ILLUSION

This is an excellent but overlooked album that will appeal to those who like Quiet Sun or Mahavishnu Orchestra. How anyone interested in heavy fusion, who has listened to this particular album more than ten times, can not but consider it one of the greatest albums of what is a relatively small genre, is beyond me. It deserves 5 stars, the only Isotope album that does so. Like all truly great albums, it yields it's greatness slowly. Fully appreciating it is a learning curve. The more you play it, the better it becomes, though for many prog fans, especial those who like their music relatively pretty, it's a difficult album at first as it has a dark, cold edge that is consistent from track to track. In that sense, it is comparable to Starless and Bible Black. Don't worry, it will get warmer and brighter. Boyle and company have something to prove, notwithstanding the frustration they must have felt having comparably little commercial success, and prove it they do. To suggest that Boyle's guitar imitates John McLaughlin suggests a lack of intimacy with both artists. Much more rock than jazz, Isotope's Illusion is a unique gem that sparkles darkly on it's own merits.