FROM MY HEAD TO MY FEET

A solo project of top notch progressive rock music from Simon McKechnie. Along with playing all of the instruments except woodwinds and drums (played by Adam Riley and recorded masterfully), Simon's powerful and clear voice shows signs of either some classical training or Broadway musical experience--which is a plus. This is a voice that is refreshing to hear yet is sadly only truly accentuated in the first two songs. Simon also has quite an obvious attraction to historical themes for his lyrical compositions.

1. "Hymn of Apollo" is a beautiful, dramatic song constructed around the poem of the same name by Percy Bysshe Shelley. There is a certain familiarity to Simon's wonderful singing voice--very much akin to that of NOEL McCALLA. The music of the song itself even has the feel of the MIKE RUTHERFORD album Smallcreep's Day on which Noel sang lead vocals. My second favorite song on the album. (9/10)

2. "Jane Wenham's Trial" sounds quite like GENTLE GIANT and the CARDIACS. Some nice chinky bass and awesomely fresh guitar sounds (African/Caribbean sounding) woven together with the flutes, drums and vocals. Some nice ANDY PARTRIDGE energy and quirkiness to this one. My favorite song on the album. (9/10)

3. "Year of Light" sounds like an instrumentalized Part 2 to the previous song. Nice layers of multiple guitars--some sounding like DAVE GREGORY (XTC, Big Big Train) (8/10)

4. "From My Head to My Feet" is an obnoxiously poppy in the vein of YES' 1980s output. A disappointing turn in the album. (6/10)

5. "Melita" sounds very much like it could have come from the 2014 KNIFEWORLD album, The Unravelling, former Cardiacs' guitarist Korvus Torabi. (7/10)

6. "Once Upon a Time" is jazzy, multi-culturally influenced instrumental with African-influence guitar-play being the prime feature. (8/10)

7. "The Harpists' Song" has quite a Noel MCCALLA/MIKE RUTHERFORD feel to it--as if it could have come straight from the 1980 Smallcreep's Day album. Interesting but ultimately quite forgettable. (7/10)

An extremely talented musician, singer and composer, this album is only deserving of three stars for the sake of inconsistent composition and engineering, and inconsistent display of this artist's talents (his dramatic voice). I love the affinity for old historically based stories, the more theatric vocals, the drumming, and the multifarious choices for guitar sounds--oft-times layered on right over the other. But the songwriting, recording and entertainment value are widely disparate over the course of the album. Still, Simon's talent is such that I will most certainly be backtracking to try to hear his previous albums.