CERULEAN BLUE

I'm not going to go crazy about this one like some have, but I am impressed by this album. It's a solid debut by a chap who prefers to remain mysterious. Rain himself has done most of the playing on this CD. It's a concept album about a young man's journey of self-discovery in the U.S. Why people are always going to America to find themselves is beyond me, but regardless, I find the story to be the album's drawback, as self-involved narratives can be a little....well, twee. Especially when the story is told through a series of letters at the beginning of each track narrated in an extremely plummy English stage voice. I find it a little intellectually pretentious and don't relate much to the character. Having said all that, I do really like this album. Most tracks are started by a peaceful string arrangement before proceeding into the songs, all of which are mid-to-slow tempo ballads with sweeping keyboards and occasional massed choral voices- those segments are particularly beautiful. Rain has a very nice tenor voice, in keeping with the greats of prog, the Andersons, Gabriels, Fishes and Nichollses (ses?) Much has been made of the approval of Genesis figures Hackett and Collins for this album, and yes, there's a bit of Genesis at their most mellow in here (say, Entangled). I enjoy the album, but the songs can carry themselves without the ponderousness of the narration. Next time, Rain should drop that stuff and let the music speak for itself. I'll look forward to his next effort.