THE WAKE

Not bad for being born in the reckless mid-eighties. Even though it's not one of the best productions by IQ over the years to me, I have to admit it's one out of their entire discography that gives the band recognition. Up to "The Wake" the sound was still quite appealing to MARILLION's and very poor in elaboration in spite of the marvelous execution of good old Martin ORFORD on keyboards. I think of this record as a determinant transition for IQ to jump right on a very unique seal that landed steady on the years to come in order to consider this English band as promising.

The musical resources applied in here are very reliable and enjoyable most of all. It was the time where Peter NICHOLLS still covered up his face in make-up a la GENESIS and where the performance overshadowed the presence on stage. Still, great songs were arranged and released in "The Wake", just like the self-named song and "Widow's Peak", that happen to be some of the Neo-Prog tracks I enjoy listening to the most.

Other long pieces were included as well but weren't that convincing to me out of first listen like they're now. Take "The Magic Roundabout" for instance, the track was intended to be impressive and elaborated somehow, but I feel no remorse by saying it's anything out of this world. If not lousy, it isn't a jewel either. On the other hand, "Corners" is so extremely experimental that it provokes no surprise at all and thus, it brings nothing to the table by being plain and merely poor.

Regarding one of the most important elements on any fine production, I'm talking about the lyrics here; "The Wake" is a bit disappointing on that issue yet very less proposing and quite corny to tell the story of a dead man in sequels. Such finger pointing nark goes especially to "The Thousand Days" and "Headlong". There are still some pop-rock elements that outshine the progressive effort whatsoever.

I'm reviewing The Wake based upon the 2006 re-issue released by INSIDE-OUT label which includes an outstanding bonus track. "Dans Le Parc Du Chateau Noir" is a brilliant turning point that under my own perspective, it should've been added on the first edition. It's just like this piece belonged to a whole different album. The elements are linked superbly, this is fair ground alright.

So as usual, I'll give you a piece of my mind of the album. Good, but not essential. A remarkable effort but far from being amazing. It's quite a keeper though, but don't let your hopes get that high when lending ears to it. Deservedly, three out of five ranking stars.