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RPWL - Stock CD (album) cover

STOCK

RPWL

 

Neo-Prog

3.13 | 93 ratings

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ClemofNazareth
Special Collaborator
Prog Folk Researcher
2 stars Despite this being a 21st century release, Stock has a very dated feel to it. From what I've read the band started out as a sort of Pink Floyd tribute/clone, and their music reflects this. Vocalist Jurgen Lang could certainly pass for Dave Gilmour in the studio without too much trouble. Guitarist Karlheinz Wallner also shows some of the same mannerisms as Gilmour with his slow whining guitar chords and lengthy moody passages, but frankly there are so many guitarists around today that cut their teeth on Pink Floyd records that I don't see this as copying as much as it is a tribute to the broad influence Gilmour has had on several generations of musicians.

This album isn't as heavily derivative of Pink Floyd as the first two. "Opel" would have fit in just fine on albums like Ummagumma, Atom heart Mother, or probably anything leading up to Dark Side of the Moon.

But most of the rest of the album shows some signs of growth by the band. "The Way It Is" has some interesting keyboard passages from Andreas Wernthaler that don't really sound like anything Floyd ever did, and Phil Paul Rissettio's drum work is certainly more prominent than Nick Mason normally was. You can't help but think of Pink Floyd when listening to these guys simply because of Lang's voice, but this is a bit more aggressive a tune than most Floyd stuff. The abrupt ending is a little annoying though.

"Perpetual Response" actually sounds like it is the missing ending for "The Way It Is", and part one of "Forgive Me" must have been an attempt to be clever, but it really should have just been included with the other two parts at the end since it adds no value here.

"Gentle Art of Swimming" has a nice rhythm and an almost hypnotic guitar/keyboard one-two punch that evokes early Roxy Music a little bit, and takes on an almost distorted disco feel at times. This is probably the strongest track on the album in my mind.

The organ-like keyboards on "Who Do You Think You Are" and Lang's more subdued and inflected vocals actually brought to mind Klaatu a little, especially with the backing vocals that aren't heard much anywhere else on the album. This one is much heavy on keyboards than the rest of the album. This general mood continues on "Sun in the Sky", although here the guitar and bass are the more prominent instruments, but overall this feels a bit undeveloped and borders on simply filler.

"Forgive Me - Part 2" is a morbid little ditty lamenting a failing relationship. These kinds of songs usually bore me, and this one is no exception. A bit too self-indulgent and really - who cares besides you and the girl? More of the same on part three, except here there are some decent guitar licks, once again in the vein of Gilmour, although more like his later work with a bit more animation and less interminably extended instrumentation.

There's nothing particularly wrong with this album I suppose, although nothing about it really stands out either. I would have preferred to find it on a cutout discount bin instead of paying full price, since it really is largely forgettable and I doubt I'll ever play it again. It almost rises to the level of good, but not quite. This is yet another case where half-stars would probably be warranted and this would get 2.5, but since that's not the scale, I'll settle for two.

peace

ClemofNazareth | 2/5 |

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