THE THREE BUSHES

More of the sprightly, "Romantic" symphonic rock of RUNNING TO PARADISE here as well. In the end, I don't find this album quite as satisfying as its wholly ingratiating predecessor, as it doesn't seem quite as fresh and inspired. Still, there are moments of great delight here, as on the classically-inspired piano-based instrumental "After The Look". And really, how many sympho-prog albums can you name that use sitar for textural reasons, not to sound particularly "Indian". They certainly deserve points for that, if nothing else!

Guest appearances on tenor sax (ex-Cry Freedom saxman Dieter Urbassik) and percussion this time round.

If ever there was a nomination for a lost classic, this would get my vote. Keyboardist Stefan Neubauer and his band have created a very warm, rich sound very much in the likes of Tony Banks, especially on this album. Imagine what Banks could have potentially done had prog been huge and the pressure from record companies was to be as proggy and beautiful as possible, rather than dumbing it down to write pop singles. This is a mix of pure classic prog, and 'A Curious Feeling'-era Banks. Neubauer, who writes all of the music, obviously loves the big chords and wonderfully surprising key changes that Mr. Banks loves, and though many passages recall Banks, many passages do not. 'The Three Bushes' is the 2nd and better of the 2 albums Sirius released in the early 80s, more consistent and just stronger in many ways to their very good debut, and is not a perfect album-the sound quality is not great, there is not the crystal clearness that a remaster or remix may offer, and the drums are a little weak in the mix. Also, the oft-theatrical vocals are okay but nothing to write home about-however the music is superb. The detailed composition, in my opinion, is superior to every other Genesis influenced act of the time. Measures fit one after the next like a puzzle, perfectly placed, and every note seems well thought out. This is especially evident in the 2nd half of the album. There are many 'wow' moments here, especially in instrumental passages, such as in 'Grandfather Sang It' and when the sax first comes in, in 'Phoenix Again' around the 3-minute mark. There is a vocal moment-about 4 measures long-that occurs 3 times overall in 'The Happy Shepherd' that takes my breath away. I find it playing through my head randomly, still giving me chills and taking me back to my childhood somehow. It's one of those things I always wished someone would write. And then the title track is perhaps my favorite of all, although that can change with the day. 8 tracks overall here, and every one of them a pleasure. Very happy to have snagged this release from Greg at synphonic. All that's needed now is a remaster.

SIRIUS were a four piece band out of Germany who released two studio albums in the 80's this being the second one from 1984. Very much a keyboard and vocal dominated album and they sound exactly like GENESIS. I've never used the phrase "clone band" that I can ever remember despite seeing it used quite a bit in the past but man, come on this is exactly like GENESIS. The sound quality on my disc isn't the greatest but passable although I had a hard time making out the sitar and harpsichord at times. Some sax too but it's brief. It's hard not to like it because well they sound just like GENESIS but that's also what makes this annoying to my ears. The debut is just as bad but most seem to like it better than this one.