BABYLON

I recall attending various upstate New York college "mixers" in the late 1970's and watching bands like Babylon play their covers of Yes, Genesis and Rush, sprinkled in with their own original material. I was thankful then that there were bands like this that were courageously playing the kind of music that I (and few others, it seemed) enjoyed; and amazed that some attendees found a way to dance to it! ;-)

This cd is less than 35 minutes long, and that hurts its overall rating some. But if you enjoy other obscure U.S. prog bands from this era such as Hands, Yezda Urfa, Mirthrandir, Cathedral or Arabesque, GET IT. Pound for pound, this is one of the best progressive rock cd's I've ever heard.

First, the vocals and musicianship here are top-notch. Second, the sound production is surprisingly fantastic! I think the compositions are great; even the transitions from one section to another seem to flow so naturally. Soaring keyboards, interesting guitar solos, a gifted drummer (are there overdubs on the last 2 minutes of "Before the Fall"?), and a thick melodic bass line are my basic ingredients for ecstasy. These guys nailed it. I wish there was more... (4.5 stars)