STAINED GLASS STORIES

Wow! this New York based american band had only one album recorded and disappeared not long after... but what an album! Stained Glass Stories is a fantastic symphonic prog CD that any 70´s prog lover will love to have! You´ll find here very strong songs, terrific musicanship, tasteful arrangements and powerful perfomances. Even the production is above average. A pity it was released in 1978... if it was out some 3 or 4 years before they would probably have gotten much more atention and maybe they´d have a longer career.

Their main influences are easily identified: Gentle Giant, Yes, early Genesis and King Crimson. The singers´s voice reminds me a lot of that of GG´s Derek Shulman (and so are much of the instrumental bits), while the bass playing is very Chris Squire-ish and the several mellotron drenched parts are a mix of King Crimson and Genesis styles. And yet they did have a personal touch on them all. Which indicates that their demise was a big loss for everyone, since this album promised so much. There are no fillers and their playing shows a highly skilled and confident group that really knew where they were aiming at.

A highly enjoyable CD that deserves to be jeard by any prog lover. A real musical gem lost in time that I´m grateful to have found. Rating: between 4 and 4.5 stars. Highly recommended.