PILGRIMAGE TO A POINT

Robert Berry's Pilgrimage to a Point is in my collection for a very long time now (since it's release I believe) and I always felt a bit sad Berry wasn't included in our site yet. Till recently when the crossover team decided to add him anyway, a rightful decision as far as I'm concerned. Because crossover is an excellent subgenre for this album (don't know any of his other works just yet). The booklet has a very handy schedule of Berry's musical history up until 1995. It shows his roots are especially in the typical eighties "prog"band Asia with slighter lines drawn towards ELP (Emerson and Palmer), Yes (Howe) and even a bit of Boston and Sammy Hagar there. And that's pretty much what you should think of if you want to know the musical style of Berry.

It's mainly Asia (No one else to blame, The Love we share, Freedom) that comes to mind when listening to this album added with some ELP (Another Man, Last Ride into the Sun) and even hints to Cairo (Shelter, The Blame) and a little bit of Toto (The Otherside). So that means a blend of prog and AOR roughly spoken. It's probably no coincidence that the longer tracks Shelter, The Blame and Last Ride into the Sun are the most progressive on this release. On two of these three Berry had the assistance of Carl Palmer concerning the songwriting. These three tracks justify Berry's presence here on PA where Pilgrimage is concerned. The other six added with the hidden track The Weapon is Love are more or less forgettable for the real proggers in our scene. And that is when the progressive content is concerned and not really the quality of music because the other six are also worthwhile.

In the end the only right outcome for me is three stars taking into account this is a progressive site. But it's rounded down, the right score is around 3,3 for me. Recommended for those who dig crossover prog and don't mind a bit of AOR flavour.