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Rain - Cerulean Blue CD (album) cover

CERULEAN BLUE

Rain

 

Symphonic Prog

3.63 | 59 ratings

From Progarchives.com, the ultimate progressive rock music website

russellk
Prog Reviewer
3 stars An impressive debut of melancholic and beautiful music supporting the story of a man's journey in search of enlightenment.

Yes, it's a cliche, but it works because of the story's twist, which I will not spoil. The music is truly beautiful, as RAIN uses elements of symphonic prog such as organs, chamber orchestras and choirs to suggest the journey. A judicious choice of sound effects at the start of each song helps us orient ourselves to the geography of the record.

So, the story. Rick is travelling America, reporting his discoveries on the back of postcards, which the narrator (Mr Jaeger) reads and comments upon, reflecting on the 'rank underbelly of the American dream'. We go to Hollywood at one point ('Light and Magic', a thinly veiled reference to George Lucas). No explanation is offered for the particular places Rick visits, not why he ends up on Mt McKinley in Alaska ... but I won't say any more about how the album ends.

The overall effect is subtle. There's no bludgeoning the listener over the head with music or lyrics. Unfortunately the compositions, while interesting at certainly atmospheric, are too lightweight to support the concept. I do listen to the album occasionally, but nothing on this leaves you humming afterwards. One also gets the feeling that the incessant TV fx running behind the narrator's voice is nothing but an artifice to create a FLOYDIAN atmosphere. Certainly at times RAIN injects deliberate ROGER WATERISMS into his vocal delivery.

There's a great deal of promise in this debut. I can only hope RAIN gives us something that builds on this interesting start.

russellk | 3/5 |

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