THE FORM OF THE GOOD

Mentally, I want this album to be a 5 star album. When I think of what the music has in it, I can't help but think to myself, "this is why I like prog". The densely layered, challenging music, the contrast, the instruments used, the song lengths, heck, even the sound of it. Heck, even the aesthetics of the album appeal to me - I love the cover art and the track names.

Musically, it is a bit more uneven than I would like though. This was true of August in the Urals as well, but when August in the Urals was right, it grabbed you right away. The melodies and lovely parts in The Form of the Good don't quite grab you with the same force. I didn't expect them to; from all of the samples I had heard, this was an album to listen to many times, to pay close attention to so that it's secrets would be revealed to you as you listened to it. And it has grown on me, and I have found a lot in it to enjoy. There are just parts that, after even as many dedicated listening sessions as I have given this album, I just can't seem to penetrate. No full songs - just parts of songs that don't flow as well as the rest of the album.

Comparing to August in the Urals, this is a more mature work that I must admit I find myself wanting to listen to more often, even though it doesn't have any songs that grab me as much as "A Squirrel" or "The Solitude of Miranda" or "Inaugural Bash" off of the previous disc. In fact, if I had to list the songs that grab me off of The Form..., it'd just be the title track (although, what a track!). The rest of the album is made up out of moments for me - the upbeat section in The Tree Factory, the quiet opening of "Before the Common Era", multiple sections in "Aggrandizement". And perhaps, with a few more listens, this will continue to reveal itself to me even more - I know I will keep listening to it. But so far, the chunks of the album I have been unable to penetrate stop me from calling it a masterpiece, as much as my brain wants to say that it is.

Three stars for now, for the juicy bits that sound so right; and because I sense that, with a few more listens (20 just isn't enough), I will uncover even more.

A warning for those expecting more Spock's Beard, Genesis, or Transatlantic style Symphonic Prog: This, really, is a whole separate beast. One that requires even more patience and careful attention than the previously mentioned bands.