THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES

Here is an ambitious concept album based on Arthur Conan Doyle's novel. It has a highly classical sheen and many of its passages have a 'musical opera' feel to them, very reminiscent of AYERON's material. The production is as crisp as can be and CLIVE NOLAN's keyboards shine through out.

However, there are two things I find a little disappointing with this album. First, although the arrangements are impeccable, the music itself never seems challenging enough for my tastes (I admit it is well dressed - it is the essence I'm not so impressed with). A couple of exceptions are a track called "Sheldon" with its interplay of soaring keyboards with a short but wonderful guitar solo, and "Waiting" which contains some nice musical phrases. The second problem I have with "The Hound" is rather minor: it's the narrator's constant intrusion at the beginning of each track, sometimes smack in the middle of them. The fact is, when you've heard the story once, you wish he would disappear and let you enjoy the music. Still, it's a fairly enjoyable album that will no doubt please many NOLAN and AYREON fans alike.