupled with tons of other influences from Blues to Fusion, that in my ears is close to as good as it gets. The clean, clear mixing of this album is really to be commended, it's like a 70's album born again in the year 2000!

So, what can be said about the music on this particular album? The opening track In Earnest is what can only be discribed as a Progressive Godzilla sifting through genres as another does a newspaper as it tells the tale of an old man and his life. A truly fantastic song, which almost makes me want to use the dreaded word epic, a masterpiece in so many ways. After being blown to bits by the opener, I was uncertain as how this album would be able to follow up such a grand entrance. Rest assured though, it does not get worse.

The song Lost in London follows with a more low key tone. A brilliantly composed and performed song, carying on the great songwriting from the opening while maintaining the personal and story oriented lyrics. I have something against rating each song by themselves, as I don't think any proper album can be judged song by song. I'll sum up the following songs with Holy cow this is so awesome, I can't believe they still are able to surprise and please me like this, this is like hot chocolate in front of a fire place while it's snowing outside. And I mean that from the heart.

This albums is essential in any progfan's collection. A modern masterpiece!

5/5