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Tapfret Special Collaborator Eclectic & C/JRF Prog Team
Juggling 9 or dropping 10?or rating 2?
Sub-genre: Heavy Prog
For Fans of: Porcupine tree, the heavier side of some neo-prog.
Vocal Style: Male, upper mid-range AOR style.
Guitar Style: Chorused, mildly distorted to clean.
Keyboard Style: Varied synthesis. Piano and organ sounds.
Percussion Style: Standard rock kit.
Bass Style: Standard picked rock electric
Other Instruments: None.
You are not likely to enjoy this album if: you are sensitive to "radio" sounds and vocal
passages, as I am.
Summary: The first time I listened to this album I was sitting with a friend who said
within the first 5 seconds, "Man, this version of Xanadu is way off." Well, it was not a cover of
the Rush classic we were listening to, it was the album's opener Paint the Picture. It was
amongst the scarce moments of a discernible progressive rock feel. All around this album is the pang
of a commercial delivery. The often Glen Frey-ish AOR sounding vocal passages, generic arrangements
and dynamically flat mix all paint a mundane, uninteresting picture. Juggling 9 or dropping
10 is progressives analog to convenience store sushi. Here and there are breaks and bridges that
hint of a non-commercial complexity, but the sappy pseudo-feeling comes triumphantly riding back in
on the next verse or chorus. And it just keeps coming. At 64 minutes the album seems as if it will
never end. This is the way of 21st century recording. At least an album like this in the 70's and
80's would round itself off at 45 minutes top. The most complimentary I can be about this release
from Enchant is that the musicianship is proficient and the delivery is safe. It's the kind of music
you can play in a grocery store to prevent rioting in the aisles.
Final Score: I get this icky "I'm listening to something with a strictly
commercial target" feeling all over when I listen to this. There is enough quality musicianship here
that it will find fans, as well as avoid relegation to 1 star. This type of album, out of sync and
off key would really make it a crime against nature. It was barely saved from the trash heap. I just
find myself bored to no end? well, 64 minutes to the end anyway. 2 stars.
Tapfret |2/5 |
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Tapfret
Juggling 9 or dropping 10?or rating 2?
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