THICK AS A BRICK

I'm not a fan of "side long" songs, and this is of course a "two side" song. The reason is that longer songs are just typically a bunch of smaller songs joined together, often in a very unconvincing way. Thick as a Brick is no exception. However, I admit the "filler' to join the smaller pieces here is often very well done. The half-second joining, near the end of the piece, back to material from the first side, is the worst example.

If you are familiar with Genesis's Trespass, this album has that kind of sound (sometimes a little toooo much perhaps). Brick has a lot more flute, way more confidence and much better musicianship. The talent of each member really comes though on this album. They are really in your face for the whole 43 minutes.

There are huge dynamics in this piece. From acoustic guitar sections to early 70s metal. The lyrics are poetic, and full of cynicism. However there is humour, and the cynicalness isn't as childish as you hear from some other artists.

If you're looking at purchasing just one side of this album, side 1 is the one you want.

Despite some of the flaws on Thick, the strong points really make this a 5 star: Essential: a masterpiece of progressive music.